Ichiban Victory's Corner 'o the Web

Fare thee well, 2009!

2009-12-31T16:18:13Z

What's to say about 2009, other than that it's been an odd year? At the start I was finishing up the college program down at Walt Disney World, having to say good bye to all of the friends I made, many I doubt I'll see again in this lifetime, returned to school after successfully convincing said school that I was in fact still a student, had awesome roommates, had roommates I'd not wish on anyone, got to return home for the summer to again work at the bakery that had been reclaimed by the original owners I had missed dearly, to returning back to school...

I made new friends this year, rebuilt bridges, had bridges burned on me for reasons I still do not really understand (I am, after all, a little bit stupid), but in general have had the honor to get to know people better - even if in the midst of debate. I'll not lie, debating can be maddening (especially when it's not debate I meant to cause), but it really lets me get to know people much more than civil conversation ever could.

2009 was also a year of (continuing) revival for series like Disney's Gargoyles and Hajime Kanzaka's Slayers, something which I still cannot fully believe but have enjoyed regardless. We also saw Disney's animation studios return to form with traditional animation, something I hope continues to happen.

All in all, it's been a wacky year of major turnarounds (for good or for ill), far from perfect yet not too terrible, either. Even if it was not always in ways I'd have preferred, I cannot say I've not been blessed greatly this year.

So, fare thee well, 2009. You were not perfect, but since we've yet to get through 2010, you might turn out not to have been so bad after all...

Updates, some sad, some not.

2009-12-29T07:46:54Z

I just got back from being up in Bellingham (mere minutes from the Canadian border) visiting my sister all day. It's a three-hour trip one way, so it's been a loooong day in the car. Thank goodness my dad was driving. Anyway, we were listening to the radio and there was an update on the police officer in critical condition from the shootout last week. He hadn't been recovering so he was taken off life support earlier today, passing away shortly thereafter. As was said on the radio, that's now six officers killed in two months. Very sad...

In other news, newest little nephew is still cute, even when spitting up everywhere with his poor mom unaware. My sister's cat has finally been returned as well (poor Kitty's been shuffled around for the past few years in the hope she'd be returned to my sister when my sister was able to live somewhere that allowed pets) so there's no longer odd Kitty in our house, and of course on the one day no one was home all day to check the mail, your Christmas package showed up, earthstar_chan! ...I just don't know if I'm allowed to open it yet or not.

(zenavvy, I did get your package the other day as well, but I had been waiting to not be surrounded by so many sweets to enjoy it properly. I've not yet moved in on the lemon curd - although I am excited because lemon is my favorite flavor - but the cookies are very good!)

Lastly, what's with Canada and cool boxes? :D I'd make a Boxing Day joke here, but I'll let it slide this time.

*lets her brain explode for the night*

SD cards, Brawl, etc.

2009-12-27T20:25:56Z

Among other gifts I got for myself this year (from gifted cash), I finally got a new SD card reader for myself. I'd been wanting one for that day years down the road when I can afford a high-end camcorder and Final Cut Pro 2, but what with the new digital camera and SD card I got for my Nintendo Wii, I figured now was as good a time as any. I was so excited, too, since I like to take silly screen shots from Smash Bros. Brawl (like the image above, which was from a recent bout against a roommate, I thought it hilarious that it looked like Charizard and Pikachu were fighting over a flower), among other things. The new reader is very nice and simple, too, but games like Super Smash Bros. Brawl save images as a .bin file, so I was having a heck of a time getting an image for my computer.

The solution? Brawl Snapshop Decrypter.

Until I find an easier way to do it on the computer (which will happen when I have the patience), this is a pretty easy way to get a .jpg from a .bin. It ought to be fun! Now I just need to save more of the snapshots I took from the game onto the SD card, and I'm set!

(In other news, I also used the gifted moneys to get myself a new Nintendo DSi, and already I love it! From recording fun sound clips, which play back very well, to a basic flipnote animation program, it's a ton of fun without a game inside! I just can't wait to get back to the wireless internet in my apartment so I can go online and download some games from there as well. That sequel to the GBC game, Shantae, should be coming out sometime in the near future, and I for one don't want to miss out again!)

(In even more video game news, Capcom is bringing the Phoenix Wright games to WiiWare, so for people like me who missed out on the DS games, we'll have our chance to play them finally! I'm excited! ...now if only Tell Tales Games would release the final chapter of Tales of Monkey Island, this vacation would be complete!)

Silverdale Swamped. Or, seeing Avatar

2009-12-27T07:58:05Z

I seem to be on a movie kick, most likely because once I return to Idaho, there will be no theatre trips at all! Plus, my sister really wanted to see Avatar, as did I, so I told her we would go today. It was pretty crazy that we even did get to go though, my thinking that since the movie had been out a short while, it would be fairly easy to get tickets. I had originally hoped for a matinee, but my sister wanted to meet up with friends so that nixed it, but afterward (around 3 p.m.) at her persistence we drove by the theatre in Silverdale. Avatar's playing in Poulsbo as well (Poulsbo has the really nice theatre), but she wanted to see it in 3D, which meant Silverdale was the place to be.

When we got to the ticket counter there was a sign saying that the 3:40 p.m. showing was sold out, and that the next showing, 7:00 p.m., was the next available showing. We had already planned on going to that one anyway, so we got tickets, our silly 3D glasses, then returned home for a few hours. After 6 p.m. we left the house to pick up a friend of hers going with us, then got to Silverdale...roughly about 6:30 p.m. There was a long line standing outside the theatre which we thought (and perhaps hoped) was for the ticket booth, but when we got to the front we realized it was the line to get IN the theatre! o_O So we walked back to the end, stood out in the cold for a while, then got in about five minutes before the movie was to start. The theatre was already packed, but two men were awesome in that they gave up the row of four seats (on the side, all of the middle row seats were filled) to sit in the very last row of two seats right behind so the three of us could sit together. I really wish I had thanked them properly, since they didn't have to do that at all.

