So tomorrow I get to go in for an interview for a job... answering phones. Man, glad winning an Outstanding Thesis Award and graduating in the higher ranks of my class meant something. Fun times! :D

I just want to earn as much as I can as fast as I can and move the one place I want to be: with Kristen. Get a place somewhere around DC and get on in a graphic design job paying more than double what I'll be making down here. You know, what the last FOUR YEARS of my life were oriented towards! Ahh, but this is an art-dead area with worthless people content with failure. So be it. As soon as I can afford the gas and the bills I'll be leaving this city of rot and I have no plans to return.

Anyway, appointment before 9 tomorrow.. so here's hoping that goes well. Shouldn't be hard work, at least, and it gets me the fuck away from my family.

Maybe I'll be able to find pleasure in something again after I get hired and do more art.

I know, setting a post record for me... Well I wound up with something like this ->


Still all rough and stuff, but there's what some quick fooling about with new colors gave me. I think I look good in blue. I mean, when I had myself all white, I'd put blue as my background.. so perhaps this is what I was really trying to get at?

I dunno. What's the public think?

And the tiger looks something like this...



Now to add color and touches and things of that nature. First step was just re-structuring the face into the style I draw in now.

My fursona needs some damn color. I used to not use color much, now I sling it all over the damn place. Hell, I came to like Matisse.

And I'm too damn crazy not to have SOMETHING off about me. I'm talking more than blue stripes in my hair too.. fuckit, I'ma experiment.

I still likey tigers though. :3 Rawr!

I just feel like black and white + green eyes isn't a proper expression of my personality. TIME FOR THINGS TO GET CRAZY GO NUTS!!

This is the sort of thing I do late at night. I need to finish my latest comic page, yeah, and it's coming along.. But I like to try to draw a "complete" piece every night now. Usually it's just a quick sketchy thing, something I put up on my main art blog I'm getting under way.

So, this time I was feeling like animating. I see the creatures in my mind as moving, doing things, living in their world... so instead of making a picture for this one, I made a bunch of pictures and linked them together. :P It was fun, took like no time at all, and it's good practice for my brain.

Now, way past my bed time. I tried to go to sleep earlier. Didn't work. Doing so now.

Stolen from sparkle_demon:

You can has meme. Do as follows:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first article title, no matter what it is, on the page is the name of your band.

2. http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four words of the very last quote, no matter what it is, is the title of your album.

3. http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/
The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4.Use your graphics program of choice to throw them together, and post the result in your own journal.

Then I made dis. Cuz I aym an arht mayjoor. :D


So, that's that. I had fun. You folks should give it a try. Now. Go. O_O

My lady's going to be here Friday!
Being as it's been about 6 months since I last saw her, I'm justifiably excited. Well, if by "justifiably" you mean "Counting the hours and randomly running about and dancing", yes. Obviously, I'm just a tiny bit excited.

We'll be going out to the local art galleries, and dining and general merriment shall be had. This is going to be a very fun, enjoyable, and generally relieving week.

I'm gonna go dance some more now.

I've had a tragic event occur in my life.. and I am one who feels that few events are "tragic". I'm not fond of drama, you see. The event is as follows:

My cat, Sumi, my beloved feline.. passed away during the night between January 4th and 5th. I had just moved back to college on the 4th.. and sadly that same night my little darling lost her fight.

She was almost 2 years old.. yes, she was young. She had been attacked by a dog when a kitten who'd barely seen any time on this earth. It was from there that I met little Sumi, having been rescued by a family friend. I took this sweet little gray/black bundle and saw her make a long fight to recover. And she did, overcoming many breathing problems, and became strong.. hell, became LOUD (from once being unable to meow) Sadly, starting late last year, Sumi became ill. She grew steadily worse, though picked up once I came home and seemed to be recovering. Unfortunately, over the winter break I saw my cat decline once more.. one last time.. Then, last night.. she went to sleep and never woke up.

It is not easy to deal with, nor is it supposed to be. I find distraction where possible and generally try to improve my mood. Unfortunately, I must tell people of her passing as many knew and liked her (I formerly kept her in the dorm.. she gained a reputation.) ..Each time I need tell someone or reflect upon her.. that is when it's the hardest.

