Quick and simple...

Just a quick entry to note that I finally got a Pyraliss page up. It's been exactly one year since my last update and hopefully that kind of hiatus will not happen again! Show me some love at www.Pyraliss.com. Post some comments, send a dollar via paypal, whatever floats your digital boat. :) It took me a little longer to get that page done than usual because I tried inking and coloring it. The process was partially successful. It's pixel-y looking for reasons that are unknown to me so I'm going to keep trying this whole thing until I get it right. That's not going to stop me from updating though. Expect Pyraliss to be UP and RUNNING.

P.S. TWELVE DAYS TO RAMMSTEIN!!!

Because there isn't a greater taste than a potato in a cup...

Some interesting events that have occurred since my last post:

1. I have had two stories published in e-zines located here-

To Live a Life That is Not My Own <http://www.yesteryearfiction.com/2010/08/82110.html>

Wayfinder: Home of the Lýkos <http://www.downdirtyword.com/authors/suanycanarte.html>

2. I have drawn some Pyraliss pages and will begin updating again starting Monday
3. I attended the New York Renaissance Faire in costume (twice)
4. I have begun the Fall semester and it is CRAZY

So I've applied for graduation and have realized just how close I am to finishing this section of my education. I had some trepidations about applying to graduate schools in December considering that I am currently retaking a class I didn't do well in and it brings down my G.P.A. but I've noticed that many schools have February deadlines, which improves my situation greatly. My only concern is that I am not sure how to go about asking professors for letters of recommendation or how to take the GRE. I am also concerned about taking the GREs while I am stressing out about school. I have always done fairly well in standardized tests, but I have not taken one in so long that I fear I have become rusty. I feel like I have so little time to study, do homework, work and sleep that I cannot imagine taking more time to research graduate schools, study for the GREs and worry about applications.  The entire school system is unnervingly flawed.

In class this afternoon a couple of students just chewed out our Professor for not being clear with what she is expecting from us when it comes to the homework and the midterm exam. She was so flustered and boggled by the idea that most of the people in our classroom have NEVER done "logarithms" or even heard of them.  This ties back to how flawed the school system here is. Although I admit that her expectations of our abilities is far above what we actually can do, I also believe that it is not her fault. She is an awkward woman in many ways that has studied, not only Audiology, but physics which gives her an edge of understanding that most of us would never have. Most people that go into Speech-Language Pathology go into the program never expecting to see a math problem again. Then we get to a class like Speech Science and it is a mathematical nightmare (for those who are mathematically impaired). Even I, who have a decent background in mathematics, have had trouble understanding how to use her notes to figure out the relatively complicated mathematical problems she is presenting us with. I am pretty concerned with the midterm exam and I cannot afford to do poorly in another class. My weekend is currently booked with horrifying amounts of studying (although I plan on playing a Magic game or two with Joe and brother :P).

I have one more thing to write about for now, and it is a new website I plan on starting up soon. It's a silly idea, but I think I will enjoy playing with it. It's name-in-progress is "Class Notes" and it will be a webcomic-like site that updates with pictures of little sketches and doodles that are all over my notes. I doodle a lot in class (bad habit, I know) and I tend to like a lot of  my little doodles. Some of them turn into character designs for stories, some are kind of fan-art, and some of them are just plain silly. I have a little quick design sketch of what I would like the website to look for. If I find myself with any time this weekend (haha, wishful thinking) I may just start setting this up. I'll associate this blog to it. I may also set up the Pyraliss blog next week (I'll link when it's finally up).

One final announcement

I can't wait. :)

*The sky is over...*

The many types of smooth muscle...

I am so exhausted it's disturbing. This Anatomy and Physiology class is trying to kill me. I haven't been sleeping well and I have been waking up way too early.  Well it's only four more weeks.  Then I get to start a horrifying new semester. 

We have to dissect a pig next week and I'm not looking forward to it. I don't condone the use of animals for science but I'm also concerned that my stomach can't handle it. Luckily it's a group dissection so it might not be too bad.

I got a Kindle app for my Droid and found a free book. It was called The Light of Eidon and it's considered a "Christian" fantasy book. I figured it would be a bust but it was really good, particularly being free. It seems like there are three more books in the series but they cost money and I think I'm going to hold off since I have so many unread books on my shelf.

