They let me post again?

The glitch in the blogging system has finally been fixed. Or so I presume.

Anyway. Link to the story, which is updated all the way except the New Year's one (which I plan to clean up sometimes by New Year), is there.

Another year.

posting for Susan 'cause she's having trouble

	Susan successfully averted WW3 with some covert operation that is top secret.
	... afterward, Susan got into a car accident while talking on a cell phone.
	'How will you be remembered in history books?' at QuizGalaxy.com

You are cordially invited to the wedding of Lusine ~and~ Orlando Bloom

October 1, 2030 at 8 pm

Location: In dimension number 9

'What will your wedding invitation look like?' (QuizGalaxy.com)

o.O Except something interrupts it and I end up with Johnny Depp, right?

Also.. Susan notice how there's an option for marrying "nonhumans" x) I tried it several times, getting spouses such as "a Ferrari", "a collection of stamps", and a "goat named Horny". Sweet.

I'm so awesome.

	Lusine learned how to make people explode using only the mind.
	... afterward, Lusine asked out a chair then made sweet, sweet love to it.
	'How will you be remembered in history books?' at QuizGalaxy.com

re: chair to Kate- I should be featured in Galkin's parodies now, no?

this shouldn't be so funny

But
a) I saw it by accident
b) It's finals week
c) It's almost midnight
---> 3x as funny as it should be.



I think it's also because I can imagine Batman's Bale's accent from the movie, which makes his line hilarious.

Oh, fuck

>.<
My Econ class does the online-quiz thing on certain Fridays, and I completely forgot to take the one this Friday. It was the last one too, grr.
Together they're worth 8% of the grade and now I have like a 68% or something. >.<
Guess I'll just have to ace the final. Yea, right.

Winter Schedule as well

I was originally going to drop either Management 1A (stupid bloody 8 am classes) or Russian 31 (history of russian cinema), but I think I'll feel too guilty about dropping management, and I want to take the russian one.. so. That sucks. Except I get a 3-day week :D
Although the stupid Management class hasn't scheduled ANY of its discussions yet, so I don't know where that's going to end up. Hopefully Wed.

Winter Schedule

Okay, here's my winter schedule at this point and it should not change (to the best of my knowledge). However, I do feel obliged to point out that the SAS class (science and society) was originally scheduled to be going from 4-5pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays and just (as in yesterday) got rescheduled to go from 6-7pm because of some issue with the room. (Yesterday was not a good day.) But at least the professor promised to bring snacks to make it up to us.

Anyway, the point of that is that if there are any more changes to that *point* schedule, I'm not the one who'll be responsible for it.

...

And in response to the previous post:

*facepalm*

livening up the place, ya'll

..I just said "y'all". Anyway.

[00:35] Silly Rain Girl: lol I thought of another t-shirt
[00:35] Silly Rain Girl: today
[00:36] Silly Rain Girl: "no grasping required"
[00:36] Silly Rain Girl: we were talking about my principles
[00:36] Silly Rain Girl: XD
[00:36] Silly Rain Girl: and how susan wasn't grasping them
[00:36] armenianluna: that's a weird tshirt
[00:36] armenianluna: it would make people think
[00:36] Silly Rain Girl: it would
[00:36] Silly Rain Girl: XD
[00:36] Silly Rain Girl: about... stuff
[00:36] armenianluna: yeah, it sounds like smth sexual except it isn't
[00:36] Silly Rain Girl: yeah
[00:36] armenianluna: so its confusing
[00:36] Silly Rain Girl: so people would start thinking smart sexy thoughts
[00:37] armenianluna: lol
[00:37] Silly Rain Girl: like... black holes having sex
[00:37] armenianluna: O_o
[00:37] Silly Rain Girl: lol
[00:37] armenianluna: they both suck!
[00:37] Silly Rain Girl: I have... no idea
[00:37] Silly Rain Girl: oh god
[00:37] Silly Rain Girl: that was baaad
[00:37] armenianluna: you started it
[00:37] Silly Rain Girl: I know
[00:37] Silly Rain Girl: but I didn't even think of that
[00:37] Silly Rain Girl: I'm just sorry I missed the joke
[00:37] armenianluna: ah
[00:37] armenianluna: i just thought of pluto getting sympathy sex
[00:37] armenianluna: i'm not sure from who
[00:38] Silly Rain Girl: hmm...
[00:38] Silly Rain Girl: planet x?
[00:38] Silly Rain Girl: it has an eliptical orbit
[00:38] armenianluna: but it's still a *planet*
[00:38] Silly Rain Girl: it's a brown dwarf
[00:38] Silly Rain Girl: actually
[00:38] Silly Rain Girl: so it's a sort of star
[00:38] armenianluna: well in name
[00:38] armenianluna: so it'll only make pluto feel worse
[00:38] armenianluna: that a brown dwarf gets "planet" it its name
[00:38] Silly Rain Girl: yah but they're like both outcasts
[00:38] armenianluna: i guess
[00:38] armenianluna: it'll be angsty sex
[00:38] Silly Rain Girl: yeah
[00:39] Silly Rain Girl: ...
[00:39] armenianluna: ..we're talking about astronomical objects having angsty sex
[00:39] Silly Rain Girl: yeah
[00:39] armenianluna: you do realize this
[00:39] Silly Rain Girl: yeah
[00:39] armenianluna: ok
[00:39] Silly Rain Girl: I just...
[00:39] Silly Rain Girl: yeah
[00:39] Silly Rain Girl: lol go
[00:39] Silly Rain Girl: or we'll come up
[00:39] Silly Rain Girl: with something worse
[00:39] armenianluna: i'm posting this in lunatics, maybe it'll liven up the place
[00:39] Silly Rain Girl: lol okay
[00:39] Silly Rain Girl: susan will be horrified

WHAT? DID YOU FORGET WE WERE WEIRD.

...i think we did too.

hm

So as I tried to comment on the last post without loggin in, blogger told me that only the members of the blog were allowed to make comments. is this something the others have been aware of?

I don't think it really matters, anyway, but maybe we should make the comments free just in case some lost soul stumbles across this and wants to tell us how freaking awesome we are? (or, y'know, someone is too lazy to comment). Anyway, mainly saying this just to post something :P

Eck?

Another story update to balance out the silence of finals period, forgot to link it here. (For link see prev post. This blog is very silent, isn't it?)

What? A Post?

Story update!

That's all, folks. (At least for now.)

ETA: Spelling error of the week: "Miked".

Apparently not completely, though

Hallo, there. The new update on the story's up. There's an email out there somewhere for our post-Thanksgiving shopping trip (which we, in honor of tradition, buys nothing and loose ourselves in hysteria). I won't be online much but I still check my emails obsessively (has to, given the type of people (i.e. certain professors) associated with certain emails.

Otherwise? Headcount?

APPARENTLY EVERYONE'S FORGOTTEN ABOUT THIS.

HMM.

HMM!

Almost forgot, AGAIN

1461 LUNACIES update, because I was absent-minded and forgot to link it yesterday.

9 page group essay, people, shortened to 7 with 2 of which I'll probably end up rewriting. Cheers.

Lucy at LJ

Yea, so, basically I changed my mind again. Surprise, right?

I'll be doing the whole "regular pointless update on life" thing over at my LJ I originally used only for commenting and posting the HP4 parody.

http://lunylucy.livejournal.com/

*giggle* now that's funny!

