Lacking a subject line.

There's something nice about having a blog, maybe because they're more open and less worrisome in terms of what we can and can't say freely. A blog really just is one of those open corners of the Internet, where we can do and say whatever we want. I'm going to make much better use of this and roseclear.net from now on. At any rate, I'll definitely write here when, as I have today, I forget to bring my notebook to campus to write in longhand. This is a nice, close second option.

I've been doing a lot of recreational reading because it's one of those things I never had as much time to do until recently. The Beekeeper's Apprentice is what I've recently completed and I loved it so much that I firmly believe I'll read it again. It's the kind of book that all mystery novels should ambition and aspire to be, something easy to follow but completely complex and complicated in itself. I can't think of a person unfamiliar with Sherlock Holmes, and the idea of Mary Russell being able to run alongside him with so little as breaking an intellectual sweat just adds a depth to the story. I love the idea of someone being able to filter another, created character into the classic Holmes world and actually do it well, to the point of which the joining is seamless and we're left to wonder just how Holmes survived without Russell, and vice versa.

Now I'm reading a book simply titled Steampunk which is a collection of stories from the mentioned genre. Candice opened the door to the steampunk world for me last year just prior to Dragon Con, but I had no idea just what I was walking into until I became completely infatuated. There's something entrancing about a world that runs parallel to ours in many ways, from classifaction to opportunity, but holds a different basis and background that's completely conceivable. I'm looking forward to the chance for immersing myself in that kind of fantasy, in something not quite science fiction but in a classification of its own. Two other books of a similar nature are on my shelf now and I'm beginning to think I'll always have stacks of novels waiting for me on dresser tops and desks because the shelf doesn't exist which is large enough to hold all of my reading ambitions.

I'm putting forth a productive nature now and working on a review sheet for an upcoming test - maybe two weeks away - in my law and ethics class while waiting for my InDesign trial to finish downloading. I've become more accustomed to working on my own time instead of in class, and most often when we're given classroom time to do an assignment I slip out of the back and find a quiet place to do the work on my own. For some reason, that's much more fulfilling and productive to me than trying to concentrate in a classroom setting.

All Con is right around two weeks away, and I couldn't be more excited.

Steampunk and the Academy Awards

The two things aren't quite related, but at the same time they absolutely, one hundred percent are. Because tonight I'm spending my time at Candice's place, relaxed and sprawled out on her couch, playing some Warcraft and watching the Academy Awards. Before, we were working on things for All Con since we only have maybe two and a half weeks to get it all together and get out there. But the truth is, I think it's going to be plenty of time and I can't wait to get there. I just really can't wait. It's so nice to be able to go to a convetnion with a good friend, sit back and just enjoy it, costumes and all.

This time, I'll have three outfits, one of which is a quick, last minute one that wouldn't have happened without my mother's keen eye when we were out shopping and Candice's mother willing to ruch something for me. It really wouldn't work out that easily, but I'm finding out that I have some really great friends in my life that have no trouble helping me out and working with me on these kinds of things. It's going to be a great, fantastic weekend, and I can't wait to get up there and see everyone again.

I'm also, for the first time, entering the All Con AMV contest. Working with anime and video game footage felt like touching back on something that was a beautiful part of my past. It was somewhere for me to start and enjoy actually doing something that I never had thought was possible before. I remember when I was younger that I would write out song lyrics and beside them, in another shade of ink, write out what I wanted to see happen during those lyrics. It was a beginning, I just didn't even know it yet.

But it's a good night. It's a very good night.