Looks like both mebird and manawolf are now inflicted with computer hell.
And speaking of which - finally discovered I actually forgot to copy over the Program Files folder so ALL my presets and plugins for my various graphics programs are gone forever. Just fucking great.
Well, the scanner is finally working again. Here is the thumbnail of "Again!?", one of the latest pics. Much of the detail is lost in this small image.
I will be sending a large version, showing the detail, to the usual suspects sometime this weekend.
I was looking forward to going to Austin this weekend for Ushicon but there is no way in hell I can afford it. Sure, I could drive the three and a half hours one way to Austin by myself but I would prefer rat was with me. But he can't because he is working Friday and Saturday, as usual. Of course, I would prefer to fly to Austin since it only takes about 40 minutes to do so. Where is transport technology when we need it?
Oh well. I guess I will just have to be happy with local cons again this year.
Tablet doesn't work again.
I came home last night and found rat was running an antivirus program on my machine. A lot of things I had on my hard drive is now missing, like Office and the tablet exe.
Sunday I did not get the flashcards done like I had planned. I tooled around town with rat in tow - he loves it when I drive - and he was a 'kept' man since I bought him breakfast - good old cheap Grand Slams at Dennys. I kept giving him portions of my meal because I was getting full, but never the bacon! My bacon! *snarl*
Got pissed because the super-convenient Office Depot closed its doors the day before, never to open again. This means I have to drive out of the way to get any office supplies or photocopies made instead of going right down the street. Grrr....
We drove over to the inconvenient Office Max and I made a copy of my homework so when I turn it in I will still have a copy to refer to. It was fun watching the clerk's reaction when he saw the work I had done. I read some of it to him for grins. Picked up a pocket folder with prongs so I could put all the handouts in it instead of them floating around in my faker briefcase.
We will see how well I did with the homework tonight in class...
I was in the mood for fresh lemonade (usually a hormonal indicator) so we drove to the local Braums. I got my usual giant sized container and rat got a black cow - a rootbeer float with chocolate ice cream. Yeah, I bought them both.
Got home and crashed for a while.
Produced another 500 words for the one-shot, titled "Morning Routine" on Sunday. Have no idea where this is coming from but I am not questioning the muses, just taking it in stride. I don't even think about the content until I am actually sitting in front of the document, and my fingers just take over.
Had a discussion with rat about what kind of shaving device E would use. Initially I was leaning toward the typical face-scraping process and even wrote a few lines on it. Then I wondered if the boy may use an electric razor. rat picked gel and a high-quality razor, but my e-research did not produce any nice razors that used something better than disposable blades, which was not what rat had in mind. At one point I considered the brush and soap application because it seemed the kind of sensual thing E might find enjoyable. And I found lots of pampering products for men online that were tempting to add to the storyline. Finally I decided to find an electric razor and make it easy on myself. A great one was advertised in the Sharper Image catalog - $249.95!!! - exclusive to the SI catalog, and I said, yep, the boy could afford something like this and would order it online. Yes, it has an International adapter for the power supply! Check out the razor, and don't forget to click on the link for the details. It's a sexy beast.
Still cannot find the installation disk for the tablet but I have cobbled together some stuff from the backup and it seems to be working okay - not great - but okay. Still did not get PS6 installed either. *shrug* Since the scanner still does not work I really don't need it yet. Perhaps I will bring the images to work and scan them here this week. Or not. I hesitate because, knowing my luck, carting them to work would probably get them bent up.
Need to get back to it. My officemate is ill again today so I need to cover the front desk at one point this afternoon. Gotta get some stuff done before I go out and be watchdog.
Slept until noon. Still really tired but made myself get up and do stuff.
Actually got a lot done today. Finished up the Japanese homework. Translating from English to Japanese is a royal bugger.
Now I have a lot of flashcards to do - will do that on Sunday. Poor rat will have to use them to drill phrases with me.
Did the first draft beta of Talon's latest chapter. I have to beta in stages. Do the first one, put it aside to 'rest', then look at it again in about 12-24 hours. Sometimes I catch more, sometimes not. Let it 'rest' one more time, then do a final beta and ship it off.
Was tempted to call Talon, since we talked last weekend.
