Jesse went skydiving; I hate you Jesse.
Dude, I really miss you.

NO, THANK YOU! Tattoo Advice

"NO, THANK YOU!"
Jon Mess's featured scream in Mozart Season's "Loom Mom, I'm On TV (feat, Jon Mess)

Always say no to getting a tattoo at random. If you've been contemplating on whether or not to get that tattoo design you found a couple days ago on Google, don't plan on getting it inked into your skin within the next year. Print it out and stick it somewhere you know you'll be looking every day. Like the inside of your fridge, on the side of your XBox, right next to your alarm clock, or even on the inside of that cabinet door that you face every morning to get the sugar for your coffee. Or if you're keeping up with technology these days, make it your iPod touch wallpaper. The main idea of this is to get you to realize how much you really like the design you've been thinking about getting tattooed to your left index finger. (so to speak, you're pretty much marrying it. And yes, just like getting divorced in the real world, it is costly.) If you can look at this tattoo for more than three or so years and love it just as much as you had when you first found it, then it's a tattoo you're probably not going to have any regrets about getting injected into permanently. I say probably because some people prefer to make a decision so big in more than three years or so. But then again, look at the couples who got married months after they first met... and then the couple who got married nearly seven years after their first special night. There's a certain way to determine this, and yes, this will HELP.

Answer some of the following questions about a tattoo you've been thinking about getting lately. It's going to help you delve into more on whether or not you should be getting it inked to you or not.

1. How long have you been looking at this design?

If your answer is more than 2 years, you've most likely already found the perfect tattoo for yourself.

2. Does this design represent a certain time period in your childhood or a strong chapter in your life?

If you answered yes, you've already made a solid reason to get this tattoo. Make sure that it's a moment you're willing to always remember and never regret. Like the first nickname your father gave you as a baby, and not the name of the pet rock you had when you were in second grade. Unless the rock was just that magical.

3. Do you already have a spot planned out for where you want your tattoo?

Although planning out the actual tattoo is more important, where you want it to be placed is actually pretty vital. Always think about this.

4. If it's a tattoo from a...

video game: make sure you've been playing the videogame for a good amount of years, and actually love this character, weapon, pet, symbol, etc. And get it somewhere reasonable, not everyone wants to see your favorite character from pokemon silver is Muk or Pidgy, or that pesky Midna from The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

ie. For example, I got Amaterasu, the wolf sun goddess from the Playstation 2 RPG video game Okami tattooed to me a couple weeks ago for multiple reasons. One being I love wolves for their beauty and graceful strength. The wolf has been my favorite animal since I was in the second grade. Second, Okami was the last video game I ever purchased and played in my childhood home, right before I moved to somewhere less comforting. Third, being a photographer, I am fond of the arts whereas this video is uniquely created with a water color style.

quote from a song/poem: ask yourself how much this quote actually relates to you, and don't get it just because it sounds cool. Like "I Am The Arsonist" sounds really awesome. Almost like saying you're batman, but instead, you'd get frowned upon in many societies. And you won't really be getting yourself out of any framed crimes, god forbid's that's to ever happen.

ie. Like for example, I'm getting "Just Breathe, 'cause there's beauty in the breakdown." tattooed across my chest with "Just Breathe" in a bigger sized font than the rest of the words that will sit under it. The lyrics are by Frou Frou (Imogen Heap's side project) that I have been listening to since I was fourteen years of age. I am now eighteen, so this is four years I've been thinking about this tattoo. And if you're wondering, yes, I have been a dreamer of getting tattooed when I was that young. Anyway, Imogen is also my personal favorite musical artist I have ever come across in all my eighteen years of living.
The reason I chose to get this is because I've literally always had this quote pop up in the back of my head whenever I felt tense, or even whenI felt the world was coming to an end. There are actually two ways I find this quote to be completely epic for me. 1. I love breakdowns in screamo/metal songs whereas I will find myself moshing in the crowds during my time off from shooting concerts, and find it to be a beautiful way of releiving stress. It is also important to breathe while you are moshing, because if you don't, you will pass out on the floor is just get moshed all over and probably never walk again. 2. Stress is never anybody's friend. Ever since I was a little girl, breaking down and crying alone to music has helped me get over so many things. Breaking down all those feelings into words as I write down everything that's on my mind as I am crying has gotten me through so much in my life. I don't even know where to start if I were to quickly try and explain it, but I could definitely write a book on how much it has helped me.