Anyway, movie: Lots of language, not much blood, all things considered, and very incredibly pretty CGI, not to mention really great animation! Motion capture really can look great if done well. The "blue cat people" (as my sister's other friend calls them) looked pretty cool, but I was amused at their erratic tails that were never mentioned by the avatars. It was also funny how, after the movie, we were talking about all of the animals, specifically the wolf-like animals that sounded like hyenas. When I likened them to wolves the friend said they were more like coyotes since they were so small, but then I reminded her she was basing their size according to the Na'vi instead of the humans, which made for one of those, "Whoa, weird!" moments. I think it's pretty obvious who we all associated with during the movie. ^_^;;

In any case, I really did enjoy the movie. I do hope to add it to my collection eventually, but I think I could have done without the 3D elements. I found them more distracting than anything since everything still looked flat, just on different planes of space so it was...odd. Also, sometimes I could still see the two images to give off the appearance of 3D, for which I don't know whether to blame on the movie makers, or my eyes that do not like seeing fake 3D. My eyes are fun like that...

Why I have hope...

2009-12-26T18:09:11Z

I was going to share this a few days ago, but then news of that third police shooting happened, so previous post happened instead. (For any who care, one of the injured officers was able to go home for Christmas, but the second is still in critical condition. I pray he recovers.) Anyway, this was something that showed up on my local news station's website, in regard to the recent tradegy for the Lakewood police department. It warmed my heart, may it warm yours as well:

by DREW MIKKELSEN / KING5 News
Posted on December 16, 2009 at 5:47 PM

LAKEWOOD, Wash. - A Lakewood police officer, who wishes to remain anonymous, said he was inspired to write the following Christmas letter earlier this week.
The officer credits one small boy's donation of support to the Lakewood Police Department as the big reason he has regained hope for this holiday season.
The officer sent it to friends, family members and other law enforcement officers.
A Tukwila police officer received the officer's permission to release it to the public:
I'm not much for writing Christmas letters, and in fact this year, I didn't even feel like making the effort of buying and addressing Christmas cards at all. I'm sure you all have heard of the terrible tragedy that occurred here in Lakewood two weeks ago today - four of our officers, four people that have become my friends over the past 5 years as we all worked here together, were gunned down as they sat in a coffee shop. Three fathers and a mother - all of whom were dedicated to their jobs and their families - now dead. The grief at our station and in our community has been overwhelming and we have all now just barely begun to process what this means for our department and for police departments all across our state and nation. Several times since this event happened, police agencies have responded to reports of individuals across King and Pierce Counties causing commotions and claiming to be planning to kill more officers. We do our best to maintain our composure and continue to do our jobs the best that we can.
It is hard not to remain bleak and jaded with these events so fresh in our minds. But something happened today, just 20 minutes ago, which made me want to send out a Christmas letter. I'm here at work and was just out in our secure parking lot helping another officer load collection bins into his car to take to a local Lakewood Police Independent Guild fundraiser event. I heard a woman, standing with a boy who couldn't have been more than 3 or 4 years old, calling, "Excuse me…." through our locked gate. She had apparently been trying to get to our front counter but found no one there, it being Sunday, and had just happened to see us in the parking lot. I walked over to her and saw that the little boy was holding a plastic baggy containing a dollar and some change, and was clutching a well-worn stuffed dinosaur.
The woman told me that her son, AJ, had seen the stories on tv about our 4 slain officers. She said that they had driven to our station all the way from Kingston because her son was so intent on helping the children of these officers. I opened the gate and the boy handed me the plastic baggy containing all the money from his piggybank and a note on which he had written "AJ….From me to Pleec. I Love You." And then, with tears in his eyes, he handed me his stuffed dinosaur. AJ's mom explained that he wanted to give the children of the slain officers the most precious thing that he owned, and that was his dinosaur, Bruno.
I told AJ that I would take the money that he wanted to donate, but that I thought the best thing he could do for the children of our 4 officers was to keep Bruno safe with him but to keep those kids in his heart when he hugged his dinosaur. He agreed and gratefully took Bruno back from me and held him tightly as if he never wanted to let him go again.
We have seen many, many acts of generosity and kindness over the past 2 weeks. We have hugged more friends and strangers than we could have ever imagined and have mended broken ties with people we haven't talked to for years. Yet nothing has touched me deeper, or given me more hope for the future, than AJ and his stuffed dinosaur. I gave AJ one of our department challenge coins, explaining to him that we only gave them out to the bravest and most deserving people we came across. I hope he will realize someday how much more than a dollar and some change he gave to me and to the Lakewood Police Department today.
So anyway, none of that is about Christmas, but it is about hope and love and I thought it was appropriate to share this holiday season.
I hope this letter finds all of you well and eager to spend the holidays with those you love. Squeeze everyone a little tighter and hug them a little longer today because life really is precious. Merry Christmas!

Anyone curious to see the video broadcast for this story can look here.

Who declared it open season?

2009-12-23T16:10:22Z

Well over a month ago, two Seattle police officers were on patrol when a car pulled up alongside them. The driver pulled out a gun, aimed and fired, killing one of the officers. (The driver is now being prosecuted.)

A few weeks ago, four Lakewood police officers were enjoying their break in a local coffee shop when a man walked in, pulled out a gun and opened fire, killing three of the officers immediately, the fourth managing to chase the suspect back out into the street where he fired at the suspect, then died from his injuries. (The suspect was later killed for resisting arrest.)

