Friday, June 13, 2008

I’m glad you guys enjoyed my pictures in my last post! Thanks for the compliments on the pictures too…even though those weren’t really any “hard-core” pictures since I was just playing around with my new camera and trying all kinds of different settings and stuff. To answer the question a few people asked, my new camera was about $600. It’s a $900 camera that was on sale.^^
Oh, and my kitty, FuzzButt…yes, that’s his real name.XD And FuzzButt is a pure-bred Ragdoll Cat (yes, that really is a breed of cat) and he is…super fuzzy. His fur is obnoxiously soft…like petting a bunny rabbit! And the Ragdoll cat breed is supposed to be so sweet and docile and not like to jump on things and don’t meow much…heh…FuzzButt is the polar opposite of everything a Ragdoll cat is supposed to be but that’s why we love him. He’s got a lot of personality.XD

Like I said in my last post, I had brought my dollfie, Siluvan with me to my parent’s house so I could take some pictures of him in the small graveyard next to my folk’s house. The graveyard is very old (the most recent date on one of the stones being in 1890) and consists of only 8 gravestones. We learned a few years ago that there is actually 53 people buried there but the stones are gone!!! The graveyard goes back into the woods and over the hill apparently but only these 8 stones remain. Kinda creepy knowing that there are a bunch of un-marked graves in our backyard…very Poltergeist-ish.>_>
So yes, I took loads of pictures but these are a couple of my faves that I thought I’d share. I want to take more pictures of him with more gravestones but this was my “practice run” with my new camera and I know now that I should wait till even later in the evening to take pictures since I thought it was getting too dark but I think it being even darker outside would make it more dramatic!



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Wednesday, June 11, 2008

So, I went to my parent’s house yesterday because I wanted to take some pictures with my brand-spankin’ new camera! For those who asked, it’s an Olympus with a super hard-core lens and 10 megapixels, baby! My dad has an Olympus he uses for his saltwater dives (the camera is obviously in a special water-proof case) so I’ve always wanted an Olympus like his since it takes some gorgeous pictures and then I see one on sale! $300 off! WOOT! So, I had gotten it and now my dad is jealous because now my camera is a newer model and a better lens then his.XD

I got some great pictures of my dollfie, Siluvan at my parents house because right next to the house is a super, incredibly old graveyard and so I got some great pictures with Siluvan posed around those old tombstones and with my camera set to black and white (I’ll show some of those pictures in my next post). I took quite a few piccys of our doggy, Harley and our kitty, FuzzButt. My mom had bought FuzzButt this…I don’t know even what to call it…like a kitty kingdom that’s really tall and the kitty can jump all over the place and has little dens it can go into and stuff. I ended up putting it together and FuzzButt was “helping” by attacking the little strings and then sleeping on part of the cloth as I was piecing it together.

I compiled the pictures into one image with text…mostly for Worlds since you can only have one at a time and just figured to put them on here too:

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Monday, June 9, 2008

So, my belly dancing lessons are going well! I really love it…what I love about it is, not only is it a great workout but it’s a sensual, sexy, beautiful dance without it being skanky. lol! I guess that’s why I don’t really like to dance but I’ve always wanted to learn belly dancing so figured…why not?! But so far I am proud to say I officially know an Egyptian peasant dance! lol!

So, it’s been hotter than Hates here in NY. Now, I love the heat and crave it the 9 months out of the year it’s cold and crappy here in this state however…it’s been too hot even for me! The main problem is that the humidity is very high which makes you feel gross and my second problem is that my apartment just does NOT circulate air at all. Saturday my apartment was 96 degrees and then today it was 91 degrees and it’s cooler outside! My dad ended up coming over to install my bro’s old AC but it wasn’t strong enough so my parents bought me a brand new one and installed that too so now, I have TWO AC’s.XD My dad couldn’t believe how hot it was in my apartment and couldn’t understand how I could handle it. It really doesn’t bother me too much until I start moving around a lot…like I’ve been practicing my belly dancing and I get incredibly hot just doing basic moves.

