faux-journal.

So,

2008-12-27T00:03:18Z

I don't know if anyone still reads this thing, but I've been on Tumblr for months now, and my portfolio is here.

Also, I still read my LJ friends list at least twice a day.

Kisses.

Hi, everybody!

2008-05-20T17:23:33Z

Just a quick little comeback entry to pimp my new site:
http://kate.brianisinyou.net

Got some new artwork up and everything. It's pretty much a miracle.

Just a little bit at a time, though.

Kisses!

Moving Day!

2008-04-26T14:46:42Z

So long, LiveJournal!

I finally decided to head for Tumblr for good, and my friend Brian was nice enough to give me some space on his site.

It's a quick layout, designed to throw online in-between jobs (of which I am currently not lacking for-- so, yes, I'm still quite busy, and if you have a job with me, I've not forgotten, hah).

Anyway, I linked a couple of you on the (etc.) page, but some of you who often post locked posts (Angie, Shayne, Laura, etc...), I didn't want to step on any toes. But I'd love to link you, so just leave me a comment letting me know whether or not I should.
(Same goes to anyone else who's reading... I'd love to link you, just let me know.)

I installed a comment system (you can post them "unverified" so you don't have to log in to leave them). Click around to leave them... the comments link is different for each kind of post... you'll see.

LJ, it's been real.
Friends-list, I still love you. <3

(PS, there IS an RSS feed, but you'll have to go to the top of my site to get it. :P )

To: Everyone

2008-04-25T00:04:13Z

LJ and I have some good times, but I'm thinking... a change of scene would do me some good.

I want to blog more, and a new site would probably do that for me. What I'm wondering is, would you guys still read?

Tumblr does have a nice RSS function, which would bring my updates directly to you. And, also, I would still check my friends list obsessively.

Just a question.
Post responses.

Obsessed with convenience.

2008-04-23T17:30:57Z

I do not even want to get into the morning I've had, so let's focus on something positive:

Glorious, glorious pHome.us.

Basically, it's a really clean & simple homepage... you can post and sort all your daily links, AND you can add on some presets, which let you upload to Imageshack, search Google Images and Wikipedia, get directions to places... lots of handy stuff.
All on one page, which you can set as your new homepage.

That's what mine looks like (custom background, but one of their provided layouts-- which you can pretty much edit all you want, with HTML), so click the above picture to test-drive mine, if you want. (The grayed-out link in the picture won't be visible to you guys, because I didn't make that one public... just another handy feature of pHome.)
Be sure to click the "show presets" bar at the very bottom, to take a look at that option as well.

Oh. And you can set your links to notify you when a site has updated.

Oh. And I'm also completely obsessed with this.

Thanks to BK (and Peter, for whom I do not have a link) for introducing me. BK says, "I’ve come to depend on it in the same way that some depend on heroin."

Assuming he means pHome, and not sex with prostitutes (he does live in L.A.), I am inclined to agree. I don't really like recommending sites, but I really, really like this one... I hope you try it out and like it too.

saintsisterkate @ 2008-04-22T15:37:00

2008-04-22T20:52:00Z

The best part of not having cable in your home: less time spent watching trash television.

The worst part of not having cable in your home: more time spent watching trash streaming online.

I've become quite the connoisseur of streaming media online... for instance, I did not previously know that The Discovery Channel streams episodes of What Not to Wear online. Now I can get my weekly fix of Clinton-Kelly-snark at my leisure. South Park streams online in a couple places now. And I gots to get my Degrassi: The Next Generation on.

CWTV used to stream ANTM and Gossip Girl online, and I'm sort of glad they stopped... It probably doesn't need to be more convenient for me to get my hands on WASP-y melodrama.
(As it is, I download them weekly from other places. For shame.)

If anyone knows how I can get my Daily Show, Golden Girls, and Jeopardy! fixes through streaming media, I'd love you forever. Any other suggestions on what sort of trash I should be filling my head with would be much appreciated.

