Keith did watch his video finally. Well .. I kinda made him stop everything he was about to do Friday night when he came home from work and said "Watch you videooooo pleaseeee" (yes I know I whined so what?!)

He watched it and thought it was the cutest thing ever. I don't think I'm going to upload it to YouTube - mostly because I don't want to deal with random fuck wits. I mean seriously - no where on my video/description does it say "Please critique as cruelly as you'd like!" I guess I just feel too fragile for that - especially considering that its just footage of my avatar in some of my favorite places set to a song Keith and I both like ... meh maybe I'll upload it later and just delete the posts on it that are shitty.

Keith filmed a wedding Friday night. I just finished editing it. I'm sure he'll watch it when he comes home to see if I did an alright job - and if so he'll just leave it as the finished product. If not he'll fix whatever and then render it to the site for the folks to download.

We have less than a month until we go on our 3 week vacation - and neither of us has done a thing to prepare. Ugh I'm not even gonna go into all of it.

Played WoW a lot this week end and that's pretty much it. I'll probably harass Keith tomorrow and see if we can go somewhere this week end so he and I can hang out. I've been feeling all "RAWR" the past few days - though yesterday I really felt sick :( I'm over it now though! Ta-Da!

Oh and Willow - its quite alright. I didn't do too bad of a job shopping by myself. I didn't buy a single skirt for that reason alone (I hate ads! So many are enhanced so that prim skirts look better than they actually do) but I got some cute hair and a few shirts ('course some new legwarmers to replace my old KC ones omg they are ancient!) Eh well I'll update later or something. Really need to fold that laundry over there in the basket.

Well .. Keith hasn't watched his video yet. :(

He kinda got up an hour and a half late. The alarm went off a few times and I remember him reaching over me ... but its all kind hazy. Hope he didn't get in trouble.

So he'll definitely watch it when he comes home tonight. Maybe he'll even get a lunch break and come home - and he can watch it then. Regardless: it'll get watched today.

Its 0300 and I just (and I mean *JUST*) finished editing Keith's video present.

I'm a little disappointed that I didn't do as much 'new' stuff as I had hoped. I really wanted to 'wow' him and maybe do a thing or two that he possibly didn't know how to do. I think I might have gotten one thing in .. but that's it.

I went with the up-beat song because it was more fun to edit to -- and I'm such a sucker for working my ass off to try to get a few onbeat edits in there. I'll have you know that my last Guild Wars video had a TON of on beat edits (you just have to really look - including things in the background!)

Hopefully this gets at least a smile out of him. That's all I'm really trying for anyway. But yeah the upbeat song ... I just couldn't film 'with' it. I decided to just film some stuff and set it to that song - but to not let the song dictate my footage.

So yeah it done. Not sure if its going to get uploaded anywhere due to the fact that its a present .. but ya never know. I'm definitely not doing anything with it until Keith wakes up and watches it *FIRST*. He'll be up in oh .... an hour and a half LOL

I'm going to creep into bed and get my cuddle on :)

OH!

I have to give huge thanks to:

Willow - Acting as shopping road signs so I could update my look before filming

Jade & Bart - OMFG I'm so glad I thought of you all to contact ... a lot of those shots wouldn't have been possible without your help!

The builders of all my favorite places:
Gypsy Moon
Devils Moon
Midnight City
Fallingwater Celladoor (your flowers are so cute! ^.^)

Okay I think that's all x.X

Okay okay!

Today I am really going to start filming. I just had to listen to the song a few times to make absolutely sure I wanted to use it .. and I'm still not sure :( Its a tie between two songs ...

I might use the other. One is way too up-beat. Argh! Alright .. I'm going to start filming. I'm booting Keith's computer up as we speak. I'll probably have to log in as him and steal some Lindens so I can get a few things ...

Oh and my uber emo pick down there .. Keith thought it was hilarious. I said "I will never again trust cameras that have a timer. They always catch me at the most stupid moments!" That was me scratching my head while trying to remember song titles to add to my player on this page x.x

Eh well he still thinks I'm cute.

I'm too busy with deep thinking to do anything constructive

Just a quick post to let everyone know that I am now going to subject you all to my music. There are days that I go back and read my own entries to kinda say "Yeah - i remember that." I know it sounds quite cheesy but its so very true.

So for that reason - and for all my LJ friends that are reading past posts in order to get caught up I have added a music player. I know that I listen to obscure music -- but will it hurt you to get exposure to something new? No, it won't. I can guarantee you'll like something. Its also set on random shuffle so you won't hear the same song start up every time you come to my page. If you don't like the music ... or if you're at work .. I'd think by now you've learned to turn the volume OFF on your PC.

Anyway .. so I have to start paperwork to get my passport and visa as soon as Keith and I get married (which will now probably be even SOONER than the 'moved up date' we set) this way he won't leave and go to the UK without me :( O M F G I'd be crushed.

