Your memory will carry on

Part 2 of the poll. If you haven't attended Banzai don't know anything about it, you can always put "n/a" in your post. Thanks![Poll #1464515]

Wah, I hate it when I want to get things done, plan to work on them, and then at the last minute, disaster strikes.  I was going to get so much stuff done this weekend and ended up sick Saturday night.  I've still got some of it left, but it's mostly gone.  But spending Sunday puking my guts out and watching every Disney movie we have wasn't how I planned to spend the day. :(  Bah.

Japanese class is fun, we're almost through the chapter on home and family and giving descriptions for people and places.  I've been flipping back through some of my old doujinshi and found there are some bits I can actually understand! haha... Sometimes things will click for me really easily and I'll understand right away, but other times, I'll have to repeat it four or five times before it really sticks. ^^;  I have noticed a difference though, just in studying an extra 1/2 hour a day.  (well, not really "extra" since I wasn't studying at all to begin with...)  I feel kind of bad though, since there is another girl in class who I know studies much harder than I do, but still seems to get lower marks on tests and things. 

Went to a haunted house last week.  Nightmare on 13th.  I didn't have high hopes since the best haunted house in the state closed last year and 13th has been consistently... unimpressive.  But I actually really enjoyed it.  They've upped the quality since the last time I was there.  Mostly it was fun, I think the only part that honestly creeped me out any was the Ring section haha...  but it was fun.  It used to be that the chainsaw people scared me, but it's mostly the noise haha... Now I've seen them so many times it doesn't really phase me. ^^; 

What else... looking forward to this weekend.  Going out for a writer's retreat type thing.  I've got no idea what I'm going to write about.  Gah... It'll probably be fanfiction, but I worry about doing that since we have to read bits of our stories aloud on the last night... I'm also still trying to get ideas for my nano-novel coming up in november.  I thought about doing a supernatural crime type novel or something, but I think it would be too much work haha... and I'm not good with murder mysteries. ^^;  Guess we'll see how it goes.

Oh yeah, forgot to mention, I went to see Thriller with my mom and sister the other day.  It's a medley of Halloween songs and dances and it was really fun and done really well ^^  The River of Blood Dance was great... and there was another bit with VooDoo cheerleaders... and vampires and all kinds of fun stuff.  I don't go to the theater very often, but I always enjoy myself when I go. ^^ 

Haha... I found out today that I'm a psychic *_*  Behold my awesome story.  It cracked me up...

Okay, so student services conference was today.  I could only make it to the 2nd half.  So I got to see this illusionist guy at lunch, which was pretty cool.  And Hollie showed up and we dorked around a lot and were awed and amazed by the guy's intuitive powers.  He was blindfolded and he still could tell what things someone was holding up.  it was neat.  ANYWAY...

Hollie and I decided to go to the lecture he was teaching afterward.  We joked about it being "divination" class.  *cough*  So, we get to class and he starts talking about dowsing.  Which, for anyone that doesn't know is when you have a pendulum like that girl on escaflowne.  We did a simplified version with just "yes" or "no" answers.  Now personally, I think the whole thing is really silly, but y'know, some people dig it, so I was just goofing around and having fun. 

SO.  At the end of class we did a test to see how good we were.  This guy hides pulls out a set of cards, all either sun, moon, or stars.  there's several of each in his deck.  And has another guy pick two cards at random and put them in his pocket.  So he does.  Then he has us use our pendulums to guess what cards they are.  I get the first one right!  Hollie got it wrong. We laugh.  And move on.  We do it again.  Same result!  Haha... I got it right again!  So by now Hollie pouting and i'm laughing and the guy asks if anyone got it right both times.  About 4 or 5 people raise their hands, and he picks me for this other demonstration.

He sets a padlock on the table and 3 keys.  Then tells me to try the keys, whichever i think will open it.  I try all 3 and NONE of them do.  Then the bugger pulls out a 4th key and is like "ho ho, that's cuz it's this one."  And lets me try it in the lock.  Sure enough.  it opens.  So then he has me turn around and he mixes up the keys.  Then he tells me to pick one without thinking about it, just at random.  So i do.  IT WAS THE RIGHT KEY ON THE FIRST TRY!! *_*  LOL... I thought it was hilarious. 

