ABC Award

Judge (Nick Kwan) of Moar Powah! nominated me for this award two weeks ago (read his ABC list here). I decided to participate... and then I realized how hard it actually is to write 26 things about myself using letters of the alphabet. I mean, I like writing about myself. I blab about myself all the time, but this was still difficult. Thus, the long delay in posting.

Anyway, here are the rules. I'm actually going to follow the "nominate" rule this time, even though I'm normally too shy to do that kind of thing. I spent a lot of time on this, so I can't let the chain end!

1. Download the award logo and add it to your acceptance post.

2. Nominate a few fellow bloggers and share the award.

3. Since the award is ABC, take each letter of the alphabet and use it to tell something about yourself.

Annalyn's Alphabet

A is for Anime-Planet. I talk about this website a lot, partially because it introduced me to the online anime community, and partially because it's useful. It might not have the most comprehensive collection of anime information, but it's still the site I go to the most, whether it's to get anime recommendations, make recommendations, or simply keep track of what I'm watching.

B is for blogosphere. I love that word. And twitterverse, and aniblog, and fangirl, and otakudom, and all the words that fans have adopted and merged to describe things in their world. I'm in a class about the English language right now, and we've discussed the development of language and the way words are changed and added over time. When the professor asks for examples of compound words, I want to say, "fangirl! fanservice! fanart!" When he asks about vogue affixes, I answer, "-dom is popular! Otakutom, geekdom, fandom..." He asks how the word "complex" has changed over time, and I immediately think about brother and sister complexes. I love the vocabulary I see used, so it's hard not to talk about it in class... I'm pretty sure everyone in that class would count me as an anime geek. Oh, and that's another thing - not everyone sees "geek" as a compliment! 

C is for Creative Writing. Part of the way through last semester, I finally switched my major to English: Creative Writing. I'd been messing around with undeclared, Business: Information Systems, and Math Education. I even thought I might enjoy history and perhaps a political science major. I finally came to my senses and realized that what I love to do could actually be a part of my studies and my future career. I have two English classes this semester, and I'm enjoying them. 

This is my first time taking out my pastels in a long time. I enjoy
this. Especially when, like now, I'm procrastinating on homework.

D is for Dango. I have never had a Japanese dango, but after watching Clannad and Clannad After Story, I sing about them every day. So far, I have the first five lines of "Dango Daikazoku" memorized. By the time I finished writing this post, I only had two and a half lines left to memorize. Of course, I'm learning the shortened ED version, so that it seems less overwhelming. Yes, I know this isn't impressive. But I don't speak Japanese, I'm not an auditory learner, and I don't make a habit of memorizing songs, even in English. The only other songs I have purposefully set out to memorize since middle school choir will come up under H. Also, I really like to draw members of the Dango Daikazoku. 

E is for Elements of Style. This is one of my favorite handbooks on grammar. I haven't carried it around or referenced it as much lately. That probably isn't a good thing. Now that I'm an English major, I should be relying on it and similar resources more than ever.

F is for fan. This is what I call myself: an anime fan. "Otaku" seems to imply a little more obsession than I have, and I feel it would be presumptuous of me to take the title on. Similarly, I'm not sure I qualify as a "geek," even though I identify with "geek" culture. People from real life don't typically peg me as a geek or even an anime fan. Apparently, I'm good at blending in (maybe it's because I like makeup, and I'm too much of a tightwad to spend money on clothes with anime-related prints). Then, of course, they get me talking, and then I'm pretty sure they think I'm obsessed (they clearly haven't met any true otaku, or any of the people online who awe me with their knowledge).

G is for Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet. This wasn't a top favorite anime of mine, but I did write one post on it over the summer. Another post idea has been floating through my mind ever since I first watched it. I can't shake the picture of all those Hideauze babies, and I know I'll eventually have to write a post related to it, even if it leads me down a controversial path.

H is for Horrible Histories. I discovered this BBC show via YouTube, and I can't tell you how many hours I've spent looking up the shorts and music videos clipped from this show. Thanks to Horrible Histories, I now know all the monarchs of England since William the Conqueror (which is sad, considering I couldn't list all the presidents of my own country, especially not in order). I've also memorized George IV's song, and most of Richard III's (hey, I had to sing something under my breath while I washed tables at work). When our history class covers a topic mentioned in one of the Horrible Histories songs, I post the video on Facebook.

I is for Imagination. I like to imagine characters of mine in the everyday scenes around me. I know Lila would be sitting quietly to the side, perhaps chatting with those around her, while her brother stood nearby, wishing he was somewhere else. Also, coming up with something for all 26 letters of this alphabet is taking imagination. 

J is for Jesus. He's too important in my life not to be mentioned. He's the best man a girl could ask to have in her life, and as one with the Father, he's the only God worthy of the title. Even though I often disobey and ignore him, he's faithful, and our relationship continues to grow. Even now, He's watching me type this, and I like to think He's smiling.

Season 2, episode 6: Kuroko does something awsome (again)

K is for Kuroko's Basketball, one of my favorite currently airing anime. I get pretty excited during Seirin High's games.

L is for Long. This post is taking me a very, very long time to finish.

M is for Math Education. When I started college a year and a half ago, I was a math ed major. I was absolutely positive I wanted to teach math. Then I decided I didn't want to teach after all, which meant I didn't have any use for more math classes. I switched to a double major - math (because I wasn't ready to let go) and Business: Information Systems. I soon realized that, while I honestly enjoyed my economics class, buisiness wasn't for me.

