Dark Haired Girl

So, I recently got a new computer. It's more powerful than my old G4 Mac.. 24" monitor.. it makes making digital art much easier.

Blink.. Rest In Peace

Today was a sad day... I had to let my cat Blink go. She wasn't eating, wasn't drinking... her kidneys were just too far gone.. she was the best cat ever. My best friend.. she was 14 years old. I love you Blink.. ;_;

Hard Times

Blink's not getting any better.. she's actually getting worse. She won't drink. She spits out the food I try to feed her. I've been giving her Subcutaneous fluids to keep her hydrated enough to make it to the vet.. crap...

Last Week Sucked..

So, last week, my cat almost died. (This was posted elsewhere on Oct. 16th 2009)

Here's the story. Blink's been getting these lumps on her skin for a while, couple months ago I guess. Some she was licking to the point of bleeding and stuff. I took her to the vet to figure it out, he checked for cancer, and she was clear, but it was something called Sterile Pyogranuloma Syndrome, which is treatable with steroid shots. But last week, she stopped eating, and was drinking and peeing A LOT and getting super thin.

Then last weekend, i noticed she was having a hard time drinking, like she would stick her face in her bowl, but wasn't drinking, then she was having a hard time even walking around, she was all wobbly, and if she tried to jump off stuff, like the couch, she would fall over.

Of course, the vet's closed on sundays, so I took her monday morning. Well, the vet checked her out, and told me that she was severely dehydrated to the point where i might have to put her to sleep.. of course, I was freaked out.. but told the vet I couldn't do that without a fight and to do what he can. I mean, i've had her since '95. She's like my kid..

So I skipped work and was sweatin' it all day, but by the end of the day, she was getting better, and the doc said she's gonna pull through! He said he did some tests and found out that because of the steroid medicine, she is now a diabetic! Good news and bad news at once.. good because she's alive, bad because now she's got diabetes and needs shots twice a day.

So that's about it.. she's been at the vet since Monday morning. Five days and four nights later, she's home! If i'd waited any longer, she probably would've been a goner... my bank account is pretty damaged right now, but it's worth every penny.

Huge Thanks to Dr. Martin of Parkview Pet Clinic in Glendale.. the best vet ever.

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So that's the story of Blink. Things are going ok, it's been a few days, but she's still not eating on her own. I have to force food into her mouth and make her swallow. She's keeping it down though, and drinking. She doesn't seem to mind her insulin shots, but she worries me. Today she was hiding from me when I got home. I think because of the force feeding.. dunno..

HGUC Marasai

Ok, i'm a Gundam nerd. I build model kits and Gundam models are part of my model stash. So, i've been working on this Marasai mobile suit kit. It's HGUC, 1/144 scale. So far i've only snapped it to test fit and see what kind of modifications or improvements to make.

That was weeks ago.. lately i've been actually doing some work on it. Motivation is hard to come by, but honestly, I think the reason i'm motivated is because I want to clear my workbench to work on my 1/16 Jagdpanther..

In this pic, you can see the work i've done on the kit if you're familiar with Gundam kits. Mostly just sanding seams (hguc kits have a lot) and adding small details like under armor fills and such.. more progress to come.

Drivers don't just hate cyclists, they hate each other..

So yesterday, i'm riding my bike home from work. Four way stop sign, a truck is stopping and a car behind it moves over to the right of the truck. (nearly cutting me off in the process). The car had their right turn signal on so it looked like they were going to turn right, but floored it and went straight anyway, cutting off the truck and causing it to brake to avoid hitting the car.

Then the truck floored it and stuck on the car's ass and when the car stopped at the next block (lots of four way stops on this section) the truck just kept going around it without stopping. Where are cops when this kind of stuff happens?

So I see them down the road, at the next four way stop. (third one) The truck is stopped with the car stopped behind.. nobody's coming, the truck doesn't move. Still nobody coming, still the truck doesn't move. Eventually they tire of their "game", the truck turns and the car goes straight.

