And my stomach did this weird flip-flop thing. I felt all happy and light inside. It was surreal. That's love, right?

The picture was of Hokkaido. XD

But not tonight. I'm just posting here to say that I should. Things have been going (fairly) well recently, all things considered.

And school is almost out. Thank God. I need winter break! And Christmas! Give me time off or give me death! (not literally, please).

Finished a bit of a short story. Maybe I'll post it. I didn't finish NaNo this year, due ot life. Boo life.

I gotta sleep.

And I think I failed my last math test.... Again. I might have to retake that one class. Oh well. In other school news, the teacher for my next creative writing class e-mailed me and asked me my credentials for the class. Really? How intimidating! I sent him an e-mail and I might sit in on a class, but it really has me worried! He wanted to make sure I knew it was an 'advanced class'. Kowaii ne!

I've decided to start my NaNovel over. It just isn't working. I'm gonna need to work harder at it, but I think I can do it.

I've also ordered my Christmas present from Mom and Dan ^^ It's a B&G Nailo full set. He's so lovely. I really am looking forward to this doll! I hope he comes soon ^^ We have him on layaway from DDE though, so I just have to wait until the payments are all done.

I sent my CDs out for the NaNo CD Swap. They're sitting in the big post box. I hope I get some back from my swap partners ^^

And I need to do my Philosophy test now and then write. So that's it!
See ya!

I am so tired. I need to sleep more. I won't get much sleep this week. Must grab it when I can... Nap time tomorrow. I never take naps. This feels a little delusional, so I'm going to bed now.

Bye.

P.S. Oh yeah, I got a 90-something on ym math test. Yay me.

I am not sick anymore!!
I'm getting really tired of seeing that at the top of my journal, haha. So this is more of a 'get that off the top' post than anything else.

There's only nine more days until NaNoWriMo! Yay! *dances* My characters are being strange and keep changing themselves on me. I can't wait to start~ Today seems to have been a good day for me and my plot, so that's a good thing *knocks on wood*

School has been okay so far. I've been slacking a bit in math... I need to work harder. Real life stuff is hard for me apparently, haha.

I wanna NaNo!

Well, I'm sick. I don't really feel like updating. However, as that this weekend was the first time in years that I've been layed up in a hotel room with a fever, I think it merits some journal time. On the plus side, I got to watch some Bleach. And I felt better the enxt day. I'm still not 100% though. I pushed myself too far. I should have gone back to the hotel eariler, but I wanted to hang out and stuff. Lesson learned (which isn't to say I woulnd't do it again, haha. I have a hard head.)

I have a philosophy test due tomorrow, which is a little intimidating. My head isn't working very well, but I'm gonna give it my best shot.

And it's almost November.
Hooah.

I found my 'No Plot? No Problem!' book! Rather Mom found it. Go mom! With this book, henceforth the NaNoBook, I feel empowered and ready for NaNo Preparation! Except I have vowed to not seriously start planning until the last week of October. Maybe the last week and a half. I wonder...

Also, as that last year 2000 words a day left me with 55,000 a week or so earlier than the end of November, I wonder if I should try for more? Like 60,000 or something? That would be... well, still 2000 a day, but I wouldn't be able to let up until the end, unlike last year. That might be a little more challenging. 60,000 or 65,000? 65,000 would be pushing it... That feels like a lot to me. That's 2242 words a night for 29 days straight. And even if I fall short, I can still win. I just might not be finished. Hm. Maybe I'll try that. What do you guys think? 65,000 words in a month. Or 63,800 words in one month if I do 2,200 words a night. 63,800 might be a fun number to finish on.

And is it really planning if something just jumps out at you? I said no planning, but is it my fault if, when I write something while listening to a certain song, one of my characters jumps out and says, "Me! Pick me! I have a story for you!" Not my fault, right? They did it. Right! I was not actively involved in the NaNo planning, so therefore, it's not planning! I'm still not sure if I'll do it, but I wrote a letter ot that character asking if they were really interested. He said yes, so I told him that it was only an option at this point and that I may do something else. He's fine with that. So we'll see. The NaNoBook will decide the fact of my story plots. I guess it's time to go back through my notes and everything too, huh?

Oh! Mom is gonna do NaNo this year too! It's so cute, she's all signed up on the website and everything! It'll be ncie to NaNo alongside more people I know. She's been having a bad time recently. I reminded her that NaNo was coming up and she said she'd consider it. After a little wheeling and dealing for the NaNo, she agreed to do it. She wanted to do it a few months ago too. I think it'll be a good stress relief for her. I hope she enjoys it. She's gonna find a cheap portable typing thingie and write at work and such. She's even ordering her very own NaNoBook. It'll be interesting to see what she does.

And that's it for now!
Good night!