Truthfully, I could download a lot of these shows, but my hard drive is filling up ridiculously fast, what with The Office taking priority over everything in my life right now.
But more about that some other time.

I love the Discovery Channel.

2008-04-21T18:28:45Z

I can go back to being cynical tomorrow. In the meantime, this video made me feel all warm and squishy inside.

Fail.

2008-04-20T22:03:45Z

Alright, so... every other day isn't so bad, is it?

I seriously have nothing to say today... I'll be back when something interesting happens.

saintsisterkate @ 2008-04-18T10:19:00

2008-04-18T15:21:35Z

I missed yesterday's entry, but in my defense...
...I don't even remember what I did all day.

Today's Livejournal question: "What would you like to do more of?"

LJ, I don't need your lip.

I'm going back to my sketchbook. Perhaps tomorrow you shall get some pictures.

Riveting stuff, this journal.

Flamenco of the Dead

2008-04-16T21:50:10Z

And to think, I almost forgot to make an entry today... Apparently, starting or breaking any habit takes about two weeks. Here's hoping.

And from the illustrious archive of Livejournal writing tips, I pulled today's gem: "If you could travel in time, which era would you visit and why?"

...

Right... so, anyway, I watched this Spanish movie last night called [REC] (as in, what you'd see on a camera if you hit "record"). It was a zombie movie, and it was fantastic. The filming is extremely claustrophobic (so much so, that I had to go outside for awhile once the movie was finished), the makeup is superb, and the feral zombie noises made my skin crawl. (I think they used bird chirps... BIRD CHIRPS! That's messed up, yo.)

I'm trying not to give anything away, but I will tell you that there is a part near the end that made the 28-year-old man next to me scream like a little bitch.
Drew: 0
Spanish zombies: 1

All in all, one of the best zombie movies I've ever seen. Go out and download this before Hollywood fucks it up (under the name Quarantine, starring the terrible overactress Jennifer Carpenter, and a cast of zombie extras who look like they raided a geisha's makeup stand).

PS, If I were to travel to any time period, I'd travel to one where there are no zombies.
Total times I said the word "zombie" in this entry: ~~six~~ seven

Songs I've misheard for 21 years.

2008-04-15T16:12:20Z

-"Rocketman," by Elton John
Rocket man, burning out his fuse up here alone

- "Hard to Handle," by the Black Crowes
Boys come along a dime by the dozen
That aint nothing but ten cent lovin
Hey little thing let me light your candle
cause mama Im sure hard to handle, now,
Gets around

- "Blinded By the Light," by Manfred Mann's Earth Band
Revved up like a deuce, another runner in the night

- "Jet Airliner," by Steve Miller Band
Big ol' jet airliner

Indeed, today has been a productive day.

+++
In other news, I am going to make it a point to post an entry every day, for the next 2 weeks (in hopes of actually making LJ a habit). Good thing Livejournal provides me with excellent entry-starters such as: "Tell about a time something made you mad."

You guys are in for the best 2 weeks of your lives.

Whatever it takes, I just know he'll make it through...

2008-03-07T04:05:01Z

Ohh, Spinner.
When will you ever learn that marijuana is a one-way ticket to a burning hell?

Silly boy.
Weed is the #1 killer of high school students.

...Hahaha, good one, Degrassi writers.

Postin' about some posters... in the post. Post-poster makin'.

2008-01-12T05:33:08Z

"Better Luck Next Year"
marker & acrylic on board
poster-sized
(Portrait of my future husband? Probably the greatest thing I've ever drawn. Might make a duplicate to sell.)

"Every Cowboy..."
marker & acrylic on board
poster-sized
(Not my favorite piece of art that I've ever done, but I'll blame that on the copious amounts of Night Train that I drank while working on it. YAY, EXCUSES. I'll be giving this one away.)

It's going to be a good day.

2008-01-05T15:20:13Z

I received bongos last night.

