Back from my trip to Las Vegas. As soon as I landed in Buffalo I wanted to turn around and do it again.
From the top:
( Casa De Awesome. )
There is SO much more, but this is just my blog and not Better Homes And Gardens.
Back from West Virginia, which will forevermore be known as Left Virginia. Just go look at a map.
( Game geekery. )
I got the rose in the mail today,
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
smillaraaq! It's very pretty & perfectly in time for mother's day. Your thingy will be in the mail soon (still working on it). :-)That's about it. I'm going to dive into Twilight Princess tonight, I think. It's the only game I can imagine that might soothe my broken heart after Okami (damn...I wish there was a sequel!)
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Here's how tired I am... I actually considered using this header: "I Just Flew In From San Francisco, and Boy Are My Arms Tired". Is that horrible or what?! I'm pretty sure the earth would have opened up and swallowed me whole in retribution if I'd actually gone with that. In my defense I only considered it for a very short moment . *tired but not completely addled*
Anyhoo! Back from SF, which is a glorious place. I'll expound later, when I have energy, time, and downloaded pictures. Chinatown was fun, Japantown was fun, seeing the Golden Gate bridge was fun, Fisherman's wharf and Pier 39 was fun...it was all fun. I met the adorablezipis1 and her roommate Griffin, and that was a hoot (those poor kids!), but again, more on all that later when I'm feeling chattier. Red eye flights...*sigh*
Briefly though (SO briefly, in fact, that I'm going to cheat and lift all this from the IM convo I just had withrumdiculous...how's THAT for lazy?), the lowdown on the Lahaina Gallery thing. It was complicated because, hmmm...complicated. It really IS who you know...y'know? The gallery is an established traditional art gallery that specializes in REALLY established artists in the middle or ends of their careers..I'm too new plus I do "art object" fine art, so I'm all wrong for them. BUT...He did look at my stuff, LOVED it, talked w me for an hour or more, and gave me contacts for a gallery that'd be just right for me. I'm not discouraged because he really thinks my work is perfect RIGHT NOW for the art object galleries. And high end too. He said "Oh double that" when he asked about the price on the water dragon...AFTER I said 2,000.00.
So I know what to do now...plus he actually called the gallery OWNER of the biggest art object gallery in SF...while I was right there...and set up the call-back for me. I just need to call this other guy in a week (he's on vacation). I have a new contact name, new battle plan...all I need is a new portfolio (but I already knew that), because I sort of embarrassed myself with the old one (it sucks!). So, y'know...very promising. I'm not giving up yet. Welcome to my world.
And I'm out of energy, so, nap time again. :-)
Anyhoo! Back from SF, which is a glorious place. I'll expound later, when I have energy, time, and downloaded pictures. Chinatown was fun, Japantown was fun, seeing the Golden Gate bridge was fun, Fisherman's wharf and Pier 39 was fun...it was all fun. I met the adorable
zipis1 and her roommate Griffin, and that was a hoot (those poor kids!), but again, more on all that later when I'm feeling chattier. Red eye flights...*sigh*Briefly though (SO briefly, in fact, that I'm going to cheat and lift all this from the IM convo I just had with
rumdiculous...how's THAT for lazy?), the lowdown on the Lahaina Gallery thing. It was complicated because, hmmm...complicated. It really IS who you know...y'know? The gallery is an established traditional art gallery that specializes in REALLY established artists in the middle or ends of their careers..I'm too new plus I do "art object" fine art, so I'm all wrong for them. BUT...He did look at my stuff, LOVED it, talked w me for an hour or more, and gave me contacts for a gallery that'd be just right for me. I'm not discouraged because he really thinks my work is perfect RIGHT NOW for the art object galleries. And high end too. He said "Oh double that" when he asked about the price on the water dragon...AFTER I said 2,000.00.So I know what to do now...plus he actually called the gallery OWNER of the biggest art object gallery in SF...while I was right there...and set up the call-back for me. I just need to call this other guy in a week (he's on vacation). I have a new contact name, new battle plan...all I need is a new portfolio (but I already knew that), because I sort of embarrassed myself with the old one (it sucks!). So, y'know...very promising. I'm not giving up yet. Welcome to my world.
And I'm out of energy, so, nap time again. :-)
I haven't slept much this week and here's why...
Random sharing of personal information...in case I die in a flaming ball of airplane doom tomorrow.
Ahh...I KNOW I had more crap to babble about but I'm tired and I have a ton of stuff to do today. Quick shout-out torumdiculous, who'll be back online soon, I hope. :-) Damn, girl! I miss our chats!