Wow, what a good day!! Today I learned not only that there is indeed a garden trip to Japan planned, but mine and Hannah's names are already on the list for attendance!! And Reiko missed us! And we're going to JAPAN!! Wahhh! *octopus arms of happiness* Gwahahahha!! JAPAN!! I'm coming to you this summer!! Now to save for money ^_^ And get a passport. Get one soon. Yush.

AND on DoA, I just found out that VolksUSA is offering Sunlight skin here at Sumika! Yay! Now I really can get my elf guy! They just need to keep it this time. My guy just got moved back up onto my doll list. Doll for Zero~

I think Issachar and Ilde will go to Japan with me. Is that too many? I've never flown with a doll before...

And I have a new Riolu avi. Like him? He's got a cute little face XD

And just for posterity's sake, Moonviewing 2009 went well except for the newspaper saying the event was free. That was bad. And I'm really sore, but so happy I don't really notice it except for when I try to move my lower half. My arms are fine. Go me!

So, I think I will try to reinstall my HD by myself. It seems easy enough, I have instructions and all the disks. I've already taken the HD out before as part of the troubleshooting phase. I've got most everything I wanted to get off my HD, off my HD. The only thing I might need to do is borrow a couple of disks from friends to reinstall some stuff. Other than that, I'm good. It's not the first time I've done this. With HDs I mean. We've upgraded them before and such. I've reinstalled an OS before. I'm the computer nerd in my family. I should be able to do this, in case I need to do it for one of them. Wow, I am really family oriented. I never noticed before.

So that's what's going down tomorrow before heading out to Anna's for some spend the night goodness. I'm watching V for Vendetta on her large TV. Yes I am. And maybe some Miyazaki. Definitely V. I've been thinking about that movie a lot recently. It's one of the only ones I can consistently rewatch. But that's beside the point.

And if I somehow manage to screw up the whole reinstall the OS thing, I have friends who are smarter than me with computer stuffs. I don't think I'll mess it up. But if I do, I'm pretty sure my friends have my back. *claps hands* So that's my battle plan. I really do like trying things on my own. And sometimes it's a good thing to start with a blank slate. It's kind of exciting actually. Besides, I can keep my old HD for up to 10 days before I need to return it to Dell. So having someone else pull the data off and copy it onto my new one is still an option, should all else fail.

I'll let you all know how it goes~

I recovered my word files. Thank God. All my stories. If I had lost those... These weeks can't have been so bad if I at least got my word documents back. I even found my pictures and music folders hiding away in there. I think I can save them.

And maybe my J-drama if I can figure out where to put all 55.6GB of it. *addict* Or maybe just save my favorite ones.

A lovely little open source, live CD OS called Ubuntu saved my life. It can run WITHOUT the HD. And it can access the files there. Thank God, thank God. I guess He really does exist after all. I've never prayed harder for anything in my life (except for maybe our poor dying animals, but that's understood, right? Animals trump computer?). I also mentioned that I'd quit cursing (a habit I lapsed back into last week) and quit doing some other things if my computer would work just one more time. Can you bargain with God? Does it work that way? Whatever. It works for me right now. I'll analyze things later, AFTER I finish saving the rest of my HD files. I'm afraid to shut it down for fear it might not start again. It's just running off the Live CD in my Optical Drive. I didn't even know that was possible. I keep waiting for it to crash.

But I can breathe again. I get way too stressed.

Yup. Out of the blue. No warnings or anything. Compy can see the hard drive, but not access it. I can start the compy, but not boot it. It tries then just sits there. For hours. Diagnostic and Dell people said the HD crashed. So they're sending me a new one. Now I have to try and get all my files off of there somehow.

My laptop HD crashed. Crashed. It's just... Really? Come on now. Two weeks is long enough! What did I do?

I'm just going to resign myself to the fact that I'm in the middle of a storm of Bad. It has to stop raining sometime, right? Things seem to suck for everyone right now. It has to get better. Because right now it's just getting ridiculous.

Lyrics HERE.

Time for something other than useless Sarah dribble. Here's another lovely song for you people~

This song was the ending theme for a j-drama called Triangle. It's the story about a man who seeks revenge for the murder of one of his childhood friends. He found her body when he was young (about nine) and got covered in her blood. With both parents dead, his older brother helped him cover up his involvement with the crime. The statute of limitations on murder is 25 years. After that they close the case. For 25 years, our main character lives a perfect life, never messing up. The story opens with a clock counting down. At exactly midnight, he quits his job as a doctor and disappears. As the show goes along, many potential suspects for the murder come into view, including the main character himself. It's really a great show. I like it better than a lot of American dramas. The plot line is just... something to die for. I laughed, cried and got mad. I stayed up late watching it. It's worth a view, if you can.

