12 posts tagged “kathleen”
Ever since the semester ended, I've been adjusting to a lot of new changes. I really don't know how I want to sum up the past few months, but I think the best way to tackle the task is by creating a list and then expanding a little on each point. (This is what happens when I have to make lists for both work and school; it starts pouring into my personal life, too! Haha.)
Shawn and Kathleen graduated. I'm not a fan of going to big graduation ceremonies, but as it turns out, I had to go to two within the same month. Shawn had to deal with my bad mood that day (I feel like I kind of ruined part of the experience for him... Bah!), but it ended up going really well. He's completely finished with college and education for the rest of his life. I'm so proud of him, and I couldn't be more jealous. ^///^
Since Shawn graduated, he's been working full time for Kohl's Corporate. Whenever any of my family members, or one of our friends, asks how he likes his job, he always tells them that he doesn't really like what he does there. Even though he says that, I know he really likes it. He's been picking up a ton of responsibilities: going to meetings, being "on call" for days at a time, attending events held by his team, etc. Whether Shawn wants to admit it or not, he likes being needed for something. He really should feel that way, too, especially after all the work he's put into the past few years in school.
Kathleen graduated high school and has been getting ready for college. She's going to the same university that Beth and I are at, which I'm totally psyched about. <3 As happy as I am for her, I have to be honest about the whole situation-- it's been a tough few weeks for her and the rest of our family. We've all been going through some major adjustments and there have been a lot of hurt feelings. I'm not sure where I stand on all of the issues anymore, but I do know that I'm trying to focus on making Kathleen as comfortable as possible with her new living situation with Beth. It's interesting how so many changes in just Kathleen's life have impacted the entire family. Something like this has never really happened in this way before.
My internship is going well.
I'm moving in with Shawn in a few weeks. Even though Shawn and I have lived in our current apartment together, with Beth, we finally found a place for just the two of us. We looked around for a few weeks, did some research, and then found the perfect place for us to live for the next year. I started getting a little stressed out when we were looking, because I hated the fact that I felt "homeless" but everything worked out in the end. The biggest challenge for us now is buying all of our furniture and still having enough money for rent. Like Shawn keeps telling me, we "have to take it slow." I guess I'm just excited about the idea of having an entirely new place to live with all new furniture. It's like I'm putting together a new family or something! ^__^ Slow steps are good.
I had to tell Dad that Shawn and I were moving in together. I had to do it. I mean, after all the years that Dad and I haven't been able to communicate, I had to tell him that Shawn and I were taking this step in our lives. Honestly, I wasn't worried about talking to Dad, but everyone else started to freak out about it. Mom even told me, at one point, that she didn't want to be in the house when I was talking to him. *sigh* Every other person I talked to gasped and made me promise to tell him/her how it went.
The thing is, everyone knows how difficult my relationship with Dad has been throughout my life. His Filipino culture is extremely different from my own, and hearing that two people are moving in together before marriage can tear people apart. There are little secrets to situations like this though: you have to know people. You have to know how they function, how they feel about certain issues, how they react to specific situations, how their thought processes break down information. I did my research and I made a plan.
Last weekend, I went home to talk with Dad. I walked up to him and asked him if we could talk alone. Within the next two hours, we stood there in my parents' bedroom talking about everything. I told him about Shawn and me, and from there we started talking about family and beliefs. Huge breakthroughs were made, and I told him that I wanted to fix everything that had gone so wrong in the past. I know that Dad and I don't have what Mom and I share, but I'm only 23 years old. I can be an adult here and try to fix something like a relationship.
A few times during our talk, Dad broke down. A while back, Mom told me that no one but her had ever seen him cry, and even then, it had happened only twice during their marriage. When he started crying, he told me he felt he was a bad father. And then he kept repeating the same story about how he had left to go on a vacation at a time when things in our family were finally good-- and then how guilty he felt about leaving for those few weeks. Even though I had little recollection about this happening (since I was so little), I felt everything he felt. I know how one guilty memory can tear me to shreds so I did the only thing I could do at the time. I listened.
Not everything between Dad and me is resolved now, but at least we have some of the issues out in the open. I told him that we need to talk more, instead of letting Mom be the messenger between us, and he agreed.
