Greeny Greens

Contemplative Dreams

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 03:00:56 GMT

Last night I had a strange dream that I was in a coma.

It was in mid-summer (about this time now), when I had an accident, and I didn’t regain consciousness until next year around the end of winter, I’ll say February. I remember this so well because I remember opening up my Xmas and birthday gifts in the hospital and my family telling me my birthday (in February) had passed recently. Many things happened in the week to come after awakening. I had to look for a new job, most of my friends had forgotten about me, and those who did stay (including my family) saw me in a new light which gave off awkward vibes. My roommate moved on and my apartment was rented by new people since I wasn’t there to pay rent. My new car I got the other month had to be sold as my payments towards that could no longer happen. I remember my grandmother, who I care so deeply for, passing away during this time, my dog Kohl as well.

There was a heart wrenching feeling of emptiness throughout the dream. The same feeling you would get from something in real life.

Is this sort of what older people feel like when they’ve got nothing more to hang onto but remembering experiences that happened in their past?

It’s amazing how much you can miss when 7-8 months of your life are completely erased and you don’t exist almost. It might not seem like such a large amount of time for some, but taking this into account in real life brings a few strong statements.

I think many people I know can learn from this. Make everyday count and try to push yourself as much as you can everyday, whether it is a goal you’re striving for in the future, or to help better yourself or someone close to you. Don’t sit around all day doing nothing, you’ll only waste whatever potential you have in you to achieve more in your life. If you’re not happy, change it. If you don’t like your job, change it. If you’re mad at a friend, fix it. Lost time, or that which is filled with emptiness and sad feelings is wasted time to me.

That’s my insightful post for now. Oh yes, and I haven’t updated in what, two months? Tsk tsk.

New radiator, overtime hours, weekend plans

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 08:18:50 GMT

Wow... trying to find Genesis songs online prove rather difficult if you don't know the timeline of the group when Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins joined/quit. Such was the case when I was burning a Genesis(Phil Collins era) CD for Shogin's birthday present. Headed over to his place earlier today after work, he seemed to enjoy the gift, and I enjoyed the honey lagers =3 (remember that people! haha!).

So my radiator was giving me issues earlier this week. After driving to my parents last weekend to have the engine overheat during the way out there, water wasn't doing the trick. Naturally, water doesn't usually provide the best treatment for your radiator, but something wasn't quite right... Even the water was draining and evaporating faster then it should've been. Yes, after two days from my trip it was already bone dry. Upon my further inspection I noticed some steam escaping from a long crack on the top panel. Ick... quite a long crack too. Time to get a new radiator. Thankfully the place I usually go to has great service, and I've been a repeat customer for the last 5 years, so I was able to get a new radiator and everything for just under $300. Good deal.

Urg.. still slightly tipsy on the lagers here. It looks like I'm heading into EA Saturday morning for some extra overtime. Hanging out with Meiki and Scribble afterwards and to give Meiki a hand moving some stuff. Sunday Richelle and Rye will be heading over to Rye's place to hang out for a bit. I have to scan some pictures as my scanner is currently on the fritz.. needs a new power cord which is hard to get. I suspect lunch and beers, a trip downtown or to the movies as well. I just need to get outta the apartment and get some air, this week's been busy with work and stuff.. it's gone by a bit slow.

Sooooore...

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 05:58:55 GMT

Just came home a few hours ago from a long bike ride today with Lope. My legs are sore *cries*, but it was good weather and so bright and sunny for once considering how awkward April has been for us here in Vancouver. The other day we must've had every kind of weather pattern possible. Thunderstorms and hail to snow. Thankfully I had to head out to Chilliwack to visit some friends and help my parents renovate their new shop so I missed some of the flurries that apparently happened over there.

Picked up my new bicycle on Saturday. Paid $45 for it, used. Not in bad shape considering all the other bikes I saw the previous week (one had the kickstand held up by scotch tape... ew!). The rims and chain were new. The seat is rather narrow and was digging on my crotch most of the trip today (it hurts... oh god it hurts...), and the handlebars are difficult to adjust without messing up the brake suspension, but either then that it stood up to the task of 30+ kms today that Lope and I trekked on. Innertube might have a slow leak on the back tire.. but those are cheap to replace.

I must apologize for the lack of art as of late. While I've been quite busy with my job lately and other priorities, I've been practicing a bit more with watercolours and acrylics. I need a new power cord for my scanner to scan these in, but I'll need a rather specific one as its a slightly older model. Might take some time to find one.

Plans are starting to ramp up for me attending Rainfurrest as well as the BC FurBQ. Thankfully both events are placed mainly on the weekends, even if they are one weekend apart from another. Hopefully I'll be able to book off two Fridays for those weeks, though I don't think I see a problem. I can probably find (and think I've got some offers already but forgot who) roomies for Rainfurrest up here, but if nothing comes up or others cancel later down the road I'll have to give a heads up for everyone.

Craziest car ever

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 06:20:08 GMT

As I was cruising through downtown Vancouver this weekend with Richelle, we stumbled across THIS!

I've never seen anything like it... it's amazing what some people do to their cars. This is so cool! *laughs* I AM EH... hahaha

Weird Car
Weird Car - Close up

Back to the schedule again...

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 07:31:18 GMT

What a refreshing week! It feels so good to be back in schedule again. Sure, work does eat up my times between 9-5:30 but it's constant now, and as I slowly work my new sleeping times into my work times I'm finding myself with much more energy and pep. I'm much happier this week and I know it's showing. Working at Electronic Arts is so much fun...

Between working times, I've been working on prototypes for my parents wine store they're opening sometime soon in Chilliwack. I was later able to go down this Saturday and take pictures of the outside and inside of the empty store to get measurements for the sign-age, as well as floor plans I have to map out. The outside of the store is longer/narrower then I thought, so I have to work around some creative ideas to stretch out the text and sign art without it looking lame and unattractive.

Friday I had the privilege of Dorn Otter coming over with his two pet ferrets, Roscoe and Daisy. They are soooo freakin adorable! His plan was to crash at my place for the night so Jim could pick the ferrets up and drive them to Penticton where they would stay with Keichi while Dorn graduated school and moved, something which would've been too taxing on both him and the ferrets, hence the trade. Stopped for dinner (I enjoyed a nice honey lager there) and played some video games at my place before crashing. Slept in till around 10 where I woke up and made perogies and fruit salad for everyone (Jim had arrived in the morning by this time to pick the ferrets up).

I needed to be in Chilliwack at my parents place for most of Saturday afternoon, so I had to jet out at around 1PM as Dorn left for Unition's place to hang out with everyone there. While I waited for my parents to get back from a small party that evening I hung out with Jess for coffee and a draw jam session. I had heard after I came back into Vancouver that some of the fur members had a small gathering at Castle Fun Park nearby that same night, which I probably would've gone to if I had some free time and more notice. Ah well.. I miss playing mini golf there as I'd always go in the summer when growing up in the Chilliwack area. Nowadays I play regular golf with Lope or someone. It's hard to find other fur golfers around here...

