So, in apologies to her for befriending me and further making her life half a hell (I never I wasn’t a perverted, demanding and creative little whore…minus the creative, of course), I present to you, what I do after six o’clock:

Ignoring the crappy quality of the photo, this is me curled up at the end of my bed in my quilt (that you can’t see) on top of my comfy comforter and duvet, with Nay-Nay glaring at the camera because I had to move her off my papers yet again, with some Harry/Draco pr0n at my fingertips. In fact, I think those stories were HATING HARRY POTTER » (by oldnuf2nobetter) and Adrift » (by dysonrules)–yes, that’s right, I can switch Harry and Draco as tops because I am very versatile like that–which is rather fitting, given my pillow » at the “end” of my bed.

So it may not perverted or creative, or even demanding, but…damn it all, it’s fun to me!

King Arthur, as I call my camera, apparently rules » my » life ». It was inevitable, when I first picked up a disposable camera at the tender age of…[missing memory]–basically I’ve always had a camera in my hand.

It’s only been two days, and there’s been almost ten instances of me going “oh, that is a camera moment!” before almost running to get it before I realised I didn’t have it. It’s for a great cause, granted, when I handed King Arthur and his charger over to my Uncle, but I miss him so much. I remember running into the fields of Wandering Trail with his cord wrapped around my wrist; I remember running around the cats, demanding they stay still and pitching the fit of the century when they wouldn’t listen to me; I remember just earlier this week getting pissed that the lizards wouldn’t stop running from me, or, if they did, they’d only stay for a moment, as if tormenting me; I even remember when the first night I got it trying out the zoom on my cinnamon apple candle while my sister checked her e-mail² on my laptop³.

I…definitely need a new hobby.

1. More like four and a half days. Technically.
2. Which is codeword for checking her MySpace, Facebook, OK Cupid and looking up various crap that holds no importance to anyone but herself.
3. …who died. Oh, didn’t mention that? Well, Lexion is now officially deceased. RIP Lexion!

So, to prove I’m a huge liar, and I’m ~not~ a fat, lazy person who sits on her fat, lazy ass, I’m underlining the things I told myself I’d do in 2010:

Learn JavaScript, in which I hate. Hate, hate, hate. If I can turn it off in my browser, I feel unsafe. However, it can benefit my scripts and I, so I’m going to kick the bucket and do it. Get more active, though this isn’t necessarily about weight, just about me getting for active and healthy. Can’t hurt, and there’s no limit.

While I won’t expand on how I spent ten minutes digging through my old WordPress entries in my old databases–and it’s just my luck that entry didn’t make it over with the conversion to CMS Admin–I can safely say that I have actually completed both of those. While the latter has seen me going back and forth, up and down¹, I ACTUALLY DID MY RESOLUTIONS.

And, yes, they’re not hugely important, but I did it! To prove, again, that I am also a sucker for my own punishment and that I can’t keep up a two-in-a-row resolution win streak, I present to you my expeditions² of 2010.

1. LEARN HOW TO FUCKING DRIVE. That’s at the top. I don’t care if I still struggle with enrolling in school, as long as I can travel to actually do that, my life shall be complete. I’ve had my car for five years, it’s about time.
2. Do something with my icon script that I may or may not have been developing for two years. Hannah » is the only person to have seen it, and it was horribly outdated then, so I’d like to see it actually become…dated? Redated? UPDATED.
3. Write a sex scene! I haven’t done this since 2005, so…yeah, maybe that’s not a expedition FOR YOU, but it is for me! …STFU!
4. Maybe turn that icon script I was may have mentioned into OOP. …I’m thinking this may be a FAILURE. Take my word for it, procedural coding is my OTP for many, many reasons.
5. Make something called a portfolio. I’m not quite sure if anybody has heard of this, but it’s something almost nobody wants to complete, and if it is completed it collects dust. Oh, I know! Let’s make this before-last expedition a Let’s-watch-as-many-TV-series’-as-humanly-possible expedition!
6. My last expedition is private, but I will be revealing it once it’s completed. Stay tuned, it’s original and awesometastic and p0rny! (I added those first two to make it seem exciting.)

Let the lost ark of–I mean, “expedition”!–BEGIN!

On a partially serious note, I am also participating in: Project 365 » and am a developer everywhere. BY GODS, I WILL MAKE 2010 GREAT.

