In & Out; Here & Then

Back from the Dead [sorta] + Sketch Meme Requests

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:53:33 GMT

So I've been counting the days since I've last done anything on the internet. I'm surprised and saddened, really, that the most I've done in the last three months has been that silly post about my arachnophobia in Korea. My deviantART's been dead, y! gallery has nothing impressive to show, and my livejournal has become nothing but a hub for my senselessness. I really had to stop and wonder what the hell had just happened since I came back to Seattle. I mean, I'm out of the environment that even brought on my hiatus from the online galleries to begin with, and yet I still haven't done anything worthy to post, not even a sketch to show to few of my friends through messenger. Good grief, now that that's mentioned, I hardly ever gotten on any of the messengers -- MSN, AIM... even facebook (which I hardly ever use but you get my point).

It's apparent that my creativity has more or less been demoralized, that I have trouble keeping it constant. Next to my break in Korea, school has been keeping me from doing anything beyond a doodle unless it's homework for art. Fortunately, though, it's been getting better thanks to Zetht. I wouldn't have actually gotten back into drawing if it weren't for our time together. I would have forgotten that I love to draw and begin to despise Art 190 (Intro to Drawing) because I feel like I can't do anything right. Still, it needs a little work, but I'm hoping that I'll get something up soon, whether it be worksafe or not.

But if anything, suggestions are more than welcome. I may not be able to do all of them, but if anyone has an idea, I'll do what I can to draw it. Knowing that I don't have a lot of readers on this LJ, I'll leave only a few slots here, including the one that Zetht asked me to do. I may as well do the same over at y!G and dA if I can even muster the effort to log back in there [ohgod... i still need to finish that theme for the J&D club >_<;;;; ]

Annnnnd, go--

Sketch Requests
1. Terry and Bruce from Batman Beyond
2. Legato from Trigun
3. Older rendition of Peter Pan
4. Catman

Refusing to Go to Bed...

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 15:09:28 GMT

Why? Because I just encountered one of those infamous black spiders in Korea peeking out between the dresser drawer and wall while I was writing and resting on the bed (which is pretty much the floor). I had forgotten how big those fuckers can be, but my arachnophobia especially for large spiders just tend to make them look bigger.

...I hate how I'm afraid of a spider that's most likely not going to do me any harm unless I stupidly shoved my finger at its face, but I can't help it. It doesn't help that the way it builds its web frightens me. It's not like pretty, dew-drop-hanging Charlotte's web; it's like someone had taken a piece of a cotton ball and pulled it apart. That does indicate a venomous spider, right?

I had just looked up identifying spiders and I'm starting to think it's a Black House Spider. Blegh... I just don't want to get out of this chair. I'm paranoid that thing will pop out as soon as I lay down. I swear, that thing could tell I was staring at it because it hid itself back in the nook, twice.

Seriously, I don't mind spiders. I just wish they were as pretty and charming as Charlotte.

/pathetic

Still Here

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 04:30:25 GMT

Been a long while since I've posted for anyone to see, eh? Truth be told, I've been private posting on LJ for the past several entries. I'm still here for anyone curious about my random blurbs. I just needed to meditate on my own for awhile and surprisingly this blog proved useful for that.

Lots of things happened since I last visibly posted, but the majority of it is still the same deal. While I'm still getting frustrated at certain points (proof is my eye turning red again), I'm relatively happier. I've been trying to reconnect with a few friends to whom I haven't spoken in ages while keeping up with friends like naisa , but other than that, I'm working on towards a goal that I've been wanting to fulfill since forever: art -- but more specifically, animation.

Whether I have my parents continued support in UW after fall quarter, I'm going to be preparing for the best and worst times.

With that in mind, I've been mulling over the idea that I may need to create a new blog and use that for the more professional side. If that does happen, then I'm going to be turning LJ into a more personal place for me to write. But we shall see in the future.

One Disappointment After Another

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 19:24:38 GMT

Last night I wrote my parents an email telling them what happened after a meeting with an art adviser. You can figure as much that I made yet another set of changes to my plans. Long story short, I was reconsidering my financial options, thinking that I was probably really better off going to AI and getting a bachelor's in Media Animation & Arts rather than staying in UW for an art degree and then going there for an associate's. Plus, it turns out that Art 190, the class I need in order to declare art as my major, is only reserved for freshmen and sophomores. Technically, in terms of credits, I'm still a sophomore after this quarter, especially when I'm about to drop that 3-credit class and that's another story to be told.

