puffy eyes

Left to Right: Edel, Aein and Blithe

Levante Lalune (LeLa), Gian Rouge and Erebos Rose

Zut. I haven't done any work during Thanksgiving weekend. And now it is 9:30pm on sunday night and I'm not motivated enough to do any work at all. And then there are the grad school application and letter of recommendations I need to sort out. Joy. And I just found out that the girl that is going to be living in our apartment next semester is one of those religious types....depending on whether or not she tries to drag me to church, there may or may not be a homicide being commited here in LA.....

hello, hello?

I hate answering the phone.

Start the music

Loco

Img: Blithe, Edel, Aein, Monday and Roadiane

What on earth is wrong with my roommate? She left the apartment yesterday and didn't even bother locking the door or the balcony window. I latered asked her why this was, and her reason was that it's because she "wasn't even staying there for the weekend....and plus, nothing valuable is inside, I [she] took my laptop with me [her]". What about the laptop/computers of the other roommates who live in the same apartment? What about...say....our SAFETY? Jeez. Needless to say, there needs to be a little talk and an intervention when everyone returns from Thanksgiving break. I've had enough of this BS for a while. Enough of her bloody snot-filled-tissues left on the ground; enough of her shouting at her boyfriend every other night; enough of her smoking on the building when the school forbids cigarettes near the apartments; enough of her sodding gum chewing all the time (alright, this is a minor offense but the way she chews the gum....so.....damn...loudly); and most of all, I've had enough of her fake insincere personality. I just learned that she has been saying different things about myself and my roommates when she's around one of us. If only her friends on facebook knew what it was like living with her....no wonder she asked my to be her roommate last year.

On the bright side, the new season of Project Runway has started last week. I don't even know where to begin. Might as well start catching up on the Rungay blog.

Art dump_ fanworks

You can tell which image beongs to which series. Alright, maybe not (not with the style I draw them in). The Byakuya one is going to be coloured first in time for the Winter image...

Vitamin B-6

Left to right: Erebos Rose (Nano) and Erebos Rose

Left to right: Rue and Orase

Back left to right: Edel, Road and Levante Lalune ('LeLa')

Front left to right: Blithe and Aein

Interesting how my bad habits have caught up to me again. I was supposed to update this blog on a regular basis, so that I could gradually move away from DA, but now I'm not maintaining either site. Whoops. And I was hoping to come up with a holiday gift-card-send-off list again. But that doesn't mean I haven't been drawing! Most of the stuff I drew is for my original story (Furies), but I have other images for D.Gray and Bleach. I'll upload those in a separate post or something.

Now, must go and draw them on opne canvas....just need the notivation to do so.

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PS: I am now flying back to Hong Kong on the 12th of Dec. Which means I'll have to take my final a day earlier on the UCLA campus instead (public trasnportation, please do't fail me!), but gives me an extra day to get my hair cut and eyebrows trimmed before attending my sister's wedding. Boo yar.

PPS: I whooped ass on my archaeology midterm.

PSS: I am not whooping ass on my honours thesis though; I've been at a standstill with research questions for the past few weeks.

Halloween+Lactose

Looks like the trick has been played on me this year. I drank Starbucks on the night of the Halloween party at the apartment, and then ended up "having the runs", as my roommate oh-so-delicately puts it. Lactose intake has rendered me verbally immobile, even up to now.

Stating the Obvious

Alright, so I haven't posted here in a while...and I do feel bad. I was rushing to and fro from the library, classrooms and the lab, so it is really hard to find time to write anything. But now, my professors are in Istanbul for some conference, so I get a little free time (no class!) tomorrow. A quick summary:

-Thesis proposal due within two weeks, which means I need to get my act together and start doing my literature review and etc. And thinking of some damn impressive research questions. I need more brainpower for this ;___;

-Got myself a contact for an archaeological field school this upcoming summer. It was nerve wrecking at first, because I knew my chances of rejection was fairly high. I wnt to study Chinese archaeology, but my understanding of traditional Chinese is basic. But after lots of emailing and asking around, I finally found someone willing to deal with me. Thank goodness.

-Two of my flatmates and I are having a Halloween Party in the apartment this coming Saturday, though one of my flatmates object to it. But the majority vote wins, and that one flatmate often goes home for the weekend...so I honestly don't see the problem. There was some drama over this issue a few days ago, but things have simmered down for now. Actually, there has been alot of apartment drama.....but lets not delve into this.

