Iiiiiit's ELECTION DAY here in Americaland! Who would you vote for?

[Poll #1640040]

Worked a bunch all day today, and the dudes there were pretty happy with it, so that made me feel good. I'm enjoying working on the project, which always makes things a lot easier. I also got a new tire gummi for Falcon II...expensive, as I figured, but at least now I can drive again.

Also, there's a new Lunargyros page, read it here.

Drawing: Workstuff, some 10HAD

Writing: Not much time

Halloween last night was quite enjoyable! Carved a pumpkin for my 'rents since usually me and my bros do the pumpkin art. Then went to hang out with friends at the fandom house. It was fun...we had a really delicious dinner, passed out candy to adorable kids, and watched creepypastas and that 100 Scariest Movie Moments series. I'm not a big party person, so something quiet with friends makes me happy. XD

Also, today I started out at the new job. It went fine...the dudes there are nice, and while I can't actually talk about the project because NDA and such, it's totally my alley in terms of genre/style, and it's all in Photoshop which I know like the back of my hand. So it should be fine to work on, even with a really tight deadline.

The NOT-fun part was driving. D: That studio seems to have bad car luck or something. I went searching around for a place to eat for lunch...that area of Venice is not a great place to drive or park; lots of oddly-crossing roads and one-way streets. D: Finally gave up on anything cheap and went to eat at some organic vegan shop that, while tasty enough, was expensive. Except when I was pulling in I hit the curb really hard on my left side. When I tried to leave again, I immediately noticed a bad noise...pulled over, and discovered my left front tire was completely flat. DX

Soooo I had to call Triple A, in the process, sign up for Triple A membership too, since apparently I'm no longer good on my parents' plan. Dude came out and changed my tire, and the spare seems to work okay since I was able to drive home on it. BUUUUT now this means that I have to get up much earlier tomorrow to go out and buy two new tires, and tires are expensive. Pretty much all of today's salary will go towards getting Falcon II new gummis. NNNNNNNNNNGGGH.

I hope the rest of the week goes better~

Drawing: Stuff for work, will try and keep doing 10HAD

Writing: Will see if I have time...

AT LAST, I have a new car! 8D It is pretty much the same as the old one, thus I have christened it

Falcon Peak II

Not that many miles on it, and it's a 2007 instead of a 2004, but still basically the same car. 8D; It also needs to get the tailpipe fixed, but I'll go in and do that later. Either way, it's soooo nice to finally have a car again! Considering how much everyone in the family drives, it's definitely necessary to have.

And this time dad didn't have to get mad. XDD The salesman was actually willing to bargain with us, and while we didn't get it down to our preferred price, we did get it down to a fair price (which was $3000 less than what the other place was insisting on...take THAT, stupid place!)

( Day 21 - Persepolis )

Drawing: Finished 3 LG pages

Writing: *stares at unfinished fic*

Days until BBS release: 17

GATHER 'ROUND KIDS, I GOT A STORY TO TELL YOU TODAY.

I went out to the dentist today with both my parents, with the plan being that after the dentist was done (and my dad got his hair cut), we would drive out to one of the car dealerships I wrote down to start bargaining for my new car. The dentist and the haircut both went fine (yay no cavities!) so we sped over to the car dealership further north.

We were going with the intent of replacing Falcon Peak, and since I really enjoyed that car, we figured we'd go for another Ford Focus. I test drove two, they both felt fine and I would have been happy with either. Both used cars; we have always bought used cars. I think the salesman thought I was a teenager or something, 'cause he kept complimenting me on how good I was driving, and asked if I was under 18. Maybe he was just being flattering or something, but dude...I've been driving for almost nine years. I know how to brake properly. 8| Anyways, we intended to try and buy the Focus with less miles on it (only 17,000, wow!) Dad explained how we were replacing the car that got totaled, so most of the payment would be the insurance money, plus a little extra from savings. We already have two car payments in the works, plus both my brothers in college, so the intent was to pay in cash right there instead of financing. In dad's experience, you can bargain down a used car about 20-25% of the listed price and it will still turn a profit for the dealership while being much easier on the buyer. So dad gave the salesman a price that we were willing to pay (about 25% off the listed price), and the salesman went to talk to the finance boss.

