and so begins my week up north ^^;

Sun, 13 Aug 2006 05:50:30 GMT

lol a bit irritated, to say the least. of course, one can hardly be expected to be in the best of moods following a four-hour flight which for the sake of "avoiding a potentially dangerous storm system" became more or less five hours...

i cannot help but wonder at my luck, being scheduled to fly the day after those "suspected terrorist" arrests. bad luck, ill-fate, misfortune...whichever theory you prescribe to, i have never seen such genuine nonsense in an airport. as far as i know.

all that these new "safety measures" do is give would-be terrorists something to laugh at. if terror is the essential goal of terrorism, we have more than let them win. we are now not only demonstrating fear and paranoia at a national level, but allowing these emotional responses to severely inconvenience the american people in general.

i had to wait in line for the security checkpoint for half an hour this morning (i am beyond thankful for online check-in, because other people on my flight wound up waiting between and hour and an hour and a half between the ticket and security lines, and this was a half-full early-morning week-day flight)

...and i must say, the system could not have been more inefficient if it tried.

my bag had to be scanned and re-scanned three times, because while nobody could find even a container by manual search, these all-knowing scanning machines somehow convinced themselves that there was a container of liquid in my bag.

having somehow finally convinced four of the security folk who all somehow had become involved in the ordeal that there was no such container in my bag, i moved along and went to buy a drink at one of the shops. only to learn shortly thereafter that even drinks bought after the security checkpoint would have to be disposed of before the flight.

personally? i would LOVE to hear of the person who has found a way to reconstitute grapefruit juice to form an explosive device. or any other sort of lethal weapon for that matter. until someone can prove me wrong, i will continue to point out that wasting $2 worth of a $4 bottle of grapefruit juice is not going to save anybody's life--only make for some genuinely irritated passengers.

i was especially amused at bush's response to the arrests of the accused terrorists...
'oh, i understand that many travelers will have to be inconvenienced, but somehow it will all be worth it >.>;'
....certainly, it must be nice to fly air force one. if inconveniencing the american people is necessary to prove some point, i think it a genuine shame that our own president can't share in the fun.

~peace~^<3Cali

temporary amusement

Sun, 13 Aug 2006 05:32:30 GMT

(Click here to post your own answers for this meme.)

✓ I miss somebody right now.	✓ I don't watch much TV these days.	✓ I own lots of books.
× I wear glasses or contact lenses.	× I love to play video games. (very much depends on the game)	× I've tried marijuana.
× I've watched porn movies. (with no regularity/mostly hentai)	× I have been the psycho-ex in a past relationship.	✓ I believe honesty is usually the best policy.
✓ I curse sometimes.	✓ I have changed a lot mentally over the last year.	× I carry my knife/razor everywhere with me.

