The Journal of Hishkabagna v.4.0
The Seven Ages of Woman

[ friends | Fellow friends ]
[ userinfo | The Analog Kid ]
[ pictures | The Camera Eye ]
[ calendar | So take me back in time ]

Quick update before novel and laundry [Saturday, November 21st, 2009|3:57pm]
[ mood .~*~. productive ]
[ music .~*~. Pandora on a Bella Fleck station. Hooray for Steve's eclectic taste! ]

First off, many hugs to the kind words and ass kicking from the previous post. **offers them**

This has been a really tough week for me and Craig. It's so hard to just sit and watch the people at his job screw him over the way they're doing, and so many people have offered really great advice to both of us - but quite a bit of it told me to let him fight his own battles. Which makes sense, of course, but... =/ It's so hard to not bust some heads in if I see people giving my Kitty shit.

(I did get a moment of vengeance on his behalf - I overheard some people talking at a booth at the OG about how "awesome" some of the deals at Caputo's are, which honestly translated into "how awesome it is that they can exploit all these deals with coupons on top of coupons".... so I stopped over with a smile to prebus and tell them "Oh, by the way, I heard you guy were talking about Caputo's! I really love the place, and so does my husband - he's a manager over there, actually - the only complaint he could ever make about his job is some of the people exploiting deals to the point where they're nearly robbing the store. Otherwise, he loves it there!"

The best part? The people started off all bright and happy, but by the time I walked away, they totally clammed up like kids with their hands caught in the cookie jar. ^____^ There are times where bitchiness pays off.)



I've got three loads of laundry to do today, so I think the only place I'm writing my novel today is in the kitchen. =/ I could always make coffee, that's no problem, but there's something about the aesthetic of a coffee shop that just motivates me to write. Here's hoping I can work with the less expensive substitute 8D

8 stepped in the limelight .~|~.Take center stage?

Someone please kick my ass. [Sunday, November 15th, 2009|8:46pm]
[ mood .~*~. stressed ]
[ music .~*~. none ]

I went into November without a plot.

I'm at the halfway point in November with 25,000 words and still no plot.

And I'm rapidly losing motivation to finish my novel.

I don't want to finish it.

My novel is pissing me off.

But I also don't want to stop, knowing Craig is pushing through to the end of his, which has about as much of a plot right now as mine.

I'm 5,000 words behind where I want to be, and due to losing a word war, I also lose Craig for probably the rest of the night 'cause he gets to play a battle of Fire Emblem without me complaining.

.....

Not to mention we'll be down three hosts due to quitting by the end of next week. Which logically means potentially more shifts for Tricia. WHY THE HELL ARE THEY CUTTING MY HOURS? FUCK.

Today sucks, and tomorrow probably won't be much better.

I hate my novel, and I don't even want to post the piddly 2,000 extra words I have. Not that anyone's reading it anyway. Damn it all. I have to keep my voice warmed up in case Steve gets home and wants to record. Even that sounds crappy.

@____@ Shoot me now. Please.

4 stepped in the limelight .~|~.Take center stage?

I need songs. [Friday, November 6th, 2009|2:59pm]
[ mood .~*~. bouncy ]
[ music .~*~. SO MANY WORDS @___@ ]

More specifically, Japanese or any other non-English songs to flesh out a CD I'm making. I thought I had more than enough, but... eh, it's not working out so well. Especially considering the vast majority of the songs I have are from either Ah! My Goddess or Haruhi Suzumiya. XD And I don't want it to turn into a CD of just that (as nice as it would be). I like to keep a variety.

So here's the track list thus far
1) "Open Your Mind" ~ Yoko Ishida (Ah! My Goddess)
2) "Bouken Desho Desho" ~ Aya Hirano (Haruhi Suzumiya)
3) "Haruka Kanata" ~ Asian Kung-Fu Generation (Naruto)
4) "Caramelldansen (speedy remix)" ~ Caramell
5) "Hikari to Kage no Rondo" ~ Yokoyama Chisa (Lunar 2: Eternal Blue)
6) "Harmonia" ~ Rythem (Naruto)
7) "Unstolen Jewel" ~ Radical Dreamers (Chrono Cross)
8) "Follow the Nightingale" ~ KOKIA (Tales of Phantasia)
9) "Yuki, Muon, Madobe Nite" ~ Minori Chihara (Haruhi Suzumiya)
10) "Kimi wa Boku ni Niteiru" ~ See-Saw (Gundam SEED)
11) "Anna ni Isshodatta no ni" ~ See-Saw (Gundam SEED)
12) "Try To Wish" ~ Nishihata Saori (Ah! My Goddess the Movie)
13) "Heart of Sword" ~ T.M. Revolution (Rurouni Kenshin)
14) "Hare Hare Yukai" ~ Aya Hirano, Minori Chihara, Yuko Goto (Haruhi Suzumiya)

Bringing the total duration to a pathetic 56 minutes 61 minutes, which is better, but there's still plenty of room for more.

So, does anyone have any recommendations? I'd prefer songs that sound similar to these, and I stress - just because the vast majority (i.e. all but one song) are in Japanese, doesn't mean they all have to be :) I'll try anything.