N is for Naruto. Yeah, I know that was too easy. If you're new to this blog, I'll fill you in: Naruto is what got me started on anime fandom back in the summer of 2009. I still follow Naruto Shippuden, finding what joy I can in the fillers and fangirling over the main plot. However, I have not seen any of the movies, and I've only read the first volume of the manga. The movies and the manga are harder to legally get my hands on, especially since I don't want to spend the money on it. One of these days, I'll probably watch some of the movies. 

O is for okay, or O.K. I like to spell the word "okay" out when I'm writing. I feel like OK interrupts the flow of things. It's like a bright, blinking orange sign in the middle of a peaceful garden tea. But it's not wrong. In fact, since OK stands for oll korrect, it's perfectly proper to slam those two initials in the middle of an otherwise lovely paragraph. So I can't get all fussy about that when I edit, unless someone tries to use both "OK" and "okay" in the same work. I might consider "OK" to be an eyesore, but it's a matter of taste - just like zebra stripes or lawn gnomes. 

P is for Princess. Sometimes, I pretend I am a princess. I tell myself stories of adventure and romance as I lay in bed at night. I'm not a princess as often anymore. At least, I'm not one in my stories. Outside of my stories, I'm a princess and I know it. Not just the type that sits in the tower (although I have a story for that, believe me), but any type of princess I want to be.

Q is for Queen, which naturally comes after princess. Actually, I feel a little silly for not noticing this lovely fact before. Sure, it's a coincidence that Princess starts with "P" an Queen starts with "Q," but I still find this interesting.

Ground beef, pees, carrots, spinach, beef ramen, and one egg.
Delicious.

R is for Ramen. This semester, I moved out of the dorms and dropped my meal plan. Now, I have Top Ramen multiple times a week. Before you get concerned or judge-y about my eating habits, know that I love ramen nights. In anime, I noticed characters often add ingredients to their instant ramen, especially eggs. I'd seen a friend add an egg to her ramen once, but I'd never tried it. So I decided to Google the topic, and I found this article. This article opened my horizons. I don't refer to it much. Instead, I experiment on my own. Now, as I told Tumblr, I am a ramen evangelizer, seeking to tell the world the good news of instant ramen's potential.

S is for Sports anime. This might be my favorite genre, which is not something I ever expected to be true. Action, fantasy, and adventure have always drawn me, no matter what medium of storytelling is used. But sports? That's unique to anime, although my enjoyment of Kuroko's Basketball and others has made me more open minded to the topic in other fiction, and perhaps even real life. 

T is for Tumblr. It's been a couple weeks since I got one, and I still can't decide whether that was a good idea. I will say this, though: when I get several likes or a reblog, I see why people get so addicted. 

U is for United States of America. That's where I live. To be more specific, I'm on the mainland, so not Hawaii. That's about as specific as I'll get on my blog or Twitter, even though any stalkers can probably narrow it down to at least a time zone based on what I've said around the web. 

V is for Verbose. I'm a bit verbose a times... okay, a lot of the time. What can I say? I like words, and, like I mentioned at the beginning, I like to talk about myself (probably more than I should). Still, believe it or not, I value conciseness. When I'm very serious about my writing, I make liberal use of my delete key (after I've saved the more verbose version, of course, just in case I cut too much).

W is for Wattpad. I posted a few stories on Wattpad.com. Then I told my followers that I'd write a sequel to one of the novels. I finished that novel a year ago. All I have for a sequel is a chapter and a lot of prewriting. I feel somewhat sorry about that. 

X is for X TV. Apparently, that's the only anime I've watched that begins with X (I checked my Anime-Planet list since I was desperate to get this done). Well, I started xxxHolic, but I must have gotten bored, because I dropped it. That was back when I had less patience.  I remember liking X, and I remember that there was action. But I watched it some time before I got an Anime-Planet account, so I don't even have a star rating to look back on.

Y is for Yes. Yes, I am stretching to find words for all these letters.

Z is for Zip. That's the name of my first truly "special stuffie," a black and white cat my grandma gave me when I was six. Before Zip, I didn't play favorites; my newest stuffed animal always got to sleep with me. I think I felt like being attached to a special stuffie was a requirement for a kid. Eventually, I really did get attached to Zip, although she had to make room for BB two years later. BB became my top favorite and accompanied me when I got my baby K9 teeth pulled out. Both stuffed animals came with me to college. I don't need them, of course. But they help make this place home, and they're good for cuddles.

-
So, the last time I did something like this, I was too shy to nominate anyone else. But you know what? I spent a ton of time finishing this post. So I'm going to nominate people. If none of them want to do this, that's fine.

Okay. Let's see who I can come up with who hasn't already done this (or whom I've seen nominated by someone else). If I don't nominate someone who wants to do this, I'm sorry. Your name either slipped my mind, or I was too shy. Pick the option that offends you least. Both come from my quirks and have nothing to do with what you've done. So speak up if I should have nominated you!

Cajun Samurai at The Cajun Samurai
Frank at A Series of Miracles
Zeroe4 at Beneath the Tangles
R86 at Beneath the Tangles
Japes at Beneath the Tangles (Hm... I'm starting to see a pattern here...) or Japesland
Everyone else at Beneath the Tangles (I like you, but I realized that I'd have to inform all of you that you were nominated, and that's... kind of overwhelming for me, especially since some of you apparently don't have Twitter, which is my safe place... oh, and Charles has already been nominated by other people).
Rob at Christian Anime Review
Tommy Phillips at Anime Bowl

If you wish I hadn't nominated you, well it's your own fault for being a nice person and commenting or talking to me on Twitter... just kidding. You don't have to do this if you don't want to, or if you're too busy. Though, if you're less verbose than I am, this probably won't take you as long as it did me.