Regardless, I stayed the night in Chilliwack to look at the wine store the following morning and headed back to Vancouver. I arrived at Rye Bunny's place at around 3:30PM where she was hosting a Snake-Tea party.. thing (yeah there isn't really a name for it, just socializing and beer pretty much.. and pet snakes =3 ). Sparks was there as well, and was nice catching up with her again. I also bumped into my friend Ian who I used to work with at Electronic Arts while he was there. Richelle arrived a bit later around 5:00PM where we all headed downtown to a wonderful Thai food place. The food contained just the right amount of spices... it was so good. Just hot enough. Sparks had to head back home after, though Rye, Ian, Richelle and I walked down Robson and ate pockey and gelato to finish off our meal (even though everyone else but me was stuffed). Richelle ended up staying the night at my place as we didn't get home till well after 10PM and she had to work at 3 in the morning in Abbotsford or way out there... poor girl. I had enough time to finish character head drawings of everyone on my EA team before heading to bed.

With that being said, here's some new art!

I haven't drawn myself in feral form in a loooong time, interesting comparison here...

Here's the head drawings for my teammates at EA right now. They'll probably be used in a banner or for name tags or something later. I'm the one on the very bottom (shuttup perverts)

Best band ever???

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 01:28:04 GMT

*can barely hold giddyness in*

OMG Duran Duran is coming to Vancouver!!!

http://www.ticketmaster.ca/event/1100406ACE3FF13C?camefrom=AFF_ILIKE_FB_CA&brand=tm

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

Back from Alberta

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 07:55:01 GMT

(Posted from FA)

Well my returning flight arrived safe and sound back in Vancouver around 11:45PM, quite late. If it weren't for Tibarus picking me up I probably wouldn't have been able to make it home before transit shut down for good. Thanks Tibs!

-----

Touched down in Calgary around noon on Thursday the 27th where I was greeted by Tannyk, Mal, and company. After getting my luggage settled at their place we went out on the town for sushi and bowling, and took the *cough* revolutionary train back before getting my ass handed to me in Smash Bros. What the hell guys, no one beats me and Ice Climbers.

Next afternoon, and after several drinks and anime shows, Copper came to pick me up and drive the 2 hour trip to Lethbridge where the small party would be happening the following day. The party which took place was a smaller sized crowd, which worked well in my favor. It was easily manageable and entertainment could be provided much more effectively. Met with Purr, Rune, Pharin, Keller, and Taido for dinner and drinks for the party before heading back to Copper's where movies and video games were provided.

All in all, the entire weekend went by really smooth. The pace and time spent on my trip could not have been better. I got my job at Electronic Arts back this Monday (yesterday), and my contract has been renewed for another chunk of the year. This put a nice cherry to top the weekend off as I had been going through issues trying to get it re signed the last couple months.

I just came back from seeing Bruce Springsteen in concert with my little brother, which turned out fantastic. With the exception of most of my favorite songs held back till the end (actually most were in the encore) we had a blast. My throat is sore from singing/screaming and I'm too energetic to sleep. But yeah... I gotta get back in schedule now that I'm working 9-5 again. This works in my favor though as I can schedule everything else in my spare time better.

-------

It's amazing what this small trip has done for me. I got my job back, I visited my ex again since the last time I seen him in August, met a few new people as well as old friends I've always wanted to see, and gained some valuable travel experience. Everything's just seemed to fall in place this time.

In a nutshell.. I'll give this week a pretty high score. While it seems a bit surreal to be starting work again the same day I've arrived back from my trip I certainly won't be forgetting about anytime soon. Expect me to visit again sometime for sure!

PS: From what me and my lil bro could see, we were two of the youngest audience members not there against their will or with parents.

Heading to Calgary

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 05:30:12 GMT

Don't worry folks, only for a few days. I'll be back around Sunday, March 30th.

Copper Wolf is having a small get together out in Lethbridge, and I figured I'd make a small trip out of it considering EA will start hiring within the next while. Heck this will probably be my last chance at taking any small trip once I start working again. May as well make the most of it during the time I have now. Due to some ride complications, I'll be in Calgary for all of Thursday until I get up to Lethbridge for Friday. I would like to extend my thanks to Tannyk and Mal for giving some crash space during that time, will be nice to see ya! =D

On a side note, it was my younger brother's birthday last weekend, which fell the same dates as Easter weekend. Yes... he turned 19. Yes.. there was lots of booze. We discovered a great shooter drink while having our Jaggerbombs. It's called a 'Skittle', and it tastes just like the Skittle candy, I swear to god. Here's the recipe:

SKITTLE
-------
Ingrediants needed:
-Sprite soda
-Lime juice
-Butterscotch ripple schnapps

Fill quarter of a highball glass with Sprite.
Put in a few squirts of lime juice (if using bottled). If you're using a real lime, about half a lime should do. Cut in half and squeeze.
Fill a shooter glass with the Butterscotch ripple schapps.
Drop butterscotch ripple schapps into highball glass and chug.
----------

I bought my brother Singstar 80's for the PS2. It's a kereoke game and works just like using the mic in Rockband. Yeah yeah a bit cheezy I guess but him and I have taken a liking to the games as he works with a few people who invite me to parties at times where they have the games there. Later he bought the Singstar Amped edition which had some more songs (unfortunately there's only about 35 songs for each game... a bit small if you compare it to something like Guitar Hero, but meh).

Once I get back from my trip, the 31st will be the Bruce Springsteen concert I'll be taking my brother to. We're both very excited for this, though he'll probably be a bigger Bruce fan then I'll ever be.

I'll miss you all while I'm gone!

Visits, Snake issues, Art Jams

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 07:40:38 GMT

Been feeling much more refreshed this week if anything. I've been able to get myself into more of a stable schedule. Working out twice a week, while leaving me sore temporarily as I'm getting used to the excersizes, is starting to show some results and give me more energy overall.

Monday, March 10
After last weekend's furmeet left me with strange sleeping patterns, thanks to the one hour loss, I spent most of Monday catching up on needed sleep. Later in the evening there was another Manhunt I went to with my lil bro Ryan. This one encompassed the entire blocks around the Art Gallery, and Federal Court downtown. The last game expanded west back towards Burrard.

While this location didn't have near as much hiding spots, there was a nice park with the Red Spring, and Robson Square you could hide around, and there were many odd things I was able to stumble across in the heart of downtown like hidden courtyards and gardens.

Tuesday, March 11
Today was a catch up on artwork. Open Canvased and worked on some personal projects. Most completed piece to showcase from today is the following image. Working on anatomy has been giving me some interesting findings, especially around the lower pecs and upper abs areas. I might splurge and find some more anatomy books for cheap around Vancouver the next week, if I can find time that is. This upcoming week is gonna be chaos.

Here's a new pic. His head looks a bit wonky but either then that it's pretty good. I barely draw profile shots on heads as I've always found it cheaping out.. you know.. next to no foreshortening and overlapping muscle groups.

Wednesday, March 12
Today I found out a very close friend of mine had decided to leave for Australia and not give a few of his friends any notice. I knew he was leaving roughly around this time, but he promised to pay me a visit for a day or two on his way through Vancouver and stay at my place before he left.