But it refuses to recognize my cat's face!

zmg [now with a picture!]

Okok, I think I've told some of you, but my aunt's husband works for a company called SpaceCom, which is a company that movies employ when they need to shoot scenes from a helicopter. It's quite major, you can look at the list of movies they've done.

And omg, they've shot Pirates 3 on LA beaches for quite a long while sometime beginning of September according to him (who has been on location and says has pictures of the Pearl he took). I don't know if he could've taken me with him or if I was here when they were shooting, but from the point of view of a missed opportunity, I'm not in a happy place. I hate this feeling of being so close and yet so far from things happening in LA. It's so much better to live in the middle of nowhere where you can't suffer from missed chances ;P

link to a much bigger version of the picture: http://static.flickr.com/93/269839322_5b74e034b1_b.jpg

ANYWAY. What I WAS excited about, was that he said that their company is going to shoot Pirates 3 in the coming days at the Niagara falls! I'm excited for two reason: 1. zmg it's like having inside information :D 2. This movie is going to be so cool. Niagara falls! I wonder what happens D: Is that where the "world's end" is?

Oh, he also said that "Pirates were so-so, but what was really cool was shooting for a Transformers movie Dreamworks is doing. It looks really awesome"(uhh, that's a rough translation). I wasn't aware there was going to be a Transformers movie, and I'm not sure I care that much, but I thought I'd mention it.

ahahahaha

I like how most of these people have nothing in commong (face-wise) xD
AND OMG BOB SAGET? AHAH.
I've ran some other pictures of myself, all of them give completely different results. Like one included Angelina Jolie xD


I've tried running actual celebrities, too, and the program does recognize them.

I also ran one for Kate.. because I can. :D



Kate.. Sharon Stone kinda looks like your Mom in that picture O_o

2 things

1. French bill regarding Armenian genocide

I'm glad I made Nick French (:

2. I'll start using this blog (as if I wasn't already) more and more as a personal blog. Xanga seems to be 90% dead. Don't think anybody will mind, but if you do guess I can use my LJ.

3. Wow, I said '2 things' and only had two things to talk about! This is so great. Finally I am being.. no wait. wait. damn.

I DO!

I still read this!!
Only I just finished my first round of midterms yesterday, so I haven't had many chances to check in the last few days. But yeah, I still read it! Whee!!

schedule

Finally successfully enrolled in the art class.


Note: On Tuesdays I actually go to the 1-2pm section, not 3-4.

Syrup with waffles?

Lunatics story update begins, once again.

Does anyone else still follow this blog? Besides Lusine and I, that is.

pirates and waffles

I'm sorry, am I annoying people with my POTC-obsession as of late? >_>
Hard to believe it's ranked higher in my brain right now that HP! Heyhey, that's like, HP is my Will and PotC is my Jack xD. *stops*

Here's the quote I was referencing yesterday-

Box Office Mojo: What is the meaning of the series?
Ted Elliott: It's a study of what is a pirate. How free can you really be? What are those trade-offs? Jack kind of represents the ultimate free man—he really has no obligations to anybody, and, obviously, if you make an obligation to somebody, you're limiting your own freedom. But, if you're not willing to limit your own freedom, you can't have those relationships. If you look at Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest from that point of view, you kind of see what really leads to Jack's ultimate fate and why Elizabeth does what she does.

This is a far more interesting quote-

Julia wrote: but i still don't get, (and this may be a lil bit off topic, but since we're talking about the compass....) In the begginin of the movie jack is confused and doesn't know what he wants so he can't use the compass, but why is that??

Ted Elliot: The reason we included the "Why is the rum always gone?" line was not just as a callback to the first movie; it was intended to remind audiences of the specific circumstances that it referenced, and so act as a cue to what Jack had on his mind: the woman who he was first attracted to and then infuriated with (or: the woman who Jack never would have been infuriated with if he had not been attracted to).

So, the deal with the compass: Jack simultaneously wanted Elizabeth and wanted to be as far from Elizabeth as possible. Whichever of those he wanted most would cause him to immediately want the other more ... so the compass would not settle, swinging between "Port Royal" and "antipode of Port Royal" (which is sort-of-but-not-quite Singapore, btw). (There was much debate about whether, in the first scene aboard the Pearl, to show the compass pointing in a specific direction and have Jack set course in the opposite direction, or to show it as it is in the movie. I think the first would have made it more clear to the audience that something weird was going on with Jack ("he's not going where the compass points? What's up with that?"), but the second is actually more demonstrative of his emotional state)(at least, that was the theory).

And, as long as I'm breaking silence on the compass, let me just say: there's no transference. If it points to a waffle, it's not pointing to the waffle because you're hungry or because you really want to be Belgian or something; it points to the waffle 'cause what you want most is that waffle. Of course, if you've been hungry for a while, anticipating the most delicious meal you could ever imagine, and for some reason you couldn't partake of that meal, and then you found yourself in the presence of a very interesting waffle ... well, that doesn't mean that you suddenly think the aforementioned meal would not be delicious. It just means that, right then, that waffle seems pretty tempting. Does that make you a terrible person?

What? Jack is the waffle? D: wtfno. On another note, this goes with my theory that Jack is more attracted to Elizabeth than she is to him (though it's still mutual). The whole "hungry/wuffle" way of glossing over "HORNYELIZABETH" also cracks me up. And another thing: so Elizabeth's been on Jack's mind a lot according to this, and when he sees her in Tortuga his brain should be experiencing all sorts of panic, yet he's so calm and in control on the outside. Impressive.

Finally, is it sad that this makes me (giggle and) think of college admissions?

*snort*

wait.. what?

continuing with the pirates theme.. this is what wikipedia has about Jack-

Early life.
Son of Captain Grant Sparrow.
According to the official Disney website and the game based on the film series, Jack Sparrow was born in British colonial India and was once employed by the East India Trading Company. He helmed the Wicked Wench, an EITC merchant vessel, performing odd jobs for Cutler Beckett. When Sparrow refuses to transport slaves and instead frees them in Africa, Beckett sanctions the torching (and sinking) of the Wicked Wench, and literally brands Jack Sparrow a pirate. Jack comes to embrace his outlaw status, becoming a successful pirate with no desire to return to life under the command of others. Later, Jack petitions Davy Jones to raise his ship from the ocean floor. He rechristens her the Black Pearl.
Disney Press began a book series for young readers in June 2006, chronicling Sparrow's adventures as a teenager. Written by Rob Kidd, the first three books follow Sparrow and a young, motley crew in a continuing search for the legendary Sword of Cortés. Along the way, they must battle pirates, ancient curses, sirens, and the power of the sea.

After reading this for the fourth time, I still feel like saying "Wait... what?" What's more cringe-worthy is that, as my friend told me today, Disney might do a Saturday morning cartoon based on Pirates. The thought alone makes me shudder. Saturday. Morning. Cartoon?!!! That would be so. So. Ugh.
All this requires more research, but that shall have to wait for tomorrow or later.

For now:

After watching carefully the second time I am convinced that a) Tia Dalma is the girl Davey Jones fell in love with. and b) Jack is possibly even more drawn to Elizabeth than she is to him. oh and c) Norrington's voice is actually hotter than Jack's! But only the voice.


There was an interview with the writers I read where they were like "Jack values his freedom above all and having a relationship would limit that freedom, obviously. He needs to figure out if he wants it" (ok that is SO not the direct quote) The reason I remember it 'cause I was like, "yeah they portrayed this idea with the very THINLY veiled symbolism of Elizabeth chaining him xD".

