Tuesday was my mother's husband's birthday so we went out to eat at Spaghetti Warehouse. We had a coupon. rat got G a 'bathroom' book, you know, one of those books with a lot of trivia bits. Afterward, I got suckered into going to the craft store to look at frames for my mother's heraldry prints. They had planned the trip without me. The craft store is close to the restaurant.
I was a tiny bit perturbed because if I had known about it, I would have brought along the Gravi prints I needed framed. I kept lightly chewing on rat about it because I knew it would make him laugh, and it did.
Anyway, we lucked out and hit a sale where all the ready-made frames were half off. It took a little time but we finally found some basic 11x14 black metal frames to use. One print needed a matt. We would have gotten a pre-cut matt but the 8x10 size was cutting off some of the image. rat kept trying to put that size matt on top of the image and mom and I kept slapping him away. We asked the clerk behind the counter about ordering one. I was so surprised he was able to cut it immediately for us, and with only a few minutes left before the store closed. I have dealt with other stores taking up to two weeks to get matts back to me. It could have been because this matt was a pretty standard size - outer edge 11x14 and the opening 8x11.
Anyway, we sent the folks home with frames. Mom is going to have to get the pics uncurled after staying in the storage tube for a few months. Then it will be time to frame.
Wednesday evening I told rat it was time for his punishment - he would have to take me back to the craft store so I could get frames for my five Gravi prints. We found three 8x10 black metal for the three standard pics immediately. I did not check the prices because I knew they would be cheaper than the 11x14 ones we got from mom the night before, and those ran about $12 a piece without the sale price. A premade 11x14 black metal frame with glass and cardboard included for about six bucks is a good price, in my opinion.
The metal build-a-frame pieces were not on sale, sadly, but to get a 12x12 frame for the two repro cels I would have to build my own. I got the bars and the hardware and was not too pleased with the price (about $7.30 per package of two), but in the long run, it is MUCH cheaper than having custom framing done. I got the clerk (a different one) to cut glass and cardboard for me, and again, he did it immediately. He wrapped everything up nicely in brown paper and tape for me to carry out.
I have suggested to my mother we have a framing party at her place and get everything done in one sitting. We can set up an assembly line with glass cleaning, etc.
For those who do not remember the pics I am referring to, here are the cels:
And here are the three pieces of artwork by an artist from a-kon:
After being awake for more than 24 hours (Sunday afternoon to Monday night), I have not been very lively. I am slowly catching up on sleep.
rat purchased a PS2 Balder's Gate game where we can play together in coop. Of course, I am the human male archer who does not use arrows and prefers swords and other thwapping devices. rat is playing the female elf magic user who also does a lot of hitting. This is typical rp for us - I run in and hit things while rat throws spells and heals.
I suspect a lot of home time will have us playing so I will be checking in occasionally, but maybe not nightly. The game will not take that long to play, according to rat.
First, a mortality attack (rat dying before me) hit, again, and this time I started crying and could not stop. Finally shook rat awake, cried a lot more, talked about it some and while we were talking, the neighbors started their 2am music.
I got a little better, rat went back to sleep, I read for a while and just as I was getting back to sleep, the music changed to one with a real distinctive beat and it is still going on. It may be as quiet as the guys can get it (rat has banged on the door before about it and that is what he was told by one of the guys), but the bass is still loud enough to be heard through the walls.
The apt complex has a noise curfew - from 10pm to 8am, no noise. No dishwashers, washers/dryers, vacuums or garbage disposals can be run. No hammering (hanging pictures, etc.), running up and down the outside stairs, talking on the front/back patios, loud music/TV/computers/video games - well you get the picture. This is nice community, not a putzy complex where derelict cars sit in the parking lot and people are loud, 24-7. Retired people who are light sleepers and folks who work a full work week live here.
I have typed up a generic letter pointing out the curfew and what it covers. I will print it and put it on the door this morning as I crawl off to work.
The office told us to call the cops next time this happens but tonight/this morning we did not do anything because we thought the guys would stop after the one cd, like they usually do. We call it, 'music to cover up the fucking so the roommate doesn't hear'. It's one cd and then it is quiet. Tonight it just kept going. Last time this happened, we heard them banging around the rest of the apt, too, like they were cleaning or something. At that time, rat went over and talked to them. Tonight/this morning, rat had been asleep a few hours (he can sleep through almost anything) before I was ready to go back to sleep and then heard the new music. By 5am it seemed a little late to call the cops on the guys.
Yeah, this got my mind off other things, but I sure could have used some sleep. I am wrung dry.
