No reason in particular I'm thinking into the livejournal box. I think it's because no body reads my journal here... including Ziggy. And though this will be brief (I think)... this is a creepy/sore subject with Ziggy.
( LJ cut for images and wtfness )
Does anyone else see what Ziggy and I saw? Or are we just paranoid people (well, we are)? That is US. That is us in just such a way that it doesn't feel like a coincidence. That is us in a way that doesn't feel like there are two people in the world that look that much like the two of us who both happen to love each other like we do.( Read more... )It's just WEIRD. It's just freaky! And the caption... what does that mean? "If you really want her to stick around, don't ever let her feel unimportant. At this point I'm just satisfied being a lesson to others."</div>

It's been over a year, but this image still bothers me. It's just too weird to be a coincidence. But yeah, I'm overreacting to it... but what if it IS me?

At this point, will I ever know?</div></div>

mood: distressed

Bright light + dark room + tired Neko = OW MY EYES.

Went to the beach again yesterday with Wolfie and Ash and Ottoto. Good times, methinks. Actually, best times afterward when Wolfie and I had our usual "Lets sit down and talk about COTG because we have a plot-hole we need to fix that we made when we fixed another plot hole" (it's true, that's how it usually goes down, but hey. No one ever said creating an entire universe from the ground up merited perfection on the first go).

So if I don't end up drawing today, I'm going to be writing. Even though no one cares about that but me. Yay!

Actually, will probably lay around all day if the Ziggy doesn't call me. We've both been kinda in the dumps as of late for a couple of million reasons, and he kinda wanted to go to lunch today (which I kinda don't have the money to do but he'll pitch a fit and end up paying for me for some reason), so if he calls, I'll probably go out. But he sent me an email yesterday saying he didn't feel all that great, so maybe I will just not get out of my PJs all day. Oh yeah, I need to go to the post office. Damn. I wonder if I'll have time to do it tomorrow?

Guess I better go work on those drawings. Day-by-day has taught me a lot about myself... but I guess that reflection is best served when I finish :3

Hope everyone is doing well! Later days!

mood: tired tags: art info, mushy crap, random, writing info

What a shame, considering it's like the only website left where people don't bother me all the time lol.

Time to mount an LJ comeback, methinks.

WHAT'S NEW? You may ask? Well, in truth, not a whole lot. I'm 8 days away from my 100th drawing in just as many days *but I'm currently 6 days behind D:*, and it's weird. I mean, on the one hand, I am SO happy to see this project done. On the other... well, let's just say I'm going to miss it when it's over.

Guess this just means I'll have to start another project :D I've got an empty sketchbook with 13 pages. I think it will me music themed.

Spending a lot of time in two places: on the beach, and laying in bed. On the beach because it's nice. Laying in bed because I'm sick as a dog =/ I keep getting these terrible sneezing fits, and I'm coughing all the time. Mostly I just have the energy to lay around and draw or read.

Spending way less time then I would like with Ziggy. He's got night school, so we only really get to see each other on weekends. On Sunday. Only we really haven't seen eachother the last two sundays.

Previous issues with Blue haven't been resolved. I'm waiting for a sign on that one. I do not consider my horrible guilt over not wishing him a happy birthday this week sign enough.

Overall... nothing special. Off to draw and see Harry Potter today :D
Later days!

mood: awake tags: fyi, nothing, random

Oh, hey there livejournal.

I got meme'd by the Nanuka.

- Anyone who looks at this entry has to post this meme & their current wallpaper! (as if I could police that)
- Explain in no more/less- five sentences why you're using that particular wallpaper!
- Don't change your wallpaper before doing this! The point is to see what you had on!


Uuuhhhh... okay
1. I drew this like in September
2. I've had this wallpaper since like October.
3. I want to change it but I haven't drawn anything new I like
4. I like wallpapers that are more centered on the upper left, because my icons are on the right, and my dock (which you can't see here) is on the bottom.
5.  This wallpaper either makes people laugh when they see it, or freak out when they notice there is a star about to be eaten in the background.

