I'm gonna be sure to make it a good one! C;<
(Man, I really wish I had my phone charger! xD)

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Best Things About the New Year:
- Went to Disney World for birthday! -swoons- Saw the Tiana Showboat Jubillee, successfully snuck into Hollywood Studios, rode Tower of Terror for the first time(Favorite ride! Rode it soooo many times!), stayed at an All-Stars Disney resort, and abunch of other things! I'm so, so thankful! x3
- Moved with my father and was reunited with all my old-friends from 7th grade. This was probably the best thing that happened all year! Now I feel as though nothing could stop me! >x3 [I miss Mom, though.]
- Got back into the Sailor Moon fandom (aswell as other cool fandoms).
- PRINCESS AND THE FROG. Nuff' said. :P

This year I reached a major milestone in my career path. I passed my PhD Qualifying Exams with much praise from all three of my advisors on my committee. I feel more confident, more masterful of my craft and chosen field, more open-minded, and wiser.

I have gained in endurance, strength, and marginally, physical health. I have earned a number of wonderful new friends, and lost a couple too, but those gained were far better for me than those lost. I have sustained the worthwhile friends. I think my social circle now is healthier and safer and happier. <3

It was also a time of losses. My grandmother who was a second mother, my childhood pet, the 19-year old Abyssinian cat Puma. I also lost an uncle to Cancer and an aunt to the advanced stages of Alzhiemer's.

I became closer than ever to my Godson who is the light of my life. He is a magnificent human being: kind, compassionate, intelligent, curious. One of my soul mates. I got to see him three times in 2009 (he lives in Michigan and I in Ohio). My favorite thing about the year by far.

The decade was an incredible one and would take too much reminiscing for room. I graduated Valedictorian of my class from high school. My world view expanded exponentially as a college undergrad, majoring in painting with minors in psychology and English. I came to learn and appreciate many races, ethnicities, religions, and political views. I graduated summa cum laude in 2005. I moved from my hometown for the first time to a big city for graduate school in art history. I learned my true calling is to be a university professor: to teach what I'm passionate about. Between 2003 and 2009, I met all of my current best friends, and they are each golden to me. I even became acquainted with my most significant fandoms (Slayers and Harry Potter) in this past decade. The hardest time of my entire life was in 2007, but I have pulled past that time of near-death poverty of health and will hopefully never return to that place.

In the next decade, I would like to restrengthen my spiritual bonds to the Christian God, to renew my rigorous exercise and healthy living regime, to complete my dissertation and PhD, to obtain my first job as a professor and move to the city where I will next reside, find greater happiness for my struggling mother, and maybe just maybe meet the man who will become my husband. I have faith these things will come, marveling at what the past decade has brought.

Well, it's the end of 2009. I'm currently with Stu and Jon for New Year's.

Overall, it hasn't been a bad year. Made some new friends, reconnected with some old friends and I finished my course at the business college. Also, Slayers had a new season, a new Disney movie and I got introduce to Umineko, a series in which I never thought I would enjoy so much.

I'm hoping 2010 is the year when I will find a great full time job and I'll finished the rough draft of my first original novel.

For fun, I decide to try to remember some of the best quotes for 2009. Note, some of these are jokes between Stu, Jon and I, in which others might not get:

"Say it in red!"
(Umineko reference)


"Grandfather is not in his right mind at the moment, he might try to kill you."

Stu, Jon and I: *can't stop laughing* Understatement of the year!
(Again, Umineko reference)

Jon: You mean I was right! Dang it, I need to stop guessing the plot.
(After guessing the little boy was Hellmaster and was proven right.)


"Endless hate for endless eight!"


"Boku Sattchi!"
(Dennou Coil reference)


"Give me your heart!"
(I blame you secondlina )


These are all the ones I could think of so far. People are allowed to add more if they want.

Anyway, Happy New Year everyone!

>_______<;;;;;;;


:bows head in shame: Sorry for missing the last few weeks worth of screencaps. Here are this weeks current caps, but I will definately get 1-4 and 5-8 to you guys later on. Again sorry for being so, so, so late on these!

I hope everyone has a Happy New Year!

P.S. I didn't even notice that Jillias had made fish torpedo bombs. That's pretty crazy. XD
 
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First of all, happy birthday to gigabahamut666 - aka my fiancé, Mike. No matter how difficult this year has been for me, my family and my friends, he's been a constant rock. He's had some nasty things thrown at him himself, with the TIA attack and possible heart surgery. He's done fantastic! He's lost about 15 pounds since changing his diet in October and looks really good. He is a good, good man, and I am extremely blessed to have him. He's always struggled with this time of year, so I hope to make his 27th birthday next year a really awesome one. (I'm so robbing the cradle ^_~)

Other than that, I'm so very grateful that 2009 is over. I've had to watch my friends go through way too much hardship this year, and I want next year to be better for all of us. I've been greatly blessed by having all of you in my life. And I think it will be. So, for now, I share with you the traditional Southern good luck meal that's consumed on New Year's. This is something we did every year in my family growing up, and I actually did research on it to finishing getting the meaning of stuff I wasn't sure about.