Oh, and I’m glad you guys like the look of my dollfie Ducan…who is now named Siluvan. I got a brand new camera the other day and it takes such amazing pictures and tomorrow, I’m going to my parents to take some more scenic piccy’s and moving shots of my kitty, FuzzButt and doggy, Harley to really try out all the features of my camera but I just took lots of shots of Siluvan to try it and got some good ones. Here’s one of the shots I took and I had taken 2 separate pictures of him in B&W and one in color and doctored the colored parts into the B&W to get this effect:

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Monday, June 2, 2008

So, I started taking belly dancing lessons! Woot! It’s so much fun! You know, amazingly enough out of everything on me that hurts the most…it’s my shoulders! You’d think, “belly dancing” would involve more-so, you know, THE BELLY! But a lot is put into the arms and shoulders to do things like the “snake arms” and the shoulder rotations. I have strong legs but incredibly weak arms and shoulders (comes from being a hard-core Cross Country runner) so I’m not used to having to work my arms so much and a lot of belly dancing is being able to hold your arms in really graceful positions that strains the shoulders. Plus, a lot of the hip routines in belly dancing is done with the knees, not the hips. I love it though and can’t wait to learn some more!

So, you guys remember my pride and joy which comes in the form of my Dollfie, Ducan? A quick summary of Dollfies for those who don’t know, they are custom-made dolls (made in Asia) that are very tall, very detailed…very expensive…XD I always had wanted one but didn’t want to buy one till I found the perfect face, I knew I wanted a boy one and I found just that one from the Dream of Dolls company. The dolls are only built once an order is placed so it had taken me about 6 weeks till I got mine. I had gotten the “Homme Ducan” model and here’s a picture I had taken of mine last summer:

This one is considered a D.O.T. model…stands for “Dream of Teen” since this one is considered a little larger than most Dollfies but it’s not as large as the next model, which is the D.O.I. (Dream of Idol).

What’s cool about them is that all their clothes and even their hair, is able to be changed! I loved my Homme Ducan clothes and hair but I finally decided to splurge and get him something new. I stuck with the Dream of Doll company since they truly make the best outfits and wigs (all are hand-made) so I bought him new clothes and hair and kaboom! It’s a whole new Dollfie! Hee! I absolutely love it and love the wig I picked out for him since it gives him an elvish/vampire who lived in the Victorian era look.XD I also gave him a new name…Siluvan is his new name. Siluvan means “I will shine” in elvish. I reeeeeeally want to do a drawing based on Siluvan since I love the look and it’s pathetic…but I spent more on HIS outfit then I would ever spend on an outfit for myself.XD XD XD Here’s a picture of my pimped Dollfie:

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Thursday, May 29, 2008

So, the new girl I worked I trained is doing very well! For those who missed the last post, she used to work in Disney World as a “costumed character” when she was younger (like, right after high school/during college type thing)…and yes, since Jomz asked, that’s the official title if you’re an employee who dresses up as a character. “Face Characters” are the ones who play roles like Jasmine or Cinderella. I asked her all kinds of questions that I’m sure you guys as well as virtually everyone wants to know! She told me she was “too tall” to be Mickey or Minnie but the main characters she was was Chip and Dale..but she was also Mushu as well as Timon. She’s only about 5’1”…hence why I thought I was too weird a height to be any character since it seems you either have to be really short or really tall (another of my cousins was really tall and was Goofy at Disney …who happened to marry my OTHER cousin who played Mickey and Minnie as well as Alice, Snow White, Wendy….XD) but she said there’s a character for virtually any height and that at 5’8” I could be Tigger.^_^

She said they get paid only minimum wage but she said you work 20 minutes in the costume and then you get a 40 minute break. Hour lunches and if it rains, you get paid to just sit in your trailer and wait for the rain to stop. She told me so many funny stories…one being how the “costumed characters” enjoy having a little “fun” now and again…like the guy in the Jafar costume pretending to hump Minnie, that sort of thing.XD No surprise since she said most of the people in the costumes are college kids and people in their 20’s-30’s or so.XD
She also told me…”never rub a character’s belly.” Why? Well, most of the costumes, the character’s belly actually goes all the way down to the person inside’s knees…so when people would come up and rub their “bellies” you are actually rubbing the crotch of the person inside the costume.XD XD XD Oh man, that cracked me up. She said she got felt up once by an old lady trying to see if it was a boy or a girl inside the costume when she was Dale.XD
She also said that before you play any character, you go through a 3 hour training process where you learn how to “act like the character” as well as learn how to autograph like that character too. She said it was one of the funnest jobs she’s ever had.^^

