I'm still writing 2010 on things.

This semester, this YEAR is going by extremely fast. Pretty soon we will be a full quarter of the way through.

I've neglected this thing like no other. I let my paid account expire after three years.

A lot has been happening around here, but not much of it directly affecting me. I have a job now. I am staying here over the summer, hopefully in an apartment on campus.

Classes are going well. I'm working out again, and actually losing weight. Only seven weeks till the end of the semester. And by then it will be legit spring, though the weather has been quite agreeable lately (in the low-to-mid 30s).

That is all.

In Grand Rapids! It's 11:40 and my friend Lindsey will be here at 8am tomorrow, and then it's another 8 hours to Marquette. I just have to keep occupied for the next 8 hours and 20 minutes. Luckily there is free wifi here.

So, as I was cleaning out my room, I found my old Nikon which once belonged to my mother. It had a half-exposed roll of film, which is probably from RI (could be from after the move though). I know the film itself is at least five years old (I was also very excited to find about five more rolls of old film along with the camera). So I went out back and took took about ten more pictures to use up the rest of the film. I printed up a York photo order form and mailed out my film.

I'm pretty excited to see how it comes out. After googling expired film, I found examples which looked mostly normal to pictures with all kinds of wonky hues and saturations. I myself am hoping for pictures which look like they're from the 60s. I used my big 18-200mm lens, which, while made for a digital camera, fits the old nikon. It's a wide angle lens, so on the old camera the corners were vignetted through the viewfinder. I figure even if I don't get my faded 60's look, I'll take the vignette. I'm pretty excited for my pictures to come in the mail in a few weeks. (Also I'm curious to see what the first few pictures on that roll were!)

I'm leaving my house in exactly 36 hours, and if all goes as planned, I wont be back for almost a year. I couldn't be more excited.

Somehow, I'm leaving the day after tomorrow. It feels like it's been years since I was at Northern, and yet the break itself seems to be over so quickly. I just wish I were more ready, since I have so much stuff to do in my room (which, you may notice, I am not doing right now).

I'm super way excited to be going back. I've once again tasted the sweet, sweet juices of popularity and want more. I love my family but they can only be so interesting. I miss my friends and I miss Marquette, which will hopefully be covered in several feet of glorious snow when I get back (I'm hoping for a snow day the first week of classes). Sadly, it didn't really start snowing till nearly the end of the semester; whereas in previous years apparently it was not unusual to have snow in October. Thankfully I have plenty in my future.

I plan to stay in Marquette over the summer, for a couple reasons. If I am in Michigan for a year, I can be considered a resident and get in-state tuition, which'll save me several thousand dollars a year. Also, if there is any season in Florida which I want to miss, it's definitely summer. I miss having "summer-fun" summers, the romantic kind that you only remember the good things about, like going to the beach and having ice cream on someone's stoop. The kind I used to have with bombshellblue and reina_chan. The kind that made for really fun journal entries. Not the kind where you barely go outside for weeks at a time because it's too freaking hot and you don't want to leave the air conditioning.

Marquette is supposed to be beautiful in the summer. Actually it is beautiful in the summer; I did spend half of August there, after all. Unfortunately I hadn't known many people at the time, and not anyone who had a car, so I didn't get to do the things people normally do there in the summer, like hiking up mountains and stuff. I did get to go swimming in Lake Superior, when a couple girls from first floor who I'd never seen before just came around to all the doors inviting people to go with them at like 9 at night.

So far, four of my friends have expressed possible interest in also staying in Marquette for the summer; one's even suggested that we can get an apartment together (that will depend on my financial situation. If I have a good enough job, say at the public library where I applied, then yes, I'll get an apartment. If not, I will register for summer classes and just stay in Spooner, since I will be able to throw that on a loan). That would be ideal, especially since that particular friend has a car (always a plus).

jennierocket and I had planned to go kayaking today, but it's overcast, so we'll go tomorrow. I have stuff I need to do now though. Responsibility sucks.

UNDERCITY from Andrew Wonder on Vimeo.

That's like a half hour long, but it's really interesting. Urban historian and explorer Steve Duncan visits abandoned subway stations, train tunnels and et cetera in New York City. I love the idea of urban exploring, but am way to wuss to practice anything like that myself. Plus, for the most part you need to be somewhere, well, urban for it.

That being said, Marquette does offer at least one opportunity for it. There's this huge abandoned orphanage in town which Nicole and I visited in October as part of a university-sponsored "Haunted Marquette" tour. The tour itself was pretty lame; just driving past "haunted" places and telling ghost stories about them. Even though it was raining, we did get out at this orphanage and the tour guides told us stories of the various ghosts which haunt the place. We couldn't go in, naturally, because it's private property and condemned and this having been a university tour. But after the tour I promptly fired up the ol' PC and got googling; I found a blog post with a bunch of pictures of the inside.. the place is freaking creepy. Nicole and I have decided we need to get in there sometime (though I highly doubt we ever actually will lol).