Anyway, I told my parents what the adviser had said about Art 190. She had suggested that I go to a community college instead to get the equivalent at a lesser price and perhaps even take care of the remaining science credits I need for graduation. I also included in the email about what I may have to do when it comes to housing and schooling next year. I really tried to be as humble and courteous as possible, but unfortunately I may have turned out sounding snarky in some of my writing. Sadly, my subtle ways of being sardonic gets the best of me at times, sneaking into my writing and voice.

As for dropping that class for Human Evolution, I realized I can't keep up with it while I need to focus on Physiology. It's not that I don't want to take the class. I just simply can't do it with a more pressing 5 credit Natural World class on my plate.

I sent the email way past midnight, feeling uncomfortable but tired. I finally went to sleep after what seemed like forever only to wake up a few hours later to my mom calling me at four in the morning.

She had read the email, though she still couldn't understand some parts of it. Thankfully, she kept her voice at a calm level which helped a lot for me to not unwittingly get argumentative with her. The main point of the discussion was that she wanted to understand what the adviser had told me and why I made it more difficult by saying that I'm going to have to go to a community college.

Imagine my surprise when my mom said she'll try and talk to my dad about allowing me to at least take Art 190 and still pay tuition. I really didn't know what to say or think, other than feeling timid and cautious.

We talked more and my mom said she really wanted me to stay in UW at least. She told me that when I had said that I planned on staying in UW as an art major, she said she at least felt assured that I didn't want to leave a college that I got in. Of course, she added that whenever I mention about going elsewhere and getting a different degree, she thought that I was only making it harder for myself, and hence worried over the outcome of my decision. Sometime afterward, Dad had returned (I could hear the doorbell at her end) and she said that she'd go ahead and have a talk with him.

An hour or two pass and I get a call back from Mom again. She told Dad of my predicament with Human Evolution, that it was going to affect my GPA. It wasn't unexpected that Dad was going to be upset and disappointed, especially after I had written him an email detailing my first week. I made it seem like I can do it, despite my dad suggesting that I drop the class for something else. Basically, Mom told me that Dad feels like I don't trust him when it comes to taking classes.

I will be giving him my full apology (yet again) for not listening to him and for wasting even more money now (i.e. tuition forfeiture fee) when I could've dropped that damned class in the first week. I really do feel like an idiot, thinking that I could tackle two sciences like that...

So... I've pretty much became an even bigger disappointment to Dad. I've somewhat become indifferent towards that word, but it still does sting my ego at times. It's not just the fact that I keep discrediting myself towards my parents, especially Dad, but it's also that I'm not as good of a person as I thought I would be.

No matter, I'm done with making mistakes and changing my mind constantly when it comes to academics. I just hope that... actually, I really don't know what to hope for when it comes to my relationship with Dad. Well, I guess I can only hope for making amends with the man.

what the eff' are ottsels?

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 02:05:36 GMT

by definition: cute, lovable furry critters that are a cross between of an otter and a weasel.

yes, i've been drawing them for awhile now. you can't blame me. if anything, you should point your fingers at Zetht. she got me into this, but even if it weren't for her, Naughty Dog's Jak game series is pretty damn fun. these two, though, are just hers and my OCs based in the game-verse. the ottsel to your left is mine and his name's Tre; the one to the right is Corgal (aka Corgi) and he belongs to Zetht (you can also check her out on y! Gallery).

i'm gonna be showing this to her later for Corgi's colors. i'm only posting the WIP of this now since this journal is supposed to be an art scrapbook.

and here's a couple more oekakis that i'll put here.

this one was done out of pure boredom mixed with insomnia. i actually drew him for the second time (you can find him on Tegaki), so i may do something with him in the future.

and here we have human!Daxter (in the fandom, it's assumed that he can change back between being an ottsel and a human) and Jak. this was drawn yesterday because i had a silly inspiration to do a post-Valentine's pic.

experimenting

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 15:32:46 GMT

haha.. i really tried doing a different style, something a little more cartoony. but obviously, i need a lot of practice just so it'd be just as good as what i do now (after much toiling years).

though i am beginning to wonder if it makes any difference on what media i use. i noticed i do have different control over digital programs and traditional media. we shall see in the future.

Jack is a bit pushy...

