Kassi's Korner

Sharon Maas

2007-07-01T00:07:00.001-05:00

"I wrote my first stories at the age of eight. I was a silent, observant child who much preferred writing to speaking, exploring my inner world rather than collecting facts. My introverted temperament led me directly to writing. In real life I felt awkward, insecure; in fiction I was strong, confident, courageous." - Sharon Maas

Sharon Maas
http://www.sharonmaas.co.uk/

Different blog

2006-07-05T09:58:00.000-05:00

I can't maintain this blog anymore. I have three blogs, including this one, and it's way too hard to update all the blogs I have given my schedule.

A link to the blog that I update most often (every other daily): My Livejournal.

If you ever want to know what's going on with me, check that.

Changes

2005-12-05T15:02:00.000-06:00

Greg got a job offer about two weeks ago to work for a well known company in Conway, AR (2 1/2 hours from where we live currently). As our combined income will more than double once he starts the job in June, we're more than excited about this news. It all feels surreal and overwhelming, but in a good way to actually have a more concrete idea of what kind of future we will be having together. My fantasies of my future have always been vague and silly, but this really locks me into reality and looking forward to this is new and surprisingly a little uncomfortable even (I say uncomfortable because there was some sort of childlike safety associated with having a more flexible future when I imagined it). But the bottom line is that he and I are extremely excited and blessed with this opportunity.

And it then follows that on Wednesday, Greg and I are going to my dad's to have dinner. Nothing out of the ordinary there, but I did tell my stepmom in passing that Greg will need to talk to dad on that day and she immediately got all excited and squeely. Everyone in my family knows that Greg's about to ask dad's permission except him. It's all very exciting and surreal. I think that Greg's pretty nervous about the asking part. He's not sure what to expect. It's obvious my dad adores Greg and really supports the decisions he has made, but it's left up to the imagination on how he's going to take it and if he's going to be cool about it or what. At 25, I'll be the first of the kids to get married, so I'm not sure exactly how this is going to work/develop from here.

When talking about dates for the wedding, we are still unsure about exactly when to do it. I had originally said September, 2006 (as there is no need to rush such a stressful thing as a wedding), but I think that Greg and possibly my parents might want to do it during the summer months instead.

Anyway, this is what has been on my mind lately. And it's really awesome!

Long break

2005-10-25T12:09:00.000-05:00

Haven't updated in a while, so I'm going to try to cover as many things as possible here. First, this picture is one of many arguments that my cat is the cutest. Now, Greg had ran a fever of 101 all weekend, but he was better yesterday. It was my first time ever taking care of someone who was that sick. When I first saw 101.7 as his temperature, I started worrying about high temperatures and when you take people to the doctor or not.

Little things (experiences) like that show me that I'm really growing up. (As a side note, I've never taken to developmental changes well. Even small things, like finding out that Santa wasn't real, I would preceive as SO enormous and how could I EVER get through.)

Anwyay, I haven't been updating this as much as I should and truth is I procrastinated it and then got involved in some drama on the forums of a site I frequent (http://www.oneupstudios.com) as I had made a modorator decision that all the admis agreed on but the community hadn't. I got pretty self consious around that time and didn't want to do too much online for a while.

As for today, I'm looking forward to making this for me and Greg this afternoon before we go to the regional marching band contest. We're not in in, but I was in the band in High School and they'll be playing there.

I'll leave you with a quote that touched me recently:

"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." ~ Martin Luther King Jr.

N64 Games

2005-09-12T23:43:00.000-05:00

I've found myself bored during the afternoons and I'm actually really hung up on the N64 lately as I dug up Mario64 and played through it over the past couple of days. I'm looking for good N64 recommendations. I am really bad at video games, though, so unless it has really good music or effects, I'm not looking for games that I'm going to be breaking controllers over - just good time wasters. Any suggestions?

Aww...

2005-09-10T02:21:00.000-05:00

Kiffem got a new bed today that fits in the window.

Yep...

2005-09-05T19:14:00.000-05:00

Greg and I gathered 6 bags of clothing, toys and other things (including 2 scrabble games)as well as $60.00 worth of supplies on the "needed list" and donated to Salvation Army yesterday. The items we donated are going less than an hour away to a Fort in Arkansas housing more than 7,000 survivors of Katrina. There are also refugees in our own town.

As a very sensitive and impassioned person who is usually ignorant to current events and apathetic to politics, I find myself feeling very disillusioned and moved with the past week's events.

A word we cannot say

2005-08-28T14:18:00.000-05:00

There's a word in our house that we cannot say. The word is "keyboard". We can't say it because I'm having some financial problems and I've wanted this keyboard for over a year now. Unfortunately, it took an unexpected bill to get me making the kind of money I'd need to in order to afford this particular keyboard. But instead of putting all that hard-earned money to this awesome instrument, I have to pay this thing off. Running your own business really can work for you or against you, depending on your attitude. At least I'm shaping up and getting onto myself to work at least 6 days a week.

