It's Finals Week

I think that this BuzzFeed article of The 33 Stages of Finals Week pretty much explains what's happening to my friends and I this week, although most of us didn't even bother trying to study two weeks ahead of time, lol. 

Luckily for me, I only have two finals, and they're not very difficult. I just really want to do well in them because I need to make an A on the final in order to keep my A average in class, and I want to do well on my presentation because I always get nervous giving them.

So yeah, I haven't really lost any sleep because of my finals (yet). Instead, I've been procrastinating by reading Inuyasha fanfiction (I'm not totally sure how I got back into reading them except for reading a couple exceptionally good fics in a row...) and playing Clash of Clans, which Shena got me addicted to yesterday. -__-" I always choose the worst times to get addicted to things, lol.

Oh well, I'm just glad that this week is almost over. I just still have a lot of things to do before Saturday comes... D:

I might have an anime addiction...

Yeah...all of a sudden, I've gotten back into watching anime again... -__-"

After watching Sword Art Online and loving it, I started watching (before eventually dropping after the first or second episode) three different anime because I was still in the mood to watch anime. After dropping the three anime, I settled on Kyoukai no Kanata, which is called Beyond the Boundary in English.

I remember someone from anime club mentioning watching this anime when it first came out, so I decided to check it out since it was finished airing already. I really liked it, especially compared to the other three anime I tried to watch before this one, which probably showed since I finished it in only a few days. Then again, it was only 12 episodes. But still, I could have done a lot of my homework earlier instead of procrastinating all weekend, lol.

After I finished that anime, I started watching Tokyo Ravens because an acquaintance mentioned it on Facebook about how he enjoyed it since it just recently finished airing. I also ended up liking it, which is why I finished watching all 24 episodes over the weekend. -__-"

Then, in the span of three days I finished watching both the first and second season of Chihayafuru. -__-" Compared to the other supernatural/sci-fi anime I've been watching recently, Chihayafuru is a character-driven anime about karuta, an old card game that is still played today.

I'm still not sure why I had put it on my to-watch list ages ago, but I definitely don't regret it. It's so good! I think I need to start reading the manga since they aren't making a third season last time I checked.

I started watching La Corda d'Oro: Blue Sky because I friggin loved La Corda d'Oro, so I am all in favor of watching any spin-offs of the anime and manga. It only has four episodes out so far, so I'm regretting on starting it so early and anticipating watching every new episode, lol. But the plot's so ridiculous that I feel like I'm going crazy! XD

I also started watching this anime called Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei, which is translated into The Irregular at Magic High School. It's definitely interesting alright, especially with the little incestuous part that makes it both entertaining and cringe-worthy. I also wished that I waited to start this anime since I really want to know the main character's mysterious past and how it ties with the beginning scene in the first episode. Too bad it only has four episodes out. :(

Now, I'm in the middle of watching Accel World, which is an anime based off of the light novels by the same author of Sword Art Online. It's pretty good so far. Kind of similar to SAO, but different enough that I'm not constantly comparing the two anime.

So much anime in such a short amount of time... Random Japanese words keep on popping up in my head nowadays... On the bright side, my Japanese vocabulary is expanding, lol.

Math plus Disney :D

I saw this over at Buzzfeed and couldn't help but share it since finals is next week, and anyone who has math can relate, lol.

Nonverbal communication and IE

A while ago, in one of my classes, we were learning about nonverbal communication, and my teacher sent us a link to this TED Talk about it and made us email her a summary of what we found interesting about the talk.

This is what I wrote. I ended up going down memory lane, lol. (You should watch the video first. It's really interesting!)

Amy Cuddy's TED Talk was both interesting and informative about how our body influences our minds and vice versa. However, what really interested me happened towards the end of the talk when Cuddy explained why we shouldn't fake it until we make it. Instead, we should fake it until we become it, and I think that her personal story really helped make her point, because I could definitely relate to it.

For a while in high school, I decided to do Individual Events (IE) because some of my friends were doing it and persuaded me to try it out after telling me endless, hilarious stories about their topics. IE is considered a separate category in debate tournaments where individuals are given a topic and have seven minutes total to plan out what to say and give a speech about it. The judge then grades and rank people from highest to lowest in their group for each round, with the highest ranked going against each other in the end.

