A political view, a play, and more manga (of course).

Argh, six days, and only a half-post! Now I'm really falling down on the job. Ah, well, that is life and all that jazz. I'm writing now, so I'll make up for lost time. Firstly, as my title says, I have a political view to discuss. For those of you who don't follow Canadian politics, or don't know how our parliamentary system works, I'm sorry, but I just don't have the energy to explain. (Comment if you want to, and I'm sure I'd be able to give an in-depth explanation tomorrow, when I'm not so tired).
Am I the only one who feels that Stephen Harper is just being a really sore loser? He does nothing, then as soon as the opposition parties decide to form a coalition, it's all 'the other parties are plotting with the evil separatists to overthrow the government! It's not democractic!' Guess what, Mr. Prime Minister? There were more votes given to the Bloc Quebecois, NDP, and Liberals combined than there were votes for the Conservatives. So if these three parties work together, the great majority of the country is getting exactly what they voted for. It's not illegal, it's a valid part of our political system, and it's certainly democratic.
Also, is it just me, or is it ridiculous that Harper keeps saying 'the separatist party' or 'the separatists'. Um, newsflash, the 'separatist party' has a name. The BLOC QUEBECOIS. It's not really that hard. And what's with this talk of 'Jacques Parizeau and the separatists'? Where is Jacques Parizeau hiding, behind the speaker's chair? Because last time I checked, he wasn't a member of the Bloc. Seriously, what is our Prime Minister doing? The answer, in my opinion, is a resounding nothing, and that's definitely what it's going to be for the next two months. It seems very, very silly to prorogue parliament in the middle of an 'economic crisis' (not to mention the environmental crisis everyone seems to have forgotten about lately). Sigh.
Well, in all of this, I feel sorry for the Governor General, having to make such an iomportant decision. I mean, normally it's just pretty speeches and cutting ribbons. Anyway, rant over. (Sorry if I've offended any supporters of the Conservative party. I don't take other people's rants against my political favourites personally, so I'd ask you to try not to either ^_^).
In other news, I went to see a play on Friday. One of my friends insisted I come see it, as she had a part in the performance. Since the school she goes to is well known for it's great drama program and I've watched two very good plays there before, it wasn't exactly like I minded watching. I didn't have anyone to go with, but, luckily for me, an old friend who also attends the school was chatting with me on msn the night before, and she suggested we grab seats together. The play, set in the age of Beatlemania and centering on the story of a few teenagers in a small town where the famed band was coming to play, didn't disappoint. Sure, it was a school play, so it wasn't exactly Globe Theatre quality or something, but it was entertaining, and I'd definitely say I enjoyed myself. One really cool aspect was that the song supposedly composed by one of the characters was actually made by the actress. Oh, and the band in the play all actually palyed there intruments, and performed the song as part of the play! How cool is that? Anyway, I'm still very tired (seven hours wasn't enough sleeeeep), so I think I'll have to wrap up here and try to write some more tomorrow.

Emi

Quote of the post: People tend to think of time as simple, like a straight line, cause to effect. But it's much more complicated than that. In reality it's more like a great big ball of squgelly wiggelly...timey wimey...stuff.
-The Doctor (yes, I am a Whovian :P)

Quote of last post (because I like quotes!): Give me liberty or someone dies!
-Unknown

P.S. I changed the little header thingy under the title of my blog! Oh, and in case you hadn't noticed, every single post in my blog is tagged with 'ninjas' XP.

P.P.S. I've gotten soem really nice clothes lately, so I'll try to post some photos in my next post!

Tiiirrreeeddd...

I'm exhausted. I got the grand total of about three hours of sleep last night, not for lack of trying, I can assure you, and spent all of today shopping, then hanging out with my high-energy friends. Urghhh, I'm wiped -_- I don't really have the energy to write a proper post with all the stuff I want to say, so I'll just write that no creepy bog monsters or mentally deranged doctors have come and taken me away to my doom. Yay! Until the proper post I'll try to write tomorrow,

