Have you ever been asked the question, "Where do you see yourself in 5 years? How about 10 years?"

I really disdain that question.

Not because it often generates hackneyed answers from the individual who is being questioned, but because I personally find it difficult to answer. Where I see myself in the near future is not something entirely palpable. I do not have concrete plans to relocate, enroll in a graduate program, cure the common cold or climb Mount Everest. I live in the present, operating on a vague road map of where I am to go in the immediate future.

If you ask me right now where I see myself in 5 or 10 years, I would honestly tell you that I don't know.

Now, don't get me wrong; I have ambitions and goals.

- I want to travel to Italy, Great Britain, France, Switzerland and Australia.
- I want to see the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx.
- I want to see the Northern Lights.
- I want to acquire a master's degree.
- I want to participate in a triathlon.
- I want to live in Portland, Oregon once.
- I want to learn to speak basic Latin, Italian and German.

Get the idea?

The problem is, none of these things can be used as an answer to the aforementioned question.

Why?

Because, personally, where I want to be in 5 or 10 years can't be completely explained without me sounding like a self-help guru. It's more of a question of how I want to be: Self-confident, self-assured, self-reliant, self-realized, leading a simple life and at peace with every thing and every one surrounding me.

I imagine it would look something ( like this... )
Granted this obviously staged picture is a bit cheesy and I am not a champion knitter, it conveys the feeling I am going for well enough. :)

*tap, tap*

Hello, is this thing on?

Buon giorno a tutti! :)

Good gravy, but I've not updated this sad, lonely journal in a long time! I could apologize and tell you all who still read this that I've been ridiculously busy, which is true, but an unacceptable (and rather hackneyed excuse). Ergo, my best offering is that I have simply not been dedicated enough to write journal entries this summer/fall.

What provoked me to update, however, was a comment quasigeek left me on my MySpace after I commented on one of her pictures, saying she hadn't "read me" in quite a while...

Va bene, let's fix that with a sweet, layman's terms version of what's been up on my side of Northern California! :)

1. I have been taking a beginning Italian class at a local junior college to keep my mind sharp, and to get my mind off the internet-related ventures I work with daily. Italian is a surprisingly fun language to work with, and my professor is a firecracker of a wee woman from the Lake Garda area in Northern Italy. She has a sharp tongue, and an even sharper wit, which make for some entertaining classes! :) I look forward to taking the next class in the spring semester, and after that, would like to look into the possibility of a beginning German course. (Hey, if folks from the Netherlands can hold several languages in their heads, so will I!)

2. After resisting the hype of the hip parade for over a year, I've finally given in. I've started watching 'Heroes' religiously. Quite ffrankly, I have never enjoyed a live action TV show so much as I enjoy 'Heros' - it's uncanny. I'm literally on the edge of my seat during the dramatic moments... I'm one of "those" people.

And I love it. ;)

3. In February, I am planning on moving to downtown Sacramento. I mentioned quite a while back that there was a possibility that I would move in with my friend Brett. However, since that time has found a new house, but has not discussed with me if he is still interested in having a roomate. Lately he has shown I cannot count on him, and I have more or less dismissed him as an option. I will not wait around for him to make up his mind: I work hard enough to live in a little chic studio apartment in a cool urban area by myself. Granted, February may not be prime moving time, but I am willing to be patient and keep on hunting until I find a place I absolutely love. :)

4. I have decided that I want to go back to college and earn my master's degree in Business Administration - more specifically, a marketing concentration. I know, I know, marketing is an evil, evil business, but it is my best option for advancing in my field. I am currently a graphic/web designer, but I want to learn more about general marketing, search engine optimization, search engine marketing, web strategy, site architecture, etc. All words that sound remotely daunting, but aren't that arcane when they are broken down. I could learn all of these facets on my own through experience solely, but I feel a master's degree will give me that extra leg up when I need it most.

I have been looking into programs at Saccramento State University, UC Davis and the University of Phoenix. I've only been scratching the surface though, so once I delve deeper and submit my applications, I'll have a better understanding of where I will go. :)

5. I rather enjoy this web page!

And now for some random photos taken during the time I haven't been updating here! ;)


Miss Kelly as King Leonidas. :) (P.S. - If you've seen 300, click here for EL LAFFO.)

