What a day.

Today I went to the US Embassy in Helsinki for my visa interview. I'd been dreading it for months because I've heard some horror stories about people being turned away at the gate because they've filled out the forms wrong or because they've forgotten to bring along something important. Even though I triple checked that I had everything I thought I would need, I was still nervous as hell when I got to Helsinki. It didn't help much that the Embassy looked like some sort of small castle out of a fairytale (only a moat was missing...), or that the security was so tight that it made me feel like I was part of some detective movie. The interview itself was over in five minutes and left me feeling like worrying about it beforehand had been a complete waste of time. I mean, I knew I had all the necessary forms and there were no problems with my background. Sometimes it really sucks to be a habitual worrywart. Well, I suppose I got my visa (if the interviewer wishing me a nice trip is any indication...) so all's good.

Somehow it feels like I've finally managed to pass over some sort of an obstacle that has been standing between me and my exchange year (I made the whole visa thing into a much bigger deal than it really was). Now I can finally start counting down days until the day of my departure (62!).

Even though I usually visit Helsinki only once a year or so, I didn't stick around for long after the interview because I don't have any extra money to spend and I have work tomorrow. That didn't stop me from spending 140 euros on manga though ;). Then again, it had been my intention all along, to buy a lot of manga during my trip to Helsinki. It's the only time that I'm going to allow myself to buy manga this summer. I shouldn't be spending all my money on manga before my exchange because I should be able to get manga much cheaper over there ;). I finally bought volumes 1-3 of Legal Drug (how can I claim to be a true CLAMP fan without reading Legal Drug?) and got my hands on Saiyuki Reload vol. 8 which has finally been released by Tokyopop after they made as wait for over a year! Oh, the happiness ^_^.

I also bought the first Twelve Kingdoms novel that I'd been lusting after for months. Of course, I've already watched the anime version (and even made icons of it) so I already know the story by heart, but getting to read the original book is always nice. I managed to read through the first 65 pages during my train ride home, and it looks great so far. I feel like I'm seeing a completely new side of Keiki and even Yoko's (slightly annoying) initial emo state has more depth. I'm glad they've kept most of the original special terms (they even included some kanji!) in the English translation, but it really irked me that they had translated En-Ou as Ever-King and Kei-Ou as Glory-King. What the heck is that all about? They sound odd (well okay, I'm used to the fansubs I have of the anime where they're translated as King En and Queen Kei). But that's just a small minus. Now I'm really looking forward to the third book in the series, which continues Yoko's tale. I'm also interested in other works by Fuyumi Ono, and I'm praying that someone will translate the Ghost Hunt series someday.

I was inspired to make some Twelve Kingdoms icons because I haven't seen that many of them around. I don't have any expensive graphic editors and it's my first time making icons, so don't expect to see anything really amazing. I've mainly played around with the colors and added some simple special effects.

You're welcome to use these as bases. Credit is nice but not required. Comments would make me happy. Enjoy!

Preview:



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