I really hope I have that keyboard before December.

Exhausted

2005-08-23T21:44:00.000-05:00

The trip was very exhausting and I actually mean that literally. I had a very bad case of heat exhaustion on the way down to Dallas after spending 5 hours in a car with no AC. I hadn't realized that heat exhaustion was that bad. Anyway, I haven't had the time to browse through friends blogs to leave comments or even gather my thoughts to write a review of the weekend. So many things happened and I want to sit down sometime and make sure I get it all out when I'm able to focus better. But for now, here is a picture of us at the Xpo. From left to right it's Mustin, William, Me and Greg.

Unfortunately the day that was taken I was wearing a mini skirt, but since I was sitting down, provacative clothes can't be perceived.

Picture here

Greg's Band

2005-08-17T18:18:00.000-05:00

Greg's Band, The OneUps, a House Jazz band that plays videogame music, has a gig at the VgXpo convention in Dallas. All information about their gig there and future gigs is located at OneUpstudios (OneUpStudios.com). For the Dallas show, Mustin (Producer) has made two custom made shirts for me in order to be the booth babe. I'll be there, dressed in provocative clothing, selling T-shirts and CDs for the company. In addition to the local (Fayetteville) gigs, The OneUps will also be showing up in PA in November.

Anyone in the Dallas area should try to make it, if you're interested.

As for me, I'm looking forward to the trip in the same way that one might look forward to getting into a train wreck. What I mean to say is that I expect to be worn out and over-socialized by next Monday.

Last Day

2005-08-10T17:58:00.000-05:00

Greg will be back from Kansas tomorrow afternoon. I was only just now getting comfortable with being by myself, but I'm definitely looking forward to getting back to normal again. There are so many things I need to do... I hope that I'll be feeling less stressed with the demands of living by next month.

My brother, Will and his Girlfriend

2005-08-08T16:46:00.000-05:00

So, my brother is 19 and in college, and very bright. I'm talking scholarships, premed, and all those other words that you say to impress people, only he really is impressive. I hung out with he and his girlfriend for a while last night, and I'm having one of those days where I keep thinking I should say something to him about his girlfriend, but I have no clue haw I could phrase it so that he'd be open to hearing it.

She is in highschool, and (I say this with no intention to insult her) she looks like she's 12, but she's 16. The legal consenting age aside, my dad made it clear to Will that he didn't approve and didn't want her spending the night while he was out of town. Of course, last night, they announced that was their plans an they were leaving. But it's not just that. She's getting problems on her end, too. She had to leave for 30 minutes so she could go to her friend's house to call her dad from that number so he'd think she was spending the night with her and not Will. In addition to that, she borrowed Will's car to do this, and called him with the hysterical idea to tell him that she drove it into a ditch. I get it - it's a joke - and maybe I'm reading into it, but the whole situation had me on guard.

I really think he's being very wreckless in this situation. For example, letting a girl he's not supposed to be seeing drive his car. Also, I really think that he's misjuding her parent's intelligence. I know that this stuff can come to light with minimal investigation on her parent's part, and I'm worried that he could get himself into really big trouble over something that seems to me as being more of a status, " heh, i'm dating a highschool chick" thing rather than anything that is worth it.

I know that last statement sort of came out judgemental, but I know my brother and how he acts in situations that he's taking seriously, and he just seems to be humored by her rather than actually interested in her. I do know people can make connections over age gaps, but I really feel like the situation is taking some moralistic risks that I'd wish he'd rethink.

Five-legged Sheep

2005-08-06T16:31:00.000-05:00

Taha Khayal from Girisu de Cris village in Bihor county said he was very surprised to find the strange animal while he was shearing his new herd of sheep. The farmer bought the sheep from people in the area with the intention to sell them abroad. He told Adevarul newspaper he believes the five-legged sheep is a "divine miracle" and he wants to save the animal from export and feed him in special conditions. He intends to contact Guinness officials to get his sheep included in the Book of Records.

The story's location, with picture, but no extra info.

Greg out of Town

2005-08-06T14:38:00.000-05:00

Greg just left to start the drive to Kansas to visit his parents until Thursday. Sometimes I go with him when he visits, but this time I stayed here. I couldn't afford to take the time off from working and I think that he and his parents need some time together. As he was packing up, our cat jumped in his bag. I totally identified with her.

I don't consider myself unhealthily attatched or anything, but Greg and I have developed a routine together and when he goes, I can sometimes feel very uncomfortable without him around. It's interesting that Greg is my first roommate. When I moved out for college, I lived in an apartment by myself for at least 4 years, perfectly happy to be alone. It's interesting that now that I know Greg, it's really hard to imagine what I did before.

I have a friend who has three other room mates. Once all of them happened to go out of town at the same time and he was extremely happy about it.

Ah well, for today, I'm working until 8 and then catchi a movie with some friends later tonight.

