@Aizawa -I'm sorry to hear of your loss, but I hope he was saying hello He's probably hanging around and getting to know his parents, or maybe he's now your guardian angel. I like hoping for happy endings.

@Alice- That sucks about not seeing your friends. I never really had to go to study sessions over the summer because my school didn't offer them. It might've helped if they did. I hate having to put up with people just to fit in. I've had to do it, a lot. You have to put up a mask and find " so and so" interesting, when you really don't.

You always have shuu to come to and vent your frustrations. Most people on this site understand what's going on with life and school. So, don't let it get you down.

Today it went well than I imagined it would (other than the occasional flare ups at me for not folding me legs properly while sitting, 'like a lady' >.>) Seriously, I don't know what's wrong with that woman.

Thank you, Demon-san (Do you mind if I called you Velvet? Somehow by looking at your title, that name fits you ) for taking time to read my ramble. I know, it sucks not seeing your friends, and I'll try to follow your advice, but it's hard. You feel like you don't belong here because none of them shares the same likes as you do. I come from a region where my 'friends' think 'animes' are cartoons. (Well, mostly it's because they only show Pokemon, Inazuma 11 and Naruto on TV, I'm the only one watching from anime sites)

They say I am childish because I watch 'cartoons'. I don't know what's wrong with them, watching Anime IS NEVER childish. Heck, some animes are so mature that I can't even watch them.

The other day I invited one of them over, and I showed them my APH wallpaper. I wanted to get her interested so I explained that was a show in which countries are personified. She looked bored, and when I showed her Hungary, she asked "Hungry? That girl is Hungry?" I don't know if that was sarcasm or real stupidity. When I asked her what her problem was, she said she didn't know there was a country named Taiwan or Seychelles or Hungary. She only knew Belgium and Ukraine.

See, the sad thing is not only the fact that they are interested in cheesy romantic cliches, and also they don’t know a THING about the world. D:

Again, I’m sorry I rambled x( It’s becoming a habit. And forgive me if I say this like I care about only myself.

And Aizawa, hope your twins will be healthy ones~!!! I wish you all the best~

Well, even if we really give anime recognition as cartoons, people keep forgetting that not all cartoons are intended to be children show. Like, first up, South Park and Powerpuff Girls - if you still do not get the difference between them... then I pity your future children.

I guess this is also because of the age (because I am assuming that your... acquaintance, if you cannot really call them friends are as old as you are, Alice).
So much I can say, this is the worst moment in adolescence period. Teenagers think that they are already 'adults', so they cannot do anything 'childish', but only those things what makes them 'mature' (like drinking, smoking, doing drugs, sex et caetera).
Of course, this depends on personality and upbringing. But for sure more and more teenagers do it... and it is not right.

Oh, It sound like I was at least middle age lady, when I am only few years older than you.
Even though, I strongly believe those few years are really making difference. Not in all fields, and not for everybody. However, change in behaviour and way of thinking can be be observed.

Also, I think rambling here is okay~
This is not good to keep your frustrations inside... what I do all the time.

if you want to prove to someone that anime isn't only children oriented, best thing to do is show them something extremely different from a child's cartoon. like horror anime or hentai =_=
it's stupid, but in most cases it convinces people.
and anyway, i wouldn't want someone as a friend if they can't accept me for who i am. i am allowed to like whatever i want and if they truly want to call themselves my friends, they should accept me. if not - to the left!
a lot of people have reacted the same way towards me as they do to you - they stare at me as if i am 10. i explain to them that anime is more than what it seems and just stop there. i do not force my interests and thoughts upon them, unless they show some curiosity towards it.

this reminds me, if they are so obsessed over romance, why not show them a romance anime that they might like?

also, about your study problems, i really don't know what to tell you about it or how to help you, i too have never received study help, even though there were times i really needed it ; _ ;
i guess the best you can do is just go with it *sigh*
it really sucks that you can't see your friend though :////
i hope things get better soon and that you manage to get another chance to see your friend. *snuggles*

Of course you can call me Velvet I know how you're feeling I had to put up with a lot of that, too. Even to this day, my parents thinks its porn and cartoonish Romance animes are fine to watch, but I can't stand live action romances, it makes me twitch and think how cheesy it is. So, maybe take Rabbit's advice and pick out a good romance/comdey anime.

