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An Expensive Weekend
2002-11-17 22:55:49
It was already expensive because I went to the movies two nights in a row--Harry Potter on Friday and Spirited Away on Saturday. More on those later, I hope. But today really did it.
I was having a late lunch at this soup and sandwich place where I eat frequently, when I ran into a woman I know. She mentioned that there was a craft show by local artists in town, so I figured I'd go and see if I could get any Christmas shopping done. Well, I was wearing a backpack, and without meaning to, I knocked over a jewelry display when the backpack brushed against it, and a necklace broke. The woman who was running the booth (who may or may not have been the artist) picked it up and said, "Well, that wasn't how I wanted to make my last $200 of sales today."
Of course I was apologetic, and I asked what I should/could do to make it right. She said I didn't have to buy the broken thing since it was broken, but suggested I could buy something new, then said it was "between me and my conscience." She wasn't happy about it all, obviously, but she wasn't mean either--in fact, she said she could tell that it was clearly an accident.
So I looked over the stuff, anf frankly, I didn't like any of it much. It also seemed awfully high-priced for what it was; earrings started at $28, and it was just glass and wire stuff. So finally I chose a pendant on the low end of the range which turned out to cost about $35. It wasn't great, but I thought maybe I wouldn't mind it. It was on a grey silk cord which I didn't like very much, so after I paid for it I asked the woman if she had a different colored cord. She said she didn't have any with her, and I said that was fine and turned to go. Then she said "I think it's bold of you to ask that. You broke a couple of very expensive things."
Well, needless to say, I was floored. I mean, the conversation was essentially over at that point--why did she have to add that?! And since she was relatively gracious about the whole thing up to that point, why make a big deal over a 99-cent silk cord? Maybe she was mad because I didn't buy something more expensive, but (1) I just did what she told me to, (2) $35 is a lot of money for me to drop on a whim, and (3) if that other thing really was priced at $200 that was just her estimation of her artistic skill, because it wasn't the worth of the materials involved.
Anyway, the whole incident left a bad taste in my mouth. I certainly don't want to wear the stupid necklace now. I can't think of anyone to give it to for Christmas, so maybe I'll sell it. - Koopiskeva... 2002-11-14 14:24:11 It's the Urbana-Champaign campus. I work there.
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I'm Not Dead Yet! I'm Feeling Better!
2002-11-14 13:24:08
I've been reading other people's live journals lately and they seem like a neat place to put your favorite rants and stuff. I toyed with the idea of getting one myself, and then I thought, "Hey, wait a minute! I already have one at amv.org!" I used to try to keep it as a work journal, but that's kind of dull. So I'm back, and I'm going to try to do some real writing this time.
I'll start with the fact that the friend who got me into anime came to visit last weekend, and she came to anime club with me. It was really weird to realize that I've become a much bigger fan than her, and that my tastes are much broader. She doesn't like comedies very much, which is odd because we write MiSTings together. What she likes best is deep, dark, tragically ironic, non-ambiguous, angsty fantasy. She also likes Ranma because "it's not too weird" (i.e., you're never left at the end of an episode muttering "So what the heck just happened?").
We had a good time, though, and we got to do almost everything we were planning on. She brought a couple of chapters of the new book she's working on, and we went to some great restaurants.
In other news, I am working on a new video, but it's not anime--it's Lord of the Rings. I'm trying a few new things this time around, with a loose plotline and even my first digital effect (oooooh!).
Gotta get back to work now. (At my job, that is, not on the video.) - P.S. 2002-04-30 16:34:14 Oops, I see I made a mistake in my last entry--the problem wasn't with the university sound system, but with my file, apparently. I still don't know what happened, since it was pretty loud on my home computer.
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Premiere!
2002-04-30 16:29:30
My video premiered on Sunday at the University of Illinois club contest. They did the whole thing as an Iron Chef parody--"Iron Otaku." One guy played the Chairman and he spoke in Japanese while another guy stood beside him and read out the translations in English. The panelists were the Iron Otaku: Iron Otaku Drama, Iron Otaku Parody, Iron Otaku Comedy ... I think the fourth was Iron Otaku Action, but I'm not certain. They viewed each of the videos and gave out comments in character. One of the panelists did a voice like those starlets that are always on Iron Chef, which cracked up everybody.
Unfortunately something went wrong with the sound system and my video could barely be heard. I think that took away a lot of the impact, but oh well. It was interesting to see it on a big screen with very saturated color. It looked totally different from the way it looked on my computer. The panelists all felt it was slow, which was no surprise, but otherwise they were very kind. One person said she thought it was "sad," which surprised me a bit. It's not comedy, but I hadn't really thought of it as a sad video.
Anyway, I'm glad to have the premiere out of the way. All the entrants got free Pocky, too--you can't beat that! The contest winner was "Sakura's Dirge" by alessan, which definitely deserved to win. That was an EVIL and hilarious idea! Everybody go request it from him on ICQ now! You can find details at this page: http://www.animemusicvideos.org/video.php?v=6078
JOURNAL: kaitoujuliet
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