Traditional New Year's Meal
- Black-eyed peas for good luck. The peas can also mean prosperity. I was told always to eat at least three for the luck.
- Collards for money
- Ham for positive motion
- Round the entire meal out with cornbread

Omgz! Nami got here two nights ago around nineish, promptly getting her car stuck in the snow about a mile from our house on a lonely back road that she decided to drive up for reasons beyond my comprehension. Theeeennnn Ojo and Katree arrived super-late last night and ... we really haven't done much besides watch A Goofy Movie, which was a painful experience due to the nonstop screams and shrieks emitted from these disgusting people who come to visit me every year. 8|

OHAI.... I'm 24? o__O; Sooo old.

'Tree and Nami are leaning over my shoulders telling me to write, 'THE BALLS POP OUT OF MY HEAD' to compliment my subject line... but I won't do it! HURR DURR.

Guess we're gonna go see the Princess and the Frog later, weather permitting. I are excited.

And now these retards need to check their TinierMe, so I must away!!!

I made it to Cape Canaveral safely, though my luggage had to take a later flight from Chicago. Dad's place is pretty nice -- he has a condo on the beach. Despite the recent terrorist thing, I didn't notice any change in security.

( My trip to the Kennedy Space Center )

Shitty year gone/Año de mierda que se va..

Since everybody says so, I couldn't help...
Ya que todo el mundo lo dice, yo no voy a ser menos...

A shitte year is almost gone. A year where almost everything has been a very big shit for me and many people has deceptioned to me.
Un año de mierda casi se ha ido ya. Un año en donde prácticamente todo me ha ido de culo y mucha gente me ha decepcionado.

So I don't expect anything special neither empty "happy whatever" because those have been meanless to me.
Así que no espero nada especial ni cosas tipo "Feliz-lo-que-sea" porque realmente no han significado nada para mí.

People who knows I really wish "happy-whatever" know who're.
La gente que realmente le deseo un "Feliz-algo" sabe quiénes son.

So leave me in peace. I don't want any empty words or else.
Así que déjame en paz. No quiero ni palabras vacías ni saber nada más.

I don't wish and I cannot wish anything else, ok?. Thanks.
No deseo nada ni quiero desear nada, ¿Vale? Gracias.

It's easy to get the sense.
A buen entendedor, las palabras sobran.

Bye
Adiós

Long time no icon post! Here's some new icons I've recently made. More on the way!

Link to OVA/Movie/Multi-Media Scanned Icons HERE
Link to First Season Base Icons: HERE

Preview:


( To Several More Icons... )

Long time no icon post! Here's some new icons I've recently made. More on the way!

Link to OVA/Movie/Multi-Media Scanned Icons HERE
Link to First Season Base Icons: HERE

Preview:


( To Several More Icons... )

Square-Enix why did you ever give me a screenshot function.

( Dorkdorkdorkdorkdork )

Looks like everyone has been having an enjoyable holiday season! Glad to know!
Aside from the fact that I haven't checked LJ since Christmas, I'm glad to say I've been enjoying the holidays even though they're come out rather mundane.

On Christmas Eve, I've spent time with family and got to eat lots of delicious food. My grandma's potato caserole in sour cream, baked enchilada, and grilled ribs were the best I've taste, as far as I can tell since I was hungry by the time we got to eat. I've just recently found out about a game that involves stealing gifts. Now, they're not gifts meant for someone specific, but rather random but useful gifts. I didn't really participate in the gift stealing but I sure enjoyed the game. I think I would have won a gift if I formally participated and contributed a random gift as well. Later I received a gift from my grandma, a new shirt and a warm woot set, perfect for winter. The extra mint cookies she gave me were also good.