It's very nice out today. I really need to go outside and enjoy this weather before I leave for Michigan on Thursday.

I did this very meme for oh-nine too.

01. What did you do in 2010 that you'd never done before?
Lotsa things! Mostly being encompassed by going to an actual university. Swimming in Lake Superior was definitely a highlight.

02. Did you keep your New Years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Yes on both!

03. Did anyone close to you give birth?
One or two people I know, but no one I'm close to.

04. Did anyone close to you die?
Thankfully not.

05. What countries did you visit?
None, though I've one-upped oh-nine by visiting a new state, and I've come physically closer to Canada than I've ever been.

06. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?
An awesome, fun-loving summer. I'm going to stay up there for the summer, and it'll be nice to not have to hole myself up in the air-conditioning for three solid months.

07. What date(s) from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory?
I have lots of great memories which will forever remind me of twenty-ten, but those aren't all attached to specific dates. I will definitely always remember this Thanksgiving. :-D

08. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Going to college, natch. While they weren't big achievements, I did go both roller skating and ice skating for the first time in at least ten years (the former was AMAZING, the latter was horrible).

09. What was your biggest failure?
Probably not being employed, and not doing as good in my classes as I should have (I certainly didn't do terrible, but I know I can do better). I intend to ace next semester.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I had a nasty cold right after Halloween, about which I was very excited. My first in two and a half years! :-D

11. What was/were the best thing(s) you bought?
My badass serial killer boots. They keep my feet so nice and toasty, and they're pretty cute once you get past the serial killer look. Also my TV, which I scored at the goodwill for $7. I acquired a fridge and a fishtank (with fish!) for free (though the fishtank is kind of on loan for the semester). Also I got a Zune a few days ago, so we'll see if that purchase was a best or a bust.

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
asorbic_acid , whose epic visit this spring was the only thing that made the non-Northern version of twenty-ten memorable. We went roller skating, swam in the pool plenty, went to Disney, and she let me ride around in her awesome Jeep. Thanks Deidre!!

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
Oh, probably one of the various patrons of the first half of twenty-ten. That is something I have no problem leaving behind last year.

14. Where did most of your money go?
To a crappy college in Michigan. LOL.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
I was extremely excited to go with my friend Chelsea to her home in Traverse City, which was my first time traveling downstate. Also going to Meijer. LOL.

16. What song/album will always remind you of 2010?
A variety of Ke$ha and Katy Perry songs, I think. Also Neon Whatever's Animal.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
1. happier or sadder? Happier (much)
2. thinner or fatter? Exactly the same. Which isn't horrible but you know.
3. richer or poorer? Poorer. So, so much poorer.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
I wish I'd made more friends at the beginning of the semester. I'd made so many friends the second half of the semester, and now some of them are not coming back, and I wish I'd had the opportunity to know them longer.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Wasting time by myself. If I'm going to waste time, I might as well do it with other people.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
With my family.

21. Who did you spend the most time on the phone with?
I don't talk on the phone that much, but I guess my mother.

22. Did you fall in love in 2010?
Certainly not in love, but there were definitely a few guys who caught my eye.

23. How many one night stands in this last year?
LOL I don't drink THAT much.

24. What was your favourite TV programme?
iCarly!! LOL. (for realsies, though)

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
I don't hate people.

26. What was the best book(s) you read?
I'm honestly not sure I read ANY books for pleasure. At least I don't think I finished any. Wait, I read Percy Jackson, but I didn't really enjoy it that much.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Um, whatever was on the radio, I guess. I don't pay much attention, I just listen to everything.

28. What did you want and get?
A social life!!! Also, a fridge and a TV.

29. What did you want and not get?
A job and a couch.

30. What were your favourite films of this year?
TOY STORY THREEEEE. I also really liked Kick-Ass, Inception (!!!), and Scott Pilgrim. I know Whip It was technically oh-nine, but I didn't see it till this past spring, and it's definitely right up there with my favorite movies, so I'll include it. OH AND TANGLED WAS SO GOOD.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I barely remember, but my sister got me a huge furry Russian hat for my traversing up north. And I turned 25, which is probably why I tried to purge the memories of the day from my mind.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
The second half of my year was so tres magnifique that I don't think anything could have made it more satisfying, at least not immeasurably so.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010?
First half was the same as oh-nine: Work polos and Read tee shirts. Second half involved my first pair of skinny jeans and graphic tees. And socks. Lots and lots of socks.

34. What kept you sane?
My friends!

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
We'll go with the usual: RDJ and Hugh Jackman, with a smattering of Sam Worthington.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
LALALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOU LALALA

37. Who did you miss?
My family, then my friends.

38. Who was the best new person you met?
SO MANY. It's impossible to say just one. I love them all.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010.
GET THE FUCK OUT and meet people, for crying out loud. Sell yourself (for God's sake, FIGURATIVELY. Get your mind out of the gutter, perv).