So yeah, thought those were some fun and funny facts about the characters who work for Disney that people would enjoy.^_^
Picture of the Day comes from Loveless:

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Monday, May 26, 2008

Got into a rather heated state of being the other day when Adam asked for ideas on how to bring those members who left Otaku to return. Some rather offensive and not well thought out things were said…such as actually totally getting rid of myO and just focus on getting new members since they state that myO is obsolete and should be canned. And that’s going to bring back the old members, how? Rather than answering the question, they decided to go off into a totally different direction. I think if they get rid of myO, then Otaku Boards should be canned as well since from what I know, that section is old and obsolete as well. Those people then proceed to call us whiners and complainers and then throw out text book reasons on why we are upset about the changes…something they always do since apparently, they’re psychic as well and know all of us and can read minds. They just can’t get it through their heads that we don’t look at myO as just a site and trying to continuously state how much more improved Worlds is with all its flashy stuff isn’t going to change that fact…
I think my dear friend, Sammy (SessLover18) put it perfectly when she compared myO to a pearl necklace your grandma gives to you. It’s something you hold close and treasure and it’s not because they’re just some old string of pearls, but it’s the memories behind it. According to what *those* people say/think, they are waving a diamond necklace in front of us saying, “oh forget about those old pearls…look at these diamonds…oooOOOoooo they’re so sparkly and are WAY better than those pearls.” But what would you rather hold onto? The thing that had meaning to you? Or something that had no meaning but looked prettier? However, let us pretend that you were never really close to your grandmother or didn’t like her but then someone offered those pretty diamonds in front of you, psh, who cares! Get rid of the pearls and take the thing that’s more flashy since you never had much emotional connection with those pearls to begin with.

I could go on and on about this but I’ll stop now before I write and entire essay analogy on the topic once again.XD
So, I’m training the new banker at work…freakin’ finally got a new banker. The last one quit due to her not liking the other supervisor who had trained her so my boss threw the new girl at me since he knows that I get along well with everyone I work with. The new girl (well, lady) is awesome! She used to work for Disney and was the characters in the costumes! My cousins used to do that (identical twins that were incredibly pretty) but not anymore since they’re in their 40’s now, one still works for Disney but for the website or something. I told the new girl I had always wanted to do that but I’m an odd height to be any character…being 5’8” but she said I could actually be Tigger or Eeyore! Lol! But then she said that I could actually be a “face character.” Meaning a character who doesn’t wear a “head” like Snow White, Cinderella, etc. I don’t think I’m pretty enough to be one of those characters but it was sweet of her to say and she said I look like one of the girls she knew that was a face character. I still think I’m too tall…most “princesses” aren’t 5’8” and with shoes, “5’9” to 5’11” with heels…I’d probably scare the kids away when I loomed over them.XD XD

Bah, this post is getting too long and I’m too lazy to find a picture right now so, sayonara!
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Saturday, May 24, 2008

Hello Everyone! I have a new drawing up of an original character of mine so if you could check it out and comment, I’d be very appreciative:
Linky

So yes, I have been away from Otaku for a long time…don’t have much of an excuse except work has been keeping me busy and stressed and the couple hours I actually had at home I spent drawing the image linked above. I suppose some is lack of interest lately in Otaku. It’s just…changed. I can’t quite put my finger on it except maybe it reminds me too much of all the other art/blogging sites out there now that I’m not as excited to come here anymore. It feels like it’s lost its personality…kinda went sterile and generic. But I have made and met enough awesome people on this site that I don’t plan on leaving anytime soon. Hopefully, work will start to simmer a little and I’ll have more time and optimism to start coming back here regularly again.

