Roxie Faye

[color=#9933ff]Eeeee! *glomps Charles* At least your lack of time on OB means that you actually have a life - that's always a good sign. ;) Glad to hear you're doing well (even if quite busy). ^_^[/color]

[color=#9933ff]Tea is my preffered drink (over coffee, which I can't stand). I've always loved tea ever since I was little. However, the caffeine has no effect on me at all, and sometimes it actually makes me soporific. XD I also can't understand how anyone can put [i]milk[/i] in their tea. Ewwwwey. >

[quote name='Raiha'][COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Although me, being Chinese, felt like I was at one LONG funeral procession. Fellow Asians will get the joke.[/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE] [color=#9933ff]lol. ;) Bandit Keith is totally American! In fact, he eats Canadian flags for lunch. ¬_¬ Um, but seriously, the fourth in my area was really overcast all day. There was music goin' in my house, and my mom and I danced like silly people. =) We had some tostitos, cheese, gaucamole, and my mom let me have some Sam Adams. There was yummy steak and salad for dinner. We have a lot of illegal fireworks bought from another state, so we lit those after dark, although none of them flew into the air. They were all variants on really big sparklers (which are also illegal in New Jersey. Yes, sparklers.)[/color]

[color=#9933ff]In my lifetime (so far), I have learned that you can't fix people. People can only changes themselves if they want to. You can lead them to changing, support and guide them in their quest to change, but you can't fix them. And it's insulting to them for you to try.[/color]

[color=#9933ff]Neither: Kind. It's not important to be pretty, and being smart is only a good perk. It's much more important to be nice. Besides, people skills (which stem from being nice, you know) will get you everywhere.[/color]

[color=#9933ff]It's natural to be worried about this stuff when you're at a transition in your life. For you, that's going from middle school to high school. I don't know what kind of happy-bunny-land experiences everyone else had in high school, but based on my own personal experience of those four years, I'm not going to sugar coat it for you and tell you it's a walk in the park. However, even though high school may be rough in the beginning, it'll even itself out, and all work out in the end. Senior year will be a blast - I can definitely tell you that. =) You'll lose friends. You'll make new ones. You'll keep the great ones. And even if you do lose touch with your middle school friends as you form new groups of friends, there's always the chance you'll reconnect, or end up in a club together (happened to me. Happened with my best friend ever, and now I have no idea what I would do without her.) It's okay for that stuff to happen, and it's all normal. And like someone said, the ones you keep you know are your true friends, and I really mean that. Those are the people who will stay with you forever. I'm pretty sure I felt scared by the real world when I was 14 like you, but you have to remember, you haven't had all the life experiences yet to cope with being an adult. No matter how book smart you are, emotional development and readiness to handle "adult" situations only comes with experience. And those experiences only happen with the passage of time. Your time in high school and hopefully college will help prepare you so you won't feel so overwhelmed by real life when it rolls around. (Especially college: It's like "trial" real life, where you can be independent and make all your mistakes so that you can learn). I can't tell you what being out in the "real" world is like, because I'm still in college, but taking stock of myself right now, I don't think it'll be all that scary. And if you're thinking about this stuff now, I know you'll be fine. *hug*[/color]

[color=#9933ff]This one was pretty good: 1 cup milk 1/2 cup frozen yogurt or fruit sherbert 1/2 cup fresh or frozen berries (raspberry, blueberry, strawberry) And blend. I had a passion fruit and lemon smoothie while I was in Thailand, and it was really, really good but I don't know what the recipe is. =([/color]

[color=#9933ff]Truth be told, although there is quite a bit I miss from OB's "old" days, I think there's still a lot of cool stuff around, today. What I miss, though, is as someone else put it, my enthusiasm for the boards. I got really busy with my 25 page English Paper and my AP US History class junior year of high school, and I've never really gotten back to the boards the way I used to. I miss having a gigantic buddy list on AIM, and being able to pull together a silly OB chat on AIM. And I definitely, definitely miss Charles. Both on OB and outside of it. But we've got a long history together and life happens. Of course, even though it's been gone for ages, since like... V5 or V6, the Digimon forum! That was really, really good times, everyone. =)[/color]