1. « I blame us moving, even though we weren’t moving for three months…
2. « I call my resolutions “expeditions” because they a) sound more interesting and b) will make me actually want to do them like Indiana Jones had a son, versus me not wanting to because they’re, indeed, actually resolutions.

I, of course, have a digressing problem, and should probably just go ahead and get on with that, yeah?

Reading… a ridiculous amount of fanfiction! As I’m waiting for a book to come in the mail–and I’m kind of lazy, and am not reading the book I do have–I’ve been making like a sponge and sucking up pir8fancier’s » Draco/Harry fanfiction ». I know most of my readers don’t get into slash fanfiction, but the stories are so amazing. I’m not a fan at lack of sexual details, but the characterisations and humour is very, very potent, and I love how the author has mixed in the secondary characters so well–it’s almost about them, too, which I enjoy! So far, my favourite one is Bite Me, Hate Memes (and it’s sequel) and On One’s Knees. Just…asdfgkhk!

Listening… to Little Boots–who Haley » unknowingly got me into–who is an amazing artist! I love how techno and electronic her songs are–a personal kink, believe it or not–and her voice is so beautiful. In fact, the sister has filed Little Boots under my “weird and versatile music taste” category–something I feel was termed prematurely, because I was playing “Symmetry” at the time, and let’s face it, that song is weird–a clear sign I’m listening to her too much, but there’s no such thing in my eyes.

Coding… Pumpin’! »’s new layout, and finishing up Icon Admin, a flat-file run icon script. Which is all being released tomorrow. Wherein, I haven’t even started on Icon Admin³, but, hey, I’ve never done anything by that thing called rules.

Excited… for my new memory card, which is also in the mail, ready to be delivered! I mentioned on Twitter a couple of times that my memory card decided to die one day, and I finally had the money to replace it. I’m crazily excited, because I can pick up my Project 365 project from where I left off, and start taking decent pictures again. It will be fabulousity!

Making… a Victorian themed layout for Pumpin’!, and…it sucks. It’s one of my favourite eras in history, but I’m pretty positive I chose the wrong theme, considering my lack of skills with layouts sometimes. However, I can’t give up now, that would just be backwards and stupid and OK I’m being lazy.

Admiring… Mehmet Turget »–a Turkish photographer I found in 2008 and have been stalking ever since–and of course, Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott », my favourite fashion photographers of all time. I’ve have never failed to name an editorial by them, and I love seeing their work. ♥

Watching… my Dad make Thai soup, with a side of lemon soufflé. It makes me admire my parents ability to bring in different cultures into our house, and we always manage to find something different to eat. Italian, Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, Mediterranean…you name it⁴!

1. « I also suck at that, but once again: shush, we can ignore this.
2. « Don’t hold me to that.
3. « And no, this is not procrastinating, if that’s what you were thinking! I just decided to take a break, and instead of eating, I blogged. …Big deal.
4. « We are, of course, still very much American; bring on the hot dogs, hamburgers and potato/pasta salad!

Reading… historical romances! I just got finished with my Mom’s copy of Moon Craving » by Lucy Monroe; it originally drew me, because it’s about Scottish werewolves…! – If anybody knows me, they know my love for all things werewolves, and anything Scotland-related is like cake with whip cream on top – and it ended up being delicious in it’s writing. Ms. Monroe is absolutely brilliant at making the reader imagine they are in old-world Scotland – and the author had no problem breaching the subject of a man having another man as a “mate”, which sealed the deal for me. After reading it, it made me break into my historical romance collection, and I just picked up Gentle Rogue » by Johanna Lindsey, because I also have a pirate kink. It’s part of the Malory series, and even though I know a good number of people I know don’t particularly prefer romance, it’s so…19^th century and pirate-y! Pure love, le sigh.

(And I kind of end up rambling on the whole ‘Reading’ bit every time…sorry about that!)

Listening… a couple of Disney classics, initially, and finally my personal « techno mix (beware, I use “techno” in its loose form). It has Dangerous Muse, Lady Gaga and Combichrist–the essentials, as far as I’m concerned¹.

Coding… a ridiculous amount of CSS that is making me want to dig my fingers into my eyeballs. My “talent” (I LIKE USING LOOSE FORMS, STFU) does extend to CSS and me knowing a lot about it, but…damnit, there’s a reason I like backend-coding more than frontend!

