- Mood:
thoughtful
I'm getting back into artwork, and I can't help but vent about one thing.....young artists today have it SO nice now! Back in the day when I wanted to learn to draw, I had a hellah hard time finding references, alot of things I had to learn from looking and trying to draw from memory. I could ocassionally afford comic books once a month, and sometimes the art was hit or miss....like Transformers? omg, some issues were awesome, and later in the 90's they were crap. The Mirage Ninja Turtles started getting guest artists, so every month was a different style for like 2 years. I think that helped me alot so I could see how different artists approached different techniques but involving the same theme and characters. I couldn't go to any libraries because none were within walking/biking distance. My Dad liked to drink beer the minute he came home from work, so that prevented him from driving me anywhere. :/
Hell, thanks to the internet, kids nowdays have endless amounts of art references they can get for free. All sorts of pics, from all over the world! Tutorials too, and help from other artists on forums! I used to think I was pretty good, but I see kids who are almost as good as me and half my age....I can't help but be envious, lol. X3
Also, I remember I had to struggle to get any kind of art supplies. Wow, on E-bay nowdays you can get groin-grabbingly-great deals on all sorts of pencils and markers for dirt cheap, and hell, if you hunt sites you can find free cg programs, brushes, etc. I was lucky enough that I got hand-me-downs from when Dad went to art school. One set of Prismacolors had to last me like 5 years. I had to replace the essential colors, like black, white, and skin tones.....which my friend Annick constantly borrowed and used to the nubs, lol.....luckily she replaced them, but still, $1 per pencil was alot back then.
Aside from art, I REALLY wanted to learn to sew, My mom even reminded me when I was little I asked if she could show me, but she didn't know how. I taught myself. Well, I guess I take pride in the fact that I did things the hard way, and some things I learned though that can never be replicated easily, but still.....I NEED TO GET MY ASS IN GEAR! XD I'm making sure I am looking at current art styles and techniques so I don't fall into a rut....not forgetting the old, but keeping up with the new. I don't want to get stuck in 1994. XD
back to drawering!
Hell, thanks to the internet, kids nowdays have endless amounts of art references they can get for free. All sorts of pics, from all over the world! Tutorials too, and help from other artists on forums! I used to think I was pretty good, but I see kids who are almost as good as me and half my age....I can't help but be envious, lol. X3
Also, I remember I had to struggle to get any kind of art supplies. Wow, on E-bay nowdays you can get groin-grabbingly-great deals on all sorts of pencils and markers for dirt cheap, and hell, if you hunt sites you can find free cg programs, brushes, etc. I was lucky enough that I got hand-me-downs from when Dad went to art school. One set of Prismacolors had to last me like 5 years. I had to replace the essential colors, like black, white, and skin tones.....which my friend Annick constantly borrowed and used to the nubs, lol.....luckily she replaced them, but still, $1 per pencil was alot back then.
Aside from art, I REALLY wanted to learn to sew, My mom even reminded me when I was little I asked if she could show me, but she didn't know how. I taught myself. Well, I guess I take pride in the fact that I did things the hard way, and some things I learned though that can never be replicated easily, but still.....I NEED TO GET MY ASS IN GEAR! XD I'm making sure I am looking at current art styles and techniques so I don't fall into a rut....not forgetting the old, but keeping up with the new. I don't want to get stuck in 1994. XD
back to drawering!
- Mood:
nostalgic
As a last minute thing, I went to Reactor this weekend. 2 weeks ago I thought, "I still have tons of stuff to sell pre-made and I bet Reactor still has Artist Alley tables left, what the hell, I will email them and ask." Sure enough they had tables left and made it super easy for me to pay via PayPal. So I went, with very low expectations, which was a good thing, lol!
I skipped Friday and went Saturday. The other artists there were totally nice, lots of great work too, but they were all upset with low turnout of customers. They said on Friday maybe 12 people walked through AA. They said there were no signs where AA was and it wasn't even mentioned in the program book, not to mention it wasn't even near the dealer's room. There was talk of demanding money back because of all that. :/ Lots of folks left early Saturday and skipped Sunday.
Oddly enough, I made $300, which I was really surprised. All things considered, I was expecting maybe $150 if I was lucky. Guess my patience paid off, I would get small groups come through now and then and a few folks would buy things, then nothing for like 30 minutes to an hour.
What really made it worth while is I got to talk to some other artists and make some connections. Also I got a chance to study what people like a little better since I wasn't so busy. I watched what they bought from other artists or listened out for what they asked for. The head of Acen's artist alley came by, so that was pretty cool. Also I got alot of inspiration for new products to make, all exciting stuff for me! :3
I felt really bad for some of the other artists though. One studio got 4 tables! Some I don't think they sold a thing the whole weekend, I was really lucky. Alot didn't even break even. I didn't pay for a hotel or anything, just my badge and table, so most of what I made was profit. The other folks were so nice too, so that made me feel extra bad. Even customers were in good spirits, despite the con not having alot going on. I kinda felt bad some of them were hoping to check out some neat stuff in AA and most artists already left.
While I counted my lucky stars, I already started planning for my next con, Youmacon! I used my cash I earned for more materials to make even more cash, lol! Hancock is having an AWESOME sale and my fav fleece is 52% off! I bought a whole bold of black anti-pill, all for me!!! My mom sent me some cash for supplies as well, so I got a thread rack, bobbin case, stabilizers, threads, lots of fleece, skull print fabrics, stuffing, and plushie fabrics. I'm pretty pumped!
I skipped Friday and went Saturday. The other artists there were totally nice, lots of great work too, but they were all upset with low turnout of customers. They said on Friday maybe 12 people walked through AA. They said there were no signs where AA was and it wasn't even mentioned in the program book, not to mention it wasn't even near the dealer's room. There was talk of demanding money back because of all that. :/ Lots of folks left early Saturday and skipped Sunday.
Oddly enough, I made $300, which I was really surprised. All things considered, I was expecting maybe $150 if I was lucky. Guess my patience paid off, I would get small groups come through now and then and a few folks would buy things, then nothing for like 30 minutes to an hour.