In my first tournament, I ranked second best in my first round. I had no idea what I was doing, but I was nervous and excited, and I guess my enthusiasm and silly speech was coherent enough to do so well overall. It probably helped that everyone else in my group were first-timers, too, and weren't as confident as me.

Because of that first round, I grew arrogant. I thought that I knew how to do IE, that I could give great speeches out of thin air. I was so so wrong, and the second round proved that. Everyone in the second round were veteran IE participants. They were intimidatingly articulate and confident. With each speaker, my self-confidence dropped further and further until I had no doubt that I would bomb my own speech. And it happened. I stopped and stuttered and hunched into myself more and more every time I messed up. It was a brutal lesson of humility.

The next round wasn't as bad as the last, but I realized that I had a ways to go to be even near as articulate as some of the veteran participants because I was still shaken from that last round and doubting myself so much. I was less confident and more hesitant in my speeches for the rest of the rounds, and it wasn't until my next tournament that I realized that the only way to get over my mental block on myself was just to fake confidence in myself until I could make it.

And it worked for a while. Until one day, I realized that I wasn't pretending anymore; I had become confident in myself again. I still had a lot to learn from my peers on how to give better speeches, but I wasn't doubting myself anymore, because somewhere along the way, pretending that I had confidence became reality, just like Cuddy described in her own story. I just wished that I knew about her two-minute technique back then, because it would have helped me get over my mental block quicker.

Cover Lover 39

Erg. I was supposed to study and work on my paper today. I barely finished reading a chapter and hung out with my friends for too long. And looked at cosplay outfits for wayyy too long. XD

Lazy week, busy weekend

It's been a lazy week and a busy weekend. Compared to the previous weeks, this week has been pretty easy since I didn't have any tests or projects to frantically finish, lol. I had a take-home test and a pop quiz, but they weren't so bad and didn't take much time. Plus, I got Friday off since it was Good Friday, so my weekend started early.

So yeah, I basically chilled and watched a lot of anime this week, which I will talk about in another post once I'm done writing everything down, lol. But the next two weeks are going to super busy since I have a test and paper due next week and finals the week after. Luckily for me, I only have to take two finals, and one is just a presentation. 

This weekend isn't even over, but it's already exhausting me, lol. Shena asked me to be a dancer for her school event since they needed another girl, and I agreed because it was the same dance that we did for MViet, so I went to practice with her yesterday to help set up and re-memorize the dance since they changed it a little bit, and that went on from 1:30-6:30. I was so hungry by the end of it since I was too lazy to go get something to eat, lol.

I kind of passed out for a bit a few hours after I got home, lol.

Today is the event, and I've also been strongly persuaded to be a model for the fashion show, so I get to wear a Korean hanbok, which will be interesting. :P After that is the dance, so the other girls and I are going to rush through changing and perform. Hopefully, I won't mess up as much as I did at the MViet performance, lol.

Even though the event is at five, I'm meeting up with Shena in an hour to go look for shirts for our dance before going to the college to finish last minute preparations and hopefully do a final rehearsal. 

Then, tomorrow, my family and I are going to Atlanta to go to the dentist to get our teeth cleaned and see my sis and other family friends, so that's going to take up the whole day when I should be studying or working on my paper. 

All-in-all, even with a three-day weekend, I still have not accomplished any homework. -__-"

The quintessential angsty teenage song

Nigahiga never fails to create hilarious parodies and skits, and after finally getting around to watching his music video, "GTFO My Room!", I love him even more.



This song really speaks to me, lol. It is essentially the angsty teenage anthem of my generation. It even has a Simple Plan/Fall Out Boy vibe to it!

Lol, I just really love it. XD

Anime Review: Sword Art Online

Title: Sword Art Online
Season: 1
Number of episodes: 25
Released date: July 8, 2012
Summary taken from IMDb:

The year is 2022, and gamers have lined up on launch day for Sword Art Online, a hotly-anticipated MMORPG that lets players connect to an immersive virtual reality world with special helmets called Nerve Gear. Kirito is one such gamer who's eager to jump back into action, having spent a great deal of time as a beta tester, and quickly becomes friends with newbie warrior Klein. But soon, Sword Art Online's 10,000 players discover that not only are they unable to log out, the only way they can return to their physical bodies is by beating the 100-level tower's final boss - death in the game means death in the real world. Now, with no one else to turn to, Kirito and the other participants must survive the game as best they can.

