Studying at Seneca

It is the last week of classes before exams, and I am spending hours outside of class in school working on assignments and studying. Overall experience: pretty good. When my mind is feeling tired, I look at the ceilings. If you ever get the chance to visit Seneca College's Newnham campus, remember to look up. I took two pictures of ceilings I studied under on Friday, and experimented with the image curve adjustment tool in Photoshop with one of the photos.

Anime North 2013

Expect many pictures of Anime North 2013 next year. I will be there on the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. As for Toronto Anime Con, I will be missing it for work. (ノ￣-￣)ノ

To cover for Toronto Anime Con, December will have a post on *spoilers* mall food courts.

Watching People

I have an odd hobby: watching people. I enjoy watching people move, their expressions, their voices, and their reaction to anything. People are fascinating, and as long as they're not paying attention to me, I can watch them for hours while sitting in one spot. I don't mean the people who were captured on video or their recorded voice: it's the in-person experience of watching them that is relaxing and interesting.

Have you ever noticed that everyone moves differently? The way a person walks defines them and tells a story. Every bend of the knees, the swing of the arms, and the lift of the body when they take another step makes me want to stare at the person for hours. Believe it or not, I can recognize some of my friends from a distance by the way they walk. It's quite memorizing.

Also: body parts. Whenever I see someone with familiar eyes, arms, or a nose and I don't know them, I wonder if they are related to people I know who have similar features. How closely are they genetically related? Do they know each other? How would people who don't know each other but have similar looking body parts react when they realize that they have the same feature? My mind is always left wondering about these things.

Which brings me to a related issue: watching people make me look like a creep. If I were a very beautiful person, people may not have an issue with me staring at them, but I'm not. I have people asking me "what's your problem?" and being the anxious and fearful person I am, I can only reply with a "sorry" in a weak trembling voice. Should I just stick with videos?


_{Image from chapter 1 of Watashi Ni xx Shinasai, by Tooyama Ema. Chapter 1 was scanlated by For The Halibut.}

Meep

Why does the college curriculum seem busier than university's? Is it because it is a post-graduate program or is it because most of the assignments are done in groups? Maybe I'm just less productive these days and feel like it's a lot of work. Come to think of it, I have been sleeping a good 6 to 9 hours more often lately-- a great change from the 2 to 4 hours in my university days. I feel more tired during the day though.

Another thing that is troubling me is money. As long as I am a full time student, I refuse to do part-time work that takes up at least 9 hours of my week. I take a long time to read and write, and I need my sleep time. My strategy to counter having no income is to stay on a diet of two slices of bread with two slices of ham everyday for lunch. Water and hot chocolate are the main beverages, and $20 per month is the allowance for lunch and dinner at school. I know I eat a lot (5 meals a day and 2 snack times on a good day) and I'm already abnormally thin, but money. I have been coerced into spending a great amount of money and I can't go back.

I hope this will all be worth it in the end. I've sacrificed my 17-year old coin collection which I kept to my heart since a child. Every time I spend the coins, it breaks a part of me. Sounds stupid, but it's like having your pokémon cards ripped in half in front of you in 1999. Pretty devastating. It will be tough to land a full-time job in January for April and I'm never fully prepared for a big change in life, but I look forward to another world of schedules, activities, and actual money. I don't want to be stuck doing only volunteer work for more than a year though. Interviews are also a steep hill to climb.

Right now, my anti-drug is a compilation of opera, electronica, and classical music with a hint of Gravity Falls and good friends. Am I enjoying the moment? When I'm not thinking about my minor issue with money, yes.

Defend our Coast Toronto Solidarity Event 2

_{Follow-up of Defend our Coast Toronto Solidarity.}

Last Sunday, I visited the "Defend our Coast Toronto Solidarity Event." There weren't many people at first, but once Olivia Chow came into the park on her bike, people started to gather. Olivia started the event with having people singing. She then had a spokesperson from Greenpeace talk about the pipeline and its potential impacts.