Ohoh and this totally cracks me up "Depp claims that Rolling Stones guitarist, Keith Richards, who is set to play his father in the third movie, and Pepé Le Pew (from Looney Tunes) were both inspirations for his performance". I think I knew about Pepe but totally forgot. It's just so funny and so (sorta) true. Ahahaha. Pepe is the best Looney Tunes character, even better than Bugs.

Susan: add him to the list of things (as a cartoon) that Nick likes. This is especially appropriate considering Pepe's French accent and ways (*cough*)

...lol

So I'm doing an Econ quiz online, and suddenly this question jumps at me-

#31. You own the Pirates of the Caribbean 2 on DVD. The opportunity cost of watching this DVD a second time is..

The answer choice aren't important. The right one is "time you could've used for something else".

This is funny for two reasons: there's no official POTC 2 dvd yet; I am actually seeing it again at UCLA today, the opportunity cost of which is actually 0 in my particular case because I would have to go to the birthday of my aunt's (my mom's cousin, not sister) husband.

I win @ life.

Ditto

You scored as Satanism.
Your beliefs most closely resemble those of Satanism! Before you scream, do a bit of research on it. To be a Satanist, you don't actually have to believe in Satan. Satanism generally focuses upon the spiritual advancement of the self, rather than upon submission to a deity or a set of moral codes. Do some research if you immediately think of the satanic cult stereotype. Your beliefs may also resemble those of earth-based religions such as paganism.
Islam 75% Satanism 75% agnosticism 75% Buddhism 63% Paganism 63% Judaism 46% Christianity 42% Hinduism 38% atheism Which religion is the right one for you? (new version) created with QuizFarm.com";

o_O

You scored as Paganism. Your beliefs are most closely aligned with those of paganism, Wicca, or a similar earth-based religion. You may also follow a Native American religion. Paganism 71% agnosticism 71% Christianity 58% Islam 54% Buddhism 50% Satanism 46% Hinduism 42% Judaism 38% atheism 33% Which religion is the right one for you? (new version) created with QuizFarm.com

Fall schedule

Or what I currently know it as.

the amazing disappearing pastry

Ok, this is for real.

We have this small box with cookie-like pastries, the kind that are attached (2) to each other by a layer of jam. Anyway, like half an hour ago I went into the kitchen, took one out of the box (which was on the table), separated the two pieces, decided to eat the one without the jam (it always sticks to either piece when you separate them) and put the other back into the box. I very, very distinctly remember putting it back and even in what position it ended up in after I put it back.

Then I ate the piece I had taken, turned around, looked in the fridge for something else to eat, didn't decide on anything, closed the fridge, got myself some water, went back to the box to get the other piece with the jam and, um, it wasn't there. Now, all that time I did not leave the kitchen, and I know that neither of my parents entered it (I even asked them afterwards to make sure even though I knew they didn't). And I know I put the other piece back and never took it again, but I still checked in the fridge and around the kitchen in case I put the piece somewhere without realizing. No results. I was/am really weirded out/semi-excited.

Was the cookie magical? Will I have superpowers in the morning? Is there someone invisible walking around our apartment? Did all of the cookie's particles suddenly appear on the dinnerplate of some alien? Is this a sign that I should just stop eating cookies? Was it an intelligent cookie that ran away? Will it eventually be found to have fallen from the table and into some dark corner?

Where is my pastry?!

oh man

you wouldn't think i'd be such an internet nerd while without normal internet, but here i am anyway.

cough http://buttfacemakani.livejournal.com/174597.html#cutid1 cough

giggle.

look at the icon, too.

July: Belated post #2

Summer was about relaxing or, more specifically, about having the time to relax. What people generally failed to mention was that the presence of time could also mean many other things. His family bothered him with the way they behaved—almost as if they were trying to make up for the time not spent with him during the school year by being constantly around and underfoot during the summer. Nick sighed. He wished they would stop and just act as they normally would, but as always, he lacked the words to say so. His family’s flurry of activities during the summer with him, always him, at the center annoyed and pained him. There was no way for him to let his parents know that he was fine without them during the school year, that they had nothing to make up for, without hurting their feelings. But it was true, they had nothing to make up for. There was no need to make up for anything. He was taken care of for eighteen years and now he was going to college in America, all of which was made possible because of his family.

True, he missed his childhood—after all, who didn’t? But even so he had to admit (the optimist in him wouldn’t rest until he did), that there were certain appeals to being an adult.

Most of all, over the summer he also missed his friends.

It was not a question of how long they’d known each other, but how long it felt like they’d known each other. It was not a matter of who could come to visit him during the summer, but the fact that after being around each other for so long during the school year, they were used to each other’s presence. It became something as natural as breathing and required about as much thought. So much so that when he passed by a new-ish motorcycle in the street one day Nick almost paused, expecting Mike’s instant obsession, Gary’s laugh, and Zach’s useless admonishments.

Summer had never felt so long, and school, even with the inevitable workload, was beginning to look inviting because with the homework and the tests also came jokes, laughter, and the cause of both—friends.

Summer was generally boring when one was not traveling, and Gary had opted to take a week out of traveling, though he could’ve easily gone along with his father to Chicago. After all, there was only so much sight-seeing one could take, and even the experience of being somewhere new got old after a while.

He flipped through the calendar and caught himself counting the days until school started again, wondering how Nick was doing in France since he’d last seen him, how Mike was handling himself in Minnesota, and how sun-burnt Zach must be by the end of summer (Mike had insisted he would get skin cancer. Would he?). Oliver rubbed against his leg, purring. Gary picked him up. He would bring two pets with him next year, so why not Oliver, along with his water dragon? Both Nick and Zach seemed to like cats, and if Mike ever got the issue with his dog sorted out…well….

Gary chuckled to himself. At least it would be anything but boring. Mrs. Jameson had been equally horrified and amused by the idea of four adolescent boys living together, even without the pets. She had a few good points but if everything went according to her plans, it would go far too smoothly—and be bor-ing.

He would have to work out the furnishing soon—or in other words, let Mrs. Jameson know that he intended to work out the furnishing and have her sort it out. There was—the beauty of summer and college—no homework, and as far as he could tell, no other tasks or sources of potential stress. It would be long stretches of days, of late mornings and even later nights until he would have to push himself to fit back into the schedule that school demanded come August. And then they would figure out whether or not Nick could be trusted in the kitchen or if Zach’s early-rising habits would be detrimental for their late-night plans.

Entering the living room, Gary threw himself down on the sofa and flipped on the TV, Oliver escaping from him with an indignant hiss.

Almost in spite of himself, he was looking forward to August.

Summer, depending on where one was, could be as taxing as the school year, if not more, just in a different way. In the recent years it had become an annual reminder to himself, a motivation to push himself just a little harder towards his goals during the next school year.

In the summer was when Zach usually realized how much his friends acted as his anchors into the normal teen life, and how much they’d done to keep him from disappearing into his thoughts and goals and reflections that far too often turned into nightmares. He laughed more when he was with his friends. They were the good sort of distractions and a constant reminder that he was still young, with a life ahead of him that could hold hopes and dreams, if he allowed it to.

Zach sighed and let himself out of the house, wandering into his grandmother’s increasingly neglected garden.