I have a few things to work on - and by that I mean video - but I need some help so it'll be a while yet before I start filming. I highly doubt I post anything for anyone to even see the vid once I finish it. Its a late Valentine's Day present for Keith. He thinks my videos are 'cute attempts' and likes to watch 'em to see what I come up with. So that's why I decided to make him a video.

Most likely I'll post again later with snapshots and whatnot - then it'll be off to edit (PFT off where? I'll be using Keith's beast of a computer!)

To-Do List while Keith is at work

*Purchase anything needed for shoot
*Film what I can
*Call my Mother
*Respond to e-mails/Offlines
*Pick up trash
*Edit footage
*Schedule filming (if needed)
*Make March Calendar

I think that's all ...

Well alrighty!

Things are still going strong, steadily and nothing drastic has happened --- except for Keith waking up and yelling while pointing to the corner of the room. Come to find out he was having a dream about tornadoes or something weird like that. He does some creepy stuff in his sleep sometimes. He sits straight up and talks - with his eyes open yet never remembers a thing. Its quite entertaining, really.

Second Life has been running like crap for both of us so we've steered clear for a bit. He's been editing footage here and there - but mostly he's been really busy with work when he isn't freaking out in his sleep.

I finally got my epic mount in WoW. Huzzah. I'm the sexiest alliance warlock ever. That's just all there is to it.

While Keith was sleeping earlier today I got bored and lonely - so I made another video. I'm not going to call it machinema - because it isn't. Its simply a music video. I didn't plan anything - nothing is original .. its just a music video. And while I'm on that topic I just want to rant for a minute.

Keith is very busy and doesn't keep up with things on the 'virtual plane' but I do. I watch everyone's videos, I comment when I deem it necessary, give pointers when I feel they are wanted/welcomed -- that kinda thing. Just because you have FRAPS does not mean you make machinema. Just because you can use a few transitions doesn't mean what you are making is movies. There are some people in WoW (and SL too) that make these videos that are just spontaneous. There's a guy in WoW that does one almost every week. It has no dialogue - no real story line you can follow ... so I call it a Vlog. Its a video blog of your gaming experience.

There is a difference in a vlog and machinema. There are differences. I realize most of my problem is because I'm so protective of Keith, his work, and his ideas. He's such a soft spoken 'nice guy' that sometimes someone has to stick up for him. Anyway - we've kinda been insulted in general as far as the 'machinema' community goes. No we don't have time to play a video game 24/7. We don't get paid for those tutorial videos. We do those for free as a service to the community - and simply to do what we like to do. We genuinely enjoy making videos. I love to write - Keith loves to edit. Its one thing to be a fan -- its quite another to be a demanding person who has no idea what it is they are asking. So to clear it up - I'll just go into detail. Maybe some people will calm down. Oh and call me a bitch .. but I just want everything crystal, k?

Keith is in the military. He works 12+ hours a day at least 5 days a week (sometimes 7+ days in a row). The Air Force is his full time job. Anything done outside of his working hours is merely a hobby. You cannot expect him to keep appointments on short notice. He's in the military. He never knows when he's going to get off work at 0300 only to be called at 0900 and be asked to work another shift. Now if there has been sizeable notice given then usually something can be arranged. As far as filming goes - if he HAS to go to work I can fill in and film it for him on his computer. But with all that in mind - it really makes things crappy for us when people cancel at the last minute. We have to schedule things - and to send an e-mail hours before an event and say 'Oh we got someone else' is just fucking rude. I mean really!

And I'm probably just tooting my own horn ... but who else could you possibly get to film your fake weddings and put as much talent into them as Keith does? I mean seriously. There are a lot of self proclaimed 'machinema-masters' in SL -- but like I said just because you have FRAPS and you used a couple transitions doesn't mean a thing. Just like lining up MP3s in SAM doesn't make you a DJ. The SL wedding thing has really been a strain on Keith .. which is why I've really been working on my skills lately. Unlike Keith I'm completely self-taught. He's the professional and it shows -- but still. I plan to start filming the weddings and editing them to let up on Keith's schedule some. He has contract work to worry about -- I'll start taking care of everything else.

Sorry about my slight detour -- but a few things suddenly sparked my mind and I just had to get it out. Anyway! Keith and I will be gone for 3 weeks starting March 16th. His papers say to report no later than May 31st .. so that's when we'll be moving to the UK :)

[back to my video]

I don't have the YouTube link for it yet - so here's a quick snapshot from the footage reel. Just cruise over to the right toolbar and head over to NSS to view the video. Its on the main page :)

UPDATE

Wow I am pissed.

It didn't save a THING. Here I had this LONG post .. but noooooo.

I will post all that at another time. I can't BELIEVE blogger didn't save a word of it! What shite.

I'm an obsessive blog reader. I'll admit it. Keith says that its a guilty pleasure .. I call it reassurance. To put it 100% honest - I like reading peoples' blogs so that I know 'Hey I'm not the only one that has to put up with this cocka-mamie bullshit."