After the speeches, papers with a picture of a pipe was given to people participating in the event. The pipe pictures were used to display people's messages and each person was suppose to hold up their pipe while standing beside another two people holding up their pipes. The idea was to make a pipeline with people's messages. I did not have the chance to take a picture of the people in line with their pipes, but there were a few others there that did along with videos. Olivia said that she would send the pictures and videos to Harper.

There were stickers and information flyers being handed around during the event. The larger flyer had good facts as to why the pipeline shouldn't be built. I did not know that the current running pipelines had 804 spills between 1999 and 2012, but then, I would have wanted more information on the size of the spills and how serious their discharges were.

I didn't stay for the latter half of the event, because I had a meeting later in the day. I have never been to a solidarity event before, so I did not know what to expect. I was wondering if it was more like a forum, but it turned out to be a series of short activities. I wonder if this solidarity event will have an impact to the pipeline construction decision? Guess I'll never know.

More Bins Please 2

Right now, Markham has the above two waste bins available, excluding general garbage. I'm not sure where the waste goes after leaving it at the side of the curb on garbage days, so I don't know how effective the city is with properly managing waste for low environmental impact.

Anyways, I sketched some bins with actual colours this time instead of keeping them black and white:

As you can see, I am not one who draws often. Hm... I forgot the Tim bin. Next time, next time.

Olive Eyes

Sarah Anderson has inspired me to draw this:

Title: "Not Captain Obvious Enough"
Doodle Time is very enjoyable. Thank you, Sarah!

October 2012 Morning

While half of the sky was cloudless, the other half had a cumulonimbus.

On my way to downtown from the GO station at 7:30 AM last Friday. It was a long day that day.

Reve tegro, Jo. T'degnah uo.

Defend Our Coast - Toronto Solidarity Event

While I was volunteering for Toronto's environmental film festival Planet in Focus, I was told about an upcoming solidarity rally against the construction of the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline. The host of the event is Olivia Chow, the NDP Member of Parliament for the federal riding of Trinity-Spadina.

Location: Bellevue Square Park, Toronto, ON
Date: Sunday, October 21, 2012
Time: 1 PM - ?
Event page at Facebook

I don't know much about this pipeline project even though it's been in the news often, so I looked at the project website for more information on it. From what I understand on the website, the purpose of the project (which is currently just a proposal) is to build a petroleum and liquids pipeline system between Alberta and British Columbia's coastline, and possibly ship oil between Canada and other countries across the oceans. It is a mega project that will [supposedly] create more jobs and bring economic benefit to Canada, but at the cost of potential local environmental damages to all communities, biophysical resources, and biotic life living around the pipeline. If the environmental damages actually occur, it would affect not only the local environments in its proximity, but the whole natural system on the Earth itself (because everything is connected).

Personally, I don't like the scale of this mega project. Forget about how long it would take to finish constructing the pipeline, the real question is can they finish constructing it at all? From what the media portrays and the people who I know, there are hundreds (maybe even millions) of people inside and outside of Canada who are against this whole project. Those people may be capable of stopping the whole thing half-way through its construction. It would suck if Enbridge started building the system but was never able to finish it; that would be a total waste of time, money, and natural resources.

The whole project itself is a good way to slap people on the wrist though. If we don't built a pipeline system to transport oil, where would we get our oil? I mean, I remember living in Prince George, British Columbia for about 3 months. In that short amount of time, it was pretty obvious that you won't get anywhere around that small town without a vehicle. Public transit felt non-existent, and biking or walking would take way too long to get anywhere. Heck, getting to the town itself requires driving a long way or taking a smaller airplane from Vancouver. What I'm trying to say is that people on the west coast depend on oil as much as anyone else in the rest of Canada, and we aren't going to change our habits of using oil-consuming vehicles in [most likely] the next hundred years. We also want our economy to flourish, which Canada does by exporting its natural resources.

To built the pipeline, or not to build it-- I don't know where to stand firmly. I am concerned about the environmental impacts, but I also know that people need oil for products and their daily activities. I will still attend this event though, because I am interested to see what they will do and discuss.

