good weather for airstrikes

sweep me through your many-chambered heart

arisato — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 15:30:53 GMT

Sweep me through your many-chambered heart
if you like, or leave me here, flushed
amid the sap-ooze and blossom: one more dish
in the banquet called April, or think me hard-
won all your days full of women. Weeks
later, till I felt your arms around
me like a shackle, heard all the sundown
wizardries the fired body speaks.
Tell me why, if it was no more than this,
the unmuddled tumble, the renegade kiss,
today, rapt in a still life and unaware,
my paintbrush dropped like an amber hawk;
thinking I’d heard your footfall on the stair,
I listened, heartwise, for the knock.
- Diane Ackerman

bi-annual to-do list; diy edition

arisato — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 20:02:01 GMT

to-do before september/october 2011;

MUCK OUT ROOM & THROW OUT ALL CRAP AND STUFF I HAVEN'T USED IN > 6 MONTHS

sand/stain dresser, replace hardware

do something with mirror!?! +add photo frame collage around it, possibly deco paintings

borrow dad's dslr & do some photography around town

make a book light

transplant viable plants into string gardens

do something artsyfartsy in vestibule above key rack

make a magnety, chalkboardy something for the kitchen

ka-pow

candlelit vigil postponed until further notice

arisato — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 15:43:59 GMT

so i didn't get washed away in a hurricane. i did however get swept away by a torrent of personal drama.

in the past 6 months:

I changed jobs (quit starbucks, took up full-time at the office)

Mom was diagnosed with, underwent surgery, and finished radiotherapy treatment for breast cancer (again)

I started an RPG with derogatory: Thoughtformed. It's pretty chill and that's the way we like it.

I made some decisions regarding my future.

also, tumblr happened. what about you? anything new and exciting in your life?

:V

arisato — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 01:26:36 GMT

TASTY POTATOES À LA BARBIE:
(yields 3 servings - or if you tend to eat like me, 1⅔)
- 4 medium-sized white or yellow potatoes
- olive oil
- fresh rosemary, lots of it
- fresh sage, thyme, and basil (dried will work too if you're not too fussed about that sort of thing)
- ground black pepper to taste
- sea salt to taste
- tinfoil!!

Slice up your potatoes into cubes or wedges of desired size, but try not to make them too huge or they will be cooking for days. Toss them in a bowl and pour enough olive oil to coat them generously overtop. Mix with your hands until they're all coated. Toss in some rosemary, sage, thyme, and basil until well-covered, use more if you're using dried or packaged herbs. Season with freshly ground black pepper and sea salt (don't be too heavy-handed, it's nice when the flavour seeps in but you can always add more after it's done.) Mix it all up with your hands until the seasonings are evenly distributed.

Cut three roughly equal pieces of tinfoil and set them shiny-side up. Spoon a third of your potatoes onto the middle of each, and arrange according to how you like your potatoes done: if you want them rather soft make a higher pile, so less of the potatoes are sitting in the oil; if you like them crispy, spread them out evenly over the surface. Top with more rosemary. Fold the tinfoil into a parcel: with the potatoes in the middle take the two long ends and lift them up to meet one-another, and then fold them over and over themselves into a type of roll along the middle so that the heat won't escape; finish by folding the bottom ends up one or two times.

On whatever side of the grill you're not cooking the meat on, turn the heat onto low (or off, if the other side is cooking on high) and place the parcels on the grill seam-side up. Cover your grill and cook for at least 30 minutes - really I kind of do whatever here but I find 45 minutes works for me. It will really depend on the size of the potatoes and the heat inside the grill for individual cook-time (I made mine all in one batch).

