Haven't posted in a while...

Been battling a bit of depression lately.. yes.. yes.. again.. I go on this stupid spurts of "what my life would have been like" and "why am I such a failure" and "can't anything go right?" syndrome that goes on to I'm sure everyone on the friggin' planet. I can't even blame it on being couped up in the apartment during winter (because it gets back during winter...).

Still sucks though.. My friend have been really helping me out though. They are always the positive reinforcement I need to keep myself from going insane. Latest thing was to take me to the beach and let me walk around in the sun and sand. (of course I broke out into hives.. I keep forgetting I get a reaction from too much sun.. but I didn't find it until I got home and it's been fine ever since).

Still it bothers me why I keep going into these cycles of depression... Just wish I'd remember what I DO have instead of wallowing in what I don't. I'm tired of feeling that I'm somehow a palm tree out in the middle of nowhere surrounded by snow.. Totally out of place and isolated.. /sigh.. I'll get out of this one way or the other.

When looking at Google images while searching for pics for this blog (you know me.. I have to be OCD about posting pictures with blogs..) I ran into Footprints. I need to read that more often .. Maybe it'll snap me back to reality sooner.

Final Fantasy history and 14 wishlist

2005 POL Message for the 1 year anniversary of the North American Launch of FFXI

Okay ya'll.. fair warning.. this is about Final Fantasy XIV which comes out next year or so. Just writing this down here since I know no one will read it but do link to it in discussions :p These are not the droids you are looking for.. if this is of no interest to ya :p

My original FFXI character - Rank 10 Sandorian Kitty Paladin (2003-2005)

Okay. For those who know I've been playing FFXI since the beta of the game way back like 6 years ago.. I lost track of time.. (checking wikia.com.. 2003 NA release..) Okay so since Summer of 2003.. In 2004 I even took a small break (for a month) playing Lineage 2 (can't find my friggin' screenshots).. but the chaos PvP drove me up the wall.. Hubby quit since we couldn't separate our accounts (we shared one with the promise that when the PS2 version came out we could pay to separate them.. alas.. it was an empty promise.. ). I tried Wow.. and well.. it didn't WOW me.. so I went back to FFXI. I since took a break in October of 2005 to start playing Everquest 2 (since hubby was playing that one since launch in 2004). We beta tested Lord of the Rings Online as well but I didn't like the feel of the combat in the game (though it was GORGEOUS). I resumed playing FFXI in April, 2008 after an almost 3 year break - THIS time playing alongside my husband. We split time between FFXI and City of Heroes (speaking of which.. I realized I don't think I've taken screenshots of my girls yet :p).

Getting my Rank 10 as a 63 PLD.. whoot! (I've seen gotten Rank 10 on this version of my girl as a WHM this time around)

Reading the different boards and forums and wiki's, etc. I'm still on the fence as to whether or not I want to even try FFXIV.. I mean seriously.. if it's 11 redux.. I'm not going. I'll just wait for Star Wars The Old Republic and call it a day. I'm not adverse to starting over (had to start over from FFXI from beta.. then again when they couldn't restore my character and started all over again back in April of last year.. /sigh).. so that's not the issue. Anyway.. the things I really want will most likely NOT happen but here are a few things in no particular order. OH! And for the record I do NOT use a "windower".. I use the Vanadiel 2008 collection that comes windowed. So if anyone gets freaked out over the fact that some options are available through the illegal windower.. Don't bother.. I don't use it. I've had friends banned for using it.. I refuse to get banned for something .. even if it's EXTREMELY HELPFUL.. okay got that out of the way.

LadySpeedster - We MUST have our own chickens.. period..

MOUNTS - When I got back to the game I was Sooooooooo happy to raise my own chocobo. It was a pain in the butt of a quest.. took a very long time (almost 2 full RL months).. but it's a cute way of getting your own chicken er.. mount.. I don't even want to know how much I paid for her but I still get a cute attack when I call her out :) Besides.. it's worth it's weight in gamehours when she saves me from walking in mollasses just getting to my destination... (Outpost warp >> Chicken >> Yay!). EQ2 handled this differently where you could buy different mounts (mostly horses though you did have access to flying carpets, Wargs, etc.) and even quest for certain ones. For those of us who would rather travel faster than snail's pace.. it's a nice way of allowing us to do so. Considering this IS another Final Fantasy game.. I'd be a wee disappointed if we didn't get our own chickens..

