azurite: (all muses are busy...)
I should have worked on the Cho yo, Hana yo (Butterflies, Flowers) fanlisting layout WEEKS ago, but mojo has been particularly hard to locate. That and my favorite Lipton Pureleaf Green Tea with Honey (not Diet, not Citrus)!

Baww.

Anyway, what font is best for the layout, now that I have a site name? Or should I use both of them (and if so, which font where?)



They're supposed to look like noodles. The site name's a pun--it's a romcom manga that's a little adult, but still thoroughly shojo. The main character's father owns a soba (noodle) shop, and she's trying to "get close" to her former servant-now boss.

So...yeah. Thoughts on noodley fonts?
azurite: (azureshipping - side by side)


You Look Like an Aries



It's likely that you have a lean and strong body.

Your facial features are uniquely beautiful, and you may have a scar or beauty mark.



You have good posture, and you carry yourself with an air of confidence.

You have a strong, steady gaze. You eyes are often issuing a challenge.



Like most Aries people, you probably very energetic and enjoy it when someone challenges you.

You expect the best from people, and you believe in them. You are willing to take a risk on someone.



*sings* Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Okay, maybe it's a bit premature to be celebrating, but after turning in my 6-page paper on Gay Rights (which was supposed to have more of a focus on the California Supreme Court, but the group project upon which the paper was based had so many facets and sub-topics that I may have gone "off-tangent" by covering more ground), I feel liberated! Free! GLAD!

Maybe not completely stress-free, but close to it: I have no final exams, and all I have left are some quizzes for my science classes and some feedback discussion for my recreation class. Everything else is turned in. I have high hopes for most of my classes --As or Bs, I hope-- but maybe a C for the GWS 350 class (the one that I just turned the paper in for), because I didn't turn in two other papers-- an Autoethnography and a paper on race. I also missed some class chat and discussion times. -_- Needless to say, I want to make sure that if I ever have to sign up for classes at the last minute just to get units, I'd rather pick something dirt-simple and easy than something completely out of my range, potentially challenging (to the point of bringing stress where it shouldn't), and bizarre.

And then! And then! I really, desperately want to finish WDKY26. Madly.
And then there's the revamping of the BEA Media page, the idea for a few fanlistings I've mentioned, and various other personal projects, like the overhauling of the main Seventh-Star.Net page.

Since I do have a biology quiz tomorrow morning, I really ought to get studying for that, but at some point "tonight" (that is, this morning), I'm going to play me some SNES games and go to bed with a SMILE on my face (dagnabbit)!

Naze ka?

Dec. 5th, 2008 01:09 am
azurite: (poor bi grrl gamers)
So I remembered hearing about this eatery that specializes in breakfast at the end of one of the metro lines here in San Francisco. I want to check them out online, find out exactly where they are, what their hours are, etc., so I go to their site.

...Which is probably the sparsest website I've seen in a VERY long time. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for simplicity. Not everyone (or every business) requires a Flash-heavy, Java-rich, super-interactive explosion of complicated code and database handlers (that aside, I do want to learn PHP/Flash/Java at some point in the not-so-distant future). But still... to have a SCAN of the menu that doesn't even fit on a 1440 x 900 resolution screen (you need to scroll)? To not list an email for contacting the web designer/maintainer? To not show the restaurants' (there are two locations in S.F.) hours of operation? To not tell MORE about the restaurant's history?

Seriously, folks.

Mom and Dad both say I'm too critical, but Dad says that I can put that to good use being a consultant. This is the second or third example of a business that I think I could help become so much better than it is just by revamping their existing material. Before it was the bookstore that Baba and I went to, and also kind of this Thai place that Mom and Gary like. A few simple (likely inexpensive, in the long run) changes, and BAM! Better exposure, better business. Better business PRACTICES!

