I like the tension.

( Thanksgiving related whining. No need to read. )

Awhile ago, I said I had no more photos from Japan - but I accidentally lied!

I'd completely forgotten about the photobooth photos we took in Kyoto! And Vikki emailed me saying she couldn't find hers, so I found mine and scanned them up. These are scanned only a million times huger than the stickers (which are really smaller than the average US postage stamp IRL).

We took the photos and then added the crazy text and creatures on them ourselves. We were laughing a lot while doing so.

I think we pissed off some Japanese girls because we hogged that booth for forever. I am told it was possibly the newest booth in the whole photosticker shop. XD

ANywaayYYy...

When was the last time you did something you really enjoyed?
Why don't you do it more often?

Have you told someone today that you loved them?

Note:
This must actually be true.

a;ldfja;ldfa;dlkf

Just a note to confirm I'm still alive. I'm fine.

Don't want to talk about anything. Comments disabled.

Hello!

Someone finally asked specifically enough for me to get-on-it-already and talk about Japan. So I spent the last several days slowly uploading photos from my trip to Japan in late March/early April.

To view the photos I took, click on this photo:

214 photos of Kyoto, Gunma, Nikko and Tokyo, combined.
I'm not saying they're all 'art' or 'interesting'. Severalmany of them are meant to be photographic references. Feel free to use them for inspiration, but, y'know... >_> Don't steal without credit, yeah? Some of them are blurry. Some of them are FULL SIZE (1600x1200 pixels), but all are under 400kbs full-size. Most are like... 80kbs because I sized them smaller. I don't always remember to tell you which are going to be full-sized. Sorry. >_>; Anyway. Click the text "Full size" at the bottom of the page to see them full size. Clicking on the picture won't work.

To view the photos taken of our maiko experience in Kyoto by the maiko studio itself, click on this photo:

(There were actually many more, but I didn't upload them all.)

Feel free to ask for more information/stories, what-have-you. But if you're referring to a particular picture or set of pictures, please link it when you make the comment. :)

I'll be writing an email with stories from Japan and I'll C&P from the email to LJ when it's done. So expect stories from Japan as well, sometime soon.

I think that I very nearly had something very horrible happen at work tonight, at closing.

But let me ask you.

If it's 9:58pm in the evening and you go to an ice cream shop, and all the chairs are on the tables and all the lights are out except one or two over a counter, and the sign says "closed" - what do you think your chances are if you try the door?

It'd be locked, right?

Would you leave your car parked sideways in the next parking lot, with the door open and the engine running?

I mean, would you? Wouldn't that be a little weird?

And when you find the door is locked and the two girls working there look over at the door like O_O! - is the appropriate reaction to turn suddenly away and walk as quickly as you can, hop into your car and drive off very quickly?

I don't think it is.

I think that's weird. And wrong. And disturbing. Suspicious.

For the record - white male, a bit over six foot, thin-ish, about 40 with what looked to be curly/wavy 'ginger' hair going to grey. His car was black or dark blue and had tinted windows and local plates.

Damnit!

I had this whole LJ post written up and I just wanted to use the "More Options" thing in LJ when Netscape crashed. And did not save a backup copy of my post! DAMN. DAMN. DAMN.

It is just the cherry on top of the WTF Cake of my day.

Like I said in the now dead post - not interested in writing about my WTF day, though! But it wasn't just WTF for me, or my co-workers... friends continents away had a WTF day as well. I think something glitched in the Matrix again or something.

Damn Matrix.

Anyway! Instead of chatting about my day, I will chat to you about my current obsession! Pokemon!

Specifically Pearl on the DS.

Random Stats You Probably Don't Care About: (Unless you do.)
- 60.5 hours into the game.
- 5 out of 8 gym badges.
- 92 in my Pokedex.
- Made Wi-Fi trades to: Ontario, Canada.... Fukuoka, Japan.... Kyoto, Japan... Saitama, Japan... <-- More trades were actually made, but these are the cities I have on my map.

Tomorrow I work with Josh (who is at least as obsessed - if not more - with Pokemon as I am) and he promised he'd have the Underground up and running on his game so we could play Capture The Flag and I could thusly remove more rocks from my SEEKRET BASE!!!! OOoooooOoo! \o/ And since we'll be on the clock, technically, we'll be getting paid to play on our DSes! HAHAHAHAA. Take that! (Okay, I take that back. I say this even as a joke and then we'll be so flat out busy tomorrow I won't even have time to take my DS out of the zipper case and we'll both be too tired and grumpy to stay after work and do even one Underground run.... I TAKE IT BACK TCBY GODS. DO YOU HEAR ME? JUST KIDDING~!) ((Man, I hope that works. Today was much too crap to do all over.))

So, anyway - yeah.

You playing? Swap me yer code, beeyotch.

And today I managed (somehow, against my will) to sleep for over thirteen hours. (Perhaps closer to fifteen - I can't remember when I went to sleep.)

