Thursday, February 5, 2004

Birthday Time!

Well, I am being a bit sneaky and coming here while I am doing a bit of homework that requires computer usage. Namely, writing some columns for the school newspaper. I just finished one about how I could never be the American Idol, lol. I am usually pretty shot when it comes to column ideas. I only need one more. I think I might do it on how there should be a holiday for Cicadas. It would just be a casual holiday, whenever they first come out there would be a small celebration of some kind, like a parade, and "Cicada Season" holiday cards. ^_^; I just love the sound they make. It is so relaxing. I love to just go outside while the sun is setting and they are making that noise most say is horrible. Anyway, so yesterday was my birthday for those of you who did not already know. I am now 18, a legal adult in the United States. I was not expecting to feel any different at all, and I really do not. I can now vote, buy cigarettes, and buy porn. Only one of which I might actually be making any use of ... and no it is not the porn, lol. The weekend before my birthday, I celebrated with my dad. He, my stepmother, my sister, and I all went out to eat at a pretty good burger restaurant called Red Robin. It is one of my favorite places for burgers, heh. My dad gave me $50 and a small birthday cake. It was chocolate with white frosting. When it came to my actual birthday, February 4, I woke up to find some present laying on the dining room table. My sister got me the movie Stripes, and my mom got me $40 and a GameCube controller (mainly so I would have something to open); so that makes three of four. I pretty much got money from everyone who gave me anything. That night we went to a pizza place for dinner. The journalism staff at my school (both yearbook and newspaper ... but just people from the yearbook staff as far as I know) are going to take me out along with another person on staff whose birthday is this weekend. They said they were going to take me to a place called Dr. John's, which is a porn/sexual apparel and accesory store, lol. I imagine they will follow through with that, so it should be interesting. I am probably just going to walk around and laugh at things. One of them told our adviser they were going to do that and he responded, "Why go there when you have the real Johnny Special K (my name in the journalism department) right there? Why go for the rubber dildo when you have his nice, fleshy cock?" It was funny, lol. I love that class. ^_^ Yesterday, I went out and bought some CD's with my birthday money: Poison, "Greatest Hits;" R.E.M., "Eponymous;" and Smashing Pumpkins, "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness." I am currently listening to Poison, but I would say I have listened to the Pumpkins more than anything since I have bought them. So that is about it for my birthday. My job search may be coming to a close. My mom said a person from Best Buy, a music/computers/electronics store to which I have applied about 4 times, called and said they are having a job fair next Tuesday. So I am going to be attending that. Also, drama season is coming. Next Monday are the tryouts. I have already been precast. They are doing Pride and Prejudice, and I have been cast as Mr. Collins. I cannot say I am all too happy with that, as I would rather be Mr. Darcy. Collins would be my second choice, but he is no where near as good as Darcy in my opinion. I can relate to Darcy so much easier than I can Collins. Chances are I am going to be a little playfully bitter about it during the practices for a while. I am really kind of pissed off, because I can bet the director's son is Darcy, but I can sugar coat it. So, yeah ... that is it for now.