Now, before I go any further, there are a few things you need to understand about my dad.

Anyone who has met my dad in real life (and I know there's a few of you on here!) will know that he is not an intimidating man. He is a short, very small, very scholarly-looking guy. Glasses, graying beard, nice shirts, the whole "elder book nerd" deal. He is generally soft-spoken and compromising. He doesn't lose his temper. He doesn't raise his voice. When he is angry, he is usually pretty quiet, and I very rarely see him get angry. That's just not how he rolls.

Got that? Cool. So anyway, after fifteen minutes of waiting at the desk (a rather long time for this, really) the salesman comes back out after talking to the finance guys. He shows us the price that they are willing to go for, which is...nothing at all different from their original price. In fact, with the necessary taxes, licensing and other fees, it was more money than the window price. There was no bargaining here.

And holy crap, dad got ANGRY. His face and neck kind of tightened up and his face started to change color a bit. He leaned forward like he was preparing for an epic tableflip. He raised his voice to just a couple of levels below yelling, and was all "No, I am not willing to play this game with you." There was just a little bit of banter between the salesman and dad, but he wasn't willing to back off and talk to the finance guys about going down, so dad basically went NO, GTFO and we got up and left. I have not seen him get that angry in years. My mom and I were sitting there with these O_O looks on our faces the whole time. DAYUM.

So, I did not get a replacement for Falcon today. But I did get to see what happens when small-and-quiet Lynxdad feels he's being cheated on a car. And that is not something you'll see every day...or any day, for that matter!

For today's movie month movie...

( Day 3 - Blazing Saddles )

ONE MOOOOOOORE THING. There are two new Lunargyros pages today. Not only that, but for this month, Lunargyros will have DOUBLE UPDATES. So expect a new update this Friday, too!

Drawing: LG today

Writing: Still treatments

Days until BBS release: 35

Oof, this upcoming weekend and the weeks following it should be fairly busy. Not as busy as July, but towing it along pretty busily regardless.

I promised a dude at church that I would help out on Sunday by doing a series of paintings (with at least one other person, it looks like) to help illustrate the sermon he's doing. Now looking towards it, I'm a little bit nervous about it...they're relatively large paintings, that have to be done in a fairly short timeframe (while the sermon is being given), in front of the entire congregation (when I very rarely make it to church nowadays anyway, and when I do, tend to make myself quiet), and at both early and late service. 8< So errg...yeah, I hope that goes well.

In only somewhat related news, I can't believe I've been missing reading Slacktivist for this long!

And then after both services on Sunday, it looks like I'm going with the family up to Bakersfield for the rest of the day. And considering the very long phone conversation my mom had with my aunt yesterday, I don't think it will be for Good Reasons. -_-

Also, it looks like the rental car I've been using we'll have to give back on Monday...but I haven't heard anything on getting the money for my new car yet. Considering the fact that my brother is leaving for Texas soon, that will leave two cars (one of which I can't drive because it's a stick) for four drivers in the household, all with their own jobs and schedules. This is not going to be easy. 8(


Still mulling over that RP idea, but I'm probably going to give it a lot of time/thought...

Drawing: LG all day yesterday and more today...I'm expecting to do a double-update month in August! Also, started a fanart that I won't be able to show for awhile.

Writing: Stuff for the RP here and there

Days until BBS release: 38

First things first: two new Lunargyros pages, you can read 'em here.

Well, I have sent purapea on her way today, so the room is empty of friends once again. THANK YOU FOR VISITING, PURA, YOU WERE TOTALLY AWESOME TO HAVE AND I WOULD DO IT AGAIN ANYTIME ♥♥♥ *huuuugs* Also gonna hang with yamikonumber7 and rebmakash today while she's still in Cali, so more funness tonight!

I've decided what movies I'm going to watch through the month of August. Thanks for the suggestions, everyone! Tried to go with what is cheapest; couldn't find everything on YouTube, but we'll see. I may or may not do random thoughts on them while I'm watching throughout the month.

