Panda

My hubby and I are going to [U][URL=http://www.surrealistball.com/]The Surrealist Ball[/URL][/U] to ring in the new year. It should be interesting. This will be the first time I have ever gone to anything like this to ring in the new year. It should be a very interesting experience. The mix of art, music and performance should keep me entertained for the evening. I usually ring in the new year by sitting infront of the tv in my jammies watching the ball drop in NYC. I am not a drinker so going out to a bar or anything on New Year's Eve really has never been too appealing to me. The most I will drink will be a toast at midnight. We are taking a cab there and back so no worries about us drinking and driving. I am a responsible adult! Whatever you guys do to ring in the new year be safe and have lots of fun! Happy New Year everyone!

Ah road rage, I live in a town where it is common to see the bumper sticker: "Keep honking, I'm reloading". The sad thing is that they probably really mean it! One time I was driving down the interstate just a tad bit faster than I should have, about 5 miles over the speed limit, and I had a guy who thought I was going to slowly. At the time I was 16 years old in a small compact car and this guy is in a big truck with huge tires. Pretty much looked like a reject from a monster truck show. He is tailgating me and honking. Mind you, there are 3 other empty lanes he could have gone into. I tried several times to move out of his way but couldn't see behind me to make a safe lane change since he was so close to me all I could see was the front of his truck. Eventually I gathered up the nerve to just change lanes, which he then changed right behind me. After a while he got bored "playing" and gunned his engine and passed me. Of course he had to flip me off and turned around so laugh as he passed. At that moment I was filled with road rage. I wished he would loose control and crash that awful looking monster truck and die. If I had a missle launcher I would have blown him away! I did nothing to him to cause him to tailgate me. I wasn't driving slow, I didn't cut him off...nothing. I just happened to be the person he decided to mess with. People need to calm down when driving. I know I did after that. I ended up stopping and gathering myself together after that. What a loon, he could have killed me or someone else if I had changed lanes into someone!

I completely agree with Dagger on volume 9. I absolutely love this volume of Gravitation. I was actually taken aback when Shuichi stood up for himself. It gave me the feeling that he might actually be "growing up". The cast of characters in this particular volume was quite amusing...except for [spoiler]Kitazawa's[/spoiler] younger brother. It would really creep me out if I were Yuki to even be near that guy since he does that impersonation thing. There is just no way I could handle being in a room with someone who is the [spoiler]spitting image of the man I killed[/spoiler] and caused so much pain in my life. I did love how K reacts to Reiji and her crush on [spoiler]Shuichi [/spoiler]. Only K would find her use of weapons, like a bazooka, on [spoiler]Shuichi[/spoiler] as a true sign of her love! I guess I am also a bit biased since my eyes lit up when I first saw [spoiler]Reiji's mecha "panda of love". How can anyone turn down a panda?! Especially one with missles and is 50 feet tall![/spoiler] For some strange reason I have really started to like K since reading this volume. All in all I think volume 9 of Gravitation has been my favorite one so far. Oh and Dagger, I agree with you about [spoiler]Reiji and Judy. There is that panel that shows Judy kissing Reiji and the way it looked was like it was more than just a friendly kiss on the cheek.[/spoiler] Oh this cast of characters gets more and more interesting every volume!

This is a really old thread. The last time someone posted on it was back in 2001. Please do not resurrect really old threads like this one. It isn't even appropriate in this forum any longer since it would now be best suited in the Movies, Music and TV forum. Because of those reasons I am going to close this old thread. -Panda

So many memories it is a bit tough to think of everything memorable on the OB for 2004. At the very top of the list for me would be meeting so many interesting people who have now become my friends. A few other highlights would be: -Becoming a moderator for the Otaku Lounge. -DW's wonderful animations and plans for message board domination. -V7 launch. -My first adventure into banner and avi production. -Joining a handful of different "groups" like The Cracker Club and A.C.R.O.S.S. -Meeting Mamma Vash at AX. -ALL of Charles' great pictures in his posts or when he changes people's avatars to match their true personalities (ie crying baby). -And everything else I have forgotten about. I will edit this post if I think of other things to add. 2004 was fun and I am sure 2005 is going to be even more exciting here on the OB.