He never showed up or called.

Quite hurtful, and confusing at that. I mean, I know this trip was a bit of a soul search for him but some of us, including me, really didn't appreciate him taking off and leaving with no notice and broken promises. This left me in a big rut for the most of today, and in the end I had to end up going for a long drive to cool off later that night. I ended up heading over to Lope's place and stayed the night.

Thursday, March 13
Woke up earlier then what I'm used to, as I wanted to take a look at the place where Lope usually works out down the street. Happily payed the drop-in fee and was rather impressed. There was a huge number of workout stations and tons of equipment, a lot which I wasn't used to using before. See.. this is why I don't pay $800 bucks like a certain someoneeee for a personal fitness trainer, I just have Lope! =D I could feel the results after that 90 min session in the end. Great workout!

After gearing my bags at Lope's again we headed down to the beach to grab a few 'natural' props for Echo's tank. I needed more rocks, and he was lacking some climbing areas, so after Fish and Chips and beachcombing for a couple hours, we procured a few sturdy pieces of driftwood (perfect for Echo's tank as it doesn't have any smells or possibly irritating oils/materials from a fresh tree/branch), and plenty of flat rocks for Echo to rub up against when he sheds, or just to explore around a more natural environment that isn't shoeboxes.

I had to head back to my place quickly and clean my apartment as Rye Bunny was heading over later that evening to take photos of Echo. We headed to Red Robbins that shared the Lougheed Mall parking lot, where she had *chortles* Fish and Chips (I'm sensing a pattern here), and I had a decent alfredo dish. Oh yes and beer.. I like their Honey Lagers. Picked up a few more bottles of beer at the liquor store across the parking lot for home (which was fine, I'm typing this right now on St.Patricks Day and have not sipped a single drop of booze.. which is unfortunate, but at least I got my share then). I'll have to find time to post some of the photos taken that night, cuz Rye's camera totally owns my camera by double the megapixels...

Friday, March 14
Spent more time today working on commissions and ended up OC-ing with JiveWriter closer to the end of it. Drew a couple characters for him.

Saturday, March 15
Today was the Art Jam. After heading to Trapa's place to pick up a couple people, I recieved a call from a recruiting company trying to get me back into Electronic Arts. It was a phone interview which was turning out fine until they found out I used to work for a different recruiting company back last year during my EA stay. At that point they literally said 'sorry' and proceded to exit the interview dead short. This is unfortunate because they were ready to hire me on the spot.

Here's the story:
The recruiter I was with originally during EA is no longer hiring through EA anymore, so they forward all people's information to this other recruiter's who still want to work at EA. This takes time, money, and I don't believe this new contractor wants to go through the troubles of all the paperwork.

Here's the delimma:
Even though I'm a free contractor right now, this new recruiter cannot hire me back onto EA. This is unfortunate because they've called three times already, three different phone interviewers, ready to hire me on the spot, but cannot once they find out I've been with another recruiter in the past.

Sooooo.... re-hire me on and I'll start from a new slate right? Unfortunately that's not 'part of their procedure' as stated on the phone. Quite upsetting and frusterating that this recruiter is tossing me around and giving me the slip. I've already given my information to my previous recruiter, and she 'claims' to be putting it through, but I'm getting the feeling she, like many other times, is lying, as this other recruiter is having tons of testers getting hired under her nose right now. She's done this in the past with others and I believe she's giving the same story now. I've tried everything and I'm at the end of my line. I'm not being told re-hire dates at all, this other recruiter cannot do a thing for me UNLESS I go through my previous contractor which isn't doing a THING.

Urg... I'm gonna have to drop a visit to EA myself and talk to some of my old managers as a last resort. In the meantime I'm gonna drop this topic as it's been giving me nothing but grief the last few weeks. It's also a bit late and my sentences are a bit skewed.

So with slightly disheartened feelings coming to the art jam, I took a table to myself to work on some new watercolour projects. I haven't worked with watercolours in awhile and the picture I was able to do turned out looking amazing. Cheered me up a bit more, even more when we went for mexican after the jam with the rest of the attendees. Considering other events happening in Vancouver today I was surprised the turnout was high.

Sunday, March 16
My Mom came out to visit my grandma this afternoon. We went to Applebee's for a bit of an early dinner.

Turns out my mom has a claymation project coming up next weekend....wow... I knew she was getting into photography, photoshop, and digital media classes but I didn't think they would start doing animation (with clay) as one of the projects. Looks like we're gonna have to hit a supplies store and pick up different colours of plasticine while I show my Mom how to rig up the camera for this project. I'm actually looking forward to it as I haven't worked with claymation since my high school days.

After dinner I drove out to Surrey and visited Trapa, who had Rye Bunny, and Rhari with her baby there. Thankfully the baby wasn't as noisy as it was during the art jam (I had to play Uncle half the time hahaha), and was sleeping soundly closer to the end of the night when we started watching Oceans 13 (this would be my 3rd time seeing it... grrr). Loial also made cookies and spaghetti for dinner/dessert, thanks Loial!

Drove back home around midnight and scooted to bed early. I had to book a vet appointment for my snake early in the morning and set up his tent to raise the humidity in his tank as he's on the verge of shedding.

Also recieved an email from Rye who showed the pictures from Thursday to some reptile owners at the reptile show, in which he was very underweight. Whether this is a problem of parasites or underfeeding we don't know at this point, but the trip to the vet will look into that with more details.

I really hope he sheds his eyecaps this shed. I've been taking every precaution to make sure he does this time.. as I would really like to avoid a longer vet visit and more stress on the poor guy.

Monday, March 17
Due to the unfortunate contractor news on Saturday, I'm back to pounding the pavement with job hunting just in case my trip to EA doesn't come up with any leads. I took a break halfway in the day to do some shopping and stop by Starbucks to draw with JiveWriter for a couple hours.

Made a delicious greek dinner for myself tonight. Though I forgot one thing.. the booze. It's St.Patricks day and I was all out of beer from Thursday. After I realised it, most of the liquor stores were closed so I wasn't able to get anything here tonight. *shrugs* ah well. I should be saving up for the possibility of going to Calgary for a few days later in two weeks.

So this week promises much action. Whether it's marching down to EA and working my contract out again, or taking my snake to the vet, this week will bring much promises for the future. Hopefully I'll be able to finish everything this week so I can look into booking my flight out to Calgary for next week.

It's still 50-50 right now. My taxes and vacation pay have already arrived a few days back, so I have the cash. This vacation will be placed right in between my brother's 19th birthday, and our concert to see Bruce Springsteen on the 31st here in Vancouver. I MUST be back for that or I'll never forgive myself... hell it's my gift to my brother and I dont' want to see one ticket go to waste.

I'll post another journal at the end of this week once I have a better grip on how much time I have.

Arguments

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 00:01:46 GMT

Urgg... I hate arguments.
Had a big falling out with a close friend the other night. A part of me wants to forget about ever meeting him, but another part still holds onto some false hope that things will work out in the end. I don't think I've ever been so violent and upset for years then I was last night.

