The BEST

This is the BEST tomato juice on the face of the planet. Period.

I had my job interview yesterday and it didn't go too great. I was offered 10 hours a week, which means I would bring in a whopping 40ish bucks a week which really just isn't even worth the time.

So I'm holding out for a full time position. It was really just a big let down because .. well duh.

When I Say Your Name ...

stand up and say "Here." That will be short for "Here I am, rock you like a hurricane."

So as most everyone has probably noticed I haven't been posting. My daily life has gotten hectic, and I've been looking for a job. I have an interview tomorrow so I'll probably post how that whole thing goes ...

We'll probably be buying another car to make the back and forth easier for us both even though I will be working on the same base as Keith - I may not have the exact same hours. He's also taking another round of classes so things are about to get hectic.

I've taken a haitus from filming in SL - and it never fails that when I do take a break that I get about 10 IMs a day asking me to film a wedding. I'm just tired of the RL strain that filming causes. Keith and I fight because each of us thinks that we did more work than the other, and he just lacks any kind of appreciation or respect for anything I do. I'd rather just do something out of his all seeing eye so that he can't tell me that I don't 'do anything'.

And I almost went off on a rant there, but I somehow contained it.

Off to cook dinner!

I'm just so fresh and so clean clean

I think the picture will speak for itself.

Holiday Recap

My holiday was really hectic - even though we didn't go anywhere. Keith and I had our Brit friends over for Christmas dinner and in some ways it was completely hysterical.

Right now I can't remember everything we had - but I made a lot of things which they have NEVER had before. Candied yams, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie and pecan pie. I also made a huge friggin' ham, and they brought sausages, spuds, duck and beef. I even picked up a few gifts for them. I ground up some Columbian Supremo coffee for Tree, a 6 pack of IBC Root Beer (which is like the BEST root beer on the face of the planet) for her man, and got her daughter a silly little SpongeBob tin which she squealed over.

We were going to go to London for New Years eve to see the fireworks, but Keith had to work New Years Day so that was out of the question. We wouldn't have made it home in time for him to go to work, but have decided that next year we simply MUST find a way to go.

I had some more dental work done this morning, and I'm hoping that my monthly visit to Dr Barker will be over soon. She's a splendid lady, really - but let's face it: its still a dentist. The entire right side of my head is numb which is making it very difficult to drink my tea!

Keith got me all 7 seasons of Buffy on DVD so we have been watching a few episodes every night. He's really suprised that he likes it. I've been using his tablet more than he has - but he said when he gets an itch he'll play with it.

I'm glad the holidays are over and things are calming down. It seems though this week I will spend hours every day cleaning the house to get it back in order. We had this place SPOTLESS and it seems we got really lazy over the holiday.

Not sure if I posted anything about it - but we got our pictures taken with my haircut and everything was fine. I sent a scanned copy to my friend Stef and it got her "awww" of approval. Keith started his workout routine the other day and I'm sure it won't be long before I follow suit. He said he ran a mile on the treadmill and it was 'a good warm up' and I nearly shat myself. WARMUP?! That would be two days worth of exercise for me! Bah.

My SL stuff has slowed to a crawl. I don't really have the energy for most of it. I don't want to make things - and I don't even want to film anymore. Machinima is the new DJ of SL. Remember how EVERYONE was a DJ once upon a time? Well now days everyone is a 'machinima artist' or 'filmmaker' in SL which makes me want to just spit. Its like .. drawing a stick man and calling yourself an artist. Yeah SOMEONE will consider it art - but overall its just shit. I'm just as stupid for even getting any kind of emotional 'work up' over it but whatever.

We got a magazine in the post this weekend - which had a two page spread of a video we did - which is very cool. Its in French so I can't read it but that doesn't make it any less awesome. I'll have to scan it later and post it. The name of the magazine is VoxPop so check it out if you're in France!

Hmm what else. Did I mention the house is a mess?

Oh. And when coming onto the base today my car was thoroughly searched - which almost made me late for my appointment. I don't know why I am always the one to be 'randomly' searched but it always works out that way. I guess I should be all "well at least they are making sure things are secure" but even though I think that LATER at the time I'm just frustrated.

When you pull up to the gates and they check your military ID and your other card that has all your vehicle info they say "Hello ma'am - if you'll pull up inbetween the cones and wait for further instruction your car is selected for random search." So you pull up - still holding your cards to enter the base and hand it to a guy holding an M16 and with a 9mm on his hip and he smiles and asks "Consent to search?" Right - like you REALLY need my verbal concent, buddy! I mean c'mon! I replied with "Yes sir!" of course - it isn't like there's much of an option. So then he moves to let me open my car door and says "Open all compartments. Hood, trunk, console, glove box - anything that opens." So I open everything in the car - pop the hood and the boot (boot means trunk here in England) then get out and open all four doors.

