It's not all bad, really. C:
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!
First up, Spicer feels better. *knocks on wood* He absolutely loved the fish for about 5 days, then he grew bored. But put on weight (I can feel it), and now he's eating canned food again. This pleases me, b/c it means I don't have to get the kitty supplement powder down him every day. (Spicer hates it. Must taste bad.) He's only had one bad day since my last update, and then it was more a "meh, I just wanna sleep" day, rather than a bad one. I cannot expressed how relieved I am at this upswing. :D We have yet another appointment in early April. Here's hopin' there will be some significant improvement.
You recall my massive page of fanfic, original fiction, and webcomic recs? For the previous two years, around New Year's, the server would go down. First time it was for a couple weeks, second time for about 3.5 weeks, and this time...a month passed and it still hadn't come back. I've been looking into actually buying hosting space since the first crash, but prices and limitations on content at the cheapest hosts would make me delay. (And it helped that both times, the private server recovered.) But this time, it seemed the server was down for good. (Or perhaps my friend who owns the server decided to delete my files without telling me. I have no idea.) In any case, I was lamenting my server woes to my awesome IRL and fandom friend Mab, and she suggested we share server space! We talked it over, lucked into a sale at my first server choice, Dreamhost, and we went for it.
http://www.s2mmabfanworks.net/s2m/ficrecs.html is my fanfic recs page's new home. :D Please update your bookmarks and links, and tell anyone with whom you've shared my old link. Google still hasn't found my new digs yet--and yes, I did submit the new URL to the Google web crawler. :P I'm eager for traffic to return!
My quest to count my entire manga collection is nearing the end. I don't want to share the current count of read and unread books as it will spoil the effect. I'm also continuing in my pursuit to finally read every manga I own, starting with the beginning of the alphabet. I did take a 3-week delay to read Natsume (Yuletide treat fic research), and the various prose books I've needed to read for Book Club and prose book sorting purposes. But finally finally I am reading Angel Sanctuary, by Yuki Kaori (fixed). This is a manga I have owned for years (literally) but have never read more than the first half of volume one. It feels good to finally read it. There are so many characters and weird names that I had to start a running list with notes to keep everyone straight. :P I'm currently in the middle of volume three. I'll read through volume 5, and unless it ends on a killer cliffhanger, then I'll switch to whatever is on the top of my prose read-me pile. C:
I'm making it a point to talk about Angel Sanctuary because eleven years ago, it was three pages of this manga that I lettered in my first submission to start working for Viz. And much to my amusement, each time I turned a page in volume 2 and came face-to-face with one of them, I immediately recognized it. XD I agonized over each of those pages for hours, trying to do a good job so maybe Viz could hire me and I could have a job to be proud of, rather than being a video girl at the already-dying Blockbuster. And it worked! Viz asked me for a second round of pages (this time from Naruto), and then I received a call from Shoujo Editor 1 hiring me for Nana. :3 Ahhhh, memories!
Work-wise, things are chugging along. I did finish Seraph v6 (corrections done, too), Requiem 2 and Voice 12--which is the final volume. Waiting for corrections for both of those. I'm now working on Clay 27--also the final volume, and just started Skip 35--NOT the final volume. :D Clay and Skip are both somewhat rushed this round. Things are going to be interesting until I can clear the most difficult pages.
Oh yes, and my New Title 12 has been announced! It is Bloody Mary, by Samamiya Akaza. This means I'll have two vampire titles. *snickers* Good thing I like the bloodsuckers, huh? ^^ I expect there to be much more blushing and UST in this title than in Seraph, which will no doubt claim all the fighting and killing. Good times!
Starting in January, the aforementioned Mab and I have started walking every weekend. We live about 15 miles apart, so we take turns driving to each other's place. ^^ It ensures we both exercise at least once a week, and it's good for me to have IRL contact with a friend. I'm quite enjoying our routine, and suspect Mab is, too. ^^ We talk about anything and everything while we stomp around each of our neighborhoods. Incredibly fun and stress-relieving.
I've also resumed hiking with my Book Club friends P and M. I've made it to two hikes so far, and both were great. I'm not quite in as bad of shape as I'd feared, though there is MUCH MUCH room for improvement.
I've been enjoying reading the webcomic Dumbing of Age, which I rec to everyone. (Yes, it will be added to my recs site!) I'm almost caught up with the four-year's-worth of archive, then I can enjoy each page as it's posted new. ^^ I am most excited! When I am caught up, I guess it's back to reading Hunter X Hunter. I have about 100 chapters left of that one. *deep breath* It can be slow going when the minor characters start fighting each other. It's the very rare long and drawn-out fight scene that holds my interest, so slogging through your typical shounen battle manga can be a trial for me. :P I stick it out for the characters and overall story. I can has plot and character development, plz!