I very rarely reach argument status with most friends in real life, and I'm finding this quite difficult to understand that I'll have to avoid or ignore someone who usually attends the same meets and parties I go to from time to time. Perhaps it's always been foreign to me as I get along usually with everyone, I just haven't had much reason to make enemies till now.

The thing that confuses me the most is his argument was I'm too negative and therefore not fun to be around. I've never considered myself a negative person at all. If anything I'm optimistic, borderlining on polyanna. Sure I'll bitch and complain about things every once in awhile but I think everyone does that.. it's called venting. Sorry that not everything is a bed of roses. I'm quite confused and upset over this comment, but I really don't want to spend any time mulling about it, but I'm finding it hard to forget. Yes, I was tight for cash for about a month back in January until I started getting an income in again. I will admit I was much more irritable then I usually was. I was laid off from my job, I had a falling out with a relationship I had been trying to get working for almost a year, I was losing money and felt ashamed to be asking family for help for January, and not many friends seemed to care during this time in my life which would be considered one of the lowest points I've had so far. When all these things bottleneck at the same time it can turn even the most optimistic people into stressed individuals.

But is it really right to judge me during a month where things weren't going well? This was a friend I had known for about 8 months who knows what I'm like during my happy/high points. Any decent friend would accept I was going through some tough times and will wait patiently/give support until things get better.

I wish I wasn't being given mixed signals. He said to my face back in December that he moved to Vancouver for me, and was offering to help pay some of my bills as he knew I could pay him back when this was all over. I don't hear from him for a few weeks and now he doesn't want anything to do with me. I wish I could find some sort of logic behind this. The only logic I can think of at this point is he's a friend not worth having if he continues to hurt me like this. I simply don't have time for people like this in my life and I want to continue being as happy as I can be without having things like this deter me.

However, if I do seem to come across as negative, I must certainly apologize to those who think so. I'm known to be a bit blunt and inquisitive, but that's my nature. I prefer open, trusting friendships with strong communicative ties. I'm quite content with who I am and what I do for the most part of every aspect in my life at this stage, and I don't have any real reason to mull and mope around.

I think I'll go for a long drive... I need to listen to music with the wind rushing on me.

Oh yes, and new art. This is for the art war I'm hosting on Fur4U. The story seems to be leaning more towards zombie invasions. Hey, don't ask me, I don't have control over these things =P

Lots of sushi, Babysitting, Manhunt

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 08:21:38 GMT

Busier week then the most. Managed to finish a few art assets I've wanted, enjoyed a trip in Chilliwack, and spent some time with my brother in the Manhunt (don't worry, not what the name suggests, read more). With the warmer weather I've been able to enjoy spending more full days outside instead of running in the rain for about half hour (which is still fun too).

Thurs, Feb.28
After arriving home from Lope's place for his birthday, I was surprised to get a message from Owen saying he was in town at Varr's just down the street. I didn't even know he was in town much less closeby. It was late once I got back but after a coffee run (thanks Owen) we were able to stay awake a few hours to watch an anime movie called 'X' if I remember correctly. Apparently its a movie of the show which I hadn't seen or even heard of for that matter, though enjoyed it still. After Varr and Owen left I had to go to bed shortly after as I wanted to finish a few art pieces the next day before my Chilliwack trip.

Fri, Feb.29
Woke up and worked more on the gift for a friend I've been working on the last couple days. I've been learning a few more things about muscle anatomy during this time. One was learning pectorals and collar bone area from the gift, the other was shoulder and bicep placement during an Open Canvas with Furgeta. I'll be looking for a few anatomy books the next couple weeks to hone in on this anatomy, one being the Dynamic Anatomy book Scribble Fox suggested to me awhile back. I've been hearing a few things around this specific book and look forward to adding this one to the priority of 'must buys'. After a long anatomy study session at home I took a break and worked on the Fur4U March banner.

I'm surprised how unusual this colouring style turned out. I think the fact I did my lineart in Photoshop and coloured it in Open Canvas helped in that. Usually I do lineart and colour the opposite way using OC then PS. Also, Its incredible what changing the colour of the entire picture overlay can do about setting the mood and theme (Control + B).

Sat, Mar.1
My Chilliwack trip was delayed from Friday for the following reasons. One of which was the priority of the website banner, the other being I was driving Trapa out there. We were to visit Rhari and Razz at their place for a day of art, programming, movies, and games. After awhile it started getting a bit late, and recieved a call from my childhood friend Richelle, who ended up driving out from Abbotsford (after being in Richmond that afternoon), with her younger cousin Megan. Nachos and chocolate were the substance which made our dinner after a shopping trip to Save On. Richelle always seems to bring out the best in me it seems... *grins*. By the time Richelle and Meg left, it was far too late for me to drive back to Vancouver, so Trapa and I ended up staying the night.

Sun, Mar.2
After waking up, Trapa, Rhari, Bara (Rhari's toddler), and myself walked along the Vedder dyke towards Vedder Bridge. After traveling up Vedder road we were passing Trapa's old townhouse where we checked and met Clint, a friend of Trapa's who was living there now. After picking up my car and the baby carseat for Bara, we headed up to a new all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant, which seemed to have snuck its way into town during my last trips without me realizing it. All you can eat!!!! Sushi!!!! Gahh!

Later in the afternoon Trapa and myself headed back to his place in Surrey, where I stayed and caught up with Loial who I hadn't seen for awhile. After a couple hours of helping Trapa with some website layouts, which I get the feeling he started to enjoy doing after awhile, we watched a few episodes of Firefly. I'm not the biggest Sci Fi person, but I seem to grown a liking to Firefly. I also need to catch up with Doctor Who....

Mon, Mar.3
Stayed the night at Trapa's and headed out to help with a few errands for Rainfurrest signage after finishing the website layout. Picked up some plastic sheets at a specialised plastic store I forgot the name of, as well as plastic piping at Home Hardware. For lunch, Trapa recieved a call from his friend Andre, who treated us to sushi (yes sushi again!), what a nice guy =)

It was starting to get late in the afternoon, and I had to head back to Coquitlam to see my little bro Ryan. We were heading downtown for the Manhunt which started at 7PM. The Manhunt, unlike the name sorta suggests, plays like Cops and Robbers. The difference is this happens in the heart of downtown Vancouver around Burrard Skytrain Station and covers, at most, a 5 by 5 block radius to run/hide/etc. There are two people chosen from the group of 25+ people (more members come in summer apparently), and everyone else gets a two minute head start. The point of the game is to not get tagged by others who get tagged and become Manhunters. In the end, its a mixture of urban exploration, hide and seek, and tag.. or something along those lines. We had three games and it was quite fun. Oh yes.. and everyone wore a white band on their arm so you knew who was playing.

Game 1): I was chosen to team up with a guy with a nerf gun. It was quite fun as it was very much like Resident Evil.. or something. I dunno, the streets and dark alleys and scouting around were quite surreal. He was tagged as he scouted up ahead after about 10 mins, where I ran but got shot in the back of the head with one of his nerf darts. Curses.

