Lauren In Space

Hello friends,

If you're reading this, then thanks so much for reading my journal these past two months. It looks like my writing exercise was a success! And I will continue to write... just in a new place now.

Change your links to laureninspace.wordpress.com.

Livejournal is awesome, but I have a few reasons for moving:

1) Livejournal doesn't have any tools that help me monitor who's reading my blog, and that makes me a bit uncomfortable.

2) I have to start a Wordpress blog for graduate school. This isn't going to become that, no way! It has to be professional. But since I'll already be in my Wordpress dashboard, I can conveniently update my personal blog from there as well!

I hope to see you soon at Wordpress!

So... I'm putting all my stuff away at Chez Lauren (need to think of a better name!!!), and that includes my electric toothbrush. A recent purchase, my electric toothbrush has been the subject of numerous raves to family and friends. It's fantastic, it's whitened my teeth, it makes me feel like I just came back from a trip to the dentist, if you know me you've heard this already. So imagine my dismay to find that in my bathroom, there is only one outlet, and it is NOWHERE near the sink.

Here's my improvisation:


I figure I can just unplug it when I shower and need a towel. I haven't even thought about where to plug in my blowdryer. Yeah... we'll see how this goes.

1) Visiting the Library of Congress was a great time. All of us on the SOC tour got reader cards that will give us access to the library for the next two years. I can't wait to use mine to browse through the library's extensive historic comic book collection and view such movies as 1901's amateur silent film, "Foxy Grandpa Teases a Tramp." In the main hall of the library, I learned everything I never needed to know about the building's architectural detail from our tour guide. Though he went on about everything, I have to admit some of the facts he provided were fascinating, like that somebody gets paid to turn every page of the Gutenburg Bible to "exercise" it every three months.

I spent the rest of the day after the tour in Tenleytown and on campus with three of my future classmates. We scored some extremely cheap and delicious lunch bentos just a few miles from the school. Then we walked around campus running errands while half the time it rained and half the time it was just intense, foggy humidity. I like everyone I've met so far in my class. It must be some kind of coincidence that they're all as crazy about journalism as I am! And on that note, I've met people with such great senses of humour- I guess we need them in this low-paying field! I'm so excited to start class Monday.

2) I got my nails done today, something I've been doing bi-weekly all year. On January 1st, my New Year's resolution was to stop biting my nails once and for all, and so far, I've been making it happen. I just make sure they're covered with toxic chemicals- aka paint- all the time, and it takes all the satisfaction out of trying to gnaw on them. I'm amazed that after years of chomping- since third grade to be exact- they're still very strong and don't break easily. Today I had the nail lady keep my nails long and square, even though I usually have them cut short for easier cooking, knitting, gaming etc. I wanted to see what I look like with "grown up lady hands." That's exactly the way I'd describe these pink talons I'm typing with right now. I hope people look at them and think I'm more grown up and responsible than I usually feel. That's why I wanted to stop- my first big reporting job began in January, and I was worried people would look at my hands as I wrote in my reporter's notebook. After I stopped biting, I didn't worry about this and just focused on my interviews. As frivolous as it is, long nails have made me a better reporter.

3) I found a tick on my pillow today. I was so worried it came off of my head while I was asleep, but then I realized it had come off of my poodle's fur while she lay on my pillow this morning. We're both tick free now, but I was worried for a bit. See, I haven't been in the woods since my trip to Lake Anna two weeks ago, and I was worried it had been sucking my blood all this time. Luckily, it didn't look like it had fed on anything yet. The whole ordeal reminded me of a quote from Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek:

"In another book, I learn that ten percent of all the world's species are parasitic insects. It is hard to believe. What if you were an inventor, and you made ten percent of your inventions in such a way that they could only work by harassing, disfiguring, or totally destroying the other ninety percent? These things are not well enough known" (Dillard, 232).

Good question. Now back to Soul Eater for me.