It's been an interesting few weeks. As always, I've been dealing with a lot of the stress by buying myself presents. *guilty look* I know I should be saving money for my new apartment, but having new dolls and accessories makes me feel so much better. They take my mind off of the stress. I'm trying not to repeat what happened last summer! So far, I've only had to take my stress medication for one week and I was able to stop after that. It's a good sign. ^__^
In a way, I feel like I've kind of graduated, too. Usually summer is a slow time for me, but so far, it's proven to be just as hectic as the school year!
One of my last semesters in college is almost over with, and I feel pretty happy with finally being able to, as Mom keeps saying, "see the light at the end of the tunnel." I think her optimism is in the family blood; I'm feeling more confident that, yes, graduation is possible. Senioritis hit me about two years ago, and it hit even harder last semester when I had to learn how to juggle my job with my classes. This semester seems a little less stressful, but I'll be just as happy to get it over with as I did in the winter.
As graduation draws nearer, my plans for life are falling into place. (It seems vague to say "life," but I'm learning to deal with how plans for the future are pretty vague most of the time anyway.)
My very last semester of college will consist of three English classes, all of which I have charted out at this point. My summer is going to be taken up by working more full-time hours again, and I'm hoping to turn part of my hours into an internship that's required for my English major. Turning a few hours into the internship will save me a lot of stress during the school year. In fact, I was worried I would have to somehow drop something in order to fit the internship in, but it looks like everything is working out for the best after all!
The best part about this whole working hard thing is planning for what I want to do after graduation. Shawn and I are currently working (and saving money for) an apartment for in a few months. Since Kathleen will be coming to live with Beth when she starts going to our university, Shawn and I decided it would be best if we started to branch off into our own little world. A few years ago, I would have thought moving in with a boyfriend was a big step, probably because of all the hype from silly TV shows and dramas. Honestly though, I've learned that a step like that can be simple if a couple is ready for it and really wants to progress in a relationship. This September will mark my six year anniversary with Shawn so planning for the future isn't just a plan; it's what I've been working towards for a good chunk of my life.
Shawn told me something that meant a lot to me the other day. Now, I'm not the one for mushy statements. We were standing in the kitchen making dinner together a few weeks ago, and we had been discussing something about his job. I think he was complaining about a few assignments he was given to do, so I turned to him and asked how he could put up with some of the tasks that his everyday job demanded of him. He turned to me and said, "Well, I do it for you. Actually, everything I do is for you." Hearing that made my mind wind back to a few years ago when he told me that if we hadn't started dating, he would have joined the army. He felt that he didn't have anything else to do in life so he thought he would try to look for meaning in some other form of work. Something like that didn't seem so profound to me until I casually told Mom about it during one of our conversations. She told me that a guy telling his girlfriend that says that he's living for that girl. And it's true. Shawn letting go of certain things in his life and choosing to work an office job would have never happened if we hadn't started dating. He's chosen to live his life with me, and everything he does-- from running to the store for soda because I have a caffeine headache to keeping a desk job and working long hours-- is for me.
I've thought about what Shawn has done for me a lot. So now, I feel like I have a reason for graduating and working towards finishing college. Even with all this busy work going on now, at least I know that something good is coming out of all of this. After we stay at our apartment for about six months (so until I graduate), we're going to be finding a really nice apartment and then save up for a house. Jokingly one day, we started to look at house ads online. After we browsed some beautiful homes, I realized that a beautiful home in a safe neighborhood is something that I do want to work for, even if it means working this hard. Who knew a future was possible? I didn't, until recently.
And sometime after we graduate, and some more time after we live together, we'll decide to take the next step. Marriage is an idea that many, many people have asked us about over the years. In fact, I think everyone else is eager to hear about a wedding announcement from us, but we've just decided to take things easy-- one step at a time. We're planning though, and we've found that confidence in our relationship is our marriage to each other. An official engagement will come in time. For now, all I need is this pretty amazing reality we're facing together. It's a pretty damn good reason to keep working and living.
And that's pretty much where I'm at right now...
About two weeks ago, I went home to help Kathleen get ready for her very last high school Homecoming dance. Helping her with makeup and hair has become a pretty fun ritual over the past few years, so I was looking forward to seeing what kind of look she had in mind.
As usual, Kathleen was dressing to kill. She had found a beautiful black dress at Hot Topic (her current place of employment), and she matched it with some kickass black and white striped stockings and huge black boots. Now that I think about her entire look, I'm realizing how I dressed the complete opposite for my dances my senior year. For Prom, I was decked out in an all white, strapless dress, white flip flips, and a pretty wreath of flowers (that I made myself). Go figure-- Kathleen and I are opposites when it comes to making impressions, tee hee.