Wrote over 1000 words on a particular one-shot that just came out me in November.
Installed Photoshop 5 & 5.5 but not 6 or 7 yet. I cannot find the box with 7. It's around here somewhere. Probably buried under piles of doujinshi.
I have so much shit to install and move over from the backup hard drive it will probably take me all weekend, if not longer.
On top of that I have FOUR LONG PAGES of Japanese homework due Monday, every page to be written in Japanese. I have made a dent in it tonight (Thursday), with lots and lots of time spent referring to last semester's notes, the dictionary and the study guide. Ugh...
Talon, you know I got the chapter. I will see what I can do about getting at least some of it done this weekend.
Damn it, the hard drive is still across the room from the monitor and keyboard.
Got this at the office and thought it was something good to share. Love you!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
George Carlin's wife recently passed away. He wrote the following piece.
Typically sharp and some good advice by George Carlin
The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness. We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.
We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years! We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things. We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.
These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete.
Remember, spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever. Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side. Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.
Remember, to say, "I love you" to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all, mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you. Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again. Give time to love, give time to speak, and give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.
HOW TO STAY YOUNG
1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, ! weight and height. Let the doctor worry about them. That is why you pay him/her.
2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.
3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening,whatever. Never let the brain be idle. "An idle mind is the devil's workshop." And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.
4. Enjoy the simple things.
5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.
6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.
7. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it's family, pets,keepsakes, music, plants, and hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.
8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, to the next county, to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is.
10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.
AND ALWAYS REMEMBER: Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take,but by the moments that take our breath away. If you don't send this to at least 8 people....who cares? -George Carlin
Bought a 120 gig hard drive with two rebates today, so the final price will be about $70.
rat is getting ready to take everything apart (be nice, Murphy!) and we shall see what happens. We are going to wait on the new monitor.
Talon must be gallavanting around once more today since no one answered the phone again.
Joules, glad you are enjoying YnM! I think I know what chara Lutra has in mind - does he have a katana, Lutra?
God, I hate it when the main hard drive dies. All the shit I have to re-install...
Well, in 2001 when my hard drive died last I was still using certain software for teaching and for classes and I suspect I will not reinstall those. So this time I will not have any Authorware, Director or Flash on the machine. I will install Photoshop with all the upgrades (v5-v7), SoundForge, various video viewers, MusicTime Deluxe (put in the notes on the staffs, makes sheet music and midis), Dreamweaver MX, Fireworks MX, Painter 8 and all my various third-party graphic plug-ins. That's probably it. And probably not my Catz4 program. Did that for a few years, then anime took over.
Dinner last night finally happened. After being told it would be over an hour to get a table at Dead Lobster we decided to go to Rudy's, the neighborhood Italian place close to us. I was CLOSED and it looks like it is closed for good! We ended up at another Italian place close to where my folks used to live. Third time's the charm.
The muses have been happy I am not on the computer. Drew up a E&S pic yesterday, right out of the blue. Still working on the shading but the image is pretty much set. Still debating on the bg. I may make it another beach setting using photos though I would prefer a bedroom setting. Hm, I will ponder it some more.
rat is looking at me, ready to start the tear-down, so I need to go.
Okay, I am using rat's machine to quickly check things. I typed this up in wordpad prior to posting.
Health Update
I am much better now. The pain in my gut is still there but much improved, to the point I can sit up like a normal person and the bathroom runs are far less frequent. I still feel best being in bed, of course, but I ate roasted chicken and mashed potatos with gravy last night and everything was happy. I feel twinges in my gut occasionally but those are taken in stride.
No, I did not make the chicken, sillies. I gave rat some cash and he went over to the Golden Chicken around the block. Me cook? Watch me fall over laughing. I CAN cook, I just DON'T cook. What I like to eat when I cook and what rat will eat are two separate beasts which will never meet. After he rejected some gourmet meals I had slaved over for hours I just gave up. Yes, ladies, rat DOES have some bad faults I have to live with. Just because he accepts, watches and enjoys yaoi/shounen-ai does not make him a complete prince.
