slr2moons

My last post was me venting about everything that's been bearing down on me in the past few months. But some good things have been happening, too!

( Spicer is doing better, new URL for my fanfic recs page, manga counting continues, reading, small shigoto update, New Title 12's identity revealed, exercising with friends, Adult Things to Do List )

That's everything positive I can think of to share at the moment. ^^ Back to work for me! The Clay women are calling. C:

Greetings, my flist! All ~5 or of you or so who, like me, are still on DW and LJ and check it regularly. ^^

I haven't said much here lately, and I admit, it's b/c everyone else is on FB and it's nice to say something and start a dialogue. *sigh* I so miss this platform's glory days. But I should stop contributing to the problem by not posting here, and post more! Ha!

Okay, so...here's an update on what's happening in my life.

Tl;dr: Not much, as usual.

( Longer version within! Work, Yuletide, car, health, living arrangements, misc, and entertainment. )

I guess that's it for this long update. It feels good to talk to you guys again! Please leave a comment, if you have anything to say or ask. C:

It's back to the work grind for me, everyone! Script for Clay 26 arrived last Tuesday, and after some emailing, the deadline was set for November 11th. This volume is one big fight scene, so it's gonna be crazy work time again!

Add that Voice 10 is due the day after. Thankfully this vol of Voice is easier than usual. Whew! I'll be able to make up for time lost to all those time-consuming Clay pages this way.

This means my spare time has vanished again. Alas. I had to miss out on a hike this weekend I really wanted to attend, but them's the breaks.

Kids, be smart. BE SALARIED. *laughs*

Back to work! Deadlines wait for no freelancer. Nope.

Have you ever wanted to go back in time and give yourself a hug of thanks? I do. I surely do!

Clay vol 25 is due tomorrow, Monday, and I finished yesterday after a flail-filled work rush. 14 pages of Clay a day is NOT fun, I can tell you. The reason for the last-minute dash was the Seraph-chapter-every-week final rush while we caught up with Japan. Even without needing to worry about FX for the individual chapters, lettering 45 pages of text-only a week takes time. But I brought everything in under or before deadline, once again! *triumphant pose* Oh yeah, including Voice vol 7. ^^

Now it's time for me to start the Seraph vol 3 (chapters 8-11) graphic novel version, which means stringing the four chapters together, creating the English sound effects and doing all the related retouch, and the omake pages. The original deadline for Seraph vol3 was June 6th. As in 5 days from today. *sick laughter* But thankfully, way back when Seraph Editor sent me everything I needed to do the volume, I realized my schedule was going to be tight in May, thanks to the Seraph mad dash and my twice-yearly vol of Clay. And I asked for more time, which SeraphE kindly gave. Now I have a whole month to do the GN conversion, rather than 5 days. THANK YOU, PAST ME!!! *tearful, glompy hugs*

Today I've taken most of the day off to let myself recouperate from the work rush. I've been skating on the edge of being sick, and really needed some sleep. I've taken three naps, all with Spicer-kitty snuggled up! He does love napping with me. Then I updated my fanfiction recs page, and FINALLY finished the link and WIP-status update check. Speaking of, I might as well plug my site again. It's been a while.

I like fanfic! I like telling other people about the fics I've really enjoyed!! I have eclectic tastes, in all sorts of fandoms! Books, movies, tv shows, and of course--anime and manga! I enjoy every iteration of romantic love! I enjoy drama! Comedy! Suspense! Romance! Adventure! And I don't just rec fanfic, I have original online fiction AND webcomic recs!!! Do please stop by. I have just under 500 recs now! *flails with excitement*

Slr2moons' Fanfic and Online Reading Recs

Now that I've satisfied my need to share fun stuff, I shall get started on Seraph vol 3. My day isn't complete unless I've done at least SOME work, after all. Even holidays. ^^V

Oh yes, and I've taken on a 6th title. It's a shoujo title with Naruto Editor, with whom I've worked for years and really get along with. (note: he doesn't edit Naruto anymore, but he'll always be Naruto Editor to me. :3) The title won't be constant lettering, from what I understand, and I know NE will do his best to give me lots of lettering time. I can't say what it is or who the mangaka is, but I do like their stuff! Until the official announcement, everyone please welcome New Title 11. I should begin lettering it sometime in July or August. (I know, I'm already super-busy. But that was because of lingering effects from last summer and fall, and the Seraph catch-up. I'm confident I can handle this specific 6th title because of reasons, and remember I have home-buying in my near future. Extra $$$ is a good thing!)