So after the class, we got to go to a raffle.  and out of sheer dorkiness I decide to tell hollie's and my fortune and see if we'll win anything.  It comes up that I will win something and she won't.  Hollie is like "yeah, whatever..."  And I'm like "I'll just die if it happens."

And?

Yeah, I won a nifty notebook. *_*  hehe... it was awesome.  Poor Hollie.  ^^

I think that me and Valentine's Day must be mortal enemies.  It is like my own personal Friday, the 13th.  Without fail, something annoying and/or bad always happens on that day.  And this year was no different.

I got the hotel reserved for Anime Banzai.  It is officially gonna be August 31st through September 1st at the Sheraton.  Yay.  All the paperwork is signed and now we can get down to planning since we're down about 2 months from the usual.  Which means we've got just a little over 6 months to finish up plans.  YIKES.

Anyway... that's not the bad news.  After that, I went to pick up No-chan and drop some stuff by for our friend.  We were on our way to anime club when low and behold, I see a police car with lights flashing that wants to turn left in front of me at an intersection.  It was a  little surprising, so I put on my brakes quickly and stopped in time.  The 2 cars behind me, however, did not.  First I felt just a little bumper tap.  It was startling, but not bad.  Then about 1 second later, we got a BIG smash.  Ouch.

So we pulled our little parade off to a side street where all the cops just happened to be congregating for a drug bust of some sort.  Woo.  So we had to wait for a while for an officer to even have time to do an incident report.  Luckily the car wasn't hurt too badly and me and No-chan are ok, though my neck is kinda sore. >.< 

Good thing though?  When I got home, I got flowers for like, the first time EVER on Valentine's Day.  That was way nice Mr. Anonymous!  I was happy to get them.  It made this Valentine's a little easier to bear ^^;  Thank you!!

I don't know who the original writer was, but I thought this was awesome and should be passed along. I can't even say how many times I've had people try to use those same excuses... or people who tell me "oh i found this great opportunity for you to do *blank* for free!" >.<  Even/especially with cosplay commissions.  People get soooo annoyed when I tell them what I charge for costumes and MOST of the time, I'm making less than, or just over minimum wage per hour.  And that's for SKILLED labor.  Not just grunt work.  Sewing is something that took me a long time to LEARN.  *cough*  Anyway... I'll get off my soapbox, but please read this article and pass along if you like!

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Every day, there are more and more Craigs List posts seeking “artists” for everything from auto graphics to comic books to corporate logo designs. More people are finding themselves in need of some form of illustrative service.

But what they’re NOT doing, unfortunately, is realizing how rare someone with these particular talents can be.

To those who are “seeking artists”, let me ask you; How many people do you know, personally, with the talent and skill to perform the services you need? A dozen? Five? One? …none?

More than likely, you don’t know any. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be posting on craigslist to find them.

And this is not really a surprise.

In this country, there are almost twice as many neurosurgeons as there are professional illustrators. There are eleven times as many certified mechanics. There are SEVENTY times as many people in the IT field.

So, given that they are less rare, and therefore less in demand, would it make sense to ask your mechanic to work on your car for free? Would you look him in the eye, with a straight face, and tell him that his compensation would be the ability to have his work shown to others as you drive down the street?

Would you offer a neurosurgeon the “opportunity” to add your name to his resume as payment for removing that pesky tumor? (Maybe you could offer him “a few bucks” for “materials”. What a deal!)

Would you be able to seriously even CONSIDER offering your web hosting service the chance to have people see their work, by viewing your website, as their payment for hosting you?

If you answered “yes” to ANY of the above, you’re obviously insane. If you answered “no”, then kudos to you for living in the real world.

But then tell me… why would you think it is okay to live out the same, delusional, ridiculous fantasy when seeking someone whose abilities are even less in supply than these folks?