[size=1][color=#9933ff]I just saw this topic in passing on crunchyroll while googling for Edward Elric, and I thought it would be fun to bring it here. So choose your anime friends and family! This would be mine: [b]Waaay older brother:[/b] Kenshin Himura [Rurouni Kenshin]. Kenshin would be like that older brother who's in his thirties while you're still in your teens, or something. Totally the advice-giving, but still cool type. [b]Slightly older brother:[/b] Zech Merquise (Milliardo Peacecraft, whatever) [Gundam Wing]. Move over, Relena, he's mine! Just kidding. I think Zechs would be the type of older brother that would tease me, and I'd tease him, but we could also hang out and laugh once in a while. ...When he's not fighting the Gundams, that is. [b]Pet:[/b] Impmon/Beelzemon [Digimon]. He would be SO cool to have around. He'd just turn into a giant, bad-*** Digimon and it'd be all cool. [b]Aunt:[/b] Yuuko [XXXHolic]. She'd be a pretty neat aunt to have, with the magic and wish granting at all. I'd have to be careful, though, not to get tricked into doing stuff for her. XD [b]Cousins:[/b] Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin [Ouran High School Host Club]. A pair of mischievous red-headed twins as cousins? I'm not sure it could get any better! Although, I'd have to be careful not to become a victim of their pranks... [b]Boyfriend:[/b] Ken Ichijouji [Digimon]. Come on, did you see anything else coming? [b]Good friend:[/b] L [Death Note]. He's really intelligent, which is one of the first things I look for. He's probably get really annoyed with me, though, because I wouldn't be able to keep up with how smart he is. ^^;[/color][/size]

[quote name='Retribution'][font=Arial]At least you have someone pump your gas for you! The rest of us have to do it the old-fashioned way. :p I just filled up my car, where prices (for regular) are $3.91 in the DC Metropolitan Area. I consider myself lucky, though... my car's relatively fuel-efficient and only requires ~$25 for a full tank.[/font][/quote][color=#9933ff][size=1]Lol. I know, and I'm completely dependent on that -- I don't know how to pump gas out of state. With the service, that's why it's weird that gas is so "cheap," until you hear that we have a refinery in the state. I'm also as mystified as Shy - why does it only cost you $25? Back when gas was $2.95, it cost me $40 to fill up. Now it costs $50.[/size][/color] [quote name='Retribution'][font=Arial]And yes, we are addicted to oil. The entire reason the prices are rising is that the Saudis have us by our balls, and Big Oil is capitalizing on that. If we could become more fuel efficient, more public transportation centralized, and look for alternative energy America in the long term would benefit greatly. Certainly, many of our products are made from oil, but it is undeniable that the gas market for cars is a massive swath of that.[/font][/QUOTE][color=#9933ff][size=1]I'm not sure that I'm reading that second sentence correctly, but my personal opinion is that the Big Oil companies are pretty much price gouging us, slightly because of oil speculation about how much we have left, and mostly because they can. My Poli Sci Prof. was relaying the summary of a congressional meeting to the class in which the five big oil companies talked to congress, because gas prices were rising. Some smart senator asked the question "Have you ever considered lowering your prices?" They were all stunned into silence before one of them started stuttering about how it's "more complicated than that, and there's a lot of research and calculations that would have to go in before making such a decision," and blah blah blah. Bull, I say. Come on, in the floundering economy where everything is seeing a downturn, why, then are oil companies making record profits?? I also agree that if we switch to more fuel efficient cars, or just use less gas, we will eliminate a major contributor to the depletion of gas, that we can use to make those plastics, and lengthen the time needed to wean ourselves off of gas (because we've got to do it eventually, anyway). I'd go into a discussion of alternative energy (pros, cons, what they are), but that's probably best left for another thread. The long and short of it is: There's no easy solution, because if there was, we'd be doing it.[/size][/color] [quote name='Lunox'][font=trebuchet ms]Also I love how my friends still insist on getting premium, because their car "needs" it. I laugh in their face. [/font][/QUOTE][color=#9933ff][size=1]I concur. Premium is a myth. lol.[/size][/color] [quote name='Gavin'][SIZE="1"]Just OOC as we're on the subject of fuel prices, is diesel more expensive for you guys compared to petrol ? I know over here diesel cars were/are popular because diesel was cheaper (now about $8.12 a gallon) and you get more miles to the gallon compared to petrol, which is still the case.[/SIZE][/QUOTE][color=#9933ff][size=1]You know, I actually have no idea how much diesel is. I just did a search on google, and doing a very unscientific and unmethodical calculation by averaging the lowest and highest diesel prices in my area, came up with $4.74 per gallon. I think diesel has always been more expensive here, actually. I know that a lot of truckers are up in arms about the price, because it makes it even harder for them, when they don't earn a whole lot by their job to begin with.[/size][/color]

