Panda

This is going to be funny to many of you "youngins'" but I didn't start really using the internet until January of 2001. I wasn't a computer person so I never really got into being online. It seemed really weird to me how some people would spend hours online. Looking back at it now it really does seem funny to me seeing how now I live online. I started out eBaying. I have a natural love of shopping and this was my husband's nightmare. I could shop 24/7. It was my drug. I was hooked on eBay. I would constantly be checking in for what treasures had been posted in the time I was away from the computer. Watching my bids like a hawk waiting for that annoying sniper trying to outbid me in the last 30 seconds. It truly felt like a little victory when I would win the listing. LOL Oh I should mention I was on DIAL UP at the time. Yeah, try eBaying on dial up, it really is a victory when you win a popular listing! I then moved on to an anime based message board. It was the beginning of the end. You know how that is. You find people who share the same interests as you and all of a sudden you have a new group of friends. I made many really great friends, whom I have traveled around the country, to meet. I have gone to Ohio, Florida, Texas, Oregon, California and of course around my home state to meet people I first met online. I can't imagine my life now without the internet. Since my health is so meh I do all my work online. It gives me a professional and social outlet that I would be lost and isolated without. Now the majority of my time is spent on theOtaku network and emails. I hardly ever go into my messenger programs since I have to take frequent breaks to rest my hands...darn arthritis! Besides that I still check in on eBay but I don't nearly spend the time I use to on that site. I'm sure my hubby is happy about that!

I was raised in the [u][URL=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missionary_Church]Missionary Church[/URL][/u]. I went to Sunday School, Youth Group and Sunday Services. I learned how important it is to care about one another and how things like murder and stealing is wrong. I never had any issues with those teachings. It is the "only Christians go to Heaven everyone else goes to Hell" teachings that bothered me. The majority of my family is [u][URL=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nichiren_Buddhism]Nichiren Buddhists[/URL][/u]. This includes my father, grandparents, aunts and uncles...all Nichiren. When the Sunday School teacher said that anyone who hasn't accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior would go to Hell it made me sad. That means, even though my grandparents were good, caring, law abiding citizens they are in Hell right now. My dad would go to Hell too unless he converted. That really bothered me. I was taught that God was a loving and caring being, not the hateful/vengeful God that some religions teach. So why would he do that to good people? This is something that has bothered me for many years. I have come to the point where I am just not sure what to believe. I do believe that caring for the world around us: people, animals and environment is important. I also believe that there is a higher being watching over us. In the end I guess I will continue to do what I have all my life. It's very hard for me to put into words. I will continue to live life with both teachings in mind. I will pay my respects at the family shrine by burning incense, leaving flowers and food for my grandparents. At the same time I will say a prayer to God to watch over them. It may seem a bit strange to some, but this is what I have been doing for longer than many of you have been alive.

[color=red]Please remember when starting a post inuyasha#1 to make them well thought out, easy to understand with special care given to your grammar and capitalization. It also helps when asking for others to contribute their stories that you start off by sharing one of your own. Starting with a strong first post helps lead to quality responses in the thread. If you have any questions about posting quality feel free to PM myself or any of the other moderators. Thanks![/color] On topic: I am assuming you are asking us to share our real life scary experiences. For me one of the scariest experiences I have had in my life would be when I was about 5 years old and almost drowned at a friends house in their swimming pool. I was not a very strong swimmer and ended up slipping into the deep side. I could reach the side of the pool and was bobbing between the bottom of the pool and the top of the water. Every time I would try to cry for help I would just get a mouth full of water. I really did think I was going to die. Eventually I couldn't keep it up and figured I was just going to drown. It was strange, I wasn't scared. I just took a deep breath in the pool and instead of getting a bunch of water it was like taking a deep breah of air. I hit the bottom of the pool and pushed as hard as I could. With that last push I was able to grab the side of the pool and pull myself out. I am figuring there must have been some air in my breathing passages or something since I can't explain where the refreshing oxygen came from. I really did have a guardian angel looking out for me that day.

Usually for me they are really little things. Like hearing a certain word, one that doesn't normally come up in everyday conversation will pop up several times in one day. For instance the other day the word "dubious" seemed to pop up several times in one day. It actually seemed a bit, well, dubious. Now my hubby has this knack for having a song stuck in his head and when he turns the radio on it will be playing. It's happened on more than one occassion. One time we were driving to the grocery store and he mentioned that Len's "Steal My Sunshine" was stuck in his head. About 5 minutes after we entered the store the song came over the speakers. Just plain weird.