When removing the parcels from the grill be VERY FUCKING CAREFUL as those motherfuckers are HOT AS BALLS. Use a lifter-flipper-thing to get them onto a plate or a wooden cutting board, do not jeopardize your hands on a hot aluminum packet filled with oil (it's a gamble that no-one wins). Prior to opening the parcels puncture them a couple of times with a fork and let them sit for a few minutes to let the steam escape - when opening them, be very careful to do it with the end you're opening away from your face. Let the opened parcel of potatoes cool for a bit then transfer them to your plate, cover them with as much salt as you wish and enjoy!! Deleeeeeecious :9

RE: fresh herbs vs. dried/packaged ones - this is always up to your own preference but if you use fresh, the flavour payoff will be much more intense. Because they still have water in them fresh herbs will release their aromas as they cook, and in some cases start to fry in the oil itself, so you'll get a much stronger and smokier flavour. I also have kind of a love affair with rosemary so I think using fresh wherever you can makes for a much better dish all around. Mmm rosemary, some day I should just suck it up and write down my recipe for rack of lamb with fresh herbs in anchovy/white wine sauce........ (but alas, today is not that day)

/kitchen nerd

Also september means ~*~HURRICANE SEASON~*~ for eastern canada and true to form, we're already rolling out the red carpet for earl. One of my coworkers seriously went out and bought a generator today (and I almost considered doing the same but fuck it, I survived Juan, I can survive anything) and the tv keeps playing soft-news specials on how to "hurricane-proof" your home, like it's going to be some kind of category 3 monstrosity when it touches canadian soil.

Personally I'm not too worried. The biggest concern I have right now is how to survive this FUCKING HEAT WAVE of subtropic conditions that seems to be preceding the hurricane. No jokes today was 38 degrees celsius with the humidity and everything factored in (Americans, that's about 101F); I was outside in little more than a scrap of cotton and I honestly thought i was going to pass out on the curb. Last night I had to sleep on the bathroom floor because the tile is the only thing in this house that doesn't retain heat.

I know a lot of my American friends are like "101? suck it up princess" but I don't think you understand: THIS IS CANADA. When you think of Canada you think of the land of eternal snow and flannel and four hours of daylight and drinking whiskey by the fire just to keep the frost out of your bone marrow, and for the majority of the year that's pretty fucking true to life!! I honestly don't even know what to do with myself besides curl up with a freezie in a bathtub full of ice and cry a lot - though I guess crying would be counterproductive seeing as dehydration will only make the weather seem hotter.

Herp derp derp my first post in like four months is me bitching and talking about food derp.

(But hey, at least it's not another list!!)

summer task-list;

arisato — Fri, 07 May 2010 18:38:06 GMT

- ~~buy a bicycle~~
- ~~buy a helmet~~
- ~~clean all the shit out of my room~~
- uuuugh clean all the shit out of my room again
- ~~configure my computer to dual-boot windows and kubuntu~~
- make hand-lettered, brown paper covers for all the books in my bookshelf
- paint (???)
- ~~plant a backyard herb garden~~
- get on that yogurt-making thing
- replace blinds with drapes, or perhaps less uggo blinds + drapes?
- do something with my europe maps (that is not just posting them up on my wall)
- do some woodcut/block/letterpress printing (a girl can dream)
- attempt to make some burnout fabric something of something-or-other design
- refurb that antique mirror
- paint/install new handles on ghetto-ass dresser
- actually do something with that copic deleter fluid
- learn how to wear makeup, accessorize, dress self without embarrassment, etc. (work in progress)
- update journal more often
- quit being such a goddamn shut-in (work in progress)
- lose weight

this list will ebb and flow with my energy levels, undoubtedly

what are you talking about, i've always been here

arisato — Sun, 02 May 2010 03:24:01 GMT

THE RP USERNAME MeME

uh so i vanished. i will probably continue to vanish - don't know why, i just don't really feel like talking these days.

things to note:
- Vancouver was amazing, had a blast with partaken and diktat, have the purikura sticker to prove it
- EVERY TIME I THINK OF halcyonjazz I MAKE THIS FACE: seriously she is so cute, it's unreal. She let me paw through her sketchbook it was like touching god
- deito with final, BE JEALOUS. Somewhere on my hard-drive I have a picture of her wearing a bear hat. m-my heart
- Got lost in the GTA with dahchi, just as intrepid as it sounds.

WHY MUST THE PEOPLE I LOVE BE SO FAR AWAY

dead sexy

arisato — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:21:51 GMT

I expressed my feelings on ff13 in hypertext here but

what I really wanna know is....

