So the weekend went well. Rather than going to Metrocon we ended up just driving to Orlando. Had a good time on the way up. I got the back seat and cuddled with AJ pretty much the whole way. :3

Ended up going to Downtown Disney, which is one of our regular spots on trips to Orlando. Sadly my fav store, Virgin, had been closed. D: Was hoping to pick up Jim Gaffigan's new CD to listen to on our return trip as our MP3 players don't pick up very well when near Tampa and Orlando.

After Downtown we headed over to Old Town (another regular spot) and dicked around the shops and grabbed some A&W. Always a fun time down there. Some gorgeous classic antique cars came rolling in which got AJ and I excited. lol

After Old Town we had our scheduled dinner party at a hibachi grill called Ogami with the new couple Danielle and Matt, who just recently got married in New Mexico and have a baby on the way. It was great to see them along with Graven and Monica. Lots of fun times and food.

After our goodbyes, and my exchange of, "I'm in your guild! I'll see you online!". We were on the road once more and finally got home around 11pm.

Was a good trip and I much preferred it to the convention. However, we're looking forward to Mini-megacon in August and Chibipa in September. We will be having tables there as well, so I hope for a good turn out. :)

In other news, working on my LJ stuff again. Finally finished getting the whole AR mood theme done (Theme by: http://so-severus.livejournal.com/). That was one of the most monotonous things ever, and I seriously believe LJ should find a better solution to uploading all those. I know I won't be changing my mood theme anytime soon. lol

Also have new AR icons. They're pretty sweet. Made by: http://schumannistic.livejournal.com/.

CPR class went well. I got a 95% this time around while 2 years ago when I took it for the first time I got a 75% (70 is passing). Helps working in a hospital for over 2 years, you retain much more. lol

As for this weekend, a limb quit her job so there will be no Metrocon. However, we still plan on venturing to the Orlando area tonight and staying there and doing whatever on Saturday. No idea what we're doing, but hopefully things will pan out once we get there. I am so not good in these situations. lol I need to have a plan. XD

As for Sunday, hopefully will just lay around the house, draw, play WoW, and spend some time with AJ. The basturd's starter for his car kicked the bucket so instead of coming with the limbs and I on our Orlando adventure, he has to get his car fixed. :/ Maybe I can still pry him away anyways since we won't be spending the kind of money we would have spent at the convention. *ponders*

So I have my renewal for my "kiss of life" class at noon today. Soooo don't feel like going. It's easy just weird.

Also I think I got this mood theme thing going. Still haven't finished it as I was working on it at work than we lost power. Not cool. But it's Alan Rickman themed. *love* I'll be changing my layout and icons to be all Alan Rickman (obsessed much) soon enough. hehe

Okay so I bought a paid account for LJ and I'm trying to set up a mood theme... and I have NO IDEA how the hell to do this. I went under create mood theme and linked everything from photobucket and then it didn't save. Then I read you can upload the images to the scrapbook, which I did, but then is there a quick way to get it to become a mood theme?

So after getting tired of my friend's guild, I switched to my other friend's server where they have their own guild with a large number of people I know. I figure if I'm going to play, I want to be useful and their guild is a lot smaller compared to the one I was in (Crisp on Baelgun is currently #1 Alliance guild so I was next to people who have been playing for years. Was rather boring for me.) So here's to a better time in WoW. :3

Lessee some happenings since I still haven't gotten around to doing this daily...

A few weeks ago I figured I'd re-read books 6 & 7 of Harry Potter to prepare myself for the new movie in July. Low and behold fell into obsessing again and have drawn nothing but an ass load of SevxLily fanart (slowly uploading to my dA as I color them). That in turn started a re-watch of all the movies, and remembered just how obsessed I am with Alan Rickman. So now I've started to collect/re-collect as many of his movies as I can get my hands on. XD

Also I'm back on with the dating scene. A friend of mine decided to try to hook me up with a friend of hers and that has been going extremely well. Metrocon is this weekend and he'll be coming with us so that should be most exciting. I'm really happy with how it's going so far, and we both have a lot in common. From the look of things, I'm not too worried about any sort of obsessive clinging as he has a full-time job M-F and we both have the weekends off, so pretty much the perfect schedule. Lovely. :3

Other than that, not much is new. Work's going well. I have my renewal for my CPR certification this Friday which should be oh so much fun. However, I've heard it's nothing compared to the first time you go for it, so that's a bit more reasurring (Last time I could hardly keep from laughing while seeing from the corner of my eye 30 so people breathing into dummies and doing 30 chest compresses all at the same time. Kind of like when you're riding on a bus and you're sitting in the back and you just watch the heads of all the people in front of you bounce and rock simaltaniously to the bumps in the road. lol)

Been watching a lot of youtube vids on accents and it's made me want to try to get my Boston accent back. I had a strong one before moving to Florida but after so long of working in retail and people either A) not understanding me, or B) making fun/immitating what I said, I worked on loosing it. But, no longer having it makes me sort of sad and feel like I lost a bit of myself. I've tried a bit but it is hard. Kinda like trying to change your handwriting (lulz).

