artemis3120

Well now, I sure am glad I didn't get caught in this huge deluge going on tonight. I usually don't mind walking home, especially since it gives me time to clear my head (or muddle up my head, depending on what I'm thinking). As I was walking home tonight, it started pouring, but just for about five minutes. I raced under a nearby porch and hugged the wall, watching the rain come down and thinking I was totally screwed. It let up after a while, and continued to drizzle after that, so I was pretty lucky in that respect.

About ten minutes after I get home, there are several titanic crashes of thunder, then it just starts RAINING. If I were still outside, I'd be soaked in seconds.

I've been trying hard to keep up the habit of writing something everyday, so anyone reading this will probably see quite a few more posts in the near future, as I'm struggling to find something *interesting* to write about.

I just got through with Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere. It was pretty good. I'm not saying it was bad, now, it just didn't blow me away. I'm currently in the middle of a collection of his short stories and poems, called Smoke and Mirrors, and enjoying it far more. Go read it. Or really, just any of his stuff. I *still* need to go pick up Sandman. I keep hearing so many awesome things about it.

I've been doing some research on my story, particularly on dragons, and as you may have figured, it's really hard to dig up any kind of solid, consistent facts about imaginary creatures. So to sort of make up for the whole imaginary bit, I've decided to just do as much research as possible (really, just as much as I feel like doing before deciding the whole thing is moot anyhow) on real life reptiles, specifically the reproductive cycles and gestation processes of the saltwater crocodile, the largest reptile on Earth. Oh, and not only that, but I have to familiarize myself with the complexities of the human reproductive system, since Tiamat is essentially human in this newest version of the story. Just how long does the egg spend in her body after conception?? WHO KNOWS?? Just how long does the egg take to hatch after it's been laid (FUN FACT! Did you know many female reptiles can hold onto sperm in her body for six years?! Neither did I! 8D)?? WHO KNOWS?? To someone who likes to have things straight before setting them down on paper, it's very unnerving knowing that I'm basically just making this shit up as I go along.

I wish it ended there, but it doesn't. Not too far down the story, Tiamat leaves her child with Jon, who suddenly finds himself a single father. However, this situation brought up all kinds of questions in my mind. For example, what are the legalities of literally finding a strange baby on the doorstep? Does Jon get to legally adopt the child? Is the child taken away from him to find a suitable home? Are there any paternity tests they might make him take?? So many questions, and I have to ask myself, Why am I trying to make this thing so damn realistic? No wonder so many fantasy writers are drawn to the whole medieval, D&D type setting. If there's a problem, you just hack your way out of it; there's no need to go through all this red tape just to make something believable.

However, I really really *do* want to portray any and all difficulties Jonathan has to face in order to raise the kid. I want everything going all higgledy-piggledy when Tiamat comes back years later to reclaim her heir (if things turn out that well at all; I've killed off characters before).

I've forgotten how draining it can be to write and put your all into it. But I love it, and I really do hope this goes somewhere.

Well, like the subject says, it's been forever since my last update. In fact, the only reason I'm posting on here is so I can get back in the habit of writing regularly. Let's see how good that goes, hm?

So alright, I haven't been getting stellar hours at work. I'm lucky if I get double-digits, but more often than not, I'm packing away anywhere from three to nine hours of work a week. So yeah, I'm not exactly thrilled about that. Besides, I'm about sick and tired of retail now; I want something more. In an effort to improve my financial standing, I've been applying to different places, and sending out resumes ad nauseum. It's seriously very tedious and frustrating, especially when I get next to no call-backs.

Things have gotten so bad, in fact, that I have turned to the only thing that I have some kind of control over. I've decided that, out of sheer desperation for money, I am going to start writing for a living. That's right. I'm taking the plunge. Granted, I'm a little worried about this enterprise, considering that my literary talents so far consist of writing internet smut and term papers for lazy college kids, and not much else. But even so, I've been thinking of some articles I could submit to Cracked.com and The Onion, and seeing how things go from there. I also need to remind myself to look into some writing contests to see if I can score any money that way.

