F A I T H; T R U S T

THIS JOURNAL IS SEMI-FRIENDS ONLY.
Anything ranty, emotional, involving photographs, or that is otherwise personal will be locked to friends-only. Posts of general information, anime stuffs, memes, website updates and likewise sillyness will remain public and viewable to all.

I collect lj friends. Comment to be added. :D

Question time, LJ.

Do you think it's better to stick with a job you've had for awhile that has finally become stable for you after years of waiting, but isn't in the career field you want and isn't paying you much money?

Or, a job that is in exactly the field that you want and will pay you a little bit more per hour, but you'll have to start over from scratch.... as a part-time worker, with no guaranteed hours or benefits? And with no idea of if, or when, this might change?

I am staring right now at these two options, and I have no idea what to do. My current job finally offered me full time just days after I landed an interview for a dream position, but at part-time, with no benefits (starting over from the bottom). What do :(

Not that I've been offered the other job yet, but I won't know what to say if I get it. Heck, I've got no idea what to even tell them regarding my availability, because apparently when you're upgraded to full time at Disney your schedule can be irregular for awhile.

Argh :/

Maybe I've just gotten really behind but

Why can I only go six pages back on my f-list before the link to view more posts disappears? :| I don't remember this ever being a thing. Is it one of LJ's brilliant "improvements" cus if so it kinda sucks butt.

My Valentine's Day was awesome and I learned during the course of it that I'm still as dorky, if not dorkier, than I was in fifth grade. We went to Medieval Times and I cheered like a moron while Erica took pictures of the horses, glared at the food (until the apple turnovers came out, which fucking vanished), and laughed at my enraged enthusiasm. I actually almost lost my voice from the yelling. GO BLACK AND WHITE (aka Oreo) KNIGHT!!!

I bought a shit load of new shiny things w/ my tax return that I've been meaning to get for ages (including new jeans [had been juggling just two pairs for over a year now], shoes [only had one pair of very tribal looking TOMs for non-formal/everyday wear that barely matched a thing], and a new smartphone that actually lives up to its name) so that's been hella nice, paid off some bills and debts as well so getting it was super super helpful.

I have been moody as all fuck lately for no particular reason but that isn't anything new

This weekend should be fun, probably taking Erica to see Rocky Horror w/ James and will hopefully catch the Universal Mardi Gras parade as well. Apparently they've added a significant amount of new floats/performers this year so there's actually a reason for me to want to brave the drunken masses and check it out.

Til then, stay kewl LJ 8B

(P.S. My god, the new Lays flavors, everyone try them. I never even buy Lays anymore as I'm more of a Kettle Chips/Cape Cod fan, but the Sriracha one is amazing holy shit)

(P.P.S. Is this the shit adults get excited about or what)

Too hot/sunny outside? Better stay indoors where it's cool and comfortable and the sun isn't blazing in my eyes.

Too cold/dreary outside? Better stay indoors where it's warm, and in any case going outside will just make me feel depressed. Everything's dark and cloudy and why would I want to look at that all day?

Raining outside? Ugh super obvious stay indoors day, it's so peaceful being inside while it rains. Being outside? I'll just get wet and soggy and wish I'd never ventured out.

Perfect weather? I probably have work. Or I've slept in too late/am too tired. Or I have nothing I can think of doing, anyway. Better stay indoors, at least I won't spend any money.

This is why I never leave the house during my free time :X

Sometimes I really miss living in Tampa.

I miss renting a house, and having a fenced-in yard. I miss my little herb garden.

I miss all the little food places I used to frequent... EVOS, Taj, Taco Bus, Ichiban Sushi, Tina Tapa's. I miss Kaleisia tea, they had THE. BEST. TEA. I miss places like Ybor city, and their amazing coffee shop; I have never had better coffee in my life. I miss the Ybor farmer's market. I miss all the great malls there, they had a lot of nice ones with rarer stores like Lush, Teavana, The Spice and Tea Exchange, and the Disney Store, but they weren't bogged down with tourists and crowds like the big/nice malls in Orlando.

I miss all the old houses there, the ones from the early 1900s with the open front porches. They were all unique, and neighborhoods often had a pleasing mix of architectural styles. Even the bad parts of town were somewhat quaint because of them. In Orlando it's all suburbia, newly developed neighborhoods from the mid-80s and 90s and 00s, just a whole load of stucco boxes in pastels that all look the same, and the bad areas are far from being anywhere near quaint, they're just straight-up ugly/decrepit. Tampa and Orlando both have a lot of strip malls, but in Tampa, there was some pretty cool retro lookin' stuff mixed in most of the time to break up the monotony. That's rarer here.

I miss seeing the Hard Rock Casino and the Sun Trust building downtown with its ever-changing lighted top and thinking, "okay, almost home."