Who is everybody shipping?

(me: jfc Fang/Vanille, Me/Sazh, looking dubiously yet interestedly @ Lightning/Hope? idefk.)

p.s. yes I am back from vancouver, but for all intents and purposes I might as well not be?? jfc so many games

yoyoyo

arisato — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 01:45:26 GMT

Just thought I'd post a heads-up to any roleplayers on my flist: cityofdesai is having a 4th wall weekend! People, IC journals, from any game or fandom are welcome to come in and shit-talk, IDK. If I see anyone I recognize I'll probably waltz in and harass them with Minato, Yosuke, Yoite, or Ciel.

So c'mere c'mere c'mere.

ALSO, CRAZY NEWS - my mom's bff won 1.3 million dollars in the lottery this morning, he gets a thousand dollars a week for the next 25 years...... so I guess he's trying to get us all to the gold medal hockey game in vancouver!!!

Bizarre.

like i don't already know the answer;

arisato — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 04:30:34 GMT

kpoptwins

i can't bring myself to update seriously

arisato — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 17:48:19 GMT

god why are there so many people on my friendslist. I've got over 150 people friended and I'm pretty sure I talk to.... 20 of them at most? I just want to purge, purge, purge but I hate hurting feelings. please advise.

ALSO great news: I'm going to be in Vancouver for the 2010 olympic winter games!! don't know how I feel about going back home after 10 years. don't know if it'll feel like home at all, really - but then again neither does Halifax (note to self, get a move on with operation "move to Helsinki").

also since the trip coincides with my birthday, I'll be in Toronto from the 4th to the 7th of March....... let's hang out, livejournal.

in other news, I'm working on a Sherlock Holmes app for desai. dream big. (in case you were wondering, yes, all my thoughts are this bland and uninspiring these days!)

resolutions; 2010 ver.

arisato — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 04:05:19 GMT

this year i resolve to.....

- start (optional: finish) a sizable piece of original fiction
- work out 3 times a week
- get down to size 2
- start (and commit to) a martial art; decide: kyudo or kendo? (i am honestly leaning towards kyudo because while i find kendo more interesting, it would be rife with anime nerds and i *cannot deal* with anime nerds irl.)
- see a new country
- finish at least 3 art pieces in a different medium
- write more letters
- overhaul my wardrobe
- keep a game blog
- expand my cooking repetoire
- read twenty new (or old) books
- cut back on the artificial ingredients i ingest. start eating local and organic as much as possible.
- try my hand at culturing my own yogurt (viili or skyr - the latter is preferable but almost impossible to make in canada)
- make five new friends (dream big!!!)
- not be lonely

In other news there is a sketchy hobo that sometimes comes and rings the bell to my house in the middle of the night, looking for money. It happened a couple of times a few weeks ago and now he's at it again...... gaaaahhh

Oh and motorbike & derogatory did something, so obviously i have to, too.

First Fandom of 2009: persona 4 was early 2009.... right?
Favorite Main Character of 2009: god, watanuki. Still rocking my world, with the added bonus of half-open traditional garments and an opium hangover.
Favorite Villain of 2009: Ahhhhh so much Adachi, I just love his crazyfuck face
Favorite Video Game Character of 2009: ugh god answer is OBVIOUSLY YOSUKE. I think he's my favourite character, hands down, out of anything ever. We identify on an intellectual level.
Favorite Het Couple of 2009: ugh Aizawa/Raimei. I STILL CRY EVERY TIME I READ THAT SCENE, ALL RIGHT. get out.
Favorite Lady Couple of 2009: shit it's not even out yet and I already ship Fang and Vanille from ff13
Favorite Homo Couple of 2009: ugh tossup, it's either souji/yosuke or doumeki/watanuki. I don't think I can actually pick, I love losers in love.
Fandom That You Never Expected to Get Into: hetalia. I'm not even hella into it? Regardless, I blame europe.
Fandom That Made an Unexpected Comeback: I don't look back, don't dwell on the past. I live each day to the fullest! I don't change horses in the middle of a race! i....... don't really remember.
Fandom That Inspired the Most Crack: nod to derogatory, our trashy ouran au is going to blow all your minds - check the soundtrack if you don't believe me.
Last Fandom of 2009: let's not talk about the amount of sherlock holmes fanart I have on my computer already, shall we.

right, right.

arisato — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 17:28:15 GMT

Who here has playfire? Correction: who here has playfire and wants to add me @bearsona? :(

yes, yes, another social networking site for me to ignore.