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year?
"Got my hands up/ they're playing my song/ And now I'm gonna be okay ... It's a party in the USA!" haha, oh miley.

Holee carpa it's twenty-eleven. I actually kept my New Years Resolutions last year, though they were kind of cop out-ish (they were that way on purpose though, to build up to this "keeping New Years Resolutions" thing, at which up till twenty-ten I had failed miserably). My first resolution was to have more physical stamina. Technically, since I was going to the gym for the first half of last year, I actually built up more stamina, even if I did lose it the day I left for Michigan.

My second and more significant resolution was to make twenty-ten a year to remember. I know that's kind of a lame resolution, but look from my perspective. I'd been here in Florida for three years; I was moving forward academically, but at a snail's pace, and socially I'd been at a standstill since I left Rhode Island. The years oh-seven, oh-eight, and oh-nine are pretty much just blurs in my head, all meshed up together in one giant blob of confusion. They'd gone by so fast, and so little had happened in terms of the direction of my life that I felt like I was in the same place I'd been three years prior, when my family first moved to Florida.

So, looking back on that, I'm glad to say that I definitely accomplished what I wanted to. Twenty-ten will always be the year I decided to be an artist legit, went away to the frozen north, met some amazing people who I hope will be lifelong friends, and made some fantastic memories.

So on to my resolution for this year, which is way more ambitious than last year's. I intend to have a journal entry for every day this year. I don't want to be too ambitious, so I figure even if it's posting a picture or a link to a video or anything, just so I can have an entry for the day. I think if I were to try to write in it every day I'd fall behind miserably, as I have so often in the past.

I've had so much fun this past semester, and I feel like I haven't written down nearly enough of it. How many little things have happened which I have completely forgotten about? Too many, I'm sure. Having had so few friends for such a long time, I feel like I appreciate my friends so much more now, and I want to enjoy every moment I have with them, and I want to remember as many of those moments as possible.

So, here's to one three-hundred-sixty-fifth of my resolution complete (with two minutes to go, no less!)!

Oh, and speaking of awesome times, I went sledding a few weeks ago!



HELLZ YES

(I particularly like the pink baseball cap on the nun in the center, over the habit, naturally).

The monks were interesting because there were TONS of them, and they were spread out all over Magic Kingdom and Epcot. Very hard to miss with the bright orange robes. The nuns we only saw right there in Epcot. Sadly, these pictures were taken about two and a half years apart. It would have been awesome to see Disney World overtaken with all kind of religious folk.

asorbic_acid  was showing me her steampunk costume today and I was inspired to doodle. ( Picture and story )

Steampunk is really neat, IMHO. I'm really not ambitious enough to make a steampunk outfit, but I think some of the things people come up with for it are pretty amazing. Also it always inspires me to draw stuff, which is a good thing.

So I heard something about Rhode Island in the news today and I decided to go home and google it.

Guys, I am so sorry. This is absolutely unbelievable. I mean really:

WHAT is that F.Y.E. still doing there?! Their prices are OUTRAGEOUS!!

And then there's this:


A SPORTS AUTHORITY in the Warwick mall!? UGH!! Give me a break, Dick's is FAR superior.


------

In other news, my lake out back is still just a puddle.

(am I going to hell?)

LOL

Spaceship Earth is the world's first geodesic sphere, as well as it's largest. It's 180 feet tall, and is covered in over 11 thousand triangular-shaped tiles. The title of this image is a play on words: Epcot's fireworks show called "Illuminations: Reflections of Earth" and Spaceship Earth (which, contrary to popular belief, is not actually called "The Giant Golf Ball"). The beam which crosses in front of Spaceship Earth is the monorail track.
--

I need to get a better camera. I love my D40, but being the entry-level camera that it is, the night-shots don't hold up nearly as well as full daylight shots. I've also heard that there are de-noising programs out there, but I'd rather have an excuse to buy a new camera one of these days. :)

Sooo Thursday night was interesting. After missing the advanced screening of Alice in Wonderland, we decided we'd just do the midnight showing, and went back to Jennie's dorm to buy tickets. IMAX was all sold out, which was okay because just the regular 3-d tickets were $27 when all was said and done. A (sort of) nice thing about buying them online is that for this particular theater at Channelside there's the option to reserve seating. When we headed back down there, this time with directions in hand, we realized that they wouldn't have helped much in the first place. One of the main roads that we had to take downtown was closed off with a "detour" (the signs for which just trailed off, being no help at all). Earlier in the night it would have been impossible to find our way around, since there was so much traffic, but it was pretty dead at 11:30 so we were making good time by the point that we found Channelside.