*points up* That's me, right now. For the most part, each deadline since the disaster during the past summer is slightly easier to meet.

The past three weeks, I haven't been able to do anything outside of work but run errands and go to Book Club, and I really should have skipped that. Or at least bailed out when the 35-minute argument started over what we would be reading in future months. (Some days I just don't have the time and/or patience to sit through that fiasco.) I've missed a birthday party for a dear friend (so sorry, Sno!), and I will be missing a chili cookoff for another dear friend this Saturday (so sorry, Phil!), and it comes down to no fun for me until I'm done. With Natsume, at least.

( Info about specific titles, wistful desires for time to be creative. )

I should stop writing this blog post and get back to work. Natsume won't letter itself. Don't let me being busy stop you from commenting! I haven't heard from anyone in some time.

I know I've been really quiet here lately. I have this long post about my sister's visit and accompanying adventure in the works. I'm going to post it soon! But...things are only gonna get busier. ^^; In the next couple weeks I have to:

1. Finish Clay 23 (already done, OMGYAY)
2. bust my booty to finish Voice 1 early, b/c...
3. Stumptown (the indie comics convention is in two weeks. I have so much going on with work and IRL that I'd skip it completely this year, but an out-of-town friend will be exhibiting (not SE3, she has to pass this year T.T) and I'm looking forward to at least having dinner with her twice. I'm not going to a ton panels and hang around all weekend like I normally do. I have too much work, and it's boring hanging around unless you have people with you, and this year that isn't going to happen for both days. Thankfully the wonderful and kind saladbats plans to go for one day, and whichever day is better for her will be when I go to peruse the exhibition hall, too.
4. My sister is flying to Seattle for her own work--much longer and more complicated this time, and she wants me to visit. I'm aiming to ride the Amtrak train up for the 6th, and with Voice due on the 8th, I need to finish early.
5. The monthly hike with my book club cronies.
6. Clean off enough hard drive space on my laptop, Usagi, to reinstall Photoshop CS (yes, CS1. Shut up, I bought it years ago and Usagi is an XP machine!) and my slightly smaller 2nd drawing tablet, Anthy. This way I can do work outside of home again, such as on the train to Seattle, in my sister's hotel room, and even out and about if anyplace has plugs. (Note to self: check if any tablets are capable of running Photoshop. HAHAHAHA! I doubt it...) Also I really hope my old copy still works, b/c I've installed it around 8 times now on various machines, and IDK how many reinstalls the serial number is good for. I gotta find the discs, too. Oh dear.)
7. Iron Man 3 movie marathon on the 2nd. I think this one is a bust, though.
8. my original manga. I actually turned down another series in favor of working on it. I'm tired of doing nothing but paid work all day. I want to be an exhibitor at Stumptown, too! >< /whine
9. anime night, too much fun to miss
10. dinner with A-chan and knastymike, also too much fun to miss

I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but those are the main points. FUN TIMES! But it's good to have so much work to complain about, because MONEY YAY. I think everyone understands that. ^^

Back to work for me! I'm gonna do a purple Voice page today. GRAAAH!! BANZAIII!!! XD

I tripped again on that same stretch of road two days ago. Not the exact same place, but close. I'm going to take lyschan's advice and change my route. I've already plotted one the same length that avoids that particular stretch of road. Bah! And for the record, that second time, I was not half-asleep nor jogging with my eyes closed. I just didn't pick up my feet enough, and down I went. At least I didn't fall as hard or do as much damage to my hands.

Speaking of which, last night my scrapes were itching so much, it woke me up. :B I'm glad I still have a tube of anti-itch cream laying around. Geez.