Game 2: This was rather amusing as I was on my own this time around. I managed to find a newspaper and pretended to be a hobo for one portion of the game, where I had to run two blocks to the corner of Burrard and Melville, using the same newspaper to pretend to be a bystander waiting for a bus with other members of the crowd. I had to run as the crowd dwindled from the bus actually arriving, where I was snagged around the nearest corner as I was quite close to Burrard Station titled as 'ground zero'.

Game 3: This was one of the best rounds by far. My little bro and I were a team and managed to grab another one of his friends he brought along, Corbin (think that was his name). We managed to navigate all the back alleys around Bute from Melville to Cordova and Hastings. There were a lot of good hiding areas and a good stairway with a three-way escape system we could utilize if ambushed by Manhunters. Managed to be three members who lasted the longest, and even snuck back to Burrard Station unscathed =P

Tue, Mar.4
Had an interview downtown at 1:00PM at the Bental 5 building across from.. yet again.. Burrard Station. With the Manhunt still fresh in my mind, I was energized and ready to strut my stuff for the employer. Interview turned out quite well. Probably one of the more infomational ones I've had in awhile.

I had some time to kill before heading back to Coquitlam to visit my brother, so I popped into Pacific Center to give Elias a surprise visit. Turns out it was his day off and I was lucky enough to catch him looking around his own workplace. Took a lovely walk around downtown and soaked some sun on the patio of a coffee place on Davie st called JJ's, I think that was the name of it. He wasn't joking about it having really good coffee. I ordered the... hell was it again... White Vanilla Mocha? Whatever it was again.. it was creamy and sweet and had gobs of whipped cream on top. So decadent, mmm.

Cheers to those who managed to go through all that. Quite a bit to catch up on as the weather becomes better. I might be heading to Seattle this upcoming weekend, so if that pans out I'll give a report on that too.

I feel like giving a slight insightful post...

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 03:12:28 GMT

I'm beginning to receive much consolation in visiting/reconnecting with old friends. This last weekend I payed a trip to Chilliwack, though not to visit parents, but to visit a number of old childhood friends. Half of the trip was to tie some loose ends with friends who have given me a bit of grief in the last few years. It felt comforting to hear their side of the story and come to agreements, all of which turned out to work out better in the end as we know where we stand in our friendship right now. The other half was managing to get a hold of a couple others I haven't been able to see since... hmm.. since I've moved to Vancouver four or five years ago.

Another large part of my life I've been able to set in stone lately has been my artwork. While I haven't been the most artistically active the last week or two, I've been able to come up with a good plan for my own self growth for the next year. With a bit of luck and 2 GB of ram I think I can pull of some bigger feats. I've also had the chance to play around with watercolors the last two weeks. Considering I haven't touched that medium for a good couple years I'm a bit surprised at how well they turned out. As begins the slow, steady step from digital to traditional once more. I've been able to utilize programs such as Art Rage 2 a bit more to aid in this process as well, as Art Rage works like Open Canvas but works more like an easier to use version of Painter.

Electronic Arts appears to be hiring in the near future, so possibilities of getting my job back seem to be ramping up now. I'll continue to take necessary steps to ensure this is garunteed. While I was hoping to find something at another company during my downtime, I wouldn't mind taking EA again if I get a higher position. If it's another contract position I'll know how much time I have to complete my art goals for this year before the contract expires.

All in all, I feel like an entity of ideas, trying to find exciting ways to display them with the resources I have. As much as I'd like to say it will be easy from here on in, I laugh at the thought. Once I get my job back I'll have to find the time to not fall into the monotony of everyday life once I get home and try to fill my evenings and weekends with projects and anything else to keep me busy. I want to complete a bunch of stuff this year, not only for Rainfurrest and FC 09, but for my portfolio and demo reel (though not exactly in that order).

I've been much more active lately as well. While I haven't been able to get into the swing of a weekly workout (yet), I've been going on a series of very long runs and walks. Last night was probably one of the longest ones I've been for awhile. After taking Lope out to White Spot for his birthday dinner, something I've grown accustomed to year by year, we walked down along the Crescent Beach area before hiking along the train tracks along the point for a good 5+ miles. Altogether I think it was 7 miles (you can vouch for me on this Lope, I completely forgot). The weather was cloudy, which worked to our advantage to trap the warmer air in, as the air would have been freezing this time of year if not for the cloud cover.

This weekend I might be heading back out to Chilliwack to hang with a couple friends. There's talk of a small party so I'll see how that plans out. I have a feeling I might be needed out here this weekend to take care of our dog Kohl as there won't be anyone at grannies to look after him for the weekend while parents are away.... we'll see...

As stated before, not much on the art side of things, but I did do an alright version of myself.

Birthday Stuff

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 04:27:40 GMT

My birthday was a blast! I think I just about blew out my vocal cords from singing so much at the John Mellencamp and Red Rider concert. Much appreciation to my little bro for taking me. It's nice to know theres others roughly around my age who like the same kind of music.

Right at the start of the concert, Tom Cochrane came on stage and started playing "Human Race", one of the better Red Rider songs I was immediately able to identify with. I was hoping they would play more of their older stuff, which they did.

Opening for Red Rider:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=EWlCD68oeu0

Other songs played were:
"White Hot" - http://youtube.com/watch?v=WottOcZBLY8
"Life Is a Highway" - http://youtube.com/watch?v=nCPbL4yA7ik
And for their encore, one of my favorites, "Boy Inside the Man" - http://youtube.com/watch?v=WXY9wANQIsY

As for John Mellencamp, it was a good mix of his new and old stuff. Even though I don't really care too much for his newer stuff, the second last song perked my interests. I'm still trying to get the name of the song.

Some songs played by Mellencamp:
"Paper in Fire" - http://youtube.com/watch?v=m-YfiGQmXKs
"Rock in the USA" - http://youtube.com/watch?v=MzYkjvq-iLE
"Born in a Small Town" - http://youtube.com/watch?v=3eDkAG3R0h8
Encore "Authority Song" - http://youtube.com/watch?v=Po47SNloMBg

Birthday wishes

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 03:25:22 GMT

Christ... practically everyone in my family besides my dad, and a good handful of friends seem to have birthdays in February. Every year this happens. Thankfully I have a bit more time this year around and I'm able to draw pictures for most people. Portraits for my family members, characters for any other friends.

Visited the parents this weekend around. Family took everyone out for indian cuisine, which was a nice change, for a slightly belated birthday get together for my mom and brother, and early one for me. It seems like my Mom is taking photography courses under my nose the last few months, and with her trip to Belize coming up soon she needed some help with her homework assignments. I helped her finish two assignments which were Photoshop extensive. Easy for me, an interesting learning experience for her. She started to get silly with photomorphing closer to the end of the evening, depicting giant alligators crawling around Alcatraz.

So ya, I think she likes Photoshop now. I'm starting to understand a bit more as to where I'm getting bits of my artistic side from. No one else in my last couple generations of family did art of any sort.

Been able to escape the apartment this last week more then any other weeks this past month. I wish the weather could be a bit warmer though. Got the chance to finally try the hyped 'Rockband'. To some, I make a very good singer. To others... well.. if you were there with me singing "Roxanne" by the Police I'm sure even I could vouch I don't mimic Andy Somers voice well *giggles*. Not a bad game overall. Good for a 'pick up and play', which fits my time frame much better. I don't have the patience or time to play WoW or SL, never will.