On a similar note, I've decided to learn track 8 for either Cosplay Karaoke, ACEN Idol, or both. Chances are, you've never heard it, fellow reader. Let me change this for you.

....Have I mentioned Tricia is out of her freaking mind?



I'm putting off NaNo till I get home from work. Probably not the wisest idea, but we'll see how it goes. I shouldn't have too much of a problem since I got most of Irvine's dialogue out yesterday. Man, it was so hard to get into that rhythm of writing out that sharp dialect of his. XD It's so funny, too. Entire PARAGRAPHS of my latest post are completely unreadable on the MoFo due to the censor replacing most of my words with *$*%**^$#@!@@#%$ or something similar.

Also, Kitty is the most wonderful person in the world. <3 I wish to let the world know this.

12 stepped in the limelight .~|~.Take center stage?

Since the holidays are approaching! [Wednesday, November 4th, 2009|10:44pm]
[ mood .~*~. lethargic ]
[ music .~*~. Minori Chihara ~ Yuki, Muon, Madome Ni Te ]

Step One:
• Make a post (public, friendslocked, filtered...whatever you're comfortable with) to your LJ. The post should contain your list of 10 unlimited holiday wishes. The wishes can be anything at all, from simple and fandom-related ("I'd love a Snape/Hermione icon that's just for me") to medium ("I wish for _____ on DVD") to really big ("All I want for Christmas is a new car/computer/house/TV.") The important thing is, make sure these wishes are things you really, truly want.

• If you wish for real life things (not fics or icons), make sure you include some sort of contact info in your post, whether it's your address or just your email address where Santa (or one of his elves) could get in touch with you.

• Also, make sure you post some version of these guidelines in your LJ. so that the holiday joy will spread.

Step Two:
• Surf around your friendslist (or friendsfriends, or just random journals) to see who has posted their list. And now here's the important part:

• If you see a wish you can grant, and it's in your heart to do so, make someone's wish come true. Sometimes someone's trash is another's treasure, and if you have a leather jacket you don't want or a gift certificate you won't use--or even know where you could get someone's dream purebred Basset Hound for free--do it.

• You needn't spend money on these wishes unless you want to. The point isn't to put people out, it's to provide everyone a chance to be someone else's holiday elf--to spread the joy. Gifts can be made anonymously or not--it's your call.

• There are no rules with this project, no guarantees, and no strings attached. Just...wish, and it might come true. Give, and you might receive. And you'll have the joy of knowing you made someone's holiday special.

Abridged rules:
1. Make a wishlist of any 10 things you want and post it
2. If you see someone else with this meme and want to get them something then go for it


My list is as follows
1) Silver jewelry. I don't care if it's pewter, sterling silver, platinum, or painted plastic, as long as it's silver in color, I'll like it. Extra love if it's anything Native American like.
2) A 1' x 1' nightstand. Not that some people just have one lying around or anything, but it'd be a lot easier than the collapsible hamper we have now.
3) Anything relating to my/Craig's characters/stories. I love seeing other peoples' interpretations of our characters, either drawn or written.
4) Bath and Body Works bubble bath. I like anything fruity. ^^
5) Dark chocolate. Like, the darker the better.
6) Haruhi Suzumiya translated novels. As of right now, "Melancholy" and "Sighs" are the only ones out, and I think they're working on "Boredom". Hardcover or paperback doesn't matter.
7) On a similar vein, this wig. It would just make my life so much easier to have it.
8) Pretty musics. I listen to EVERYTHING, outside of really nasty rap. ^_^
9) Black athletic socks. Crew cut, for foot size 8-11, because the dryer keeps eating all of ours or switching them out with our roommates'.
10) And just to go completely on a limb here, a grand (or baby grand) piano to call my own. Yeah, I went there. 8D

I would love to see anyone else do this, and I'll do what I can to fulfill any wishes I can. ^^ If you need my address, email me at shadowednavi at hotmail dot com.

4 stepped in the limelight .~|~.Take center stage?

Uncle Rich passed away this morning. [Thursday, October 29th, 2009|9:43pm]
[ mood .~*~. empty ]
[ music .~*~. Yes ~ Hold On ]

Really early; mom got the call from Aunty at 5:30 or something in the morning. She waited till 7:30 to call me.

This actually woke me and Craig up, and when I hung up, I told him plainly, he passed away, and the drama will escalate.

Sure enough, it's been about 12 hours or so and mom's entire side of the family is (rightfully) pissed off due to petty infighting.

Can't you all just be happy and celebrate his life and the fact he's in heaven now? Instead of arguing and fighting now that the sole neutral force in all of this is no longer with us? Holy shit, people. Get over yourselves. >8[


...

I totally called it, though.




If any of you are interested in learning about the life of a powerful, inspirational man with more love of God than your body has room for, who all but laughed at life when it tried to seize him early, and always saw the good in everything, please go to Amazon.com or any other bookstore website and look up "Four Balls and Walking" by Richard Guerra. He truly is a man to be remembered.

2 stepped in the limelight .~|~.Take center stage?