+ This is my first post from my new apartment.

+ I live in the basement. Kind of. I have windows! There are definitely floors below me. However, I do live below the ground floor lobby entrance. This is because the building is located on a hill. I see nothing but positives connected to this though, aside from having to say I live in the basement. For example, the garage where I park my car is right down the hall.

+ I need an air mattress. There's a big plot of space in the middle of my room that would easily fit a twin air mattress for guests. I want to invite friends to stay with me. We could hunt wildlife in the traffic circle (it's been known to happen) and go to the Asian grocery store downstairs for Pocky.

+ Tomorrow I am visiting the Library of Congress. If anyone is stalking me, this is a prime place to go for information.

+ Living in a high rise in the city is not as glamorous as I always imagined. For one, I don't live all that high up. Second, despite that I am paying through the nose for this, I am living in a room where, desired or not, I can have breakfast in bed every day. Third, I don't have soundproof walls and my neighbors really seem to like The Backstreet Boys.

+ I don't think blogs are narcissistic. Even though all I write about is myself. For this to be narcissistic, I would have to have more than two readers. It's really just a record for me. However, it's much easier to write in than my Moleskine because 1) There's always the *possibility* somebody is reading this, which makes me happy and 2) I don't get hand cramps when I type like when I hand write.

+ I am at a weird point in my life where a lot is changing. I'm about to start at a new school, in a new level of school, graduate school, in a program I'm crazy about, surrounded by people like me who don't think journalism is utterly dead. I'm about to meet new people, visit new places, and learn new skills. I know that at the end of this year, I won't be the same person I am now. And I'm dying to see who I become.

I've always liked to dress up. Up until I was eight, I would wear gittery tutus, mermaid tails, ribbon-festooned headpieces, and silk scarves over my clothes out in public. (That is, when my parents let me!) So it shouldn't be surprising that at 22, I'm still going out of my way to wear costumes. For example, my last post included a picture of me dressed as Mako from Nerima Daikon Brothers, pink hair and all.


But that's not the only costume I have! The extremely unflattering photo above shows me in my Civil War era camp dress. I wore this at a couple reenactments last summer. I haven't been reenacting this year (I broke up with the boyfriend I used to go with and don't want to go alone), but I hope to try it again sometime because it was so fun to dress up! I loved wearing a hoop skirt- crowds parted to give me enough room to pass! Tossing my shorts and t-shirt for a weekend to wear more a more restrictive style of womens' clothing (still worn by the Amish today) made me really appreciate how comfortable fashion has become.


So naturally, upon seeing all the steampunk and Lolita costumes at Otakon, I've fallen in love with both styles! How unusual! How fantastic! How extremely ruffly! This coat pictured above, the Rocket Mistress Steampunk Victoriana Gothic Corset Bustle Jacket by Love Child Boudoir (click the photo to visit their shop), could fit for both costume styles, either over a loli-esque jumper or a pair of lady adventurer's trousers.


One steampunk accessory that I would LOVE to wear is a proper corset. I've worn cheap corsets before, but in the Otakon dealer's room I had my first opportunity to be fitted for a real corset. I went to the Scarlett's Corsets (once again, click the photo for the store) booth, where a seller somehow shaped my usually wide waist (at 26 inches, it barely curves inward from my torso), into a mere 22 inches. It was not, as you would expect, at all like that scene in Gone With the Wind; it didn't hurt, it didn't feel uncomfortable, and my organs felt like they were all in their correct locations. The corset didn't smoosh me, it just forced me to maintain straight posture instead of the usual slumping. I not only felt like I'd gone down two dress sizes, but taller too. When I have $135 to spend, it'll definitely be at Scarlett's.

In fact, all of the costume components are pretty expensive. Most on brand goth lolita dresses go for $260 on average, off brand go for at least $99. Then there's tons of accessories (more is more seems to be the encouraged view here). Since I expect to make well under ten thousand this year in my meager TA position, all of which should go towards my rent and books, there's no way I can afford to buy costumes right now. Still, that's not going to keep me from window shopping online...

