Whoa, it’s so cold here all of a sudden o_O I’m wearing my lovely warm winter knit sweater and a pair of thick wool socks (which the catboy loves; he just attacked my right foot -_-;;).
So, does anybody else think America’s pop culture’s going down the drain on basically all levels? VMAs and all? Such a shame. Conventions of political parties are like pop concerts and pop concerts/award shows are like political conventions. I swear my brain was this close to a melt-down after the whole show.
And who the hell invited the Polyphonic Spree?? That felt like Ed Norton was starring in a movie like American Pie if you know what I mean ;_; A total waste of talent. I suppose not even 0.1 percent of the audience and viewers knew them at all.
Oh and I bet no one got the VERY subtle hints to vote, right?
That show was one of the most sickening, disturbing but at the same time uneventful and downright boring things ever to be broadcast on live TV. Bah.

[♬ The Vines - Ms Jackson]

I’ll fast forward all university-related things (one friends-only LJ post is enough) and get right on to the slightly more interesting bits and pieces.
First of all, I missed the start of the anime summer (July/August) season, so I’m open for recommendations! I have literally no clue about what new series to watch.

A few days ago (Friday?) I went to the post office to pick up my copy of Betsuma 9. Couldn’t wait to get home because I was so looking forward to the 4th and last part of ARUKO’s omnibus yomikiri series Sayonara Taiyou and the 2nd installment of Kamio Youko (Hana yori dango)’s Cat Street.
So when I came home I flopped down on the floor of my room and started reading Cat Street No. 2.

I have a feeling this is going to be a loooong series again because this chapter takes a lot of time at introducing the main characters even further. There aren’t many new things revealed about Keito’s life but the small episodes of her childhood in this chapter are very touching again. And we’re also introduced to a completely new character, Harasawa Taiyou, whom Keito went to elementary school with and who dreams of becoming a Seria A football player. We also get to know a bit more about the light-haired boy, Rei, the guy Keito slapped in the first chapter ^^;

But as far as a bigger story development goes, well there’s not much new stuff in this chapter. Keito still hasn’t decided whether to attend this free school and at one part of this chapter she even says that offer was kind of pointless because she’s too old to start school anyway – but of course we know she’s gonna end up there sooner or later ^_~

I’m very satisfied with the story so far (in fact, it’s one of my favourite series in Betsuma at the moment). Cat Street is told in a very mature, sometimes nostalgic and sad kind of way which makes this exactly my kind of story ^^;
I like the well-balanced plot pacing, it’s not too rushed and everyone gets a good deal of character introduction/development. Keito is a so-not-perfect heroine which makes her very likeable and you know she’s going to have to learn so much from a social point of view, it’s going to be interesting to watch her grow as a person as the series progresses.

I wrote a really long summary for this and the first chapter but I’m not gonna post them here because I don’t want to bore anyone to death. I’ll probably put them up somewhere online one day but if anyone wants to read them as soon as I’ve typed them up or wants to chat about Cat Street or shoujo manga in general, just drop me a line!

[♬ The Vines - Winning Days]

Most recent encounters with animals include a spider descending from the ceiling, dangling in mid-air behind me just inches away from my shoulder (o_O) and a parrot that landed on my Dad’s car the moment I stepped out of the house. Almost scared me to death, the little fella. Anyone’s missing a small green-red parrot? I tried to catch him but up, up to the sky he went everytime I tried to get a bit closer to him. Poor guy. Never saw him again.

I’m a bit obsessed with ebay at the moment. Best place to shop at in the middle of the night. Them and amazon.

It’s been incredibly hot the past few days. (Or is it weeks? I don’t know how long it’s been like that.) I’m sleeping till late noon, work in the afternoon till the evening, then I get out with friends and when I get home in the middle of the night I shop online, write incomprehensible emails, read books and listen to The Vines. (A lot.)
I’m also planning my ‘visit as many universities as possible within 3 days’ marathon. If I can decide on a city early enough (and well, I almost have already, it’s just that I’m indecisive as always), I might even be able to look at a few apartments in late August.
I also thought about ditching uni altogether and working fulltime but somehow I’m so keen on studying at the moment, I just can’t do it. I’ll probably hate myself for that decision two months into the new semester (which starts in October, so soon!) because God knows how early I’ll have to get up for classes and I’m not exactly an early morning person.
Plus I don’t want to leave this place. I really want to get out of here but at the same time I don’t want to leave this city. It’s not really a classic, balanced love-hate relationship, actually I think I’ll have to look for the pro’s of staying here with a looking glass – no, a microscope. But the most important thing is of course the fact that my family lives here. And I don’t even remotely want to think of how I missed all of them when I was in T. and how cut off I felt from everyone. I was so jealous of everyone at uni who still lived at home because they were able to go to university in the city they grew up in. I simply couldn’t believe how lucky they were…

[♬ Charlotte Hatherley - Summer]

Last night on the way from the bathroom to my bedroom I had to kill a spider that was crawling across the wall in the hall. It was quite ugly with really disgusting hairy legs. And because this happened only shortly before I went to bed, I had the most horrible spider dreams ever.

When I woke up, I saw a small black spot on one wall of my room. I jumped out of bed and put on my glasses (Harry Potter-style, no time for fiddling with contacts when there’s a mysterious spot lurking on my wall!!!). I got closer to the black spot and yes, it was a spider. Just a small one. But it had to die, too. Sorry but my room says ‘No trespassing for creatures with more than 4 legs.’

On my way from the wall to my bed I noticed another dark spot on the carpet that didn’t belong there. It looked like a small brown piece of a leaf so I wanted to pick it up. Just in time I noticed the leaf was alive o_O Another spider!! A really fat, brown one that looked strangely solid, like it had a shell for a body or something… I knew I had to act quickly because that type likes to jump and crawl away quickly so I got our vacuum cleaner and when it sucked in the spider it made a really disgusting sound from the spider’s abnormally fat body >_<

I immediately stopped my daily renditions of the Spider-Man theme song because they must have been like some sort of daily invitations for the eight-legged creatures to come into our house…