Random sharing of personal information...in case I die in a flaming ball of airplane doom tomorrow.
Ahh...I KNOW I had more crap to babble about but I'm tired and I have a ton of stuff to do today. Quick shout-out to
rumdiculous, who'll be back online soon, I hope. :-) Damn, girl! I miss our chats!
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Haha...not really. :-) Things are okay really, just...annoying. The lawyer apparently screwed something up in the contract (something complicated and crappy and involving a title search on the house or some such thing) so tomorrow is NOT going to be the day we close on the house. Grr. S'okay I guess; Greg said something about it being better to sign everything at the end of the month anyway. *shrug* I'm filing it in the "not my problem" category for now.
On a happy note we're heading back up to Toronto on Saturday to check out that amazing Chinese Lantern Festival again before it ends. Look! I even found a website here! It's cool as it has the pictures at night that I failed to take. Not this time though...I'm armed with a fully charged camera! F-list be warned; you're about to be bombarded with bright lovely dragons and phoenixes! According to the site, this is the largest lantern festival outside of Asia...isn't that cool?
This time Greg is going...I really hope he likes it. We don't get to do much together. I wish we could travel more often.
Okay! That's enough babbling. I hope to be finishing up mask orders tonight so I can start all my wonderful dragon projects...really looking forward to making those!
On a happy note we're heading back up to Toronto on Saturday to check out that amazing Chinese Lantern Festival again before it ends. Look! I even found a website here! It's cool as it has the pictures at night that I failed to take. Not this time though...I'm armed with a fully charged camera! F-list be warned; you're about to be bombarded with bright lovely dragons and phoenixes! According to the site, this is the largest lantern festival outside of Asia...isn't that cool?
This time Greg is going...I really hope he likes it. We don't get to do much together. I wish we could travel more often.
Okay! That's enough babbling. I hope to be finishing up mask orders tonight so I can start all my wonderful dragon projects...really looking forward to making those!
I so totally rock. Really. I do.
I decided on a whim to take Charlotte up to Toronto to see a concert. Beachfest, a huge free concert event that happens every Labor Day, sponsored by a local Toronto radio station. It's fun, but it's a little inaccessible because they hold it at a city waterfront beach park that's on the Metro line and really doesn't have any parking. So, I went online and found us a hotel room for the night that was within walking distance of Sunnyside Park. It was a little pricey (because it was a Sheraton right on the waterfront) but I figured it'd be a fun treat.
So, now Charlotte's home and today was her first day back at school. The real world closes back in. Soon she'll be sick of me asking her if her homework is done, and is she ready for that test, and clean your room already. But for now I'm the best mom in the world. ;-) That's good enough for me.
Oh! And! My mom gave me an early birthday present...a Dyson vacuum cleaner! OMG I've always wanted one...my Kirby is an antique and I vacuum every day, sometimes twice, because of the dog and the cat. Anyway I've been sucking hair up all over my house all day and playing with the attachments and it is SO NEAT. It doesn't smell like dust at all when I use it and it's so easy to empty...no more bags! And the hepa filter totally does the job. Usually I sneeze my ass off when I vacuum but not with the Dyson! That thing is made of awesome. Am I getting old because I plotz over vacuums? Ah heck, I don't care. It's very very cool. :-)
And the Chinese Lantern Festival has completely tweaked my dragon plaque idea muse yet again...sketches are happening at an incredible rate! I'll share soon.
I decided on a whim to take Charlotte up to Toronto to see a concert. Beachfest, a huge free concert event that happens every Labor Day, sponsored by a local Toronto radio station. It's fun, but it's a little inaccessible because they hold it at a city waterfront beach park that's on the Metro line and really doesn't have any parking. So, I went online and found us a hotel room for the night that was within walking distance of Sunnyside Park. It was a little pricey (because it was a Sheraton right on the waterfront) but I figured it'd be a fun treat.
So, now Charlotte's home and today was her first day back at school. The real world closes back in. Soon she'll be sick of me asking her if her homework is done, and is she ready for that test, and clean your room already. But for now I'm the best mom in the world. ;-) That's good enough for me.
Oh! And! My mom gave me an early birthday present...a Dyson vacuum cleaner! OMG I've always wanted one...my Kirby is an antique and I vacuum every day, sometimes twice, because of the dog and the cat. Anyway I've been sucking hair up all over my house all day and playing with the attachments and it is SO NEAT. It doesn't smell like dust at all when I use it and it's so easy to empty...no more bags! And the hepa filter totally does the job. Usually I sneeze my ass off when I vacuum but not with the Dyson! That thing is made of awesome. Am I getting old because I plotz over vacuums? Ah heck, I don't care. It's very very cool. :-)
And the Chinese Lantern Festival has completely tweaked my dragon plaque idea muse yet again...sketches are happening at an incredible rate! I'll share soon.
