That’s ”Hello, how are you?” in Thai, btw. 

I’m alive and well.  I will come back on Jan. 11th with a comprehensive monologue about my shinnanigans.  Woo, it’s nice and hot here.  Because it’s part of my boss’ routine, I will be online on MSN every day at around 7-8pm Edmonton Time.  May be I’ll see you online, may be I won’t?

Anyway, Wicket is having a wicked time staying in the hotel as my personal luggage guard as there is no room for him to be lugged around in my medic bag.  Time for more shopping. Weeeee!

To Murasaki: I can’t comment even if I use the passport method. It still asks for me to sign in to xanga or to create an account. I’ve tried but every username I’ve tried has rejected me. BAH HUMBUG.

Also, Congrats to your acceptance to JET. Now, you have the interview to pass through and you’re almost there. It’s one small step to Japan, one giant leap for Murasaki-chan.

Thailand and Retrospect
Ok, I think I have finished packing. Right now, I’m sitting here and I wait until the appropriate time to take my bus comes. With me, I shall bring my luggage and carry-on to work as I shall be heading off to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with my boss on a tightly compact airplane to Thailand. Like going to Japan, it’ll be almost 15 hours of flying. GAH!

Yesterday, after work, I spent my Christmas Dinner/Dad’s Birthday dinner with my family. We chatted for a good while, then I asked them to drive me home so I could do my laundry and packing. Talk about a last minute packer. Hahaha. Matt met up with me after and he gave me my two Christmas gifts. I’ll write about gifts and presents when I come back. I really like them, though I did guess one correctly last night before opening it.

So farewell dear readers. I shall be gone for 16 days. I’ll be back in the new year with stories to tell about the exotic Thailand and its spicy foods and how it has upset my stomach or something similar. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Merry Festivus, Happy New Year and Happy Birthday (dad and Matt)!

See you on the flip side.

First, let me just say that I have no idea why my blog would not allow Murasaki to comment on my blog. I’ll look into that

Secondly, for those who are not in the know, it’s official: The Japanese department is in the know of the existance of our — Murasaki’s and mine — blogs.

Wednesday afternoon, Murasaki, Yukari-Sensei, me and my friend Mai Sakaue all met at the Upper Crust off Whyte to chat and have some well-deserved girl talk time. We took some pictures, ordered sandwiches and salads, and talked until we were all caught up in each other’s lives. It was all friendly. We all have connections with each other, whether or not we know them from JAPAKON or they were a previous student/teacher.

Little did I know that all of the conversations could be used against me in a future undetermined time. Why? Because the Japanese department knows of our blogs and probably send out teacher-spies to retrieve intelligence from all of us! The hour of deliverance is nigh! Everyone in the department: I KNOW YOU KNOW. Students, it’s time to take evasive action: begin by wearing tin foil hats on your heads! WEAR THEM!

King Kong
King Kong is a big big ape. I saw the movie with my Wednesday night crew, minus Inge, but plus Mahe and Parsons, the “Marks”, and my little sisters. We rushed over to South Common and made it just in time. It was a good film. I was impressed by how Jack Black was trying to be a serious actor in this one, but still had some comic/maniacal moments. It made sense since the character he played was ruthless opportuntist. There was a lot of slow facial shots that reminded me of the excessive use of slow facial shots in Lord of the Rings — oh wait a tick, that’s because Peter Jackson also directed this one.

Anyway, the movie is entertaining and a bit heart-wrenching. I was rather sad when King Kong fell. So if you’re super-sensitive, bring a small roll of kleenex to dab your eyes with; if you’re like the rest of us, normal, prepare to sigh and wave your fist against “the Man”. Other than that, embrace the art deco of New York, dinosaurs, the sling, low v-neck dresses, and the bowl hats. It was just amazing to watch.

Much on my Plate
There is a lot going on with me right now that I feel somewhat overwhelmed and I start to wonder if I could really handle it. It’s true that I’m on holiday since the 19th which is the date of my last final, but I’ve been busy with work, appointments, friends, family, and boyfriend that I’ve been feeling that I’ve neglected some goals that I’ve wanted to finish this month.

Sometimes it gets a bit frustrating, but what can I do? I’ve only a week until I leave and, of course, my trip is the first priority. I don’t really have much to complain about; I mean it’s kind of silly to complain, “Aw, man. I couldn’t get my letter to Bioware or resume done nor any of my knitting done because I’ll be out of the country for an all-expenses paid trip to Thailand and Nepal. My friends, family, and boyfriend have been monoplozing my time because they care about me so much that they want to spend as much time with me before I leave for my two week trip that I can’t seem to fit anytime to read. Why is life so hard?” Bah. May be I just need some me-time. I’ll find more of that in my trip. I’ll bring that fantasy book Bryce got me for my birthday and my journal (and some good pens) to help pass the time in the airplane.