Kathleen wanted her hair to resemble Amy Lee's hair from an Evanescence video. (Kathleen is a hardcore Amy fan.) Pressed for time, I worked on trying to tie half of her hair up while giving the bottom hair volume. The end results were really pretty-- simple, yet stunning. I wish I had been as cool and collected as Kathleen is for dances. I mean, I know she has her share of stress, but she handles everything so well.
Putting on her makeup only took a few minutes. Now that I think about it, Beth, Kathleen and I rarely ever spend more than ten minutes putting on makeup. I don't know if it's because we've got our routines down or we don't really care what other people think as far as details go, but it's nice not spending hours laying on layers of fluff. *grin* In the end, Kathleen's makeup was perfectly pretty: shades of purple and light pink, colors that offset the dark of her outfit.
I think the one detail about this dance that really made a difference for me (and Kathleen) was the fact that a boyfriend was in the picture. In her seventeen years, Kathleen has never had a boyfriend so having one around Homecoming was a huge deal for her. To me, the entire relationship seems almost surreal. Out of nowhere one day, I found out that Kathleen was going to Homecoming with a guy I didn't know. Just a few minutes after that news, Kathleen told me that she had liked the guy for a while. And then, a few days after that, they're dating. I, myself, had never dabbled in the whole relationship thing after only knowing a guy for so long. The only two guys I dated, I had known for a couple of months to a couple of years. I guess that's why Kathleen's news came as such a shock. It shouldn't have been though-- she's a normal high school student!
Her new boyfriend's name is Will. Beth and I were able to meet him for the first time only a few days after Kathleen started dating him. I immediately liked Will because of how quiet he seemed. Actually, I know I liked him because I noticed how Kathleen was the dominant one in the relationship. Like me, Kathleen knows what she wants and what she doesn't want; she's picky and all too clever when it comes to figuring people out. Will is lucky. If she's dating him, she has good reasoning to. With that in mind, I approved. (Heh.
Unfortunately, the good first impression that Will left Beth and me was lost a few days later. Kathleen called me, almost in tears, after finding out that Will had been suspended from school and the Homecoming dance he asked her to. (It would have been the first dance she could go to with an actual boyfriend. In the past, she's only gone with friends.) Silly, silly Will. Like a lot of high school kids I knew back in "my days" (a term that makes me sound completely old), he pulled something pretty stupid. Will and a couple of his friends decided to skip school and go to a library. Sure enough, they were caught and punished. I'm just glad that nothing too serious happened because of the actions. If anything, I hope he learns that the decisions he makes will, in fact, affect others... including a certain girlfriend.
So even though Kathleen and Will couldn't go to the dance together, Kathleen was a trooper and decided to go with a group of friends again. Before the dance, however, Beth and I drove Kathleen over to the restaurant that Will works at so she could take her "Homecoming pictures" with him. He may not have been dressed up, but the photos of them still make them both look sweet. I'm just glad Kathleen was able to kind of have a memory of dating a guy during this time in her life. She has the photos to prove it.
With every bit of drama that happened in the following weeks, Kathleen handled everything with amazing maturity. I have never been so proud of her in my life. She talked with Will and made sure that he understood where she stands in their relationship. They came to agreements, like most adults do after months of dating. I know their relationship might not be perfect at this early stage, but that spark of maturity in Kathleen gives me so much hope. I really do love her for everything she does.
Kathleen and Will are still together. Every time I call Kathleen to see how she's doing and ask about how she and Will are doing, I get a very bashful reply. I can just feel that smile on the other end. As much as I'm excited to see where Kathleen is going, I'm also tense about it. The idea of her moving forward as such a fast pace without me to keep an eye on her freaks me out. When I lived at home, I could keep in touch with her on a daily basis, but now that I'm away from home, we're cut off. I feel like I'm missing out on something every time I talk with her. In a way, I think this is how a mom feels when her kid moves away for the first time. Such good and sad feelings can be mixed together. Through it all though, I'd have to admit that it's more interesting than anything else I observe. This is reality and my sister-- mixing it up.
More photos of Kathleen can be found under my tags called "Homecoming"... or just go here.