Graphic artists, illustrators, painters, etc., are skilled tradesmen. As such, to consider them as, or deal with them as, anything less than professionals fully deserving of your respect is both insulting and a bad reflection on you as a sane, reasonable person. In short, it makes you look like a twit.

A few things you need to know;

1. It is not a “great opportunity” for an artist to have his work seen on your car/’zine/website/bedroom wall, etc. It IS a “great opportunity” for YOU to have their work there.

2. It is not clever to seek a “student” or “beginner” in an attempt to get work for free. It’s ignorant and insulting. They may be “students”, but that does not mean they don’t deserve to be paid for their hard work. You were a “student” once, too. Would you have taken that job at McDonalds with no pay, because you were learning essential job skills for the real world? Yes, your proposition it JUST as stupid.

3. The chance to have their name on something that is going to be seen by other people, whether it’s one or one million, is NOT a valid enticement. Neither is the right to add that work to their “portfolio”. They get to do those things ANYWAY, after being paid as they should. It’s not compensation. It’s their right, and it’s a given.

4. Stop thinking that you’re giving them some great chance to work. Once they skip over your silly ad, as they should, the next ad is usually for someone who lives in the real world, and as such, will pay them. There are far more jobs needing these skills than there are people who possess these skills.

5. Students DO need “experience”. But they do NOT need to get it by giving their work away. In fact, this does not even offer them the experience they need. Anyone who will not/can not pay them is obviously the type of person or business they should be ashamed to have on their resume anyway. Do you think professional contractors list the “experience” they got while nailing down a loose step at their grandmother’s house when they were seventeen?

If you your company or gig was worth listing as desired experience, it would be able to pay for the services it received. The only experience they will get doing free work for you is a lesson learned in what kinds of scrubs they should not lower themselves to deal with.

6. (This one is FOR the artists out there, please pay attention.) Some will ask you to “submit work for consideration”. They may even be posing as some sort of “contest”. These are almost always scams. They will take the work submitted by many artists seeking to win the “contest”, or be “chosen” for the gig, and find what they like most. They will then usually have someone who works for them, or someone who works incredibly cheap because they have no originality or talent of their own, reproduce that same work, or even just make slight modifications to it, and claim it as their own. You will NOT be paid, you will NOT win the contest. The only people who win, here, are the underhanded folks who run these ads. This is speculative, or “spec”, work. It’s risky at best, and a complete scam at worst. I urge you to avoid it, completely. For more information on this subject, please visit [link].

So to artists/designers/illustrators looking for work, do everyone a favor, ESPECIALLY yourselves, and avoid people who do not intend to pay you. Whether they are “spec” gigs, or just some guy who wants a free mural on his living room walls. They need you. You do NOT need them. Say NO to free art.

And for those who are looking for someone to do work for free…please wake up and join the real world. The only thing you’re accomplishing is to insult those with the skills you need. Get a clue.

If you agree with the above important information, please pass it along. The more people know, the faster we can correct this.

I'm posting.  Praise me. 

Just in case I'm offending anyone, I just wanted to say that No, I don't read my friends page.  Sorry, I suck.  I know.  So if something huge is going on, I probably don't know about it.  Phones are good.  Emails... texts...  but I'm really bad at remembering to check LJ.  Heck, how often do I post?  So if you want me to know something, a more direct approach may be necessary.  Or you could just kick me and say "read my LJ dangit."  That works too. 

Anyway... for those of you that DO read their friends lj pages... good on you.  You're probably a very nice person.  I suppose I could use LJ to air all my crap and vent about things, but I really don't think it would be very interesting.  I'm kind of boring.  It would mostly me complaining about getting in over my head.  Always.  I can't say no to people.  I suck at it.  Hard. 

But since I guess some people want to know, here's some things that are new or possibly of interest -

* I have a car.  It is silver.  I'm thinking of naming it Riku.  Other suggestions are welcome.

* Car costs a lot of money.  I need a 2nd job or to go to less conventions.  Or maybe both.  Or maybe I just need a full time that pays more and has benefits.  Either way, I will probably turn in a few applications then stew about it for a while.

* I'm taking a Japanese class this semester.  i want to do the study abroad program, but I am poor and learning the language is about the best I can hope for right now.  It may become more likely if I get off my butt and do the "find a job" thing.