The other day, two Eatonville police officers reported to a domestic dispute call. The suspect opened fire on the police officers, critically injuring both. (The suspect was killed by return fire.) As of this moment, one of the police officers is now in stable condition, but the other remains in critical condition.

All of this went through my head yesterday when a Poulsbo police officer came into the bakery for a short break. I don't think anyone in Poulsbo would open fire on a police officer, but given all of the recent cop killings, it must be unnerving for him and all of his fellow officers to want to even patrol the streets. It's awful that we have soldiers in foreign lands dying, but how much worse is it to have officers in our own lands paying the ultimate price for nothing more than being a police officer? What does that say about our society?

I'm rather disgusted at how some think it is perfectly fine to open fire on an officer. People, when you're out and about for the holidays, please be especially courteous to your local police officers. I think it's understandable if some seem more on edge than usual...

The Princess and the Frog

2009-12-22T16:00:37Z

I finally got my turn to see this, seeing it yesterday with my dad and youngest sister. I won't type up a summary or anything, but I will say this:

1.) I'm not taken with Southern culture.
2.) I was worried this would factor in to whether I enjoyed the movie or not.
3.) I was thankfully wrong.

Great, great movie. It was very enjoyable even if foods flew over my head. The villain was awesome, the supporting cast was great, and the jokes....oh man, they were pretty witty.

Thank you, Disney, for again giving me something I can enjoy with my dad as I did as a child.

Hitting the ground running.

2009-12-21T17:20:06Z

It feels like forever since I posted, and in a way, it has been. What have I been up to? Everything and nothing. On Friday I of course woke up to go to work, getting to deal with being one person short (she was at her husband's police academy graduation) until past 3 p.m., but work was still a lot of fun. I'll just say that upon walking in the back door that morning, one of my coworkers spotted me and came back to give me a hug, and the day went from there. ^_^

Afterward, no rest for the weary since I had a Christmas party to crash! That was very amusing since I was mistaken for dragonhealer00, which will continue to make me laugh for a long time after the fact. (On that note, sorry to have missed you, dragonhealer00.) It was great to see some of the group again, catch up on peoples' lives, fun things like that. I also got to find out what New Super Mario Bros. Wii is like when one of the players is not a team player. Not cool.

I worked again on Saturday, which again was a lot of fun, but afterward, even though I had an invitation to game, I'm glad I didn't take it since I got to spend time talking to my dad. That's something I don't do often enough, and I really don't know how often I'll have the chance so it's best to take it when I can. But, on a cool note, if game is going to happen the next two Saturdays, I have the days off so I'd be much more willing to dash over, dragonhealer00. For some reason, figuring out how to get to your new place from Silverdale is less daunting to me than trying to figure it out from Poulsbo. But perhaps it was also the tiredness working against me.

I've also done a fair bit of reading in the past few days. The first, Who Moved My Cheese?, was something the baker planted in the break room so we would read it. I heard about it forever ago but never read it, but I am really glad I did, now. I recommend this book to everyone, specifically those who have had to deal with change (of jobs) in recent years. Seriously, just go read it.

My mom also got American On Purpose, Craig Ferguson's autobiography about his life, especially how he nearly destroyed himself with drugs and especially alcohol, before finally coming to the U.S. (for keeps) to make it in Hollywood. He is a very gifted writer, so aside from the excessive amounts of language (which is normal for Scots, from what I understand), the book is definitely worth reading. Sometimes it really does take seeing a completely different way of life to really appreciate what you've got. Plus, I like that he likes LDS people. Suddenly it makes sense why a classmate of mine interned on his show. ^_- But anyway, for anyone who has or is dabbling in drugs and alcohol, I definitely recommend this book since if nothing else, it shows that one can still live it up without being wasted.

I'm kind of sad I ran out of reading material... In any case, I'll be around, just not online today. I need to continue to reabsorb life in Washingon. How I missed it!

O, the weather in Boise's poorly...

2009-12-18T16:07:21Z

So! Misadventures in traveling: My flight was supposed to leave Idaho Falls around 5:30 p.m., stop off in Boise for a three-hour layover (UGH), then continue on to Sea-Tac where I would land at almost 10:00 p.m. at night. I wasn't too keen on this since I had work waiting the next morning, but it was better than not going at all, so whatever. My roommate and I left the apartment at 3:30 p.m. even though it's not more than a thirty minute drive to Idaho Falls, mainly because the time a shuttle got me to the airport just as the plane was getting ready to depart is still burned in my memory. She dropped me off at about 4 p.m., so I entered the small airport.

When somebody came up to the desk, I checked in. The woman replied, "I've got good news and bad news for you." Not good. Apparently about twenty minutes after I checked my flight status online, it was canceled due to bad fog in Boise. No flight for me! But, the good news was very good! Since I had gotten to the airport so early, there were still three seats available from another airline that would be flying to Salt Lake City and then to Sea-Tac (with little layover at all!), landing at 9:10 p.m. The woman apologized, but I was adamant to thank her, since this was much better!

I ended up having time to kill since the new flight didn't leave until 6:16 p.m., but once it did it was smooth sailing from there. Well, except for rude older men who talk over the flight attendant during her mandatory safety guidelines (we were both in the front row, so he was literally two feet away from her), who then continued to play with his cell phone after electronics were to be off, who then pulled out his iPod Touch to fiddle with after that, to which the flight attendant and I shared a look before she again asked him to put his electronics away. But yeah. The connecting flight wasn't much to speak on either, since my seat mates weren't willing to chat, so I instead finished watching Bolt on my iPod (AFTER waiting to get the all clear), then skimming through Prince Caspian as we neared Seattle. Aslan makes me cry. I love him. ^_^

We even landed early, getting to the airport at 8:45 p.m., so I had my luggage in hand by the time we would have originally landed. Nice. Slept wonderfully last night, good to go for work, just waiting since I don't really need to be there an hour early. And hopefully stopping by that Christmas party later tonight...