He still has one hand on his M16 while he puts one hand behind my back to usher me into this little cubby hole of plexi glass or something while another soldier walks out and rummages through my car. "I left my handbag in the car. In case, you know, you all wanted to check it too." The "usher" then tells the bloke searching my car that my handbag is in the car. While in the glass fort I'm asked random questions like "Where are you going?" and "How long will you be on base" while secretly wishing I had taken the other entrance into the base.

Of course everything checks out fine and he hands me my IDs back and close the hood, boot (trunk), 3 doors and slip into the drivers' seat. I close all the inside compartments and stick my base pass on my dash and head off to my appointment. Then once I'm in the dentist's chair and she's sticking a needle in my cheek I silently wish they would have searched more so that I didn't have to be where I was right then.

Military life - gotta love it.

For JellyBean

Just a random image I found and said "Even though I know it doesn't .. JellyBean's RL tree should look like this."

Wrapping Paper Sucks

When I lived at home with my parents, I used to have my mom wrap all my gifts because she was SO particular. She liked them to be wrapped a certain way, and they had to look pretty. I never really understood because hey - they're just going to get torn open anyway, right?! Well the other day I couldn't find scissors to wrap a few of Keith's gifts so I ended up just ripping the paper from the roll. A day or two later he wrapped his gifts to me and sat them under our little one foot tall fiber optic tree and I immediately sulked.

He put so much time and effort into wrapping my gifts and here mine looked like complete crap in comparison. No idea why that bothered me, but it did! I felt like some kind of Christmas failure. He's already dubbed me Miss Grinch - and seeing our wrapping jobs next to each other just made it all worse.

I have one gift of his left to wrap, and I've decided that I'm going to put some effort into wrapping it. We haven't got any ribbon or bows - but I am still going to at least make it look better than the shoddy job I did on the others.

We share so many interests - but holiday cheer is not one of them. I really have tried, but no dice. People decking their houses out with lights is somewhat a new 'thing' here in England, but in the States nearly everyone does it. I kind of expect that sort of thing out of Americans. America is the land of excess, the country of waste. Who cares about how much electricity we waste on all those decorations - looks good don't it?! Here we separate all our trash in order to put things in our recycle bin which is about 3x the size of our trash bin. The inspection for cars is far more in depth here than in America ... but now England is splurging and tossing aside their green way of things in favor of having twinkling lights all over their cottages, bungalows, and flats. It makes me feel bad, in a way. I really don't know how to explain it.

Keith and I haven't really made any friends here. Nearly everyone he works with is well older than we are - and if they aren't then they have at least two kids which immediately puts a bit of a damper on things. We have, however, met up with our Second Life friend Treebee - and she has definitely stepped up to the unknown challenge of taking the place of my best friend.

Okay so she isn't really my BEST friend because how could anyone ever fill the gap of my REAL best friend, Stefanie? They couldn't. Stef and I have known each other since we were 15 (Holy crap 12 years already?!) and we have been through so much together. We're sisters, really. Not the bickering type sisters, but the kind that finishes each others' sentences. Though Tree is well older than I am (her daughter is 15) she has this amazing aura about her. She and I are eerily alike in amazingly so many ways that it almost puts me off. Things that I like (that Stef doesn't) and I think - no one could ever like THAT - Tree likes it! She just puts off this energy that makes you want to just hug her. She's so raw and honest, yet carefree and cautious. Its really hard for me to describe.

Keith and I have invited Tree, her man, and her daughter over for Christmas dinner. Last Christmas Keith was still living in the dorms on the military base, and his suite mate was on leave so it was just us. It was charming, really - but it was quite sterile. Even though I didn't have a great holiday family I still missed the anxiety of getting things together for them.

Its weird, really. I hate cleaning house - but I love cleaning it when I know that Tree and her lot are coming over. I'm not cleaning the house for me, I'm doing it for them. Yes, I know they wouldn't care if my house looked like complete shite - but it feels like I'm reaching some sort of goal when I do it.

I've only just noticed that I'm jumping around a lot in what I'm writing, but I'm just going with whatever comes to mind. Sorry if it seems frantic :(

I haven't started working out yet. Keith wanted to go one day last week, but I had my monthly and really wasn't feeling up to it (who could blame me?!) I'm still not sure if or when I will feel compelled enough to actually get my arse in gear and work out. A big part is that since we've been together I feel so physically dwarfed by his good looks. He's tall and thin with a great personality. He's a people pleaser. He's just a good guy. I'm short and fat with a weird personality that couldn't be bothered with what anyone else thinks .. unless I'm with him. I think my deviant self is really an embarrassment to him or something. I think that somehow, somewhere inside him that he HAS to be embarrassed of how I look. Skinny blond bloke like him should have a skinny bird on his arm. Not some loud mouth mix of Roseanne Barr, Rosie O'Donnel with a heavy helping of Bjork's eccentricity. Not that I don't love every one of those women (who are so outspoken about politics, feminism, and art) but it never feels like it suits him.

