My sister is taking Japanese here at the school we go to. So, of course, I have been extremely jealous. But jealousy has been averted! She just taught me to write my name in katakana! Woooo! She says she'll teach me and print out extra copies of assignments and practice sheets. Yay!

Yay! Pretty soon we can all start harrasing you to translate our japanese dvds and mangas, ne?

One can only hope! (Cause that means I get to see them!) What's really hilarious is that my sister is not really an anime fan, but her professor suggested watching the Japanese subbed versions of stuff so that they could hear how words were pronounced and the like. *evil grin* So now I get to put on my anime whenever I want...and she can't stop me! *evil laughter*

And, we learn that Elvin has a sister she rooms with. Last year we learned she's a she and that she plays the organ (the musical one; we didn't ask about anything else). One of these days she's gonna let slip something critical, and then we'll have her.

Don't kill me! Kill my sister! Automatic 4.0 for me if she dies during the semester!

4.0, as in perfect grade? Where's the downside in that? And no roommie for the rest of the semester. Hmmm, maybe you should wait until the very start of the next one -- get the biggest benefit possible out of it.

Yep! A perfect grade for the whole semester! But when to do it. *scratches chin* This semester did just start. I guess I could always save it for when I don't think I'm going to do well in a class or something like that. Probably best to save it. I can only kill her once, after all.

What if it looks like an accident? Maybe you could milk it for two or three semesters due to grief inflicted stress or something?

*sniff* It was...so s-sad. I...I just didn't see her behind me...and so when I tried to get the truck to back up, I was having problems...and it finally caught in gear...oh the screams. They haunt me in my nightmares. *sniff*

Hmmm, do it cross-term. The damage happens just before exams in one term -- so you can't write them. But then the doctors expect she'll recover, only to discover during the next term that she won't. So, two deaths for one sister.

Brilliant!

Have you done this before Cricket? That would definitely be effective! Just don't get caught & make sure you know where her will is!

I'm slipping. Have her body frozen after the second death -- keep hope alive. Next death: the power goes out. Urgent call to the family. Then, over the holidays, they learn that the failsafes worked -- the head is still viable. Then the fourth death, the power to the head unit goes.

LOL! Remind me to never ever piss you off Cricket!

My sister's cracking up. ^_^ She says I shouldn't go for it, since she took a handgun course over the summer. I think she's plotting to kill me! How terrible! ^_~

Note to self - NEVER tick off Elvin's sister!!! Good thing she has a sense of humor and isn't planning on using you for target practice!

Yeah...especially since, apparently, she's a good shot. First time to ever shoot a gun, she missed three times, was shown a better way to hold it, didn't miss after that. Moved to a harder target. Missed once. On those paper human targets? Never missed. Scary...Now I *really* have to be nice to her. Or else.

look at the bright side Elvin .. you can always use her to hide behind ! a gun-wielding sister's gotta come in handy SOMEtime!

Us Canadians, at least us city-dwellers, the ones I deal with mostly, just look at the gun thing and shrug, then laugh. You see, very few of us have actually come near one not securely tied into the holster of a police officer or security guard. All the signs as you approach the border returning to Canada about guns, and how they have to be secured are a hoot. As are the ones as you enter some states that explain what to do when an officer says to drop your gun. A friend had a job interview down south somewhere. The parking lots close to the building, reserved for non-gun-containing cars were empty. And the Human Resource Director seemed to think she didn't take it seriously when told that guns weren't allowed in the building -- Steph considered it a no-brainer. The scary part, though, is the bullet-proof vests in Wallmart. The liquor stores sharing a small building with the hunting stores. Don't get me wrong -- I know this isn't typical of the entire country, or even an entire state. And it is quite possible to go hunting during the day and sit back with a few beers at night, and be responsible. My parents were hunters, until they picked up other passtimes. Dad still keeps his shotgun handy at the cottage in case of rabid animals or bears that don't understand the rules, and he cleans it and practises with it occassionally. But it's a real hoot -- what do these folks need guns for during the work week?

I don't know for the work week. ^_^ I know some people carry them because they live in "bad" areas or what not. For example, my school is in the middle of the worst part of town. Joy. Now, whereas I stay on campus and don't have to worry about it so much, I can understand students who live off campus carrying guns when they're off campus. More than forty girls are sexually assaulted a semester (admittedly, they're usually doing something stupid, like jogging at four in the morning, but some aren't). Crimes happen so often that the police know exactly who to look for sometimes. Then...then there are those who don't need guns at all, don't hunt, but have them because "guns are cool." I have my reservations on that. But yeah, Texans can get guns just about anywhere. ^_^ There are some cases in which guns are ok, but the work week? Maybe they're mafia secretaries? Gotta watch them secretaries...