Wow, so this is histerical. I was doing so well for so long with updating my LJ and suddenly... DEATH! I've done it before, I'll probably do it again, but this time let's just try it again.

Lessee, umm, some updates. Well broke up with said boyfriend in the previous post back in January. Yeah it went on for a while and it was good for the most part. It was around the time he was fired from the hospital where it began to go down hill. For me, if you have a good work ethic than I'm highly interested. The minute you loose your job and basically become a hermit in your house I've lost interest. I like someone who is fiercly independent. He seemed to be, but not so much. There were other issues as well but I had hoped he'd learn after all the times I tried to help him but to no avail. *shrug* Shit happens.

Anyways, I'm happily single, again! :D Yey! It was a nice break to be dating for a period of time but I forgot how nice it was to be by myself. I'm a very weird person and when I get off work I want to relax and play a video game or draw, not waste time, cuddle, and watch a movie. Sorry~! lol

Ahh... still working at the hospital, still drawing, still writing... oh picked up a job for a comic company 'What The Flux Comics'. I'm the penciller/inker for their comic "Buccaneers of the Strathosphere". I'll be with them at MiniMegacon in Orlando in August. Should be an interesting and new experience. Cons so far have been going amazingly well for the most part. A much better turn out than I remember a few years ago. (I blame that on my improvements over the past few years.)

Anywho, other than that, can't think of much. I'll try to update this. Perhaps poke a link to this on my dA to insite me into thinking people are reading my drivel. lol

So, here's something new and interesting... I'm dating someone. *GASP* I know it's crazy. It's been three years since I've dated anyone. Who knew I'd finally decide to settle down and have a relationship with someone. I'm just so much of a loner and so introverted that I never feel happy spending so much time with another person. Could also be that I've never been with anyone I really cared for. This guy is really something though.

I work with him in the hospital so we carpool now as he lives a block from my house. He's an artist. He does tagging and they're just stunning pieces. I've been urging him to get a dA. Hopefully he will soon. He also plays the acoustic guitar, composes his own songs, and he sings. He's really good and has a great voice. I'm highly impressed with his talents.

He's has the same tastes in music as I do. Big movie buff, and plays loads of video games (although I have him beat in the console department ;D). He also is getting me into WoW. Yes... that's right, I'm going to start playing WoW. I know I'm going to regret it because I'm going to get so addicted to it everything else will just fail to be but I'm going to try my hardest to keep everything on an even level (pff).

We've been getting along great together. He's really sweet and not too clingy. He loves my art and respects my need to draw as he can be on the same level. He's into anime and comics too, but not to the point where I need to beat him because he's obnoxious about it. He also knows both Erin and Andrea and in turn they dig him, so no worries about making sure the best friends get along with the boy friend.

Just wanted to toss this up here. So exciting. >3

Oh and on completly non-relationship deals. I bought a PSP about two weeks ago. It's all sorts of awesome and I just beat Crisis Core. Working on an epic picture for that. Almost beat God of War Chains of Olympus, and I just bought Sims 2 Castaway, The Crow, and Final Fantasy VII Advent Children. Umm, and finally went to Epcot with the family for the first time last weekend. It was pretty sweet. Better than Magic Kingdom.

So I felt like updating this because... I never update and I actually don't feel like doing anything else for once.

Let's see, what I've been up to...

I still work full-time at the hospital. That probably won't change until I get into the Radiogy Program in Fall 09' as that requires a minimum of 24 hrs a week of clinicals, plus classes so I really don't think I can balance a full-time job on top of all that. But my work schedule is 3-11pm M-F, weekends off, which are always a pleasure.