I know that it's been a while since I last wrote here. I've been thinking about Vox a lot lately, so just know that you are all in my thoughts. *hugs* I appreciate the messages on AIM and the private messages so much. Thank you for keeping in touch with me. Even if I haven't responded to you, just know that you probably made my day just by sending me a little message.
One thing that has always remained and been with me on that day is using sparklers. When I was little, I kind of felt like sparklers were mini fireworks that I could hold in my hands. I mean, seriously, those are even better than the real thing! Every time I hold one, a thrill goes through me-- the very idea that I'm that close to something that's seemingly "out of control" is exciting.
I surprised Mom and Kathleen on Tuesday night, figuring that Kathleen and I would be able to catch up by staying up a good amount of the night. I have the worst timing though, because when I got home, I found out that Kathleen had gone to Summerfest with her friends and wouldn't be back until midnight. When she got home, we were only able to talk for a little while until she fell asleep. I was disappointed, but we were able to talk and be crazy together the entire next day. After waking up at two in the afternoon (I needed to catch up on my sleep), I quickly got ready to head over to Kelly's house. Kelly and I rarely get a chance to just sit down and have some girl talk, so like I said in the card I gave her, seeing her on her birthday is like a birthday gift for me, not just her. ^__^
Kathleen and I danced around the front yard taking a good mix of funny and serious photos. The hardest part about taking photos of sparklers is getting them close enough to me without getting too burnt from all the sparks. I think Kathleen and I pulled that trick off pretty well, although, I did hear some complaining coming from Kathleen every once in a while. *giggle* I've never been able to photo log a nostalgic piece of my life like that before so I'm really happy with how they turned out. (The photo to the left makes me look a bit cheeky, but I love the angle-- Kathleen took that one.)
While Shawn had been grilling, I took photos of miscellaneous objects outside: orchids (that Mom made me photograph-- not my idea); Beth's Blythe, Jillian; and my little Laramie. I think taking photos while Shawn grills can be another new tradition that Shawn and I start together for this holiday. Now I have something else to look forward to every year on this day. ^^
This entry is completely unplanned so if you read the entire post, be prepared for an unedited, sleepless version of constant color talk. (I'm babbling now.)
It's 4:22 a.m. where I live and I should probably be asleep. I don't have class tomorrow, but I really should be keeping up a good sleeping schedule for when my final exams come around in two weeks. Alas, the creative energy is pumping and I couldn't help but load and edit the photos I took earlier today. This morning was beautiful-- heavenly, if you will. I woke up to find the sun pouring in all the windows of my house and a 75 degree day waiting for me. I asked Kathleen if she was interested in doing a photoshoot today, and with much eagerness, she agreed to do one.
Of course, doing a photoshoot with Kathleen means fun, but it also means a lot of waiting on my part. After her shower and an hour (or more) of putting makeup on and doing wardrobe, she was ready. I didn't really have a plan for this shoot, but I knew that I wanted to focus on the weather and express it through Kathleen's image. I think I succeeded in my attempt at pure energy.
Kathleen brought her parasol along, and with only my camera and her enthusiasm, we went outside to our backyard. I have to add that our backyard isn't the normal suburban yard; it's connected to a park with a huge field, which is the perfect photo opportunity. She ran down the hill while I attempted to snap some shots of her-- that is, until she ran into the huge puddle of mud where the hill connects to the field at the bottom. Normally, I would expect someone to express some sort of disgust, but no, not Kathleen. She flung off her sandals and started splashing around in the loose mud, which made controlling her in photos a little more difficult. I think it all worked out for the best though, mud and all.
I'll admit that it took a while for me to get into the swing of things with taking photos earlier today. I haven't been keeping up with my photography (among other things) as much as I'd like to lately. I think I've been secretly desperate for some good weather so I can change my pace with photo subjects. Once I snapped one or two photos that I was happy with, everything fell into place from there. I think Kathleen felt the change, too.
We stayed outside for about an hour or so. I was able to get around 140 photos in all, and from those, I was confident that at least 30 would turn out the way I had hoped. After editing, I realized that I was happy with even less the amount, but I don't mind at all. The final results of the ones that did turn out were better than expected.
