Random Observations

[brigdh]

1. The end credits for the second season of Gensoumaden Saiyuki are the slashiest thing ever. It starts off with an image if Sanzo lighting his cigarette off of Gojyo's- both of them holding the cigarettes in their mouths- which fades into Hakkai embracing Goku from behind. And just keeps going, while the music sings something about letting go of your feelings and opening your heart.

That's not even subtext.

2. There probably aren't that many people for whom "which books should I take and how many can I fit in this bag?" is a significant question when packing for vacation. However, I feel fairly certain that many of the people reading this can identify, and thus am comforted in my dorkishness.

3. Speaking of books, I had to go to a wedding Saturday (no, really, that segue way will make sense in a minute). Since there's only so many hours of small-talk-with-people-I-don't-know slash sitting-with-older-relatives-while-they-ignore-me-except-for-occasional-patronizing-remarks that I can endure before starting to hate all humanity, and "ten" is definitely more than the endurable number, I inevitably pulled out a book. A woman sitting next to me laughed and poked her middle school-aged daughter. "She brought four books in the car!"

"I have two more in my bag," I told the girl. She grinned at me.

That was the only interesting part of the day. There was a Powerpoint slideshow before the marriage ceremony. It was exactly as horrifyingly cheesy as it sounds. They projected baby pictures of the bride and groom onto the wall of the church while playing something that sounded suspiciously like a muzak version of 'You are the Wind Beneath my Wings'. I leaned toward my mom to mock it, and noticed that my cousin the idiot slut and her mother were both weeping copiously.

I am about to spend an entire week with these people, and our personalities are the equivalent of antimatter. There is no way that it will all go nicely. Though on the plus side, I'm guaranteed to have a few new stories by the time I come back. Concentrate on the plus side.

4. Bangkok 8 by John Burdett is a great book. I need the sequel immediately.

5. Possibly my family is not like other families. A moment from last night:

The TV is on, playing a movie that my dad is watching. The computer in the next room playing music loudly enough to be heard throughout the house, as my brother wanders back and forth between the kitchen and the computer room. My mom is on the phone in the kitchen. My laptop is on the table- which is scattered with the remains of several weeks worth of mail, newspapers and magazines, as well as the necessary supplies for two ongoing meals, as everyone ate something entirely different for dinner- playing an episode of fansubbed anime. The subtitles are a good thing, as I wouldn't have been able to make out any of the dialog if it was in English. We are also all talking to one another, because there's not enough stuff going on already.

My brother passes behind me, glances at the screen, and melodramatically announces "What are those two guys doing to each other?!" There is, of course, nothing going on on the screen. I'm watching the episode of Utena with the cowbell; this is just his way of teasing me. I ignore him.

My dad rolls his eyes. "Not more gay porn? It's always guys kissing."

I protest that I am not watching gay porn. My brother interrupts me to shield his eyes and moan, "I can't handle that. Too graphic."

I slump in my seat and mutter that I hate them all. My mother then interrupts me to shout that she is on the phone with her mother, and could we please shut up about the gay porn. Which, of course, causes the three of us to laugh hysterically and talk loudly about porn until she leaves the room.

Normality is overrated.

6. There is a creepy-looking spider in this room. Someone should kill it for me. *whimpers*

Comments

[weirdquark]

I love that ending. And yes. It is. When we were cosplaying Saiyuki we took some of those shots. Alas, some of the pictures seem to have become dead links.

[alkairis.livejournal.com]

I wish I could read books at weddings. Alas, I live with a mother who would thwap me around the head for being more of a dork than usual -_-;

It must be like a rule of the universe - weddings suck. I've been to so many weddings and god, it's true, the cheesiness grows with each one. Like cancer.

(All the boys at school think I read lesbian manga porn. Only, they're probably serious, and keep asking me to sell some to them. I'm tempted)

[clachan.livejournal.com]

I think I'm lucky in that the only wedding I've had to go to is my own!! ^^;; (and fortunately, whatever else it was, it wasn't cheesy - I think situation comedy was probably a bit closer to the mark!)

I was invited to go to one wedding *reception*, though, and it was incredibly dull, conventional, and populated by people I didn't know. (Friends of my partner's cousin).

[telophase.livejournal.com]

There probably aren't that many people for whom "which books should I take and how many can I fit in this bag?" is a significant question when packing for vacation. However, I feel fairly certain that many of the people reading this can identify, and thus am comforted in my dorkishness.

This is why I own an iPod and a PDA. I can have about fifty books on my person at any one time, and fit them all into my bag with plenty of room left over. :D

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

Hee! Those are great photos; you guys did a very good job. ^^

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

Well, it wasn't really at the wedding so much as at the hours-long reception afterwards. And I'd managed to be polite through the meal, and by this point people had started to wander away from our table (some of them to leave, the lucky bastards). Otherwise my mom would have done the same. *grins*

Hee!

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

That is lucky! I've been to more than a handful already, and I don't even know anyone of my own generation who's been married.

The reception's the worst part, I think. The ceremony itself, though boring, generally never lasts more than a hour, so it's over without too much time wasted. It's the receptions that go on and on and on.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

...I'd never thought of storing books on my Ipod!

*plots to take many more books than originally planned*

[telophase.livejournal.com]

:D Yup, you can store etexts as files on them, to transfer to computers or PDA or whatnot, or you can get audiobooks on CD and rip them, or buy them online and download them. I've got about eight audiobooks on there right now, but I've listened to most of them already. Must! Get! More!