I've always looked at writing as something I would do on the side, and now I'm seriously considering it as a way to put food on the table and pay the bills. What the hell is wrong with my life right now? I have no idea if I'll have the discipline or the motivation or the creativity to see this through, but I guess since the phone isn't exactly ringing off the hook with job offers, I don't have much of a choice.

This post is cut for anyone who *doesn't* want to be forced to read about my sad little life. Ugh, I could really go for some buffalo wings right now...

I'm sure everyone gets tired of hearing my whinings and complainings. Well, I get tired of them too, just so you know. I really wish I wouldn't let myself type so late/early. :P All this embarrassingly expository stuff comes out, and then I feel obligated to post it 'cause I don't have much *else* to write about. Anyhow, be careful, there's a huge wall of text behind the cut.

( Huuuuuuuuuge cut! )

Hoo~ Almost a year since my last entry. But *someone* had to start posting on their LJ, so I guess I had better keep up my end of the bargain. :P

What's in my life now that's changed? Not much, to be honest. I'm still going to school, struggling through classes, still have a lame, part-time job, and still... no truck. I'm in a rut, obviously. I would say that I'm proud of myself for going back to school, but the transition of taking twelve hours' worth of classes is a bit much after a year of no school at all. I'm so used to just lazing around that whenever I get an assignment, it's so easy to just toss it over my shoulder like so much pierced toast (I really love that movie). However, my friends have been exceptionally helpful in tolerating my ever-present freeloading. I have to pay them back, somehow.

My friend's grandfather died a few days ago. I've never been particularly good at showing loss or mourning, so I'm relieved that it's not going to be a funeral, but rather a "memorial celebration." It's a gathering of everyone who knew him, spending time together and sharing memories of the guy. As far as old people go, he was pretty cool. He had been through a lot in his life, and was always more than ready to listen and give some sagely advice, no matter what the problem was. He was cool!

Ahh, so Lina's making out with this cute bad boy from her work... :O I'm so proud of her, but I think I died just a little inside... ;3; YEAH, YEAH, I'm still hung up on her, mostly, I think, because I never got ANYWHERE with that bitch. :P Well, that's only to be expected; it's human nature to want something that you can't have, and I didn't become awesome and irresistible to the ladies until just recently. Maybe I should invest in a beard/moustache combo, see how that turns out... Ack, but why do I keep attracting these young-ass bitches?? o__O Can't I get someone with a little more life experience, please?

And speaking of which, there's this cutie online that I was talking to for quite some time, but now, for some reason, she's just vanished off the face of the earth. I think she might be gone elsewhere for spring break, but it's still maddeningly frustrating. Other than that, I'm fairly excited about this chick; she's cute, intelligent, definitely quirky (love the quirks), and above all, she *likes* me. :3 See? I've totally upped my standards! XD I just wish she were a little less busy, but it's better than having no life at all, right?

That's all for now, I'll update as more interesting stuff comes around.

I need to practice more. I want to move onto actual songs soooo bad, just for the opportunity to play something cool, but I know I'm not ready yet. BUT!! Practicing just music theory is actually paying off; I can almost improvise now! I came up with a little sucky song the other day! True, it was only two measures at the most, but if I can do that now when ten years of learning piano songs couldn't get me to improvise, then I consider that a step in the right direction.

Everyone at work is quitting! That has its good and its bad points. A MAJOR good point to that is I might be getting some more hours headed my way. Kristina has already quit, and Nicole seems to be calling in on all her days, so I'm sure she's not far behind. Neither of them had many hours to begin with, but hey, even if I can get one or two more days it'd be worth it. The bad side of Kristina and Nicole quitting is that two of the coolest people at Petco are leaving! They're the only people besides Diamond and Lina that I enjoy talking to. So... more time working with fewer tolerable people. Hmm.... we'll see how that works out.

Ooh, ooh... BIG NEWS... So I was hanging out at UTSA yesterday when I see Smiles and ask what's up.

Me: "Smiles! What's up?"
Smiles: "Gale! I'm going to go play Smash."
Me: "There's people in the room playing?"
Smiles: "Yeah. [in a low voice] They're playing Brawl."
Me: "What, Brawl?? LIES!! Smiles, you shouldn't lie!"
Smiles: "No, really! They're playing Brawl, really!"
Me: "I gotta see this..."