Heck, I even miss Channelside, cheesy as it was, and Gasparilla. I loved the richer history of that city, its obsession with pirates, its closer proximity to gulf-coast beaches like Clearwater and St. Pete beach. I miss Hillsborough State Park, I only went once but it was gorgeous there, and it was nice knowing it was only a short drive away. I miss calling Metrocon my city's con. I miss the USF campus, just the familiarity of the place. It's strange to think I haven't set foot there in almost two years now. It was a place I used to spend half my time at almost daily. I can still close my eyes and see that campus very clearly. I miss the little park where USF students could rent canoes and kayaks super cheap, and hang out on the river all day.

Orlando has all the theme parks, which is really nice, especially now that I live much closer to them. It has nearby cities I like such as Winter Park, and beautiful places of its own like Leu Gardens. Downtown Orlando is far easier to drive in, and feels safer at night than downtown Tampa or Ybor. I have more friends in Orlando. I don't miss my Tampa roommates at all, they were the worst part about living there. But overall, I think I felt more comfortable and "at home" in Tampa, even though I only lived there two years. I feel like if someone visited Tampa for a week or two, I could list off a slew of things for them to see and do, and good places to eat and shop. Meanwhile, if someone was visiting Orlando, 95% of the suggestions I'd have would be related to the theme parks only. There's really not much else here.

I guess it says something when you're "homesick" for a place you lived for only two years, but not for the city where you were born and spent most of your life living in. Heck, I'm back here again now, and though I'm much happier in my apartment near Universal than I was in the Waterford/UCF area, I still don't feel very attached to the city beyond the obligatory "welp, I was born here" kinda way. That wasn't true of Tampa.

I'd never want to move back to Tampa- if I move again, it will be out of Florida. I've promised myself that much. But a part of me will always be fond of Tampa, and consider it one of my "homes." Orlando only holds similar honors because I was born here, and have lived here basically forever :P But I have a lot of hate for Orlando too, lol.

I dunno, just reminiscing and felt like writing about it.

I just think the internet should know, before I forget, that finding a used bandaid in the dishwasher and having a dead lizard bubble out of the toilet after it was flushed were things that happened in my apartment.

Also, there's a bag of dog shit hanging from a tree outside the building that has been there for weeks.

Stay classy, Orlando.

Man, now I know why I rarely have the desire to write here unless something major happens or I want to vent... my life is pretty boring otherwise. I manage to talk about the little things that happen throughout my day on Twitter and/or Facebook, then I come here and I'm like WHAT DO :| Gonna attempt it anyway...

Today was my last day off before moving day, so it was considerably busy. I had a couple of commissions to finish up over on FurAffinity and a lot of arranging to do. Amazingly enough I got it all done, and everything regarding the move is all set up.... electricity deposit was paid, internet installation appointment was set, etc. If everything goes smoothly I should be all settled in the new place by Tuesday night, and definitely by Wednesday. If only my friends who gave me all those "probably"s and "maybe"s about helping me out with the actual transport/unloading of my stuff would actually confirm, 'cause if they all back out I will be pretty screwed :x

Yesterday at work, a twenty-something guy with dreads, star-shaped sunglasses, and a top hat gave me a drawing while I was dressed in Bart Simpson, addressed to Bart. Lisa, Homer, and Marge all got their own too, with their own personalized messages. In fact, all the characters that were out that day got a drawing. Apparently, the guy comes every year and does the same thing. It was a a little strange but touching, too. I wonder what the guy's reasons are for doing that. I wished I could have talked to him or something, he seemed so interesting. I shall treasure his drawing/note 5ever.

I started reading J.K. Rowling's new novel today (something I didn't even know was out yet until a week after its release date; YES I felt ashamed, lol). So far it's... alright. It's kept my interest but hasn't sucked me in like Harry Potter. Her writing style is recognizable and enjoyable, though. I shall see if it gets any better, and will likely write about it here. It's actually the first "adult" novel I've read of my own free will in a really long time, soooo... that may be why :'3

Um. What else. I've been watching Doctor Who (starting w/ the Ninth Doctor) for a few weeks now, after meaning to for years. Some of the earlier episodes were a bit dumb and over-the-top, but I'm on the second season now and I haven't come across an episode I've rolled my eyes at in awhile. I really enjoy the characters, it's my favorite aspect of the show so far. I usually have a hard time taking sci-fi/fantasy TV shows seriously because the bad special effects detract from the experience for me, but I've gotten used to that aspect. It makes me more open to trying out other sci-fi/fantasy TV shows, since I used to actively avoid some of them for that reason alone.