Time and time again I've heard lines of if you're happy with yourself then you've got it made. I am happy with myself. I really don't have a problem with my body - but I just feel like I'm not as .. well .. hot as I should be, I guess.

Never has Keith said "You're fat and I find you unattractive." Hell, I've never even caught him oogling a prettier woman which means he's either A) way more slick than I could ever imagine or B) I really put too much stock in how I think I'm looked upon. It isn't as shallow as what I'm wearing because I'm shameless when it comes to clothes. I will wear the tackiest shit because I like it! But its because as the years go by its harder and harder to find clothes. I really don't like wearing what I can only call a 'tent'. I want to wear weird leg warmers and 3 shirts at the same time. Maybe some hot pink holographic tights under a skirt with a pair of worn out yellow Chuck Taylor's. But I can't. I'm too fat.

Then it comes back around. I'm too fat but I know working out won't do a thing for me. Argue all you want, but even in high school when I was what I would NOW call thin (5'4 140lbs) I ran more than a mile every day - yet still I was round. I had a belly pooch. I had dimples on my thighs. When I sat down my stomach still rolled over the top of my jeans! At one point I even did the no carb thing - and I didn't lose a pound. I only got more tired! I've been reading and at this stage in my life I am considered obese. I used to think that it took far more to be obese, but I've hit that mark. Women who weigh more than like 200lbs are considered obese, and that really bothers me. Not the WORD obese, but the health risks that come with it.

There are surgical procedures that can be done, but being on military health care I can't have a one of them. I don't see a Lt. Col. calling me back to surgery to have my gut stapled. It just won't happen. I also don't see how I would get anything like that done here in England where you are 3x as likely to die of easily curable cancers like colon cancer than in the States. And see, I've gone and freaked myself out. BAH!

Working out won't hurt anything. My shins won't let me run anymore due to all the hard running in high school for the tennis and softball teams - but I could ride an exercise bike I'd bet. I'm sure that if I started out with just like ... 15 mins on a bike then walked a mile or so on a treadmill that the results would start to show. I've heard NOTHING but GOOD things about pilates, but I don't think I live anywhere near a gym that offers such a thing.

I'm not sure what to do, but I'll do something. Sometime. Maybe.

I am NOT ready for my close-up

I have an appointment today at a hair salon to get my hair cut, and after that Keith and I have an appointment at a photography studio to get professional pictures taken. Sounds fab, huh? IT ISN'T!

I always get a bout of anxiety and get real 'uppidy' when it comes to things like this. Okay fine, you got me - I get high strung about nearly everything and have a little freak out session often ... but getting my hair cut is always one of those things that just freak me out!

Part of the reason is up until about 3 years ago, I had the same hair dresser since I was 9. She knew my hair. She knew that no matter what haircut I WANTED she always knew what would look better. The problem with getting a new hairdresser is if you walk in and say "I want my hair cut like THIS" that they will cut it like that and if its complete shite you're stuck with it. *MY* hairdresser would never do that to me. To make this all worse we're having pictures taken afterward.

So a stranger is going to be chopping at my hair and probably not caring if the haircut clashes with my fat face. She probably won't know that even though my hair has turned a brownish reddish color with my age - that it still shows EVERY cut you make as if it were still blond. I had the hardest time as a blond. It took *MY* hairdresser a few years to get the hang of cutting my hair just right so that you couldn't see every cut she made. When I was about 13 that "Rachel" haircut (y'know .. from friends?) with the millions of layers was in. I could not sport this haircut because of my blondish reddish naturally highlighted hair because every layer looked as if you had given me different facets of a bowl cut.

Will this hairdresser butcher my hair? Will she actually listen to the things I tell her like:

• I don't have a natural part
• Even though I don't have any cow licks - one side of my hair always seems longer than the other
• If I can't style it with and walk out the door in 10 minutes - I'll hate it
• Bangs/Fringe make my face look fatter and I don't care what you say
• I have a weird mole thing on my head so if you even HINT at it I'll be mortified
• Even if you thin my hair out its still REALLY thick and will take you a half hour to blow dry
• If you have to use a curling iron on my hair to make it look good - you're trying too hard
• I prefer to not use more than two products on my hair on the rare occasion i DO style it
• Take into consideration I get a haircut once a year when it hits that awkward grow out stage
• The messier the better

I know that all seems like a lot, and some if it is contradictory ... but will she even listen?! Will she humor me and just grin and nod and then just do her own thing? Does anyone else ever freak out like this before getting their hair cut? I feel so juvenile!

My other 'freak out' thing right now is pictures. The last time I had professional portraits done was in high school. I didn't mind it so much because hey - its a portrait and I thought I was totally friggin' hot back then. Well I've gained probably 50 pounds (if not MORE) since then, but was lucky enough to marry a very VERY attractive man. Now, I feel inferior in looks (which drives Keith up the WALL and he wishes I'd just stop it!) and I wish I were thin enough to hide behind him for this whole ordeal. Vertically, I can hide behind him - but otherwise FORGET IT! I know that these aren't going to be full nude pictures (or even partially for that matter) but I do know the extra work it takes to photograph such contrasting couples for classic portrait photography. I know that I would feel more comfortable if I could somehow take our pictures myself - but we'd end up with these 'weird' photos that would just play off our contrasting appearance and it would be more minimalist slash modern portraits .. but GAH!

