| Prism gallery |
[Feb. 12th, 2006|03:00 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  accomplished | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Yoko Kanno - Ghost in the Shell: SAC OST | ] |
Whew... what a month it has been!
We just found out through the grapevine that our apartment complex will be closing soon to be renovated into condominiums. It was bought out by a new company in January, but we had no idea that they were planning something like this. When our lease is up this September, we're going to be booted, so Byron and I have started looking for our first house. There is just SO much research and shopping around to be done... it can be so confusing and overwhelming at times. Thankfully I have wonderful parents who have been helping me wade through everything I have to understand.
In much better news, we adopted a second kitty in January. Her name is Ghost, and I found her wandering around outside my apartment on a cold Saturday night. The poor girl was crying constantly and running back and forth through one of the busiest roads in our complex. I just couldn't leave her, so I tracked her around the area for about an hour before I was FINALLY able to catch her. She was wearing a worn-out pink flea collar, so I was able to grab hold of that.
After putting out "Found" signs all over our complex for 2 weeks, posting ads on PetFBI and Petfinder, calling all the local shelters and referral services, and checking with our landlord, we decided that Ghost was probably a stray dumped at the park outside our apartment. She was so skinny... she's gained a full pound in the 3 weeks that we've had her (that's a lot of weight for an 8-pound cat!).
College has been going well... the workload isn't nearly as high this semester, and life seems to have just slowed down a lot in general. It's not a bad thing. ^__^ Studying at CCAD has really done a lot to help me improve my work... it's one of those things that I don't realize until I actually sit down to draw something just for myself. All the things I've learned are just so natural now. I'm very glad that I chose this school!
Speaking of artwork... I wanted to let you all know that I've created a second gallery in addition to the Trembling Branch. While the Branch will continue to focus on original artwork and fanart, my new gallery, Prism, will be strictly photography. So... if any of you want to check it out, be my guest! ^__^ I just finished it tonight, so there are probably still bugs to be worked out. If it looks funky on your screen... please let me know so I can fix it o_O Here's the URL:
http://www.winds.org/nekomi/prism/
This address is only temporary, as the site will be moved to winds.org/prism eventually. But for now, the above link will be safe to use for awhile.
Well, that's all for today... ja, minna ^_~ |
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| (no subject) |
[Aug. 24th, 2005|07:21 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  energetic | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Kokia - Sigh | ] |
Whew! Just got back from a fantastic vacation up in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario. Dad and Sue were really kind to us, and gave us the trip as a wedding gift. So Byron and I have been calling our trip to Algonquin our belated honeymoon!
 
 
 
We really had a wonderful time... I haven't been up to Algonquin in five years, and this was Byron's first time, so everything seemed new to us. For those who don't know, Algonquin is a roughly 7000 square kilometer wilderness reserve up in Ontario. It's renowned for its unbelievable network of rivers and lakes - in fact, the vast majority of the Park is accessible only by canoe or kayak, deep into its interior. There are only a few access roads leading into the Park's boundaries, lending the whole place a special quality of being true, untouched wilderness.
I first visited Algonquin with my dad when I was 7 years old... we ultimately ended up camping along the Highway 60 corridor, and spending the days taking long canoeing trips into the Park. From the first moment I spent in the Park - watching a beautiful rainbow stretching over Kearney Lake - I was captivated deeply by it. Even at such a young age, the place touched me in a way that was truly incredible. Some of the fondest memories of my life were made right there at the Park - gazing at a fabulous show of shooting stars over Pog Lake with my father late at night; the first time I heard the distant howling of a wolf; the way that summer sausage and crackers can taste so delicious after a full day of hiking and paddling; waking up and finding that a moose was staring into our camper window; kayaking through misty waters with my dad one morning; drifting down the Madawaska River while a troupe of river otters splashed under and around the boats; falling asleep to the singing of loons; Scott and I racing in our kayaks to the island on Whitefish Lake headfirst into the wind one afternoon. I even remember the not-so-pleasant memories with a smile - the time that Kyle sat right on a beehive and everyone else got stung except him; being caught out paddling in a storm the first year we went; Mike getting his boots lost in the mud as we portaged over the infamous "Toad Trail". For the first two years, we rode along in the canoe while Dad and Sue paddled. But by the time I was 9, Scott and I both had our own kayaks, and when we took our annual trip to Algonquin, we often raced ahead to explore on our own. This gave us a lot more free reign, and I started to truly form my own view and appreciation of the Park.