More Bins Please

I saw a brown bin at Seneca for coffee cups and I thought: what if the Greater Toronto Area had more bins than the blue, green, and gray bins? What would they carry? I could only think of an alternate brown bin and a Tim bin. The brown bin would be for burnables and the Tim bin would be for anything from Tim Hortons (except the food, since it should go in the green bin).

Too bad it may never work out. It's hard to get people to separate their waste.

Squirrels could take over the world 9

I was going through old pictures taken with my iTouch, and I found a picture of a squirrel from back in January. It looks like I took it at York University. The squirrel looks so cute holding onto the paper bag, desperately looking for food they shouldn't be eating.

Zellers

After news of Zellers closing, my father wanted to visit one. While looking for old and rare video games for my sister, we visited the Zellers at Hillcrest Mall. What was interesting about that Zellers is an old-style family diner. It was like McDonald's in a Walmart, but more retro. I wanted to try the food, but it was already closed for the day.

My family agreed to visit it before mid-December. I wonder if it will be open when we visit Zellers again?

In other news, that Zellers actually had a new and unopened Professor Layton and the Curious Village game for Nintendo DS. It was on a shelf full of old games in brand new condition, which was unbelievable but amazing.

Puccho in Disguise

Mission: Make a banner for Puccho Facebook page.

Solution: Draw the needed pictures on paper, then enhance it in Photoshop.

One of the deliverables:

Superb.

I give myself three pats on the shoulder.

-----
Puccho is a Japanese candy by UHA. Check out their website at: www.puccho.jp.

Seneca College

For the past two months, I've been studying Project Management at Seneca College.

I was studying in the West side of the Newnham building the day before yesterday when I noticed mist hovering around the top of Seneca Towers (I think that's what they're called). It looked nice.

One of the classes talked about how Canadians are energy hogs at one point. When it was mentioned, all I could think about were hogs. I totally agree though: Canadians generally like their energy a little too much, as do I.

An image of part of my class notes:

It is not a cold!

ヽ( ≧Д≦)ノ < Doctor, doctor!)

(Yes, dear patient? > (ಠ_ಠ)
< ヽ( -`Д´-)ノ < I think I'm ill!)

(Why do you think you are ill? > (ಠ_ಠ)

( ￣Д￣） < I sneeze every morning.)

(Only in the mornings? > (ಠ_ಠ)

(￣(工)￣) < Yes, only in the mornings.)

(How about at night or during the day? > (ಠ_ಠ)

(￣(エ)￣)ゞ < No. I feel fine during those times.)

(Put on a sweater when you get out of bed. > (ಠ_ಠ)

(；￣Д￣） < So I'm not ill?)

(You are not sick. You simply feel cold after being under a warm blanket. > (ಠ_ರೃ)

Σ(◎_◎;) < Seriously?)

(Yes. Now get out. > (ಠ_ಠ)

(；￣Д￣） < ... So I'm not sick.)

(〜￣▽￣)〜 < Thank you, doctor! Bye bye!)

(... > (ಠ_ಠ)

(... > (ಥωಥ)


Thus, by putting on a sweater every morning after getting out of bed, I stopped sneezing in the mornings... until I stopped putting on the sweaters in the mornings. Time to start that habit again.

Hoping for Rain

A light rainy day and a cloudy day with a cool breeze are my favourite kind of days. I am not a person who enjoys the Sun much, because I get itchy skin and a runny nose when I stay under its rays for more than 10 minutes. Warm days are also uncomfortable, but I admit: warm sunny days provide the best lighting for photographs, reading, and working.

It's the second day of Fall in the Western calendar, and the trees are just starting to change their colours. What's weird is that September's day-to-day temperatures seem to be rising and dropping dramatically throughout the week, and it occasionally rains on Tuesdays. I don't mind this weather though, no matter how odd it is. The smell of rain and the crisp air is nice and relaxing.

_{Top image from Aphorism by Kujo Karuna, volume 1, extra chapter: scanlated by Shinnen.}

Unplugged Expo

This is old news, but there's a new anime convention in town. Its name-- Unplugged Expo.

At first glace, it looks similar to Toronto's Fan Expo. It has anime, comics, gaming, and music; minus the horror and sci-fi categories. It also fills in the convention gap in the fall season. There aren't many conventions around Toronto in the autumn time.

