A Non-Existant Ringing in My Ears...

Good evening, mina-sama. It's the night before classes resume, and although I've been saying all summer I've been looking forward to fall, I am a little unsettled, and a whole lot more lazy. I don't abhor schoolwork, but I sure as hell don't enjoy the amount I recieve. I had a bit of a difficult time last semester, and I made my mother upset, so to get her off my case make up for it, I'm going all ahead full in classwork. It hopefully won't be made harder by having difficult classes. I don't want to detract from my Aristo-V-kei path horribly, such that it will be months between posts. Freedom is what I desire more than anything in this world, but I suppose if all I can do is work towards a path with that opportunity, I will have to do so.

For one of my last tastes of summer "freedom", I ventured out to the Ram's Head Live in Baltimore last evening for a Dir en Grey and Apocalyptica concert with Grimmjow, Gamble, and Hisoka. I V-keied out, as although Diru has toned down a bit in their newer workings, they did start in Visual Kei; Demonia shoes, black grommited pants with wallet chain and suspenders, 'You Guys Are Making Me SEXY!' YGOTAS shirt, Tripp arm warmers, and a touch of black eyeliner. Just for atmosphere. And warding off hobos in Baltimore as we walked from the garage to the venue. The sight for eyes was on the stage after all.

A sight for eyes, a sound for ears, a touch for body. My body throbbed with each pound of the bass and drums right from the start of Dir En Grey's set, opened with their song 'Sa Bir'.

Kyo on his "cage" screaming, crooning, wailing, SINGING... Kaoru ever stoic but relentless riffing... Toshiya in a sexxxy skirt and pumping the crowd with just a wave... Die with the only fan to toss his beautiful hair... Shinya never letting up once as he set the beat for each song... One of their banners streamed across the back, lights strobing and color-wheeling every which way... This made Dir En Grey... and this made my night.

I'm glad I cleared out some pictures and videos on my camera ahead of time, because I would have definitely run out, judging by how much I used up for DiRu alone. Gamble was crowd-surfed, and Hisoka caught one of Shinya's thrown sticks. Grimmjow and I both got wet by Die throwing bottles of water. Lester [who we found in the venue after the show] got hit in the eye when Die threw a bottle cap [I'm sorry to laugh but I do]. I bought a poster of the boys, and had to move a fair amount of stuff around to make it fit [aside from the wallscrolls, it is the second largest paper poster on my walls now (the biggest is on the cieling)]. It's the giant inkblot in my room; I can look at it and always remember the pounding bass of 'Sa Bir' and the harrowing wails of Kyo.

About half the crows cleared out after the encore we got from DiRu, so we were able to get closer for Apocalyptica. Though I enjoyed it thoroughly, I have to say I almost wanted to cringe a little at the thought of sawing away at a cello as though it was a guitar. It's not a guitar after all, it is a cello. However, the epicness of their music speaks for itself, and they can still play melodic and symphonic music given they are celloists. Being closer alloted for better pictures overall, though fewer they were with the memory gobbled up for DiRu [eheh heh heh...]. Their newest album 7th Symphony is coming out soon.

Concert memories... they move me. Musicians that I am so lucky to be able to see perform live. Live, before my very eyes, though my outstretched hand may be missed. The experience of music becomes complete, when you can do more than just listen... you can see... and you can feel.

I am happy to have ended the summer on such a powerful note, although I hope shifting mindsets to the mundane of college life [or specifially schoolwork] won't be difficult. I don't want to live in that moment, but I certainly don't want to become so involved and overwhelemed that I look up and realize it was three months ago that I saw Dir En Grey and Apocalyptica live. It will seem like a fantasy rather than a memory.

But whatever may be--though hopefully I can shape it better--heres to our future. My continued path down the road of Aristocrat and Visual Kei, with all the sort of things that make life interesting to go in between. A healthy, a prosperous [maybe a wealthy~?] future, to you, yours, and us all.