What really made it worth while is I got to talk to some other artists and make some connections. Also I got a chance to study what people like a little better since I wasn't so busy. I watched what they bought from other artists or listened out for what they asked for. The head of Acen's artist alley came by, so that was pretty cool. Also I got alot of inspiration for new products to make, all exciting stuff for me! :3
I felt really bad for some of the other artists though. One studio got 4 tables! Some I don't think they sold a thing the whole weekend, I was really lucky. Alot didn't even break even. I didn't pay for a hotel or anything, just my badge and table, so most of what I made was profit. The other folks were so nice too, so that made me feel extra bad. Even customers were in good spirits, despite the con not having alot going on. I kinda felt bad some of them were hoping to check out some neat stuff in AA and most artists already left.
While I counted my lucky stars, I already started planning for my next con, Youmacon! I used my cash I earned for more materials to make even more cash, lol! Hancock is having an AWESOME sale and my fav fleece is 52% off! I bought a whole bold of black anti-pill, all for me!!! My mom sent me some cash for supplies as well, so I got a thread rack, bobbin case, stabilizers, threads, lots of fleece, skull print fabrics, stuffing, and plushie fabrics. I'm pretty pumped!
- Mood:
grateful
I never posted about my birthday! I had a great time, I actually had a little party this year with lots of good friends, good foods and videogames, lol! We met up at Kitakata Everyday Japanese food, it was so good! Yes, I work at a Japanese restaurant so why would I go for my birthday? My place is super fancy and specializes in sushi....I just want simpler stuff sometimes like noodles and rice bowls, lol! So Kitakata was perfect, there was something for everyone! It's not a big place so I think they were really happy we came and got so much, lol!
I got lots of neat presents! My Mom surprised me a week before my birthday to tell me she ordered me a super awesome Singer Futura Embroidery machine! You can convert any digital images into embroidery, omg, I have so many opportunities with that! I set it up and got a few materials to get me started, I just haven't had time to officially embroider anything yet.....but oh I will! Now I can finally start cranking out some professional cyber styled fashions for my site! My big issue before was I couldn't efficiently make embellishments that weren't over time consuming, expensive, or in limited supplies only. My Mom has been so cool about supporting my business, and now that she's not living with that Bob anymore she can focus on things she wants to do, which includes helping me out, yay! I also got lots of neat giftcards and toys from my awesome friends! Thanks again guys! ;3
Gameworks was alot of fun! We played lots of games and Jeremey actually showed up this year! Every year around my birthday is always crunch time for his haunted house business so he has had a hard time making it to my birthday. Last year he didn't make it at all, and intended to make it up to me but nothing. He says we will do something later for my birthday after he has money again, right now he has no job or back up funding so I understand.
On other good things, I have had one big secret commission that has been on and off for the past 3 years.....and I'm FINALLY almost done! XD I will be sooooo happy to have it out of the way. All this time I always felt even when I had a little time to spare there was always that project hanging over my head. Soon I will free at last!
Today was the inspection day for Jer's haunt, so everything had to be built by 1pm today. He had been busting his ass all summer for this and the past 2 weeks he's been spending 12hour or more on it each day. He says they finally finished with just a few minutes to spare and the inspector was really cool, so they passed! I'm really excited for him, maybe now he can relax more and not be killing himself for the next few weeks. In previous years there were always still building until opening day, but this year they still have a few more weeks until they open. AND since it's a permanent location there should be NO MORE LONG SUMMERS OF BUILDING!!! sweet.....that's such a freakin' relief!
Right now I'm going to rearrange my room so I finally have some more space for my business stuff....I really need it more than ever with that new big machine. ^^" I have IKEA poles in the middle of the room which are bolted into the ceiling. I originally put them there 3 years ago because I saw a neat idea in my Ikea catalouge that you could use the poles and shelves as a room divider and a desk. It works well, but now I need more room and there's only so much space when that thing is bolted in the center of the room....I can only move things around it. Lets hope that goes well! XD
I got lots of neat presents! My Mom surprised me a week before my birthday to tell me she ordered me a super awesome Singer Futura Embroidery machine! You can convert any digital images into embroidery, omg, I have so many opportunities with that! I set it up and got a few materials to get me started, I just haven't had time to officially embroider anything yet.....but oh I will! Now I can finally start cranking out some professional cyber styled fashions for my site! My big issue before was I couldn't efficiently make embellishments that weren't over time consuming, expensive, or in limited supplies only. My Mom has been so cool about supporting my business, and now that she's not living with that Bob anymore she can focus on things she wants to do, which includes helping me out, yay! I also got lots of neat giftcards and toys from my awesome friends! Thanks again guys! ;3
Gameworks was alot of fun! We played lots of games and Jeremey actually showed up this year! Every year around my birthday is always crunch time for his haunted house business so he has had a hard time making it to my birthday. Last year he didn't make it at all, and intended to make it up to me but nothing. He says we will do something later for my birthday after he has money again, right now he has no job or back up funding so I understand.
On other good things, I have had one big secret commission that has been on and off for the past 3 years.....and I'm FINALLY almost done! XD I will be sooooo happy to have it out of the way. All this time I always felt even when I had a little time to spare there was always that project hanging over my head. Soon I will free at last!
Today was the inspection day for Jer's haunt, so everything had to be built by 1pm today. He had been busting his ass all summer for this and the past 2 weeks he's been spending 12hour or more on it each day. He says they finally finished with just a few minutes to spare and the inspector was really cool, so they passed! I'm really excited for him, maybe now he can relax more and not be killing himself for the next few weeks. In previous years there were always still building until opening day, but this year they still have a few more weeks until they open. AND since it's a permanent location there should be NO MORE LONG SUMMERS OF BUILDING!!! sweet.....that's such a freakin' relief!
Right now I'm going to rearrange my room so I finally have some more space for my business stuff....I really need it more than ever with that new big machine. ^^" I have IKEA poles in the middle of the room which are bolted into the ceiling. I originally put them there 3 years ago because I saw a neat idea in my Ikea catalouge that you could use the poles and shelves as a room divider and a desk. It works well, but now I need more room and there's only so much space when that thing is bolted in the center of the room....I can only move things around it. Lets hope that goes well! XD
- Mood:
busy
We went to Comic Con this weekend! It was fun, I didn't buy much or really see panels. Mostly I wanted to go shopping the dealer room with Steffannee and check out Artist Alley so I can see what folks are up to, maybe get some ideas. Then we saw GI Joe, it was a blast! I didn't really watch the original show, I saw like maybe 5 episodes. But I knew it wasn't canon, like none of it. Sounds like I was right! We had alot of fun joking Snake Eyes though! We think he should do movie reviews!