Most of the stuff on my Adult Things to Do List has been crossed off, I am pleased to say. "Do Taxes" is still on there, which I plan to start tomorrow. Ick. But at least with Turbotax, it takes me less time every year. Maybe I can finish in one day this time! :D I am expecting a refund, as I almost always overpay for each of my quarterly estimated installments. After taxes are done, it will be time to visit the mortgage loan officer for real, and start shopping for a relator. *gulp*
That's everything positive I can think of to share at the moment. ^^ Back to work for me! The Clay women are calling. C:
First up, Spicer feels better. *knocks on wood* He absolutely loved the fish for about 5 days, then he grew bored. But put on weight (I can feel it), and now he's eating canned food again. This pleases me, b/c it means I don't have to get the kitty supplement powder down him every day. (Spicer hates it. Must taste bad.) He's only had one bad day since my last update, and then it was more a "meh, I just wanna sleep" day, rather than a bad one. I cannot expressed how relieved I am at this upswing. :D We have yet another appointment in early April. Here's hopin' there will be some significant improvement.
You recall my massive page of fanfic, original fiction, and webcomic recs? For the previous two years, around New Year's, the server would go down. First time it was for a couple weeks, second time for about 3.5 weeks, and this time...a month passed and it still hadn't come back. I've been looking into actually buying hosting space since the first crash, but prices and limitations on content at the cheapest hosts would make me delay. (And it helped that both times, the private server recovered.) But this time, it seemed the server was down for good. (Or perhaps my friend who owns the server decided to delete my files without telling me. I have no idea.) In any case, I was lamenting my server woes to my awesome IRL and fandom friend Mab, and she suggested we share server space! We talked it over, lucked into a sale at my first server choice, Dreamhost, and we went for it.
http://www.s2mmabfanworks.net/s2m/ficrecs.html is my fanfic recs page's new home. :D Please update your bookmarks and links, and tell anyone with whom you've shared my old link. Google still hasn't found my new digs yet--and yes, I did submit the new URL to the Google web crawler. :P I'm eager for traffic to return!
My quest to count my entire manga collection is nearing the end. I don't want to share the current count of read and unread books as it will spoil the effect. I'm also continuing in my pursuit to finally read every manga I own, starting with the beginning of the alphabet. I did take a 3-week delay to read Natsume (Yuletide treat fic research), and the various prose books I've needed to read for Book Club and prose book sorting purposes. But finally finally I am reading Angel Sanctuary, by Yuki Kaori (fixed). This is a manga I have owned for years (literally) but have never read more than the first half of volume one. It feels good to finally read it. There are so many characters and weird names that I had to start a running list with notes to keep everyone straight. :P I'm currently in the middle of volume three. I'll read through volume 5, and unless it ends on a killer cliffhanger, then I'll switch to whatever is on the top of my prose read-me pile. C:
I'm making it a point to talk about Angel Sanctuary because eleven years ago, it was three pages of this manga that I lettered in my first submission to start working for Viz. And much to my amusement, each time I turned a page in volume 2 and came face-to-face with one of them, I immediately recognized it. XD I agonized over each of those pages for hours, trying to do a good job so maybe Viz could hire me and I could have a job to be proud of, rather than being a video girl at the already-dying Blockbuster. And it worked! Viz asked me for a second round of pages (this time from Naruto), and then I received a call from Shoujo Editor 1 hiring me for Nana. :3 Ahhhh, memories!
Work-wise, things are chugging along. I did finish Seraph v6 (corrections done, too), Requiem 2 and Voice 12--which is the final volume. Waiting for corrections for both of those. I'm now working on Clay 27--also the final volume, and just started Skip 35--NOT the final volume. :D Clay and Skip are both somewhat rushed this round. Things are going to be interesting until I can clear the most difficult pages.
Oh yes, and my New Title 12 has been announced! It is Bloody Mary, by Samamiya Akaza. This means I'll have two vampire titles. *snickers* Good thing I like the bloodsuckers, huh? ^^ I expect there to be much more blushing and UST in this title than in Seraph, which will no doubt claim all the fighting and killing. Good times!
Starting in January, the aforementioned Mab and I have started walking every weekend. We live about 15 miles apart, so we take turns driving to each other's place. ^^ It ensures we both exercise at least once a week, and it's good for me to have IRL contact with a friend. I'm quite enjoying our routine, and suspect Mab is, too. ^^ We talk about anything and everything while we stomp around each of our neighborhoods. Incredibly fun and stress-relieving.
I've also resumed hiking with my Book Club friends P and M. I've made it to two hikes so far, and both were great. I'm not quite in as bad of shape as I'd feared, though there is MUCH MUCH room for improvement.
I've been enjoying reading the webcomic Dumbing of Age, which I rec to everyone. (Yes, it will be added to my recs site!) I'm almost caught up with the four-year's-worth of archive, then I can enjoy each page as it's posted new. ^^ I am most excited! When I am caught up, I guess it's back to reading Hunter X Hunter. I have about 100 chapters left of that one. *deep breath* It can be slow going when the minor characters start fighting each other. It's the very rare long and drawn-out fight scene that holds my interest, so slogging through your typical shounen battle manga can be a trial for me. :P I stick it out for the characters and overall story. I can has plot and character development, plz!
Most of the stuff on my Adult Things to Do List has been crossed off, I am pleased to say. "Do Taxes" is still on there, which I plan to start tomorrow. Ick. But at least with Turbotax, it takes me less time every year. Maybe I can finish in one day this time! :D I am expecting a refund, as I almost always overpay for each of my quarterly estimated installments. After taxes are done, it will be time to visit the mortgage loan officer for real, and start shopping for a relator. *gulp*
That's everything positive I can think of to share at the moment. ^^ Back to work for me! The Clay women are calling. C: