...and so it goes, and so it goes.

My father is a very smart man. I appreciate this the older I get, and conversely, the further away I've moved, the closer we've become. It's time to move on, to stay calm, and not to worry about the things we can't do anything about. It is definitely NOT the time to descend to the terrorists' level in striking back at innocent people, at forcing everyone in the world to choose sides, or degenerating into petty hate crimes.

My freeloading cousin is in the area, and he's spending the next couple of days at my place. O.o This was *not* in the original plans; he was supposed to just drop by and have dinner, or something. And HE is the type of man who would be more amused by current events than anything, so I am SO ready to kick him out if he says one word out of line.

The wonderful, incomparable Krisit is now hosting me at her new collective. Sankyuu, Krisit! I will definitely buy you a sake or two next time I'm in IL.

Sorry for the sudden change, but now I'm at http://koanju.com/talyachan/ Whee! *^_^*

...hey, I guess that means I could move the blog and use Blogger, or Greymatter or something. O.o I'll need to think about that a bit. Pitas has been good to me.

We got let out of work early yesterday, more for the prospect that business would be slow for the rest of the week rather than any humanitarian considerations. So I went home and watched the TV updates, despite the fact I'd been listening to the radio updates all day. Finally I had to turn it off. Eventually you reach overload.

It IS sad, and it IS tragic, and it fucking should not have happened...but we, as Americans, are a terribly selfish people. We've been lucky, without even stopping to thank God or whatever for it. Because the rest of the world has NOT enjoyed such peace and prosperity, or the freedom to practice their own philosophy and ideals, or even the simple right to wake up and not wonder if that day will be the one they die.

Before we talk vengeance, and war, and hunting down terrorists, we need to take one moment, just ONE, and maybe look at our own country and ask ourselves honestly why this may have happened. They hit us to hurt us, but they had some kind of reason for what they did. This wasn't just a hate crime. And if it WAS a hate crime, why do they hate us so much?

It's just something to think about. Anyhow, now the latest 'unofficial' newsbriefs predict that Osama bin Ladin will be extradited. So hopefully this will not be the beginning of WWIII after all.

Anyway. ^^;;; I turned off the TV, because there IS nothing we can do about it, besides the obvious - give your blood, give your money - except perhaps, TRY to keep perspective. Because if we drag this whole world into war, we could all end up dead.

Instead, I played Xenogears. Um. Since that game is about war, it wasn't a whole lot better. So I settled down to do some writing, and got about 15K done. I'm not sure; it was probably more, since I wasn't keeping track.

Today's MegaTokyo is excellent. And relevant.

Now I've got to get ready for work. ^_^ Please don't anyone flame me, as they are my opinions. Emotions are still running high.

Wednesday, September 12, 2001

"We will not allow this enemy to win the war by changing our way of life, or restricting our freedoms."

...these have been classified as acts of war, and Bush has asked Congress for emergency funding to give to New York and the D.C. in this time of need. For now, we pick up the pieces. We try to go through our normal day to prove that the terrorists have not brought a halt to our way of life. And we sift through the rubble to pull out our survivors, and track down the inhuman bastards who have done this. We still do not have a complete death toll, and we won't for several days.

The pennant of red and white stripes, field of stars on blue was at half mast on the way to work. You cannot compare this to Pearl Harbor. The Twin Towers was not a military base. New York was full of civilians, not people who were prepared to fight, and die, for their country. Not people who were ready for a war, or even might have figured out in their last few seconds why, WHY they were being killed. We are a country in mourning, and a country resolved to bring these vicious cowards to justice.

The fires are still burning. The blood banks are packed, and booked through next week. Word from Over There has the military mobilizing, as the latest developments from CNN cover the fact that "NATO is meeting to discuss invoking Article Five of its charter, which would give a green light to the United States to retaliate once it determines who is responsible for Tuesday's attack and expediate assistance from other NATO members."

On the radio, a young man related proudly, voice breaking, that his brother overseas in our Armed Forces had gotten in touch with his family to say he was ready to fight for our country.

Please fly your flag today. If you don't have one, go out and BUY one.

oh say can you see
by the dawn's early light
what so proudly we held
at the twilight's last gleaming

whose broad stripes and bright stars
through the perilous fight
o'er the ramparts we watched
were so gallantly streaming

and the rocket's red glare;
the bombs bursting in air
gave proof through the night
that our flag was still there

oh, say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave
o'er the land of the free
and the home of the brave

ashley gave chase for sydney at Wednesday, September 12, 2001 at 08:25 a.m..

Wednesday, September 12, 2001

God.

"We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts, and those who harbor them."

We're all still in shock. The World Trade Center's twin towers, the Pentagon -- the fucking Pentagon!! -- and we're all wondering what's next.

What are we going to do next? What are they?