I had a pretty great time.



I love going to cons in a huge group. Even though none of us see everything, we all see something. I loved when we went back to the room at the end of the day and I got to hear what everyone else had done.

Personally, I went to more panels at this Otakon than I usually do. Gundam Guy and I learned about the cheapest places to drink in Tokyo (from a panel of self-proclaimed "not alcholics"), and about making onigiri during a cooking panel (nothing I didn't already know). The next day we joined up with Andrew and Michelle and went to two far less educational but way more exciting panels- first on Videogames that Push our Buttons, and Dubs that Time Forgot.

I also got to meet up with Rinny, who I haven't seen in person since high school! She was sweet enough to offer me a VIP seat to watch the AMV contest with her (she was an entrant). Rinny went home with second place in drama, but it was still incredible to sit through the whole thing.



On Saturday morning, Bunny (pictured left), Michelle and I went to see the Lolita fashion show. The clothes were so sweet and pretty that I ended up joining the LJ egl community when I got back.

Some of my photos of the fashion show and some great cosplays I saw are on my Flickr.

Otakon has recently put up their schedule, and there are so many fun things to do! The lovely GundamGuy recently posted his Otakon to-do list on his blog, Lagrange Point 4. I was inspired to do the same.

Friday
+ 11:30 AM - Panel with Misako Rocks! (who illustrates my favorite sex column, Savage Love)
+ 3:15 PM - Budget Tokyo Travel (I've heard Tokyo's the most expensive city in the world, and I bet this would help if I ever manage to go to Japan)
+ 7 PM - Oishii: A Cooking Panel (of COURSE I'm dying to go to this one!)

Saturday
+ 10 AM - The Ultimate Lolita Fashion Show (I love this style, but I doubt I could pull it off myself)
+ 3 PM - AMV Contest (I have to be there to cheer on Rinny! And congratulate her when she wins!)
+ 7 PM - Masquerade (I doubt anyone doesn't go to this one)

Sunday
+ 9 AM - Steampunk Fashion and Gadgetry (I know this is going to be cool)

And that's it so far. There are so many things I probably missed on that huge schedule that what I end up attending is going to be completely different than what's on this list! Plus there's the dealer's room, the game room, concerts to attend, featured guests to get autographs from. It's going to be crazy!

Will you be attending Otakon?

Well, things are improving. The mattress came today, so I set up the bed.


While I was taking it out of the bag, Andrew remarked that the blue and gray splotches reminded him of military camouflage. Luckily, on the bed it looks much more floral and feminine. I got those blue pillows for a huge bargain, too.


Already, my mind has turned to what's missing around the bed. There's a huge gap to the left where I might want to put an easy chair for reading. And I definitely want a poster above the bed. I'd like it to be a map. I've been following the cartography trend on apartment therapy, and those soothing blues and greens would be perfect. I mentioned back in June that I wanted to use my maps of Barcelona and Siena, but I don't think they're big enough. I'm looking at one like this, maybe big enough to span from the ceiling down to the bed.


Andrew built my baker's shelf for me, and it looks gorgeous. According to him, it was a hassle to put together, to say it lightly, but now there's no sign of a struggle. It's done with only one shelf so the microwave will fit, but Mom says it's too top-heavy and to just put the microwave a shelf lower. Plus, the microwave cord won't reach the outlet (not pictured because it's right behind the shelf). So Andrew, if you're reading this, I might need a little help...


The bathroom came out very nicely. Not only did I get all the towels for next to nothing, but they match the shower curtain, which I love. Now I just need to move in all my toiletries.

It's finally coming together!