Regardless of my level of freak out (we are at Def con Bravo right now on my Freak Out Meter, people!) I will end up somehow pulling myself together to do all of this stuff. I'll sit in that salon chair and make small talk while a strange lady touches that weird mole on my head. I will then probably have to go into a story saying how my mother AND grandmother both have a mole in that same spot, and probably then say the same for the one near my ear which we all 3 have in common. We'll talk about the weather and about what we got our families for Christmas. I'll then thank her for her work on my what COULD be butchered hair, then I'll pick Keith up from work. After that I'll stand around in a studio drooling over the cameras, asking the photographer what school they went to (if any), and simply wait for the discomfort which comes once they start squinting behind a tripod (because few photographers actually look through the finder anymore with these new digital thingies) while I keep saying "don't blink don't blink don't blink" to myself in my head.

Ugh, am I losing my mind?!

Bah Humbug!

I'm the first to admit that I've never really been one of those 'Christmasy' types. I don't like hearing carrols on the loud speaker in EVERY store I go in. I don't really like wrapping presents, and I really like the fact that we have a 1 foot tall fiber optic tree because I don't like decorating, either!

My parents always hated that I was never excited about Christmas. They hated to buy me gifts because I wouldn't absolutely flip over them when I opened them. Now that I think about it, it was really rare that they actually got me something I wanted. For instance - when I asked for a No Doubt CD I got Maria Carey. All in all, they didn't really know me. I can assume they knew me as well as any other parent knows their teenager, but Christmas presents were always so ... hollow to me.

Keith complained the other day that I am too easy to shop for. Mind you my mother used to be LIVID trying to figure out what to get me.

So on our first married Christmas together we're kinda mixing traditions. My family really doesn't have any other than we normally just cooked a big breakfast Christmas day - whereas Keith's does the big dinner thing. We didn't open any presents early, but even up to the time I was 19 I would get up at like 5am - but it was a strict rule that I couldn't wake my parents before 6am. My mom even fixed up a coffee filter to brew a pot of coffee as soon as she got up to save time. So once mom had her morning cup and fag - we could start dishing out the presents. The stockings were always last. Always.

Dad usually dished out the presents to all of us because there was some mystical order in which the presents had to be opened. Even though we took turns being "Santa" mom would yell "NOT THAT ONE!" so we'd have to push it aside and open whatever it was she slid in front of us until we got the green light for the one she was sooo adamant about us NOT opening. If this is all sounding like a scene from A Christmas Story (Y'know "You'll shoot your eye outtt") then that's really how it went at my house.

Keith's parents sent us advent calendars - which I've never had before. Why? Well like I said - my family really isn't into holidays. Keith has also bought a thing of paper lunch bags and tea light candles that he says he'll line our driveway with .. for some reason. He just shrugged and said "tradition" so I'm not sure he knows what possible meaning could be behind it all.

Keith is also having a much harder time being away from his family than I am, but I think its because of lots of different reasons. For one - my parents aren't really involved in my life. I can honestly say that I don't think they have ever had any interest in what I do - other than just making sure I wasn't getting into trouble as a teenager. Keith's family calls him at least 3-5+ times a week, whereas I feel like I win a lottery if my family even picks up the phone.

It could just be that I feel he takes too much for granted like his parents always backing him up, or knowing that no matter what decision he makes that his family won't denounce his existence ... and maybe that's caused me to be a bit more bah humbug this year? I'm really not sure. I do know that I got him some kick ass presents so this Christmas should be better than last year (I got him a few video games and some other random things.)

I was tagged.

So Hawk's tagged me, and I had no idea WTF I was being tagged for so I had to read. I like reading, fortunately. So here we are at the 'tagging' portion.

(1) Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
(2) People who are tagged need to write a post on their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules.
(3) At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
(4) Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.



(1) I prefer hot drinks to cold ones. I will pick warm red wine over a cold beer any day of the week. I will drink a cup of tea or coffee before I will even think of cracking open a can of pop. I also tend to use a lot of sugar in my hot drinks (3 sugars and milk, please) which tend to make a lot of people shudder (especially here in England) but hey .. I like it!

(2) I took voice lessons for 9 years and am a 'classically' trained singer. I auditioned for a small part in the off-Broadway production of Phantom of the Opera in 1999. I sang on stage (ever so briefly) with Sara Brightman who was touring with the troupe and training the new Christine. Though it was only one song .. I thought I could have died happy at that moment. Unfortunately I was offered a job I didn't want (set construction) and turned it down. I addition to my voice lessons I was awarded a vocal scholarship to University of Missouri (Mizzou) but the scholarship didn't pay enough so it went to waste. I was awarded a walk on softball scholarship as well as a vocal and bright flight (I scored a 32 on my ACT) scholarships to a small community college. Also? I sing off key and stuff on purpose because I think my 'operatic' singing voice is odd and that anyone who is around to me to actually hear me sing would turn up their nose.