So it'd be a bit awkward to contact these people and say "Your site sucks" or "Your menu sucks" or "Your bookstore sucks" and then proceed to say how, if they pay me, I can make it better. It's not like I have any experience in this-- it's just an idea, just a thought. A very optimistic thought. I can't guarantee that me revamping a website or a menu or a bookstore's practices will truly bring in more business or be more "efficient." I wouldn't necessarily know how to measure that last one, anyway.

But I kind of want to try for the "editing" experience at all (and in a way, it's also journalism/interview experience, because I'd have to "consult" with the business owners to find out their needs and wants, limitations and hopes for the future). So, how does one approach this?

I've already considered setting up an e-business of sorts to offer my editing/computer services-- a freelance site, if you will, where the offers come to me instead of me trying to hunt down the offers. Admittedly, without my name previously out there, it might not actually happen, but I'd be looking to edit people who don't look in the "usual" places-- help college students with their papers or projects, tutor people in web design or computer programs, etc. I'd be a lot more inclined to doing THAT than, say, writing a 500-word article for a freelance article site. I signed up for those, but I could never get around to writing the articles because I didn't feel they were original enough compared to what was already there, even if I did have a niche to write in.

I already have a possible domain name, and maybe even a site design picked out, but no business structure, no plan-- so I'm not letting out too many details just yet. But what I have let out, does it sound plausible? Interesting? Useful to you or anyone you may know?

A possible new structure for Seventh-Star.Net )

I've started using Apple Mail to read my Friends' page as an RSS feed. Problem? I don't think it can get protected entries. When I added the "&checkcookies=1" to the URL, it didn't get ANYTHING. I removed it and got 50 entries... which I'm missing more of. I haven't read my FL in a while. I don't even know if Apple Mail uses cookies for RSS. Help?

Also, I'm probably going to nix my ProCare subscription next year. To be honest, I don't think I get much value out of it, even when I do use it to make near-instantaneous reservations for a Genius Bar spot at an Apple Store. It was pretty freakin' awesome that they rushed my keyboard repair to under an hour (when it was supposed to take 48), but I think I'd get more out of the One-to-One, if I did end up replacing the ProCare. I did think it was stupid when they separated the two, and I barely had the chance to use them when they were together (because I was in Japan).

That said, I renewed my MobileMe/.Mac subscription today, because I do feel THAT is worth $99, even with all the stupid problems MobileMe's been having. Actually my subscription was due up in September, but all the issues got me a 90-day extension. I forgot about it until they sent me an email today asking for an updated credit card. -_- I'm still broke. I shouldn't be spending $99 on anything, let alone something intangible and replaceable like an email address with calendar and address book sync capabilities. Sure, I've also got web hosting from them, but I pay MUCH less than $99/year for my usual hosting and I like Surpass plenty (not necessarily MORE than Apple, because their products aren't really comparable, but you get the idea). But the switching thing would be a pain in the ass.

But I'm disliking what I have tried to use on MobileMe's site end-- I tried out iWeb for shits and giggles, but the movie I have embedded on my photo gallery slideshow page NEVER loads, and because I can't inspect the code or the site structure in iWeb, I don't know why. Is it because it's large? Is the file in the wrong place? What? Plus, I deleted the files of my old Japan blog off the .Mac server, but it keeps trying to find that site whenever someone goes to the main index of my MobileMe site. VERY ANNOYING.

Also annoying? Playing my old SNES games with my PS2 controller using the new SNES9x 1.5 or what-have-you (the latest version of SNES for Mac OS X). Suddenly Sailor Moon's Fuwa Fuwa Panic feels like SUPER BALLOON POP MAYHEM ON SPEED! I'm getting my ass whooped in this game (it shames me to admit it), because I swear to DOG, it was never this fast before. On the bright side, I do still kick ass at the Sailor Moon puzzle game (where you flip over hearts, zap daimons, and try to collect the 3 Talismans before your opponent). Also, I've been replaying Super Mario World (I think I mentioned that before, actually). I started out playing it using a Super Mario All-Stars + World ROM, but none of the cheats for SMW worked (but I got all the way through the Forest of Illusion, anyway!)-- so I got a new ROM (hey, I own the cartridge!) and BAM! Crazy-Invincible-Green-Face Mario! That doesn't mean everything's easy, mind you, but it sure is fun to change Mario colors and walk right through Big Boo! (Figuring out just which cheats work and which don't is a pain.)