* * * * *

× I have broken someone's bones.	× I have a secret that I am ashamed to reveal.	× I hate the rain. (i love the rain ^^)
✓ I'm paranoid at times. (only when very sleep deprived/after consuming far too much caffeine)	× I would get plastic surgery if it were 100% safe, free of cost, and scar-free.	× I need/want money right now.
× I love sushi. (yum flesh o.O;)	✓ I talk really, really fast. (so i am told, though i dont see it myself...)	× I have fresh breath in the morning.
✓ I have long hair.	× I have lost money in Las Vegas.	✓ I have at least one sibling.
× I was born in a country outside of the U.S.	× I have worn fake hair/fingernails/eyelashes in the past.	✓ I couldn't survive without Caller I.D.
✓ I like the way that I look.	× I have lied to a good friend in the last 6 months.	× I am usually pessimistic.
× I have a lot of mood swings.	✓ I think prostitution should be legalized.	× I slept with a roommate.
× I have a hidden talent. (;])	× I'm always hyper no matter how much sugar I have.	✓ I have a lot of friends.
× I have pecked someone of the same sex. (pecked?)	× I enjoy talking on the phone.	× I practically live in sweatpants or PJ pants.
✓ I love to shop and/or window shop. (window shop...its more fun to dream ^^)	× I'm obsessed with my Xanga or Livejournal.	× I'm completely embarrassed to be seen with my mother.
✓ I have a mobile phone.	× I have passed out drunk in the past 6 months.	✓ I've rejected someone before.
✓ I currently like/love someone.	× I have no idea what I want to do for the rest of my life.	✓ I want to have children in the future.
× I have changed a diaper before.	× I've called the cops on a friend before.	× I'm not allergic to anything. (bananas >.<;)
✓ I have a lot to learn.	× I am shy around the opposite sex.	✓ I'm online 24/7, even as an away message.
✓ I have at least 5 away messages saved.	× I have tried alcohol or drugs before.	× I have made a move on a friend's significant other or crush in the past.
× I own the "South Park" movie.	× I have avoided assignments at work/school to be on Xanga or Livejournal.	✓ I enjoy some country music.
× I would die for my best friends. (entirely depending on the situation)	× I'm obsessive, and often a perfectionist. (depends...)	× I have used my sexuality to advance my career.
× I think Halloween is awesome because you get free candy. (no, i just love the atmosphere...these days i refuse to eat half of the candy i am given...stupid milk chocolate >.<;)	× I have dated a close friend's ex.	✓ I am happy at this moment.
× I'm obsessed with guys.	× Democrat.	× Republican.
× I don't even know what I am. (progressive, though more than that i hate to live behind a label.)	× I am punk rockish.	✓ I go for older guys/girls, not younger.
✓ I study for tests most of the time.	× I tie my shoelaces differently from anyone I've ever met.	× I can work on a car.
× I love my job(s).	✓ I am comfortable with who I am right now.	× I have more than just my ears pierced.
✓ I walk barefoot wherever I can.	× I have jumped off a bridge.	✓ I love sea turtles. (<3)
× I spend ridiculous amounts of money on makeup.	✓ I plan on achieving a major goal/dream.	× I am proficient on a musical instrument.
✓ I hate office jobs.	× I went to college out of state. (i wish e.e;)	× I am adopted.
✓ I am a pyro. (to a degree ^^)	× I have thrown up from crying too much.	× I have been intentionally hurt by people that I loved.
× I fall for the worst people.	✓ I adore bright colours.	× I usually like covers better than originals.
× I hate chain theme restaurants like Applebees and TGIFridays.	✓ I can pick up things with my toes.	× I can't whistle.
✓ I have ridden/owned a horse.	✓ I still have every journal I've ever written in.	× I talk in my sleep.
× I've often thought that I was born in the wrong century.	× I try to forget things by drowning them out with loads of distractions.	× I wear a toe ring.
× I have a tattoo.	× I can't stand at LEAST one person that I work with.	✓ I am a caffeine junkie. (twitch)
✓ I am completely tree-huggy spiritual, and I'm not ashamed at all. (<3)	× If I knew I would get away with it, I would commit at least one murder.	✓ I will collect anything, and the more nonsensical, the better. (my collections tend to start as gifts ^^;)
× I enjoy a nice glass of wine with dinner.	✓ I'm an artist. (in our own way, i like to believe we all are)	× I am ambidextrous.
× I sleep with so many stuffed animals, I can hardly fit on my bed. (pillows <3)	✓ If it weren't for having to see other people naked, I'd live in a nudist colony. (tsh. clothing should be optional anyway, if only in the interest of freedom)	× I have terrible teeth.
× I hate my toes.	✓ I did this meme even though I wasn't tagged by the person who took it before me.	× I have more friends on the internet than in real life.
× I have lived in either three different states or countries.	✓ I am extremely flexible.	✓ I love hugs more than kisses.
✓ I want to own my own business.	× I smoke.	✓ I spend way too much time on the computer than on anything else.
✓ Nobody has ever said I'm normal.	× Sad movies, games, and the like can cause a trickle of tears every now and then. (close, but not so much)	× I am proficient in the use of many types of firearms and combat weapons.
× I like the way women look in stylized men's suits.	× I don't like it when people are unpleased or seem unpleased with me.	✓ I have been described as a dreamer or likely to have my head up in the clouds.
× I have played strip poker with someone else before.	× I have had emotional problems for which I have sought professional help.	✓ I believe in ghosts and the paranormal.
× I can't stand being alone.	× I have at least one obsession at any given time.	× I weigh myself, pee/poo, and then weigh myself again. (o.O;)
× I consistently spend way too much money on obsessions-of-the-moment.	× I'm a judgmental asshole.	× I'm a HUGE drama-queen.
× I have travelled on more than one continent.	× I sometimes wish my father would just disappear.	× I need people to tell me I'm good at something in order to feel that I am.