I won the lottery again at Publisher's Clearing House. Another Amazon gift card, for $5 this time. Wheeee! I can buy 3 or 4 mp3s! Or half a hard-copy book! Or a whole digital book! Or a sixth of a blu-ray movie! My oh my, so many options...

A couple weeks ago, I visited my friend A-chan in Salem, and she took me to an amazing used book store there called Escape Books. It's in a converted house, much like Powell's, only the books are cheaper and that's all they sell. ^^ I definitely want to go back! I picked up a couple manga vols I needed, and two fantasy books because they sounded interesting. That store is amazing and very cute. :3

I was feeling rather down this morning, until I told myself to knock it off and changed my mind from obsessing over things I can't change to what I planned to do today. To my delight, it worked! I felt much better, and spent half an hour on a promised gift pic for my fanfic sempai stariceling. Something in that pic has been bothering me for weeks, and is why I have yet to finish it. I wasn't good enough, damn it! >< I did some moving things around, shifted a character's position, and now it is indeed much better. Of course, now I have to redraw 3/4ths of one character, but it'll be worth it. Yay!

On a work-related note, script for Clay 23 should be arriving any day now. Skip 31 is 100% finished. Natsume 14 will be done in a week, and the BL in two. Things are chugging along nicely!

It's clear I have a new fan-favorite of all my works at AO3: the HP fanart pic. 17 more hits and it will dethrone the current winner, which is my Yuletide fic from last Giftmas. The switch should happen by Tuesday. Heh!

My fandom sempai, Star-chan, and I have made a pact: we will work on our original stuff for a set time every day. Her an hour, and me 30 minutes--to start. You know, until I get in the habit. This means that, yes, I am plugging away once more at my original manga, starring Laurie and her demon.

The last time I worked on it, I was coloring the first page at an agonizingly slow pace. Like with a new manga title, the first few pages will be in color, then I'll switch to b&w. Now I'm back at it, with the HP fanart pic under my belt...it's like I'm a whole different person. Guys, I'm getting more done in half an hour than I did in three hours before the HP pic. My confidence as improved that much. WOW.

I am really amused at myself, because I left all these scrawled notes to myself on the pic about my uncertainty on what I was doing. And I never deleted or merged any layers, so Laurie's hair consists of 8 different layers. ^^;;; I want to go back in time when I was freaking out over the page, give myself a hug, and tell me to relax. I'll figure it out!

( Fannish and IRL stuff behind the cut! )

In work news, I'm plugging away at Clay 22. Doing at least one Pink page a day, to get as many out of the way as I can before Natsume 14 hits. Still no fourth regular title, but I remain ever hopeful! And if I'm lucky, it'll be a good one, too. ^^

I've been quite sociable the past two weeks! (Shocking, right?) Saturday the 19th I helped knastymike with the heavy lifting part of his move into a new apartment. It wasn't that bad...except the leather recliner. That thing was SO HEAVY OMG. >< I was sore for two days! Small price to pay for good company, though. And Mike boughtinkytwist (who tackled packing and unpacking the kitchen...YEEK!) and me food at Old Chicago Pizza (OM NOM NOM), and frozen yogurt after we saw the Avengers.

Speaking of which, fun film! Even with me not knowing much Avengers canon at all. :B I do know enough to want a Loki movie, where he can be badass and awesome and crack that smile and wear more tuxedos. :3

The next day, I drove down to Salem to meet up with one of my Sci-Fi book club buds, Acacia, and we went to see Battleship. It was fun! I liked it more than Avengers, too. *dodges tomatoes* It's true! Even if they killed off the actor we went to see the film for. :P~~~ At least he took his shirt off at one point. ^///^ And yes, he also appeared on-screen in uniform, which is what we bought our tickets for in the first place. This was Alexander Skaarsgard, BTW. Best-known as Eric Northman, sexy Viking vampire in True Blood. Rowr! We ate at an El Salvadorian place. It was very tasty. :9

After that, I scrambled like mad to finish Naruto 59 and Skip 29 on time, which I did manage. ^^ Skip is now completely in the can, still awaiting corrections on Naruto. Clay 21 is almost done, I'm waiting for either more corrections or the go-ahead to upload. Now I'm powering along with Natsume 13! And this volume is making my BL-loving heart just pitter-pat. *giggles like she's 14*

Then this weekend, I lost my beloved pocketknife on Friday morning, during my usual run. I didn't notice it was gone until I was emptying my pockets after finishing, and the knife wasn't there. I immediately retraced my entire 3.5 mile loop, and no knife. T.T As much foot traffic as this area has, it could have been on the ground as short as 20 seconds before someone scooped it up.

