Faster internet! Thank you, God! And it's not even going to cost us one penny more than we're already paying!

*ded of happy*

Late afternoon of the 24th (seriously, they're working then?) it shall be activated. I am very hopeful that it will be both noticeably faster and more dependable than it has been. ;D

Either that or, y'know, it'll all go wrong and we'll be without internet for a week or two. So if I disappear off the face of the earth for a while here... that'll be why. *g* But I'm hoping that won't happen, as this should be fairly uncomplicated. I think.

(Ooo, and between this and the fact that they're being released for several days, I may actually be able to catch one or two of the new DragCave Christmas dragons. Yay! :D)

Soo, karate promotions went considerably better than I'd expected, all things considered. Except for the fact that the toes on one of my feet were doing the whole random-going-numb thing again the whole time. Doesn't really help with balance and all. :P But! While I didn't get my next belt, I'm almost certain to next time (I was told I had just a couple of things to polish up, get the details perfect), and I did get another stripe. As I said - better than I'd been expecting, with the less than ideal circumstances this time.

And after testing had a very fun conversation with my favorite teacher, who commiserated with us on the fact that Eric his next belt, is therefore slightly ahead of us now, and will likely prove impossible to live with. *g* Found out she likes NCIS, and Dad gave her official permission to Gibbs-slap Eric whenever she pleases. 'Cause sometimes he needs it. ;) (He just... sometimes likes to press his luck a bit with the teachers we know well, hoping they'll be harder on him in consequence.Yeah, he's literally asking for it, and they know it.)

Speaking of NCIS... anyone else read this? *EPICsquee* Seriously, in all the speculation and discussion I've participated in over the 150th episode, it sounds like it may prove exactly, exactly the sort of storyline I'd been hoping for. Just - *flails in fannish glee* Okay, I now have major excitement, and even higher hopes for this episode. If only January 12th weren't so far away... *wistful sigh* Still slightly nervous over what the resolution will be like, but ooooh, I've a feeling this one's gonna be awesome.

Yay! :D

Saw a fun YouTube video today. Even though my family isn't really particularly big, we have heard this sort of thing many times over the years... :)




In other recent events... I keep getting laughed at in karate. Not by opponents (yet), just by my friends. And not because I'm Doing It Wrong, either. Actually, things have been going quite well.

No, it appears the difficulty is that, when I talk or smile even a little, my dimples show. And by this stage, where I'm supposed to be all intense, and focused, and Intimidating (particularly when, for instance, practicing tournament-style forms, or formally presenting oneself to judges).... Apparently dimples =/= scary, and occasionally make it difficult for others to keep a straight face. Hmph.

Not really much I can do to fix that, though. On the bright side... yet another reason anyone in a real situation would be unlikely to take me seriously?

*pouts*

... just... saw the new Star Trek movie....

I - he - they - Really cool.

o.o

Yes, I am ever so slightly dazed and incoherent at the moment. I think this is one I'm going to have to see again before I can truly fangirl (it was the same way with the LOTR movies, actually - liked the first time, but was a bit too overwhelmed to say I really loved them until I saw them again). But. Yeah. I think I'm going to be buying this. Two-disc version. With deleted scenes.

My current favorite line: "Get out of the chair." *giggles hysterically*

I'm so glad they're making a second one.

*keels over*

The good news: cut on my left hand's healing nicely, doesn't hurt so much anymore, should only leave a small scar, I think. The bad news: I have impaled myself on a fork. It takes a lot of force to draw blood with a fork, y'know? Think I need to avoid the kitchen for a while. Or at least stop putting away dishes.

Nah, it's not serious, but ooowww. And my right hand this time, too. Phooey.

Whether they're likely to make it to the full 50,000 by the end of the month or not, I have been just so impressed by what my friends who're working on NaNo have been accomplishing. *cheers y'all on* (Seriously, cairistiona7, almost there already, and it's only the 18th?! *iz ded of awe*) This morning I was thinking about it, and you know what I realized?

My sister has been doing NaNo. By accident.

Yeah, really. Shortly after we went to a writing conference on Halloween, she was struck by inspiration, wrote a several-thousand-word fanfic, then started in on a longer related piece, and has been basically writing two or three thousand words every day. (And this is good stuff. I've been editing as she goes along, and she's just nailing what she wants to accomplish here.) It's not improbable that she will have the story finished by the end of the month, and if the final word count is over 50,000 (probable)... she will have done NaNo. Without trying to. Oh, not that writing this hasn't been work for her, but... srsly. o.o

Me, on the other hand? My nickname ought to be The Turtle, because even when I'm inspired I am slooow. *g* I shall be very lucky if my word count for the month makes it to 10,000. But at least I'm writing and having fun? And Teh Crossover of Epic Weirdness (aka "currently nameless NCIS/Temeraire story") is still going well? And I'm hoping to make it to at least 7,000 words by the end of the month? Aaaand, while doing research the other day to have a better basis for one of my ideas, I came across something else really cool that may make it even more fun. (Spiders, yay!) So I'm accomplished too, in my own small, strange way.

