Kawaii

A simple "I love you" that I can hold.

Waking Up

This is the story of a girl who wanted a kitty but somehow ended up with three guinea piggies and a hamster...

Yukimo and all my guinea piggies mean the world to me. Dad never allowed my family to have the pets we wanted when I was growing up, so that meant I was never able to have a kitty (my favorite animal) of my very own. Mom always tells me how lucky I am to know that I'll one day be able to have my own place with as many kitties as I want. I know she's right, but I can't help but feel sad knowing that I'll have to wait a few years to live in a place of my own. Because my apartment has a "no pet" rule (with the exception of small animals that don't cause problems, like hamsters), I still can't have a cat. Shawn always tries to make me feel better by telling me that, despite his allergies to cats, I can have as many as I want. I wish Dad could have been the same way; I wish he could have put his dislike for cats and the idea of loving pets aside.

I've received a few messages telling me to write a few random facts about myself. I'll break a rule or two (because hey, it's my Vox, right? ^_~) and talk about a few facts about a specific topic in this entry instead instead of dedicating a whole post to random facts.

Two out of three times when I walk into and out of a pet store, I start crying. The very idea sounds so petty, but walking into a store that has the one thing, a true companion, that I really needed when I was little really breaks my heart. This first started happening after my first guinea pig, Hercules (also known as Herc and Hammy), died. Since Dad was always weird about cats and dogs, Mom was able to get away with sneaking small animals that required little maintenance inside the house. Because I loved animals so much, I tended to throw endless amounts of love into my relationships with my small pets. Having Herc pass away was so difficult-- it was a reality check. After he died, I was given the chance to pick out a pet of my very own. Beth, Kathleen and Mom had usually picked out a pet to call their "own," even though we all loved the pet, but I was finally able to pick one. Going into the pet store only a week or so after Herc left us was so hard. I had to walk past the cage of four kittens, my dream pet. I didn't find a guinea pig that day so I ended up leaving the store without a pet and with memories of our Herc still lingering. When Mom and I got into the car, I burst into tears, unable to stop all the hurt from flooding out. Mom asked me why I was crying, and I mumbled out a response about how hard it was walking away from the pet store without a kitty and how angry I was at Dad for not allowing me, an adult, to have a pet. Part of what I said was focused on those feelings, but a lot of the pain was from losing Herc. It hurt so much!

A Sleepy Moment

I ended up picking out the best guinea pig ever and she surprised us with two baby piggies. After waiting about two weeks, Mom and I tried the pet store again. A new litter of guinea pigs had arrived, and I was immediately drawn to the one sitting on top of the food bowl: a tiny girl who was white with dark brown and honey-colored fur. I named her Pixie because of her obvious spunk and low temperment. She didn't like me at first, but I soon found out why she was so bitter towards people. About three weeks after taking her into my home, I woke up one night to strange sounds coming from her cage. I warily took Pixie out of her cage and held her at arm's length, afraid that she was going to explode. (Of course, I had to pick the "defective" pig!) With Pixie in my arms, I ran to Mom and Dad's room, tearful, because I thought Pixie might be dying. Mom rushed her to the bathroom and had a closer look. A tiny buldge was coming out of her lower body. O__O Mom, being the nurse she is, wasn't afraid and pulled out the buldge. Inside the water sack was the first baby, a little boy.

I was in shock. Out of all the guinea pigs at the store, I had picked the pregnant one. A few minutes later, Masamune's baby sister came into the world. I named her Rini, which means "little bunny" in Japanese, and Masamune was named after two sword pieces in the video game Chrono Trigger. Without even thinking about it, the two babies stayed with us and their mommy, Pixie. To this day, they all still live at my parents' house.

The Real Yukimo

After Pixie's pregnancy, she warmed up to me, yet she didn't express the same amount of warmth to anyone else. I made sure to go out of my way to express my friendship to her. She had felt threatened by the presence of the two new piggies, even if they were her own children, but with a little extra love, she learned how to show affection. To this day, she only talks to me and cuddles up to me, and no one else, because of the extra attention I gave her after that night. We have a special bond.