Since Steffannee and I are food snobs, we went to this super fancy bakery I always wanted to check out! It's Lana's Dazzling desserts, and they really were pretty amazing! It's not a huge place but everything was really pretty and detailed, and yummy to boot! We each got some small treats to eat there and a box to take home. We will totally go again!
http://www.lanasdesserts.com/chocolate_ cakes.asp
This weekend is Anime Iowa. Honestly, I don't really do cons and do anything con related anymore. I just go to sell stuff and see friends while I'm there. We still have $2700 worth of stuff to sell. I just need to sell $400 to make profit, so hope that goes well.
It will be good to get out of town for a weekend though. I am honestly super depressed. The past several years all my big plans to finally get ahead have failed. Opportunities keep popping up, I get my hopes up, then they fall through. I'm sick of failing and I'm running out of options. I'm glad I at least have my aunt in Canada as back-up but that's a last resort. I'm always the type to keep on trucking, but I'm really loosing mommentum.
I'm stuck in my room all day lately since I am getting so much work at home now. I'm happy for the work, but I am literally going stir crazy being cooped up all day....everyday. I don't have a car and pretty much all my friends are way too busy so I can maybe see them once a month. Just going for a walk doesn't cut it. I noticed loose my grip after awhile, like I get nuerotic and I cry alot, so I loose time on projects. When I feel better it lasts awhile, but it's a constant circle of me loosing my mind and getting paranoid about everything. I always snap out, but I always fall into it again.
I have no outlet either....I can't draw for fun because that time needs to be for commissions, nor can I sew for fun. Now that the haunt season is drawing closer I'm probably only going to see Jeremey twice a month now. I'm trying to think about things to look forward to now, but I'm so bummed out I'm not even happy about the convention this weekend or my birthday in 2 weeks. And no, it's not pms. :p
Since Steffannee and I are food snobs, we went to this super fancy bakery I always wanted to check out! It's Lana's Dazzling desserts, and they really were pretty amazing! It's not a huge place but everything was really pretty and detailed, and yummy to boot! We each got some small treats to eat there and a box to take home. We will totally go again!
http://www.lanasdesserts.com/chocolate_
This weekend is Anime Iowa. Honestly, I don't really do cons and do anything con related anymore. I just go to sell stuff and see friends while I'm there. We still have $2700 worth of stuff to sell. I just need to sell $400 to make profit, so hope that goes well.
It will be good to get out of town for a weekend though. I am honestly super depressed. The past several years all my big plans to finally get ahead have failed. Opportunities keep popping up, I get my hopes up, then they fall through. I'm sick of failing and I'm running out of options. I'm glad I at least have my aunt in Canada as back-up but that's a last resort. I'm always the type to keep on trucking, but I'm really loosing mommentum.
I'm stuck in my room all day lately since I am getting so much work at home now. I'm happy for the work, but I am literally going stir crazy being cooped up all day....everyday. I don't have a car and pretty much all my friends are way too busy so I can maybe see them once a month. Just going for a walk doesn't cut it. I noticed loose my grip after awhile, like I get nuerotic and I cry alot, so I loose time on projects. When I feel better it lasts awhile, but it's a constant circle of me loosing my mind and getting paranoid about everything. I always snap out, but I always fall into it again.
I have no outlet either....I can't draw for fun because that time needs to be for commissions, nor can I sew for fun. Now that the haunt season is drawing closer I'm probably only going to see Jeremey twice a month now. I'm trying to think about things to look forward to now, but I'm so bummed out I'm not even happy about the convention this weekend or my birthday in 2 weeks. And no, it's not pms. :p
- Mood:
drained
I actually have no prob with Bay's movies, but this is too damn funny! God I hate Snarf....and Snarfer......
www.theonion.com/content/news/michael_ba y_signs_50m_deal_to_fuck
I really enjoyed the new Transformers movie, even though some things didn't make sense, I really didn't care. I went to see giant robots fight and blow things up, which I saw, so I was happy! I'm a G1 fan, but I know nothing is ever going to be the same as G1 except G1, so I never expect anything to ever recapture that. I wish there was less teen drama....but I understand why it needed to be there though. It's just hilarious to me that the equivelent of cheesy Spike and Carlie are big time Hollywood stars that people are so excited to see. Everyone hates Spike.
I haven't posted in like a month! I've been slammed with commissions, which is cool, but I fell behind. I just shipped 6 plushies this week and I have 7 more I need to finish this month. It's cool though, they are all about half done. And the ones I sent this week were the only ones with actual deadlines. My biggest challenge was a wooly mammoth from WoW, it came out really cool! I just finished a giant Gambit from the X-Men Evolution cartoon, I'll try to post some pics when I have a chance. I think I have at least like 10 plushies I haven't posted pics of anywhere just yet.
Wildfish has been busier, which is awesome, moar monies for all of us! We've had some crazies though, like there's one woman we all hate because she's incredibly demanding and cheap to boot. She and her friends made such a big scene last week that my manager was just about to throw them out. They said they weren't coming back though, so everyone was happy, lol! But wtf....she has still been coming!!! Lucky me I never have to wait on her. I'm really sick of waiting on hen parties though.....cluck-cluck-cluck......STFU!! !!! DX
People I work with are cool, and it's been fun to get a big plate of sushi to share at the end of the night every now and then. :3 Sometimes the chefs will give us extra if we get them beer. XD I'm now hooked on octopus, sriracha hot sauce, and grilled eel. Although I'm not a big fan of uni (sea urchin) everyone I work with loves it, lol! We went to a Korean BBQ party awhile ago, which was so much fun! We're hopefully going to go again. Super thin beef and pork belly is soooooo good!
I get to see Jer at least once a week since we're both so busy. He's been alot happier lately, which makes me feel alot better. ^_^ He's doing the haunted house again this year, which I had to finally break down and ask why, considering the past couple years being so upsetting. It's a much better situation this year, so I get it. They got a permanent spot this year, so after they are done fixing up the building, they don't have to take everything down and start all over again next year. And it sounds like the building is actually haunted, really that alone would bring in customers. They can keep it open year round if they want, and next year since there will be no more construction then they get all profit. He's moving out from the house he shared with a bunch of his friends, so he's been happy about that. His grandma is moving out of her house, and Jer's brother wants to buy it from her for his new family, so Jer is going to live there now to help his brother out. He's such a sweetie to want to help. He always wants to help me too, including paying for my birthday party this year.
