Before I forget....

Please support the G00 anthology; there are plenty of talented people contributing towards this, and the book is bound to be interesting. Plus, if you like my illustrations, you'll see it inside (shameless plug).

It's even cheaper than most of the doujinshi you'll find online (10USD for the book, 16USD figures in the shipping fee). Seriously, just click the link and find out more!

INDIE!!

The image I am going to use for the self-profile at the end of the G00 anthology. I was going to draw Tieria again, but I really wanted to try something different and more personal instead. So I'm using two of my own characters, Blithe and Aein. With a trillion daisies. Could have done the flowers using screentones, but then they'll look inorganic and....foreign from the rest of the drawing.

And the actual G00 drawing I am doing on one page. Didn't want to draw an entire comic strip (I knew I was going to be pressed for time), nor did I want to write an essay. I really do admire people who have the dedication and creativity to come up with works like that....as for me, one page is such a drain already. I haven't screentoned this image yet, and hopefully I will get that done soon enough. Yar.
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Finally got my hands on Indiana Jones tickets today. While I must say that the plot was a little bit of a stretch--for crying out loud; it's Indiana Jones! Doesn't have to make much sense. (Plus, with Spielberg in the equation...it was bound to happen). Good to see Harrison Ford back in business with his hat and whip.

Home Once Again

So I'm finally back in Hong Kong after my little skit in Vegas and L.A.; and I take my words back from my previous post. I don't regret going to the Grand Canyon at all, the scenery was spectacular and the trip very educational.

But it wasn't without its problems. The meeting time for the Grand Canyon tour was 6:15am, and due to late buses; late tour-mates; car crash on the freeway; broken bus; another car crash on the freeway; detours, we got back to the hotel by 11:35pm. Needless to say we were all grumpy and tired at the end of the day, and it didn't help that we were wearing Summer clothing on a desert-cold night.

And right after the heatwave from graduation week, we were greeted with a series of thunderstorms in L.A., which also adversely affected (alliteration!) our flight back to Hong Kong. It was bad enough that LAX is currently undergoing renovation (meaning that half the airport was being taken apart), but the air hostess at the check-in desk was slow as hell , not to mention that there were a trillion children on the airplane with us.

I've even nicknamed the one sitting in front of me 'Damien' (from The Omen), because she wouldn't stop crying....not even to sleep or breathe.

But, one spot of good news is that I got into my graduate school of choice. So it is 'hello U.K.' for me afterall! My grades from my last semester as an undergrad are out, and it's the same as my freshman year; won't reveal what they are, but I'm just extremely pleased. Hyuk.

Surprisingly enough, saying goodbye to my friends in L.A. didn't turn out to be as difficult as I thought it would be. Perhaps I over-prepared myself for this sort of separation, so by the time I actually came around to experience it ...it was just such an 'old' feeling. Or perhaps I've been hanging around my L.A. friends way too often for the past few weeks that I might have 'overdosed' on their company. OR, it could be that they don't seem to regard the finality of my departure from L.A. on the same level as I do, and therefore I don't feel as though they actually will miss me (probably not true, but I can't help but assume at this point right now).
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Is it just me, or are the recent two DGM chapters super amusing? I love the characters so much that even if the plot is sheer crack I'll read it. Plus, having a mini-Kanda in there doesn't hurt.

Travelling

My paper is done, it has been handed in, my ties with the school are pretty much over in terms of academics. Now I just have to wait for the grades to come out in a week or two.

My parents are in town so everything has become much more hectic. They were helpful on moving-out day, and now my book collection is packed and shipped back to Hong Kong (it was expensive and required much labour, but it is totally worth it. Love you, Stephen Colbert and Richard Dawkins; best authors ever!).

Oh yeah, I've long since moved out of my apartment near campus (that dump!), and surprisingly enough I don't miss living in undergrad housing. I thought I would feel a tinge of nostalgia, remember long summer days laying on the bed looking up at cloudy skies; only that such scenarios never happened. My sophomore summer was spent going to class in record-breaking heatwaves, and my junior summer was packed with my part-time job and my internship. Never even saw blue skies.

