jo emailed this to me. i decided to fill it out here. feel free to gank it if you wish.

1. What color are your kitchen plates? blue.
2. What book are you reading now? see my bookblog.
3. What's on your mouse pad? no mousepad-i've gotta optical mouse.
4. What's your favorite board game? clue.
5. What's your favorite magazine? national geographic.
6. Favorite smell? cookies fresh from the oven
7. Least favorite smell? skunk.
8. What is the first thing you think of when you wake up in the morning? "ug. not yet...*mumbles*" then i hit snooze and go back to sleep.
9. What is your favorite color? tricky. hmmm. when i was little it was either sky blue or midnight blue. after getting an art degree, i've discovered other colors, so it's hard to choose just one! my color of the moment is a deep, dark warm red.
10. How many rings before you answer the phone? depends on where i am and where the phone is.
11. Future child's name? if i ever have a girl, she will be named Hollen Elizabeth after my grandfather's sister, who died in the big spanish flu epidemic back around 1918-1919 at age nine.
12. What's most important in life? Happiness is good, but i'm still trying to figure it out.
13. Chocolate or vanilla? both!
14. Do you like to drive fast? depends on what's on the radio. 8^)P
15. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal? no.
16. Storms-cool or scary? both! (again.) i've seen too many tornadoes, but lightening is just so cool. example, when i graduated high school, my aunt and uncle game mom, carter and myself a trip to disney world. on the flight back home, we passed above a thunderstorm. my brother and i were entraced. we had never seen lightning at that angle. it was nifty.
17. If you could meet one person alive or dead who would it be? um...alive, please. the dead one's are a little uncooperative... i would like to meet Terry Prachett.
18. Favorite alcoholic drink? woodchucker hard cider, raspberry flavor. yummy.
19. What is your sign and birthday? stop. LOL seriously, it's gemini. June 3.
20. Do you eat the stems of broccoli? eewww! broccoli! yuk.
21. If you could have any job what would it be? i would like to draw comics all day.
22. If you could have any hair color what would it be? what i have now, but maybe a streak of a wild color or something.
23. Is the glass half full or half empty? i don't care, just as long as i have something to drink. 6^)P
24. Favorite movie? toss up between "The Princess Bride," "Monty Python & the Holy Grail" and "
25. How mandy fingers do you type with? nine, if you count my right thumb keying the space bar.
26. What's under you bed? two plastic tote thingies full of art supplies.
27. Favorite sport to watch? no thank you.
30. What's you single biggest fear? i have three that weigh in pretty equally: indecision, uncertainty & making mistakes.
31. Say one thing nice about the person you sent this to you. Jo is like a sister to me, she's great to hang out with.
32. Person mostly likely to respond? didn't send it to anyone.
33. Person you sent this to who is least likely to respond? see previous response.
34. Favorite cd? right now, it's Sigur Ros - Takk...
35. Favorite TV show? it's been so long since i've watched TV on a regular basis. fav channels are Cartoon Network, TLC, Discovery & the History Channel.
36. Ketchup or mustard? depends. on a burger, both. on a hot dog, mustard only.
37. Hamburgers or hot dogs? Burgers! unless ken cooks the hot dogs in the smoker.
38. Favorite soft drink? i don't drink soda anymore. it's H2O for me.
39. The best places you have ever been: Florence, Italy for art, Chicago for pizza. i can't think of any others right now.
40. What screen saver is on your computer now? none. my screen just goes blank.
41. Burger King or McDonald's? burger king.
42. Favorite frozen dessert? ben and jerry's ice cream "cherry garcia" flavor.
43. Favorite season? it used to be spring, but now i've developing a love of autumn.
44. Favorite animal? cats. (but i like dogs, too!)
45. Favorite character? in what? movies? anime? books?
46. Favorite actor? can't think of one right now.
47. Favorite saying? "it's spiffy!"