Excited… for my internet to die. I know, I know; I have a bit to do before it does die, and I’ll inside die after four days, and a whole week without any access will get boring fast – but I like the break. I like not worrying about e-mails, MySQL across my sites and that thing called a fanlisting collective.

Making… a entry for Digital Photography I’m writing up! I’m really, really excited about it and its debut, and I only need one more models consent before I can finish and post it. ♥ It’ll be fabulous; I get to show off my model photography, as well, which will only be shown in this article. Excited, as said!

Admiring… model Abbey Lee Kershaw. Model nerd here, but I’ve been watching her for the past year and a half, and she’s just so diverse! I get so excited when she’s in a new campaign or editorial, and I really hope she stays in the long run!

Watching… Roswell and as much sci-fi/fantasy movies I can stuff into my head without exploding. Roswell started off at the beginning of the month, and I’ve seen Cirque Du Freak (I really, really loved this one! It’s got so much potential to turn into an awesome movie series, so I hope this was the push it needed), New Moon (not as bad as I thought – I can’t stand the Twilight series with a passion, but I’d watch this again) and The Crowe! …So the last is a little old, it’s still a classic! Of course, others movies (which I’ve already seen prior to watching them) were also viewed, because movies are loved hard in my house.

Cooking… German Chocolate cake!

The Dad isn’t a fan of coconut and pecans, but together it’s heaven in our mouths – or, well, hell if you’re anything like my sister.

1. « I didn’t have Depeche Mode, Dirty Sanchez, The Presets and The Ting Tings on there, which I have, as they were on the first part of the remix (show in the screenshot to the left).

I think that element of photography has been lost with the LCD screen. I don’t understand photographers who constantly snap and review. God, it drives me nuts.

…I blinked, and read over at least three more times, not comprehending that he had really said that. As someone who uses an LCD screen, my next reaction was one of hurt, as I never thought of my photography being “lost” simply because I don’t use film. In hindsight, I know he probably didn’t mean to hurt others—I hope so!—by saying something like that, but my third reaction was one of pure, unending disagreement. From him, someone who has apparently been using photography since 2007, I find that his opinion on LSD-usage a bit arrogant.

I don’t think I’m truly alone when I think “it’s not about the equipment you have, it’s how you use it”. For instance, Kya » used Photoshop for quite some time with her illustrations before using Adobe Illustrator, and while you can see the advancement, that in no way means her work in Photoshop sucked. Just because you use something digital to illustrate, draw or, in this case, photograph, doesn’t mean it’s any less artistic and beautiful. Being able to draw with a pencil and pen doesn’t make you better than someone who draws digitally, and owning a video camera doesn’t make you any better than someone who uses their point-and-shoot camera to create videos.

Terry Richardson, a well known fashion photographer who uses digital cameras, has been working since the 90s; Laura Ferreira », who has been working in photography for years, is also a digital photographer; my favourite photographers, Mert and Marcus, in the world use digital photography; and finally Mehmet Turgut », a very well known Turkish photographer who’s work you can see in magazines(!), also uses digital cameras in his photography.

So, Carlos Núñez, to say “the element of photography” has been lost with an LCD screen is a little insensitive and a bit asinine. Film cameras are wonderful tools, yes, but that doesn’t mean digital cameras aren’t. I’m not mad, and I’m not heart broken, or even upset; you can bet your filmy ass I’ll show you and others who think this way just how much I can achieve using digital cameras¹ versus using film cameras.

1. « I have three, because three is totally the new black.

But, really, I should have “I DIGRESS. A LOT. IT’S KIND OF CRAZY.” stamped across my forehead. You know.

My main reason for blogging is promoting, specifically a video and an article. I’m going to go ahead and throw said video on out there, so, behold: I Love You, Arthur! », the video subject being quite obvious¹. I’ve been begging the sister (the one playing Arthur) to do a Arthur/Merlin video, and having bleached her hair, I finally wrote the script², and wa-la! A video! It’s a play off of I Want You, Harry », kind of backwards in the sense that Merlin is shorter than Arthur and a redhead, and Gaius is black and young. It happens to also be a belated birthday present to Christina », because I fail at being on time for most things.

As for the article: a guide on Digital Photography ». I’ve been working on for weeks, and while I’m still biting my lip about releasing it to the general public, it at least has all of model photography. Take a gander at that, at least!