( Full list here )

Also, the verdict is in, and apparently my car is completely totaled...it's not worth the cost to repair it. :( Which means I'm going to have to say goodbye to Falcon, and when the time/insurance money is available, go shopping for a new car...

I will miss Falcon Peak greatly. It's never given me much grief, and has been faithful through the rest of my schooling at Gnomon, many trips to Disneyland and other cons, and late-night food and airport runs. Great engine gummis gave it a lot of pep for such a small car. We planned so much of Daisychain, especially lots of the endgame, while in Falcon Peak. It was a source of all sorts of creative brainstorming, and was patient through my constant motormouth syndrome. I'm sorry it had to end this way, Falcon...you will be missed. :(


Drawing: Lots of LG for sure, we'll see what else

Writing: Still writing some stuff up...

Days until BBS release: 41

There are birds, and they are somehow after Falcon Peak.

I get in my car one day about a week ago, and notice there's this brown gunk all over my passenger side rearview mirror. At first I thought it was blown seeds or something, then realize it is bird crap. I go "Ewwww, gross. Dumb birds." And yet, I can't help wonder...why is the crap so localized? There's lots of it, and it's ONLY on my rearview mirror.

Then I walk out to my car today, and I notice there is a sparrow sitting on that same rearview mirror. It keeps hopping around my window, peering in and pecking at the glass. Said sparrow does not fly out of the way until I'm actually very close to it. And even then, it only flies to the nearby bushes, as if it's just annoyed that I disturbed it doing something very important.

o_o; So apparently, small birds want something that is INSIDE MY CAR. Or something about the passenger side is just fascinating to them. I don't know what, but whatever it is, that's just weird.


SPEAKING OF WINGED THINGS. I took some pictures of my sculpture! I show them here, along with the explanation stuff that I also posted on dA:

( Sculpture pics inside )

Drawing: Lots of animation for character timing. Gonna scan that in a bit, too...

Writing: Nothing.

First and foremost:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY REI!

(And Ali too, but I shall see you tomorrow! BTW, what time were you planning on coming over? 'Rents are doing convo at the house, so a bunch of college students will be at our house eating our food...)

Second and secondmost: the new Lunargyros page got screwed up yesterday, but it's finally up today instead. Next week will be a two-page update!

And now, things in no particular order:
- Sooo my paid account expired. I said I didn't want LJ to have any more of my money, and I meant it. Goodbye, shiny icons, I shall miss you... ;_;
- Well hey, none of us saw this one coming! I'm still betting Tails will also be a fighter, and am holding out hope for Sora to be playable since the KH composer is on the project. But I am confused...is Ness still going to be in SSBB, or is Lucas taking his place?
- For people saying that third term was supposed to be OMG DIFFICULT, I'm so far able to keep pace with classes. The KH doujin's kinda been put way on the backburner because of it, but hey, school comes first.
- Kinematics is actually fun, and while all of the teachers are good artists in their fields, for Kinematics he's ALSO a good teacher, for which I'm thankful for! He actually takes the time to explain things completely and concisely, stops and re-explains if someone has an issue, and we're learning a bunch about the tools without being overworked. So HOORAY FOR THAT.
- In contrast, animation is...not so fun. Which really sucks, because I'm interested in learning it. The teacher is quite nice, very funny and likes to make weird sound effects, but he takes FOR-EV-ERRRRR to actually explain what he's talking about! He either goes off on tangents about whatever or keeps repeating easy steps that we've already dealt with. Not only is it extremely difficult to pay attention to him (especially since his class is the last one of a straight nine-hour-day), but because he takes SO DAMN LONG to get to the point, the last two times he's kept the class a half our late. Which, if I've already been sitting there failing at paying attention to him for the last three hours and I'm not going to get home until after 11:00 because it takes me 45 minutes to drive home, is Extremely Not Cool. -_-
- Digital Video Essentials kind of intimidates me. Maybe it's because I was never much of a photographer...I feel so much more comfortable getting my ideas down on paper. I don't know if I should change my final project idea or not...
- Acting for Animators is kinda weird, but fun in a physical-activity kind of way. (I was so sore after the last class!) XD I don't think I would be as comfortable with it if I didn't know the people in my class as well. Our group is kickass!
- I'm enjoying Visual Structure just because I'm excited about doing my story in an art-direction kind of way. XD I'm already ahead on the homework, but mostly because I'll be gone next class...
- The first class, our Production Design 2 teacher showed us how you can modify a Nintendo DS to function as a miniature Wacom tablet, with pressure-sensitive painting and eveything. Seriously, how many classes have the teachers explaining how to use your handheld game consoles as everyday art tools? XDD
...So now I'm begging for a DS for Christmas, not just because everyone and their dog is playing Phoenix Wright and I WANNA DO IT, TOOOOO. Oh yeah, and possibly 358/2 Days, too.
- In Poly Modeling 2, we had to do heads for a bipedal character again. Last time, my head was total crap. This time, I tried an entirely different method for going about it (instead of box modeling.) OMG, it went SOOOO much easier and looked better, too! ;_; Modeling it poly-by-poly and using extrude makes so much more sense in my brain than box modeling. HOORAY IMPROVEMENT.
- ...We have to get our stuff together from the first two terms for internal critique time. Internal critique time is when our classwork is shown to an industry professional and they do an evaluation on just how much you suck. O_O;;;; *INSERT PANIC MODE HERE*
- Falcon Peak was in the shop all weekend. D: It had been making some clicking noises from the dashboard, and on steep inclines my dashboard and headlights would flicker on and off. So we took it into the shop on Thursday, and I didn't get it back until yesterday. But the lights don't flicker anymore, and Falcon feels better than ever! I better not have to take it back again for some other dumb reason soon. I have the worst luck with cars.
- I want it to be tomorrow already.
- I hate my wireless connection and its constant hiccups. ♥