Speaking of which, I'm having a big party at Gameworks this year! Omg, I can't wait! Getting a party room was cheaper than I though, just $250 for a buffet of awesome food for 10 people, 10 game cards, and 2 hours in the party room! Gonna be sweeet! XD
www.theonion.com/content/news/michael_ba
I really enjoyed the new Transformers movie, even though some things didn't make sense, I really didn't care. I went to see giant robots fight and blow things up, which I saw, so I was happy! I'm a G1 fan, but I know nothing is ever going to be the same as G1 except G1, so I never expect anything to ever recapture that. I wish there was less teen drama....but I understand why it needed to be there though. It's just hilarious to me that the equivelent of cheesy Spike and Carlie are big time Hollywood stars that people are so excited to see. Everyone hates Spike.
I haven't posted in like a month! I've been slammed with commissions, which is cool, but I fell behind. I just shipped 6 plushies this week and I have 7 more I need to finish this month. It's cool though, they are all about half done. And the ones I sent this week were the only ones with actual deadlines. My biggest challenge was a wooly mammoth from WoW, it came out really cool! I just finished a giant Gambit from the X-Men Evolution cartoon, I'll try to post some pics when I have a chance. I think I have at least like 10 plushies I haven't posted pics of anywhere just yet.
Wildfish has been busier, which is awesome, moar monies for all of us! We've had some crazies though, like there's one woman we all hate because she's incredibly demanding and cheap to boot. She and her friends made such a big scene last week that my manager was just about to throw them out. They said they weren't coming back though, so everyone was happy, lol! But wtf....she has still been coming!!! Lucky me I never have to wait on her. I'm really sick of waiting on hen parties though.....cluck-cluck-cluck......STFU!!
People I work with are cool, and it's been fun to get a big plate of sushi to share at the end of the night every now and then. :3 Sometimes the chefs will give us extra if we get them beer. XD I'm now hooked on octopus, sriracha hot sauce, and grilled eel. Although I'm not a big fan of uni (sea urchin) everyone I work with loves it, lol! We went to a Korean BBQ party awhile ago, which was so much fun! We're hopefully going to go again. Super thin beef and pork belly is soooooo good!
I get to see Jer at least once a week since we're both so busy. He's been alot happier lately, which makes me feel alot better. ^_^ He's doing the haunted house again this year, which I had to finally break down and ask why, considering the past couple years being so upsetting. It's a much better situation this year, so I get it. They got a permanent spot this year, so after they are done fixing up the building, they don't have to take everything down and start all over again next year. And it sounds like the building is actually haunted, really that alone would bring in customers. They can keep it open year round if they want, and next year since there will be no more construction then they get all profit. He's moving out from the house he shared with a bunch of his friends, so he's been happy about that. His grandma is moving out of her house, and Jer's brother wants to buy it from her for his new family, so Jer is going to live there now to help his brother out. He's such a sweetie to want to help. He always wants to help me too, including paying for my birthday party this year.
Speaking of which, I'm having a big party at Gameworks this year! Omg, I can't wait! Getting a party room was cheaper than I though, just $250 for a buffet of awesome food for 10 people, 10 game cards, and 2 hours in the party room! Gonna be sweeet! XD
- Mood:
busy
So far looks like it will be a nice summer this year, I just wish it would start STAYING WARM! ^^" We get like 1 or 2 warm days then it drops to 50's for days. :/ Aside from that, things look like fun!
For those who don't know me that well, my summers have always SUCKED. Even as a kid I never really got to have any fun, I think the shittiest thing was that my whole family would go on big fun summer trips WITHOUT ME. (Disneyland, Worlds Fair, Cedar Point, etc.....all the other kids but me.) My stepmother always came up with new chores, school work for me to do, and never let me have any fun. I din't get to have birthday parties. When I was old enough I just worked the whole summer.....so you get the point. I've always vowed I would make up for all those lost summers eventually, so I hope this year I can finally start doing that, lol!
I've been wanting to have more parties and get-togethers here at Staack's condo, but problem was we only had trashy/cheap furniture that was falling apart. ^^" If anyone came over there really wasn't any place nice to sit and get comfortable and even worse, no place to sleep if they want to stay over! Well I finally got a new futon a couple months ago, a nice mini dining set, and the other week I got REAL living room chairs!!!! XD And they were a steal, Fingerhut had a sale where you could get an additional 50% off if you spend more than $100 on clearance stuff, so bascially I got $600 worth of furniture for $150! When the chairs were put together and we sat in them, Staack quoted the part of Borat when he first saw his hotel room, sat in the chair, and was like 'King of the Castle, King of the Castle, I have a chair!'. Sadly I could relate, lol! There's still more I want to do to make the living room even nicer, but now it's finally acceptable to have company over! Now I can plan a real birthday party and some other get togethers before then. :3
I have things planned for nearly every weekend, even if it's just a movie to go see, there's always something to do! Last week there was Amy's bachelorette party and then Amy and Eric's Wedding, both were a blast! This weekend is Staack's birthday, next weekend we're going to Rockford to see Steffannee for Transformers, Up, some shopping and food. The other weekends there is July 4th, Chinatown summer fair, the Demolition Derby, Wizard World/Gi Joe Movie, Anime Iowa, then my birthday party! Also sometime we want to go see Steffanne for maybe camping or something! I really want to have a Ghost party too, there are tons of ghost tours downtown, I want to get a group together and later maybe see some ghost movies or something. I can't wait!
Jeremey started taking bartending classes today! I found out through folks I work with that the ABC Bartending schools were having a half price special, so Jer jumped on it asap. He says it's really fun so far, the class size is small and the teacher is really cool so I'm really excited for him! In 2 weeks he'll be officially licensed and the school helps him find a job. I feel better knowing there's some light at the end of the tunnel, he's been down about not having work since January. ^^" When he's happy, I'm happier! :3
Now to my plushies, I keep getting more and more orders! I fell behind on Acen time but I've been catching up!