The symptoms were getting worse, each time. When he arrived in early July, his grandmother had stepped up to hug him, only to pause with a horrified expression on her face when she realized she couldn’t recall his name. He gave her a moment. She recalled it. She had gotten his age wrong and thought he was going to go away to college in the fall. He hadn’t needed his mother’s gestures to tell him what to do when Gran had inquired about which college he was going to, the expression on her face had been enough.

There were after all, as Mike had said, unfair advantages to being a psychology major.

The thoughts of his friends made him smile, as they always did. Briefly Zach wondered what Nick was doing right now, and how Gary was probably being bored out of his mind and he worried about whether Mike had been climbing things again, now that summer was here and there was no one to watch him. Or watch out for him.

Walking past an overgrown patch of marigolds, Zach wryly smiled to himself.

If it came to the worst, he could always count on Nick to side with him next year in getting Mike off of the roof of their apartment.

Summer was the sun and the sky and the empty streets at high noon where people had better things to do than go wandering around, looking at the sun and sky. Mike suspected that he had better things to do too, but could not find it in himself to care.

There was something pleasant about the blankness of everything. His father had gone off on a business trip again two days after school ended, and his father’s wife had had the sense to not try to keep him company in their house. All this, in turn, meant an empty house and a dog who was too content to lie in the shade than to follow its eccentric master into the midday heat, who looked content enough so that Mike knew he would feel eternally guilty if he disturbed that picture of doggy contentment.

So it was him and the pavement, stretching past the suburban blocks in every direction. It was scuffled shoes with canine-tooth-marked laces and sunglasses that kept his thoughts to himself, fragments that finally drifted into the blankness. There was the run-down fence six blocks away that he had passed far too many times, with an abandoned bike, rusting, still chained to one end of it. Further along someone was cooking lunch, the smell of which made Mike wonder when he had last ate before he shrugged and gave up. It was usually easier that way.

Another two blocks later, he took out his cellphone and checked the time. It was some time past twelve. Some time. Enough. He turned around and began to make his way back, the rubber soles of his converse dragging slightly on the ground, counting the cracks on the ancient cement.

He had to be home by one.

Well, he didn’t have to. He should be online by one. They had worked out all the time differences just before summer started, and he’d rechecked the math when they left and they had agreed that whenever possible at that hour each day, one PM for Mike Reynolds away in Minnesota, they would meet online. And hang out. Which, depending on the day, usually included some sort of random conversation and too much laughter about things that, in Mike’s opinion, shouldn’t be that funny in the first place. It was ridiculous. He blamed his friends.

Two blocks away. He checked the time again. It was twelve fifty.

Mike grinned and, ignoring the heat from the sun and the emptiness of the streets, sprinted the last two blocks home.

July: Belated post #1

The first time Zach visited Gary was when his friend was at his first in-between-trips week. He mostly stayed where he was left in the house because he knew he would get lost if he as much as thought about wandering. The second time was better. He almost had an idea of which direction he was going. Almost.

Zach pulled open a door that, if favored by luck and the sense that North was still somewhere to the right of him, should lead to the family room, and found himself staring into a closet. It was a very large closet.

He blushed, feeling stupid.

“It’s okay,” Gary said consolingly, steering him in the right direction. “Everyone gets lost their first few times ‘round here. Dad even considered gettin’ one of those handheld GPS watchamacallit things, as a joke, sort of. And then Mrs. Jameson reminded him that he doesn’t stay long enough here t’have guests often. And that when he does it’s usually a whole bunch of people so one of those things’ not gonna help anyways.”

Zach remembered Mrs. Jameson from the last visit. The woman was in her fifties, matronly, and rather intimidating. When she brought up a tray of snacks he received the impression that not eating would be considered nothing short of a misdemeanor in which either force-feeding or lawyers would be involved. Or both. When he tried to explain this to Gary his friend had laughed and replied well, you’re too thin anyways, here, have a cookie.

So Zach thoughtfully munched on a biscuit and reflected that being the son of a popular anchorman must mean that one was not easily intimidated. Even by a woman whose voice sounded like the impersonation of Judgment Day when the Judge was feeling particularly martinet-y. He nearly choked when his eyes caught the sight of a security camera mounted discretely in a corner.

If he was inclined toward paranoia, now would be the time for the symptoms to start manifesting themselves.

“Oh don’t worry ‘bout that thing. It’s not even hooked up.” Gary said carelessly as he swiped a few more biscuits from the tray. “This used to be a meeting-room-place, you know.”

“Okay,” said Zach. He almost asked why the camera was left up then, if no one was to use it. Then he considered that maybe Mr. Smith, as an anchorman, liked the subconscious feel of a camera trained on him even when he was at home. That was certainly a reasonable hypothesis, even if he found it hard to relate to because personally, that camera was creeping him out.

Gary concluded that Zach might be camera-shy. Well that wasn’t too surprising. As far as he knew the only reason Zach ever sat in the front of the lecture halls was to take advantage of the hearing aid system. He did wish Zach would quit glancing at the corner. It was making him twitchy.

He cleared the tray of the rest of its load and tried to think of something to do that would take them away from this room. General Site of Twitchiness Number One.

“I know!” He said brightly. Zach looked at him warily. “Let’s call Mike and Nick! We’ve got one of those multi-way calling systems.”

“Er,” said Zach. “We just talked with both of them online. Less than an hour ago.”

“Oh com’on.” Zach gave him a look. He tried a different tactic. “I’m leaving in two more days and you might not get to play with fancy phone system-things again.” His friend raised an eyebrow. “Well, for another week ‘n half, at least,” Gary amended.

“I stand corrected,” muttered Zach, but got to his feet. He gave Gary a sideways glance. “Did I ever tell you that you’d make a really bad salesman?”

“Yeah, yeah.” He directed them down the hallway. “You ‘n everyone else.” He grinned. “Good thing I’m not becomin’ one then, huh?”

“Very,” said Zach dryly. “What time is it in France right now?”

“Dunno.” Gary cheerfully consulted the phone’s built-in address book. “Let’s call Mike first an’ he can figure it out for us.”

Zach gazed at him without much hope. “I meant—” he started to protest.

“Hey,” said Mike, from the other end of the phone.

“Is Nick still awake?” asked Zach.

There was a pause.

“Um…he should be?” Gary could almost imagine Mike regarding his phone with raised eyebrows. At least Minnesota was still in America and no one needed to be woken up at two in the morning by a mistimed phone call. “Zach…is that you?”

“Think so.” Gary grinned. “Hold on a sec.” He started to call Nick.

“Gary?” said Mike.

“This is neither the time,” said Zach, “nor the place to have an identity crises. Though it would be fitting.”

“Hello?” Inquired Gary, as soon as someone picked up the phone.

“Nicki!” screeched a little girl’s voice, and the phone was dropped, from the sound of it, onto a table. Zach cringed.

“Wow,” said Mike. After a moment he added, “Ow. My ear.”

“Oui?” said Nick.

“Bonjour,” Gary saluted him.

“ ‘Nicki?’” Mike’s voice suggested that a smirk was involved somewhere.

“Say ‘hi’ to your sister for us, afterwards,” Zach said faintly.

“Are you guys all together?” Nick asked.

“No,” said Mike. “At least I’m not.”

“It’s just me ‘n Zach,” confirmed Gary.

“Yes,” said Zach. “Hi.”

“Hey.”

“Hello.”

Gary waved at him. There was another brief pause.

“Anyways,” said Mike. “So, about those flying pigs.”

“Wait. What?”