I got to see Prince Caspian last weekend though. I was uber excited to see it being a huge fantasy nut and have read the The Chronicles of Narnia series. I really liked the movie and I think I have a new crush…the English actor, Ben Barnes, who played Prince Caspian…soooooo hawt.XD XD XD

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Saturday, May 3, 2008

Wow, a week away from Otaku feels like an eternity! I got a lot of comments in my last post so most of you know that this week has been a hectic one for me. I officially got the duel-rate supervisor position but won’t actually be a supervisor for a few weeks yet. Pretty much since we still need to fill 3 banker positions…well, now 3 since I’ll only be part-time in the bank now. But, today is my first time being a cashier and a supervisor in training and it’s Kentucky Derby day AND the start of live racing (our casino has horse racing during the spring/summer months) so it’s going to be a mad house. Wish me luck!!!

The main reason for my absence is that I’ve been drawing! I have a 55 hour work week this week and the few hours I had at home I actually wanted to draw rather than go on the net! So yes, I finished the drawing and only got to work on it a couple hours a day before work but finished it today…my one day off (since I work 10 hour days, I’m SUPPOSED to get 3 days off a week).XD I mention it in the artist statement but I really wanted to do this drawing after I saw the episode of Code Geass where the student council actually tied Lelouch down to a chair to put kitty ears and whiskers on him after they got their new kitty “mascot,” Arthur. It amused me greatly that they had to tie Lelouch to a chair in order to do that.XD XD So, if you could check out the drawing, I’d be ever-so much appreciative:

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Saturday, April 26, 2008

Yes, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion is indeed coming to Adult Swim. When? I’m not sure…all I know is that this anime is seriously, amazing. The story, the characters, the drama, the animation. Oh! Oh! OH! SUGOI!!! I have a feeling, I’ll be seeing lots themes and fan art and fan fic of it when it starts airing on Adult Swim. Glad I’ve already seen it so people can’t spoil it for me! Feh! I think the 2nd season is almost going to be released in Japan so I’ll be downloading it. WOOT! And that may be a problem if they don’t show the nudie-ish scenes in this anime, because there’s this one scene in particular (it’s a shower scene) where crucial story line takes place…I wonder if they’ll still air it?

Anywho, I am now an official duel-rate cage/bank supervisor! My boss came to me Thursday to let me know I got the job. YAY! More money for Elves! The downfall is he has me working 55 hours next week! *dies slowly* It’s because our casino also has horse racing and the racing season starts this Saturday as well as the Kentucky Derby as well as a whole bunch of give-a-ways as well as fireworks and crap, so he needed me to come in on my day off to “observe” for a few hours and then start “working” from there. Oiy, it’s going to be a mad house. 55 hours though…I’m a whole 12 hours more than any other person having to work overtime in my department. I guess that’s good? Shows the boss respects me and believes in me? Or, he knows I’m a hard-worker and a sucker and will do it without complaint.XD It’ll be a stressful, exhausting week but overtime is more money so that’s good, I guess.

And speaking of Code Geass, I’m working on a new drawing that’s based off it…no idea when it’ll be done due to my hectic work schedule but the line-art is done so I’ll be working on and off throughout the week one it.

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Thursday, April 24, 2008

For all those who asked, here’s the article that was written about me in the newspaper. I didn’t have to scan the article because it’s posted online…yay! Less work for Elves! But here’s a link to it:
Clicky

I can’t get over how lovely the weather has been around here lately. Where I live, we have bad weather like 76% out of the year but this past week has been sunny and warm and the cherry blossom tree right outside my window has bloomed and looks beautiful. It’s been steady about 70-80 degrees which I think it perfect. I love really warm weather though since I’m a string bean that doesn’t insolate heat at all.XD I need to move somewhere warm…but I don’t like beaches…I’m not a fan of sand and salt water…makes me feel gritty and gross. I LOVE woods and forests though.

Picture of the Day is again, Code Geass.XD Sick of seeing pictures from it yet? lol! I know Code Geass is coming to Adult Swim soon…hope they don’t butcher it with the dubs like they usually do. Do they show nudie scenes on Adult Swim? There’s a couple of near-nudie parts in this anime.XD I love the name of Lelouch’s little sister (she’s the girl in the wheelchair), her name is Nanaly but the way they say it is so pretty! It’s like, naw-na-lee…if I ever have a girl (hopefully never since I hate children but you never know) I’d name her Nanaly.^^

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