Peer Pressure and Elongated Syllables

So there seems to be a trend where everyone is encouraging to get back into art. My aunt brought it up at my older sister's wedding back in June. "Why aren't you using your aaaaaaart?" she asked. That isn't an exaggeration. That's how everyone sounds when they say it. As if I'm falling into some Hitchcockian vortex with James Stewart and Tippi Hedren heads saying "aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaart."

Then a few weeks later my dad says, "Why don't you become a teacher? Or why don't you go back to school for aaaaaaaaaaart?"

My mother will follow that week up with, "I remember when you used to be so focused on your aaaaaaaaaaaaart. You used to draw so much and you were such a cute little aaaaaaaaaaaartist."

And now my fiance has jumped on the aaaaaaaaaaaart train. He has taken me to the Macaroni Grill one or two times for both a fancy meal and to watch my skills with a crayon.

So you know what I say? Screw it. I've avoided it long enough. Peer pressure, you've won out. This is now a blog filled with drawings.



Happy, everyone?

Plus, Kevin bought me an awesome Bamboo Pen and Touch that I need to make use of. Damn you, cool things!

August 10th, 2010

NOTE: The following story features censored language and some silly violence.

On Tuesday, August 10th, my boyfriend Kevin thought it would be a good idea to go to an art museum/nature preserve in our city. Of course, the big art nerd that I am, I think this is a great idea and any day with Kevin is a good day. So we drive out there, and I'm enjoying myself. I'm looking at the sculptures and the greenery and the peacock that's sleeping and kind of has a diva attitude.

"Hey," says Kevin, "let's go over here." So I follow him down this path and we come to this beautiful spot that looks like a tropical paradise in Texas. We have a gorgeous view of the river and the spot were in was probably used before as an outdoor stage for musicians.

"It's so pretty! Let's get married here!" I joke. He laughed and hugged me, and I returned the embrace.

"I love you, Kasey," he said. "You're the song of my heart. I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Kevin is quite the romantic as well as the wordsmith, so I basically get poetry everyday which is wonderful. So I'm hugging him while he's saying this, thinking that this is yet another sweet moment during our date. And then I feel him pull away, and I blissfully think, "What's he doing?"

And then he bends down...

And pulls out a little red box...

He may have asked me to marry him, but I think I might have screamed some profanities that drowned it out. Something along the lines of, "What the ****?! Are you ******* kidding me?!" And then I may have pushed Kevin down to the ground. (Whoops...)

Then I collapsed on top of him, cried/laughed and kissed him. Then proceeded to snatch the ring from the little red box and put it on my finger.

Then Kevin asked, "Is that a yes?"

And that concludes my marriage proposal story. <3

May In Review

So, I didn't get to post anything during May because I was extremely busy. So here's the rundown of what you missed in the life of me:

I was my boyfriend for half the day for my Characterization class. That was the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life. Although, in terms of look, I pretty much got that down.

My play for my Directing II class performed and it went swimmingly. Wonderful cast, wonderful classmates, wonderful times...

Spanish final. Esta blech!

My boyfriend graduated. Yay!

I graduated. Yay!

I had a small get together following said graduation. Yay!

I got a pretty new Sony laptop. YAY! (It's so pretty...)

Lots of reading. Finished Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell which is a fantastic book and I highly recommend it, and went on to read The Witches, Changeless (Parasol Protectorate #2), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Tuck Everlasting, Astonishing X-Men's Torn and Unstoppable, Leviathan, American Gods, and the fantastic Good Omens.

And since graduation, I've been working, applying for full-time jobs, making my resume pretty and looking for new apartments that me and my little dog can go to. And that, in a nutshell, has been keeping me busy. So hopefully I shall keep on top of the blogging now that yo no hace estudiar por mi clase de español. Ole! Esta clase iba muy dificil...

By the way, if you want to read some more of my stuff, you can go to the Anomaly Podcast blog for which I'm a staff writer, or visit Associated Content and read an article here or there. Also, if you are a big reader like I'm slowly becoming, friend me on Good Reads and let me know 1) what you're reading and 2) what you think I should read. And with that, I shall end shameless plugging and bid thee adieu.

PS--Finally watched Hamlet with David Tennant and Sir Patrick Stewart. Awesome!

Book Review: Changeless

I bought Changeless a couple of weeks after it was released in stores, and it took me a few more weeks to actually pick it up and read it. (Darn you, university!)

Alexia Tarabotti is now Lady Maccoon, wife of the gorgeous Lord Conall Maccoon. Sure, he's Scottish and he's got that whole werewolf debacle, but he couldn't possibly be faulted for that. When ghosts become exorcised and werewolves and vampires lose their supernatural tendencies, Lord Maccoon is off without any warning to his new wife. Of course, Alexia follows her husband's trail and brings along her friends, her half-sister, and her brand new parasol along for a brand new adventure.