Not taking any summer courses. After A&PI and Drawing I during the Spring I wanted to take a break, plus I need to save credit hours to keep me at least part-time in the Fall and Spring of next year so I don't have to pay back FAFSA. My last pre-req will be College Algebra which I'm taking this fall along with Drawing II (figure drawing!!! Finally). Not sure what I'll take come the spring. Probably some business or other art courses just to boost my GPA some and keep me at that part-time level.

As for my usual crap, I've been drawing a lot as usual. Working on that TMNT comic still among other artwork that you can always check out at my gallery: http://maya-chan.deviantart.com Ahh, gaming wise I'm re-playing Final Fantasy VIII, at the final boss, just need to beat which shall be easy. Also re-playing Kingdom Hearts 2 because my friend is playing it and I was bored and I dig the story. Also at the final boss in Turok for PS3. Been to lazy to beat it even thought he's easy. I also need to get back to playing Assassin's Creed which I just sort of stopped playing for I don't know what reason. O.O And now I need to go out and pick up GTA4 sometime soon. So many games, so little time... I also want to replay Okami. XD

As far as a social life (lulz) I hang out with mainly Erin and Andi all the time, however I have been hanging out with Billy more often lately. Mandy's back around again which has been awesome and she invested in a hookah so I've been going over there and smoking some shisha with her and La'shea. Beatniks closed down so there went one great hang out. Edo's closed too thanks to Blu which really pissed me off. I want my All you can eat Sushi! D: The Pearl Lounge has opened and I've been meaning to get over there. Looks like a cool, quiet place to hang out... I'm just lazy and work way too often to want to go. lol

Gas prices are $3.79 here as of today (it'll go up another dime by tomorrow) for regular. So I still get to point and laugh at all of the gas guzzlers that drive down the road. My car get's 31-36 mpg in town, and a full-tank costs me (right now) $34. That will last me two weeks. Haha I win! Scion xA FTW!

The family is still doing good. However my sister seems to be having some mental problems as of recently. We're bringing her to see a therapist on Monday. We're thinking she's bi-polar as it runs in the family. She had a serious breakdown on Friday night which made my mother drive home from work to be with her. It's was pretty crazy, but I still think it's just s faze, however I'm also the one suggesting the therapist.

I don't believe there is much more to report other than that. I've been busy but always happy. Oh! For my 21st b-day back on March 30th, my friends threw me a small party. It was epic. They made a cake that looks like the Companion Cube from Portal (I'm obsessed with it) and when I came in they had "Stay Alive" playing and showed me the cake. I died. The told me to cut it and as I did it was hard as a rock and they all bust out screaming "The cake is a lie!". I lulled mass off. Then they brought out the real cake which had the portal symbol drawn on it. It was pretty sweet. Then of course that lead to drinking games for the rest of the night and hot tub... emm hot tub, just what you want to mix with alcahol. lol But yes, it was a swell b-day and I was mighty excited. :3

And that's all for now. I'll probably update again in another year or so. lol

4 jobs I've had in my life
- Burger King
- Marquee Cinemas
- Ace Hardware
- Radiology Assistant

4 jobs that I want
- Web Designer
- CT Technician
- Comic Artist
- Some office job.

4 places I've lived
- Weymouth, MA
- Weymouth, MA
- Weymouth, MA
- Cape Coral, FL

4 favorite foods
- Carrots
- Mac n' Cheese
- Seafood (all of the above please!)
- Pizza

4 places I'd rather be
- Weymouth, MA
- Boston, MA
- At home
- Coffee Shop

4 movies I can watch over and over
- Transformers (2007)
- TMNT
- Twister
- The Land Before Time I

4 TV shows I like to watch
- Scrubs
- Family Guy
- Comedy Central
- Futurama

4 websites I view daily
- deviantart.com
- fanboys-online.com/index.php
- facebook.com
- vgcats.com

4 computers I've owned
- IBM
- Gateway
- Sony Vaio
- I wish I had another one.

4 reasons I love what I do
- I guess if you're referring to a job, I love my job. I can work on art in between patients
- I love my art because it brings out different sides of me and drawing stories is a lot of fun.
- I'm constantly trying to build my portfolio for college
- I don't know what else.

