Time to introduce your webmistress!

 Yes folks, here's the place to go to learn about your 'tour guide' through Fushigi Yuugi - it's all about Sharla-chan!

I was born on a hot April 27, in the year of 1980. My birthplace is in Canada (this is also where I have lived my entire life). I'm 23 years old, 5'5" tall, and weigh 115 pounds. My blood type is A, which according to the Japanese, means I'm supposed to be 'nervous, introverted, honest, and loyal' (the last two sound right; but the first two are a little off). My hair is waist-length and light brown, and my eyes are dark brown. My build is slender, and though you'd think I might be graceful as a result of it, I tend to trip over my own feet a lot (though I'm not clumsy, I swear!). ^_~ I'm quite petite all over, right down to my little 'Cinderella feet', as my friends jokingly term them because they're so small. My family consists of my Father, my Mother, and my older brother (onii-chan).

I am a fourth-year University student at the University of Regina, honors average, majoring in English. My favorite classes are Literature and Art, though I've had to get a ton of useless stuff like Economics and Astronomy over with. *Sarcasm* Oh, I enjoy wasting my meager money on classes I will never use *cough cough*. You mean I'm not destined to be an Astronomer? (Sharla-chan: "What star is THAT?" ~ Professor: "That's a street lamp.") ^_^; On the whole, I love going to school, and I love learning. It's the piles and piles of assignments and essays that tend to get on my nerves. *Grins*

I love anime!! I've been obsessed with the stuff for approximately ten years now, and have seen a good zillion series. (Well, okay, that's exaggerating a little. But, I've seen around the 100 - 110 range. Curious to see which series I've seen? Here's my list!). Of course, Fushigi Yuugi is my absolute favorite, followed closely by a variety of series like Rurouni Kenshin, Revolutionary Girl Utena, The Vision of Escaflowne, Slayers, Cowboy Bebop, and Weiβ Kreuz. When it comes to the characters I love best, it's Tasuki (obviously) from FY, Kenshin and Saitou from RK, Touga from Utena, Zelgadiss and Xelloss from Slayers, and Aya from WK. *Slobbers* Yes, yes, I know my favorites are all guys, but I can't help it, I am a girl! That doesn't mean I don't support my anime girls, though - I always root for the heroine. ^v^ And, admittedly, though my guys are all certainly great looking, I love them for their awesome personalities. Way to go, guys!

Here comes the tough part - how to describe my own personality. How can I describe me? Hmmmm . . . I am an outgoing person who likes to have fun whenever possible ^v^. I can be a complete goof or utterly serious, depending on the situation. One of the things I love in particular is to talk and listen to people, especially when it comes to sharing stories and interests. I'm very big into respecting others, and treating everyone equally and fairly. I'm also a really creative person, and always very eager to try new things. Of course, though I believe I'm accurately described as a nice person, I also have a very wonky side that emerges when I'm with the people I like best. I love to laugh, and I like making other people laugh as well. For some reason I'm not sure of *eyes sparkle innocently* my friends think I'm evil and insane, especially when I come out with outlandish plots to solve problems. Well, I argue that life has no tang or zip to it when you're good 100% of the time!

I have a wide variety of favorite things, some of which are quite interesting. I love chocolate (I'm certain it comes from heaven); it is without a doubt my favorite food. I tend to really like anything that is beautiful, especially things like flowers and trees, because both of these are rare where I come from (wide open, bald, flat prairie). I also love stars. I'm a fan of poetry, and for animals, my favorites are horses and wolves. I also have a love of socks (yes, socks) - especially the kind that have fancy designs on them (my favorites out of all my socks would be my army-helmeted chicken socks, which read 'Chicks in Charge', my sailboat socks, and my googly-eyed cat socks). My favorite colors are purple and red. I have a tendency to like unique artsy things - my room is decorated with wind chimes, a maneki-neko from Japan, Matryoshka dolls, and the like. I'm also an avid collector of stuffies, all of which I love and give names. ^v^ Did I mention I love pajamas as well? When I let loose in a pajama store, I could spend entire paychecks, I swear.

I love listening to music and singing, and it must be admitted that anime tunes in general are my favorites (FY songs, of course, are particularly beloved). In particular, I love listening to music in the car - though sadly, I had to sell my car, the Seiryuu-mobile (it was blue) due to expenses with school. *Sniff sniff* - this is a tragedy I have never quite overcome, because I miss being able to go places whenever I want to. I do have some small compensation, however: my mother owns a beautiful, brand-new car, so whenever I can, I mooch off of her and take the thing for a spin. Since it has a CD player inside it, this makes me even happier. Aside from her tunes, I feed it all kinds of anime music and sing along!

Speaking of my ability to sing in Japanese, I've had some people look at me funny when it comes to my knowledge of the language. I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination; I'm sure that if I was to actually go to Japan (which I intend to do some day) I'd be lost at sea concerning communication. But, I do know a little bit, enough to get stuff translated, anyway. ^v^ I have had no formal training in Japanese at all, either writing or speaking. I learned to translate manga and song lyrics because of one grand reason - I'd get them and say, "I wonder what the hell he/she is saying?!". So, to find out, I taught myself the language. Someday, I do plan to get formal training in Japanese. In the meantime, though, I want to share my lyrics and translations with those who are even more helpless than me when it comes to the language. *Winks*

Things I *really* dislike include being cold, teeny bopper music, elevators, strong-fruity-moldy-smelling perfumes, spiders in my bathtowel/bed, bad drivers, and waking up early. As far as phobias are concerned (yes, I am a wimp) I fear getting lost, clowns, gorillas, and the dark. But, without a doubt, my greatest fear is grasshoppers. I am scared to DEATH of them. It's an irrational fear, I know - they're completely harmless. But, those things are sooo UGLY!! *shudders*

When it comes to pet peeves, that's easy. There's three things that absolutely drive me nuts. One, people who chew with their mouth open. Two, people who use the can and then don't flush (eeew!). Three, people who use the word 'like' too much in conversation (and include that nasty, snobby accent with it). Aside from these irritations, there are only two things that I am outright aghast at. These two things utterly raise my ire, get me completely angry. One is judging others on the basis of looks, without getting to know them first. The other is tight little 'cliques' of friends, who refuse to include new people. These things anger me beyond belief; I consider them as low as you can go.

Sports. Well, I'm generally bad at everything. *Sobs* Trust me on this one - I have no co-ordination, no skills whatsoever, I cannot run, I cannot throw, I cannot jump - I cannot do anything. With a nod to Max Braithwaite's fine phrasing, a very few times in each generation the fates, in a sardonic mood, so muddle up the genes in an individual that he is born completely without a sense of sport. Such a one am I. I don't think there's any need to go into the saddening and humiliating history of how bad I truly am at any kind of sport. Just trust me on this one. ^_~  There is ONE sport I'm good at - and that's horseback riding. As far as I'm concerned, there's no greater thrill than riding at break-neck speed on the back of a horse.

I can be *really* disorganized. I mean it. My room is proof of that. It's not dirty, just cluttered, because I always have a million projects on the go. (Recently, I learned that a cluttered room is the sign of a perfectionist, because projects are constantly being improved and worked on, never completed. Interesting). I'm like a walking stress bomb, considering how many things I constantly have to do! My disorganization, however, tends to stay in my room. In all other areas, I'm freakishly nitpicky (especially when I hold a job). I'm also not a morning person - we're talking *definite* night-owl here! The best mental image for me in the morning would be Usagi-chan . . . it's scary how morning-wise I'm exactly like her.

Now, for my love life. I've been a noted romantic cynic in the past, utterly disbelieving the prospect of true love and all that mushy stuff. It was quite weird, because all of my friends are romantics, and I simply did not care in the least little bit. I paid no real attention to men outside of being friends and/or coworkers with them, and was pretty much prepared for a productive single life. Well . . . it was not to be. ^_^  Conlan came into my life, and I guess you could say spinsterhood just kinda flew out the door. Here I am, planning my wedding. I love this man with my whole heart and soul; he's my true love and my best friend. Sharing my life and my future with him has quite potentially made me one of the happiest people on the planet. *Laughs* But I think that'll be enough sugar-coatedness from me for today! There's only so much sentiment a person can handle *Winks*.

For hobbies, there's anime (duh), but I love lots of other stuff, too! I'm a huge bookworm, reading everything from horror stories to romance novels to children's books to historical fiction to biographies to . . . well, you get the idea. It's a bad idea to leave books around me - no matter what it is, I'll likely pick it up and plunge in. I love music, particularly alternative (especially Canadian groups like Moist, Our Lady Peace, The Tragically Hip, Wide Mouth Mason, and The Watchmen! Woo hoo!). Writing stories is a big-time hobby, as is drawing. I also love games such as pool, bowling, and skating. Overall, I would have to say hanging out with my friends is my favorite pastime, though! ^v^

Before I get into my tomodachi-tachi, I've gotta say that another big hobby is mine is playing video games on my PlayStation (PlayStation-sama!). I am an avid lover of RPGs, my favorites being any of the Final Fantasies (though VII and VIII are particular favorites), the Chrono series (both Trigger and Cross), Xenogears, Lunar 1 and 2, Legend of Mana, Vagrant Story, Grandia, Arc The Lad (all four of them) and Star Ocean. I also now have a PS2 - how nice! Kingdom Hearts, Dark Cloud, and .hack are my favorites for that system so far. ^v^ Not that I'm obsessive about these things or anything - *sweatdrop* - but I tend to aim for perfection with any RPG I play. Which means hours spent on trying to perfect the thing, of course! ^v^

Aaah, friends now! My best friend in the whole wide world would be none other than Melissa-chan; we are the inseparables. She's my sister, confidante, mother, and friend all rolled into one. But of course, I have many other friends, too! Kanako-chan, Stephen-kun, and Katherine-chan are all my regulars (Huge hugs to you all!). Hi, minna-san!

When it comes to enemies, that's easy enough, too. You know who you are.

Well, by this time you've probably figured out one of my little faults - that is, rambling. My other little fault is that I love to laugh. What's wrong with that, you ask? I can't stop when I start. I laugh until I'm dizzy, and then I laugh some more. I also love to tell stories about anything and everything.

Geez, I should stop there! As I said, rambling . . . ^_~

And that's Sharla-chan's laughingstock life in a nutshell!!

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This page was created by Sharla-chan.

December 20, 1998