+ exercise: I've gotten back into it big time, and I couldn't be happier. Why do I always get lazy and forget how good I feel when I work out? I started again for two reasons. First, Otakon is just around the corner and I want to look good in my Mako costume, which features an exposed midriff. Don't want to blind anyone! Second, I was at the doctor's recently, and found out that I've recently lost five pounds. I'm back at my favorite weight of 110. And being the lazy person I am, I'd rather expend energy to maintain this weight than to have expended energy to try to lose weight and get back to this. So right now I'm doing equal parts cardio and toning while eating rabbit food. I don't even miss dessert; I had more than enough while at the lake.

+ Puzzle Kingdom: It was only a matter of time until I bought this. As a huge fan of Puzzlequest and somebody who even stuck out Puzzlequest: Galactrix to the end, there's no way I wouldn't love this game. I played it all four hours in the car back and forth from the lake, and when we stopped for dinner and were waiting for the check, I found myself taking out the game and playing it at the table without even noticing! How rude of me. But how fun!

+ new purchases: Maybe it's time to admit I have a problem; I've been getting a lot of new stuff! But it's all within my price range, so I don't think I've become a shopaholic yet. There's my new royal blue vegan wallet from Mat and Nat which is not only gorgeous, but a great conversation starter since it's so unusual looking as well as environmentally friendly. I bought a new Moleskine planner for school, and it's amazing how pristine it looks when compared with my beat up Moleskine journal- I should take a photo. There's also my new Japanese bento cookbook, which I plan on using a lot as soon as my bento box arrives (I ordered it three weeks ago, but it's en route from Japan, so I have to be patient). And of course, the apartment purchases which I will show off in a post tomorrow!

+ Vampire Hunter D: The novels, not the manga. I love them. They're soooo trashy! All this talk of porcelain skin and blood red lips. This must be what reading Twilight is like. I guess as long as it's a vampire book, it's going to be a little shady, no matter what country it's from.

What kind of things have you been up to lately?

It was beautiful. I feel much more relaxed.

Just after I thought I couldn't possibly need more stuff, I went to Target and a discount home goods store today and realized how wrong I was. I picked up towels and a bath mat, a flip-top trashcan for the "kitchen," and cleaning and dishwashing supplies. I also, unplanned, got a storage ottoman which is the perfect color gray to match my blue and gray everything.

At least the color scheme is coming together. I remember last month, I was looking at more of a mix of greens and golds. Honestly, I can't wait to be back here posting some decent "after" photos of the place.

I just got an email about my TA duties and a class I have to take which will prepare me to teach a class. It's a one time thing, so it'll be simple. Still, it reminded me that I have to do more than decorate in order to prepare for grad school!

I've felt kind of drained lately. I haven't been eating much, and I've been sleeping more than usual (and I usually get 9 or 10 hours!) I definitely need a vacation, so lucky that tomorrow I'm going on one! I'm spending the weekend at Andrew's lake house and really looking forward to it. I'm sure it's just what I need.

Update: More photos can be found on my flickr.

Well, not yet exactly. But today Andrew, his parent's enormous SUV, and I went to move just about all my stuff in.


Hardly anything is set up, but at least everything is all in one place now. For example, Andrew and I (read: just Andrew) carried this nightstand all the way to my apartment so it could be united with this chandelier lamp, an online purchase that's been sitting around in the lobby mailroom for a week.


Not to mention, I didn't think about how long it would take for the furniture pieces I ordered to be put together. Even this lamp, stuffed inside yards of plastic, was tough. I also didn't think about bringing tools to put them together- figured they'd come with an allen wrench or something. So that big box there, which contains a kitchen baker's rack, is still just sitting there in pieces.


Andrew, pictured here doing who knows what, was a huge help during the whole thing. I really need to start lifting weights again or something- I could hardly pick up anything! Luckily, he's agreed to help me out next week when the mattress is delivered. We'll build and arrange more of the furniture then, and maybe this place will start looking for like home.