And I quite likely would have continued to sleep if not for my mom saying, "It's almost five, did you want to wake up?"

If that's what working does to my body post-Japan, you won't see me until something like this time next week, since I work 1-11pm tomorrow, then 11-5pm Sunday, then 1-10pm Monday (plus a few other times during next week).

Hey guys! Made it back from Japan okay - despite Japan trying to kill me (earthquakes, tsunamis, snow in Tokyo in April for the first time in 19 years, TORNADO - wtf???) and my almost missing my flight back home. XD;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

Haha! Still really tired, but I have a lot of things to roll on. I also lost enough weight that my parents commented on it. We walked a LOT (even though we seemed to spend about 1/4th of every day on a train/in a train station) and I think Japanese food agrees with me because I was only sick once and not even badly.

I took over 200 photos (mostly scenery) and that's not counting the photos of me as a maiko that we had professionally done. I'll start uploading those.... soon. (Maybe today, maybe next week. Who knows?) I'll let you know when stuff is up, anyway! And then I'll link you as well when Vikki and Joey upload the photos they took!

Anyway - I had so very much fun while in Japan and I have a lot of stories to tell. Maybe. It'll depend on if I think they're interesting enough in general to share or if they're really only interesting to me. XD; If there's anything that you are particularly curious about re: my trip, ask me and I'll write an entry in response. :D

I AM VERY MUCH IN DEBT. :c I have no idea what I ended up spending while I was in Japan, I'll have to look later, but I wrote "500.00" worth of goods bought in Japan on my claims form thing. (Though I didn't have to declare anything at the airport.) I owe my parents around 800.00 for paying for my JR pass and suitcase and putting money in my account while I was overseas.

So here's a bit of a plug thing - I have some prints set up on ArtSpots and will be doing more human/faerie/mythical beast type prints via Ellen Million Graphics. You can also buy things through my Portrait Adoption account!

If you are interested in my artwork and there is something you'd be at least 75% likely to purchase if drawn (ie: ninjas, pirates, flying pigs, lion dogs - whatever you're really into) - please either comment here or email me about it. :3 I'm not exactly looking to do commissions (I'll be very busy at work for the next month at least - since someone at work quit while I was gone), but if that's really all you'd want from me, art-wise, you can certainly email me about it. :BB

My dear lovely wife ravichan and I had a lovely honeymoon at the onsen. X3

Just wanted to let people know I ate turtle soup and venison sashimi and liked them both (more the venison than the soup). Mmmm raw Bambi. And Leonardo.

DISCLAIMER: Japanese keyboards are still weird. Ignore typos.
Only taking the time to write this because I:m reserving the computer for Vikki for before we head out for the day. It:s pretty difficult, I:ve found, to catch a time where you:re not waiting on someone else or interrupting someone who works here.

Yesterday we went to the Ghibli Museum, which was all sorts of amazing if you like their films and/or are interested in animation. Sadly, however, it was very rainy. Not that that mattered so much while we were within the museum, but we were intending on walking around outside after. And couldn:t. Too rainy.

Then we went looking for a coat Vikki wanted and couldn:t find teh shop and we got rained on veryverymuch and still didn:t find it and we:re about to go back again and look for it.

Then we went kareoking! which was fun.

Vikki is here to claim the computer. We:re off to shop and then it:s Japanese hot springs trip in a few hours for Vikki and me! Iee honeymoon for me and my wife. ;3 (PS+ For those not familiar, it is not a honeymoon. LOL.)


ALSO: STILL COLD AS HELL. :cccc

DISCLAIMER: Japanese keyboards are weird. These are not typos I:m making, they:re different places for the keys. :B For the most part, I:m not going to fix them because I:m trying to be quick because this is technically their home computer and I don:t want to be terribly rude... :B

ALSO: Again, you can get my attention for important things by email by WRITING IN ALL CAPS. But only if it is important, please. Or I will feed you to an ogre.


Japan is fun. Thanks to stupid plane delays on both parts, Vikki, Joey and I got seperated for hours and hours the first day, leaving me to wander around Osaka with all my luggage going @-@;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; I must have asked a dozen people in Osaka to help me. x-x; But I did somehow manage to find our first ryokan. And then I got to wait for about 30 minutes for Vikki and Joey to manage to get themselves there too....

Anyway. We are taking millions of photos and I will share and they will be awesome and it:s a blast and I am spending way too much money and so will be poor as hell for forever, damn!

Uuuuuuuuuuuuuh..... I don:t know of anything else I should tell you guys other than it:s really safe here. We:ve wandered at night, tipsy, down alleys I would be too scared to walk down with my dad in the daytime. XD; It:s nice. :B

BBL!

Okay guys - wish me well on my trip! (Or simply don't wish anything for me - I've never wished anyone had troubles while traveling, so don't be an evil person.)

aria01 should be able to get into contact with my family and so would know if something was wrong. There shouldn't be anything wrong.