Kathleen and I wrapped up the photoshoot, but I wasn't able to load and edit the photos until a few hours ago. Jeremy came into town (again!), so Shawn and I made sure to meet up with him. My mom even noted the smile on Shawn's face when he's around Jeremy. There's something in the air when those two are together, and I'll admit that I like it, haha. I think the extra spring in their steps made me just as happy. They're both in the next room right now, laughing (giggling), talking (whispering), and watching TV (who knows what). What a pair...
Even though we're all pretty tired, we still have some energy pent up inside of us from earlier tonight. On our way to my apartment, Shawn and I passed the casino. We started talking about going there, and sure enough, the three of us hit the tables-- well, maybe not. I took my seat at a few slot machines while they went to the tables. Shawn likes the card and roulette type of action, whereas, I'm all for the simple pushing of buttons. I didn't win big this time, but I know when to stop playing, so I consider that a reward in itself. After browsing the floors (and getting carded left and right), we hit the food area. It was nice just sitting and talking with some drinks. I'm not much of an alcoholic drinker, but I do like the occasional fun drink with a tiny bit of alcohol... especially when I'm with m'boys.
We're all a little overly happy right now, sitting here together. When all these good feelings come together after the end of a nice, long day, I feel like I've reached the pinnacle of happiness. And it's true. I have.
And finally, I'd like to wrap up this entry with a small explanation of where I headed with my photoshoot in the editing process. Like I said before, I had no plans for where this shoot was headed. I ended up playing with the colors in every photo a lot, so I decided to deem this shoot "Experimentations With Color." Each photo displays another facet of colors and Summer. I wanted to evoke all emotions that I've held inside me over the years whenever Summer comes around. I'm happy with how this turned out.
ROONIES: Bunny fur dress, rainbow beanie, eyeglasses, bunny puppet (for thief claw), pink bunny slippers, metro hairstyle, blush.
I've been playing Maple Story a few hours every day this week. After trying to revive my interest in my last character, Minkka (who is level 48), I realized that something just didn't click. There wasn't any motivation behind training her. Instead, I decided to make a completely new character to train. Minkka was a cleric, and I wanted to change things up a bit this time-- so Roonies is a thief. I'd like to build her up to the final thief stage (which is a hermit) within the next few months. So far, Roonies is level 18, and I plan on building her to level 25 by the end of the weekend.
After I took this screenshot, Shawn bought me a new eye color for Roonies: sapphire. We agreed that the money put towards the new eyes will be my small present for our monthly anniversary this Friday.
I spent a chunk of money on NX Cash, but Roonies was completely worth it. <3
I never had the chance to take photos of my Christmas/birthday present from Shawn's mom and his sister, Kristin. She's my very favorite (and very expensive) Pinky Street figure, Gunslinger Girl, Henrietta. The emotions that cross her adorable face are more than I can take sometimes, just because there are so many. I love her. I was going to name her Susie Sushi, but because I plan on watching the Gunslinger Girl anime series, I'm keeping it Henrietta. I think I'll fall in love with her character and regret renaming my figure.
Henrietta's gun and violin case are completely sexy. I can't get enough her, tee hee. I can't wait to get more Pinky Street figures so I can line them all up and mix and match their bodies, outfits and accessories. (Henrietta will most likely keep herself together since she's rather pricey.)
Anyway, my first official day back to classes was today, and I think it went really well. I felt so relaxed. ^_^ As time goes on in college, classes, although more challenging, are seemingly... easier. Now that I'm in full control of what English classes I take, I don't have pressure pounding down on me every day.
I only have to go to class four days a week, and even on those four days, I get to wake up at 9:45 every morning. My first class, English: Introduction to Linguistics, is pretty interesting. I took an International English class last year, which covered similar material, and I figure that its more technical side, compared to other English courses, will make me even more well-rounded as an English major, and writer in general. I view my professor like a really good mom. She's happy, proud of her work with linguistics, and is wonderfully enthusiastic about what she's teaching to her students. The material would probably seem boring if she weren't so sweet. My second class is the complete opposite. I love lecture classes because they allow students to feel independent and in control of how well they want to do, but they can still drone on like this one tended to do. I've liked most of the ones I've had in the past, and this one should be no different. The lecturer, a little on the boring side, seemed aggravated today. When I found out she has almost 700 students to teach this semester, I understood why. I'm hoping that she'll warm up to my class of 400. o_O
Beth decided to come to my class with me because she's thinking about dropping her science class so she can take Oceanography with me instead. I missed having a class with her last semester, so I was excited to have her with me again. (We usually try to schedule at least one per semester together.) The auditorium was so full that students were sitting on the floors. Beth and I are guessing that she won't be able to get in, even if a few people decide to drop the class. I'm disappointed, but at least the class Beth is registered for has a more spunky professor.