I feel bad though, admittedly, for promoting. Not my favourite thing in the world to do, but I like sharing the things I do, and the things I can create! Although my brain might tell you otherwise, I can do other things beside scripting, so even if both things aren’t done very well, I want to share, as said. *hugs all around*

1. « If it’s not, it’s from the BBC TV series, Merlin.
2. « Yes, I wrote our first script, all by myself (with Carlisle helping the ending, particularly with the “I LOVE ARTHUR!” bit)! I’m quite proud, because the original script was…kind of like series, in the way they talk. Just not as deliberately cracky.

Reading… yaoi manga! I know some of you could take it or leave it (or just leave it), but I’ve fallen so in love with some of some (very old!) manga! Love Mode–originally released in 1995! I was five-barely-six at the time!–is my favourite so far, but I love Junjou Romantica and Crimson Spell as well! The characters are very intertwined, and in Junjou Romantica, one of the main characters is a writer, and it’s inspired the writer inside me. I think I’m finding my voice for writing, I really do.

Listening… nothing has stuck in my head in April, but I’ve been listening to Eminem a bit, as well as Lady Gaga, Placebo and “Hot Mess” by Cobra Starship (Christina » showed me this gem)–I’m so complex, gais!

Coding… Listing Admin », where I’ve been learning the joys of crossposting to Enthusiast, or just to a different server. It’s made me realise how lucky I am to have a shared reseller on DreamHost–I don’t have to worry about the different servers and MySQL variables!

Excited… for driving! I, Tess, at 20 do not have a driver’s license. I have my permit–for the last two years, no less!–and the Dad just got new tires on my car–that I’ve had for six years in November–so I’m really excited about getting it legal. Not only will the Mom have some transportation herself, but she can now teach me how to drive! Insert huge jump in the air here!

Making… DVDs…? I’ve made some DVDs for the sixth season of Bleach, which the sister has now religiously been watching as well! According to my calculations (half-assed accessing of the situation), Bleach is one of the few anime series that can be watched by anybody, even non-Anime fans (that would be the sister)!

Admiring… Milla Jovovich, oh em gee! My deep, deep love knows no bounds with Milla, but I’ve been enjoying having added to my Milla Jovovich collection of movies (A Perfect Getaway + Resident Evil), and re-waching them. (Did I mention the sister is also in love with Milla? I never said she didn’t have great taste, too!)

Watching… a ton of movies! The two latter above go under this as well, but the amount of movies I’ve been intaking is surprising. The Hangover (finally!) and The Men Who Stare at Goats are lovely, and the Mom and I have never laughed so hard. With the Dad working last Saturday, and the Uncle being out of the house for the weekend, the Mom, sister and I watched The Men Who Stare at Goats and laughed at hippy!George Clooney and unbelieving!Ewan, and stayed up until one in the morning watching The Hangover and laughing at sexy!Bradley, screaming!Ed and ridiculously-weird!Zach. Very, very well done movies.

Cooking… I cooked 15 Bean Soup¹ last weekend, as well, and the sister and I plan to cook the Mom carrot cake tonight. Or me, since I plan to bake it after she goes to bed, so we can surprise her tomorrow morning. Yaaay to staying up till three in the morning (it’s the thought that counts?)!

Taking a Photo Of… My new coffee cup!

The Dad got it for me after he got the sister one (the Mad Hatter)–I quite like mine, reminds me of…me? (That was lame, shush.)

1. « It’s yummier than it sounds! It’s made of fifteen different types of beans, kielbasa and ground sausage, stewed Mexican (or Italian/regular) tomatoes and cajun seasoning. It’s a cajun dish that the Mom and I have made into a hit. IT’S LOVELY, SHUT UP.

I also decided to actually use pictures(!) in this post. It’s not my style or preference – going through my own pictures has given me a new found respect (as if I needed more!) for Krissy », who always uses photos; how she does it on a regular basis is going over my head at the moment – but I felt that since it was my own photography, it would be a great addition (and kind of less boring for those not in any way interested in where I’ll be in ten years).

