Last Updated 7/10/2009
Updated series.

NEWEST SERIES ADDED: Coffee Prince

The Purpose of My List

Inspired by the great cranberrysheep's drama list,

I realized I'd seen quite a few dramas & that it would nice to have a place where I could review/rate them for other drama lovers.

Before You Read Please Understand...

This list represents my opinions and feelings & mine alone.

I admit I am opinionated but I am also objective.

My lists are never complete (I've seen more than I have reviewed here.)

I realize that I make grammatical & spelling errors but I do come back and fix them.

I like to update this list a lot so keep coming back for more!

Thanks, cranberrysheep, for this great idea!!

Currently Watching:

When It's At Night

(Half way through)

Nine Tailed Fox

Wondering if I should continue...

Easy Fortune Happy Life

If this show keeps going the way it has, I will take back what I said about Chen Qiao En’s dramas. It's been really good...

Cinderella Man

Two episodes in and I'm realizing that Korea got their fairytales mixed up; this is really much more the Prince & the Pauper. Addition: Now halfway through; They're sinking my ship!! Stop liking her!!! D:


( List Under the Cut )

The other day I got to be Tori’s plus one at one of U of I’s events where they pull in an actor or a celebrity to speak to students. I wanted to go because it was Sean Astin, someone I’ve always had a bit of a thing for since the Goonies. With all the Lord of the Rings clout a lot of people, my parents included wanted to go too and so it ended up being the five of us: Mom, Dad, dali_lamb , tehboypop , & me.

Unfortunately while I was happy to be able to hear him speak (having previously merely gotten to meet & shake his hand at Dragon*Con), I was a little struck with how unused to public speaking he seemed to be. Throughout his message, he made allusions to having so many opportunities to speak to people and that was one of things he prided himself on. Nevertheless, he broke several cardinal rules of the Public Speaking realm; he read from his notes, he leaned on the podium, he rarely looked at the audience, his speech had no flow. I would say that a lot of the audience was probably a bit confused on his message. It didn’t say much except that Leadership & Fellowship were cool things and here is a few roles that he’s been in that exemplify that.

Now, remember that this is an actor I like and continue to like even now. I guess I can’t criticize a seasoned actor without reiterating this. I’m only a person who has a degree in Communications, has done a lot of presentations while in school, and knows the fundamentals. I’m no professional actor and heaven knows I haven’t had the experiences he’s had. So why did he fail to engage the audience? It wasn’t until his question & answer session after his speech, when he dropped the novelnotes and came away from the podium, that the room really started to react to him.

Tori & I think perhaps that he’s still working on his message and hasn’t given his rather eloquent dictation to many schools yet. Nevertheless, he probably should have approached it as a script he was going to read & memorized it if he was going to skip the extemporaneous style. It would have at least allowed him to look at his audience and make them feel like he was really reaching out to them.

Ugh, again, I think sometimes I take too much value in my own opinion and judge people too harshly but I couldn’t help but think I could have given a better speech last night! >.< I wish this didn’t sound so conceited. It probably is.

I still love Sean Astin. <3<3<3 He’ll always be my favorite Goonie.

( Mushy Stuff With A Dash of Paranoia )

Because, well, they're fun. XD
Rules:

I'll respond by asking you five questions so I can satisfy my curiosity

Update your journal with the answers to the questions

Include this explanation in the post and offer to ask other people questions

The Questions, as assigned by cranberrysheep

1. What place in the world would you most like to travel to that you haven't already?
2. What is your favorite con memory?
3. What currently airing American show are you most enjoying at the moment?
4. What is your favorite meal?
5. How excited are you for NEW MOON?