When we GOT there, however, there was a line outside of the parking garage, and the cars were just standing still. This was when I really started to get stressed, because missing the advanced screening really sucked, but in this case we had just dropped almost $30 on the tickets, and it wasn't looking good that we were going to make the show. I was about ready to turn around and park somewhere illegally when I saw a lady walking along the line of traffic, speaking into the windows. She told us that she made a call and they were postponing the movie, because there was something wrong with the gate. Thank goodness. So it was about 6 or 7 more minutes before things got going, but we got a spot and got into the theater with plenty of time to spare.

So the movie was great. It was actually better than I was expecting, since I had accidentally pulled up rotten tomatos and saw it's not-stellar score, something that I was trying to avoid. As a movie nerd, it definitely has it's weak spots (the pacing could have been more solid), but as a fan of Alice I really liked it. The more I think about it after having seen it, the more I like it. It was worth the money, and I will be seeing it again. It was a beautiful movie visually; very creative scenery and costumes, and it screamed Tim Burton all over it. The acting was solid, and I particularly like Helena Bonham Carter's Red Queen (as I knew I would). From all the trailers and marketing, I was a bit nervous that it would feature Johnny Depp's Hatter too centrally, but while his role was definitely very important, Alice was unquestionably the main character and took center stage. Also, Futterwacken.

Just..... Futterwacken.

Soooo

We missed our Alice screening. SOMEONE forgot the directions in her dorm, and we figured that since Channelside is such a big place we could get there without. Well there was some kind of show at TPAC so traffic was INSANE, I was stressing and REALLY upset since this was so preventable.

Anyway, since I had my heart set on going to see Alice tonight, we decided to see the midnight showing at Channelside (and will be bringing directions this time). I don't have to be at work till 9:45 in the morning so I'm just spending the night at Jennie's dorm.

It'll be like when I used to party till 4am and then had to work at 8!

Anyway, the best part is Jennie's roommate is a really good cook and is making us dinner. Yay!

( Okay, so this is where I either justify a purchase or talk myself out of it. )

In other news.

I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS MOVIE.


I get to see it tomorrow night, a few hours before everyone else!!
 
This weekend I was lucky enough to win two passes to an advance screening tomorrow night in Tampa. It's at 7:30, so it's only "advance" by a few hours, but hey, at least we wont have to wait in line! Plus... FREEE (though I imagine I'll be spending a decent portion of what I would have normally spent on gas, but STILL).

I'm going to be perfectly honest with you. I love the Alice in Wonderland story, and the mythos of Wonderland. And while Disney's original Alice adaptation is a visually striking movie with (naturally) beautiful animation, I'm not really a huge fan of it. It's too episodic for my taste, which isn't a problem of the movie itself, but of the story. It reads wonderfully, but in terms of film-adaptability it's too disjointed, and every adaptation of it I've seen as yet (read: two.) hasn't really done much for me.

One of the reasons I'm looking forward to this movie so much is that it has it's own plot and story. Alice returns to Wonderland as a young woman and has to save it from the Red Queen. Instead of taking Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and making a movie out of that, Tim Burton's taken all the things that make the book great and is putting them together with it's own plot.

And holy frick it's quarter after ten. How do I manage this every night?

Up was nominated for Best Picture! Which is history, since the first and only other movie ever to do so was Beauty and the Beast 18 years ago. Anyone who's seen it knows that it is more than deserving of the nod, but I think with the circumstances of this year's Oscars its kind of a shaft. This year there are ten best Oscar noms instead of the normal five. So does it mean quite as much as it did for Beauty?

I think it kind of evens out in this respect, since when Beauty and the Beast was nominated, there was no Best Animated Feature category. That category was included in the awards for the first time in 2001, ten years after Beauty, and it pretty much has killed Pixar's Best Feature Oscar chances every year since. With Best Animated Feature, the really really good animated movies (you know, like Finding Nemo, Ratatouille, Wall-E, etc) get their Best Animated wins and plum lose out on any chance of a Best Picture nod. So, while Up has had an extra rung to hold on to in the five additional Best Picture noms, it also still has to climb over the ugly head of Best Animated Feature.

I would still prefer it if it had been nominated among only five, but what can I say? I'm a traditionalist. Amazingly I call myself a movie buff but I've only seen two of the Best Picture nominated movies (Up, obviously, and Inglourious Basterds [which was also really good, but never would have made it in the case of 5 noms, will shut up about that now]), and they were all wide(-ish) releases. And I STILL have not seen Avatar, which I'm waiting for to go to 2D (and $3) at the cheap-seats. I guess if people are still paying $6 to see it in 3D why should they start charging half price?

Anyway, I don't see a lot of movies as they come out in theaters (even in the cheapseats). I've actually been enjoying watching them more at home with my family (I make it sound like it's my family that makes the difference, lol. Has a little more to do with my parents amazing entertainment system).

Baaah gotta get ready for work.

I feel like I need to write an outline for this post. I think I'm going to start carrying around a memopad and writing down interesting things that happen. Anyone wanna teach me some shorthand?

