Friday, September 16, 2005

   Insane ramblings of an over-caffeinated Bear.

Ok, time for me to get started on replying to all the comments and answering the questions. Only a few of them this time but I think I was much more talkative...type-ative...whatever. Without further ado... I don't drink beer, coffee yes, beer no. SunfallE: When I was little I really loved the smell of coffee, unfortunately my very first experience with coffee was a bad one. I noticed my mom's coffee mug sitting out on the coffee table, which had been sitting there all morning and I thought I would have a taste. ::barf:: Iced coffee is one thing, hot coffee that has gone cold several hours earlier is just nasty! Needless to say I didn't drink coffee for many, many years later. August of '91 I was given an iced mocha and loved it. Been a coffee junkie since. I wouldn't want to hurt someone's feelings. enin: Have you ever pulled a good prank? If so, what was your favourite one and how were the results? And have you ever had one pulled on you? Honest truth. Nope. I have never pulled a prank on anyone or had one pulled on me. I am not sure how I managed that, but never been the victim or instigator of a prank. I have played jokes on friends but nothing major. Nothing like stealing all the fetal pigs from the science building and hiding them in some poor souls locker. I was never motivated enough to do that kind of stuff. Just little jokes, no pranks. Pranks take motivation and planing. I am just too darn lazy. I can't believe you asked me that!!! indifference: What made you decide to apply to work for this online site? Ok, most of my life during that crazy time is a bit of a blur, so I will piece it together as best I can. Like many of the members of the site I was really impressed with the quality of the site. It was amazing to see a fan site, not a corporate one, that had so much time and effort invested into it. The message board section that was ultra moderated so it isn't a spam fest, blog section that you can customize to fit your personality and the main site which you could submit your work to share with others. The massive nature of the site and, at the time, very little staff totally amazed me. I couldn't believe this was all put together by just a few people! It's this dedication and work ethic that drew me in. It very much fits my style. I knew I wanted to be a part of the team. At the time I was healthy and working in vet med. I was able to fulfill my writing desires by being the editor and lead writer for a veterinary newsletter. I love writing, I love animals and I love helping pet owners...it was a perfect set up. When I was diagnosed with RA (Rheumatoid Arthritis) things in my life took a major turn. I could no longer do the physical work required of me at the vet clinic. This was a pretty tough time for me. I had worked in my career for 7 years and had to give it up. During this time I'm pretty sure I was doing some mod work on the OB. I was asked by Charles to mod the Otaku Lounge. It was a nice way to keep my mind off of my health. As my life was run through the blender I knew I had to get things back on track. With the ups and downs of flare ups with RA I can no longer work a regular 9-5 job. It sucks. Some days, like today I, I feel great...but when you look back at the past 3 weeks I could barely move. Therein lies the problem. I needed something to do that would be a) professionally fulfilling. b) a creative outlet. c) flexible with my work schedule. d) something I loved to do. This was a pretty tall order. That is when I decided to send a proposition out to Adam about doing work on theOtaku. I had emailed him before on little odds and ends of issues with my site and what not (I had some wacky issues with my intro...couldn't update it at home on a Mac, but could from a PC at work...weird.). Anywho, I suggested he let me do some writing for the site. I have many friends who I knew would let me interview them and I touched base with them and asked if I could interview them. Of course they were all cool about that. I then told Adam that I would do these interviews for the site. I love the entire anime/gaming fandom, have many contacts (which is weird to think about), I could do my writing when I felt good and it would make me feel like I am contributing to society. This could also be added into a portfolio of my writing when looking for freelance work. It was a win/win situation for both theOtaku since they get exclusive industry interviews and I get another piece to add to my portfolio. This was before we had the "articles" section of the site. That makes me feel like I've been around for awhile. Of course not nearly as long as the boys (aka Adam, James and Justin) who totally rock my Panda socks. I just love them, they really do such an amazing job with the site. They needed a girl to come in a stir things up! LOL Pretty much I started out doing my interviews then as the site began to grow I was given more responsibilities around the site. I would do much more but