Movie: Death Note and sequel, Death Note: The Last Name - This was actually my first time watching a live action remake of an anime. They definitely altered the plot a ton for the movies. For one, there's no N or M - just an uninterrupted showdown between Kira and L. The ending is a serious improvement over the anime. As for the acting, it was across the board. As Kailer warned me before lending me the movies, L's actor is fantastic while Kira's is so-so. The thing that made Kira such a fantastic character in the anime was his sheer intelligence and constant cool under pressure. The actor makes Kira look kind of dumb with his melodramatic antics. It would take a lot more to make Kira from the anime snap. The movies combined last about 4 hours, so I've been watching them in half hour pieces over the past couple days. I can't believe they're making a third after the final events, but I'll definitely be watching it when it comes out.

Game: Professor Layton and the Curious Village - This was ridiculously hard. I got pretty frustrated at a lot of the brainteasers. I really liked the visual puzzles, but anything with numbers was lost on me. However, I wouldn't have enjoyed the game so much if it was easier. Nothing beat that feeling I got after completing an especially tough puzzle. I do admit though to using a walk-through with the hints unlocked at the end! I loved the side games that I was able to unlock after completing different puzzles, it kept constant puzzle solving from being too tedious. And nothing was more rewarding than that happy ending.

Anime: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya - Some call it the "genreless" anime, but I'd say it fits into several genres- shoujo, drama, romance, supernatural, probably a couple more. I learned it can be watched in two orders, and I was instructed to try the second. This turned out to be the "out of order" order, but in the end, looking back on it as a whole, it made total sense. More sense than the "in order" order, since it forced me to reflect on different events and their significance by intersecting them with episodes that featured a seemingly unrelated event. In fact, if I had been asked my opinion on the series at the beginning or halfway through, it would have been different. At the beginning, I hated obnoxious Haruhi. In the middle, I related most to ironic narrator Kyon, whose similar dislike of Haruhi made her easier to stomach. And at the end, now that I know what makes her tick, she's grown on me. She's not my favorite character of all time, but she's definitely relatable.

I hope everyone who reads this had a happy fourth of July. I spent it with my friends watching fireworks and playing Magic cards. Even my friend Will, who lives a couple hours away, managed to make it to the gathering. Seeing everyone made me realize how lucky I am to have friends I've known since high school (or earlier!) that I still keep in touch with and hang out with on a regular basis. So much has changed since we all met, but the important stuff hasn't at all.

The day before that, my parents came back from Spain, where they were visiting my sister. It was so great to see them again! I'd really missed them in the week they were gone. What started out as a "staycation" became a bit stressful as the realities of life (managing the house, doing all the chores, keeping my teenage sister out of trouble) began to pile on. But I at least managed to make sure my parents came home to the house all in one piece. My mom said that as payment for house-sitting, she'd buy me the clutch purse I've had my eye on. It's Michael Kors, and somehow 50% off! Link here.

I've been doing a lot of online (window) shopping lately. I don't think it's just my recent discovery of Polyvore, but rather a distinct emptiness to my life lately. Usually, like when I was in college, I'm constantly busy with new projects and creations. Now that I'm not creating any output, I guess I'm turning to input in the creations of others. Like that juicy blue patent leather clutch.

Still, things are going to get busy again soon. Within this week, I'm going to start physically furnishing my new place (expect photos in the next few days). At the end of the week, I'm going on a real vacation (to Andrew's lake house), followed by a visit to Otakon the following weekend. And the weekend right after that, I start school!

I am incredibly excited for everything to come. I've really been counting my blessings lately. The future looks brilliant.

A few days ago, I ordered a coin purse on from Oktak on Etsy. So today when I got a package in the mail, I immediately opened it to find this:



It's so cute, I almost didn't want to open the packaging! It also came wrapped in hot pink tissue paper and accompanied by a little card addressed to me from the seller. I've never ordered from Etsy before, but I've seen my former college roommates, both Etsy shop-owners, wrapping up their goods with little cards and ribbon. It's so much sweeter than ordering a coin purse from say, Amazon.