“Huh?”

“Something about pigs that fly?”

“Like, you know.”

“What?”

“I’m so lost. So lost.”

“What?”

“Huh?”

“What?”

“What?”

Gary hooted with laughter. “This is why we should always have lots of people on the phone at the time.”

“Um. What?” asked Nick.

“So we can spend five minutes to every one minute of conversation, trying to figure out what everyone’s talking about?” Zach asked uncertainly.

“Exactly,” said Gary.

“ ‘course,” said Mike. “What did you think?”

Happy birthday, Susan!

Yay for you!
That's all I have to say here xD
Sent you an email, hope you're well! Haven't heard from you in a while, but judging by your blog you're still alive!

I'm posting!!

Don't worry, Lusine. It's freakishly hot here too.

You guys have probably already seen at least one of these, but here is "How to Keep Cool" brought to you by Isis.

Blarghlotstodookaybye.

psh

I'm all the way here, and still it's only Susan and I making post. Y'all should be ashaaamed, ashaaaamed!

Anyway, Anna, it says your LJ is deleted and there's a 30day period to undelete it. Did you delete it? If not just fyi, maybe you want to pointlessly keep it some more ;)

I'm doing well! We've been going out into the center of the city more, where it's really nice and innovated (regarding structures, outdoor cafest and such). Life goes on in the city till way past midnight. It was like Las Vegas deja vu. And it's not just young people hanging in clubs, there's families with kids of all ages just walking around, sitting in cafes. It's pretty cool. But most of the evenings I'm out in the yard with people from our building. We play volleyball at like midnight! Only one neighbor complains, but he's unanimously disliked, so it's ok. *cough*

I have only three complains: too hot, too bored (ie no internet), and no comfortable sleep. Only one bed is comfortable enough (it's the one in my room, conveniently) but that's also the room that's the most stuffy and hot at night. So even though I do get sleep, I wake up a lot in the middle of the night and it's overall blah. I miss my bed. *sniff*

Ohoh, last thing. A couple days back a girl was kidnapped from a neighboring building! As in, when a boyfriend kidnaps his gf to marry her. Which nobody does anymore, so we were all wtf?! I thought they staged it for fun, but seems like it wasn't so. The girl's brother and father found her and brought her back the same day. I still don't know the details, but it seems she had a fight with the bf and he decided to act macho. It was sorta exciting, but I missed the kidnapping.

Ok, byebye.

psh

I'm all the way here, and still it's only Susan and I making post. Y'all should be ashaaamed, ashaaaamed!

Anyway, Anna, it says your LJ is deleted and there's a 30day period to undelete it. Did you delete it? If not just fyi, maybe you want to pointlessly keep it some more ;)

I'm doing well! We've been going out into the center of the city more, where it's really nice and innovated (regarding structures, outdoor cafest and such). Life goes on in the city till way past midnight. It was like Las Vegas deja vu. And it's not just young people hanging in clubs, there's families with kids of all ages just walking around, sitting in cafes. It's pretty cool. But most of the evenings I'm out in the yard with people from our building. We play volleyball at like midnight! Only one neighbor complains, but he's unanimously disliked, so it's ok. *cough*

I have only three complains: too hot, too bored (ie no internet), and no comfortable sleep. Only one bed is comfortable enough (it's the one in my room, conveniently) but that's also the room that's the most stuffy and hot at night. So even though I do get sleep, I wake up a lot in the middle of the night and it's overall blah. I miss my bed. *sniff*

Ohoh, last thing. A couple days back a girl was kidnapped from a neighboring building! As in, when a boyfriend kidnaps his gf to marry her. Which nobody does anymore, so we were all wtf?! I thought they staged it for fun, but seems like it wasn't so. The girl's brother and father found her and brought her back the same day. I still don't know the details, but it seems she had a fight with the bf and he decided to act macho. It was sorta exciting, but I missed the kidnapping.

Ok, byebye.

July: Emails

FROM: nlucille0511@hotmail.com
TO: f15jetboy@gmail.com, veritas42@yahoo.com, gary_s2005@gmail.com

Remember what I last wrote about my parents? They're asking again. This time about furniture, bcause it will be uneasy for me to bring my things from Valence. I THINK I can get a few things from my uncle (like bed and such). So does anyone have any idea? Mail me back and let em know!

-Nick



FROM: veritas42@yahoo.com
TO: nlucille0511@hotmail.com
CC: f15jetboy@gmail.com, gary_s2005@gmail.com

Gary and I have already talked it over earlier. We can bring most of the furnishing for our flat. (Well, to be honest it's mostly going to be Gary out of the two of us who'll be supplying most of the stuff.) No need to worry mate, I'm sure we'll figure something out even if you showed up bringing nothing but yourself, come August.

P.S. I stand corrected: bring yourself AND your identification papers. Nothing we can do if you forgot THOSE.



FROM: nlucille0511@hotmail.com
TO: veritas42@yahoo.com

'kay thanks. And I won't forget. :-)

-Nick


FROM: f15jetboy@gmail.com
TO: nlucille0511@hotmail.com

well i'm at minnesota, so it won't be exactly convenient for me either. but i think my dad wants to come along too this time (god knows why) and so i'll probably end up buying the beds and things there.

anyway, i'm still trying to see if i can get fluffy over too since my dad's you know, and it's not like he'll be home often. someone'll need to take care of fluffy, and i don't trust the neighbors. lisa (that's my dad's wife) has stopped liking fluffy ever since her sixy-something dollar shoes got...a bit nibbled on. i mean it's not like it's fluffy's fault. MY shoes are never chewed on. my dog only destroy things it doesn't like so it's not fluffy's fault. she shouldn't have left her shoes lying around like that anyway. i mean, sixty bucks on shoes? what's it with women?

right. anyways. no worries about the furniture. like zach said, it'll all get sorted out. and it's only july. besides, it'll be better if you didn't bring your stuff. they're probably ugly anyways.



FROM: gary_s2005@gmail.com
TO: nlucille0511@hotmail.com

sorry!!1 i saw ur email & kept on 4gettin 2 write back. yeah me n zacn'll bring mst of the stuff. mrs. jameson's put together a entire list of things i'm hauling with sofa n tables nthings. i mean i'm bringthem them 4 sho, so we might as well use them, rite?

think i'm bringthing this plasma screen tv that i have. it's 1 of the li'l older models but it comes w/ the vcr n stuff. anyway. chill. we've stillgot > 1 month left, don't we?


FROM: nlucille0511@hotmail.com
TO: f15jetboy@gmail.com

It's not ME that's worrying, it's my PARENTS. You know how they can get... a bit, you know, enèrgique when it comes to thse sorts of things. well, it's mostly my mother who's etre obsédé par qch the apartment, especially since she won't be able to see it most likely. But as she puts it, "Je ne suis pas obsédé, juste passionné." And then she'll add, "Et Français," and then my father'll look at her and I'd feel like I should go outside and take a walk or something.

And..um, hope that your dog likes me? Or at least it's only shoes that it eat and not people as well. :-p

Right, talke to you online later!

June: Pictures

As promised:




Move-out day pics!

June: Bon voyage

[There are a few sketches I'll upload later, that can go along with this. In any case, to those of you who are flying/planning to fly this summer: *grin* have fun.