off to see the wizard...
alice and i are leaving today on our way to wizard world texas. we're so excited! i'll post more about the trip later. now, to finish packing and get cleaned up. 8^)

and now i'm home again
they told me this afternoon that i could go home.
the company is hosting a meeting of non-competeing distributors next week. i need to design name badges, a program flyer, etc. they been needing to get with me on this stuff for 2 months now. and now the day before i go to vaction, i.e. tomorrow, i have to get all this stuff done. steve is supposed to me with me and go over what is needed at jonesboro where there will apparently be less distractions.
at least i am home. my own bed! how i have missed you! *squeezes pillow*

back in conway
i arrived monday. what a day. still, it could've been worse. it just seems bad since i was so stressed. wake up and get ready to leave at 6am. get to conway at 8:30. nothing for me in the office so i'm out in the warehouse putting returned saleable goods back into inventory, scrapping labels off of racks (at least i'm not using a razor blade and lighter fluid this time! they found something that works real well,) and they washing the racks down with soapy rags. ug. those things were nasty!

my energy was just sapped. when i got off work, i went to the local target to bum around even though i was tired. guess what i found? two things...first, ginger altoids. i had heard of them but had not seen them in the area. highly yummy and spicy. i may go back to get another tin. secondly, i saw a sigur ros cd! i had no idea that they had release their work in the states. i had only known about them through jo, who got hooked on it while in germany. so i got it. too bad i didn't bring my cd player but i can at least listen to it in the car.
so far, it's very atmospheric and relaxing. which i needed. why?

ok the target is near a chili's, so i pop in to get some take out. while leaving i back my car into someone else's. there was no damage to mine or to theirs, a sporty black nissan, but i decided to at least tell them. i went back inside and had the "owners of a black nissan" paged. they tried twice, no response. the hostess started to ask customer table by table if they owned the car. she got one half of the place done before she got slammed by a wave of people wanting seats. at her suggestion, i left a note on their winshield:
"i accidently backed into your car! i'm so sorry! i didn't see any damage, but if you need any info on insurance please call." and listed my name and number.
so far, they have not called.
*shrugs* it maybe nothing, but we'll see.

after that i go to the hotel to check-in and veg. well, they forgot to call in the reservation! luckily the company has an account and i was able to get a room with no hassle.
i ate, called dad, then mom, then ken.

carter got a job! yay! no more of this place for him. he starts today and i hope he likes it.

ken's granny is in the hospital. they don't know if it's another stoke or not. we'll see. he wasn't there when i called but later in the evening he caught up with me. i miss him.
ok back to work. i did some filing and stuff up front but now i'm back in the warehouse putting metal holders for rollers on flow racks. what fun. 8^(P yeah, right. 9.9

a week in conway
i worked last sunday, helping them whereever needed and then monday i was off to conway to help there. i hated it.

don't get me wrong, conway's a nice town, but i really don't want to be there working for this company. the first two days were boring. i was sure people were tire do fme asking if they had anything for me to do. linda really wanted me out in the warehouse doing who knows what. i did end up there a few times this week helping to set up a type of flow rack-i was just setting thingies that the rollers would rest on.
wednesday was pleasantly busy-anything to keep me occupied and make the time go by faster.
with the exception of a few, most of the people who work there are fakes. especially the higher up you go.

good things did happen. jeremy from texarkana was there that first day and he and i had lunch togther. we found a wonderful hole in the wall chinese joint with great spicy food and good fried rice. it had a black pepper flavor i adored.
oh! i don't have to put up with kevin and alan anymore! woo hoo!
tim at work explained to me how it now made sense that those two bozos kept their jobs for so long. why bring in someone else for a few months when all they had to do was bide their time.

i'm home now. got in last night, but they want me back up there on monday. ick.
i stay until wednesday. i got some time off on the 3rd, 4th and 7th and i'm hitting the road with alice to go to wizard world texas. i volunteered to work at the show, so i get in free. 8^D
pray that they don't try to jerk my vacation out from under me. i won't put it past them.