5 STARS - I LOVED IT

MY REVIEW: 

I've been meaning to watch this anime for a while because so many of my friends have recommended it and because I remember it being a big deal when it first came out. Now I know why everyone loved it. It's just so good!

Sword Art Online manages to blend a little bit of almost every genre into a riveting plot that just sucks you in with every episode. It's got action, adventure, fantasy, science fiction, romance, comedy, and pychological horror at times. It's great.

Not gonna lie, this anime broke almost every action/adventure anime stereotype I had before I started watching it, and I think this is why I ended up really liking it so much. That, and because I really liked most of the characters.

You've got Kirito, who is a solo player and who actually has a legit reason for being a lone wolf for the majority of the game until Asuna gets him to join her party. There's Asuna, who is a badass fighter who knows what she wants and actually does things. And there's Suguha, who is conflicted and real and relatable. There are a lot of side characters who only show up every few episodes, but they're pretty memorable, too.

Like I mentioned earlier, this anime broke most of my stereotypes. The characters actually had a relationship! One that was believable and incredible. There was none of the clearly oblivious characters or anyone dancing around about their feelings or just vague teasings of a love-line. There was kissing and declarations and heartbreak. What surprised me the most was how early on it all happened, lol.

There were a few other surprises that I wasn't really expecting though. The first few episodes seemed kind of choppy as you started to get used to how the anime is set up, with every episode seeming to be continuing from a previous episode that you didn't see. You really had to pay attention to the dates at the beginning of every episode. Also, I didn't expect the anime to be split into two parts. The first 14 episodes have one plot while the last 11 episodes have another plot. But I wasn't really complaining; I didn't have to wait another year for another 13 episode season to come out!

Though, the biggest surprise for me was the amount of feels I had while watching this anime. I mean, I honestly don't know why I'm always so surprised that I get emotionally invested with an anime, but I never really expect action-y anime to have such sad, touching parts that I actually emote. But man, that first half had me rolling in feels. The second half was more like rolling in anger at the villain.

Do I even need to say anything about the art? I loved it. I'm pretty sure I'll watch any anime with this type of art style; it's just so pretty. The outdoor scenes in the games are gorgeous, and I really liked the character designs.

Also, the music was phenomenal. The background music in every scene went so well together, it really set the atmosphere. I also liked the opening and ending songs. They were catchy and matched the anime very well.

Now I can't wait for the new season to come out in July! Yen Press is releasing the light novel, which the anime is based on, and manga, so I'm thinking about reading those as I wait for the new season.

Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Things (That Aren't Books) That I'd Like To Own

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by the Broke and Bookish.

There are so many posters and bookshelves that I want, lol.

Top Ten Bookish Things (That Aren't Books) That I'd Like To Own:

Upcoming Movies I Want to Watch

It's almost summer, which means that there are a bunch of amazing movies coming out these next few months! Here are some that I'm really looking forward to. :)

• The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (May 2)
• Godzilla (May 16)
• X-Men: Days of Future Past (May 23)
• Maleficent (May 30)
• Edge of Tomorrow (June 6)
• The Fault in Our Stars (June 6)
• The Signal (June 13)
• 22 Jump Street (June 13)
• How to Train Your Dragon 2 (June 13)
• Transformers: Age of Extinction (June 27)
• Jupiter Ascending (July 18)
• The Purge: Anarchy (July 18)
• Guardians of the Galaxy (August 1)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (August 8)
• The Giver (August 15)

Junes looks like it's going to be a busy month! I mean, 22 Jump Street and How to Train Your Dragon 2 being released on the same day??? I'm going to be spending so much time at the movies, lol.

Bearstock 2014

So Bearstock was yesterday. Not gonna lie, it wasn't as great as the past years, but I wasn't really expecting it to be since I wasn't a huge fan of the headliners. 

But what really ruined it for my friends and I were the freaking crowd surfers and drunkards in the crowd. We kept on getting hit on the head from the crowd surfers (one guy was fucking smoking when he was crowd surfing!), and there was this group of drunk sorority girls next to us that wouldn't quit pushing and being obnoxious. Plus, one girl blacked out or something and fell in front of us. Luckily, one of her sisters listened to Shanice and took her out of the crowd to get water.