Kanjiru ka~...? Hebi no odoru... Heh ha.
Eternally yours,
Il Ruinante Isaak

Deadlines; Cane and Meet-up

Good evening, mina-sama. Well, the countdown begins. To what? To all sorts of things. So much is happening coming up, it's just as if I was transported to this time last month. I wonder if I'll be able to keep up. This time next week, I'll have finished my first day of classes. This time tomorrow, I'll have had a picnic with Toriberry I hope. This Friday, Dir En Grey is touring with Apocolyptica, making a stop at the Ram's Head Live in Baltimore; I'm putting myself into a Dir high by listening to Uroburos and Withering to Death nonstop. And after that, perhaps the next prominent thing coming up? Why, a Lolita meet-up of course.

Now, before anyone tilts their heads cutely with a perplexed look on their face, and asks why might an Aristocrat be going to a Lolita meet-up, I will say it straight. I was invited [by Toriberry no less]. And I would love to attend. A gathering of Lolitas of punk, classic, sweet, casual, gothic, all of them, and they will all be surrounding me~ heh heh heh... [oh dear, my sketch side surfaces. *Beats it down.* Back, Sketchiness, back!] But seriously, I mean that in a non-sketch way; I'm looking forward to a very enjoyable experience and lots of picture taking.

For anyone local in the area, the meet-up is scheduled for September 12th, a Saturday, at 12pm. We're going to meet in a park near the Metro stop Dupont Circle in D.C., at 25th and P Street Northwest [for those of you semi-local but still unfamiliar with D.C. the Northwest is important].

I have an image in my mind of what to expect, but so long as it isn't worse than that, however it turns out will satisfy me. However, I am a tad bit skeptical on being able to go, because it's in D.C.; I have a wary mother who grew up there, and grandparents who lived there, but somehow that doesn't equate to me having any sort of knowledge on what sort of city it is and how it's laid out. That's why I looked up directions. Dupont Circle is sort of the metrosexual capital of the nation, but... we'll see. I might also have to work that day, and during those hours specifically [unless I can switch with someone, which is my desperate hope]. Washington D.C. is far from a very-safe city, not by any stretch. And although any spot on the Metro lines are usually more densely populated and tourists packed--thus a bit safer--the thought of a gaggle of Lolitas, "petite" young ladies who are armed only in their cuteness, gives me a vibe of paranoia I can't quite shake that there will be disturbances. And so not only for the sake of Toriberry or myself, I really want to go. If I end up being the only Aristocrat there, I at least want to serve as some sort of deterrant for any wayward characters.

Which is why I am working steadily on my cane over my jabot and shirt cut-sew at the moment. Home Depot brought me two steps closer, in having a right sized dowel without having to be cut, and rubber stoppers to put on the end. Going with my mother yielded other advice for what to do about the handle; while I had been looking in cabinet and bathroom faucet knobs, she suggested to look at drapery ends. This would've actually been great if not for the ends being so large. The ones that were of a good size were sold in a whole kit for the drapery rods. I was really tempted to ask for just one of the ends if they would sell it to me. But I have sights for one last trip to an antique store to see what can be found there. In the meantime, I will get to spraypainting. Hopefully between now and September 12th, I'll have that done. I would hate to have to break it over someone's head, right after having it finished, but I suppose if I can make one I could make another... Oh, and to protect the Lolita meet-up from devestation, to unite all Lolitas [and Aristos] in our Nation['s capital]~...

Say what you will, I've always been a fan of Kojirou.

To-ni-kaku...

I also hope to have something done about my hair by the time of the meet up. In a previous post, for the newly acquired jacket, you will see I had combed forward bangs and the rest done in a bun. I'll elaborate on my hair in another post, but I will say the combed forward bangs is an idea I've had for a while now, since I've seem to have lost my original bangs. If I can make the curling iron work, I will probably put in a big long curl as opposed to letting it be straight. But anything I do with my hair for the meet-up is to supplement my lack of a tophat. When I acquire a tophat, I will probably go with the the loose, all down, the low ponytail with a thick ribbon, or the all--or maybe sans bangs--in a bun. As with footwear, headwear at the top shouldn't be neglected, serving as the one dsyfunctional part of your ensemble. When I post the hair entry, I am welcome to ideas of styles and suggestions.