A few days ago, Sam's boyfriend loaned me a bunch of Marvel comics, and I'm slowly making my way through them. I've already read the main storyline of Civil War and wow feels ;__; It takes me forever to read any sort of graphic novel because I want to stare at every panel forever if the art is pretty, and thus far all the art has been really freaking detailed and... distracting to me, somewhat XD Western comics has a style of drawing its characters that is taking me some getting used to, as well. I get a little disturbed at the facial expressions sometimes :P I have been enjoying them overall, however, and as much as I've been obsessing over Marvel and The Avengers lately, it was about damn time I finally read some of the comics.

Also watching/almost caught up on Gravity Falls, it's really cute and funny and I like it a lot but it's not becoming an obsession, thankfully. I'M PRETTY SET ON OBSESSIONS RIGHT NOW, so that's a good thing :P

So that's what I've been up to lately, aside from work, dealing with family drama, the move, and etc...

... I have gotten so bad at wording entries like this, wow. But there it is.

The Legend of Korra finale was perfect <3

The ending finally got me. Not sobbing or anything, but it did make me tear up because omg HAPPY <3

Korra hadn't made me get all that emotional yet, so yeah...

Not going to even do a review because I have nothing to nitpick. It was great. I'm just wondering what the heck is going to happen in book 2 when book 1 was wrapped up so nicely.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD, BTW...

Honestly, what I thought was going to happen was Amon takes over Republic City, Team Avatar tries to beat him, puts up a great fight, but fails, maybe we lose a side character or two in the process, but in the end Team Avatar must go into hiding somehow while they formulate a new plan to take Amon down and win back the city. I imagined book 2 being about Team Avatar's travels and trials as they build up a counter-resistance, perhaps away from Republic City with all the bending nations. Slowly Republic City, now controlled by Amon, penetrates the four nations, making the situation more dire as time goes by. Then at the end of book 2 we get the epic battle where Korra wins, the world is saved again, etc. Probably some new friends/allies crop up, lots of character development, some betrayals, idk. THAT'S WHAT I EXPECTED.

Nope! Not at all! We got our epic final battle already. We find out all the answers to the questions we have been wondering about all season. All the ships get sorted, everything gets sorted. We basically got everything we hoped for in that finale.

My only guess is that book 2 will be about Tenzin, Bumi, Kya, Lin, etc because there still weren't near enough flashbacks, but a whole season of flashbacks? And if the focus is shifted to what happened between the beginning of Korra and The Promise, how will it still be The Legend of Korra if the focus is no longer on Korra? I'm just... really curious! The only cliffhanger seems to be "umm... now what?"

This show ending also means I now have no shows to look forward to except The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. All my other shows... The Office, Parks and Recreation, and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (and now Korra, too) have stopped airing new episodes. And seeing that it's currently June, I don't foresee when any of their season premieres are going to be. Definitely not for months, at least. Book 2 of Korra isn't supposedly premiering until next flippin' year.

So now I'm really wondering, "WHAT NOW LOL"

Because really, what now? Just a couple weeks ago I had so much to look forward to, and now.... crickets.

Of course I know the answer is "get back to real life" but I don't wanna, it's scary there ;~; Gotta go back sometime I suppose, though... there's just... ahhh so much to dooo, I'm still back at square one of getting on with my life and knowing my goals are still so far away after all this time is incredibly intimidating.

But anyway that's getting off on a whole 'nother tangent, so I'll stop now.

Can I just gush forever here about how awesome today was? BECAUSE IT WAS AWESOME BEYOND BELIEF.

I had such a great time hanging out with Parle and everyone else who was present. I plucked up the courage to go on almost every ride they went on, too, including both sides of Dragon Challenge, the Jurassic Park River Adventure, The Hulk, and The Mummy (twice!). The only one I sat out was the Rip Ride Rocket, mainly because Hulk was so ridiculously intense I felt a bit disoriented afterward! I am glad I did go on it, but never again! XD I might consider riding all the others again, though, on special occasions.

What made it even more awesome was that nearly everyone there was dressed up as the "casual" Avengers 8D We had a Loki, Thor, Tony, Steve, Bruce, Natasha, Nick Fury, and Peter Parker. I was dubbed "Pepper Potts" for about an hour but was the worst Pepper Potts ever since I had no clue how to act like her, so it just wasn't brought up anymore after that and I was referred to by my real name instead X'D  Everyone else stayed in character on and off throughout the day though, it was truly amazing to witness :'D

I talked to Amala, Dani, and Jenn the most out of the group, and bonded with my former co-worker Chelsea, too, I think! At some point or another I struck up conversation with everyone there, but I mostly just observed because they were so darn amusing to witness. Listening to Jenn and Chelsea swap roller coaster operator stories was really entertaining, and talking to Amala about conventions in the U.K. was great, too. I wasn't quite sure what was thought of me by the end of the day, but I was invited to go to Wet n' Wild with them this Saturday! So they must've like me a little, at least :'DDDD

After everyone parted ways, I realized that I totally forgot where I parked my car. Like... I had absolutely no idea. I couldn't remember the section, row, or floor I was on. Not a thing! A security guard had to help me find it, I felt like such a derp. That has never happened to me before in my life, haha.