So when Dad and Sue asked us on our wedding day where Byron and I would like to go for a trip, for me, the answer was easy. Byron, undoubtedly curious after hearing so much about the Park secondhand, readily agreed. Even before our wedding, we had always said that the first trip we wanted to take was up North, to Algonquin.
As for our trip, we stayed in a wonderfully cozy little cottage on the shore of Oxtongue Lake, just outside the Park. We spent the week kayaking and hiking from Highway 60 (the main access route into the Park), across a handful of the beautiful lakes, and across many of the fantastic trails. All in all, we hiked 16 miles and paddled 9 miles by the time we were through (yes, we were tired)! ^_^ We made a point to wake up early, and were rewarded with the sight of wildlife, beautiful sunrises, and melting morning mists. We ended up seeing two cow moose and a calf, more beavers than we can count, three loons, and a group of black ducks. Not to mention the beautiful great blue herons and myriads of colorful fish. When we attended the Public Wolf Howl on Thursday, we were treated to the singing of an entire pack of wolves - adults and pups alike.
Algonquin is truly different from anywhere else I've ever been - it just has that special "something" about it that seems to resonate perfectly with me. At risk of failing to describe it properly, I'll just let this little piece of prose I wrote, and a few photographs Byron and I took, do the talking.
( Photos taken with Canon A20 Powershot digicam ) |
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| (no subject) |
[Jun. 8th, 2005|03:36 am] |
Stolen from hikari_chyan's journal. Congratulations, Byron, you are the first noun (other than "I") to show up in my journal! ^^ Pretty pathetic list, really... most of the words are just filler. I must ramble a lot. Like now. ^___~
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| Juuichi, juuni, juusan, juuyon, juugo... |
[Jun. 2nd, 2005|02:27 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  nerdy | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Maaya Sakamoto - Neko to Inu | ] |
So here I am at 2:30 in the morning, studying my Japanese language workbook that I recently picked up again (after dropping it for a few years, and just picking up random words through anime)... and listening to Maaya Sakamoto's "Orenji Iro to Yubikiri". I suddenly wondered what yubikiri means - I had a foggy idea, but wasn't sure, so I googled it. Found a couple of dumb quizzes and did them just for the heck of it.
( More quizlets with no meaningful results whatsoever! )
At least it's not as bad as the last Napoleon Dynamite quizlet I posted. o_O;;
On a somewhat related note, does anyone else find Japanese numbers extremely long-winded? ^^;; I mean, seven-hundred and fifty is "nanahyakugojuu". Actually, it doesn't look that bad when I put it that way. Nevermind... I'm just tired, I guess. I should go to bed and stop studying, but I'm three days behind and trying to catch up. Guess I must miss the grind of schoolwork, or something. ^___~
*edit: Forgot to add that yubikiri means pinky promise. W00t. ^_^ |
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| *tries to wipe tears* |
[May. 31st, 2005|11:45 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  melancholy | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Yoko Kanno - Strangers | ] |
Has anyone reading this finished the anime Wolf's Rain? The final DVD came out last week, and I just got around to finishing it yesterday. ;_;
12 hours later, I'm still reeling from the ending. I cried straight through the final three episodes, and kept crying for 20 minutes straight after it ended. My face was soaked ^^; And usually I'm not the type to cry *hard* while watching TV.
Anyway, I'm not going to spoil anything, but the ending was brilliant. Not at all what I expected, but more phenomenal and beautiful than I ever could have dreamed. I've heard a lot of fans say they hated the ending, and that's fair, but I found it wonderfully deep and artistic. I don't think I'll ever be able to hear the howl of a wolf again in my life without a fleeting thought of the beauty and coldness of the world in which we live. (I will be spending a week in Algonquin Park, Canada, in August, so I'm hoping to have the chance to hear wolves howling again... I've only heard them in the wild once in my life.)
I was really touched by Kiba's quote in episode 29... I was watching the dub, and I was very impressed by the quality of the dubbing (with the exception of a few background characters, and I thought Toboe was a bit overdone). Anyway, the quote:
"Why do humans always look to the sky? Why do you all try so hard to fly, when you don't have any wings?
We'll use what we've been given -- we'll run, on our own legs, for as long as it takes."
