EPT
In respect to some old tradition here on TL, of which I have no knowledge of its actual origin, here is my 1000th post! I'm going to start it off with some interesting little tidbits then cap it off with the real reason for this post. ^^
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Catch Phrase
![[image loading]](http://imgur.com/ufvvr.jpg)
Has anyone played this game before? It can be extremely fun and interesting, especially when buzzed and playing for shots (as most things are when you're drunk). It's kind of like charades but with words only. You are given a word/phrase/person and you explain it as best as you can to your teammates without saying any of the actual words. Once the word is guessed, you pass it on to the next person on the other team and the round continues until the buzzer goes off. Whoever has it last loses and the other team gets a point. First to seven points wins.
Some of the words/phrases are easy, some of them are common knowledge but difficult to act out, and others can just fly right over your head. I've had some really funny moments with this game. Some of my friends are just really... silly (euphemism)? ^^; But then again, I'm not one to talk!
Here's what I can remember:*Catch Phrase gets passed to me, I look at my word. Mexico City. Nice! This should be easy. I look at my friend.*
Me: Okay. It's the capital of the country south of us.
Friend: Oh, uh, New Mexico!
*I fall over and die laughing, as does everyone else. My friend was 100% serious. He looks at us with a blank stare.*
Friend: Oh, whoops. I meant Tijuana!
*Can't breathe. Tears fall out of my eyes. Unable to continue. BZZZZZ.*
This was probably the single funniest moment in Catch Phrase history for me. What's even sadder is that we live in San Diego, right across the border from Mexico, and have been surrounded by Mexicans all our lives. Even so, this is pretty common knowledge for most people. Americans and their Geography. TT;
Another one I can remember happened just recently. Not as funny but if you were there you probably would have fell down laughing too.
*Catch Phrase gets passed to me, I look at my word. Alex Trebek. Oh, sweet. We got this. I look at my friend.*
Me: The host of "The Price is Right"!
Friend: Bob Barker!
Me: *blink* Oh, fuck, wrong show.
*Everyone bursts into a frenzied laughter. Unable to continue. BZZZZT*
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Firsts
![[image loading]](http://imgur.com/7WHrM.jpg)
Recently I have experienced a handful of firsts. My days have been so full of excitement!
First off, for the first time ever, I was granted a scholarship that I had to compete for. Yay! As long as they don't cancel my study abroad plans to Japan, all shall be good.
Secondly, for the first time ever, I have started one of those video workout programs. It's called Insanity. I have just completed the first week of workouts, and as the name implies, it is pretty intense. Cardio, cardio, and more cardio. Prior to this I hadn't done any intense workout in several years, so needless to say I was extremely out of shape. I can already feel results though. It's a great feeling!
Lastly, I experienced my first-ever car accident just the other day. Yay! (what?) Fortunately it was extremely anti-climactic. It was at a four-way stop. I was in a car with a bunch of my friends and one of them was driving. My friend slowly advanced past the stop sign but his attention was elsewhere.
"Look out!" Yelled someone in the back.
"Huh?" I have to admit, my attention was elsewhere too. At the time we were looking for a restaurant that we had never been to so I was looking towards my left, where the restaurant supposedly was. The other car came from the right.
My friend braked as fast as he could but it was too late. The two cars collided... but I couldn't feel any impact. There were a few scratches on both cars, but no dents. Lucky. Both drivers pulled over and got out of their cars.
The thing is, the driver in the other car wasn't paying any attention either. He was an elderly man and was apparently rushing to Church. Neither party knew who had the right of way. My friends in the back were sure we reached the stop sign first, but our driver wasn't so sure. His attention was not on the road. In retrospect I feel as if both parties were at fault. If only one party paid any attention at all the accident could have been avoided, but since neither did the small collision occurred. There were no witnesses around so we couldn't get a clear and unbiased outlook of the situation. My friend and the other driver agreed to just let it go, as neither knew who was to blame.
A car full of Asians and an old white guy. Yeah, that was an accident bound to happen.
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Now, on to the project I've been working on. It's not much, per se, but it took a lot longer than I expected so I actually feel as if I accomplished something.
Recently I came upon a vocaloid cover and music video that was just so cute, funny and sweet. I felt the need to share it with everyone because it was just so awesome, but unless you understood what was being said you wouldn't get it. Therefore, I translated and timed subtitles to go with the MV.
Before you watch the video, just not that my translations are generally more liberal than a lot of others. What I mean by this is I try not to be so literal and translate word for word what is exactly being said. The way I translate things is three-fold:
1) I try to stay "in character"
2) In the case of songs, if possible, I try to translate one individual fragment at a time and not mix them up as you generally do when translating from Japanese -> English. In some cases it's not very plausible though.
3) I try to keep the overall intended meaning. No matter how liberal I may be, if the overall intended meaning changes it is nothing but a mistranslation. In trying to stay "in character," often words are not literally translated and changed just slightly. This is my preferred mode of translating. Some people like more literal translations, but it's all preference. As long as the overall intended meaning is the same, I have no qualms.
Well, here it is! Make sure you pay close attention to the MV and the lyrics. I had to watch it a couple of times to get all the jokes and subtleties. I found it extremely cute and hilarious.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIfPXgxlVqQ
Bonus: I was too lazy to translate and time this but I thought I should post it up here anyway for those who are interested in vocaloid covers. I found it quite beautiful, the song and art alike.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5yyFLPQsBk&feature=related
Summary: The girl, Luka, is the more emotionally tough one of the couple. Len is a crybaby. Both try to be considerate of each other, all the while realizing that the relationship will soon end.
In the beginning, Luka says that all she can do for Len is be there for him and cry alongside him. Later on, Len says all he can do for the tough Luka is force a smile for her sake. Eventually you see them both laughing and crying together, which I thought was incredibly sweet.
In the end, as was expected and actually stated in the first couple lines of the song, they break up. Luka is sorry that she could not stay with Len and do more for him. Len, on the other hand, says "Thank you." In the very last scene, Len says he will no longer cry, but as you can see he is clearly shedding tears, which I believe was unavoidable given the very heartfelt situation.
But more importantly, have lots of fun! We'll see if I make it there before I get out of college, but for now I plan to take Japanese next year. 