Life is rarely fair and always hard, I just wish it had been more fair and less harsh upon my kitten. She was a daughter to me and I loved her dearly. I still do.

I have lost a cat, a companion, a daughter, a friend.. I love you, Sumi. You are gone but not forgotten.

I'm illustrating a digital piece of a sad goldfish. It's lamenting the passing of air bubbles.. because though it loves them, and once fell deeply for one, they always leave him. For bubbles are things of the sky, and a fish can never be such a thing.... or can he?

That is all, I simply wanted to share that odd tidbit.

So, the other day I had an irksome moment. It was over a friend of mine's attitude towards furries... Realize that none of my friends in here in college know I'm a furry. Furthermore, I'm not all serious about the furriness in general, I laugh at our fandom plenty. But this.. this was different.. and I feel kinda hurt.

Introduction: I've introduced much of my Honors College to SecondLife, and have one friend who has taken a keen interest in it. She likes all the creativity and the digital self, etc.

So she and I are sitting on this bench. Her avatar reflects her still fairly newbie status, but she's seeking the money to change that. I've been there for two years. So I'm a white tiger with some tattoos I made, cyberpunk/steampunk gear on, a big, fancy sword, etc.. I've taken a fair amount of care into my avatar. And a friend of our's comes in and we're showing off our avatars. He's been on SL, said he found it interesting (as a Psych major).

Well her character gets regarded normally, some interest, etc.
Then I say "Lookit me! I'm adorable! ^^" and he looks and replies, "No... you're a giant cat."

Me: Yes I am.. and they're adorable. Is there something wrong with that?
Him: Yeah, it's a furry avatar.
Me: And? It's SecondLife, there's nothing weird about that.
Him: It's a fucking furry! There's not a case where it's not weird to be dressed as a damn furry!
Me: Yeah, fine. Whatever. We know how much fucking care you put into your avatar. I don't care.

And from there I didn't speak to him. He left the room shortly thereafter. And the more I think about it, the more I'm hurt.. as this is supposed to be the most understanding and open of our friends.. and yet I get this reaction for being a big cat?

It's not so much that I'm upset over his hatred towards furries. It's that this is an avatar I've spent a lot of time and money (okay, I camped for the Lindens, which was more of my time) and care making represent me and my personality. There's lots of little tweaks I've made over time, and I was damn proud of it enough to make a presentation in front of my professors and peers, arguing to explore SL for education. So in effect, you're saying being me, as this is a manifestation of my interests and personality, is offensive? Never acceptable? No small wonder why I don't talk to them much about my art projects, my stories, and many of my interests...

So yeah.. anyone else have a similar story?

Nah, I'm just kidding.. I'm awesome all the time. Totally. Y'know.. not dorky at all.. >.>
...though the quizzes say otherwise.

The first, original quiz:



And the second version:

Well, I'm off to the house for Thanksgiving. This is always a.. different.. meal when you're a vegetarian and the rest of your family eats lots of meat. Ah, but they've adjusted well. Anyways, don't look forward to a three hour drive.. but eh.

Thankfully, compy is coming with me, so all is not lost! And so.. I'm out!

And we're back.

Again, my obvious anger in the previous post isn't towards my professor himself, heavens no, it's towards his tests, which I doubt he understands are as difficult and stressful as they are.

I'm certain I got one question wrong (when you only have about 9 for the test, that's a big deal) and worry I didn't do so hot. *sigh* Well, spoke to him briefly, he said I'd be all right.. I hope so. I explained how badly and why I need this credit, asked if I could do extra credit... perhaps pity will save me.

Here's hoping I don't die. I slept for around 4 hours last night.

EDIT: Rather sniffly and snuffly.. I think staying up so late and being so stress made me weak.. I reeeeeeeeeally hope I don't wind up sick. It'll be the first time I've been sick in about two years (since I stopped eating meat)

In another matter...

ZOMG!!!!! HEROES!! BEST EPISODE EVER?! Maybe.. I think? It could be.. DAMN IT WAS AWESOME!! I LOVED IT!! So much epicness!!!

FIVE MINUTES LATER EDIT: Final scene after commercial.. and..
BEST EPISODE EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!