(3) If I my husband didn't demand otherwise - I would dress like Punky Brewster. I mean, even now my clothes are a hodge podge of things I pick up at Charity shops and I tend to heavily layer things. If he didn't have so much say in how I look publicly - I would most likely resemble a bag lady .. only without the stench.

(4) Apple juice makes me poop. A lot. I know its gross, but your average normal person should be able to drink a glass of apple juice without running to the bathroom an hour later! I am not average and can NOT drink much apple juice. Anything more than ohh .. a glass that you'd drink a cocktail out of is TOO much. I used to think it was an allergy, but I can eat apples! I don't know anymore .. I just avoid apple juice for the most part.

(5) I keep tarot cards in a blue Hello Kitty tin inside a purple velvet pouch. I used to search tirelessly for 'antique' tarot cards, but I could never tell how old any one card was :( So I gave up, and just keep the deck I was given when I was 15. Also? I've always wanted a crystal ball and have always wanted to make a living by being a 'fortune teller' or spellcaster. So far, no dice. But there have been a couple times I've thought about charging for tarot readings and stuff. Maybe. One day.

(6)I'm a sleep humper. It was embarrassing when I was younger. I'd be sleeping over at a friends' house, toss, turn, then do a little humpage on whatever. A pillow, leg, pet golden retriever .. whatever was RIGHT NEXT TO ME. I thought it was weird and perverse, but evidently its fairly common for people to do that sort of thing. Its just a different 'soothing' action when you're almost woken up. I've been doing it apparently since I was 2 (according to my mother).

(7)I can pooch out my stomach SO FAR that it looks like I'm like 135 months pregnant. I will also have to admit here that I have done this to cut in line at public bathrooms. Though I kinda feel bad for using my 'stupid human trick' to just cut in line .. I will say that if there were any elderly or if there were actually a pregnant woman in line then I would gladly give them my spot. I also threaten to have "Pregnant Days" when Keith is a butthole to me. He thinks its gross and creepy so I use it to my advantage. Piss me off? Oooh no! We're in public and suddenly I'm 9 months pregnant with a 15 pound kid!

(8)I have victory dances for almost every kind of 'victory' imaginable. Such as:
Right Answer
They said Yes
I just shot someone (video game)
I got a headshot (video game)
OMFG I am so excited
Haha I'm doing this dance to embarass you
I can't believe you just admitted I was right
Haha I told you I was right
I just got a treat (candy/chocolate)
I just got a present (birthday)
I just got a present (holiday)
I just got a suprise (all occasions)
I love this show (TV/Series)
I love this song

The list goes on and on :/

so now I must tag folks. Eight of them ...

Jen
Saraa
Keith
WillowZ
Chris
Dave
Valerie
Stef

My Webcomic

So I started my webcomic yesterday. I've decided that it'll be a daily thing of whatever random funny stuff that comes to mind :D

http://ManicStatic.wordpress.com

I opted for a wordpress blog thing because I couldn't see paying for a domain if I'm unsuccessful. And by successful I mean people actually like the stuff I draw and buy shirts and whatever from my cafe press store. (there's a banner on the site!)

New Projects Brewing

For years I've been a huge fan of different webcomics. I read them faithfully the way some people read PerezHilton.com ... anyway!

I've decided to start a comic of my own! I haven't gotten a site yet. The reason I haven't is because it DOES cost money so I would have to discuss such a thing with Keith first. I don't really want to go the 'free website' route because .. well I just don't want to. Having your own website gives you MUCH more freedom.

I'm also going to get a normal job next week - or at least start looking for one. My last wedding to film is set for next Wednesday so everything is all in order. I'm already looking into things to spend my money on once I start getting paychecks. My check will mostly just be 'play' money since we live quite comfortably off Keith's pay.

I've debated letting Keith take over this laptop and getting myself a macbook. One - I don't plan to continue gaming. PCs and Windows machines are FAR superior for gaming .. but I think my gaming days are almost gone. There are other things I'd like to focus on - like my art and writing. The past few years I've really let a lot of that go, but I'm going to find it again.

I can get a macbook off ebay for around ... 800USD -- or I can get one at the BX for a few hundred more and be guaranteed that everything is new. I'm almost positive that Keith isn't going to go for this, though.

My idea to start a webcomic really has me all "Eek". For one I do have a very off-the-wall sense of humor. With anything in life you always HOPE to succeed, I guess I'm just a little freaked out to be really planning on stopping everything I've been doing for the past almost three years.
There are lots of other things I wish I could openly type out - but I can't. Keith thinks its tacky for me to write out EVERYTHING so that any Tom Dick or Harry can read it. Sooo yeah.