1.) No doubt: Egypt. I cannot tell you how much of my life I've been entranced by the pyramids and the culture. I've always loved ancient Egyptian movies depictions and tend to bee line to the mummy room at every museum. It's such a shame this is a dismal hope for me considering how unsafe it is to travel there right now. Don't get me started on the price. :<

2.) Oh man, soooo many convention memories, it's hard to pick & choose. I think as a group, it might have been winning both Best Skit & a Judges Choice in 2003 because I felt so happy everyone was able to take a trophy home. On a party aspect...I had such a fantastic time this past year where Daron & I just ran around Ohayocon making chicanery during Miri's photoshoot. That and the Toga party!! SO EPIC! XD

3.) South Park!~ Always a favorite and something so special, I get bummed if I miss it.

4.) Mmmm, food. Again, I like so many different things it's hard to pick and choose. You really learn to appreciate having an appetite when you go for a month with a challenged one. I think if I had to pinpoint it down to one meal, it'd be a deliciously juicy steak with potatoes and a vegetable (corn, brussel sprouts, green beans?), and a salad. It is such an all around delightful meal.

5.) .....>:C About as excited as I would be for an enema.

The last couple of days have been utterly fantastic. Thursday, Brandon came down to meet the rest of the family so we had delicious German food from the Bayern Stube. I am completely aware it isn't always the funnest thing for a guy to meet a girl's parents but I was happily surprised to report that it went really well and defied my expectations greatly. I really am happy he gets along so well with my sisters & parents because a huge key to getting along with me is to be friendly with them. :3

Friday Liz and I (sadly minus the dali_lamb ;o;) headed up to Milwaukee for Molly’s Halloween bash. We were joined by Brandon on Saturday morning where she took us to see this eccentric house. I didn’t think people still did communal, dormitory type housing but apparently they do! This house had at least four stories, has a frickin’ library, and is apparently rented out by room. It was rather awesome...no, jawesome.

The party started early--around 3:30--and lasted until about 2:30am where we had to kick people out because frankly, I needed to sleep! :< Since I had been too sick to sew, I had to rework our costume plans and we went as Red Mage/White Mage instead. Thus I finally got to re-wear my schoolgirl White Mage outfit along with the giant fleece cloak. Brandon went as Jason Vorhees and had way too much fun with that plastic machete than I thought was possible.

The whole evening flew by but it was met with some very fun times and interesting people. It was also packed; about 25-30 people stuffed in a pretty small house. Nevertheless, everyone who came stayed long and seemed to enjoy themselves, so I’d say it was a success.

Brandon & I stole away and had breakfast alone the next morning in this really gorgeous café. The food was excellent—the company was better. Before he had to take off, we played Little Big Planet for awhile which I find both fun and a bit confusing. It’s the whole 3-dimensions aspect; really trips you up. We didn’t stay much longer after he left. Molly made Japanese curry & rice and we watched Millennium Actress, which I love. The ride home was about 4 hours and despite the lack of sleep, I only truly got tired about thirty minutes before I got home.

Just another great happening in what is turning out to be one of the better years of my life.

She turned her head up to the sky
And dared to ask the question why

The Moon was quiet the clouds were mute
The Stars they winked in silence too

The Atmosphere was thick with doubt
The Rain refrained as if drought

The Wind it held its breath in folly
The Earth was dry and melancholy

There was no other one to ask
The sun had not begun her task

And thus she hung her head to cry
Nature knows no answer to your why



Enjoy something that sputtered out of me coming home late yesterday. One day (and by that I mean never) I will publish a collection of poetry entitled "Worst Poetry Ever." ...Still, I find some strange fun in writing it.

Here's another one of those word meme's, assigned by paradoxymoron

My words are:

WTF

BOYFRIEND?!

LEFT FIELD

Re-enactment

Moon

WTF

A phrase I have a love affair with. It is an excellent expression for everyday oddities. It is the best way to explain a look or a situation and it rolls off the tongue very easily. It is also makes a great text for icons.

BOYFRIEND?!