I think I might try to update more.  Also, I think it might be time to update my theme.

mood: awake

[Anyone remember me every saying]
That I liked cleaning my room?
Yeah, I didn't think so.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I don't know where all my crap comes from. I wish I knew, because I would stop doing whatever it was that generated it.
I'll be back Monday, and I'll be back to reading messages and everything.
I'm not exactly feeling like a winner today.
Later days!

It makes me feel strangely... hopeful. Maybe it's because that horrible 2008 is three days behind us, and there's nothing but future ahead. Or maybe it's because the world is supposed to end in 2012, and I've got to get all my living in before then. If you believe that.

I'm not really sure what it is. Guess it's just me being philosophical. Maybe.

I've literally been avoiding the internet for the past... what has it been, three weeks? Don't get me wrong, I love the internet. I'm just getting my usual new-year, new-life vibe. You know, the one where I fool myself into thinking that I don't need the internet to survive. It will pass soon, hopefully. Without the internet, I realize what a social mysanthrope I am... that usually does the trick after a few weeks.

Christmas came. And went. Mostly without my noticing. How did that happen? Isn't Christmas supposed to be a joyful and exciting time? Seems to me it went right by. I honestly wouldn't have realized it happened if I didn't look at a calender. Kinda sad. Guess all the holiday joy was gone this year, what with the cost of living and everything going up. You know it's bad when kids are asking Santa for a job for mommy and daddy for Christmas.

Anyway, enough from me. I'll be back before you know it. At the moment, all I want is a little sleep.

Happy new year everyone. Be sure to make the best of this one.

mood: thoughtful music: Glass of Water // Prospekt's March EP by Coldplay

Winnaaaaar gets... I don't know what. I'LL DECIDE WHEN I WAKE UP.

(1 Point) What's my first name:
(1 Point) My last name:
(5 Points) My middle name:
(2 Points) Where do I live:
(2 Points) What color are my eyes:
(3 Points) Who am I in love with:
(2 Points)Where did we meet:
(3 Points) What am I afraid of:
(4 Points) Describe my taste in the opposite and/or same sex:
(2 Points) Do I smoke:
(3 Points) Do I drink/What do I drink:
(2 Points, +1 point for each name) How many siblings do I have:
(2 Points, +1 point for each name) How many pets do I have:
(4 Points) What's one of my favorite things to do:
(3 Points) Who is/are my favorite person/people:
(3 Points) What's my favorite type of music:
(3 Points) What do I eat on pizza:
(3 Points) Name something I hate:
(3 Points) Name someone I hate:
(5 Points) What are my parents' names:
(4 Points) Name a talent I have:
(5 Points) What are my vices:
(5 Points for creativity) If I were stranded on a desert island, what would I bring:

I feel as though I'm not being productive... oh yeah, I'm not. I'm supposed to be writing papers XD

mood: drained

My brother and his cross country team



Kitty!

Yeah, I suck.

Anyway, I'm alive. Kinda.

My ear is bleeding D: I have no idea why. I also should be working on a paper right now. Hm.

Spent the day on Tegaki. Twas fun.





I have no idea why I don't update over here.

* Take a picture of yourself right now.
* Don’t change your clothes.
* Don’t fix your hair
* Just take a picture.
* Post that picture with no editing. (Except maybe to get the image size down to something reasonable. Don’t go posting an eight megapixel image.)
* Include these instructions.



Not really up to much. Not sleeping enough, and definitely not getting enough stuff done. I just keep falling behind on everything- I have 47 emails to read.

Ziggy's going to the doctor today. Feeling very on edge about that whole situation. Praying that everything will be alright.

Ottoto's gone for the weekend. House will be very quiet without him running around shouting "LIGHTNING" at the top of his lungs.

Overall... Just feeling rather blah today.

mood: sleepy

Yeah...

I can't decide which one is better.


Happy DUUUUUURH Zombie ball


Or serious "Imma gonna eat yer brains" Zombie ball.

My mom has cancer.

Granted, it's nothing super serious; it's melanoma. But cancer is cancer. I know of all the cancers to get, Melanoma is probably the best one. It's easy to treat, least likely to spread, and has an almost 100% cure rate. It's not hereditary. It's hardly painful. Of all the cancers for my mother to get, this would be the ideal one.