Where to start, where to start. Went to Disney with Jennie a couple weeks ago, where we met up with a friend who lives in Daytona. While she'd been to Disney in like Downtown Disney, she'd never been in the parks before; it was her birthday so she was able to get in free. We did Hollywood Studios, which is a park that I like but mostly just during the holidays. We went to the Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom at night, which was really REALLY busy. Anyway here's the one worthwhile picture from the night:


Took that from the ferry, and it's a tad fuzzy. Oops!

Anyway, she gave us some tickets to Universal that she'd won on a radio show, but was unable to go as they were expiring the 31st. Last time we'd gone there was in 1994; I've really been wanting to swing by there, but every time I'm in Orlando, I have my Disney passes so I just hate to spend the extra money. So Jennie, Lizzy, and I went out there on Saturday. I got pulled over on the way out cuz a bored cop noticed that my registration had expired like 4 days previously. He didn't give me a ticket, which was cool, probably cuz my car is registered in my mom's name so I got to blame it on her (lol).

Universal was really fun. They definitely rival Disney in terms of theming and attraction-quality. First thing we did was the Jaws ride, which is the only thing we all remembered from when we went in '94. Lizzy was afraid to go on at first, but I told her it was just a boat ride with no crazy hills or anything and so she went on (and loved it!). Then we went on the Simpsons ride, which was rated the best new ride of 2008 by Theme Park Magazine (or whatever it is). I can definitely see why, it was really impressive.

Did a myriad of other things after that, including the Terminator 2: 3D movie and Beetlejuice stage show, both of which were very high quality (the T2 movie was especially surprisingly good), and a "Blues Brothers" concert show. After doing lunch, we went over to Islands of Adventure next door. They have a Dr. Seuss land which is really pretty cool. Lizzy wanted to go on this trolley thing that runs over the whole land, which offered a really nice view but was exceptionally short (around 3 and a half minutes) for the 30-minute wait (it reminded me of the TTA at Disney World, which is a good 7 minutes long and rarely has a wait). We mostly just walked through the rest of the park after that, since it has more "big" rides that Lizzy or I can't do.

The one ride that I did want to do, the Spider-Man ride in Marvel Island, had a 70-minute line. I decided not to wait, but now I wish I had cuz you know I'm probably not going back there for a while. Anyway, now that Disney owns Marvel, they'll (hopefully) eventually have Marvel stuff at the World, once Universal's contract expires. So I was looking at that whole section of the park with a very critical eye (after all, it really wasn't as nice as the rest of the park), and wrote a review with some suggestions for it over at Mice Chat. Yes am huge nerd.

So Christmas was all right. I pretty much knew everything I was getting from my family, mostly Cars and Ratatouille on Blu-Ray (So now I'm up to date on my Pixar and Disney Classics Blu-Ray collection) and a couple other things. Regina got me this amazing Disney memorabilia book, which is really really nice.

I had a four-day weekend, and while it's partly gone by really fast, I also partly feel like I haven't been to work forever.

Oh yeah, that reminds me! On Wednesday at work, the mail came in and there was an envelope which said "Attn: Katrina" at the bottom. I opened it and there was a $50 gift card to Macy's a a $50 gift card to Victoria's Secret. All it said was "From your Secret Santa". Um, creepy? Yeah so we're not allowed to accept gifts from the public with values of more than $25, so thankfully that let me off the hook. They donated them to the Whitmore Fund, who'll be adding them as prizes to their next raffle. Freakin' weird.

PHCC is opening a new campus nearby in the Fall. I've heard tell they're going to be posting jobs next month. I will be applying for any library positions that open. Free tuition? Yes please.

:-D

I carved a Jack pumpkin'! Take a look here: http://ladystardust722.deviantart.com/art/Jack-Skellington-142150251

Shannon had a doggy party yesterday. It was pretty uncomfortable because it was just so freaking hot. 90 degrees during the day! It's freaking November, okay? Anyway, I did bring Lucy but she prefers people to other dogs. She doesn't mind them but she was pretty uncomfortable all day, and was following me around closely wherever I went. I don't even need to keep her on a leash.

We had the Pumpkin Patch Party at the library on Tuesday. They do story time for the kids then take them "trick-or-treating" around the library. I got to dress up in my Snow White dress and hand out candy. It did get my picture in the paper, which is always fun.

Definitely ready for winter. Or should I say "winter".

First of all:
http://money.aol.com/article/disney-buying-marvel-entertainment/647124
That excites me. A lot. It probably shouldn't, but I'm kind of a Marvel fangirl and you all know how I feel about Disney. Not to mention the Mickey-Mouse-as-Spiderman bigfigs which are bound to start showing up in the parks.

