50 mph

Photo by Rebecca P. Cohen

Stupid story fun time go!

So it takes me about an hour to get to school. The drive is pretty easy going (so long as it isn't rush hour), the roads are in great condition, and there's plenty of places to stop along the way if need be. My only problem is that I get bored really fast. But to be fair, I drive this road a lot so it's understandable. Anyway, my mind tends to wonder, surprise surprise, then I forget what the speed limit on a particular stretch of road is and start thinking about road signs.
Or at least, that's what happened today.

So I was thinking about speed limit signs on the way to school today (while wondering what the speed limit actually was) and kind of ran through all the pictures and/or stories involving these signs I knew of. At one point a strange thought popped into my head: had I ever seen a 50 mph speed limit sign? I contemplated this for an embarrassing amount of time, and concluded that no, I really don't think I've ever seen a 50 mph sign. My mind then drifted elsewhere and that was that.

I ended up staying at school long enough for the sun to set, which worked out very well because I didn't have to deal with the dimming sunlight mixed with bright car lights giving me a headache. Ah, the little victories in life. Anyway, I saw something interesting on the way home. A 50 mph speed limit sign. It gave me a good laugh.

I hope this dumb little story made you smile!

((P.S. I also learned to never look directly at the emergency lights on police cars at night. The bright flashing lights are like a direct punch to the brain.))

Resolutions

Happy New Year everyone!
((I actually meant to make this post yesterday but I just never got around to it. Oh well.))
Just to warn you, this post wont look cool. I'm being lazy and I'm not getting any pictures or fuzting with layouts. So yeah.

So have you made any resolutions? I usually try to make at least one every year, but I always seem to forget what it is a week or two later. This year I have made three, and I plan on not forgetting! For lack of anything better to do, I'll list them off for you.

First resolution: Limit to ordering only two things a month from the internet.
I buy a lot of things online, most of which are things I don't really need but I like having anyway. I spend a LOT of money doing this and that's... bad.
There are two exceptions to this though: buying music and commissions. Getting music online is really cheap, and I do the best I can to support the musicians that I like. I think of commissions in a similar way (support the artists!!), except commissions have a time limit! It's generally hard to get a spot when someone opens commissions, so you need to act quick typically. I don't plan to commission people very often, so this shouldn't effect me too much.

Second resolution: Support webcomics I enjoy and small businesses.
This is pretty self explanatory. Do what I can to help the people who make the things that I like. Sure it may be a bit more pricey, but I think it's worth it in the long run.

Final resolution: Take better care of my teeth.
I'm... pretty sure this was a resolution I had last year, which makes me think I'm going to have some trouble with it this year. I really do need to take better care of my teeth... and I'm not going to say anymore about it...

So those are my resolutions, I hope I can keep them.
Here's to a new year! May it turn out to be a great one!

Of Two Engineers and an Artist

Photo by Alex on Deviantart

Today I'm going to share with you a (relatively) short look at my life and my family...

I am the only child of two very intelligent and very successful engineers. My dad designs and programs disc drives, while my mom designs the layouts of heating and cooling systems that go into buildings. Both of my parent's jobs are much more complicated than what I just described, but you now know about as much as I do. Sad isn't it? But whenever I do ask, the explanation is so long and I understand so little of it that the information instantly gets lost in the static of my mind.

I will always find it funny that these two very scientific and logical people ended up creating me. An artist. The polar opposite of everything they knew and where comfortable with. Is it fate? Or irony?

I think my parents did a very good job raising me, and I am very thankful for that. They taught me from a very young age to be myself, that being different is not only okay but the way to get ahead in life. When I started showing my artistic side, they would get me anything I needed. Hell, I still get at least one sketchbook a year from them. And they always find really neat ones too!

Like any family, we've had our ups and downs. I'm very much a problem child. Because of my independent nature, I had trouble making friends (and I still do!) and was teased like the best of us. I had a very low self esteem and tended to violently lash out at others if I was nervous or upset. As I got older I gained massive mood swings and a deep depression (both of which are finally under control). They have done as much as they possibly could to help me, and have spent a great deal of money to do so. I've often wondered if I was worth the effort, and they always tell me that I am. Despite all the messes families face, we've been very luck and have only had two really low points in our family life. But today I will be talking about what the highest point of our family life was for me was.