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Thursday, January 15, 2004

   Stepping Up to the Plate

Well, today was a pretty non-productive day. It is the last day of the semester, and we do not have any finals or anything. So it was just pretty much coming to school ... We have tomorrow off, though, as well as Martin Luther King Day. So, four-day weekend! More or less anyway ... There was some shocking news when it came to my Newspaper Production class. It turns out three of our staff (which only has about 11 people, though we do have some new recruits coming in next semester) are quitting. It is not just random "Joe Shmoe" staff member, either. It is three of our best members. I only saw one of them coming. Pretty much, our best writer quit, another one of our better staff members all around quit, and most shockingly our graphics and overall layout person quit. I saw the first one coming, because she kept talking about it in English class (which we have together). The next person, I did not really see coming. I am more or less confused about him. Though, I think the biggest hit we are going to have is with the loss of our graphics and layout person. I mean, this guy did all the graphics for the paper, and a majority of the photos. He was the person who would fix up layouts that needed tweaking, or just do them by himself. This guy, as far as I know, had absolutely no reason to quit either. It was just out of the blue. o_O So, needless to say, our Adviser is really pissed off about this. I am just shocked as hell. I actually planned on staying after school today to work on some things, but he did not want to even do that today so we left at a normal time. However, we are going in tomorrow, from 7 a.m. to at most 7 p.m. I have a previous engagement with some friends at 2 p.m., but I am going to see if I can at least go there from about 7 a.m. to about 1:45 p.m. I am more than willing to start working with graphics and photos, and learn how to play with layout more and such. It is actually what I prefer doing, there was just never any need for me to do so. So while I am a bit mad at the guy for quitting, I am taking this as my chance to do more than just write some stories and do editorial cartoons and illustrations. This is pretty much a chance I have been waiting for, heh. It is probably better I start now than later anyway. Currently we are just doing 24 page monthly newspapers because we are not preparing for any competitions or anything. Our first issue was a 52 page specialty issue, our second was a 40 page issue (which is usually as high as we go), our third was 24 pages, and we are working on another 24 page one. I do not think we have any more competitions for a bit little while, so at least I can start out small and work my way up. Our Adviser knows I have a lot of talent, but I am just slow with it (I have never hit a deadline this year ... >.>). I was talking to him today about all this crap, and he said if I could just become quicker and quicker with it I (quote) "would be dangerous." That is really what I am kind of striving for anyway, and now I finally have the chance to do so. I think what was mainly holding me back before this was the fact we had someone better than I am already. However, now that he is gone, I think I am the only suitable replacement. o_O The only other guy is one we call "Lem Sheboygan" (because he is a lemming and over-used the "sheboygan" joke we had last year in journalism), but he works on yearbook. I am not sure if anyone else on staff has a decent understand of Photoshop, or at least to the point I do. I know some might, but just enough to design an ad. Even then, the ex-graphics guy helped out. The only other person I can think of that could do something would be the Adviser himself, but he really should not have to do that much. He is an Adviser, he is supposed to "advise." Anyway, now that I have room to grow, hopefully I can get my roots planted and stay in the sunlight. I am rather excited. ^_^

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   myO Make-Over

Some of you may have noticed a massive overhaul in the look of myO. This is pretty much what I have spent my time doing tonight sadly enough. It probably would not have taken me so long if the design was comlpetely in my hands instead of to the limits of the "Edit Styles" feature. After that it was pretty smooth sailing except when it came to the current song. At first, I had it in .MP3 format, but my computer kept screwing it up for some reason. I was not sure if it would happen with other people's computers as well, so I spent a lot of time looking around the web for a .WAV file of the song. I doubt I ever would have got it if it were not for a friend of mine who signed on who happened to own media converting software. So she converted it to .WAV for me. Of course, .WAV's are huge, so I tried a couple places to host it that I already have accounts on, but it kept getting rejected. I could not put it on my Cox Personal Webspace, because I do not think it would fit. So I switched back to .MP3, and I found out the problem I was having lied within a download accelerator I have recently acquired. I simply turned off its integration with the internet, and everything worked fine, heh. These tables took me a few trial and errors to get the dimensions right with the background. I had none of this all too thought out, so I was just winging it; correcting problems as they happened. Anyway, for those of you who would not know, this current them is of the Misfits, and older "horror punk" band. More specifically, it revolves around their album Static Age, which most of the cover is seen in the background. The lovely avatar up above was actually from an earlier 7" EP entitled Bullet. The title track was also recorded onto Static Age, so it all works together. In my opinion, the Misfits were infinitely better back in the days they recorded the songs on the album compared to what they have become. While of course the technical quality is under par, the gritty sound really worked for them. Of course, they still had Danzig back then, too. On a comical note, I received this short song in an e-mail the other day. Anyone who knows anything about the midwest, or at least its stereotypes should find this pretty funny, lol. It is in .WMA format and 160KB, so yeah. ^_^ Have a listen ... http://members.cox.net/piromunkie/Interstate_80_Iowa.wma It is funny because it is true, lol. I especially like it because at the end of the song, you would end up in Omaha. =D I can actually see Council Bluffs from some of the windows in my school. It is good to live so close, though. Their gas is cheaper. Those Iowans and their casinos ...

