Anybody want Dreamwidth invite codes? I've got 7 4 to give away. Comment with your email address and I'll send em to you.
Cactuar cocktail! Careful. Too many rounds of these and you're hit with the hangover of 10,000 Needles. (Nothing a little Phoenix Down won't fix, I guess!)
I need to open a geeky bar and only serve drinks like these. Also, no sports playing on the TVs - all video games, all the time. Except on Anime Nights, when we play my favorite shows and serve drinks like these. XD
I need to open a geeky bar and only serve drinks like these. Also, no sports playing on the TVs - all video games, all the time. Except on Anime Nights, when we play my favorite shows and serve drinks like these. XD
I'm taking Analysis of Form this semester, which is mostly drawing with charcoal at 18" x 24" size. It's sorta like the Beginning Drawing class I took at my local university some years back, except faster paced and twice as hard! Which is good, because I'm a little better at it than I was back then. This is still pushing me without being overwhelmingly difficult, just right for my first class.
It's still overwhelmingly time-consuming, though. I spend a minimum of 20 hours per week on this class, and lately that number keeps creeping upwards. When you add in the full time job... yeah, I have no life these days. Each of these drawings were done over the course of two weeks.
( 3 things I drewCollapse )
This week we get a break from charcoal to work on line drawings in one and two point perspective. (Your post was quite timely,
telophase!) Despite the massive amount of homework and the resulting sleep deprivation, I'm really enjoying this class.
It's still overwhelmingly time-consuming, though. I spend a minimum of 20 hours per week on this class, and lately that number keeps creeping upwards. When you add in the full time job... yeah, I have no life these days. Each of these drawings were done over the course of two weeks.
( 3 things I drewCollapse )
This week we get a break from charcoal to work on line drawings in one and two point perspective. (Your post was quite timely,
telophase!) Despite the massive amount of homework and the resulting sleep deprivation, I'm really enjoying this class.ayonoi and admiral_yen, yours went out today! I can see I'll have to revise my shipping prices, I overestimated the size of the smaller flat-rate mailers. Good thing I haven't gotten around to posting this sale to any communities yet. I also neglected to factor Paypal fees into my prices, but I think I'll just eat that cost. First time selling stuff online, I'll get the hang of it eventually. :)
It's true! Google documents is part of the reason I stopped post here much. I've been using it since the beginning of 2008 for a wide variety of things, including private journaling. A lot of it's too boring or too personal to share, but getting into the habit of writing there kind of sucked up all the words I would have posted here in the past. Like this book review I wrote three weeks ago!
Clutter Busting: Letting Go of What's Holding You Back by Brooks Palmer
I've been enjoying Palmer's clutter busting blog for a while now. I like how gentle and relentless he is, and how simply but powerfully he relates stories from his clutter busting clients. I find it a soothing and inspirational read (often in the literal sense - it frequently motivates me to go do another round of clearing stuff out).
The book is definitely in the same vein. It's full of his experiences with clients which serve to illustrate the various types of clutter and methods of dealing with it. Sprinkled throughout are simple tips and related exercises. It is not, however, one of those "10 hacks to super-organize your kitchen" or "buy these nifty containers to store (aka hide) your stuff in" type of book. Palmer makes a point of stating that you don't need to buy anything new, except perhaps a box of trash bags. He also asserts that organizing is something you only do after you get rid of all the stuff in your way.
I would have found this book most helpful four years ago (three years before it was written), when I was living in my large two bedroom apartment. I had an entire room full of stuff I wasn't using. It was ostensibly "the art room", but I never went in there. It was packed with things I'd been holding on to for years, some of it a decade or longer. I was also still collecting stuff at a furious pace, filling my bookshelves and sections of my floor with books and manga magazines that I barely flipped through. I liked looking at the spines all lined up next to each other, and appreciating my complete set - that is, until the next issue came out. I was spending hours every day consuming fandom, losing myself in anime and mmorpgs to the detriment of my health, and looking for more stuff to buy that I couldn't afford. I was severely depressed and doing anything I could to distract myself from that fact. It never worked for long, though.
I ended up working these things out on my own, first purging stuff in a quest to rent out my second bedroom and then doing it in preparation for moving to the attic apartment. I kept the habit after I moved, I've been slowly and steadily decluttering my life for the past two and a half years. Back when I started I didn't have any outside advice on the process, I was just bumbling along on my own. I did get better at it as time went on, and I noticed the positive effects of both having more open space and the actual act of letting things go. It probably would have gone faster, and easier, if I'd had a book like this to help me along back then.
Because I worked my own way through a lot of these same concepts, Palmer's book doesn't have quite the impact on me now that it would have had then. The tone of the book is definitely addressing people who are just starting out with decluttering, especially those who are overwhelmed by their stuff and unsure where or how to start. Since I've been doing it for two and a half years now, this isn't really a problem for me. A lot of the concepts and tips are things I've already discovered and internalized.