Meaningless Memes )
azurite: (hp - rule 110: moon prism power!)
So I've got a few projects on my plate at the moment, almost all of them involving Photoshop. I'm trying to come up with a new layout for my domain so that all the subdomains (like Blue Eyes and Apricots, Azurelist, Dragonfayth, etc.) are all accessible. Plus, I need to have things like Resource/Credits pages, a Contact Me page, etc. I need to come up with a reasonable structure for everything.

My ideas were...
* Woodcut-style (like a Fleur de Lis; I've seen this in several places, but I'm not sure how to develop a few custom shapes or brushes and turn it into a whole layout, even if it is just a "portal" page)
* Jeweled stars (tried it; it wasn't successful with the NM Smith tutorial I tried, but a lot of Blending Options seemed to do the trick... now, what to do with it?)
* Tattoo-style-- like Ed Hardy. (I have no idea how to even embark on this. It's obviously got to do with the airbrush tool, but I don't know where to begin.)
* Retro Pop Art (This is inspired by the Lymabean "Spread the Love" contest logo. I have most of the brushes necessary to create something similar, except for the "retro" striped swirls.



I'm talking about the swirl-like shapes behind the letter E (of "Love") and behind the circles on the left (near where it says "Spread The...") Any idea where to find brushes like that?

Also, does anyone know how to make letters/shapes POP out like they do in the header? Is it just a matter of drawing a bunch of lines and having proper perspective?

And in the meantime, I'm going to separate out BEA's new "Media" page, add some embedded fanart via DA (don't know how much longer fanart's even going to *be* on DA, but...), and HOPEFULLY work on some fic.

Yesterday I did some adding to WikiFic for Yu-Gi-Oh! soundtracks/scores, but now I'm not sure if BOTH albums I bought in SD or just one is bootleg. I certainly didn't consider the possibility when I bought the things (usually I'm pretty good at spotting those kind of things, but these looked totally legit!)... yeesh. So, if you own some legit Yu-Gi-Oh! OSTs and have some free time, care to put up the track listing on WikiFic? I'll be able to grab the lyrics and take care of things like the kanji/furigana and the romanization.
azurite: (azureshipping - reflection)
WHOO-HOO! Even though I'm totally screwing up my sleep schedule by being up this late, it's hard to go to bed at a reasonable hour when you're high from getting stuff done! (Well, and a can of Coke, maybe.) Last night and tonight (or more aptly, yesterday morning and this morning), I:

* Finished the new site design of Blue Eyes and Apricots. It's version 5, and I've nicknamed it "Weathered Rainbow."

* Updated the behind-the-scenes coding on all 3 of my fanlistings (BEA, Ace of Hearts, and The Firefly Room) as well as my Enthusiast 3 control panel and my collective (Azurelist).

* Changed around the content of BEA, with the focus on a brand-new HUGE media library, which includes links to great AMVs, lists of fanmixes/fansoundtracks and links to buy the individual tracks, and much, much more! I'm planning on doing a separate page for linked fanart a'la [livejournal.com profile] obabscribbler's Fanart Recs; that way there's no more concern over theft (at least, someone would knowingly have to go to someone's DeviantART, save the full-size image, and then neglect to save the artist's username or a notation saying "DA" or something, and then use it without permission). However, I won't host art on BEA anymore, with the exception of manipulations for icons, banners, etc. (I might consider it if I could set up a password system, though.)