But yeah, we were completely done with the crowd after another crowd surfer got near us again. Not even Krewella or the funny, drunk frat guys next to us made it worth staying in the crowd. Plus, I was hungry, lol. So we ended up leaving to get some food before going to the right side of the stage in front of the LCD screen and watching the concert there. 

When Krewella was done with their set, we went towards the back to see if we could get a picture with them, but they went back onstage for an encore, so I got to take some cool pictures from the back. 

It was so weird seeing the crowd from the outside and not being part of it like every other year. 

All in all, I think Bearstock was still enjoyable since I got to hang out with my friends, but it could have definitely been better. Shanice said that since I'll be legal next year, we should get tipsy enough to enjoy the rowdy crowd instead of getting pissed off at it, lol. We'll see. :P

Kpop Appreciation Post: Donghae & Eunhyuk, B.A.P, BTS, Super Junior M

Been a while since I did one of these... :\ Not gonna lie, I've been more preoccupied with American music these past few months.

Two months ago, Donghae and Eunhyuk released a music video, and I loved it! Being in a group with so many members, you don't really get to hear the two of them sing much, so this song really showcased their abilities, which have definitely improved since their debut.

I really love the song though. Like, I've always loved Donghae's voice, and this song went so well with it, nice and soft and soothing. And he looks so good in the mv (is my bias showing? lol), but then again, they both do.

However, B.A.P had a comeback last month, and I'm really loving it! I really like their song, "1004 (Angel)"! It just has this great rock vibe in the beginning with the guitar that distinctly reminds me of 30 Seconds to Mars, and it just keeps on building up to this head-bobbing rhythm.

Listen to the song yourself!



Like most B.A.P music videos, I really liked it. I especially liked Bang Yongguk's setting. The bleak, stark desert scene with the giant bones sticking out of the ground looked fantastic, and I loved how they made his scenes monochromatic. I liked Zelo's carousel scenes, too. The lighting and effects made it look really whimsical but dark at times.

I haven't gotten to know the members of BTS, but I've been loving all of their songs since their debut! Definitely check out "Boy in Luv", which is not at all sappy like the title seems. :P



Although I think the whole love at first sight thing in the beginning is pretty overused, the badass beat of the song totally makes up for it. I love how they're keeping their promise and are sticking to their tough, gangsta rap theme in their songs.

Super Junior M recently had a comeback, and I really like their everything, lol.

The song is fun and catchy, and they all look great, especially Donghae. XD And he was in suspenders! Ugh, like I needed anymore reason to find him attractive, lol. But seriously, the song is infectious; I can already tell that it's gonna be stuck in my head after I listen to it a few more times.



dat mustache doe...

But I really liked the music video. They didn't follow the typical mv script of following around one girl or just dancing in two or three different rooms. There were actual props and a stylish office with some fancy lights, lol. But Ryeowook holding the two lamps at the end had me laughing.

Exploring abandoned buildings...for art :P

Last week, I was helping my friend out taking pictures for his pinhole class, and I ended up taking a lot of cool pictures with my phone.

You see, he wanted to see if either one of us could fit inside the trunk of my car so that he could take multiple pictures and change film without having to find a dark room after every shot. (You have to be in absolute darkness to change film or else the film is ruined.)

After finding out that both of us could fit inside my trunk, we finally fulfilled our desire to see the old abandoned high school nearby and take pictures. (Although it's not totally abandoned; there are hobos and druggies who broke in and are most likely staying in one of the buildings.)

So after he would take a picture, he would climb inside my trunk, and I would close it on him until he knocked against the top to let me know to open the trunk, lol. It was interesting.

But the old high school looked really cool! There was so much broken glass on the ground and broken and boarded windows and rust and steps crumbling and peeling paint and graffiti and disrepair. But then there was newly painted walls and new boards on some windows and plants emerging from the concrete.

There's just something beautiful and hollow in seeing things in abandoned disrepair.

We spent around two hours looking around and taking pictures before we went to the school's dark room so Cam could develop the pictures. Out of the eight he took, only four came out really well. Unfortunately, two of them had splash marks on them because there wasn't enough solution for the film in the tub when he put them in. But they still looked pretty cool.

We're gonna go back and take more pictures, with his pinhole camera and our other fancy cameras, lol. This was an impulsive decision, so we weren't prepared. Next time, we're gonna be ready. And maybe we'll actually go inside, lol.