The resolution isn’t high enough for me to tell what his expression actually is, but I’d like to think he’s delighted.

And why wouldn’t he be? Living in a country where things like what’s pictured below are just an everyday occurrence…

Some friends of mine

1. A new Nintendo DS Lite
Yeah. now you totally see what I mean. “But Cass,” you say, “I thought you already had a DS! You’re completely DS-CRAZY!”
Well, you see, the sad part is that I am a DS-o-phile, and the even sadder part is that my DS broke a while ago (maybe a month now?) so now I am unable to finish Zelda, and also I’m getting more and more afraid of the weeding I’ll have to do when I eventually get back on to Animal Crossing

2. DVD: Nadia and the Secret of Bluewater
Don’t even try. You’re so not going to find it at JB. And no, it’s not a porn, it’s an anime. And no, it’s not hentai.

3. A new mobile phone
I’m currently using Tim’s old mobile. I would dearly love to have a phone which can use realtones and also has other fun features.

4. A drawing tablet for the computer
But not the one that’s on display/demo at Harvey Norman Indooroopilly, that one has not worked once in the million times we’ve been there.

5. Anything with mermaids
Okay so this might not be ridiculously expensive. I pretty much mean movies or tv shows. I already have the first two DVDs of the first season of H2o – Just Add Water. Yay!

6. Those little trading arts final fantasy figurines
They are so cute. And awesome.

7. Several out-of-print books, as follows:
* After the Plague – Jean Ure
* Z for Zachariah – Robert O’Brien
* A Gift Upon the Shore – M. K. Wren

I’m not sure about the second and third book, but I am a billion percents sure that the first book is out of print. And I waaaaaaant it

*Edit: I had to cross out the Z for Zachariah book, because Tim bought some books online from fishpond.com.au, and he needed another book to bring up the total for some reason. I was happy to oblige. Thanks Tim!

You HAVE to watch this. Everyone. C’mon. It’s exactly what I was trying to say, but more eloquent and abrasive (at the same time? Genius!)

I can say LOL because I was actually laughing out loud while watching it, and it wasn’t just a LOTI thing.

So true.

Thanks Anna.

Anyway. I watched Howl’s Moving Castle again today. I love Howl. I can’t believe he got upset that his hair went black. Well, firstly he was upset that his hair went orange and so maybe it didn’t look all that great, but it went dark so it’s all good. Much nicer than boring old blonde. Why does everyone want blonde hair anyway? I’d like to have Sophie’s hair – ‘the colour of starlight’ !! haha. Really it’s just grey. But when she was young again it looked cool. I thought it was a nice inclusion, the way Sophie changed from old to young throughout the movie, through her posture, the lines on her face, the length of her hair… it was really interesting. Something I noticed more the second time, because the first time we watched it at the movies and we were sitting either front row or close to, and it was the subtitled session so most of my attention went to that. I noticed the subtle (though today they didn’t seem so subtle) changes in the illustration of her, but thought maybe I was imagining things or not paying close enough attention and making changes up in my head.

So, back to work tomorrow. Doctor tomorrow afternoon. That’s good because I feel like crap.

On to better things… I saw a preview for Howl’s Moving Castle, had Rosie whispering in my ear “That witch is exactly the same as the one from Spirited Away!” Yeah but she’s not a witch, Einstein, she’s just an old woman. I think the fact that anime characters don’t differ that much one to the other has been waxed over many, many times before, in great detail, by people who actually take greater interest in the subject matter and would therefore have a more informed opinion. I have been trying to get a copy of Laputa: Castle in the sky  for a while now. I checked out HMV online and they CLAIM to have it, but then i go into the store and there’s none on the shelves. It was a good waste of time, so i don’t really mind, but i did really want to see it. I want to get the whole set. I’ve already seen Grave of the Fireflies, and that’s the only one I’ve seen that I don’t already own. I cried so much in that movie. WAAAAAAAAAH Whack a few cuts on my wrist and call me an emo (oops! been there, done that!)

I’m reading I have a bed made of buttermilk pancakes for the second time, and I really like it. I mean, i liked it the first time, but I like it just as much now. I can feel myself thinking in the language of the book, which usually happens when i really get into something i’m reading. It’s so sweet. Next I’ll be reading The Gathering again, which i read a couple of times in high school but haven’t seen since.