It's hard to believe I'll be 22 already on the 18th. Some might not see it as a big year but something seems different this time around. But when I turned 21 it kinda just seemed to pass and another year rolled by with another silly simple number to the age counter. I am getting older and maturing into adulthood, but I still sometimes fail to see that. A part of me still acts with the optomism and carefree nature of a teenager, though my mind continues to sharpen and hone in on my priorities and goals for life. I feel like I've the mind of an adult in a kid's body.

John Mellencamp and Tom Cochrane (Red Rider) is playing tomorrow. Me and my lil bro are gonna be at it later in the evening. With my interview and logo I have to finish, it appears to be a busy monday to start the week.

Sorry to those I wasn't able to see at the Art Jam this last weekend. If I was able to teleport from Chilliwack and back I'd have definately tried to be there!

Weekend boat show, artz with lope, working out

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 09:21:45 GMT

Hoo boy, this week seems to have gone by a bit faster then most. I think I'm slowly starting to get out of a rut I've been in the last while.

Today was filled to the brim with cool stuff! Thanks Tib for taking me along to the boat show and showing me how to operate a simulated sailboat *laughs*. The boat show was in town this weekend so the wolf and I hauled our tails to BC Place where there was everything from boat displays to 'enter and wins', kayaks, motors, etc. I bumped into an old friend of mine, Vanessa, I used to know way back in Chilliwack. I don't think I've seen her for about 3 years. Her mom and dad are boat nuts, so it probably wasn't really much of a surprise, but she doesn't look any different then when I last saw her. Kyle and Barb, a couple of our old childhood friends, are to be wed this upcoming May, so Vanessa and I briefly went over some plans, exchanged new contact info, and hurried on our ways as Tib and I had to leave for the Granville Island area to catch the next shuttle bus.

I loved the False Creek boat showing much better as you were able to see a wider selection of showboats and view a good 90% of them, and there was a lot of floating beauties to explore. There must've been about 60+ of them there. Tib should be putting photos up sometime soon, but some boats were literally floating houses. Quite expensive, some as large, and classified as yachts.

After a quick bite to eat we ventured to Metrotown to see Cloverfield, as I had heard several good things about it from various friends. I was amazed by how the camera's point of view was, as it seemed to convey a much more realistic scenario, and I could fully immerse myself in the action with the characters. I won't go into logistics over the plot as to save spoilers, but I'd highly recommend it. Tib and I were pretty scared at the end of the movie. I don't think I had left a movie that scared it a really long time, five years for sure.

-----------

Either then that, the furmeet seemed to be a big success. I enjoyed myself this time around much more then others as there was some new faces I had to acquaint myself with, as well as the mid-meet Moxies trip where I had a much needed Bellini and Thai Soup, both awesome. It was also nice to get away for a good hour from the noise with a smaller group and just chat and catch up as it's been since October last I've been to Moxies.

On the art side, I've been having a good streak the last week or two. Many thanks to those (who don't leave OC in fits of rage GRR) who've OCed with me the last couple weeks to help me get back into the swing of things. Most importantly in these being Lope and Rhari. Managed to visit Rhari last weekend during a trip to visit my parents before they left for Belize. Lope I saw on Friday before the furmeet where we had a bit of a little art jam. His place is quite nicely set up, and I was glad he had two big desks with two comfy chairs so we both had our own separate workplaces. Lope is a traditional artist who likes to use media of the same type, so he was able to work on his normal drawing table, while I took control of the tablet on his computer and utilized Open Canvas and my new burned CDs while I played some weird DJ with awkward music tastes. Fun times!

Weekend shot

Mon, 04 Feb 2008 06:14:17 GMT

Wow, what a weird weekend. All original plans were completely shot.

Saturday I was looking forwards to hanging out, having a beer and drawing with a good friend, but my parents needed me out in Chilliwack for most of Saturday which completely shot that down.

Today was gonna be the same deal, different friend as previous one was busy. Simple, they drive out here and call me once they've arrived at destination. I drive over, conversation is made, lots of art is created. Right? Wrong! No call.

So now I realize my entire weekend has been shot due to a series of events for both these days. Lovely. There is one good thing I can say though now.

Thank god for Open Canvas!

Quiz time!

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 02:59:33 GMT

Just trying to update every so often. Way too much stuff on my mind right now to put into words, much less a constructive journal *growls*
-------------------------------------

1) Are you currently in a serious relationship?

2) What was your dream growing up?

3) What talent do you wish you had?

4) If I bought you a drink what would it be?

5) Favourite vegetable?

6) What was the last book you read?

7) What zodiac sign are you?

8) Any Tattoos and/or Piercings? Explain where.

9) Worst Habit?

10) If you saw me walking down the street would you offer me a ride?

11) What is your favourite sport?

12) Do you have a Negative or Optimistic attitude?

13) What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator with me?

14) Worst thing to ever happen to you?

15) Tell me one weird fact about you.

16) Do you have any pets?

17) What if I showed up at your house unexpectedly?

18) What was your first impression of me? (hmmm...careful!)

19) Do you think clowns are cute or scary?

20) If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be?

21) Would you be my crime partner or my conscience?

22) What colour eyes do you have?

23) Ever been arrested?

24) Bottle or can soda?

25) If you won $10,000 today, what would you do with it?

27) What's your favourite place to hang at?

28) Do you believe in ghosts?

29) Favourite thing to do in your spare time?

30) Do you swear a lot?

31) Biggest pet peeve?

32) In one word, how would you describe yourself?

33) Do you believe/appreciate romance?

34) If you could live anywhere in the world where would you chose?

35) Do you believe in God?

36) Will you repost this so I can fill it out and do the same for you?

Apparently Jim Davis has no skills...

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 22:37:49 GMT

I couldn't stop laughing when I saw this... Very good animation re-enactment of Final Fantasy 6.

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 17:42:56 GMT

Your EQ is 140

You are remarkable when it comes to relating with others. Only the biggest losers get under your skin.

You are warm and open. Even when life gets you down, you're unafraid of the world and its challenges.

You are comfortable with who you are. And you accept your weaknesses - as well as the weaknesses of others.

While you are quite stable, you don't respond perfectly to every bad situation that comes up.

But you have enough emotional intelligence to know when you need a course correction.

What's Your EQ (Emotional Intelligence Quotient)?

Odin Sphere, interviewing

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 23:40:01 GMT

I've been addicted to Odin Sphere the last few weeks, which is a bit of a refreshing change, as I don't try to get myself addicted to games that easily. Regardless, it's a fascinating piece of work. Everything is hand painted. The sprites, the backgrounds (murr.. backgrounds). Though the gameplay does play more arcade like (ie: you finish a scene, go to the next level, rinse and repeat), makes it easier for me to put the game down at anytime. The artwork is just... incredible. I've done spritework before and it's no easy task. In the dying ages of the PS2 I'm glad they were able to release something of this high caliber of art.