:D

Wow, I'm posting a lot lately. But - has anyone else heard about this yet? The 150th episode of NCIS (should be airing sometime this January, from what I hear) is going to have Tony's father in it. Yeah. Seriously.

*cue insane squee-fit*

I have been saying for so long that it is ABOUT TIME for them to do something with that, and I just cannot wait. :D Of course, having as I do a deeply ingrained mistrust of TPTB when it comes to TV shows, my excitement is mixed with some nervousness as to what they may do with it (haven't found anywhere with any storyline details out yet, except that Tony's dad will be played by Robert Wagner), but certainly not enough to outweigh my utter glee at this news.

!!!!!

Started this sketch a couple days ago and just finished it. And I'm going to upload it now because I know I'm probably not going to like it so much later when I see all the problems with it. (Yes, smaaart, that's me.) But I think I may have had a bit of an artistic breakthrough. Yay! See, there are several things that tend to give me trouble in sketching. (Okay, there are lots of things, but several that are applicable here.) It's hard for me to draw what I think of as Temeraire-style dragons (even if it's not a specific dragon from the books, just a little different from my general style). It's hard for me to do scales that look good. And it's really hard for me to do sketches larger than my usual size. Really small I can do. A part of the head in close-up I can do, especially if it's the eyes. Whole head? Not so much. But I like the way this turned out. :D



(Wish I could just show the original - it's reeeally hard to properly scan in shaded pictures, and even more so because they look completely different on the computer the scanner's attached to than they do on my computer.)

Now I wish I could color it... Colored pencils are not my friends, and markers scare me. ;P

why am i typing like this? because i'm only using one hand. why's that? because i dropped a glass bowl and cut both my hands. right one's just got a little nick, but it's taking a surprisingly long time to stop bleeding. cut on the left one's rather deep. i actually think i came within a millimeter of passing out. weirdest sensation... all the more so because i just do not react that way to blood or injury, mine or others'. but then, i hadn't eaten or drank anything yet today, so that probably contributed.

spent half an hour laying on the kitchen floor, getting the bleeding to stop and waiting to not be so dizzy. and being embarrassed because i was really not trying to be all melodramatic.

and then nef got all concerned because i started grinning. y'see i'd just remembered it's friday the 13th. ha.ha.

ow.

Okay, so I had an insanely cool dream last night. And now I so wish I could draw people, because I have this truly epic picture in my head which is so far beyond my ability to actually get it on paper that it's not even funny, and just - *flails*

And now, even worse, it has given me story ideas, which is definitely bad. I've been working along on my SGA story for the SNWCG challenge, but the thing is this could actually work for the challenge too (as a matter of fact, there are two different versions if it that could work), and when I started half-jokingly telling Nef about it she thought it was really, really awesome, and the more I talked about it... Except this is quite probably one of the most stupid, crazy crossover/AUs evar.

*headdesk*

Seriously? Who does a crossover between NCIS and Temeraire? No one, that's who. Because it's, like, impossible.

Except, the more I think through the details, the more I think it would work, and the more reasonable possibilities and fewer difficulties I see. Which is totally the opposite of most AUs I think of.

Okay, I'm gonna go write this now before I chicken out.

Yep, I'm finally accomplishing something with my story for the SNWCG challenge! Not much, but still. I'm finding out I had more ideas than I thought I did, and I'm having fun. :D

And I'm actually managing to get art stuff done, too. Speaking of which, I could use some opinions... I finally got a sketch done of another pose I'd been thinking of for my male Long-Furred dragon, and rather like the way it turned out, but I'm still indecisive about whether I should use that one, or go back and fix up the legs/lower body in the first pose. What do y'all think?

'Cause cairistiona7 and ainu_laire are doing it... and I'm all about giving in to peer pressure! Plus, it looks like fun. *g*

The problem with LJ: we all think we are so close, but really, we know nothing about each other. So ask me something you want to know about me. Something that should be obvious, but you have no idea about. Ask away. Then post this in your LJ and find out what people don't know about you.

Go ahead 'n ask! Can't think of many topics off the top of my head that I'd consider off-limits (unless you want to know my Social Security number or something XD), but if you happen to hit upon one, I'll just... give you the fierce, scary face I've been practicing for karate. ;)

Whew! Finished editing the latest issue of TEACH, finished editing my mom's latest book, finished editing several articles for her (last one should be done today), keeping up on my various other projects, and all right on time, too. :)

And now I am feeling artistic!  *g* Mimic dragon concept over at Dragcave is going well, I think. Heh heh, though working there has a way of making me feel veeery ignorant and art-impaired. Particularly since I continue to struggle with a highly irritating mental block when it comes to translating my art experience from paper to digital art. I can have done something can't-even-remember-how-many-times with pastels, know the principles perfectly well, and yet when I move to a computer instantly I need to go over it all again through trial-and-error before the lightbulb goes on and I figure out how to apply those principles. ;P Aaanyway, I'm finally doing some shading on the Mimic male now, and I think it's starting to look good. :)

Did I mention that I'm doing concept art for two other people's dragon ideas, now, too? Very fun. :) Particularly the second one, where I'm collaborating with a very experienced and talented artist. Though, yes, I am a liiitle intimidated by her. She's very nice, but just - *hides*

And! I just got another concept accepted! *is so excited* Meh Long-Furred Dragon. :D Though now the sketching for the male is not going well. Phooey. *pokes it* I just hope I can get the fluffy little babies I have a mental image of to come out right...