Gradients

Don't get me wrong; I'm not exactly a fan of Naruto. The recent chapters are starting to drag out, and I can't see how the plot is moving. Each time the characters overcome some obstacle, new characters are introduced and new problems arise. But that's just my opinion of the series. And to be fair, the mangaka does spur out some interesting character designs now and then.

Anyways, bombed the midterm in class today. I should be grovelling on the bed right now crying my eyes out, but I'm simply too tired to even notice...or care. And then my thesis advisor told me to read an extra book over the weekend, so there goes my free time and moments of brief relaxation. And here I almost thought senior year was supposed to be my 'chill' year. Pft.

On the bright side, tonight I managed to eat a proper dinner...with meat, veggies and carbs together on one plate. Yes, I had to go to a restuarant for that because I can't cook. There: I CAN'T COOK. And I say it with pride. (Take that, cheesy Asian cooking competition called Beauty Kitchen....or some stupid name like that. Basically, the premise of that show is that young women who can't cook are forced to do so on a stage. Then a panel of judges would then proceed to taste their food, spit it out and mock the women. I don't regard myself as a hard-core feminist, but even I am offended by such programmes).

Anyways, nothing like college to make you appreciate a full meal. But no, this does not mean I miss my mother's cooking. That I can live without.

PS: I am never ordering from Thai Plate again. On Sunday, I placed an order at 7:15pm. By 9:15pm, the food had not yet arrived, and so I called the restaurant to check up on them. The lady who picked up told me everything was in order, and that the driver was on his way. Then at 10:30pm, with no food and feeling very grumpy, I called the restaurant again asking if anything was wrong. The lady who picked up the phone gave me attitude saying how their restaurant was closed at that hour...so I told her that it has been over 3 hours since I placed my order.....and then she tells me that the driver left work over an hour ago and that he cancelled my order. Without telling me he did so. Needless to say, I demanded a refund, and lightly chatised them for the lack of communication between them and their customer (me).

I'm still waiting for the refund to happen...so I'm checking up on my Bank of America account every other hour.

Orange sight

I am in a hurry to get a trillion things done within the span of 24 hours. I draw to relieve stress, but then the more I draw the more stressed I become. Confusing, really. The colouring of the background may look irregular shape-wise, but that is because I cropped alot of the image off. I didn't fancy the rest so just kept Ro.

Recently everyone has been getting on my nerves. No, not PMS. Just that prolonged exposure to several individuals has made me realise what a bunch of brats they really are. And discover a few of their nasty traits.

Look, I'm not perfect either. I'm practically a few horns away from being the devil. But people, just be self-reliant and self-sufficent once in a while! Stop blaming other people for your own crisis/problems/misery! If you feel like you're a horrible person, feel as though you have some undesirable traits, then do something about it!(*) Don't just sit there and mope! Be empathetic and understand that other people have lives too, and can't always serve your needs!

Holy cow, I sound like some cheesy guidance counselor.

(*)Of course, this statement is only applicable in a certain context. I'm a horrible person, but since I'm happy that way, I rather not change.

EDITED POST: I deleted the original image I included in this post, because it just offended me that much. The quality was waaaay below what I normally submit.

Concave world

Lots has happened since the last time I posted. Schoolwork, part-time job, internships all collborate to make my 24 hours/day vanish in an instant. Roommate drama every other day (which makes me semi-uncomfortable whenever other people come to me to talk; but then I'm also glad I'm helping someone else). And I'm also in another depressive rut, so it doesn't help to feel as though I can't tell anyone about my issues...since they all seem to have their own. Tried talking to my parents, but then they told me that I have nothing to be depressed about. Which I suppose it true; there are plenty of people in this world worst off than I.

Other things:

-National Geographic magazine has become a picture book. They were never strictly an 'academic' magazine, but I wish they had more articles instead of these short sections that hover around the contents page....feeding us trivial tid-bits of information. Though I do applaud the way they try to bring important and pressing issues to the general public....because heck knows the U.S. public schools aren't telling the kids anything about greenhouse effect, slave labour, water shortages, etc. Oh, U.S., your universities are outstanding, but a lot of your public schools are in the dumps.

-I finished watching the Gurren Lagann series....I almost cried at the ending. It's probably that time-of-the-month for me, or it could be because the series ended on such a bittersweet note. But, the fall anime season has started and I'm looking forward to a few titles. Namely, Gundam 00. There are so many Gundam series that its almost become humourous, but I'm curious to see how long it take before the fandom starts shipping characters together in fanfiction. One episode? The second?

Hm, better get back on track with the class readings....midterm on the upcoming tuesday. Also, the class has a web conference with students in Hong Kong (homeland, 852ers!) during the evening so I better prep some "insightful" questions. Pft, like ask them how whether Marks and Sparks (aka Marks and Spencer) still sell those delicious tea biscuits. Or perhaps I should ask whether the girlies are still wearing those horrible looking balloon short shorts?

Anyways, just testing my Wacom tablet right now.....its like drawing on butter. And I'm capable of drawing with much more detail this time around! Another picture of Aein, but the design is revisited a bit. He has shorter hair this time, and the hairstyle is asymetrical. I wish I could draw more often, but everything is so damn time consuming....

I can't believe the concert is over already. Muse concert= AWESOME! To be fair, the crowd was only moderately energetic last night (boogie level = 7.5/10), but the overall vibe was still good. Lovely visuals during the music, and Soldier's Poem was simply awesome. The entire theatre went completely dark and the audience whipped out their cell phones and started waving them in the air.

I even bought a shirt from the venue, even though it was pretty expensive. But whats the point of going to these things if you don't have anything to remember it by?

Cloudburst!

I got my Wacom Tablet today! Woot! And I found myself a faculty sponser for my honours thesis, so overall its a pretty good day.Now, the down side is that I need to drop an Anthropology class I love... to enroll in a course relevent to my thesis...

This image is VINTAGE. I drew it in 2004.....before my freshman year.

Anime Love

Gurren Lagann.... at first I was skeptical about another mecha anime, but forget the over-done premise of boy-finds-robot-and-meets-girl-and-saves-the-world; the bloody animation style is awesome! The fight scenes are dynamic, the characters are well designed and have interesting personalities, and the plot is much better than what I expected. On the surface the entire series is humourous and light-hearted, but there are moments were lots of deep insight and developments takes place. Its like the Eureka Seven of 2007 :D

Too bad there are only a few episodes left before the entire series is over.

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Rossiu in episode 23

colour.s.chemes

Holy Beef.

I'm upgrading myself from saying 'Holy Cow' to 'Holy Beef'; only because I went through a super moment of social anxiety today in lecture which transcends the usage of raw meat in an inappropriate phrase.

I won't go into what happened in detail; but lets just say that over a hundred pairs of eyes were turned towards me for a fleeting moment, and I lost my mind for a second or two. I'm not kidding. All thought left my head, and I was just looking to the door and thinking if it was plausible to leap across the chairs and over people's heads just to make it out of the room. I backed into my chair as though a gust of wind from a typhoon 14 was blowing in my opposite direction.

Some people think social anxiety is an easily 'curable' thing; I beg to differ. People who say that sort of thing are likely the ones who has never experienced it. I'm trying to improve my anxiety issues; I'm starting to make more eye contact with people when talking, I'm actually talking again, I'm going out of the apartment (asides from going to class or meetings).

I know one of my friends from high school has the same problem when in social situations; but we both refuse to bring up the issue when in each other's company. Damnit, it's as though we're ashamed to be so awkward in one of the most basic instinctive behaviours in humans; and I am refering to inter-personal communication. At least we're not making excuses for ourselves; so the one route now is up.

Return of the schooldays!

Here ends Labour day, the last reprieve we get before Thanksgiving in November. I sort of regret sleeping so much during the three-day weekend, since the axiom is that the more sleep you get, the more sleep you need.

That is exactly what happened to me today; I started dozing during my Archaeology lecture, and that feeling just continued straight through my Anthropology lecture. Damnit. And since I was grumpy and felt super sleep deprived I started developing a migraine during my internship session.

I return to the apartment thinking I could get some rest....but alas, my roommate started acting like a spastic and started talking to the dog (belonging to the girl living in the next room) and making these weird high-pitch noises whilst baby-talking. Look, I know some guys dig the baby-talk thing girls do, but there is a reason why it is called 'baby-talk'. It's meant for babies. When adults talk like that other than in the context of being with a baby, it just becomes sickening.

I know I'm bitching about my roommate alot, but sometimes I get the strange impression that she's playing some sort of power game with the rest of us. She's a nice person generally, but there are moments where I really have to wonder whether or not she's sincere. Or maybe I just happen to chance upon her at the wrong moments and misread the entire situation....shall see more about this later.

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Ue in a outfit I drew during my freshman year.

Cafe Brasil, Venice Blvd.

So so on my roommates suggested that everyone in the apartment (there were only three of us that night) dine at this nifty Brasilian grill restaurant. I was reluctant at first; due to the hot and humid weather and my past encounters with 'Brasilian' food back in Hong Kong (overpriced and over-grilled).