How's that for an original summary? ;)

In terms of plot, I think Changeless is better than Soulless. I definitely enjoyed the ride that Soulless gave me, but I think that Changeless was a little more focused than its predecessor in terms of plot and character development. Actually, I predicted some of the events that occurred between the main characters in this book... I just didn't expect them to happen so soon. I think that's definitely a good thing though. I can only compare it to the TV series Glee, bringing the big events closer to the beginning rather than using it as a last ditch plot device in that would be considered cliche three seasons in. On a side note, I did not expect to compare a steampunk urban fantasy with a high school musical TV series. But it works for me.

The characters were in top form again, and there are also a few new characters that the readers get to enjoy. My old favorite Ivy Hisselpenny was definitely the scene stealer of the book, with Alexia's sister Felicity trailing a close second behind her. However, I know I'm probably speaking on my behalf alone but I don't think that there was enough of Professor Lyall in Changeless. I can't explain why, but when I read Soulless and Changeless, I just felt myself being drawn to Lyall's character. Hopefully there will be more Lyall in Blameless, but we shall see. It's a shame, but the only character I don't have any true feelings for is Lord Maccoon. I know I should, but it's like me and Brad Pitt. I recognize that they're both sexy and charming and it's a social convention to drool upon their appearance, but they don't really do anything for me. Truth be told, I like my men skinny and nerdy, so if Maccoon looked like that I'd be swooning. Thus the reason why I like Lyall and Tunstall.

If you recall my review of Soulless, my only qualm was that there was way too much sex and romance for my inner tomboy to handle. I'm a romantic, but I never go out in search of a love story. However, in Changeless the romance is there but it is muted and a little more easy for me to handle. That being said, I'm becoming more accustomed to the more romantic aspects of female sci-fi/fantasy lit. Apparently, Gail Carriger's writing is enough to turn me to the romance Dark Side. (As a side note, I'm now imagining GC as Darth Vader sipping on a cup of tea. I'm going to carry that image with me for the rest of the night.)

This may be a bit of a spoiler, but I'm not ruining anything having to do with the action within the plot itself. I just simply want to say that those who read this should know that it ends in a cliffhanger. But I don't think it was a bad cliffhanger at all. For me, a bad cliffhanger for a book would be trying to pull off the first half of a Doctor Who two-parter in literary form. I feel that the ending was written well. And there is a sneak peek for the next book Blameless which made me giggly.

So for all who are wishing for a good, fun read with well-written and comical characters, check out the Parasol Protectorate. I can definitely call myself a fan now after reading this book.

Before and After

Old hair.



New hair.



The End. :)

The Last 48 Hours

Just in case anyone is interested, I have a new Livejournal account at KC: Geek Chic, the Livejournal Derivation. It's mainly for those who do not like Blogspot and would like to follow me somehow. However, if you have a Blogspot account, I highly encourage you subscribe to my journal at http://kcgeekchic.blogspot.com. It'll be the same blog for the most part since they're linked, but I know a lot of kids who wouldn't touch Blogspot with a stick. Honestly, I dig Blogspot--Livejournal is starting to become a tad annoying with the ads that keep popping up on my main page. But, c'est la vie.

Speaking of phrases and sentences with "c'est" in it, I've decided to add a little something-something at the end of a post every now and then that I'm calling "C'est Geek Chic." Basically it'll be a picture of a piece of clothing or accessory that I'd love to possess that is stylish and/or geeky in nature. Let's face it, I'm a geek, but I'm also a girl and I love to window shop for new clothes. Don't worry, my more masculine readers, it'll mostly be T-shirts, but don't be surprised if I throw in some jewelry or bags or shoes or something. Maybe there'll be a little comment below the picture, maybe there won't. It'll just depend on my mood. But we'll get into that later.

Anyway, as per the title of this post, I want to let everyone know what has happened within the last forty-eight hours, more or less. It began yesterday at around 10am, when I was at work. I got this vibe that it was going to be a weird day. And it kind of was... something seemed kind of off with everyone. It seemed like everyone was still kind of waking up, including myself. I was really tempted to buy some coffee, but I've been trying to avoid it so that I won't have to rely on caffeine. And throughout my shift, my metabolism was kicking my back. It was like a cat shredding it's claws through my stomach, telling me it was time to feed. I ate an extremely fatty cookie to make it stop, but no dice.