Drawing: And now it's time for Harry Potter homework...

Writing: Sporking, on the rare occasions I have time...

Yes, so I finished the Strahl this afternoon. I redid the stuff I lost much faster, either because I already knew what to do and could do it fast, or because I was pissed off and rushing it, or maybe both. Either way, it is at last DOOOOONE! YEY. *flop* I'll post it and do an actual celebratory-type post after the teacher looks at it on Wednesday, since then I'll be able to fix any small things I may not be aware needed fixing until a teacher actually looks at it. If I get a good response from the finished product, I do want to try and texture it. Mayhaps something that's actually 3D to put in my portfolio?

...The back of my chair just fell off. D:

SO ASIDE FROM EVERYTHING I TOUCH BREAKING TODAY. There is one good thing!

I HAVE A CAR! :D :D

Technically, it is not my car; it once again belongs to parents. I will just be its primary driver. When I snag a job that can pay for carthings, it will be up to me to either purchase the car from the parents, or else buy a new one.

We got a white 2004 Ford Focus! It's got four doors and about 63,000 miles on it already. A little bit noisy and the CD player was giving me issues today, but still is love! The thing accelerates LEIKWOAH. I've never driven a car that could reach 70 within seconds of getting on the freeway! I'll probably have to be careful not to speed in it, since the car feels so peppy and natural going at fast speeds. And the handling on it is great! Just after driving it today, I already felt really comfortable doing both the freeway and the canyon. It's got a better sense of gravity than the Civic, too, since I noticed hardly anything slid around on the seats while I was taking large turns.

So because it is white, has great maneuverability and can reach Berserk Mode in good time, I have named my car Falcon Peak.
Yes, I named my car after a gummi ship. Quiet. :P

Drawing: More life drawing today.

Writing: Will spork in a bit!

Chapter three of Lunargyros has begun! There's a new cover image and the first page of it posted here.

Sooo...got the news back on fixing my car. At first we suspected it was just a belt that snapped in the heat. But it turns out that the things that needed fixing/replacement included:
- the radiator had blown out
- a gasket was close to blowing
- the air conditioner was busted
- three of the tires needed replacing (but not the one that was fixed after going flat at Disneyland! :Db)
- and for that matter, an axle needed to be replaced, which was what was producing that clunking noise every time I made a sharp turn.
- something else about fluids leaking, oh, and brakes needed work.

