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August has begun, and I have $15 in Borders Bucks (thanks to a survey website that remarkably isn't a hoax) to spend. In the past, I had little trouble saying goodbye to my bonus, but when I stopped by the nearest Borders in July to check things out (haven't been there in a long time), I realized that there was a whole lot I was interested in that they weren't carrying/didn't have in stock. Many titles are "online only." Sigh. I have no experience with Borders' online store, so if anyone has used it, your feedback would be much appreciated.
Books I'm considering:
-Suppli 1-3 (online)
-Jyu-Oh-Sei 1-3 (online)
-Night World omnibus (in store)
-Castle of Dreams (online?)
-Twelve Kingdoms 3: Vast Spread of the Skies (online)
-various other random in store stuff (like Mushishi, which I'm kind of interested in, but have not begun reading/purchasing, and whatever's on the bargain shelf)
Gaaah, such a tough decision. Most of the stuff I'm interested in is online, but if I go the online route, I have to deal with shipping. I really hate paying shipping, so I might try reaching the $25 threshold. The Borders site says I can also get free shipping to a store -- does anyone have experience with this option? Does it still work with "online only" items? Anyone know if Borders charges tax online?
As for the actual options ... Twelve Kingdoms 3 is definitely up at the top since it seems to be unavailable elsewhere (I wonder if they did a smaller print run this time?), but that fact makes me wonder if Borders would really be able to get a copy to me or if I'd get a "Sorry, we can't fulfill your order" message (thus screwing up my order). Suppli is on my mind because I've been watching (and really enjoying) the dorama version. I'm not sure how the manga compares, but I've read some other stuff by the manga-ka that I also enjoyed. However, the fourth volume's status is uncertain at the moment (thanks, Tokyopop). Castle of Dreams is an anthology by Masami Tsuda, the manga-ka of Kare Kano -- one of my favorite shoujo manga. Jyu-Oh-Sei is a manga I've wanted to read ever since I saw the anime; I enjoyed that version for the most part, other than the ending, and I heard that the manga's ending wasn't so rushed as the anime's. The Night World omnibus (specifically the third one) is also an option since I know it's available in store, and it includes two of the three Night World books that I don't have yet (Black Dawn, Witchlight). Of course, since I only need three more to have the complete series, it is kind of tempting to just continue looking for the original versions of the remaining three -- but it would probably cost a bit more. Hum.
Maa ne. The idea of just going into the store and picking up something random that I don't know much about is also tempting. (I rarely buy things on impulse anymore, so it's kind of fun to indulge.) But since I have a number of books that I definitely want that I know won't be in store ...
Anyway.
In the time since my last update --
I hung out with Jen-chan before she left for Japan. We finished up Gurren Lagann (MANLY TEARS!! Seriously, this show is soooo epic), watched a bit more of Clannad (again reminding me of how much I dislike Fuuko's arc -- gah, why is it the first arc? Things get so much better after her and Kotomi are shoved into the background, IMO), and, since it had just come in the mail that day, watched Interstella 5555.
Interstella 5555 is a collaboration between Daft Punk (amazing techno group) and Leiji Matsumoto (Japanese animator) that pairs the music of the album "Discovery" with the story of an alien band who is kidnapped and brought to earth. It's kind of a giant music video. Or maybe an anime with a great soundtrack? In any case, it's a story told with visuals and music (no dialogue). I'd been wanting to watch it ever since they showed the first four songs/music videos/segments on Toonami, um, many years back. It's pretty sad that it took me this long to pick up the DVD (I've been listening to the cd for years too ...), but the Deep Discount sale gave me that opportunity. It wasn't quite all I hoped and dreamed it would be (the first four segments are probably still my favorite), but it was fun to watch, and of course the music was good.
I hung out with Aya a few times, and we (well, I) played some more Tales of Vesperia. My love for Yuri ever grows ... even if he kills people o.o (or at least, is responsible for their deaths). The overall plot is still a bit ... vague ... but I think the themes are presented quite well (class struggles, true justice, etc.)