Emi

Quote of the post: I'm too tired to thiiink of one XP

Three days postless

...which means that I'm falling down on the job! Well, I'll go over all the interesting things that happened these past three days. (Don't worry, there weren't very many).
On Saturday, I slept in 'til four (despite multiple attempts by my family at waking me), sleeping off the approximately thirty-two hours straight I'd been awake. In the evening I hung out with a couple of friends and watched Wall-E. For those of you who haven't watched it, I recommend that you do! Even with Wall-E's personal cuteness aside, I found it an all around adorable movie. It had a corny ending, but it's Disney, so that's only to be expected. (For those of you who have seen it, the little robot that hisses at the captain is my favourite! XD).
On Sunday, I went to a local bazaar. Not one of those school Christmas fairs or church bake sales, but a bazaar filling an entire (large) synagogue with clothes, furniture, fabric, toys, and lots and lots of vicious, pushy people. The items are in new condition (unless they've been damaged by the rabid hordes of shoppers), mostly sample items from various companies that the workers acquire then sell to raise money for their synagogue. Tables and racks are periodically marked down to super low prices by a guy with a red flag and a megaphone, causing waves of people to converge on the spot, tearing the items away and buying them before they've even looked at them, with Mr. Megaphone Man (his nametag says 'Bub') encouraging them to hurry and get in there and grab those low priced items! It's kind of barbaric, in my opinion, but it's a very interesting experience. It wasn't my first time there, so I knew what to expect, and I found some very nice clothes, belts, and even a dress! It's a turquoise gown, floor length, open back with straps in an X across it, with a light train sort of layer thing in back. It's kind of hard to describe, as most fancy dresses seem to be, so I will probably add a picture of it (and maybe even me in it) later. (If I'm too tired tonight, then I'll just include a photo with my next post).
Today, I'm getting ready for cadets, ironing my uniform, finding my wool socks, etc. Ugh. Tonight we're seeing off a high-ranking cadets who's aging out, so I want to be there, but I think it might be my last night. Honestly, I don't even finish like finishing the year anymore. Sigh. Well, either way I'm going tonight, and as long as I'm doing something I want to do it properly, so I'll fix my uniform up and whatnot.
Well, that's all that's interesting in my life lately, so...Ah, wait! I was reading the first volume of Naruto (for the first time. I started on the second volume XP), and I found the funniest scene, so I'd like to share. I'm not sure if people who don't read the series and know the characters will really appreciate it, but oh well. I'm including it in this post anyway XD.

Three ninja students, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke have just met their new teacher, Kakashi.
Kakashi: Now, I'd like you all to tell us a little bit about yourselves.
Sakura: Like what?
Kakashi: You know, the usual. Your favorite thing...What you hate most...Dreams, ambitions, hobbies. Things like that.
Naruto: Help us out here, coach. You go first. Show us how it's done.
Sakura: That's right...After all, you're a complete stranger to us... A mystery.
Kakashi: Oh...me? My name is Hatake Kakashi. I'm the kind of person who doesn't feel like talking about his likes and dislikes! My dreams for the future are none of your business...But anyway, I have lots of hobbies...
Sakura: *Mutters* He said a lot, but all we really learned was his name.
Kakashi: Now, it's your turn. Starting with you on the right.
Naruto: Me, right? My name is Uzumaki Naruto! What I like is an instant cup of ramen! What I like even better is when Master Iruka treats me to ramen at the Ichiraku Noodle Bar! What I hate is the three minute wait after I pour in the boiling water.
Kakashi: (thinking) He appears to have nothing more on his mind than ramen...
Naruto: My dream is to one day be a better shinobi than Lord Hokage!! And then all the villagers will have to acknowledge my existence at last!!
Kakashi: (thinking) Well, hasn't he turned out interesting...
Naruto: My hobbies are...Pranks and practical jokes, I guess.
Kakashi: I see...Next!
Sasuke: My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are plenty of things I hate, but I don't see that it matters, considering there is almost nothing I do like. It seems pointless to talk about 'dreams'...That's just a word. But what I do have is determination. I plan to restore my clan. An there's someone I have sworn...to kill.
Sakura: (thinking) He is so cool!
Naruto: (thinking) Sure hope it's not me...*Shiver*
Kakashi: (thinking) ...I suspected as much...And finally, the young lady...
Sakura: I am Haruno Sakura. My favorite thing is...Well it's not a thing, it's a person. A boy...and that boy is...Uh...Let's move on the my dream.
...
*Blush*
Kakashi: ...
Sakura: I hate...Naruto!!
Naruto (who has a crush on her): What?!
Sakura: My hobbies are...
Kakashi: (thinking) It sounds as though young girls are more interested in love than ninjutsu...Enough! I believe we all understand one another. Formal training begins tomorrow.