Well, I get out of work at 2pm and I think to myself, "You know, since I'm really hungry and I'm trying to be somewhat healthy today, a Subway sandwich sounds really good right now." So I drive to Subway and order a $5 foot-long so that I can have half for lunch that afternoon and the other half for lunch the next day. Perfect, awesome plan. Then I get to my car and I go to start it...

Nothing happens. No vroom, no lights going blinky, no nothing. I knew deep down that it was the battery, but I'm a stubborn person and I was bound to find something else with the vehicle. Then after the help of the very sweet employees at Subway and Fred Loya Insurance, I find out after a few jumps and ending up stuck in the middle of the parking lot's road that my car battery is completely fried. Many curse words streamed through my head.

I realize that I don't have my cellphone because I left it at home to charge the dying battery... strange coincidence, huh? Again, I ask the wonderful employees of Fred Loya Insurance for help, and they let me use their phone. I called the only person who's phone number I knew off the top of my head, which is my dad. I tell him what happened and he says, "Well, s***." Which, oddly enough, was the first sentence I said when I found out my car wouldn't start. My dad told me he'd be on his way, and I managed to get my car into neutral gear, and a nice random gentleman and I moved it into a parking space.

Now, just in case some of you don't know, when I get extremely frustrated and stressed, my physiological response to cry. I'm not proud of it, but it is what it is. As my father arrives, I'm sniffling and drained and still crying. And my poor dad tried pretty hard to cheer me up as he went over the car just to make sure it was the battery that was the problem.

DAD: Don't be upset, it's not that bad. So you got some Subway, huh? Why don't you eat and I'll take care of this.
ME: *sniffle sniffle* I'm not hungry... *sniffle sniffle*

I'm a lot like my dad, but in cases like this where unforeseen circumstances take place, I become a little bit neurotic. It's funny to look back on now, because I can just picture me losing it and my laid-back father hiding his confusion about how to make the situation better. Then he just gave up on making me feel better and told me to clean my car... which actually snapped me out of it.

So long story short, we got a new car battery and my car came back to life. And I stopped crying, my frustration went away, and I became hungry enough for my entire $5 foot-long in one sitting. But I was still drained and just muddled around until I fell asleep.

And then there was this morning, where I left my apartment on time to get to school, but was deterred by a slow-moving train, multiple stoplights, and people who don't know how to drive in the rain. I realized that my school things were not organized like they usually were, which was just a tad displeasing. And then there was my hair. My beautiful hair which I fixed and styled and primped for a career fair that I attended today, which was ruined because the humidity was so strong that my hair puffed out and made it look like the mane on the Cowardly Lion. And you know the humidity's bad when my straight hair gets one little ringlet. Just the one, mind you. God forbid I get more ringlets so that my hair can have some consistency despite the climate. Yeah, I put on a plastic headband and managed to get five resumes out, but still! My poor hair...

And we top off the evening with my being late to rehearsal... again, because of a train. However, the rehearsal went well and I got quite a bit done, so I was pleased with how that came out.

There you have it. That was yesterday and today in a nutshell. And now I shall bid you all goodnight as I have yet another day of work tomorrow and even more studying to do.

But first, the debut of...

C'est Geek Chic

Property of Think Geek.

Did you honestly think that the first item would be anything else? Silly people. :P

Book Review: Soulless by Gail Carriger

Just thought I'd pop in and write a little book review about Soulless, which I read during my spring break. I mentioned it in my previous blog and I wanted to go ahead and dedicate some writing space to it. Soulless is a debut novel written by Gail Carriger, and is the first in a series of urban fantasy books called The Parasol Protectorate. The synopsis of the book according to the back cover blurb is as follows:

Alexia Tarabotti is laboring under a great many social tribulations. First, she has no soul. Second, she's a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she is being rudely attacked by a vampire to whom she has not been properly introduced! Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire, and the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate. With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London's high society? Will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? Who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?--Soulless

Sounds intriguing, non?

Soulless is definitely one of those books that makes me feel more like a girl. And you know what? That's a good thing. Sometimes it's difficult for me to acknowledge my girly side when I'm in geek mode and vice versa. To me, this book [series] is the female counterpart to The Dresden Files. I actually like it a little more than The Dresden Files, but that's something different. You've got your alternate history, steampunk, werewolves, vampires, romance, comedy, action, and of course tea, pastries, and parasols. What more could a girl ask for?