Yes. I am dating again, although a lot of people (including my grandmother seem to disbelieve this. It comes as a surprise even to me, let me tell you. It's almost hilarious considering when I had just about given up finding someone that I could get along with in romantic terms that one just plops right into my lap. I'm still a bit stunned; I never saw it coming. But seriously guys, he's just the nicest guy I've ever known and gives me little flutters of happiness just thinking about him. I almost feel sad because I keep thinking that I can't be this lucky, considering how unlucky I am in general.

LEFT FIELD

James, see above. I am just as surprised as you are but it's to be expected; I had a very long period of being decidedly single.

Re-enactment

I assume you mean Civil War Reenacting? I basically missed all this season but it really does signal the end of it for me. We've been reenacting since I was roughly 3 or 4 but after much discussion, my parents and I are thinking of officially retiring after the 150th Anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg. That will mean that I got to be at the 135, 145th, and 150th.

Moon

That movie was one of the best I saw all year. It had all the right elements: good storytelling, proper actors, plenty of suspense. It defied my expectations and entertained me entirely. Plus, it had a good ending. What's not to love?! Seriously, see this movie if you haven't already. It is so choice. I highly recommend it.

( If you get squeamish easily, don’t read this bit... )

I get to see Brandon again this weekend, which makes me happy. It is ridiculously retarded how excited I am to be his plus-one at a wedding in a few weeks. I mean, ferreal, I was all bouncy at the idea. I love attending weddings but being in them, now that I know how obnoxious it can be, not so much. I think I’ve only ever been to three weddings where I knew the people getting married and was the actual invited guest. I can already taste the deliciousness of wedding cake. XD

I’m still sore from head to toe but happy—oh-so-happy—after my gallivanting in Turkey Run this weekend. Despite it being about an hour and a half from home, I have never been to this particular State Park but Brandon, being a much more learned person about such places, took me there this weekend for some serious hiking. I can’t tell you how many miles we went, but we went practically everywhere you could go in a four to five hour span. It was truly amazing and utterly beautiful.

I’m a little taken aback to how wonderful this particular September has been for me. Seriously, I end up getting a little depressed this month because summer decides to end (as it clearly has a choice in the matter, psh) and I’m usually left with so little to do. This year has been so different though; I’ve had fantastic weekends and of course more than better company. This summer has been so great and since today is the technical start of the fall, I relinquish it gladly. I have no idea what will come in the later months but I’m so excited for them. :3

WELL, what started out as a simple weekend adventure turned into something entirely different. Saturday I went over early to Jenny’s house and met her British fiancé before their actual party began. I really wanted to say goodbye to her on a more intimate level and I’m really glad we got over an hour to just reminisce and discuss random stuff. I hope they have an awesome time in Norway and that I’ll get to see her when she visits. After saying goodbye and best wishes, I headed off to Pekin to visit my friend, Brandon.

The initial plan was to chill, watch movies & anime, and then go home. We had a pretty awesome dinner then did just that. However, in typical Wilma fashion, I found I’d stayed too late. I’ve never been able to leave on time; I always want to hold onto fun times. Needless to say, I left for the two hour drive home at around 11:00pm. Due to the lateness of my departure, I missed the confusing exit for I74 E and got caught on I55 N, towards Chicago. So, I made the first detour towards Bloomington and decided to cautiously get gas & directions from the first gas station I could find, which was right off the interstate in Normal. Having gotten what I needed from the attendant, I popped back into my car ready to go and this is where it gets weird. My car wouldn’t start. In fact, it seemed as if the electrical system had a short and everything was wonky.

Fortunately, my Dad decided to call me just then, heading back from their late football game anyway. He suggested that I call AAA & then Brandon to see if I could crash his place. I felt so bad having to call someone out in the middle of the night to escort me back but luckily he was very nice and took care of me. The AAA guy wasn’t as nice; he informed me sharply that the battery was leaking and that the next time it was jumped it probably wouldn’t start. So, it enforced my decision and I went back toward Pekin, having been rescued.