After you have a banner that fits the size requirements you need to: - [b]Upload the image to a host.[/b] This can be your own hosting service or if you don't have one you can get a free account with Photobucket or ImageShack. - [b]Click on the "Edit Signature" link in the menu bar to the left.[/b] - [b]Paste the "IMG" code into your signature.[/b] This code will look like: [*IMG]http://...........jpg[*/IMG] You just need to take the * out and insert your image's url in the place of the line of periods. If you use Photobucket they will give you the IMG code so all you have to do is copy and paste it into your signature. - [b]Save your signature.[/b] Hope that helps. If you need more help feel free to post it in this thread or PM me directly and I will try to answer your question.

[b]Average Saturday[/b]: Sleep in until my dogs wake me up to go for walkies. See my hubby off to work. Mill about the house doing odds and ends like laundry, dusting and other cleaning chores until John comes home. We have lunch then continue milling about. Perhaps spend time online, playing games on the PS2 or watching anime. [b]Perfect Saturday[/b]: Wake up early and head out for a day trip out of town with John. I love it when he doesn't have to work. Spend the day shopping for things like anime and eating at restaurants we don't have in our home town. After the long day shopping we head home to watch the new anime we just purchased. Saturdays are pretty much pefect but when I get to hang out with John it makes them even more special. :catgirl:

One tradition that I have with my best friend is our coffee dates. We set aside a day, away from work, husbands, kids and other responsibilities and meet up for lattes. After chatting over a tasty mug of coffee we run around town shopping. We always end the day by going to a thrift store and finding funny outfits. We try to do this at least once a month and I love it.

[quote name='dposse']oh? then how do you do it?[/quote] You can: - Go to your myO backroom. - Click on the Member List in the menu bar to the left under the "Community" heading. - Click on any of the "Recently Updated Members" The "Recently Updated Members" is where the random member button would select it's random members from. Even though the button is gone you can still do the same thing the button use to do. The thing about doing it this way is you can look through all the names the Random Member button use to pick from and pick the member you want to visit yourself. You then don't have to worry about ending up on the same site over and over like the RM button use to do on occassion. It's also fun to pick though the list of Top 500 members. Find a user name that catches your fancy and visit them. Perhaps their name is something funny or witty. Many times if you are a fan of an anime and you see someone with a member name referring to that same series you are probably going to find a fellow fan. That is something that the Random Member button didn't do. The Random Member button was nice but I really don't miss it. I think if it comes back, great! If not, no big deal to me.

I spend a lot of time in medical facilities due to my bad health. I actually enjoy visiting with the staff since many of them I have cared for their pets during my work in vet med. ^_^ More than half of my family members are in the medical profession (I'm the odd duck who went into vet med. lol) and even my husband is an EMT. I've heard some crazy stories. :animeblus I am very happy with the service I have received. Growing up a tomboy I was always getting hurt. Broken arm, broken ankle, lacerations, finger amputation...now chemotherapy...I have nothing but great respect for those who take care of all of us. I'm thankful that someone is there to fix me up when I do have an emergency! As Lore mentioned before some of the things people think are emergencies are wacky! One of the "frequent fliers" I know about (he also had a cat so I saw him at the vet clinic) once called the ambulance because he picked a scab and it bled. As he was telling us (vet staff) about all of his "emergencies" I was wondering if someone who was having a heart attack or just got into a car accident was waiting for the next available medical transport while he was sucking up their time. In vet med working emergency means you get a few honest ones with lots of weird stuff like the 3am phone call to find out how to spell "labrador". All and all I am very happy with the hospital in my hometown as well as the one I was flown too when I had my farm equipment accident. Yeah the hospital in my hometown wasn't equipt to deal with my injury, but they got me to a place that was. In our day and age we can be transported to facilities equipt to deal with certain conditions quickly. I agree with Drix about those of you who avoid/hate going to the hospitals, hope you stay healthy forever!

