It all comes around again...

[merimask]

Again, today is better.  I am up & down so much lately!  Sleep helps & so do friends.  Thank you for cheering me up yesterday f-list!  I was in a foul foul mood but you all helped & isn't that what friends are for?

Good things listed in bullet point format 'cause I like it like that.

*Ratchet & Clank is still stupid & easy fun.  Shooting stuff & collecting clinky clanky jingly bolts helps a bad mood go 'way every time.  Video games as therapy...what an awesome idea!

* Buying soap & good-smelly stuff online is made of win!  I'll link you if the items turn out to be awesome (I suspect they will).

*Getting good advice from online friends is great.  Being able to give good advice is also great.  It feels like contributing to a greater community spirit; instant online Karma.  If flame wars spread unhappiness, then this is the opposite of that.  There ought to be a word for it.

On a personal note, yesterday I was contacted by a photographer who worked with me YEARS ago, when an article about me & my masks ran in a local newspaper.  Well, she hung on to my card (because, cleverly, I sent her a gift after that article ran & my card was attached to it!)...the same paper (which is VERY widely distributed now) wants to use my masks for a cover photo for their Mardi Gras week issue.   A full page cover photo!!  I'll get credit & a mention inside, with my Etsy shop address.  This could be awesome!  & boom, it just fell out of nowhere.

It's like another reminder of the lesson I learned last year; good things will happen when you reach out with a positive, giving heart.  See?  There it goes again!   It's amazing...   

Comments

[golden-meliades.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you're feeling better today :) Volumes 5 and 6 of SB are good fun as well...anticipate a fun day when they come, assuming you read them the same day, that is. (Every manga volume I've ever encountered takes me an hour to read, and I'm not the type who can stop reading SB, so I just assume, lol.)

That's great about the front page spread. :)

Because of you I have to locate red and orange ribbons. I got an idea for Carnival sticks when looking at a picture of it being celebrated in Russia...and when I see wedding photos this particular 'technique' (If you could call it anything so high-falutin') is something I've always loved, so I'm gonna blend 'em.

[merimask.livejournal.com]

I looked up the carnival you are talking about...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Russia_carnival_2007.jpg
Orange & red ribbons! It looks so festive...I think something built around this theme would be amazing! Especially with the black underneath for contrast...the way her dress is.

[golden-meliades.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's the picture. Though I don't see any black in it...

I'd tear fabric to get the look, but it would fray, and using some sort of anti-fray would make it stiff/gluey.

[chibi-kaz.livejournal.com]

That picture is made of WIN....

(says the russo-phile!)

[alexkrycek42.livejournal.com]

Its great to see you feeling good again! Ratchet & Clank, eh? What console are you playing it on? I've been digging for an aresenal of reasons I should drop $300 on an Xbox 360 >.>

On another note, I just want to say that reading your LJ and seeing all this amazing business coming to you and how well you are doing and growing inspires me everyday. I day dream of throwing in the office towel and heading out into the wild blue yonder to be a children's book illustrator, but then I listen to/read the news about the economy and job's failing and I get scared and huddle into my little cube. But when I read your journal, it fills me with hope that with enough love, talent, and MOXY (great word)... there's no reason to be afraid, if you really want it! So thank you for teaching me that lesson over and over again :)

[merimask.livejournal.com]

I have all the Ratchet & Clank series, I think. 2 are for the PS2 (the first one & "R&C: Going Commando") and now I am playing the one made for the PS3: "R&C Future: Tools Of Destruction".

They all are pretty much the same in my opinion. This newest PS3 game isn't really much different from the first two, as far as playability goes. I actually think the first one was my very favorite R&C. Honestly, except for more memory & fancier graphics, these newest BIG game systems aren't so much more different than the last ones. I still love my Pikmin games on Gamecube more than just about anything.

Hee...I don't know about being inspiring, but I do know that it seems like every time I just go ahead & give things a second try, it does seem to work out okay. I guess in the end, all you really have are two choices; give up or keep trying. I choose to keep trying & even though it gets tiring/frustrating sometimes, it ends up being the right choice.

[merimask.livejournal.com]

Oh...and I have a third PS2 Ratchet & Clank; Up Your Arsenal...which now that I think of it, has been my favorite one. Wow...so many R&C games!

[thegeminifactor.livejournal.com]

I could easily write a paper on the virtues of interactive media enertainment as a form of emotional control and release. If you liked Ratchet & Clank and own a PS2, you'd probably also like the original Jak and Daxter. It's a similar kind of cartoony, platform-style fun (2 and 3 get a little darker and harder, which you might like too depending on your tastes, which I don't know).

Glad to see you're feeling better, in any case, and MAJOR CONGRATS on the photograph. That's freaking awesome.

[merimask.livejournal.com]

LOL...I have all the Jak & Daxter games too! And all the Sly Cooper games. I kind of lump those into the same category; button-mashing platforms that are cute & brainless. They're perfect for getting lost in another world & beating the heck out of it. ;-)

My favorites, though, are games like "Okami" or any of the Zelda games (Windwaker was my absolute fave...all that sailing!)...I don't dare play those now that my career keeps me so busy, 'cause they are life-suckers but oh so much fun & so beautiful.

A safe & perfectly charming fave of mine is the Pikmin series. They are logic puzzles, too, & you can play in little 15 minute or half-hour bursts, so they don't get so involved that you can't stop playing. Also, the graphics fore those are so perfectly lovely...it's almost like getting out in nature yourself (except you're bug-sized!), so they cheer me up in the winter months.

[thegeminifactor.livejournal.com]

Oh. Well, awesome, then. *shifts view of you to compensate*

I resisted Wind Waker for a long time, but once I tried it I absolutely loved it. Still not crazy about the character designs, but that's really my biggest complaint so there. Everything about Okami was great. I've heard good things about Pikmin but haven't tried it yet; I need to see if I can rent it or something.