Computer Update
I think I have everything moved over, but I am going to double-check it before we gut my machine. The largest hd I will be able to use will be a 120 gig, which is really small for my tastes but it's the most our machines will able to address. We run win98 exclusively at home because Xtra Problems is such a pile of crap. We know we will have to switch over eventually because support will be going away (but not until 2006-microsoft has moved the date!) and we are already having problems with some of the video components because the codex seem to be specific player-friendly and those players will only run in XP. I figure we will just purchase new PCs and leave our reliable win98 machines intact. At that time we will have to really do some space management. rat has two towers he works with already - one a P1/133 for older games, the other a somewhat flaky P2/550, which I am using now. I will soon be hooked with with two PCUs as well, one for just video and the other my usually reliable P2/400. Yep, my home pc is old and considered slow, but when it's not dying it is a robust machine.
Other news:
Ooh, a pressie!
A box arrived and it was filled with goodies! Inside was:
Mangas 1,2,3 of Demon Diary, which is a absolute hoot and a howl from what I have read so far! I keep seeing Shiyuuichi in the 'role' of the young demon lord-in-training and I fall over laughing. And the yaoi undertones are ALL over it! Pretty, pretty boys!
Manga 1 of Petshop of Horrors. Initially the artwork threw me, since Count D is not really drawn to the artistic standards I have when I pick up and purchase manga, but I quickly got over it when I noticed how detailed the clothes and costumes were on the pets. A manga-ka after my own costume guild heart! And the storylines were interesting. I kept expecting Mr. Roarke from Fantasy Island to walk in for something. And I mean the Mr. Roarke Malcolm McDowell played, the not-so-nice chara from the latest version of Fantasy Island, not the fluffy Roarke from the old series. The homage to Gremlins at the very beginning was quite clever as well. So yes, after initially being disappointed in the artwork I got into the storyline and found it wonderful. And the yaoi hints between D and the cop are leaking through already. Wonder if D likes using sweets during sex....
A hardcover book, Across the Nightingale Floor. When I looked at the title I got a niggling in my memory. When I read the dust cover I realized why. I had recently read a glowing review of the book in Analog and I had been mildly interested in the storyline. And now I have the book in hand, cool!
A Hello Kitty credit card/pic holder. I cannot get the real name of the item since the paper tag is packed with Kanji so that's what I am calling it. Cute!!!
A bookmark with a black dragon on it. Hmmm..... I wonder who could have picked THAT out?
A lovely thank you note, explaining the gifts are for both rat and I, and yes, we both WILL enjoy them!
THANK YOU THANK YOU, DASIA! This was a wonderful surprise and something that really really helped my day and my recent apathy!
Fic Grows
Since I have been laid up in bed I pulled out some of the hardcopies of the various manuscripts I have been working on. One of the things I do is print up a story and read it off the computer. I find I can see some mistakes and grammar issues more easily with the hardcopy. Digging through various stuff I found two separate working drafts of 'IWUS' (the fic that will not end) and decided to get the new material into the craptop.
1700+ words later....
It was interesting running into these again. I had memories of working up certain sections and the visuals I was trying to convey but they were not in the electronic manuscript proper and I did not know why. So now everything from the drafts are 'loaded'. Some of the bits are just notes. Others are outlines while others are somewhat developed sections.
I have also had to make some notes to the continuity police to make sure situation A happens before situation B or visuals of body movements and positions remain consistent. This can be hard when integrating new material in after writing in parts that were not in place prior to that particular draft. I really have to go through and check things. Example, a person cannot walk up and hug someone in this paragraph when in a prior section they are already standing in each other's personal space. I find this sometimes in some fanfics and it bothers me. The one that stands out the most is when person A completely removes person B's shirt, throws it on the floor and begins kissing person B's naked chest in one paragraph and three paragraphs later person A is reaching under that same shirt to play with person B's nipples. Oops!
Oh, and Joules, I promise, when the initial beta is finally ready to begin I will only send you sections of this fic, not the whole shebang. I AM writing this in sections, my first 'chaptered' fic, so you will not be overwhelmed with the now 24,000+ word monster. I really do not have any particular section completely ready to be betaed yet. What I have found to be true more time than I can count - when I think a section is actually set I find, as I work on another section, I need to add a hint or a reference of the working section to the section I thought completed to keep the flow of the story moving in the right direction.