Well, now there really is nothing more I want to say! (Not to mention I should be eating supper). Until next time,

Emi

Quote of the post: My favourite number in the alphabet is green.
-A piece of Flair on Facebook

Cell Seven, from left to right: emo child Sasuke, Naruto, Kakashi-sensei, Sakura.

Konoha-style gloves!!

I've had a lot of difficulty in getting this post to post, without bits randomly disappearing or HTML crap spewing into the middle, so please pardon typos and strangely sized texts. I'm just happy it's here at all, and I don't want to take chances editing it again :S

Today, we went shopping!! Or should I say, this morning/last night. We left early, at around two thirty, which is, to my mind, not early but rather late. Despite two valiant attempts, I didn't succeed in getting any sleep at all. Luckily for me, lack of sleep makes me hyper, so I managed okay. Me and my mom ended up bringing my best friend, Nick, down in the car with us, while my grandma drove her own car because she wanted to leave earlier than we did, seeing as she doesn't have the same youthful stamina as we do. Turns out Nick stayed up watching the DVDs of one of his favourite TV shows, and by the time he noticed what time it was, it was only a couple of hours before we were supposed to leave. So that made two of us hyper at least! When we arrived, we found ourselves surrounded by many fellow shoppers, something especially unusual considering it was around four in the morning, but I guess that's Black Friday for you! We began browsing the racks, Nick with a clear idea of what he wanted to buy, me with a clear idea of buying anything that I decided I wanted, especially if it was a really good price. Unfortunately, I discovered that the sales weren't as good as they usually are. This led me to the conclusion that Black Friday is a very well-conducted, gimmicky scam. People are told that it's a huge shopping day and there are great deals, so they buy things that are hardly reduced at all because they think the sale prices won't get any better. Also, all the doorbuster sales that end at certain times encourage people to impulse buy, without comparing prices or really thinking things through. It's a horrible example of capitalism, but I have to admit it was fun. I had gone expecting to find some nice clothes to buy, but it turned out that best purchases weren't items of clothing at all. I was shopping in this music/movie/game store, and I'd just decided there was nothing that I wanted to buy and was about to leave when something wonderful caught my eye. There before me was an entire length of wall dedicated to anime, manga, and all things related, posters to plushies to pocky. Not at a convention, not in a specialty store, but in an average technology store. Hardly able to believe my eyes, I had a fangirlesque happy spazz. Then, of course, I called Nick over to see, squeeing at him over how amazing it was that manga is, slowly but surely, making it's way into mainstream culture. With this wonderful discovery made, I had a very difficult decision to make: of all the things I wanted, which ones to get? After hemming and hawing, picking things up and putting them down, and knocking down two hanger thingys of keychains and necklaces, I finally decided what I wanted to buy. Then I saw something else I really wanted. Then I realized I could get some thigns cheaper from my local convention next time it swings by. Then I realized there was an exchange rate between Canadian and American money. Aw, man! By this point Nick was getting kind of impatient, but luckily for me he lvoes Deathnote, so that merchandise helped to ditract him. (Plus he's a really kind and understanding friend XD). At long last, I brought my final selection to the cash, asking the store clerk to hold onto my thigns while I found my mother so she could pay for the things. Luckily for me, I have a very kind and understanding mother, and she agreed to get me those most marvelous things as part of my Christmas present. Yay! After waiting for her to finish shopping in other stores, with some whining and sighing from me, I must admit, we finally got back to the store to get my stuff! Since my mom said that I wouldn't get the things until Christmas, I decided to use the last of my money to buy my favourite item of all: black leather fingerless gloves with the symbol of Konoha village on them!
After a bit more shopping, me wearing my new gloves (making signs and pretending to cast Jutsus the entire time, of course), we headed home. First we dropped off the half-asleep Nick at his house, then I got to show off my lovely new purchases top me sister and father. Luckily for me, they are also very kind and understanding of my otakuisms, and even the often irritable Idzie was happy for how excited these new finds made me. Of course, now having gloves with the symbol of Konohagakure, how could I resist the natural otakus urge to cosplay? Having no suitable clothign to try for any character in particular, I scrounged up some items and dressed like any ninja in the Naruto world might. I know it's not too great, but it was the best my tired brain could do, and I had a good time. I've included some photos. Warning: there are a lot, including a veritable catalog of my new things!
Wishing you best of luck with shopping and learning new Jutsus,

Emi

Quote of the post: If I have to get up, I am so kicking your ass.
-Shikamaru

My super awesome ninja ass-kicking gloves - with the symbol of Konohagakure!