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Wednesday, January 14, 2004

   Finals for Dummies

I just got done taking my Multimedia final, probably the most pointless one yet. The entire thing was over PowerPoint, the most worthless program ever, in my opinion. My favorite part about this final is it had questions about information we were not taught ... Not that we are taught anything in this class anyway. It is more like, "Here's a program. Make something from it." We are lucky if we get an online tutorial somewhere (not that PowerPoint requires vast knowledge and understanding).      We have started moving on to Flash, but I think this is going to be just as useless. I doubt I am going to learn anything I do not already know.      On the plus side, this is my last final. I only have one today, and this was it. We still have school tomorrow for whatever reason. -__-; I just want to go home now. Oh well ...      That is all I have.

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Wednesday, December 17, 2003

   First time in a while ...

Well, I am just sitting here bored out of my skull in my Multimedia class. I thought this was going to be a fun class, but we have been doing Powerpoint presentation for the past two months. -__-; Meh, and this one guy just got done presenting a presentation on a prayer group ... I feel violated. I go to a public school to get away from stuff like that.

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Saturday, November 15, 2003

Quiz time!

I found this quiz in Tori's myOtaku, so I decided to take it. ^_^ Here are my results when I took the test more or less honestly: Guys just love...how vulnerable you are! What Do Guys Love About You? (with pics :3) brought to you by Quizilla Now here are the results when I had fun with it. Mwuahaha ...: Guys just love...how cold and wicked you can be! What Do Guys Love About You? (with pics :3) brought to you by Quizilla However ... I do not know ... both times I answered questions they were more or less honest. o_O

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Thursday, October 30, 2003

Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright and Showers of Stardust

This is just a quick little entry, nothing big. I finally finished my Tiger Army fanlisting. It is pretty crappy, it became kind of a rush job because I was tired of working on it. Perhaps I shall find a new oppotunity to make a decent one. I do not really like the layout of any of them so far. The Microstars one is pretty good, because it is fitting to the look of the CD, but yeah ... On a positive note, I found a MIDI file for Ziggy Stardust by David Bowie. I was very excited to find it, and so I added it to myOtaku. =) It is one of my favorite songs that I have heard from him by far.

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Monday, October 20, 2003

And you will all remember this as the day ...

... that I was almost Captain Jack Sparrow.      Heh, I was at practice for the musical today, and we finally got our costumes. Mine consists of off-white tights; black, coderoy knickers; an off-white, loose fitting shirt with those baggy sleeves; a violet tunic-like deal that slips over my head and is tied together on the side, complete with a gold trimming; and one of those frilly scarf things ... I forget what they are called. For footwear right now I am just wearing my boots, but I think the director is ordering/renting some black, ballet-type shoes.      The costume is really cool, because it does make me look like a pirate, lol, mostly without the violet tunic thing. I figured this out when I walked out amongst the other cast members and people kept commenting on the fact, lol (I was not wearing the tunic at the time). My friend Mary just kept staring at me, and she said because of the fact that I look like a pirate. Then I just commented back in the trademark drunken slur that is Johnny Depp, "Of course I look like a pirate. I am Captain Jack Sparrow." And I also added a bit of the drunken posture. Mary got really excited when I did that, because, like so many others, she has a huge 'thing' for Johnny Depp. It probably helped that I apparently imitate the character of Captain Jack Sparrow very well; the walk and everything. She immediately responded, "Stop, you're turning me on. o_O" ^_^ So I kept that character pretty much any time I was not on stage, lol. I would walk back and forth backstage when I was not on and was bored the way the Sparrow walks, and "steal" fruit from the fruitstand that is for the opening scene only to turn around and offer it to the nearest dame that passed by. Not many of them got the concept, but it was fun.      I can see why Depp enjoyed the character so much. It almost makes you wish you actually were Captain Sparrow.      So yes ... I am the next Johnny Depp, should I ever be discovered. =)

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Monday, October 6, 2003

Back from a well-needed break.