All in all, a rather good night. And it looks so wonderfully wet and cloudy outside! (I'm always amazed at how quickly just my skin reacts to being back in Washington. I think its happiest of all!)

RELINA!!!

2009-12-18T07:16:46Z

I finally have an awesome Relina miniature! Of pure awesomeness! (Man, I am such a nerd.) I'm very impressed with the amount of detail you put into this, bonemarch! Her arch villain is pretty cool, too. Wah! I need to find a cool place to put these!

(Pictures to follow at a later date when I'm not just home from the airport of zany misadventures and not needing sleep before work.)

Figures it would take Relina to make me break my promise not to post again today, although technically in Idaho time it is already Friday... O:)

So close to being done...

2009-12-17T16:29:43Z

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

This describes perfectly how I'm feeling right now. Yesterday I had my last German and Flash class, both going fairly well. Right after Flash class four of us were allowed to take the final early since we'd not be available on Friday for one reason or another. It was kind of funny because we had to take the test on the school newspaper's computers (they have newer iMacs, like the one I bought), so they were nicer than what we've been using in class all semester. We were given an empty document with a black background (nothing else), an XML file, and .jpgs, we had to show the teacher what we had learned, and thanks to my beating my head against the wall for my second and third project, it was fairly easy! Our teacher didn't want us helping each other, but he left before we took the test. I was chatting with my classmates, at one point one remarked how humorous it was that we were all talking but not actually helping each other with our final. As it should be.

Feeling empowered after turning in my final, I came home to clean. One really nice thing about cleaning the kitchen almost every week for clean checks made White Glove SO MUCH EASIER. I still went hardcore with the 409 though, doing a really thorough job mopping the floor as well. What was really funny about that was that, hours after the floor had dried, I was standing in the kitchen with "Mi" when "A" came home. She made to walk into the kitchen but halted in her tracks, practically falling over her feet in an attempt to stop. The floor looked so shiny to her she thought it was still wet! ^_- At least she noticed. I'm still waiting to see someone track muddy tracks through the kitchen.

I did some more cleaning and packing this morning, but now I'm taking a break. I really need to be studying for my German test, not to mention my Textiles final, but I just feel so...blah about it. I always get the mindset come test time that if I don't know something, no amount of studying will help. So horribly tempted just to go to take those finals and see what happens. XP

Oh, and don't expect more posts from me today. After the finals are done I need to come home and finish up packing, plus cleaning (I just need to vacuum my room), then it's off to the airport to twiddle my thumbs and hope everything's on time today. I really don't want to get home super late...

The end (my end?) draws nigh!

2009-12-16T15:01:48Z

Yuck to yesterday! I set my alarm to get up at 7 a.m. so I'd have time to finish my final Textiles lab plus study for the corresponding test, as well as my final World Religion test as well. Even before 7 a.m. I woke up to total darkness thanks to my innards being very uncomfortable, so I snuck out of bed for a few minutes. When I got back I checked the time. Past 6:13 a.m. Ugh! I lay in bed anyway and must have dozed, because my alarm did go off and I got up, but I felt absolutely awful! I was so hot! My roommate got up at the same time so we both were on our beds doing homework. I just really felt miserable throughout, so after finishing my lab I took a lukewarm shower.

It didn't really help.

What also didn't help was that when I wanted to eat breakfast, every single dish imaginable was dirty, meanwhile "M" was at the sink washing them. I suspect she had been the one leaving dishes in the sink all week and was finally deciding to wash them. Rargh. So I had bread with apple butter for breakfast. I'd have toasted it, but the toaster is too small for my bread, which is probably just as well since the toaster is ancient and burns more than toasts. I studied some over my meager breakfast, then studied a bit longer in my room, before deciding I better head off to the Testing Center. It was about 8:40 a.m.

More misery! Still not feeling well from waking up too hot, walking across campus was very slow going because I just didn't feel I had the energy. The cold air did feel good though, since it was actually cloudy outside it was cold enough I could see my breath, but not so cold that it took my breath away. Very fine line there. Once I made it to the Testing Center the worker there let me take both of my tests, which was interesting in itself since one I had to take online on one of the computers there, then I moved to a desk afterward to take the other. I ended up getting 80+% on both, which made my morning. It was about 9:40 a.m. by this time so I headed out of the Testing Center to swing by my Textiles teacher's office to drop off my lab. Easiest part of my day. After that I headed to the Hart building to sell back the books that had been wanting to break my back all semester.

...just over an hour later... Seriously, it felt like it took forever, most likely because I still felt like I had no stamina, but my time finally came so I got rid of the books, pocketed some much needed cash, then headed back to my apartment. It was just after 11 a.m. I really had intended to do something with my day yesterday, but doing laundry was about it. After that I mostly loitered on a couch all day, dozing every so often. We did decorate the gingerbread house we made the other day though, which was fun. Although "M" continues to frustrate me in how she doesn't listen to instruction at all, always saying, "It's fine," but later finally admitting she wants to know how to properly do something since her way isn't working. Rargh. That silly girl.

Today I have two last classes, then I need to do my White Glove cleaning. I'm feeling much better today at least, so I ought to have the energy to do so. I sure better have since tomorrow will be devoted mostly to last-minute studying, taking two finals, then packing up and heading to the airport. I can't wait to be in my own bed again! "A" is offtrack this semester so she spent late last night chatting on the phone in places that always amplified her voice. She has a rather high voice, so it can be very grating when one is trying to sleep.