Okay. I've finished packing and I'm as ready as I'll ever be for Pennsic. *sigh* I've been doing this event for about 18 years now and it just keeps getting bigger and more hectic and harder to do...but I can't pass it up 'cause it's where I make about a third of my yearly income. It's a week of camping hell though, I can tell you that. Also, the goofball factor keeps going up higher and higher...or maybe my tolerance of all the Goofy is just wearing thin. Who knows? I just can't wait to see what everyone thinks of the Cherry Blossom Dragon. :-)
Something to read if you want a laugh: Anatomy of a correspondence about S-Cry-Ed.rumdiculous and I can't seem to turn our tvs off when it comes on, and we can't figure out why!
And there you have it. It's the anime equivalent of hurricane coverage on CNN. It's not exactly entertaining...it sort of hurts to watch all the carnage...but you just can't turn away. Rumi and I have the most intellectual conversations! :-) Seriously, this is good stuff.
*sigh* I'll miss you all. Talk amongst yourselves. I'll even give you a topic: What's the all time WORST anime you've ever seen but had to watch anyway? Even better if you ended up watching the whole thing. Explain your fascination with the badness.
*smooch* See ya in a week or so.
Something to read if you want a laugh: Anatomy of a correspondence about S-Cry-Ed.
rumdiculous and I can't seem to turn our tvs off when it comes on, and we can't figure out why!And there you have it. It's the anime equivalent of hurricane coverage on CNN. It's not exactly entertaining...it sort of hurts to watch all the carnage...but you just can't turn away. Rumi and I have the most intellectual conversations! :-) Seriously, this is good stuff.
*sigh* I'll miss you all. Talk amongst yourselves. I'll even give you a topic: What's the all time WORST anime you've ever seen but had to watch anyway? Even better if you ended up watching the whole thing. Explain your fascination with the badness.
*smooch* See ya in a week or so.
Finally! I'm ready to do my epic Costa Rica entry. I'm sort of dreading this...especially with the new picture hosting thingy and all. *fears change AND technology...so, is terrorized twice over*
Anyhoo! Costa Rica! It's the skinny part of Central America. It connects North America to South America like a little third world balloon string. My sister-in-law, Marya, kind of fell in love with it, so guess where 60 members of family and friends had to go for Marya's wedding? Yep. Costa Rica.
This is what I saw from my balcony, every day. Jungle and Pacific ocean. It was really easy to get used to. The breakers started oh, about a MILE from the shore. Which meant there was no soft "plash, ebb, plash" but a big freaking ocean roar that sounded like a jet engine. It was heavenly!
That's just a teaser. Here's my story.
Oh! And "Pura Vida" is something just EVERYONE says in Costa Rica. It means "The pure life".
Anyhoo! Costa Rica! It's the skinny part of Central America. It connects North America to South America like a little third world balloon string. My sister-in-law, Marya, kind of fell in love with it, so guess where 60 members of family and friends had to go for Marya's wedding? Yep. Costa Rica.
This is what I saw from my balcony, every day. Jungle and Pacific ocean. It was really easy to get used to. The breakers started oh, about a MILE from the shore. Which meant there was no soft "plash, ebb, plash" but a big freaking ocean roar that sounded like a jet engine. It was heavenly!
That's just a teaser. Here's my story.
Oh! And "Pura Vida" is something just EVERYONE says in Costa Rica. It means "The pure life".
In the immortal words of Sam Gamgee, "Well, I'm back."
Costa Rica was an incredibly beautiful, frightening, exotic, remote, wild place. I have much more to say and pretty pictures to share, (the ocean was absolutely insane! The surf was HUGE and the snorkeling was amazing!!!) but for now I just wanted to let my F-list know I survived the ordeal with only a little sunburn and LOTS of bug bites (I'm apparently yummy to Costa Rican bugs).
Also, no horrific flaming plane crash so yay me. :-)
Umm... I've been completely (Utterly! Totally! No cel phones, no internet, no nothin'! We were lucky to have electricity...I'm totally serious) out of touch, so if anything really earth shattering and/or important (or just plain funny) happened to any of you, plop a response with a link to the pertinent entry in here so I can go see. I'd hate to miss anything, but I'm lazy and you are all such busy folks! So spam away! Tell me what's new and exciting.