THere’s a few other books i want to get, which i saw when i was wandering around Borders on Saturday, but they’ll have to wait for another month or so. Maybe when I get my bonus. But then again, that’s all going to go straight onto the holiday. Mum paid for the Airfares, the taxes and the insurance on saturday morning, so now all we have to organise is half the money for the tour, which will be half our trip over there. the other half of the time we’ll be on our own. Noelle and I are going to Denmark to visit Legoland! hopefully. I also want to go to russia for cheap things, but i think you still need to get a visa to visit there.

ANYWAY shouldn’t stay up too late tonight, i haven’t been feeling well for the past few days and i have NO sick days left!

1. Full name:

Cassandra (I think I might have already put this up in the second entry of my diary…)

2. Nicknames:

cassava, melon, cassju, anna-may (as in ‘anime’)

3. Age:

18

4. Birth date:

23 April 1983

5. Zodiac sign:

Taurus. I am so stubborn, apparently… I guess that’s true ^_^

6. Location:

Yamba, a small fishing town on north coast nsw, Australia, between Byron Bay and Coffs Harbour.

7. Place of birth:

Manly, Sydney, Australia

8. Hair color:

dark brown/auburn… but I dyed it. Natural colour is blonde.

9. Eye color:

light blue. I was told that all babies are born with blue eyes, and that they change into whatever colour later on. But what about asian or black babies? Also, did you know that the gene for blue eyes is recessive? I wonder why so many people have blue eyes…

10. Height:

5′10″

11. Piercings, tattoos:

I have pierced ears. Got them done when I was four, and never let them close up.

- Favorites -

12. Music type:

My music taste is quite eclectic. I like a lot of different music. Although, just because I like a song from one genre doesn’t mean I’ll like all of them.

13. Bands/Groups:

Um… The bands/artists I have favourite songs from are Coldplay, Kelis, Ben Harper, Alex Lloyd, Sunk Loto, TLC, All Saints, Craig David, Nelly Furtado, Mandy Moore (^_^), silverchair, sugar ray, natalie imbruglia, Jennifer Lopez, Mya, Fuel, Pink, Cafe Del Mar (that topped off the list of some very poppy groups!), Ben Lee, powderfinger, Nine Inch Nails

14. Songs:

I’m like a bird – Nelly Furtado
No Scrubs – TLC
Steal my kisses – Ben Harper
Emotion Sickness – Silverchair

15. Books:

My favourite book of all time is Habibi, by Naomi Shihab Nye. Others are Memoirs of a Geisha by um… can’t remember now , The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan, the Tomorrow series by John Marsden, The Postman by David Brin (the book is much, much better than the movie), and I’m starting to read the Harry Potter series, which seems interesting.

16. Comics:

Um… I just read the comics in the newspaper when I get the chance… and the ones in the tv guide on sundays. I like the charicatures drawn of politicians and famous people, and I also like the comics in mad magazine.

17. Comic characters:

ah… um… from the manga ‘ah my goddess’ i like urd and skuld…. and from ranma 1/2 I like ranma and that guy that turns into a pig.

18. Quality in the same sex:

sense of humour, insanity, happy, fun… friendly ^_^, tolerant.

19. Quality in the opposite sex:

probably the same as for the same sex… Only thing I can really say I have is shallowness. You kinda get sick of superficiality real quick.

20. Hobbies:

Reading, drawing, writing poetry, swimming, going to the beach, making things… smiling… kayaking… ^_^

21. Cereal:

if I have to eat cereal (I’m rarely in the mood for it) I eat weet-bix. Nine out of ten nutritionists recommend kids eat weet-bix. Do you think their advertising campaign is working?

22. Day of the week:

I like Friday, cause that’s when I get paid. And it’s also when everybody is in a good mood because it’s the end of the week. People are more relaxed on friday afternoons.

23. Month:

December ^_^

24. Season:

Summer. I kind of have a backwards way of thinking. You’d think that when it’s hot, you’d wish for the cold months, and when it’s cold, you’d wish for the hot months. Well, in summer, summer is my favourite season. In winter, winter is my favourite season. I guess you could say I’m just happy with whatever season it is ^_^

25. Holiday:

Christmas! I love Christmas! It’s my favourite time of the whole year. Even though the past few christmases have been horrible (last christmas I had a breakdown, christmas before that I was practically a skeleton from not eating, and christmas before that mum and dad had a huge fight), I still look forward to it with the excitement and anticipation I had when I was little. I love going to Grafton to go Christmas Shopping. I love the tradition of getting one new christmas decoration each, every year. I love going to the beach on Christmas day. I love seeing family and friends together in one huge group. I love the feeling in the air and the smells and the emotions etc… ^_^

