Below are the most recent 8 friends' journal entries.

Thursday, December 17th, 2009
driftingfocus	12:38p	On embassy parties, dressing up, and personal authenticity… A week or two ago I got randomly invited to a party at the Thai embassy here in DC, celebrating the king’s birthday (they still have a king? who knew).  I turned down the offer for a number of reasons.  For one, I know little about Thailand other than that it gets a lot of backpackers, it’s a destination for sex tourism, it has some incredibly detailed temples, and it seems to be an increasingly popular spot for lifestyle designers to live, so I doubt I could really hold up a decent conversation when surrounded by Thai nationals and their associates. The other thing holding me back from an evening of pad thai and chicken satay was my wardrobe.  It is no secret that I am not a formal person, so it should come as no surprise that I lack formal clothing (indeed, this is about as dressy as I get).  I only recently began wearing skirts, I bought my first dress ever last year, and I have never worn either heels or makeup. Where am I going with this?  Well, when I told a friend of mine why I chose not to go, her response was that I should go and buy some nice clothes so that I will have something to wear to events like that in the future. Something about this really struck me.  The concept of spending money on something that you would not otherwise buy, in order to impress people you have never met, is utterly antithetical to my life philosophy. One of my number one goals in life is to live as authentically as possible.  I try to make sure that I do things/wear things/say things because I want to do/wear/say them, not because someone else thinks I should.  I don’t like to attend events where I have to dress in a way I would rather not, because it feels like lying to myself, as well as those around me..  I feel that in general, the people I would meet at an event where they would judge me by the way I dress are not people I really care to have in my life anyway.  When faced with the choice between spending money I don’t have to impress people I probably won’t like, or an evening out at the local cafe with friends, it’s a no-brainer. Now, there are exceptions to this of course.  If I was offered a chance to meet the president, I’d go out and find something suitable.  If I was interviewing with a magazine that is more fancy than I am, but that I really wanted to work for, I would dress accordingly.  But, in general, I do not alter myself just to suit the preferences of others. How do you feel about dressing up?  Would you still do it, even if you weren’t required to by society? Originally published at Teh Blog. You can comment here or there. (31 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009
driftingfocus	12:39p	Throttle Problems So, apparently we need to severely shorten our throttle cable, but nobody seems to be able to give us directions on how to do so. Ah, the joys of Urals… At least it’ll probably be warm enough to ride by the time we get her running! Originally published at Travels with Smutka. You can comment here or there. (Comment on this)
Friday, December 11th, 2009
kylara	1:18a	[Doujinshi Translation] Life Isn't Just Cake and Beer -- Happy Birthday, Evo! It's evoiiice9a's birthday! Happy birthday, sweety. This is for you, for your favorite (I think?) doujinshi of your favorite pairing! Title: Jinsei wa keeki to biiru bakari jyanai, Life isn't just Cake and Beer Circle: Tayutau Tane Doujinka: Gocchin Translated by: Kylara [Please do not use or repost this translation. It may not be used for scanlations except with Kamibana... or by Evo. ♥] ( Birthday present wrappings! ) ♥ Happy birthday, Evo! (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009
biztheinsane	2:05a	oh holy balls This is the greatest invention of our time. That's it. Everyone pack up and go home, the human race cannot hope to surpass this remarkable piece of glory. "Biz, what do you want for Christmas? New archive-quality papers? Perhaps a high-definition television?" It probably says a lot about my character that all I really want this holiday season is a corn-dog maker. (14 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009
kylara	3:21p	Sometimes I get the urgent desire to do a podcast. Three of my instructors had office hours today, and I went to see them all... but only one of them was actually there. Lame! But me and him talked for about an hour, which almost makes up for the others. I can either write a paper on Electra or do a re-telling of Electra to argue a point. I'm indecisive. It's been a long time since I've written anything even relatively creative so it would be uncomfortable, but doing something that isn't an essay could be a nice change. Thank you, sakurazukalori and lilhowlet for the snowflake cookie virtual gifts! I keep seeing them everywhere, is LJ running some sort of drive? (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, December 7th, 2009