Well, this was a bust. The only thing rat and I agree on is my humour is spontaneous. I am definitely more filthy and sarcastic than this shows. I am known for my one-liners. I am not approachable and I am not good-natured. I don't watch stupid movies. Of the movie choices given, I had seen none of them, but they are not worth wasting my time watching.
the Ham
(21% dark, 52% spontaneous, 11% vulgar)
your humor style: CLEAN | SPONTANEOUS | LIGHT
Your style's mostly goofy, innocent and feel-good. Perfect for parties and for the dads who chaperone them. You can actually get away with corny jokes, and I bet your sense of humor is a guilty pleasure for your friends. People of your type are often the most approachable and popular people in their circle. Your simple & silly good-naturedness is immediately recognizable, and it sets you apart in this sarcastic world.
PEOPLE LIKE YOU: Will Ferrell - Will Smith
My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:
So this small brown package comes in the mail today...
Whoa! A bar of Green & Black's Organic Bittersweet Dark Chocolate with Orange and Spices! THANKS, JOULES!!!
Yes, we have tried it and it is delightfully different and tasty! When I first opened it, the scent of the dark chocolate with spices (reminding me of Chai tea!) came through! Actually, I can imagine enjoying this WITH Chai tea.
It is definitely not the uber-sweet US chocolate I find I am liking less and less. In fact, I really think my tastebuds are 'off' at the moment because of the drugs I am taking. The idea of eating anything sweet really turns my mouth off and even makes my stomach feel queasy. Sugar actually does not tasty good in my mouth except for fruit juices I drink for my queasy stomach and actual fruit I eat as a snack. I have been craving only salty and savory things for almost a week. I think I am getting the right flavour for this chocolate, but just in case my tastebuds are really wonky at the moment (and I suspect it more and more), I am going to seal the rest of this in a baggie and eat more when I am done with the drugs and I know they are out of my system.
THANK YOU FOR THE WONDERFUL TREAT, JOULES!!!
*HUG*
Well, my first day at work ended and I was ready to pass out at 3pm. I have already fallen asleep once this evening, watching a gaming show, and I think I am going to slink off to bed really early tonight as well. My body is used to sleeping a LOT on these drugs and I better listen to it.
My blood pressure is normal now. The pills are working. Oh, and the pills have sulfUR, not sulfA. The doc got annoyed with the pharmacy when I told him about it. He says that error comes up a lot and it is wrong. Then he told me I should have called him about it because sometimes he makes mistakes, too.
The line of daily drugs I am taking is growing...
I can pop my ears somewhat but they still are hurting me and making me want to scratch deep inside them.
The headache has become a dull roar in the background so it is more tolerable.
My head is finally draining again, which means more crap down the throat, but it's not thick like before. I still am getting sick to my stomach because of it. I was eating ramen at 3:30am this morning because of the drainage. Well, I would not have noticed it if I had been asleep, but the neighbor decided to get up at 3am this morning and the bass from the music came through the bedroom wall, again.
I am still dealing with this horrible headache. It never let up yesterday and it is still attacking me, now in other painful places on my face and throughout my skull. I am still dealing with light sensitivity so looking a a computer screen is like poking daggers into my eyes.
It feels like someone has ripped my face off, from the bottom of my eyesockets, over the top of my head, all the way to the back of my neck.
I can only assume the infection is so bad it is trying to fight the antibiotics. If I am like this on Monday I will go to the doctor, again.
I will have to get back with everyone later - sorry, all!
I know my body well enough to have a clue about what might be wrong with it in a general manner and in some specific things like bronchitis and other crap that affects me. Everything pointed toward a sinus infection and that's what I have. Yes, I have fluid behind my eardrums, which has helped cause the dizziness. Grey-green crap in the back of my throat drains into my stomach and makes me nauseous and causes a dry cough. A slight fever is making me a little clammy. But I had to go to the doctor for the official blessing so I could get drugs.
I am now on an antibiotic and a decongestent/antihistamine to knock this out. When I get like this, natural stuff that is good for preventative measures does not work.
I have a killer headache this morning and may not make it to work. I am not feeling up to par anyway - the meds are probably working but making me feel worse first.
Well, I have read Gravi 12. Sure, it has a happy ending. Yet, something is missing from it. Maybe the translation was not looked at on more subtle levels. Maybe Maki Murakami was lazy and wanted to wrap it up. Maybe I was expecting something a little more profound or deep.
Eiri just seems 'off', perhaps because the excellent GOODfic out there has gotten deeper into the man's brain than the creator. And Eiri wanting Shuichi to choose him over music was just bizarre. That behavior did not really have anything behind it driving it. Yes, I know it dealt with Eiri wanting Yuki to choose to go first in the rape, or at least that is what Shuichi says. But is that the entire story?