Since I didn't want to put all the piggies in shock (small animals are less resiliant with change), I decided to leave them at home when Beth and I moved to our apartment. We still see them whenever we go home, and we try to shower them with as much love as possible. After Beth started going out more, I realized that I was lonely at the apartment. Shawn's solution to that was getting a new baby for the place: a hamster. That's how Yukimo came into the picture-- she's my savior! So now I not only have three piggies at my first home, but I have a sweetheart I get to have with me 24 hours a day at my second home.

Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night just to hold little Yukimo. Because I'm such an introvert, I find comfort in having smaller friendships, like the one I have with Yukimo. If I have a bad dream or I just feel like having company, I'll wake up at night to hold Yukimo. Since she's nocturnal, she likes walking around to displace some of the pent up energy from being in her cage while I sleep. It's amazing how pets will make all the bad seem good.

Yukimo and Pixie are the little I love yous that I need for comfort. ^__^

Note: The photos of Yukimo in this entry were taken by Beth. I held Yuki while Beth snapped away!

A collector of particles.

I thought I'd make a little summary of some of my photography over the past few months. I like to chart my development as a photographer so I know where I stood at one point in my life compared to the present time. I guess it's just my way of scrapbooking myself. My usual focus for photography is making sure I capture beauty in the smallest of elements, the tiniest of particles. I figured the range of small beads to dolls to human figures would get that feeling across.

This will be a short entry. I wanted to give a little update, because I don't know how often I'll be able to write in my Vox within the next few weeks. Work has been going really well so far. Everyone at Six Apart is amazingly friendly (I was never worried about that!), and the team I work with is especially helpful. They've been so wonderful with making sure to keep me on track at a pace that I can keep up with. I keep thinking about the next few months and what will hopefully happen: I'll be able to take in all the information, and before I know it, all the routines will become secondhand to me. I'm excited for the day I will feel comfortable with everything I'm learning now. The first few days of any job are a bit overwhelming, but because I actually love what I'm doing now, I'm extra particular in making sure everything I do is just right.

I just wanted to let you know that everything is going well with me. I work five days a week, and because I focus my eyes so intently on the computer screen, I feel overly tired after I finish working. (I'm hoping that the tired feeling is temporary. I tend to get stressed over little things when I start a new job. After the first week or so, I usually feel at home and more comfortable.) That's why I haven't been on Vox a lot lately. I'm hoping to fall into a good routine where my eyes aren't so strained. I like working towards a good balance of work and fun. ^__^ It gives me something to look forward to.

Cookie, icing, cookie: a beginning.

Serenade Me

I am in no way implying that icing or a cookie is better than the other. If anything, I'm saying that each has its perks; each has its good and its bad. Right now, I'm taking in all the good that has surfaced in the past week. With everything falling into place within a matter of a few days, it's time to relax.

The Cookie Bottom: The semester is finally over with! I completed all of my exams last week, and I was able to finish my ten page paper at the same time. I knew it could be done, because I've had worse semesters in the past, but knowing that all the stress over schoolwork is gone for a few months really gives me comfort. I feel like the freedom is sinking in.

I started and finished my ten page paper in a matter of about five hours. I know that I should be happy that I could finish a paper that I was proud of by the end in only a few hours, but I still felt that I struggled at first. I never take more than a few minutes writing the introductory paragraph. Something didn't click as quickly as it usually does this time around. Whatever the problem was, I felt a huge rush of relief as soon as the paper was out of the way. After that, I focused on my three exams: Irish Literature, Oceanography and Intro to Linguistics. All of them went fairly well. This was one of my rougher semesters, so I'm just happy to get my last science class (ever!) over with. From here on out, I'll only be taking level 300 and higher English classes that specifically focus on Technical and Professional Writing. The cookie is looking mighty yummy. ^___^