I hung out with my friends from high school (I should have a set acronym -- FFHS) a few times. We attempted to go to a musical called Sweet Charity (had never heard of it before; the synopsis makes me wonder why exactly it was chosen) in a local park on Thursday. Things were fine, until it started raining. Oh, well. We retreated and then watched Slumdog Millionaire, which was an OK movie. (Only "OK" because the main actor looked befuddled 90 percent of the time and a good chunk of the plot concerned one of those "destined" romances where the two characters don't really know each other that well but go through everything to find each other.)
I had a day back at work. Yup. At the behest of my mother, I contacted the supervisor at my part time job of summers past. She had hours for me (was actually quite glad to give me hours -- said, "You might be saving my life"), so I'm an on-call circulation clerk at the local library once more. Yay.
On the one hand, I'm very thankful to have a job (even if I only get no more than 15 hours a week) and that they took me back and that no one can rag on me anymore for not going back at the start of the summer.
But. This isn't where I want to be.
I know it's my own fault; I know I haven't done a fraction of the job hunting that I should have done at this point. But this is my personal soapbox, and I think complaining might make me feel better, so dagnabit, I'm going to complain: This feels like giving up. I hate that. I didn't ever want to go back; I told myself I wouldn't, and now I have.
I was so worried about it too. Yesterday was my first day back, and I lay awake most of Friday night/Sat. morning just ... worrying. Stupidly, because there were no major problems and no one said anything too biting (only, "So, where have you been all summer?"; but I think I'm going to get it from the snappy reference librarian who hates everyone). And really, it's not like the job is that *hard* -- it's just ... stressful. To me, anyway. I hate dealing with people. I hate dealing with their displeasure over things that are their own fault. (I know, I know, what job possibilities are there for someone like me?) But I'm not the sort of person who meets anger with anger (at least, not at work); instead I sort of curl up and die mentally, thus becoming useless, while trying to be polite on the surface. And then I stress about it later. I'm too much the worrywart.
Really now, the worst they can do is fire you.
Actually, the worst they can do is yell at me. Swear. Complain. I've never felt in any danger of being fired; I have been cursed at.
Anyway ... I have work again tomorrow. And the next day. And the next. Then I'm off until who knows when. I wonder if I could really survive working full time ...
Life just seems so frustrating lately. I don't think I've ever felt more useless in my life than I've felt these last few months. It sucks to be a NEET.
I've had to get a lot of work done on my teeth lately too, which only adds to the frustration. I know dental work is expensive, and after this month, I'll no longer be on my parents' insurance. I wonder what makes my teeth so bad -- do I really eat more sweets or brush less than others? I thought I'd been doing well since my root canal my senior year of high school, but apparently not. (Well, unless we blame the cavities on my former dentist -- a number of them are underneath existing fillings, which is not something that should be happening.) So, now I'm cutting back severely on my pop intake and upping my water intake. Drinking more water is something I've meant to do for ages. Cutting back pop has been easier than I thought it would be, but I don't think I can give it up entirely. (For now, I'm limiting myself to only drinking it on the weekends.)
Such a jumbled entry ... I don't write enough. I'm not sure if it would be better to take up a hand-written journal again or if I should strive to write on here more often. There are things I don't want to lose, but there are also many things I don't feel up to sharing.
I started with a bright spot, so I'll end with one too.
Yesterday was a townwide garage sale that my brother, mom and I go to every year -- except this year I couldn't go because by the time I knew about it, I'd already committed to working that day. I haven't found too much the last few years, so I more or less accepted that my family wouldn't find anything for me (especially without me there to look). This turned out to be wrong, though more by accident than anything else. At one sale, my brother found a bunch of stuff to buy and made a deal (as he is so good at doing) with the seller -- and had them throw in a beat-up Game Cube, complete with cords, controller, two memory cards, and Metroid Prime, because he tends to pick up game systems whenever he finds them for really cheap, even if he doesn't know much about them. I only found out about this when he brought it downstairs today to see if it worked. (It did.) I was pretty excited -- much more than he was, heh.