What's interesting about Unplugged is that it seems to emphasize on meeting popular local cosplay artists, who are guests to the expo. Cosplaying is already a grand attraction to anime conventions, but it is nice to see that cosplayers are starting to get more recognition for their hard work.

The slogan tempts me to attend Unplugged, since it promises "a weekend of awesome," but... I cannot go. I want to focus on my readings. I'll read about people's experience at the expo, though. That's a promise!

Hello, Mr. Wabbit

"I need the hamster cage!"

... was what my father yelled when he walked into the house while taking a break from mowing the lawn. "There's a baby rabbit that just won't get out of the way of the lawn mower."

I ran out the door to see this rabbit he was talking about. It stood still next to a big hole in the ground on the side of our neighbor's house. It made me think it was a baby too because of its small size and the way it was sitting sprawled on the ground. For some reason, it had a leaf covering its face and it wouldn't move.

"It thinks it's a ninja," said my father.

My father put on gardening gloves and placed the rabbit in the cage. The rabbit didn't move nor blink.

"Put it somewhere safe, but not in the house. I'm going to finish mowing the lawn."

I put the rabbit on the front porch and went back into the house to share the news of the rabbit in a cage on our porch with my mother and sister. I went back out to take a picture of the rabbit.

Then my father had this idea that its mother left it (for good) and that it would need our help (somehow). I told him it should be put back where it was. He insisted that it was going to be killed by the local raccoons and didn't want to leave it alone. We didn't know what to do with it later. I called the local animal service groups but they were all closed, so I went to the one place that wouldn't disappoint me-- the Internet.

We ended up putting the rabbit back where we found it after the lawn was mowed.

I skipped Fan Expo

Last Wednesday night, I was bit a few times by an unknown insect or arachnid while watching television in my living room. Unknown, meaning I did not catch a glimpse of what it was that bit me, and a few times, meaning 5 times around the end of my right arm. I thought they were simple mosquito bites, so I didn't do much about them except for applying AfterBite. On Thursday night, I felt like I was having a cold and my arm swelled up as if a Lumpy Space person bit me. My arm was hurting too. I didn't feel better the next day, so I visited the doctor's after my sister's hospital check-up. The doctor said that I was having an allergic reaction to the bug bites. She said that she couldn't confirm whether it was West Nile virus or not. I was worried that I may have a cold rather than West Nile, so I cancelled my plans to attend Fan Expo. I wouldn't want to get other people sick.

LSS: there will be no post on Fan Expo 2012. Sorry.

Coin Laundry no Onna Wallpaper

Subject: Coin Laundry no Onna
Date: August 15, 2012
Format: JPEG
Size: 1280 x 800 || 1024 x 768 || 1600 x 1200
I enjoyed reading "Coin Laundry no Onna" by Hiro Kiyohara. I wanted a background of it, but I couldn't find one on the Internet. Thank you Panda Scans for the scanlations! Sorry about not asking if I can use your images before making this too.

Toronto Fan Expo 2012 Plans

I enjoyed Fan Expo on a Sunday so much last year that I decided to go to the convention on a Sunday again this year. Here's my "to-do" list for Fan Expo 2012:

- Play FE BINGO

- Take Pokémon Snap Pictures

- That pose

Fan Expo Canada's Facebook page posted a "what to expect at Fan Expo" BINGO card on their wall, which I really want to play with. Hopefully I'll get Bingo. :P I also need more Pokémon snap points. May as well get them at Fan Expo.

I haven't decided what common pose I'd like to share with you and the people at the convention yet. I guess it will have to be a surprise.

Noodle Dogs

I woke up one morning and my father was waiting for my sister and I to eat some noodles he just prepared. I went to the kitchen first, grabbed a bowl of noodles he laid out, and sat beside my mother who was watching the London Olympics. I noticed that he added cut up hot dog sausages, so I grabbed one to eat, but I freaked out the moment it was out of the soup and pile of noodles.