Beth in the Bistro

The Icing: The weekend before my exams started, I realized that I needed to do something special to commemorate the end of my hard semester and all the work I put into it. So with Mom's help, Beth, Shawn and I went on a little weekend getaway the day after I finished my last exam. We ended up going to a beautiful resort that Beth and I went to when we were little. Out of all the horrible family vacations we were forced to endure as children (ick), the trips to this one spot were some of the better memories. I wanted Shawn to experience what it feels like to just get away-- from stress, from work, from school, and from people in general. There's nothing like stepping back out of your own element to experience a relaxing vacation in a new place without having to worry about the expenses. We stayed the adorable resort Beth and I were at years back, which included a hotel with two bedrooms (and a loft ^^;), a kitchen, a dining area and a living space. I love big hotels.

The Suave

After the three hour drive, we settled in our place and then drove off in search of the first meal of our day. We found an old place that Beth and I went to called Shipwrecked. Sadly, we weren't exactly accepted in the small town. Compared to the suburbs and bigger cities, the country does not take well at all to new and different people (even though it's supposedly a town known for tourism with people coming and going all the time). As nice as we tried to be, our smiles were overlooked by Beth's bright, colorful hair and I guess our looks in general. I'm used to getting stares because of Beth's crazy hair, but the feelings of hatred and disgust are new feelings. Something that a person has to understand when having a style that is not the norm is that people will stare. A lot of times, people stare because they're curious or because they're confused as to why a person would want to look different. (I can't believe this is 2007 and people still aren't more accepting.) This town was a little different though. I'm actually surprised we weren't spit on. The elderly people looked down on us, glared and whispered. The younger people (teens) were a little more forward and actually muttered words in our direction. Beth, Shawn and I... We're familiar with these attitudes, but having to deal with them right after a long drive and a long week of testing doesn't make taking in the insults any easier. We smiled, said our pleases and thank yous, and we left. Sometimes, we just have to walk away and be the better people. I just feel sorry for those that aren't willing to at least try to accept different kinds of people.

Other than the rude behavior, our little vacation pretty much rocked. We were able to sleep in and do a little browsing through cute stores. I think my favorite part of our vacation was when went down to a dock near our hotel. As usual, Beth and Shawn expressed great amounts of glee because of absolutely nothing. I think that's why I love them, haha. Here's a little sneak-peak of our adventure on the dock:



When Beth screams out, "Wait, you guys! Let's pretend I'm a bird!" I pretty much know what setting I should put my camera on: action (to avoid blurs). Beth's always all over the place, but I think that's what makes her such a good photography subject-- she's not afraid of doing anything.

Plum Sees Plum Bottom

The three of us mostly took advantage of our hotel during the trip. Just being able to sit back in an atmosphere that was different from our everyday lives was a treat. We watched random movies on HBO, played cards and talked. I think the one thing that made the weekend just right was the good mood that was shared all around. I've found that with three college students (and with one of them being a boyfriend with a job, an upcoming internship and schoolwork) together, there's usually one person that's in a sulky mood. Lately, however, that sour mood has been slowly dissipating. We were all... happy for once. It's just the icing I needed before the next cookie hits. It was perfect.

(Oh, and on the way back from the resort, I made sure to have Shawn pull over when we passed the Plum Bottom Road sign again. There aren't many days when I can say that I've seen Plum's name sprawled on a road sign. I think it was the best way possible to wrap up my mini-vacation.)

The Cookie Top: Starting tomorrow, I will be officially working at my new job. Six Apart was nice enough to allow me to finish all of my exams before I began the job, thank goodness. For the next few months, I'll be working five days a week, helping to improve Vox and keep it running. When I left for my vacation, I realized something: I'm not nervous about starting the new job at all. This is the first job I've ever had that I'm genuinely thrilled about. It's the perfect way to end the school year and begin my Summer. In fact, I think this cookie is the real icing.

(More pictures of my weekend can be seen in my photo section.)

Rawr!

Piggy Backers

Linked

One huge kawaii thankies from me to you.