Here they are again, because they are awesome and deserve different positioning and angles.

My new anime/manga related things. ^___^

The action figures of some of my favourite shinobi of all time, the members of Asuma Cell 10: Ino, Choji, and (the coolest one of all) Shikamaru. No, I do not comprehend how to use the macro feature my camera has. Yes, I am refusing to let my sister teach me.

I couldn't get a good shot of my new shirt, so I just posted a photo of the pattern. It's clear, and I didn't even use macro. Ha! Take that, Idzie and Macro!

My awesome new skirt. Unfortuantely, the colour didn't turn out well at all with the flash, but I couldn't seem to get one that was clear at all without flash. :(. Ah, well. My skirt is still awesome.

My new fuzzy socks! ^__^

They're fat, warm, sturdy on the outside, and fuzzy on the inside!
(Plus, they weere cheap!)
^___^

Domo!

Domo will eat you now. Om nom nom nom!!

Domo's tag. Just look at that! It's a mini cardboard Domo. How awesome is that?

Me dressing like a shinobi from the world of Naruto, with my dad interfering.

Iniate ninja art: family summoning no jutsu!

My secret jutsu is complete; now feel the wrath of Konoha's newest kunoichi!

Me posing for pics. No, my finger is not touching my nose. It is an optical illusion created the camera angle.
....
(And it's my sister's fault, but don't tell her I said that).

Again, I accuse optical illusions!

To shop, or not to shop?

That is currently the question, but it's not really mine to decide. My mom, grandma, mom's best friend and myself were planning on going down to the States for some Black Friday sales. We were even planning on going the night before and staying in a hotel, to get to the sales super early, but now our plans are in a state of limbo. My dad, who recently had an operation done on his knee, found yesterday that it was hurting and swollen. At my mom's encouragement, he went to the hospital today when it got worse. Turns out he had a blood clot in his leg, something that can be very serious, but fortunately not if treated properly. Well, with my sister worrying (A LOT, as usual), my mom getting all stressed over whether the hospital would keep him overnight and if we should cancel our hotel booking, my mom's friend deciding it might be a sign that we shouldn't go (because her boyfriend has a day off :P), it all got a bit uncertain. My dad's back at home now, with orders to go back to the hospital tomorrow, but I still don't really know if we're going shopping or not. We're definitely not sleeping there from the night before, the booking is already canceled, but we could still wake up at two and drive down in the morning. Although, with issues my grandma is having about going down as well, who knows what we're going to do anymore. Sigh. Ah, well, that's life, right? Unpredictable, best laid plans, and all that jazz. That's why being a ninja comes in hnady: a true shinobi is always prepared! (My preparation is not freaking out as much as my mom and worrywort sister XP). Either way, there's not much I can do about it, so I'm just chilling out for now.
Besides that rather eventful, stressfulish stuff, I've been finding some potential Christmas gifts, all manga related, of course. It's making me happy, seeing all the nice stuff I could have, and some of it isn't even very expensive! XD. Well, that's all for now, so here ends a rather hectic post number three.

Emi

Quote of the post: There is a fine line between genius and insanity, and I erased that line and replaced it with a trout.
-Unknow

Post Number Two.

Hello everyone, and welcome to post number two! *Throws confetti*
And it's only one day after my first post! *Throws more confetti*
*Ahem* Anyway, I haven't really done much today that would be interesting to write about, but I wanted to post anyway. I've read a lot of Fullmetal Alchemist, hung around the house, gone on the computer...I kind of feel like I'm waiting for something, actually, which I think is probably because I skipped cadets. Now I feel like I'm in some sort of mid-week limbo where the start of the week never happened...It's going to be weird next year when I quit, but I intend on making every non-cadet night a special Relax and Do Whatever I Want Night, so I'll get used to it pretty fast. Maybe I should just skip cadets more often; after all, if I hadn't, I never would have spent the evening starting this blog!
In other news, I just got back from a walk with some friends, a rather uneventful but fun activity. As one of them so aptly put it, you can tell it's getting colder because the walk to my house keeps getting longer! Even though it is just an optical illusion, so to speak, it certainly does seem that way. My thighs are still numb. Brrr...Well, at least there wasn't much wind tonight, so it was kind of a pleasantly cold walk, and we're probably going to get together again after supper and have some hot chocolate. After all, even ninjas need to stay cozy!
Since I don't want to write about how Fullmetal discovered an interesting secret or how one of my friends has apparently developed a tissue obsession, I think I'm done writing for now. Here's to post number two. Kampai!