So uh, I was supposed to post this like five days ago. [Monday, October 26th, 2009|4:15pm]
[ mood .~*~. busy ]
[ music .~*~. Morten Lauridsen ~ Se Per Havervi, Oime ]

To remind my fellow readers, Tricia is out of her fucking mind.



.....8D

I downloaded Morten Lauridsen's "Northwest Journey" via Amazon.com a few days ago, and omg. The performers aren't that great, but I have fallen in love with his music all over again. It totally makes me want to learn all of "A Winter Come" and perform it as a full set for a recital or something. I've already got the first and last movements learned. Four more to go! On the other hand, I've performed four of his six fire madrigals, and cannot freaking wait to perform the other two someday. In fact, I think I'm gonna listen to them while I finish this post.

I can't remember if I mentioned in my previous post, but for Halloween, I've decided to be Haruhi instead of Yuki, as I don't have time (or money) to import a wig. So I made myself a ribbon headband and will make an armband later tonight. Once I'm done here, I'll stitch the placket onto the shirt and FINALLY finish that damned belt. I swear to heaven it's been pinned for over a month. I actually got Halloween night off, which makes this the first Halloween in like three or four years that I can actually do something. So I'll be spending the majority of the day at my aunt's house helping with their Halloween party, then return to the Fort for more Halloween funtimes.

Tomorrow's the Cosplay Club photoshoot. I hope it's warm enough (and the weather agrees enough!) to get some outdoor shots.


Of course, next Sunday is the beginning of a new month. Not just any new month, but the start of November and consequently, NaNoWriMo. Which I plan on doing again this year. :D This'll be the first time I've done it in a couple years, and the first time I'm doing it while not only going to college, but working in between. I watched Kitty do it for the past two years and I'm pumped to try it again. I tend to write my stories by coming up with a title first and working around it. That's how I got started with "Seven Lilies" and "Double Act". Both of them are pretty ambiguous, and allowed for a lot of room for stretching interpretations.

This year, my title is "Confessions of a Combat Waitress".

Which I think I'm gonna have a hell of a fun time writing. :D As of right now, I'm not sure what kind of tone it's gonna give off - it sounds like it's gonna be a quirky, bordering comedic story, but all of the ideas I have for it are dismal and bleak. Then again, I'm focusing more on the world the story takes place in more than the "combat waitress" herself. So I suppose I'll find out where it wants to go when I actually start writing.



Ahh, Lauridsen. Your music gives me chills. ^____^ I suppose I should finish my cosplay now. My bank account is displaying some nice numbers, so I might stop off at Payless Shoes later and get some Oxfords to complete the outfit. I love Oxfords, and have always wanted a pair for everyday wear, so I think this is a worthy investment.

Also, RP is awesome. The world must know this.



And FINALLY, a meme stolen from [info]vyctori:
Respond to this post as if whatever you did last (it could be for example, drinking orange juice) is a massive, huge deal.
Allcaps, many exclamation points and occasional memes are acceptable.

5 stepped in the limelight .~|~.Take center stage?

One OMFG after another! [Friday, October 16th, 2009|1:14pm]
[ mood .~*~. artistic ]

OMFG I'M ON THE COD WEBSITE! o_o


*ahem*

So life's been going really well. I've got the next several days off due to Craig's friend John and his girlfriend Sarah are here visiting. This means lots of sleeping in and lots of relaxation, which I haven't had for the past month and a half or so.

They arrived on Wednesday and after some minor irritation at being dragged out to the airport at 10AM for a cancelled flight, they eventually arrived at 3PM safe and sound. They relaxed and stopped moving for a couple hours before I took them all plus Amber out to Olive Garden. I made sure they sang for Kitty's birthday (which is in a week, but when am I gonna be able to get more than the two of us at a restaurant together to embarrass him in public? 8D). And yesterday was an epic day of singing at COD, running around between here and Glen Ellyn with lots more singing in between.

Today, we will be going to the Hollywood Palms before heading to my parents' house for bonfires, Hell's Kitchens, and possibly Heroes. Tomorrow, we plan to go to the city if the weather agrees with us. After a brief check, it seems like it will.



I'm 90% finished with my Yuki cosplay! I just need to add the ribbon to the front, the light blue placket with corresponding embroidery, and get the wig. Oh, and finish the belt and whatnot. Without the wig, I'll definitely be finished in time for Halloween and with my hair the way it is, I'll easily be able to pull off Haruhi. I just hope it's warm enough to properly be Haruhi.

2 stepped in the limelight .~|~.Take center stage?

OMFG [Saturday, October 10th, 2009|12:46am]
[ mood .~*~. ecstatic ]

DISAPPEARANCE OMFG

Take center stage?

So I conducted a survey while I was at work today. [Friday, October 9th, 2009|10:40pm]
[ mood .~*~. productive ]
[ music .~*~. some strange Youtube video ]

Today was a normal Friday at the Olive Garden. Lots of people, with an average 20-30 minute wait. A couple reservations, and everything from two-tops to walk-in eights.

It started getting busy about 6:15, as it normally does. But there was something... different in the air. I think it was my snarkiness coming out, or maybe I just started getting fed up with how... unintentionally rude people can be.