And that would've been all to the tune of $4000. More than twice the amount I would get from selling the car. In other words, the car is literally not worth the money it would take to fix it...about the best it can be hoped for now is to find a kind soul who's willing to take it off our hands for a few hundred bucks, or calling a truck that can tow it to a junkyard for cheap. The heat wave has literally killed my car. :(

I feel just awful about it! I know it's not really my fault, that the car was over a decade old, had already had significant repairs, and that it just couldn't hold up in the heat...but at the same time, I feel like I just forced a horse with two broken legs to run a race across the Sahara until it literally collapsed from exhaustion. D: My poor car! You have served me faithfully throughout the past five years, and I'm sorry it had to end this way! I hope you are happy in car heaven! ;_;

Soooo this means...time to get a new car! I suppose I would be more thrilled about this if a) I actually had the money to afford a car, and b) it wasn't under such dire circumstances and with the need to get it so quickly. Apparently the 'rents have located a small dealership with a 2002 Prius for sale with about 80,000 miles on it already. Whatever we get, it'll have to be less than $8000 or so, and I'll have to figure out how I'm going to pay for it in the long run... Either way, looks like Friday will be car-shopping day. And I have to make sure and treat whatever new car I get with much care! Oil changes on time, and listening carefully for weird noises! It's not worth it to avoid problem signs.

One good thing? At least the heat wave seems to be dying off, as it no longer feels like I'm living in a furnace on the sun with my head on fire. GOODBYE HEAT WAVE, WE WILL NOT MISS YOU. XP

Geekery time:
- So friends and I were playing many rounds of SSBM last night, as we got out of Texture II early. And apparently, there is a possibility that Sora may be a playable fighter in Smash Bros. Brawl! Supposedly one of the composers brought on for the music was the KH composer, and thusfar all of the composers they've hired have been those for their original games, for the purposes of writing new "fighting music" versions of their games' themes. And hell, they've already brought in Konami and SEGA characters, and supposedly they're really reaching out for third party properties this time around. :D So it is not completely outside the realm of possibility!
And if Sora's a fighter in SSBB...DFASDJASKDJASKLDJALSKR(W$*)( GLEEEEEEE. Brawl is basically my main (or only!) reason for wanting to get a Wii anyway, as I love kicking ass with Yoshi. But if Sora's a character? That pretty much seals the deal for me. XDDD

I had the most bizarre dream last night/this morning. It started out as a KH dream, taking place in the game but faaaaast deviating from that when the characters got caught in a flash flood and then were trekking across the desert on a single broken-down donkey without food or water. And then that somehow turned from KH characters to my extended family, where we finally found water under a dry river bed like they did in "Dinosaur."

And then HTML attacked us. Apparently in real life, HTML really is a series of tubes! Very very thin ones, anyway, that liked to take the shape of big spindly spiders.

I told you it was bizarre!

Drawing: Various things, but mostly the usual comics.

Writing: Occasional sporkage.

So I'm driving home from school yesterday about the same as always. My air conditioner stopped working for a smidge, which was kinda of weird and uncomfortable, but bearable. Then it starts working again. Yay? Or not...

Car: *engine light comes on*
Me: What the crap?! Awww man, now I'll have to get it looked at AGAIN...
Car: *rattlerattle*
Me: Now what's that noise?
Car: *oil light comes on*
Me: ...Oil light? It can't be more than a month overdue on an oil change...
Car: *RATTLERATTLESHIVERRATTLE*
Me: This is not good.
Car: *smoke starts pouring from hood*
Me: DDDDD8

Thankfully, this all happened just as I was turning off the freeway, so I pulled like mad over into a gas station. Only to discover, well hey, my cell phone battery is dead! Joy. I spend almost three bucks on the pay phone trying to call people, only to get ahold of no one. After nearly half an hour of depression/panic, I finally work up the nerve to ask some strangers for a ride to the Ranch. They say yes, and coincidence of coincidences, it turns out they were Pepperdine students and had my dad for class! XD So that was a huge stroke of serendipity. (Is that the right word here?) Hung with my ever-loving friends at the Ranch until my dad came to pick me up, and now I'm driving the van to and from school.