I recently acquired a haircut and it's been phenomenal. Joseph and I were at the mall and I decided that long hair is a pain in the ass.  It was amusing because the lady didn't want to believe that I wanted it so short. She cut my ponytail clean off but not without protest. I've gotten a lot of positive reactions even from my grandmother which was unexpected. I'm considering keeping it short for awhile.

On Sunday I was overcome with the immense urge to virtually farm. Being that I have played all the Harvest Moons in my possession I really wanted a new one. I decided on Harvest Moon Animal Parade for the Wii and Joseph and I set out to find it. We went to three different GameStops, a Walmart and a Target but none of them had it. Resignedly I settled for an Olive Garden dinner. I hadn't given up though and on Monday I called four different GameStops before I found it. Joseph and I picked it up after I got out of work and I began my newest farming adventure.  So far it has been very fun and stress relieving. I only wish I had more time to play it. I'm excited for the weekend.

I also am glad to announce that i have two new Pyraliss pages drawn up. I think I'll resume updates when I have ten completed so that I have a good buffer. I'm probably going to start a blog for too so readers can know what's going on.

*The sky is over...*

A back too high for your tail...

Expect a plethora of pictures and writing. Warning Complete.

Watermelon is set out on the table and I want to feed it to Snoopy, Joe's grandparent's golden retriever. Last time we were here he ate a few pieces, rind and all. We're visiting Joe's grandparents down the shore. The dogs are cute. Well Snoopy's cute, Patsy is funny looking. His butt arches upward and his tail looks out of place.

Patsy

Snoopy

So I started this post two days ago and now it's no longer the day we were at Joe's grandparents house. Joe's grandparents are very elderly, but Joe's grandfather still does a lot. He has a garden all around the house and grows all sorts of vegetables. Yesterday we had a salad with some lettuce and tomatoes from his garden.

Grandpa's Gardens

On the drive up we stopped at a diner (as always) and our table had crayons on it. I happily scribbled on my placemat.  

We took Snoopy on a walk, possibly his first and only walk his entire 12-year life. He seemed pretty happy but he kept slowing down. Poor old puppy. That night we went to the boardwalk and walked on the beach.

Seagull Feet

Busy boardwalk

On Friday Joseph and I went to the mall and I got some Magic cards. They have a new set called Archenemy and something called the deck builder tool kit which has over 100 cards in it. 

My new cards

I also got a very silly mythic rare:

I put it in a deck but haven't used it yet

We also had an enjoyable 4th of July. In the afternoon we traveled to Footbridge Park for a festival. There were a handful of stands with different things up for purchase. I took pictures of the dogs I saw.

We bought a stuffed puppy for charity and I stuffed it and put a little heart in it. He's full of love.  

Later we went to the field to watch the fireworks. They were awesome. I just laid on the grass with Joe and watched them. My favorites are the ones that crackle. 

This weekend Joe, brother and I have been playing Heroes of Might and Magic V. It's pretty fun and since it's from 2006 it runs beautifully on my laptop. While playing today I discovered a tiny spider perched between my USB plug and my laptop. Joe tried to remove him, but he just ran into the USB hub. He eventually fell and disappeared into the rug.

Later today we plan on heading to my mom's house to give her a birthday present. I'm not looking forward to starting classes tomorrow. I'm going to miss my "vacation."

*The sky is over...*

The delicious taste of minty cereal...

Just watched the third new episode of Futurama. It was an improvement to the other ones. Brother keeps muting all the commercials and it's very annoying and frustrating. I am a curious person and really like to hear what's going on on the TV. Urgh.

We watched Youth in Revolt a few hours ago and it was pretty enjoyable. Michael Cera is an interesting actor (even though he does seem to get the same role in everything he's in). The movie was pretty silly, but it was also pretty amusing and well thought out. The dialogue seemed well timed.

I made dinner tonight, tacos. They were pretty good.

Hmm... I don't have much else to say I suppose. Short entry.

*The sky is over...*

The Capybara is the largest living rodent in the world...

Summer nights are best enjoyed in basements with loved ones. Or something like that, anyway. Joe's parents got the new couch upstairs and it looks dazzling. The old furniture ended up downstairs in the finished basement and I've migrated down with it, TV and video games in hand. I finished Fable II for the second time and got most of the achievements that I (someone without Xbox Live) am capable of. We even got in some Rock Band (which I've been itching to play for awhile).