Shuichi is a little weird, too, being too untrusting. I know Eiri's actions has confused Shuichi and that can cause strange reactions in return. I recognize the behavior, a dog being wary of being kicked again, but it was just a little too over-the-top at times. I did like him yelling back at Eiri and having a spine, but I always have seen him that way.
I noticed the English translation had Eiri calling Shuichi a chimp at the airport, while the original Japanese says saru, which is monkey. Chimps and monkeys are not the same. Maybe it is in Japanese...
Oh well. How many times have we seen fanon being better than canon?
My car battery was dead on Monday when I walked out to the apt. parking lot. We got it to start after cleaning of the battery crap with baking soda and water. rat took my car to Sears and I took his car to work, getting there a half-hour late but at least I was there.
My car eats batteries every two years or so in the middle of high summer, so when I get a new one at Sears, it is pro-rated so I never pay full price.
I have gotten to the point I do not read much fanfiction anymore. The bulk of Gravi stuff out there is dreadful. I have only found one semi-decent Fruits Basket writer and even her continuing saga is getting redundant in the sex scenes. Yawn.
I am to the point I only read a few people from various fandoms and that's it.
Tadaima to babyzerochica, who is back from a few weeks in Japan!
I got sick to my stomach and dizzy and had to go to bed. I called the folks and said we would reschedule.
I was not able to sit up all night, not even to eat. I was able to manage to eat at an angle. I went to bed early but could not sleep. I did some drawing.
I feel better today, even though I have the usual Sunday headache. rat and I talked out not taking the high blood pressure meds today but since I only have a headache and don't feel dizzy, we decided to test the med one more time.
I will be checking with the doc tomorrow. This might be the high blood pressure medication but I suspect some kind of sinus/ear problem.
I am tired of feeling loopy when I sit up. I still cannot tell if it is the new meds or something having to do with fucked sinuses. I was experiencing this a few days prior to even going to the doctor so I suspect something else and the new meds are part of the whole. At least I am not getting as dizzy as I was when I was just sitting at the computer. Or maybe I have something completely mysterious. That would not surprise me in the least. My body is SO fucked up - I want to send it back to the factory as a trade-in for a new model, please.
Have to go through hell this evening. Meeting with my crazy mother to frame some pics. She cannot make a decision on her own so must I pick something out for her. Why I am the expert is beyond me. Two hours later she is still debating and I am about ready to kill her. Well, I am ready to kill her after the first 20 minutes...
So rat has to be in attendance to buffer us. He keeps me calm(er) and he keeps telling my mother the decision has been made so let's go.
Anyway, the folks are coming by to pick me up and we are meeting rat at the craft store after he gets off work this evening. I will take the recent art and the cels with me, just in case something is available.
Yesterday was rat and I's "Troth Day", the day we pledged ourselves to each other, many years ago. We have also called it being 'mentally married', as in knowing we would be together forever. How many years ago? I have NO clue whatsoever. We lost count after the first decade. We are making an uneducated guess it is close to 18 - 20 years.
We went to our favorite Italian restaurant, Two Guys from Italy, for dinner. The food is great with a lot of it. I always bring home a full container of leftovers. I always get Chicken Florentine and rat always gets spaghetti with meatballs.
I am pleased these art pieces arrived in the mail last night.
I met the artist at A-Kon. She had large versions of the headshots in the artshow but they had already sold. The 8x10 of the kiss was also sold. When she got in touch with me via email she told me the large versions were limited editions made for con artshows so they were not available. However, she could offer me the portraits in 8x10. I really wanted the smaller version of all three so I could line them as a trio on the wall so it was a perfect solution. Now I have five pieces to frame! I still have not gotten the cels framed because the craft store wanted to charge me $15 per piece to 'help' me frame them. I got pissed and left. At one time, a shop called "U Frame It" was in the neighborhood and I used to go there all the time to frame things myself, both metal and wood frames. I know how to frame. I got a great deal on materials from a friend in the framing business and matted, built metal frames and glassed 20+ photos for my one-woman show (a mixture of photos and stoneware fantasy figures).
I am still feeling dizzy like I have been feeling the past few days. I think it has something to do with sinus stuff and the deadly air because I was having this prior to starting the new meds. I got my first 'blackout' this morning. Well, it was more like a grey-out. I got out of bed, started walking down the hall, my vision went a little grey and I just kept walking and it went away. I wonder if it will get worse before I acclimate to the drugs?
I was the only full-time person at the office yesterday. Three people were on vacation, one person was at a conference and one was teaching down the hall. I walked around the first hour or so, going, "Now WHAT do I do here?", trying to get back into the work groove. Luckily I have lists and paper piles to remind me.