ok, i found me resume on the computer this morning. i'll be tweaking it this weekend. wish me luck. c made me a list of places to send my resume out to and i need to get crackin' on that list.
man, i'm glad to be home.

changes or when it rains, it pours.
scattered thoughts here-expect poor grammar, rambling sentences, redundancy and general panic.

not, it's not raingin here, althought they thought i might.
ug. had a mess up with my checking account again. i must be worse at math than i thought. i keep getting overdrafts every few months. yuck.

just when i think i had it sorted and could relax, today i had a little meeting with the big bosses at work. the jonesboro division is closed as of tomorrow.
oh, i still have a job. i'll be needed to help shut this one down completely over the next few months and i've been offered to relocate to the conway division...

but i'm scared.
that is the emotion, i'm feeling isn't it? i just realized. i couldn't figure out what it was, except for indecision and apprehension. oh, and panic, too.
it's not the way i planned.
see, i thought ken would get a job, be there a few months, then i could move out there and work on either getting a new job or going back to school.
this complicates things.

i'm thinking of the marx bros. quote: "why have things simple, when you can have them complicated?"

it seems to be the story of my life.
hmmm. options:
go back to school(need money for this)
move to KC/Lawerence and see if i can find work there. (could use some money for this too while i hunt for work. i could bunk with jo until she got tired of me...)
try to find something here and risk not being able to make rent/car payment, etc.
take them up on the offer (which i'd rather not do unless i have to,)
or
something i haven't thought of yet.

oy. i need to talk to ken. 8^(
i've already talked to mom, but i need ideas. mom can only give comfort, which is important, but i need ideas, too.

i always wanted to leave this place over the past year, but not like this. *sigh*

my portfolio hasn't been updated since i got this job. i don't think i have much here that would qualify as being good enough to add to my portfolio. i need to update my resume! i hate job hunting. Acck!

ok, i need to calm down and just try to find the direction i need to go in. prayers are helpful.

it's a common sight to see in an area where gravel roads are common; cars & trucks covered with the dust of the road. it's prime space for temporary graffiti. things like, "teri loves mike," smilie faces and of course the ever popular critical request, "wash me!"

it's refreshing however to see something new inscribed in the dirt. today on my way to take the deposit to the bank for work i noticed tracy's car...


her son had scribbled hot rod flames in the dust. too cute! i appologize if the photo isn't very clear.

what i did since my last post & assorted ramblings
it finally feels like autumn. i can understand with the chill briskness in the wind why fall air is called "brisk."
this weekend i was at the lake once again with ken and his folks. a wee bit chilly it was. i must remember to bring a sweater next time instead of just a fleece pullover.
the leaves around lake norfork were just starting to turn. it's going to be absolutly beautiful up there in a week or so. that alone is worth a little cold. i'm going to have to scape some $$ together in my budget to get some new sweaters and a pullover hoodie.

[whine]
work is about the same. i come to work and quickly get in a angry mood. it disapates by the time everyone else shows up at 8. somedays however, i go home just as angry. it's like high school all over again; it's all about who you know and ego trips. ug. 9.9
i'm sick of it, but i'm waiting on ken before i make a move to flee from here.
i like working over at graphix, but i've already put in a full day at my other job, so often i wish i didn't have to go in, but i do. i need the money. rent, gas, bills...it all adds up. according to my budget i should have some extra spending money here and there, but i just don't see it. i must really suck at managing funds.
[/whine]

drawing continues on the first chapter of the restart of blue canary, but it has slowed quite a bit. pencils for page 12 is finished and i hope to start on page 13. i need to start thumbnailing out chapter 2 and finish writing chapter 3. still undecided on whether to ink the pages or to digital color over them.

jo came and visited the weekend before last, she had her high school class reunion. doug and c also moved to a new home so between helping them and hanging with jo, i was swamped. it was good to see both though.
jo and i went and harassed alice for a bit. 6^) i need to go bug her again soon. the only thing wrong with that weekend was that it was too short.