I am hoping by then that the weather will be assuredly cooler, so that my jacket can go out for a spin. If I get the cane done quickly, then the jabot will be next. And I'm trying to decide how Asian is too Asian to bring snacks for a gathering of girls in a Japanese Street Fashion icon. Does dorayaki strike anyone's fancy?

Now then, as one last thing, a bit of a confidence booster to Toriberry, my dear, and any Lolitas who are nervous in going to meet-ups. I may sound confident now, but that might be because it's a ways off, and I am technically an "outsider" mingling heavily in, but here goes~!

Did you not tell yourself to be confident, my dear? Tell yourself that everyday from now on and forevermore, so come the meet-up, it will be just another walk in the park [pun intended]. You are blossoming beautifully into a Lolita, a step at time as you can manage. Right now, your casual is to die for to me.

Don't be intimidated by these more experienced Lolitas. Try to learn from them instead, should they prove to not be bitchy. In whatever more solid niche of Lolita you choose to go under, take away tips and advice for clothing, accesories, styling that again, you can apply in your steps at your own pace. Make your lack of tact work into asking those simple questions, who what when where why, and how much?

Don't worry; I'll be there right beside you [as long as stupid shit doesn't happen that impedes me going]. If you start to feel a little overwhelemed, you can come to my side and take my arm, which I offer welcomingly. You won't be alone. We can always just sit back and talk amongst ourselves--in Nihongo--about whatever, feasting on onigiri or whatever we end up packing. And you won't have to feel so Loli-ed out, since I'll be Aristo.

So much to do, so little time...! But what an experience this will all be, yes? Let's do our best towards the future, mina-sama.
Eternally yours,
Il Ruinante Isaak

His Hair and Accessories for the Head

Good morning, mina-sama. This weekend was very long, and I was still feeling it's affects earlier today in kind, and in combination with my lingering cough. Seriously, cough, you need to either just be a cough and stop making my nose run, or go away altogether. As it is, I have chosen to stay within my bastion walls for the day, and make up the work I've lost. As I rouse myself into a more work oriented mindset, I thought I'd try to see to you all and get to a topic I've been meaning to for a while now, rather than end up doing it late into the evening hours as I usually do. That being said, lets talk about hair.

I am bi-racial, and so in numerous features, I've a mix of traits such a skin and hair. I've been trying to grow it out for forever, with mixed results. It's working somewhat, with the help of prenatal vitamins. But because it's at such a somewhat akward length, I often don't know what to do with it besides straightening it or tying it back. I think tying it back would work well with Aristo, especially when in thicker, just-out-of-the-shower curls [see below] or straightened, with a big as all get out bow to tie it low at the bast of my neck. I still need a thick ribbon to make a big bow though... next trip to Jo-Ann's. But anyway, here's how things stand now.





When it's dry, it's about ye-length, all ahead thick as hell, and I tie it up when I've got no time. Also, when it's hot as it's been all this summer--and also these past three days of AUTUMN, WTF--it keeps me from getting too hot as I go about. Seriously, hair this thick gets damn hot about the neck if I leave it down. On breezy days it's nicer, to be sure.

Here it be down, top and profile~ [Kenshin that looks weird... sedaaaaaate profile...] I used to have some sort of bangs when I was younger, but I chopped them off. REALLY bad plan, because they grew back really really really slowly, but they were growing back none the less, and they stuck up at all odd ends. Ughhhh, bad times...Tonikaku, it's relatively flattened out now. Dried and loose, it bounces... it also gets flattened under my hat some, so that it makes a weird shape, ugh. That's why I need a new hat... and then a better clip/tie of some sort. That way I can keep it tied back and underneath my hat and it won't make a shape.

Aaaaaaand last but not least, damp and down. Oh yessssssss, that is my right out of the shower, take that for what it's worth to you~ And it's longer~ If I wear a hat over it while it's wet, as it dries it makes the shape more prominently, grrrrr. I was going to take a picture of it while it was straightened, but it never stayed straight enough for a decent picture. Damn you humidity. But when straightened, it's a bit longer than the above, and tends to be much easier to work with. I comb a bit of the sides forward to make long draping bangs. Again, ribbon/clip/tie plus hat would make it very classical Aristo style, so I look forward to a tophat in my near future.