Next question, totally off topic: Would any of those jogging girls know what to do with the handgun, or would it be used against them? Or would having the gun make them feel safe enough to go jogging at four in the morning? Having never lived in a dangerous area myself, I can't say. Often, what appears to be the right choice to an outsider is often an impossible option for the person in the situation. I just thank God that I've never had to choose. Totally off-topic, but I'm glad your sister took a course and got some practice before expecting to actually use the thing. I've shot a target pistol a few times, and can only guess how difficult it is to get a real gun to do what you want.

Yeah, I'm glad she took one too. She actually doesn't have a gun yet, and she plans on taking a refresher before getting one. I don't know if the girls would know what to do or not. Frankly, they're already being stupid when they go out at night. *Everyone* gets a huge lecture at the beginning of the year about the dangers of jogging alone at night. Even though our police force is the third largest in the district, they can't be everywhere at once. So...basically their feelings of safety can't be trusted. When I move out onto my own, I'll probably take a course and at least have a handgun in my house/apartment/cardboard box. But basically, here in this town, the options for a girl walking around off campus are (a, walk with a large group of girls, (b, walk with some guys you *trust*, or (c, take a handgun course and carry it with you. The campus also provides a free transportation service. Personally, handguns don't make me feel safer. If I have one, it will be because I feel I need it for protection. Thus, my safety supposedly lies in a piece of machinery. Also, a handgun does nothing if you aren't actually willing to use it when necessary. If you tell someone to stop or you'll shoot and they come closer, they'll figure out that you can't handle the gun if you spaz out. It was weird, though. One time (a little off-topic), my aunt and I were talking about this sort of thing (she's only a few years older than me ^_^). She's pro-gun control. But something she said interested me. She told me that she believed in gun control in that only people with clean records and who had taken a required amount of gun courses should have them. She said that, though she's personally against handguns, she feels in reality that if guns are outlawed, then, besides police and military, only outlaws would have guns. So if a criminal, having gotten a hold of a gun illegally attacks you, you can't defend yourself with equal strength. It was a really interesting conversation. Completely, way off-the-charts, nowhere near the topic, the campus police have TAZERS! Yup! The guy speaking at our dorm (an all-female dorm) said that he hoped that he'd never use it on us (mainly because it'd hurt his pride...having to resort to using it on a girl and all ^_^), but warned us that if we saw the police pull it out, to scatter. A little red dot appears on the target's chest and then BAM! They're flopping on the ground with some serious voltage for about five seconds. It was cool. Tazers are real! Live long and prosper! *pops in Revenge of Khan*

Gah! I hate guns. I subscribe to the belief that real canadians carry knives! Especially If I have to go outside at three in the morning. Not like anything serious has ever happened to me yet, but best to be prepaired.

That thing with guns being outlawed so only the outlaws have guns is pretty much the case over here. Outlaws and farmers (farmers and gun club members legally with licenses), anyway. Police only carry guns only certain circumstances. But I'm still glad that guns have to be licensed and so are not owned by the majority of people. It's a bit of a problem that with the war in Bosnia and other conflicts that a lot of guns have been smuggled in illegally, and so far more criminals and tough-guy gang members have them than, say, 15 years ago.

Ashke: Knives aren't such a big deal here in Texas, because even the preppiest cheerleaders carry knives. Schools have more problems with kids illegally carrying knives onto campus and stabbing someone than they do guns. >.< But basically, everyone usually carries some form of the swiss knife or something. Personally, I'm glad that people who are licensed and checked out can have guns legally and that every policeman carries a handgun. Just a personal preference. The aunt who put my sister through the gun course (different from the one above) says that it's "better to be tried by twelve than be carried by six." Of course, the true reason they chose to do it was because she and her husband own a ranch, and they have problems at times with grizzly bears (or just regular bears) coming down for food. Especially helpful now that the stupid law that, if attacked by a grizzly bear, you had to wait until it actually *hurt* you to shoot it. 0.o That's one law I'd probably break with no qualms whatsoever. ^_^

If the gun registries worked, I'd be all for them. I forget the stats, though, but the vast majority of crimes are either with properly registered guns in cases where there is no question of who to blame, or with guns that aren't registered (either imported or stolen). Likewise, most of the damage done by guns is by people who wouldn't be affected by a gun course -- either not take, or not listen, or no brain to start with. I'm sorta on the fence for this one. The law enforcement folks have to have ready access to enough firepower to down the baddies, and fast. Yes, investigate later, and definitely do lots of training for alternatives and how to talk someone calmer, but, when it comes right down to it, a foot-wound puts some people into shock, and others continue after chest-wounds. And I'd rather the cop survive. Or the person in front of the bear. The average civilian? If they have a gun, they have to know how to use it and care for it and store it. Whether the average city person should have one? Locally, TG, we don't need them, and having them would only escalate the spiral. But in other places, where the spiral is well on its way up? And a grizzly hurting you first? If that's the case, having the gun is a mute point. Maybe "hurt me by scaring me and raising my adrenaline to dangerous levels".