( MORE RIDICULOUS PHOTOS! OMG CAPSLOCK!1! )

I thought I would share my Peter Frampton and Doobie Brothers experience with you fine folks. ;) So, without further ado...


Me, Jonny and Yvonner pre-concert night!
( Just a prelude to forthcoming shenanigans! )

Part A: As of August 8th, 2007, I am officially a quarter of a century years old. Rejoice, my friends, for I am now old enough to rent a car without paying an extra fee for being under 25. :)

Part B: Building on the previous thought, many thanks to all of my friends who were wonderful enough to remember, and wish me a happy birthday! I'm a relatively simple gal, so it makes me smile every time I get a message, text, e-mail, phone call, or card wishing me a happy birthday - the small gesture means a lot, surprisingly enough. :) Additionally, an especially big thanks from the bottom of my heart goes to my family, my co-workers, Yvonne (vonner4), Amy, Jonny, and Brett for going out of their ways to make sure my birthday, and birthday weekend were amazing. You all remind me that I'm well-loved. Or, at the very least, halfway tolerable. ;)

Part C: Again, drawing from my previous thought, sometimes I wonder at my thought process when it comes to love. It's strange that I can love someone, but it's not the same way I first loved them. Really... I wonder if could ever stop loving them, or if the love will simply change forms again. So confusing! First loves are such a headache... Bah. BAH. And yes, I know this is maddeningly vague, but no, it's nothing major. Just a simple musing on how feelings and relationships evolve and change form.

Part D: Speaking of love, I really, really need to find a scruffy dark-haired lad to cuddle with, sing ridiculous songs for, and bring coffee to in the mornings. Any nice lad out there in the market for a silly girlfriend who'll brew them a nice cuppa in the morning and then proceed to sit on the foot of their bed strumming on the guitar and singing "Lovely Rita Meter Maid" by the Beatles? No? I thought so. Booo.

Part E: Miss Yvonnesava (clever_r)! How are you acclimating back to life as a citizen of The City again? You still alive over there? *stick poke, stick poke* ;)



And, that's all I got. Deeper posts and pictures to be posted in the future. :)

I realize that posting a diatribe going on about how people need to listen better is no way to make a LiveJournal comeback. Ergo, I believe it's high-time for a picture post, which has been a long time coming.

The brunette doofus is myself, and the Mysterious Blonde is my friend clever_r. :)

So without further ado...


( A random assortment of my pictures from Japan. )

In other news, the times they are a changin' in the life of Kelly. I'll write up a post with some real meat in it eventually, and of course, post my second set of photos from Japan. :)

It seems to me that this year there are going to be quite a few less children who will aspire to become astronauts when they grow up. Honestly, I am of the opinion each elementary school needs to hold an assembly on rabid astronaut safety.

Also, since when is Keith Urban important? Get over yourself my good fellow, "Where the Blacktop Ends" wasn't that catchy, and you will most definitely not be the last Keith Urban in the history of EVER to grace terra firma. ;)

Item A: Sketches


( Someday I will draw people with limbs again. For now, all I have are scarves and glasses. )

Item 2: My "fancy pants" printer is broken. I wanted to draw some Avatar fanart, but if I can't print out references to, well, refer to, then I am positive Sokka and Ang will somehow end up wearing scarves, glasses and smoking cigarettes. :C Booo, lousy Epson C84!

Item 3: I had an absolutely wonderful weekend filled with good friends, miniature golf, pizza, ridiculous amounts of ice cream, Caddyshack, Guitar Hero II, and avid discussion of the recorder part in the first minute or so of "Stairway to Heaven". Too bad it all leads up to a work week which will be the end of me.

And it all comes down to a very low high...

WOE UNTO ME!

;)

First, a sketch.


This is how I treat my bank statements.

Believe you me, fellas... There is going to be a ridiculous sketchdump this weekend.
A sketchdump consisting mostly of lads in scarves.

That is the best kind.



Second, it's wonderful to see you again, Miss Amanda (bleupencil). I missed you and your beeyooteeful art! *confetti*



Third, I think I am in love with Journey - I can't seem to get enough of them.

I wish Steve Perry was my friend.

My ultimate New Year's resolution is to not be so hard on myself.

That, and figure out just how to properly apply eyeliner without looking like an ancient Egyptian or Jack Sparrow.

I'm shooting for the stars, fellas!

I've been feeling restless lately.

