The last few days have felt more like a week - all of my immediate family flew out for graduation, plus my grandparents from Florida, so Thursday and Friday were a lot of driving around and panicking and what not. Graduation itself was well done - kept things organized, and all of the little speeches were good. I'm not sure if it makes me a huge nerd or a social outcast (or both) that I knew more of the faculty on stage watching than the group I was actually graduating with. Now begins another round of frantic job searching, as it turns out my grocery store fall-back option may not have hours for me, and I won't find out until next week. Ugh this week, etc. I am also kind of stoned on Benadryl right now - but at least it works wonders on the itchiness.

I was going to say 'man everybody is going to have way more awesome weekends than me', and then I realized that I'm graduating on Friday and that should be way more exciting than an anime con, but...mostly I'm just stressed about my Florida grandparents being here for a week - they're not bad people, really, but they're loud and Florida and I live in a city that is pretty much entirely hippies and/or Asians, so things are going to be...tense? I am also still all hive-y - still unknown what I'm allergic to (made an appointment for next week to get a referral), but the prednisone the walk-in clinic prescribed me works awesomely for about twelve hours and then they start coming back. So I just made a one am run to Shopper's for some Benadryl so I don't wake up at eight am because I am too itchy to sleep. Right now I'm playing the 'which will kick in first, the anti-histimine effects or the drowsy effects' game.

...Yeah this week is well into crazytown already :|

So apparently my body decided Friday contained too much awesome, and decided it had to do something about it - I woke up Saturday covered in hives which Claritin and hydrocortisone cream did not put much of a dent in. This morning was even more unattractive, as they had spread to my arms and legs, and I looked kind of like I lost a fight with a fryalator. Luckily Ced had some prescription betamethasone cream which actually did help (still splotchy, less itchy though), although I'm going to go to a walk-in clinic in the morning, because best guess is that it's a reaction to something I ate, and...I don't actually have any known food allergies. And I'd really like to avoid a repeat of this.

Also, my laptop power cord finally died. Yeah, a week and a half after finally getting a new battery. On the plus side, I finally am on my way to achieving my Eeveelution team! And I am 99% sure I don't have measles (it was actually a worry, apparently there's been an outbreak in the GVRD)

Name 5 bad-ass female fictional characters and tell me why. Try and use as many different canons you can!

I think 'bad-ass' has connotations that aren't necessarily part of my perspective looking at some of these (mostly because to me it implies 'awesome in the sense of fighting' and...not really the focus for some of these), but eh. I actually realized, when I stopped to think about it, that I can think of a bunch, though some of them are canon overlap. So - sticking to one per canon and going for some more out of the way ones.

Retsu Unohana, Bleach - At first glance, she seems like yet another Yamato Nadeshiko. And then you discover that the batshit crazy fighter division are terrified of her. She has a giant flying manta ray. She has a quiet strength that I am absolutely in love with (see: various posts of me going 'ajlskdfjlksf ♥' over her interactions with Jyuushiko). (PS Kubo Tite, WTB moar old captains appearances)

Yuna, FFX - The one people will probably disagree with me for! I know the reactions to her are seriously mixed, but I love Yuna. See much of this post as to why, but - she's idealistic without being incredibly naive (she's a little naive, at the beginning, but she really does grow through the game), and she chooses her own path freely. I mean, she agrees to marry Seymour - so she can get close enough to Send him. And when that plan fails, she already has a back-up in place, and jumps off the city onto Valefor to escape. Also, FFX: proving that white mages can kick ass and take names too!

Mazikeen, Lucifer - She is the consort of the Morningstar, the war leader of her entire people, and basically a berserker demon-blooded warrior. She would do basically anything to protect those she is loyal to - and that's something she only gives out to a respected few. She was raised to be fierce and strong and independent, and she is. Also, when Lucifer pulls his epic dick move at the end of the series (I still say that was a dick move, really), she has no qualms about giving him hell for it, despite the fact that he's, you know. One of the firstborn of the Almighty.

Mitsuru Kirijo, Persona 3 - She won't hang out with you until you prove you're as smart as she is. She learned to summon a Persona when she was teeny because she wanted to protect the only family she had left. She owns, and rides a motorcycle (you get to sit in back). Also, just...her crit animation

Yelena Rossini, Transmetropolitan - Short, flat-chested, bitter as hell, can probably smoke like three packs a day. She's also an absolutely brilliant writer, and along with the other two of the Transmet trio, is willing to be put on the hit list for daring to try and take down a corrupt President - through the power of free speech.