I need a remedy of diesel and dust. Something I can taste with a fix I can trust. Another high, more potent than lust. Eating and repeating like the workings of rust and time. I woke to the sound and the rhythm of rain dancing on the window pane. Comatose. Eyes half closed. Arms wrapped up with the wounds all sewn. I froze from head to toe. Clenched the jaw, then felt my body roll over slow. I must live to know that healing takes some time. So no regrets, and no looking back to sinking ships. I'll strip the gauze for a rational self-analysis. "I'm down. Cut and bound. Counting scars, and counting blessings loud." So loud. I must live to know that time alone is always healing as long as there's bleeding. No regrets, or falling fits. I'll strip the gauze and bleed it. There's no worry. It's only simple therapy.      It is now 9:54 a.m. and I am back from my AFI weekend! I actually got back closer to 8:00 a.m.-ish, but I took a shower and did a couple other things online first. Friday, October 3      Anyway, so it all started Friday around 4:00 p.m. when my friends mom picked me up from my house, and, after a few quick errands, returned to her home where I met up with my friend, Natalie. I found out then that the other person that we were going to go with could not go because of a class she had to attend on Saturday (she is in college). So that was some saddening news. From there we pretty much just hung out while her mom took forever in getting ready to go like she always does. We were supposed to leave at 6:00 p.m., but ended up leaving around 8:30 p.m. o_O Yeah ... It was fun waiting, though. We watched stand-up comedy while eat pizza - really good pizza.      Natalie is vegan so she ordered a 'vegetable lovers' pizza with no cheese, and it was really good; better than any other normal pizza I have had. It is not as filling either because it does not have the cheese.      Finally we left for Sauget, Illinois. Natalie was driving and I was there to make sure she stayed awake and to switch CD's when one finished; singing along is a way to keep us awake, lol. I think the band we had the most fun singing along to was Tenacious D, lol, followed closely by the Misfits. Third place I would say goes to Mindless Self Indulgence; my friend said that she was impressed by my falsetto abilities, lol. Saturday, October 4      We arrived in Sauget at about 3:00 a.m. and just went straight to the venue, parked, and got some sleep until about 11:00 a.m. when we got up and went to wait outside the venue where some people were already at the doors. So we waited ... and waited ... and waited ... and waited ... and waited ... and waited ... and waited ... and waited ... and waited ... and waited ... and waited ... and waited, until finally at 7:00 p.m. they let people in. My friends and I were at the front of the line so we got in first ^_^. There were three bands playing total: Bleeding Through, a really good hardcore band of whom I had not heard of previously to this show; Hot Water Music, just a really good band; and, of course, AFI. I was up in the front of the crowd for Bleeding Through, but of course people are stupid and do not know to spread out a bit between bands. So between Bleeding Through and Hot Water Music I was about to pass out from being crushed so much and being dehydrated. So I had security pull over over the barrier to get me out of the crowd and went to the bathroom and soaked my face in the sink, then went and got some water to drink. By this time Hot Water Music was on and I tried to fight my way back up the front, which I got pretty far. I was about three people deep in the crowd trying to get back up to my friends. I couldn ot get any further than that, though so I pretty much just decided against staying there so I would not pass out again, and I really was not in the mood to be fighting people off. I moved over to a less dense area of the crowd off to the side. AFI came on after AFI and put on a good show, as usual. ^_^ After the show, we bought some AFI merchandise to mark the occasion - I got a shirt. During that time in line Jude Puget, AFI's guitarist, was out among the pool tables talking with a guy from Bleeding Through. So I went up to the both and told them that they put on a great show, and asked Jade if he remembered back at Warped Tour when a group of people (being my friends and I) gave him a paper cut-out doll of our friend who could not make it to Warped Tour because her grandma was dying, and he said "yeah" and that he still has it. He said that "I thought I recognized you", which is pretty cool considering it has been about 5 months and all the fans they meet that he would recognize me. Then we went out in the parking lot where Davey Havok, AFI's vocalist, and Adam, AFI's drummer, were talking to people. Adam left before I could meet him, but I got to meet Davey breifly. It was cool. ^_^ After that we decided to drive half-way to Chicago and rent a room at a hotel. Sunday, October 5 We woke up around 5:00 a.m., packed up our stuff, and headed out for Chicago. We got there around 10:00 a.m. and took our places outside the venue where some people were waiting. Chicago is a really awesome city, but my one complaint it the lack of public restrooms. -__- I had to walk around forever until I found a place where I could just go in and use the restroom without having to buy something first. Despite how much I do not like McDonald's, at least it is good for something, lol. On the way back I stopped at a small pizza place and got a slice of pepperoni pizza, which was good. After that I went back to the venue and fell asleep for an hour or two, lol. And yes, I was wearing my skirt to this one. ^_^ The people in Chicago seem pretty nice. I met some people who had some really interesting stories. There was this one guy who had 'made out' with Jimmy Urine from MSI, and actually had friends that backed up his claim. It is a pretty funny story. Then there was this other person who had met a bunch of bands like Smashing Pumpkins, Tenacious D (saw Jack Black pretty much completely nude except for a pillow), and others. About a half hour before people were to be let in, I saw Hunter, AFI's bassist, outside the venue incognito - in a hooded sweatshirt with the hood pulled up and in half-tinted sunglasses. I recognized him because of his facial structure and other features. So I talked to him shortly and went back into line. At 6:00 p.m. they started letting people in, and of course I got a spot up front since I was one of the first people in line. Then, an hour later, the show started ... and it was so amazing. Bleeding Through was more fierce than that night before, Hot Water Music was more energetic, and AFI was just so, so awesome. They played all of some of their best songs. I was singing along, and screaming/metal growling even though I know I really cannot. It was by far the best show I have been to. The crowd was really good too. There was some pushing and such, but it was pretty tame. The only problems were those damn crowd surfers and the fact that the stage was about 8 feet high. I was barely able to see the drummers in any of the bands (but Adam was making the stangest faces during the beginning of Silver and Cold; funny stuff). I never passed out or anything, it was just a really, really good show. I could not have asked for much more. After the show, we bought some more merchandise. I got a Bleeding Through t-shirt and Hot Water Music CD's. The CD's were a really good deal too. There were two of them and they were $5 each, and they are 12 and 14 track long CD's. I was impressed. After that, we just drove straight back to Omaha, and now here I am. ^_^ The above song before all of this is Remedy by Hot Water Music. It is one of my favorite songs by them, and the played it. So I decided to put it up there.