26. Cartoon:

Simpsons. No contest. There might have been a contest if anime was mentioned… but the simpsons is the best cartoon ever. I love homer, he’s my favourite. I love the episode where he squeezes a penny and it goes up into his arm and marge goes “oh homer, not again. Don’t take ’squeeze every penny’ so literally” lol. so stupid. but if anime had been included, I would say neon genesis evangelion first of all, or cardcaptors, or magic knight rayearth…

27. Pizza toppings:

BBQ meatlovers pizza, but only from pizza hut. I don’t like bbq meatlovers from other stores. If I have to get a pizza from other stores, gimme one with everything, except those little fish. anchovies… yeah that’s them. I don’t want any o’ dem.

28. Animal(s):

I love monkeys. They are the best. I love cats too, especially big cats like tigers and panthers and… cheetahs and stuff.

29. School subject:

Although I’ve been out of school a while, my favourite subjects were english and French. I also liked art, though I never got very good grades in art because I was constantly being compared to my older sister, and she’s like… the next picasso or something, but without all that crazy stuff he did.

- Do you…? -

30. Have pets:

yes. I have one cat called Dinna, one goldfish called redkelp, two shubunkins called Jen and Shu Lien. And there are two cats that live here that are sort of mine… Mother and Baby. Baby is the daughter of Mother. Mother had five babies behind the couch in my room, and baby was the only one that survived.

31. Have a “boyfriend/girlfriend:”

nope, not right at the moment. I don’t really need one either… well I might, but not for the sake of being able to say “yes I have a boyfriend”. If I meet a guy I like, that likes me back, then I’m not against a relationship ^_^

32. Smoke:

nope.

33. Drink:

sometimes, but I find I become insecure and melancholy when I drink, whereas if i don’t drink I’m hyper and happy and all that good stuff.

34. Do drugs:

nopes.

35. Have siblings:

yes. I have an older sister, Lauren who is 19, and a younger sister, Rosie, who is 13.

36. Sleep with stuffed animals:

no. I used to, but it seemed pointless as I always kicked them off the bed while I was asleep anyway. I had a hello kitty and this really old koala that nanny bought me before she died (at the expo 1988)

37. Prefer being hot or cold:

really, you’d have to refer back to the season question. I like being hot when it’s hot, and cold when it’s cold. I adapt very well.

- Would you rather…? -

38. One pillow or more:

one pillow. My pillow is about 30 years old… my nan made it ^_^ it’s the best pillow ever.

39. Being here or there:

here. I’m quite happy where I am. Sometimes I think I’d rather be there, but I know I can always go there if I want to.

40. Pencil or pen:

pen is best for drawing and writing. a lot of people like pencils for sketching, but pens are better for me ^_^

41. Be deaf or blind:

deaf. I couldn’t live without sight. Besides, you can always learn to lipread, and you can watch other people talking and figure out what they’re saying lol. Plus, if you’re at a party or a club, and you’re dancing, the music is pumping anyway so I figure you’d be able to pick up the vibrations through the floor.

42. Snow or rain:

snow! I love snow. Ever since I went to Perisher-Smiggens when I was in yr 6… I was a natural at skiing, and snow was just soo… cool!

42. Chocolate milk or plain:

chocolate ^_^ oh, except for on cereal. I have to have plain. Imagine chocolate milk on weet-bix!

- Random Things -

43. What was/will be the best day of your life?

best day so far was… when I found out I didn’t have to have a spinal fusion operation… yay!

44. Confide a fairly deep secret that you can share:

um… something I haven’t told anyone… Well, I used to be an army cadet… lol. that’s not really a secret is it?

45. Are you ticklish?

yes, on every inch of my entire body. even my hands, and ears, and face.. lol.

46. Who do you consider to be “cool?”

ah come on… cool? how passé. Like I said before – I think snow is cool, but snow isn’t human. I think my cat is cool – yeah, he’s really aloof. way cool man.

47. What would you believe is the most important factor in life?

Love. All you need is love. ^_^ Tolerance comes along with love, as does everything else. Love is the most important factor. Is it even a factor? I don’t know.

That reminds me… Dinnacat (my little ginger kitty) learned how to play fetch on the weekend… he brings you his bouncy ball and you throw it for him, he chases it and brings it back…
how *cute*!