One more night, just one more night and I'll be back in my own bed.

We have a winner!

2009-12-15T04:40:02Z

Update to my post this morning: "H" figured it out. As soon as she walked in on "Mi" and me she exclaimed, "It was you guys, wasn't it?" and we didn't deny it, but I did ask how she figured it out and she listed off all of the things I'd had hoped the others would have picked up on. She made my day! (But no one else has been told yet. Perhaps she's also having fun seeing the others not knowing for sure how stockings came to be under the Christmas tree.)

It's complete! ...I think.

2009-12-14T20:29:03Z

I finally got to update my Flash site with the changes, including new sound clips from those who offered. bonemarch, izo_chan, thank you so much!

Newly updated site is here.

(And next time I'll remember to bring the nice USB mic I paid good money for so my sound clips sound better..)

Failure to connect the dots...

2009-12-14T15:30:37Z

People really are amusing sometimes. Over a week ago we talked about making stockings as an apartment to make things a bit more festive here, but we ran out of time (since Sunday is typically the day we do such things as an apartment) so it fell by the wayside. "Mi" and I still wanted to do something for the apartment though, so when it came time to visit Idaho Falls for groceries and after I convinced her she'd be smart to go to JoAnns in the same trip so we'd not need to return this year, "Mi" called me over to the felt and again brought up making stockings. We purchased some felt, found some goodies and small gifts elsewhere in Idaho Falls, then smuggled everything into the apartment.

On Saturday the apartment was fairly quiet, so I put on Disney's Atlantis to watch. "Mi" joined me a short while later and then I decided that we needed to get sewing, so I brought out all of the felt, scissors, sewing needles and thread, then got down to cutting out pieces and drawing an outline so "Mi" would know what she was doing. "A" came home about this time which was a bit amusing itself since every time she walked into the living room (we kept the door to the back rooms closed to give us a few precious seconds to hide everything) "Mi" and I would scramble like mad to stash the stockings. "A" would give us a confused look and ask, "What are you doing?" so I finally swiped a business book "M" keeps leaving out to use as a cover for doing homework while watching the movie. Because I'm really into business like that...

I didn't finish sewing the stockings until late Saturday evening, "Mi" being gone to a company party with "M" (who holds a local job) until well past midnight. I snuck into the living room to grab one of my fabric paints (which are being left out in the open since we had all been plotting to make stockings) so I could write names on each stocking. After that I could only go to bed, since it would take a few hours for the paint to dry. "Mi" didn't get home until late anyway, and seeing how she had half of the goodies we were going to put in the stockings there was little point waiting up for her.

Sunday morning turned into an oddity itself. It was too warm so I had trouble sleeping, so I was awake at 5 a.m., unhappily crawling from bed to shower at 6 a.m. When I returned, "Mi" was still asleep so I kept wandering from the room to get breakfast, preen a bit in front of the mirror, etc. At 7:00 a.m. even "C" was up, which was shocking in itself since she usually sleeps until the last second. (Church starts at 8:15 a.m.) By 7:40 a.m. I was more alarmed since "Mi" and "H" were both still asleep ("A" and "M" always leave around 6 for meetings at church) so I finally gave both a wake-up call, which in turn led to "Mi" searching about our room like mad to find where she'd stashed the stocking goodies. I had already put what I had bought into the stockings, so I just needed what she had. Alas, she was convinced there was a hole in the room since she could not find them, so we had to put off placing the stockings under the tree. (We were going to be sly and have "Mi" be the last one out of the apartment since I'd be outside getting my car ready.)

After church she finally found what she'd stashed...in her top drawer she'd looked in, but by then everyone was home and hanging out in the living room. So we waited...and I eventually fell asleep having had such a short night. Come later that evening we all went to the Nativity play that "C" is in (since she lives locally) which turned into getting lost in the outskirts of Rexburg, but eventually we found it, hung out with sheep and a cow in heat, then froze as we watched the performance. I dropped "H" off at a friend's house afterward, so "C" ended up beating us home. Drat! "Mi" and I were about to give up on placing the stockings under the tree while everyone was gone, but then she came running into the room exclaiming, "Quick! She's changing right now!" so we grabbed the goods and placed them under the tree, lit it up, then sat on the couch acting innocent.

And things went from there, since it took "C" forever to notice anything different. After she did she got all excited, but was completely confused about how the stockings got there since the door had been locked when she got home. (If she had looked, she'd have noticed that there weren't any stockings under the tree, either.) "Mi" and I played along with the discovery of the stockings, not wanting to just give it away. But maaaaaan, people are so funny. Even when "A" came home she marveled at the stockings, also completely confused on how they got here, and whether it was possible to even buy stockings like these. (No, and some are easy to tell that they were handmade...)

This morning "Mi" came in to tell me that "C" and "M" have convinced themselves that our bishop dropped the stockings off for us. No word yet on what "H" thinks about this, but I'm hoping she'll be at least a little skeptical. I mean, I've not kept it a secret that I sew! My fabric bins are out in the living room, and that's my handwriting on those little stockings... XD

If this keeps up we'll just have to tell the roommates how the stockings really came to be. In the meantime, it's kind of funny (but perhaps a bit sad) at just how utterly confused everyone is on just who could have left us stockings. Stockings that, I might add, only contain candies for "Mi" and me, but also fun little toys and things for everyone else (based on what they've expressed liking in the past). And I haven't exactly played it too serious when pretending to be surprised... Oh, roommates.

Swoop in, swoop out! It's the Diane way!

