imperfections

i used to be really into astrology when i was young....recently i've started reading my horoscopes again. i realize it's superstition, but it seems to be really accurate for me. my sun and moon are both in Aquarius, so i'm like Aquarius extreme!

Aquarius   Degree: 6° 42'

(most relevant passages boldened for emphasis)

Original, knowledgeable, competent, has strong opinions. Likes freedom, enjoys reading. Hates mediocrity and incompetence.

In many life situations, the Moon in Aquarius people have their own, distinct and sometimes very original opinion, and they are not going to change this opinion no matter what, even if they will be left completely alone. It is very important for these individuals to retain their independence. They don't want their personal life to be anybody else's concern.

Often the Moon in Aquarius individuals have some outstanding abilities in one or another field, and they work like a magnet for those people who share their interests. This is why so often they take a central place in the company of like-minded friends. And even there they somehow manage to keep their uniqueness. They are not mixing well with the other people, they are together with them, but still alone.

As a result of their character, quite often the Moon in Aquarius folks can become really alone in their personal life, and their constant urge for independence can lead to chronic emotional stress. Hence their susceptibility to the disorders of nervous and circulatory systems, as also those unpredictable changes in their mood. There is an impression that at times they are getting tired of themselves, and to get rid of this tiredness they are trying to change abruptly, as if to become a different person.

To restore after a significant stress, the Moon in Aquarius persons need to have a hobby which they could plunge themselves into, forgetting about the surrounding world. It would be really good for them if they could speak out their problems, but this is not so easy, because Lunar Aquarians do not like to just chat with anyone about anything. They prefer dealing with experts in their field of interest - this is with whom they are ready to talk endlessly. And if there is no such a person around, a good book could serve as a replacement for a friend.

The Moon in Aquarius parents can be very original. From the early years they will make clear to their child that everyone's individuality is precious, and everyone should be independent. As a result, their kids might not be always properly fed or dressed, but they will become self-reliant earlier than their peers, and their talents will develop more successfully.

playing with dolls

i finally got my fakie Blythe this weekend and started working on her immediately...i carved her face a bit, took out all her old eye chips, pulled out her old hair and sewed in new hair wefts, and spray painted her head and body and eyelids.

i'm really pleased with the paint job; it came out beautifully! i used SEM spray paint in bluebird brown, and i'm so impressed. i heard stories of modders having trouble with the paint remaining sticky on the body/legs, but i had no such problem. even though i sprayed it on a little too thick at times, she still came out perfectly even and dry! and i love the color. i was afraid it might look too unnatural, like grey-black, but it's a warm, rich brown, like chocolate.

her hair is what's giving me the biggest problem. i did the lock and loop method for making hair plugs on my first custom, Vi, but i did a few too many so her hair is unmanageably thick, not to mention the process takes forever. so i decided to try using hair wefts as they're "meant" to be used, and sew them directly on the scalp...it did save a lot of time, but maybe i didn't do the rows close enough together, because the hair is very thin and no matter how i comb it, you can always see the tracks of the wefts/scalp through the hair somewhere. sigh. i'm not sure what to do to fix it...i guess i'll have to order some more hair and try filling in the gaps, being careful not to make it too thick, like Vi's.

speaking of Vi, after getting frustrated and having to stop working on nameless new doll's hair, i was inspired to go through with my original idea and cut Vi's hair into an asymmetrical bob with some side bangs, and i flat-ironed the crap out of it so it doesn't have those annoying little plugs poking up like before.

i think it suits her a lot better. for a while i was really unhappy with her, after learning so much more about modding, that i thought about taking her apart and starting from scratch (but that would be almost impossible, since i glued her scalp on), or even selling her, but after giving her this little hair cut, i'm satisfied. i think next i might replace her eyelashes, and i'll be content. she's not bad for a very first mod, i think. ;)

Vi with my toki doki Kaiju plushie Rob got me for xmas

i got a bunch of new clothes recently too, hence Vi's awesome new dress, so i decided to stop neglecting Astrid and dress her up too.