I.e. Bring a cell phone. *cough*]

The airport closest to the school was a sprawling monstrosity of chrome and glass—or, in other words, an international airport. Gary thought that he rather liked it. For one thing, it was large, new, and very shiny. It also made his trip to the airport a lot more interesting than it would’ve been had the airport been, say, one of those old dingy places that only hosted a few airlines that no one had ever heard of.

“Thank you, sir, for the, um, ride,” said Nick to the chauffeur. For the fifth time.

“You are welcome sir,” replied the driver gravely, also for the fifth time. Gary snickered. The exchange of politeness was beginning to resemble a ping-pong match.

“It means a lot to me,” Nick tried to explain to Gary, yet again. “The school ended in the middle of the week. It was already hard enough for my uncle to come and pick me up and—”

Gary turned around in his seat and stared at Nick, who babbled on in his own mortification. “Okay Nick? You need to calm down.”

“But I—”

“Chill.” Said Gary in what he hoped was a commanding tone. He thought for a moment, then reached back and proffered the bag of chips that he had been munching on. “Food?”

Quite frankly Gary thought that Mike, dozing off on the seat next to Nick, had the right idea. Sleep was a bit like money—you try to get as much of it as you can, whenever you can.

“Food?” Gary’s voice asked. The question was followed by the sound of plastic crinkling. Mike didn’t need to open his eyes to know that Gary had turned around and was offering Nick his bag of chips. He restrained a snort with difficulty. Someday this particular friend of his was going to have to learn that food was not the ultimate cure for everything.

Just like how Gary had learned that money was not the source of ultimate happiness.

Mike had been particularly pleased when his friend learned that lesson. It had smoothed out a few points of disagreements and made getting along a whole lot easier.

The next time he woke up was when the car was turning and his head had bumped against the window glass. There was sunlight behind his eyelids, beeping sounds in his ears, and a truly awful crick in his neck.

“What did I do?” Nick sounded utterly bewildered.

“You accidentally exited the game,” Gary explained. “I think. Which button did you press?”

“That one, I think.”

A long pause.

“How was I supposed to know which button to press?” Nick wailed. “There’re so many of them!”

“It’s not that bad…right?” Gary sounded confused as well. “I mean, it’s only a cell phone.”

That would explain the beeping noise.

“A cell phone has many buttons, oui?” Nick insisted.

Someone made a sound like a strangled laugh. Mike thought it was the driver. The car turned again, and Mike, keeping his head rested against the glass, drifted back to sleep.

After all, it had been a long night after a long week, and what else were long car trips for?

Nick and Mike stared up at the airplane climbing its way towards the stratosphere. The weather was lovely, but the environment—that of a busy airport full of arriving and departing people—ruined the circumstance.

“There goes Gary,” said Nick, feeling like he should say something, even though there was not much to say.

“I wanna go to New York,” said Mike. He thought about it. “Well, not really.” He sighed. “Com’on, let’s go.”

It was unfair, thought Nick, that his flight leaves last, though he supposed that someone would have to be last. That was the downside to leaving with your friends. When there were more than one people, there had to be someone left by himself at the end.

One to New York City in New York, heart of the media world, one to St. Paul, Minnesota, and one to Paris, France. Marveling at the distance between each of the places, Nick found himself thinking about his friends. His. Friends. In America. He grinned. Three in one year—not bad.

Mike, sauntering alongside of him, gave him a sideways glance. “What’re you grinnin’ at?”

“America is really weird,” said Nick, and tried not to laugh at the expression on his friend’s face.

Mike grumbled something under his breath before glancing at him again. Nick caught the words “Europe and “foreign policy.”

“What?” He asked, confused.

“Never mind,” Mike finally decided, magnanimously, “You won’t get it.”

Well, if it had to do with the American culture….

Nick eyed the t-shirt that Mike was wearing. It was dark blue and had bunnies on it. “You’re right, I wouldn’t.”

It was definitely a downside that no one really thought about, much less him. The fact that he had arrived at the airport with two friends made the silence after they had left that much worse.

Nick sighed and sat down in a plastic chair by the window, staring up at yet another airplane, growing steadily smaller. Soon it would be just another silver speck lost in the sky. He checked his watch. Another hour and a half to go before his flight.

He drummed his fingers against the edge of the seat for a while, then checked his watch again.

A minute had never felt so long.

Five minutes before boarding, Nick wondered what his friends were doing. Zach would be home now, and Gary would be getting close to where he was to meet his father. Mike would still have quite a few miles to go, though no where near as many miles as he did.

A toddler wandering by stared up at him with large, dark eyes. He smiled at her. She giggled and ran back to wherever she’d come from. Nick straightened his shirt cuffs and tried not to sigh. Ninety minutes was a long time. It made him realize that his cell phone did not have nearly enough games on it, even if it had fewer strange buttons than Gary’s cell phone.

And so, a few minutes later, when the intercom announced the beginning of the boarding process, Nick muttered a relieved “Finalement!” and hurried into line.

Hours later, Nick woke up with his head pressed against the small airplane window to the sound of a fat man snoring on the other side of his seat and smiled to think that he was going home.

the little things

Goodness, I was feeling really nervous this evening. Not at all like someone who's gone through this sort of long-duration-plane-transfer flight 4 times already. Maybe it's cause dad's not coming with us. I dunno.

But you know what unexpected thing suddenly pushed away all nervouseness and made me smile?

We have pre-assigned seating, and when I looked at the row number for the first time today, it said "42".

(:

2 things

Joyous news! Victoria still reads this blog as well! So that's 5 of us Lunatics: Kate, Susan, Anna, Victoria, and me (and I? meh). The Lunacy lives on. What I wonder sometimes though is if any random Internet people wonder over here somehow. I always think of these posts as only us being able to read them because officially nobody else knows about this blog. But it's still public.

Anyway, the other thing: Forgot to say that I have named my new computer Albus. May it be as wise and long-living as its name suggests ;)

The last thing: If you need to contact me for whatever reason try to do so before June 19, please.

Hm, that makes 3 things. I was never good at this forward-counting thing. Gypsy skills don't extend to such petty matters as mathematics.

world, i love you too

Are finals over? Let me ask my right hand that died on me during the final and went to sleep and hurt at the same time. BUT IT'S OK.

Because my shiny Dell laptop was finally delivered, AND the awesome Bon Jovi shirt Kate got me was waiting for me on my desk :D :D :D AND I know Susan has a digital present for me waiting. *hugs the world and forgets all the Econ-related headache she had yesterday*

I SHOULD BE GRINNING LIKE AN IDIOT IN THIS PHOTO. I'm sure you can imagine it.



IT MAKES ME LOOK MUCH COOLER THAN I REALLY AM.

Whee.

there will be time..

there just isn't time NOW.

ASDFJKL;

Graduation '06

I made a post on this day last year, so why not this too?
Though I wasn't there (*tear*), I do magically (*cough*) have a picture of Kate in cap&gown. Horray ^^.


Please ignore the caption and the date.
>.>



(:

wheee

[EDIT]
Link #2 http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/comic.php?d=20060513
I'm putting it here 'cause it's also computer-related.
You need to have seen the new Mac/PC commercials to get it. Or get it fully.

---
http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/video/wheee
xD

Well...

It took all of my first year at college, but I finally went out with a bunch of people late in the evening on a weekday and didn't get home until 1am. Woot?

It was a crazy night full of drinks, music, and insane people.

...