And today was my last day on campus and saying goodbyes to my friends over in L.A. I shouldn't blame my parents, but it is awfully difficult trying to take my time and enjoy my 'last moments' when you know you have to rush around and meet their needs as well. The 24 hours in my day aren't meant only for me. At the very least I'll be seeing some people again this summer (professors and classmates) and others in the near future when I go to graduate school. Boo yar!

So, heading to Vegas tomorrow....not drinking, not partying, not going to gamble; not even sure why I am going. But my parents wanted to go to the Grand Canyon and Vegas, so I might as well go with them before I leave L.A. for good. Sort of wish I didn't have to go and sit for a while longer with my university friends, but to sound wise for a moment, goodbyes are inevitable.

Shoot. Still have to finish my doujinshi page for G00.

GRADUATION!!!

I am now officially the class of 2008!!! (Photos to come later).

I don't feel as melancholy or sad as I did a couple of days ago; and hopefully I won't feel that way again for quite some time.My professors were really nice and said some wonderful things; which made me look forward to whats the come and not always yearn for what I had.

But, the weather was bloody hot, and they made us sit directly under the sun. The Californian sun. The summer Californian sun. I was lucky I put on some SPF50 sunblock; my friend did not and walked on stage looking like a lobster. Eventually we both gave up sitting according to protocol and just ran into the shade and squatting there.

Now, to finish off loose ends...such as papers and goodbyes to people I didn't see today at the ceremony...

Countdown to Graduation: 3 days

View from old dorm room....I didn't even edit the colouring on this photo. The skies in California are naturally this blue. I won't go into the technical explanation as to why this is (and I learnt about it for an entire semester)...keep some magic alive in this world. Oh wait, I'm sounding like those people who advocate Creationism and ban Evolution from the school curriculum....
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ARGH. Only three days left until I'm booted out of campus! No more roaming the libraries in the morning/afternoon/night (or to sum it up; anytime); no more running to class thinking I'm late; no more half-assing assignments and being splendidly surprised when I'm not placed on academic probation; no more sitting in Commons wondering what the meaning of life is. Now I'll have to wonder what is the meaning of....taxes. Or the meaning of work in a cubicle. Such depressing thoughts. Granted, I've postponed my doom for another year (shimmying off to graduate school), but the inevitable will happen someday. I don't know if I can continue living life if I'm always thinking of such gloomy thoughts everyday. [Someone give me lithium! Just joking]
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Phone interview with graduate school admin went horribly this morning. Not only did I unintentionally make a snide comment (I didn't know how it sounded until it came out! I swear!), I also came across as a rambling fool. I was trying to say too much in too short a period of time because I prepped my answers in advance. Alas, when will I ever learn....ah well, got admitted to two schools, need to hear back from four more....
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Got rid of a stash of my manga today. I didn't throw it in the trash, I donated it to the people [mainly otakus] in my dorm. I didn't want to sell it to other people online, because i)I've read them and ii)even with postage, I can't see how it'll break-even or be cheaper than buying it directly from Kinokuniya. Frankly put, I'm surprised any of them wanted the manga since they're mostly BL- er, of a different genre. But the doujinshi I'm keeping for myself. My mother would have a heart-attack if she ever saw what they were about (key operative here: if). Also sold my television, so it's no Law and Order: SVU for me tonight. I must confess that I find Christopher Meloni to be incredibly awesome. I didn't watch Oz (too poor for HBO), but after seeing screen-captures and reading summaries; he definitely earns brownie points from me. Each time I see him and Hargitay on teevee I'm just cheering "Benson and Stabler!!!" (Yeah, the original Law and Order and Law and Order: CI just doesn't interest me as much).
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Parents arriving to L.A. tomorrow, and I know I need to get myself geared to express an entire range of emotions (and here I thought I was a semi-sociopath...guess only at specific moments). Happy to see my parents; sad to be leaving my friends; annoyed at my mother when she criticizes my apartment; grumpy at my dad for getting us lost on the freeway, then sympathetic to him after mother starts nagging at him; proud when I'm walking across the stage to receive my pseudo-diploma; fearful that my professor would rip my honours sash off and yell that I wrote 40 pages of bull; embarrassed when people offer congratulations; worried about my future; lonely after I see my friends for the last time on campus this Friday.

At least I know I spent my time well with my friends in L.A., so I won't be leaving the city with too many regrets.