..... Also how come I'm suddenly being showered in cookies?

a play in vanishing acts

arisato — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 02:02:42 GMT

brb, absconding to europe with derogatory. BACK IN MID-NOVEMBER, OR SOMETHING. watch for us in a fancy cafe near you:

- copenhagen, denmark
- stockholm, sweden
- helsinki, finland
- tallinn, estonia
- vilnius, lithuania
- warsaw, poland
- krakow, poland
- brasov, romania
- budapest, hungary
- ljubljena, slovenia
- venice, italy
- florence, italy

ALSO I GOT MY HAIR CUT. i have bangs like adachi. it's actually pretty swell, except for the part where i feel like a tool.

arisato — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 05:04:45 GMT

how the fuck did i miss this happening?

ps war, inc. was a GREAT FILM and I laughed to the point of tears the whole way through

holy fuck xxxholic

arisato — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:56:29 GMT

holy crap watanuki. Let me just say I've never found drug habits sexy, but I'm finding this whole turn-of-the-century opium den thing a really good look for him!!!

I cannot believe CLAMP are actually getting away with this. Not that I mind, this was totally worth the three month wait!! Like jesus, look at this tension. Either Watanuki's as stoned as a first century prostitute, or CLAMP were bound and determined to give him bedroom eyes that would set the magazine ON FIRE as people were reading it. It's not even UST anymore - shit has totally been resolved, countless times before, probably upwards of three times a night.

& I can't get over this little sprawl on the last page in which Watanuki is apparently flouting some changshan moe I never knew I had. Hnnnnngh and Doumeki the folk lit major. God, Doumeki, please keep rewriting your life plan in a desperate bid to keep up with Watanuki's overdeveloped self-destruct drive!! I think it's hot.

to summarize:

ajafair and yeah lol @lovestoned seriously "surrounded by the warmth of everyday life" by which they mean "doumeki is the big spoon"

don't ask me about my nerdy past-times, and i won't ask about yours.

arisato — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:22:03 GMT

⇘ASK MY PUPPET MEME⇖
Ask them a question!

SHIT THAT HAPPENED TONIGHT

arisato — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 05:31:18 GMT

itemized list because i am so, so full of beer:

- hung out with the cutest band alive (Trainlight, who are lovely, and all incredibly talented and interesting!!! also um hot, gee.)
- talked to a guy about flowers for 5 minutes before he asked me for my number (I GUESS I HAVE GOTTEN CUTER IN THE PAST MONTH?) - politely turned down, i am no hussy!!
- got my ass grabbed by some random (who then staggered into a gate lol)
- went for a run in a hurricane

productive day was productive? But after 8 days straight of working I must admit I am looking forward to my day off (and sleeping in until noon)

augh i am such a girl

arisato — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 22:41:56 GMT

omg omg omg so I was totally torn up when I saw that this dress was sold out on modcloth, because I know that they stock such beautiful garments that are generally so site-exclusive that they're almost impossible to find anywhere else.

And then mom and I went into splurge today, and randomly stumbled across an amazing discovery.

(so, guess who has this dress. guess who has it in a MEDIUM. guess who fits a medium perfectly again.)

(bonus round: guess who got it for cheaper than the listed price on modcloth aka FREEEEEEE.)

scream scream scream best surprise ever

arisato — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:43:23 GMT

just got my CONFIRMATION EMAIL for my europe trip!! BOOKED AND READY TO GO. Tentative trip schedule is as follows:

October 14th, 15th: Copenhagen, Denmark
October 16th - ???: Sweden
.
.
.
.
.
November 11th: Bologna, Italy

I.... have to figure out more things I want to see oh god lgkdja

an easy place to disappear

arisato — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 03:40:17 GMT

My mom and I have this game we like to play, every now and then. The game goes, whenever she comes back from a vacation or an extended stay back home in new glasgow, there is something weird and likely foreign sitting on the bottom shelf of the fridge. Outraged that it is neither diet 7-up nor tostitos spinach dip (her sole sources of nutrients), she will ask me - loudly, as though its presence there is somehow damning to our reputation - what the hell it is. When I tell her, point-blank, she will respond with "what the fuck is ______" and I will explain the purpose of said product; not because I want her to know, or that she particularly cares, but because she can't bitch to her friends about it if she doesn't know what it is.

Today, this happened.

MOM: CAITLIN! What the fuck is this!?
ME: [in the bathtub!? confused!?] uhhhh what does it look like?
MOM: I don't know!!! It's in a ziplock bag!
ME: haha, oh, that's tofu!
MOM: TOFU!? WHAT THE FU--
ME: ....
MOM: .....
ME: .....
MOM: .........
ME: ... fffff

Does anyone else's mothers do this? Like seriously. Koreans can talk all they want about how crazy their moms can be, but nobody beats a roman catholic for sheer intolerance of weird shit.

Anyway moving tagged me for a meme a while ago, and I'm just bored enough to answer it.

First: If you've been tagged, you must write your answers in your own LJ and replace any question's answer with your own.

Second: Tag eight people.

I TAG: HMMMMMM who do I want to learn more about? beardo, casiotone, laffes, realityfinale, solidor, treat, haloradio, aaannnndd reversepedo! Indulge me, guys.

Lots of pillows or just one?
- uh, lots. I currently have a single bed left over from my college days, and it is loaded up with four full-sized pillows, a body pillow, and two smaller square ones. All of them are necessary for the perfect night's sleep!

What kind of books do you read?
- ...... good..... question.....? The books I generally end up liking usually have a distinct philosophical slant to them. I like anything that takes a probing look into the cultivation of identity, whether as an individual or as a society, and anything that throws the two against one-another. I feel like a tool admitting it, but I have a real soft-spot for po-mo lit. Uhhhh also I cannot ignore anything that takes plot nods from legends, mythology, or mysticism? It was literally the only thing that kept me going through the davinci code.

What's the cutest thing you've seen today?
- omg darling_ashes and her friend taeyeon meeting up at work. You guys are so freaking cute, like basket of puppies cute, I do not understand!

What's your occupation?
- Part-time starbucks barista, part-time receptionist for the department of labour. Which is about as much as I'm allowed to disclose about my job! Hopefully now my cryptic tweets about fighting over the phone with drug addicts makes a little more sense.

What's really creepy?
- oh god oh god flying ants (it's.... a long story)

What's your current fandom/obsession/addiction?
- REBORN!, MegaTen, xxxHOLiC. Cashew butter, my life revolves around it now.

What flavor ice cream would you choose right now?
- I don't really like heavy or rich foods. Some gelato or sorbet would be nice, in a light, mild flavour like peach, lychee or pear.

What websites do you always visit when you go online?
- Gmail, twitter, lj, BWE.TV

What was the last thing you bought?
- I bought a book yesterday! But that was with reward points from work, so I suppose it doesn't count. The last thing I paid hard cash money for was a present for Luke.

If you could meet one person alive who would that be?
- No idea.

Do you get cravings?
- For fruit and fruit juice. Like all the fucking time, you'd be surprised.

What do you do to change your mood?
- I kind of want to steal Sania's answer ("go for a run"), but tbh the easiest way to change my mood is to make a mess. Either get creative in the kitchen, or start painting something or working with pastels. Usually I'm grumpy because I'm always trying to compete with myself, but making art is never a challenge for me. It's just going with the flow! Very soothing.

Do you want to learn another language?
- Ugh I am the poster-child for stuff white people like. I am always in the process of "picking up" another language, but I never manage to stick with it - mostly because I am fickle. I think rather than learning another one, I'd be better served revisiting japanese and german, and improving my proficiency there. (I'd be lying if I said I didn't really want to learn Icelandic, though.)