Hasn't stopped me from worrying about it, being the slight hypochondriac that I am. I know it's not genetic....

But breast cancer is.

Turns out my grandmother has (or is it had?) breast cancer. On Wednesday, she had a mastectomy (aka, she has one of her breasts removed). Supposedly, they got all the cancer, and her lymph nodes are clean.

The problem? No one in the family knew about it until yesterday.

They said it was to keep us from worrying. Naturally, it horrified the entire family. I went to the hospital last night to see my grandmother, and she seemed just fine, but I couldn't help but think... what if she hadn't been? What if something happened, and we didn't get to say goodbye to her?

Now I'm paranoid.

Breast cancer? What if I get it? What if my aunt gets it? What if my mom gets it?
I don't know what I would do.

I've been told, time and time again, that the best way to find breast cancer is to have your mammograms, and do self examinations. I was never taught how to do a self examination, because in catholic school, we don't talk about things like breasts or touching breasts. I wouldn't even know what to look for. I mean, I know people say that it's lumps or tenderness, but... mine have always been a little tender. And lumpy. My physiology teacher said that was normal.

So what is abnormal?

I've always been afraid of getting cancer. Any cancer. All cancer.

Suddenly the fear seems justified.

So no, I'm not okay. It's really hard to have two people you love both tell you they have cancer in the same week.

mood: depressed music: "Yellow" Coldplay

Not that anyone who reads this doesn't know about my constantly updated DA journal.

Just thought I'd try and post something here.

Although... I don't have anything to say at this point.

Reply with one question per number. I'll answer them the best I can ^^;

1. Friends
2. Sex
3. Love
4. Art
5. Internet
6. Music
7. Random


Also, I only got online to wish Cat a happy birthday. I've decided I like not having to check messages every day.
So that means once I'm back in school, I'll be online every day again.

See you this weekend...

Title: Black
Author: Ted Dekker
Pages: 408
Premise: Ted Dekker’s massive ten-novel epic series begins in this, the first of what he calls “the circle trilogy”. The protagonist, Tom, is cornered in a back alley and shot in the head by mob thugs right from the get-go, but when he awakes, he finds himself in a completely different reality, surrounded by black trees. Flesh-eating bats attack him, and he passes out, only to wake up again in that back-alley once more. It becomes apparent to Tom that when he falls asleep in one world, he wakes up in the other, posing an interesting question- both worlds couldn’t possibly be real, so which one is the dream? As he travels between the two different lives he lives in the two very different worlds, the two plots unfold. In one reality, the world is filled with physical manifestations of good and evil, and man-kind lives in perfect happiness and satisfaction under the care and guidance of an omnipotent god, until Tom discovers that this world is supposedly the future of the other, and that world was destroyed by a terrible virus. In this other world, Tom races against the clock, using what he learns about the “past” in the other world to effect the “future” of his own world and stop the viral outbreak that will kill him and all of mankind within a matter of weeks. The two worlds begin to intertwine, and as both realities begin to hurtle towards cataclysmic destruction, it seems that only Tom holds the key to saving them both.
Favorite character(s): None
Least favorite character(s): Tom (the protagonist), Rachelle (Tom’s love-interest in the fantasy world)
Review: I should have known when I picked this book up that I was going to have a problem with it, but I wanted to try something new and give the genre the benefit of the doubt- it is Christian fiction. And while I have nothing against Christian fiction books (being a Christian myself), I do find them insufferably familiar. Most of the time, they’re time-tested stories we’ve all heard before in the Bible, but they’ve changed all the names and places to modernize it. My review (or rather, rant?) could go on for pages, but I’ll try to keep my complaints short and to the point. #1: None of the characters seem believable. Okay, so it’s a fantasy, I’ll give you that, but even fantasy characters should feel like real, multi-dimensional people, and these characters are so flat that they are completely uninteresting- it’s simply a matter of deciding which one you hate the least. #2: Literally half the novel is spent recapping previous events. Tom probably spends half of every chapter (aka every time he wakes up from whatever world he was last in) either explaining to the people around him the story thus far, or trying to convince himself that one of the two worlds is the dream, and the other is reality. #3: Tom decides that “reality” is the fantasy world. Tom has a history in the real world (memories of growing up there ect.), so why is it that when he suddenly starts dreaming about the other reality, he decides to accept that he just has amnesia about living there and COMPLETELY DISMISSES his life in the other world (aka the one with substantial evidence of it’s actual existence). #4: The fantasy world is so heavily biblical it made me want to throw up. The Bible (as a body of literature and not as a religious text) is an amazing story, but no one wants to hear it a second time, so I’m not exactly sure why Dekker decided to include such blatant biblical “metaphors” in his narrative (aka the forbidden fruit of Eden= “a forbidden fruit”, the cross= “two crossed beams in the shape of a cross”, God and the Devil= perfect child “Elyon” and a devil-like bat “Teeleh”). I could go on (there are still so many problems I haven’t mentioned), but you get the idea. Ted Dekker had his heart in the right place, but after about 100 pages, you feel like you’ve heard this story all before, and you probably have if you’ve ever heard a story from the Bible, seen the Matrix, or read a Dan Brown novel.
To long, Didn’t read?: Unless you really like reading Genesis and being told the same story over and over again, give it a pass
Rating: 1/5 stars
Check out the Sequel?: I’d like to know what happens, but I don’t want to torture myself through nine more books. I’ll wikipedia it.

