Better (di)Late than Never

I got back from the optometrist over three and half hours ago, and my eyes are only just now starting to return from dilation. I was told they'd be back to normal in about an hour. On the bright side, I did win out with those sweet sweet disposable sunglasses they send you home in. (Doubles as a wrist band.)

It's about time I went to the optometrist. It was getting the point where I could barely make out street signs until I'd already passed them.

Halloween: Rhymes with 'Where've you been.'

Four months? What a slacker I've been. Moving just does that to you.

Anyway, here's a picture someone just sent me from Halloween. Don't ask me what kind of pose that's supposed to be.

Because I really need it.

Repairing bathroom fixtures gives me an excuse to go to Home Depot and ask young guys working there if they know where I can get some caulk.

Book Nerd

Yesterday I went to Book People to have some stuff signed by Garth Nix. I'm rather proud of my growing collection of signed books.

I've said both before that I am a book nerd, and I skip around in my hobbies. Since I have neither the tools, the money, or the frame needed to reupholstered a gorgeous antique style chair, I've gone full force into a reading frenzy. I've had no compulsion lately for computer games, video games, or art journaling. Unfortunately, with my schedule, I only manage one book a week, but at least I'm making progress on my to-read list.

I finished Harry Potter yesterday (and by the way, I was very pissed to find that the major one-line spoiler someone posted on a community was true,) and I'm already 50 pages into The Neverending Story. I've heard for ages that it was good, but what really made me want to get it was when I discovered that certain hardcover versions are printed in green and purple ink, just like the book within the Neverending Story is supposed to be. (Green narrates Fantastica, and purple the real world.)

Habitual Hobbyist

I got to work yesterday to discover I'd missed Sandra Bullock by about five minutes. Today, I had a customer with an American Express centurion card. I'm not sure who has heard of that, but it's an an invitation only credit card for the super wealthy with essentially no credit limit (people buy bentleys and jet planes with these things) a $2,500 annual fee, and pretty much gives you your own personal concierge who will get you whatever the fuck you want whenever the fuck you want it.

I always jump around with my hobbies. Nick's dad is bribing him a to loose a certain amount of weight by next March and it's put me on this healthy cooking kick. I think I've just been so malnourished from all the fast food I've been eating, that my body is flipping out and going OMFGVEGETABLES! I make stuff like greek chicken (chicken with feta and kalamata olives over spinach) and marinated tofu over rice noodles with baked garlic asparagus.

I stumbled on an upholstery book and now I want to make a wing chair or a fainting couch from scratch. But, carpentry tools are expensive, so I'm just going to reupholster my couch with awesome fabric when I get a chance, since my dog chewed it up when he was a puppy. Maybe I can try out carpentry later.

I'm in Texas

After 8 months with an expired registration, and a year and a half after receiving the title of my car to transfer, I finally went down to the closest Tax Assessor's office to get shit done. I've lived in Texas for seven years, now, but this was the first time I ever actually went somewhere where little old men were swaggering down Main Street in cowboy boots, hats, and big belt-buckles. There was even a little white church (protected by the historical society.) How can any road with a name like Main Street have 4-way Stop signs?

I'm a city girl, even if it happens to be a smallish city.

Approved

Guess whose application for lease just got approved? I will mostly likely be signing the lease Thursday night, and by the end of July, I will be moving into this sexy piece of architecture.

2113 sq ft.
3 bedroom
2.5 bath
2 living areas
1,250/month ($417 per person)

Its even got a big back yard for my dog with cute little fruit trees. (See how happy my car looks?)

Art Journal - pg 13

Get Real-tor

Given my options, I don't believe I'll be moving,
thankyouverymuch.

Art Journal - pgs 8 & 9

Ready for the big (star)bucks.

Yes, indeed! That is me: Certified Barista. After nine days of training and many-a-mocha, I had a brief interview made a few espresso drinks, and au lait!... certification.

Now I must take a nap. I open tomorrow at 4:45am, and I don't want to be latte.

Har har har.

Art Journal - pgs 5, 6 & 7

My Mystery Machine has lopsided headlights. Boo.

Art Journal - pgs 3 & 4

Two of my earliest entries in my art journal, started about a month ago.

I Have Been

So, I've been absent for a while. I suppose I've felt that I need to write something to entertain people, when it actuality this should be primarily for me, and if I happen to be doing nothing of interest, that shouldn't deter me from blogging.