After crashing in style (seriously, his house was the most organized & cleanly “man-cave” I’ve ever been in :O ), the next day I was treated to a very nice breakfast buffet at a Park Reserve. We got to walk around a bit too and try to see the local wildlife. I must say, how dare they have a buffalo herd in Illinois!?! That is a thing of the West, I tell you! ::immature & exaggerated stomp::

Very generously, Brandon offered to change my battery for me, considering I know jack about vehicles. It saved a lot of the hassle of calling AAA again and I couldn’t believe how simple a procedure it was, even though we had to figure out the complicated way that Ford’s place their batteries in the vehicle. After that, everything was perfect. I am an entirely grateful as that was so above and beyond what he had to do and he was so gracious. I just feel so utterly guilty dragging someone into my troubles, but all the while I am very grateful for the assistance in my time of need.

After that, I went home and crashed on my couch, getting back the necessary sleep that I had lost the other day. Made a nice dinner and then watched some more Life on Mars. So the weekend was exciting, dramatic, and fun! Even so, I think I’m going to have to go easy on the traveling for at least a bit because I think I’m getting worn down. :< I could see it was affecting my normally cheerful and upbeat mood. All’s well that ends well though.

I was checking out my tags a while ago and felt rather bad that the tags that have huge uses were things like “cosplay” & “conventions.” Anime, on the other hand, has only one hit. “What sort of geek am I?” I asked myself. I also have nothing for video games. My journal is full of fail! >.<

Alright, so the last couple days I started to compile a list of some of my favorite anime titles to help alleviate this situation and clear my conscious of any wrong-doing. Thus, I have compiled “Sailor Gaia’s Favorite Anime Series She Recommends to N00bs!”
( List Under the Cut! )

I sometimes wonder if I'm not becoming lactose intolerant. My morning breakfast is generally a cup of coffee with a bowl of cereal of choice. This is normally not an issue but lately I feel really nauseous after eating my cereal, almost to a point where I feel too sick to eat anything else or even finish my breakfast. It could be the coffee as I sometimes get very jittery and sick if I have two much. I'm also drinking 2% milk currently while I normally drink skim. >.> I don't want to jump to conclusions so I guess I'll have to start experimenting with what I eat to see if a change makes a difference before I waste money getting "checked out." I really hope I'm not because...I like milk. :<

I notice I've been posting a lot more without much to say. Hrm. Maybe I'm bored? I did work on my Halloween costume last night. Would have made more progress if I hadn't found I didn't have any heat'n'bond...or at least of the sewable variety. At least I got all the flames cut out and the robe itself ready to go. I'm trying to keep myself productive because when I'm idle, I notice I concentrate on things I shouldn't. I've made a lot of personal changes in the last few months and I definitely don't want to backpedal.

Labor Day weekend was low-key and relaxing, as it should be. In retrospect, I didn’t do much (even though I probably should have) but clean and catch up on some reading & shows. I’m halfway through Stephen King’s “It,” which I started several months ago. That’s good for me because it’s hard for me to find dedicated reading time. I also had my first nightmare inspired by the reading of said book, which is odd because that doesn’t normally happen to me. Cleaned and mopped the kitchen which is the good thing considering my grandmother is invading on Thursday. ::hisss~:: I do have a reason to escape Saturday though as I’ll be saying goodbye (perhaps forever :C ) to Jenny has she and her fiancé are finally going to Norway. What an adventure; personally I cannot imagine such a move. I guess it’s because I believe in firmer roots than to be always picking them up and going every which way. That’s just me though.

Finally got around to seeing “Inglorious Basterds” with sewag and lil_senmurv on Friday. My thoughts on it are conflicted but they can be summed up like this: I can’t believe Quentin Tarrentino made a film that made me feel sorry for Nazi’s. To elaborate on my opinion on this film might cause others to say something to the effect of “you just didn’t understand it” (probably preceded with a sigh) which couldn’t be further from the truth. Nevertheless, as a Friday night flick for friends, money well spent!