As some of you know, I made the Vox Banners group. Well, I'm also running two other groups here at Vox. Before the groups started up, Mena (a Vox team member) contacted me and asked if I would help inform people about the Blythe group she was creating. She then, to my surprise, gave me the position as a moderator for the Blythe group. I'm so happy to be in charge of something that's Blythe-related. For any Blythe lover that reads this, make sure to stop by and join the group. ^_^ And finally, I also started up another group, one that is kind of affiliated with my regular Vox account, the Kawaii group! That one only has three members so far, so I thought I'd advertise my little group here so it has more growing room. Anyone who loves cuteness, sweetness, and basically anything adorable, please join.
Kathleen was amazing. She braved the cold with me today to help me with my first photoshoot since the arrival of my new Olympus camera. With 7.1 megapixels, macro, and a need to find some sort of beauty in all the Winter decay, we were challenged. Even though it was only 20 degrees outside, she went out in her corset, a skirt, boots and wings, while I stood there (seemingly warm) taking photos of her dark appearance. Donned with a pair of red wings, I couldn't have been more pleased with how my photoshoot turned out. I still feel like a beginner, but I know I'm improving one step at a time.
After we had started shooting, I noticed that the feelings in my hands was slowly fading away as I tried to work with my camera. I kept trying to nudge the numbing feeling away, but it wouldn't budge. I still don't understand how Kathleen, in barely anything, was running around and posing with so much energy while I started to wilt away. During the photoshoot, and a little while before it, I realized how much I really feel close to Kathleen these days. When she came home from school today, I ran to the door to see her. Because of our six years of age difference, I never thought we'd be able to get as close as Beth and I did over the years, but everything seems to be changing right now, right along with my relationship with Kathleen. She's such a smart person-- smarter than most of the adults I know.
After about 30 minutes of photoshoot time, I then found myself to be feeling sick. The coldness in my fingers had gone from a barely numb feeling, to an extreme numb feeling, to a blistering pain at the tips of my fingers, to almost no feeling at all. Near the end of the shoot, I had no feeling left in my hands. I was too eager for the opportunity to take photos outside with Enzo (my camera), so there was no way I was giving up the wonderful lighting. The last few pictures were taken with the edge of my thumb. I had to rub the button to take the photo because I just couldn't function. Some would call me crazy for enduring the pain, even though I could have gone inside into instant warmth. I call myself crazy-in-love with making art.
I'm very happy with the results so far. I plan on going around Milwaukee this week with Enzo, and then I intend on giving Chicago a try. Shawn and I have to find a car to use, since Chase, his car, isn't very reliable. Chicago is about two hours away, and we don't want to chance anything going wrong on the ride there. I'm psyched about seeing Rotofugi for the first time, not to mention, meeting Kirby, one of Celena's friends who happens to own Rotofugi. (My friends have the coolest friends. I feel lucky just knowing Celena. She's pretty famous and wonderful as it is. ^_^) I'm sure I'll be going picture-happy there as well.
I also have to thank Shawn for being so thoughtful. I called him as soon as I came in from the photoshoot (after warming up a bit), and I asked him if he wanted to go to my apartment with me. In other words, I asked him if he would drive me down to Milwaukee. I was so excited to be able to upload and edit my first pictures. I'm still giddy from the entire experience. Shawn, of course, was the prince and said he'd like to go with me. He helped instal the Olympus program on my computer, and now he's sitting back and watching some TV while I write this.
Mom commented on something about my relationship with Shawn the other day. She's mentioned it before, but I never took as much note of it as I did the other day. I'm still thinking of what she said, actually. Mom told me that Shawn must really love me, because she can't think of any other person that has as much patience and understanding manner as Shawn does-- with me. I know I can be difficult. I grew up being spoiled (at times) and to know that Shawn is willing to bend over backwards at any little need of mine is pretty amazing. He never questions, never bothers, never denies what I want or how I feel. That's probably one reason we rarely ever argue. I have his amazing amoung of patience to thank for that. I'm sure my demands aren't easy to take sometimes, and he doesn't go through with them sometimes, but he does know how to handle my attitude.