I have been playing World of Warcraft.
I have been reading.
I have been working.
I have been creating in my art journal.

In respect to the penultimate. I have a job! Not one of monumental importance, not a career, but a source of income, and a means to get by while I learn Adobe Creative Suite 2, work on my portfolio, and save for grad school. I work at Starbucks, and free coffee is ever so delightful.

As for the last, as much as I enjoy my art journal, I find it hard to take that last step to make it truly personal: writing in it. I like to show people my work, but if I take that step and write in it, it becomes another issue of only writing that which I would not mind people reading, or just squirreling away the journal for myself. (Difficult, as I have to leave it out for the paint to dry.)

Ain't got no job; Ain't got shit to do.

Being jobless is pretty damn nice, aside from that entire money thing.

I've been hanging out at Bookpeople, and coffee shops downtown because I actually have time to sit down and read; I read two books in two days. I've been knitting, and cooking, and painting, and making collages, and doing arts and crafts, and watching entire DVDs of Cowboy Bebop in one sitting because I have time. I've been able to sit down and think about what I want to do with my career, and do research on the internet because I have time. Now I just need some fucking money.

The jobs I want, I can't get at the moment. I know Illustrator, and I know Paint Shop Pro, but I know nothing about Quark, or Photoshop. At the moment I'm mostly looking at stuff that's short term and flexible so I can save money to buy Adobe CS2 (About $500 with Nick's student ID), gain certification, and build a more diverse portfolio than just fliers and postcards. I've been kind of looking at some office work with a little design mixed in, but I'm not putting too much faith on that. Still haven't told my parents I lost my job because they're going to give me shit about it, even though I did nothing wrong. Don't want to tell them I'll be getting a ho-hum job while I gain certification for my career because they will give me shit about it, even though it is probably the best solution.

Nick's parents suggested we move in with them to save up money for grad school. It will be weird. No sex ever. Just too weird.

Sushi: Let me Shouyu

Art journal entry.

I Like Books

I threw away a book once, and I've felt guilty about it ever since. It's not just that I like to read books; I like the idea of them, and I like the way they look. I like the aesthetics of books: Cover designs, dust jackets, paper stock. My favorite thing to see in a home is a bookshelf so crammed with books, it's unthinkable that it's maintained any sort of ordering convention.

For these reasons, I have a healthy appreciation for art journals, decorative book binding, and altered books, as the book has become almost more art than literature. (recycle the link a few times for a few different pictures.) The latter I think is a perfectly wonderful solution for those books you'd like to throw away, but simply don't have the stomach to do.

I've had one book sitting on my shelf for a few years that I didn't know what to do with. I picked it up from a discount pile for $1, an while it wasn't atrocious literature, I don't really have a fondness for it, and didn't know what I should do with it. I finally decided to just deconstruct it and make myself a nice little art journal, and that's exactly what I did this past weekend.

The original book (the dustjacket is lovely)


The new cover, created over the original cover board. (The title is to remind myself that entries are solely for practice, much like a sketch book, and not to become discouraged if things don't turn out as I'd like.)


Exposed spine bound with a decorative stitch. (Coptic Stitch) I folded the original pages in half to create new pages for the journal.


The binding style allows the book to lie completely flat while open, so it's good for journals. I glued the original dust cover to the interior.

In Other News

I pierced my septum. I swear it's up there. Unfortunately, this is the only picture I have with it showing that turned out:

Ready! Aim! Fired!

Long time no see. I've been gone sulking. I was laid off last week, and while there are more positives to it than negatives, being let go was a bruise to my ego. What you are about to see is a rapid fire posting of entries. I like my updates in nice little categories, so a lump update is a 'no.'

Fantastic things about being laid off:
* My former employer has promised me glowing recommendation for when I apply to grad school, as well as when I apply for my next job.
* Pretty much gauranteed to be paid more, as I will not apply to another start-up.
* I actually know what I want to do at my job now that I've had a chance to try things out.
* Severence pay = paid vacation.
* Agreeing to be a consultant = free copies of Adobe Illustrator 10, and Paint Shop Pro.
* I will likely get a larger budget for my work and use a professional printer more, instead of printing most everything myself.

The downside to all of this is that I just don't have a job or a paycheck, and frankly... job searching blows.

Jinkies!