In 10 Years… I will be a photographer that travels, and works for National Geographic and Vogue Italia, because I can multi-photograph like this (and I just like taking pictures of animals and fashion… which, according to PETA, can’t possibly happen (I STILL LOVE MY PRINTS AND FAKE FURS)). I will have attended at least three Lady Gaga concerts, photographed her once, and made enough money to print up large posters of my favourite manga(/anime) characters, because it’s kind of less creepy than printing large posters of Ewan McGregor, Gaspard Ulliel and Gerard Butler–or worse, Lady Gaga herself.

I have also stated my love for Latino and Asian dudes many times, but if it’s not apparent – I want to be partners will a Asian or Latino man-dude in the future, and have great sex with said man-dude. It’s no rush, which is kind of why I left it out initially, but like most things, my posts cannot lack of perversion. Just to make you think, “wow, when I’m having a bad day, and Tess posts, I’m like, ‘well, at least I’m not her‘, and I suddenly feel better”.

…and the whole happy thing Manda » stated, because if I don’t have happiness with all of that, I won’t really be living any of it.

(I also tag Christina » (in her corresponding LiveJournal, of course), Dee » (which should be interesting, because she’s one of the few older (than me) bloggers out of school that I actually admire), Clem » (I’ve never spoken to her personally, but I know she’ll make a funny story out of it or draw dinosaur pictures, and I like both (especially together)) and finally Georgina ».)

Reading… the manga Bleach, or really re-reading. All I can say for it is a) I love Nelliel, b) Ichigo is one of the best friends one can have, c) Ikkaku and Yumichika are the gayest of the gays for each other and I have an inkling their captain, Kenpachi, knows it and d) Aizen is one of the best villains ever written (he just won’t die, and he makes my skin crawl – that’s some strong feelings to be invoked by a fictional character!).

Listening… (according to my Last.fm stats, anyway!) Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga, Placebo and « Muse – thanks to Melissa », the song I Belong to You has been stuck in my head for the past three days, and I’m trying to attempt learning it on piano. MELISSA, IT IS ALL YOUR FAULT.

Coding… a Manga reader. Yes, you read that correct. Instead of working on Listing Admin », or poking at Media Admin – which, a month from today exactly, will be releaded – I am coding up something I’ll probably only use once a month or something. That’s how Tess rolls, yo!

Excited… for caffeine. I’m a boring person; I will never have a truly exciting life, so the most exciting thing for me is something with fucking caffeine right now.

Making… a couple of layouts! I’m a coder – I love cracking into CSS and HTML just as much as PHP.

Admiring… Muse’s ability to make me cry.

Watching… The IT Crowd! :D It’s a British sitcom, and one of the most genius things I’ve watched in a while. The IT Crowd – IT for “Information Technologies”, instead of “it” – is about the IT department in a company, and a woman, who knows nothing about computers, being their manager. Absolutely hilarious. ♥

Cooking… pork chops!

In this case I only marinated them, but I am fantastic at marinating almost anything. I’m also rather lame, because I get this whut? look on my face when I actually have to cook and/or marinate food. I’m sometimes so consumed with scripting that I forget I can do anything else! :P

Taking a Photo of… José, our red tail boa snake.

Snakes are very, very overrated, and I could go on a fifty-paragraph rant about it, but I’ll save the *facepalm* moment for another time. José – yes, named after the Dad’s favourite drink, José Cuervo – won’t get much bigger than he is now, and he’ll live a long time, as we didn’t power-feed him. I’ll have to upload more photos of him!

Usually I add a new “Just a Minute…” section every month, but I’m running on a low battery, and I’m just going to go before I no longer make any sense!

Happy Father’s Day, Dad – you mean more to me than you’ll ever know (probably because I’ll never say it, but shush).

…and before anybody asks, that’s the back of the Mom’s head – the Dad is not some hippy mullet-wearing dude (…OK, he’s a hippy dude, but still no mullet!), but from the reputation he has on my blog, I sense that wouldn’t be such a bad thing!

Reading… some fanfiction (nothing new there), and J.R. Ward’s new book, Lover Mine. Great plot, wonderful characters, horrible butchering of the gay ones. I still keep coming back, though, so the woman is doing something right!

Listening… to Lorene Drive and Britney Spears, because I love mixing genres, as well as spamming everyone with the genius that is « Blood Brothers (if I so wasn’t starry-eyed about it, I’d feel a little bad!).

Coding… Media Admin, and I. hate. Amazon’s. API. It’s one of the worst things in the world to get around – something I have yet to do, and if you know me, you know I don’t, and won’t, give up that easily – and never thought I’d think that about XML! GO DIAF, AMAZON API.