I've had that knife since 1998, when my Dad gave it to me before I headed off to art school. *cries* I keep telling myself it's just an object, and if someone decides to commit murder with it, that they'll wipe my fingerprints off it, too. >< My mom says Dad will have fun shopping for a replacement for me. This gives me something to anticipate, at least. I feel naked when I go outside without my knife. I alllways carried that knife with me everywhere. *sniffle*

On Friday evening, knastymike and inkytwist sent me an impromptu invite to Mongolian grill, after they finished cleaning up knastymike's old apartment. I'd just eaten dinner, so I had ice cream while they had real food. Good company and conversation!

And on Monday, it was saladbats' birthday! I headed out to a Doctor Who-themed room inside a fish-and-chips place in the NE of Portland. Only took me 15 minutes to drive! I could have ridden the Max, but by the time I realized how simple it would have been, it was already too late to make it that way. :P No matter, driving was fun! I made a new friend,winnett, sawsnottygirl again, and hope to hang out with all of them more, soon! We are all writers or appreciators of same, and the whole lot of us are complete geeks. FUN! XD Even if all the Doctor Who themed stuff was wasted on me. *makes flyby noise*

Oho, and I ordered a Scottish soda. "Irn Bru". Tastes like bubblegum. I liked it, though I couldn't drink it every day. Far too sweet!

One of the webcomics I enjoy every week, Candi, is asking for guest strips. I'm going for it! OMG SO EXCITING!! XD I'm going to try to finish it before the 1st. KYAAA!! It will be my first guest webcomic strip, the first of many I hope! :D

And finally, I have a dreamwidth account. Not sure how much I'll use it, but it's there if I need it! I'm slr2moons there too, of course. ^^ 

Wednesday night, winter said goodbye with a beautiful snowfall. My area had about an inch of snow, I think. I walked in it twice, once Wednesday evening when it had been falling for about half an hour, and then the next day when it was already melting. It lasted until 3 PM, I was impressed. Today on my walk, I saw the sad remains of a couple of snowmen, fighting to live on lawns in my neighborhood.

Good-bye, snow! See you again in 9 months or so. *wistful sigh*

For the record, having grown up in north-central Texas, where snow falls maybe 3 times a year and actually sticks once every other year, it will always hold a magical place in my heart. I'm sure I'd have already changed my mind if I'd moved to, say, Minnesota...but here in my part of Oregon, it snows maybe 7 times a year and sticks for 2, so it's still magical to me. :3

I am also happy to say that I am as caught up with Bleach manga as it is possible to (legally) be in North America! Thanks to my subscription to SJ Alpha, I can read the new chapter only 2 weeks after it appears in Japan. The chances of me happening across spoilers in fic or art are negligible!!! I can now read almost any fic without fear!!! Yes, this pleases me greatly. ^^

Next on my manga catch-up list...Bakuman. XD I have...*checks* 100 chapters to read. Not as bad as Bleach, for which I had about 170! ^^V

I'm hard at work on Clay 21 and Naruto 59. Trying to finish as many difficult pages as I can before Skip 29 and Natsume 13 hit. I have scripts for both, but no raw pages from Japan. Oh yes, and I finished the 2nd one-shot book I did for the new genre sort-of being released by Viz.

( A little health stuff, under the cut to save those who'd rather not. )

Back to work for me! I have no idea what is going on in Clay 21, bouncing around from difficult page to difficult page as I am. Everyone is fighting everyone else, I swear. :P

ETA: Fish skin is sticky!! (Apologies to any vegetarians or vegans or see this.)