My neck and back are feeling better after a visit to the chiropractor. She informed me of some exercises I can do so that my body stops falling apart. The transition away from caffeine/soda should be helpful. I'm not getting caffeine withdrawal headaches anymore and that's always a plus.

I spent a lot of time playing Culdcept Saga last night and a short while playing it today. It's an Xbox 360 game that is a mixture of Magic: The Gathering and Monopoly. That's right... MTG and Monopoly. No, I'm not exaggerating it  or being silly. It's exactly that. You move around a playing board set down monsters on tiles and when your enemies land on them you collect revenue. If said enemy is feeling courageous they'll use their own monsters (which by the way are CARDS) and you'll have a Magicesque stand off for the territory. The games even last countless hours. What would Monopoly and MTG be without the hours and hours of productivity consumption? 

At work today I read about this free browser-based MMORPG named Earth Eternal. It's like a free WoW clone with animals instead of people. I've been poking at it tonight and it's absolutely dead. It doesn't seem like a lot of people play it. 

My goat lady :D

On a different note, I finally paid for my Summer II class. Part of me was somewhat hoping that they would be like "I'm sorry, you're past the payment date and you've been dropped from the class," so that I could get a break this summer, but alas I was "lucky" enough to have made it in time to pay. Oh well, I'll be happy when I have one less class to worry about. I just feel exhausted and wish I had the chance to enjoy more than a few days of my summer. I guess the long weekends will make up for it.

*The sky is over...*

Shamrock hats and candy necklaces...

Once again Futurama is on TV. For some reason they keep replaying the new episodes (although the one on right now is an older one). We just played some Magic: Two games. I lost both. Joe won the first and Brother won the second one. I haven't particularly felt interested in Magic as much lately. I like collecting, though.

Two nights ago we had Chinese food and I got a pretty snazzy fortune:

You will enjoy good health, you will be surrounded by luxury.

Sounds pretty good.

Yesterday afternoon, we saw a mother bear and her two cubs:

Bear cubs!

They were sooo cute! The mom was out of sight by the time I got my camera but the cubs were still running around the yard trying to catch up with mommy. 

I got distracted from Pyraliss pages again today by Fable II. I was going to work on it in the evening but we got into a project that took up most of the night. We cleaned out a lot of the basement so that we could put the old furniture down there and make room for the new couch. The basement is pretty nice (barring the intense cold) and we figured it would be a nice game room of sorts. I played a game of foosball with Joe's mom (and lost), then I played air hockey with Brother (and lost) and then I played air hockey with Joe's mom (and lost). Amongst the clutter I did discover a nice little piece of Joe's childhood (well... he wasn't that young):

Lord of the Rings Homemade Castle

It's pretty awesome, made of cardboard and paint all sorts of adorable materials put together by an adorable man. When we finished cleaning up (and getting rid of the horrible spiders all over the place), Joe, his mom, Brother and I played a game of darts. I did pretty well, but Brother won.

 

Scoreboard (I'm "S")

I was pretty surprised Brother landed the 19, but he did. While I was taking a picture of the scoreboard, my Droid managed to slip out of my hand and smack me in the face. I think that's what caused that weird lighting.

All-in-all it was a pleasant Sunday. I'm not looking forward to working tomorrow. I wish I could have the week off just to relax. Unfortunately, I can't really afford to do that... It's an annoying dilemma. I guess this is a good time to get myself to bed. I have to clear my stuff out of the living room in the morning before I head out for work.  

*The sky is over...*

Never a Master of Photoshop...

I'm listening to Dream Theater and about to pick up some Fable II. I've played through it twice, and completed most of the quests. I'm looking forward to finishing the second expansion since I only recently purchased it with the money I don't have. It wasn't expensive, I'm just broke.

Last night I decided to work on Pyraliss for awhile. Although I had a sketch of the World Map of Pyraliss, I'd never quite finalized it so that's what I did last night. I also thought it might be nice for readers to be able to see where the characters were throughout key points of the story, so I made sprites of all the characters and will be plotting them on the map accordingly as the story progresses. Here's a little preview of what can be expected:

I think it's a nice way to keep track of their travels, but I'm also very silly. I'm going to work on pages later when Joe's family comes back from couch shopping and I'm forced to relinquish the TV.