However, my biggest regret would be not whooping my roommate's posterior today. She lied through her ass and told everyone she was graduating....walking the ceremony does not equal graduation! And she's staying in the dorm for another 3 days (same as me), because apparently she can't wake up early enough to move out on the actual day she was supposed to...bah. At least I'm 60% packed.

Countdown to Graduation: 7 days

Just let me wax poetic for a moment. I dug these images up from my freshman stash of photos; all taken from within Parkside (both were taken inside my room, but I was standing at different heights). Freshman year was such a trial; got very depressed... was bitter, resentful, angry...the works. (I shamefully admit that I acted like a spoiled kid back then. My parents deserve some sort of prize for dealing with me over the phone).

L.A. is experiencing some sort of cold front right now, meaning that the skies are gray, and the atmosphere is very depressing. To be honest I like this weather, but it doesn't make for a nice back-drop when it comes to taking photos on graduation day.

I know my parents will insist on taking photos all around campus like tourists....to which I'll have to suck it up and bear with it. I doubt they'll get another opportunity like this; since I don't have any younger siblings and my elder sister managed to miss her graduation by accident (she might try to convince me otherwise; but I found out the truth...from our mother. I love it when siblings try to conceal their shame, only to have them exposed by their parents. This is why I never tell my parents anything).

Eurgh, I hate my graduation gown. I feel like some old-school London streaker/flasher when I'm wearing it over my dress.
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I got an email from one of my library supervisors today wishing me the best of luck. Made me feel much better about leaving everyone I've met over in California in less than two weeks. I just wish I won't become too attached to H.K. afterwards and lack the will to travel across the Pacific Ocean to visit everyone in a few years time (I need to get my ID card renewed in 2014). I've spent my entire childhood traveling from country to country, but I've never thought twice about leaving people behind. Why is this so much more difficult with age?

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Zut. One of my roommates (I know which one; there are four girls, myself included. One doesn't shower so never has the need for a towel; the other is never home. That just leaves one girl left...) stole my towel from the toilet. I don't know what happened to it, but I'm sure it isn't good. My towel has been missing all afternoon, and I've searched my entire closet and laundry hamper but to no avail. I don't want to go through my roommate's stuff so I don't know for sure if they have it or not.

Had to dry myself with a bloody piece of cloth half the size of a standard pillowcase...damn. Not my proudest moment as an undergraduate. Other moments I'm not proud of include:

-telling my mother about my suicidal thoughts only to have her dismissed them, and have her tell me that the remedy to my depression was to "think happy thoughts"
-encounter my 'aunt' (H.K. people would know what this means), and having to improvise with paper towels
-taking toilet paper from the school because our apartment ran out, and we're too cheap to buy a new bunch
-running down the hall to use someone else's toilet at night, because one suite-mate took a mega-dump and clogged BOTH toilets
-getting drunk, singing songs from movies in the 1940s and hugging random passerbys
-crying in class
-crying in the toilet cubicle inside a school building...

...more to come someday. Right now I've damned myself enough.

Countdown to Graduation: 8 days

A week of no DGM.....and now it's back! Nothing like waiting for new chapter of DGM to make you realize how quickly time flies by.
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Alright, I'm officially unemployed right now. Today was my last day of work (I could have continued working on Friday and Tuesday; but I have an exam on Monday and my parents are arriving on Wednesday, so it isn't a good idea for me to spend too much time at the library making 9USD/hour). I don't think I'll ever find another job where I can take hour-long coffee breaks and still get some money out of it. I'll miss the library; a few supervisors came and said goodbye, but I didn't want to get too mopey and sentimental so I just casually breezed out the doors after exchanging a few words. Sort of regret not being more verbal, but its not as though all of us had daily conversations to begin with.

I seriously doubt I'll be missed though. I was always that creepy girl who never spoke much and made awkward small talk when forced to. Plus, they will have a new batch of workers coming in the fall, and I'll be quickly replaced...

Countdown to Graduation: 10 days

Oh hell, someone stop me before I spend some of my part-time-job-income on Indiana Jones DVDs. I must admit that I'm a closet-enthusiast of the upcoming Indie film; used to watch the movies as a kid and never got tired of any of them (huge rolling stone scene? Classic. Spent hours thinking how the builders even managed to lodge that thing in place for so many years). I would go and watch the new movie on the 22nd if only I didn't have an afternoon flight to catch on the 23rd...so I suppose I'll have to wait until the film is released in Hong Kong. Bummer.