It was my Junior year in high school, I was more or less a C student and did as little of my work as I possibly could. Both at school and at home. I spent most, if not all, of my time drawing and daydreaming; adding to the great strain of tension that tied my family together. My dad had barely spoken to me since my Freshman year, mind you he's a very quiet man, but at the time I was convinced that he didn't love me anymore. My mom on the other hand was very frustrated with me, and I didn't understand why. My grades improved quite a bit after entering my third year, which I thought would please her, but she was still... unhappy with me. I eventually decided that it was because I had no plans for my life after high school, and in a way I was right.

One day, Mom told me to sit with her at the dining table while I was passing by. She looked grim, to put it lightly, and I was sure I was about to be scolded. But I did what I was told and sat in my spot at the table. It was quiet for a long moment, but in my head it was loud. I was running through all the things that she might say. The longer the silence lasted, the more doomed I thought I was. But when my mom started talking, it was something I never thought she would say. I don't remember her exact words, but this is what she told me:

She said she knew. She knew that I was an artist, and that I would always be an artist. She understood now that I would never be an engineer or have any career like hers or my dad's. It was hard for her to accept at first, because financial stability is not a promised thing for artists. And that kind of unknown future really worried her. But she wanted me to be happy. That was all she wanted from me. She'd support me as much as she could, but there would be limits. Graduating high school was necessary, and college was something I really needed to think about. Oh, and she was happy that my grades where getting better.

We where quiet again for a while, I was shocked so it was understandable. But I could tell that my mom was quickly getting tiered of me staring at her like she'd grown a second head. I found my voice as soon as I could. And I told her, "Thanks, Mom."

If this was a fairy tale it would end with a, "And they lived happily ever after." But this is life, and things are never quite that simple. My parents and I have a great relationship now. I'm sure that kicking me out of their house has helped a little bit. My dad is as quiet as ever, but tries to talk to me at least once every time I'm visiting. My mom and I talk often, in person and with email on a regular basis. And I'm finally feeling like I'm headed down my road in life, the future in sight. But most importantly, I'm making my parents proud, and that's all I really want.

...And free food sometimes... What? I'm poor! Leave me alone! Aaaaaaaaaahh...

From the the Next Post On...

Yo!
Just wanted to let yo know that after this post I'm going to put a lot more effort into making the layouts of these posts interesting. Mostly because I can, but also because I think it really adds to the overall look of a blog if it's done well. And pictures! Pictures are good. And I will continue to do my best at crediting any artist who's work I use (including mine!). There will, of course, be times when the layout isn't that important or I just can't be bothered with it. You have been warned! Don't be disappointed if and when it happens.

That is all. See ya~!

Shooting the Breeze and Some Other Things

I enjoy old sayings and idioms. While I can't exactly explain why I like them, I think part of it is because I don't really hear or see them very often yet I know what most of them mean. That makes me feel smart I guess. My personal favorite idiom has to be shooting the breeze. It has such a light and easy going sound to it, fitting since it means something kind of similar. Another reason I think I like it is because it's something I wish I could more often. Just sit and talk about nothing important while enjoying someone's company. It's a nice thought and feeling.

Image taken by Kyle Wright and can be found on Deviantart

While I think I should just end the post there, I have some other things I want to talk about really quick and making separate posts for them just seemed a bit silly to me. So... yeah. Off to that other stuff we go.

You may recall that I said I was going to write a sort of report on Espio from the Sonic the Hedgehog series. I also said I had begun writing it the last time I mentioned it. And yes, I did start writing it but I ran into a problem. A very, very big problem. I have no idea what I'm trying to do! I have a general idea of what I'd like to do, but have no clue what to do next. I had a similar problem writing papers for my Art History class and failed as a result. That failure was the reason I wanted to write about Espio in the first place, to practice before I take that class again. This is going going to sound weird but my issue is that I can understand everything that I've been told, understand the assignment completely and still have absolutely no idea what I'm supposed to do. Something is just not clicking the way it should. Because of this, I have decided that I should try to get a tutor for while I'm in school. Hopefully it will help.

Now a bit about this blog. I honestly have no idea how often I'm going to post things here. I currently have three other drafts of posts waiting for me to complete. So there may be a bit post spamming in the near future. In fact, the first part of this post was originally the beginning of a different one. I think it works better as the opening to this one instead rather than being part of a post where I talk about horror games and a serial killer. What I know for sure is that I like writing for this blog. It helps me get my thoughts and feeling out in the open. Plus I get to play around with layouts and picture placement as if I worked at a magazine or something (but without the deadlines and the stress)!

And that's it for now. I'm going to play a little Mega Man ZX Advent before I go to bed. I'm at a part where Prometheus yells and calls me names, which I really enjoy. Probably much more than I should... Does that make me a masochist? I love Prometheus. He rocks!