So my car is completely busted. D: It can't get fixed until Tuesday at the latest, too, since Labor Day is tomorrow and the car care place will be closed. Also, depending on how much it costs to get fixed, there may be new car-buyage involved. Either way, it's going to be expensive and tiresome and arrrrrgh. DX

I suppose we'll know when we know what's wrong with it. It could be a belt snapped and started melting, since the heat here is absolutely ridiculous and I had my AC running. Then again, it IS just an old, often-used car that's more than past its prime.

As if this weren't the most of it, I was struggling with my Delorean model for many hours after class. After spending two hours fighting with making my UVs clean, I go back to my model and several polys in the back have just randomly collapsed in on themselves, meaning I have to rebuild crap and now my UVs are totally screwed up.

And then on the way home there was a horrible wreck involving trucks, something black and oily spilled all over the street, and the 101 being reduced down to one lane. D:

The moral of this story is, I HATE CARS, AND THEY HATE ME BACK.

Drawing: More figure drawing stuff today; some successful, some not.

Writing: Very little.

Argh. I went to go get the car smog-checked yesterday, and it failed.
I just knew it would fail, too. The check engine light had been on for a few days, and the car didn't feel all that different, so I didn't know what else would be wrong with it. But I asked my dad and he said to take it in anyway, so that's what I did, and it failed the smog check. I'll need to find out from him what he wants me to do with it next, since technically it's his car, and I don't know if he wants me to shell out for repairs or not. I'm not elligible for government help for repairs since I'm not the registered owner. But who knows how much it'll cost for them to fix whatever's smogging it up? I just got the car looked at for this not long ago.

Uugh, this is why I should've gotten my butt in gear and bought a new car before my parents left. But I really don't feel comfortable going to a dealer now without someone with car experience, since I don't want to pay more than I need to. That, and I need the actual time to go car-shopping. But it'll still be four months before my parents get back from Italy...

Aside from that fiasco, I picked up yamikonumber7 yesterday for hanging-outage. We stopped by Target to get her a new TV since her roomie was moving and taking the TV with her. And we bought a 20-inch TV, thinking it would fit in the back of the car, but NO. The hugemongous box made it absolutely impossible to put it either in the back seat or the trunk! So we called over Kel and Alix and asked if they could bring another car over with a hopefully bigger backseat or trunk. And they did, and the stupid box wouldn't fit there either! So we ended up just having to unpack the box right in the parking lot and putting the TV itself in the back, since it would actually fit without all that cardboard and styrofoam around it. It was kind of pathetic and hilarious. XD

Alsooo...I totally caved in and bought FFXII. I also started playing it a bit yesterday. :O Sorry, corrielle; if you could reimburse me partway I can just show you the opening again and we'll go from there! I haven't gotten that far in the slightest. I'm still in Rabanastre, needing to break into the palace with my crescent stone.

I'm liking the game so far! :D The graphics are gorgeous, the characters are fun (although I haven't met Balthier yet, boo!) and I really need to get my hands on the soundtrack now. Still getting used to the battle system, although I'm not nearly as confused as I was playing the demo. It's a bit WoW-ish. I think I will always prefer KH2's more fast-paced battle system, but I like the fact that "random battles" are essentially done away with and you can avoid enemies if you need to.

It's a good thing too, as the enemies are actually HARD! Maybe I've just been playing stupidly (I haven't bought many licenses yet; I haven't gotten cure or anything) but I've been dying a bunch against monsters. I want to go to the Westersands to collect the bounty on the Textera mutant-wolf thing, but the monsters there are too hard for Vaan all by his lonesome. When I was looking for the kid from the nomad village, the werewolves kept killing me in ONE SWING even when I was running for my life from them. D:

I'll have to play more later, though. I'll feel better about sitting down for gaming if I can get these revised pages and some more gift arts done, so that's what I'm gonna do now!

Drawing: My plan's to be drawing all day!

Writing: Aside from clandestine planning stuff, nothing.