Oh, our dept is doing a lot of work for this project for the president of the school. Every year we all HAVE to go to this thing called Convocation. This year, the secret theme will be Spam-Alot and our dept is deeply involved. When the sound guy gets back from vacation, he and I will be doing a lot of voice-over work. I can do those high-pitched Python voices. Yesterday, the dept artist asked me if I wanted to try and draw some of the teachers who will be featured in some of the many animations in an anime style. That was a shocker. Well, I really don't consider my work a true anime style so I don't know if I will be able to pull it off. We shall see. I suppose the teachers will need to be recognizable so changing their eye shapes and hair colour may not work for this project.
We have cable modem now, YAY! Attaching files is so quick now! Haven't tried any downloading yet.
Yes, I am now on a low dose of high blood pressure medication. The doctor wants to start fixing me now, while my blood pressure is borderline, and it IS only borderline. This is an old medication that is tried and true. The doc says I may have problems with getting up or moving quickly and doing that blackout thing until I get acclimated.
The only real potential problem I may have was told to me by the pharmicist. People who are allergic to sulfa drugs have had problems with this medication and I am definitely allergic to sulfa drugs! I did not know I was and found myself in the hospital for a week because of the reaction. I was covered in a rash and was running a 105+ fever. I was also awake for 36 hours. They thought I had toxic shock syndrome. They could not find a vein in my arm for the IV because they had all collapsed and were rolling away from the needle. I looked like a junkie because I had three different people try to stick me over and over and over again without any good results. Finally, they called the ER head nurse, who was able to get a vein on the top of my hand. They had to find a piece of wood to tape to my right hand to keep me from moving. You know how weird it is to have a piece of wood strapped to your hand? Then they had to knock me out with drugs because I still could not sleep. The poor guy I was dating at the time looked confused most of the time...
I will be closely monitoring myself because of this potential problem. If I start breaking out in a rash and have a high temp, I know this med is not for me.
I have to go back to work today, boo-hiss. I am NOT happy about it. We are having a red polution alert today and my head is not feeling well. At least now I can take sinus meds that work again.
Sunday's photos from the 16th annual A-Kon are posted in Travels/Adventures section of my website. If you recognize any characters labeled as 'unknown', please contact the planet with the answers and you will be credited!
THANK YOU to Lutra, Kitzira, Babyzerochica, Patosan, Bluepita and Claire-chan for identifying characters from last week's photo post!
Today is the last day of my vacation, and also 'chore' day. We have lots to do besides going to the doctor and having him get upset with me for not monitoring my blood pressure closely this time. Just give me the drugs, doc, okay? Then I can start taking sinus meds that WORK again!
We are meeting Kuruma for lunch today. He is my friend from Japanese class who moved to Houston for a job opportunity. We may drag him to the anime shop since we have to return a dvd anyway. rat checked out Girls Bravo, a hilarious little ditty that has a lot of teasing parody moments, lots of panty shots, giant boobs bouncing, and even some nipples.
We have to restock the kitchen at the grocery today, too. *sigh*
I don't want to go back to work. My creativity has been on overload with no end in sight. Well, maybe I will still be able to keep some of the momentum for the rest of the summer. I suspect Evan will still be demanding. Grunt is wanting his own time, though. Stories are percolating.
1.) Copy and paste this into your journal: <*font color="yourusername"> <*b>yourusername<*/b> <*/font> 2.) Eliminate the asterisks. 2 1/2.) Replace "yourusername" with your user name. 3.) See what color you are
Because when I went to bed, the drawings were there on my side of the bed. An hour and a half of artwork later, rat's work alarm goes off. I get up with him, showing him stuff, talking about stuff, blah blah blah.
I am SO going to regret being off-time when I go back to work.
eidelon tree! The Fruits Basket books have arrived! THANK YOU! They are great! Nice artwork AND character stats! I like having these kinds of books as Japanese study aids, as well as getting stats on the characters like height, birthdays, etc.
Aira! OMG!!! The drawings are WONDERFUL!!! Plushiecon is hilarious! And you knew I would adore the snuggle pic! I will work on getting everything scanned up and sending the files back to you soon! THANK YOU! I already have something in mind to send you as a thank you!
Other Stuff
I had to purchase more portfolios for the influx of drawings. I think I will need to have a book for misc stuff.
Went out and took some photos at one of the city parks today so I would have greenery backgrounds for future drawings.
Went to lunch with some of the anime lit class ladies Wednesday. We ended up at the local anime store, natch.
Blood pressure is still not normal. Have a doc's appt on Tuesday and I bet he will be having me start meds for it. At least then I will be able to start taking the sinus drugs that work again.
rat is slowly setting up our cable modem stuff tonight.
I need to do some beta work soon...
Ack! I also need to get everyone's labels placed in the Saturday con pics and post Sunday's pics sometime this weekend.
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 :: 