Title: The Lightning Theif
Author: Rick Riorden
Pages: 377
Premise: Yet another children’s book I picked up on my binge of youthful fantasy literature, this first novel in the series tells the story of poor Percy Jackson. Percy’s had it rough the past few years. He’s constantly getting kicked out of school, his mom is married to a horrible step-father, his grades are slipping, he has no friends, his math teacher turned out to be a harpy sent to kill him, his absent father is a Greek god, he’s being hunted by a hoard of other mythological figures for a crime he didn’t commit, and he’s been selected to clear his name and return a precious artifact (Zeus’ lightning bolt) from the underworld. Not exactly an easy day for a twelve-year-old boy with ADHD. The Lightning Theif is part adventure and part mystery- following Percy’s cross-country travels in search of the bolt with his new-found friends.
Favorite character(s): Chiron (Percy’s mentor), Grover (Percy’s satyr friend), Cerberus (three-headed dog of the undead)
Least favorite character(s): Ares (God of War)
Review: I thought I was going to have trouble with this novel when I first started reading it because Percy (as described above) is ADHD, and the narrative follows suit. It’s difficult to follow at first, but thankfully, you get used to the style really quick, and I have to say I rather enjoyed Percy’s jokes and allusions, especially early on when he’s spending time at camp Half-Blood. My only real problem with this novel is that every person that Percy and his band of heroes run into after they leave the summer camp is a Greek monster, god, or important mythological figure. It is implied that a certain degree of the people they meet will not be human, but it gets to the point where I found myself shouting at Percy because he couldn’t figure out that the person he was speaking to was trying to kill him even though every other seemingly nice person he ran into on the trip also tried to kill him. I guess I just got frustrated that he wasn’t learning anything from his mistakes, which is terrible considering the harsh learning curve (aka death). Also, I figured out who the villain was about two chapters into their quest (or whenever it is that he starts having dreams) and who was betraying them even before that, which made it difficult to keep going considering how stupid Percy was despite his ability to make dozens of Greek allusions and the fact that one of his travel companions happens to be a daughter of Athena, aka the Goddess of Wisdom. You’d think she would know a thing or two about mythology, especially when every time they are NOT being attacked by monsters/gods/ect, all she talks about is how much she knows about Greek mythology.
To long, Didn’t read?: Insufferable character stupidity is about the only thing stopping this from being the best book I’ve read this summer. Greek mythology fans will love it, everyone else might want to try it too.
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
Check out the Sequel?: Most definitely. I know Percy will continue to survive for another three novels, so I only have to hope that he managed to get smarter in the process. That’s not too unreasonable, right?