Dan: That's not, like... innuendo for something? LIke, you got actual bongos?
me: (*says something while sputtering excitedly)
Dan: Oh. Well. ...Great.

Which is basically the response I got from everyone else.
And you know what?

LOOK HOW MUCH FUN ANNETTE FUNICELLO HAS WITH BONGOS.

FUCK YOU GUYS.

Me + Annette Funicello = love forever.

The 5th Annual Year-End (Beginning?) Survey

2008-01-03T15:43:05Z

A little late is better than missing it altogether... right? FIFTH YEAR IN A ROW, same survey. That's wild.

1. What did you do in 2007 that you'd never done before?
I had a pet. Then I got migraines. ...Oh, cause and effect.

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Last year I said I'd learn to play my guitar. Instead, I learned how to sing. I guess my new resolution is to learn how to do something this year. That should just about cover it.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
No one close to me, but I'm pretty sure a good portion of my graduating class gave birth, or is going to soon. (Gross, gross, gross.)

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Not this year.

5. What countries did you visit?
I didn't travel at all this year. How strange.

6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?
I'd like for this year to be less of a blur than last. Everything in 2007 seems so far away already.

7. What date from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
There are many. 2007 had its low points, for sure.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Survival.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Shattering the illuuuusion.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
We have this couch. We affectionately call it the "Scabes Couch." Scabes is short for scabies. You're welcome!

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Oh, man. Bluetooth stereo. It really makes our parties that much more fun.

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
Only because it's in my head right now... Dirty Rob, who sings hilarious songs. I'm gonna give that boy a Grammy.

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
Mine. ...

14. Where did most of your money go?
Ugh, I so don't want to think about it.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Buying beer for the first time, at least legally. That was pretty sweet.

16. What song will always remind you of 2007?
Mika, "Grace Kelly." Best pop song of the year.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you happier or sadder?
Not sadder, exactly. But probably not happier.
ii. thinner or fatter?
Hard to say.
iii. richer or poorer?
Ugh.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Being driven. I wasted a lot of last year.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Oh. Wasting time, right.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
With my family, then drove up to visit Aaron.

22. Did you fall in love in 2007?
Not exactly. Love was pretty good in 2007, though, I must admit.

23. How many one night stands?
OH, HOW MANY INDEED.

24. What was your favourite TV programme?
Six Feet Under is my new/old obsession.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Not at all.

26. What was the best book you read?
Making History by Stephen Fry.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
I got into The Zombies this year. And A Tribe Called Quest. And opera! I became a big opera fan this year.

28. What did you want and get?
Survival tactics. Faith in my ability to deal.

29. What did you want and not get?
Very little.

30. What was your favourite film of this year?
Waitress. What a good movie.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 21, and my little group of friends came over and played Wii and got drunk with me. It was tame, and wonderful.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
I could have baked some pies.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?
Fashion concept? Oh my, this was a bad year for fashion. I wore some crazy things, admittedly.

34. What kept you sane?
The company of my friends, whom I appreciate more and more. Honestly, there's no situation they can't help me feel better about, even if it's just them hanging out.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Helen Thomas! I just became aware of her this year, and I think she's amazing.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
Oh, god. Everything New Orleans has me all worked up.

37. Who did you miss?
The same people I miss every year, who are still so far away.

38. Who was the best new person you met?
Drew and I technically met in '06, but we became friends in '07 and hit it off pretty well. Amy's pretty amazing, as well.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007.
I'm gonna make it after all. *hat toss

40. What was the best thing to happen to the web this year?
Goodreads.com!

41. Who did you steal this from?
Rachel did it about 5 years ago, and I stole it. I've been doing it every year since.

42. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
"I've been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate, a poet,
a pawn and a king.
I've been up and down and over and out
And I know one thing:
Each time I find myself, flat on my face,
I pick myself up and get back in the race."

Sinatraaaaa.

Vintage.

2008-01-03T05:29:19Z

If anyone's interested in some "classic" entries from my blogs past, I pulled a few favorites from my old blogs and posted them here on my LJ.

Just find my "memories" list by clicking the heart icon in the left column, or just surf back to the entries dated 2002 - 2004.

Good times.

Artburn II

2007-12-22T06:30:10Z

These are all from the same sketchbook, which I sort of grabbed from my work desk on my way to my parents' house for the holidays. This one's actually something I call my "Quotebook," where all the sketches had to do with some kind of quote, either from a song or just from... people.
I'm eloquent.

They're all pretty rough ideas for bigger projects, but if you'd like to see what kinds of things go into my sketchbook, here you are:

And there's more in the last entry, if you missed it.

Artburn.

2007-12-19T00:27:50Z

Finally, some artwork.
You've definitely seen this kind of stuff from me before, but 1) I didn't bring all my sketchbooks home with me for the holidays and 2) I got fed up with my parents' sad little scanner about three pages into my annual burst of enthusiasm.

Let the great disappointment begin!

Another one of those collage/sketches that I used to do in high school. I actually started this one in '05, and never got around to finishing it until a couple weeks ago.

I got in the mood to do another one of the same. Progress, indeed.

This is more the sort of thing I've been drawing lately. It's pretty rough (as rough as an ink sketch can be), as I'll be doing a larger version of this soon.
There's a lot more of this sort of thing in my books, and maybe I'll get around to scanning it next year.

No promises.

Actually, I've got stacks and stacks of real artwork that I've been doing, other than the usual sketches. Unfortunately (or not), I'm too lazy to be bothered to drive it all down here to my parents' house, where the scanner is.

New Year's Resolution: buy a scanner.

Just, ugh.

2007-11-17T06:35:32Z

I'm in a really horrible mood, and I'd like to throw dishes but 1) I can't afford to replace anything I break and 2) all my dishes are plastic anyway.

I seem to have made a grave miscalculation in the purchase of these plates; I did not account for maximum breakability in case of severe anger management issues.

In other news, I've decided to see if I can go a whole month without eating meat (barring Thanksgiving, because I'm not against eating meat, and I'd have to starve at my family gathering if this was the case).

This was also a grave miscalculation, seeing as I'm real fucking hungry now.

I don't like to curse in Livejournal entries, I'm just that irritated with life.

I need to go to bed.
Or, like, to a bar. Or something.

Jesus H.

edit: So I'm scrolling down my LJ page a bit, and I realized a curse a lot more than I realized. I always thought I was conscious of that... but I guess not.
Um.
Sorry, family.

Will work for technology.

2007-10-28T22:12:08Z

In a rather untimely fashion, my 2-and-a-half-year-old Powerbook G4 finally bit the dust. That is what happens when the port where you put the power adapter... just disconnects. Don't ask me how this happens. I still have no idea. But I do know this: it's terribly fucking expensive to replace, so be aware of what you do with your power adapter.

So.
I had to buy a new computer, and I ended up getting a MacBook Pro. Because, apparently, I can't earn any money without working (imagine!), do any of my homework, or function in my daily life without a computer. Thank you, Age of Technology.

I won't even begin to talk about the horrors of getting things off my dead computer's hard drive.

Instead, I will be really, really excited that I got my laptop the day that Leopard came out-- it is amazing and slick. I enjoy it immensely.

And now I must work to replenish all the money I've had to spend in the past couple of days. If you know anyone who needs a site or a logo or any artwork at all designed, let me know.

Thanks.

+++
In other news.

I told Charter Communications to basically go and fuck themselves. They took three weeks to get out and repair my dead connection, and the day they showed up was day 3 of not having a laptop anyway. The guy came by to repair my internets, but first told me he had to collect on the bill.

A bill, I might add, that charged for three weeks of non-service. So I told him he could leave, that I wasn't paying the bill, and then I threatened legal action and pillaging of his wife and children. (That last part isn't exactly true.)