Any tips, advice, comments or suggestions about what to do with my hair? Do you use certain styling products for your styles, from simple to extranvagent? What sort of accessorie should I get [besides what I plan to buy]? Is tied up better than down, for Aristo? I'm welcome to all commentary.

Now, I'm off to get to my next projects, tutorials of which I'm hoping to find. In addition to the Nudy Boy shirt, I'm thinking of adding in corset backing to some of my other blouses that need something more than pinning.

They held the world in equilibrium, the cycle of eternity never broken.
Eternally yours,
Il Ruinante Isaak

An Arisocrat's Health

Good evening, mina-sama. Not to give spoilers--ahaha--of the upcoming topic [doubtful that you haven't picked up on it from the title], but this weather is doing nothing for how I feel. We've mercifully come unto rain, but that can't last forever [...I hope] and the awful tendency is to burst into sunshine with a heavy dose of disgusting humidity thereafter. I have been having a change of heart towards rain; I used to despise it because it was cold out there, and hot in classrooms. But now it hasn't been raining enough and this summer has been too hot. Just too hot. Aaaaugh. Rain is slowly redeeming itself.

Standing out in the rain hasn't ever proved to be adverse to my health, one of many peculiarities concering it. As with a lot of things in my life, my health comes with duality. I generally now just like to say it's the Gemini sign in me that does it. I am of fair overall health. I don't play a sport, but I do use Wii Fit Plus [and so should every single person who owns a Wii, and friends of those people who don't own a Wii should play on theirs. More is actually merrier for the Wii]. I refuse to run anywhere for any reason, but I will gladly walk--at my own pace--rather than take public transportation, or even ride my bicycle [i.e. walking around campus]. There's a fair point to note on that last statement, for it seems, despite all the walking I've done wherever I go for the past five years, my legs are apparently very weak, as proved when I run out of stamina riding my bicycle about three blocks.


I have shoddy legs though, I will admit, in that my knee-jerk reflex fires at will. For those who don't want to look at the link, it's the reflex that makes you crumble when you're kicked in the back of your leg. So without warning and at very random intervals, I will stagger as though I've been kicked in the back of the leg, but since there is no instigation, it looks like I'm drunk and about to fall over. As many times as this has happened before my mother, she seems to not realize what is happening and thinks I'm tripping. I want to slap her not for her logic, which is viable after all and better then asking if I'm drunk, but for not caring enough to ask why it keeps happening. Does she really think I trip that much? And in that way? I don't, damnit.

On the flip side though, returning to walking, I do have good endurance. I'd walk anywhere if you'd give me the time to do it. So my slow twitch muscles are definitely doing alright. It doesn't raise my heart rate all that much, even for extended periods. I lack a decent heart beat though; I can tell when doctors are this close to asking if I'm doing something somehow when they ask me to take a deep breath ten to twelve times and still can't hear anything. It's because I'm a youkai, but that's just our little secret. However, my hardly there heart beat is reflected in my abnormally low blood pressure. As touched on in the very first post, I have hypotension. I haven't been diagnosed with it, and I don't take any medication for it, but I am familiar with it's clinical definition from a research practicum I did a year ago. I don't suffer any severe symptoms from it, but it is part of the reason I am deadpan sedate 9 times out of 10, and explains my perpetual fatigue while I'm doing any sort of physical labor.

I'm not against physical labor. Hell, with this realization that I can't bike for long distances since my legs are weaker than I thought, I'm trying to get on our elliptical at home more often. But I don't usually allot myself a good amount of time to just go and do it, and I'm more of a Tai-Chi person anyway. Sometimes I look in the mirror and I'm surprised at what relatively good shape I'm in. When I was younger, I think I was more health conscious, ignoring the fact that I was a kid and have youth on my side. Now, I'm older--not old, old--and I'm setting into the mindset of 'oh yeah, I'll be okay, I've got youth'. Really, I'm lucky I have a good a metabolism as I do, but I'm glad healthy leanings for food and some activity have been prominent in my life [even now, as I work at the Art and Architecture libraries on campus, hauling books hither and yon can really give you a work out if you're at it for hours at a time].