Excited… that the sister is back! She went to California (San Francisco) for three weeks to visit our older sister. She loved it in California – the pictures! – but didn’t love the sister. I needed someone to fangirl The Whitest Kids U’Know and The IT Crowd with!

Making… abstract art for a project, and its not as horrible as I first thought it’d be; it’s actually quite fun, and the colour options…!

Admiring… Trevor Moore. See “Watching” for further (fangirlish) details.

Watching… The Whitest Kids U’Know! OH EM GEE. I took my cable company’s, Comcast, advice – surprising; they’re a shitty company with even shittier advertising methods – and watched it on IFC, and have never looked back. It was created by Trevor Moore and Sam Brown, and it loosely based off of Trevor’s first show. Although all five boys – Trevor, Sam, Zach, Darren and Timmy, in order of hiring – write the show, Trevor’s the head writer, and I just marvel at his, and their, genius. Darren and Zach are my favourite, and Timmy makes me laugh so fucking hard; Trevor is the best at ridiculous-but-still-funny!wigs (and pants) and Sam with his ridiculously crass (but still funny) skits! While I wouldn’t suggest this for the squeamish or easily-offended, it’s some of the funniest shit I’ve seen in a while! Also, a quick shout out to Grandma’s Boy, the best movie ever made. Fin~

Cooking… brownies, because it seems to be all I’m good for. I admittedly passed on a few chances to cook, but I’ve been wrung out with coding – AMAZON. I’M LOOKING AT YOU HERE. – that I just haven’t felt up to it.

Taking a Photo of… Nay-Nay!

Nay-Nay goes through these daily rituals of randomly coming up to me, meowing and jumping up into my lap to cuddle. Most of the time she stays for twenty seconds before getting bored, but she actually let me take (really bad) photos of her, and cuddle with her, too. (My hand was trying to hold her head still long enough to get the shot. Alas, I was not successful. I have failed thee.) So, to make up for the quality, here’s a photo of a yellow grasshopper (and to remind you all I’m not a horribly bad photographer):

Feeling admittedly nostalgic – I remember the sister, the friend and I would collect grass hoppers, kill them and then throw them away because they stunk. We actually made a sport of catching them. …Which is kind of not-so-nostalgic, and more morbid. I couldn’t do it now, only marvel at how weirdly cute it looked.

Playing… The Spill Canvas – Our Song », which is the best damn song ever right now.

Exactly three years ago, the family went to go see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, with one of our older cats being in labour. When we got back from dinner + the movie – a movie inwhich I missed every single Draco + Harry scene; not amused, bladder – T.J. and his sister and brother were born. The story is quite long, but it ended in our old neighbours randomly stating he was mine, and that they kind of weren’t feeding him anymore (thus making me his owner, since I was already feeding him). I remember the time he woke me up giving me biscuits on my face, the time he watched Baby drink water like it was the most fascinating thing that had ever happened to the universe, the fifteen hundred times he and Dare did some not-really-biologically-possible-but-there-you-have-it deeds, and I still remember the first ever picture I took of him; I have it on my cockboard¹!

For his birthday I gave him a can of wet food, which to our male cats is a treat. I also had him pose for the following pictures, but that was kind of for me rather than him. :P

1. « Well, corkboard. Something some of the girls at TFL » dubbed, it wasn’t me!

Reading… Gena Showalter’s latest book, The Darkest Lie, from her series The Lords of the Underworld, which was fabulous (and also happened to contain one of my favourite characters!). I also have be re-reading Jacquelyn Frank’s Shadowdweller series, which is just so… intense! The grammar is so great, the writing style feels so old, and… I’m just at a loss for words. It’s gorgeous. ♥

Listening… Puscifer! I’m such a Maynard fangirl, I’m surprised I just got into one of his many projects, but I love almost electronic feel to it! So far, I love the Drunk With Power (Version 2), Rev 22:20 (Dry Martini Mix) and The Undertaker (Renholder Mix) songs. :D

Coding… a little of this and that… I’ve been working on a secret project–three, actually!–which lean more towards CSS and graphic design, but since I managed to code a imagemap without the tag, I figure that’s worth my vacation from PHP.