* Added a blacklist to keep track of the thieves. Did you know someone actually stole banners from BEA and didn't even bother to mention the fanlisting? I mean, HELLO? We're here to bring people together,not be more divisive through theft! -_- I'm not sure what I find more offensive, that or the people that use images that were GIFTS TO ME (like my WDKY icons or ficart).

Because the page takes so long to load, I'll probably be splitting it up in the near future, after I've finished adding all the links for the various musical mixes and whatnot.

If you have anything you'd like to see on BEA, let me know!

So check out the new layout and tell me what you think!

Left to do:
* Find some more AMVs that don't use stolen artwork (recs welcome!)
* Use Angela Sabas' style switcher (hopefully) for the new Firefly Room (Secret Society Girl fanlisting) layout, which needs to be tested and made live
* Add more content to TFR!
* Ask the people at TFL if I can become the fanlisting for the SSG series now, rather than the first book (before I couldn't, because only two books were out at the time, and TFL considers a series three books or more)
* Open some more fanlistings??? (Potentially crazy and NEW idea, bad when I've got so much else on my plate. But lots of possibilities.)
* Add icons to BEA (with the permission of the artists from here on LJ, that is... any volunteers? It's totally up to you!)
azurite: (deadlines whoosh)
I blame it on [livejournal.com profile] obabscribbler yet again-- this time not for any kind of plotbunny, but for getting me into watching Fandom!Secrets. The latest's 102 mentions the necessity of Caruso shades when reading OHSHC. I LOL'd.

The anime/manga store in the Metreon (which no longer has its AMC sign outside, even though it's still AMC-affiliated INSIDE, right down to those butt-ugly polo shirts and too-high navy blue pants... shit, at least the people at the Metreon have a variety of food to choose from! At the 1000, I had to choose between sandwiches or concession crap... ANYWAY!) "Kamikaze Pop" went out of business changed locations with no current ETA at their next location, wherever it may be. So I managed to grab a bunch of Arina Tanemura manga for only $39 (8 volumes-- not bad!). I realized that I like the Full Moon anime better than the manga (the manga seems very stilted, and I have a hard time with any manga that has a auditory medium as its focal point-- it's hard to imagine a singer through manga). I also like Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne better than Full Moon, even though KKJ was tragically shorter. And I won't read Gentleman's Alliance+, because... well, the plot just didn't grab me. I'm glad Tanemura-sensei's art's improved so much over the years, but I like her older stuff much more than her newer titles, even if it is FMoS that got me into her works in the first place.

CURRENT PROJECTS
* New layout for "The Firefly Room," the Secret Society Girl fanlisting. I need to get more content, keep it up to date, and whore it out over on the author's blog. Maybe I can get the ladies over at TFL to make it the fanlisting for the whole series (which is what I intended in the first place, when I made it back before the third book came out; the fourth book is coming out next summer). I've got the layout made and everything, but my problem is that I've never skinned a website before and the tutorial I read (over at Tutorialtastic) confused the heck out of me. I posted on the CodeGrrl forums where Tutorialtastic help is, but there's been no reply yet. Maybe because my own post was so addled.... Basically I need to figure out how to get the style-switcher to work. Places like Sailor Music make it look so easy. ;_;

* The Star Ocean 3/Till The End of Time shrine. I'm still working my way through the two biggest parts, the Gemity page and the Dictionary. I need to fiddle with the table CSS so I can use them for maps and grids rather than make images in Photoshop, which takes much longer and causes the page to load slower.

* Website design and layout for my GWS 350OL (Intersections of Gender, Race, Class, and Sexuality) class. Everyone in my group has pretty much unanimously voted on a website instead of a blog, claiming that a website will be "more organized." Well, sure, maybe, but it's more work for me! Ugh, I just want this project to be so fantabulous (like any other project I've taken on where I build some sort of site) so it makes up for the fact that I couldn't turn in an Autoethnography paper. Problem is, we need to figure out how to organize the site (it's not automatic, folks!)-- and I need to figure out a suitable design. Helpz? Our topic is "Gay Rights," and we're covering a lot of ground with issues on the California Supreme Court decision, Prop 8, etc. (I don't want to be horribly stereotypical and do a RAINBOW, even though there are tasteful ways of incorporating multiple colors into a site design... something like the iTunes posters wouldn't be bad, but I don't know if it's "serious" enough. Same goes for pink triangles.)