[color=#9933ff]So uh, I thought we could all grumble about gas prices for a bit. XD I got back from London a little while ago, where gas is the equivalent of $8.32 per gallon. And not only that, if you drive IN to London, every single day you are required to pay £8 as a [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_congestion_charge"]congestion tax[/URL]. That's 20 cents short of $16. Ouch. So now, every time I go to the pump, I try and remember how much gas is over there, and suck it up. Although, that doesn't always work. ^^; Gas in my part of New Jersey is about... $3.81 for regular. Gas in NJ is a bit less than the surrounding states because if I'm not mistaken, we actually have a major refinery in our state, which lowers the price a tad. I'm curious to know how much gas is in your location -- within the US and without. (And to convert from X-Currency per liter to $ per gallon, multiply by 3.78 and then convert the answer to dollars.)[/color] [color=navy][size=1]P.S.: Take the Tube instead? "This is a Piccadilly line service to... Cockfosters." Sorry. Couldn't resist.[/size][/color]

[color=#9933ff]Nah. If it's one of those little cups that have "tips" written on it in sharpie, you're not required to. I usually don't, unless the server was extremely helpful, or I'm in another country, in which case by some twisted logic I figure it'll make Americans look less ****** if I put something in the tip box. Of course, then there was the time I accidentally tipped something like 2 euros because I didn't understand the 1 and 2 euro units were in coins... XD[/color]

[color=#9933ff]Congratulations on being a new mother! And especially so close to mother's day. ;) She's so cute -- best wishes for both of you. [/color]

[color=#9933ff]Do any of you tip at the hair salon? I just remembered that I usually give them a 20% tip when they cut my hair or do my nails. Just curious if anyone else did the same.[/color]

[color=#9933ff]When I go to bed basically depends on whether or not I have a giant paper due the next day. Like tonight... not getting any sleep. ^^;; Normally, though, if I've done my HW for the day, I'll go to bed around midnight and wake up at 8 or 9, depending on if I have class at 9:10 or 9:45. On the weekends (Fri & Sat. night) I usually go to bed somewhere between 2-3AM. And wake up anywhere from 10AM-1PM. o.o;[/color]

[color=#9933ff]In Seoul, a gal. of milk (well, the equiv. of a gal. since the use metric like the rest of the world) cost six USA dollars. (~1,584.02 South Korean Won). He just gave me prices in USD so I could comprehend. *shrug*[/color]

[color=#9933ff]I talked to someone from Seoul at lunch, and they gave me the low-down on tipping in Korea. He said that people like valets and bag carriers at hotels [b]should[/b] be tipped because the expectation is that if you can afford to be at a place that offers those services, you are quite rich and you can also afford to tip. But, he said that waiters/waitresses don't get tipped at all. ...And they only make $4 USD an hour! (And a gal. of milk costs something like $6 USD - ?!) Now that really sucks. [/color]