I can't write. I can't think. I heard it in the office yesterday, then my mother called and she was worried about my uncle, and my grandmother was crying and saying "the world is never going to be the same." Christine and I spent the office day listening to the radio. And our Russian boss was bemused, and didn't quite get why we looked like we were about to cry, or had been just crying.

They evacuated Oregon's State Capitol yesterday, due to a supposed bomb threat.

It hasn't been surreal, it's been scary.

My uncle is all right. We were worried because he's in the Fire Bureau -- Uncle Doug is one of the men who will be investigating the cause behind the bombings; he's going to track down the people who did this. For all we knew, he could very well have been in Washington until we contacted him to make sure he was still with his family.

Everyone's afraid. If you pray, please pray for us. If you don't pray, give us your good will.

All I can do is wait for my turn to give blood, and hope they'll be able to take my blood, dammit.

ashley gave chase for sydney at Wednesday, September 12, 2001 at 06:42 a.m..

Tuesday, September 11, 2001

I want to go home.

I want to go home and call my family and make sure they're all okay.

I want them to stop calling this the "second Pearl Harbor," because that would mean war is not far after.

And I need to turn the radio off for awhile, because my hands are starting to shake.

ashley gave chase for sydney at Tuesday, September 11, 2001 at 11:18 a.m..

Tuesday, September 11, 2001

Oh god, the world is going to hell.

Excuse me while I go sit by the radio and wait for WWIII to start.

I'm so scared. My uncle is in the Fire Bureau.

ashley gave chase for sydney at Tuesday, September 11, 2001 at 11:09 a.m..

Sunday, September 9, 2001

So, like, I've done stuff. @_@

First off, posted Part One of "Burn Like the Sun" to my Miscellaneous page. The last five parts are still in editing phase, but hey, I'm making headway! ^___^

Blah. Also selling stuff on e-bay, now that we got becki's scanner working. Take a look, please; I'm SO POOR this month.

GW Doujinshi "Brand Kiss
A very surly Aoshi plushie
Cute Kenshin plushie
Seimaden Doujinshi "Kinku"

And we dropped off convention pictures at the RiteAid, too.

And now that my brain is thoroughly broken, I'm going to sit and play some "Rayman Revolution 2." I can't handle all this productivity.

ashley gave chase for sydney at Sunday, September 9, 2001 at 03:39 p.m..

Thursday, September 6, 2001

I'm having some SERIOUS cravings for avocado and olives and raw, bloody meat. Bloody steak. Mmm, trot it past an open flame and serve it to me still mooing.

So, yeah, it was an anemic weekend. THAT was why I felt so shitty on Sunday. Katsu, if you're reading this, normally I can skip breakfast and be fine until four, but not when my iron count's as low as it is now. =.= I still feel really badly about missing the fanfiction panel.

Need to go to bed EXTRA early again. Which reminds me, I need to take those damned horse pills again too.

Working on Morgan Vale and "Burn Like the Sun" edits. Hopefully will have something less-godawful to post by the end of the weekend...hopefully...

*expires*

ashley gave chase for sydney at Thursday, September 6, 2001 at 07:30 p.m..

Wednesday, September 5, 2001

Still drop-dead tired. =.=

Can't muster up the energy yet for the Big Yaoicon Blog. I think I either have some serious iron deficiency going on, or I'm still wiped out from the weekend.

Of course, 'both' is also a distinct possibility.

ashley gave chase for sydney at Wednesday, September 5, 2001 at 06:58 a.m..

Tuesday, September 4, 2001

Back. o.o Fragmented; feeling a bit empty. Lots and lots and LOTS of driving. I wish I'd had about three of me, so I wouldn't have missed anything -- and would still have been able to get some sleep. Then there was more driving on the way home.

The short highlights:

Briiiiidge. Cute little room sixteen stories up. Meeting friends for the first time in a long time. Meeting friends for the first time. Mmm, sushi. Getting "Boom Boom Dollar" stuck in my head. "Hey, I like your stories." Doujinshiiiii. "Hey, is that where 'cornholing' came from?" Lots and lots of bish. "The Healing Power of the Cock." 3rd place shounen-ai, 1st place yaoi. Takoooooyaaaakiiiii~~. That very well-done Gojyo. And the very well-done Nikki. And wow, Sephiroth. Damn, no karaoke. Finding missing copies of "Love Mode" and "Yume no Kodomo." Oh, yum, subtitled "Yami no Matsuei." Sigurd keychaaaaa~in. "We take credit card." A torpid, brain-dead Sunday. Mm, milk coffee. And crepes. And she makes a great Irvine. "We're going to kidnap you guys!" Shinesman~ and~ Twin Signal~ on DVD~~! No Gravitation CDs. Bought Squall-and-Tidus at art auction, AND Ryu~. Brain-dead, with six-hour drive ahead.

I left my pants in San Francisco.

ashley gave chase for sydney at Tuesday, September 4, 2001 at 06:24 a.m..