My little bro visited the other night, I needed the company. We watched "Be Cool", the sequel to "Get Shorty" that I never saw. It's nice to have him living up the hill from me and in college his 3rd week now. I haven't had much chances to see my family the last year then I wanted to.

I got a call back from the interviewer today. They had already filled up all four positions, but the last person was on a student visa and might not be able to work there, which I'll find out on Wednesday *crosses fingers* here's hoping! It was kinda a weird reason when she called me. Apparently she thought I'd get bored quickly at this location as I already knew a lot of the programs and was used to working in this kind of work environment. Oooookay... regardless I'll hear back on Wednesday.

Urg, I need more RAM in my computer... Maya doesn't like to render quickly with my current specs.

Random OC doodle with Meiki, Toast, and Scribble.

Pick-me-up

Wed, 09 Jan 2008 02:31:41 GMT

It was great visiting my parents last weekend. My little bro recently moved out and I figured they'd need some company since the last bird left the nest. Friday the family went to my bros restaurant for Greek, where I had some of the best lamb ever. I think it's the sauce they put on it... some kinda take on feta dressing. My childhood friend, Richelle, was in town as well and we went to the hockey game together. Besides food being super expensive there (big surprise huh?), it was a relaxing night. I only wish I managed to sneak a few cups of her fireball whiskey *licks chops*.

Dear god.. I've been in such a depressed slump since Sunday. I gotta break out of this feeling before I go insane D=
It's quite annoying feeling this way as it almost seems to consume you, make you want to curl into a ball and stay home all day. I need a plan to get a plan to get me out and about. Maybe it's the weather or this time of year... I literally have no energy, barely not even enough to pick up a pencil or tablet and draw. Sleeping in and taking naps doesn't seem to be helping, and my daily runs have started to run as dry as my hair.

Resolutions for 2008

Fri, 04 Jan 2008 21:34:58 GMT

Tis been a busy time with all the events happening through Xmas and New Years. However, the one thing I've noticed myself doing a lot more then usual is reflecting.. and let me tell you there's been ample time for that. It's amazing what prioritizing a bit more time for you and yourself only can do.

---------------

New Years Resolutions for 2008

----------------

1) Aim towards an entry level art job
Sure sure... the QA Testing bit at EA was great, but it wasn't utilizing any of my major skill sets I should be focusing on at this point. I'm an artist, I can't always do the Excel thing. Though in retrospect, it was a nice wake up call to an industry I had almost completely abandoned, and it gave me the chance to see the inner workings of the simularities and differences in a production and QA team.

So what's the next step? Game Art, Graphic Art and Design, Website Design for the most part. I have skills that pertain to most of these fields. I'll be quite willing to accept almost any job where I have to put my art and mind to good use. I can't let my brain sit and stay idle half the time.

2) Practice with more art programs and styles
Even though I've been using programs such as Photoshop and Flash for over 7 years, there are still a few things that continue to mystify me. I've always been more of a painter and not so much on the design. I haven't relied on filters that much until only recently, which is a requirement if you want to make good texture maps and user interfaces. The same can be said about logos and vectors, while we're at it, let's throw Illustrator into that list of things to learn more.

3D programs. I haven't touched Maya in awhile, and I still don't know all the ins and outs of ZBrush. I've never strongly tested around normal mapping, diffuse mapping, or specular mapping. I find it hard to animate things. Rigging is a bitch at times. I'm still quite new at figuring out different rendering settings (ie: making a scene cell shaded).

On the opposite side of the spectrum, there's traditional art. I'm willing to admit since I received my tablet years back my traditional skills have slowly been on the decline. I'd like to give this year a chance to reacquaint myself with some old fashion media. My acrylics have been sitting alone for awhile, as have my watercolour tools and india ink. There's so many different methods to try as well. Scratchboard, chalks, oils (which I have never used oils in my life yet... *gasp*), gouache, charcoal, etc.

3) Start weekly Open Canvas sessions
Something I've wanted to do for awhile, though not many people I can get interested in doing it.This would also fall under weekly art tutorial lessons I'll be giving to others as I like to teach different levels of people and give them the confidence to continue any art skills they wish to improve and learn upon.

4) Start a long running art war
Yep. I want to create a thread or some kind of posting device to keep track of these too. You probably know what these are. You post something weird and random to start off, the other person(s) draws something relevent to the last picture drawn. Once compiled together they form funny little mini stories. Yes Rye Bunny I heard you while you were drunk *grins*

5) Work out more
Ya I know thousands of people say this every year. Though I already do work out, I just want to more. I go for 3km runs everyday, but I've been overexerting myself on the cardio vascular. I've been running a bit too much to the point where my legs are toned enough and I need to work on other areas of my body. This can be helped by going to gyms and doing other sports other then running. With this being said, hopefully my body will even itself out.

6) Balance my time management
This is maybe one of the more important points as it directly effects all others. Maybe instead of going to the next meet or every single event that throws my way I could be practicing my art more, or doing something that directly effects my learning. I'm alright with my time management now but I need to really hone in on my strongpoints if I ever want to do any of these for this year. And god forbid I have to sacrifice a few things to do so.

7) Start to set a name for myself in the fandom
The furry fandom is always something that's been a part of me, and I'd like to continue helping that community out. One of the biggest reasons I won't make it to FC 2008 is due to me not being able to get enough artwork together worthy of showcasing, that and work issues. But those points aside, I would like to get a table or take a deeper look into presenting myself over the net. Maybe it sounds a bit weird, I certainly am not doing it for any popularity, I just love the fandom enough to want to participate and not just be another con attendee. And the art skills, mmmm, learning is good.

Car fixed, pre-winter doldrums, website deadlines

Thu, 22 Nov 2007 04:15:24 GMT

Thanks Meiki for showing this video =) Being an artist I know that we sometimes take things for granted.. whether it be in our site, or a talent. I cannot comprehend what it would be like to lose my site.. I would have to reconstruct how to do any art.

Glad to have my car back after a week. The drift to the right also seems to have been fixed as I had to hold the steering wheel on an angle just to straighten it out. All it needed was a tire rotation.. how odd... the tires were not worn unevenly or anything. So it's killed two birds with one stone. Win win.

I was so exhausted this weekend from the car issues I spent most of the time at home working on my website and running errands I couldn't do before without a vehicle. As a result I missed out the Eastside Culture Crawl, sadly enough. I was hoping to walk around downtown and root through all the amazing artworks, and seize the opportunity to make some neat contacts. With a half finished website, as well as waiting on my business cards to be printed out, I had to postpone due to an upcoming art show hosted by my old college on the 27th. I simply MUST get my site, my cards, everything, together for the weekend before.

Wow, I feel like total hell today for some reason. I got enough sleep, but I've felt tired and worn out since early this afternoon. Drinking three cups of coffee (alot for me) only seemed to make it worse for some reason. Maybe I'll get to bed a bit earlier tonight after site work, wake up early, go for a run with new music in my MP3 player =3
I've had tons of energy every other day and I'm looking for an outlet to this. I feel cooped up at work and the colder weather setting in is totally not helping. I'm considering another Grouse Grind trip, dispite the cold (really not a problem for me), or maybe a small travel trip to go outdoors and just do something. Issue is conserving money after paying the car repairs, but I can do something in the valley (there goes trip to seattle for another month).