And my Olympus XA2 camera might be dying; the film rewinding mechanism isn't working properly! I had to manually roll the film under my blankets. Plus, some exposure problems as well. There were some snazzy shots from the most beautiful day (lighting was perfect!), and only half of each image can be seen (the other half is over-exposed). Grr. Damn camera did take awesome photos in the past, so I am most reluctant to throw it out. Will post images later.

Not looking forward to seeing parents in town.

Repetoire

Just an image of Erebos 'Nano' Rose and Aein together. One always coughs up blood, the other nosebleeds like no tomorrow. No wonder they make such good chums.
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Yes! thanks to hard work and dedication (or, spending 9 hours straight in the library writing), my thesis is 90%-92% complete! All I need to do is just polish off the conclusion and discussion portions, and tweak the transitions here and there between paragraphs. And then let my professor tear it apart on Monday. Oh joy. Anyways, I admit that I wasn't very specific as to the happenings on Thursday night, but I participated in a long standing tradition at the college I go to; and it was awesome. At first I thought I might have to go through it alone (seeing how I didn't want to get my phone wet so I left it at home...and then I couldn't find my friend at the meeting point because of the crowds), and it is a good thing that I was lucky enough to run into the people I was supposed to. So the last day of classes passed without much incident; except for a slight case of intestinal infection on my part. Funny how I start my freshman year with intestinal infection, and end with the same ailment too. Lets just hope I don't have to rush to the porta-toilet during the ceremony itself. But it was nice to end things quietly on a Friday afternoon having lunch with friends and just chatting away. Some good news would be that I'm getting over my attachment with the campus now. Came to the realization that I don't miss the university itself as so much as the undergraduate lifestyle that went with it. But then we all have to grow up eventually, and better now than never and realize that you missed out on so much more by staying in one spot your entire life. But this doesn't mean I'm not going to cry when I leave L.A. Sob.

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My friends and I were talking today and we agreed that it isn't wrong to hate someone to the point where you actually take delight in their misery and failures in life. Call us horrible people if you will, but what can one do? Damn, thats the situation with my roommate and I right now. Well, I dislike my roommate, and I hate my flatmate. My last flatmate is perfectly fine, and she's a cool person to hang out with.

The other flatmate is an absolute slob, and apparently doesn't like us because we're not the same kind of person she is (replace 'same kind' with 'race'...but I don't want to make her sound like a racist). But my roommate just won't stop bitching about the smell (actually had a breakdown in front of her parents), and since slobby flatmate left for the weekend there really isn't much we can do about it. Drama queens.

Countdown to Graduation: 14 days

Busy busy week; the last week of school is always hectic. Classes to go to, art projects to finish, essays to write, free lunches to eat, senior undergrad statuses to abuse....

Went to the end-of-year party at my part-time job, and got a free gift. Never realized how much I will miss my supervisors and co-workers until now. Sure, the job was repetitive and boring, and was labour intensive; but I also had a smashing time meeting new people. Plus, what job lets you get away with taking hour-long coffee breaks and lets you throw books into dumpsters? My official last day of work is next Thursday...and after that I'll be unemployed.

And running in water fountains is bloody awesome. The photos of the top are from the event, and I was worried that my camera would die after having water be splashed on it (but it turned out fine!). The water was gross and cold; my clothes are still soaked since last night; I got a few cruises and scratches, but it was totally worth it. Waited four years for this; but now I'm too tired to even move around. (Plus, I ran across campus last night; the most exercise I have had in years). Saw some old freshman/sophomore friends who I fell out of contact with; but thats life. I don't expect myself to be talking to everyone I met throughout my life.

Also, I picked up my cap and gown, and I feel like an oversized Batman. I swear the guy who measured my head wasn't looking at the tape measure properly; the cap is a little too tight, and makes my skull look super elongated (conehead!) But I felt a surge of smug satisfaction when a girl claimed that her head was big....and she only had a 7" skull! My head beat hers in terms of size.....(and probably ego).
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Now I have to finish my thesis before next week and have it proof-read and fixed. Need to revise for my exam, though I couldn't really care less how I do now. Need to buy a proper outfit for graduation.