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 09:59:08 GMT

well i meant to have more done, especially since i told naisa that i'd have them posted here. but due to a major misunderstanding on my part, i am stuck with doing a late late assignment for English (this is the only mix up i'll tolerate for the quarter).

but here you go, a quick and sketchy oekaki of a fun pairing. and i say 'fun' because it's always hilarious finding innuendos in situations with these two.

"Youse got pretty blue eyes."
"Jack, you're getting a bit close."

Ice Coffee on LJ

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 05:13:56 GMT

for those who can't access y! gallery or deviantART, i figured i can make a final cross post of the Ice Coffee comic on LJ. mangabullet's not going to work, because it's a bit disorganized :L

well, here it is, the first page of the first chapter -- enjoy.

New Plots

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 03:06:28 GMT

for someone who really hasn't the time (and energy) to work on them, i had a couple new ideas come into mind. i actually do mean to complete a project someday, but for now, all i can do is draw or write random drabbles.

so, here's a new character who i've been wanting to use for a black comedy. he's named Kent J. Renais; i've actually considered giving him an accent, but we'll have to see much later. anyway, he's supposed to be a hitman, but i've still yet to really decide if he's going to be legit or not (i.e. government assassin). he's also a single father of three children, whom he's trying to keep his occupation a secret from.

at first, he had no physical description of any kind. but after awhile, i began to have an urge to actually make a visual of him. after IM-ing with naisa i opened pchat just to do a quick doodle of how i'd like him to be, resulting this:

unfortunately, this was done hastily as i only wanted the basics. after showing and getting feedback from Naisa, i tried again, this time with a better inspiration and referencing at a few handsome pics of Daniel Craig.

i'm honestly quite proud that i drew an older man. most times, my drawings consist of teenaged boys and young men in their twenties, occasionally up to early thirties. looking at it again, Kent on the right may have came out a little younger, but even then, i'm happy i'm able to draw a different degree of masculinity.

i've already written a drabble involving him in orangeandcoffee. it's not finished obviously, but it pretty much shows his attitude towards his ex-wife and some paternal side to him.

another idea that has been bugging me whenever it can is "Ice Coffee." i proposed that i'd start working on it during winter break. so far, i've only got two pages of rough sketches. the first page is in the middle of inking. hopefully i'll be able to finish them before break's over. to show some people that i haven't forgotten them, i made up a coming-soon ad for the project. i'm planning on posting the comic in not just y! gallery but dA as well, so watch out for it.

Sex Spectrum Quiz

Sun, 07 Dec 2008 17:42:48 GMT

it's quite an interesting quiz. i found this via a friend's dA journal post and i had to try it myself.

this was my result thus far:

Your result for The Sexuality Spectrum Test ...

Bi/Slightly Gay

You scored -8 (-52 being completely gay, 0 being bisexual, and 52 being completely straight)

For the most part, you are bisexual. You have a slight preference for the same sex, but either sex would suit you. If you are sexually inexperienced, it is possible that this will change after you do some experimenting.

i think this came out rather close to accurate, if you ask me. granted, i'm only going by my little "off the record" experiences with people and my first official relationship with a girl, so i guess we'd have to really see in the future if i get any closer or deviate from the "Bi" mark.

Rant Ahoy! (I Hate "The View")

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 19:32:19 GMT

I hardly ever watch it. It's the one show that actually gives me a headache and gets me pissed in less than a few seconds. I don't care about the four older women with the "ultra-liberalist" viewpoints nor do I sympathize the only young (and better looking) woman with the conflicting perspective. It's not at all because of their political stance -- it's how they go on and on endlessly, jabbing at each other with snide, immature, ignorant remarks (i.e. Joy vs. Elizabeth).

Yeah, I made the mistake of watching a video clip with Elizabeth once again butting heads with Joy. Call it curiosity -- I really couldn't help wondering what else the women had to say. It's thanks to my dear old grandmother who passed away last year that I even know the current state of the show (beginning with the Star Jones fiasco). Really, I had every right to ignore it, but nope: I just had to click.

Actually, come to think of it, there's another reason why I don't like the show. "The View" reminds me of my grandmother often [it's kinda obvious that I disliked the woman]. Gram wanted to watch it when she visited for my high school graduation, but had to drag me along in turning on the TV and channel surfing the show for her. It's the very thing that got me irritated so easily when Gram just could not compute that the green button with POWER written in bold letters above it is what turns on the TV, and that afterward all you needed to do was push the two numbers for whatever channel that migraine-inducing show was on. (Yeah, I know I should be a little lenient there considering she's elderly and not used to our stuff, but seriously! Our TV, while a decade younger than her antique tube, is so simple to use. The remote controllers and buttons couldn't be any simpler. Heck, my Korean grandparents don't shy away from actually figuring out how a new bit of technology works.)

