ok, so i just met christopher poalini... yeah, you heard me. i just met the author of EREGON, ELDEST, and now BRISINGER!!!

it isn't really that cool a story. i went to a book signing here in austin. all in all, it was a pretty normal encounter. but the amazing thing is how i reacted to everything... well, let me start at the beginning.

when he came out all the fans lined up and gave him kind of an honor guard welcome. there were even some guys there in armor doing weapons demonstrations that gave him an armed escort. anyway, as he passed me, he gave me a really good high five. he was giving others high fives, but i got a really good one.

anyway, during the Q&A i finally got the courage to raise my hand. at first i didn't think that he picked me, but i pointed to myself and he nodded. I almost couldn't speak. but i found my voice and asked if he had any advice for aspiring writers. he gave the most fantastic answer!

he said,"read everything you can, write everyday, and never, never, never, never(about 20 'never's all together), give up or let anyone tell you no."

it was that last part that got to me. i am not ashamed to admit but i cried a little bit. i can't say how many times i've been told that i can't do something or that i should pick something more marketable... but hearing him say that, in response to MY question, made me feel like i can do anything. it's been awhile since i've felt this way.

now, though i'm more an artist than a writer, my purpose has always been to tell the stories that have been given to me. i feel it is my responsibility to tell the stories of people that don;t have a physical voice. now i know that no matter what, i can tell those stories, either through writing or other art forms. it's a wonderful, and kinda scary, feeling...

anyway, i went through the line an got my copy of BRISINGER signed. he and i chatted a bit but the line had to keep moving. let me tell you, that boy is HOT! not in a BRAD PITT way, but a much more real way... i got to shake his hand, which means he touched both my hands.XD

...i'm such a fan girl...

yeah, so i had to put the painting on hold, but i promise i am working on stuff. i just got a real drafting table this week and i finally got it put together last night. it's fantastic!

so i'm working on a new technique: inking with calligraphy ink and a brush. i've just been inking little sketches to get a feel for it. none of them have been fabulous enough to post though... but i'm getting there.

i've been working a lot. i never thought that sitting in front of a computer doing art work all day would be so exhausting. you see, i work form 8am to 5pm everyday except weekends. normally that would be pretty good but my weekends have been pretty hectic lately and i haven't really been able to rest... yeah, kinda needed to rant.

oh! one more thing... so some of you may know that i've been writing a novel. the thing is, my editor seems to have no time on her hands at the moment so if anyone wants the job, just ask. i'd like to find someone before i get too far into it.

back to work...

so, i've been home for over a month and haven't really had time to do anything art related, except for my job, but that doesn't count. i had started to randomly paint something last night but kinda gave up. anyway, today i got the greatest idea for a really cool painting. i wanted to do something really happy and colorful, and chris rice's song lemonade cam to mind. i have a few sketches already and i'm really excited about it...

just so you know...

so i'm finally home n texas... and i feel great! everything worked out perfectly! well not everything. before i got back i realized that i really didn't want to live with my family... to many hormones flying around ot the moment... not that i don't love them... anyway...

but just a week after i got home i got a job as an artist at a screen printing place!!! that's right! i'm a real, professional artist now! now, i don't get to do the things i really want, but its good experience and i like it a lot! and it's pretty much consuming my life... in a good way.

as far as personal projects are concerned, i've got lots of plans but not a lot to show for it. as i've said before, i'm trying to get started on the zutara 100 for my AU(as much as i want to, i will not rant about the end of avatar at this point in time...) and i've been working on the prose version of Dragon Heir. i'm still torn wether i want in to be a graphic novel or a regular one... also a good friend of mine, some of you may know Jezunya's work, and i are going to be collaberating on a humongus project, so monumental that i can't talk about it yet. we have lots of research to do. but guys, it' gonna be freekin' amazing! that is if i can get of my lazy rear and get something done...

so my computer at home isn't working so i may not be able to get anything up, but i promise i'll be working hard!!!

have a supercalifragilisticexpialadosious day!!!

so, the end of the semester has finally come, and i'm super excited. not only am i going to get to go home, but i've made an important decision.

you see, for most of my life i've just sailed through, with no goals or ambition. i'm only going to college because that's what i'm 'suppose to do'. anyway, i've grown a lot this semester and have decided that i want to go to a real art school. why not just stop being lazy and do really well where i am? the thing is i can be lazy here, in everything, not just academics. tuition is cheap so i don't really have to worry about that, i dont' really have to worry about people tempting me to lower my standards, i'm not motivated to do super well in my classes... i do better and learn more when i'm challenged. it's hard here, but not really a challenge, if you know what i mean.

so, what i'm trying to say is that i'm going to apply to the academy of art university in san fransisco for the spring of 2010. i really want to go and to do well. anyway, regarding DA and my activity here, this means that i'm gonna star treating my account like a portfolio. i'm gonna scrap most of my stuff and make my gallery more cohesive. though it might be awhile before i can get around to it with moving and my computer not working well...

i have goals and ambition now, so everything is amazing! yeah, anyway... i'm just eager to get started!