So yeah, Aya, I guess I don't need to borrow your Game Cube? (But I probably will want to borrow Symphonia, if that's OK ^_^)
Sorry for all this meandering -- my mental state tends to be pretty up/down these days, and trying to capture all of that together just seems to turn into confusion.
Anyway. Work, work, work -- so I'd better get some sleep.
Books I'm considering:
-Suppli 1-3 (online)
-Jyu-Oh-Sei 1-3 (online)
-Night World omnibus (in store)
-Castle of Dreams (online?)
-Twelve Kingdoms 3: Vast Spread of the Skies (online)
-various other random in store stuff (like Mushishi, which I'm kind of interested in, but have not begun reading/purchasing, and whatever's on the bargain shelf)
Gaaah, such a tough decision. Most of the stuff I'm interested in is online, but if I go the online route, I have to deal with shipping. I really hate paying shipping, so I might try reaching the $25 threshold. The Borders site says I can also get free shipping to a store -- does anyone have experience with this option? Does it still work with "online only" items? Anyone know if Borders charges tax online?
As for the actual options ... Twelve Kingdoms 3 is definitely up at the top since it seems to be unavailable elsewhere (I wonder if they did a smaller print run this time?), but that fact makes me wonder if Borders would really be able to get a copy to me or if I'd get a "Sorry, we can't fulfill your order" message (thus screwing up my order). Suppli is on my mind because I've been watching (and really enjoying) the dorama version. I'm not sure how the manga compares, but I've read some other stuff by the manga-ka that I also enjoyed. However, the fourth volume's status is uncertain at the moment (thanks, Tokyopop). Castle of Dreams is an anthology by Masami Tsuda, the manga-ka of Kare Kano -- one of my favorite shoujo manga. Jyu-Oh-Sei is a manga I've wanted to read ever since I saw the anime; I enjoyed that version for the most part, other than the ending, and I heard that the manga's ending wasn't so rushed as the anime's. The Night World omnibus (specifically the third one) is also an option since I know it's available in store, and it includes two of the three Night World books that I don't have yet (Black Dawn, Witchlight). Of course, since I only need three more to have the complete series, it is kind of tempting to just continue looking for the original versions of the remaining three -- but it would probably cost a bit more. Hum.
Maa ne. The idea of just going into the store and picking up something random that I don't know much about is also tempting. (I rarely buy things on impulse anymore, so it's kind of fun to indulge.) But since I have a number of books that I definitely want that I know won't be in store ...
Anyway.
In the time since my last update --
I hung out with Jen-chan before she left for Japan. We finished up Gurren Lagann (MANLY TEARS!! Seriously, this show is soooo epic), watched a bit more of Clannad (again reminding me of how much I dislike Fuuko's arc -- gah, why is it the first arc? Things get so much better after her and Kotomi are shoved into the background, IMO), and, since it had just come in the mail that day, watched Interstella 5555.
Interstella 5555 is a collaboration between Daft Punk (amazing techno group) and Leiji Matsumoto (Japanese animator) that pairs the music of the album "Discovery" with the story of an alien band who is kidnapped and brought to earth. It's kind of a giant music video. Or maybe an anime with a great soundtrack? In any case, it's a story told with visuals and music (no dialogue). I'd been wanting to watch it ever since they showed the first four songs/music videos/segments on Toonami, um, many years back. It's pretty sad that it took me this long to pick up the DVD (I've been listening to the cd for years too ...), but the Deep Discount sale gave me that opportunity. It wasn't quite all I hoped and dreamed it would be (the first four segments are probably still my favorite), but it was fun to watch, and of course the music was good.
I hung out with Aya a few times, and we (well, I) played some more Tales of Vesperia. My love for Yuri ever grows ... even if he kills people o.o (or at least, is responsible for their deaths). The overall plot is still a bit ... vague ... but I think the themes are presented quite well (class struggles, true justice, etc.)
I hung out with my friends from high school (I should have a set acronym -- FFHS) a few times. We attempted to go to a musical called Sweet Charity (had never heard of it before; the synopsis makes me wonder why exactly it was chosen) in a local park on Thursday. Things were fine, until it started raining. Oh, well. We retreated and then watched Slumdog Millionaire, which was an OK movie. (Only "OK" because the main actor looked befuddled 90 percent of the time and a good chunk of the plot concerned one of those "destined" romances where the two characters don't really know each other that well but go through everything to find each other.)