Though it may be this feeling could be sedated easily enough if I just take a week long trip out of the city (preferably, out of state), it might not be enough anymore. I've been kicking around the idea of packing up my bags in another year or so and high-tailing it to San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, or Australia.

I know that sounds somewhat extreme (especially the Australia part), but I'm starting to feel like I'm missing out on the next great adventure in life by staying here, and quite frankly, I don't see a reason to stay, save my family and friends, of course.

I don't know, it's hard to explain. I just want to get away for a while, even if it just means backpacking around Europe for a half a year. I feel like I'm losing perspective on life and myself by staying where I am, focusing on the wrong things and forgetting how I used to be. It's hard to explain here, and it's harder still to relate to my friends (a good portion of which I feel I'm not connecting with anymore) exactly what I'm going through. I guess if I had to put a name to it, I'd call it a Quarter Life Crisis.

I went to college. I have a job in my field of study. I am the average American. Life is even-keeled.

But now what?



On a completely different note, I have decided that my all-time favorite song to blast on the radio whilst driving down the highway with the window rolled down is "Boys of Summer" by either Don Henley or The Ataris. That song will always be perfectly suited to kick off any road trip in my book. ;)

Oh! In case I somehow missed telling any of you lovely folks about this, last weekend I went to go see The Steve Miller Band at Konocti in Kelseyville. Yes, that Steve "Fly like an eagle" Miller. ;)

Here's the story on that (proper essay format thrown to the wind)...

Saturday morning, I packed, got ready, and then drove myself over to Brett's house to begin The Epic Journey to Konocti. We left from Natomas and arrived in Clear Lake no later than 2PM (which was pretty swell seeing as we stopped in the magnificent microscopic town of Zamora for lunch and briefly had heart attacks over the gas prices. Yikes!).

Now, you would think a town named Clear Lake would be a quaint little place just from its name alone, right? WRONG. Upon arrival, I could almost hear the banjos being played in the background amongst the abandonded bowling alleys and and barber shops. The place was seriously a scenario out of a Twilight Zone episode. Luckily, the hotel we were staying at was in a tiny spot that seemed somewhat civilized, so we stopped there for a bit and put our luggage away.

After the brief interlude, Brett and I hopped back in his truck and went exploring. And, by exploring, I mean getting lost on Old Highway 65 and keeping our doors locked, hoping the "mountain folk" wouldn't eat our faces off whenever we stopped at a red light. (Okay, I'm being a teensy bit melodramatic here, but you would have to see the place for yourself.) Driving along, we found and made note of where Konocti was located. (Incidentally, once there, Brett was nice enough to put all the scruffy bikers that showed up for the rally on "my team". LOVELY.) That was when Brett decided it was time for ice cream, and we found, of all things, gelatto in Kelseyville. Seriously, WHAT.

After the successful procurement of gelatto, we went back to the hotel to decompress for a while and get ready for the Steve Miller concert.

I had decided that since this was Steve effin' Miller I was about to go see, I'd wear a keen dress, because, MAN, Steve Miller you guys! So wear a keen dress I did, and I'm sure I took forever to get ready, but at least when all was said and done I was probably one of the cutest Steve Miller fans in Section B! ;) Of course Brett also looked very keen and dashing (I still think you should've kept the fauxhawk!), but if Steve Miller had to pick one of us to have a sandwich with, there would've been no contest.

Alrighty, so here's the jist of what the actual concert was like... Steve got off to a good, strong start with about 4 or 5 rocking songs. Everything was going peachy and the audience was on their feet having a blast...

That is, until Steve started busting out the old-school-jazz/blues-with-ridonculously-long-guitar-solo-in-the-middle tunes.

Now, don't get me wrong fellas, I'm a musician all the way through, and I like to believe I can appreciate all kinds of music. I'm thinking a couple of these kinds of songs sprinkled throughout the set here and there would've been just fine by me, BUT he played about 5-6 of these beasts back-to-back! There are only SO MANY jazz/blues fusion pieces with 15 minute guitar improv solos one can take before their ears start to bleed and their face begins to melt off! I can't really describe the feeling of "..." Brett and I were going through after the 1,345th fusion guitar solo, but it looked something like this...


Take note of the twitch in my eye.

And just when I was abotu to go wait in the car for fear of not surviving another crazy number, Steve mercifully busts into "Fly Like An Eagle"... Which turns into an extended 15 minute version of the song where EVERYONE gets a solo this time, and of all things, the KEYBOARDIST who looked a lot like Seal comes to the front of the stage to do a RAP to the song. You heard me, a RAP. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry... I think I may have done a little of both.

Fortunately, "Fly Like An Eagle" seemed to be the point at which old Steve-o got that ridiculousness out of his system, and from there on he played the rest of his big hits which made for a strong ending to the show.

After the show ended, we headed back to the hotel for the night and left for Sacramento the next morning (in one piece). :)

Basically, the set would've been absolutely perfect if he had excluded, or at the very least, cut the middle portion in half. However, I'm not going to be too harsh here and tear the jazz/blues fusion set down enitrely, because I'm extremely grateful that I got the chance to see Steve Miller at all. He's an excellent musician, and I don't regret going to see him in the middle of BFN in the very least.

On that ending note, kudos to Steve Miller for coming to California, and to B for being a good sport!

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next 3 sentences on your LJ along with these instructions.
5. Don’t you dare dig for that "cool" or "intellectual" book in your closet! I know you were thinking about it! Just pick up whatever is closest.
6. Tag five people.

She did not let her parents know, and above all never hinted to Peter how often she thought about Ender, how often she wrote him letters that she knew he would not answer. And when Mother and Father had announced to them that they were leaving the city to move to North Carolina, of all places, Valentine knew that they never expected to see Ender again. They were leaving the only place where he knew to find them.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card



In other news, I realize that I haven't updated this journal in eons. I'm sorry about that guys - kudos to those of you who have kept me on your friends list. :)

So, what's been going on?

First and foremost, I turned 24 on August 8th, which is rather exciting seeing as I have a year to go until it is time for my quarter life crisis. ;) I can't wait!

I recently got my bellybutton pierced. I originally wanted a labret piercing, but way too many of my friends and co-workers gave me "the look" when I told them what I wanted. I find "the look" exasperating, so I pierced myself where no one will ever see. (It's a surprisingly neat little piercing, too.)

Work has been going smashingly. My probation period will be over on August 22nd, and then I will officially be (relatively) safe from there on out! Wish me luck. :)

Last weekend I went to Lake Tahoe with my lovely friends Brett and Vonner vonner4. Good times were had, and many soy snacks were consumed!

I joined a different gym. As much as I liked 24 Hour Fitness, the fact that there was all sorts of shady characters there at any given time never made me feel comfortable. Ergo, I signed up with the Family Fitness Center which caters to a less shady clientele. Incidentally, it is also much closer to home. :) (Good luck on your new gym venture too, wogs!)

What happened to bleupencil?! ;_; Come back and play in OpenCanvas with me, Miss Amanda!

I've been thinking of comissioning musician portraits from a bunch of you lovely artists on my friends list to fill my soon-to-be new digs. I've already run the idea by e_apollo (I can't wait!), and I'm interested to see who else would have time to take on such a comission. lokabrenna, kuphoria, envertigo, wogs, used_bandaid basalt - are any of you talented folks accepting comissions?

Speaking of arts, I have just recently picked up the old sketchbook again and will hopefully start posting my own junk . I also have a digital camera to muck around with, so we'll see where that goes... ;)

The end!

I have decided that for my birthday, I am going to go see the Steve Miller Band (of "Fly Like An Eagle" fame) and buy myself a labret piercing not unlike the one that appears in the helpful visual below.



Now that I've recorded these facts here, there is no turning back!

My goal within the next several months is to procure one of these bad boys and load 'im up with Adobe Creative Suite and Macromedia Studio.

Now don't get me wrong, fellas - I love my PC, and I use PCs at work. However, I enjoyed using Macs in college and my first computers were Macs (long live the Apple IIe!). The time has come once again to have my own Apple machine. ;)

Plus, the thought of being able to use this thing to do design work at my kitchen table while drinking coffee makes me unreasonably happy. HAPPY, I say!

P.S. - I am totally comtemplating as to whether I want to buy Peter Frampton's Frampton Comes Alive! album from iTunes. Oh man oh man oh man...! Hell, why not?!

I thought I would make an entry about ridiculous malarky since I haven't updated in a while.
Here goes somethin'!

