My MacBook Pro Aluminium arrived yesterday and I have been religiously fiddling with it ever since. It looks great, although I'm yet to become used to the keypad, but because I haven't had the chance to transfer everything from my old windows laptop (iTunes library transfer, such a hassle omg), it feels more like 'a laptop' rather than 'my laptop' at the moment. For me a laptop is a very personal thing and my previous one had my personality stamped all over it, so the new Mac is feeling very alien to me. Plus, trying to work out all the Mac-equivalent commands is a pain.

I don't know why (nor do my hard-core Mac friend) but its taking me a while to warm towards it, especially since there was nothing really wrong with my old laptop (other than the fact that a Mac is more flexible to use for when I'm in Japan). I guess I'm mostly gutted by the fact that I won't have Photoshop CS4 anymore, since I don't own the original copy. I don't know how I'm going to get hold of another copy, other than fishing out some £100+ to buy one, which isn't really going to happen any time soon. If only I could transfer programs between PCs...

Okay, I really didn't mean to sound so negative about it. All things considered, it's a pretty damn cool laptop that my parents just bought for me, and I feel a bit guilty for not really gushing over it. I think I will feel much better once I familiarize myself to it and once more programs have been installed so that it's actually functionable. 

It's now less than a month before I head out for Japan. I keep going through cyclical phases of being very excited and oh, it's going to be a blast and an adventure, to freaking-out about the kids and/or staffs not liking me, or unintentionally breaking some etiquette and offending people because I crossed my legs when I sat, and other tiny things like that.

I swear I had more things to write but my brain is crying out for sleep. 

Jetting off to sunny Greece (Crete & Santorini) for a week. See you all soon!

Huurah! Now that I'm free from finals, I can draw as much as I want. Here are some Hetalia character drawings that I've done over the past week.

Characters include (in order): Prussia, Italy, China, England, Germany, Austria, Russia

    

 

Aaaah, my oral examination is tomorrow. I think I will feel like a right idiot standing in front of the panel in my sub fusc. It just occured to me that I may need a carnation, but I don't think I will bother.
Let's hope I don't panic and forget what my grant proposal is about!

I got the acceptance letter from JET yesterday so it looks like I will be living in Japan for the next year!
After initial excitement, I am now trying to weigh out the pros and cons of accepting the offer. On the one hand, I will have employment with good pay straight after I graduate for the next year, which gives me more time to think about careers options, develope as a person, and improve my Japanese. On the other hand, I will be technically doing something unrelated to what I want to do in life (which, currently, is science), so I'm worried that taking this year out will affect my chances of getting on a PhD course/grad school when I come back.  But then again whilst I'm in Japan I may discover that I want to do something totally unrelated to science after all, so all in all things look more favourable in going.

I keep daydreaming of the food that I can eat in Japan! And shopping! And I'm amused by the fact that now I can follow shows on tv in Japan, instead of a day later on the internet.

The departure date doesn't give me much time to enjoy summer after my finals exam. Since I live in Oxford and go to Oxford uni, I've never really been away from home before. It'll be a big adventure/challenge, I think :)

 

For Hetalia fans, I am ridiculously fixated with South Italy's character song: 'The Delicious Tomato Song'
The tune is hilarious and irritating and I can't seem to stop playing it over and over! (which, by the way, is terrible for revision)

I've uploaded it here, for anyone interested. The Delicious Tomato Song

Warning: other people in your household may hate you. My poor suffering mum...

In the spirit of Chinese New Year's Eve, here's a Chinese-themed (ish) picture I drew.
 

Sometimes I really think I caught the wrong time-bus for life. The year I finished middle school they renovated the whole site, the year I left sixth form our common room got brand new sofas, the year I started uni there was the increase in tuition fee, and now - 2009, what a lovely time to be graduating.

*sigh*

Here's something I drew after reading Mind Fuck by Manna Francis, which is an excellent story, has a great plot, kinky as hell, and can be found online here.




NSFW: semi-nakedness, collars and manacles

( Up Against the Wall )



I don't normally rec things but I thought I ought to for this story because I thoroughly enjoyed it and think more people should read it too.
To quote the summary:

"There are no bad guys. There are no good guys. There are only better guys, and worse guys.

One of the worse guys is Val Toreth. In a world where torture is a legitimate part of the investigative process, he works for the Investigation and Interrogation Division.

One of the better guys is Kier Warrick, a corporate director. His small coporation, SimTech, is developing a 'sim' system which places users in a fully-immersive vitual reality.

Their world is the dark future dystopia of New London, where Europe is controlled by a totalitarian bureaucracy, which shares political power with powerful corporations.The oppressive government uses torture, violence and the various Divisions of the feared Department of Internal Security to maintain power. The corporations fight amongst themselves, using lethal force under the euphemism of 'corporate sabotage', uniting only to resist attempts by the Administration to extend its control over them.

The series follows Warrick and Toreth, and their families, friends and enemies as they struggle to survive and hope to prosper.

Oh, yes—and there is sex, and violence, and other things that upset the people who rate films.."


 

Clearly the transition from 2008 to 2009 is not something my electrical appliances agree with. First our boiler breaks down (at the end of December), then it was our fridge-freezer, and now the toaster and kettle have also decided to snuff it. Lame, guys. LAME!

This meme is always so much fun to do! I haven't drawn much in 2008 compared to 2007, but I have started drawing art from a variety of new fandoms: Vampire Knight, Prince of Tennis, Fullmetal Alchemist to name a few.

IMAGE HEAVY!
 

Meh, the lj-cut system is annoying. I prefer the older version :(

.

Is anyone familiar with Kin'iro no Corda?  
Because I was re-watching the series yesterday and was (once again) sucked in to all of its bishie, shoujo glory. I had quite forgotten how much I fangirled Tsukimori the last time I watched. As always when I get into an anime, I want to draw someone from it.



 

I hope everyone will have a merry and festive time!

Eeeee! More Christmas cards for me :D Thank you so much remeciel</lj> , ubiquitous_girl</lj> , treanz</lj> , and aidara</lj> for your lovely cards that I received in my post yesterday.
And thank you sam_by_night</lj> (durian cream candies!!  I ate them. It was interesting ;)) and noneedofcrepe</lj> (Aieeee! Your card is adorable and your message so lovely, THANK YOU!!!) for your cards, which I got this morning.