[questionable537.livejournal.com]

If it's any consolation, the last time I went to a family reunion (has it really been a whole three years? *g*) I was trapped in a conversation with a distant cousin one generation up whom I don't even know. The topic? The number of potential males of marriageable age amoung the throng of random people I assumed to have been relatives. The conversation lasted two hours, in front of my father.

Embarrassment factor-- check

Potential for blackmail-- check

Provisions for incest-- check

...I have to wonder if I'm really related to that woman...

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

I do polls on LJ to let people vote on which books I should take on my vacations, how geeky is that?

[weirdquark]

Our fourteen person Saiyuki cosplay is best, man. I'm still impressed by the time we took Hakuryuu to a Ren Faire for the usual dragon on your shoulder thing and had someone recognize him out of context and squee at us.

[p-zeitgeist.livejournal.com]

You know, you almost make me feel that I'm not doing so badly here, with the sister's children staying with various combinations of family members for two and a half weeks, and the upcoming long weekend in Vermont with these children, my brother's children, and assorted relatives in what amounts to one giant room. People who design ski-area houses are on crack, I'm telling you. What kinds of people cope happily with bedrooms that are under the public rooms, and public space that's all one huge open room so that if one person wants to watch Teletubbies, everyone has to? And yet, I've never seen a skiing-resort-area house that wasn't designed like that. I have been feeling very sorry for myself, since I see no diplomatic way of avoiding all the togetherness; but now I feel sorrier for you.

But perhaps a little second-season Gensoumaden Saiyuki will help. It sounds like it could have certain analgesic effects, if only I can store enough up before the weekend.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

I think I saw pictures of that: it was also very good. I need to find anime fans who live near me so I can organize cosplay groups. *grins*

And that's so cool! I don't think even I would have recognized him at a Ren faire.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

I seem to forever be in conversations with distant relatives I don't know (though they always know me. I'm not sure how that works), but yours is far worse than any I've had to deal with.

I had thought that it was a universally acknowledge truth that one doesn't treat family reunions as singles night... ;)

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

I voted in your poll! Does taking seriously the question of what books another person should take on her vacation also count for geek points?

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

*winces* Ah, no: I think you win the too much time with relatives contest. Two and a half weeks plus a long weekend is a lot of time even to spend with people you adore. Though on the other hand, can you ski this time of year? Beause if so, I'm a little jealous of you; I haven't been skiing in almost four years.

Saiyuki helps most things, I find.

[weirdquark]

Considering our group is scattered across several states and we managed to pull it together anyway, all you really need is anime fans going to the same cons that you go to. And to be really good at herding cats organizing.

Are you going to Otakon? How tall are you? Some of our people can't make it, so we have spare costumes. And are missing a Nataku even if everyone were to show up -- so if you'd like to join us...

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

Oh, wow, thank you! I'm not planning on going to Otakon, though. I've been to an anime con, actually. I should do that sometime: everyone always seems to have so much fun at them.

[weirdquark]

Cons are grand. Otakon was my first, which was weird, because it's so huge all other cons seem small now. Cosplaying makes them more fun, even if it makes it harder to do anything because people stop you for pictures every three feet.

[redshoeson.livejournal.com]

Hi. I left you a message on Friday, I just wondered if you got it.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

Heh, I have now. My phone was being weird- you know how usually, when you have a voicemail, there's a little beep/image on the screen/message/something to inform you of the fact? Yeah, well, my phone neglected to do so. I didn't find your message until I was listening to my voicemail for a different message, and then suddenly it's like "You have two saved messages" and I'm like "...two?"

And it was 2am and I was in Florida, so I figured it was a bad time to call you back. I'm so sorry that you were sick! And I wish I would have got it sooner- I was so bored all last weekened that I would have loved to hang out. But, um, whatcha doing in the next few days? *grins*

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

The only one I've been to was Buffycon, which was neat in its own unique way. No roleplaying, but I'd happened to fall into a group of huge BNFs, including the person who'd organized the con, so I got to be herded along and introduced to people that I was far too in awe of to actually speak to. But I had a wonderful time hanging on the edges and just listening to conversations.

[redshoeson.livejournal.com]

Your phone is 3V17 and I must kill it. Hrmph. It knew I was ::puts hand on head dramatically:: BEDRIDDEN AND DYINGOMG11!!1!1 and still it PLOTTED AGAINST ME. Blargh.

And in the next few days, things get a little hokey. Tomorrow is bad. Friday is slightly less baddish. Saturday is good. Sunday not so good. On Monday my job starts for real, so from then on I'll only be available after 12:30pm.

So -- when is good for you and what do you want to do? ^^

P.S. Hope you had a great time and got a ton of sun. ^.~ I'll be expecting your farmer tan!

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

I'm good whenever. The things I have to do, though many, are empheral and without specific times, so it doesn't really matter to me what day.

I do not have a farmer's tan, thank you very much! I have a loooooooovely tan. Meanie. ;)

[redshoeson.livejournal.com]

The things I have to do, though many, are empheral and without specific times,

What are you, a Buddhist? :P Hee. And I'm suuuuuuure you have a nice tan. Really. For shizzle. :D What are you up to tomorrow (Friday)? I have the middle of the day pretty free.