Ok so it was actually bowling, and a couple people maybe had one bottle of beer. And everyone was insane only in a good way :) And there indeed were music videos on large screens. They were playing Bon Jovi's "Have a Nice Day" when we stepped in :D

Oh yeah when I told them they could call me "Lucy", these two guys cracked up about how freshman year they were roommates and had a cardboard cutout of a monster from some movie as their third "roommate" that they nicknamed "Lucy". Lucy now resides in one of the guy's parent's garage. I feel so loved.

Ok sleep now because gotta wake up before 7am o.o

June: Winding down

[Someone needs to tell Nick to stop buying into Mike’s innocent looks because there are contemplations of mayhem behind that boyish grin and if he isn’t careful he’s liable to find all of his econ notes turned into paperchains of mobius strips.

And I also don’t know what a chipper Gary would sound like, but I tried. If he sounds like he’s high on something, blame the South Cal heat, which must surely be getting to him.

Posted today as will not have time to finish anything that's readable by the next two Fridays. ]

It began with boxes, and it was going to end with boxes.

“Zach? Zach? Are you—oof—oww—my god—sorry—you ‘kay?”

Zach looked up at Gary blearily from his new-found location. “I’ll live but I—it would’ve—couldn’t you have—knocked?”

“Knockin’s for sissies,” pronounced Gary, eyed one stack of boxes but eventually thought better of it and leaned against the wardrobe instead.

“And the sane, and all those who wish to avoid unnecessary injuries,” added Zach, removing a box of books from his knee, where it was gradually cutting off his circulation. He climbed gingerly to his feet.

Gary threw a careless arm around his shoulder. He was wearing his green contacts. “Zachary, you’ll never learn. We’re men, it’s our duty to go through life an’ accumulate injuries.”

“Until we die from an over-accumulation,” muttered Zach, looked around, sighed, and dumped his armload of books back onto the bed with the various other piles that he had hoped to sort out.

“And sanity—you of all people should know better than t’question sanity where the rest of us’re involved,” continued Gary, ignoring him. “I mean, com’on. A year. A freakin’ year an’ thank god it’s summer.”

“We’ve a few hours left yet!” Zach called after him, but Gary had already sauntered off, perhaps to pester someone else who actually needed to pack for themselves and not just sit back and let the hired help do the work. Though that was only part of it. Zach sighed. Most of it was euphoria, of the sort which took over boys on the last day of the school year and prompted them to do all sorts of ridiculous things such as throwing fruits on top of buildings or getting hideously drunk. He was lucky that all his friends did was neglect knocking and walk into things. It could’ve been so, so much worse.

He looked around the room.

Calling it ‘messy’ would’ve been an understatement. There was clearly a lot that still needed to be done.

“Gah,” said Zach.

Summer was here, blissful, blissful summer from which there was a complete and utter escape from all things academic and all sorts of responsibilities and no need to think about them for an entire two months. The person who’d coined the term ‘heaven on earth’, decided Gary, must’ve come up with the idea right after his term was over.

The weather outside was gorgeous in a way that prevented thinking, the heat rolling in golden waves underneath the bleached sky with a particular kind of lull that encouraged lying about until severe brain-melt—or at least sunburn—had been achieved. There were people out who were doing things other than that though—who had to do things other than that. Gary felt sorry for them—out of state students who had to get things done early to take the first plane out—not that he blamed them, because he was all sympathy with the need to get out of school. It was simply that he thought Nick’s arrangement of packing and an overnight stay at his uncle’s, so that he was leaving at the same time as the rest of his friends, was much nicer.

Something went “thwack” against his back.

Mike was wearing a sweatshirt.

That was the thing about Mike, Gary thought. That was the thing that he seldom was—or did—what was expected of him. You’d think that growing up at somewhere where it went twenty below or whatever it was every winter would mean that he’d have a natural intolerance for heat. Then summer came around and you realized that was not the case, and that Mike seemed to have an uncanny tolerance for temperature change, period. Gary had never seen him wear anything other than two sweatshirts on top of each other for warmth in the winter and he could count on one hand how many times he’d seen him without a sweatshirt—and still have plenty of fingers left. It was a little weird, to be honest, but it also could just mean that Mike was incredibly good at thermoregulation or that he was, as Nick had suggested, an alien from some other galaxy who was planning to take over the world.

“What’re you grinnin’ at?” Mike asked suspiciously.

“Um. Nothing,” said Gary, and strove for an innocent expression. Mike looked even more suspicious.

“The innocent look thing,” said Mike, “so isn’t workin. It only works when I do it.”

“It never works with Zach,” Gary felt obliged to point out, “even when you do it. An’ especially when you do it.”

Mike twitched his shoulder. “Oh well. That’s Zach, you know. He’s sorta paranoid. Ish. Anyway—it always works with Nick.”

Getting out of his room had been a good move. It had not been a good move as far as packing went, and it was definitely not a good move in as far as anything vaguely related to efficiency was concerned. However, it did allow him to procrastinate without being made guilty by the reminders all around the room and therefore, as far as Nick was concerned, getting out of the room had been a good move.

Two minutes later he encountered his friends. Yes, getting out had definitely been a good move.

“Did someone say my name?” He asked, by a way of jumping into the conversation.

Mike looked at him. “You know, of all the lines you could’ve picked up from the American culture, somehow you always managed to pick the cheesiest ones.”

“It’s not cheesy,” said Nick, indignant. “It’s classic.”

“No,” said Mike, firmly, “it’s cheesy, there’s a difference.”

“Yeah, one of them could be used t’describe food,” said Gary with a grin, upon which Mike smacked him over the top of his head. “Hey!”

“Anyway,” continued Mike, rolling his eyes. “You done with packin’ already?”

Nick briefly entertained the possibility that maybe getting out of his room had not been as good of a move as he’d thought. He tried to not look too guilty.

“Don’t worry,” Gary chimed in cheerfully, “He’s not done either.”

“Gee thanks, Gary,” said Mike sarcastically, quirking an eyebrow as an indication that he was somewhere between amused and annoyed.

“Yeah, thanks,” said Nick, and meant it.

So getting out was a good move.

[And yes, Lucy, that certain part with Gary was meant to be funny. It was based on something I heard a guy say, and I thought it'd be appropriate.]

music

Huh, have you guys seen this before?
http://www.pandora.com/
You tell it what kind of music you like, and it suggests songs of similar style. Can't say it's done wonders for me so far, but could be interesting.

p.s. Speaking of music.. my 65+ old art history professor started singing "Starry Night"in lecture. Admittedly we were looking at Van Gogh's painting, but he started singnig it pretty much randomely. And kept going and going and sang the whole thing. He's such a lovable old man <3. Except when he talks about boring stuff and we fall asleep.

For they could not love you
But still your love was true
And when no hope was left inside
On that starry, starry night
You took your life as lovers often do
But I could have told you Vincent
This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you.

May 31, 2001

May 31, 2006.

5 years in America and counting. Lets see what happens next, eh?

May: Birthday, part III

[So apparently the music I listen to when I'm drafting a story in my head will affect the outcome of the story, and certain songs, such as Better Than Ezra's "Breathless" will result in happy fluffy things, despite of the chem class that immediately followed.

Sappy material included. You stand warned. Sorry Lucy, you'd had to suffer without the warning.

Oh and apparently Mike giggles like Jon Steward. I have no idea what that sounds like but will file it away for future references. ]

“…aaaaannnnnnnnd this one’s from me,” announced Mike happily, plunking a package in front of Nick with an expression that, he hoped, encouraged Nick to open the bag immediately. He was excited, almost in spite of himself, and as a result had very little patience for sentimentality which he suspected Nick was very close to.