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Wednesday, October 1, 2003

Piro for Pre-sale.

Eh, it is happening again: I am being asked to social events pretty far in advance. The school of whose musical I am performing in, Mercy, has their homecoming some time in November and someone has already asked me to go with them. I agreed, even though I am sure the night will be a dud like any social event I go to. I cannot wait to secure my roots to a wall...      The funny part about it is that the girl who asked me partially asked so early to get in before this other girl could. Now this other girl actually likes me, but has some major possesive issues... which is a huge turn-off and I never really liked her from the start. It makes me laugh because she gets mad at people for pretty much just interacting with me. It is pathetic, really. I show no real interest in her and she does not even try to convey in any way that she likes me... in any way at all. So she got mad at this one girl - the one taking me to homecoming - because apparently right after she told her that she liked me, she began to talk to me more and such. Really, I do not believe that was just to antagonize the other girl. It is just natural; she talks, I respond, and the more comfortable we get talking to each other the more physically we communicate. It is how I work with anyone, guy and girls alike. So I imagine the girl got yelled at again for asking me to homecoming, lol. I think that happened yesterday (Tuesday) because the "possesive" girl mentioned that she got in an arguement with her earlier that day. That, and she was being pretty rude to me, lol; more than usual. Some people are just plain creepy... Well, "creepy" probably is not even the right word. I think "****ed up" is better.      Anyway, I am vaguely 'fancying' this girl who is taking me to homecoming, but I have heard she is actually into this other guy (but then why did she ask me to homecoming?). I do not know, I am just going to continue doing my thing. It is kind of funny, because apparently her father is very protective of her. So this is something new I am going to have to deal with. She needs to get her grades up a bit before homecoming, too... Which if we cannot go would be kind of a bummer; to be asked, and then not go. Though, I imagine we would still just hang out or something.      She seemed impressed by my "guitar playing ability" (that I do not have) when we were talking on the phone while I was just messing with my guitar. Apparently she thought I was listening to a CD or something...      I think I am rambling... Or something... Edit: Heh, the last three paragraphs end with "or something".

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