On Christmas day, I've jokingly named myself as sous chef under my cousin, let's call him "J", who planned out half the food needed for the party. I've helped make a quiche, prepare appetizing fillos, bake chocolate cake, bake macaroons, bake crinkles, make a ham baste, caramelize a large lump of ham, deep fry shrimp (basically shrimp tempura), and cook pancakes. Then, I got some very very very nice gifts from relatives I didn't expect gifts from. I got a cool lava lamp from my older uncle. It really helps that is has no color, so it retains the yellow hue of the bulb. Then, there are sparkles floating in the liquid that move as the heat from the light bulb creates a current. Quite a nice effect without being too glaring. Then from my younger uncle I got a handsome new Bamboo tablet. It's black with the new hand-touch technology (instead of a mouse!), much like that of the iPhone. I'm excited about that but I won't use it just yet. I still like my first Bamboo. I'll keep the new tablet for a year before I decide to try out the technology. I know that's not very smart since newer tablets with better features will arise, under the same price. But, it's not like I can buy my own tablet any time soon anyway. From my aunt, I got a nice pack of hot chocolate mix, a gorgeous water canister, and a nice reversible vest, in my favorite color of red. From my cousin, I received tickets to the Snoqualmie pass, an opportunity to learn skiing! I actually like the idea despite the fact that I'm sure we'll waste a lot of the time getting it right. Other gifts I've received are gift cards for Macy's, Office Depot, and AMC theatre. Quite perfect I should say since I would not like any more gift cards from Target and Old Navy.

After the party, I was so tired I didn't really want to do anything for the next day or the day after. It doesn't help that our Friend, let's name him Yen, couldn't schedule to watch Sherlock Holmes on the 26th or the 27th, but rather on the 28th instead. I'm fine with that but it kinda tones down the excitement, but I still wanted to see the movie. So the rest of the days, I've spent drawing and catching up with my best friend (who lives in Richmond, BC), let's call her "H", because by January she'll be so busy, she won't have much time to chat. She's also not fond of blogging or writing journals a lot, so I'll have to grab all the time I can to chat to her. Some of the drawings I've made were from an idea during our chat, so I took a good amount of time just for that. It's a mini-project and I've yet to finish it. Unfortunately, that meant postponing some of my other drawing goals. Now I wouldn't be able to submit anything for the Z/A Disney contest. ;___; That makes me sad but I'm still going to draw it. I'm stubborn like that and hate letting ideas go to waste, even if they no longer serve the same purpose. (In this case it will most likely be no longer a contest entry but rather a fun fanart to indulge in)

On the 28th, we finally got to watch Sherlock Holmes! But, before that we had lunch at the Cheesecake factory, near Regal cinemas where the movie is showing. I've been to the Cheescake factory a couple of times but the ambiance and design still amazes me. I feel really comfortable and relaxed everytime I go there. I ordered the Spicy Chicken Chipotle pasta and it was one of the tastiest pasta I've ever eaten. They had something like deep fried tortilla slices mixed within it that gave it that potato chip taste. Plus, you have asparagus, peas, corn, and carrots mixed into it, which just fueled my appetite. My brother had a burger, Yen had salad and some cheesecake (which was the only thing he was after lol), and another friend of ours ordered pasta, which looked just as good. After that we headed straight for the movie. The cinema we were in has quite small and not as good as I expected, especially for the price I'm paying. Though, I didn't care when the movie started and I have to say, IT WAS AMAZING. I can't compare it to Avatar or Princess and the Frog, since all these movies are of different genres. Sherlock Holme's character was way better than I expected, especially if you were me and expected a rather tidy, dignified, and non-athletic type of detective. Apparently, Holmes was a CSI, detective, and martial artist in one package, making him a very exciting and entertaining character. IT amazes how he can visualize scenarious so easily just by looking and observing. However, Dr. Watson is my personal favorite. He is also WAAAY better than I expected, much more than Holmes, because he is not a chubby old doctor. Instead he's a war veteran turned doctor who's about to be married. He knows the right moment to enter, the right moment to knock some sense into Holmes, and he knows how to be a best friend. Not to mention, I like his outfit, too. Lord Blackwood, the villain, was outstanding and quite brilliant I have to say. He was supposed to be a man of the dark arts, but as you'll see in the movie, things are not what they seem. Plus we also get slight foreshadowing of a future villain, supposedly by the name of Prof. Moriarty, who is said to be more cunning and more devious than Holmes. Of course, Holmes takes this as a challenge. I am hoping there will be a sequel since there quite a number of questions unanswered and I do love mystery.

Santa has been good to me this year, so I think my New Year's resolution would be to improve myself and be a more productive person, not being a burden to the people around me. It sounds like something that should be obvious but every year I lose sight of that.

To draw list: (Didn't even finish halfway! oh well, more stuff to draw next year!)
Finished:
- earthstar_chan craft trade (mailed!)
- Secret Santa (DA and Slayers community)
- DA requests (two friend requests)
To do: most important to least
- Hetalia fanart/fancomic ideas
- DA requests (Z/A comic)
- Z/A Disney entry (using "The Great Mouse Detective!")
- Slayers childhood entry (Lina's, but most likely won't be able to do this)
- Bat-Kanzel and Cat-Mazenda
- Slayers/Matrix crossover
- Phibby and Rezo tribute
- "V for Vendetta" tribute
- Sherlock Holmes tribute (I am going to enjoy this one)
- "Abracadabra" by Brown Eyed Girls tribute (sexy Korean girl band that's all)

My scarf in progress for ichiban_victory. It's actually four inches longer than the picture right now, as I've finished another color change and I'm working on another gold band section. I have about 2 or 4 more to go, since it ends on a blue section. It's very soft and warm, and I can't wait to get the tassels on this and send it out to Diane.