4 reasons I don't
- Seeing old wrinkly things I would prefere not to see
- The smells
- Nasty bodily fluids
- Constant chances of getting a deadly disease

4 books I want to read again
- Outlander
- Eragon
- The Death Gate Cycle
- Jurassic Park

4 books I never need read again
- Harry Potter Series
- Lord of the Rings Trilogy
- Dunno
- Dunno

4 things that make me laugh
- CollegeHumor.com
- My friends
- My co-workers
- My family

4 things that make me cry
- Disappointing People
- Reading a sad, extremely touching story. Even a fanfic.
- When one of my favorite characters dies
- Openly Stupid People

4 things I'm going to do this year
- Get my X-mas shopping done on time
- Go to Busch Gardens before my Year pass is up
- Finish the prologue to MNTDN and maybe have a site up
- Loose 10 lbs

4 things I do to pass the time at work
- Draw
- Surf the internet
- Talk to people on AIM
- Talk with co-workers

And I tag anyone who wants to do this.

Jello~ I've been reaching my lazy streak with updating this journal, yet again. Never fails, does it. :D But I have been busilly updating my dA journal, along with my dA gallery with much artwork. If you care to see what I'm up to, jaunt over there: http://maya-chan.deviantart.com

( So far this is one of my faves: )

She's a made-up character my friend and I made back in 7th grade. We created five of them to go along with the anime Ronin Warriors. I'm happy with how she came out. ^^ Her feet piss me off but I'm going to have to deal.

Oh yeah, I never said anything about the TB. I tested negative so alls well. My mum had to get tested for it too, but she's alright. ^^

Bought this sweet set of Sai's today at the mall. :D I felt like splurging on myself for once (TMNT was not splurging!). XD They're nice steel, not sharp or anything but I have no reason to have them sharp. This is the start of my Turtle Weapon collection. I need two katanas, a bo and a pair of nunchukus. I have other weapons but none of them the Turtles have. I'm stoked about getting a bo staff. I use to do bo katas in competitions back up north so I'd love to work on them again. :3

Also started this sick set of the Turtles. I'm stoked about them.

Got tested for the TB today. They have to check it on Monday to see whether I'm going to have my life cut drastically short. *shrugs* Better get shit done now. XD

Emm~ I've got a mean talent. :3

So I just found out today that a few weeks ago I was exposed to someone with Tuberculosis. I also got the new TMNT movie on DVD today. :D

So... I might have a fatal disease, but I have Turtles... so it evens it out. XD

OMFG!!! The TMNT 07' Movie is FINALLY out on DVD today!!!! *stoked*

*foams at the mouth*

There was once a women who lived alone by the sea. Her home was built high on a cliff, singled out along the coast. White, billowing dunes played along the shore line below. An image of beauty that never changed.

It was picturesque but the women had a problem. She was terrified of the sea, but she this was her home.

For years, she lived in the tiny cottage, content and happy by herself, never knowing what else there could be down the sandy paths behind her, or the endless waters before her.

One day, during a ritualistic gaze outside onto the sandy shores, her eyes fell upon a mark on her painting. Gathering her shall, she whisked out the door to see what had disturbed the endless serenity.

It was a man. A young man, roughly around her own age. Tall and slender with a comfortable build along his shoulders and arms. His short brown hair, whipped around his face in the salty wind. A camera was held to his eye, being adjusted to focus on the setting sun.

She was surprised, as she neared, that even with the noise her sandals made, skimming the sand, that he never once looked in her direction.

"Sir?"

"Just a minute. We're almost there-" His smiling voice waved to her as she came to a halt a small distance from him. Within a minutes time, a bright green flash lit up the sky as the sun submersed itself into the disappearing waters.

"Beautiful. Simply stunning." The man said after his camera clicked off and was placed back into it's case.

"What, sir? If you don't mind my asking, was so stunning?"

The man gave a soft chuckle as he finally turned to her.

"You live on these shores and yet you don't find the Green Flash simply breathtaking?"

She did not reply and the man continued, "I guess if you've lived here your whole life, this spectacle is of a general interest to you. But to many, lifetimes pass without ever witnessing it."

"But, why let such a thing bother you? Is it a necessity in life to be apart of something so short coming?" The gentleman let out a soft chuckle at her reply.

"Would you mind showing me inside? I feel a little weary from my travels, and we can continue our conversation there."

The night was becoming morning, and the tea kettle had long since grown cold. Their talk had ventured across everything in that short span. The man had learned much of her and found himself surprised that many of the stories concerning her had been true.

Her name the local town had given her, was the "Shore Maiden". A beautiful persona that did it's job in painting the portrait of the women. Her bleach, blond, hair was long and thin. It floated in wisps around her shoulders and face as the sea breeze stirred it. Her skin was smooth yet evenly tanned from years in the sun. Her dress was long and the color of foamy surf.