Also, I had the (mis)fortune of being selected to write a book review for the library's newsletter. Since I had to do it anyway, I'm posting it here.
( The Welsh Girl by Peter Ho Davies )

Classes started last week. I registered late for one, since I had to drop my internet course cuz my computer blew up (long story short, HP can suck my cock I exchanged it for an ASUS so all is now well) so I missed the first class of English Composition II. I read the syllabus and I think I'm actually going to enjoy it, even though I was stressing over it for a bit (I'm not keen on writing). Also I have Humanities which is gonna be a snoozefest, even thought it doesn't have to be, but the teacher seems like a real tool. Oh well, can't winnumall.

Also got a new seat for my bicycle, and a wicker basket to boot. It's super cute and I can't wait till the weather breaks so I can actually ride it during daylight hours when people can see how adorable I am on my little vintage bicycle.

Oh! I gave blood yesterday. They finally let me do it because I wasn't having my wisdom teeth out next week or hadn't drank two giant Dunkin Donuts coffees for breakfast, like the last times I went to give blood.

Disney next weekend. I'm saving my money so I'm not renewing our passes this year. *sobs*

Oooh sigh I've been neglecting you, ever faithful livejournal, haven't I?

Busy with homework and Disney. I haven't drawn anything lately that I like, but for the final project we're doing mixed media. I'm gonna do a journal and make the cover a collage. But the best part is I'm making and binding the journal myself using this handy-dandy tutorial. I'm at the part where I've glued the mull to the spine and it's setting. Will have a picture of the completed project.

Went to Disney last week with Jennie. We met and made friends with this awesome girl who we knew from a message board. Also had WAY too much fun with Jennie's Optimus Prime. Voila.

Only Monday, Wednesday and then the following Monday left for art class. And that week, I take a mini-vacation starting Wednesday and continuing through the weekend. Guess where we're going? Yep! And for my birthday no less. Squee.

Alright, time for bed. Sigh.

http://www.wimp.com/guitarssound/

Wow, this seriously gave me chills. Srsly.

Wow, my two favorite things in the world right now come together in a way that no one would ever think possible (except, of course, the Japanese):
http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10080145

WTF Japan? WTF? You know I have to get that now. sigh.

It's been raining ALL DAY for the past few days, and will continue to be rainy through NEXT MONDAY.


I love it.

I don't think it's rained this much since I moved here. The other night I had a dream that the empty retention pond in my back yard turned into a beautiful lake. With a waterfall!

Drawing, now that I'm applying myself and actually trying to achieve something, is hard work. Well, not so much hard as it is long. With a lot of homework. I pretty much spent all evening yesterday doing homework. It was fun, but sheesh! I hate thinking too much after work.

Mkay done whining about it. It's so very rewarding to know that I actually am doing the right thing with my life right now. Of course, with this economy, you're gonna have a hard time finding a job no matter what kinda degree you have, so I might as well enjoy it.

Ok time for work. *heavy sigh*

OH but three-day-weekend approaching!! *dances*

I had my second drawing class today, and I feel wonderful. I forgot how much I love to draw! In my elation, I ran home to take a picture and upload my drawing to devArt. You can see it here.

It rained like a BASTARD today (and quite a bit yesterday, too), which is great, cuz we really need the rain. Now if only people will let me cross the street when I'm getting downpoured on and they have to race ahead to the red light. Ass holes.

Okay, so yeah, Disney. Actually let me start with BEFORE we got there. Right so we're on I-4, and we hear this big bang next to us, and it was this dude's tire blowing out next to us. He starts swerving around, and I had to swerve out of the way to avoid being hit by him (thank God there was no one next to me, but I didn't have much of a choice in the matter unfortunately). Right so by now we're watching this in the rear-view mirrors, and the guy's all over the road, before he ROLLS OVER into the ditch next to the highway. The truck was totaled. We pulled over to call 911, but there were a bunch of others pulled over who had been behind him so we didn't get out or anything (by this point we were a good 200 feet away). I can't find anything about it in the local papers, but I really hope those people are okay. It was really a miracle that no one else was hit by him.

On a lighter note, when I called 911 I start going, "Okay, I'm on I-95, uh, NO not I-95!" Some things just never leave you.

So yeah we got to Disney, and headed to Epcot. I wanted to take pictures of the Flower and Garden Festival, which, if you looked at my photostream, was only mildly successful. I'd forgotten to put sunscreen on my face (cuz i r smart!), so I headed back to my car. Which, if you've ever been to Epcot, or ANY of the Disney parks, you know that heading back to the car can take up to an hour (think about it this way: the Magic Kingdom could fit inside Epcot's parking lot). So yeah, by the time I got back into Epcot, it was time for us to meet up with Jennie's boyfriend (!) in Mexico.

So yeah, Jennie's boyfriend, Christian. He's awesome! He's got a great sense of humor and really meshes well with Jennie's more... interesting.. personality traits. Plus he works for Disney. So yeah, I'm very glad for Jennie. And yeah, it HAD to happen to ONE of us eventually.