Apparently my aunt shared pictures of this noodle dog technique she tried the night before via Facebook. My father saw the pictures and he wanted to try it. The results were disturbing to me. It looked somewhat like an E. coli bacteria in my opinion. My sister thought it looked very odd.

It turns out this is very easy to do. Before cooking or boiling anything, all you need to do is stick the hard noodles into the sausage. Sauces can come afterwards.

I took a look at my aunt's version of the noodle dogs (or whatever this technique is really called) and the noodles and sausages were darkened from soy sauce.

At least they didn't stick the noodles into fish balls. I never want to encounter another meal like this again though. It felt weird having to bite into it.


There's a fellow Blogger with a post on noodle dogs and a picture of them before she cooked them:
http://myplumpudding.blogspot.ca/2009/05/spaghetti-dogs.html

Freddy has Feelings for Traps

I was watching the episode "In Fear of Phantom" of "Scooby Doo! Mystery Inc." when at some point of the show, Freddy tells Daphne that he really likes traps... and her. The first thing that came to my mind when he said "traps" were males disguised as females. Of course, I knew he meant device traps that are used to capture people, but it's funny how well his sentence works out with the "trap" that defines a person's deceiving appearance. Others such as Pembroke (made a comic of it) and losrdude88 (took a video) have caught onto it much earlier than I.


It's fetch.

Daria Fashion

I was at the Eaton Centre's H&M the other day and they had mannequins dressed in something that looked like Daria's signature outfit--with the green blazer and black skirt, minus the hair and glasses. I'd take a picture of the display if I had permission.

Storm Water

It was raining heavily for a short period early last week, and there was something weird floating on the newly paved roads in my neighborhood during that time.

I took a picture of the roadside. The picture's not great because I took the image with an iTouch (behind glass too) and I was in a moving vehicle. The weird floating stuff looked like watery white foam. I thought it was soap at first, but after passing more than 3 blocks worth of roads with white stuff floating by, I had second thoughts about it. Does anyone know what it is? I can't seem to find any answers off of search engines.

I like newspaper on glass

Number 87 on my to do list: cover an active office's glass window with newspaper.



Check.

No worries. I read those papers before putting them up, and recycled them after gently taking them down. Happened some time ago after a class I had in winter 2012. I failed to cover every inch of the window though, since people inside the office were freaking out about the newspaper on the glass and found what I was doing odd.

Postcards

I think I just went through a short postcards phase.

While cleaning the basement, I found some thick paper. I decided to make postcards out of them, but I wasn't sure if Canada Post allowed handmade postcards being mailed. I asked the ladies at the nearest Post Office and the answer I received was yes-- they do allow handmade postcards being sent. I finished drawing on a small number of paper cards, added stamps to them, addressed them to friends, and sent them in the mail. I'm not sure if everyone's postcards were successfully sent to their mailboxes.









It was fun. I'll send more postcards again when I feel like it.

How important is water to you?

There's no denying that water is an important resource for the well-being of life forms on our planet Earth, but what baffles me is how I value water. Sure, water is everywhere, but that doesn't mean that all that water there is safe for necessary activities like drinking or bathing. Wouldn't I want clean water for those activities opposed to unusable polluted water? I know I would.

I'm lucky to be able to live in the Greater Toronto Area where fresh water is abundant and the water filtration system is trustworthy and well maintained, but I admit-- I tend to waste water. I'd keep the tap on while I wash the dishes, and take long comfortable showers once in awhile. I'm still working on those bad habits.

Sometimes I wonder if it is because of my being in the GTA where clean water is abundant that I waste water. Another reason could be because I can afford it (though I like to keep the numbers on my bills low). I end up taking for granted the value of water and value other things like getting new clothes and manga in my everyday life. I forget that everything is connected and that every time I throw something into the garbage, it gets dumped somewhere far away where it will mix with other garbage and the water in that area, later coming back to me through the water cycle. Systems in systems connected to systems, you know? It's mind boggling.

Note to self: don't waste water and remember that everything you do has to do with water even if the connection is not visible.