EDIT: I just got Inge the best present ever. It’s coolness was confirmed by Matty. I’m sure Bryce would approve too if he knew.

Yesterday was a good day. I worked from 11-5, a decent work schedule for the day since it was incredibly busy. Sparky and I were fortunate enough to have Peanut pop in to help out with the new shipment. Weeee! Lots of nice pants, scarves, and stuff are in! If you have time, drop in my store. (Shameless plug, but it’s my blog and my beautiful store.)

Inge was suppose to be at my place at 7:15pm, but since he was running late. Matty came by first and we watched some Sex in the City. At last, Ingey came with the DVD Serenity. Serenity and the show Firefly is my latest obsessions. It’s a great sci-fi/western comedy-drama. I recommend it to anyone. It’s hip; it’s fresh; it’s drama and comedy rolled into one edible-fun sushi! Anyway, we watched the movie and I was able to recognize characters and their relationships to each other. In that way, I appreciate the movie more. I think for next year I would like to be River Tam for Halloween or for some nerdy sci-fi convention.

NOTE: 2006 SCI-FI CONVENTIONS

• PureSpeculation 2: Midicholorian Boogaloo, Edmonton Nov. 2006

• Con-version 22, Calgary Aug. 2006

I’m up for going to one of these. If anyone else dares to come with me, then by all means come. Also, I want to go to real big nerd fest, like Comic-Con or Blizzcon, in the summer of 2007. I mean, these little nerd fests are great, but I would like to see the extreme fans and be part of the jubilee.

Anyway, I also made cookies. It seems to me that the chocolate dip is not a big hit with the public. I may not make them chocolate dipped again if the response against them continues to be this strong. I’m grateful for Ingey for trying my poisonous attempts. He even took a whole batch of them home! (Though for some reason, he almost forgot them on my dining table.) Great fun Ingey has also produced a fun-filled kazoo for me. I will proudly hum “teh noob song” on my kazoo while fragging in the next gamer’s night I hold. I also recommend everyone to get their own kazoo. Why? Because it’s just that great.

Ingey’s gone for Wednesday Night Hangout with my core four and is being replaced by Marc Mahe. It’s speculation, but BJ and Mark Parsons are suppose to show up at my place too. The plan for tonight: a movie (Kiss, Kiss, Bang Bang?), then some games and cookie making. Why? Because I want to game and munch on cookies!!

Thailand Ho in 4 Days
I will be out of the country in 4 days. It’s kind of wierd because I feel as if I’m being rushed. I have a bunch of little things to do that need to get done, like my Winter Term course registration and my packing, so I feel unprepared. While I’m out travelling, I’ll post and email as little as possible. It’s best to get together with people and tell stories after the trip. Besides, I’m only going to be gone for a bit over two weeks.

Ah, I must be losing my touch with the girl world. Fellow BCC (Blue Couch Crew), Miss Fitz, hosted the annual Christmas Girl’s Night Out sans me. Sigh. Oh well, at least I still have Sparky and Brenden’s Sweater Party to look forward to this Friday. I may just attend it after dinner with my folks.

Saturday, after work, I plan to spend some quality time with my Mr. Man. It’s my final time I get with him before I head over to my boss’ house to spend Christmas eve and Christmas day with him flying to Thailand. Will there be presents exchanged? All I know is that I’m receiving 2 small presents and they came with these hints:

HINT #1: It’s reddish-orange-pink. It’s from Chapters.
HINT #2: ‘Cops and Robbers’

My response to these hints was, “Huh?” and as I dreamed last night, I came up with some strange answers: the book “Sex in the City” and a pair of hand-cuffs. Apparently, those answers are both wrong. Matty has this uncanny ability to remember the strangest things I’ve said (I think people call it listening) and store it in this enormously huge head of his for future reference and events, like Christmas gift-giving. Oh well, another idea of mine was that he got me a nice journal and a sexy policeman and an equally sexy convict for Christmas. I guess I just have to wait on Saturday. In the meantime, I’ve stolen his Ewok, Wicket, again.

Christmas time is cookie time. This week, before I head out to Thailand, Nepal, and Japan, I decided to make some cookies. This season has always been about shortbread cookies. They’re absolutely bad for you. The ingredients to a basic shortbread is flour, cornstarch, icing sugar, and butter. BAH — talk about a heart attack. Usually, I sprinkle them with those red sugar sprinkles, but this year I decided to dip them in chocolate. Mmmm.