So anyway, we had lunch in Morocco (the place we ate gyros with your cousin, Regina), then he had to be off to work (he works attractions in Tomorrowland at Magic Kingdom). By now it was around 3 in the afternoon, and the sun was hot, so we headed over to Downtown Disney to catch the Star Trek movie. Which, as I previously mentioned, was AMAZING. WAY better than Wolverine. Unfortunately, I've talked to WAY too many people who go, "Ew, Star Trek!" or something to that effect, so I hope it can avoid that stigma. Oh, and Sylar's in it. I totally have a crush on Spock's legs now.

After the movie, we headed over to Magic Kingdom, which was ridiculously busy for 8 o'clock on a night when it only closed at 11. Well it wasn't so much that the park itself was ridiculously crowded, but there were gobs of people going INTO the park. Christian had said he'd be hanging around Stitch, but we didn't see him over there, and figured it was probably cuz it was so busy. Oh, and the Blue Line is down, which is easily my favorite ride in Tomorrowland (I'm lame, I know). Actually the only ride we even went on was Haunted Mansion. Oh and we were in the elevator with a GREAT crowd who knew a lot of the words to the pre-show narration, so that was fun.

Then we hung around the arty shops on Main Street (across from the Suckporium), where I love (probably a bit too much) to take pictures of the figurines. There's a glass blower in Crystal Arts who does a demonstration, which is SUPER fascinating, so Jennie watched that while I went shutter-happy around the rest of the store. Then, during Wishes (the fireworks show), we were in the Art Gallery, and there was this Cast Member who was acting the entire show out. Obviously you couldn't see the actual fireworks from the inside but she had the soundtrack down to a T. So we stood there and watched her the whole time, cuz you know apparently we found that more interesting than the actual fireworks themselves. Ha.

So yeah we ended up heading out around quarter after 10 or so. I really could have stayed later but I had to drive home, not to mention the later you leave the more of a crowd there is all heading for the exit anyway.

Ok so moving on from yesterday, my drawing class starts tomorrow. I had the bright idea to look up and see if there's gonna be any materials I need for it TODAY, only to find that apparently there is a $120 textbook required.

For Drawing I.

WTF.

There's also a $50 "Drawing Kit" which is available at the book store as well, which is, no doubt, a load of bullshit. It's probably mostly things that I already have, or can pick up at Michael's for, um, less than $50. So there.

Oh and today is Mother's Day! I bought my Mom (as well as the rest of the family, so she'll have someone to go with) a season pass to Weeki Wachee Springs. Which is a local water park and nature reserve, and is famous for a live underwater mermaid show. She's always complaining about how she never gets to go out anywhere (which she really doesn't), so this'll be a nice thing to do that's only a few miles away.

Ha that wraps things up. I'm off for a jog, then into the pool!

Finally uploaded some new Disney pictures. Look at them here.

We went to Disney yesterday, obviously. More on that later. We saw Star Trek. WOW SO GOOD. I'm not by any means a Trekkie but it was just a quality movie, so go see it!

Gotta run, church!

I got bit by a fire ant on Monday morning that was barely bigger than a pin head. By yesterday afternoon, my foot was wicked swollen. It's not as bad today, but still kind of swollen. I took some Benedryl but that hasn't really done much. WTH? I got bit by TWO last year (at once!) and this didn't happen! I, Katrina, do not become allergic to things. It just doesn't happen! I'm quite content with being "healthy as an ox" thankyouverymuch.

In other news, done with classes. Solid Bs (you know, like the kind that sting me but I'm not allergic to!?). My summer class (drawing fun!) starts on Monday.

I went in the pool on Saturday! Oh, and I'm reading Watchmen, cuz I wanna see the movie but I hear it's kind of hard to follow. So, on the plus side, reading the comic will help me to better understand the events of the movie. On the negative side, I will subsequently hate the movie. It's a cruel world. (ravaged by killer microscopic fire ants)

Speaking of Ravage, everyone go watch the new Transformers trailer! *starry eyes* </geek>

( Quickie Wolverine review behind the cut )

The theater was pretty empty when we got there (I went with my friend Kristina from work). I knew the Transformers trailer was attached, so I was looking forward to that. RIGHT as it was coming on, this group of LOUD BRITISH people sat right in front of us. Going "Are there going to be enough seats for the rest of them? Where are they? Hold on, I'll call them." URGH.

So yeah. It's Monday again.

Sugar rush... direct result of clearance candy sale at Walgreens. Which, despite the very distinct lack of Cadbury products, was pretty successful.

It's been a pretty lazy weekend. We went to Disney on Friday and stayed overnight. Magic Kingdom was open till 3 am, but since I got hardly any sleep on Thursday night I barely made it past midnight. BTW I love Disney World. Being that we stayed at POP Century, the buses for it play a lot of music identified with American pop culture (radio hits, tv themes and etc). It was a full bus, but pretty quiet since it was after midnight. Then the Brady Bunch theme song came on and so Jennie and I started singing along, and by the end of the song the whole bus had joined in. Complete with a round of applause at the end.