And with that, add in Rosie O' Donnell whipping out a can of whoopass for whoever dared challenged her view, Joy continuously being the obnoxiously loud one (though I admit, I prefer her out of the bunch), Elizabeth being ridiculously pounded and humiliated almost every time, and Barbara -- well, from being unintelligent enough to allow the show go out of control. For someone who gets ticked easily by pointless altercations, let alone stupid and childish people, I'm amazed at myself for even caring to rant about the idiocy going on.

hmm... now that i'm done venting for the morning, i see how pointless my words are. i am being honest here, though. the way i see it, "The View" is a show that makes me think back to my grandmother and is a hissy PMS/menopausal cat fight just waiting to happen. i almost wanna bet on who'll be the first to jump out of her chair with her manicured claws extended...

Defining Colors

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 09:03:05 GMT

i'm putting this up because fallen_seraphs asked about my results earlier. i actually took the quiz twice just to be sure, really, and ended up with the exact same answers (i thought i had chosen the colors without much thinking on my part, but i guess i was wrong).

You are a very sensitive person and you try hard (perhaps a little too hard) to make favourable impressions and to be recognised by your peers. But you have that inherent need to feel appreciated and admired and you are easily hurt if all of your endeavours go by unappreciated or not acknowledged. Stop trying so hard.

The way things are you are under considerable stress and you feel that there is little hope of matters righting themselves. Everyone about you seems to aggravate the problem even more. You feel that at this time you need to be alone and you are right - move back and give yourself a chance to breathe.

You are confined and trapped in a distressing or uncomfortable situation and seeking some way out. Whatever you seem to do to resolve the problem hasn't worked out. Fortunately you are able to gain some aspect of relief from someone close to you.

Recent disappointment has led you to become truly introverted. You are becoming suspicious of everybody and consequently you now feel that you are unable to trust anybody. Unfortunately it would appear that you are curbing your natural enthusiasm and imaginative nature - perhaps this is because you are fearful that you may become over enthused and find that you could possibly be carried away by wishful thinking. You are keeping your distance to see whether attitudes towards you are sincere - but this watchfulness could easily develop into suspicion and distrust.

You are being very dogmatic, insisting that there is to be absolutely no equivocation whatsoever about your achievements and accomplishments.

there was also one about romance so i took that one too. course i didn't copy the first result because i didn't think much into it. but here's the second shot (when i should've been asleep hours ago)...

you can try taking the quiz yourself at GoldinUniverse.

RIP Bamboo Pen

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 08:42:16 GMT

my tablet pen stopped working tonight :L digital artwork is going to be difficult to do now... at least i've still got the mouse that came with the tablet and it only seems to be the pen that malfunctioned. i've no clue how this happened. i'm only sad that i can't use the warranty for it because i think i already ran out on it. even if otherwise, i can't find the receipt because i sent it in for the UW customer rebate at the end of the year :/

looks like NaNoManGo won't be done digitally anymore...

Favorite Characters

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 03:58:36 GMT

boredom and art-blockage struck me pretty hard. so i stole this from fallen_seraphs :P

Rules
1. Post a list of up to 20 books/movies/anime/TV shows/video games/etc. that you've had an interest in at some time in your life.
2. Have your f-list guess your favourite character from each item.

~~1. Final Fantasy 8~~ Squall [fallen_seraphs via IM]
~~2. Saiyuki~~ Sanzo [fallen_seraphs]
~~3. Spy vs Spy~~ Black (yes i actually do play favorites for these guys, course White is nearly borderline) [fallen_seraphs]
~~4. Gurren Lagann~~ Kamina [fallen_seraphs]
5. Soul Eater
~~6. CSI: New York~~ Flack [naisa, after choosing which on IM]
7. 좋은 놈, 나쁜 놉, 이상한 놈 (The Good, The Bad, The Weird)
8. Rurouni Kenshin
9. Bust a Move (or the American title Bust a Groove)
~~10. Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles~~ Cameron [naisa]
~~11. Firefly/Serenity~~ Mal [naisa (IM)]
~~12. Devil May Cry 4~~ Nero [fallen_seraphs]
~~13. Bones~~ Booth [naisa]
14. Kung Fu Panda
15. Tombstone
16. Genji: Days of the Blade
~~17. Jeff Dunham's puppets~~ Walter [naisa (IM)]
18. Shin Hakkenden
19. Flame of Recca
20. Once Upon a Time in Mexico

have fun guessin' y'all.