Lord of the Rings Online - Beta

BETTER MAPPING - Just put this picture up of LOTRO since they had the same problem (at least on the beta) as they did with FFXI. I don't have EQ's map up.. I should.. seriously.. because THIS one is something I wish EVERY MMO game has. Dangit.. I have to refer to this site but it doesn't give you the same effect. Basically the window pops up (hitting the "M" button.. as opposed to the bass ackwards way you have to do it in FFXI..) and you see where you are IN REAL TIME.. The map makes sense.. and you can see yourself running in there as an arrow. no more "where am I and where is everyone".. with maps that are not topographical (ever try to figure out those stupid maps from Empty areas like Promyvian-Holla? Yeah.. I thought so..) and half the time you are OFF the map listed. The EQ2 maps not only where helpful with their real time tracking of your character on the map.. it showed where the heck the zonelines were.. VERY helpful for someone who hasn't visited the area yet.. Also.. I didn't have to buy the maps in EQ2.. They were native to the game. The worst thing that happened was that some were blacked out like a "fog of war" to show where you have explored and where you didn't. Though half the time I just clicked the option to see the whole map to know where the heck I was going.

Everquest 2 - Raid windows

CLICKABLE CURES - Here is a great example of what I'm talking about. Again.. back to EQ2. (this is my healer btw (you have different characters for different jobs unlike FFXI).. She was a 70 Warden in this picture before the level cap and of course before I quit). Anyway.. In FFXI you have a bear of a time keeping track of people NOT in your group. For EQ2 you had Raids where in FFXI you have Alliances. I'd like to see FFXIV have an option to display your Alliance/Raid and be able to CLICK on their name (rather than tabbing) to facilitate easier curing/healing and buffing. I could simply use my mouse to touch any name on the screen and target THROUGH them to either cure them or even attack through that character. In raids it was ridiculously helpful to be able to do this. You have someone in red in group 4 and you are in group one.. I just hit one button and I have them targeted so I can keep them from dying.. try THAT in if FFXI..

VISUAL CON SYSTEM - This is also from EQ2 and COH - Alongside the FFXI "EP, EM, etc." I'd like to see colors attached to monster's names. This way I can visually see a sea of red going "oh crap.. it's all Incredibly tough".. or worse.. "NM.. oh crap".. I can't count how many times I thought this was a normal monster only find out it was 10 levels above me..

Everquest 2 - Solo mission against a Dragon

MAINTAIN STATUS BARS - So far just about every MMO now has this option. Check out this screenshot from EQ2 - again my healer Aslin (yes it's a little dark.. I was too lazy to change it). The top right icons show buffs that are ON ME with timers telling me how long I have left before I run out. This includes heals (some are 1 minute regens, etc.) to buffs, mount times, temp buffs, permanent buffs.. ALL with timers telling me when they are going to wear on me. The top left is almost identical but it represents timers that I am currently maintaining. Things like buffs on groups and raids. So if I am going "why is his defense low.. " I can tell that some monster stripped my buff off a person (and yes it says who the target is).. I always wished FFXI had this.. here's to hoping FFXIV has something similar. For a healer.. you have NO idea how useful this feature is.

Everquest 2 - Mission log

QUEST JOURNAL THAT MAKES SENSE!! - FFXI was notorious for going "Such and such quest".. and no other information in there.. How did I know that after talking to some chick in Sandoria I had to get a rare/ex of Kirin? I mean.. wtf.. If it wasn't for sites like Mystery Tour in the past and now the ridiculously useful FFXI Wiki.. I'd be loss beyond all possible comprehension in FFXI. In EQ2 they at least gave you the quest, and possible leads. It didn't always tell you exactly what to do.. but when maintaining a lot of quests (or if you just left it for 2 months later) you know what you accomplished and what you need next. I hope FFXIV has a more robust quest log.