* Organization of my FFX, FFX-2 playlist in iTunes. Turns out I was missing a bunch of songs from the 4-disc original soundtrack (the Tokyopop one I bought ages ago is called the "Official Soundtrack," and hardly has any of the good songs), so I imported them. Now to make sure they all have the right titles (I'm aiming for the English-translated ones, not romanized or literal titles, e.g. not "Warping to a Different Dimension," but "The Sending"), the right artist/composers, and that I've noted which ones are equivalent to which tracks on the Official Soundtrack, because I'm anal retentive like that. :P

* Need new icons. Lots of fandoms. Also: more LULz.

* The usual: studying for quizzes, homework, taking notes, watching CSI: Season 1 (srsly, whoever heard of a DVD boxed set coming with a) no subtitles/closed captions and b) no scene selections!? I'm pissed, CBS! Even though it was a great value, this is just stupid) , attempting to work on WDKY26 but getting sidetracked by other ideas and such

COMPLETED PROJECTS WHATEVER
* Got my copy of "Star Ocean: First Departure" for the PSP! I don't own a PSP (yet)! Whoo-hoo!

* Finished Astrology, Blood Types, and Yu-Gi-Oh! I don't like it as much as the others, because even though I raised issues dealing with the character, it didn't seem as indepth. Is that because he's not as major a character as the others I've covered so far? Also, I feel like I put it out there on a crutch, even though lots of people said it was indepth and good and everything. But I felt like without my proper research book and software for generating natal charts, it just wasn't as good. :(
azurite: (o rly? - minako)
Fanime )

STUFF FOR SALE/TRADE
* Pretear Complete Series DVD Thinpak (the complete series on 3 DVDs)
* Skip Beat original Japanese manga Vols. 4-13
* Ceres: Celestial Legend anime DVD Vol. 7 (Requiem), still in original packaging!
* THOUSANDS of Yu-Gi-Oh TCG cards
* Hinata 120% original Japanese manga Vol. 2
* Full Moon o Sagashite complete series (vols. 1-7) original Japanese manga
* Shinshi Doumei + (Gentleman's Alliance +) original Japanese manga Vol. 1
* Alice 19th original Japanese manga Vol. 1
* Kare Kano (Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou/His and Her Circumstances) English graphic novel Vol. 1
* Peach Girl: Reverse Side (Sae's Story) original Japanese manga Vols. 1-2
* Inuyasha original Japanese manga Vol. 20
* X-Day English graphic novel, Vols. 1-2 (2 copies of Vol. 2 available!)
* Fushigi Yuugi: Genbu Kaiden original Japanese manga Vol. 1
* Fushigi Yuugi original Japanese manga Vol. 14
* Hana Yori Dango (Boys Over Flowers) original Japanese manga Vol. 35
* Gensomaden Saiyuki Tarot Cards still in original packaging!
* Sailor Moon S movie VHS (uncut, subtitled)
* Sailor Moon S anime series (uncut, dubbed), Vol. 1 "Pure Hearts," Vol. 2 "Birthday Blues," Vol. 4 "The Love War"
* Ranma 1/2 Season 6 "Random Rhapsody" VHS "Who Do? Voodoo!" (Vol. 2) dubbed

CONTACT ME VIA COMMENT, IM, PM/TXT or EMAIL IF YOU'RE INTERESTED! If you'd like to trade, I can give you a "want" list so we can work something out.