Excited… to watch the latest season of The IT Crowd, aaah! The sister and I promised we’d wait for the season to end to watch them all – that’s how we do it! – and I can’t wait for it! *rubs hands together*

Making… icons! I’m not very good at them, but sometimes (mostly when I’m procrastinating), I open up my graphics program, and just go to town. I like to think of it as my way to relieve The Stress of Life.

Admiring… Homotography » (I promise the site is cleaner than the title hints at!) – introduced to me by Christina », unsurprisingly – and I just love this blog! As the subtitle says, it’s a site that has “photography with homosexual tendencies”, in both female and male tendencies (yes, I totally just referenced itself!). I just love the photography, really¹.

Watching… some delicious new movies, including Clash of the Titans, Remember Me (by force, and no, it wasn’t good) and The Book of Eli. I think I may be – wait for it – …picky. It just seems that the void inside me can’t be filled. When I think, “this could be a movie I can replay over and over and over and annoy the parents with!”, but alas, the last movies to fill that void have been Sherlock Holmes and The Wolfman.

Cooking… black beans! :D

I had no idea what I was doing when I was making these; the Mom called me, said “cook these, they’re kind of like 15 Bean Soup~”² and I was like, “…OK”, and there we have it. They were delicious, though, especially with the yellow rice!

Taking a Photo of… The Dad’s motorcycle! He had it in the shop for… well, over a year, and he just finished his course to get his motorcycle license (and scored the highest grade on the written exam – like the man needed anything more to go to his head).

And Nay-Nay, who was giving me a side glance so reminiscent of my own that I just had to post it. She learned from the best, after all (if you click the photo for the larger version, you can kind of see me in her eye).

Playing… Megan McCauley – Porcelain Doll ». I just recently got my hands on Megan’s 2007 album, Better Than Blood, and I just fell more in love with her, if that was at all possible in the five years I’ve been worshipping her. *hoards music player*

Remodelling… zee living room, courtesy of the sister and I!

Ignoring the crap quality of the photo, we moved around pretty much everything besides the TV (not pictured), because of the cable cord. We like it, though, because it opens it up quite a bit. :D

(The next “Just a Minute…” won’t nearly be so image-heavy, promise!)

1. « AND I SWEAR MY ICON FOR THIS ENTRY HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH MY FEELINGS TOWARDS THAT SITE, OR THAT IT CAME FROM THAT SITE EVEN THOUGH THAT PARTICULAR EDITORIAL MAY OR MAY NOT BE THERE.
2. « “15 Bean Soup”, for those that don’t know the recipe, is ground sausage and kielbasa browned with celery and onion, and then cooked with the bean mix (fifteen different kind of beans, as the title says), stewed tomatoes and the Cajun seasoning that comes with the beans.

All joking aside – no pun intended – I invite you into the story of my late Grandma, and a little jewellery box by the name of Izzie.

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Back in February 2009, my Grandma died. I believe I posted an entry discussing this when Lyone was running on WordPress, but it either a) got lost between switching or b) didn’t make it because I was a lazy bitch. Probably the latter, and why yes, I’m actually digressing for the sake of digressing instead of the other way around.

The Mom and I have thrown around a ton of ideas that my Grandma knew she was dying – she got really sick in December 2008 – and knowing she didn’t have long, didn’t say anything for fear of scaring my Mom and wanting to live the rest of days the way she wanted, instead of being hooked up to a machine. Theories aside, it was no surprise when she died, and in June 2009, my entire family moved into her house, as we couldn’t afford to keep up her house and live in ours. I inherited quite a few things, one of them being my Grandma’s jewellery box.

My vanity, which it now sits on, is the most magnificent piece of furniture I have (ever seen), and like my enormous T.V. and laptop, you’ll have to pry it from my dead fingers. Like the vanity, it was buried in the vanity in what is now my room, and because I a) am emotionally constipated and b) was still a little sore from my Grandma’s death, I kept it buried in the large drawer of my vanity for over a year.

The Saturday before last, I cleaned out my vanity, and regret not going through my Grandma’s jewellery box before. Not only did I find photos of her that will be going with me to my grave – I’m possessive, what can I say? :P – I found clip-on earrings for the sister (unlike the Mom and I, the sister and Grandma don’t and didn’t have ear piercings), some bracelets for the sister and I, and some necklaces.