my wacky health keeps me from taking on too much more. I feel bad when I can't take care of the things I am already responsible for! When I feel good I pretty much spend the day on theO network taking care of things. I really love this site and want to see it become the premier anime site on the net. The site really is a labor of love. The amount of time invested is amazing. All the admins and mods put in hundreds of hours. Literally. There is all that the members see but that is only the tip of the iceberg. If you guys only knew of all the plans in store for this network....let's just say there are some amazing things in the future of theOtaku.com network. ^_^ Phew! That was a very long-winded answer. Hope I actually ANSWERED a question in there somewhere and just didn't spend it rambling. Now what was I talking about? Everyone's working 'til they drop! Yamchaa: Ive PMed a few of higher-ups in theotaku about creating a "Anime Collection Section". ive recieved no replies and nothing to show that anyone has contemplated or asked the other members here what they thought about it. Who should i go to to give ideas and stuff? Ah, an anime collection section. That would be interesting. The person you need to email (Email is the best option via the "contact us" link) would be Adam. Right now there are several other projects being worked on for the network that are closing in on completion. So any new additions will be put waaaaaay back on the back burners until current projects are completed. I wouldn't get discouraged if you haven't heard anything back yet. They are busy, busy, busy. I will keep your suggestion in mind when the time comes for suggestions on what to add to the network. ^_^ A moment of silence for all the cell phones that have passed on. Shanny: Yes, cell phones are a major pain in the bum. One of my friends, Andy, makes fun of me since it seems like every time I see him I have a new phone! The funny thing is this summer we didn't get to meet up but I DID have a new phone. Now that "new" phone is the one giving me grief. I did finally get the messages from my mom. 2 days later. Bah! Despite the annoyance of cell phones they do come in handy in an emergency. With my life, that would be all the time! >_<;; Doctor, I have some sharp back pain... abckid: If caffiene would serve as a benefitical element to better health, how may it improve one's health, if possible? It's funny you should bring this question up. People with RA are suppose to limit their caffeine intake since it can cause flare ups. But with me, I feel great!! I haven't had coffee in a while and just had some the other day and now I feel great! I have energy, my joints don't hurt as much and I am in very high spirits. For me caffiene in coffee works better than any of my medications. Caffiene in any other form...chocolate or sodas does not have the same effect. Weird huh. So to actually answer the question I think it would improve ones health by giving the much needed energy boost needed to get through the day. I know for me I feel very happy and healthier after a nice cup o' joe. Nurses help people (and Pandas) feel better. Summoner Rekka: My friend is actually an RN who teaches the CNA class. I actually am friends with lots of nurses. I think my dad thought for years I was going to become a nurse like all my friends did. His sister is a nurse too....but I went into vet med instead. I like working with animals more than people. LOL I mean, if you have a really super cute patient come in it's not like you can hug them! But with animals, it's ok. My neighbor across the street teaches the RN classes at a college nearby. I am not sure why, but I seem to have lots of nurses in my life. Nurses really are what makes the medical community what it is. There is a saying that goes something like this: Behind every successful doctor is an overworked, underpaid, underappreciated nurse. Best of luck in your CNA class, we need as many good nurses as we can get in this world! ::huggles:: This is what happens if you smell like bamboo. celestialcharm: Speaking of coming home from work smelling like something...coffee would smell so good. Yummy! Of course that is easy for me to say since I don't have to smell it day after day at work. In high school I use to work in a movie theater and would come home every night smelling like popcorn. My friends would tell me that I smelled yummy since movie theater popcorn is waaaaay better than the stuff you make at home. Ick. I hated it. I would get in my car the next morning to go to school and it would smell like popcorn! I couldn't escape it. Of course I did work in vet med and would come home with some really bad smells....ewwww!! Well, I think I got all of those questions answered. I appreciate all the positive comments on my new theme. Hope you find the mocha-ness of it all very soothing and calming. I know I do. Thanks again for being here for me and remember that this little panda bear loves you all. ::huggles::

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