And so I did. I went with Smiles to the Secret Room, and got to try Brawl for the first time. Of course, first character I tried out was Jigglypuff. Holy cats, she's been toned down hardcore. She's slightly heavier, and her Rest has been nerfed TREMENDOUSLY. In other words, no more one-hit KOs. Pobre me... ;__; Pokemon Trainer is my new drug though. I seriously love the ability to change between Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard, each with their own separate sets of moves. It's awesome~

Hells yeah! I need to get sick more often!

First off, I'm not nearly as sick as I was the last couple of days. I have the vanishing vestiges of a headache, and I can still feel some annoying puddles of fluid in my lungs when I breathe, but for the most part I'm up and about. I attribute some of that amazing recovery to the return of the sun. Seriously, it's like... 70º F outside, which is more than fine with me. I should go outside and regenerate my powers from the strength of the yellow sun, whom I haven't seen in fucking ages, that lazy bastard.

So why should I get sick more often? Well, I weighed myself this morning, and I'm down to 165 lbs., meaning I dropped at least 10 lbs. over a period of two days! Dangerous, you say? Marketable, I see it as. Fine, don't believe me, if you still have doubts. But really, I'm estimating that I lost a lot of muscle, 'cause I still feel pretty flabby, bleh. But hey, I just need to start getting back in shape, right? RIGHT!!

Oh, and Kristina just called me to ask if I could fill in for her hours today... because someone's pregnant again. But I'm not naming names, nosiree.

Man, there goes my Saturday...

Well here I am, finally updating. Wow, I wonder how many times I've said *that*. While I could probably go and count, it'll just serve to distract me even more. You see, I'm determined to get back in the habit of writing, and writing regularly in here should help that substantially.

Right now I'm kinda at a low period in my life. Everything pretty much sucks. I'm not sure who else is out there who *doesn't* know this, but my truck died a few months back, and I've been bothering everyone for rides ever since. I take the bus *sometimes* but gimme a break, I hate this cold, and the prospect of waiting out 10+ minutes for a late bus doesn't exactly excite me.

So what's keeping me from getting a new one, or even fixing the old one? Basically it's just me being lazy. Well, I can't just go out and get a new one because of a *heavy* lack of money, but I *could* fix the old one. The only thing involved in that is getting a new motor, which my dad said he'd pay for (or at least loan me the money for), and then taking out the old engine and putting in the new one. In actuality, I could probably get the job done in about a week's time, if I didn't do anything else (read: no going out and avoiding coming home). The thing is, I'm extremely nervous and apprehensive about that option because I know very little about auto-repair. The little I do know is because I've had to replace various parts on my truck and my dad's truck. Ugh... truth be told, it's a huge hassle just replacing some little part, but taking out an entire engine?? I hope you can understand how reluctant I am to start *that*.

Things at my job aren't exactly going too swell either. It's not only been myself whose hours have been cut, but also several other employees, who are none too happy about the situation. Yeah, I know... ordinarily I'd take the lack of hours as a blatant message saying, "Okay, you can quit now," but I've asked my boss at least three times if there's anything he wants to tell me or if he still wants me working there. And every time, he tells me that we're just short on hours, and everyone is getting their hours cut.

Now *that's* something I can take care of! I've accepted the fact that I need either a second job or a whole new job (therefore quitting Petco). I *really* don't want to quit Petco, because I actually enjoy working there! Well, that, and when an employee has been working for one whole calendar year, their paid time off jumps through the roof. There was this one guy who finally took his paid time all in one lump after he quit, and I swear, he was coming back to pick up checks for nearly a month afterwards!

I have some idea about where I want to work too. Or rather, I should say I have some leads; Leorio (The Guy Formally Known As Pedro) has told me about this site where I can fill out a single resume (albeit, a rather *long* resume) and have it sent out to all open positions in a hospital... or someplace like that. I can't remember the details, but he still has to show me that site too. Another job lead was actually a real fortunate stroke of good luck; Andi called to wish me a happy birthday on 12:01 AM, January 18th. We talked for a couple of hours, and when I got around to telling her about my horrible lack of hours, she told me that I should apply at AT&T, whether at a call center or a store. She mentioned that she'd been promoted at some AT&T place up in Austin where she works, and so I could put her down as a reference.