As for the song, it very nostalgic and gentle. Like a love song almost. It encourages you to remember the good days and to hold on to what you really love, even if it's just a memory. The piano music and the orchestra mix well, creating a peaceful atmosphere. It's a very relaxing piece. Like the drama, you should hear it at least once. You might fall in love with it too.

And that's it for today! If you want the link for the drama, I'd be happy to direct you to where you can find it. The song is pretty easy to find on the internet as well.

Bye~

I don't feel well, so this post will be kind of whatever. Potato chips are bad for me. I should know this. It's why I never ate them. I don't even like the taste. And now I'm paying for it.

On another note, I made friends with another of Ryan's friends tonight! She's nice. She likes tea. She also likes sewing and wants to go to the Ren Faire next year. So we all decided to go together in costumes. I then invited her over to sew said costumes and she seemed excited about that, so we'll see.

Creative Writing class starts tomorrow and I get to see if it's going to be fun or not. Not fun would be having it all online. I hate taking classes online. But Anna's in it, so not so much of a problem. I even have a few story ideas right now, so maybe things will go well.

I've been playing Fallout 3 a lot recently. It's even in my head when I sleep. I'm not really addicted though. That was Infinite Undiscovery when Sigmuund was in my party. That was addiction. This is fascination. I like going to all the different places.

Oh, I found a way to circumvent my longing of that Scarface Cecil. If I get Elezar's body and Souldoll Hewer, who is Turim, Belzer's Barbarian companion, I think I can skip the mourning stage. Man that doll is lovely though. Still, without a better paying job, no way could I get him. I have real life obligations and such. Le sigh. At least Iplehouse and Souldoll do layaway...

And I think that's it. My stomach says no more.

It's the name of an anthology I read recently. Lots of stories about Egyptian Pharaohs. Totally rekindled my Ancient Egypt passion with passion. I'd forgotten how hardcore addicted I once was. And some of these authors didn't shoot for total accuracy and such. That's the glory of a short story, I guess. You don't have to explain as much to make a believable world. I kind of want to write an Egyptian story now.

Oh! I spoke with the lady in charge of the certificate program today about my portfolio!! And I got FEEDBACK! She sprung it on me after I'd sat down. Running away in the middle of a meeting would have been cowardly, haha. I wasn't prepared for feedback, but it was good! She told me my strengths and pointed out what I needed to work on and such. I also learned that 1) not everyone gets accepted and this year they've been pickier with their candidates as well as 2) it's semi-rare for all three to agree to accepting a portfolio, but they liked mine. Someone said they liked that I could go from short story writing to screenplay. I'm glad I went back and edited that monster now, haha. What else... Ah, she also said that my tone was good throughout my stories and while they could use some firming and tightening up (through word choice, really looking at some of my imagery that didn't work on a deep level, watching out for repeated words), the writing had a 'spark'. All the reviewers like my 'imagination' and story ideas. I had all the basic writing skills down, and could now focus on improving the more tricky things in writing, you know? They liked it. My writing stood out. I'm so relieved! It was very constructive feedback and I came out feeling empowered. That's the way feedback should be. And we talked about other things, where I wanted to go as a writer, what my plans were, what I wanted from the program. I'm excited! It sounds like it will be fun ^_^

All my other classes are fun too. Nutrition is not bad. I'm actually enjoying it! I'm looking at my diet (my poor diet, haha) and seeing what I can do differently and such. I almost hit someone in my Ethics class (mentally of course) for arguing stupid, irrelevant points. Math is okay. And I've been reading a lot of anthologies. So I'm a happy Sarah ^_^

And now I need to sleep. Good night my friends~
Jya ne~

You're now looking at the post of an official member of the Phoenix College Creative Writing Program! Yes, I was accepted! Yay! Now maybe I can finally sleep well! It doesn't feel quite real.

Also, I was walking through the mall with Hannah and Ilde when someone asked to see my doll. It was the guy working at the photo place. He wanted to show her to his boss. It happens, as people with BJDs will know. I mentioned that I made all the clothes she was wearing. The owner looked at his daughter and she brought over a hat. He wanted to know how much I would cost to make something like that. It was just a little baby's hat, floppy brim and covered in lace. I thought that maybe his daughter had made it or something. I said about $15-$20, but I'd seen some like that in (antique) shops for around $30. Then the guy says, "I'll pay you if you make two or three of them." I was floored. I guess Hannah knew all the time that he was offering the job to me, haha. I might be a bit oblivious ^^; I had no idea! But anyway, I said I'd check my school schedule and get back to him. But someone offered to pay me for my sewing! Someone outside the doll world! I've never thought I was cool before, haha, but I felt really neat in that moment XD

And that's about it recently. School is going well, but I really need to order my Nutrition book. Or find it somewhere.