*smooch* Missed you guys!
Costa Rica was an incredibly beautiful, frightening, exotic, remote, wild place. I have much more to say and pretty pictures to share, (the ocean was absolutely insane! The surf was HUGE and the snorkeling was amazing!!!) but for now I just wanted to let my F-list know I survived the ordeal with only a little sunburn and LOTS of bug bites (I'm apparently yummy to Costa Rican bugs).
Also, no horrific flaming plane crash so yay me. :-)
Umm... I've been completely (Utterly! Totally! No cel phones, no internet, no nothin'! We were lucky to have electricity...I'm totally serious) out of touch, so if anything really earth shattering and/or important (or just plain funny) happened to any of you, plop a response with a link to the pertinent entry in here so I can go see. I'd hate to miss anything, but I'm lazy and you are all such busy folks! So spam away! Tell me what's new and exciting.
*smooch* Missed you guys!
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Oh boy! In just forty-eight hours I'll be in Tamarindo, Costa Rica. Doing...whatever the hell one does in Tamarindo. Surfing, I'm told. Looking at monkeys. Avoiding the drinking water.
My passport photo is quite possibly the ugliest picture I've ever seen of myself. I look like a cheerful bag lady.
That's about it for now. I'm done makin' stuff until I return from the trip. I hardly know what to do with myself tonight... I know! I'll write some fanfic! *clubs self like a wayward baby seal* ...on second thought...naaaah. ;-)
Here. I'll share my favorite joke in the world with you. Because I love you all.
:::ahem:::
;-)
My passport photo is quite possibly the ugliest picture I've ever seen of myself. I look like a cheerful bag lady.
That's about it for now. I'm done makin' stuff until I return from the trip. I hardly know what to do with myself tonight... I know! I'll write some fanfic! *clubs self like a wayward baby seal* ...on second thought...naaaah. ;-)
Here. I'll share my favorite joke in the world with you. Because I love you all.
:::ahem:::
;-)
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First things first... I know I'm jumping the gun here but I want to send a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to rumdiculous, who is a sweetheart and deserves to have nice things happen to her all day on Sunday. :-) (I'm makin' something extra-special for you...it'll be a bit late but it's coming soon! Shock and awe, baby.)
*ahem*
I FINALLY got around to loading the pictures from my trip to Vegas last weekend. Damn, they're pretty. :-) Makes me want to shove mini marshmallows into my Nikon Coolpix 5200 ('cept, that probably would be a bad thing to do).
So, pictures. ( I'll try to keep the exposition to a minimum, here. )
Wahh! I need to get back there as soon as possible. All the bright sunlight and family love was good for my soul. :-)
*ahem*
I FINALLY got around to loading the pictures from my trip to Vegas last weekend. Damn, they're pretty. :-) Makes me want to shove mini marshmallows into my Nikon Coolpix 5200 ('cept, that probably would be a bad thing to do).
So, pictures. ( I'll try to keep the exposition to a minimum, here. )
Wahh! I need to get back there as soon as possible. All the bright sunlight and family love was good for my soul. :-)
So! I-Con was a hoot. It claims to be the largest sci-fi/fantasy convention in the Northeast, and it sure looked that way. Over six thousand attendees milling around the Stony Brook Campus...none of which I got to see because I was so freaking busy.
( The Roadtrip. )
( The Convention. )
( Woo! Cosplay! )
( On ass-kickage. )
Aaaand...that's enough for now. My fingers are bleeding!
( The Roadtrip. )
( The Convention. )
( Woo! Cosplay! )
( On ass-kickage. )
Aaaand...that's enough for now. My fingers are bleeding!
Yeah. "1, 2, 3...Kalamazoo!" I'm bringing a bunch of new masks, new stuff that I came up with just for this show (since it's my first time as an exhibitor there and I'm all about shock and awe). So, I combined my traditional fox mask with another popular motif I use often and came up with...Ivy Fox.
Now that I see it, it's a little Christmas-y. Meh. :::shrug::: Also, I want to do something similar, but with grapes and grape leaves. You know, like from Aesop's Fables, the fox and the grapes. It's just an idea.
Also! I managed to find enough leather (I nearly ran out of cow!) to do another dragon mask.
That stone I used for inlay is called a snake eye. It's like the cat's eye cabochons I've used in the past, but...swirly. It was a silvery black stone, but I didn't want to do a black and silver dragon again. So...really really red, with black and silver. Shock and Awe, baby.
And, I'm out of here. Back on Sunday, hopefully with wads and wads of cash. :-)
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