It's a tiny little purse (it fits in the palm of my hand!) but I needed it because I'm sick of always finding coins at the bottom of my purse. And since it's so colorful, it matches my bright yellow bag perfectly.

And now for What's In Lauren's Bag? The June/July edition:



+ My yellow bag, purchased at a street market in Italy. Brandless.
+ Floral zipper purse by Trina Turk. It was a free gift from the Clinique counter.
+ New coin purse!
+ Bright blue DSi with pink bomberman charm
+ Purple iPod nano
+ Elf Magic: The Gathering deck in pink case
+ Reusable grocery bag featuring Engrish speaking unicorn
+ DC tourist map (don't need it yet, but it's still in there!)
...And other assorted items like mints, lucky green pen, chapstick, phone, nailpolish, and pink umbrella.

Well, I got right on that photo organization, and things are working out. I decided to first organize my photos using iPhoto, and then, once organized, burn them to (hopefully just 1) DVD. As I said before, since 2007, I've taken 4 GB of photos. Hopefully not all of those are necesary, since DVDs only hold 4.2 GB max.

So I've started organizing by putting photos into folders by location, time, and event, and then trimming down the ones I don't need (I sure take a lot of duplicates!) In the age of digital cameras, it seems that I'm able to take 20 pictures of the Leaning Tower of Pisa and not notice I only like 2 of them until now.

The main part of my photos are from my trip to Siena, Italy last summer. I stayed there for a month and took an average of 50 photos a day. I kept a blog while I was there, which you can read here. I realized that out of the 500+ pictures I took in Italy, the ones I adore the most are on the blog.

And just for fun, here's a picture of me when I was in Italy. I still wear that scarf all the time!

...More like stupid me. I usually get along fine with computers, but when it comes to how they actually work, I'm totally clueless. For example, I tried to import my iTunes library onto my Mac, and I can't figure out how to. Also, I was trying to install XP on my mac using Boot Camp, but it seems to be totally failing. I'm going to have to go delete the partition... IF I can ever get my mac to start up again- as long as the XP install disc is in there- and I can't get it out (!!!), I can't use my mac. (If you're wondering, I'm using my PC right now.)

(15 minutes later...)

Well, I called Apple tech support, which was amazing compared to Dell tech support, which I've always used before. A robotic voice asked if I was a student, and after I said yes, I was connected with a real human right away! Turns out though that I'm the Apple equivalent of a grandmother who just bought her first PC and doesn't know how to right click. What happened was that I needed to press the apple version of control-alt-delete to get my disc to eject. The tech support guy was really nice and helped me configure my iTunes as well.

My goal now is to try to get my photos in order. I have, according to last count, 4 GB of pictures on my Dell and external hard drive! No wonder my Dell runs so slowly. So here are the new computer goals:

1) restore Dell to factory settings
2) either burn photos to CD or organize them using iPhoto or Flickr
3) use tech support's tutorial and get my iTunes working

I can't believe there's so much I didn't know about computers! I used to be able to create websites. With a little help from UMW tech support, I created this website for school! I just need to practice and get back into it all.

It's been awesome these past couple days since my parents went off to Spain. I'm here with my little sister, who's always out, so I have the house to myself. I feel like I'm playing house when I do my chores. It's a little taste of independence for when I move into my new apartment, except minus all the grad school work.

A typical day:
10 a.m. - wake up, eat breakfast and surf the internet.
12 a.m. - change into swimsuit and lounge by the pool.
2 p.m. - Death Note
4 p.m. - cook a delicious Japanese inspired dinner and later, eat it.
6 p.m. - pour a glass of plum wine and read manga whilst wearing lacy underthings
9 p.m. - The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
11 p.m. - bed.

Yeah, life is great. Here's what I cooked today:


Link to flickr version here. They're much better with soy or teriaki sauce sprinkled on them before you eat. And the best is I've got tons of leftovers, so I don't have to cook tomorrow! (It was really cutting into my Death Note time).

