DECEMBER 2005

December 1, 2005
Hello, this is Long Skirt.

This morning I was fiddling with the date stamp used to stamp the final scripts with when I heard this awful grinding noise: gacha-gacha-gacha!

Somewhat unnerved, I thought that maybe I had broken it. I considered getting rid of the evidence and looked around to see if anyone had witnessed anything. That's when I noticed that the doorknob to the ladies washroom was spinning around in this awful grinding manner: gacha-gacha-gacha!

I was relieved that it was the lock to the toilet door and not the date stamp that was broken. I took a huge flathead screwdriver out from a drawer, and said reassuringly to the trapped soul, "I'll get you out right away, okay?"
I applied the screwdriver to the screw and began to turn it, but the edge of the screwdriver would start stripping away at the screw. The door would not unlock. I realized that I wasn't getting anywhere, so, with the screwdriver in one hand, I ran downstairs to get the production manager. I said, "The lock to the toilet is broken and Snow White is stuck inside!" Some staff members who overheard this began to chuckle. The production manager pulled a screwdriver out from his desk drawer and got up to rescue Snow White.

Well, what can I say? News travels fast. Before you know it, the hilarious story about Snow White being stuck in the toilet quickly had spread throughout the company. As though time was of the essence, a great many concerned members of the staff (definitely not rubber necking onlookers...) came running to the door behind which Snow White was trapped in order to offer words of support and encouragement.

"What will she do about water if she can't come out?!"
"She can drink it from the toilet sink!"
"What will she do about food if she can't come out?!"
"There's a hole in the door about the size of a 500 yen coin behind a piece of hard plastic. She can break that and then we can drop pieces of marbled chocolate to her or something!"
"I mean, what's going to happen to Snow White if she can't ever get out?!"
"Nothing works! What are we going to do?!"

As we were going on like this, the focus of the discussion seemed to be slowly shifting toward food issues rather than freeing Snow White from her prison.
Well, the only who was seriously trying to take apart the lock was the production manager.

Then, a little over ten minutes after Snow White was first locked in, the lock came right off and the door opened. Everyone laughed and applauded, greeting Snow White as she safely emerged from the toilet.
Snow White wrote in her diary that it was too embarrassing for her, but her first words upon her rescue were "I've got to call xyz-san of the in-between section!"
Well, I guess work always comes first with her.
Ishikawa-san! Snow White is turning out to be a great production assistant!

December 2, 2005
Hello, this is OO.
Every time some film is finished, it's said that many are struck with a strange passion with respect to the images of Julia. When you think about it, it is not surprising. There are many scenes where one wonders why Julia would be cut. The male staff members are the ones that are particularly fond of Julia. Maybe she's the kind of woman that can make a man fall in love forever. Even in this week's broadcast of Episode 9, and in Episode 11, you can look forward to Julia appearing in her beautiful clothes. According to Miss South Masae of Aniplex, it is virtually certain that Julia has an H cup bosom.

December 8, 2005 Long Skirt
Hello, this is Long Skirt.

My lunch is usually a bento box from a convenience store, and I usually have a dorayaki for my supper.

Well, it had been some time since I opened the refrigerator in my apartment. When I did, I noticed a small onion growing out of the roots of a bigger one.

It's very bizarre.

Maybe if I left that onion alone, an even smaller, mini onion would grow out of it. And then an even smaller, milli onion would grow out of that. And from that a micro onion and from that a nano onion. And maybe from the nano onion a pico onion would grow.

It's very bizarre.

I really would've liked to have let the power of nature take its course, but it all seemed too frightening to me, and so I stuffed the onion into a bag and threw it away.

Then I got some disinfectant alcohol wipes and went at the fridge with it. It was a relief to see a clean fridge, gleaming and germ-free.

But then, I happened to open the freezer, and what I saw was some noritama rice seasoning that had been sealed in by a thick layer of what looked like permafrost.

How am I to get this out?

Refrigerators are such bizarre things.

December 15, 2005
Hello, this is Long Skirt.

Lately, I've been having trouble remembering what I'd eaten the night before. I want to believe that it's probably because I'm too busy and I'm just not eating properly. I must be getting to that age.

Anyway, Falcon gave me a bunch of those red-cup instant tanuki soba noodles and green-cup instant kitsune udon noodles which, for some reason, he had a ton of in his home. When I asked so audaciously as to what the deal was with these noodles, he flipped one of the cups upside down to reveal that the best-eaten date was exceeded by eleven months and 2 days.

Since these are basically dried food products, I wasn't really concerned about the best before dates. But since I have so many of these, I'll forget that I had one today, and I'll probably have another again tomorrow. I'm a little more concerned about this endless pattern repeating.

At the very least, I am at an age where I want to be able to maintain the 60% lower triglycerides level (over previous years) from this year's health check.

December 22, 2005
Hello. This is Long Skirt.

Either I was just off my guard for one moment or was too tired especially because of the time of year, I had an encounter with the "Scary Black Paper Legend" today. I was trying to be extra careful to avoid it, and yet...
Boo-hoo... (sobs)

Yes, every one at I.G is familiar with that legend. The pin-ups are everywhere, saying, "Black Paper Alert! Take caution or you will be sure to regret it!" I have seen victims quivering in fear and despair, so I was careful not to be the next one. I did check thoroughly for it before I made my attempt, but when the designs for Episode 17 came pouring out of the copier, there was a scary pale black shadow on the paper.

What on earth is that?!
Who left "Black Paper" in the copier?
How many times do I have to tell you?!

We make tap holes on anime key drawings and in-betweens so they can be fastened to the taps to make sure they are placed properly. When we make copies, we place a black strip of paper on top of the original, so that the holes come out black.

But when this black strip is left in the copier and you try to run the copier, you are faced with lightly or darkly shaded belts over the copies. That is if you're lucky. If you're unlucky, you end up with the original all messed up on top of the jammed machine. This is really bad for your psyche as well as for the original drawings.

This is the "Scary Black Paper Legend."
Even today, someone must be whining about this terrible curse somewhere in the world.
Or at least, at some anime production studio.