About an hour or so later, I decided maybe it was because I wasn't going above and beyond for my guests. So from that moment on, I asked every guest that walked in, "Hey there, how are you?" (or some variation of that). In other words, I inquired about the well being of everyone who walked into our restaurant.

And when looking at it on paper, I'm actually rather disappointed by the results.

___________________________

Between 7:15PM and 8:45PM (the majority of our wait for the evening), 78 parties walked in.

Of 78 groups, 31 responded when I asked "Hi, how are you?" with "good", "fine", or something along those lines. I didn't count, but I'll say about 10 or so asked "how are you?" in return.

Also of the 78, 43 responded when I asked "Hi, how are you?" with "We're a party of two", "how long is your wait?" or something completely irrelevant.

I forgot to ask 4 groups "Hi, how are you?".

__________________________



31 out of 78 groups. That's 39.7% of the groups who walked in who actually took the second or two to listen to the question I asked and reply, some going above and beyond in asking how that nameless* face behind a podium is doing. In other words, 60.3% of the people who walked in were so interested in how long they had to wait, they couldn't reply to the first question I asked without interrupting with one of their own.

.....

I'm thinking of doing the same thing on Sunday, except this time tallying every interaction with guests (not just when they walk in the door), and seeing how many say "thank you". I'm guessing it'll be significantly lower.



In other news, I performed in the student vocal recital at COD today, and it went rather well, considering last night I felt that tickle in the back of my throat which tells me a sore throat and lost voice is imminent. I hit every note I needed to, including that killer high Ab from the D above middle C, WITHOUT ANY PROBLEMS. :D :D Both my parents came with, and they said they enjoyed the whole thing. A few people I didn't even know came up to me afterward as well to say I did a nice job, which was really kind of them.

But the most intriguing of the people who came up to me, was a COD faculty member who wanted a couple second video interview for the COD website/Youtube channel o_o He wanted me to share what my career goals were and how COD is helping to achieve them. So that'll be up... I don't even know when, but I'll be checking Youtube for the next few days to see if/when it comes up. I'm totally posting if it does. Apparently they taped the entire recital, so they might even put footage from that up as well.

:D Tricia's self-esteem is at an all-time high right now! It was so motivating, what did I do when I came home? I worked on cosplay. And now Yuki's shirt/belt are cut out and just need to be stitched together.


Speaking of Yuki, I am (officially!) [info]the_fucking Yuki Nagato of Livejournal! 8D



( * - I'm not even nameless! My nametag is RIGHT THERE, bitches.)

7 stepped in the limelight .~|~.Take center stage?

So I'm, like, on a Lunar high right now [Saturday, October 3rd, 2009|9:13am]
[ mood .~*~. (trying to be) productive ]
[ music .~*~. Dryer! ]

It all started when we got Silver Star Story Complete for the PS1.

And then mom started playing Eternal Blue.

And then I both discovered the existence of, and purchased from eBay, the Lunar I-II artbook.

And then it arrived today.

Meanwhile, Josh and I have been talking about how awesome it would be for him to cosplay White Knight Leo, his favorite character EVER.

And then I thought of how amusing it would be if I were to cosplay Red Priestess Mauri, Leo's sister and one of my favorite characters from the game.

And then it occurred to me that Kitty not only looks like Ronfar, but he and Mauri are canonically in love and he spends a great deal of the game trying to win her heart back.

....

I have to stop getting cosplay ideas when I have like no money right now, AND have my unfinished Yuki cosplay sitting in a bag waiting for me to make the blouse that goes with it. Srsly. It just needs a shirt, cuffs for said shirt, an embroidered placket and a belt for my skirt. And a wig, but I can get that anytime.

....

I swear, I'd write more about what's going on in my life right now, but it's all kind of going through the motions at the moment, save for these little reprieves of fandom awesome.

...I need a Lunar icon.

3 stepped in the limelight .~|~.Take center stage?

Some character reflection. [Sunday, September 27th, 2009|5:08pm]
[ mood .~*~. awake ]
[ music .~*~. Supertramp ~ Long Way Home ]

I RP. A lot. This is not a secret, I certainly don't hide it.

I have characters I've been developing for years. I created the three sisters back in 2001 after playing Majora's Mask and becoming fascinated with the mythology in the Zelda series. I started the drafts for a story I called the "Heroines of Time" which some of you might remember I keep saying I'll eventually write and never... actually do.

I actually have the original drafts of the parts I did write back in 2002 or so, and they went as follows:

Prologue
Part 1: Tamara the Crystal Myst
Part 2: Little Navi
Part 3: Cari the Shadowed Spirit Sage
Part 4: Reunion
Epilogue

Where the prologue is the creation of the three incarnations of the Hylian Goddesses, the first three parts detail what happens when each of them go their separate ways to search for Ganon's soul, part 4 is where the plot takes off and they pool their resources to destroy Ganon with the help of the merry friends they picked up along the way, and the epilogue is what happens afterward. I finished Tamara's part and had the entirety of Cari's outlined and about 30% actually written. I knew what would happen in the fourth part and epilogue and had it mostly outlined, and I also had the prologue written.