“I have,” Nick said, after a moment of pause, “never owned an American video game before. Mike, is this the one…?” From that day when we went to the mall. About a week ago. And we stood around and goggled at things in that store and you made fun of my shirt for two hours straight? His expression finished for him. Mike grinned.

“Yep. Doyoulikeit?” They’d already consumed half of the candy, and had not even touched the cake yet. Mike was curious to what sort of thing that much sugar would do to him, at the end of the day. Sugar crash would probably be hell, but he didn’t really care at the moment.

“Of course.” Nick smiled and ruffled his hair. Mike stared at him.

“ ‘Of course?’” He said, feeling amused and slightly disappointed at the same time. “That’s it?”

“We-ell,” said Nick. He stretched and grinned at Mike. “If we’re in France I’d be hugging everyone right now, but that’s not the custom here, quel dommage. Americans, you know. Strange.”

“Pas vraiment. French people are freakier,” muttered Mike, horrified, and edged away from Nick. He wondered if cultural habits could be contagious. They’d better not be. He also wondered if he was doing something strange as a result of the sugar, like bouncing, which Zach had once informed him that he did when he got too excited. Or high on sugar. Or both.

“Ah the great cultural diversities,” murmured Zach, edging, in turn, away from Mike. Mike decided he might be bouncing. Just a little. “Alright, Gary, let’s see.” Zach continued, looking steadily to the opposite side of Mike.

Mike snorted softly to himself, but craned his neck to see what Gary was taking out of his backpack. Unlike the rest of them, Gary, who had never as much as set a password on his computer, had decided to be secretive out of nowhere and refused to tell them what he’d gotten Nick. And as much as Mike hated to admit it, he was intensely curious. Gary had been wearing the particular expression that was usually granted to someone when they had something big that they were about to let out of the bag. Like a metaphorical t-rex as opposed to, Mike supposed, the normal feline.

Zippers. Zippers. Backpack rustling. Mike wished his friend would hurry up. Finally, Gary did turn around and Mike’s eyes immediately fell from Gary’s excitedly nervous face to the…

“It’s a manilla envelope,” said Zach, sounding like what Mike felt which was, roughly, the equivalent of someone putting one and one together and incidentally realizing that the result was not equal to two.

It was, indeed, a manilla envelope, yellow and rectangular and otherwise unremarkable. It was hard not to stare at it. Hard not to wonder what the hell Gary was up to. It was entirely unfunny and therefore gave Mike an irrational urge to giggle. Which he strangled before it ever got past his throat. Michael Reynolds did not giggle. Ever.

Nick opened the envelope, smiling uncertainly, and pulled out papers. A packet, to be exact, stapled together neatly and with things printed on it. Mike peered over Nick’s shoulder, trying to read it. There were many fine prints and quite a few lines that looked like they were waiting for signatures, but the first word that caught his eye was the word “LEASE”. He stared at the paper, then at Gary.

“…Gary?” said Nick, sounding baffled.

Gary looked nervous. “Alright, so remember that apartment we looked at—the one with the four bedrooms, that we really liked, but we had a talk and decided that—that—you know, student budget and all, right?”

“Uh-huh,” said Zach slowly, dubiously.

“Well,” he beamed at them, albeit nervously. “I’ve mentioned it. With my dad I mean. And he’s goin’ to pay the difference between that rent and the rent we can afford. Er. Well, I mean what we’re expectin’ to pay at the other place that we decided that we’re probably goin’ to live at?”

“This’s the lease?” asked Nick.

“He agreed already?” asked Mike.

“What?” asked Zach.

“Yeah,” said Gary.

“Oh my god,” said Nick, for the uncounted number of time within the past hour.

Mike gave the thought approximately five second to process itself before he jumped up. “Yes! Oh my god.” This was definitely not sugar. Or maybe it still was, but it was also himself too. Or something. Whatever. “This is awesome! Hee!”

“Naugh!” commented Gary, who was pulled into a hug by Nick who looked as if someone had just whacked him on the back of the head with a dictionary and was unaccountably happy about it. .

“Nick,” said Zach, sounding dazed, “Nick, I think you’re strangling Gary.”

“Yemgh,” agreed Gary, upon which he was immediately released, a little breathless but laughing nevertheless. “So ‘m guessin’ you like it?”

“Oh. My. God,” repeated Nick, beaming. “Mon dieu.”

“Are you f--” Mike glanced at Zach. “—freakin’ kiddin’ me?” He paused, smiling helplessly, and added, “Wow. Nice present.”

Gary looked at Zach.

“I…um…” Zach rubbed at the bridge of his nose, a sure sign that, Mike knew, meant that he was at a loss. “This is…I mean…it’s…I’m….”

“He doesn’t know what to say,” said Nick, amazed.

“You’re not ‘xactly eloquent either,” pointed out Mike. Nick laughed. It was more of a giggle, really, which promptly set Mike off too. Soon they were all laughing at things no one really knew about and Mike reflected that if they treasured their sanity, they should avoid the cake and the rest of the sugary goods but who cared—sanity was boring. He took a deep breath.

“Right.” He gasped, gave them all a few moments to collect themselves. Themselves, meaning the three of them with Zach regarding them as if they’d all gone insane which, Mike supposed, they had. Not that he cared. Right. “Food. Sugar. Food. Cake? Cake, anyone? You’re cuttin’ it? Oh god I can’t watch.” To make good of his words, he turned around to face the other way, covering his eyes as he did so.

‘It is,” Zach reminded him from somewhere across the table, “his cake.”

“Yeah but he’s horrible with a knife. Violin? Sure. Knife? Noooo.”

“Cancel his future career as an assassin then,” replied Gary, and poked Mike in the back with something. Or at least Mike thought it was Gary, but he couldn’t see, as that his eyes were closed. “Hear that, Nick? Do not become an assassin.”

“What’s an ‘assassin’?” asked Nick.

“Cake, Mike?” asked Zach.

“Is he done yet?” Mike asked in response.

“Cake?” repeated Zach, sounding amused and faintly exasperated.

Mike sighed, gave in, and opened his eyes to accept the paper plate of cake with a fork stuck on top, a wobbling flag pole to salute the events of the day. There was, after all, no way anyone could say no to cake.

“And Mike… did I hear you say ‘hee’, a while back?”

“Cake,” said Mike, and dug in.

He hadn’t expected a lot from his birthday this year, with his family and almost all of his relatives across the ocean and everyone else he knew in France. There must have been some sort of foreboding, something that he didn’t want to think about, that he had pushed below his awareness. Birthdays were always a family event, growing up, with the entire family and a goodly portion of the relatives assembled to celebrate the passage of another year. Even if it wasn’t wholly enjoyable past a certain age, it was a tradition, and there was comfort in the known and the familiar.

Nick didn’t know what he had in mind for his birthday this year, exactly, or what he was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t this.

Who knew, he thought, taking another bite of the cake and watching Gary insert yet another DVD into the player. Really, who knew what he would find here, so far from home?

So despite of being away from his family, despite of it being the first birthday away from home, and despite of being in a foreign country in a school where the midterms were always so inconveniently scheduled, Nick was content. Watching another wad of streamer sail over his head as Mike took aim for the trashcan, Nick licked the chocolate frosting off of the back of his spoon and smiled.

It had been, after all, a happy birthday.