The restaurant is located on a main road, but had a corner spot. It's a little difficult to spot when driving down the road, so the three of us in the car had to keep our eyes peeled throughout the entire time. There is also a choice between outdoor and indoors seating at the restaurant, though the structure of the entire building is fairly open so I suppose it doesn't really make much of a difference (unless you bring pets along...then you'll want to sit outdoors).

But the place was fabulous; not only was the price decent (less than 20USD for a salad, a proper entree and a bowl of black beans...which I admit I didn't know if I was supposed to serve it with the rice or eat it by itself), but the food was very nicely cooked. Granted, my salmon turned out a little too dry, but it wasn't exactly crispy and I could still taste the fish itself. I have no idea how they cooked their rice, but it was moist and had a nice touch of vinegar to it. I'm tempted to learn the recipe and attempt cooking for myself.

Hm, simply must do this again with roommates again sometime.

First Weeks

The first week of the new semester is never easy. Rushing to classes, trying to find certain classrooms, finding out exam dates. At least I got over my dislike of freshmen (by dropping a class that was filled with freshmen) and managed to sort out my timetable. So now I have Fridays off, and my first class on Monday begins at 2pm. Not like I'm going to slack off, seeing how I also manage a job at the library and an internship elsewhere.

Argh, stressful! Argh, graduate school applications! Argh!!!! Honours Thesis! Argh!!!

Anyways, my food-poisoning days are over (and without the use of antibiotics!), but now I'm greeted with the challenge of managing my lactose intolerence. Recently the condition has worsened; I can't even drink a single Starbucks Frap without crapping half my intestinal content out. I wonder if there is some cure to this.

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Eurgh, and I really hate passive-agressive people. They really are the worst; passive people don't do much, and at least with agressive people they say what they want outright. With passive agressive people, they always act as though they're not the bad person where in fact they just really want to bitch it out.

Prelude to MUSE

So I am going to the Muse concert afterall! It's in Irvine, on Sept 21st. Didn't realise my roommate was as big a Muse fan as I was....she went to one of their previous concerts and fell in love with them there.

Tickets were approximately 215 USD each (there was a 20 something USD service charge....I hope those tickets are hand delivered to us in gold envelopes), but no feelings of guilt there. I don't shop and I'm not sprendthrift with my money to begin with, so I think I'm entitled to splurge a little now and then.

Heh heh heh here's hoping to seeing a red jumpsuit somewhere. (Sorry, private joke).
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The new semester is starting tomorrow, and I'm not in the mood for it. I have class every single sodding day, I'm sure I'll be meeting imbeciles here and there; and then there are the happy-faced freshmen. [Happy freshmen are a temporary fix in college life....cured only after the results from the first midterm comes out.]

There is also a dilemma regarding what classes I should take; I worry about my workload and I worry whether I'm taking the right classes to gear me towards my graduate studies.

Run Run

Here are the characters from left to right:

(Top): Erebus Rose (nicknamed 'Nano', because of his short height)
(Bottom): Dantos
Aein
Levante (nicknamed 'Night')
Erebus Rose (not a mistake with the duplicate name)

Countdown to the 27th

Hahhaha I am so amused by my roommates. Alright, after living alone for the past three months I was skeptical whether I would assimilate into the 'flatmate-lifestyle', but it worked out fine.

One girl brought a dog into the apartment, and that thing is a diva. I tried to walk the dog, but the thing just sat on the pavement like a rock and refused to budge. It only weighed 11lbs too, so I don't know how it managed to anchor itself to the ground like that. I swear, I'm definitely getting a cat in the future.

Also, the same roommate who brought in the dog has the most interesting conversation topics. It was only a day after we met and we began a discussion about the digestive system and other grisly details involved with that. Plus, we both share a love for the same music, and we both love to hate wet hair on tiled floors. And a fear of sorority girls that look like the Barbie version of Star Wars: Attack of the Clones.

PS: Turns out that little episode on Thursday was caused by food poisoning. The nurse was super-nice and understood the pain of getting diarrhea so close together as my period, but the doctor was a major asshat. Just waltzed into the room, looked bored that another student is feeling ill right before the start of the new semester and plopped onto a stool looking as though he didn't have a spine.

The doctor said it was probably because of a viral infection from poorly cooked food, and then proceeded to prescribe antibiotics. No offense to the doctors in the U.S., but why is it that for every single illness, antibiotics are whipped out of the medicine cabinet?

