A Safe Space for Moogles

Screw you too, body. Screw you too.

...there were Pancakes, and Pie, and Presents, and this birthday is brought to you by the letter P oh my god I totally did not do that on purpose. XD Also Phone Calls from my grandparents argh there I go again! And DDR Hottest Party 2, which is quite fun, although I think the Wii dance pad is a bit smaller and less forgiving of crooked steps than my PS2 one. (A bad workman blames his tools, a bad dancer blames her dance pad, I know, I know.) Anyway, despite the increased fail, I did dance on it twice today, which is probably a record for me.

Oh my sweet zombie Jesus, I'm 25. *angst angst angst*

I'm kind of envious of all the NaNo people (so, like, half my flist this year). I'd love to do it, but - well, I've got a ton of other stuff to work on. My goal this month is to finish those four springkink prompts I Epic Fail'd on last round, and sneak them in on this round. At least then I'd have one less thing to feel guilty over. ...Oh, and also this stupid 'personal essay' bull I have to do for applying to this university. I hate doing those things. They combine the gut-wrenching panic of a test you haven't studied for with the shame and madness of exposing your fragile psyche to some faceless strangers who have the power to decide your immediate and long-term fate. ...Or maybe that's just me.

Have I mentioned how much I love the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History? If they'd let me set up a cot in the gift shop, I'd totally spend a week there. I may attempt it once they open the Hall of Human Origins. I'm a bit of a geek.

The reason I gush is because my parents took me to the Museum today, as a birthday Thing. It's been a while since I've been in DC, now that I think about it - not since the Cherry Blossom Festival, which was in early April. Anyway, was a lovely time. We spent most of the day in the fossil exhibit and the Hall of Mammals. Dinosaurs! :DDD And and ancient ancestors of dolphins and horses and turtles and dogs and something that I swear is an ancient ancestor of a chocobo. XD So that was a lot of fun, and now I have a plushie whale to play with too. (Needs a name.)

And then after that there was amazingly-awesome dinner at a Korean barbecue place. Om nom nom.

.......Tired now. *thud*

EDIT: Almost forgot! I found a Chick tract entitled 'Who Is Allah?' on the Metro on the way back. It's currently stashed in a plastic bag in my purse until I figure out what to do with it. A ritualistic burning and burying of the ashes seems ideal, or I could just scan in some choice bits and let y'all mock it.

It's the Halloween Meme, ganked from (lj)artoni! Because I won't be going trick-or-treating for realz. *sad*

01 ► Create a graphic (200 x 200 max size) to represent your personal "candy". It should have your username on it, but otherwise can feature whatever you want. Make it something special since it's self-representative.

02 ► Make a post with the subject "trick or treat?". Put your "candy" somewhere in it, and be sure to repost these instructions.

03 ► Then, go around other people's LJs and reply to them with either "trick" or "treat". If you reply with "trick", they will give you an LJ dare that you have to perform before taking their candy. If you're too wimpy for that, simply say "treat" and take their candy.

04 ► List all your collected candies in your original "trick or treat?" post to show off your collection, being sure not to direct-link! Mine is on tinypic, so feel free.

Here's my candy:


And the candy I've gotten so far:

Carved a pumpkin, all by myself. Why a fish? Well, it's less obvious than a face.

Also, I listened to the TF:TM soundtrack at work. With the volume up. Just in case there was any lingering doubt among my coworkers that I am the dweebiest dweeb that ever dweebed.

Seph/Zack/Cloud, pregame smut. :D As requested by ardwynna.

( Yes, he's doing it on purpose. )

Because I have got to break this writer's block before I go insane. And also because I am quite frankly sick to death of my own angst.

Porn prompts especially appreciated.

I'm a week from turning 25, and I still feel like I have no control over my own life. Case in point: despite my misgivings I'm getting down the names of some colleges to apply to. I'm absolutely dreading going back to school,* but I just don't have any other options.

*little black raincloud over mooglehead*

I was actually researching degrees in game art, because as long as I have to go back, I might as well go for something really cool, right? :D ...Apparently that was a bad idea. Dear readers, my search took me into the dark and slimy underbelly of the American educational system, where degree factories tart themselves up with glittery programs and beckon the unwary into dark alleys. I'm not sure I still have my wallet.

True to form, it took me most of the afternoon and well into evening before I thought to look up some actual job openings in the field. Turns out nobody in the gaming industry's actually looking for someone with a 'game design' degree. Art, yes, animation, yes, architecture even. But a holder of a game design degree from Art Institutes may as well tattoo 'sucker' on her forehead.

...Yes, I'm aware of the irony, considering where I got my associate's. Don't think I'm not kicking myself over that.



*Except in the case of the school in England, but that's my 'infinitesimal chance' school - I'd have to sell a kidney to pay for it.

Accomplished today: picked up more b.c, dropped off my Very First Art Commission at work, and finished editing my wolf-story aside from some fiddly bits with the names that I'm frankly too tired to mess with right now. (deepbluesquee and navigatorsghost, keep an eye on your inboxes. ;) )

On the other hand, this 'constant dizziness' business can go take a flying leap.

One of those quick skibbly things - more getting the idea down than trying for High Art.

Bitching about girly cramps herein.

Why is the moogle wearing a shirt? To have something to hike up, obviously.

Hey, you know what's a great thing to see first thing in the morning?