Whether your tattoo is from a video game, song, or whatever else you may have grown fond of... if you feel that you have a connection like one of the examples I gave above to the design you have been looking at, you may as well be at the tattoo parlor. The only reason I haven't gotten that Imogen quote on my chest yet is because of my lack of cash. Yes, tattoos can be COSTLY.

Oh, and if any of you have questions on what spots hurt most, ask me. I'm willing to help out and give my advice. =)

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Now playing: Mozart Season - Look Mom I'm On TV (feat. Jon Mess)
via FoxyTunes

I'm Baaaaack!

3.34.09 I don't believe I've ever felt so sick for so long whereas I had to take two days off from classes like this. Complaining doesn't seem to fit in right at the moment though since I am the last one to have caught this virus that's already ran through the rest of my family. Except now my boyfriend and both of his parents now have it.

Well, in other news to lighten up the day's mood, I got another tattoo a couple Fridays ago. (which makes me realize how much time I haven't been spending on blogger.) Not the best feeling being as I truly love to blog. Anyway! The tattoo is of Amaterasu, the wolf sun goddess from the video game, Okami. Told you guys I would get it! :)

As for my other now naked forearm, Wolf Link from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess will be there. I will have a photo up as soon as I get that one done, I promise! <3>

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3.25.09 (continuation here b/c I forgot to post the entry yesterday, so I decided to just make it continue into today's entry.)

And another reason for being so joyful about this move, the house I am in as of now is completely suck-ish. No back yard, no fences, not enough rooms, small basement, no garage, wrecked shed, paper thin walls, slanted flooring, slanted shelves, windows that don't lock right, okay plumbing, shit plumbing, crackhead neighbors with pesky, rude children, awful lighting, shitty insulation, small closets... You all have no idea how excited I am to strip this house of my belongings and move into a new home.

And moving into a new, big and beautiful home. New inspiration I tell ya! Whole top for my loving boyfriend and I. First floor to my mother, brother and sister. Whole huge livable basement to my father. Studio apartment in backyard to my uncle. Huge backyard to run around in and build in. Room to put up the trampoline. Beautiful above ground pool. Large deck. Skylights in second floor. Huge master bedroom. Huge closets. Beautiful bathroom. Room to build a pond. My new home... like my old. For all these years I feared I would never feel at home again is right ahead in the next chapter of my life. These 3 stone cold feeling years will crumble and fade. The many breakdowns I cried through, wishing I could have my childhood home back. But to think if I never moved, would I have met my loving boyfriend? The tough decision... one I could never do anything about.

Now moving into a big house with my boyfriend. It's a problem solved... and a warming feeling to my heart. I hate to sound corny, but I really am spilling my heart out right now. My mom said to me, my boyfriend, his parents, and my brother that "we'll live on rice and beans if we have to." Now besides the fact that I love white rice, and beans are tolerable to me, this just meant so much for me to hear coming from my mother. She sounds so determined to purchase this house.

This is such a turning point in my life... I will be happy again. I will feel inspired. I will .... I should not get ahead of myself. Never should. I just want to see the best things happen, I cannot wait until then. I am sorry if I have any spelling errors or keep using the word "I" too much, but I really am as happy as I sound.

Hmm... I'm also getting over another cold. Which has been sucking. I doubt you can even call it a cold. More like a monstrous life threatening virus. Damn ultra Rhino Virus #4570! haha. Okay, like I really know which strand of the Ultra Raging Rhino Virus it is. :) But as usual, it flew through my whole family and hit me last. Now my boyfriend and his parents have it. :(

Oysh! Coona! Now double in size. I know I brought her up earlier. But seriously, she was 6 lbs 3 weeks ago... now she's nearly 11 lbs! My chubby puppy. :)

I'm sure this is getting boring now. I'm just spilling random things that have been going on since I last logged in. I apologize. Thanks for reading! <3

The Magic of a Singing Fox on Fire

So apparently there's this thing called Foxy Tunes that you can install for Mozilla Firefox whereas it will allow you to show people on various sites what you are listening to. It works with Windows Media Player, Winamp, Last.fm, iTunes, Xbox Media Center, Yahoo! Media Player... pretty much over 25 different audio players. It even puts an icon in the top right corner of your tools where you edit your posts so when you click it, it instantly inserts the song you have playing on your media player. As you can see below, I am listening to "Welcome Home" by Coheed & Cambria, who are amazing in concert by the way. I saw them live while off duty from concert shooting, and it was all well worth not making the guest list due to it overflowing months prior to the show.