Love you, Pepto-Bismol

Alright. I'm having a severe case of indigestion right now. My new roommates moved in yesterday, and one of the girls and I decided to eat out. Feeling super hungry and wanting to head to an outdoor venue, the 2-9 (aka 29th Street Cafe) seemed like the best place to be.

I have nothing against that restuarant. In fact, I liked the idea of having a cozy and clean restuarant in such close proximity to campus. Maybe we just went on a bad night, maybe there were too many people and it was hard for the serving staff to keep up. But it took over an hour for the food to come, and when it finally did the dish was half-cold. I would have sent it back to be reheated but who knew how long that would have taken? Another hour?

And I never thought I would taste zucchini that was bitter. And chicken so dry. And a pesto sauce so....strange. At first everything was alright, and my roommate and I went home with full stomachs. But then at around 2am, I suddenly woke up in cold sweat and went to the toilet for an hour just to get half my dinner out. And then I awoke again at 4am for another visit to the toilet. And another visit at 5am. I must have sweated half my moisture content during that time. It's normally 80 degrees F (approx 26 degrees Celsius, for the people living in countries using a logical measurement system) at night here, and I had to wear a bloody jacket and cover myself with a quilt just to retain warmth. It's one of those cases where you feel very hot but also have cold calmy skin.

Apparently the roommate who dined with me suffered digestion problems too, except she couldn't get anything out....which I must admit, sounds like a worst predicament than mine. So both of us rushed to the market this morning to buy medicine and microwavable food....because I'll be damned if I eat at another restaurant for the next week or so.

(Because of this entire episode regarding the food, I had to miss work this morning).

So my supervisor finally left for Hawaii after being delayed since tuesday (apparently there was a hurricane there). Now I can sit in the office, finish off my work and.....finally take a break next week! Then I can clean the bloody apartment up and get ready for roommates next wedneday. One of my old roommates wants to stop by on friday afternoon to "visit", but I have work during the daylight hours so I have no idea how to accomodate her request. Plus, not feeling egaer to see her again so soon, especially not after last year's crazy episode[s].

And damn, I know she is going to hate me for taking the better half of the room....the side with the opening window....the second window...extra power sockets......more space..........

Went coursebook hunting today at the bookstore, and even though I just bought two used books the bill still came to 174USD. I have 6 more books to buy! How do colleges even expect students to fish out all this money for books when the tuition is so high already? Sheesh. Thank goodness I got a scholarship to help finance these books...but it is very depressing seeing that sum of money gradually shrink.

Sweltering

LA is bombarded with some severely hot weather and some very strong sunshine. It's August; I thought summer was supposed to last from May till July! I am not looking forward to the sweat-fest once my roommates arrive and I have to rearrange my boxes in the cupboards.

The campus is beginning to flood with freshmen and their parents (I really don't understand why the parents have to accompany their kids on these things), and I can't help but feel all gloom-and-doom when I see them. I took a class full of freshmen last year, and half the time I couldn't learn anything because the smart-alecs were always asking [seemingly] clever questions for the professer to answer. There's nothing wrong with freshmen in general, just that their shining optimism about entering college is very depressing to look at...especially for someone who has toiled and laboured for the past three years and realise that there isn't much to look forward to after graduation.

The slightly good news: my supervisor is leaving for vacation tomorrow, and won't be back until next week. I can slack off- Gmail, MSN, BBC.co.uk, here I come!

The bad news: I actually have work to do at my job. So if I'm still working on the same stuff by the time my supervisor gets back, I'm pretty sure there will be hell to pay.

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picture of Blithe, Edel and Aein. Two of them are boys, believe it or not. I just have very effeminate character designs.

Goodbye Summer

Can't believe that school is starting in less than 2 weeks. It means more school work, exam stress, grad school application horror, and potential roommate drama (and when I say roommate drama, it is normally between my roommates and I don't get involved. If I had a showdown with other girls, I'll definately lose. I know I'm bitchy, but its the 'jokey' kind of bitchy, not the type filled with mallice and meant to hurt on a personal level).

Don't get me wrong; sharing an aaprtment with other people can be great fun. But last semester...well, last year it was very frustrating. There was a very messy apartment; a ton of dishes left in the sink unwashed; my eating utensils mysteriously vanished; used tissues lying on the carpet; clothes strewn over the floor; afterhour-boyfriend visits........great.

Downpoint of the weekend: the university housing department phoned me on Saturday afternoon telling me to get the keys for my new apartment, and also added that they want my backside out of my current apartment by 3pm Sunday. One large suitcase, one small suitcase and a bag of blankets might not sound so bad....but add ten boxes of books into the equation and you've got yourself a little problem. Doesn't help that I don't have friends willing to carry stuff with me.