</lj>

Tight Spaces ♥

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:56:49 GMT

i know that i had "scrapbook art" as part of the subtitle, but as you all can see, all there was were nothing but rants. today's post is going to change that :]

in today's LJ slash cut, we have two kinds of spies. one of an obsessive fandom of mine, the other an original.

so have some Spy vs Spy first! :3
it all began with this...

elevating to this lovely scene:

can you tell i like violent/rough sex?

OMG RULE 34 ZE PAIN. no not really haha. it's not even close to being the worst of 34 :P

and then on graffiti, i did a bit of doodling having to do with fallen_seraphs and my characters. unfortunately they're just shots of the lower parts of their faces so you can't quite see what they look like yet.

"Don't be holding back now."
"Let go of my tie, please."

"Oh come on, no need to be shy. I only wanted some suga from you ♥ "
"And what part of 'let go of my tie, please,' do you not get?"

simply said, i just wanted to torture Fairfax (tie guy) haha. [yes, yes, i'm terrible to my characters -___-; ]

so after, what, a full week of classes...

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 15:48:10 GMT

for the first time, i'm intentionally skipping Soc Meth section and the Biopsych lecture today, because i just can't make it. i pretty much feel nauseous, or at least have this headache that'll bug me to no end if i try to comprehend my classes. unfortunately, i can't really skip my Korean class because attendance is counted and i've got a grammar/expressions test in there. i'll have to endure it, guess...

haha, i can't even make a full entry out of this *headdesk* i'll just put my head down and rest...

i don't even know how to title this.

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 18:29:51 GMT

so! guess who was an utter fail of a student this morning? that's right, you guessed it -- Loren Taylor. let's give her a nice round of applause for her excellent performance!

i got out of my Soc Methods section early since "everyone's" questions were answered. i figured i could go to the library to do a quick check on messages since i couldn't do it this morning when i woke up. it's only 9:10 am so i thought i had quite a bit of time. i ended up staying in the Allen Library a little longer because i was just feeling so dandy this morning. heck, my right eye wasn't as red as it was for the past few days [hm, i wonder why .>. ]

i see the little clock off to my left on the wall and saw it was time for my next class even though it was 20 minutes before the biopsych lecture. i get there and sit down on the opposite wall from the door so i wouldn't get crushed by it from unsuspecting students. i listened to Roora's 2nd album (Angel with no wings) and some of Yanni's songs. i dozed off for half the time because i had no caffeine to juice me up before i left. bell finally rings at 10:20am and i get up ready to learn whatever was going to be said about the brain. suddenly i saw a girl i recognized from my class walking out the door; i remembered her because she has a unique casual style along with a choker made up of a chain and connected by a single lock. after her, i saw a guy who i also remembered because he tends to sit around where i do.

and then it hit me: i confused my lecture time with my biopsych section's. FAIL. someone please hit the FAIL button right now. i practically slept outside the lecture hall while the class was going on. tch... and to wonder why i felt like i didn't have as much time left today before Korean _ _;;;

but anyhow, i'm back in my apartment now and finishing up the rest of my homework. i need to kick myself for this. afterward, though, i'm hoping to snag a bite at 1101 before going to class. thank goodness that Condon Hall is only across the street from the cafeteria.

oh lawl

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 17:33:35 GMT

soooo... it's the first day of the new quarter as a sophomore. knowing that i had an 8:30 class in the morning, i set the alarm for 6:30 just to do last minute preparations. but of course, i didn't quite sleep soundly because i was nervous about the whole new school year starting. it's weird... when i finally felt myself sleeping, i could still keep sense of what was going on (i.e. moving around in my bed, knowing i was facing the wall or the computer). the next thing i know, i wake up a minute before the alarm. i just waited for it to go off playing Miyavi so i could get out of bed right then without disturbing anyone (even though we all had our doors closed). it goes to show how anxious i was -____-

while i was making breakfast [ramyun with egg drops, how healthy], i realized that i got an email about my early class today. i went upstairs to go check on my computer and whaddya know, it was canceled because it was a section and not a lecture. the most i can say is that i didn't get agitated about it, which is all fine since i don't want a bad morning start. or so i had thought.