Item 01: I spent the weekend in Las Vegas with several good girl friends. Let me tell you my good fellows, I had an absolute blast despite the sheer tackiness of the The Strip and the copious amount cigarette smoke. We stayed in a hostel, drooled over our fine male Columbian roommate, consumed alcohol, dolled ourselves up and suited down in slick attire, saw the musical Rent (good gravy, oh so good!), bonded, laughed, flirted, went sightseeing, slept in bunk beds, ate good food, got blisters from trouncing about in sexy shoes, and of course we visited many a cheesy tourist attractions. All in all, it was a great trip and I'm grateful for the group of friends I was with for making it so damned enjoyable. I really needed pick me up time with friends after some of the downs that've been dealing with these past two months.


Item 02: I haven't found a full-time job as of yet, but I'm reamining optimistic. Entry-level design jobs in the Sacramento area are scarce at best, so I'm not crossing my fingers over finding a coveted position any time soon (I'm not pessemistic - just realistic!). If I really, really want to persue design someday, however, I imagine I will most likely have to pack my bags and head to San Francisco, Portland, or Seattle. I'm not quite ready to make that leap soon, but it's something for me to seriously consider someday. Again, this is only if I choose to stay in the art/design/media field. Who knows?

In the meantime, I've been applying for jobs in decent secretarial/administrative assistant positions here and there. While I think I'll never be without a job (I could always work retail or something similar), I would just prefer I have a job that acknowledges I a degree from college and should statistically get paid a smidge more than minimum wage. I'm aiming for something that pays at least $10 an hour full-time, so we'll just have to wait and see how that goes. I'm crossing my fingers that the position I applied for as a secretary for a local elementary school pulls through since I'm already adept at handling kids as well as their parents, and am familiar with the school system, but I'm not totally relying on it. Oh well, back to the drawing board! :C


Item 03: Since I've not had much to do save spending time with friends and job hunt, I've taken the time to pay more attention to myself. More specifically, I've been hitting the gym almost every day for several weeks now. What makes that news exciting is that I'm starting to see the results of the hard work I put in at the joint! I'm definitely not anywhere near being super model slender, but I've noticed I'm losing weight here and there, even if it's a tiny amount. Every little bit of weight counts though! The way I look at it is, 'Hey, it's a few less pounds than I was lugging around before!' Hopefully I can keep this new routine up - long live the elliptical machine!


Item 04: I finally have a new swimsuit! After not having bought myself a decent suit in literally years, I decided if I ever wated to swim again I'd need one pronto. The suit I bought is pictured here (the tankini @ the top). I'm working on looking that good in the suit... Eventually. I like eating pizza too much. ;)


Item 05: Ever since I discovered YouTube.com, I have found that you can truly watch anything and everything available on the INTARWEB. It is insane. I'm positive I haven't tapped into too many of the genuine nuggets that lay within YouTube, BUT I've found out that I can watch just about any animated series in its entirety for free. Glorious!

Here comes the nerdy part. Out of curiosity I searched for episodes of Samurai Champloo to watch. I heard from dozens of folks that it is a kickass series, especially if you are a big fan of Cowboy Bebop (which I was, back in the day). Lo and behold, nearly all of the episodes of Samurai Champloo are to be had on YouTube. Excellent.

Here's the kicker though, I haven't particularly paid any attention to an anime series since I was a freshman in high school (that is, until Cowboy Bebop came along on Adult Swim in the middle of college [and even that was a flash in the pan]). So, in a sporadic return to my former high school nerdism, I looked up Fushigi Yuugi (which I had only watched half of when I was in high school) and finished watching the elusive last half thanks to YouTube. It was incredibly sappy and goofy (and gave me cavities), but hey, I finally finished it! Then in another sporadic move, I decided to watch the entirety of Ayashi No Ceres since it was also by Watase Yuu. Know what? I absolutely loved it. Seriously, talk about a guilty pleasure - I haven't seriously touched anime with a ten-foot pole for over 8 years and now THIS?! Sheesh, what's happening to me?

On that note, do any of you guys have series you recommend watching? I have Samurai Champloo down on my list as well as Last Exile, but I'm always up for watching more good titles.


Item 06: I've been drawing again. O NOES. Here is a bloke who myseriously appeared in my sketchbook.


LAFFO.


Item 07: I absolutely love this photo.


It reminds me of something e_apollo would photograph/paint.