Highlight of the weekend: I managed to move all my crap from one apartment into the other across the street in 6 hours. Granted, I had to ask the cleaning lady to carry my television for me because I tried lifting the thing up and I think my arms detached themselves from my shoulders. Alright, so I asked the lady to move my pillows (plural! Creature of comfort here) and some of my clothes as well. And maybe a few boxes of kitchenware. But I did carry a hefty load myself; otherwise my muscles won't be aching so much right now.

Fantastic, and I have to labour in the library tomorrow as well....I have a feeling my back is not going to be happy about this.

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Picture: Left to right: Aein, Edel, Blithe and Levante

The way I drew Remus Lupin (from Harry Potter) years ago...before the 3rd movie came out. Chocolate is love.

Samedi

Another one of my friends studying in UK just went back to Hong Kong today...and that feeling of homesickness is stronger than ever. I'll have to wait until Christmas until I can fly back myself. After that, who knows when I would be able to visit Hong Kong again. I'll have grad school to focus on (and hell knows most grad students only take about an average of 2 weeks worth of vacation time a year)...and even after that I won't be looking for a job in HK.

Not looking forward to leaving undergraduate life...it feels everything is so much more complicated once those four short years faffing about being pseudo-adults come to an end.

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Old picture drawn last Halloween....all the guys are girls here and vice versa.

MUSE!!

Muse is coming to LA, and would be playing in September at the Irvine Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre!! I want to go ;_____; but I don't know anyone else who is i)interested in Muse ii)can drive all the way to Irvine.

In other news, I'm thinking about getting myself a haircut before the semester starts.....thinking straight cut fringe with the rest of my hair looking shaggy. But my face is rather round, so I'm not sure if I can pull it off.

Other good news: I got a scholarship! (We all know how difficult that is for someone who is not international; is not from the state; does not qualify for financial aid). But now I have to write some cheesy 250 word letter of thanks. Gosh, I need some inspiration for this. How can I tell the board that I wanted the money to pay for my rent? Somehow that doesn't sound like something that will impress them.

Work in Progress

Colour coming soon.

Disconnected

T-mobile, I hate you. I need to refill my phone minutes, but you're not making this easy. You won't let me log into my online account. Your phone refill services aren't working. Just what am I supposed to do now?

Intractable stomach

That's right, my stomach is giving me hell right now. Probably ate something that disagreed with me (highly unlikely considering I barely ate anything today), or drank too much milk. A completely masochistic move on my part, seeing how I am lactose intolerant.

But damn, milk has calcium (good for my bones!) and tastes so damn good. Soy milk cannot compare.

Not only do I feel horrible from milk, but also because I asked for a day off from both my library part-time job and internship. I'm exhausted from my GREs, I'm exhausted from feeling as though my stomach is having a rave party, I'm exhausted from being exposed to too much sun this weekend.

Things to look forward to from the mail: two t-shirts my friend bought for me, a Togainu no Chi book that took a month to arrive, and also the crimson bedsheets I ordered from Bed Bath & Beyond after I ripped my current set apart during one of my nervous outbreaks. Bloody bedsheets cost me at least 20USD, but stupid ikea didn't have anything to offer in their online shop.
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On a more personal note, I'm feeling slightly bitter that all my friends/fiends are returning to Hong Kong for the rest of the summer. And I'm stuck over here in California, alone as aways.

I know there really isn't a point in me being too querrulous about it since it was my choice to stay the entire 12 weeks just for my internship...but its hard knowing that you're exlcuded from a bunch of actitivies that everyone else would be able to participate in.

I thought this would be something along the lines of a "golden summer", but so far it has been pretty gloomy, dark and boring. Might be because my bachelor-style room does not have any sunlight, and that everyone in my building is antisocial...or that I don't really connect well with people at my internship. And this one guy that I actually have interesting conversations with at the library plans to leave asap.
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And then my mother tells me how I should be enjoying life right now because "undergraduate years are so easy to get by". A bit rich coming from her, considering she never really did attend a 4 year undergraduate institution. Look, undergraduate life is fun for those people who are super talented and could maintain a healthy social-life and a strong academic background at the same time. I'm not one of those people. I'm diffident and meek with it comes to socializing. I don't understand conversation structures (hence those huge awkward 30 sec pauses between talking) or what the norms are during any sort of social interaction. So awkward.