Now I need a new anime to get lost in. But I doubt that any as epic and honest as Wolf's Rain will come around for a long, long time.
"Run, wolf warrior, through kingdoms' chaos
Senseless cities and ghost towns towering
Howl, oh hunter, though few know you're crying
Face upturned into that midnight moon
Run, wolf warrior, to hide your hunger
The rain will wash away the pains of the day
In your eyes there are cold fires burning
Tongues of flame that can never be tamed..." |
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| 2005 convention schedule |
[Mar. 13th, 2005|05:17 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  determined | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Morning Musume - Mr. Moonlight | ] |
Just a quick update to let everyone know which anime cons I'll be hitting this year. If all goes according to plan, I'll be selling at each of these cons, so... this is also a shameless plug! ^_~
Animarathon
April 2, 2005
Bowling Green University
Bowling Green, OH 43403
Harucon
April 24, 2005
Lorain County Community College
1005 North Abbe Rd.
Elyria, OH 44035
ColossalCon
June 10-12, 2005
Embassy Suites
5800 Rockside Woods Drive
Independence, Ohio 44131
Ikasucon
July 15-17, 2005
Clarion Hotel and Suites
5901 Pfeiffer Rd
Cincinnati, Ohio 45242
If any more local cons crop up, I might be attending those too! ^_^ |
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| Stupid little quizlet |
[Feb. 15th, 2005|08:06 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | bored | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Star Ocean 3: Til the End of Time OST | ] |
Normally I hate these little quizlets and avoid them like the plague, but I found this one amusing somehow. ^^ All things in moderation, right?
If only I could be more like Napoleon.
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| In case you ever wanted to know... |
[Feb. 15th, 2005|04:18 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  awake | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Morning Musume - Souda! We're Alive! | ] |
( This is what Steve Conte and his band members look like. )
It's been so long since I've updated this journal... I hardly know where to begin! Ohayocon 2005 wasn't as great as I had hoped, but still worth attending, especially now that I'm in the area. Byron, Mike, and I all got a stomach flu after the con, and that put us out of the loop for a solid week. -_-
Not much else has been going on here - just working on artwork (which should hopefully be posted to the Trembling Branch soon) and commissions, having company, and generally taking care of things. Byron's brother Dave visited us over this last weekend, which was an absolute blast. I don't think I've ever seen Byron play so many Super Smash Bros. Melee matches in my entire life. We also rented Star Fox: Assault, which has had me on a complete Star Fox kick. I looked up all the original Nintendo Power comic strips, reread the storylines from the old SNES and N64 games, and came up with a nice timeline illustrating where it all fits together. All this in preparation for a short series of Star Fox comics I've been casually doodling.
In other news, I added a member to our apartment's little zoo on Saturday: a 6-month old Brazilian rainbow boa I've named Ziazan (Portuguese for "rainbow", and Zia for short). Rainbow boas are unique among other boas and pythons for their spectacular iridescent scales, which divide light into tiny rainbows across their skin. Zia will grow to be about 5-6 feet long (that's really not as long as you might think), and likely retain a gentle temperament throughout her life, typical of most rainbow boas. So far, I've really been enjoying keeping her and learning about her needs.
( A few pictures of Ziazan... )
Anyway, that's all for now... sorry as usual for the lack of updates! |
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| Halo 2 |
[Dec. 4th, 2004|12:02 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  giggly | ] |
Went up to visit my family with Byron over the weekend, and I watched the Halo 2 interview with my brother Mike in the evening. He really loves that game, but I found the developing team's less-than-flattering descriptions pretty amusing:
"Halo 2 is ... about guns and more guns."
"We wanted to create a game that ... was about not-thinking."
"We figured ... if we could make 30 seconds of fun, we could stretch that over ... 120 hours."
*laughs* Is this what the American game industry has disentegrated into?
...Or is this just what Microsoft has disintegrated into? Hehehe. |
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| ...!!! |
[Oct. 28th, 2004|07:01 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | giddy | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Steve Conte - Bite the Hand | ] |
Here I was, browsing the 'net trying to find Yoko Kanno and Steve Conte's "In the Rain" mp3... when I stumbled across a random thread with a bunch of screaming fangirls excitedly discussing Steve Conte's upcoming concert.
I read casually at first, until suddenly it hit me that I was on the Ohayocon 2005 forum.