And of course, I can't finish this entry without saying a final thanks and a final message of love. Kathleen, if you read this, you're amazing. I told Kathleen, after we came in, how fun she was to take pictures of. Never have a come across a person that was so easy to shoot. In fact, she practically posed herself most of the time, never needing direction from me. I'm going to be asking Shawn if it would be oh kay to take Kathleen to Milwaukee with us when I go to take photos of the city, because I think she'd really like to do something different for the weekend. Then she can stay over at my apartment with me for a day or two. Maybe it can be a way of repaying her for braving out the cold with me-- and for coming to my aid from being so cold.
This entry is dedicated to the questions that I'm most frequently asked in comments and private messages here at Vox. I figured that I'd compile all of the questions and answers together in one entry. This entry can then be used as a reference tool for any others that are curious about my life. To those who have asked, I hope this helps! I'll be adding more questions and answers as they arise. If anyone asks a question that has already been answered, I'll most likely give them the link to this post. ^_^
1. What camera do you use for all the photos you take?
All of the photos you see in my Vox are taken by me, with the exception of a few (that I note are taken by my sister). I've used three cameras to take my pictures, one that belongs to my whole family (that I have taken over, one that belongs to my sister, Beth, and a new one that belongs to only me. My new camera, an Olympus C-7070 is a dream. I received it at the beginning of 2007 and have been using it for my photography ever since then. So, the photos you see starting in January 2007 are most likely ones that are taking with my Olympus (which I've named Enzo). My family camera is a Canon Digital Elph, SD100. It only has 3.2 megapixels, yet the clarity of the pictures it produces is pretty amazing. I mostly used that one previous to 2007. Another reason my photos turn out so clear is because I use Photoshop to edit them. I think Photoshop is necessary to get the results that meet my personal demands.
I may use Beth's camera (another Olympus) from time to time, but very rarely. Now that I have Enzo, I have no need to borrow hers. Beth and I usually use our cameras for photoshoots between the two of us, and I've also used her camera to take photos of my Blythe dolls from time to time.
2. So, what's with the dolls? Aren't they for, like, little kids?
Good question. I know that a lot of people have "concerns" for anyone that may step outside of the norm of adulthood, especially when toys are concerned. I think I'm a good example of a certain revolution that's taking place right now: The Urban Toys and Low Brow Art Revolution. I like to be different. I like the fact that most people I come across are shocked that a 21 year-old is obsessed with dolls and other toys. I use this to fuel me to be even more different and, in a way, outrageous. The thing is: the doll obsession is only weird if you live in the United States. It's accepted in places like Asia and Europe a lot more than it is in the states. In fact, if anything, the people within the states are outside the norm because they don't accept those who show an interest. That's not a bad thing-- it's just how life is.
I mostly collect Blythe dolls. Over the years that I've been collecting, I've had up to eleven girls at a time. I've sold and traded many of my Blythes over the time. I just haven't bonded with most of them. The ones I have bonded with remain with me at either my apartment or my house. Blythe dolls were originally made in the United States in 1972 but then failed to publicly lauch well. They were taken off the market for thirty years and then remade in 2001. Most of them are very pricey; they can range anywhere from $70-4000. I have never lost money when letting a girl go. In fact, I've only made profit because of them.
I don't think of my collecting Blythes as a money-making scheme. They're very real to me and I revolve my life around them to a crazy extent. Right now, I have seven girls: Poe (MRB), Gemma (custom SVB), Utopia (SM), Emilie (FT), Plum (Kozy), Pigeon (custom SS), and Nami (custom SM). Right now, I'm down to my core family of Blythes and I don't plan on letting any of them go. More information on Blythes can be found at these websites:Other toys that I've been known to collect are:
Other toys that I've been known to collect are: urban vinyl figures (including Dunnys, Tokidoki figures and Mad*Ls), Pinky Street figures, and anything kawaii related.
3. What nationality/ethnicity are you?
From all the photos I post of myself, I know that this question has come up a few times. I mean, am I Asian? Am I Spanish? What's going on here?
I'm actually half Filipino and half Polish. .tiff. was kind enough to let me know that the mix of culture and ethnicities makes me a hapa child. (I love that term!) My dad was born and raised in the Philippines and then came to the states for his residency. It was in the states that he met my mom. It's been difficult being raised by parents who rushed into marriage and then have to work to "share" the two differect cultures and lifestyles. I've learned t