i love this sweater on her! i wish i had one like it in real life, heheh. Astrid is so elegant and perfect the way she is, i don't think i could ever bring myself to mod her.<3

so, now i have all three kinds of dolls - a real, authentic Blythe (Astrid), a Basaak knock-off (Vi), and a Color Change Eye Doll knock-off (new nameless doll). Blythes are of course amazing, the quality is so astounding and impressive, but they're so perfect that it's hard to bring myself to think about modding them, unless it were a bait Blythe or something. especially with how expensive they are. so for modding purposes, i plan on sticking to the knock-offs. most fake Blythe enthusiasts seem to prefer Basaaks, i guess because their mold and bodies are most similar to real Blythes. but after working with both, i think i actually prefer the CCE doll. she may not be as close to the real thing, but i actually find her slightly different body shape cuter. i like that her arms are ball-jointed, and it doesn't bother me that the waist doesn't turn. it seems a lot easier to open her head and take apart her eye mechanism; in fact, the plastic for the CCE dolls seems way more pliable and forgiving than the rigid plastic of the Basaak. i also love how breezey it is getting her eye chips out compared to Basaaks - just pop 'em out with a melted glue stick, instead of having to drill into the chips with a hot screw, then work on trying to get all the eye chip shrapnel out of the socket...ugh, what a nightmare that was!

i also got a bunch of dolls (mostly Maxies), some clothes, some Littlest Pet Shops, and a Fantasy Filly from my parents' house that i need to go through. sigh. almost thirty, and i'd still rather just sit at home by myself and play with toys. and watch Jem.

waiting for some action

 

hey, i finally finished something! i drew this months and months ago and just now got around to finishing it. i experimented with the colors a bit so i could color faster...hopefully i didn't sacrifice quality too much. it's Fuss and her raptorex. i have pin ups planned for every member of all the gangs in Dingeddon...it'll take a while, but i'll get to 'em all. ;)

oh ! i was also a guest on my friends Ross and Nick's podcast: the Ernest cast, where we review Ernest movies and talk about other stuff, and our comic projects, and i talk about Dinogeddon for like a second, hehe. so check it out!

drive

doodles of characters from Ross Campbell's Shadoweyes

Lupe

Shock

new year's resolutions....i have a few. mostly i want to be more productive. :p

don't forget me

my christmas haul:

from Rob:
the entire Jem series dvd box set
the Last Unicorn hardcover graphic novel

from parents:
ipod touch 4G
hello kitty booties to wear around the house
a dressy blouse
new sheets/comforter
new underwear
a 2012 calendar of cats sleeping
a bath and bodyworks Paris Amore gift set (love this smell, i needed a new "signature fragrance")

oh, and a Wooly Willy.

from Nana:
super comfy socks
a bag of mixed nuts
weird christmas tree ornaments


and money/gift cards from various other family members.

it was a good christmas, though i was never really able to feel all cozy, or however you're supposed to feel. i guess because i'm so old, and because it was kind of surreal coming home for christmas but being in a totally different house i've never been in before. but my parents' new house is very beautiful, and i'm happy for them. i just wish it wasn't up this crazy steep hill on like a gravel road.

whenever i visit the south again i have this weird anxiety, because although i'm from there and i guess part of it will always be with me, it feels like a past life i'm revisiting, and everyone just knows me as who i was, not the person i've become, and it feels kind of mortifying. it's hard to explain. but i'm very grateful for all the people in my life who care about me and truly know me. it's good to be reminded of all the good things i have going and all the good people i have surrounding me in my life.

pardon me

last weekend we had a little holiday party/get together thing, and this is the outfit i wore:

i've thought about making an outfit of the day blog type of thing, it's fun, but i don't really wear that many cute outfits, mainly just boring office clothes. but maybe i'll post it here whenever i particularly like an outfit...it's my blog, why not.