Although I am absolutely pissed about all the stuff I had to go through for my Human Communications class today, Foxy Tunes has definitely lifted my spirits tonight. I advise this to be a must-be-downloaded-at-once download! :)

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Now playing: Coheed & Cambria - Welcome Home
via FoxyTunes

It's The Simple Things...

It's always nice to hear an automated message left on your home phone telling you that all your classes are canceled due to the increase of bad weather. Truth is, my school hasn't had a snow day in over 23 years. So to celebrate, I brought Coona outside to experience her first snow fall. Even though we only ended up being outside for barely ten minutes because she began to fuss and cry, I managed to get some cute shots of Coona's confused little face.

Angel's always been a snow puppy, even since her first time. I think it's probably the only opportunity I have to take some pretty crazy shots of her. She's just so hyper and skilled in the snow that with almost every shot I take of her, I manage to capture her in some sick running stance or crazy leap. And seeing as it's over 10" of snow outside now, I believe I'll have more than enough days to take Coona and Angel outside for more snow leaping.

After bringing Coona in, I lightly blow dried her back to warmth as Angel groomed herself clean. Gave both of them treats for being good pups. Angel is now sleeping on the futon on my boyfriend's shirt. And Coona is out like a light on the floor, toy under her head. Both all warm and cozy, already exhausted for their quick ten minutes outside in the snow. :)

Inks & Holes.

I've never really been able to decide how I want my body to look as far as piercings and tattoos go by the time I'm 30 and probably not looking to do anything else to my body. I don't think anyone really has such a clear mindset on how they want their bodies to be altered.

I know for fact that the tattoo I have now won't be the last one I get, but where all my next ones may be placed on my body is something I contemplate daily. Like the EchoRukia tattoo I have on the front of my left shoulder was something I thought up in literally just minutes at a tattoo party. For the fact I didn't think about it more than five minutes makes me create different ideas for my next ones every day. It's not that I regret the tattoo itself or even the placement of it, but to see how easily I let myself make a huge decision a little too spontaneously.

I originally planned to either get "SEASONS CHANGE ME, BUT THEY WON'T CHANGE MY CORE" on the top of my back or the wolf Amaterasu from Okami and the wolf version of Link from The Legend of Zelda on either my back or one wolf on each of the back of my legs (or arms to start sleeves). I have several mental visions for the video game wolves one, but I have yet to have someone properly draw one up for me.

The only piercings I have gotten so far are on my ears. I haven't decided whether or not I want more, or if I just want to keep upping the gauge size on my ear lobes. So far I have them both at a 0G. I'd love to make them bigger, but hearing all the stories about going any bigger would include me getting my ears surgically repaired. I can tell you right now I don't believe I'm prepared for that.

I have made some plans with a good friend of mine who's learning to pierce at a tattoo and piercing parlor to let him give me a nice pair of snakebites. I'm not so sure if I'll look good with them, but hey, it's helping him practice, and I'm getting it for free. So taking them out in case they don't exactly look the best on me won't be a problem. I may even stray away from the snakebites idea last minute, and just get the left side of my lip pierced. Go figure me.

Getting another tattoo is also how I plan to spend the night I'm supposed to be going to the Senior Prom. Hey, I'd rather take all the money that was supposed to be spent on the outfits, the limo, and the Prom tickets on my boyfriend and I and just go get some tattoos at a nice parlor.

I know, I know, please don't start leaving rants in the comments on this blog to tell me how stupid I am for already planning on not attending the huge prom "we've all been waiting for." A lot of you know the reasons I've decided not to go. Getting tattooed sounds much more fitting for a wonderful night. :)

Adopting From A No-Kill Shelter

This is Coona Rosie, my 10 week old Shepherd x Collie mix (or Shollie as I consider her). I adopted her a day over a week ago on Friday, February 28, 2009 from North Shore Animal League, a no-kill shelter in Port Washington, New York.

