Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in Rillystar's LiveJournal:

[ << Previous 20 ]

Saturday, May 12th, 2012
12:28 am	a few rambling thoughts before bed so I went through my closet and am selling a lot of lolita items I never wear. Actually a lot of it was stuff my mother bought me (good intentions but stuff I normally wouldn't wear - just like my mom :) big heart). Hoping most of it goes in tomorrow's garage sale. Whatever is left is going up on LJ (though the shoes likely will go to Value Village or another thrift store). I'll be sitting down and sewing this weekend I hope and going through some fabric. Whatever I know I won't use I'll also sell or donate. Feels quite nice to get rid of stuff actually...a bit liberating. After that Monday will be busy, but I plan to get some doll stuff done and then maybe a little drawing. Thinking of making a print for fabric and making some clothing for myself. If it turns out well and people like it I might do more but only as a side project. Anyhoo just a few rambling thoughts before I go to sleep...Sunday will be sewing and macaron making day... (Comment on this)
Sunday, April 8th, 2012
1:46 pm	I'm back! Yikes it's been eons. Been super busy but going to post now. I'll skip the boring bits and just brush on things that have happened since it really has been a crazy year. First off, my prayers and well wishes to uneid She's going through a super tough time. It's personal so I'll leave it at that. You know that if you ever need a helping hand just give me a shout. Along those lines I've had family members in and out of the hospital. The scariest was with my aunt. She's back home now but it's been quite some time and she's still only running at about 60% of what she was before. My house is up for sale now. I hope to sell it soon but need to sit with the real estate agent and determine if we should wait (in which case I'll see about renting it out) or just keep going as we have been. Looking for a new job now. The contract I had with one company is up and honestly I want somewhere where there's better work ethics from their employees and staff and pays more or at least has benefits. Anyhoo so on the hunt now officially. Need to sell a lot of my clothes, dolls and whatnot. I still have items from older sales posts so will relist those but moving to a smaller place means need less stuff. I'm selling some Brand Lolita items (Metamorphose, Angelic Pretty, BTSSB and a few others) and a number of MSD, SD and YoSD sized dolls and accessories. I'll post about them separately though. Lastly, I've been eating junky food since Christmas and it's caught up to me. I felt crappy and overall my health wasn't great. I got sick, continually felt under the weather and generally not in good form. So I'm on a nice cleanse since last week. Already I'm sleeping better and more productive and feel loads better. I'll likely be on it another 3-5 weeks for full long lasting effects. It's pretty much like a liver detox, no glutens, no refined carbs (very few carbs really but not cut out entirely) lean meats and fishes and lots of raw and organic veg. So if I turn down the chance to eat out with you, it's likely because I can't eat a lot of foods. I can do sushi (I just order some sashimi and seaweed salad) but not a heck of a lot of other stuff. Otherwise I've been working on the Wicked Details blog with kuras and the next post is due up within the next day or two (just waiting on a few pics from the cam-cam) and living out of suitcases while everything is packed up. That's about it though....so no need to ramble on.  (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Saturday, October 29th, 2011
10:54 pm	blargity blarg blarg Wah been a while since I updated last. Life has been uber busy. -UBER- busy. Things are looking up though. Finally have finished running around between egineers, city hall planners, permit inquiries, strata letter etc and the roof deck will be all legal and up soon. that means next summer I can has BBQ days out there if I still have the place. There is a chance I will sell though since I can likely just pay off all debts and buy a new apartment on Main St with a teenie (like 50k) mortgage or I can outright buy a 2 bedroom in New West. Not sure what to do though since my mum is fussing about keeping this place. Time will tell On another note, I went to Sephora and bought some new makeup! Yay! Specifically the Urban Decay Mariposa eyeshadow pallette (http://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P296024) gorgeous colours and the photo on the site doesn't do it justice. I tried it out tonight and love the bold colours. I'll upload photos later of what it looks like on (though again they look washed out with flash - why do I like taking photos at night?) