New Year's Semester

So, back to the school-grind!

This semester, I'm taking Biology, Western Political Theory, Spanish IV, Intro to Logic, and Intro to Creative Writing, as well as Book of Mormon part 2 in Institute.

I've got a much more spread out schedule than last semester, which was just scrunched almost entirely into one block of about 5 hours a day. Now I've generally got an hour or more between some classes, and I think only two or three are right after the other.

My computer is running low on fuel, though, so I gotta make this quick before going to eat.


Creative writing is going to be a blast, but all this writing is really going to stress out my arms. (like I don't do that enough)
So I may end up at teh chiropractor more often, though we still haven't the slightest idea what's up with me.
So I'll be using my heating pad and ice packs until then.

And I got a new camera!! Maybe meaning more pictures~ <3
(ok, not new new, but it's fancier than the other one, and I've not had it before. So I'm excited!)

Plus! I just found out that one of my friends here at school also has Manga Studio!! Her style is much more amazingtastical than mine, I assure you, but we need still to explore this strange program and see what it can do! So we're hoping to get some time together at least once a week in order to do something together about that.

Alrighty, gotta go!

Christmas Seasoning

Alright. So my goal of getting more posts in before the next break didn't happen. BUT, I passed all my final exams~!! So I shall attribute my lack of updating to studying (although it may or may not be entirely true).
...Well, I'm still unsure of my Biology final, but I haven't gotten any ominous letters in the mail or in my inbox, sooo I think it's safe to assume that I at least passed. :D
Plus, on my unofficial transcript, it says that I got a B+ in the class overall!! I'M SO EXCITED!!
Seriously, that class takes effort. I mean, yeah, all my classes do; but Biology is the most demanding, right over math. (The only reason math is so close is because I don't like it as much. XD)
I managed to pull an A in all my other classes as well!! Hoorah!

So, that's my first semester full-time at college passed.
Now, to get through next semester.
........
We shall see how that works out.


So, right now I am back at home in Texas, enjoying the slightly-warmer weather and open space. Well, actually, the weather has been rather cold; I've even had to use the ice scraper a few times!

Which brings me to my next subject - I got a holiday job! Woo!
Well, more like returned to my old job for my break; I'm working at the Humane Society Mon-Fri the two weeks that I'm here. It'll get me some more money for the upcoming semester, which every college student knows is greatly appreciated. Plus, I get to inundate my animal-meter again~! <3
That is one thing I miss in college - having animals nearby all the time. Tame animals.


Well that's pretty much all I can think of for now. I've been catching up with a lot of family and friends, so those who are reading have probably talked to me already by now, but that's ok. I've also been watching a lot of movies.
And drawing. I finally got back to my fun comic-creating program called Manga Studio. It's on my home desktop computer.  I want to try to see if I can install it on my laptop that I might be able to use it while at school. Yes, with all my imminent homework and hanging-out and everything, I still want to pile comic-making on my list. Along with my arm exercises. We'll see how that works.


Love you all, and Merry Christmas~!
(And just for the season, Jonah Hewitt, the author of Limbo's Child, is offering the book up for FREE for a few days!
-> http://jonahhewitt.blogspot.com/2011/12/merry-christmas.html <-
Really and truly! Now, go treat yourself to an awesome read~)

Onward from Thanks

So, as the Thanksgiving holiday draws to a close, the immenintely looming finals draw nearer...

But first, a quick recap of what I've been doing!


This past week has been a bit of a flurry for me, for while I haven't really had classes to go to, I've been having a wonderful time busying myself with my own agenda~

I received the last book in the Leviathan trilogy (by Scott Westerfeld), Goliath, in the mail a few weeks ago. Not having to worry about other readings immediately, I *finally* got to sit down and read it!
I don't think I could say too much about this book, but for the sake of my arms, I shall refrain from even starting. Just know that I love it more now than I ever have before, which is saying qutie a lot. <3

Also! I have gotten more time to read on Limbo's Child! Hoorah!! Absolutely fantastic, I can't help but get sucked in more as I continue reading~ As I have said on many occasions before, check out the author's blogsite! http://jonahhewitt.blogspot.com/
(He's even got a preview of the next book in the series prepared!!)

Also - I have been re-discovering how lovely having photoshop and a tablet is~ I haven't drawn much on my computer this semester, but I've been given a few excuses by organizations here at school to use my Photoshop skills, and finally had time to play with it~! So exceedingly diverting~ <3
I only wish I had my Manga Studio program on this laptop - I've thought of it quite a lot recently, and can't wait to see if I can put it on two devices once I'm at home for Christmas!

On the actual events side of things, I went to our school's production of Pride & Prejudice on the second-to-last night it showed. They all did a fantastic job!! The cast was incredible, and they all had wonderful outfits to boot! Not only that, but the piano playing was superb~ It was a long endeavor, nigh on 3 hours (with an intermission), and a single person played the entire time! (well, there were breaks to be sure, but they weren't noticable) The director did a wonderful job as well, since he put the whole play together with some help on arrangements. Yes, he took the book (and a few movie references) and put it all in a comprehensive and well-done script! He praised the actors on the fact that they could still memorize their lines, even as he made changes to the script even the last week before showing. I'm personally impressed not only with them, but with him and his efforts! They all did wonderfully, I wish I could've gone to more than one showing, but they sold out rather quick!


Alright, well I can't really think of much more to say that would be of interest...

Oh! There's going to be a masquerade of sorts as a 'winter ball' in a week or two~ I'm so excited!! >w< The only restriction is that we can't actually wear the masks - they have to be on sticks or in some way held apart from being attatched to a person's head or face. It's a bit bothersome, but it's little weight in the way of the joy of having the freedom of masks!!
Now, I just have to go out and buy some supplies... (or just buy one, but where's the fun in that?)
(...of course, it would save me some time...)

Ah well! Until next time~

Long Time Posting

Alright, so it has been a while since my last post. I shan't offer excuses, they are the norm. I shall simply strive to catch up on the events~
(this is another reason I am really happy my mom tried to impress upon me the importance of keeping a daily calender; it helps recap easily)


So the last Saturday in October I was busy as could be. I went to a fun place called "Hoofbeats" to volunteer for a while; they were having a small Halloween Carnival and had me and a few other people from school help run booths. It's a place over in Lexington that is like a horse-therapy center for people with physical/mental impairments. 'Twas fun, I got to see animals again (HOORAH!), and I even got to wear a mask for a short time!

Almost as soon as I got back from that, I changed and went with my Philosophy class over to Lexington to attend a mass at the St. Patrick Catholic Church; apparently it's something Prof. Armstrong does every year. We went not only to experience how the church itself worked some, but to get an idea of how they interpret the Nicine Creed, which the congregation recited as well. It was really very nice, and they had beautiful music~

The only thing distracting me was the fact that on the way there, my car had pretty much freaked out and died. Thankfully, it did so only a few blocks from the church we were going to, but it still kind-of worried me. I was just driving along, with a few other people in my car (carpooling), when what looked like white smoke started emanating from under my car's hood. This was about 3/4 of the way there. Then, in the vicinity, my car locked up, the gas quit working, the smoke started pouring into the cab... So I just gently pulled over to the curb and parked where I could.
After the service, Prof. Armstrong unfortunately couldn't help as he didn't know a thing about cars, but my roommate's boyfriend thankfully was in the class as well, and offered to try to help me. Well, it had cooled off sufficiently to get almost all the way back to school without smoking, but when it did I pulled over and we both looked under the hood. He saw what he assumed was coolant over on the side, and it looked like my coolant tank was empty, so he suggested taking it in asap. We got back to school after letting it cool again. It started smoking a little more, but I got it parked without it freezing up again.

After that, I changed real quick and walked down to the Halloween Dance that was going on. It was tons of fun! Lots-o-people were dressed in awesome outfits, I loaded most of the pics on to my facebook if you look there. I wore my steampunk herpetologist outfit again~ This year, some people actually recognized what steampunk was! I enjoy college~

 
Here are a few of the fun costumes from the night~

(yes, it really lit up!!)

So, that was my adventure for that weekend~

The following Monday, I searched around for a good mechanic someplace. The Walmart over in Lexington didn't have an auto section, and the nearest Walmart that did was about an hour away. Eventually, though, after asking around, I found a local shop to take it in to. I did so on Tuesday, and after changing the oil and looking at stuff, they found my problem - the radiator tank had a huge crack down the front! So, almost needless to say, I left it there after calling my parents and informing them of the situation, and they said to get it fixed. It took a few days, as the specific part that was needed proved to not be easily forthcoming, but I got it back on Thursday~ They were real friendly about it, too. Thankfully, my parents agreed to cover the costs for me, since we had seriously *just* gotten the car looked over before coming out here. Hopefully, nothing else decides to pop up. So far, so good~

Then, that week I was elected and agreed to help put together an Institute Clue Murder Mystery Date Night! I was to help with the decorations. We had about four of us for the majority of the ideas; others did some things that Friday on the evening of the event, like tablecloths and the like, but we did most of the bigger stuff before-hand. Throughout the week, we got together and created cardboard candelabras (spraypainted them gold), painted and cut out life-size windows (since we were putting it on in the cultural hall), and such fun activities~ It ended up being a hit! I showed up as a contributor, and as a 'reporter'. The theme was Clue, as stated before, and it was a more modern-ish version, set in the 1920s-40s of sorts. There was a cast that walked around and got asked questions about the recent murder of a fast-food restaurant owner; his body was found burnt to a crisp! Turns out it was a gimmick set-up just like a story in the Book of Mormon! (Honestly it's been too long for me to remember the exact one... but it had to do with the Gadianton Robbers)

'Twas all quite fun~

I'm afraid I shall have to upload any more pictures at a later date; the internet is being obscenely obtuse right now and unwilling to work with me and my large number of pictures. But so be it.

Anyway, that following Saturday I went to a place called Boxerwood Gardens, which is a beautiful garden area which owns about 30 acres, and volunteered to help clean up a little. I only ended up helping in the kids' area, but it was beautiful nevertheless! Hopefully I'll go back soon.
That evening I went to an Improv presentation by alumni, and it was very fun! Afterwards, I went to an Elephant Shortcut concert! They're a band formed by some of the students here, my awesome Resident Adviser included~ They're really great, I'd suggest looking them up on Amazon/iTunes/Youtube! :D
Here is their website, a few videos included~


This past week has been pretty blah, focusing on homework and a bit of movie watching. Tuesday, at the suggestion with some friends, I finally saw this fantastical movie called What Dreams May Come, which I had never heard of before. It's really very beautiful and intriguing! Then I saw the original Clue movie (with Tim Curry!) on Thursday with the same group of friends~ Seriously though, homework has been consuming a good portion of my time.

Yesterday I went on our ward's temple trip, and went to the D.C. temple again! It was wonderful~
We got back in time for me to watch the second part of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which I had not gotten to see in theaters!! Our school was doing a showing of both the first and second part - I got back in time to see the second~ <3


SO, I'm afraid I'm going to be late to a fireside tonight (they seem to have them all the time here!), so I shall have to leave off at that! Not much else has happened, except pictures, so that shall be attempted later.
Thanks for checking in!

Time's Past

SO, midterms are finally over. WHEW!
Now, on to the next set of craziness that shall be added unto for the final and make sure it all stays fresh in the mind.
But at least I feel like I have a breather for now~


In case you haven't (or have) been keeping up with the blog about the new book Limbo's Child, it's finally out!!!! *party*
Here's the main blog (which he's still posting chapters up on) -> http://jonahhewitt.blogspot.com/
'Tis now available on Amazon.com for the Kindle (or Kindle Readers, which are free) for just $0.99!!
Yeah; read that again. $0.99! Seriously!! You can get this amazingtasticness for under one barking dollar!!
Even if you don't have a Kindle, which I myself don't, Jonah links to where you can download Kindle Readers, which are free. Here's the blog's link about it -> http://jonahhewitt.blogspot.com/2011/10/kindle-readers-for-all-platforms-free.html

Now, if that isn't enough of a deal to at least interest you, for this first week of the book's release, Jonah's offering the first half of the book for free.
If you don't believe me, I can understand - so here's the link -> http://jonahhewitt.blogspot.com/2011/10/first-half-of-book-free.html
The last 300 pages will be for free next week; so if you find yourself unable to be bothered finding enough change for the entire thing now, go now and take your fill while you can.
Again: http://jonahhewitt.blogspot.com/2011/10/first-half-of-book-free.html

Does this all sound too good to be true? Well it's happening; the free half for only a limited time though, so get on it!
(I myself simply bought it all right now; I mean come on; $0.99?? Even I, a scrounging college student, can find the money for that.)


In other news...

Our school got a bomb threat at 1 AM this morning.
Here's a (albeit short) news article on it; it made the headlines apparently.
http://hamptonroads.com/2011/10/lockdown-lifted-buena-vista-college-after-bomb-threat
And here's the school's low-down on what happened when: http://svu.edu/news/alert-updates

I was just getting off to sleep, practically all the way out... when we got a knock on the door telling us we need to evacuate at 1AM. I myself didn't hear the knocking; my roommates had to get me up. So I groggily got up and put more layers on (I already had 2 layers, just added a few jackets; I'm rather cold-natured), grabbed my purse, and left with my roomies. I didn't grab my laptop, my phone, even my sketchbook. I was not all the way there. Actually, I was convinced we were doing a drill of some sort - we did a fire drill near the beginning of the semester at about 4 AM, so I wouldn't put anything past them now. When we left the building and passed multiple trucks and K-9 units, I began to be suspicious. I didn't really register that this could be something serious, though, until all we girls in the dorms were huddling and gossiping in the church building just down the hill. Well, there was talking going on; I was not a participant. In fact, I felt rather ill the entire time, I think I may be catching a cold... So that was added onto the fact that I just wanted sleep.
Alas, the floor of the church basketball area is not the most comfortable place to lie. That, and my stomach wasn't always sure what it wanted to do either.
At any rate, around 3:30 we finally got the all-clear to go back to our dorms. I didn't say anything, didn't really do much except trudge back up the hill, and fall into bed.
I probably got about 2 hours of sleep.
Then, at 6AM, my alarm went off for my 7AM Biology class.
No, classes had not been canceled in the slightest.

So, right now, I'm still going alright. I can do the few-hours-sleep thing for a while, but I will be sleeping good tonight... (I hope)


So, that's my excitement for the week. They still don't know exactly who sent the bomb-threat or why, it's still under investigation, but I'm (mostly) happy to say that classes are still going as planned and the entire campus has been cleared. I'm also happy I'm just a student. Mr Doxey, VP of organizations & student services here, said he didn't get home until 8AM this morning. Even then, he only grabbed a quick 2-hour nap before going on with the day. Plus, some of our Resident Advisers had to stand guard at the doors and make sure no one came in or left the buildings and didn't hardly get any sleep before classes began, if any at all.

So, I am lucky that I am not one of those people who freak out easily and couldn't have slept at all, as I am happy that I was not a Resident Adviser responsible for keeping track of people during this crazy time.
But that doesn't mean I feel any better physically. XP

Alright, I've gotten out my little whine/rant. I'm thankful that we're all ok and stuff, and hopefully it doesn't happen again.


Oh; and I drove out to Roanoke on Saturday~ Twas fun, I believe. Tiring, yes, but enjoyable. Especially since I got into a Barnes & Noble... <3 (and inevitably bought something or other :) )


Now, go check out Limbo's Child!
http://jonahhewitt.blogspot.com/2011/10/free-kindle-readers.html
Seriously.

Step On Up

So, I just took two exams and a quiz earlier today~
I feel ok about them; I've studied and prayed and that's all I can do.

I was studying over the weekend, except for Saturday evening when I went to the Homecoming dance. The theme was "A Night Under the Big Top". Yes, like a circus~ It was awesome! They had booths Christmas lights and everything~ :)

 There was facepainting, 'fishing', arm wrestling, a photo booth... Even a guy doing balloon stuff~

Plus the dancing itself! I even got my friend Eddie out on the dance floor a little bit.
I left before it ended though; I was sooo tired... Hopefully I'll have caught up on my sleep by tomorrow.


In other news, I got to go to the D.C. temple last Tuesday!

It was beautiful~
(and massive)
It's about 3 hours or so from here. My roommates were all "That's so long to just sit in a car!", while I was thinking "Hey, like a trip to Wal-Mart back home!" XD We even got to take charter buses instead of vans~


Other than that, anticipating the release of Limbo's Child~!
Due to some last-minute strokes of genius, Jonah ended up adding one more chapter to the book, and it entirely works! It's the new prologue, if you care to read it on his blog~ -> http://jonahhewitt.blogspot.com/
However, because of it, some re-organizing occurred in the book's formatting; some of it planned, some of it not. So he's having to do another editing session to fix it up. It sets things a little off on his schedule, but greatness can't be rushed. In the meantime, I wish him luck, and I invite even more of you guys to go check out what chapters he has already got up!
-> http://jonahhewitt.blogspot.com/ <-


And, simply because I was watching them again recently, check out this awesome dance group called Remote Kontrol!

This is from 2010, but they're still doing awesome stuffs now! This is just the first vid of them that I saw, and was blown away. It's a bit long, over 10 minutes, but it's still well worth the watch~
This is their website, with more clips of their amazing talent! http://www.remotekontroldance.com/media.html

Ever find random things happen to you when you're not looking? I swear I was just doing normal stuff today, even a little less crazy, and poof! I find a raw bleeding spot on my knuckle by just noticing it. Didn't hurt or anything, just noticed the red stuff on my milky complexion. (and I thought I was done with that after high school XD')
Guess I'm still as observant as ever~ 


Well, here it is, OCTOBER~ <3
Probably my favorite month of the year, right after December. :)
(The only reason December beats it out is because of school breaks, instead of the test-taking induced in October. Yes, that's counting Christmas and my birthday. I just think October rocks that much!)

And I find myself not quite as frazzled as I was expecting. Of course, it's only the first week thus far, but still. I believe it has been enjoyable! It's been getting chilly enough for me to wear my warm(ish) jackets, and start wearing gloves! <3 I love them~
And more trees are turning colors! Yay!!


Heheh; and, I got to see WICKED~!! <3 It was Oztacular!!

SO MUCH FUN!
Unfortunately, we kinda missed the first 10 minutes because we got there right as the show was starting, and we had to go up a few flights of stairs. The actors' guild (I believe? That's what the attendants were telling us anyway) had mandated that if any of the audience was late, they had to wait for a good 10 minutes (until the first 'break' in the scenes) to get in to seating. >0 But at least we could still hear it~ And the theater was EPIC.

(Just so you know what I dressed up in, I put in the brighter pic of me. But then focus on the intricacy of that stage behind me in the darker picture - that dragon moved!!!)

I ended up buying a magnet and poster. The soundtrack was super-expensive, so I'm just gonna find that someplace else cheaper. :p Until then, Youtube, my friend!

This is the opening song to the entire thing~ <3
Seriously, that musical has such an epic score!!
I want to find the piano music soooo much, but first I'll focus on getting the soundtrack~


In other things, I've been working on homework; reading lots and lots, wrote a paper for Philosophy...
Yeah. Nothing too exciting. Yet very time-consuming. X.x


Again; October 15 is coming ever-closer!! Go check out Limbo's Child over here -> http://jonahhewitt.blogspot.com/ <-

There's a few of the first chapters up, as a special treat to those who go there~ <3
PLUS
If you stick around for the news, I hear that he'll be offering the book for the first few days at a special deal....
for free~
Yeah, I know!! SO AWESOME, right?? SO, be prepared to go for it when the time comes! >D
(of course, it's not too expensive anyway... BUT who doesn't love free??)

So, get your bums in action and head over to http://jonahhewitt.blogspot.com/ right there!


And thanks for reading this randomosity~