*The sky is over...*

A new chassis...

Brother has Overhaulin' on and they're trying to figure out if they should change the whole chassis or try to fix the old one. This seems much less ridiculous than the episode of Pimp My Ride that we saw last night. Someone should overhaul my van. That'd be nice. The Dragon Wagon needs to stop sucking.

That reminds me that I had a strange dream last night. It started with me going to an old ladies' house for a party. When everyone got there we found out that someone had broken into her house right before we got there and she was a little shaken up, but we decided to have the party anyway. Once it was over everyone was leaving I decided to stay with her because I thought she would be scared of staying home by herself after what had happened. She had to go out and do some errands so I stayed in the house to keep an eye on things. After the sun set a handsome man, seemingly in his 20s, broke into the house and I tried to stop him but he somehow convinced me that he didn't have malicious intentions and instead we talked. I distinctly remember his name being Nick and he looked like an older version of what I had imagined the main character (Nick) from The Child Thief by Brom looked like. Suddenly we realized the woman would be home soon and I was trying to convince Nick to leave before they caught him. He ran out and a few moments later another man (that resembled Xzibit, a result of being subjected to Pimp My Ride right before bed) came running down the stairs. I was yelling at him and asked him if he worked with Nick. He seemed to find me amusing and grabbed my hand and we walked out of the house into the night. While walking I told him we couldn't pass by one street because we were directly in front of my grandparents' house and they would flip if they saw me walking around late at night with a stranger. He disregarded me and instead we just ran by the house. I kept asking him about Nick and he thought it was funny that I was so interested. He also admitted to me that  he was only 16 and I thought it was strange that he looked younger than when I'd first looked at him. I admitted to being 22 and he brought me to a building and told me Nick could be found on the 2nd floor. Then he said something like, "You and Nicky? Yeah... that'd be good." I took the elevator up and got off on the 2nd floor. There was a thin ledge that led out of the elevator door and then there was a gap, followed by a train track followed by another gap and followed by another floor. I had to jump across. On the other side, there were offices everywhere and I was looking through them for Nick. There were a lot of people in some of the offices and all of them had sheets over the desks and furniture and paint cans and tools scattered all over them, giving the impression that they were under construction. I realized then that I didn't remember what Nick looked like and felt like I would never find him. I found a hallway that seemed to lead to this big garden and as I walked through it a kid passed by me. We both suddenly stopped and turned and looked at each other and I recognized that it was Nick, but he looked 10 years younger. We were walking and talking and he told me he was also 16 and I felt uncomfortable and wanted to leave because he was getting on my nerves.

It was a very strange dream and I'm not sure how it ended. The whole dream had a strange, eerie vibe to it. Not really sure what it means but I thought it was worth documenting.

I'm working on sorting through all of my pictures with Picasa and setting up all the right dates on them. It's a big job that I've been working on for a few weeks now. I think I'm almost done. It'll be nice to have all of my pictures backed up and tagged with the right people.

*The sky is over...*

A Single Footprint in the Sand...

Where did it come from, where does it go? One single footprint.

I have decided to start blogging again. I've had many blogs, I always give up on them after awhile, but I decided to start once more. Blogging is a simple way to practice writing and elaborate on your ideas.

Recently, I've been sending some stories in hopes for publication. I have two out now and I'm waiting for some replies. I'm thinking of sending out a few more, but I'm not feeling too motivated. I haven't been drawing a lot lately, but I've been poking around with the tablet a little bit. Corel Painter stopped working for some reason and I'll have to find a new version soon. I kind of want to make a background to replace the generic one I have now.

I just finished my first session of summer classes. Had an exam for Basic Audiology this afternoon. I'm relieved that it's done and over. I start another class in about a week and a half, but I'm jut going to try to enjoy the break. I'd like to spend the next few days working on Pyraliss updates. I would like to make a buffer for myself because it's very hard to keep up with updates during the school semester. It'd be nice if I can get a big chunk of it done to tide me over until I'm done with school next year.

Just watched the first new Futurama episodes in years and I wasn't too amused. The characters seemed a little strange. Maybe they just have to get back into the swing of things.

*The sky is over...*