Does anyone know where I can get a boatload of pretty, non-animated THIN dividers aka separators aka horizontal rules? Preferably no more than 5 px thick, and nothing crazy, like flowers, blood, bomb fuses, etc. Since FanLib strips out horizontal rules, I'm replacing where they used to be with some colorful lines, but my current selection is pretty pithy.

I've been Googling for them, but I haven't found anything that isn't completely cheesy and reminiscent of when people were first getting on the Web and building sites, like, waaaay back in the mid-90s. :P All I care about are the separators, not matching backgrounds, buttons, etc. Help?
azurite: (sailormoon - venus V)
I'm trying to understand this concept of block-elements in HTML vs. inline-elements. Someone made a clever analogy that block-elements are like boxes, rigid and structured, and inline-elements are like squishy things.

Thus:
* Boxes can hold boxes; one shoebox can fit into a larger shoebox
* Squishy things can hold squishy things; you can fit gumdrops into those weird Jello molds
* Boxes can also hold squishy things; in order to carry that weird Jello mold cake to your Aunt Sara's, you really ought to put it in a container instead of trying to balance it on your head the whole way there.
* You CAN'T put a box into a squishy thing: the box will lose its shape.

Please, correct me if I've got all this wrong and have bent the analogy out of shape.

Now, my Sailor V x Kaitou Ace fanlisting got put on the TAFL Troubles List due to it being all out of whack in IE7 (in all honesty, I don't give a shit and wish all the folks using IE7 would just see the light and switch to Firefox or Opera, but I know not everyone HAS that luxury). So I decided to try validating it, thinking that the problem might be there.

I found all these errors based on this concept of boxes and squishy things, so I remedied them... but now my navigation isn't working.

See, originally, my navigation was like this:
(box)
(squishy)(box)(hidden squishy)Word(/hidden squishy)(/box)(/squishy)
(/box)

and while it was invalid and BAD coding, it worked. I had certain parts of the code defined in CSS, so that the box itself had a particular positioning, and the first squishy defined the link.

Now that I've fixed it:

(box)
(squishy)(squishy)(hidden squishy)Word(/hidden squishy)(/squishy)(/squishy)
(/box)

It doesn't work. For some reason, the hidden squishy is hiding the ENTIRE DAMN THING, and it shouldn't. The box displays just fine in my preview, but the links themselves aren't there. It's like trying to catch a Maraschino cherry at the bottom of a Shirley Temple with a straw-- nigh impossible, and I DO NOT KNOW WHY!

Some bunny help. :'(
I don't want to lose my fanlisting... I not only need to get the navigation working again, but I need to pray it works in IE7, because I can't test it myself-- I don't have IE7, or access to it-- even at school!

Whar?

Nov. 8th, 2006 08:51 pm
azurite: (double trouble minako & usagi)
Over the past few days, I've been getting mysterious emails from HTMLGear's guestbook notification service, saying I have new guestbook notices on a site that I used to have (that has been defunct for years; when you try to search for it via Yahoo! *OR* Google, you won't come up with anything).

I couldn't remember my login for the site (which is affiliated with Tripod and Angelfire, neither of which I ever maintained a site with-- for long), and I was trying every possible combination. Lycos doesn't have a password reminder service, so I was stuck trying every username and password combination I could think of.

AT LAST I got it and I checked the settings... and they pointed to a site that does not exist. I wondered how the messages could be posted without a site (after all, no site means no "Sign my Guestbook" link), so I checked the notices... and of course, they're from bots.

What a waste of time! I liked the GuestGear service when I used it, but since I have my own domain, I guess there's no point anymore. I shouldn't have to put up with their limited capabilities and adverts when I can just create my own Guestbook, or use a customizable script from somewhere. I'd really like to get rid of ALL of my old services, but to trash my old Yahoo! services would mean the end of those emails... and I don't know whether I'm really up to changing EVERY SINGLE place I receive email from to my new email address (even though GMail can handle the flux of messages).