I am also finding the advantage to writing this one in sections is I can move entire sections up or down, depending on where they would work best. They are really not chapters as much as sections of thoughts and events.
And another little zinger to the mix. The first half of the story cannot in any way reveal the person speaking. So not only can I not move certain sections into the first half of the fic I have to be very careful how I phrase things in the first half- reactions, dialogue, observations, private thoughts - to keep the reader wondering.
I have noticed in the latest editions to the manuscript I have some places where I feel some OOC remarks and actions are glaringly apparent. I have to go back in and get those ironed out now. I now know more about the charas than I did when I wrote those words (probably back in August) so I need to get them back on track.
What else? Well, I haven't had the chance to catch up on anyone's LJ/blog so I cannot respond to anything. Sorry about that. I am going to post this, turn off the flaky computer and go back to bed. Have to rest up for tonight. We are doing the family birthday thing tonight at Dead Lobster. Today is actually rat's birthday, and his present is on backorder so he will not get it tonight. My mother's was yesterday (16) and mine, well, the whole world missed it and that is normal for me. Don't you dare send me belated birthday wishes, folks! I am serious about this! It WILL make me angry! It was not a good day and I just want to forget about it. The were-dragon should not be disturbed at any cost.
When this birthday crap is done I think I will finally be able to pull out from my funk.
I found my video hard drive wiped clean today, and I did not do it. Luckily I had backed up the final product but all the source files are gone. Eight gigs of files are gone for good and I have no idea how it happened.
My main hard drive has decided it has bad clusters so it is in its last death twitches.
My new monitor is acting strange, flickering.
I won't be around for a while because I need to transfer the entire c drive to another drive before we install a new one.
Hopefully the discount place will be open on Monday.
After a few years of peace, my chronic intestinal problem from age 16 on has flared up again. Been sick since Thursday and still am feeling like shit, even though I am not having to 'run' every 10-20 minutes now.
I have to sit hunched over, which messes with the muscles in my back. The best thing for me to do is to stay in bed until nature calls again.
When I can, I will peek in, but don't expect any major chatting.
Since Joules has received her parcel, the one that arrived here must belong to Talon. It was mailed out today, dearie, so be on the lookout!
I wonder what chara Lutra is so intrigued by?
rat says the 'glue' was actually heat sink compound and it helps transfer heat. It should be creamy so the pasty stuff you have left is not very effective. He says you can get a tube of it at a reasonable price.
The teachers spoke Japanese almost the entire time. Most of us sat there and blinked stupidly, except for the two people who have Japanese spouses and are fluent. And the poor girl who thought the class was the first class in Japanese was completely stunned.
They made us speak, ask questions, start sentences, not just respond. My tongue doesn't work that way. I took a lot of time trying to think up a sentence. I fumbled a lot and did not worry about being a complete idiot when I just did not know. If I can see the words on the board I can read them out loud, no problem. Pulling out of the grey matter without any other reference, no way in hell.
Anyway, I am finally less hyper. It takes at least three hours to gear down every night I have class.
rat brought home Final Fantasy: The Spirit Within to watch so we did that to start the settling process.
Could not even oekaki tonight - everything was shit so I gave up. There goes my creativity...
The semester begins tomorrow, which mean utter mayhem in the office. The first week is full of stress and the second week is not that much better. At least we will have next Monday off for MLK day.
I will also be putting myself through another semester of Japanese hell. I will be curious about the two new instructors, just how strict they will be since they are both Japanese. I keep thinking of the inferno Forchan went through last semester and I cringe a little.
astradyne! Thanks for the offer! rat plans to download the software again sometime next week, strip the old work off the server completely and begin the re-installation. When he comes across the screwiness we came across last time I will email you the info. I am just not a programmer so I cannot tell you what problems he came across when he tried it before.
Joules, I haven't forgotten you - I have purposely kept quiet because I know you are working on that website. I did not want to take you away from the various pressing tasks. I will be sending you a response within the next few weeks. Also have some questions about what Dreamweaver is doing to you and your pages. I have never heard of it doing that before.
I have been concentrating on getting the website in some semblance of order and consistent look. I guess it is a interim look until the other interface is completed. Still have a few pages to update and a couple of new ones to add.