Let me just start off by saying that NSAL is a pretty hardcore adoption shelter, saving dogs from kill shelters all over the country. So here's how hardcore; adopting a dog from there is like adopting a child, you have to fill out a nice amount of paperwork, wait for an employee to call your references (members of the household, etc.), and wait for the Vet Technician to have the time to speak with you about any necessary medical treatment your dog may requie. As for Coona, she needed two different medications: one for a parasite, and another for an upper respiratory infection (a puppy cold).

Seven years ago my parents adopted the family dog, Angel Taylor. Her exact mix isn't clear since she was only labled as a hound on her adoption papers. Just by the color of her coat, I am more than definite she has some Shepherd in her. Maybe someone else can give me their valued opinion?

Angel also has her sad background story as to how she ended up in NSAL. Having had two families before being under my care: one family that abused her, and another that taught her a couple of cute tricks, but lost the patience to let her stay when they realized they couldn't completely housebreak her. Supposedly Angel's first family abused her with rolled up newspapers and a shovel. I can only say supposedly because it was brought up by NSAL employees that she was returned twice, once for abuse and another time for not being housebroken. And the day after we brought her home, I went to bring in a rolled up newspaper to my house, and waved it above my head like I was going to throw it for her to run after, but instead she peed herself where she sat, the fur between her shoulder blades and just on her hind rose, she began to cry and whimper and shout, and shoot herself up the stairs. Sitting at the top of the stairs, her eyes remained locked on the newspaper, crying and snarling. Once I dropped the paper, her fur went down and she ran back down the stairs to topple me over and lick every inch of my face, now letting out a happy whimper. I know a whimper can just be a whimper, but there is a distinct difference between an upset and cheerful one. Sad to say, I'm guessing this was their way of "training" her not to pee on the floor in the house.



Angel was 6 months at the time, and she came home with the ability to give her paw to you when you asked for it and to sit. So seeing as her first family used abuse as their way of dealing with her inability to be housebroken in a short amount of time, you can tell her second family at least put some time in to teach her a couple of things. Yes, Angel had an awful problem of leaving her waste and urinating in the doorway between my living room and dining room for about 2 months until my mother and I had her completely trained from the habit.

She is now 7 years old and knows how to give her paw, sit down, speak, lie down, stay, stop, jump up, and even understand that it is rude to stare at someone who is are eating. In other words, when she begs by just staring at you while you're eating, she will instantly fold her ears back and look away if you let your eyes meet hers. And then when you went back to eating, she would wait about another five minutes to stare again. So as you can tell, Angel is now a very well trained dog, and a smart one at that.

I am not going to lie, my parents also considered to bring Angel back to NSAL seeing as she still wasn't out of her bad bathroom habit a month and a half later. This was their debate until I began to refuse to board the bus for my school, too scared she wouldn't be home when I got back. My mother still tells me to this day that she couldn't be happier that I wouldn't let her or my father return her to the shelter.

Coona's sad story is thankfully not as bad. She was rescued from a kill shelter by NSAL. I really can't imagine how any shelter could actually be okay with killing an animal they are supposed to be nursing to health if need be and giving a good home. A lot of them even have the audacity to push guilt on you, telling you that the puppy you are looking had will be dead tomorrow if you don't adopt him or her. I have yet to visit a kill shelter being as I do a background check on all the shelters I am about to visit. Not that I wouldn't love to save an animal from being put to sleep, but that knowing as I am there, every animal has an invisible time limit above their head, giving me the urge to try and adopt every puppy I can. I just don't have that kind of money, and unless you live in a huge mansion where you have multiple butlers to tend to your animals, no one can take care of so many animals properly.

I know I should have a photo up of Angel too, so here is one I took of her lying down next to Coona to show size comparison. I guess you can also say it's a photograph whereas I like to confuse people, telling family members who know Angel has been spayed since we adopted her that she is Coona's mother.

And oh yeah! If any of you reading this could possibly give me your input on what breeds you think Angel is a mix of, I would really appreciate it. You can now see why I'm convinced one of her parents was a Shepherd. I've contemplated her being Beagle or Spaniel mix as well, but I've ruled out the possibility of her being a Beagle as I've been comparing shots of Shepherd x Beagle mixes to her. I'm now even thinking she may as well be a Shollie like Coona, only with the short hair of a Shepherd. Any guesses will be fine; I'd like to hear some opinions!