✓ I am a Libertarian. (a bit, but i dont like political labels--im independent)	✓ I can speak more than one language.	× I can fall asleep even if the whole room is as noisy as it can be.
✓ I would rather read than watch TV. (well, depends on the book i guess...or the show)	× I like reading fact more than fiction. (fiction based on fact...realistic fiction/science fiction/"old boring classics")	✓ I have pulled an all-nighter on an assignment I was given a month to do.
× I have no piercings.	× I have spent the night in a train station or other public place.	× I have been so upset over my physical gender that I cried.
× I once spent Christmas completely alone because there was a miscommunication on which parent was supposed to have me that night. (ive had the miscommunication part, but i always wind up somewhere)	× There have been times when I have wondered "Why was I born?" and may/may not have cried over it.	× I like most animals better than most people. (about the same--i have to get to know them either way)
× I own a collection of retro games consoles.	× The thought of physical exercise makes me shiver.	× I have hit someone with a dead fish. (o.o; morbid)
× I am compulsively honest.	× I was born with a congenital birth defect that has never been repaired.	× I have danced topless in front of dozens of complete strangers.
× I have gone from wishing I was a girl to revelling in being a boy to feeling like a girl again in the span of five minutes, and not cared a whit for my actual sex.	× I am unashamedly bisexual, and have different motivations for my desires for different genders.	✓ I sometimes won't sleep a whole night or eat a whole day because I forget to.
× I find it impossible to get to sleep without some kind of music on.	✓ I dislike milk. (like the plague.)	✓ I obsessively wash my hands. (maybe not obsessive, but i do keep everything i come incontact with/myself ridiculously clean)
× I always carry something significant around with me.	× Sometimes I'd rather wear a wig in day-to-day life than use my own hair.	✓ I've pushed myself to become more self-aware and thereby more aware of others.
× Even though I live on my own I still cry sometimes because I miss my mother.	× I hand wrote all the HTML tags in this document.	✓ I've liked something which a majority of people claimed was either bad or weird.
× I have been clinically dead for a brief period of time.	× Instead of feeling sympathy/empathy with people and their problems, I simply become annoyed.	× I participate/have participated in auto drag races and won.
× I do not 'get' most comedy acts.	✓ I don't think strippers are money-greedy or slutty for dancing. (whatever makes a person happy shrugs)	× I don't like to chew gum.
✓ I am obsessed with history/historical things and can't wait for someone to build a time machine so I can be the first to use it.	✓ I can never remember for the life of me where I parked the car.	× I had the TEEN ANGST thing going for at least 2-3 years.
✓ I wish people would be more empathic and honest with each other.	× I play Dungeons and Dragons weekly.	✓ I love to sing. (to myself ^^;)
× I want to live in my mother's basement when I grow up.	× I have a custom-built computer.	× I want to create a certain someone's babies, even though there's a 0% possiblity of ever achieving it.
✓ I would be in a relationship with one of my pets if they were human.	✓ I've gone skinny-dipping.	× I've performed in three plays.
× I enjoy burritos.	× I'm Irish and loving it.	× I have a thing for redheads.
× I am a twin!	× Most of the times, I'd rather do something intellectual instead of doing something generically 'fun'.	× Once I set out to finish something, I always stay at it until it is completed before I move on to something else.
× I wish there were a way to erase past mistakes.	✓ I sleep more than 12 hours a day. (holidays and weekends? of course o.o; compensates for my average 2-4 hours weeknights ;P)	× I wish I could be prouder of what I've accomplished, but it's never enough.
× I need more time to myself.	× I wish I was more open-minded.	× I hope that I go really prematurely grey.
✓ I download songs from the internet.	× I've just reenacted chapter 58 of Death Note with my best friend.	× I say random things to freak people out.
× I'm still a little mad about the ending of Death Note.	✓ I love playing Truth or Dare. (used to anyway--now its probably a bit more dodgy)	× I love listening to slow music, but I hate singing to it.
× Music helps me remember that I am not alone.	✓ Playing my favorite sport makes me temporarily forget my problems.	× I think this survey is particularly long.
× I prefer my LJ friends to my real-life ones.	× I can only hate someone that I love.	✓ I've ordered an extra two shots of espresso to an Americano at Starbucks. (i usually just order three of whatever size espresso they offer and ask for a big cup to combine them ^^;)

~peace~^<3Cali

holiday from...holiday ^^;

Thu, 10 Aug 2006 17:51:08 GMT

and it seems that as soon as i return to LJ, i must take a week off!

going up to maryland for a week, as a bit of a break from summer holiday...so stressful i know ;]

so i probably wont be around much if at all. i still have 26 lessons to complete (correspondence courses e.e; ) before returning to school, and more or less a week and a half to complete them in e.e;

...how i can imagine my productivity will be greater in maryland, i cannot really say...

but anyway...i guess i can get back to reviving myself on this site after all is over and done with as far as these courses ^^;

~peace~^<3Cali

finally!

Wed, 09 Aug 2006 08:52:08 GMT

so its been a year since i've touched LJ at all, and here i am!

...commence boring first post...

*amuses self with a bit of redecorating*

lol whatever, its 4am...*eighth cup of coffee*

cant wait until day when i can at least pretend to have something worth rambling on about, but they, this will suffice.

~peace~ ^<3 cali

Calimtauren

and so begins my week up north ^^;

*temporary amusement*

holiday from...holiday ^^;

finally!

temporary amusement