For those who don't know me that well, my summers have always SUCKED. Even as a kid I never really got to have any fun, I think the shittiest thing was that my whole family would go on big fun summer trips WITHOUT ME. (Disneyland, Worlds Fair, Cedar Point, etc.....all the other kids but me.) My stepmother always came up with new chores, school work for me to do, and never let me have any fun. I din't get to have birthday parties. When I was old enough I just worked the whole summer.....so you get the point. I've always vowed I would make up for all those lost summers eventually, so I hope this year I can finally start doing that, lol!
I've been wanting to have more parties and get-togethers here at Staack's condo, but problem was we only had trashy/cheap furniture that was falling apart. ^^" If anyone came over there really wasn't any place nice to sit and get comfortable and even worse, no place to sleep if they want to stay over! Well I finally got a new futon a couple months ago, a nice mini dining set, and the other week I got REAL living room chairs!!!! XD And they were a steal, Fingerhut had a sale where you could get an additional 50% off if you spend more than $100 on clearance stuff, so bascially I got $600 worth of furniture for $150! When the chairs were put together and we sat in them, Staack quoted the part of Borat when he first saw his hotel room, sat in the chair, and was like 'King of the Castle, King of the Castle, I have a chair!'. Sadly I could relate, lol! There's still more I want to do to make the living room even nicer, but now it's finally acceptable to have company over! Now I can plan a real birthday party and some other get togethers before then. :3
I have things planned for nearly every weekend, even if it's just a movie to go see, there's always something to do! Last week there was Amy's bachelorette party and then Amy and Eric's Wedding, both were a blast! This weekend is Staack's birthday, next weekend we're going to Rockford to see Steffannee for Transformers, Up, some shopping and food. The other weekends there is July 4th, Chinatown summer fair, the Demolition Derby, Wizard World/Gi Joe Movie, Anime Iowa, then my birthday party! Also sometime we want to go see Steffanne for maybe camping or something! I really want to have a Ghost party too, there are tons of ghost tours downtown, I want to get a group together and later maybe see some ghost movies or something. I can't wait!
Jeremey started taking bartending classes today! I found out through folks I work with that the ABC Bartending schools were having a half price special, so Jer jumped on it asap. He says it's really fun so far, the class size is small and the teacher is really cool so I'm really excited for him! In 2 weeks he'll be officially licensed and the school helps him find a job. I feel better knowing there's some light at the end of the tunnel, he's been down about not having work since January. ^^" When he's happy, I'm happier! :3
Now to my plushies, I keep getting more and more orders! I fell behind on Acen time but I've been catching up!
- Mood:
awake
Lots of small random things! This has been my big week of 'I need to finally sit down and change things because my life is going nowhere.' I think all my outcomes have been good! ^_^
I found out there's going to be a new Indian Status card available this August! This is super awesome, know why? I don't have to drive all the way to Canada to get it! I can just get it in the mail! I am already verified as part of 6 Nations under the Mohawk Nation, all I ever needed to do was go get my card for benefits.....but I didn't have the money for the trip. It's 8 hours, would need to stay in a hotel at least 1 night, then passports, would have been an least a $400 trip and I never had that much to spare. Now I can just get in the mail, just have to wait a couple months!
I'm really fixed on getting that card, so tomorrow I'm getting my passport. This way even if I can't get my card in the mail, I'm going to get it no matter what! :p My buddy Sai is manager of Air Canada and can get me a flight for dirt cheap, all I ever needed was a passport! He always goes there to shop anywho, so we could get my card AND go shopping too, lol! And he always invites me and his other gal pals to go on trips for fun, so maybe this summer we can go some place! It will be so great to get out of Deerfield! They went to Tokyo a few weeks ago, that would have been kickass! XD
My cousin got a grant for a glass blowing business with his Indian Benefits, My aunt went to college, and another aunt got lots of benefits for her kids and herself. So I totally want to use mine for my business. I had to sit and think with how my business would start. I decided we'll do a 'design studio' so we can pretty much make anything we want that is entertainment related. Canada is all for enetertainment. I want to finally put some manga titles together. So I talked to Jer and we're going to finally work on seriously getting that off the ground. manga is a modest start, I want to do way bigger things than that, but I gotta think small and work my way up!
I'm excited about Amy and Eric'c wedding! X3 I haven't been to a REAL wedding since I was like.....8! Then there was my friend's wedding I attended when we were 18.....that was really small ceremony. ^^" I get to wear the fancy dress my mom sent, yay! And I get to dress up Jeremey in something spiffy, he cleans up real nice, lol! I just need some new shoes and I'll be set for 'Wedding Con'! ^_~
I'm still enjoying my G1 phone! I finally cancelled Helio today. I feel bad saying this because my Grandma's family loved India so much, but I hated that everyone I talked to with Helio was stationed in India.....because they always repeated things even though I clearly said I understood things, then I would get disconnected.....then they would give me wrong answers. weird that its a Korean phone and the service center was in India, wtf.....then they got bought by Virgin Mobile. When my Helio screen stopped working, the India office just kept running me around in circles, wasting like 2 days of my life, just to keep telling me in the end I would have to spend $400 to get a new phone. Fuck that, I went back to T-mobile where everything was always easy. Oddly enough when I asked to terminate my service, they transfered me to Virgin Mobile and made me repeat my whole story again.....and they FINALLY offered me a deal on a replacement phone, free even. Well too late, I already have my G1 which is way better than the Helio Ocean anywho! So Sorry guys, I gave you a chance and you blew it.
G1 is getting Android 1.5 soon! With Cupcake! XD I can't wait! I get a on-screen keyboard, digital photo frame, and moar! I let Jeremey play with it on Monday and he fell in love with it. So we will get him one soon too, I imagine he wants the black one. I think my only complaint about it is so lame.....there's no place to add a wrist strap or to add phone charms! I'm an anime fan, we have tons of phone charms.....WHERE THE HELL DO I PUT THEM NOW????? NOOOOOO!!!!!
Lily got stuck in Staacks room today, poor kittty! I heard her meowing and I thought she was just mad that Staack left, she does that now and then. I was still in bed so I yelled for her to be quiet. She certainly listened......she got quiet right away and didn't meow anymore until I woke up 2 hours later, d'oh! She didn't poop in there either, yay!
Terminator was really good! I also enjoyed Wolverine! There's so many movies coming out this summer, can't wait for Transformers! BOOM!!! MICHAEL BAY!!!!