(other awesome female characters not appearing on this list - much of the female casts of aforementioned canons, the women of Resident Evil, Samus Aran, girl-Turks, half of the Endless)

Even though the financial aspects of it will probably come back to bite me in the ass a little, I'm really glad I decided to take May off instead of jumping right back into work. It looks, unfortunately, like my hopes of finding a lab tech job are not to be, so it's back to the grocery store grind for a bit for me In June. But I've been filling my new-found free time with RP, video games, and hanging out with friends, which has been good. Both the tabletop games I'm in have been going well, and online stuff too - Ishida is a much better fit in Desai than some of my previous characters were, and I'm planning on apping at a new Psychonauts-universe game - Psitanium - with Sougyo no Kotowari, because them plus crazy summer camp for psychics is a brilliant combo. Video game-wise, I finally started playing Metroid Prime and am absolutely loving it. Yeah, yeah, I know, I'm like eight years late to the party. I always am. I'm pretty much okay with this. I did a bunch of sewing on Wonder Chef, too, and then Justin and I have an epic fabric shopping trip to Bellingham planned on Friday. I'm still a little weirded out by the fact that I can go to a different country for like...the afternoon. But Joann's has great sales. Friday is also the opening night for Night Market, which means lots of delicious food! Looking forward to that.

I know some of this is the whole 'lol six am' thing talking, but I am so tempted to write like. A long essay on the Zanpakuto Rebellion arc and what it tells us about different characters. Despite the fact that the plot was kind of awful and contradicts the rest of canon horribly, because hello, how do three of the oldest shinigami captains (two thousand years plus old) not know about a major uprising and exile of a Kuchiki. Even if the records were sealed. And let's be honest, the Beast Swords arc was pretty much pure, unadulterated crack. Delicious crack, but crack nonetheless.

But I love love love the zanpakuto spirits and their personalities. And the ones who aren't just like their masters (as opposed to say, Zabimaru or Hyourinmaru or Haineko) tell us a lot about their wielders. Senbonzakura is actually highlighted in that regard, that his impatient, short-tempered nature is actually an innate part of Byakuya, just one he's gotten better at controlling. And honestly, I could dedicate paragraph after paragraph about what Sougyo no Kotowari (who are actually responsible for me thinking this - I was discussing how I play them in BDR with someone) says about Ukitake's inner wants, or what Katen Kyokotsu tells us about Kyouraku, or how Tobiume confirms my guess that Momo is secretly awesome inside (well, okay, she's still pretty awesome outside too). And I kind of wish we had seen more than like thirty seconds of Minazuki, because I have realized in the last week or two that Unohana is probably my second-favorite captain after Ukitake. I blame Retsu and Jyuushiko's budding friendship, which is absolutely adorable, and I crave more of it.

However, the fact that it is stupid o'clock in the morning means that no, it's not actually going to get written. Not write now, anyway.

So KB and I joke frequently about how Toushirou Hijikata (from Gintama) is Ukitake's replacement-Hitsugaya in Sky Tides. Grumpypants, another Shirou-kun, etc. Tonight we realized something hilariously beautiful. Ukitake and Hitsugaya only share the same last kanji of their first names (郎 , rou). Ukitake and Hijikata on the other hand...have the same first name. 浮竹 十四郎 , Ukitake Jyuushirou, and 土方 十四郎, Hijikata Toushirou.

This will amuse me for a long time. You can't escape, Rou! You're practically family now!

-Cleaned out the inside of my car today! Which was long overdue - there was a hideous mouldering metropolitan Boston atlas in one of the trunk compartments, as well as crumbs everywhere

-Have spent way too much time playing World of Goo over the last few days, to the point where I've like...strained a muscle in my forearm or something from all of the dragging and clicking. I picked up via this promo - which is a very cool idea. Pay-what-you-want for a bunch of neat, crossplatform, DRM-free indie games, and some of the money goes to charity if you choose.

-We had the second session of our Bleach!Exalted game today! I may do a fuller write-up of all the crazy personalities we have going on (and the crazy zanpakuto to match), but I uh. Don't remember everyone's name, so it's just tidbits. The grumpy Kuchiki cousin is appropriately grumpy and Kuchiki, the guy in 5th has PAWN written all over him, and the combat loli healer is terrifying and makes excellent cookies. We're not sure yet if everyone else in 4th is nice to her because they're afraid of her, or because she'll beat up people who pick on the other healers.

-Ishida is ridiculously fun to play. I realised the other day that his relationship with Ichigo has one of two settings - arguing, or awkward. I also apped him to Desai and he is rapidly becoming BFFs with Hokuto Sumeragi.

-I can't find my library book. This saddens me.

This week has had a number of strange, fortuitous, hilarious events. Last Sunday was Dine-Out Vancouver, which Justin ended up coming to as one of our other party members dropped out at the last minute, and I ate an entire dinner plate packed with desserts.

Yesterday was VGL, in which they played Chrono Trigger music (FUCK YES), and one of the guys we came with won their costume contest by dressing as Earthworm Jim. The last is especially funny because we didn't realize it was someone we knew until after the concert, and I said when they were lining up on stage, "The Earthworm Jim guy should win just because he's willing to get up on stage wearing a shiny spandex bodysuit and what looks like a penis on his head."

Today, my chiropractor offered to pass my resume around for me. I don't think that needs any further context, really.

Also, after some grading mix-ups and what not, it is finally pretty much official - I! Am! Graduating! And I am very excited about that too.