She almost seemed as a ghost, if it wasn't for her laugh. Laughter was real, and with his words, she seemed to crawl out from her shell, revealing the stunning pearl inside.

"You know, this night seemed to be just what you needed. When we first met, you though the Green Flash was as simple as a gull's feather landing on your porch." The man laughed as he leaned back into his seat, his attention pausing as he looked out over the water. One story the town's folk had told him suddenly struck his fancy as he looked back towards her.

"Say, I heard you feared the sea. Why might that be? Especially seeing as you've lived here since you were a child."

Her answer came so suddenly that it almost sounded cold, "I know nothing about it." She said, her eyes still on his.

"What?" He exclaimed as he almost fell out of his seat. Sustaining from asking further, he took the initiative and pulled her up from her seat and motioned for the porch steps. "Well, no better time to learn than now." He said with a laugh. She allowed herself to laugh along with him as he led her down the side of the grassy slope from her cottage, through the cat tails and beach plants towards the shore line.

They both stopped at the water's edge, and the man finally took a step forward, leaving her watching.

"When I was a boy, my first question to my mum and pa was what made the water come in and out onto the shore when no one was pushing it." He wadded out to his shins as he talked, his back to her. "They told me the moon moved the waters as it came closer to the Earth for a hug." He chuckled. "At least it was half-way true." He turned back to her. She had not moved from her spot in the sand, but the waters had already moved in and were washing about her dry soles.

"Right now, as you can see by that sandbar a little ways out, that it's low tide. The water is already coming back in." His gaze combed the shore down to a jetty that reached out from below her sea cliff. "It won't be long before these waters are touching that rock." He pointed to the third largest boulder in the jetty of the eight or more large boulders that made up the jetty.

"Amazing, isn't it?" He questioned as he brought his arms up behind his head in a stretch.

She let out a simple nod. The waters lapping further now around her ankles. He prodded back out of the water to be next to her. Taking from his pocket, he handed her a small cellular phone.

"Keep this. I noticed you didn't have a phone in your house, and I need some way of getting a hold of you." His smile was warm and welcoming. He leaned in close to her and gave her a light kiss on her cheek as he than moved a few feet away from the waters ebb. "Wait here for me. I'll call you real soon. Than I'll teach you more about the ocean."

She never turned to look at him leave. She never told him goodbye. But she waited with the phone held loosely in her grip.

An hour passed, and her stoic figure remained motionless, looking out over the water. Her dress was now floating in water up to her thighs.

Another hour passed, and the phone remained silent. The water had reached her elbows.

She felt something wet roll down her face but thought nothing of it as the water lapped at her chin.

---------------------------

This was a short story that came to me while I was sitting down on the dock, thinking. I believe I wrote it for myself rather than anyone else.

Oh fuck, I'm tired, and my left hand is killing me... I think I may have arthritic in it and never knew it before hand due to very rarely using my left hand. Enough of my whining though.

This weekend has been absolutely lovely. Spending time with dear friends whom haven't been around in forever, and others whom I see far more often than I believe I deserve. I've been thinking and contemplating things that I never thought was possible from me... at least this far in the game of my life. I want to see it follow through more than I've ever dreamed of, I don't fear it anymore, and I don't fear the outcomes of it. What I do fear, is letting things slip through the cracks again.

*laughs* I wonder how many things have slipped through the cracks so far. Maybe it's because I don't try hard enough. I think the only thing I've ever fought for has been my artwork. Last time I checked... artwork had no real feelings except for the feelings you gave it. I've, of course, fought for my friends. I'd die for them.

*laughs* I know why! Cause I start to think like this! :D

I highly support this man. :D

Warning: Harry Potter 7 Spoilers

Finished it... I started to bawl at the word "doe" on pg 687, and than it was downhill from there.... ( Possible Spoiler )

Erin and Andrea are my worlds or, as we now term each other, our "limbs". How did this all come about? Here's what happened:

**a while ago**

Kelley (Ashley's little sister) walks into my bedroom as I'm getting ready to go out with Erin and Andrea to do... something.

"You're leaving again! You're always hanging out with your friends."

I turn to her and say, "Friends! What friends? Erin and Andrea? They're not friends, they're more like limbs that I can't live without."

**return to present**

And that's how the "limbs" deal cam about. ^^ Rather cute, and impressive considering it was coming from me. My brain usually isn't that quick. So we now refere to each other as our limbs. :D It's fun, and I love them so much. >3