Title: Storm Front: Book one of the Dresden Files
Author: Jim Butcher
Pages: 322
Premise: For those of you who hadn’t already heard of Dresden (and his show on the sci fi channel, as the cover informs me there is), Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files series is an popular sci-fi/fantasy/mystery mish mash that has been winning over fantasy lovers since the year 2000. I had been meaning to read it, but only got around to picking the first one up recently. The protagonist, Harry Dresden, is a wizard. A card carrying, Chicago based one to be precise – and the only one in the phone book. He’s like a private detective for the paranormal in the modern world. Harry’s job’s been kinda slow- guess people don’t really believe he’s a wizard, and even if they did, what would you use him for? Then he gets two jobs at once: a double homicide investigation with people clearly killed by magic, and a missing persons case of someone who loved the occult. The book follows his attempts to unravel the cases, score with girls, do magic, and get more then three hours of sleep.
Favorite character(s): Harry Dresden (the cheeky protagonist), Murphy (the hard boiled cop he works with)
Least favorite character(s): Toot-toot the faerie (ugh, just typing his name is annoying)
Review: I find myself giving this book more props then it might deserve because it’s everything I ever loved about Laurel K Hamilton without the crappy smut. In fact, the only way I can find to effectively review this book is to compare it to the Anita Blake books, since they are so similar (but Dresden does it right). Anita Blake and Harry Dresden are both paranormal elements in a modern world, trying to hold down a job and consult with the police department at the same time. Where Anita is a hard-ass who somehow manages to check out murder scenes in the day, raise zombies at night, and find time for her six boyfriends without sleep, Dresden goes two or three days without sleep, takes serious beatings, and acts like anyone else- tired. Anita’s romantic endeavors seem fake, and have a cheesy romance novel feel to them. When Dresden tries to date, things blow up in his face. Anita claims her job is the most important thing to her, but she ends up spending more time in the later novels having sex then solving crime, and that’s pretty much what it comes down to for me- Jim Butcher has effectively taken what I loved about Anita Blake- the solving murders, the paranormal intrigue- without the retarded female romantic interests weighing it down too heavily. Obviously this is the biggest thing that stands out in my mind, but I have to try to squeeze in some sort of criticism: parts of the novel had a slow pace that seemed off, the passage of time is really difficult to follow (since he’s going without sleep), and Butcher uses high-school football metaphors a little too much for my liking, but hey, the book was awesome. Call me biased, but I love a good paranormal double homicide.
To long, Didn’t read?: Harry Dresden is the new Anita Blake. Without the sex and really gay vampires. Pick it up for a great paranormal murder mystery.
Rating: 5/5 stars!
Check out the Sequel?: Most definitely! I can’t wait to see what kind of case Dresden will take next.

mood: cheerful

FURAFFINITY IS DOWN AGAIN.


WHY AM I NOT SURPRISED?