I drew up a comic just a bit ago, scanned it, then painted around on it a bit. I think I'll just draw up a bunch of them and horde them for when I get a site, that way I'm ahead of the race a little bit and can update it daily or something. Maybe I'll even offer t shirts/mugs etc who knows.

Really I think its just time I have fun with the internet and stop seeing it as my job because well .. it won't be much longer. I've exhausted myself researching things, contacting people .. all that .. but I've never had a chance to really do what I want to do.

I will say that a lot of the comics I draw are NOT SAFE FOR WORK. So when I DO get a site please do yourself a favor and only view it at home - unless you work in a very liberal work place. Then of course view the site by all means!

Right now I'm really not sure what else to say. I'm excited about Christmas already - and I am just waiting for Keith's presents to come in. I think he's gonna be surprised and that he'll REALLY like his gifts!

Turkey Day!

We ate re-heated food from the squadron thing. That was enough of a Thanksgiving for me. After that Keith and I pretty much just started playing video games.

My Minstrel in LotR:O is now level 17 (Landroval server -- name Madge) and I spent a big part of the day seeing just how far I could run before I got killed. I actually got a popup message that more or less said "DANGER! This zone is very dangerous and things will attack you from far away!!" I did eventually die.

I'm debating heating up some of .. whatever's left and making a sandwich out of it. Keith is on the phone right now with his family. I called my family earlier and got hung up on 3 times before my mom answered the 4th time.

I won BOTH the things I was bidding on so I was really happy about that. Sooo hopefully Keith thinks the stuff I got him is awesome.

Keith is also making me pissy because I set up a filming appointment - and I had to throw a fit for him to actually do it. I'm really close to throwing in the towel on the video thing. I'd rather work in a fucking fast food joint - bring home my paycheck and not hear a damn word out of him instead of me going out of my way to communicate with these people and get things scheduled just for him to be a complete ASS about it.

Whatever.


I'm making a sandwich.

Dinnah

I don't have a lot of time to post because I have a lot to do and I'm hardly dressed.

Keith and I will be doing a feast thing with his entire squadron this afternoon. I even baked a carrot cake for the thing! I'm not a very good cook - unless its desserts. I can make the HELL out of some desserts!

I still have to ice the cake, dry my hair, and maybe slap on some makeup. I haven't decided on the makeup bit - but we'll see!

Suddenly I found myself distracted by the clouds moving outside.

I've decided to buy all Keith's Christmas presents on eBay since its cheap and easy. Its much more simple than me taking him to work and hitting the BX in hopes that they have what I'm looking for. Instead I can just log on and place a bid on the SAME THING that I know is there -- but for half the price and I don't have to worry about hiding it because it comes IN A BOX that I can just open and wrap while he's at work. Huzzah!

I'm sure we'll take pictures today. We haven't really taken the camera with us much of anywhere lately ... definately will have to stop that!

A Wicked Weekend

Keith and I had a completely AWESOME Saturday. I don't regret my decision to only do wedding videos during the week. If I were still doing them on a whim there's no way we would have had such a lovely weekend!

We started our Saturday by waking up (of course!) and made the hour drive to Redbridge (suburb of London) to catch the Central tube to St. Paul's.

St. Paul's Cathedral

We walked the few blocks from there across the Millennium Bridge

Millennium Bridge

Once across the bridge we were directly in front of the Tate Gallery of Modern Art.

Tate Gallery of Modern Art

This is where we met with Harold Frickner who had invited Keith and I to give the lecture at Solent University in Southampton. We both really think highly of Harold - and I particularly enjoy our intellectually charged conversations. It isn't often that you can discuss art (in its many mediums), society, and Second Life all to a receptive person and still get great feedback without it feeling like propoganda!

We all met on the 6th floor in the Members Only cafe where they have the biggest croissants I've ever seen in my life! The three of us sat and had croissants and cappuccino while just taking in the view before we walked the few blocks to Borough Market which we're told is probably the most trendy market in London. We weren't there for trend so much as to just enjoy the market.

Market Days are unfamiliar to us. There's really no such thing in America. Markets are purely medieval which would explain why since there was no Medieval period in the United States. And markets are something that Keith and I really enjoy. The closest thing we have in the US would be what most here call a 'jumble sale'.

After we had taken a trip through the Borough Market we hopped in Harold's car as he gave us a driving tour of London. We even drove past the Ten Bells - and we must MUST round up Tree and her man to take a Ripper tour one day soon! Its one of the many things which are mandatory on a trip to London.


Harold drove us to the theater where we had tickets to see Wicked - and let me tell you ... its been far too many years since I've seen a play/musical/opera! I almost cried when the curtain came up. A bit of it was sadness of "That could have been me" - the other part was just sheer glee. I'll have to explain the "Coulda Been Me" syndrome another time.