doug and c's new place is nice! brick exterior, hardwood floors and a charming retro kitchen. it looks like 40s-50s vintage at least. it's one of the house for rent on the ASU campus for faculty/staff and since doug works full-time an the convo, they were able to snag it. it's cheaper than their old place and much closer to work for doug, so they save on gas.

jo has had some excited this past week when a building in her apartment complex caught fire. luckily, jo and her kitty, annie, are alright. their building escaped the flames, but others are homeless and 3 have died.
jo, have you been back by there since? any status on your place? water damage, etc?
*hugs jo* i'm glad you are alright.

ken is working more on his portfolio but has returned to work on the project for jodain (is that how his name is spelt?)
his portfolio has been revamped to include a little animated sketch between an odd couple of robots. no, it's not 3po and r2. 9.9
it should be cute!

speaking of animations, ken and i saw "Wallace & Gromit: curse of the were-rabbit" before heading to the lake on friday. it was great. i like british humour. i would gush on it further, but i don't want to ruin the jokes for anyone. 8^)

i splurged a little yesterday and went by bath junkie and got some shower gel in one of my "scents," a combo of chamomile tea, cinnamon and dirt essential oils. (the dirt smells like a mossy earth. it's quite nice actually.) i wanted something ecletic that not everyone else would have. 8^)
and why did i suddently get some expensive bath stuff knowing full well how tight my budget is? well, ever since hillarygayle mentioned BPAL in one of her posts, i've been craving smell-good shtuff. funny, how when my sinuses get too sensitive to that sort of thing is when i want to wear it and i have headaches all day long as a result. anyhoo, i figure shower gel wouldn't be as strong as perfume oil and i didn't want to have to wait for BPAL. i'll do that at a later date.
the lady there also gave me a sample bottle of their calendula lotion, mentioning that people with my skin condition usually do well with it. i admit that the lotion does feel real nice. i may have to get more, but on another day, budget permitting.

finally, the new mall in town has opened 2 stores. everyone here is abuzz about it. i still haven't ventured inside yet, only beause it's crowded and i don't think i'll have much money to spend.
the rest of the mall should open in march.

it's cloudy today and i think it might rain. could be wrong though. i have to work til 5pm here today. 8^(P yuck. at least i brough my lunch and i won't have to go out in it if it does start to drizzle. i'm looking forward to my lunch, actually: bologna on wheat with mayo, pretzels and a braeburn apple as big as my fist.
nummy. 8^)

enough ramble. back to work. 8^(P

last day of summer
the weather should start getting cooler. time to get my jackets and coat cleaned and drag out my sweaters and corderoys.

it's funny, just as you get tired of the weather, the seasons change. i'm tired of the cold when spring comes and ready for the cooler climes as summer comes to a close. i think i would get bored living in an area where it's always hot or always cold.
the cooler temps will make ken happy. the man must have been a polar bear in a previous life. either that or it's his danish heritage on his mom's side. he loves winter.

right now, you'd hardly know that summer was ending, it's that hot out. it's like the season is trying to get every last bit of heat in before the season changes.

i've been busy. mostly at work or visting ken. weekends are mostly spent out on lake norfork with ken and his folks, before it gets too cold. they will still go out in the fall for the retriever, goldie. she like to go fishing as much as the lab, lucky, but she's so sensitive to the heat. this will let her enjoy the fun, too. i don't fish, but i find plenty to do: read, play my game boy and draw.

speaking of drawing, i'm currently penciling page 11 of blue canary. i found a routine that is working. instead of bringing a book to work to pass the time on my lunch break, i draw. when i visit ken and he's working on his 3D portfolio, i draw.
the speed at which i complete pages has slowed, but i'm still plugging along. i believe i messed up my stride when mom got sick earlier this month. i have all of chapter one's layout in thumbnail sketches. chapter 2 is completely scripted and i'm working on scripting chapter 3.