[QUOTE=Retribution][size=1]I fail to see how feeling frustrated and sad when you die is beautiful. That sounds somewhat masochistic, and on the whole rather odd that you find being frustrating or sad a beautiful thing. Do you consider it beautiful when someone is crying because they failed a test? Or do you think it's beautiful when a child is beaten up, and feels angry afterwards? I don't get it, how that quote would 'strike a chord' with you. [/size][/QUOTE] Of course you would fail to see what is beautiful about that quote when you put words in my post that I did not say or imply. I never said or implied that I think it's beautiful to see a child beaten up or someone to fail a test. It's actually very disappointing that you would think I think hurting others or seeing other in pain is a beautiful thing. That is very sad to think someone would find seeing other hurt is a good thing. You are obviously not a TMBG fan either or you would know what their music is like. "Strike a chord" is a pun. You know, musical chord? This is a quote from a song. Striking a chord is to make a noise, a note if you will. Its a pun. I also like how it reminds me that I am not alone. Thus, striking a chord with me. This song also mentioned "wake up and smell the cat food in your bank account". Are you now going to imply that I put cat food in my bank account since I quoted that? The song is about reality checks. I still stand by my quote. I think the quote is more of a reality check...a grass is always greener warning. You may think that your life is bad and everyone else has a perfect life, but everyone feels that there are aspects of their lives that they are disappointed in. That in itself is a comforting thing. Why is it comforting? Because we are all the same. We have all had hurts and disappointments, no matter who you are. Being caught up thinking that you are the only one who feels pain and hurt is wrong, we all feel sad. In the end we are all the same. We have all be disappointed in events in our lifes and no one has the perfect life in the end. No matter how much money you have, how popular you were or how absolutely otaku you may have been...we are all the same in the end. I am frustrated and sad that my quote would be used against me to imply I am some masochistic person. I use that quote as a reminder that even though things in my life have gone bad that I am not alone in feeling frustrated and sad. We all feel that way in some aspect of our lives. You might think my quote is masochistic but, to me, it gives me strength to carry on and consider what others around me are going though. This is the way I interpret the quote and I'll stick with it as one of my favorites since it keeps me grounded. [b]There will be little rubs and disappointments everywhere, and we are all apt to expect too much; but then, if one scheme of happiness fails, human nature turns to another; if the first calculation is wrong, we make a second better: we find comfort somewhere . . .?[/b] My next quote is by author Jane Austen. Life is filled with disappointments but we find some way, something to find comfort in to carry on. Being thought of as a person who finds pleasure in the pain of others, that is a big disappointment to me. But I won't let it get me down. I always find a way to gather up strength to deal with anything and everything that comes my way. I can handle chemo so dealing with the hurt that someone would think ill of my character is just another "little rub".

I have had many, many weird dreams. I think the wackiest of dreams come out of fevers. I notice if I have a cold or fever I have dreams that are stranger than the normal weird dreams I have. For example, the dream I had a few nights ago.... I was in my flannel panda print pajamas trying to sleep in a bathtub with about 3 inches of water in it. For some reason I was sleeping in the bathroom in a small apartment with a bunch...20+ other people. I guess the tub was one of the only places I could find room to "sleep". As I am trying to sleep in this tub the 80's rock band Warrant walks into the bathroom. They need the bathtub for their band rehersal and I was trying to argue with them. I was really tired and just wanted to sleep. So they just started to play "Down Boys" really loud while I was trying to sleep in the water-filled tub. I woke up all irritated. :animeangr Note: I haven't heard a Warrant song in ages...I have no idea why they were there. Edit: Removed the cheese-tastic picture.

[COLOR=Red]I am a bit worried about this thread. We don't allow posts that result in random "copy/paste" lists. If you add in what is special about this quote, why you like it and/or why you picked that particular random quote I think this thread has a chance. As it is now just random quotes is not the quality we like here on the boards. Unless the quality improves in this thread I will unfortunately have to lock it.[/COLOR] [b]"Everybody dies frustrated and sad and that is beautiful..."[/b] This is one quote I love to, well, quote. It is from a They Might Be Giants song called "Don't Let Start". The quote just seems to strike a cord in me. It makes me feel like no matter what or who you were in life everyone ends up the same in the end...feeling sad and frustrated inside....and that really is, in a weird way, beautiful. Regrets about what we should have done in life plague us all. Truly we all live tragic lives. Shakespeare could write a classic Tragedy about any of us.