Love, Celena

I've been meaning to thank a lot of people over the past few weeks, but whenever I was about to make an entry, someone else needed to be added to the list of thank yous I wanted to make. Instead, I waited for the perfect time to thank everyone all at once. So, this post is dedicated to everyone who has given me support and little goodies along the way.

My first thank you is to Celena. I have known Celena now for probably about two years. As mentioned in previous entries, we met through Livejournal's Mark Ryden community and instantly clicked. From that point on, we were able to share our love for vinyl toys, Blythes and other little kawaii loves. We've encouraged each other's hobbies so much that we have both helped introduce new passions to the bunch. I don't think I would have most of my vinyl army if it weren't for Celena's crazy database of vinyl information! The material part of our friendship is only a small layer of what I've really taken away from knowing Celena though.

Celena's Letter

Through the letters of toy talk, we also gained a very personal understanding of each other. I've been able to share parts of my life with Celena that I've never been able to talk about with friends that I've known my whole life. I know that I've only been able to talk to Celena once on the phone, but I consider her one of my best friends. I don't know anyone that has dealt with life with such a positive outlook, even through the horrible times, like Celena has over the years. She's taught me to rough out the bad times and to look forward to everything beautiful, cute and good. Just receiving a package from her in the mail makes me the happiest person ever. So when you read this, Celena, thank you. I just want you to know how much your thoughtfulness means to me.

Inside the package from Celena was a plethora of cuteness: Sanrio washcloths with pictures of Little Twin Stars and Hello Kitty on them, My Melody stationary, a Pandapple notepad, tons of candy, stickers, the cutest pair of Hello Kitty underwear (which I love with all my heart), and more. It was an explosion of color, and I wanted to eat it all up-- even the presents that weren't candy. ^__^ On top of the package was the cutest letter, which I've posted in this entry above. I think the letter speaks for itself.

(More photos of Celena's presents can be seen in my photo library here at Vox.)

Love, Brandy

Surprisingly enough, another package arrived on the same day! This leads to my next special thank you; it goes out to Brandy, a friend I've only known for a few months, yet somehow, we have also formed a strong friendship. Brandy and I met through Vox a few months ago. I'm pretty sure that our first shared interest was our love (and obsession) for Tokidoki. A few days/weeks after we started commenting at each other's Voxes, Brandy messaged me on AIM, and from there, our friendship took off. We were able to relate on a lot of parts of our lives-- stories of Filipino family experiences, hobbies that had to do with kawaii loves, and even simple relationship comparisons about our boyfriends really made me think that I had found another me somewhere out there in the world. After just a few talks, I realized I wanted to send her a little present. As soon as I told her this, Brandy jumped at the chance to send me something in return. Ironically enough, she sent out her package before I could, so she should still be expecting a bunch of gifts soon. (Never fear, hon, it's coming!)

Sanrio Cuties

Inside the package Brandy sent me, tons of goodies jumped out at me (literally): boxes of Pocky (a candy that I've come to love over the years), Yan Yan (a new candy that Brandy has introduced me to), suckers, seashells and sand in a little jar from where she lives, a pretty rock that has been smoothed over by waves, Sanrio cuties and so much more. I opened Brandy's package first that day, and I just couldn't believe how many presents were packed into the box. I just kept taking out more and more... Mom was standing nearby, and her eyes grew wider as I revealed more of the presents. It was so awesome!

On a little side note, I thought it was funny that Celena and Brandy's packages not only arrived on the same day, but each contained the little Pandapple stationary pad. It was so meant to be.

My thank yous don't stop at Celena and Brandy though. They're part of the huge lump of greatness that has been forming over the past few weeks.

Oodles of Pocky

My final thanks goes out to everyone who has given me support about my new job at Six Apart and my photography. Everyone has always been supportive about my photography, but over the past few months, I've been able to grow more as a photographer. I feel as though my experiences have led me to understand a lot more about the different aspects photography offers. Angles, composition, lighting and editing have all somewhat evolved for me over the past months. With your support, I've been able to gain a lot of perspective as to what I find beautiful and what other people like looking for in photos. It's wonderful knowing that I have support from all of you.