...
Then I became one of the screaming fangirls.
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!! Steve Conte will be performing LIVE at Ohayocon 2005 this January, right here in my hometown of Columbus!!!! WOOOOOOT!!!
... *takes a breather*
Really though, for any of you who don't know, Steve Conte is the incredible vocal talent behind many of Yoko Kanno's works, including several songs from the anime Wolf's Rain ("Heaven's Not Enough", "Stray") and Cowboy Bebop ("In the Rain", "No Reply"), as well as my personal favorite, "Garden of Everything", in which he duets with another artist I adore: Maaya Sakamoto.
I CAN'T WAIT! *scurries off to preregister for Ohayocon ASAP*
(By the way, being married is still great!!!!!! Hehehehe.) |
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| Wedding pics |
[Oct. 20th, 2004|08:52 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | happy | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Homestar Runner - Senor Cardgage Mortgage | ] |
Here's all the wedding pics I promised! Before I get to that, though, I have some completely random, yet wedding-related, items.
First, I thought I'd clear up my most-asked question at the reception:
My "something old": Umm... the 1992 penny that Mom stuck in my shoe. Ouch. Is that old enough?
My "something new": My wedding dress, of course!
My "something borrowed": The Kleenex I stuffed in my shoes five minutes before leaving my house for the wedding, after realizing that they were somehow too big and I was falling out of them. ^_^; How that happened, I'll never know. o_O;
My "something blue": The center stone of my wedding ring.
Secondly, here's my top ten reasons why I'm at home with Byron and not on a honeymoon right now, since so many people asked.
1. Sleeping in until 2:00 in the afternoon!
2. 3-hour bubble baths.
3. Blaring Morning Musume's "Super Best" album all through the apartment complex and wondering if I'll actually be able to make friends with the neighbors. ^_~
4. Whitehouse ice cream.
5. Papa John's 2-for-1 large pizza deal.
6. Cable internet!
7. Not having to realize I left my hairbrush, clothes, etc. at home.
8. Watching Tenchi Universe at midnight!
9. Saturday pet and reptile shows.
10. Being able to get away next summer when we're more than ready for a vacation!
OK, on to the pictures! Credit goes to Mom and Danielle for taking all of them - we'll be getting the professional shots back to us within the next month or so. The pictures of the girls and me were all taken in my church's nursery (which was our dressing room), so please ignore the cribs and giant giraffe painting. As Amanda Rock put it, "It has hearts on it, so it kinda fits... it's the Giraffe of Love!" o_O;;
( Mini wedding album! )
Thanks for taking a peek! |
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| (no subject) |
[Oct. 20th, 2004|06:12 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | ecstatic | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Maaya Sakamoto - Cloud 9 | ] |
As of Saturday, October 16, I am officially an old married woman!
And it's really, really awesome!
Expect more updates soon. I'm still getting settled in... just got the net up and running. ^_^ Definitely lots going on. As soon as my PC is working, I'll post lots of pictures from the wedding. It was a great day and an absolutely beautiful ceremony. Can't wait to show you all! |
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| o_O; |
[Sep. 20th, 2004|12:13 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | awake | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Tokio - Be Ambitious! | ] |
Wow, sorry for the severe lack of updates. The wedding has been keeping me ridiculously busy for the last couple of months.
But hey, that's to be expected, right? Less than a month to go! WOOT! ^___^
In the meantime, Byron and I are going down to the apartment next week to paint, assemble/set up furniture, and generally learn our way around a little. My parents rented a U-Haul for us, so they'll be joining us closer to the end of the month to bring the rest of the larger items down.
In other news, I'm taking up an old hobby: aquariums! Of course, this is a very bad time to start, considering I'll be moving in a few weeks, so for now I'm just getting the equipment and supplies in my hands. I'm keeping a log of the process in case any of you are interested, but be warned: It's extremely technical, full of hobby-specific jargon, and generally all-around geeky:
Check out the nerd in me!
Still, it gave me a chance to play around with CSS a little and learn a couple of tricks. I'm using a preformatted template, but I did change quite a bit, and for that I'm proud. Geez, I can't believe I'm actually interested in learning any coding other than what I already know in HTML. Byron must be rubbing off on me. ^_~ |
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| On vacation... |
[Jul. 7th, 2004|11:15 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | cheerful | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Morning Musume - Love Machine | ] |
Hi all!