i spent a lot of money i don't really have on getting a new fakie Blythe an supplies to mod her. i haven't really been feeling drawing and comics lately, but i miss doing something creative...i've been thinking about maybe sewing or knitting again too, but i'm really bad at knitting because i can't count the stitches easily...i think i might have a learning disability that was never addressed when i was younger, because i catch myself trying to read things backwards a lot, and i really struggle with basic arithmetic that doesn't phase other people...whenever i have to count wads of cash at work i start hyperventilating and my face gets all hot because i'm worried i'll count wrong, or the person watching me will realize i'm having real difficulty counting it, heh.

i want to make a dark-skinned Blythe with bright orange hair...i learned a lot from my first mod, so i hope she comes out okay. i'm excited to get started on her.

your destiny may keep you warm

i want to be in a band.

there is a light

 carnotaurus studies

Audrey Hepburn

raptor studies

Tropes vs. Women video series from Bitch Magazine on Feminist Frequency - a lot of this stuff probably isn't new to a lot of people, but i think it's presented in a really entertaining, accessible, concise and still informative way.   highly recommended whether you're a feminist or a fangirl/boy, or just want to be more knowledgeable and informed about the media you take in.

rolling with the punches

i feel like depression's trying to set in again....i know i'm not thinking/feeling anything new or that hasn't already been felt by most people a billion times before, and in the grand scheme of things none of it matters anyway, but......blah. i feel directionless and purposeless, meaningless. sometimes i think of death as a positive alternative to things because at least it's something new and unknown, and is exciting in that way...even if it turns out nothing happens when you're dead, at least you stop being disappointed.

lately i'm obsessed with chubby/fat girls that have comparatively tiny hands and feet.

raging seas

i've been watching Gamera movies lately: Gamera, Gamera vs. Barugon, Gamera vs. Guiron, Gamera vs. Gaos, and Gamera vs. Zigra tonight. so far i think Gaos and Guiron are my favorites as far as the movies, but i think Barugon is my favorite monster. Zigra's kind of boring, there's just so much people talking and doing stuff, and i just want to see Gamera shooting fire underwater and bodyslamming the shit out of Zigra. although it was pretty awesome when Gamera knocks Zigra out for a minute and plays, like, cartoon xylophone music on his fins, and cracks himself up, haha.

i kinda made a mash-up of different Gameras i like...plus i tried to make him more turtle-y, with a long neck, like a snapping turtle. when i was little i used to find turtles in the woods a lot, and catch snapping turtles when i'd go fishing with my dad, and Gamera has always kind of reminded me of those turtles. i guess i made him kind of scary and gross, heh, but i was kind of picturing him as more of a swamp-dwelling Gamera than a sea-dwelling one.

i also did a quick sketch of Zigra, but it's mostly from memory and i kinda lost interest near the end, so it kinda sucks, heh. i had a lot of fun drawing these though, and it kinda makes me want to draw the other monsters i've seen so far.

i named my cat Gamera, but he is not awesome and badass like the real Gamera, so i probably should have named him something else.

put my love on ice

last week my house got vandalized, robbed...somebody threw a brick through the window, scared my pets half to death and made off with the flatscreen tv, the xbox, the wii, all the games, my DS, and my camera. they left lots of fingerprints and they were good, the detective says, but who knows if that'll go anywhere...i'm just glad they didn't take my computer, i don't know what i'd do. i was pretty shaken up about it at first, but i've kinda become ambivalent...i don't really care about stuff, but i really hate the outside world and my home was like a safe little fortress i could retreat to to get away, and now it feels violated...but i'm not having trouble sleeping anymore. human beings are shit, i already knew this. i learned nothing new, except the expanses of my naivety i didn't eve know i had left.

...i don't think anyone ever misses me. i don't let it slow me down.

it's the only way to live

i got a car!!! it happened suddenly. i wasn't even looking for her. but then i saw her, and after being inside her, i knew i must have her. things worked out pretty good. i don't think i was very savvy, but maybe i didn't come off as too much of a country bumpkin dumbass either. anyway, i really like her.

i think i'm going to call her Ramona.



otherwise...i'm happy that it's Buster Keaton month on TCM.