As for part 2, I had no freaking clue what would go on there. I had maybe two pages written, but no idea where it would go from that point on. That, and the fact the plot and characters at the time were very two-dimensional and uninteresting... prevented this from being completely written way back when. This makes sense, given I was 12 or 13 when I wrote these backstories and created these characters. I could identify with Cari and Tamara, but couldn't get a read on Navi.

Cari was the bright, happy woman with a heart of gold and an even warmer personality. Especially in the CAC, I drew upon my perception of myself and my role in the group to write this character. She's evolved from just a happy soul to the "cool mom" of the lodge, who protects her brood like a mama bear, but her long lifespan keeps her from developing close emotional ties with anyone, so maybe that love and protection is all just superficial to make people like her as a person and appreciate her while they're around.

Tamara was the sexy, bitchy woman with a smart mouth and broken past; in other words, the brooding angst archetype in any RPG. Also, the opposite to the happy-go-lucky Belldandy of the group. This was the personality type I always wanted to be, but could never pull off due to the fact I'm the exact opposite in reality. So in order to vent the frustrations of wanting to be someone I'm not, I turned to stories and RP instead. Tamara's grown since then as well, evolving past that two-dimensional angst that defined her character by justifying it and having her move on, using her time in the stories as her journey on the healing road.

I saw myself in Cari and I saw Tamara as the person I wanted to be, and used both of them in ECRPG plots and substories with Kitty since 2003 or so. So where does that leave Navi?

...with little to no personality to work from. All she was at the time was a prototype with the mentality of an adult in a child's body. Which, at 12 or 13, didn't seem like that interesting a premise for a character. I tried a couple of test personalities, like a cute, spritely kid who bounces back and forth between both extremes of hyperactivity (happy to bitch in 0.4 seconds). That worked for a short story, but it didn't really take. There were a couple others, but they were basically variations on the same idea.

I finally introduced her to the plot in 2007. After four years of building history with Cari and Tamara, I decided "to hell with it" and threw Navi in with the latest of her trial personalities. She had a very Nagato-ish demeanor - quiet, exceedingly polite, and incredibly well-read. Since she's based on the fairy of the same name, I figured it'd make sense that she's a smart character. She didn't really make friends, and could only hold conversation with one or two of the lodgers. Being an intellectual with few emotions to play with, she couldn't really relate to most people.

And then there was Lee.

Lee, Cari's boyfriend, was determined to make this girl open up to the world and embrace more than just books and facts. From that moment on, she became the plot.

I mean, seriously.

EVERYTHING that has happened since then has been because this woman deemed it so. Lee helped her open up and start relating to people, starting with understanding and developing emotions. This has a nice start - she's interacting with someone and starting to discover the true colors of her personality. Included in these informal lessons, of course, is love and desire.

Cue a dangerous obsession from an emotionally immature woman who decides she wants Lee and will do anything to stay with him forever. Including get herself an adult body (loaded with the ever-confusing hormones that we all get used to in our teens) so she can be beautiful for his eyes, resurrect villains and displace her romantic feelings for Lee onto him when it's obvious he's not gonna just abandon Cari for her, in exchange basically selling her soul to the aforementioned villain and do anything he wants - only to put him out of his misery later and screw with the whole house as they do what they can to protect her from the long arm of the law - of course, when she's actually imprisoned for the things she did to piss on the plot, she tries breaking out and basically starts the massive war between normal and powered citizens by giving the normal people a way to remove abilities. Which, of course, she's immune to due to the nature of her origins, so they still can't stop her and it feels like the entire city is standing with the same astonished expression on their face as this woman still feels like it's her obligation to fix the city.

This is all after she realizes she's the reason the city's so screwed up.

Which only happened recently.



So... this entry doesn't really have a point, I've just had this topic on my mind for awhile and after the events of a couple-days-ago RP, decided I should just sit down and write it. It just shocks me how I've gone from not knowing what to do with this character to... having her be one of my favorites.

I guess some characters just need some time to mature. :)

1 stepped in the limelight .~|~.Take center stage?

A sense of renewed faith in myself [Friday, September 25th, 2009|11:00pm]
[ mood .~*~. hopeful ]
[ music .~*~. relaxing musics on Comcast Radio ]

Things are doing very well in Tricia and Kitty land.

We acquired Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete on Tuesday, and picked it up for the first time yesterday. So far, I've decided the second game fixed all of the problems of the first one - but that's not to say the first one sucks. I'm, in fact, very intrigued by the plot so far and wish to continue, but finding a time where both of us are free is proving more difficult than anything else. That and my attention span seems to waver the moment I think of turning on the PS2.

But I swear. I will finish SOMETHING. Whether it be cosplay, or SSSC, or HP7, something will be done.

Speaking of cosplay, it's coming along quite nicely. I have yet to make a belt and corresponding loops, but otherwise my skirt is pretty much done. It makes me feel a little uncomfortable when I see how big it is when laid flat, but as they say, you can't judge a book by its cover, and you certainly can't judge articles of clothing by how they look when they're flat. It fits my body incredibly well and really flatters my curves. Especially since I'm most self-conscious about my legs, and have a slight phobia of short skirts... ^_^ It actually looks good. So all I have to do now is make the shirt and attach the collar and make cuffs.