I'm also going to school. Good god, it's been a looooong time since I've been in class! On one hand, it's good knowing that I'm getting my life together, but on the other hand, it's made me realize just how much I hate going to school. Well, hopefully I'll be able to actually discipline myself to the point I can focus, not get distracted, and FINISH.

Besides that, there are a couple of other things that are pretty cool. By the way, sorry if this post is a bit disjointed, but I'm just catching up to myself; mapping out my life, in a way. Dana and I are working on a comic together. I hope Neemo doesn't get upset at this, but it's the comic involving Gabe and Madison. I'm feeling some heavy pressure to put out something of quality, but then again, that's why I'm doing this, to sharpen my edge. I'm also practicing my guitar in earnest. Seriously, I'm so earnest my fingertips have these nifty shiny callous! Chris Tchou is learning songs straight out of the box, using guitar tabs, but my plan, tedious and frustrating as it is, is to learn guitar theory like a mofo before actually attempting to play any songs. So far it's working out well. I can spend anywhere from one to two hours working on a single scale. My practice routine for the C scale is something like this...

Single scale: C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C-B-A-G-F-E-D-C

Chords: C, C7, Cmaj7, Csus; I'm debating about learning 6th and 9th chords, but those aren't used nearly as often.

Grand scale: The grand scale covers every note on the fret board, according to the scale I'm practicing. So for the C scale, I'd start out with an open-6th string (E), then continue playing every note until I hit the note of the scale I'm working on (in this case, C) three octaves up. So practicing it should look a little something like this:

EFGA - sixth string
BCD - fifth string
EFG - fourth string
AB - third string
CDE - second string
FGABC - first string

Wow, it sure doesn't sound like a lot, does it? But I have this nasty perfectionist streak in me, so I have to get everything right! That's why it takes so long, alright? Alright?!

Oh! Something neat I've been doing has been playing the Chrono Cross soundtrack on my stereo system, and playing the accompaniment chords on my guitar. Man, that's tough! Even on slow songs I start thinking, "Dude, why don't you slow down a bit??" Like I said earlier, I'm something of a perfectionist, but in this case I try to focus on just keeping up with the beat.

So there you have it!! That's my life! I'd like to go on about music theory A LOT more, but I don't think anyone wants to hear much more of that, heh.

Oh, I'm sick too. :P

Okay, so this was my first Halloween not doing anything in particular. No parties, no trick-or-treating.... No assaulting kids with waterguns O___O (you know who you are...) But all in all, things didn't turn out so bad. Admittedly, it was lookin' pretty dark when I finished my shift, considering everyone else was still at work, but after some friends of mine got off, we headed over to Tommy's to watch The Shining and eat pizza :3

Personally, I like movies better when I see disc 1 first... usually followed by disc 2. Things make much more sense that way, and much less unnecessarily surrealistic. You know who you are.... Tommy. :P

Whoo~, it's been a long time. Waitaminute, this sounds familiar, doesn't it??

Halloween is almost here, and this is the second year in a row I probably won't be doing anything big. T____T Jess's mom has been throwing parties for the past two incarnations of the Universe, and she's finally grown tired of it, so this year all us party-goers will just have to manage on our own. As a last resort, Lina and I are planning on prowling the streets assaulting trick-or-treaters with waterguns as a last resort to boredom.

Work's going alright, but the move has got me kinda worried. I think I'm mostly concerned about how things are going to be over at the new store. Everything's so laid back and relaxed where we are right now, but so many changes are happening, and I don't like a lot of it already. Jeff's transferring to the De Zavala store, so that sucks... we're probably gonna get some pissy-ass manager to replace him. >.< I'm kinda thinking about getting another job, even tho' I like this one a lot. Still... more money would help... A LOT.

Halloween!! Why must you always come when I'm poor!! ;___;