And of course, I also want to thank you for the private messages, comments, letters, messages on AIM and emails about my new job. I know that it's only a part-time job (which I forgot to mention in my entry), but it means a lot to me. Because of this position, I was able to gain perspective, yet again, for what I wanted to do with my life career-wise. I finally feel like I've accomplished something that means a lot to both me and everyone else here at Vox. So, thank you for all of your support and congrats. I love you! ^_____^

As a special thank you for helping me become confident in myself and making me so happy, I've been working on putting together a few banners for other Voxers to use. As some of you have already seen, I have posted them in several groups, including my Vox Banners group. Please feel free to use them for your own Voxes. Also, please don't hesitate to make requests. I'm always open to creating banners for friends (and people I don't know). Just give me an idea of what you're looking for and I'll try to make it happen. ^^ Listed below are some of the banners that I've made so far. More will follow over time.

Shades of Flower Banner

Flower Dreams Banner

Warm Lilac Banner

The creative "oomph" in flower photos (and Mommy Day).

In Pink Bloom

I'm not one to take pictures of flowers. Flowers are beautiful, yes, but I've always found them a little boring compared to other photo subject opportunities, like people. Flowers are predictable. They're cliche. They do, however, produce beautiful photos if a little creativity in angles is added to the mix. I was so happy with how some photos of flowers turned out earlier this week that I used some of the end products as part of my gift for Mom for Mommy Day. She loved everything, but she has yet to see the ones I was able to to snap while I was at home for the weekend. Most of the photos in this post are of the gorgeous blooming trees and plants in my yard at my parents' house. There's something about going home during some weekends that really takes me back to everything happy when I was little. For the past two years, I've lived in the city most of the time and everything-- the air, the people, the everything-- seems so dry compared to the suburbs. But when I come home, it's like the magic of everything good hits me all over again. It's an escape and a place for me to hide for a while. I think these photos will explain why I love going home so much. Colors speak for themselves.

Beth and I have exams this coming week so the two of us weren't able to celebrate Mommy Day with Mom and Kathleen all at once since we were in and out of the house at different times. Instead of buying presents, we all opted for the more creative (and less expensive) choice: homemade gifts. Beth and Kathleen wrote Mom poems and I gave her a small portfolio of some of my photography. She loved everything, as usual. To this day, she still tells us that no one gives her presents like we do. I second that. ^__^

I'm going to use the rest of this entry to commemorate Mommy Day and Mom, my reason for being, just because she deserves a little something more. So, instead of writing about my rather "meh" week coming up, I'll focus on the positive and good in my life right now: here's a little preview of what goodness there is-- in mommies and beautiful days alike.

Taking photos of flowers can be really fun. I learned that a little oomph has to be put in it though.

Beth stars as an extra in a music video for Lovedrug.

Animesque

A lot of people aren't familiar with the band Lovedrug, but believe it or not, you Voxers may have heard of them before. Quite a big ad for Lovedrug's newest album was posted here at Vox for a few months. I caught it out of the corner of my eye several times. I didn't find out until recently how big of a fan Beth was of them.

Beth came up to me last week and told me that she had been accepted as an extra in Lovedrug's new music video. The video would be shooting in Chicago, which is only about a two hour drive from our apartment. She was pretty excited but still a little hesitant. So many scams take place online; who knew if this offer was any different? Well, it wasn't a scam, and Beth had the time of her life. Shawn and I had the privilege of driving down to Chicago with her, and we were able to watch part of the video shooting.

Beth rocked her heart out and I thought it would be fun (and interesting) to share some of her experience with Voxers. For a change of pace, I decided to do a mock interview with Beth about her experience on the Lovedrug set. So, for your viewing (er, reading) pleasure, here are Beth's answers to my questions about her job as an music video extra!

