Hello again

Oh hello blog...

Wow, it's been a long time. I've been super busy but that's no excuse for not updating. Anyway.

Since I last posted I've started college. I'm really enjoying it so far, even if the workload is pretty heavy. (Lots of reading, which I don't mind, except that it's tough to get it all finished!) I've also figured out how much I love taking art classes, and I'm planning on basically majoring in art and film at the moment. That obviously might change, but it's what I'm leaning toward at the moment.

Speaking of art, I've been doing a ton of drawing. I got a wacom tablet so I basically can sit and sketch things on my computer. It's not quite the same as drawing on actual paper with an actual pencil, but overall it saves me money because erasing is easier and I don't keep filling sketchbooks and having to buy new ones. Overall it's been a great purchase and I'm super happy with it. (Plus it's lighter than a sketchbook and colored pencils and stuff so I can carry it around more easily :D)

Writing wise...haven't been doing as much of that, sadly. I've come up with lots of ideas...but haven't had time to get them written yet. I've actually done more drawing of the characters than writing them (is that sentence grammatically correct? I got six hours of sleep last night. I think it's understandable.). Hey, at least drawing them is giving me ideas about their personality!

I've also splurged a little bit and bought myself another lightsaber. I like the ones I have back home, but it's really tough to use them because they're huge. xD So I got what's basically a kids' size one (I have absolutely tiny hands, haha) and that's been working pretty well. About the same size as my katana, which I finally got last summer. Not sharp, but made of actual metal and with an actual sheath and pretty awesome. :D

I had something I was going to write here...oh, that's right. I heard about this little coffee shop right by campus, walking distance from my dorm. It's been here for almost twenty years and it's a pretty neat place. (It's where I facetimed you from, Jamie and Rachel.) They have this "secret sauce" that they put in their coffee that is sort of vanilla flavored and really, really good. They also have tea, I think, which is something I'll have to try soon. There's this one seat that's kinda-sorta a window seat, it's raised sort of like one of those tall tables at restaurants, and there's a window near it, but this part is halfway closed in and has a corner that's perfect for leaning back in. There are comfortable cushions and one of those raised tables and space for my backpack and an outlet for my laptop right there. In the warmer weather, I sat outside a lot because it was so hot and humid. There are booths and couches and stuff in this sort of porch area out there. But the temperature has dropped unusually for this time of year (apparently), and so I've resigned myself to coming inside to study or relax here--and this seat usually opens up at some point and I'll take it. They have cool concerts and stuff here, and open mic night almost every Wednesday, but I haven't gone to any of that yet (thanks, homework). Soon, I hope. It would be a nice way to spend an evening!

Next semester I'm gonna be taking mostly art and film classes. My adviser says I can take an independent reading course for credit hours, so I'll definitely be taking advantage of that. I might also take a mythology course, or possibly a course in creative writing, if I can get into that. They usually don't offer it to freshmen, but I'm going to email the professor and see what happens, because getting college credit for writing would be pretty epic.

There's also the possibility, at the end of my four years here, of doing a creative thesis. That means that instead of having to write a million-page strictly academic paper--not that that's a bad thing, it's just not as fun as what I'm about to say--you can make an art porfolio. Or possibly a movie. One girl is currently writing a novel. A novel. And it counts as her thesis! Needless to say, this is my kind of thesis and I will definitely be doing my best to be able to complete one.

One kid did his thesis his sophomore year. If I can manage a novel-for-thesis project, who knows? Maybe I'll join the club. I'm pretty sure you get credit for working on your thesis, or something like that.

Finals are currently in full swing. Tomorrow I'm finishing up my last art class assignments, and Monday I have my finals in Bible and Latin. Those shouldn't be terribly hard. And on Tuesday I have my art final...and then Wednesday I go home and I get to see my family (and Bandit, whom I've been missing quite a bit!) My dad's side of the family, his sister and her husband and all three of my cousins, are coming to visit on the 26th too.