There are only two blogs which I check a few times a day .. and that's Jelly's and Willow's. Of course each blog has its own reasons for me checking it. Willow and JellyBean both do pantloads of shopping in SL. I can't afford to do that - but I do like to look at all the neato stuff they have or buy. Jelly is quite cryptic about her posts. You know when she's pissed - you know when she's goofing off - but you never really know what's going on. JellyBean's blog is like a choose your own adventure book.

Willow's is more of a murder mystery. Everything changes from one day to the next - but she's always got this dozen or so people that she always credits for being so good to her. So you read Willow's blog and at first you're upset because she's upset .. but then you're like "Awwww" cuz she has such good friends.

At any rate - I identify with both women on many fronts. I'm a bit emo (or as Willow says 'stabbity') at most people like Willow is -- and at the same time I've got this hidden intellectual side that few really see (I just described Six lol but Jelly fits in that too!) Both women are more often than not - taken at face value. Oh JellyBean Madison ... she DJs, right? Yeah. She does. Willow Zander ... she hangs out with all those popular kids, right? Yeah. She does. They are both so type-casted and stereotyped its just not even funny. I identify with that, also.

I don't 'hang out' in SL much anymore if at all. I grew tired of being stereotyped, myself. I got a bit fed up with the popularity race. The fact that some people believe that you are insignificant in the presence of a designer (regardless of caliber) just really got to me over time. I've thought about deleting a large part of my friends list and starting over. Most of the real friends I've made in SL .. I don't even talk to them in SL anymore. We typically use messengers. And frankly? I've gotten to know people a lot better by staying OUT of SL instead of being in.

Maybe after two years I'm just ready to shake things up and rattle some cages. The cliques, stereotypes, preconcieved notions etc haven't really changed since I started SL. The big noticable difference is - everyone as a community isn't as open as they used to be. At one point in time I could walk into almost any sim and know at least a half dozen people. Now I can't stand to dance in a club because I don't know anyone. I can't recognize anyone anymore. Everyone physically looks the same.

I may even go back to wearing my outrageous skins. I stopped for a while because it seemd that sort of thing was catching on .. and that was a piece of my personality that I didn't want to share with everyone. The purple skins were an extension of who I am - a way to let everyone know a little about me without me having to explain a thing. I don't know maybe I'm just weird.

I'll sit and debate logging in.

Not a whole lot to say right now - but since it has been a couple days since I last blogged I thought I'd try to update with something of sustinance.

I'm not sure if I mentioned it in the previous post (man I should really read my blog -before- I blog) but Keith and I are getting married on March 20th. He got a sponsor - so that means we're one step closer to being guaranteed in moving station. And it looks like its going to be the UK at Mildenhall (I think I spelled that wrong.)

The upside is - I contacted a few online friends and learned that I do have one that lives nearby! This means that Keith and I won't be clueless 'tourists' in a foreign country. Her only stipulation was that we had to get her root beer from the BX. And to this stipulation, of course I agreed.

Lately I've been making the coffee a little stronger (American coffee is always so weak compared to what's drank in Europe) on top of throwing in a few slang words (what little European slang I -do- know is probably out dated) to prepare Keith a little. He gets all giggly and says "I want an English accent." Its been fun for me to kind of teach him what I know. I did tell him that if he were going to emulate a cockney accent to absolutely NOT try to mimic Dick van Dyke from Mary Poppins. Ugh that was retched. I can't believe the director thought he sounded authentic!

That's more or less our current news. We both have a lot on our plate - and a lot to finish in the next couple weeks before we move to a new place on base. And I have to help him scrub this place down too LOL Wee happy fun time!

More things to blog about! Hurray!

First up:

The date Keith and I had originally agreed upon has been pushed UP by about ... a month and a half. So we'll probably get married later this month because he is changing station. Where? England ! So I have a lot of paperwork and stuff to do so that I can go with him. How long is here there for? At least a year. So yeah.

At first I was kinda weary of it all. Anyone that knows me knows that even though I'm not scared of much of anything - I am quite easily discomforted. The most simple things can make me uncomfortable and make me "clam up" ... and as soon as I caught myself doing that I said "WTF! C'mon its another country - and there are millions of people who have never gone to another country so consider yourself lucky." Well .. I don't feel lucky to be visiting/living in another country. I feel lucky that I have Keith.

I know I annoy him - and there are times he irks me - but I have never gotten along so well with another person in my life. I've never felt as if I could be completely relaxed and just KNOW that everything is going to work out. Its amazing.

[In Other News:]

I filmed AND edited my first "real" video. I went so far as to really -really- try to do some on beat edits and capture more 'cinematic' footage :)




Keith said it sucked - but that it was really good for a first attempt. Yeah yeah shush :P He watched it 3 or 4 times and tried to give me a few pointers but I was like "WTF No you shush! I did all *this* all by myself - so I'll learn all that by myself too."

Over 'n Out!