I had a good day at work Saturday, a rich Korean couple asked for me specifically to serve their party because they liked me, lol! I got $100 just from their party alone, kickass! Aside from that they are nice, and they gave me big monies, I always enjoyed that they were a happily married couple. Sadly in this neighborhood, I see so many unhappy couples where women constantly nag and men seem to want to kill themselves. But this couple always seem happy, and the party was for her birthday, and I thought it was so nice how far out of his way he went to make sure her party was nice and I could tell how much she really loved everything. i dare say, I thought they were really cute. I don't say that often, lol! Sometimes I forget there really are happy people out there.
I love that I have a new restaurant to go eat after I get off work! It's called George's What's Cooking? For years I saw it down the street and I thought it was a store for kitchens or something. But I found out it was a good restaurant that's open later than we are, so perfect for when I'm off work with no energy to cook dinner. The menu is HUGE! The portions are big, cheap, and everything is tasty! They know we are regulars now, and that I tip over 20%......so we get star treatment, lol! DARK CHERRY CREPES!!!!!!
I found out there's going to be a new Indian Status card available this August! This is super awesome, know why? I don't have to drive all the way to Canada to get it! I can just get it in the mail! I am already verified as part of 6 Nations under the Mohawk Nation, all I ever needed to do was go get my card for benefits.....but I didn't have the money for the trip. It's 8 hours, would need to stay in a hotel at least 1 night, then passports, would have been an least a $400 trip and I never had that much to spare. Now I can just get in the mail, just have to wait a couple months!
I'm really fixed on getting that card, so tomorrow I'm getting my passport. This way even if I can't get my card in the mail, I'm going to get it no matter what! :p My buddy Sai is manager of Air Canada and can get me a flight for dirt cheap, all I ever needed was a passport! He always goes there to shop anywho, so we could get my card AND go shopping too, lol! And he always invites me and his other gal pals to go on trips for fun, so maybe this summer we can go some place! It will be so great to get out of Deerfield! They went to Tokyo a few weeks ago, that would have been kickass! XD
My cousin got a grant for a glass blowing business with his Indian Benefits, My aunt went to college, and another aunt got lots of benefits for her kids and herself. So I totally want to use mine for my business. I had to sit and think with how my business would start. I decided we'll do a 'design studio' so we can pretty much make anything we want that is entertainment related. Canada is all for enetertainment. I want to finally put some manga titles together. So I talked to Jer and we're going to finally work on seriously getting that off the ground. manga is a modest start, I want to do way bigger things than that, but I gotta think small and work my way up!
I'm excited about Amy and Eric'c wedding! X3 I haven't been to a REAL wedding since I was like.....8! Then there was my friend's wedding I attended when we were 18.....that was really small ceremony. ^^" I get to wear the fancy dress my mom sent, yay! And I get to dress up Jeremey in something spiffy, he cleans up real nice, lol! I just need some new shoes and I'll be set for 'Wedding Con'! ^_~
I'm still enjoying my G1 phone! I finally cancelled Helio today. I feel bad saying this because my Grandma's family loved India so much, but I hated that everyone I talked to with Helio was stationed in India.....because they always repeated things even though I clearly said I understood things, then I would get disconnected.....then they would give me wrong answers. weird that its a Korean phone and the service center was in India, wtf.....then they got bought by Virgin Mobile. When my Helio screen stopped working, the India office just kept running me around in circles, wasting like 2 days of my life, just to keep telling me in the end I would have to spend $400 to get a new phone. Fuck that, I went back to T-mobile where everything was always easy. Oddly enough when I asked to terminate my service, they transfered me to Virgin Mobile and made me repeat my whole story again.....and they FINALLY offered me a deal on a replacement phone, free even. Well too late, I already have my G1 which is way better than the Helio Ocean anywho! So Sorry guys, I gave you a chance and you blew it.
G1 is getting Android 1.5 soon! With Cupcake! XD I can't wait! I get a on-screen keyboard, digital photo frame, and moar! I let Jeremey play with it on Monday and he fell in love with it. So we will get him one soon too, I imagine he wants the black one. I think my only complaint about it is so lame.....there's no place to add a wrist strap or to add phone charms! I'm an anime fan, we have tons of phone charms.....WHERE THE HELL DO I PUT THEM NOW????? NOOOOOO!!!!!
Lily got stuck in Staacks room today, poor kittty! I heard her meowing and I thought she was just mad that Staack left, she does that now and then. I was still in bed so I yelled for her to be quiet. She certainly listened......she got quiet right away and didn't meow anymore until I woke up 2 hours later, d'oh! She didn't poop in there either, yay!
Terminator was really good! I also enjoyed Wolverine! There's so many movies coming out this summer, can't wait for Transformers! BOOM!!! MICHAEL BAY!!!!
I had a good day at work Saturday, a rich Korean couple asked for me specifically to serve their party because they liked me, lol! I got $100 just from their party alone, kickass! Aside from that they are nice, and they gave me big monies, I always enjoyed that they were a happily married couple. Sadly in this neighborhood, I see so many unhappy couples where women constantly nag and men seem to want to kill themselves. But this couple always seem happy, and the party was for her birthday, and I thought it was so nice how far out of his way he went to make sure her party was nice and I could tell how much she really loved everything. i dare say, I thought they were really cute. I don't say that often, lol! Sometimes I forget there really are happy people out there.
I love that I have a new restaurant to go eat after I get off work! It's called George's What's Cooking? For years I saw it down the street and I thought it was a store for kitchens or something. But I found out it was a good restaurant that's open later than we are, so perfect for when I'm off work with no energy to cook dinner. The menu is HUGE! The portions are big, cheap, and everything is tasty! They know we are regulars now, and that I tip over 20%......so we get star treatment, lol! DARK CHERRY CREPES!!!!!!
- Mood:
sleepy
Omfg, so my Helio barely lived this past weekend at the con, looked like the screen had a short. Since like Monday I hunted all over for a place that would sell me the newer version, the Ocean 2, at a reasonable price. Wtf....it was hard and the last place I found wouldn't let me have for less than $400. I finally decided to just quit my contract....in todays day and age there are way better phones that won't be such a hassle.
I always liked t-mobile when I had a sidekick 2, but it got dated and helio ocean was way nicer with cheaper plans. But now the tides have waaay been turned!