i was the first out of the apartment and was heading to the bus stop. 'lo and behold, there was a big crowd around it and Bus 68 was slowing down towards it. unfortunately, i had to cross the street that is such a trap for jay walkers like me. but i was lucky enough to have a girl in front of me to do the double-checking before crossing so i followed after her. the bus was pretty much filled when she and i and some other guy got in. bah, and to think that i wouldn't be sardined in a Seattle metro bus when i came for my freshman year. now that i think about it, Korea's subways seem such a better place to be crowded in than a King County bus.

after 15 minutes of riding, i got off at the last stop on campus and walked towards Drumhellar Fountain for Bagley Hall. i wanted to at least know where my biopsych class was before i had to actually go. funny enough, i thought Bagley was the Electric & Engineering Building; i read the map wrong. you'd think i'd know better since i had Archaeology 101 in the E&E _ _; but at least i wasn't lost when i had to go to biopsych. when i had that settled, i went to Suzallo and chilled out by the tables till 9:10am. it wasn't too bad waiting since Green Day and few other songs played on loud speakers while the free food stands for Dawg Daze were getting set up. i successfully retraced the steps to Bagley, room 131. when everyone had found seats in the lecture hall, this made me snort so wryly at everything. the professor was in fact ill, and the three T.A.s were only there to give us a small and hardly basic intro. we weren't there for even ten minutes and we were already out.

can anyone else see the irony in this? all throughout last year, i was such a lazy bum when i thought i got used to being a college kid. i didn't wake up early just because i could run to my classes back then. i even skipped classes when i slept in just because of the distance thing, though i've no idea how i made that connection. but now, i wake up early in the morn just to make a good fresh start, and what do i get? two canceled classes and writing up a new entry at the Odegaard Library computers level while waiting for Korean 411 at 1:30pm.

it's a fact that karma loves to toy with me when i'm determined to fulfill a better goal.

Narita and its damn expensive public phones

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 07:25:49 GMT

so i've arrived in Narita/Tokyo about past 2pm.

layover has never been any more merciless. the plane is supposed to get here at 5:15pm and my battery is starting to get low. all the convenient spots with electric sockets are taken. (note to self: buy that battery from SONY as soon as in Seattle). so two things have been getting on my nerves -- hahaha, as if nothing ever does.

1) paying for wireless access in airports. C'MON~~ it's bad enough we have to pay for overpriced goods just 'cos there's no sales tax. but paying for internet access? you gotta be kidding me.. oh believe me, i understand completely why certain things aren't free in life, but can't wireless access during traveling be free?
okay, honestly, 6 bucks for the day ain't bad, but still... lol, i've terribly gotten frugal now this year. heck, i was scared to even pull out a twenty at the currency exchange for the next thing comin' up.

2) a hundred yen per minute. a hundred yen per minute.
i promised my mom that i'd call her as soon as i arrived in Narita when she had given me a phone card to use. so i find a public phone that's fortunately close to my departing gate. i whip out the card, trying to figure out how the heck i'm supposed to work this boggling contraption. when i got a ring tone and the card working, my stomach dropped as soon as i heard this message: "The card has been expired. Thank you for using our service. CLICK."

GEGH, what was i going to do?? i thought and freaked. unlike Incheon where you can buy things with dollars, you're forced to buy things in yen. alright no big deal, but where was the currency exchange? i had never taken the chance to explore this airport before and i didn't want to waste all my time looking for it. after asking directions from multiple people, i finally find it and got the money for the phone. it took me another 30 minutes just to realize how to work it with the coins. you may think that i'm not savvy with old stuff, but you think wrong: they just made it damn confusing to work with, worse with the directions (or at least during my panic attack it wasn't easy lmao..).

i finally was able to reach mom on her cell after the house phone was unanswered. i gave her a quick news on how things went, how ticked i was for spending a BUCK a minute just to keep talking with her, but how glad i was to be able to reach her. we didn't even talk long (7 minutes give or take). anyhow, i promised i'd call her again when i'm in Seattle and this time the card i'll be using won't run out on me.

nevertheless, i'm still irked i spent 10 bucks just to use a public phone, and 6 dollars for a 24 hour internet access for only in Narita. yep, i've turned into a 구두쇠 ("iron shoes" aka cheapskate hahaha)

battery's at less than 30% now. wish me luck on the 13 hour flight!!