It was still a good read, though. I've gotten rid of probably 3/4ths of the stuff I had in that big 2-bedroom apartment (a massive amount for a reformed pack-rat like me), but there are still some things I have trouble with. I found the stories and tips devoted to nostalgic clutter to be particularly useful. I've got a couple boxes of old letters, photos and unwearable clothes that I've been meaning to toss for a while, but keep unhappily hanging onto. Reading Palmer's book and blog helped me uncover and work through the reasons behind that, and to see how clinging to these artifacts of the past can negatively influence the present. The way he uses personal stories to illustrate his concepts makes for an enjoyable read, and they keep the book from being a too-specific list of tips & tricks.
I'd recommend this book if you:
If, like me, you're already pretty good at decluttering but still like reading about it, you may find more value in Palmer's blog.
Clutter Busting: Letting Go of What's Holding You Back by Brooks Palmer
I've been enjoying Palmer's clutter busting blog for a while now. I like how gentle and relentless he is, and how simply but powerfully he relates stories from his clutter busting clients. I find it a soothing and inspirational read (often in the literal sense - it frequently motivates me to go do another round of clearing stuff out).
The book is definitely in the same vein. It's full of his experiences with clients which serve to illustrate the various types of clutter and methods of dealing with it. Sprinkled throughout are simple tips and related exercises. It is not, however, one of those "10 hacks to super-organize your kitchen" or "buy these nifty containers to store (aka hide) your stuff in" type of book. Palmer makes a point of stating that you don't need to buy anything new, except perhaps a box of trash bags. He also asserts that organizing is something you only do after you get rid of all the stuff in your way.
I would have found this book most helpful four years ago (three years before it was written), when I was living in my large two bedroom apartment. I had an entire room full of stuff I wasn't using. It was ostensibly "the art room", but I never went in there. It was packed with things I'd been holding on to for years, some of it a decade or longer. I was also still collecting stuff at a furious pace, filling my bookshelves and sections of my floor with books and manga magazines that I barely flipped through. I liked looking at the spines all lined up next to each other, and appreciating my complete set - that is, until the next issue came out. I was spending hours every day consuming fandom, losing myself in anime and mmorpgs to the detriment of my health, and looking for more stuff to buy that I couldn't afford. I was severely depressed and doing anything I could to distract myself from that fact. It never worked for long, though.
I ended up working these things out on my own, first purging stuff in a quest to rent out my second bedroom and then doing it in preparation for moving to the attic apartment. I kept the habit after I moved, I've been slowly and steadily decluttering my life for the past two and a half years. Back when I started I didn't have any outside advice on the process, I was just bumbling along on my own. I did get better at it as time went on, and I noticed the positive effects of both having more open space and the actual act of letting things go. It probably would have gone faster, and easier, if I'd had a book like this to help me along back then.
Because I worked my own way through a lot of these same concepts, Palmer's book doesn't have quite the impact on me now that it would have had then. The tone of the book is definitely addressing people who are just starting out with decluttering, especially those who are overwhelmed by their stuff and unsure where or how to start. Since I've been doing it for two and a half years now, this isn't really a problem for me. A lot of the concepts and tips are things I've already discovered and internalized.
It was still a good read, though. I've gotten rid of probably 3/4ths of the stuff I had in that big 2-bedroom apartment (a massive amount for a reformed pack-rat like me), but there are still some things I have trouble with. I found the stories and tips devoted to nostalgic clutter to be particularly useful. I've got a couple boxes of old letters, photos and unwearable clothes that I've been meaning to toss for a while, but keep unhappily hanging onto. Reading Palmer's book and blog helped me uncover and work through the reasons behind that, and to see how clinging to these artifacts of the past can negatively influence the present. The way he uses personal stories to illustrate his concepts makes for an enjoyable read, and they keep the book from being a too-specific list of tips & tricks.
I'd recommend this book if you:
- want to reduce your stuff but haven't been able to get things started/make much progress
- feel very distracted, foggy, agitated or tense when you're at home
- can't seem to ever find what you're looking for
- keep buying things to "get organized" with
- keep buying anything you end up unhappy with or not using
- are thinking about getting a storage unit or have one already
- have parts of your home you actively avoid
- never have people over because your place is too messy
If, like me, you're already pretty good at decluttering but still like reading about it, you may find more value in Palmer's blog.
Would you buy back issues of Zero Sum/Zero Sum WARD for $5?
yes
1(14.3%)
no
0(0.0%)
depends on the issue
4(57.1%)
zero what now?
2(28.6%)
Books 
I've bought (and read more than half of) this year. Does not include books which: - I've read less than half of so far
- I already owned that I (re-)read this year
- I've read and since sold off or loaned out
- I forgot to include when taking the photos
- I read on a computer or borrowed from someone else
Click the second photo for titles and one-line reviews.
edit: Damn, now I wish I'd arranged them by color, like they are on my bookshelves. Ah well. No way am I going back and redoing it, this took over half my day. XD
So* I started doing yoga again! Since returning from Japan I've been going to classes at the local yoga center almost (but not quite) once a week.