I forgot to mention in my previous post that fucking GI Joe is capping off the summer. My life is complete.

The geek in me is getting totally giddy for the summer movie season. Wolverine, Star Trek, Transformers, Terminator. And of course UP.

Crap I love Mythbusters.

Disney on Friday.

It's 55 degrees. Yeah, April in Florida. And it's 55 degrees. It was in the nineties on Sunday.

55 and WINDY. I like windy. 55, not such a big fan of, but I'll take what I can get.

I went home early yesterday with some odd illness. Better now.

Jennie Rocket (8:54:35 PM):

rufus says (8:53 PM):
http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/5561/225757comicmegatronopti.gif
Jennie says (8:53 PM):
WOW
rufus says (8:53 PM):
LOL
Jennie says (8:53 PM):
Optimus does not have a mouth that is bullshit

Katrina (8:55:24 PM): lol i like how your beef is with optimus prime's MOUTH
Jennie Rocket (8:55:30 PM): LOL
Katrina (8:55:34 PM): "clang clang"

So yesterday my heart stopped when I logged on to My PHCC to take my psychology quiz, and I saw the announcement stating to finish up your papers cuz they're due today!

Yes, where I could have sworn the due date was April 29th, it was actually March 29th.

So Jennie finally got home from church (I refuse to go with my mom and Jennie anymore cuz they're always so LATE) and shopping, I went into her room and flipped out and so she said she'd come and help me cuz she's good at psychology.

Then she laughed in my face when I told her it was 1000 words and said that she couldn't believe I was freaking out over that. So anyway, it was on a film analysis, and I did it on Silence of the Lambs (I was gonna do it on Millennium Actress, but on such short notice that one would have required way too much thinking, and Lambs is filled with sociopaths and disorders galore).

So anyway, I finished it up and got it turned in in oh, about eight hours. Papers were never my thing anyway.

On the plus side though, it's done now! That was the one big hurdle that I have this semester. The rest of psychology is just online quizzes and my algebra class is basically gonna be more of the same till it's over.

I know it's only Monday, so I'll probably be eating my words come Wednesday afternoon or so, but the weeks have been flying by for me lately. Every Friday feels like "holycrap it's Friday again!" This is definitely a good thing right now because of classes.

So they're finally releasing another Disney DDR. This time for the Wii, which I conveniently have. I had been tempted to pluck one of the old PSX games off ebay, but apparently those are collector's items and go for $50-$100. Yeah. For a PSone game. Although I did find this while I was looking. You know, in case anyone is unsure of what to get me for my birthday. *bats eyelashes*

Lizzy's flying in on Saturday! I'm gonna go pick her up in the early afternoon I think. She'll be here for two weeks, over Easter weekend, too, which will be nice. I have Good Friday off and I've managed to take a vacation day the day after Easter, so I'll have a nice 4 day weekend to spend with her, and we'll probably go to Disney and stuff.

And holycrap Wednesday is April! What happened to March again?

edit: I realize now that I really need to change my layout and stuff. Cuz as soon as I changed to this one I stopped whining about the library almost entirely. Curious.

2nd edit: Changed. For now.

I've been trying to draw a lot more lately. Nothing fancy, but I really wanna learn how to draw the Princesses, among other Disney-related stuff. This summer will mark the first art class that I've taken since high school, as well as the first designated step to a BFA. I'm really stoked about being able to take it. I feel like, while my life has definitely taken a turn for the much better since I moved down to Florida, I've been creatively stifled. Lately, with my decision to pursue a degree in art, I've just been bursting with the need to draw everything.

Working at the library has been a big help on inspiration. When I see books come back all about how to draw and paint (the real gem I discovered is definitely Bridgman's Complete Guide, which I will definitely be purchasing), it really makes me go home with the urge to create. I also love the Lee J. Ames "Draw 50" series, which you always get as a kid, but never have any success with. Well now I do and they're a lot of fun (I love drawing cats and dogs especially).

I found an old devART account that I guess I made in like 2003, 3 years before my current one (which I haven't updated in, oh, 3 years). I'm gonna switch to the old one, since it matches my LJ username (as well as flickr and twitter and probably several other things that I made and forgot about) once I start my drawing class. The account is completely empty, no deviations or faves or ANYTHING and I must have made it one day and then completely forgotten about it 2 hours later. Anyway it'll be fun to start anew and with a clean slate, and not have only things on there that I did in high school.

And with that, I'm gonna go play some Kingdom Hearts. Haha and here you thought I was getting all productive.

Ren-fest pictures. Exhausted. Going to bed.

LOL
http://users.marshall.edu/~young170/