Final Fantasy XI - Wedding (after 11 months of /random lottery.. /groan..) I'm sitting on the front row (my sponsor is wearing her wedding gear (and yes she won her lottery almost 5 months before me..) and my friend who stood in for my RL husband is sitting next to me in the Sandorian Aketon). We had an awesome time! I wish it was more readily accessible to everyone. (P.S. This was before there was wedding gear for the guys)

BETTER RUN IN-GAME EVENTS - Okay this only goes for my griping about getting married the first time around.. but lemme explain.. no wait that will take too long.. lemme sum up.. The first time I heard of in-game marriages (save your comments about WHY anyone would get married in game please) I heard it from my Japanese friends who comprised of 90% of my friends list at the time (I had to play during Japanese prime time and I was very fortunate to find really nice people with broken English who didn't mind spending time with me).. they had GM moderated weddings almost 2 full years before the NA's were allowed to have it. Even so.. even with the bitching about the JPN/NA problems with unevenness.. the system itself was warped. Someone who just started the game right now can theoretically get married in the first available over someone who had applied 10 months before.. Trust me.. I saw it happen. If SOE plans to reinstate something like this in the future I ask that they abolish the Lottery System and please go to first come first serve. Even if it's months ahead of time.. I'd rather do that then have my poor sponsor have to play the lottery game for more than 44 weeks in a row.. (this is also why I refused to try to do this again with my RL husband this time around and opted on getting the replica crafted gear instead. Though I would have preferred the whole ceremony again.. I mean.. I am geeky like that.

Present Day - Hubby and me playing game with the tops of our replica wedding gear (Opaline and Argent) to celebrate our 12 year anniversary

DEATH DEBT - I don't have a screenshot for this so bear with me - I HATE deleveling. Having played a few MMO's who handle death very differently here are my options. COH and EQ2 both have a debt system. You don't lose experience like you do in FFXI but you get basically the lost of xp as another bar to add to your upcoming xp. For example. I just leveled 10 and I died. What FFXI would do is to tack on the debt and go BACKWARDS and take it away from what you earned. You could be sitting there naked because the gear you just learned to use is now not equipable because you are back to level 9.. (My original character was 51/52 about 13 times in one month thanks to the problems getting AF keys in Eldieme way back when). I hope with FFXIV they institute a debt system rather than a full delevel. EQ2 added to it by instituting armor degradation where you had to pay to repair your armor. I don't like that part. For someone who doesn't make a lot of money to begin with.. that's a detrimental way of doing things. I'd rather do the COH version and just keep the debt with no fear of going backwards. There is still a penalty of death since GAINING xp from that point on is stunted by having to pay off the debt first rather than gain additional xp to your next level.

Ode to my old character in full Wedding Gear (and sporting the Airship glitch)

STORAGE!! - Again.. another EQ2 thing which has different implications. For those who didn't know - EQ2 allows crafters to create boxes, bags, quivers, etc. that you can sell to allow more storage to your character or ingame bank. For example. When you start you have about 8 slots you can hold things. But.. you can put a bag in one of the slots that is 10 slots and now you have 18 slots to hold crap in. Multiply that with the slots and upgrade to 40 slot bags or boxes and you have several hundred slots. For a crafter. I'd fill EVERY SINGLE ONE with just harvestables.. The bonuses were obvious. To crafters you could make money in just making boxes (Carpenter) or bags (Tailor). This also included Quivers (Tailor) to hold arrows, throwing items, etc.

SE CUSTOMER SERVICE - This is a catch all gripe. For anyone who has had problems with either lack of help with either GM's, Customer Service Reps on the phone.. or even SE announcements themselves.. I'd sum it up with

• a) make more official announcements.. even if if they are not showing much information.. take the time to say SOMETHING about what you are working on and don't leave us in the dark.. especially if there are problems.
  
• b) DO NOT NINJA FIX - I don't care what it is.. "NPC was displaying incorrectly a hat instead of a scarf".. TELL us what was changed. We can deduce later our own stuff but the fact of the matter is.. if there is a change.. put patch notes.. Even mondane stuff.. Don't ninja nerf something and ignore the community. If it has to be fixed.. TELL us what it is.. I think a lot of crying by the community will stop in general if we had some acknowledgement.
  
• c) Hire competent GM's.. Don't hire someone without at least a grasp of the game. Even generally. I know it's a pain of an arse job.. but if someone calls for help and they don't know wtf a taru is.. it's just another SEFAIL...
• CHOOSE YOUR OWN SERVER - So we don't have a repeat of FFXI's golden years of fail with the stupid World Passes (even Penny Arcade had fun with this).. Let US decide where we want to go. I dont' care if the servers are mixed with all the countries and time zones.. seriously I just want to go to "such and such server" if I know my friends are there. Plain and simple.
  