( Cut for ewww-factor. )

Long shower is looooooooong. x_x

...but, since my head feels like it's being shaken violently (it's not, in case you were wondering), I will not be getting anything important done tonight. Therefore, you get fandom blather.

( The 21-question Transformers Fandom Meme )

*braces self for backlash*

Also, re: current music - I really, really wish I had the necessary software and processing power to do a Transformers movie to that. Especially that one clip from Hoist Goes Hollywood for the line 'twenty dudes in a conga line.' Yes, you know which clip I mean. ;)

Can I just take a moment to mention what a huge writerly-girlcrush on Sharon Shinn I have right now?

The woman has penned an amazing fantasy series (Novels of the Twelve Houses, starting with Mystic and Rider, if you're interested, and you are) that encompasses politics, romance, war, and magic in ways that make me fall in love with all of them all over again. -Rather, for the first time in the case of romance. I found her Reader and Raelynx in paperback a few months ago and devoured it in the space of about a day, even though I tried to make it last because I thought it was the end of the series.

And then. And then. A few days ago I discovered Fortune and Fate. Do you know what Ms. Shinn has done, flist? I'll tell you: she took a very minor character, one that appeared only briefly in the previous novel, and spun an entire book off of her. And damn my eyes, I read it all in the space of a few hours.

Now that is talent.

...Also, I have finally made the Internet work on my Wii. Immediately downloaded LostWinds. It is criminally adorable.

That is all.

Blackarachnia is hanging out in my neighborhood!



EDIT: In the same fandom - I'm watching "Discovering Ardi" right now and my brain keeps going to Jack and Una. They're about in the right time period to be considered Ardipithecus, though admittedly they don't share some of the same features - though admittedly, Dinobot doesn't have feathers either. ...Speaking of, maybe the Code of Hero valley was Middle Awash?

My parents have gently suggested (lulz) that I consider going back to school for my bachelors'. *watches shadow of Overhead Anvil of Issues grow rapidly larger*

( Cons and pros. (Cons first, because that's how I am.) )

So, that's what's currently running on the hamster wheel in my brain.

So I was out walking today and saw that some of the neighbors have put up their Halloween decorations. Specifically, somebody has on their lawn a giant, animatronic Blackarachnia. I am seriously not kidding. O_O Legs! And hourglass! And the head turned to look at me, I swear. ...Actually, judging from the bloatedness, it kind of looked like a pregnant Blackarachnia, which is truly too terrifying to even contemplate.

I'll see if I can get a picture sometime this week.

I wonder if dressing up as Silverbolt for Halloween is an entirely silly idea.

I find myself really, really wanting to dress up for Halloween, but the only people who'd see me are the trick-or-treaters. Sometimes being a friendless homebody sucks.

Also, I had a dream where I could fly through space encased in a sort of semi-sentient, breathable gel. That'd be an interesting anime.

This actually happened a few days ago, but I'm just getting around to posting it.

One of my jobs as a Kennel Girl is to clean up in the lobby when somebody makes a mess.* I was summoned to do just that; a mixed-breed dog of some sort had made a solid deposit at the Bank of Linoleum. No big deal - I grab my trusty Mop and some paper towels and get to work.

"I am so sorry," the dog's owner tells me, with heartbreaking earnestness.

Dear lord, I think, the poor man's about to cry. So I turn on my Cheerfulness full blast. "Don't worry about it!" I chirp. "This isn't the first time this has happened and it won't be the last! For this is an Animal Hospital!" There might have been some :D in there too. Working at the Renfest has prepared me for engaging with total strangers.**

I continue roughly in this vein while I'm cleaning, and as I finish, the guy finally cracks a smile. Proud and no little relieved, I return to my accustomed spot down in the kennel.

Ten minutes later, a vet tech somehow penetrates my ninja veil and finds me. "Hey, moogle, would you come help me with something?"

"Of course!"

I follow the vet tech up to the exam room and there on the table is the poor man's dog, having shuffled off his mortal coil and joined the choir invisible. I just about committed seppuku with a scalpel right there. The man wasn't sad because of the poo, he was sad because he was bringing his dog in to be put to sleep, and on top of everything else he had to listen to me being cheerful at him. Sweet merciful chocolate, I suck.

...I may have apologized to the dead dog where no one could hear me. And patted his poor head.

*......hides*



*Even if the vet techs usually take care of it, because apparently I am a ninja and it's impossible to hunt me down. ;P

**Much the same way boot camp prepares you for a brisk walk around the block.

I had a moment of weakness and got a Tegaki journal - it's like a blog with drawing instead of writing - and spent the weekend getting hand cramps over my inaugural post. I finally finished it Sunday night, and, because I am a moron, promptly hit the back button and lost everything.

...Luckily I'd taken a screencap first. Here it is, if you're interested - it's not that great, I'm not used to painting, but I was pleased anyway. ...I think my next attempt will be lineart. Something a bit less labor-intensive. *flexes hands* XD

Headaches do not productive moogles make. -_- Sooo, Wazpinator QUIT! Humph! have a meme from (lj)someidiot.

Da Rools: Choose five series (no peeking before you choose them), list them, and then answer the questions behind the cut.

My five fandoms were:
1. Saiunkoku Monogatari
2. Fruits Basket
3. Beast Wars
4. Kingdom Hearts
5. Okami

( Here are my answers. )