_{Image from chapter 22 of Otoyomegatari (A Bride's Story), by Kaoru Mori. Chapter 22 was scanlated by Duralumin.}

Anime North 2012: Sunday

On Sunday morning, Oie Lin and I set out for Anime North at 7 AM, only to find that the subway didn't open until 8 AM. We were stuck at Sheppard Station until it opened. We could have taken the bus, but we would get lost [somehow]. Us two derps didn't think of checking the subway's Sunday operation time. At least we know when it opens now.

After hopping onto the subway, Oie Lin showed me the pictures of cosplay she took at Anime North the day before (= Saturday). She had a neat picture of a Kakashi (from Naruto) cosplayer in a tree. Once we got to the convention location, I noticed that there were other Naruto cosplayers hovering around the tree. There wasn't a photoshoot happening or anything--it seems they just really like that tree. I named it "The Ninja Tree".


_{"The Ninja Tree"}

At some point of the day, there were group photoshoots everywhere. Next to the Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt was Eyeshield 21, and across from them was the Assassin's Creed group.


<sub>Assassin's Creed group


Eyeshield 21 group setting up


I had a bad angle. It was this or getting a picture with photographer arms and heads in the picture.


I looked at the picture a second time and saw this.
I couldn't get a good shot of the Suzuna (?) cosplay.


He caught it!</sub>

I saw a beast there hiding behind groups of people.


_{This is what happens when I try to be funny.}

At the end of the event, I hung out with David and Shelley for awhile. Haven't seen them since last year's Anime North.


_{David and Shelley~ I ship them in the light way.}

Anime North 2012: Friday

Anime North this year was held on May 25th to the 27th. I only attended the Friday and Sunday event dates, but nonetheless, here is my share of the Anime North experience.

Let us start with friday.


<sub>Zhe entrance to registration


Zhe Atomic Lollipop music stage next to zhe entrance</sub>

My friends and I arrived at the Toronto Congress Centre (TCC) around 2:30 PM on Friday. We figured the line wouldn't be very long, but we were wrong. The line up for registration and pre-registered ticket pick-up already covered much of the front parking lot. I forgot how we arrived at 11 AM on Friday the year before and vowed to always arrive early.

I took about two hours for my friends to get their tickets. I had to wait for them outside of the building since I wasn't planning on registering this year. After getting their tickets, we went to grab lunch at Subway's.

When we finished eating, we split into two groups: one went to the 5 PM Digimon panel and the second group loafed around the grass area. In the grass area was a mushroom.



Across the mushroom was Poison Ivy, relaxing in the shade, waiting for Batman or Robin to pass by.


A South Park group made their way onto the grass and right when they spotted Cartman, I asked them for a picture.



Sitting in the shade on the grassy area doing nothing but trying to come up with topics to talk about with Livia gave me the idea of taking stalker images of people walking by. If you find a picture of you in the following pictures and would like me to remove them, leave a comment at the end of this post. :)


<sub>Tiger and Bunny walking West.


Eyeshield 21 boys.


I pokémon snapped a Bulbasaur. Fabulous!


My first thought: "reverse KKK? No way." Does anyone know who they're cosplaying?
Looks like they're from Baka no Test. Thanks, Anon.


Ice-cream trucks just waiting to lure people. Soon.


Supernatural's Cas


Kamen rider!


Dragon Kid and Blue Rose from Tiger and Bunny


Happy Wolverine


The back side of two fabulous cosplays.


Pikmin! Not life-sized, but giant!


Last, but not least, a Puella Madoka Magica group.</sub>


And now for the Anime North Friday story of... Ricky.


_{Ricky playing his guitar}

Livia and I sat down a grassy area after chatting with our friend Misha. After taking a few photos, she wanted to play cards. She noticed a boy playing his guitar and got me to ask him to play cards with us. Turns out he didn't have a pass and was waiting for his friends who were in the TCC. We hung out with him for a few hours until 7 PM where he left to reunite with his dearly beloveds. Hope we didn't made you feel awkward with those chats about harems, farts, and adoption, Ricky!

Friday felt too short. I would have liked to stay a longer, but a 2 hour ride back home and a good night sleep called.

To be continued in 'Anime North 2012: Sunday'.