Snowed almost all day. The internet kept cutting out. Worked on lots of editing. Dad and Eric accidentally lit the dryer on fire. Then they went out to cut down a dead tree. It fell the opposite direction from what they'd been expecting, and got caught on two other trees. So they cut those trees down too. Except they got caught on another tree...

You know. That kind of ordinary mid-October day.

I'm gonna go make some hot chocolate and get someone to light me a fire. In the fireplace. :)

Apparently it snowed last night. A bit more than just a dusting. Woke up this morning to everything covered in white. *sighs happily* Generally the first snow doesn't actually accumulate...

Bit of an early winter, maybe? :)


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So, I've been having lots of fun on Dragon Cave for a while now. And just recently, they've re-opened the new dragon concepts section of their forum. I love drawing dragons so much, I thought it would be really fun if I could design one on there. I thought and I thought, and I finally came up with something. Then I searched the forums carefully, to make sure nothing similar had been suggested before. And I thought some more, and wrote out a detailed description. And I hesitated a while - and finally posted it. And it got rejected. Phooey. But not exactly surprising. ;)

And then I was flipping through my sketch notebook, and on a whim scanned in a picture I'd done a little while ago, did a quick search of the forums, put together a bit of a description that'd make it unique from a couple other dragon concepts that're in progress, spent a few minutes googling stuff to confirm a couple things I remembered reading about, hesitated briefly - then figured, hey, pretty sure to get rejected, but might as well.

But it just got accepted. o.O Doesn't mean it's definitely going to happen, as some concepts get shot down after moderator approval (it hasn't yet been noticed, so I haven't seen any reactions), but still.

So now I can proceed to freak out and feel entirely intimidated by the number of amazing and experienced artists/graphics peoples around there. *dies*

Anyone who's got an account there can go take a look if they like. ;)

Oh! And I grabbed some of the gorgeous new draggies, if anyone would like to help them grow. :)


ETA: I'm watching an episode of the old Get Smart TV series - and Leonard Nimoy is in it! As an assassin. *is giggling madly* 

So. I got my hair cut. Enough to donate to Locks of Love again. I kind of wasn't planning to, and then I was, and... yeah, kept going back and forth on it, but had pretty much decided that whatever I did, I wasn't going to do anything before our upcoming trip. And then... I did. Imbecamiel the Indecisive, that's me. ;P

Er... wanna see?

( Teh pics. )

Well... erm, seems whenever I post around here lately, it's to apologize for my general absence 'round here. So I'm not going to. Apologize, that is. ;P So. Moving right along...


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Hehe. Actually, I still has a happy. ;D 

( Life 'n fanishness 'n stuff.  )

I just have to say - I love my family.

This morning, our brother came down to wake us up and let us know there were pancakes ready. (Mr. Morning Person, who loves making big breakfasts...) Neffie told him she was too tired to get up, he'd have to carry her upstairs. So... he did. Little brother's not so little anymore. :)

*is so amused* 

Nope, haven't fallen off the edge of the earth - just a tad busy. Editing latest issue of teh magazine, Mom and Dad have been gone a few days celebrating their 25th anniversary, busy time for Eric's golf tournaments, and getting ready for Grandma coming in - eep, 'bout two weeks! Also, trying to write, but not succeeding very well. *pokes stories*

Not doing bad, though. We're thoroughly enjoying having a dock on the lake. Yay, lots of fishing! And we've got a whole bunch of torches to light the dock and path down by the lake. Going out there at night, through a yard just full of fireflies, to a lake lit up by flames and the moon, with so many bright stars in the sky... It's just so magical, I can still hardly believe we actually live here. :D

Hehe, and we now have a turtle living in the lake that'll come when called and eat out of our hands. Add one more to our Home for Confused Animals! XD It's so cuuute... Now we just need a name for it. I'm thinkin' maybe Fischel.... *g*

ETA: o.o While I am still enjoying the BBC Robin Hood TV series, there is one thing I will say. I would not recommend the series finale. Seriously. That is positively the most idiotic end to a Robin Hood story I have ever seen or heard of. I'm sorry, that is just not poetic or dramatic - that's stupid. Sometimes, I hate TV series writers. *goes off grumbling*