Anyways, I only took a few pictures and videos of the days' antics, but mainly because Chelsea and Jenn were taking plenty of pictures/videos themselves. I assume I'll see them up on YouTube eventually :3

Guys, I am just as crazy happy as anyone can be right now, you have no idea!

Wow... hi LJ. It's been awhile since I've posted. A lot has happened in the past couple months, but I haven't forgotten you! Soon, I plan to make a big (yet condensed as possible) update post on all that has happened. I've been using Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook a lot more, and the few entries I have made on here have been privated. Mainly for angst, because what else is new with me :P

The past couple weeks have actually been really wonderful, and that's all thanks to Metrocon. It was this past weekend and I had an amazing time. A week or so prior to the con, I ran around like mad putting together my Dream Drop Distance Sora cosplay and getting all the gifts together for Parle Productions. I really wanted to do something special for each of them this year by getting them personalized gifts, along with notes thanking them for the incredible impact they've had on my life... specifically this past year.

Following my break-up with Sarah, watching their videos never failed to lift my spirits on even the hardest of nights. When friends turned their backs and became distant, when my family failed to show support, when Sarah decided to become not only an ex, but a stranger to me, when I felt at my absolute lowest, like nothing more than a worthless, unloved parasite that the world would be better off without... I could always watch an episode of Demyx Time, The Shinra Files, The Mauraders, The Sora Show, or even just videos of their panels at cons or party shenanigans and immediately, I'd smile and laugh.

I know I'm not alone in this, either, as I have heard hundreds of other stories from other fans about how Parle's cosplay antics on YouTube have changed lives, and even saved some. They're amazing people, too. Funny, patient, intelligent, friendly, and incredibly appreciative of their fans. They also use their fame for good, raising money for multiple charities and participating in charitable events whenever possible. And they do all of this without asking for anything in return. They do it because it's fun for them and they enjoy entertaining others, and that's really what makes their videos so great... they are, at heart, a group of friends hanging out, having fun, and being silly. It makes them easier to relate to.

In a way, watching their videos, as zany as they are, restores my hope that maybe someday I too can find a group of friends as awesome as them. If they exist, there must be others like them, too. 'Cus honestly, while watching a lot of their stuff I think, "they're all so real and down to earth, too. They don't care about showing who they are or what other people think. They're just goofing off in cosplay as any group of nerdy friends might do, totally unscripted, but it's captured on film. It's almost like I'm hanging out with them too, even though it's through a computer screen."

And you know what, LJ?

Tomorrow. Tomorrow I'm going to spend the day with them at Universal. I was invited along by their friend Chelsea, who was a co-worker of mine when I worked in Potter attractions that I'd talk to occasionally in the break room, but had no idea she went to conventions or knew Parle personally.

I just... I'm overwhelmed that this will be happening, it's so unreal! I was already lucky enough to be able to see Parle in the flesh on an annual basis at Metrocon since 2009, and had always wished with all my heart, each year, that I might actually have the chance to become friends with them. Because I'm so shy, though... that never happened. I would always worry about bothering them, so I'd just awkwardly stand around after their panels and see if I could maybe get a brief conversation in. Sometimes I would, but usually I'd just stand around not saying a word until they all sort of... walked away :|

But this year, I may have that chance. They already appreciated the gifts/notes, and thanked me several times throughout the weekend (including in the middle of a panel!). Dan, who played Luxord on Demyx Time, even started following me on Twitter. So, that's a good start, I hope? Spending a whole day with six of them tomorrow (Jenn, Kelly, Charlotte, Amala, Laura, and Dani) and just a few others might actually fulfill that dream... to be considered a friend of theirs, not just a fan. Because seriously, they are the most amazing people, internet famous or not.

So anyway. I am just a bundle of excitement and nerves right now. Excited because it is an amazing opportunity to spend the day with Parle Productions in a small-group, non-convention environment. Nervous because I could very well make a bad impression on them, and I'd rather be an anonymous fan that have them dislike me. I would just be devastated by that. Even if they don't consider me a friend at days' end, I'd at least like to think that they consider me a good person who was enjoyable to be around. Time will tell.

I'm also nervous because I'm considering going on several of the rides at the park that terrify me, since I despise drops and most large roller coasters, but... I may go on them anyhow, just 'cus, well... riding them w/ Parle. Maybe one of them will even let me cling to them in fear. That'd be worth it :'D

But anyway, yeah. Looking forward to tomorrow like you can't even believe! And definite update catch-up post to come soon!