I'm vacationing in Tennesse, visiting some friends of Byron's for the week. I'm having an awesome time!! It's much different here than in Ohio (namely, hotter and much more buggy), but it's not that hard getting used to it. Since it was Independence Day over the weekend, we had some fun lighting fireworks in the front yard... certainly can't do that in Ohio. ^^; We've also gone on some good long bike rides, made homemade fudge, brownies, and ice cream, had a party, played games, and went geocaching. I LOVE geocaching!!!!!! I'd like to get a GPS so Byron and me can start trying it at home.
Anyway, just a quick update since I'm on dialup. When I get home, I'll post a log of the trip plus some pictures. Ja~! |
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| Wedding plan updates |
[Jun. 26th, 2004|03:05 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | chipper | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | wind chimes outside my window | ] |
Just a quick entry before I go out shopping...
Just to let you all know what we've been up to as far as wedding plans go, since the last update we've gotten our photographer booked (the lovely work of Bruce Zake, who worked as a photojournalist for the NY Times), ordered bridesmaids' dresses, gotten our invitations in the mail, booked a soloist to sing at the ceremony, completed our gift registries, and started ordering in furniture for the apartment. Whew. ^__^
Right now we're focusing on getting the cake, florist, and videographer handled. Not to mention that Byron is looking into his tux and the wedding bands. ^__^;;
It's such a busy thing to get married!!!!! ^^ |
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| Woooot! |
[Jun. 1st, 2004|10:36 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | accomplished | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Hikari Utada - Automatic | ] |
I got accepted into Yerf today! ^___^ Yaaaaaaaaay! (Mind you, I just barely got in - if anyone would have scored lower than they did, I wouldn't have made it. Whew! Tough crowd! ^^)
Now, if only I had some new drawings to upload... ^^
*hits the sketchbook* |
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| There's little blessings... |
[Apr. 20th, 2004|03:50 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  enthralled | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Utada Hikaru - Can You Keep a Secret? | ] |
And then there's *huge* blessings.
Today, I found out that Columbus College of Art and Design has agreed to defer my acceptance and my scholarship for a year, due to my upcoming marriage. What an incredible blessing! ^__^ (I've been kinda sweating that one out for awhile.) God is so good. He's just bringing everything together so perfectly... I can't wait to see how He works next! |
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| (no subject) |
[Mar. 10th, 2004|02:03 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | optimistic | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | 4Him - Where There is Faith | ] |
I want to be more faithful. I'm getting tired of wasting my time doing things that have no eternal value. What does it matter when I get my next website revision done, in the end? What does it matter what reputation I glean from my art? I'm tired of being self-minded.
This isn't despair, or giving up - it's quite the opposite - I want to get out of this despair, this constant running to nothing. I want to rise up into real joy, the joy that comes from serving others - not serving myself.
--
I believe in faithfulness
I believe in giving up myself for someone else
I believe in peace and love
I believe in honesty and trust
But it's not enough
For all that I believe may never change the way it is
Unless I believe Jesus lives
Where there is faith
There is a voice calling, "Keep walking,
You're not alone in this world"
Where there is faith
There is a peace like a child sleeping
Hope everlasting in He who is able to
Bear every burden
Heal every hurt in my heart
It is a wonderful, powerful place
Where there is faith
--
</abruptness> |
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| Shop 'til you drop... almost |
[Feb. 14th, 2004|07:31 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | happy | ] |
Well, I got my wedding dress today! What an experience. They always say that you don't fully realize you're getting married until you wear the dress. Well... they're wrong. It hit me when I put on the *veil*. ^_^ I took care of all my wedding clothing today, which is great... so nice to have that off my mind! If anyone wants to see pictures, send me your email address and I'll send 'em right along. Just can't post them here because Byron's not allowed to see yet...... ^~
I also have pictures of our future apartment, which is now secured and ready for us in September (we're going to start moving furniture in a month before the wedding, which is tentatively scheduled for October 24). There's only three pictures, but it's a nice townhouse with a living room, dining room, kitchen, and half-bath downstairs, and two bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs (we need the extra room for Byron's computers and my art stuff). ^_^
( Granted, the pictures are just of the fully-furnished model, but it gives you an idea of the layout... )
Anyway, that's the news for the day! More updates to come... |
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