expect me back soon

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 11:11:16 GMT

oh how i missed being in the states. i never really realized how much a difference it made in keeping contact when in Korea, but damn. a big apology to my close friends whom i regularly kept contact (when i had the chance) during the school year, especially you naisa. i wish i had better ways to talk to you about your situation with that Norrington boy (corny nickname, yes, but it suits well for anonymity). i hope you're dealing with the situation better than when we last emailed. [course just today (or last night for Naisa) we did talk :') and yes, that boy is a complete idiot. just forget about him till he decides to be more mature. ]

it's definitely not saying i didn't like being back in Korea. it really gave me a chance to just chill [in a matter of speaking...], recollect myself and whatnot. though i didn't hang out with many others like several people, it's worth the three months to be just away and make up the missed time with the family. even if it is more stressful than necessary sometimes, i don't care. i'm only grateful that i made it across the ocean and can hug my parents and brother.

and besides, i wasn't completely stuck at home bored everyday. i ate out with my mom whenever we went around the city for errands or the sake of a cultural experience (for me). in fact, about a week ago, she and i watched "좋은 놈, 나쁜 놈, 이상한 놈" (The Good, The Bad, The Weird), despite that the movie is not really up her alley. story did drag on a bit, but i think it's worth it to watch :) besides, how can you deny an orient-punk western with Song Kang-ho, Jung Woo Sung, and Lee Byung Hun? dammit, as soon as it's out on DVD, i'm getting it. oh and you can so bet i did think of a few possible slash pairings. i don't care what you (you know who you are lmao) think, it works, it can work. but i digress.

basically, i've just been going out on outings with my mom and it's really great to go sightseeing round a part of Korea. it's especially the fact that i never had the chance to do this much when i was here for high school. that and i love seeing the streets of Seoul from the urban and sophisticated to the down-to-earth marketplaces.

today especially was great. my parents and i went to 삼청각 (Samchunggak). it's a lovely place in the middle of downtown Seoul, somewhat secluded from the urban life by scenic arborous mountains and beautiful structures.

[i'll put up a few more, but right now, i'm on the laptop and don't have the pics on this]

it's all so great... i'm definitely going to miss my family and Korea.

Bounce with me~

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 07:03:01 GMT

good lord, the memories come a-rushin'.... i only knew of this song because of PUMP XD and then out of the blue today, i hear DJ Doc performing while my mom watched TV. heh~... i wish i knew Korean celebrities as much as i do American.

this song is so going to be stuck in my head for a long while _ _;

Book Meme

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 10:44:45 GMT

stolen from naisa. and because i really wanted to see if i'm indeed that into books.

_______________________________________

The Big Read thinks the average adult has only read six of the top 100 books they've printed below.

1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read
3) Underline the books you LOVE.
4) Reprint this list in your own LJ so we can try and track down these people who've read 6 and force books upon them.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible [...lol]
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens [at least i think i did, sometime in middle~high school...]
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger [the title just catches my interest]
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald [it was alright, but not entirely favorite; then again, i'm probably thinking i read it cos i saw the movie lmao]
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky [i love the book, but never really finished it. good grief... the spine of the book can tell you where i've been reading, but definitely nowhere near the end.]
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis [i only read maybe 3-4 of the collection]
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis***
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne [i've read some of the books and it's so sweet and cute. makes me wanna draw it out....]
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell [creepy as hell but alright]
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon [it was somewhat frustrating to read, but it was still good. i've an autistic brother so it was interesting to read it from an autistic narrator's POV]
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov [shite... does that make me a pedo? lol]
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas [PURE AWESOMENESS.]
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones' Diary - Helen Fielding [the movie's enough for me hahahaha XD ]
69 Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker [meh... along with it written in a style somewhat difficult to follow, the writing could've been better. the idea Stoker had though was classical horror so i won't bash him too much for that.]
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte's Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas [dad read the abridged version to me as a bedtime story; 3rd-4th grade]
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare***
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo [read the abridged version for my honors eng 12 summer work. have to add i did a damn better job for McGovern than for Lessick (that was a horrible memory...). my goal now is to read the UNABRIDGED that's sitting patiently on the bookshelf here.]