On a happier side note, Varr is moving down here from the island with his brother. We've managed to get him some interviews at places around my area, so it will be very exciting to have someone I can always visit just down the road (don't worry Rain Rat I'll still visit you too!). Varr and I share alot of things in common with games, music, and whatnot, so I suspect lots of Secret of Mana, playing guitar, and anything else fun at the time.

On the downside my phone seems to be temporarily suspended. Though the bill doesn't have to even be paid till next week they seemed to have added my next month's payment with this months as well, completely skewing over my limit. I won't be able to call the place up till Thursday, which really puts me on a tight timeline for getting my business cards printed out on time for the art show. So if anyone needs to get ahold of me just send me an IM or email me. Also, my apologies for anyone who's been trying to contact me since Monday night.

My grandmother seems to be doing a bit better now, but still has a high heart rate. I stayed at her place last night just as a precautionary measure. It felt weird.. like I was still going to college, as I was living with her for a small while during my stay at Art Institute years back. I rather enjoy my visits and stays there. Even though she lives 10 mins up the hill from me in Coquitlam I sometimes get so busy I forget to visit her periodically. With my parents on holidays in the Caribbean till next week she probably doesn't have much people to talk to. I'm happy my parents dropped off our dog, Kohl, at her place for the three weeks they've been away, as I also barely get to see the little bugger whenever I'm in Chilliwack.

Timing belts blow

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 08:14:10 GMT

Bah, what a stupid month financially.

As some of you know, last thursday my timing belt snapped. Instead of doing the cheaper thing and towing it to my place, finding parts, and spending a few weeks with a friend or two to work on my car I thought it best to bring it into a repair shop. Didn't expect it to be so much... yipes!

So Davey's been taking vancouver Trans-clunk the last week, oh GOODY! I'm not regretting this too much, when it comes to my car I don't mind shelling cash out for it. I love driving and travelling too much to let go of that freedom and bow to the bus and skytrain. Ya it sucks that this completely zaps most of my cash but....

For a car?

Fuck ya.

Still though. This means I'm gonna be in the hole for a few months till this all gets payed off. Bummer. And I wanted to do some traveling and visiting before winter set in. What sucks more is I don't know what's gonna happen to my contract with EA once mid-December strikes. Kinda spooky actually.

Last three weekends, spifftacular!

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 21:00:06 GMT

Here's to a very awesome last three weekends! It's been awhile since I've managed to get out of the house, travel around a little bit, try new things.

Halloween weekend

I can see why everyone was impressed with Aphinity's place at the last meetup this April (I think it was). Very nice, large space to host the Howloween event. I always give high respects to those which host these meetups and are able to have an extra room aside set for movies and video games. As much as I love playing games here and there it really does detract from the rest of the party... That, as well as kitchen, balcony, and dancefloor left quite a few members happy with the result of the event. I found it on par, if not better, then last year's Howloween event. This is probably due to the fact of it being at a friends house where the environment was able to be alot more open and relaxed instead of everyone splitting off into rooms at the hotel, or weaving in and out of the lobby. Again, deep respect for Aphinity for hosting this event. I for one, am grateful considering the time frame it was planned.

On a side note, Shep and Spark, your suits are too damn cute! Was great to see some familiar faces there I haven't seen in awhile, as well as several new ones who managed to make it up from the states and any other places.

Picture of the Week
-Learned about half of The Thriller during Halloween. A mickey of Fireball Whiskey later produced this:

1st November Weekend

I was originally going to have Varr come visit for the weekend, but as he lives on Vancouver Island, as well as gets time off Sun-Mon. I postponed this meet up to Remembrance Day Weekend and instead took an alternative trip to the interior, Kelowna, this weekend. Tibarus was driving out of Vancouver at around 5 in the morning. I found out my plans were free a couple hours before this in the dead of night. Kind of a last minute plan but I'm glad I took it considering the events which were to happen the following week which I will elaborate on later in this journal.

Tibarus, thanks for driving me to Kelowna. It's not much fun taking the 5 hour trip up there alone so it was good to carpool with someone and NOT be the designated driver for once. The trip turned out to be alot faster and enjoyable due to this, and we soon found our way in Kelowna at around 9:30 AM. Our reason: SheWolf's 40th Birthday. I don't get to visit my friends from the interior very much so I try to take any chance I can get when I have a free weekend or two.

Shogin and Wula met up with us at the mall. After a visit to see Botir at his workplace, Teo had arrived. Botir headed back to work for the meantime, and the rest of the group went down to go bowling at a local rink. Everything turned out better after a picture of beer *grins wide*. Considering how last minute this trip was, I was relieved that most of our plans set in place. Good map directions were printed out, everyone was, for the most part, good with directions and following others around the city. Win win! By this time, SheWolf had arrived in town and our group headed down to the hotel they were staying at where we met up with Northern Wolf, Shakar, and Dan. I had booked a place at a sushi restaurant close by the lake hours earlier, and we headed down there in our car caravan to one of the better sushi meals I've had. The place is Nagayo Sushi if memory serves right. We have one here in Port Coquitlam I think too as I saw one in passing recently. Considering it was the interior and further from the coast, the staff and quality of the food there was on par to my picky sushi standards *laughs*. Botir got off work about this time and joined us, perfect timing on his part.

Barhopping was next. Drove across the city to a place called the Packing ...something.. ya something weird and dirty sounding I remember. This was a good time for me to drink more then I usually can due to me not being a driver on this trip (Thanks again Tib). The waitress accidentally gave me two extra drinks but I really didn't mind. We went across the street to Scandia, which is a minature golf/arcade building which was good to mess around in once most people had some booze in their system.

After a slightly confusing half coherant night, arrived back home with little troubles the following morning.

Things I learned:
-Jagermeiser Bombs are sooooo yummy!!! =D
-Apparently you get better at golf when you are half drunk
-Never accept wasabi dares
-Leave directions to non-drunk members

Picture of the Week
-Completed commission for Anu. Muscle anatomy turned out quite well =)

Remembrance Day Weekend

Gah.. stupid start to a weekend. Had to deal with my timing belt snapping on me Thursday morning going to work. Right on the #1 HWY. Yes, fast lane *laughs*. Luckily I had my BCAA card on me and the towtruck driver was awesome and took me to a friend's place of his. This came at a bit of a stupid time for me, with work contract possibly ending next month, as well as my rent being jacked up since October. I'll have enough to cover it of course, but it's just more of an inconvieniance if anything. You all know how much I dispise taking transit. Takes too long and I have yet to fully remember even 10% of the bus numbers.

Varr came over for his visit to help me out with some website troubles I was having. The website is up and running right now, it just hasn't been populated with thumbnails and links yet. It will be during the next couple of days once I figure out some coding.

Picture of the Week
-If anyone plays Seiken Densetsu 3 you would understand this reference. I changed classes with Kevin, Duran, and Lise VERY POORLY.