CUSTOMIZATION OF WINDOWS - Last but certainly not least - allow customization of our windows. I'd love to put chat and combat in seperate windows (see my EQ2 pics for that example) so I don't miss something. If I'm waiting for a TP call or something I just lost it in the combat (which I do like seeing). Give ME the option to see it or not see it or put it in another place on my screen. Personally EQ2 had this right where they allowed outside UI's to exist on top of their own. If you didn't like the normal UI for the game.. make your own or download one of the dozen versions available. Even if they DIDN'T want someone else to mod UI the game.. allow for players to change positions of windows using the FFXIV engine. Get with the times.. EVERY MMO has this option.

Dealing with Spam with Trial accounts - EQ2 and COH got this right.. Ban new players (specifically the ones on a trial account) from sending tells. That alone will stop a lot of crap.

This to keep - Level Synch..{Yes, Please}.. That is all

12 years and counting...

Tomorrow is our 12 year wedding anniversary.. wow.. time flies.. I actually sat down and took note of everything we've ever gone through.. from me being sick.. to him being out of work for over a year.. to us losing our place to live.. to gaining another back.. a job promotion.. and most of all.. we are still together and still in love. We still play games and goof around.. and we still look at each other saying "wow.. this is crazy.. you still want to stay with me"..

I think that is what shocks me the most.. someone still wants to stay with me. I think I'll never get used to it. I'm perfectly happy with staying with someone.. especially if it's hubby.. but .. ya'll know me.. I mean.. who would want to stay with me? I can almost hear him say "shuddap..." and go on about some nonsense about how horrible he really is.. and how fat he is.. and who on Earth would marry him.. then I'd have to go over and clobber him.. I mean.. I'd do it anyway.. but why provoke the attack? LOL

It's scary when I come to think that I currently hold the record in my family.. My parents only lasted 17 years and that was just a number.. trust me.. it was over before it started.. the current ongoing record is mine. Mom's still divorced (still crossing fingers on whether this new one is Mister Right..), Dad's still divorced and constantly complaining about his girlfriend.. though.. he never really did married though she's been around for a long time now.. My oldest sister is still divorced, my middle sister is married but got married 3 years after me (though I'm happy to say she is still happily married :D ). And even my nephews - none are married and one has a boy but already broke up with his girlfriend. Not like my husband's family.. in fact my inlaws are over the 40 year mark (yay) and still going strong.

In this day and age I kinda feel sad for those who attack the institution of marriage (trust me this won't get political.. ) because I AM one of the lucky ones that got it right the first time. Lord knows I'm surrounded by the unfortunate ones.. kinda makes me feel guilty.. but happy at least that it DOES work with some people. Even recent friends whom I've met through the internet.. it excites me when I hear of wedding anniversaries and that things are going well with the relationship (even if anything else around isn't going so hot (job, health, finances, etc.)). Lord knows I know a weeee bit about that..

"Duty Calls" ©xkcd

Overall I'm ecstatic. I genuinely feel this guy is staying for me until we both get old and goofy.. wait.. we are already there.. /sigh. I mean for starters we got anniversary presents.. in game.. we got ourselves wedding gear for our in game characters.. you don't get geekier than that.. (LOL I should take a picture of it.. (eta.. I added it below) Anyway.. it's on Sunday.. he doesn't have to work and we aren't doing anything with anyone else so it's our weekend :D Having already spent any money we had on regular life stuff we don't get each other presents. Lord knows we totally spoil each other every other day of the year.. trust me on this.. LOL!! Still.. it's nice to know when I wake up in the morning there is a guy waiting for me to wake up just so he can say he loves me. That still makes me cry thinking of it.. I have done nothing to deserve it and by all rights he should have left me.. but he's still here and I'm ecstatic.

P.S. I took pics - granted they are only the tops of the wedding wear.. but he got me the top when I got him his :D

I love Geek friends :)

Yes.. we've been there...

During my previous D&D Night I noticed one of our friends with the best T'shirt ever made.. him being in tech and having had the question posed like a thousand times.. a day.. I found it hilarious he had to get a T'shirt :) I totally forgot I had this picture taken and he really was a good sport to just stand there so I can blog about it :D

One of those days..

Must.. stop.. sneezing..