PLEASE do not email me unless it is EXTREMELY important. In which case USE ALL CAPS in the title because I will only be skimming for new important emails if/when I have a couple of minutes to use the internet. If you try to "trick" me into thinking it's an important email when it isn't I will skin you when I return because in a few places I will probably be paying by the minute and I will be using what few minutes of internet time I will have to send a quick note to one or two people to let them know I'm doing okay - an that includes my parents and work-mates. I don't have time for piddly stuff that can wait two weeks. :B

(Sorry if I sound irritated, I'm frazzled.)

Uuuuuuuuhm. Will take photos and I have a notebook so I will try to remember to write a few lines down in it to help jog my memory for when I return. Will bring back some toys as well. :BBBB Maybe for you! :o (Depends on things. Many many things.)

I hope everyone has a wonderful next two weeks and I will see you around April 10th or 11th depending on jet lag and stuff.

Occassionally, I use the phrase, "color me amused".

I started wondering what actual color that would be.
Apparently, my brain has decided it's a sort of peachy orange. Like, that spot just where pink becomes orange.

Thought I'd share because this is need-to-know info. :3

It's officially summer.

And that means that I am officially making less than I should be. Because we are made to work our asses off for ungrateful people who half the time aren't even polite, generally are messy, and almost none of them tip. I mean, sure, we don't get to put up a tip jar (I'm not sure if we've ever been told why not), so not many people know that it's polite to do so when your order's over about ten dollars. So it's not exactly that I'm "mad" people don't tip (except when they have a huge party of people and leave goo on the tables, chairs, floor, ceiling, I don't know, everywhere - and also leave trash on the table/floor/etc). It's just ... y'know. Whatever.

I'm exhausted. I'm nauseated. It takes me two hours to eat dinner lately because we don't have breaks, so that means there's no way to go, "Hey, going to take ten minutes off and eat." it's "okay, you'll be the one who gets to stuff themselves with food between rushes of customers. if I start whimpering, please put down your sammich and help".

I'm not exactly writing to complain. I'm writing to explain why I'm pretty much going to be 'different' for awhile. I'm probably not going to write in LJ much. I don't have the energy. I probably won't draw as much until I readjust to the workload and the weather. I don't have the energy. I won't be online as much because, frankly, some of you guys exhaust me. No offense meant. I just don't want to snap on you for something I normally wouldn't even be particularly irritated at.

Also? The first person to say, "Omg, u shud kwit ur job!" is an idiot. Thanks. :)

Have you seen the new US Passports? They're really pretty. Prettyprettypretty.

My photo is rather blah. But the passport itself? Pretty.

Hello!

One of my former co-workers from TCBY has put out a CD. I bought a copy (actually, I bought four copies, the other three are intended for gifts) and have listened to every track. I like it. You might like it. :3

So I thought I'd plug his work.

You can listen to two of his tracks here, at PureVolume and even download one of them.

He also has a MySpace page where you can listen to more.

If you like what you hear, here is information on how to get a copy of the cd.

Hope you enjoy it. :)

Woke up this morning and told my parents that I bought the plane ticket to Japan. They were remarkably cool with it (probably because I got a severe discount on it and I've been talking about going for months now, so they've had time to acclimate themselves to the idea).

I mean, my mom freaks out if I discuss flying out to Oklahoma or California. And here I am flying out to Japan and she was like, "Oh, okay." (????)

So now that my parents didn't freak out and I think about the money I saved on the ticket and I feel much better than I did last night. In fact - I feel friggin' awesome about it. :B (Though I had to have a, "farewell to fast food" lunch today. :c Oh well, I don't need it anyway. XD )

( More thoughts on this. )

I just wanted to write those thoughts down considering how I sounded last night. XD



EDIT: LOL. Nevermind. Mom's proceeded in freaking out now. XD; I was wondering why that was delayed.
She made sure to warn me that there is a $2,000 bounty on the heads of women for the sex slave smuggling rings or something. I'm like, "....and that's in Japan?" and she's like, "It's everywhere!" and I'm like, "Oh, well then. I guess I'm not much safer here then, am I? XD;"

IF YOU EVER WONDER WHY I AM CRAZY, PLZ SEE: PARENTS. :D

I bought a plane ticket to Japan for this Spring.

I need to work very hard to get the people I owe their art a.s.a.p. and work on art to make prints/shirts/etc. Because I will figuatively be living on rice and water for the rest of the year. D:

If anyone has any advice on traveling in Japan, I'd love it. Particularly if it's "visiting on a budget" because - hot damn.

I need to steal everyone's shifts at work. I'll bite too, if I have to! Bwar.

Please also cross your fingers that my passport does, in fact, arrive on time. It's supposed to arrive the first week of March and my trip is in the last week of March. And... yeah.

I can't believe I did that.