Title: City of Ember
Author: Jeanne DuPrau
Pages: 270
Premise: The City of Ember is a children’s book that was flying under the radar until someone decided to make a movie about it. The movie, which comes out this fall, sparked dozens of copies of the book to flow into the bookstores, which is how I found it. In the story, we follow two protagonists, Lina and Doon (all the characters have rather odd names) as they live their lives in the city of Ember. Here’s the thing about Ember: It is the only city in a world of pitch-black darkness. Illuminated by thousands of floodlights, supplies divvied out from an immense storeroom, and a society where people pull jobs out of a hat to work on for the rest of their lives. The only problem is the lights are starting to flicker out, they’re running out of food in the storeroom, and everyone is afraid that the end of Ember is near. No one knows how to fix the generator that runs the city- it was built by “the Builders”, the supposedly omnipotent creators of Ember that built the city and filled the storerooms. The story chronicles Doon and Lina’s race to try and discover a way to save Ember from the curse of eternal darkness.
Favorite character(s): Doon (the male protagonist)
Least favorite character(s): The mayor (self-explanatory), Lizzie (Lina’s friend)
Review: I like to read children’s books, and I don’t keep it a secret. Intermediate reader books have some of the most creative and most exciting stories, even if they have a reading level much lower then I like. Ember is listed as a fifth grade reading level, and it definitely reads like one, but baring the simple language, it is surprisingly good. The story had me from the get go, and kept me going with minimal slowing. The resolution to the story was, though a bit predictable, awesomely unexpected (sounds contradictory, but it’s true). One of the things I liked about Ember is the visual aspect of it- everything in the city is described by color before anything else. For the most part, everything in the city is black, yellow, red, orange, brown, and purple. Even the names of some of the characters and places bring to mind these colors. The exceptions to this rule, as in the blue, green, and white colored items, were important things. This had an unexpectedly cool effect on the narrative. Another thing I liked was that the author didn’t bother to try to explain Ember. Rather then try to weigh down the plot, she just lets it go, and allows the reader to discover the truth about Ember as they read. Now, my only qualm was that it was a bit easy to read, but hey, it’s a children’s book. Taking that and some annoying dialogue (which I can forgive because the characters themselves are children) out of the equation, this was a great book, and I can’t wait to read the next one.
To long, Didn’t read?: The back cover says “Science fiction for those who do not like science fiction.” I dare say it’s the children’s cure for the common science fiction.
Rating: 5/5 stars!
Check out the Sequel?: Most definitely. The ending was such a cliffhanger, and I can’t wait to find out what happens next.

mood: cheerful

Title: Twilight
Author: Stephanie Meyers
Pages: 498
Premise: Well, if you haven’t heard about the young adult phenomenon that is Stephanie Meyers Twilight series, you either live in a hole, or never talk to girls under the age of twenty-one. This series has become more then insanely popular, and once you hear the premise, you’ll understand why. Teenage protagonist Isabella Swan moves to middle of nowhere Forks, Washington to live with her dad from the big, sunny city of Phoenix. It is there that she tries to cope with her utterly boring life and the seemingly retarded new friends, and her aspiring love interest in the mysterious Edward Cullen. Oh yeah, and before I forget, Edward…. Is a vampire. No, she doesn’t know it, and half of the story is her trying to figure out what he is. But after that, the story chronicles her relationship with Edward and his also vampire family. Needless to say, drama ensues. Which is the entire reason anyone will be reading the book.
Favorite character(s): Edward (the "dreamy" vampire love interest), Alice (his equally dreamy vampire sister), Mike (one of Bella’s retarded human friends)
Least favorite character(s): Bella (the protagonist), Jessica (another retarded human friend)
Review: Before I get out of hand on this review, I will say that I liked this book a lot more then I should. It managed to pleasantly surprise me when I was geared up for a book about sparkly vampires (which I hate). That being said, it was far from perfect, and even though I am going to say quite a few nasty things about Bella in this paragraph, I will still be reading book two in this series, if only out of the hope that she will die and become vastly more interesting in the process. To put it bluntly, Bella is stupid. She just is. All signs in the novel point to death, and she keeps walking forward blindly. Even when she finds out that Edward thinks she smells tasty… She still thinks he won’t hurt her. It’s like she’s beating a nuclear warhead with a hammer, oblivious to the fact that it could explode at any moment. And yes, she is in love. Or “love”. I don’t really take that as an excuse though, especially when all the vampires around her are like “You’re a moron, run away and never return”. The vampires, on the other hand, are much more interesting, but you don’t get to hear from most of them until the last hundred pages, and it’s during those pages where the story moves from a disgusting love-fest to an adrenaline rush. Thank God. Those last few pages had me on the end of my seat until… Dues ex machina? Say it isn’t so! The ending (or at least the conflict resolution) happens so fast, and makes no sense at all. In short, it was a real kill-joy. Overall, Meyers has an awesome style, but a stupid protagonist. Also, she lacks the ability to correctly structure paragraphs, but that’s just me being nit-picky.
To long, Didn’t read?: The romance was painful at times, but worth the read simply for the new look at vampires. Enjoy the ride while it lasts and all your fun has been killed.
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Check out the Sequel?: I’m more interested in the fate of Edward and his family then Bella’s… I’m holding out for paperback, but yeah, I’ll read on.

mood: cynical