( Ashes2Ashes:2 Finale Spoilers )

Life will now go back to normal as I really only have Halloween to look forward to currently. I’m not so pleased at the premature changing of the leaves (you need to stay green and on your trees, bitches—it isn’t fall YET!) With summer peeling away and fall peaking up, I feel the beginning of a slowdown. ::sigh:: September is a depressing month.

I saw this and thought of emmylouangel

The very first Bunny Cafe in Japan! This is an awesome idea except for the charge; that'd be too pricey for me. Still, that's some ingenuity!

Ohhh you, Japan! What will you think up next?!

Saw a beautiful pic this afternoon on randompictures and was inspired. Thus, after 9000 hours 10 minutes in GIMP, the generic shooper of choice, THIS



became THIS:




It was too good an opportunity to pass up. <3

EDIT: If anyone is interested, I'll send you the wallpaper version because Photobucket is being a big douche and somehow not letting me load things normally. >.>

...As stolen from mirisha

( This Meme is so cool it needs it's own cut! )

I had a fantastic weekend. After years of wanting to go, I finally got a chance to visit the Bristol Renaissance Faire in Wisconsin. I’ve been planning to go for quite some time so I’m really glad my friend Brandon invited me. After waking up at 4:45 in the morning (yes, shocking for me because I’m sooo not a morning person), we ended up carpooling from Bloomington where he did all the driving (to my great pleasure as being a passenger is truly my forte). Once we arrived, Molly & Nick met us there as it’s really a very close journey for them.

The entire fair consisted of a lot of shops and eateries and then scheduled performances by different groups. After the first performance I sorta got the gist of the place: as William Shakespeare would have put it, the place was full of "vinegar & pepper." Yes, it was so saucy! Such inspiration of course brings out the worst in me and my tongue was firmly planted in the cheek the rest of the day as a constant string of innuendos flowed from our group.

Unexpectantly the Setting of the Queen's table became my favorite moment of the day. Molly had us attend one event that covered the setting of the Queen’s table. Alright, I am a sucker for learning about old fashioned customs but I like reading and applying them and not so much silly explanations/demonstrations of them by a man that looked & sounded so much like Lord Melchett from Blackadder that I could not stop laughing. It was that that made it one of my favorite parts of the day because Brandon helped me lampoon the entire thing from the back row. XD Excellent. The Lady of the Bedchamber still cracks me up at the thought.

We oogled at amazing Pirate mugs and heard a very saucy song about sexual relations with a Moose. Oooooer. I will never look at one the same way again—especially since earlier in the summer I had already mused about what it would be like to ride one…..like a horse. That wasn’t sexual; it was a reference to how kickass Achitaka was for riding an Elk and it would be cool to see a race of people that had domesticated the Moose in a similar way. ::cough:: ANYway…

I had a very jolly time and am I so lucky I went with such affable people. I also think I found my father’s Christmas present for this year. ::mooneyes:: Even though I was so totally exhausted driving home (thank God Tori decided to call me and keep me awake during the last forty minutes), it was all worth it. I have a feeling this is the end of the summer for me but I can say it was truly fantastic. I hope for continued pleasures down the road for the remainder of the year.

Officially put these on my Christmas List. Yes, I want them all:




They come out in Novemberrr~~~

As most people know, I'm a hermit. That's what I am. I've always appreciated my downtime and like being alone in the comfort of my home rather than always out and about. Not everyone operates this why but I do. Soooo, lately, I'm surprised with how out and about I've been, with future plans for more. Don't worry; I'll go back to normal soon. ^^;

I attended another "Girls Night" with Raimy & Melissa (this time Tori was able to attend too) where they made homemade sushi & Chinese steam buns. I've never really made Asian food beyond Chop Suey so I brought the stereotype for any weeaboo gathering: Pocky (why the hell is it so expensive?!) We also enjoyed more soju & sake. Yumm~. (Therefore we covered China, Korea, & Japan! Go us!) I also got to play the second addition of Disney's Scene-It, after enjoying it so much at Miri's. I thought it was funny that the same rule was observed by them for the first Scene-It; when in doubt, guess "The Rescuers or Rescuers Down Under." Tinkerbell's wings are still out of sync no matter what version you have. :|