Staack pointed out the new G1's.....WAY nicer!!! XD. I didn't realize I could get a touch screen that wasn't an iphone, which I always hear are way overrated. After I went home I looked them up online right away, and also asked helio how much the cancellation fee would be...ended up buying the G1 and cancelling helio was cheaper than just buying a new Helio. So I said fuck Helio, lol! I also realized there was a T-mobile place like a minute away, and right in front of the grocery store we needed to go to anyway.....seemed like fate to me!!! X3
So now I'm posting on my G1! And I'm more and more impressed more I use it! They have tons of apps, and they are all free so long as I get them within the first few weeks. When I called the tech support they were so nice too...not like when I would call helio in India and they weren't always that easy to understand.
Anywho, gotta sell sushi now
I always liked t-mobile when I had a sidekick 2, but it got dated and helio ocean was way nicer with cheaper plans. But now the tides have waaay been turned!
Staack pointed out the new G1's.....WAY nicer!!! XD. I didn't realize I could get a touch screen that wasn't an iphone, which I always hear are way overrated. After I went home I looked them up online right away, and also asked helio how much the cancellation fee would be...ended up buying the G1 and cancelling helio was cheaper than just buying a new Helio. So I said fuck Helio, lol! I also realized there was a T-mobile place like a minute away, and right in front of the grocery store we needed to go to anyway.....seemed like fate to me!!! X3
So now I'm posting on my G1! And I'm more and more impressed more I use it! They have tons of apps, and they are all free so long as I get them within the first few weeks. When I called the tech support they were so nice too...not like when I would call helio in India and they weren't always that easy to understand.
Anywho, gotta sell sushi now
So Acen 09! I would have to say it was a good con, but not awesome. Mostly my favorite thing about it was hanging out with friends I don't get to see often! Also I think the Bleach shoot was fun and the folks their were friendly and seemed to have a good time. :3
Funny things! We had a neat view of the front of the hotel, so we had a balcony and could see right into other rooms. First we saw a room with Nazi flags and strobe lights all over....then Nazi cat boys were in it. ^^" Then Saturday Rei spotted 2 dudes naked in bed spooning....which ended up being 2 girls, lol! Another came in so drunk she fell and hit her head on the window! Everyone who hung out in our room started taking pictures, lol!
Saturday night I got a little buzzed and Jer drank a whole flask of Jack Daniels, so he fell asleep hard. Eric totally slammed him with those long 'penis pillows' that the Hyatt always has.....Jer just snored. After hitting him a few times, I drew a huge tramp stamp on Jer's lower back. He didn't know it was there.....until like late the next day! I texted Rei to look at Jer's back since her AA table was next to ours. Even after she lifted the back of his shirt, he didn't know what was going on! Finally I told him, he was so mad and amused at the same time, it was a good burn! XD
After being to other cons outside IL, I can safely say Illinois cons have a kinda 'off' vibe to them. Its alot harder to talk to new people there. Like in Ohio and Iowa, I don't think I could stop people from talking, and so many seem so happy and excited about the con. At Acen, I feel like I only find small pockets of enthused con-goers and the rest seem so out of it. This Acen people seemed more out of it than before, but I can't really blame them. It's not exactly the greatest time for extra money for having fun.
Artist Alley went well, despite all the set-backs. We made about $1100, which isn't too bad, but not as much as we usually make. I usually only have 1 table and half the amount of stuff I usually have, then make $1500 or more. It was unexpected we made less with twice the amount of stuff. It wasn't just us though, we watched customers walk all over AA and it seemed so many folks weren't buying. All the other artists we talked to said the same things, also all sales were kinda bad. They had great stuff too! Oh well, just bad economy I guess.
At least since we have tons of left over stuff from Acen, I won't have to bust my ass for Anime Iowa! I can focus on my Halibel costume and trying some new ideas. Damn, I'm still tired!
Funny things! We had a neat view of the front of the hotel, so we had a balcony and could see right into other rooms. First we saw a room with Nazi flags and strobe lights all over....then Nazi cat boys were in it. ^^" Then Saturday Rei spotted 2 dudes naked in bed spooning....which ended up being 2 girls, lol! Another came in so drunk she fell and hit her head on the window! Everyone who hung out in our room started taking pictures, lol!
Saturday night I got a little buzzed and Jer drank a whole flask of Jack Daniels, so he fell asleep hard. Eric totally slammed him with those long 'penis pillows' that the Hyatt always has.....Jer just snored. After hitting him a few times, I drew a huge tramp stamp on Jer's lower back. He didn't know it was there.....until like late the next day! I texted Rei to look at Jer's back since her AA table was next to ours. Even after she lifted the back of his shirt, he didn't know what was going on! Finally I told him, he was so mad and amused at the same time, it was a good burn! XD
After being to other cons outside IL, I can safely say Illinois cons have a kinda 'off' vibe to them. Its alot harder to talk to new people there. Like in Ohio and Iowa, I don't think I could stop people from talking, and so many seem so happy and excited about the con. At Acen, I feel like I only find small pockets of enthused con-goers and the rest seem so out of it. This Acen people seemed more out of it than before, but I can't really blame them. It's not exactly the greatest time for extra money for having fun.
Artist Alley went well, despite all the set-backs. We made about $1100, which isn't too bad, but not as much as we usually make. I usually only have 1 table and half the amount of stuff I usually have, then make $1500 or more. It was unexpected we made less with twice the amount of stuff. It wasn't just us though, we watched customers walk all over AA and it seemed so many folks weren't buying. All the other artists we talked to said the same things, also all sales were kinda bad. They had great stuff too! Oh well, just bad economy I guess.
At least since we have tons of left over stuff from Acen, I won't have to bust my ass for Anime Iowa! I can focus on my Halibel costume and trying some new ideas. Damn, I'm still tired!
- Mood:
accomplished
Sure to make Tach poop his pants! XD
http://www.babelgum.com/html/clip.php?c lipId=3003028
omg, they are so well trained! I wish we had something like this nearby to go see! We have the Acrocats in Chicago, but never seem to have many shows. ^^"
http://www.babelgum.com/html/clip.php?c
omg, they are so well trained! I wish we had something like this nearby to go see! We have the Acrocats in Chicago, but never seem to have many shows. ^^"
....square butts that is. I've been sewing all day and took a break to read some news....I really don't think that the Burger King commercials that is a parody of 'Baby Got Back' is offensive. This mom is saying that these dancers in the commercial with the square butts (promoting Sponge Bob Square Pants toys at BK) are being exploited and should be taken off the air.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/stor y.php?storyId=103282644
I watched the whole long version of the commercial that is posted with the article....the dancers never seem to be exploited to me....and they never do anything more suggestive that you would see done by a cheer-leading squad. (maybe even tamer than that!) The outfits are very covering too. At least the author mentions that other people think she should just 'lighten up.' and maybe she's wrong, but still, really....it's a fun commercial. Just let women shake their square butts in their silly sweaters and big socks, yeesh!
