Homecoming

Well, I'm back home in Louisville. It was a long drive but not entirely unpleasant. Mom planned to have a gathering the evening I got home (probably so I didn't slip into a depression, which was a good idea). My brother and sister-in-law came over, plus Brendan and Maria, as well as a few friends of the family. We had chili and played WarioWare and MarioKart, swiftly taking in Eric and Mary Beth and getting them appropriately addicted. Since Dave couldn't make it last evening, I went over to visit him tonight. We went to the all-famous Pie Kitchen, where I engaged in my endless struggle to decide which slice of pie to get, or maybe just get 2 slices, 1 of each flavor, or maybe I should get ice cream. Anyway, Evan was there!!! So exciting! I haven't seen him in forever. It was nice to catch up with everybody. In the meantime, I've been unpacking and cleaning, moving back in the home. I will admit, it is good to be home, although I will miss hanging out with Carleton very much. He and his brother, Scott, have promised to come visit this summer, though, which should be exciting and fun. Right now I'm just drained at the prospect of job hunting, but I have unloaded a ton of art projects onto myself to keep me busy in the meantime.

Junior High Education

From Denali, as we were both discussing our disappointment with Girl Scouts in our youth, because we thought that it was supposed to be like Boy Scouts only for girls...

 "Jr. High's science class made up for it, though. Alaska being Alaska, a year of science class was dedicated to wilderness survival. They taught us everything from different ways of building a fire, how to turn your pants into a floatation device if you end up in the ocean, how to make fire-starter sticks, signaling aircraft and rescue boats, what's edible and what isn't, etc. This training concluded with an optional survival trip. They put us on an island for three days and we had to pack everything we thought we would need to survive with into a three-pound coffee can... and that included our shelter. We were allowed to carry sleeping bags, though!"

 No fair! I want to learn how to do all that stuff. I haven't even been camping since freshman year of college.

Going Home

I stole this link from Scott Ruggels. It's an awesome Dutch minimilist puppeteer. Go to "filmpjes" and watch away! http://www.xs4all.nl/~lrvk/lejo/

 Yesterday was my last day at Long Wharf. It was very nice and everyone at the theater has been extremely supportive of me and my decision to leave. Bill the props carpenter got me an AWESOME Cowboy Bebop T-shirt. It was funny, too, because I had just recently been scouring the internet searching for one, but all the ones I found were either:

a) Horrible or uninteresting designs or

b) Images of Faye in a lewd pose

I never thought to look at Hot Topic. Anyway, these next couple of days will be full of packing and pre-moving stress. I am happy to be going home, but I am very tired and don't feel like deciding the next step in my life. I have a web design job lined up to bring in a little bit of money, but I've always hated job hunting. Anyway, I probably will be fine once I get a bit of rest, I have much to do when I get home!

IdiotCam©

I'm very excited that Brendan has made an archive of the IdiotCam©. It's always been one of my favorite things about his journal, and it was ever a sad thing when a really good one would end its run and be replaced, thus being lost to the internet forever. But now they are all there and ripe for the viewing! Brendan's IdiotCam© inspired me to get a webcam way back when, where I decorated my own site with silly images until moving around got too much for it. Maybe I should pick it back up, you know, since just about everything cool I've ever done I've copied from Brendan. Anyway, I highly recommend the Plastic Mullet Series (that $5 has paid for itself and then some). Blam! http://www.flickr.com/photos/brendanadkins/sets/72157600140681624/

Dumb Spoof

PayPal spoof letters are usually pretty clever. This one was just amusing... "...However, failure to update your records will result in account suspension. Please update your records on or before February 31, 2005..."

Samurai Virus

So, while chatting with Jaster tonight, it dawned on me that I never posted my addition to the ashcan comic we (we being me, Jaster, Brendan, and Stephen) did for Comic Con last summer. I'm warning you, it was thought up, drawn, and inked in a big fat hurry. I called on characters long forgotten to re-create, and made my usual mistake of thinking up characters first and trying to shove them into a too-long story. Still, it was a learning experience, and it has its moments. This year we've given ourselves PLENTY more time to prepare. Anyway, here you go: Samurai Virus (WARNING: A puppy dies on the first page)

Massachusetts Visit

I just got back from a weekend visit with Steph and it was a blast and a half! Or no, make that 2 whole blasts. After a tasty lunch, we went to this awesome candy store. You can pick out your own assorted chocolates, so it's like getting a box of chocolates, only just with the kinds you like, and no scary surprises. I also got a sucker in the shape of a lobster (don't worry, it was not lobster flavored) Steph showed me around Salem, MA, and we went to some dinky-but-fun history museums about the witch trials. We also hit up a comic store, where I *finally* indulged myself in snagging the last volume of Bone, only to see the new color reprints! Now I want the whole set all over again. We also rooted through a secondhand bookstore, snagging children's books with inspiring illustrations out of the 50% off box. We spent the rest of the evening playing various video games, with a brief break for sushi. After a bit of gaming the next morning, we went out for lunch, and then adventured on the shore (we did not find any critters, only a shoe-full of cold water, oh well!) I'm really glad I got to visit! It was good fun, and I also got to see a bunch of Steph's art up close, including her in-progress raven thief sculpture. I also got to meet her sweet little rat, Oreo, who is adorable and has inspired me to add rats to my "potential pets" list Yay for visits!

This is a Poll

Which is better? Pick one scenario to endure: 1. Persistant, mild pain for the beginning part of the day for every single day. 2 Crippling, excrutiating pain on the verge of preventing you from functioning in every day life, but it only happens 1 day a month. Which is the better choice?

Birthday Madness

My parents sent me a cast iron teapot with 2 matching cast iron cups. It's reeeeeeeeeally cool looking, and holds a lot of tea. I guess I'll have to expand my tea horizons beyond Oolong now. It also has a dragon on it, and since I got a dragon teapot last year for my birthday, and another dragon themed teapot a few years ago for Christmas, I guess I might as well say I'm collecting them now ^_^ I also got, from my parents, money that was specifically intended for me to buy myself a Nintendo DS. This was great, because it's been a long time since I've been excited over getting a toy for a present. Plus, I haven't had a hand-held console since the original Game Boy and the Sega Game Gear. I went to the game store with Scott, and discovered they were selling Game Cubes for $60! This was highly tempting, because I've always said I'd like to get a Game Cube for cheap, for the sole purpose of getting Warioware and MarioKart, which would probably be the only two games I'd play for it. Tempting, yes, but I stuck with my original plan and got a DS. I'll need something to keep my occupied on that flight to Japan! Today at work, the prop shop threw me a little birthday party, complete with donuts and video games at lunch time. Then the most surreal thing happened. Billy the props carp showed me this crazy game for the PS2, Katamari Damacy, which is very silly and quirky, and great fun. I thought it'd be a fun game to get, and I almost considered asking to borrow it to show Scott and Geoff at home. Well, when I got home, Geoff started leading into a story about this crraaaaaaazy game he got for PS2, and I thought "Oh man, it's going to be the same game." Sure enough, Katamari Damacy. I think this is an omen telling me to go out and buy it. So we had a birthday dinner at the house, and then Carleton's family surprised me with a gift! Not just any gift...Scott sneakily heard my temptation lament at the game store, and the whole family went out and bought me one of those $60 gamecubes, along with the my 2 coveted games. SO EXCITED! It's been a very long time since I've gotten so many fun toys for my birthday, and I don't think I've been so excited about video games since that Christmas when I got my Sega Genesis. I am endlessly grateful!