Anyway, I've found out how to delete entire GuestGears (by going into the Gear Manager), and so I'm going through all these old links, just for nostalgia's sake. Some of the old sites that used to be my favs... )

Ah, nostalgia. One Gear down, several more to go. Maybe I ought to just take the high-road and start getting rid of these old things.

Azurite's Favorite Fanfiction... from WAAAAAAY back in the day )

Ranma 1/2, Peach Girl, and then some... )

Okay, done... I only have 4 Gears left, 3 of which are guestbooks which I need to review and finally delete, and the other is a poll on my old Digital Horizons site (remember, [livejournal.com profile] staplerx?) about Reverse Racism.

Wow, talk about a trip through memory lane. Today was like that in general. For Christine's last EC group, she had clips of old TV shows that we both watched in America; since my group was also in Lavazza cafe, I ended up watching a few-- Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, JEM, Animaniacs, Tiny Toons... ah, those were the days.

Profile?

Apr. 24th, 2006 08:07 pm
azurite: Part of the "What Doesn't Kill You" series of fanfic icons (wdky (general))
In about 5 weeks or so, I have to turn in a profile article for Journalism, so I have to consider a subject now. The general idea is finding someone that I find interesting, not just someone that has done something incredible, experienced or survived something amazing, or said something controversial.

Someone would be currently doing or acting a certain way based on their past experiences, to the point where others that are not in that same situation would wonder "Why would that person do that?"

Initially, I was leaning toward my Grandpa, with his WW2 Navy stories, but generally speaking, his past doesn't rule or define him so much these days. So then I thought of someone else -a good friend- and I hope she'll forgive me for being presumptous. [livejournal.com profile] guardian_kysra, if you have time and are willing to be a bit self-boasting, would you want to help me out?

If that doesn't pan out, I'm open to nominations-- I think people nominating themselves would be a bit arrogant, but I've read so many LJs and am part of so many people's lives, it'd be insanity to try and think of specific events or circumstances that have made my friends and acquaintances such interesting people. So if you know someone (hopefully that I already know as well) that has an interesting life/backstory, and is currently living or acting in an unusual fashion, let me know. I want to consider all my options. :)

In good news, I got a B- on my last feature story, about ACE Mentor, despite the sheer lack of live reporting (that's what lowered my grade) and Dad not really contributing to the story, even if I got the idea from him. I wish I could revise for a better grade, but as I can't, this is good enough for me.

I do have to think of a topic for my editorial, so I was leaning toward something recent, or perhaps controversial (or both... [livejournal.com profile] fandom_wank, anyone? Maybe the whole "fan-published" fanfiction, a.k.a. unauthorized novels?), since I do have "experience" in that area. Other ideas/opinions (I love a good debate) are welcomed! :D

I also updated my LJ with a completely cornball layout from Persnickety Layouts, using kitties a'la Lisa Frank. Do you remember the bright shininess of Lisa Frank, back in your elementary school days? I couldn't resist. I had to bump the header image down to get the nav bar to show, and now the sidebar is still a bit too high up, but it's still mostly readable. That doesn't mean I like the sheer explosion of cute and pink and such, so I'm still open to layout suggestions, pointers to sites or tutorials, or people interested in having me commission them.

And when I get home, I have to try a thing to get my 2wire router to work despite the VPN client. I also have to download a new version of Spybot S&D, because I'm apparently running an ancient version without an interface. It totally screwed up the computer last night, so I had to do a cold reboot this morning, and who knows what happened after that. :P

Ooh, ooh, and I kind of got an idea for WDKY-- but not for 24 (boo). It's for ch. 27-28 or thereabouts, and it involves (Char A) getting into a real fight with (Char B), quite possibly betraying the trust of (C) and (D), and causing (E) to unexpectedly defend both (B) and (D), and (D), who previously was mad at (E) would start to wonder who to trust or believe, what with all the insanity going on (caused by F and Co.)

Heh. Play the guessing game! (It's actually somewhat obvious, if you've been keeping track of my dastardly hints.)