I just really enjoyed the reply of:
"Some people have way too much time on their hands. I truly envy how good your life must be if this is what motivates you to take action." Well put!
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/stor
I watched the whole long version of the commercial that is posted with the article....the dancers never seem to be exploited to me....and they never do anything more suggestive that you would see done by a cheer-leading squad. (maybe even tamer than that!) The outfits are very covering too. At least the author mentions that other people think she should just 'lighten up.' and maybe she's wrong, but still, really....it's a fun commercial. Just let women shake their square butts in their silly sweaters and big socks, yeesh!
I just really enjoyed the reply of:
"Some people have way too much time on their hands. I truly envy how good your life must be if this is what motivates you to take action." Well put!
- Mood:
working
- Mood:
silly
Well I certainly had a shitty holiday today....I stayed home and rearranged my room and cleaned so I can better organize the tons of stuff I'm selling at Acen. Didn't help that Mom called and asked why I was home and not with friends or Jeremey. Not that I'm religious or anything, but I always celebrate things that my Dad was big on, one was Easter, so I felt pretty crappy doing nothing. I miss getting those candies and things from my Dad when he was alive.
I guess it's way worse for bunnies! I was thinking today of all the spoiled brats I saw in Virginia who got tons of stuff every holiday, including pet bunnies and chicks for Easter. I always remembered the poor things getting disposed of after the holiday, one of my friends cousins killed 3 before her mom just stopped buying them. Fuckers.....I read into it to see if this was really common:
http://www.petroglyphsnm.org/rabbits/eas terrab.html
So now I'm less mad about me and way more mad for the poor bunnies and chicks. DX
I guess it's way worse for bunnies! I was thinking today of all the spoiled brats I saw in Virginia who got tons of stuff every holiday, including pet bunnies and chicks for Easter. I always remembered the poor things getting disposed of after the holiday, one of my friends cousins killed 3 before her mom just stopped buying them. Fuckers.....I read into it to see if this was really common:
http://www.petroglyphsnm.org/rabbits/eas
So now I'm less mad about me and way more mad for the poor bunnies and chicks. DX
- Mood:
pissed off
This was just too amusing to me! XD A Thai fireman dressed up as Spiderman to get a scared kid to come to safety!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090324/od_ afp/thailandchildrenoffbeat
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090324/od_
- Mood:
amused
Steffannee, Staack and I always enjoyed the corniness of the Superfriends cartoons, so I especially enjoyed a shot by shot Superfriends version of the Watchmen trailer!
Haven't updated much, but I've been getting sweet deals on stuff since places are offering so much nowdays! Like when we went to see Watchmen, the theatre we first went to was having audio issues. So when the box office girl said we couldn't see it, she very nervously gave us four free passes for anytime.....then looked at me, then was like 'here have more!!!'. Am I that scary??? So we got 6 free passes! Also got sweet deal on restaurant.com for $25 gift certificates for $2, I got Jer some clothes for his birthday but they were out of stock, so they gave me a coupon for 10% off my next order! Helio offered to lower my bill each month if I renew for one more year by $20 a month, yay! Vistaprint sent me free business cards and a sign for my AA table, and Best Buy is having 50% off all anime so Jer and I got like $400 worth of anime dvds for only $200. With all these deals, I can't help myself! I hope little things like this help businesses out. They certainly encourage me to spend.....
Been having lots of nightmares, I guess I'm just more stressed out with people who annoy me. Like for example, a dumb friend of mine from years ago was in a Street Fighter tournament with a bunch of guys from his job. They were playing for money, $1 a game. He had $20 to spare, and ended up loosing it all. I mentioned I was sorry he didn't do so great, and he replied "It's ok, I broke even because I didn't want to spend more than $20." I explained that breaking even means you gain back all you lost, like nothing even happened. No matter how I worded it, he stood there with that open-mouthed blank stare repeating "but, I broke even because I didn't spend more than the $20 I brought!" .........ARRRRRGGGGH!!!!! urge to kill.....RISING!!! So that's no specifcially what my nightmares have been about, but it's similar situations where people just don't get it.....and are in my freakin' way! Hope those are over for awhile.
Haven't updated much, but I've been getting sweet deals on stuff since places are offering so much nowdays! Like when we went to see Watchmen, the theatre we first went to was having audio issues. So when the box office girl said we couldn't see it, she very nervously gave us four free passes for anytime.....then looked at me, then was like 'here have more!!!'. Am I that scary??? So we got 6 free passes! Also got sweet deal on restaurant.com for $25 gift certificates for $2, I got Jer some clothes for his birthday but they were out of stock, so they gave me a coupon for 10% off my next order! Helio offered to lower my bill each month if I renew for one more year by $20 a month, yay! Vistaprint sent me free business cards and a sign for my AA table, and Best Buy is having 50% off all anime so Jer and I got like $400 worth of anime dvds for only $200. With all these deals, I can't help myself! I hope little things like this help businesses out. They certainly encourage me to spend.....
Been having lots of nightmares, I guess I'm just more stressed out with people who annoy me. Like for example, a dumb friend of mine from years ago was in a Street Fighter tournament with a bunch of guys from his job. They were playing for money, $1 a game. He had $20 to spare, and ended up loosing it all. I mentioned I was sorry he didn't do so great, and he replied "It's ok, I broke even because I didn't want to spend more than $20." I explained that breaking even means you gain back all you lost, like nothing even happened. No matter how I worded it, he stood there with that open-mouthed blank stare repeating "but, I broke even because I didn't spend more than the $20 I brought!" .........ARRRRRGGGGH!!!!! urge to kill.....RISING!!! So that's no specifcially what my nightmares have been about, but it's similar situations where people just don't get it.....and are in my freakin' way! Hope those are over for awhile.
- Mood:
silly