Flight vs. Fall

Vendredi

Yesterday I finally summoned the nerve to take my GRE exam. I know I could have done better, but the score I have right now is above the average and can fulfill the requirement for the grad schools I am interested in. Those exams are bloody expensive, costing 140USD each time, not to mention that the taxi fare from USC to the test centre (and back) totals up to 60USD. That means I have to spend 200USD each time I take the test.

No wonder so many people are put off by grad schools. Even if they do get scholarships and stipends, these other grad school application requirements are very financially draining.

But to celebrate the end of the exam, I decided to go and watch the 5th Harry Potter movie. Alone. Since my acquaintences (they used to be my friends, but they've been demoted since yesterday hahaha) decided they have more important things to do....like get drunk. Anywho, the movie is pretty good, but I must say that if I haven't read the book beforehand some of the scenes would appear very sporadic. Everything went by so quickly, and even Harry's teenage angst seems to have diminished somewhat in the movie. But the good thing about this is: I didn't end up crying my eyes out like I did when I read the book.

Potter, Over

I finished reading the last Harry Potter book. Took me twelve hours, but it was sure worth savouring every single page. No spoilers here, because I'm sure some dear child out there is still plowing through the book, but let's just say I'm sad but very happy.

Now, I must reread the book.

Dash it all.

Leave it to a homeless man wandering outside the supermarket to make me feel like scum. The story: I had a slight emergency and bought groceries from the market when I got approached by this houseless man. Initially, I ignored him. Then houseless man tricked me into stopping by telling me that I dropped something on the ground. (Nasty trick, I should have kow better. I've been living in this ghetto for the past 3 years).

Then the houseless man starts asking me for money to buy raw chicken breasts. First off; does he even have a stove to cook them? Secondly; I just came out of the store, and used up all my cash for the day to buy my groceries. Perhaps he should have asked someone entering the store, not exiting. And third; the meat section in the market smells funky and I dislike being within 5 metres of the area. So of course I refused to help him. I even apologized since it's decorum to do so. But then he just glares at me, goes "YOU'RE NOT SORRY", turns around and leaves.

I felt damn awful for hours after that little run-in, but now, in retrospect, I realize that I really wasn't sorry I didn't help him. I'm not sorry, and nor should I be. I never expected myself to be a good person in the first place.

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Rough sketch done in Open Canvas.

Old image form 2006

Cachinating!

It has been a long time. A long time since I updated this blog.

Anyways, Harry Potter:OotP movie came out this week, but yet I can't find anyone to watch it with. Going to the theatre alone is starting to look like the only option left for me. But that is probably better than watching it with a friend; my friends tend to start chatting mid-way through movies to ask pointless questions about a certain plot twist or whatnot.

At least I'm certain I can read the last Potter book next week. Sorry to say, I will not be there on the stroke of midnight to grab my copy; rather, like all sleep-loving college students I will emerge on Saturday morning and then proceed to Borders. That means I can't go online for the entire Saturday, because some asshat who stayed up all night rushing through the book is sure to have posted spoilers online...in facebook.....livejournal....devinantart.

Onto another topic: I'm getting close to my 2 weeks worth of holidays now. I just need to get everything from my internship done before I relax. Note to self: during the break, learn how to drive, get a license and.....then not drive. Ah, ambitious. And then I should also learn to ride a proper two-wheeler bike....and go shopping for new sandals (two weeks ago I bent my foot 90 degrees inwards and my sandals strap couldn't take the tension and decided to give out).

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A rough picture I drew months ago, featuring some of my original characters. The designs have changed since then, but interesting to see what sort of stuff I drew from awhile back.

Burn!

The title of this post is both metaphorical and literal. The weather in LA has turned BBQ-esque, and I'm sweating even though I'm indoors right now. If it is this bad today, imagine what it was like when I went inland to Chino this saturday. Normally I would have declined going out in such weather, but a friend was visiting from Korea and she's only here this weekend.

And then I got dragged to church on sunday. For crying out loud, don't people know I'm not religious? I feel as though I'll burn if someone flicked holy water on me. The people at church are really nice, but I just don't agree with their idea of what morals are. I don't mind if you're religious, just don't make me join your religion if I don't want to. Sheesh.

Friday, I have never loved you so.

Amy Winehouse's album sounds super catchy, but not sure if I should buy it....because I also want to get Origins of Symmetry by Muse. Muse, why won't you have a concert here in LA, preferably in an area accessible by foot from USC (a non driver speaking here)? Must I travel to UK to see you?