I made my own chocolate sauce from unsweetened chocolate so I can control the amount of sugar in it.

Here’s the recipe: ANA’S SHORTBREAD COOKIES

1 cup flour
1/2 icing sugar
1/2 cornstarch
3/4 butter

Mix ‘em all together, possibly with a blender. Whip ‘em if you want. Cut into shapes. Sprinkle’em with red sugar. Bake them at 300 degrees for about 10-15 minutes.

CHOCOLATE SAUCE

2-4 squares of unsweetened chocolate
a tsp of vanilla
1/3 hot water
1/2 sugar or less
3 tbsp of butter

Melt the chocolate with butter. Add some hot water and then the sugar until dissolved. Put in some vanilla.

Use this sauce to dip the cooled cookies in. When they’re dipped, put ‘em on a sheet of wax paper and put ‘em in the fridge.

I caved in. I have created a character for World of Warcraft, so if you happen to find an Undead Rogue named Tykee around — yeah, that’s me. That’s me bumbling around trying to kill rats and stuff. Oh! I also have a pet Zergling. That’s from StarCraft for those who are unfamiliar. Yeah, it seems to me that everytime Matty and I are together we manage to outgeek ourselves everytime.

Yesterday was a surreal day at Polly Magoo’s. Kelsey, Kabuna, and I managed to hit a all-new store sales record!! Congrats to all the hardwork my gallies! Woo! We will be rolling on the commisson for the next paycheque! Weeee! (And I need that money since I’m going on a trip!)

Wicket’s Wicked Adventures
I am in love with Matty’s stuffed Ewok doll, Wicket. I can’t help, but steal it for the day to take pictures of Wicket as Bryce, Ingey and I hung out all of Friday afternoon.

Here’s Wicket in the passenger seat.

Here’s Wicket at dimsum. He sure loves his shu mai!

Here’s Wicket pouring tea!

Wicket came to work with me at Polly Magoo’s!

Silly Wicket was playing amongst the flowers. Awww!

All in all, it was a fun filled Wicket day.

Sneaky Sneaky Settlers
The Core Four met up last night to give me a break from studying STS the whole night. We played a sneaky hilarious version of Settlers. Or, rather, I played a sneaky version of Settlers.

So, there I am, the sheriff of the dusty Analantis. Other towns surrounding it are more prosperous ones, like Bryce City, Mattiopia, and Inge Town.

Bryce City is a spectacle in more ways than one. As the one town that flourished during the Wheat Depression, the city secures its resource by building roads around the wheat crops so the city looks like a pair of glasses from a bird’s eye view. Bryce City is incredibly rich in wheat resources, but is also a rich source for any resource because of its effective ports.

Mattiopia is a long winding city of white marble roads. Much like the Roman Empire, the roads were built with efficency and purpose as it winds around ports from one end of the ocean to the other. From a bird’s eye view, the settlement looks like a snake, probably purposely created to reflect the mayor of Mattiopia. It’s main resource is brick and the occasional ore — hard and cold, much like the mayor.

Inge Town is small and scattered, but prosperous in its flocks of sheep. Inge Town is also surpisingly highly cultured. Many of its townfolks are great chefs who make such great delicacies such as roasted lamb, lamb wrapped in bacon, lamb chops, lamb-feta burgers, lamb-shishkabobs, Shepherd’s pie, rack of lamb, Easter lamb pound cake and spaghetti. Divided into two, some people mistake Inge Town for the equally divided Analantis, however the lamb/sheep centered culture usually is a dead giveaway.

Then came, Analantis. Shitty shitty Analantis. Analantis is the lesser known and hidden failure of Atlantis. Also known as Atlantis version 2.0, Analantis consists of the failed citizens of Atlantis — criminals, Western-enthusiasts, plumbers — who were shipped away to construct their own civilization away from the glory of Atlantis. As a result, the settlement was divided into two on opposite ends of the continent with roads that go to nowhere. Stupidly built close to a desert, Analantis consists of one port that export/import sheep — a resource that doesn’t exist anywhere close to Analantis.

How Analantis managed to almost beat Mattiopia in the last Settler’s showdown is still a mysery. Somehow, Analantis developed a library (but with what books!?) and a monument which anted up its value. Analantis also had the biggest army amongst the settlements. Ironically, it had nothing to protect, but regardless the soliders were an asset to Analantis which almost threatened the livlihood and tyrannical stronghold of Mattiopia. Mattiopia crushed Analantis with his long marble roads and the creation of a new city which ensured his win.

Until next time fellow Settlers, until next time!