2009-12-13T02:20:32Z

A coworker and I have been keeping tabs on each other via Deviantart for the past month or so since I'm heading back to Washington for Christmas (this Thursday!) and she was wanting to head home to Montana for Christmas. Our discussion made its way back to our boss who called me earlier this week to get a definite on when I would be back and when I could work, but when I returned the call the bakery was busy so I left a quickie reply.

This morning while killing time in front of my computer and chatting with secondlina my phone went off but I answered since it was a local number from back home. Thank goodness I did, since it was my boss calling again! We went over when I was wanting to work and how long I would be home, so as of today I'll be working this Friday and Saturday for sure, and the rest of the schedule will most likely be worked out in the coming week.

Personally, I can't wait to get back to the bakery! I love being able to zip home for Christmas then go to work the next day and surprise all of the regulars. Samantha, Katarina, I'm coming back!

Amusement around the table...

2009-12-12T06:51:01Z

Just a quickie from my D&D session tonight. One of the guys had been up a long time so was resting his head against the table while waiting for his turn. Thus:

Other guy to first: "I'm sorry you're sired."
Me: "Sired?" *grins*
Tired guy: "You can blame my father for that."

The guy of course meant to say tired, but his spectacular mess up was all kinds of hilarious. I love when people know their vocabulary!

Science may not be able to prove or disprove the existence of a higher being...

2009-12-11T21:02:13Z

But it certainly gives one food for thought. We gave our case study today on the principal and gym instructor down in Florida being tried for praying at a school event, which was all kinds of interesting. I think I was most intrigued (and perhaps disheartened) when people in class that were for banning prayer in schools were unwilling to take ACLU's stance just for the sake of debate. As it was, we only had a few minutes left to present anyway, so it all worked out.

One of the guys in my group showed our group a video afterward that he had wanted to work into the presentation. This is actually a re-enactment of an exchange between Albert Einstein and his teacher when Einstein was just a child. It's in German but with subtitles. I'd have loved to have talked to Albert Einstein... Anyway, something to think on:

IT LIIIIIIIIVES!

2009-12-09T20:29:51Z

I don't even want to say how long I worked on this yesterday, so don't ask. Do know that it does still have a bug in it (the counter between links does not reset to 0, so it messes up consecutive slideshows) that I hope to have solved by the end of class today..if the teacher ever makes it to me to help me.. Blargh.

Anyway, fun to be had here.

Also, bonemarch and izo_chan (and anyone else with audio recording abilities), I think I will take you up on your offers to provide voicework for this. My races need voices... Just let me know if you're still interested!

Don't quit on cold turkey!

2009-12-08T16:58:16Z

Yesterday was my apartment's major food production for dinner last night. A week ago four of us trekked to Winco to stock up on supplies, which was amusement in itself since we had been debating whether to get ham or turkey for the meal, to which "M" assured me that ham would be cheaper than turkey. I wrote both on the shopping list and told her we would let the price decide on what we bought. As we were perusing the hams, "M" walked off without a word to a case a few cases down, returning a moment later with a turkey in hand. Apparently turkey was much more affordable than ham! I only teased her a bit for that. ^_-

Sunday some of the roommates were in a panic, suddenly realizing that it takes days to thaw turkey. After church I pulled the turkey out of the freezer and saw that one can also thaw turkey within hours by putting it in cold water, so we did that, waiting until it was all soft and squishy instead of rock-hard. Cue Monday morning, soon after I got home from German class. "M" was all prepped to take care of the turkey, having received instruction on how to do so from her mom the day before, but she was instead in a panic because she was convinced the turkey was not thawed. She had opened the bag and could not remove the insides (the neck and such) because there was ice. The following exchanged ensued:

M: We can't use this, we'll have to get something else.
D: We HAVE to use this, we don't have money to get something else! I know I don't have money.
M: It won't be any good, we're supposed to clean the insides out really well.

It went on between us for a while, "M" convinced that we would give everyone food poisoning if we cooked the turkey when it wasn't properly thawed. I kept contending that it would be fine since we still had over eight hours before we needed to serve the thing anyway. Finally I convinced her to put it back in water, which I think she only did to appease me since she was convinced it was a lost cause. "H" came in around then so while "M" was panicking in the kitchen, I ducked into the bathroom to confer with "H", who has a sister in the culinary arts field. Through talking to each other and then "H" calling her sister for feedback, we decided to use warm water. I went into the kitchen and did just that, but again "M" freaked because her mother had told her the water HAS to be cold or else people will get food poisoning, yada yada...

Okay, I may be a bit biased since I have worked in food service for quite a few years now, but I really don't think letting a cold turkey soak in warm water for a few minutes before the thing is cooked for HOURS at 350˚F is going to kill anyone. So I made the water warmer. I poked at the turkey some, noticing that the flesh itself was thawed out. I finally poked my hand inside (which was all kinds of wrong!) and found that it was the stuff on the inside that's to be removed that had not thawed all the way. It wasn't long before "M" decided to have another go at removing the neck and such, which did come out. But then there was more trouble because the inside was still frozen, so she was still freaking out. I again stuck my hand inside the turkey, all the way to where I felt a large chunk of ice. I felt around until some of it gave, so I pulled it out to see what it was: just a chunk of ice, nothing more. I delved in a few more times to claw at the ice, but finally "M" seemed to take heart from the revelation and took over, removing the rest of the ice.

After that "M" suddenly was empowered into action, seeing that there was nothing at all wrong with the turkey, as it was thawed, and the ice inside was all gone. After "C" returned from the store with foil in hand, "M" finished prepping the turkey and got it in shortly before she had to leave for class.