I think I was at my peak of fitness the weeks before I went to Japan in summer 2007. I had a four pack abs, and my stamina was way up. Ironically, I lost the abs while in Japan, but damn if my legs didn't become toned. Have you ever had to walk not just down, but up Mt. Misen? Walk up and down the stairs of the Washington Monument a few times and you'll get the picture.

As far as my diet, I don't have much of a picky palate, and I try to eat during regular hours only when I'm hungry, and only as much as I need. Those tasty clementines which I polished off yesterday have been proof of their vitamin and mineral content in my burst of energy to make things, but conversely, that's all I've been eating for lunch. Clementines. Usually two or three. Dinner is usually the most filling meal of the day, only because sometimes I reduce breakfast to toast to take a prenatal vitamin since I'm running short on time. The breakfast thing can be fixed easily though, and as the semester jumpstarts I'll be getting more into the swing of an earlier rising. Lunch is usually decide by how fast I can throw something into a bento or how much cash I have on me [which trust me, is hardly ever enough]. But as it stands now and usually, it's a Cereal breakfast--snack food lunch--homecooked dinner type of eating for me. If I wolf down a burger every now and then, I sometimes think about my cholesterol, but then I fall back on my 'I'm still young' ploy.

Everything in moderation, that's the way to do it. ^_^

Mental health-wise, I couldn't tell you what the hell is up with me there. I like spontaneity, but I am methodical and think things through if it comes to me. I've been having doubts about how well my memory's been doing lately, but then, when one is doing two or more things at once, even though it is by less for fewer tasks, you concentration and focus splits, and memorizing everything becomes inevitably more difficult. However, I'm regaining confidence in my memory by just going about things as I used to; see something written down or say it back, have it stick in my head. I could do this at nauseum for notes in class once upon a time, but somewhere between 12th grade ending and freshman year college starting, I lost my knack. I'm bringing it back though, little at a time. Confidence is a mind game too, after all.

My mind and body don't connect well sometimes though, in that my thoughts are not reflected in my actions. This is usually a good thing, my perfect self restraint, because it's usually a violent thought I'm having that will only come out as a nice laugh and smile. I want to change this though, but as an alternative, let some of my poisonous brain juices leak out in the form of something completely off the wall and disturbing--not necessarily in a violent way--and see how well I can drive off hinderances around me.

Overall, this nobleman is of above-average health, and I'm hoping to keep it that way as I progress into getting even more fit. Never forget, everyone, it's not about getting skinny, it's about getting FIT. Sure, you can shed those pounds as you change your diet and excersise, but doing anything too hard, too fast can actually backfire on you. And just going full steam ahead to lose lbs is probably not as much fun as setting goals for your health.

So take those stairs, my Aristololikei brethren. We cant see your shoes on an escalator or in a crowded elevator anyway.
Eternally yours,
Il Ruinante Isaak

Marquis Cooks a Meal

Good evening, mina-sama. I had a decidedly good run today, from getting up and not tripping over Sebastian to not being run over biking from work to mom's office [essentially close to Comcast Center]. This has been a post I've been brewing on for a while, and just never got around to putting anything up. I even went so far as to make a bare boned skeleton draft post so I wouldn't forget to eventually get around to it. Today's topic [as if you couldn't guess]? Food.

Aside from normal activities being more consuming than a post, forgive me, another predicament came up in my delay of posting this. According to people who eat my food, I am a good cook. I myself believe I am a decent, if not good cook. Recipes do not give me grief, all methods of cooking [except for grilling, since that's sort of a hassle and takes more effort than any one dinner thing] are my friends, and since I am part German [haha] I have a bit of the mixologist in me, which means I get random ideas to throw in this or that ingredient that has next to nothing to do with the meal.