Surprisingly, I did manage to make time in my busy schedule to get up off my butt and go on a walk in the woods. I forgot how beautiful it is this time of year! I took some pictures, too.



I saw more animals than usual. Minnows and a huge tadpole in the creek, birds and squirrels, and a rabbit. Rabbits always look so scared, but they don't have anything to fear around my house. Not only is my guard dog toothless, but she ignores every rabbit she sees. There was one last night in the driveway, and she just walked past it! Anyway... manga calls.

Things have been great since I made that list of obsessions. I've since then made them happen, at least speaking in terms of consumption. I bought the furniture for my new apartment, and it's just as gorgeous in person. I bought those pink bento boxes I love. And today, I went to the international market and bought ingredients to make my first bento.

It was harder than I thought! At my former local international market in Fredericksburg, the owners spoke impeccable English and seemed accustomed to people of different nationalities coming to shop. The one here in NoVA was a much more accurate experience. Many of the products weren't labled in English (though all ingredients were, that's the law), and the customer service representative I asked for help had a tough time understanding my accent when I said I was looking for things like umeboshi and mirin.

Luckily, my friend Kailer, who speaks Japanese, came to the rescue. Even though she couldn't read most of the product names anyway, (turns out many were written in Korean), it was easier to look with two of us there.

Next, we got to cooking. It was a little hectic since I had been on Just Bento for hours the night before looking at recipes, and we tried to make five things at once. In the end, we made ongiri (with sake and umeboshi fillings), red miso soup with green onions and tofu, carrot and daikon sesame salad, hardboiled eggs with miso, and half of a furikake for next time. We also cut up radishes so they look like mini mushrooms, but that's hardly a recipe. In the end, we had three of these:



I'm so happy with how it turned out! What do you think?

P.S. check my flickr photostream version of the pic for notes on the bento's components.

1) Bento Boxes : Why didn't I get into this stuff before? I love making onigiri and I love making simple lunches, so this should have been a no-brainer. I've been spending lots of time on Just Bento looking up recipes and cute bento lunches. I'm currently lusting over this pink cherry blossom bento and onigiri case, but not sure if I should shop around some more. I mean, the prices are kind of high, but J-List *is* known for quality.

2) Death Note : Okay, I know I'm late to the game here but I just discovered all the sites where I can get streaming anime and have been catching up on a lot of different series I missed. Death Note is genius. Half of the anime is mental analysis rather than visual inspection. Both Light and L are such intelligent characters that it's hard to pick who to root for. I hear it gets terrible near the end, but the thought hasn't spoiled the whole thing for me yet. I'm on episode 23 though, so I'm sure the descent isn't far off.

3) Professor Layton and the Curious Village : I bought this the other day on a tip from Andrew. At first, I thought the game might be too tough for me, but then I started getting into the brainteaser mindset. Now, me and my mom have been playing it all day! Just ask us how to measure 4 quarts from 8 when you only have a 5 quart and 3 quart measuring cup. Aside from the complex and stimulating main game, I love all the side games including a puzzle, an invention, and interior decorating. The addition of these mini-games is a good model for other mystery games like the Phoenix Wright series.

4) Apartment Decorating : I'm having a really fun time with this, even though my apartment will look nothing like my fantasy design on polyvore. I've found a lot of cute things at Wal-Mart, Pier 1, and my favorite store of all, Target. I am in LOVE with this bedspread. I think this lamp would be adorable on this side table. My aunt is helping me decorate and she's given me a lot of great ideas.

5) Polyvore : I have mentioned polyvore a few times now. Since I found it, I've posted a different outfit design almost every day! I love designing outfits in real life, and it's even more fun with a limitless closet. If you want to be my friend on polyvore, my name is (as expected) Laureninspace.

What are you obsessing over right now?