Also on the topic of finishing, with Mr. Kesselman's help I'm finally going to finish Music Theory I and advance in the spring semester. Which means I'll have my degree by spring 2011 and can move on to get my bachelor's degree.

...which drastically changes my ideas of the future. :D :D More on this later, as sleep and RP is necessary. Maybe in that order. Probably not.

Take center stage?

What's this? Another meme and no actual content? [Saturday, September 19th, 2009|5:12pm]
[ mood .~*~. creative ]
[ music .~*~. Ah My Goddess ~ Open Your Mind (season 1 opening) ]

This time stolen from Jason:

☞ Anyone who looks at this entry has to post this meme and their current wallpaper.
☞ Explain in no more than five sentences why you're using that wallpaper!
☞ Don't change your wallpaper before doing this! The point is to see what you had on!

I can explain, really )


I was a little upset earlier with work-related things, I may or may not journal about them later. But otherwise, life is good and nights off even moreso ^^ Also, our savings account is growing again, and we still have another entire week to load up the savings before rent hits. And this is AFTER getting Kitty's camera! :D :D Things are looking quite well for the time being.

Also, I'm thinking of working on the astrology series again. I kind of put it down when I couldn't find a picture of the pose I needed. Now that Kitty has a camera, I have no excuses ^^;

3 stepped in the limelight .~|~.Take center stage?

Now that I actually have a good array of icons to play with [Thursday, September 17th, 2009|6:43pm]
[ mood .~*~. energetic ]
[ music .~*~. Gundam SEED in the background ]

I stole an icon meme from Rebbe :D

01. Comment to this entry saying 'ICONS!' and I will pick 6 of your icons.
02. Make an entry in your own journal and talk about the icons I picked!


Icons below )

In other news, my skirt pattern came in ^^ I think I will work on cosplay tonight. Also, Rock U seems to be a Fort O'Family event now, as Steve and Kristin have the day off - or at least, the afternoon ^__^ I can't wait!

3 stepped in the limelight .~|~.Take center stage?

The feminist in me wonders/Question of the day [Tuesday, September 15th, 2009|5:04pm]
[ mood .~*~. silly ]
[ music .~*~. The Who ~ My Generation (rehearsal in an hour!) ]

What if the vagina had teeth?

12 stepped in the limelight .~|~.Take center stage?

Quick update before school [Tuesday, September 15th, 2009|8:41am]
[ mood .~*~. busy ]
[ music .~*~. The Who ~ My Generation ]

Work school work school work school work work work work -- oh wait, there were a few things that happened in between.

First off, Kitty is LOVING his camera :D He's having such a fun time with it, letting his fingers fall back into place and playing with light sources that aren't fluorescent bulbs over his head in an office. He probably won't bring it today, as we have more than enough to take already.

Like COSPLAY STUFF. So far, I've spent $55 on it, and it'll probably end up being another $40 or so with the fabric for the robe and wizard hat. Last night, I made the pattern for and cut out the pattern for the sailor collar. While at cosplay club today, I'll probably finish most, if not all of it. I'm still debating whether or not I should sew or liquid stitch my bias tape. I'll ask for advice at the club. My skirt pattern should arrive in a couple days.

Also, ROCK U/HIXSTOCK is on Sunday, and the rehearsals for it are today (and yesterday). I dunno how "My Generation" is gonna go, but "Pinball Wizard" KICKS ROYAL ASS. Srsly. The guitars are bigger than half the kids in the band and they can STILL bust that opening riff out and keep the enthusiasm going through the rest of the song. I CAN'T WAIT. 8D My biggest worry right now is making the rehearsal today and hauling ass back to COD for my last class of the night. Unless all of our tests are done online. Which... may be the case, considering the page. I'll ask about it. I really don't think I could miss two classes in a row, since it only meets once a week.

So why did I miss last week's class?

FOOD POISONING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SCHOOL DAY! 8D 8D 8D

Tuesdays are my long day at COD. You've got karate and Chamber in the morning, a long enough break for Cosplay Club to happen and games, food, and RP and whatnot afterward, with my final class starting at 7PM. So early on our break, Kitty and I decided to get Chinese food at a local place recommended to us by the Cosplay Club members.

By 6:30 I was sick as a dog, getting anything and everything out of my system through every orifice of my body.

I'm so thankful my brother happened to carpool with us that day, otherwise I dunno how I would have been able to get home. Police escort? I did have two of them with me while I waited for my brother to get out of classes since the nurse's office closed RIGHT before I started feeling sick, and I felt like I was dying. Dear Lord. It took me longer to recover from this than from surgery, and I felt a whole lot worse too. Appendicitis was like PMS cramps on steroids, but it didn't have me in sobbing agony @___@

....anyway.

I've gotta get dressed and move a couple sewing machines to my car. Hope all is going well for you guys - even if I don't update every day, I've got my LJ friends as my homepage so I'm still checking up on my lovely friends :D

5 stepped in the limelight .~|~.Take center stage?