I have both Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and Sjorgen's Syndrome. Both are autoimmune diseases that cause joint pain, swelling and disfiguration. Basically RA makes your immune system think that your joints are something bad and need to be attacked. It wants to destroy your joints like it is some invading virus. In severe cases it can cause death. I was diagnosed a couple of years ago. I get to take a bunch of medication to keep the diseases in check. So far there is no cure for the diseases, only medication to slow the progression. I got it from my mom, she has already had both elbows replaced and will have her ankles done next summer due to the pain in the joints. On the plus side of having RA is that when I catch a cold all I have to do is get off my meds and let my overactive immune system do it's job! It takes care of the cold then I go back on my meds before my joints start to hurt. I think of it like having a wild animal that wants to eat me. I keep it on a leash and under control. Let's say a murder breaks into my house so I let loose the wild animal to attack the intruder. While it is taking care of the murder, I chain the animal back up before it can hurt me. Other than that, it really has no good use. :confused: I try not to let this get me down. It has dramatically changed my life but not my outlook on life. It has really made me realize that I need to enjoy the little things in life and appreciate the days I feel good. I wish you all good health and happiness in the new year!

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

Welcome to theOtakuBoards HarukoExcel and ziopheth. Please be aware that we have a rules page that all members are required to read before posting. The [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. 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. Your posts are not to the quality we like to see on the OB. Because of that I am going to lock this thread and recommend that you both work on your post quality. If either of 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

I am going to move your question to the Suggestion and Feedback forum. I am assuming you are asking about how to add a background to your myO site. Your question is very vague. I suggest you add more information and detail to your posts so you will get a more direct answer. To add a background to your myO site just go to your backroom and use the "Edit Styles" button. In that menu will be a place to put the URL of the image you want to post as your background image. Be sure to type in the entire URL for the image and hit the "Submit Change" button at the end. Hope that helps answer your question.

As always, your animations rock my panda socks. The depictions of the mods are spot on, I just never knew James was such a groovy dancer! Nothing says happy holidays like a great DW animation. Action, adventure, naked-ness, dancing...it has it all! I give your latest work two panda thumbs up!

Ah, Christmas traditions. Things, as all things, changed over time. Now that all the "kids" are grown up we meet up at my parents' house and we eat a huge lunch together. Usually it is my parents, my hubby, me, my brother, my inlaws and my brother inlaw. We have the "traditional" holiday fare of turkey, ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, rice, sushi...you know, the usual. We open presents after that and play games while listening to holiday music. It's always a good time. After Christmas but before the New Year my family makes mochi. Mochi is a traditional Japanese sweet rice cake that you eat on New Year's Day. We have been doing this family tradition for years and years. One of my favorite memories was being at my grandparent's house as a little kid and making mochi with my entire family. This is definitely one tradition that will never change. :D

I am living in a very small town in eastern Washington state. It's called Moses Lake and it is pretty much in the middle of the state if you look at a map of Washington. Our town's nickname is the "Desert Oasis" and we only have 16,000 residents. Unlike what most people think of when they think of Washington state, it is not all green trees and rainy like Seattle. Sage brush, sand dunes and 108 degree summers are what we get. Only trees are the ones that you plant yourself! I did live in Olympia, Washington (state capital) when I first got married. The winters were really depressing since the weather was the same every single day. Grey and rainy in the winter. Nothing other than that. I enjoy the changes of season I get over here in the Columbia Basin. Sun in the summer, beautiful autumn leaves in the fall, snow in the winter and brisk springs...it's all good.

Sakana-san, please put more effort into starting new threads. This thread really isn't going to develope into a quality discussion due to it's very limited subject matter. Because of that I think it is best if this thread is closed. ~Panda

I love traveling. I have been all over the United States except New Mexico, Arizona and north of New York. Other than that, I have been too all of the lower 48. I would really love to see Hawaii and Alaska someday. Other than the US my travels have been fairly limited to Canada and the Bahamas. I am the least traveled in my entire family. I would love to travel to Europe, Japan and Austrialia someday. I am just waiting for a bunch of money to fall into my lap! I felt guilty both times I went to the Bahamas. There is so much poverty there and when you are away from the "tourist traps" it is really sad seeing how poor the people are. It's such a stark contrast to the expensive resorts and casinos. The rich are extremely rich, the poor are really poor. It really was a depressing. As for travel in my near future, I only have a New Year's Eve trip to Seattle planned. Hey, it beats ringing in the new year in my one horse town!

Welcome to the OtakuBoards Phayt. My suggestion would be to make sure your rpg is in line with all the [U][URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=44317]rules[/URL][/U] and read through some of the more popular rpgs that are currently running to see what makes them popular. Otherwise be patient and wait for members to sign up. If they are busy with other obligations (ie the holidays or other rpgs) it may take a little while to get it going. Hope that helps answer your question. I am going to move this thread from the Otaku Lounge to the Adventure area of the boards. Those in the know will be found in that area of the site. It may get locked but I will let the mods of that forum decide. Best of luck on your rpg!

