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http://www.cowboyversussailor.com/audio/KETsighs.mp3

http://www.cowboyversussailor.com/audio/KETLucifer.mp3

Kite Eating Tree

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head_music is... filling my head. dtissagirl, what a splendid idea. I'm still pondering what I want to rec...

foreign language class: note-taking

Note-taking in my French 2 class is a funny process. My notes are a jumble of English and French mixed irregularly and messily together. There is the natural tendency to take notes in French because it's easier, balanced with the necessity of taking some notes in English so that later when you look back at the notes you'll at least have some idea of what the fuck you wrote down in the first place.

However, the big inconsistency in my notes is in writing words in both languages. Most people probably had never thought about it, but modern English is 30.9 % borrowed French. According to my Linguistics textbook, anyway. One can thank William the Conquerer for that, I suppose. While this fact makes learning French vocabulary easier in some ways... it also makes me very sloppy with my spelling.

For example, when talking about direct objects in a sentence, I could write " the direct object " in English... or I could write " le objet diret " in French. I woudn't have to worry about translating it later because the meaning is pretty clear. However, when I take notes it usually comes out something like " le objet direct " instead.

It's like, some part of my note-taking subconscious is fine with dropping the c in object but doesn't like the way diret looks at all and refuses to drop it if I don't have to.

My French notes must look like some crazy pidgin language to the outside observer. And what's worse is that now I've accidentally caught myself spelling words in other classes with the French spelling too. Verbe instead of verb. Continuez instead of continue. Danse instead of dance.

Foreign language study makes you crazy.

In addition to all of this, I've been watching god knows how much subtitled anime in the last 3 or 4 months, so my ears have been constantly inundated with Japanese too!

I find myself wanting to say things and instead of English I end up saying very mangled French or trying vainly to use Japanese words that I don't actually know, but are buried somewhere in my ears. It's incredibly frustrating.

Spring Courses!

Spring Quarter:

ARTS 015 - INTRO ACRYLIC PAINTING
POLI 005 - INTRO POLTCAL THOUGHT
WMST 012 - PSYCHOLOGY OF WOMEN
HIST 004A - HISTORY OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION
P E 002K - INTERMEDIATE AIKIDO

I have only one class at 11:30 on Tuesday and Thursdays! And while it sucks to have all my other classes on Monday and Wednesday so that I'm at school from 8:30 to... 5:10 ::sweatrop:: ...the WONDERFUL thing is that the first class of the day is my art class. That's a 3 hour class.. which means I can relax and wake up and become ready to face the day, since my real class won't start till 11:30.

Art class isn't real class, it's fun class. I've very pleased with my schedule, actually.

Fruits Basket

I've been watching Fruits Basket in the last few days. I have to say, I love this show. Usually, high school romantic comedy school is not a genre I like much in anime/manga. Ranma 1/2 was the only one, really, and that was more a fighting anime than a soap opera.

Nevertheless, I've been completely sucked in and charmed by Fruits Basket. I've seen up to episode 23 by now, and I'm going to watch the last eps today as well. One thing that I like is that the series is almost over, and yet I still can't tell if Tohru likes Yuki or Kyou more. ( very vague spoilers that you would know anyways by the first few episodes )

Will it ever be resolved? Since there's only three eps left that I have yet to see... I'm thinking not. But there is always the manga, which extends past the anime. ::grin::

So far my favorite episodes are 18, 19, and the Valentine's Day episode, and episode 3, and episode 5, and the hotsprings episode. And I admit it, I'm definitely a Kyou fan. Though all the characters have worked their charm on me.

I think what I like about this series is that some stuff is so obvious and outright and made clear (particularly because of the nature of Tohru as the main character, since it's mostly her POV), and yet other stuff is very subtle and relies on the audience's intuition and intelligence.

I love the completeness and thoroughness of the overall metaphor of the show: that the curse of the Souma family that makes them change into animals when hugged by someone of the opposite sex is like the physical manifestation of the fact that they are all very isolated and unable to connect to others. And it seems such a silly, funny curse... but it really is a curse for them and the people around them, and it sets up some very tragic situations. I spend most of this series smiling like an idiot... and I spend the rest wanting to hug all the characters and have a long cry.

Now, time for lunch! And then on I go to the last 3 eps!

FB comment #2 -- side note!

Watching Kyou cook onions in episode 19 was ridiculously familiar to me. He stands over the stove with goggles and a paper face mask.

I've actually used goggles while chopping onions. Works pretty well. If I had a face mask I would use that too.

::watches last 3 episodes of Fruits Basket::

::blink::

I don't know if I want to cry or smile. That was... a beautiful conclusion.

I know the manga doesn't end here, but for the anime series, that was a beautiful way to end it. For a show that's all about personal relationships and people who learn to connect to one another, the ending couldn't have been more perfect. So much changed... I feel like I finally understand Tohru's character.

::satisfied sigh:: :: smiles:: ::cries:: ::smiles more:: ::cries more::