You know those times where at the time it wasn't funny but when you look back it was? I didn't have one of those.. I had a "omg that was painful" but funny as hell when it happened. Well.. it went like this. I'm sick.. whoopty-do.. I'm always sick.. of something or of it.. so this time my friend from Delaware got hubby sick and he got me sick.. I'm sneezing like crazy.. then today I had a baaaad headache and I crawled .. sorta to bed .. it's like instinct now.. hubby thinks it's funny.. this was not amusing.. Anywho.. he figured with my friggin' fever he should get some Aleve in me to bring that down. Sucker doesn't do anything for my headaches but it does well with fever reduction and general aches and pains. Then.. at the worst possible moment.. while I was drinking water and taking 2 Aleve at the same time.. THIS happened...

Yep.. I sneezed.. not just any sneeze.. one that baptised the bed, my blankets, me and hubby.. it was so explosive I thought my head was going to go with it.. MAN it was painful.. ever sneeze while swallowing 2 solids and a liquid? If you haven't.. that's cool.. it's nothing I'm writing home about.. wait.. oh nvm.. /sigh.. Anyway.. as soon as I did it hubby looked over and had the best W.. T.. F.. look to his face.. it was classic. We both bursted out laughing so hard it was painful at the same time. I can barely see straight.. I'm covered in water.. HE is covered in water.. heck we are not even sure I managed to actually SWALLOW the pills but he didn't see any projectiles embedded into furniture... or worse.. on him.. it wasn't on me.. it wasn't on the bed.. so I guess I did manage to swallows the stupid pills.

All in all I managed to get some sleep after having muscle spasms in my chest from the freaking out laughing and I think the pills lodged in my chest.. /sigh You had to see it though.. it was like one of those oooooold cartoons of a chicken sneezing and all of it's feathers came off leaving them in a poof of feathers on the ground? Yeah.. couldn't find a picture of that so you have to use your imagination..

Movie comparisons.. oh.. the food..

I got a Netflix account when I found out that I can watch free movies through my Xbox 360 with their new "Instant Watch" service.. omfg.. I have caught up on an insane amount of Anime... okay ehem.. let's get to this post.. LOL Okay.. First thing is first.. I went by the recommendations of people on the Netflix site and round this totally adorable movie called "Tortilla Soup". I watched it around 3 am and was soooooooooo hungry for the food shown.. (you have no idea how much I kept going "oh so that's how they do that..") that I emailed my friend Carol going "you have to watch this movie.. I went on to describe it and she goes.. "uhm.. that's a remake of the movie Eat, Drink, Man, Woman that I blogged about!!!".. LOL wow.. sorry.. had a moment. So.. still being a Netflix account I rented the movie (since it was not available through instant watch the way Tortilla Soup was) and it arrived on Friday. Just saw it this morning (also 3 am..) and was dumbstruck as to how different the feel of each movie was!

Both stories have to do with a Widower who is a semi-retired Chef raising 3 grown daughters. Each has their own lives that finally start to branch out into their own leaving their father to deal with the loss. In each film the father continues a tradition of elaborate Sunday meals that would make any restaurant experience seem bland.. Father feels out of touch with his daughter's lives and tries to change his own situation by doing something else. Friend's mother comes back into her life and she goes to try to seduce the widower to unexpected results. Obviously knowing that this was the original movie that Tortilla soup was based on.. and because I saw Tortilla Soup first.. I expected it to be a complete rip of the original. When it first started there were similar things shown. One daughter was an executive with an open relationship with her boyfriend whom she didn't want to commit to, one was a born again Christian who was an old maid and the last was a young college age student who got involved with her friend's ex boyfriend. That's BOTH movies in a nutshell. That's where the similarities end.

I can't believe how different in feel they were. Obviously growing up rowdy Latin I was cackling and crying and laughing in Tortilla Soup because I was going "yep.. that's my Aunt".. "omg.. that's close to my Uncle..".. and "Damn that's my cousin.." and "oh that might be my sister.".. With Eat, Drink, Man, Woman.. I felt so out of place because it wasn't my culture but wow.. what an eye-opener! Granted Tortilla Soup was profoundly Mexican (and I'm Puerto Rican), I still found myself drooling more in Tortilla Soup rather than Eat, Drink, Man, Woman.. because I didn't know what anything tasted like.. in Tortilla Soup I was going "OMFG I WANT THAT".. and half the time in Eat, Drink, Man, Woman I was going "wtf... " Especially the frogs.. omg.. the frogs..