Emi

Quote of the post: A king exists for his people. Without his people, there is no king.
-Lin Yao, Twelth Son of the Emperor of Xing

Me, just in from the cold outdoors. Yes, I am blurry. No, despite my sister's insistence, I will not post a non-blurry picture of me. I like this one better.

The blog of a crazed otaku begins!

Well. Here I am, starting the second blog of my life. The first one died a slow and neglected death, but I'm hoping that this one will fare better. I mean, it does have ninjas in the title, and ninjas are very good at survival.
Now, you may be wondering why it has ninjas in the title, so I will tell you that there are actually two very good reasons. The first one is that ninjas are made of pure awesome dressed in black and carrying lots of sharp objects. The second reason is that I intend to become one. No, this is not a silly, pop-culture induced notion. I am, in all seriousness, going to train in the art of ninjutsu, just as soon as I turn sixteen and am eligible to attend my local dojo. Until then, I will satisfy myself with much ninja-oriented manga, anime, slogans, bumper stickers and suchlike, including the title of this blog.
Moving on! Considering that I put virtually nothing in my 'about me' section, I suppose I should introduce myself. The reason for leaving it all but blank was because I'm notoriously terrible at trying to write anything about myself, so bear with me through this semblance of an introduction. I don't have many goals, really, besides becoming a ninja, as goals seem like very large, commanding, hard to invent things in my opinion. I suppose, though, another goal of mine would be to get in better shape. Not that I'm fat, or lose my breath climbing the stairs or anything, but I'm not personally happy with my body at the moment, so I want to change that. I am, however, a specialsit in the art of procrastination, so this goal might take a long time to achieve. I also want, someday, to successfully complete NaNoWriMo, a tortorous task which, at times, I have no comprehension of why I want to accomplish. (Most of my friends have no idea either, but that's just because they think prizes are the only valid reason to ever attempt writing 50,000 words). I already failed this year, but hey, it was my first try, and I've learned some important things for next year's attempt. On other matters, I am unschooled, I have two dogs, two cats, two parents, and a sister. I love to write, mostly in the form of roleplaying. I find it much easier to write a wonderful story when someone else does half the work, it stops me from getting bored and simply scrapping all my progress, and best of all, my wonderful RP buddies help keep up my confidence in the fact that I'm not just spewing crap every time I start typing. I play highland snare drum as well; this is my second year learning, and although I often find practicing a bother and a chore, I do love to play. As for other hobbies, I don't really have any, unless adding monumentous amounts of flair to my Facebook profile or spending an entire six hours on Kongregate counts. I am a member of the air cadets, but I intend to change that by the end of this year, so I don't really include it in the 'hobbies' section. Maybe the 'ocassionally enjoyable often stressful maniacally time-eating activities', but I don't intend to ever have enough of those to warrant their own section.
Despite what you might be thinking by now, I am not an obsessive video gamer, (only an occasional over excited video game player), and I do have a social life beyond my computer screen. I have a collection of bizarre friends, all bringing much amusement, fun, and pointless drama to my life, and I wouldn't trade them for all the gaming platforms (or even manga) in the world. Well, I guess that pretty much sums things up. Besides that, the only thing there really is to say about me is that, well, I'm me. Maybe if you stick around and read the pointless ramblings of a soon-to-be-ninja, you'll get to know me better. ^__^

Emi

Quote of the post: Guns don't kill people, ninjas kill people!
-Unknown

Me, on one of the rare occasions that I attempt cooking, getting some help from Kumagoro.

My sister, the one who pestered me into getting a blog. She blogs at http://yes-i-can-write.blogspot.com/

My mom, in the pantry she finished building. She blogs at http://garden-of-days.blogspot.com/
(Maybe I was just feeling left out of the family blogging XP).

My dad. He does not blog.

My big-nosed silly dog, Winston. He does not blog either.

My crazy old dog, Flora. (Isn't she cute? ^__^)

The fat cat, Minni. (My sister spazzed out when I tried to write 'my' XP).

My awesome cat, Henry.

My awesome cat Henry pretending to be a ninja.