This is a big change for me. I've done yoga before, but back then I was lucky enough to have someone come over to my house twice a week to teach me - for free, even! - which made it super easy to keep the habit. Now I have to trek down the hill in the cold and often wet (boohoo) and do my twisty contorty thing with a bunch of random strangers.
Which is hard enough for me to do on its own, but then there's the fact that I keep bawling my eyes out during class.
Like today. Despite the teacher's little speech at the beginning about how the theme for the day was "play" and having fun, there I was, having to break every third pose for yet another tissue to mop up my face with. (Next time I'll bring my own box, I think.)
And it's weird, because I'm not actually sad during yoga. I do get frustrated sometimes, seeing how stiff I've become since I was last doing this regularly. But it's more like... all the daily aggravations, all the stress and unpleasantness gets locked away in my muscles.** And doing yoga unlocks it, and it all comes pouring down my face. Which is good in a way, because it needs to get out.
But it is kind of embarrassing. I mean, I don't even cry in front of people I know and love, if I can help it. And here I am getting all weepy & snotty with strangers, strangers who are all doing the poses better than me and smiling while they do 'em. I feel like apologizing for the unsightly display. (Especially since I'm one of those highly sensitive people who unwittingly absorbs other people's moods - I know firsthand how uncomfortable it can be to see other people this way.)
Surprisingly, it's less embarrassing that I expected. I say expected because this happened before too, when I was first starting out with yoga. For the first handful of sessions I was wobbly and sore but in good humor, and then all of a sudden, wham! The floodgates opened. I was way more embarrassed back then, blubbering in the safety of my own apartment. Maybe I'm less embarrassed by it now because it's familiar, I dunno.
I still find it really annoying, though. For one thing, it makes it hard to breathe in all those head-down poses! For another, I end up with a wicked headache on top of all the sore muscles. It's not enough to make me stop doing yoga altogether, but man, sometimes it makes it a lot more difficult to want to go to class.
* I start way too many posts with So.
** Boy does it ever. Every massage therapist I go to is shocked at the state of my back and shoulders, even when it's only been a couple weeks between sessions.
This is a big change for me. I've done yoga before, but back then I was lucky enough to have someone come over to my house twice a week to teach me - for free, even! - which made it super easy to keep the habit. Now I have to trek down the hill in the cold and often wet (boohoo) and do my twisty contorty thing with a bunch of random strangers.
Which is hard enough for me to do on its own, but then there's the fact that I keep bawling my eyes out during class.
Like today. Despite the teacher's little speech at the beginning about how the theme for the day was "play" and having fun, there I was, having to break every third pose for yet another tissue to mop up my face with. (Next time I'll bring my own box, I think.)
And it's weird, because I'm not actually sad during yoga. I do get frustrated sometimes, seeing how stiff I've become since I was last doing this regularly. But it's more like... all the daily aggravations, all the stress and unpleasantness gets locked away in my muscles.** And doing yoga unlocks it, and it all comes pouring down my face. Which is good in a way, because it needs to get out.
But it is kind of embarrassing. I mean, I don't even cry in front of people I know and love, if I can help it. And here I am getting all weepy & snotty with strangers, strangers who are all doing the poses better than me and smiling while they do 'em. I feel like apologizing for the unsightly display. (Especially since I'm one of those highly sensitive people who unwittingly absorbs other people's moods - I know firsthand how uncomfortable it can be to see other people this way.)
Surprisingly, it's less embarrassing that I expected. I say expected because this happened before too, when I was first starting out with yoga. For the first handful of sessions I was wobbly and sore but in good humor, and then all of a sudden, wham! The floodgates opened. I was way more embarrassed back then, blubbering in the safety of my own apartment. Maybe I'm less embarrassed by it now because it's familiar, I dunno.
I still find it really annoying, though. For one thing, it makes it hard to breathe in all those head-down poses! For another, I end up with a wicked headache on top of all the sore muscles. It's not enough to make me stop doing yoga altogether, but man, sometimes it makes it a lot more difficult to want to go to class.
* I start way too many posts with So.
** Boy does it ever. Every massage therapist I go to is shocked at the state of my back and shoulders, even when it's only been a couple weeks between sessions.
Suddenly only 26 of my userpics are displaying? What the hell? The others are still listed, but the pictures are gone. Not just from the allpics page, but from each entry they were used on too. Anyone else have this problem?
edit: wait nevermind, they're back now. Weird.
edit: wait nevermind, they're back now. Weird.
Chris Piascik from Quarter Productions on Vimeo.
I'm digging this video for a number of reasons. One, it's got Bonobo playing in the background, who I love. Two, I used to draw this way all the time when I was a kid - make random swirly doodles and then add stuff till it looks like something. (Though not usually this awesome.) Three, the guy has a Sharpie tattooed on his forearm. Four, the video itself is really well produced.
And now it's time to go home! :D
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