Later that evening when the turkey was finally pulled out (an hour before we needed it), "M" was oohing and awing over how well the turkey had come out, since one of the things she was told to check for was for the "meat to fall away from the bone", and it definitely did that. Come dinnertime everyone was really enjoying the turkey, and so far none of us have shown signs of food poisoning. And no, I didn't prod her for the mass panic early that morning. (I only tease people who can take teasing.) ^_-;

Just goes to show that panicking really doesn't get you anywhere if you let it debilitate you. Also, I really am too stubborn for my own good, but sometimes it's the only thing that makes things happen! Lastly, I've discovered that my roommates all seem to like their meat on the somewhat tough/chewy side, which honestly disgusts me. (I prefer it really tender and juicy.) But, I guess I shouldn't complain since the meal was a huge success and we had barely any leftovers - especially the turkey!

Endings, beginnings, etc.

2009-12-07T15:36:47Z

I just realized that it's December 7th, so in exactly one month it will be my 28th birthday. Kind of hard to believe, since I was 24 when I started school. Where on earth does the time go? I am thankful that I did decide to return to school when I did, but I'm even more thankful the end is near! At breakfast this morning I was even thinking that if I have to remain single a while longer, that won't be all bad since I'll have my schooling out of the way. After that...patience will have to see me through, I guess.

There still seems to be too much to do before this semester ends, unfortunately. I still need to write up a paper by Thursday, finish my Textiles lab, not to mention seriously get cracking on the Flash project. I did incorporate sound to it last night, but I'm really wishing I had my nice mic and major privacy so I'd not worry about talking loudly into said mic! Shouting out things like, "Justice! just doesn't work well when one is fearful of being overheard by roommates...

Lastly, the iMac is beckoning to me. It slept all through the night without a peep. I woke it this morning to check the sound in Flash (last night it took a normal-sounding file and made it sound like the speaker was trapped in a pipe or something) only to have it magically restore itself when I named a button, so then I saved the file and put the iMac back to sleep. Only, it won't sleep! It actually woke up after I walked away, but I ignored it. Even now the screen is dark as if asleep, but I hear it making noise, and my tablet is pulsating with blue light, calling me. Come draw. Blargh! And I want to draw, but at least part of the day will be devoted to the kitchen.

Man oh man, I still can't believe I'm leaving next Thursday. I really hope the two new roommates we get next semester are at least on par with the two who will be leaving. It's not been perfect, but overall it's been an awesome semester as far as roommates go. One last semester to enjoy or be driven crazy by...

Irish potato candy!

2009-12-07T01:06:48Z

Tomorrow is our apartment's turn to make dinner for our FHE group and we've been plotting for a while now to go all out, turkey, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, etc. We're baking the pie now but we have an FHE sister who is allergic to gluten, so we wanted to make something she could enjoy but were having trouble figuring out what to make. After church today I Googled 'gluten-free dessert' and after a moment of digging I came across a recipe for 'Irish Potato Candy'. As soon as I saw the little spuds, I knew. We had to make this!

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups confectioners' sugar
2 1/2 cups flaked coconut
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Directions
1. In a medium bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Add the vanilla and confectioners' sugar; beat until smooth. Using your hands if necessary, mix in the coconut. Roll into balls or potato shapes, and roll in the cinnamon. Place onto a cookie sheet and chill to set. If desired, roll potatoes in cinnamon again for darker color.

We actually had to cut the recipe in half since we didn't have enough coconut, but we still got 20 potatoes (each is about as big as a thumb...if you happen to have short thumbs). These are seriously good! Anyone who's not adverse to cream cheese ought to try these, definitely! (Anyone who is, I still suggest trying one!) We made them for the one FHE sister, but everyone wants to eat these instead! XD

That would certainly be a "Fantastic" neighborhood to live in!

2009-12-04T22:55:15Z

In response to a story bonemarch is working on:

How'd you like to drive down the street and see that sign waiting for you? I made this up fairly fast in Flash, Flash is quickly becoming my best friend! If I had a printer I'd be so tempted to print this out and post it up somewhere!

I now return you to reality...

Flash progress: One step closer!

2009-12-04T02:43:12Z

I must really enjoy pain. I spent all of last evening trying to get my external .swf files to embed in Flash, but I couldn't figure out why it wouldn't work. Getting sleep cleared my head though, although it still took a lot of trial and error before I thought to check my .xml file (which houses the external .swf information so Flash knows what it is looking for) only to see that...it somehow had a TON if random code I never put in it! GAAH! Once I fixed that, Flash and the .xml file worked just fine! And then, more tweaking...

Good news is, my homepage (the dragon page) works, my arrow keys only work when I click on something that actually needs to use arrow keys (trust me, figuring out WHY the arrow keys would not de-link to the external .swf files when not on the proper link was not fun!), my class cards finally have proper backgrounds, and I even made a home button that only pops up when one is away from the homepage but wants to stare into the face of the dragon anyway. Is it any wonder my brain feels completely fried?

Looks easy, doesn't it? The 'Home?' text is only showing in this shot because I had my cursor poking the little dragon in the nose. Want to see what sort of coding goes into this? Are you suuuuure?

var clickTracker:Number = 0;

dragon_btn.onRollOver = function(){
home_txt.text = "Home?";
this.onRollOut = function(){
home_txt.text = "";
}
}

dragon_btn.onRelease = function(){
empty_mc.loadMovie("dungeon_dragon.swf");
title_txt.text = "";
home_txt.text = "";
dragon_btn.enabled = false;
dragon_btn._alpha = 0;
}

empty_mc.loadMovie("dungeon_dragon.swf");

dragon_btn.enabled = false;
dragon_btn._alpha = 0;

dForward.enabled = false;
dForward._alpha = 25;
dBack.enabled = false;
dBack._alpha = 25;

dOne.onRollOver = function(){
tOne.text = ("History");
this.onRollOut = function(){
tOne.text = ("");
}
this.onPress = function(){
empty_mc.loadMovie("history.swf");
title_txt.text = "A Brief History of Dungeons & Dragons:";
dForward.enabled = false;
dForward._alpha = 25;
dBack.enabled = false;
dBack._alpha = 25;
dragon_btn.enabled = true;
dragon_btn._alpha = 100;
}
}

dTwo.onRollOver = function(){
tTwo.text = ("How To Play");
this.onRollOut = function(){
tTwo.text = ("");
}
this.onPress = function(){
title_txt.text = "How to Play:";
dragon_btn.enabled = true;
dragon_btn._alpha = 100;
}
}

dThree.onRollOver = function(){
tThree.text = ("Races");
this.onRollOut = function(){
tThree.text = ("");
}
this.onPress = function(){
title_txt.text ="Races in Dungeons & Dragons:";
dForward.enabled = false;
dForward._alpha = 25;
dBack.enabled = false;
dBack._alpha = 25;
dragon_btn.enabled = true;
dragon_btn._alpha = 100;
}
}

dFour.onRollOver = function(){
tFour.text = ("Classes");
this.onRollOut = function(){
tFour.text = ("");
}
this.onPress = function(){
title_txt.text ="Classes in Dungeons & Dragons:";
var class_xml:XML = new XML();
class_xml.ignoreWhite = true;
class_xml.load("class.xml");
class_xml.onLoad = function(){
empty_mc.loadMovie(class_xml.childNodes[0].childNodes[0].childNodes[0]);
dragon_btn.enabled = true;
dragon_btn._alpha = 100;
dForward.enabled = true;
dForward._alpha = 100;
dForward.onRelease = function(){
clickTracker++;
empty_mc.loadMovie(class_xml.childNodes[0].childNodes[clickTracker].childNodes[0]);
dBack.enabled = true;
dBack._alpha = 100;
dBack.onRelease = function(){
clickTracker--;
empty_mc.loadMovie(class_xml.childNodes[0].childNodes[clickTracker].childNodes[0]);
trace(clickTracker);
dForward.enabled = true;
dForward._alpha = 100;
if(clickTracker == 0){
this.enabled = false;
this._alpha = 25;
}
}
if(clickTracker == 8){
dForward.enabled = false;
dForward._alpha = 25;
}
trace(clickTracker);
if(clickTracker == -1){
this.enabled = false;
this._alpha = 25;
}
}
}
}
}
dFive.onRollOver = function(){
tFive.text = ("Watch a Game Session");
this.onRollOut = function(){
tFive.text = ("");
}
this.onPress = function(){
empty_mc.loadMovie("gameSession.swf");
title_txt.text ="Watch a Dungeons & Dragons Game Session:";
dForward.enabled = false;
dForward._alpha = 25;
dBack.enabled = false;
dBack._alpha = 25;
dragon_btn.enabled = true;
dragon_btn._alpha = 100;
}
}
dSix.onRollOver = function(){
tSix.text = ("Credits");
this.onRollOut = function(){
tSix.text = ("");
}
this.onPress = function(){
title_txt.text ="Credits:";
dForward.enabled = false;
dForward._alpha = 25;
dBack.enabled = false;
dBack._alpha = 25;
dragon_btn.enabled = true;
dragon_btn._alpha = 100;
}
}

Pretty crazy, isn't it? And to think, I still need to make external .swfs for the races, how to play (ought to be fun) and then credits. At least I'm getting there! Also, we apparently need sound for this project. Some people have just been streaming music to play on theirs, but I don't know if I want to do that. I think it might be more fun to make the characters 'interactive' in that when they're clicked on, they'll say something. Of course this means recording myself in order to have them able to say anything. Sadly I left my external microphone at home, but the laptop's not too bad. Hmm... Opinions? Am I the only one who hates loading a site only to be bombarded with song?

Edit: And where the heck did all of my icons go?? I don't have time to reupload them all right now... Give them back, LJ! You seem to think they're still there...

In a silent world...

2009-12-03T20:20:57Z

MacBeth has gone mute on me. I was killing time between classes earlier trying to figure out why my .xml file would not cooperate with my Flash project, resorting to watching a video my teacher put together forever ago explaining such things. Since I was on campus and he's very soft-spoken, I plugged in my earbuds to listen. All was well and good, then once class started I put MacBeth away. I just pulled the laptop out again for my World Religion class and the volume icon is grayed out, and I can't even select the internal speakers for sound output. NOT GOOD.

I did find a forum that talked on this, and the solution seems to be to probe inside the headphone jack carefully, or take the computer in for repairs. I don't have an Apple Store nearby, and I am lacking something to poke inside (I'm hesitant to use my paper clip) so I'm sitting here a bit annoyed...aside from the fact I am in the middle of class and shouldn't be poking around inside anyway. The sound is just fine when I have my earbuds plugged in (if I don't mind listening through said earbuds), so I guess that's a good sign...

I do find it a bit ironic though. I've been debating for the past couple of days whether or not to get a basic MacBook Pro next semester (if I have the funds) but MacBeth wasn't misbehaving...and now it is misbehaving. What a weird thing, too! It's just unfortunate I need sound for what I do!

Update: Further down in the forum someone suggested just blowing out the port, which I did (half-heartedly)...and MacBeth is eager to be noisy again. Thank goodness! ...just another reason for me to avoid headphones of any sort though. My ears aren't happy having things in them, and apparently MacBeth isn't, either!