So give me a little info on what you went to Chicago for. What kind of music does Lovedrug play, and which song did you "perform" for?

Strings & All

I would closely describe Lovedrug as "radiohead-light." Their music tends to be a little more upbeat, but it retains the same sense of poetry and haunting melodies. I have issues listening to Radiohead, because I find their music profound, yet way too depressing. Lovedrug is a little more rock 'n roll, in my opinion. The song I was there for was "Pushing the Shine." It was off of their album Everything Starts Where It Ends.

I bet it was fun being surrounded by such hardcore talent. Were you able to actually talk with the band while you were there, or were they more closed off and busy with other things?

Actually, I ended up harassing the band a great deal of time I was there. I found them to be extremely approachable, and they didn't separate themselves from the fans. They meandered throughout the room where all the fans were hanging out. They talked to everyone. At first, everyone seemed a little reserved, but as the day went on, all the people started realizing how every person was human. It was only natural to act normal around them. I did notice that some of the girls were a bit shy, but I had no problem teasing them about things like beer kegs and free "merch" (merchandise).

Haha, good for you! I'd totally want to do that, too. What did you end up getting out of the free merch deal, and how did you go about asking for the stuff?

So I went there quite keen on the fact that I'd walk away with at least something tangible that I could take home with me. At first I thought I would settle for merely autographs, but I soon realized that I wanted something I could actually hold in my hands. After I got the autographs, I asked Dave, the guitarist, for a pick. I ended up confiscating the bassist's (Korey) tie from the shoot, as well as Michael's guitar neck. Essentially, it was a smash and grab job. *chuckle*

Press Play

You really went in there with a mission, didn't you? You seem to have formed pretty good relationships with the band members. I heard that there may have been an interesting story behind your first meeting. What's that about?

The boys were doing a set change, and I had seen them going into the back room where all the refreshments were located. Dave, the guitarist, had led me back there when I first came to the shoot and told me I could have anything I wanted. So, I grabbed my CD and my Sharpie and went off in search of some autographs. Little did I know that the guys were actually in the middle of a wardrobe change. I basically walked in on half-zipped zippers and half-buttoned buttons. I said, "Oh, sorry," but I didn't leave. They were really chill about it and told me it was oh kay. I ended up leaving with four autographs. I happen to have unusual timing.

It's nice to see you all took that in stride. I'm sure that helped break the ice for everyone, too. So later on in the video, what did you have to do? Basically, what was your job?

I was an extra.

Don't get snarky.

We did a lot of things, but my favorite thing would have to be the end sequence. It involved spray paint, tearing clothes, throwing food, and smashing guitars. It was after this last sequence that all the girls basically had to fight over all the broken guitar pieces. This is the part where I snagged my guitar piece.

Very cool. So all in all, do you think you'll be in the final cut of the video? Does it even matter at this point?

It honestly doesn't even matter to me. I'd rather just do things like this for the experience and getting to know the band. Getting involved in a creative endeavor like this was just... awesome. It's nice because I didn't go there as a model. I went there as a fan. It was a completely different experience.

When should we be expecting the video to be released?

I would say early June, but you really never know.

Awesome!

---

And that was Beth's experience with her first music video. To be honest, I don't think it will be her last one. She's extremely familiar with rock music, and she's not afraid to make herself known to bands. I like the fact that Beth is so willing to put herself out there in the world. I have a sister I can live up to (even though she's younger than me, haha), thanks to her and her willingness to, well, have fun.

Beth wasn't the only one to have fun in Chicago that day. Shawn and I explored the streets of Chinatown, and he was nice enough to drive me all the way to Rotofugi, the vinyl/plush store I've been waiting to visit for years. I have photos of my experience, but I'd like to keep this entry dedicated to Beth. I'll write about my adventure another time.

Meet Six Apart/Vox's newest employee!

Wonder?