So that's it!
See ya~

Well, kinda anyway. It's important! What I mean to say is... While I really enjoy the books I've been reading, I'm easily suggestible when it comes to cursing. Like if I hear it while I'm enjoying myself, in a good atmosphere, you know? I tend to use it more. When I read it, because that's the way I really process things is through written words, it's effect is doubled. My thoughts have been very crude recently. I'm announcing it to the world so I can change! Nothing has come out yet, well, maybe a little, but nothing like what is in my head, haha. So I need to lay off the nice/not-so-nice books and find something wholesome to cram into me! Wholesome! So I will watch corny J-drama and not read the books I want to right now.

This is definitely a weakness of mine. I wonder why I'm so suggestible about this?
I will reform! Everytime I think something back, I will make myself do some kind of exercise!

I was strolling through my rather infrequent posts on my GaiaOnline journal, looking at the old (*coughterriblecough*) doll pictures I posted on there and came to a horrified realization. Most of Moak's early shots had him in the sun. My White Skin Elf Ducan. No wonder the poor boy yellowed. His nutty owner had him laying in clover patches under the Arizona sun! All I can do is shake my head. Now, if I knew Acheron I might be able to do something about that, but he'd say it would be messing with fate and probably refuse to act at all. "The fate of one doll can impact the future..!" Blah blah blah. Don't ask.

But seriously, the sun combined with my newbie knowledge of resin never gave my poor WS dolls a chance. I might as well have let them roast. Hehehe, weenie roasting Moak XD Why does that give me pleasure? The poor guy doesn't even have a body anymore, but still the thought of him on a spit over the fire makes me giggle. Once I get $400 and some change, I'll be getting Elezar's body. Again. I'm pretty sure I found a good resin match. And I know plenty of artists who can blush the neck so long as the match isn't Gag Horrible. Like the Bubblegum Body of Doom, which I never want to think of again. So I think the Iplehouse one will work. Crossing my fingers~ DIM Resin is so hard to match!

What else is new in doll land? Anna-nachan still has Snefru and Belzer. I miss them T_T I miss my lovelies. Nachan, I know you're having fun, but I misses my lovely dorries... Then again I gues I can't say too much. It's not like I'm paying you or anything. You can keep Sneffy with you, but maaybe Belzy could come home..? If you have time though! School is more important than Sarah bemoaning her dolls XP I'll survive. I have plenty of junk to keep my busy with.

I can't think of anything more and the pizza is here, so I'll leave you darling people to your own devices ^^
Use your powers for good!

The summer coming to a close. It's a sad thought. I could have used another month off, hahaha. School really takes it out of a person, you know? I bought a textbook today. Mom and I are taking the same math class, so we don't really need two books and we found one for $30 on Barnes and Noble. The school bookstore seriously screws you when you buy from them. Anyway, I bought my philosophy book there. After saying something mean, I guess I should add that they did have this particular book cheaper than anyone else. Apocalypse! I need to get my Creative Writing book still, but that class doesn't start until September 9th and I have to order it online anyway. For $4. Which brings my book expenses this semester to a startling $64. It's weird! My nutrition class (gag) hasn't mentioned needing a book, so we'll see how that goes.

There was no deadline to apply to the Creative Writing program at PC, so I'm working on portfolio now. Yay! I still have a shot! I'm really not sure what the outcome will be. I'm hoping, I'm always hoping, that things will work. I just don't hope as hard as I used to because it tends to hurt after a while. Unfortunately this makes me a bit apathetic, but then everything has a price. Still, I can't imagine failure. Right now that word is foreign to me (in terms of this creative writing thing anyway, haha).

I've been looking back over the notes given to me from our workshops last semester and found out a few things. One is that my teacher did not hate my writing as much as I had believed. It was just that she never gave me a high grade and was a POV Nazi and such; I built up a shell to survive that class with my writing honor intact. And I was still coming down off the NaNo high. It was an experience that made me humble. I know I'm not going to agree with everyone on writing style and POV and such, but I would think a teacher would be able to set aside their preferences to teach a student with different tastes than theirs. Too altruistic? Though considering less than half the students actually read the stories they were suppossed to for the workshops, maybe I should have given up expecting so much. But I'm an optimist.

Oh! I'm collecting Pokemon avatars now XD I eventually want to be able to replace all my current ones, except for Balmung and one doll one, with avatars of images of Riley, Lucario, Riolu or all three together. Or even just Riley and Lucario. I found some really cute ones from a community here called electronism. Then I've been slowly navigating a Japanese fanart site for more pictures. I've been playing with wallpapers and brushes too. I love Riley. He's adorable XD And with him looking so close to Sir Aaron, there are definite fanfiction possibilities, haha. And a good idea to mutilate into a story of my own.

That's all my updates for now~
See ya!