Last Tuesday I did the cosplay presentation at the Oakwood Library and although the turn out was small, it was 100% of the group (meaning the club is small but everyone came). We had a great interaction with the members during and after the presentation. I had Tori dress up as Link because I didn't think I would have time to put on a costume that day coming straight from work and I was right. I also had enough time to show some skits so they could get an idea what a Masquerade looked like. I didn't show any of ours (because there were kids in the room and, well, ours are almost PG-13 and full sauce, as you know). Instead we showed them the Best in Show from 2005; the Kenshin Battle Scene, as that is probably one of my most favorite skits ever. I was so happy they reacted *properly* to it! They're all hyped and want to go as a group to ACen next year, so it made me feel like I did my job! There was this one little girl (who recognized my Bottle Fairy wallpaper ::squee::) who was just so happy to talk to someone else about anime. I really just wanted to hug her; she wasn't just watching the crap on TV but the classics. All said and done, I had a lot of fun doing it and while it was a low-key event, it was enjoyable for me and from what I observed, they had fun too. <3

I'm actually doing a commission; Liz's Assistant Manager wants to have Mario & Link costumes for his kids for Halloween. So, I agreed to make them, being as they are for children, both of whom are very cute. Nevertheless I'm a little nervous because I get that way when I make something for anyone. I'm always anxious they'll get really critical of it or think I cheated them out of money!! :C This is why I don't normally make stuff for others except for very close friends.

Molly/Nick will be in town Tuesday so I'm going to go see them at Liz's. Hopefully we'll get to chat about Ohayocon then! I will also bring Barbie Horse Adventure, as promised. :3

I have a lot of respect for Liz's ability to edit videos as I finally dabbled in using Sony Vegas the other night for a project at work. I put together a montage of pictures set to music for a tribute to a portion of our department that is leaving, having been bought out. They wanted the lyrics to the song playing to appear so essentially I made a music video to pictures. It took me about an hour to actually get comfortable with the functions, having, as stated, never once used the program before. It came out nicely though and my director loved it. I really should have a job where I do this primarily as I love projects like these and they only ever come my way now and again. >.>

Tori & I continue to enjoy Tanma the Island as it continues to make us laugh out loud every episode. LOL @ Kneutboom; she is the most hilarious female "rival" ever. Everytime William is on screen we sigh & smile because that guy is HOT. I don't understand what the hell the rest of the drama community has against him! Sure, Park Gyu (::remembers a certain scene and cracks up::) is handsome and a rather strong male lead having the best interests of most people at heart. Nevertheless, he's still a proud twat. I love his actor regardless of my feelings of his character because he really plays him so geniunely; gotta love the touch of clearing his throat everytime he's nervous. He also has such a geniune shocked yell that it gets me to giggling everytime he's forced to emit it!

SPOILERS We're rather upset because it looks like they're trying to put Park Gyu & Beo Jin together and I don't like it. I really can't even predict how they're going to end this other than William going home and Park Gyu getting Beo Jin. That is how I don't want it to end though! If it can manage to be original by allowing William & Beo Jin to be together in the end, I have a feeling this series will end up being one my favorites. ::hope eternal:: /SPOILERS

Here's hoping I can figure out my weekend plans and actually get some stuff DONE this week too!!! :O

Tagged by jennekohan

Firstly: If you've been tagged, you must write your answers in your own LJ and replace any question that you dislike with a new, original question.

Secondly: Tag eight people. Don't refuse to do that. EDIT: LOL, I'm totally ignorning the tagging. Instead, this is a general tag, you're IT thing. That way no one feels obgligated....yeah, I'm bad like that.Don't tag who tagged you.

( Onto the Q's )