The other big thing I've been doing is packing -- again. My lease expires at the end of January, and so I've opted to save money and move in with kitesareevil after her roommate decided to move out at the same time (very long, ugly story, but let's just say Stef is far better off without the girl.) I'm pretty excited. I haven't lived with a roommate since just after college in 2002. The company will be very nice, and I think we're both insane enough to have this work out really well. In addition to this, Stef is completely okay with Mike joining the household sometime within the next year or so. Queen of Wands anyone?

I'm getting the master bedroom, which is almost its own contained unit. It's as big as the dining room and living room of my current apartment combined. I've sketched and measured out the room and half will be the "bedroom" part while the other half will be my office/creating space with the middle split by the TV stand and my new recliner! The recliner passes the all-important "Meg can fall asleep in it" test, which already has Mike shaking his head.

At this point, the living room is empty other than the Christmas tree, the cat tree, TV & TV stand and the futon. My office - which like the kitchen looks like a tornado has blown through it - hasn't been touched and the bedroom is starting to be empty. This gradual move suits me just fine, as we once again test the limits of how much my Fit can hold! (Thus far, I got an 80-inch tall bookcase in there.)

I did stop to watch "The End of Time, Part 1." I'll reserve my comments for Friday, when it concludes. I will say that Wilf = LOVE and that the music was spectacular and the Master would make a great spokesperson for anti-obesity commercials. (And please don't get onto me for saying that he's a spoiler. He's ALL over the promos for this and is in the opening title cards and the episode has aired both on BBCOne and BBC America.)

Ill again for a change. *sigh*  My throat feels like the Sahara desert. =P But then again, if this is that infamous swine flu, I sure don't understand what the fuss was all about, it's hardly worse than a regular flu. Uh oh, does that sentence count as tempting fate? O_O; Oh well, I feel like crap, so I'll just reply to everyone tomorrow if that's okay. Sorry.

On the brighter side, I'm typing this on my brand-new laptop! And only three months too late. (or nine months too early maybe? =D) No, I'm very grateful for it really, especially now my dad's finished playing with it XD. It's so beautiful! *sniffles* The keyboard is a pain to get used to though and the internet connection's ridiculously flunky (apparently, downloading Firefox takes two hours?!?). But other than that, I only have good things to say about Belldandy (name thanks to ijuintekka  =D.)

Anyway, I'll now go to a.) play Peggle or b.) Roll over and die. orz. See you.

Just a reminder about the Secret Santa Exchange: the deadline to turn in your gift to your giftee is Saturday, Jan. 2, 2010. We've got a number of people who either don't have any news about their gifts or have been given updates from their secret santas. Please, do your best to get your gifts in as soon as you can, and remember to post them in the exchange post.

Also of note: A few people have not yet posted their receiving threads to the exchange post. Please go and make sure you have done so. Your Secret Santas are waiting for you. :)

Fandom survey stolen from kirarakim
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Still dicking around on my New Game+ of Crystal Bearers. Haven't managed to explore everything yet; I may have to actually break down and pick up a guide. Oh, and the game has a version of Omega, which I managed to not die from (... although I also managed to not put a scratch on it, either).

...was sooooooo slow! D:

My father is sick, so I wasn't able to go anywhere. My phone is dead (and my charger is at my mother's house), so I can't call anyone.

My aunt surprised me by coming over and asking me to go with her to see 'The Princess and the Frog'(I influenced her, mwahaha. xD). I was super stoaked! But then when it came close to the showtime, she called me to say that we got the time wrong, and that we wouldn't be able to make that showing, so we'd catch a later one.

So I had to find a way to kill another three hours.

Then when it comes close to the second showtime, I call her and *she's asleep*! (I mentally facefaulted. lol. xD) So I guess that plan was out. I'm really bummed too. I really wanted to see it again. xD

So now I gotta find a way to kee-hall a whole night. I feel like this day was wasted, grah. :/

(-Ponders-) Well, I did get some laundry done, and I spiffied up my room real nice. AND I claimed Tiana/Naveen for fanart50, so that could give me something to do.

I think I'll read acouple PatF fanfic (I swear, this movie...lol), get started with some concept sketches, play alittle Paper Mario, bake some brownies, then watch Beauty and the Beast.

[Wow. THAT didn't take long. Haha.]