I don't watch much romance, but one that got to me was 'Rumbling Hearts'. I own it on DVD and it made me actually connect with the characters. There's not really any comedy in that, but its more tradegy/romance. I know the Romeo and Juliet anime is pretty good. Hope it helps

Isn't Rumbling Hearts a hentai game?

I have no idea, it might be since there are different girls he could probably pick, but its not a PWP. I think there's a few naked scenes, though. So, maybe pick Romeo and Juliet for a safer choice to introduce people to anime.

@ Camelia - I have enough common sense to not watch Family Guy or Simpsons when they show it on TV. I was talking of the majority of the cartoons, which are aired for children. But they don't know the difference between which are and are not for children. They are in the policy "If it's animated, then that's for children."

They don't do drugs, or anything like that, they spend their free time gossiping. They think the more "mature" they look, the more people will admire them. And don't let me get started on their gigantic egos and complexes.

And don't worry, you don't speak like an old lady at all You actually know what's good for each other. Thanks for showing your concern.

Don't keep your frustrations inside either, we'll talk it out. You'll feel very much better then, and that's what happened to me, when you said your concern.

@Rabbit - Romance Anime? They hate anything that is not 'acting' by 'real' people (Ooh, I'd give a nice example that they like, Twilight!) Hmm, yet I'll give it a try. But the only thing that comes into my head while thinking of romance is Sailor Moon and Kannazuki no Miko. O.o I'm not sure if they'd like those.

Horror anime?*sly look* Higurashi? Last time I saw it with my cousin, she screamed after seeing a nightmare with Rena holding a bloody knife to kill her. After that, my parents banned me from seeing anime for a week >.>

It's alright anyway about the study help. I'll learn to live with it. And there are times you wish you'd rather have it stopped. There'll be tests every day when your exams are approaching. And I'm very sorry, I feel like I'm being ungrateful when some of you wish to have study help.

*snuggles with you*

@Velvet - Hmm, Rumbling hearts? I'll give it a try! ^^

ne ne~

You guys are all very helpful. Thanks a billion for this, and I'm glad to know that I have some true friends who can help me out in the time of distress and depression. ^^

Just a quick note, after about 5 months of research (Research = failed attempts) I finally managed to make regular spaghetti taste like ramen!

All you need is rosemary, pepper, red pepper (The spicy paprika), parsley, nutmeg, basil and garlic powder mixed in a small bowl and some soy sauce!

Toss the cooked spaghetti to a pan with a very thin layer of very (VERY) hot oil (olive oil if you can afford it/find it where you live), drop the spice mix over all the pan (Try to spread the mix over all the pan) and mix until everything is homogeneous. When you are done, put some soy sauce on it, mix a little more and they are ready to serve!

It took me a long while to find the correct spice combination for this and it still needs some improvement, so give it a try and let me know if you like it! :3

Sounds more like fried noodle than ramen ^^;

Tastes and feels exactly like instant noodles (Except for the soup), we usually call that instant ramen here. But yeah, in future versions I want to add soup, vegetables and meat... We'll see how that turns out

Ah, I also tried adding directly the spices and other ingredients to the water, but they just don't catch enough flavour, unless you put a whole ton of each on them, so it's not really a god idea. several other methods also failed, IMO the most efficient method to add flavour to pasta is using the pan. Oh, also, you don't really fry them. You just use some oil and heat to stick the flavour to the pasta, you don't need to leave them there for more than two minutes, so they don't usually get fried unless you don't move them enough.

Still, I wonder what kind of ramen it's. Rather curious since your mix of ingredient is barely present in asian kitchen xD

As far as I know, soup takes a lot of time to prepare, since it's mostly bones (pork?) slowly boiling in water along with the other ingredient, minus noodle.

I'll post a picture the next time I get some

the spice mix is clearly not asian, but hey, it does the trick

Now, you're just making me hungry. Rawr!