Sorry so long to respond to this thread. I have been very ill (still am) but I will do my best to answer your question. Hopefully it makes sense...I have a tough time writing when I don't feel good. Officially licenced art is ok to use. Manga scans, screen caps, art books, stationary, note pads, [b]calendars[/b], magazine ads, pencil boards, postcards, etc...images are fine. If you can scan them clearly AND they are licenced works of art it would be fine. Remember, there are several moderators helping out and I do not know who deleted your submission. Once a piece is deleted it is wiped off of the server. The only way to have it back on your account is to re-submit. Since I am not the one who did the deleting I can only give you my opinions on what happened. Hopefully the mod who did will see this post and respond, until then, I can only give you my opinions on what they could have been thinking. - Submission was reported as plagerised with proof URL. If the proof URL was posted before your submission was submitted then the later submission would be deleted. (Sorry for using submission so many times in that last sentence!) - The wallpaper looks like a slight variation of one already existing on the site. Perhaps cropping off of a signature or using a thicker boarder to cover a signature. If the image is one that has been used several times previously it becomes a bit more dubious when it appears again. - Accident. Server issues, glitches in the system or human error. As we all know sometimes our technology lets us down. We are also human and make mistakes. - Blurry image. Perhaps the texture was mistaken for a poor scan. - Spanish Inquisition. That's because no one expects the Spanish Inquisition! (Ok, bad Monty Python joke.) Heck, a few of my wallpapers were deleted for plagiarism by an *over-zealous mod! I did what you did and made my case to another administrator (Yeah, even the admins get their work deleted) and then re-submitted the pieces. Accidents happen and having a wallpaper deleted is not the end of the world. Irritating yes, end of world no. (*Side note: The mod who had done the uncalled deleting had done that on several occassions and was "let go". Perhaps this is the same mod? Perhaps this is why they haven't responded?) I hope this helped. My suggestion would be to resubmit the wallpaper if you haven't done so already. I am sorry I didn't respond sooner but my health has been keeping me off the computer. If you need more clarification feel free to post it here, PM me or email me directly. I will do my best to respond quickly but I am still sick.

[COLOR=Red]Reminder to everyone: If you see someone breaking the rules please use the report button versus playing mod. Thanks![/COLOR] Growing up I was always told that I was behaved more mature than my age. This of course made me wonder how I was suppose to be acting at that age. Now that I am an "adult" I am told I am suppose to act my age. I love anime and I don't have children. Apparently women my age should have a couple of kids already and be soccer moms. Meh, that just isn't my bag. I think if there is a hobby you enjoy that you should not be ashamed of enjoying it at any age. :animesmil

A midnight I gave my hubby a great big kiss. We had a few friends over and we all had drinks and watched the massive amount of fireworks the neighbors were setting off. We didn't stay out long since it was freezing cold outside. We came in just in time since they started setting off M-80's. I hate those things, they are just too loud! Today I am going over to my parent's place for a nice traditional Japanese New Year's Day celebration. Lots of yummy food. Mmmm...I'm hungry now.

These types of threads degenerate fairly quickly. The types of posts we like to see on the OtakuBoards are ones that will generate quality discussions, the "where can I find" threads do not meet that criteria. This type of question would be best put as a note in your signature so people can PM you with an answer. As it stands now people will either answer: Yes I know or Nope. There is no conversation value in this thread. If someone has a suggestion of where to look they can PM you with their answer. Since there is no conversation value in this thread and those with answers can PM you, I am going to lock this thread. I suggest that you look through past post for examples of both what is acceptable and what is not for threads on the OtakuBoards. Please feel free to PM me or any of the other moderators if you have any questions. Thanks. ~Panda

Unfortunately you didn't post this in the right forum but I can move it to the right place. No biggie. Just be sure to check out the descriptions of what each forum is about and do a quick search for similar topics before you post and you'll be fine. If you have any questions about posting feel free to PM myself or any of the other moderators. As for your question I know this question has been asked before in this forum so doing a quick search should bring up the answer. Sorry to say, I do not remember exactly what the code is...I want to say it's all X's, but wait for someone who knows for sure to respond. Edit: I found one of the other threads. You can read the response [u][URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=47653&highlight=transparent+background]here.[/URL] [/u] I guess I remembered correctly. Per the last person who posted in that thread it is six X's. Woo hoo...go me and my somewhat okay memory!

[quote name='Ryli][COLOR=DarkRed']Another one would be playing the chocobo mini game at the chocobo forest in FFIX. Peck, peck, OI, treasure! PECK PECK PECK >_>[/COLOR][/quote] I totally love Chocobo Treasure Hunting! Definitely one of my favorite past times. I think I gave up hours of my life playing that mini game...that and just flying around on my Chocobo listening to the Choco-theme music. If only I had a ukelele... Now one of my true guilty pleasures is karaoke. I love singing even though I can't sing to save my life. I was in band, not choir. I have all the Karaoke Revolution games that have been released here in the States and totally rock that game. This is, of course, a branch of my other guilty pleasure of singing in the car. Singing makes me feel really happy and even though I am awful, I still love it. Overall I would have to say my number one guilty pleasure is going out to Starbucks for an overpriced coffee drink. I love my coffee. I am a java junkie and can't imagine life without my "fix". Nothing is better than getting a Starbucks mocha and singing in the car on the drive home. :animesmil