Friday is here already, and I am most pleased. My internship is going fairly well, though I feel as though I should really finish my current project.....right about now. On happier topics, I managed to improve 120 points on my mock GRE exam today. PROGRESS! The 948USD tuition is definately worth it!

Oh, the character here is Hoale Te Reunion, the Cloud Sheperd. I sort of like the retro feel of the dress.

Rough Draft (first drawing)

Bleach Pens are Love

Last night I discovered that my sink was covered with ants. Alright, that was a hyperbole but there were still a lot of little critters running around looking for food. I spent an hour trying to herd them away, and when that failed, had to resort to killing them. (I don't think I'm very good with this whole "all life is equal" philosophy. Thank goodness I'm athetist, because I know for sure I'm definately not going to heaven/nirvana/some cloudy place). Anyways, in my desperation to prevent more ant invasions, poured bleach down the drain. And when I ran out of the stuff, I used the laundry bleach pen to draw a barrier around the sink area so the ants can't wander out. Surprised to find that the stuf actually works...in warding away ants.

Couldn't sleep well thinking about the ants, and I woke up at 4am thanks to some moron next door making a racket. And instead of working the required 5 hours at my internship, I ended up staying for 7 hours. Thankfully, I managed to chat with Ancode (from Barcelona) and Charz (in land of the tea, the UK) throughout the afternoon so I was entertained at the very least.

Waiting for Kinokuniya to stock up on the second volume of Togainu no Chi.

Wishful Thinking

One of these days I am definately going to publish a small book with all the crap I draw. Actually, I want to find people who are interested in publishing an anthology for D.Grayman because I've never done something like that before and it sounds like something awesome to try.

I've also been working on some original stuff, like Furies. I don't think I've ever mentioned what Furies really is, it is just a little pet project of mine and the ideas are still forming. About a bunch of kids working in the campus postal office with ulterior plans and purposes. So far I have been working on character sketches; like Aein (left) and Blithe Bauhinia (right).

Headaches from Hell

That's right; I have a headache from hell! Methinks waking up at 6am and working until 5pm is masochistic to say at least. At least I have two weeks worth of rest coming up soon, so that gives me something to look forward to.

AND THEN THERE IS HARRY POTTER (the book) COMING OUT ON JULY 21ST. Yes, I am capslocking because I am just that excited about the last book. I'm fairly sure it'll be one of those bittersweet endings where another character (or characters) we love die off in some tragic way. But. Must. Still. Find. Out. What. Happens! I am already placing bets with my chums as to who would be dead in this book. In the meantime, we can all be entertained with the 5th installment of the Harry Potter movie series. The flashing lights in the trailer almost gave me a seizure.

Other movies to look forward to include Live Free of Die Hard (so what if we're paying to watch a man in his 50s jump around ramming cars in helicopters? The MAC guy is in it!)...and Ratouille.

Did I mention that I have recently discovered the wonderful BL game called Togainu no Chi? I don't care much about the going ons in the plot (okay, maybe I do), but the artwork is simply gorgeous. Must but the manga once I garner enough money. Gosh, I've already splurged on Eureka Seven and Summon Night 4 stuff.....

Summer Holidays

Mon tete!

I can't believe that Road just went up in a puff of smoke (and I mean that quite literally). And Chaoji, of all the people we least expect to say such angsty things!
Another random blurb: I stayed up last night until 2am having a long-distance conversation, and woke up this morning at 7am for Saturday morning cartoons. Just kidding; I had to wake up early to work on my GRE course homework due tomorrow. I never expected that there would be so much stuff to do, but I do feel that the extra work helps in the grand scheme of things. My main motivation for learning all that vocab is just so I would be loaded with ammo the next time I have a verbal showdown with my parents.

Anywho, getting so little sleep has given me a slight headache. Ever had one of those moments where you can actually feel the blood pulsing through your head? This is just like that, but slightly worst. It doesn't help living in the same building as a bunch of noise-making-asshats.

Shall post more later.

Hello, Bonjour, Hello

I started this blog in hopes of posting pictures I drew, but that I would never submit to my main art gallery ( nio.deviantart). There will also be photos, my stuff from fine art classes, and whatnot here. This blog is not intended to promote my art; its just a little place for me to post anything and everything I want. You see, although my teenage years are behind me, I still have a while to go before all that angst and emo-ness wanes off.

Feel free to read, comment, anything. I have these phases where I desperately need advice (especially in the socialising department), so input will be appreciated.

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PS: An image of Jasdebi and Allen during their first confrontation all the way back in Chapter 103. I can't believe it has been over 20 weeks since then....how time flies.