poor mom. 8^( she has some swallowing problems. sometimes things she eats get "hung up" in her throat. they never block her airway or anything, but it's uncomfortable. well this time it was a doozy! it blocked and mom couldn't shake it loose by walking. she hadn't eaten or had anything to drink for 2 days when she called me from the e.r. to ask if i could bring her a blanket. the hospital ones were too thin and she was cold.
i could tell she was upset. this one scared her i think, or at least it scared me! they couldn't find a blockage either. they put in an i.v. to hydrate her at least. they released her and she saw her regular doctor the next day. the verdict? the doc thought it was bad acid reflux but wanted a scope to be sure. that was scheduled for the next day, much to mom's frustration. she didn't want to wait.
the doc gave mom some new acid reflux meds that dissolve on the tongue and sent her home. the stuff helped! mom was able to get some water down finally.
the procedure went well the next day. they dialated her esophagus and spotted a small hernia near her stomach. 8^( otherwise, she was fine.

she crashed at my place the entire time. i was glad to help. it felt like it was time to start paying mom back for all the e.r. visits and doctor's appointments she been through with me.
i also carted her to the doctor and to the hospital. i missed some work to be with her, but tracy said i could use sick time to cover it. 8^) she's a sensible one, that tracy at work. that's why i like her.
mom is home now, taking it easy. she is back at work, but went on a soft food diet for a week or so, just in case. in fact, mom was getting desperate for food, but kept her sense of humor about it. she kidded the doctor about wanting to drink ensure.
"you know you're sick if you want to drink that stuff," joked mom.
the doctor laughed and agreed.
so, when she was done with the scope, i went to get some popsicles for her throat and then to sam's to pick up a case of the nasty-tasting ensure, at her request.
mom later felt up to driving home. i followed her, just in case. you're not supposed to drive after one of those scopes. mom did wait until evening, but i was shocked she wanted to try it. i thought she would have stayed another night.
on my way back home, mom called on my cell. she was shocked because the ensure tasted like slim fast, which was an improvement.

let me see if i can remember what else has happened since my last post:

• i have a new battery for my car. the dealership wanted $130 to $150 for a new one one. 0.o um...no! dad got one for $75 and replaced it himself. it's nice to have a mechanic for a dad.
  
• after that, the a/c on my car would only blow hot air. i finially scheduled some time to take it to the dealership. the problem? my compressor is kaput. luckily, that part, unlike my lately departed battery, is under warranty. woo hoo! the part is on order and they should be able to install it next week. of course by then, the weather will have cooled down. *sigh* i guess you could say my a/c is 2w55 for the moment. 8^)P
• i'm playing golden sun on my game boy when i'm at the lake. i'm currently at suhalla dessert in the game. i try not to play it too much at home because i have drawing to do. i also got copies of the legend of zelda: link's awakening dx and tetris worlds to have something else to play when on the lake. i like game stores that sell used games. it makes me happy. 8^) i will admit that i have gotten stuck in golden sun and have turned to an online walkthrough. *hides* i feel so ashamed! believe it or not. i used to be a nintendo freak in... well, you would call it jr. high. our high school was 7th through 12th grades. anyhow, i loved video games, even though i couldn't afford many game cartridges and wasn't very good playing them. they still have the ability to take over all my free time, so if i want to get any progress made on blue canary, i try to limit it to lake play only.
• dad and carter made steaks last saturday 8^) yummy! dad got a sweet potato to go with mine and i have never seen one this large. "and this was the small one," dad told me. o.0 yikes.
  
• i visited with caroline some last sunday. it was good to see her again, it's been too long! maybe she and i can get some girl time in this weekend.
• i saw another luna moth at ken's parents house monday night. it was fluttering in a oak tree in the backyard.
• i've been downloading and listening to the gigcast. 8^) hey, jo's in it! cool. i'm enjoying it.
• ken's making changes on the opening title sequence for jodain.
• i've had a muscle twitch on my right eyelid since monday that's buggin' the fire outta me! *grumbles* at least it's not as bad as it was on monday.
• still drawing blue canary. anyone know a good colorist who willing to work for free? i'll give them full credit for their work and portfolio rights! (they have permission to use those pages in their coloring portfolio as long as they don't try to claim my drawings as their's.) or what about someone who good with digital manga tones? same deal applies.
• at work it looks like i'll be becoming the assistant A/R girl who just happens to be able to design things. 9.9 oy. this is frustrating me!
• it's payday! too bad most of it is going to be spent on october's rent and a college loan payment. 8^( i hate being poor.
  