Also there is the small matter of the Hobbit movie, which I haven't had access to yet. I'm reserving any and all judgments on it until I see it. I wonder if there's another art book for this one. I have the art and design book for the first one, and it's INCREDIBLE and I highly recommend it if you like artsy behind-the-scenes stuff. Or Weta Workshop. Or both. (Which if you like one or the other, you probably do like both.)

*drinks coffee* I was never much of a coffee drinker before this. I mean, I'd have the occasional Starbucks or cup of coffee when we were over at someone's house or when we had company or something, but it wasn't until this year that I started regularly drinking coffee. (And Dr. Pepper, but that's another story.) It's not an actual habit, more one of those "I quite like this beverage, I believe I will partake in another one now." I.E. I went three weeks without coffee when I was sick, and had no problems whatsoever. Hopefully it'll stay that way. Caffeine used to calm me down and put me to sleep, so...

Anyway, that's basically what I can think of right now for this post. I'll probably come up with more stuff, and I'll definitely be trying to update at least once a week, no matter how short the posts are. I want to actually get good at this blogging thing, because it's really fun and I quite enjoy it.

(Sorry for the wait, Jamie. Here it is, post dinner still, but a lot more post than I thought.)

That is all. u_u

*posts post*

A Promise

Hello all (but especially Jamie since I just got your postcards; I keep forgetting to check my mailbox but I'm making a point of doing so every couple days from now on!)

This is a promise that at some point today, between now and midnight Central Time, I will be making an actual blog post so you all know what I've been up to lately. u_u

HOLD ME TO THIS. PESTER ME VIA SKYPE OR TEXTING OR WHATEVER MEANS NECESSARY, JUST HOLD ME TO THIS. ^_^

That is all u_u

Wow, it's been a while...

(This post is dedicated to Jamie. Here it is, as promised!)

So. I haven't posted since Sauron conquered Mirkwood. Perhaps nothing since has been able to compare to that momentous event? Well, actually that's not true. I'm home from the undisclosed location, I have a job, I still haven't fully learned to drive, I've written the first draft of a novel, I'm about to start work on a second, unrelated novel...and I have two lightsabers. Yes, two lightsabers. My past couple days may or may not have been spent changing the color of their blades and deciding which I liked best for various characters my brain is demanding I come up with.

Anyway.

My mirror in my room is covered in a map and a list, both related to my new book, which will be called Tertius, I think. I'm writing it for Camp NaNoWriMo, which is like NaNoWriMo, but in April. u_u And you can write whatever you'd like, so I might try making semi-regular blog posts to add to my word count. ^_^ Semi-regular meaning every two or three days...

And yes, you read what I said right in the first paragraph. I have a job. I'm working for my parents, doing odd jobs around the house, and helping my mom put together a choir curriculum. Naturally this job involves art and music and video editing. And lots of time during which I can listen to audiobooks, and incredible podcasts like the one Jamie recommended in her latest blog post. (GO LISTEN, IF YOU HAVEN'T YET. DO IT. NOW.)

I've also been making paper mache armor and assorted other articles for a costume that will hopefully not only go with my new lightsabers, but with my other assorted weaponry as well! Who would've thought that paper mache clay could be so much fun to work with, or that I'd be found outside slaving over a mask with a dremel for an hour, or spray painting stuff copper, or getting gorilla glue all over my fingers and not being able to get it off for a couple days...well, considering I hadn't paper mache'd anything since I was about eight, it's a rare event. xD Though I must say I enjoyed it immensely, and I'll probably post pictures in the next couple days.

In other news, life is relatively normal. I'm about to launch into reading a whole bunch of books I should've read a long time ago, books I received during my stay at the undisclosed location. Books like "A Little Exercise for Young Theologians" by Helmut Thielicke and "Mere Humanity" by Dr. Donald Williams. ^_^ Among MANY other things. If I find any I especially like, I'll probably wind up ranting about them. A lot. Yeah.

So, anyway, I can't think of much more to add, other than that I may post a video from the recent karate tournament I was in if y'all want, or that I finally joined the karate demonstration team again, or that drawing is very fun. u_u

In other words, I guess, for now, that is all. u_u