Matt and I went to watch a kendo practice at the Kendo and Naginata Club. We agreed to start. Because I’ve done it before I am given the priviledge of starting in January if I wish to. Matty’s to start up with me as well. This is very exciting as I will be swordfighting again! Weeee!

I guess I have to get my sword carrier back from Kevin …

Studying and Upcoming Events
I’ll be studying and working hard until the 19th. After the 19th, I’ll be working everyday except for Wednesday, the 21st which is my Fight Night: Christmas Edition. Mahe also invited me out for some midnight sledding on the 22nd, so that will be exciting. Other than that, Kristine and I are trying to set up a double date of some sort for the 16th. and tea with Yukari some time after the 16th to figure out. I also have some D&D action on the 18th!

Some personal goals I want to accomplish this month:
- translate Rotary Japanese sheet and fill out
- write letter to Bioware
- read two books
- knit more (green scarf)
- finish RvB shirt and Polly Magoo’s shirt
- write to Mariko in Japanese
- send out gifts and letters!!

Thailand Ho!! (For sure this time!!)
I will be gone for Osaka and Thailand from December 25th to January 10th. I plan to get little souveniers for everyone as well. Don’t worry, it’ll all be something small, cute, and cheap. (Cheesey t-shirts? Sessy linen men’s shirts? Pillows? Thai women?) I’m very excited about the layover in Osaka. I want to get an electronic dictionary! Ho ho ho. I’ll keep my journal with me, so I can write about people I met and things I’ve seen. I’m sure I’ll have internet access, but I’ll only write mini-updates or small emails. Other than that, I plan to be communicateless with people until I come back. I’ll be back with stories of the exotic, erotic, and exquisite.

Polly Magoo’s Staff Parrrty!
The girls, the boss, and all of our significant others went to Rigaletto’s for the Polly Magoo’s staff party. There was a lot of food. Matt and I ate a lot of food. It felt good since I was only running on 3 hours of sleep and 4 slices of pizza. MmmMmm.

After that Matt, Peanut, and I headed to the Leg. Grounds to look at the twinkle lights on the trees and the melting ice sculptures. It was pretty. It was twinkley. It was rather romantic, but Peanut was with us. Peanut was thinking around the same lines, “Oh, this is so romantic. Ana, I wish you weren’t here and Nathanial was here instead”. Ha ha ha ha.

Evening Breakdown
Yes, the pun was intended.

8:30pm
Bugger. The store was to close at 8pm, but last minute shoppers are leaving me in the store.

8:35pm
They finally left. Woo. Time to cash out.

8:55pm
Now that cash out is done, all I have to do is close the lights, sign out, and then head out. Wee. All I have to worry about is that final essay.

9:05pm
Fuck. Missed the bus. Waiting in ETS stop with a strange old woman and a stylish couple. The old woman keeps trying to insist conversation with the stylish couple. Every now and again, she’ll say, “It’s like summer”, stare at the couple as if she’s waiting for a reply. Strange.

9:15pm
Yay! On the bus home. Tired and will appreciate the mini nap.

9:45pm
Arrived home to the smell of Pizza Hut pizza (Vegetarian and Meat Lovers) and of Jeff. There is a ruckus in the main lobby. Oh yeah, it’s the building Christmas party. I almost forgot about that. As I looked at my haggard appearance, I convinced myself that I was not at all interested even though I was almost positive that the party will mainly consist of other twenty-somethings and my one opportunity to be “one of them” has come and past. I have outcasted myself more so from other building tenants. Will I ever meet my neighbours?

10pm
Sat down in front of computer and began to read about femme fatales. Read a bit of my notes. Hmm. What do I want to write? What is the point of my essay?? Oo — phone call from Matty!

10:35pm
What was intended to be a pleasant 15 minute phone call from my Mr. Man quickly turned to a bitter rant about how I hate the world and essays in particular. I followed it up with a 15-20 minute nap. Why can’t the world just realize my brilliance and stamp something on my forehead indicative of my IQ? GAH!

11pm
Hell with it, I’m just going to start writing what comes to mind. Best plan, surely, is to write whatever comes to mind and then begin to cut it down to size later into a clear thesis. Yes. Brilliant.

11:15pm
Hmm. This is not bad.

11:45pm
WAHHH! IT’S TERRIBLE! DELETE! Am in alarming shock of “homework paralysis”. Suddenly hate all things academic. Have had slaved for days for projects and presentations to suddenly have them due in a 2000 word essay form a few mere days of presenting “vague idea” in a class presentation. Feel like storming into class and shouting, “Oh, go fuck yourselves” would have been a much more appropriate presentation.

12:30am
600+ words written. Feeling very emotional as I chug mineral water down in manner of beer. I need a hug. Or a nap. 20 minute nap would be great right now.