Well that was very interesting to look at the poll results. I am one of the oldie moldies of the site. I am 28 and will be 29 in January. Only a couple of more weeks and I am one step closer to 30! :wigout: I have been an anime fan for many years. I don't think anime has an age limit on fandom. Go to any anime convention and you will see many older anime fans at the cons. We do all need to keep in mind that this survey only shows us the ages of those anime fans who are 1) willing to share their age online. 2) frequent this message board. 3) "reply to how old are you threads." In my age group there has been only one other person who replied but I do know of more out there who fall into this bracket. Come out, come out where ever you are!

I would be honest with her and say that her actions towards you makes you feel uncomfortable. I do know many girls, myself included, who hug their friends and give kisses on cheeks. It's my way of showing my close friends that I love them but they all know that it is only a show of friendship, nothing more. She may be one of these very affectionate girls. Be sure you aren't reading too much into her actions. If you say it makes you uncomfortable and she really is your friend, she won't be upset. I say just bring things out in the open and let her know how you feel.

This thread really isn't staying on topic. It is filled with off topic discussions and only seems to get those involved more and more upset. I am going to close this one right now before it turns into an all out flame war. Thank you to all of those who have stayed on topic. ~Panda Edit: I am going to reopen this thread with the condition that all participating will remain on topic.

I would have to say the main problem I see with the OL is the "circle debates" that take place as mentioned before. People debating a topic with the same points rehashed over and over thus eventually leading to the thread being closed. On rare occassion someone will post a new view into that thread and breathe life back into it...but not always. I try to hold out hope that it will happen. Call me an optimist. Due to the "catch all" nature of the forum having the same high level of thread topic quality as the other forums is difficult. We have everything from the heated ethical debates to the more lighthearted ones like asking about your holiday memories. Both are great in their own ways, but also bad since they can go downhill quickly. The OL has is own little quirks which makes it an interesting place to be.

The only pet I have ever received around the holiday season is my cat Harrison. I brought him home from the vet clinic I was working at right before Thanksgiving. He was brought in by a client who thought he had broken legs. He actually was born with a major birth defect. Due to his special needs they didn't want to keep him. So I adopted him. ^_^ All my pets have their own Christmas stockings with their names on them. They all get presents under the tree and in their stockings. Treats, new toys and sometimes new collars. One thing that we do just for the pets every year is the decorating only the top half of the tree. We never put any decorations at the bottom of the tree since the cats will pull off the decorations and when my dogs wag their tails they swat them off! So the bottom of the tree looks a bit naked! Oh well. Happy Holidays everyone!

Welcome to the boards Oni! As Xander stated you can make requests for custom avi and banners in the [URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=85][U]Art by Request Forum[/URL][/U]. The time it takes depends on the individual person making your banner and avi. It could be anywhere from a few minutes to several days. Your best bet is to venture over to that forum with your request. I am also going to close this thread since your question has been answered. Have fun posting and if you have any question please feel free to PM myself or any of the other moderators. See you around the site! ~Panda

I personally have not attended Anime Boston, but I do have a friend who attended last year since he works in the anime industry. He told me the convention was conducted in a very professional manner. It was run more like a business than a fan run convention. For instance, picking up your badges only took 1/2 an hour! That is really good considering many people at Anime Expo had to stand in line for 3 hours even if they had pre-registered. To answer the "name on the badge" question what they want is the name you want to appear on your badge. The name on your badge can be your name or your nickname. If there is enough room sometimes they will put both. In order to enter the convention every attendee will be wearing name badges. These badges will also say if you are there under a "Full Pass" which is for everyday of the con or just a single day badge. Many cons also have special badges for minors so convention staff will know if they are too young to enter things like the Hentai viewing rooms. My sugestion would be to make sure you wear comfortable shoes. No matter how well run a con is, you will be standing in line for something. If you have more questions feel free to email or PM me. ^_^ Have fun at Anime Boston if you get to go!

Welcome to theOtakuBoards Vampyofthenite. 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. 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

Due to the lack of quality responses in this thread already I feel that this thread will only continue to produce the same quality of responses in the future. Poor spelling, language that had to be edited out, spammy responses and an over use of emoticons are a few examples of what is wrong with some of the responses. Because of those reasons I am going to close this thread. ~Panda

Welcome to theOtakuBoards Anime`babe. The Nameless is right, this thread is going to be locked. 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. As you post in more threads you will start making friends and meeting many different people. 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