Eh.. my entry read too much like I hated my professor as a person, and that's not true. Gist of huge screaming rant done at 1 in the morning...

Chemistry test.. twas studying for. Hard. Hate. Used to love chemistry, dread it now, never want to do it again, was breaking down.

I got signed up for all the classes I wanted! This is a rare occurrence, folks, you have no idea. I declared a major kind of late (long story) and have been scrambling to fit everything in right.. but finally, in my last semester, I haven't had to displace or sacrifice ANY classes. Surely this is a good sign. Anyway, the point is... I could dance right now I'm so happy! ^^

What are those classes I'm excited about, you ask? Let's see:

Illustrative Storytelling (omg win)
History of American Art (needed another art history, and the prof. is the nicest one we have)
Honors Thesis (I'm making an illustrated story for my thesis :3)
Color Theory (studio fun time, taught by my first art professor. He's super nice.)
Advanced Studio (with my fav. professor. He's my advisor for my thesis too, my printmaking prof. and my illustration prof. It's an independent class and we'll basically be doing advanced printmaking of whatever I want :3)
Portfolio III (required, but taught by my boss (gallery director) and I loves her ^^)

In short, EVERY. SINGLE. CLASS. next semester is taught by an awesome faculty member and 4 of them are creative classes.. I'll be writing stories and drawing all next semester! It may be a lot of work.. but omg the amount of fun potential here!

Friday afternoon, at 3pm Central time I'm giving a speech to my Honors College, professors and students, in SecondLife. (And reality too, but my avatar will be simulcasting the speech there and showing everything in-world too.)

So, everyone out there who has a SecondLife character, you're welcome to attend! In fact, more attendees would be beneficial to my speech! Just send and instant message to Ezra Wilberg in SecondLife and I'll give you the location! Or if you'd like a character and don't have one yet, just leave me a comment!

Anyways, this speech is reeeeeeeeeeeeeally important and may lead to my Honors College getting an island in SL to work some new classes from, which I'd like a part of. So feel free to attend. It promises to be a very interesting lecture.

My baby comes down tomorrow! After I finish my last class (at 10 in the morning) I drive over to Little Rock to wait at the airport for her. This is going to be the greatest weekend, if not all too short.. but who cares, it will be wonderful for I will be with her again. (Flying her down is part of a late anniversary/birthday present. Those occurred almost a month ago, you see, but now was the first opportunity for us to celebrate them.)

Now, going to the airport makes me nervous. I'm paranoid, you see, and get really unnerved by people like the airport security. Also, I don't much go to airports, so all that stuff there makes me a little uneasy. That said, it'll all be worth it the moment I have her in my arms again.

I'm happy, excited, and positively dancing at the thought of tomorrow!

TODAY WAS MY LAST DAY AT MICHAEL'S! FUCK YES!
(until Christmas break, then I'll likely do some more work as I need the money)

We got out at a reasonable time (we stayed until almost one in the fucking morning the other night! We close at NINE, people!), customers weren't crazy, nothing really bad happened.. a good day to end on!

And I'm so damn glad I won't be there to help them unload the merchandise truck Friday. ^^

Did you know the locust is the only kosher insect? I didn't.

Thought that was pretty neat myself. Wonder how the Jews came to that.. like God says to them, "Hey, it's cool to eat that one. Remember, helped you out with that one back in Egypt? Yeah, that one gets the Godly thumbs up." and they just nod, say cool, and chow down on some locusts?

On that matter.. reading on Jewish dietary laws and similar traditions is absolutely FASCINATING.

It should be noted here that honestly, I find learning most anything knew is fascinating and I will dive headlong into any academic pursuit.

Ah Wikipedia.. you are my drug.

This journal's gone Friends-Only until I feel it should be otherwise. Can't be too careful, y'know...

That said, welcome any and all newcomers. Comment and I'll (almost certainly) add you. Heh, I normally hate stumbling upon these friends-only affairs.. How can you tell if you want to be their friend if you can't read what they have? Ah well, you can comment, get a preview, then leave if the contents aren't to your liking. :P

Sorry, I really do hate doing this, but what with increased security concerns and what have you...