A necklace I received from Kya » and my H/D shipper button, which at the time celebrated a year of on-going support! 8D *dork*

A Chinese necklace, without the necklace bit. I’m pretty sure it stands for something having to do with me, but I forget the exact meaning.

A kit for my glasses, and, what I believe to be, something to look at diamonds or something. Or carats. Yeah.

My Grandma, even at 72, was absolutely beautiful. I didn’t inherit her or my Mom’s beauty, but what I did inherit was her spectacular sense of fashion. Passed down from the ages, we Burton – my Grandma’s maiden name – women have a stellar eye for clothes and jewellery, and if my Grandma was ever eclectic about something, it was that.

I also, in some ways, inherited her love for being on camera. I don’t love being on camera myself, but I think in a lot of ways that transferred to me, except behind the scenes. It still amazes that she saw the revolution of six photo generations – painting, Kodachrome Transparency, Black and White, DLR, Polaroid and portable cameras – and if she had lived longer, I would have introduced a seventh one.

Why, yes, that is a Scotch bottle she’s cradling. (We Burton’s also like to party.)

All this has made me realise, however, that I have too many earrings and necklaces (for real, I have some for Easter, Christmas and Halloween… yeah) and have got to stop buying necklaces.

Reading… Bleach!

I bought volume… 26, along with the character book and artbook (the latter two of which were brand new), something I regret not doing sooner. I knew about 99% of what was in the character book, but I loved re-reading about everything, and seeing the different profiles and assessments. Other honourable reads: “Demon from the Dark” by Kresey Cole – the author keeps getting better and better and I hate it – and “The Vampire’s Bride” by Gena Showalter; that one isn’t new, but it’s still such a great read. /floats

Listening… to Milla Jovovich. Insert slapped palms to face, loud gasps and prolonged staring here. While I have a wide range of interests in music, I usually don’t listen to new things, or things that are… erm, hippie-ish, for lack of a better word. I’ve had her album + other work for eons, and only listened to some things here and there. So far I love “Gentleman Who Fell”, “It’s Your Life” and “Ruby Lane” – and of course “Mezinka”, because despite my dislike for Dummy, the movie is ridic cute, and the song ten times more so. It’s just… not the kind of music I listen to, but I’m still listening to it! *confused*

Coding… nothing in relation to Listing Admin », something I felt was needed in order to remain the peace (I talk to my scripts, and he does not like me right now). I did manage to write up a to-do list script, finished my beta testing script for reporting bugs, and added in some mods for Listing Admin. There is no Tess without code~

Excited… for the fall TV line-up to start! Sons of Anarchy is starting off the celebration, with Merlin following lead, hey-ho!

Making… random to-do lists, which kind of explains the script above. (It was an impulse script, OK?!)

Admiring… everyone’s » ability » to keep » blogging », even during summer, the boring of the boring months. The end.

Watching… Criminal Minds – I’m a junkie; it’s the new Supernatural, where I know about 99% of the episodes summaries and titles – and random movies here and there. August is a boring month all around.

Cooking… nothing. :( This upsets me, and I promise to dazzle you all with a cherry pie next time. 8D (Yes, yes I am bribing you.)

Taking a Photo Of… the sister’s dog, Cassie!

I know, something that isn’t a reptilian, feline, or something green! Our dogs are quite old – Cassie will turn 10 on November 10^th, and Baby will turn 12 on November 14^th – crotchety, and a tiny bit spastic, as it took me 20+ shots to get this semi-decent one of Cassie.

Playing… Muse – Starlight », from their Black Holes & Revelations album. I know most fans look at this as one of more “meh” songs off the album, and a bit overrated, but I just love it. Matthew’s voice goes so well with the music. *stars in eyes*

Remodelling… my room! I also happened to break my canopy in the process, so I shall stamp a “To Be Continued…” on this section, and hope none of you think I have it out for my annoying canopy.

Writing… about a character, one that I hold very, very close to my heart (but not close to my boobs, so it’s a female). I was writing rough, rough, rough drafts of vampire!Merlin fanfiction – and therefore sending it off to Christina » to get input, spazzing and mostly spazzing – before ditching it mid-month when my muse took a very unwanted vacation.

(It should be noted that I while I did not go a “Just a Minute…” entry without mentioning Christina », I have not mentioned, talked about, or displayed a picture of Nay-Nay. Except for maybe just now. But still! As my partner for better or scratches, that’s saying something, right?)