However, I don't cook often. It is not a necessity for me to cook for myself, and the one day a week I used to, I relinquished since the spring because I was wearing myself out at work. And my repitore is often limited to what is in the refridgerator and pantry. So though on that one day I'd love to make clam chowder, I settle for chicken cordon bleu because I don't have clams [for example]. I am also STUPENDOUSLY indecisive. I could sit in a room full of my favorite foods and still starve to death because I wouldn't be able to decide what I want to eat first. So when it is my day to cook, I often stand in front of the refridgerator [doors closed, no energy wasting], contemplating for minutes to hours on end what to make. Nothing comes to me. I don't like to just pop a DiGorno in the oven, though I have done that, but yet, I very rarely want to be all over the kitchen with mixing bowls and whisks and knives flying because of an overly complex dish. I also try not to rehash what we've had the past few nights. And when all the good things are taken, it leaves me with a select few options. Usually, this is okay, because these last few things I end up making, only I make; curry, sushi, French onion soup, pancakes, nabe, etc.

Breakfast is usually cereal, even on the weekends when I have the time to make it. If I'm feeling classy, a bagel may be involved. Very rarely do we eat breakfast together [as in something was prepared for all of us to partake of at once] in my house because we all get up at odd hours, and want whatever we end up making for ourselves. I can make mean French toast and pancakes, and once I get a waffle iron, those are definitely going to be on my menu more often.

Lunch is unusual. In an aforementioned post on my health, I touched on how lunch was either junk food or non existent. But lately, with the rise of picnics--not with Toriberry yet, but with Nobu more--and the ges-sui-kin schedule working out as it is, I've been packing my bento more often. It's a four compartment thing that I've been meaning to take a picture of, that usually is stuffed with leftovers from dinner, octopus hot dogs, fruit, and sandwhich quarters. Usually I make it on ges-sui for ka-moku, since I don't have anything to do besides work on ka-moku. There are supposed to be a certain amount of aesthetics to the bento preperation, in terms of the food groups that go into it, but you know, in the end,. I just want something substantial, and put whatever the hell I want in there. Maybe I will comprise mini-posts of bento. If I remember.

But back to cooking. Yes, this marquis does it, yes, I am fairly good at it, but oddly enough, no, I seem to never know what to prepare. However, dinner got dumped on me a week ago, and so when finished wracking my brains, firing up the stove-top, and plating, I at last remembered to take a picture.

Tada~ behold, shrimp pasta with mini quiche and buttered green beans. Incredibly simple, amazingly tasty. If I had thought about it, I would've taken a picture of mom or dad's plate, since I put red and orange peppers on their spaghetti [I'll eat em, but since I'm controlling the meal, I didn't put them on], thus making it a bit more colorful. We were severely lacking on groceries when I made this, so I was a bit limited to frozen things [no the noodles weren't frozen]. Some feta cheese--later--crumbled on top or a spoonful of alfredo sauce makes it your own meal. Whatever you like; whatever's in your cabinets and fridge. I often put bacon bits on top of my greenbeans, even though those greens are yummy on their own. If you have other noodles besides spaghetti, don't make it a squiggly doodle; go ahead and dump those bow ties in. Hell, if i had more soumen, I would've used that. Instead of mini-quiches, maybe you'll put a few triangles of spanikopita as a side, or make garlic bread with tomato sauce to dunk it in.

As I always like to say, just keep your juices flowing. Don't let lack of ingredients stop you from creating a tasty meal. If you like eggs, hard-boil one and add it to any salad or entree; same with deli-sliced ham lightly pan fried. It's whatever you want and have on you.

I don't know when the next time I'll be cooking a "full blown" meal will be, but there are definitely pictures to be had for the bento and treats I plan to prepare for tomorrow's meet up. I have some azuki bean paste from my ever favorite Asian food market Super Grand, and I have a thought to make mini pancakes, smear the red bean deliciousness between two, and quarter them. If you don't have time ingredients to make panckaes, toast is a great supplement. If I had whipped cream, it make a great dipping side. Instant dorayaki. The octopus hot dogs are definitely on the menu too. I make mine on my George Forman grill, and they curl up great.

Damn all this talk about food and I haven't had anything for lunch yet [plus chewing gum and fuming makes me hungrier]. I think I'm due for an om nom.

Tou zakaru memory, waka chiate memory~
Eternally yours,
Il Ruinante Isaak