Five things you can't live without.
1. Oxygen
2. Water
3. Sleep (excessive amounts thereof)
4. Coffee
5. Curry

Find the closest book currently sitting near you and flip to page 54. What is the first sentence of the second paragraph?

Using my nose (because, although it has lost the powers which enabled it, so recently, to make history, it has acquired other, compensatory gifts) - turning it inwards, I've been sniffing out the atmosphere in my grandfather's house in those days after the death of India's humming hope; and wafting down to me through the years comes a curious melange of odors, filled with unease, the whiff of things concealed mingling with the odors of burgeoning romance and the sharp stink of my grandmother's curiosity and strength... while the Muslim League rejoiced, secretly of course, at the fall of its opponent, my grandfather coule be found (my nose finds him) seated every morning on what he called his "thunderbox," tears standing in his eyes.

- I..... I don't even know what that's about. The next sentance says his grandpa suffered from constipation. Cheers, Mr. Rushdie!

What's something you'd like to say to someone right now?
- it is taking an inhuman amount of effort not to hate your face right now, bc ilu but YOU DELETED IT!!!! sob, sob

What are you looking forward to?
- The great weather we're supposed to be having this week! Vegetarian potluck w/ Cory this wednesday night. Good times, good times.

Say something to the person who tagged you:
- You should come out for beers with us in Malmö!!

In other news, they are selling this at work for 49.50........ and I can't even begin to articulate how badly I want it. The cover is pretty badass (mao for louis vuitton!!), but the illustrations on the inside are absolutely amazing!! I have no idea what I'd use them for--art? But that doesn't justify $50, even minus the 30% discount. >:V

Also, watch this space for an impassioned, if lengthy tirade on why you should join cityofdesai.

/choke

arisato — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 01:34:14 GMT

Today my car got broken into! Nothing of value was stolen, but I still feel kind of violated. Got a preppie cardigan and a billion pairs of underwear (sale at the gap! skinny jeans a permanent fixture!!!! somebody is listening) and now darling_ashes is playing persona 4 in the living room.

\o/

and i believe in gentle harmony

arisato — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 02:44:19 GMT

Today I tried a peanut butter burger. It was excellent. I also finished Shadow Magic (ominously whispered title and all) and it was good! The dynamics were as engaging as they were in Havemercy and I enjoyed the little Roy cameo. They also managed to drag out the rising and falling action a little more in this one, but not by much. I love jaidani both, ridiculously, as they are both too clever by half and endlessly entertaining - but they are writing character-driven fiction in an action-driven genre. There are also a couple of plot potholes, but I'll save that for my full review which will probably happen... tomorrow, while I'm at work, trying to kill time.

I will leave you only with this: I love Alcibiades. I love him so much I can't even articualkgjfgk I loved Caius going in but somewhere along the way I got the feeling like I was reading the internal monologue of the bastard lovechild of tamaki suou and a fandom draco malfoy, off his meds. But Alcibiades, I just. I would keep him in a box if only I could find one big enough to hold all his big, messy manliness. NEXT PROTAGONIST: YANA?? Who I need to stop calling yaga.

And lastly a meme, that I saw spurious using!

Give me a person or ship and I will write one sentence of ten genres for them. The genres are:

1. Angst
2. AU
3. Crack!fic Plot
4. Future fic
5. First Time
6. Fluff
7. Humor
8. Hurt/Comfort
9. Smut
10. UST (Unresolved Sexual Tension)

(please keep in mind I reserve all right to scrap any ideas you may present me, on the basis that they may be "too hard" or that i will be "too lazy".)

what up.

arisato — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 21:45:09 GMT

I was going to say something about this being my favourite urban legend ever, but it's been debunked. Things change so quickly on the internet!!!

Also I just picked up my copy of the jaida & dani sophomore novel, whose title i shall not utter here bc i may die from giggles. Expect lots of twitter updates along the lines of "FUCK YEAH CAIUS IS DOING SOMETHING"

CUTEST MEME PREMISE EVER

arisato — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 02:42:55 GMT

❝the HARRYPOTTER meme❞

in before "zacharias smith" =;

still alive, by the way.

arisato — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:27:33 GMT

in case you were wondering.