"Well, it's a $50 fee to reconnect after I disconnect your service today."

"Awesome. See you later," I said. And I shut the door in his face.

And the only reason I don't feel any guilt about this is because I jailbroke my iPhone, and now I am the KING OF THE INTERNET.

Charter Comm, Apple, and ATT's Edge Network can all bow down and bask in my glory. (After Charter Comm fucks itself. Seriously. I hate you.)

GUESS WHAT.

2007-10-22T16:38:38Z

iPhones fucking rule.
The end.

Sick.

2007-09-30T17:58:43Z

The box offers an option to make 6-7 pancakes at the very least, and that's far too many. I'd really like to put my finger on that perfect, 2-pancake batter-to-water ratio, and I can't seem to do it.

Anyway, I have got to get these leftover pancakes into the garbage before I get sick(er).

Not a whole lot going on lately.

The Conclusion

2007-09-09T17:39:32Z

Daniel came over last night to extract the toad from my kitchen. I almost felt a little sad to see him go, you know, I'd grown used to seeing his rat-sized body clawing away at the foggy plastic, leaving little toady footprints in the mist.

"Oh, dude! That toad left a giant shit on your floor!"

He did.

Daniel had lifted the little guy out and away in a plastic bag, letting him loose outside. When he returned, he signaled me over to the corner of the room, and there it was: a fucking toad turd, about an eighth of his entire body mass.

I'm not even kidding. It was almost an inch long, and about as thick as my little finger.

My sister later suggested that possibly, his leg had rotted off in the wet container, and he'd left it behind. And that, I'd be almost willing to believe. Except toads are used to swampy conditions, AND I KNOW A TURD WHEN I SEE ONE.

But really. What kind of animal leaves behind a pile of shit the size of its own leg?

The kind that want to spite you, that's what. There is no way a turd, both that magnificent and that utterly horrifying, is a mistake.

This was a turd filled with malice. And probably, like, a dozen small bugs. At least.

And somewhere, from the bottom of the food chain, a very relieved toad got the last laugh.

Sleep well, sweet prince (continued)

2007-09-08T16:46:54Z

How long can an animal possibly survive without air?

I went into the kitchen this morning and decided to check on The Beast. I crouched low to the ground, and my eyes were met by his blank, wet, amphibious gaze. Was he dead? He didn't appear to be moving. I tapped on the plastic, and a small shower of rain fell upon him, apparently collected from the humidity emanating from his body (alright, I don't know a whole lot about toads).
He still didn't move.

I tipped the plastic back a little, and the fucker jumped out at me. That bastard made a break for freedom, right into my breathing space.

And I'd like to describe the sound I made. It was not a hoarse gasp of surprise. Nor was this a mere squeal. This was something more akin to a Wilhelm scream. 7:30 in the morning, and, ladies and gentlemen, melodrama has hit a fever pitch.

I managed to capture the little bastard again. He is trapped once more, in his foggy little plastic prison. Again deprived of both fresh air and the evolution necessary for things like human strength and opposable thumbs.

You might jump in my face, you toady bastard... but I laugh in yours, glaring down from the top of the food chain... and from the safety of my bedroom.

Sleep well, sweet prince.

2007-09-08T06:28:06Z

A giant toad followed me into the kitchen tonight.

I trapped him under the lid of one of those blank CD towers, and because he looks like an amphibian on steroids, I stacked some thick books on top of that.

My better judgement notes that three large books was probably overkill, but my girly sense of fear of all things icky tells me that this slimy, smarmy rat-sized beast could very well have the strength of an ape and no remorse. I keep looking into the kitchen (from the safety of my bedroom, no less), to make sure he's still very much trapped. He just sits there, sweaty and desperate.

I will keep him there until Dan comes to my house after work tomorrow to dispose of my new pet. I now fully understand that this is why fate led me to have more friends that are boys.

On another note, one of the books my toad prince is trapped under is Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales, which I find both macabre and deeply amusing.

Good night.