What's really funny about it, is that they were in such a hurry, wasting so much gas, breaking traffic laws, etc. and I, on a bike, pretty much caught up with them.

What a world..

Trader Joes makes me feel young.

So, there I was at Trader Joes tonight, buying a couple bottles of 2 buck chuck and some frozen enchiladas. The lady there asked for my ID, which is normal I guess, but then when she looked at my actual age, she said she thought I was young, like 21 or something.. then another lady came over and tried to guess my age. She said 25. I'm 36 for the record...

Nearly A Goner

Bike ride to work was pretty good. Light traffic for some reason..

Afternoon, not too bad. Traffic was heavier, but seemed 'normal'.. for L.A. anyway.. overall pretty good..

..that is, until I nearly won a prize..... of the door variety

I generally try to stay out of the door zone, but somehow I wandered a little close to the parked cars and wouldn't you know it, someone flings their door wide open causing me to hit the brakes (luckily I ride with my hands over my brakes in heavy traffic), slightly swerve in the small space I had after I took a quick glance to my left to make sure I wasn't gonna get squashed by a car/bus/truck, and curse very loudly throughout the ordeal. I think my squeaking front brake, along with the cursing, might've helped them notice me enough to pull their door slightly closed (not all the way of course), but enough for me to squeeze by and catch my breath behind a stopped bus.

I feel pretty lucky. I think if I were a couple inches more to the right, I would've been a goner, or if they had opened their door a second later.

Man.. I'm gonna go have a beer now..

Anime Expo 2009

Whew.. what a weekend. First of all, it was 4th of July, so that made it a three day weekend, which is always nice. I don't feel like typing much, so I'll keep this short and sweet.. I just feel like I really should update this blog more often... So the title suggests, Anime Expo. I went on Friday and Saturday. Both days were full days.. woke up, showered, jumped on the subway, and wandered around the convention center all day long... I shot a few pics, mostly with my Leica.. but a few digital too. My friend Clement was hosting some Gundam model seminars, so I sat in on those too, even though I know all the stuff he talks about already :D



I watched a couple animes in the screening rooms.. mostly, just people watched though. It was fun, but I don't think this year was as fun as the last couple years. I'm not really sure why that is, maybe it's the anime they were showing didn't interest me as much, or maybe it's that everything felt smaller somehow.. dunno.. Anyways, after the show, we had dinner Friday night in Little Tokyo. It was pretty tasty, but the three beers I had made it even better. Thanks to Dave for giving me a lift home.. heh..



So day two (for me, technically day 3 of the show) was pretty much more of the same as day one. Wandered, took pics, I only took my Leica and one 50mm lens with me this time though, so that made things a little more interesting. It's funny how much attention that camera gets. I had quite a few people come up to me and mention it, or ask about it... that never happens with my other cameras. Speaking of cameras, I'm a little pissed. I lost my lens hood for my Tamron 17-50 f/2.8. It must've just got knocked off while pushing through crowds. I also lost the little cap that goes into the flash port on my M6... bummer...

see, look at all those people staring at my camera..



so, that's my Anime Expo 2009 experience. I didn't buy much stuff, just a $100 gundam tank kit *sniffle*.. but food added up $$$. It was fun, but can't wait for next year... when i'll feel even older around those youngsters.. @_@

Forgot to mention, I won a trophy for my Cammy model kit I built. Sweet..

LA Metro.. You Suck....

I ride the bus to work on days I don't ride my bike. Today, I am riding along, reading my book and notice the bus get into the turn lane a few miles from where it's supposed to. I go ask the driver about it, she tells me "This is the Short Line".. what the heck? I've never heard of that... so I get off and skate the rest of the way to work, couple miles, luckily mostly downhill, but still..

Now that i'm at work, I looked it up, apparently there was a change in the service. It'd have been nice if Metro put up some notices or something.. bastards.. .. ..

*rant over*