***Substitutions for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Hamlet due to repetition:

101 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain [i'm your Huckleberry... *sigh* Doc Holliday <3 ]

102 Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

pointless rambling

Sun, 08 Jun 2008 11:30:55 GMT

well here i am, staying up later than i should. i really should be focusing on that final project for bio anthropology and studying for my first final tomorrow. how much more lovely can i make this for myself? next to that, i have to get a miscellaneous set of errands to do before i finally fly out of Seattle for the summer. but i'm not going to rant about it.

or at least try not to rant about my stupid procrastination. it's nothing new for anybody. when it comes down to it, it's just irresponsibility and i know guiltily it's my own fault for stalling. but like anyone who knows, there's just something about the last minute pressure that gets you on a roll...

anyway.

i think i'll definitely be doing something more with this account soon. i found myspace to be "blah..." when it came to posting entries on it. windows live spaces is next to that, even though i frequent there to for my own personal ramblings. i think i might quit that one, too, since it seems pretty pointless that i can only do one or the other for the privacy settings. hmm, i guess when i'm done with the quarter, i'll be cleaning up a few more accounts. i've already "closed" the blog entry for myspace. (though it doesn't mean i still won't log in every once in a while. it's amazing what you find there when you sign on =_o; )

i've mentioned this to several of my friends so many times now that i think they're sick of it. but i'll say it again here anyway. i'm sooo hooked on Spy vs Spy. i knew just a little bit of it, like a random short broadcasted on adult swim. but as soon as i discovered the fandom behind it, it just clicked in my brain. i watched all of the clips posted on youtube [wish there was more...] and read up on the creator Antonio Prohias. if it weren't for DarkPenguin, i would not have gotten to know more about this old yet great cartoon. i've actually been itching to buy the two books that has the collection of Spy vs Spy comics along with a couple other strips that Prohias did earlier on.

man, my interest in SvS has gotten to the point that i've considered doing my own fan comic of them. but of course, where comes the desire to do that, comes my own original character for the plot. sometimes i feel ashamed doing that but it's still fun. it's kinda like a guilty pleasure, i suppose? i mean, it seemed like a cool idea to think up a rogue spy since there were Black, White, and Grey spies _ _;;; seriously, i even doodled an encounter between Rogue and Grey with the latter flirting so to squeeze out a few secret targets Rogue was after. i'm not saying Grey swings that way; i just think she's a character who'd do just about anything to get something done her way, even if it means her sexuality on the line. [i'm a pitiful Mary Sue creator lmao]

and since i'm up so late [hearing this random vibrating buzzing noise all the while... i wonder if it's one of my roomie's or a neighbor's phone], i think i'll just indulge myself and start characterizing the rogue spy. you can just ignore this completely and label me as a dolt if you want haha.

Rogue Spy

used to be a double agent for both Black and White nations
speculation she may be a Grey Spy but the Grey Embassy claims to have no affiliation
lives off doing hits; does random oddjobs to help keep a low profile
characteristically wears a tie and dons a black fedora hat
a terrible insomniac, makes it worse with drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes

er, okay... that's all i could think of so far lmao. wanting to do fan works is just out of whim for me. i'll be working on a project (or two or so...) and then suddenly give up in the middle. an SvS fan comic is something i'd love to do, but for the time being, i think it'll just be doodles and drabbles.

so, enough with the rambling. i think i'll just call it a night for LJ and do some sketches while listening to my youtube playlist.

cheers.

ohh looky here

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 19:54:44 GMT

i actually did something with this journal. well a little bit anyhow. doodled up a header and honestly, i don't know why it's like that. it's an angel but it's neither a man nor a woman. i've a thing for androgyny so that's how the angel is. i might change it later on when i figure out a real theme for this journal. it's definitely going to become a sketch book for something, maybe for even more than one project, who knows.

but i do have in mind to put my Wonderland story in here. haha, it's funny how everyone's got their own idea of a spinoff. there's a definitely a popular one going on by bri-chan and another author [i don't follow it but it is rather amusing]. i saw one in y!gallery by zombiesmile [i'm not linking her yaoi gallery, knowing there are minors and homophobic people here lmao] and her version is pretty much morbid. kinda funny when i came across that one, it was sort of what i had in mind for my Wonderland tale but not completely. still, it's always nice to see other people's spinoffs.

on another note, i always seem to be rambling to myself on these blogs. why do i even try? hardly anyone knows who i am and not many click with my interests. lol -- well, i'm not completely alone, of course, but i'm a merely a person stuck in obscurity. not everyones comes around looking for me, which i guess in some cases it's fine that way.