Apollo Victoria Theater

During intermission I didn't even want to get up. I sat there hoping that if enough people stayed in their seats that the director would decide to start the next act early ... but of course this was all just a fantasy played out in my head.

The play was spectacular and I would recommend it to anyone with children who are old enough to understand it (8 and up). It really gave a good positive message that I think young girls SHOULD hear on a daily basis but probably don't. Let's not mention the fact that it was also really funny!

We then had dinner at the MOST posh Pizza Hut I have EVER seen. This place served WINE!!!! On top of that .. they served like .... gormet desserts! I was over the moon at how swank the place was! I absolutely LOVED it! It was something that felt familiar but was all together different. It just goes to show you how different cultures are. In America -- you'd NEVER find a pizza joint like that.

At any rate - I told Keith that we mustttt see more plays and musicals because back "home" I would have to drive 5 hours (estimated) just to see a musical ... and here its so much more convenient. Oh and London's transportation system is so so so good. They really make it easy to get about - which makes me feel less intimidated. We had a LOVELY weekend and I hope to have another soon!

Classical Emo = Win

Okay so I hated my parents just as much as the goth kids and punk kids and was looking for a way to just step out of my daily life and declare that I ... I don't know. I hated high school. Anyway!

So I'm a YouTube lurker. I love to check out random videos. Lots don't know - but I am a classically trained singer. Yuh! I can't sing along to radio stuff - but give me some sheet music to Carmen or Les Miserables and I'll rock the house. ANYWAY!!

I've never been a fan of 'commercial radio' even though I do enjoy British radio more than I liked the radio stations in the US in the towns I lived in. Part of it is because I spent all my life in the South which means my choices were Classic Rock (think of hearing nothing but Lynyrd Skynyrd all day), Country (think of hearing Hank Williams, Jr all day) or Soft Rock (Creed and Celine Dion) ... so yeah I hatedddd the radio.

These days YouTube has become my alternative radio. There are sooo many talented people (not just singers but accompanists too!) who do 'covers' of songs that I never liked until I heard the COVER version by some unnamed talent on YouTube.

The following video is an example of that. Some random guy who has a talent for playing by ear (the most piano playing I ever did was pounding out harmony parts to whatever I was singing) and doing covers of songs that I HATED.

So I found a video of his .. and he's playing Helena by My Chemical Romance on piano. Of all instruments I think I'm a sucker for the piano the most. Why? Well there are lots of reasons. For one - maybe its my artsy poetic side .. but the strings and the mechanism is hidden which makes it mysterious. Its like its hiding its guts, I guess. Even though you KNOW what happens inside that lid -- you can only pay attention to the pianist's physical interpretation of what they're playing which makes the instrument sooo appealing to me!

Anyway - here's the video.

Wrestling and its Writers

I blame the fact that I am an 80s kid when it comes to my dorkiness. I fully admit to being a huge dork, and the extent of my dweebtastic self stretches far and wide.

As a kid in the 80s I loved loved LOVED watching wrestling on TV. It was a bonding type of thing between my somewhat psychotic Marine uncle and I. Violence was our link - sad but funny.

I never believed anyone when they said wrestling was scripted. I found it hard to believe that Hulk Hogan's sheer might didn't take down Andre the Giant and that they both knew who was going to win that match before they ever left the dressing room.

Sadly, I've come to terms with this dastardly truth just a few days ago. My uncle Julian isn't around for me to say "Wow dude you were right .." so I'll just consider this blogpost and the following video as a nod to those 'evil' things he said to me long ago. And here I told him he was just trying to steal the twinkle from my childhood. Turns out, he was right.

Our Lecture at Solent University

Somehow we didn't kill each other in the car on the way to Solent University in Southampton, and made the three hour drive. The traffic made me antsy because folks on motorcycles here will weave through traffic at high speeds and it just makes me nervous!

The Jurys Inn that we stayed at was great! Even though I'll admit to having too much to drink, I'm always more outspoken due to letting the wine speak for me - everything was sooo much better than expected. Harold Frickner and I had a long chat about Second Life and its potential uses and how machinima on the platform can be so much more than avatars dancing.

At one point I thought I had an ear infection, but it turns out I have a wisdom tooth coming in which made my inner ear and jaw sore :( Anyway!

About 20 people came to our lecture - and though that seems like a small number there were only about 150 who registered for the event and there were 4 other lectures going on at the same time. I even pushed it so far as to do most of my end of the lecture in PowerPoint, which I hadn't messed with in forever.

It was painfully obvious that we aren't used to public speaking, but I think that our video content end of the lecture is what really captured peoples' attentions. We had a lot of interesting questions, and I was quite surprised to hear that some schools are already incorporating Second Life into their curriculum! I think my mention of SL being open source so that the school can host its own 'private' version of SL really piqued their interest.

Keith and I are hoping to continue giving 'lectures' to show the impact of machinima and how not only virtual worlds, but the open artistic freedom of platforms like Second Life can put a whole new spin on not just education - but the art of film making itself.