Been doing a lot of oekaki since I know I will not have any time in the near future to do so because of class. I can do two a day by using the obsession board as well as the Artist's Cafe board. The nice thing about the obsession board is you don't have to sign up like you have to do at the Artist's Cafe board, however, the board is entirely in Japanese and you have to either figure out what to do or you should already know how to use some kind of oekaki applet.
mebird, I recommend you trying the Artist's Cafe board first to get a feel for the applet.
I need to get the dye out of my hair before my scalp catches fire...
The Hierophant often represents learning with experts or knowledgeable teachers. This card also stands for institutions and their values. The Hierophant is a symbol of the need to conform to rules or fixed situations. His appearance in a reading can show that you are struggling with a force that is not innovative, free-spirited or individual. Groups can be enriching or stifling, depending on circumstances. Sometimes we need to follow a program or embrace tradition, other times, we need to trust ourselves.
For a full description of your card and other goodies, please visit LearnTarot.com
Left work early today-joints are killing me, especially in my right arm/hand/fingers-my mouse arm. Also affected are my lower back, knees and ankles, all trouble spots. When this happens the areas of my body hurting make all these popping noises.
Came home, took some drugs and slept for two hours. Still hurt. I suspect a variety of factors:
The temp dropped quickly yesterday and because I was kidnapped by my folks last night and was out late with just a long-sleeved tee-shirt and a quilt-lined jean jacket in 20 degree weather I was not kept warm enough during a long period of time. Their car was kept chilly so maybe the cold got into my joints and bones. Also, quick drops in temp do this to me sometimes anyway, even if I keep warm.
Haven't gotten a lot of sleep lately and I don't know why. But this probably helps lower my resistance.
Have done a lot of personal and office webwork lately so my mouse arm has been over-taxed.
Fell asleep on my right side and did not move at all last night because I woke up in the exact same position. Could be strain/pressure-related as well.
Anyway, since this pretty much is killing my finger joints in both hands I am going to sign off.
One of the idiot sellers sent one of the presents I specifically said "mail to this third-party" to our address instead of the correct address.
Since I don't know who was supposed to get this particular copy I will just have to wait until the third copy shows up at one of two residences. Then I will mail this copy to the fourth party.
Strange thing has happened recently; when my hands are cold my rings on my left ring finger slip off completely. Now, I KNOW I haven't lost that much weight. Even the rings I wear on each pinky finger are loose. When I crawled into bed the other night I thought I would lose them while I was sleeping. I got my hand warmed up with a heating pad before going to sleep.
Sunday evening in the grocery I was grabbing TV dinners out of the cold case and they came off again. Figured I better show it to rat, so when he came with the stuff he was picking up from another section I stuck my hand back into the case for about 30 seconds, pulled it out and gently shook my fingers over my other hand. Immediately the rings fell off. rat's eyes got really big for a second. He started talking about the insurance on the diamond ring.
While still wandering the grocery store we discussed having them resized but it is more difficult to size down than size up. We are considering a guard ring to hold the other three on. Yeah, I have three rings-the open-work sterling silver Celtic knotwork one (the largest), the white gold one with the five small diamonds and the thin platnum band to hold them in place. I like white metal of all types and cannot stand yellow gold.
In the past these have fit in the summer because my hands swell. I suspect they will do so again this summer.
I finally figured out later Sunday night why I am having difficulty. My knuckles have finally shrunk back to normal after all these years. When I had swollen knuckles, victims of my carpel tunnel syndrome, they kept my rings on even when they spun around on my fingers.
So it is good my knuckles are normal but it means I am in danger of losing my rings, at least until I find a thin ring to guard them. Going to look in my ring stash to see if I can find something to use until we find something permanent.
Go ahead and sleep, Joules. Like I said, it's not important - it really isn't. Me and me alone has to deal with this and work it through.
Now, get your hands well, rest up, SLEEP, and sometime late next week you can start looking at the sliced stuff. They can sit there on the server, no problem.
So I am tooling along to work, pushing the radio buttons to find something interesting, and I run across an oldie yet baddie, "She's a Lady", by Tom Jones.