A few of the major differences was how the exact same story was different in each CULTURE.. Chinese.. no one talks to each other and if they do it's like one word answers.. Latin culture.. Dad is domineering and there's an all out drag out shouting match with various household items flying in the air.. NO one keeps opinions to themselves in Latin Culture.. in the Chinese movie.. only the Divorced woman's Mom was the yapper.. I found it interesting that in the Chinese movie the youngest daughter got pregnant.. in the Latin Culture there would have been a homicide by Dad.. trust me on this.. LOL It would have been Eat, Drink, Man.. wtf did you do to my little girl.. BANG.. movie over.. last shot is of either Dad in Jail or his funeral because he shot himself and his family after that.. ehem.. sorry.. see what I mean about different cultures? In Tortilla Soup there was CONSTANT chatter and talking and chatter and talking.. and eating.. and chatter and talking.. Eat Drink Man Woman I didn't have any trouble keeping up with the subtitles because there wasn't much dialogue!

The ending was also decidedly different. The middle girl rejects the job to Barcelona becomes a chef and everyone is all happy and living close to each other like one big happy rowdy family in Tortilla Soup.. In Eat Drink Man Woman.. they all seem to be completely away from each other and it's almost "felt" like a sad ending. The middle girl did go to Amsterdam, came back and bought her father's home and went on with her life basically alone.

The food.. oy the food.. I drooled every 10 seconds in Tortilla Soup.. having had a lot of the dishes or dreamed about having them but didn't have gold bullion lying around.. while in Eat Drink Man Woman I had no clue what anything tasted like.. half the ingredients I was freaking out with and the other half I was bewildered.. I'm sure Carol was having foodgasms in Eat Drink Man Woman while I was having my foodgasms with Tortilla Soup!

All in all both movies were wonderful! I wouldn't consider them chick flicks but they were really cute cultural movies that had a fantastic display of food! If you want my recommendation.. rent them both! Culturally you will enjoy the differences! I plan to own both movies at some point.

Kazuhiko Akiyama blog

Kazuhiko Akiyama © Kazuhiko Akiyama 2008

There are very few times I am proud of something I do. Last night was one of those rare occasions though. I wrote a blog entry on this guy last night. Not since Michael Milner have I been requested to do a blog about someone. Just never thought I'd be allowed to do it. Granted I didn't get to do the whole question and answer thing but hey it's something he knows I did and others here in the USA are going to be reading it (which of course is the complete intention). I'm at least happy the initial responses have been positive! I had a lot of fun writing it.

Happy Cows come from Japan.. or China.. which is it? LMAO

Happy Cow!

All ya'll know my fascination with Anime, Japan and all things related in between.. so it was needless to say when I found out this year was the year of the Ox (or Cow) in the Chinese Zodiac.. I started to think of one of my favorite Anime's.. Fruits Basket!

Fruits Basket DVD cover - Hatsaharu Sohma

Immediately I thought of Haru!! Hatsuharu Sohma (草摩 溌春, Sōma Hatsuharu) who plays the character cursed by the spirit of the Ox of the Chinese Zodiac.

Haru's usual wear.. black leather chaps.. LOL

Again.. the only reason I knew what year it was .. it was because of learning much from my dear friend in Japan - Carol who blogged about the year of the Ox on her blog :) And.. an awesome blog writer I adore.. wrote a certain piece on cows as well :D (LMAO Ube I'm still laughing on the burger...)

I .. love.. Ube.. that's all I have to say :)

Ehem.. anyway .. there are 12 animals of the zodiac.. and no.. there is no cat in the Chinese Zodiac.. /cries.. I'm such a fan of the cat.. I'm part of the fanclub.. honestly :D

Story of the animals going to the banquet from the Chinese Zodiac

Knowing also that the past year was year or the rat I immediately remembered part of the order of animals because of the beginning of the anime where Tohru's mom in the story recounted the story of the animals.

Hatsuharu Sohma of Fruits Basket

Even if it was part of an anime I thought it was cute I even had some sort of a clue as to animals that are a part of the New Years in East Asia :) I think it started in China and ended up spreading .. but I can't stop thinking of Japanese New Year when I think of Fruits Basket and year of the cow :)

.. shudders.. Elsie.. the cow..

P.S... I probably shouldn't be showing you this... but.. There is an Elsie.. the cow.. Blame Borden's Cheese.. omg.. I hated growing up with my nickname.. I mean I swear.. I didn't look like a cow.. wait.. there was that time when I was 17.. oy.. scrubs brain... I hate my cousins.. I hate my cousins.. okay.. happy thoughts.. happy thoughts..

Happy New Year :)