Why hello, dear journal ^^ [Tuesday, September 1st, 2009|10:43pm]
[ mood .~*~. excited ]
[ music .~*~. AC/DC on Rock Band ]

It's been just over a week since I've said anything. Let's see what's happened....

OH! I got Kitty an early birthday present. A photographer is nothing without a camera, and what better way to get Kitty back into the swing of things than with the camera he used while at Mintel? So last week, I ordered one, and we were greeted to a beautiful Nikon D40 when we came home from college. His battery just finished charging, so I won't keep this going for too long, as I want to watch him take pictures ^__^

But I also wanted to post because I've been to college three days now since my last entry, and I've got cosplay ideas and endured two math classes where I spent more time writing crazy ass poetry than paying attention to the notes my professor gave us. (Of course, when I can answer every question of his while writing said crazy ass poetry, I think I'm in pretty good shape for the course).

Crazy ass poem 1: I am not afraid

Crazy ass poem 2: Look at me

Okay, he's already migrated out of the room - catch you all later!

Take center stage?

Attention world [Monday, August 24th, 2009|5:59pm]
[ mood .~*~. relaxed ]
[ music .~*~. whatever Kristin has on the radio ]

Kitty has a new laptop keyboard. He will be having a much easier time typing in the very near future.

...which, of course, means more RP for Tricia. 8D



Oh goodness. This has been one hellish weekend. I ordered new shoes through the OG and they arrived on Friday in the middle of the day. Eager for my beautiful new slip-on, non-slip shoes to grace my feet, I tossed out my broken, ripped, battered older ones into the box the new ones came in and dumped it in the trash.

Of course, this was in the middle of my Friday shift, somewhere around 1:30-2:00PM. I still had work until about 9PM. So that's seven hours enduring the pain of brand new shoes (which I had forgotten about as I haven't bought new shoes in ages) at work on Friday. Saturday was the same deal, going from 4:30 to 11PM - another six and a half hours of my feet on fire. Sunday, the pain extended from my arches and ankles all the way up my calves to my knees. And that was a 10:15-8:00 day.

Top that off with only getting at most four hours of sleep at any given time because Kitty and I have been staying up late and he had work at seven in the freaking morning all weekend... @__@ It sucked.

But this morning, we both had work at 11:30. Which meant that even if we stayed up to 2AM (which we did) and woke up at 9, we'd still have gotten seven hours of sleep. It was glorious. And my feet only hurt a little bit now! But any hugs will be appreciated. Please see Gumshoe for details.



I start college tomorrow, which means wearing comfortable tennis shoes and letting my feet recuperate. I can't wait for karate :D

Of course, this means I need to employ Tricia-Learn-Sushi-Cooking-Now, since I've been putting it off all week. I also need to get some reusable tupperware-style containers for sandwiches and other stuff for lunch, as we're gonna be spending like all of our Tuesdays at COD from now until Christmas.


I picked up Ocarina of Time again... what was it? Thursday night, I think. I haven't made very much progress, as Ocarina of Time is only half of our fun. :3 But I just got to the Goron City and realized I have to get Saria's song and there's no really convenient way of doing it except for going all the way around through the Kokiri Forest and everything... in other words, it bored me for the time being and when long work days get in the way, well... you can see how my not-progress has happened. I've also been playing Pokemon Puzzle League and.... I'm still the best. :D Nothing's changed. It's great.

Kitty got employee of the month for July and got a $25 bonus, which he spent on games. He took the plunge and bought "The World Ends With You" on recommendation from a few of our friends. Neither of us knew anything about the game except for those friends' opinions saying it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. So far, his verdict is that it's interesting. He neither likes it or hates it right now, but he's having fun unlocking more and more of the story. As long as he's enjoying himself, I'm happy. ....even if I do try to pull him from the game at any opportunity I get.... but that's my problem, not the game's. ^^;

He also bought Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 for PS1, as it was $2 at Disc Replay, and we both enjoyed the game when it came out. Also continuing the retro gaming trend, as it's been on our mind as of late, I convinced him to get Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards. Dude, I remember renting that game over and over from the Reel Video before it closed down. It was such a fun platformer that inspired so many of Hosh's and my lego adventures... And Kitty never played it! I decided that had to change. :D



This entry is getting pretty long, so I'll finish with this last bit about Rock U - I got a call earlier from Amy telling me which songs she wants me to sing. Mom suggested I go for "Somebody To Love" by Jefferson Airplane, but Amy told me nobody signed up for it, so it was cut from the program. Which... honestly, was fine by me. I LOVE the song, but... when put up against Grace Slick, I really don't think I could have done it justice.

But she called twice, saying I'll be doing "Pinball Wizard" and "My Generation". Thus continuing the trend of Tricia sings like a man. Except I'm not just any man. This time Tricia will be Roger freaking Daltry.

@___@ Speaking of doing songs justice, I think I'm going to learn some lyrics now.

3 stepped in the limelight .~|~.Take center stage?

oh, what a crazy week and a half [Wednesday, August 12th, 2009|10:07am]
[ mood .~*~. artistic ]
[ music .~*~. The sound of the fan ]

Two and half weeks, if you want to be absolutely precise, but I only started freaking out last Monday. Well, I was scared for awhile that I might actually be pregnant - which would not be very conducive for our current living situation, or for things like next year's ACEN which I'm starting my cosplay for within the next few weeks. The scariest part, honestly, was just not knowing for sure, and having to wait said week and a half before I could even begin to think of testing.