I have to share this with all of you Voxers, because I am just bubbling with happiness. There's some big news in my life right now and it's all good. In fact, it's so good that I finally feel like I'm going to be doing something meaningful with my life, something that I'm proud of and that I love doing. After a few grueling weeks of waiting, I just discovered that, yes, I will be working for our very own Vox.

About two months ago, the Vox team put a wanted ad up for the position of a Junior Support Adminstrator here at Six Apart's Vox website. I've always wanted to somehow get involved with Six Apart, but every position that I could think of sounded technical-- and only technical. I knew I wasn't cut out for a job where I couldn't expand what I do best: I write. Then the ad was posted and I knew I had a chance at getting a job that was meant for me. So, at 2 a.m. (when I first saw the post), I booted up Kathleen's laptop at my parents' house, and I wrote out an entire cover letter for an application. The next morning, I woke up, took a shower, and then sat down in front of the computer, determined to write out the rest of my resume. It felt so good to be excited about something work-related. That's almost a never with me.

After double and then triple checking my entire application, I sent it all in. I waited a few days after getting an automated "please be patient" response. After about a week or so, I received an email asking for a sample piece of my writing. A day later, I sent in a sample piece, pleased with how it turned out. I had to wait another few days (weeks?) for a response, but sure enough, I received one. There were a couple of weeks of emails being sent back and forth between Kristine, a member of the Vox team, and me, and after a final phone conversation with Kristine and Brenda just a few minutes ago, they excitedly told me that I was being offered the position! I immediately said yes (with probably a little too much eagerness), and that's that. Later this month, after my exams are finished, I shall be starting my brand new job as a Six Apart employee.

I'm all smiles right now.

Can't Stop Smiling

My job, from what I understand, will consist of working with a few members of the Vox team every day. I will be using my writing skills to provide Vox with news, new information for the database, responding to feedback, and many more tasks. I know that I won't get the total feel of what I'll really be doing until I actually start the job at the end of May, but that's a little summary of what my life will consist of.

I'd like to say that my new job is the only good news, but wait, there's even more to come. When I heard about the open position, I had a brainstorm. I've been going to school as an English major, but a few weeks ago, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my writing skills. I knew I didn't want to become a teacher, but I had no idea what other kind of job opportunities there were for after I graduate. I did a little research, and I discovered that the emphasis of Professional and Technical Writing is offered at my university. Perfect! I went to my advisor and finally declared my English major with my emphasis. Life as I know it is set for the time being. The new job at Six Apart will not only give me great experience in the field I'm going into, but it's a dream job for me. With my major, I can go into web design, copywriting and publishing-- or all of the above. The possibilities are literally endless.

Speaking of jobs... There's even more good news. Just last week, Shawn disovered that he had received an internship at Kohl's Department Store-- something to do with computers and programming. (I guess that would make sense since he's a Computer Science major, tee hee.) Not only will the pay be much better than the icky job he was (yes, was) working at, but Kohl's is a major corporation that will, hopefully, give him a job after he graduates in about a year. After hearing that awesome piece of news, Kohl's called him again a few days later to let him know that the company wants to give (yes, give) him an apartment while he's an intern there. He'll finally be able to move out of his house and into a place with some privacy-- and quietness. Everything that Shawn is receiving is a huge blessing, not only for him, but for me as well. After all the hard work Shawn has put into school and the hours he's put into that crappy job, he is being given something special. I couldn't be happier for and more proud of Shawn. I feel like Shawn and I have part of our future ready for us to fall into and then take on as our own. We can do this. I know it.

I think the best part about Shawn's new apartment is the fact that it will be right down the street from my apartment. Who would have guessed that Kohl's would pick a place right on my own campus? Shawn doesn't even go to school here, but we'll be able to see each other within a few minutes of walking.

So, to wrap this entry up, I just wanted to say how thankful I am for the opportunity to give something back to all of you Voxers-- and to Six Apart. Being able to work for a place that I love and have come to consider a virtual home really makes life feel worth it... times a million.

I work for Six Apart. I work for Six Apart? I work for Six Apart!

Don't tell Mom, but the kids are finally growing up.