[color=#9933ff]Hmm... I can't tell you how the tipping in Vietnam would be. In Thailand, I know that many people in such jobs where it would be appropriate to tip are pretty poor, so any extra money would be grateful. Maybe it's similar in Vietnam? I'm not sure. And of course, they could be insulted by your charity (who knows). The rule on tipping in Italy was really fuzzy. There were certain dinner situations where you were supposed to tip, and others where you weren't, so my friends and I just ended up tipping everywhere. Quite complicated. I've been told by a British girl generally not to tip for service. "Don't tip the bell boys who carry your luggage -- actually don't let them carry your luggage." She also said that unlike in America where waiters get paid very little for the hour and get live on tips, in London, waiters get paid very well. If you'd like to tip to show excellent service, a 1£ tip per person is more than enough. There's also an exception to the "don't tip" rule, but I can't for the life of me remember what it is. And, for anyone from the UK, if I've gotten this wrong, please correct me!! I'm just repeating what another Brit told me, I swear. X_x; [/color]

[color=#9933ff]I'm not sure what the difference in air fare would be, visual kei. However, I can assure you that if you stay in Bangkok, you are quite safe. Chiang Mai/ Golden triangle... heh, different story, but Bangkok, as well as the touristy beaches (Phuket, etc.) are quite safe. Zombie_Nosh - the Vietnamese new year sounds like a lot of fun!! And thanks, everyone, for sharing your new years, as well. I actually was looking at the Google doodles, and they usually mention the Persian new year in March, so I decided to talk about Songkran. It's pretty cool how there's more than just the traditional new year in January, in some countries. I wouldn't mind another holiday. =)[/color]

[color=#9933ff]Well, today is the last day of the Thai New Year ([URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thai_New_Year"]Songkran[/URL]) celebrations, which go from April 13-15 every year. So, I thought I'd post a little about it. Around this time, the weather in Thailand is sweltering, and so appropriately, the festivities of the New Year are centered around water. Oh okay, it's a giant three day water fight. Tourists and locals alike are the "victims" of pranks, and I'm even seen photos from the Bangkok Post of elephants getting in on the water fun. However, there are also religious and cultural aspects to the holiday. People visit temples and pay homage to elders and family. Often, the crowded streets of Bangkok (most traffic congested city in the world - a 20 minute ride takes 40 minutes in Bangkok traffic) are rather empty as people leave the city to visit family back in the countryside. Personally, I've always wanted to go during this time, but I guess that'll have to wait a few more years, lol. So, what do you think?[/color]

[color=#9933ff]Wow! Retribution is full of awesome advice. Thank you so much!! *hugs* You should start some sort of column... giving advice to dorks on concepts and activities grasped by the majority of society. ...Or something. I really appreciate all your advice and suggestions. ^^ And thank you also for your advice, Red. (Yes, I did mean [b]that[/b] London. ;)) I'll be going there in May -- can't wait!! I've also heard from a former Londoner that it's generally a bad idea to get drunk at night... something about being dangerous and running into other drunk blokes? Although, that kind of applies to any place, if you think about it. ^^; Rachmaninoff - Ballroom dancing is way cool. I wish I knew how to dance like that!![/color]

[color=#9933ff]Barring what urbandictionary has to say on the matter, it sounds like a possible slang corruption of the word "slum," as in a poor, run-down neighborhood. Schlum can also be used for purposes of alliteration, in conjunction with the view that it represents the noun "slum," as in "that schmuck lives in the schlums." I also agree that it can be used to censor a *certain* swear word, but it just sounds awkward. I disagree with using schlum as a "filler" in music, personally preferring "sha-la-la." ; )[/color]

[color=#9933ff]The story keeps me laughing, but also keeps me wondering what will happen next. Very well done, Gav. =)[/color]

[color=#9933ff]I've never been clubbing in my life. I've been wondering about the experience for a while, but never actually thought about asking until now, because it didn't occur to me to ask OB. So um... what's it like? The whole scene/ atmosphere, the music? What types of clubs have you been to and how are they different? (Or similar.) And what do you [i]wear[/i] to a club? (That last one completely has me confounded.) Was it fun, or not to your taste? Good/bad stories? [size=1]P.S.: If any of you *looks meaningfully in some directions* have experience with the club scene in London, much appreciated. [/size][/color]

[color=#9933ff]Ditto on what Lunox said. Good luck on them, though![/color]