It came out negative, thankfully.

Meanwhile, I've been drawing again, more than just little doodles on server paper at work. RP's been picking up, so I've had plenty of art fodder, in addition to my commission which is slowly but surely coming along. My tablet's been temperamental lately, so I've been practicing the drafts for it in my sketchbook and on notebook pages. I'm sure an update to the driver would fix things, and I'll be able to put it in Photoshop sooner than later.

I've also started yet another drawing series - we'll see how long this one lasts :) I'm a third of the way through it, so that's better than most! I've wanted to do an astrology series for a very long time, using all original characters (in the past eight years, I must have made at least ten unique drafts of lists - from the CAC era, to the me-and-Rach RPs, to the ECRPG stuff, some using only my characters, etc). This one, gasp and shock, has characters from me and Kitty's RPs. WHO SAW THAT COMING! 8D So of course, it took awhile to compile yet another list, but I think it ends up working well enough for the cause.

So at this point, I had a set of characters paired up with signs. Now, all I needed was a theme. All of my other ideas had centered around a Greek/Roman God theme with long and flowing white robes and dresses. Which... is great and all, but not very fun to draw. I wanted to do something new, something different... compiled various ideas like a Victorian theme, space-age theme, superheroes, Sailor Scouts, Rococo-era... nothing stood out.

And then I came across one of my favorite comics on Deviantart: Lackadaisy.

It was at that moment I decided it would be 1920's themed. Complete with gangsters, flappers, and big band musicians. And so far, it is badass.

The only difference between this series and the ones I started before (like the pinup series, the twelve-month challenge I absolutely failed) is the medium. All the other ones were done on the computer. These are very simple ones in greyscale marker. Which means it takes about two hours to finish a picture of average complexity.

So right now, I've got Aries (Tamara), Taurus (Ken), Cancer (Cari), and Leo (Bird) finished. I'm not sure which one I want to do next, but I know for a fact I'm gonna be doodling flapper dresses all day today to get some inspiration for the next one.

Take center stage?

Thoughts on a Sunday morning [Sunday, August 2nd, 2009|7:20am]
[ mood .~*~. peaceful ]
[ music .~*~. purring kitties ]

So Kitty and I were out at Denny's last night and we got into a very interesting conversation regarding character image songs. It reminded me of what we (see: Amanda and I) used to do in the CAC. I have fond memories of going to my mailbox in Mrs. Schleining's room and finding a letter from Amanda-head with a new set of lyrics printed from Notepad for me to write music to. I swear, we were the only people who utilized the mailbox system, but it made things very convenient for us to communicate since we were on the same team, but in different grades.

I'm getting off-topic though.

See, two days ago, we were talking about the image songs from Haruhi and I found myself wondering "How in the world do you write an expressive song about a character (in this case, Yuki Nagato) who doesn't outwardly emote?" So Kitty decided to ask Youtube, and Youtube's answer had us both almost crying and wanting to hug the girl.

So I say again, we found ourselves at Denny's after long shifts, discussing image songs. This time, we were thinking of ideas for our own characters' themes.

I think the first one we came up with was Ken's, which would be regarding the second chance he's been given to live his life as a protector, with his laser-like focus on justice appearing as a subtheme throughout. Cari's would be about loving life, the universe, and everything, alluding to how free spirited (and free love oriented) she is, with a brief mention near the end about how, despite all of her power and responsibility, she can't create life for herself. But it wouldn't be much more than that, as she's not the type to angst, even over that major flaw. Things like that.

Now that I've had a night (lies - only five hours at most @__@; ) to sleep on it, I thought to myself, "....why in the world are we pooling this much effort into characters only Craig and I really care about?"

And then I answered myself with another question:

"Because we can."

So there. Take that, Tricia of five minutes before answering.



I was bored a few nights ago and decided to go house-hunting. I'd like to say Kitty took part too, but his involvement only went as far as "Wow, those pictures are pretty I guess". It started off realistic, checking out things in the faaaar western suburbs, even stretching as far as Central/North Central IL. I found a bunch of really nice, not that expensive houses (compared to the upwards-of-$400,000 shacks here @__@; ) that I would seriously consider when that becomes a more pressing issue. Of course, as most house-hunts tend to go, I found myself growing fatigued of the realistic and decided to pursue the million dollar mansions of Barrington Hills and whatnot, which turned into "what's the grandest house I can find on the market in the country".

I think the most awesome one went for $25,000,000 and came fully furnished with an entire two-story library stocked to the brim with antiques, autographed first edition textbooks, fine china and crystal. Oh, if I won the lottery tomorrow... XD



.....Also. upon looking for a decent Haruhi icon (because I not only need one, I've discovered I'm in dire need of some more cheerful icons - because Damon Gant can only be so happy before he becomes intensely creepy), I've discovered a subculture dedicated to RorschachxAsakura. ICON FOR PROOF. o_o

2 stepped in the limelight .~|~.Take center stage?

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