* I'm annoyed at Final Fantasy 12.  My copy is broken or something.  No matter what point in the game I start at, it freezes up within about 15 minutes.  it's not the ps2, that's brand new.  It doesn't do it on any other games.  And the game has hardly been touched since I got it.  I think it's a glitch and I just need to go exchange it, but I don't know if they will since I play it so sparingly and it's been a while since I bought it and discovered said glitch.

* I get to go to the Hilton tomorrow and get the hotel reserved for our convention, Anime Banzai.  That part I am relatively fine with.  It's everything else to do with the con that worries me.  It seems like the more we expand, the more drama we get.  I hate drama.

* I want to work on AMVs, but I lack footage.  Kinda sucks.  I need Bleach and Host Club and D.Gray-man.  Guess we'll see.  Be nice to get some done in time for NDK.

I think that's it.  Look for another post from me in several months.

I knew you were stalking me... >.>  _{This one was kinda fun...}

Get one of your own! by Drunken Hero A cautionary tale from mikasaigo. kimechan is stalking mikasaigo kimechan’s REAL name : Martina Flynn kimechan’s REAL DOB : 19th December 1986 Height :152 cm Weight : 69.3 kg kimechan has dreamt about you : 7 times kimechan became interested in you : 11th September 2004 kimechan’s latest dream about you You and kimechan are in a bar. kimechan carries you up onto the pool table and begins undressing you. kimechan starts to whip you around the ass with your own jeans. This is how kimechan describes your relationship behind your back ‘I hate her. I lost 12 months of my life thanks to mikasaigo. And now it’s f***ing payback time.’ kimechan’s been stealing stuff from your house too. Since meeting mikasaigo in , kimechan has managed to collect around 10 of mikasaigo’s old TV remotes. They’ve even started modifying their body for you kimechan has mikasaigo tattooed right across their chest. They sent the following message to you in a Valentines God want’s us to be together. He told me last night. He said that if you refute my love than I have the right to scald you with piping hot tap water. The Police No. calls to the police : 21 times Your Last Call to The Police "Hello is that the police? Ah good, it’s just there’s this maniac standing outside my house in the pouring rain waving at me, with flowers in their hand. I think they’ve been following me for the last year Their name? kimechan." kimechan’s Police File It is only a matter of time before we encover a mass of decomposed bodies within kimechan’s refridgerator. Testimonies about kimechan lia_amari - A withered old hag ‘kimechan and I never saw eye-to-eye. And I’m glad now we didn’t. What a f***ing creep.’ nefie - Overweight cult comedian ‘To be honest I think mikasaigo and kimechan deserve each other. Both of them are f***ing idiots.’ michimoro - Wide-load ‘Well well, who would have thought it? kimechan a pervert? I knew it all along. She used to watch me getting undressed through my bedroom window every night.’

 

Okay... so I told people I'd actually POST here... so here's some fun stuff from the con I was at.  It's all under cuts though cuz there's a LOT of images.  Enjoy

Hee hee... it's funny cuz it's probably true...

Your Famous Last Words Will Be:

"I dunno, press the button and find out."

Wow, I'm updating... woo. Very exciting. I'll probably just be copying and pasting what I post here to my journal over at Fem~Gri~La or vice versa... or something. Anyway... Not a lot from me. Like I've mentioned in my other journal, I'm taking a drama/acting class this semester. We did some "trust" exercises on Friday that were kinda scary. That stuff where you fall backward and have to trust that someone will actually catch you? yeah, that. standing on top of a 3 ft high table and just hoping you don't fall and break your head open. That was kinda scary. I'm not the most petite of people, so I was understandably nervous, but I did it! Woo, and I didn't even die. I'm not sure what all of that has to do with acting, but it was fun.

Saturday I got to watch some more of an anime called "School Rumble," which is freakin' funny. It's just another high school comedy, but instead of perverse jokes and sexual tension to make things humorous, they just do random, bizarre funny gags. Lots of fun. Quite enjoyed it.

~Me