I had a day back at work. Yup. At the behest of my mother, I contacted the supervisor at my part time job of summers past. She had hours for me (was actually quite glad to give me hours -- said, "You might be saving my life"), so I'm an on-call circulation clerk at the local library once more. Yay.
On the one hand, I'm very thankful to have a job (even if I only get no more than 15 hours a week) and that they took me back and that no one can rag on me anymore for not going back at the start of the summer.
But. This isn't where I want to be.
I know it's my own fault; I know I haven't done a fraction of the job hunting that I should have done at this point. But this is my personal soapbox, and I think complaining might make me feel better, so dagnabit, I'm going to complain: This feels like giving up. I hate that. I didn't ever want to go back; I told myself I wouldn't, and now I have.
I was so worried about it too. Yesterday was my first day back, and I lay awake most of Friday night/Sat. morning just ... worrying. Stupidly, because there were no major problems and no one said anything too biting (only, "So, where have you been all summer?"; but I think I'm going to get it from the snappy reference librarian who hates everyone). And really, it's not like the job is that *hard* -- it's just ... stressful. To me, anyway. I hate dealing with people. I hate dealing with their displeasure over things that are their own fault. (I know, I know, what job possibilities are there for someone like me?) But I'm not the sort of person who meets anger with anger (at least, not at work); instead I sort of curl up and die mentally, thus becoming useless, while trying to be polite on the surface. And then I stress about it later. I'm too much the worrywart.
Really now, the worst they can do is fire you.
Actually, the worst they can do is yell at me. Swear. Complain. I've never felt in any danger of being fired; I have been cursed at.
Anyway ... I have work again tomorrow. And the next day. And the next. Then I'm off until who knows when. I wonder if I could really survive working full time ...
Life just seems so frustrating lately. I don't think I've ever felt more useless in my life than I've felt these last few months. It sucks to be a NEET.
I've had to get a lot of work done on my teeth lately too, which only adds to the frustration. I know dental work is expensive, and after this month, I'll no longer be on my parents' insurance. I wonder what makes my teeth so bad -- do I really eat more sweets or brush less than others? I thought I'd been doing well since my root canal my senior year of high school, but apparently not. (Well, unless we blame the cavities on my former dentist -- a number of them are underneath existing fillings, which is not something that should be happening.) So, now I'm cutting back severely on my pop intake and upping my water intake. Drinking more water is something I've meant to do for ages. Cutting back pop has been easier than I thought it would be, but I don't think I can give it up entirely. (For now, I'm limiting myself to only drinking it on the weekends.)
Such a jumbled entry ... I don't write enough. I'm not sure if it would be better to take up a hand-written journal again or if I should strive to write on here more often. There are things I don't want to lose, but there are also many things I don't feel up to sharing.
I started with a bright spot, so I'll end with one too.
Yesterday was a townwide garage sale that my brother, mom and I go to every year -- except this year I couldn't go because by the time I knew about it, I'd already committed to working that day. I haven't found too much the last few years, so I more or less accepted that my family wouldn't find anything for me (especially without me there to look). This turned out to be wrong, though more by accident than anything else. At one sale, my brother found a bunch of stuff to buy and made a deal (as he is so good at doing) with the seller -- and had them throw in a beat-up Game Cube, complete with cords, controller, two memory cards, and Metroid Prime, because he tends to pick up game systems whenever he finds them for really cheap, even if he doesn't know much about them. I only found out about this when he brought it downstairs today to see if it worked. (It did.) I was pretty excited -- much more than he was, heh.
So yeah, Aya, I guess I don't need to borrow your Game Cube? (But I probably will want to borrow Symphonia, if that's OK ^_^)
Sorry for all this meandering -- my mental state tends to be pretty up/down these days, and trying to capture all of that together just seems to turn into confusion.
Anyway. Work, work, work -- so I'd better get some sleep.