• after a couple of month abstinence, i've resumed reading books for fun. see my book blog for details on what. these can take a good chunk of my time too, just like video games which is why i haven't been reading much lately.

ok, kit out.

the past weekend, in review
ken and his folks were going to norfork but rain on saturday prevented that. i got to spend time with him after all. 8^)

saturday consisted of visiting with ken, of course, and going to see "the brothers grimm" with c. doug and c invited us over for dinner afterwards. it was good. we hung out at a coffee shop later. i managed to finished the pencils for page 7 of blue canary at c's house.

sunday, ken met me at my place bright and early. dad had invited us to go with him and my brother, carter, for a riverboat ride in tunica. the reason we left early is that dad and carter were looking forward to a breakfast buffett at one of the casinos. and inch to two inch thick waffles and made to omelets were some of the yummies described to me.
we can't all fit in dad's truck so ken and i were in my car. carter drove since he knew the way. dad had given carter his card so we oculd fill up in trumann. we stopped, got gas...and the engine would not stop. dad had gone on ahead but through the magic of cell phones he came back and boosted my car off. carter, ken and i took my car back to jonesboro and then piled into ken's blazer. dad was still waiting for us in trumann. dad then topped ken's gas tank off and down to tunica we went.
the boat ride was nice. we had to get our photos made first. i hate photos like these. sure, they need something to i.d. the bodies with if, God forbid, anything happen, but mostly it's a tourist ploy. 8^( ick.
the deli lunch aboard was ok, too. i didn't quite care for the texture of my bread, but the meats were good and the dessert cookie, almost as wide as my hand with all fingers spread out, was very good! homemade oatmeal raisin with pecans. delectible. the ride was calming.
entertainment was in the form of a short haired lady strumming either a banjo or a mississippi resonator. she sang a few songs i liked, but i was more interested in her playing the instruments than her singing. she was very skilled at the banjo.
after the ride, we checked out the riverport mueseum. i love museums. 8^) then dad drove on home. carter stuck with ken and myself and we took a quick drive down the street to the outlet mall. mostly to visit the chocolate shop with peanut butter cups the size of cupcakes. the dark chocolate ones are my fav.
then we headed home and took another look at my car.

dad came by my place and i could tell he was tired. it was either my battery had a short or my alternator was growing weak. dad & carter went home while ken tried to get the battery off so it could be tested for a short. no luck. he couldn't get a socket to the bottom bolt where it was attached to the engine block. about the time, my aunt had walked by. she lived in the same complex and gets exercise by walking laps around the parking lot. she has a car by the same manufacturer and reminded me of my roadside assistance plan. ken and i both decided that would be easier since my car is still under warranty and i placed the call. he dropped me by alice's for a visit and headed home.

i had a good, if way too short, visit with alice. we talked, showed each other nifty creative stuff we had been working on. i gave her an almost slightly belated birthday present (2 packages of red beads and a hobby lobby gift card) and helped her fold patterns. i always enjoy time hanging out with her. she's fun. i hope the birthday present will be useful for her. 8^)

right now, it's raining. hard. we're getting katrina's leftovers. i feel so bad for the people who suffered through her worst that it makes my morning rant look childish. good side, this drought stricken area is finally getting all the rain it missed this summer. bad side, is there will be some flash flooding.

my car is at the dealership. maybe they'll have it fixed by this afternoon. tracy wants me to come in 8-5 on wedenesday and then 8-5 on tuesdays after that. 9.9
i really need to get out of here and get a new job.