Inept.

Apr. 23rd, 2006 09:46 pm
azurite: (trashcat is not amused)
For all the greatness I've got in getting into Tokiwa, I think I'm lacking in the creativity and/or motivational departments at the moment. I seriously need a new layout for my LiveJournal. I hate using some rehashed one ganked from some site- every time I've found one that I liked (rare) and managed to get it up, something's gone wrong. Too wide, too narrow, this not showing up, that not showing up...

...I wonder if I could commission someone? Maybe for about $10? (I'm flexible, but I'm thinking base price, here. If I come up with colors and graphics...) Any takers? (Mer <-- LAZY!?)

GRR! I like the Smooth Sailing Layout and want to customize it to my liking. I've been rummaging through the few tutorials on [livejournal.com profile] s2smoothsailing and found myself at [livejournal.com profile] the_lj_reboot, but even with resources, there's not much help there for me to "reboot" my LJ into anything spectacular. I don't even have any ideas as to colors, artwork, fonts, etc. for the journal... I've tried about four or five things now, and nothing "hits" me. I've even gone through premade layouts on my comp and thought about adapting them.... but nothing.

Same goes for my websites, which an unusual amount of people have been asking about. I pay $6/mo for the service, I damn well better upgrade everything and make it functional and look good. I should add a counter to all the pages, too. I just wish I could buy bottled inspiration or something.

Well, so Passover wasn't too much of a bomb. Dad and I sorta got along by the end of the week; no more explosive and/or embarrassing fights, but there's still a lot I can't agree with him on, and think he's utterly immature for. Scott really was my godsend; he even helped paint the rec room bathroom when the fumes got to be too much for me. There's still more fixing-up to do-- the air filter in the main hall needs to be replaced, and the mirrors and paintings in the rec room bathroom need to be hung up again. We also need new socket and switch plates, and I need new luggage (Target EMBARK series in Lilac, only $30!) Plus the kitchen's a right mess, and I'd like to move the computer upstairs to my room-- just to test it out. I need to put clothes away, organize my desk, blah blah...

I think I said 3 weeks ago that I'd be done with WDKY24, and it's not there yet. I feel rotten about it, too, but I'm still lacking in inspiration, even if I seriously want to get to the parts BEYOND 24 (AUGH, THE BEST PARTS!) and have the "outline" written for 99.9% of the chapter... of course it's the toughest parts that I keep skipping and not writing. But writers never make promises! :P (Except for implicit ones)

Ah, as for Tokiwa, I'm supposed to go from Mid-September to late-January. Missing Hanukkah/Christmas would be a big bummer to me, but since tuition/air fare/etc. is free, I might be able to swing a plane ride home and back... if I get financial aid. Why would they award me financial aid if a) I won't be at CSUN, and b) Tokiwa's tuition for me is free? Same goes for the Presidential Scholarship... what is the point of having the priority registration, the Matador Bookstore discount, etc. if I go to a school with FREE tuition? That's not to say I won't work on my project for the Scholarship-- better to try and do it IN JAPAN like I originally hoped; maybe some of my professors there can help me better understand female writers of their country. But financial aid is how I survive... even if I would get a stipend IN Japan for teaching conversational English, how would that measly amount help me for nearly 6 whole months? ;_;

Dad never got me a birthday present. :P So I treated myself at Border's, using 2 coupons: I got 15% off Carmen Electra's Vols 4 & 5 of her Aerobic Striptease (Lapdance and Hip Hop. Teh yey!) and 25% off the Back to the Future trilogy. I wanted to get Indiana Jones, but they didn't have it-- not in Action/Adventure, and not in the Boxed Sets area, even though the computer said they had it in stock, and I had the guy (who was a jerk) check the back room. :P

And now... it's Back to Back to the Future. I'm too bored to just keep sitting here. Maybe I'll eat some pie now.

January 2016

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