Welcome to theOtakuBoards angelic catgirl. Please be aware that we have a rules page that all members are required to read before posting. These [URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/rules.php?"][U]Rules[/U][/URL] and [URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/faq.php?][U]FAQ[/U][/URL] can also be found on the left navigation menu in addition to the underlined links I have just provided. We encourage people to introduce themselves within their posts as they enter discussions throughout the boards. We would rather that than having a ton of introduction threads. For that reason I am going to lock this thread. Also, we have pretty high standards when it comes to the quality of posts (ie: making them well thought out with care given to grammar). When you re-read the rules page it will make more sense to you. If you have any questions please feel free to PM myself or any of the other moderators. Again, I welcome you to the boards and I hope to see you posting around the site. Have fun! ~Panda

Welcome to theOtakuBoards Burst_Angel. We encourage people to introduce themselves within their posts as they enter discussions throughout the boards. We would rather that than having a ton of introduction threads. For that reason I am going to lock this thread. If you have any questions please feel free to PM myself or any of the other moderators. Again, I welcome you to the boards and I hope to see you posting around the site. Have fun! ~Panda

[quote name='blackfireknight']i think it was my ps2 cause it was really random[/quote] [COLOR=Red]Please remember that proper grammar is very important in all responses. Using capital letters and punctuation is a must and responding in a well thought out manner that adds to the conversation is required. Please make sure you keep this in mind in all future posts [b]blackfireknight[/b][/COLOR]. Now on topic: The very best gift I ever received was an engagement ring from John. I am sure you guys can figure out why it is such a great gift. The feeling behind this gift is what makes it so special. It's a 1/2 carat round diamond solitare. It's the most beautiful ring ever since it came from the man I love.

Your best bet is to do a Google search. I am going to lock this thread since it is not the quality we require here on the boards. As it stands there is no conversation value to this topic beyond a yes or no. Be sure when starting a new thread it has some conversation value. If people do have the information you are seeking they can PM you. -Panda

Unfortunately for me the Christmas excitement I felt as a child is gone. Presents aren't as exciting as they use to be...I guess that is what happens after almost 30 years of living. I am the youngest in the house so there aren't any little ones to bring that thrill back. That Christmas excitement is something I definately miss. Now with that said I haven't touch any of the gifts that are sitting under the tree. My parents trust me enough that they have already brought the gifts over to my house for tomorrow's celebration. We do keep gifts a secret from the one receiving it, but not from the other family members. Does that make sense? So my brother knows what everyone is giving each other but doesn't know what he is getting from anyone. I did peak one year at a couple of my gifts when I was younger and when I actually opened it the excitement was gone. I didn't like that so I never peaked again. There is just something really cool and fun about getting a suprise gift. Even if it is only a sweater. Merry Christmas all and hopefully you'll all get what you wished for from Santa!

For me age difference is not a major issue as long as there is nothing illegal about the relationship. As Retri mentioned if you have a minor with an adult it's against the law. That is not right. If they really do love each other they can wait until the "jail bait" aged one is legal. Love is very important, first and foremost. Age should not be a problem unless it is an adult "dating" a child. There is, of course, some grey area in this. Is it wrong for an 18 year old to date a 17 year old? Meh. I don't think so but legally I think an overprotective parent could make a big legal issue about it. When I met my now husband I was 16 and he was 21. We didn't start dating until I was 18. My aunt and her husband have an 11 year age difference. As adults no one even thinks about the age difference but if you were to put that in terms of school grades then it is very disturbing. That would be a 1st grader dating a Junior in High School! In that context it's just plain wrong, but when the younger in the relationship is in their 20's...it's ok since both are adults. Hope I make sense. I guess I break it down like this: Adult + child = unacceptable. Young adult (18 or 19) + older teen (16 or 17) = ok, but could be seen as illegal. Older adult + younger adult = ok, they are both consenting adults.

The number at the bottom is telling you how many fan art pieces you have submitted. If that number goes to zero then they were denied. This is also the same place that tells you how many have been approved. I know, a bit confusing but you just have to make a mental note about it. You know you submitted 2 pieces so if only 1 shows up you know that 1 had been denied. You'll get the hang of it after a few submissions. Now as for this thread. When asking questions related to the network it is best to post them in the Suggestion and Feedback Forum. For that reason I am going to move this thread over there. The Otaku Lounge is for off topic discussions that do not fit in one of the other forums. If you have questions about this you can PM myself or any of the other staff members. As for additional questions about the art section you can either post them in this thread or PM me directly. ^_^ Just hang tough and wait for your art. As long as it doesn't break any of the rules of the site and is in line with the submission guidelines then it should be approved within a day or so. -Panda