Banner

2005-08-03T18:46:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Greg for making me a cute banner so that friends can link to me. : )

Karaoke Revolution

2005-08-03T16:12:00.000-05:00

The BBQ went well, the band was awesome, and there were about 70 people who ended up coming. More than half of the attendees were in town from Cali to the East Coast, and places in between. I did get a chance to chat with a lot of the fans who came in, but I found myself socialzing more with the locals. I've found that being in a "convention" setting has started to lose its appeal (just for the record the BBQ was hardly a convention - a lot of gamers, just no cosplay and I was one of like 5 girls there).

During the night, someone brought out the game Karaoke Revolution and I was surprised at how fun it looked. It comes with a microphone that you plug into the usb port on the PS2 (I think it's also out for Xbox). The microphone picks up the pitch of whoever is singing, creating a point system on how well you sing Karaoke. The game looked so much fun that Greg and I ended up buying a used copy of one of the mixes the next day. Greg really cracked me up when he performed - nearly flawlessly "I will survive" - setting the new high score. Greg really never was interested in Karaoke, but being such an avid gamer, you put a point system to anything, and he'll be interested.

At the BBQ itself, I had an embarrassing experience as I just ran off "stage" when my turn came up. I was overwhelmed with anxiety of "performing" in front of a crowd, even though I knew that I wouldn't do bad - something about the drunk people wailing out the lines I was supposed to be singing coupled with people yelling at me to stand up just set me off. It's odd - I wonder how many people thought much of that and how many people don't even remember.

For the Record...

2005-08-03T16:06:00.000-05:00

I don't mind if anyone wants to link to this journal. I tend to update blogs sporatically, so I don't know how often this will get updated. Greg is going to make me a banner so linking will look like everyone else's.

As for linkfilter itself, I don't really understand very well what's going on to cause such an uproar, but I do get that the Admin(s)? seem to be very stubborn in their ways, and for whatever reasons, refuse to make the changes needed in order to support part of the community's members. In addition, I find going through the new comments tedious and can't seem to do it without getting upset. Still, I haven't gotten to level 25 yet and I'm still maintaining the drive to get there. I'm not taking a vacation, but I'm experimenting with a wider array of links, and trying to stay as much in the background as possible besides link posting until this rut is overcome.

Also, as beaglebot predicted, I'm starting to get put out with some of the members there.

One Up Studios BBQ

2005-07-28T14:46:00.000-05:00

There are several ways to go about posting this, none of them short. The basics is this: my best friend for the past decade, Mustin, owns a music production company. I met my boyfriend, Greg, through this as he plays violin for several projects for my friend, including the OneUps , a band that plays video game music. Anyway, this weekend is the third annual BBQ for his company and I'm really excited. People from all over the US are coming out to hear the band live, and I'm really looking forward to meeting a lot of new faces.

One thing, though. I've become a sort of icon for OneUp Studios, and with that comes a role that isn't as comfortable to play now vs. 4 years ago (when you're young, roles seem to come and go pretty quickly as you're coming to terms with who you are). Anyway, I'm going over to Mustin's tonight as a lot of people are already in town. It will be interesting to say the least.

Did I mention how painfully introverted I am?

Chelsea's dinner

2005-07-26T02:40:00.000-05:00

I have a friend whos dad is a multimillionaire. When she was visiting from college last winter, she took a handful of her friends out to an expensive dinner at a very high-class Itallian restaurant. As we examined our menus, I noticed how all of us politely pretended like we could decipher easily the paragraph-long entres. I was trying to figure out if this so-called Itallian restaurant even had spaghetti while my brother stifled a giggle about one of the menu items that seemed to be composed primarily of midevil curse words.

That's when Amanda said, "Oh my god, can anyone tell me what the hell this is? I'm supposed to be figuring out what I'm having for dinner and I feel like I'm studying for a test!"

I always have admired that person. The one who seems to speak for everyone else; the one who is uninhibited to voice what I'm even too anxious to want to think. I wish I could be that person more. I mean, it's got to be comforting to be able to not care about what other people think of you so much.

dvorak

2005-07-21T03:38:00.000-05:00

I got this thing on my computer that makes it easier to switch between dvorak and qwerty. Every time I restart my computer, it resets my keyboard to the old qwerty layout. Now, I typed 95 words per minute in qwerty, and I PROMISE you, even at that speed, it is VERY possible to forget it if you switch layouts after a while. And since I have forgotten qwerty, I cannot type a thing in that layout! It's particularly funny because the reset gets me EVERY time. I always forget that I need to change it back to dvorak, and it takes me all of 30 seconds of typing to realize this conclusion.

Anger Management

2005-07-14T15:33:00.000-05:00

Update my computer, buy a new computer, do this, do that. My electric "experience" can be enhanced through this or that...

I'm just wondering. Without a sh*tty computer, what will I do with my anger? Will I have to join an anger management class?

2005-07-12T20:44:00.000-05:00

... Just wanted to see how the interface was here.