The Zoo over Ambuscade Street

Weak. I am weak.

But that and the SuperS box will be my last R2 purchases for a while. Projected expenses look good, so there's a possibility of a second costume for the Aug-Oct faires. Beyond that - not a whole heck of a lot. Other than the usual piles and piles of manga. I really kind of wish that US companies would stop licensing manga titles I want to read. Tokyopop's gone and added Spiral to the mix, too, which is a must-preorder title. Gah!

Damn - I've been at work for three hours already, and it sucks. Only four hours to go. Maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to skip out on my meeting this morning...here's hoping!

This place is one of the best places I've found for manga - minimum 30% off, 35-40% off preorders, and free shipping on graphic novels over $30. Their selection is a little spotty, and they don't seem to list preorders all that far in advance, but I just placed a June and July order with them, so we'll see how it goes.

Paying cover price for books is absurd. Especially in the quantities I buy. Even if those quantities have been cut back.

Amazon sent me a $10 gift certificate, too - I'm thinking about getting volumes 2 and 3 of IWGP, and maybe something else to qualify for free shipping. The first volume of Worst, perhaps?

I'm getting work done, I swear, but getting up at 3AM has gifted me with the energy of a Thousand Crack-Ridden Ferrets, without the added benefit of not-tiredness. I'm multitasking out of boredom.

Fu-Master and Buck need to start their own comedy routine. The subject of the day? Diamond rings.

I didn't think it was possible for Fu-Master to lower himself any further in my eyes, but the wellspring never dries. Fu-Master bought an expensive diamond ring for his wife, because that's apparently the "Chinese tradition." A diamond ring to the tune of $10K, in fact. The day after they got married? He put it in a safe-deposit box, where it's been ever since. I don't think I need to add anything to that.

Buck (who's operating under the misconception that diamonds actually increase in value at some point) wants to start a diamond ring rental service. The brilliant ideas he and Fu-Master have developed for combatting theft include such scintillating ideas as renting fake rings and advertising them as the real things; inventing a "coating" for diamond that changes the diamond's color after so long (no, not joking...); putting a hold on someone's credit card (in the hopes that you'll actually be able to charge $10K to that card when they walk off with your ring?); and last but certainly not least, homing devices.

Completely and totally not making a word of this up.