driftingfocus	12:28p	Smutyanka is misbehaving again… So, Smutyanka is living up to her namesake again.  (Smutyanka is “female troublemaker” in Russian) We did a lot of work on her last week and replaced the air filter, put on the new carburetor flanges and heat blocks, and replaced the torn fuel line.  Our plan was to take her to Crossroads Cycles this week to get the carbs balanced, now that they are firmly attached, and with that and her inspection, she should be good to go for regular riding. No dice. We tried to start her up on Friday and got nothing.  I couldn’t even really hear the engine trying to turn over, which usually means something is very wrong.  We headed over to the Soviet Steeds forum, and folks advised that when we drained the tank, we probably pulled some gunk into the petcock, and to take it off and clean it.  We did that, and there was indeed a little bit of gunk (especially blocking the reserve tank hole), and then re-attached it.  It still won’t start up.  The fuel flow now seems fine, but in the process of looking at all that stuff, we realized that our throttle cables are barely hanging on, and are literally hanging out of the throttle assembly on the right handgrip.  Back to the boards! This is starting to get really frustrating for both of us.  We enjoyed getting to work on the bike and learn about motorcycle maintenance, but we have had the bike for three months and have driven it for only around an hour and a half, total ride time. So, we’re thinking of selling Smutyanka and buying a brand new Ural Patrol T, sometime in the next couple months, once Marc starts his USIS job. There are a few reasons for this: The Patrol T comes factory painted in the original Soviet army green/brown.  While we have photographic documentation of black, civilian sidecar bikes being requisitioned for military use, using Smutyanka in her current color configuration makes her stand out at events, and might draw some “farb!” remarks, even though it’s not. The Patrol T has 2WD.  For city driving it’s not an issue, but both of us really want to do some offroading with our Ural, and Smutyanka’s seemingly brittle condition and 1WD make that a little more difficult (though not impossible).  2WD would also allow us to drive in the snow, which would be nice. With a fresh, brand new bike, it would be easier to diagnose problems.  Right now we’re stuck in a cycle in which we fix one thing, only to realize that it was just a symptom of something else that has been broken the whole tine.  With a new bike, you have a fresh starting point, so it’s easier to know when something is wrong. Quite frankly, we’re not really in a good position to be doing major work on a motorcycle right now.  If we were living in a house, with a garage, it might be another story, but it’s very difficult to do any major work on a motorcycle when all you have is an apartment parking lot. Urals now come with a 3(?) year factory warranty, and we live only two hours away from a dealer.  We can continue to do the minor stuff ourselves, but it’s nice to know that if something really goes wrong, we can get it fixed for free for a couple years. The biggest of all:  even if we got Smutyanka running well, neither of us would trust her to be anything more than a “fun around town” vehicle.  I wouldn’t trust her to get me to work, and we would have to trailer her to all reenactments we took her to, however close.  A brand new Ural is reliable enough to be used as a daily commuter, and then it truly could be our second vehicle.  Marc wants to get a new car, but he would prefer to wait a little longer to replace his, and having a Ural that works might be a good stopgap. We haven’t made up our minds yet, or even really discussed it all that much, but the topic has been brought up for discussion a couple times.  It wouldn’t be for a couple months yet, but it’s a possibility. Originally published at Travels with Smutka. You can comment here or there. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, December 4th, 2009
biztheinsane	11:24p	So what are the wild odds that someone has access to one of those mystery party game as a pdf file or the like? I've been trying Google and isohunt, but nothing can be dredged up without forking over forty dollars to buy a damn electronic file. Super bonus points if it's Christmas themed. SERIES FINALE OF MONK MADE ME CRY LIKE A LITTLE GIRL. Mr. Monk -- I will always call him Mr. Monk, I called Tony Schlub by Mr. Monk when I met him -- is the most adorable grown man and I am so glad his story was resolved and that Sharona never showed up -- don't look at me like that. Natalie 4 lyfe. Will I ever put forth an eloquent review to illustrate my love for the Monk series? HA HA no (2 Comments |Comment on this)
kylara	2:49p	Naruto Shounen Jump Special OVA I don't think I've ever seen Naruto fandom so happy with a non-canon OVA, and it's not just because the competition is a joke. The OVA itself is quite satisfying, in part because it's been so long since I've seen them all together. It's really nice seeing Team 7 as kids again. ( The best part was... ) Aaaw, Team 7, I love you. They bicker, they bond, they look out for each other. This was a good OVA. ♥ Now if only canon could have this affect on me again... sigh. (3 Comments |Comment on this)