I think the major draw for me was the character of Alexia Tarabotti, who is faced with spinsterhood and is constantly criticized for her Italian heritage and her outspoken ways. She's got such a personality and a life to her that I can't help but like her from the moment the book begins. Character is just as important as plot to me, and maybe even a little more so in certain situations. Especially if it's a woman at the center of everything! That was one of my many, many, many, many, many problems with Twilight--the males outshone the females. But Alexia, the sweet and naive Ivy Hisselpenny and even Alexia's mother had clear-cut characters and they didn't fade into the background, whether or not they were likable. Of course, two of my favorite characters were the extremely flamboyant Lord Akeldema and Prof. Lyall. But Alexia's definitely in the top three, and the rankings change often.

My only issue was the book was that the steamy and sexy parts seemed a little... out of place. Don't get me wrong, they were well-written and I enjoyed reading them. It's just that they kind of got in my way every now and then. But I think the issue is my lack of expertise in the pure romance genre, and this book is a romance as much as it is a steampunk novel, a comedy of manners, and supernatural/paranormal adventure. I do like romantic stories, but I have a lot of tomboy in me still and I can't have a lot of romance in one sitting. It will just take some getting used to. I'm not sure if I will ever be able to fully immerse myself into the pure romance genre of literature, but with practice and time, I could read more books like this. If you need an analogy, imagine that romance is a shot of vodka... for me, it's often better when it's mixed with something else to make an enjoyable experience.

And before I finish, I must take quick moment to praise the author[ess] Gail Carriger. Her gift for writing is very obvious, and she has a lot of verve and potential to become even better. As I was reading, I certainly got a a Jane Austen vibe from her style, but it's also very unique. Even though the subject is kind of dark every now and then, she approaches it with a femininity and whimsy that I haven't seen for a while. (Of course, I've been reading a lot of books written by dudes, but again that's something else.) I'm definitely interested in reading anything else she does outside of the Parasol Protectorate.

So, all in all, it was a good and fun book. It kept me interested with the plot and the characters were intriguing. From the excerpt I've read from the next book, I'm really looking forward to Changeless. The street date is March 30, 2010 and I anxiously await its release.

For more info on Gail Carriger and The Parasol Protectorate, you can visit this websites:
Author's Website: http://www.gailcarriger.com/
Author's Blog: http://gailcarriger.livejournal.com/
Book's Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=63457918296
Publisher's Website: http://www.orbitbooks.net/

How I'm Putting My Theatre and Sci-Fi Geekdom to Good Use

So, this is a short post about one of my school projects which I'm really excited about. I'm in an Advanced Directing course where I get to choose a play--preferably a one act--that I will present as my final at the end of the semester. Now, the play I chose is called "Sex Lives of Superheroes" by Stephen Gregg. Don't worry, it's not rated anything above PG-13. It's about a guy who is down on his luck and is being taken advantage of by his ex-girlfriend, and to escape the woes of the real world, he imagines himself giving a lecture about the sexual themes and symbols of varying comic book universes, which is followed by a Q&A with members of the audience. I love, love, love this play, and I can't wait to present it.

My class has been working on the preliminary work before rehearsal, like finding images in the play and methodical analysis. But I've already had a reading with my core actors and I just need to cast two or three ensemble members, and then that's it. We can begin rehearsing in the studio theatre as soon as that work is done. Well... I also need get through the next week as a crew member for one of our main stage shows, and then I'll be good to go.

I'll update you with a little more on this at a later time. (Tee hee, I'm so excited!)

Resolution

On December 31st, 2009, I did something that I never ever, ever do. I made a New Year's resolution. Well, it's not so much resolution so much as it is a to-do list for the year. Apart from the usual stereotypical resolutions--namely lose "x" amount of weight--I have also resolved to write more. Therefore, I have resolved to blog more. It's an activity that I really miss doing and I really want to try and keep up with it.

But I also want to do something a little different with it. I noticed going through my past posts that it seemed like I was a little detached, and I very much want to bring more of myself and maybe some of my personal life into my writing. I will most likely mention school, as it has been a big part of my life for the last five years and I am about to complete my final semester of college. I will also most likely friends and family, but only in a positive light because this is in my Facebook feed and they can read it... and if I say anything bad about them, I will cease to exist. *smiles nervously and waves* But what will definitely not change is the talk of pop culture and all things geekery. That's just who I am.

So during the school semester, I am setting a minimum of two blogs a month, just to set a goal for myself and to get back into the habit. Once school is over, I hope to write more, but we shall see what life has in store. Thank you all for your patience with my... seven month absence? Dang, that's a long time. Anyway, I hope you guys will enjoy what is to come, and feel free to leave as many comments as you like. Positive feedback means positive conditioning, which means more blogging. :)

--KC

P.S. You may notice that the older posts seem to have disappeared. They have simply moved to another location that I'm simply calling the Geek Chic Archives--http://kcgeekchicarchives.blogspot.com. That's it. The end.