And the first thing that pops into my totally yaoi mind is what a great anime music video could be made with this song, using Saiyuki as the basis, Sanzo as 'the lady' and the other boys being the ones saying, "and the Lady is mine...".
Of course, the visuals would show the complete opposite of the lyrics, with Sanzo being his usual abusive self, hitting Goku and Gojyo on the head, glaring at Hakkai, threatening all of them with his gun, smoking, drinking, yelling.
Just read the lyrics for yourself, and laugh hard at the mental pictures...
~~~~~
(this is Goku's verse, since it mentions food.) Well she's all you'd ever want,
She's the kind they'd like to flaunt and take to dinner.
Well she always knows her place.
She's got style, she's got grace, She's a winner.
She's a Lady. Whoa whoa whoa, She's a Lady. Talkin' about that little lady, and the lady is mine.
(this is Hakkai's verse, the eternal peacemaker.) Well she's never in the way
Something always nice to say, Oh what a blessing.
I can leave her on her own
Knowing she's okay alone, and there's no messing.
She's a lady. Whoa, whoa, whoa. She's a lady. Talkin' about that little lady, and the lady is mine.
Well she never asks for very much and I don't refuse her.
Always treat her with respect, I never would abuse her.
What she's got is hard to find, and I don't want to lose her
Help me build a mansion from my little pile of clay.
Hey, hey, hey.
(this is Gojyo's verse, since it implies sex.) Well she knows what I'm about,
She can take what I dish out, and that's not easy,
Well she knows me through and through,
She knows just what to do, and how to please me.
She's a lady. Whoa, whoa, whoa. She's a lady. Talkin' about that little lady and the lady is mine.
Yeah yeah yeah
She's a Lady
Listen to me baby, She's a Lady
Whoa whoa whoa, She's a Lady
And the Lady is mine
Yeah yeah yeah
She's a Lady
Talkin about this little lady
Whoa whoa whoa whoa
Whoa and the lady is mine
Yeah yeah She's a Lady
And the Lady is mine.
Talon Update: Got a voice mail from her today - they were getting on the road in a little while and she is definitely looking forward to being home, with her computer and her smut!
We spent our New Year in typical fashion, with our best friends, quietly at their home. Ed had made a killer chicken soup, Janice made a family recipe bread, we brought too much dessert - three cakes and Blue Bell Natural Vanilla Bean ice cream - and we sat around, chatted, then watched Pirates of the Caribbean. Great romp.
Oh, we did enjoy The Last Samurai. The few signs we saw were all in Kanji so I did not know anything. I could pick up a few things, not much, but I did pick up on a few subtitle errors. Sometimes even rat knew when the subtitles had been embellished on a few sentences. I was primed to not like Cruise, since I do not like him as an actor anyway, but I somewhat forgot about who was playing the character and just watched the character. Of course, Ken Watanabe stole the show with his portrayal of the rebel Samurai. So yes, it was a nice movie - a combination of action-packed, bloody war and subtle, character dynamics. I did expect Kenshin to show up.
My monitor finally bit the dust earlier New Year's Eve so I was not able to do much about it until we got home from the party and exchanged monitors. Missed doing an oekaki - hard to do when the screen is almost white...
I am going to go to bed now, since I have go to work on Friday, unlike most folks.
Thanks: --> to Lia, my sensei, who has inspired me to draw again. I
wouldn't be doing this without your support, Domo Arigato!
--> to Talon, for sending me her fabulous fics, inspiring me with her writing to draw my first
illustration for a story and actually liking what I drew.
--> to Dasia, for her words of encouragement when drawing her original chara.
--> to Joules, a wonderful epic fic writer, for liking my art enough to want to post them with Talon's
and her own stories.
--> to Lutra, the other half of the epic team, for being so supportive.
--> to Jacque' & Becca Raddittzu, we met on eBay as bidder and sellers and now we are face-to-face
friends. You showed us the real DBZ with your fansubs. It's all your fault the house is full of
doujinshi! *LOL*
:: welcome to bakayaro onna's mindless ramblings, rants & raves :: 
Well, the scanner is finally working again. Here is the thumbnail of "Again!?", one of the latest pics. Much of the detail is lost in this small image.
I am The Hierophant