There are pictures somewhere - but we've misplaced the flash drive so I can't transfer the pictures onto my PC as of yet.

Earlier today I sat here at the PC and just said "WOW". Three years ago when Keith and I teamed up for our first machinima video, I never would have thought it would have taken us down the path we've been on. No we aren't making a sick amount of cash - but for the past two years we have been able to apply the money we DO make from our videos to things that have made our videos better.

Not only did I never expect for the two of us to be taken seriously, but I never expected anyone else to hold any kind of interest in what we do beyond just laughing at the funny videos we make. It really has been a very awesome experience that has taken me by complete suprise.

No, we haven't been offered any contracts - but we are able to still do what we love without having to worry about anyone dictating it. Machinima has become so mainstream that no one really bats an eye when we try to explain what we do as a hobby. I remember trying to explain everything to my family once upon a time, and I'm still not sure they get it - but at least someone does.

I gave my mom links to videos we've done, and though I really get the impression that she wasn't impressed - I think she at least now understands what it is.

At any rate - I was pleased with our lecture regardless of our lack of experience - and I hope that all virtual worlds (not just Second Life) have finally gotten cast in a light which goes beyond just scantily clad women and cheating spouses.

2007 Machinima Festival - Europe

Okay then! Most everyone knows that Keith and I attended the Machinima Festival (the first EVER in Europe) which was held in Leicester (pronounced Lester). It was technically a three day event of which we attended one day. A two hour drive (each way) may not sound like a lot - but by the end of Saturday I was worn out. We did have a VERYYY busy day though!

We arrived early - and we were both kinda bummed when the girl didn't find our name on the list. I told Keith not to worry about it .. but he later ran back downstairs and had them look again. Lo and behold we were on the list. Anyway we got our goody bags and sat down in one of the many rooms in order to hear some presentations.

The first we heard was Paul Marino. For those that don't know who Paul Marino is ... he's like the grandfather of machinima. Other people may have brought machinima into the mainstream (which I'll get to later) but he more or less started it all.

"So what are they like?" Keith and I spent a lot of time talking to different people at the Festival throughout the day. Paul seems to be a very reserved guy with a strong 'matter of fact' sense about things. Even though he was being ushered everywhere and people were wanting interviews and such - he still found time to talk to everyone who wanted to talk to him - which I find highly admirable. Paul is definately a guy I'd like to sit and talk to more - the type you want to pick their brains, really.

Keith with Paul Marino

I didn't do a whole lot of interacting with the folks attending the festival - I'm shy like that. Keith was walking up to people left and right "So what video have you done? I've seen that!" And I just sat back and took pictures.

The funniest thing about the entire festival is that even though we felt like we knew a lot of those people through their work alone - we couldn't pick them out. ASIDE from one incident which I'll document later ;)

We were talking to Paul for a bit when I snapped the picture. He heckled me about not submitting a film for the festival. I thought that since the director of the festival had asked if she could show our films that it would be in bad taste to submit one ... I was wrong and it'll never happen again! So Paul gave me a razzing before another guy walked up and he and Paul started talking, shaking hands - anyway it was obvious they knew each other. Paul asked us "I'm sure the both of you are .. but I'll ask anyway. Are you familiar with FRAPS?" Duh yes! Its practically all we use. Then Paul said "Well this is the guy that made it."

Keith laughed a bit and shook his hand "Well you have about $30.00 of mine!" He was kinda coy and shy and just laughed "I thought it was cheaper than that these days." We all talked briefly and of course I took a picture.

Keith and FRAPS Guy (I forgot his name SORRY!)

I sat in on the "Distributing and promoting your machinima" panel while Keith jotted off to attend the "legal" panel. He got a lot of questions in (to hear him tell it) whereas I simply listened on most of the event I was at.

Keith even hung out with a group that was filming the festival - Lit Fuse

who had a film or two shown during a couple presentations. One of the teammembers even contacted Keith in SL so I think he's made a new friend out of it.

As far as the SL end of things went at the Festival .. it seemed everyone was familiar with it - but no one really knew how to utilize it. De Montfort University even has a sim there (as well as La Interactiva head Ricard having a Machinima Sim) but the guy behind the computer really didn't know how far Second Life reached. We sat in the room a couple of minutes before taking the keyboard away from the guy and cutting loose. moo Money and Geius Dassin were in the sim and watching the festival on the feed so Keith said - "Hey watch this! I'm gonna run down to the main room .. get in front of the camera - and wave!" He did - and it was funny. Not only that it was nice to show the other guys "Hey look we DO have friends!" Anyway - moo and Geius took a screenshot/snapshot:



At any rate - that's all I'll post for now. The other post would dominate all this as its more of my documentation and not a mash-up of info from both Keith and I. Just a first person narrative on what went down :)

HUGE POSTS COMING

In the next day or two (or three) expect quite a few huge posts which outline the 2007 Machinima Festival :)

That's all for now!