[zannachan.livejournal.com]

I still haven't played Okami! Sniff. We have it--but we have a lot of games we want to play, and not so much time to play them in. Some day, though....

I love the Zelda games; they and the Final Fantasy are my Very Favorite Games. My favorite Zelda though is Twilight Princess, followed by Ocarina of Time. Wind Walker was a lot of fun and it's a game I enjoyed and have replayed, but Ocarina was just an incredible game, and Twilight Princess on the Wii is in some ways the best one yet--fun, great story line, great graphics, great puzzles and side quests. Even if the first time I played my husband and my friend who were watching kept laughing at me because apparently I looked very silly.

[ramblinsuze.livejournal.com]

Weeeee! Congrats on the newspaper photo! That's awesome!

[merimask.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Yeah it was a total surprise. ^_^

Yay!

[ramblingrican.blogspot.com (from livejournal.com)]

Totally adore videogames.. they help me just about in a daily basis!

Very happy you got another great opportunity! Let us know how it goes!

Re: Yay!

[merimask.livejournal.com]

I LOVE playing video games but I've been avoiding 'em like the plague. They suck all my time & energy...I get to tasking away on a game & next thing I know, 4 hours have passed. My family is like "Where's dinner? Why do the cat boxes smell?" & I have nothing finished for Etsy. But I got the 20th level done & have powered up all my weapons with the maximum upgrade...woo. :-/

Still, they're good for when you are housebound & there's nothing else to do.

She's going to call me sometime this week for the photoshoot...keeping my fingers crossed that it'll all be cool. ;-)

[zannachan.livejournal.com]

Dang it, I could have sworn I posted yesterday. Either I'm now dream posting (I wouldn't be that surprised; I also play video games, grade papers, and write my dissertation in my sleep. Unfortunately, I'm apparently brilliant when I'm asleep, but not so brilliant when I'm awake) or LJ ate my post again.

I'm so glad that you're feeling better! And I need to go back and bookmark somehow your last post because there were tons of links there that I want to check out.

Congrats on the newspaper photo opportunity! That's just great. You've worked so hard, it's awesome to see things just keep falling into place now.

You inspire me too, even when (like now) I'm not entirely sure what I want to do with my life after I graduate. I'd love to teach at a university--but locally university jobs are being cut right and left, so it's a terrible time to get an academic position in state. And I'm not sure how far from friends and family I want to move at this stage in my life. But even so, your... optimism, perhaps? Sense of positive karma? Keeps me encouraged that maybe somehow everything will work out well, even if things don't go as I expect.

[merimask.livejournal.com]

Heh...I do that too! I have this great insight, say "that ought to go in my LJ", then never get around to writing it.

I don't really feel that inspiring 'cause I feel like half the time I'm freaking out & feeling all insecure about my future & my career. I will tell you, though, that if you have confidence in your product/talent/ability, even if you have no confidence in the market or the economy, things do somehow eventually work out.

[tricia612.livejournal.com]

Always remember to be good to people, you never know when they'll show up in your life again. You obviously subscribe to this - the photographer not only remembered you but something about you made her want to contact you again. Too cool. You'll have to post the link when it's published.

Buying great smelly stuff, especially this time of the year, it a spirit and mood lifter. I have some orange creamsicle body cream that reminds me of summer and I smell so good at night. Enjoy your purchases.

Take care friend.

[merimask.livejournal.com]

Yes. exactly. A friend was just writing about her first kiss; the gentleman recently died & it touched her deeply 'cause even though they weren't really an "item", he was her first kiss & she remembers what a happy energetic boy he was. For him it was a whim but for her it was a milestone moment...you never do know when you're doing that for someone.

I'll re-post the links with a critique of my good-smelling stuff, once it gets here. Can't wait!

*hug* You take care too! We both have to remember to be extra nice to ourselves.

[(Anonymous)]

Hey,

Sorry for being such a stranger. I was so wonky for a few days, I had to catch up on real life which is speeding by me in a messy blur, kind of been neglecting Internet life. Sorry for being a grumpy one. Of course you know you, it's not you. (BIG HUG) Skipped swimming with Hiro and the kids (what a bummer) but better to stay in and catch up on things like sewing name tags on the kids school jackets... Seriously, bought a little crystal and tiger eye charm to sew on. Makes it a little special. Meanwhile work is piling...

Glad you are feeling better. Spoil yourself. YOU deserve it.

[merimask.livejournal.com]

Hi! Don't worry; I get moody too. It's so weird that I can wear myself out cycling for 30 miles in the summer heat & yet at the end of the day I'm calm & happy, yet sitting on my butt making things & managing my house gets me all tied up in knots. I definitely have to move to a warmer clime someday, for sure.

I've been slacking all weekend & playing games for a change. It's okay but I feel so guilty doing it. Must get back to work (& back to the gym!).

*hug* Spring is coming sooooonn...

[zannachan.livejournal.com]

Actually, that's not weird at all. Many studies have shown that regular exercise results in better management of stress and better sense of well being over all.

[xothique.livejournal.com]

I'm glad things turned around for you today. Sometimes you just need to crawl away from the world for a while and do something mindless, like play a computer game. It helps you to regroup and recharge, and be ready to face the world the following day.
I agree, if you approach the world with a positive attitude, doors open for you. Give with a good heart, and you will receive it back threefold.

[merimask.livejournal.com]

Thanks. ^_^ Yeah I totally needed to just do silly stuff for a couple days. It makes me feel guilty to sit & play games when there's work to do, but still, I needed a holiday from being me for awhile.

It's true! Every time I'm generous & I reach out, good things come back to me eventually. If only everyone could figure that out, the world would be a better place.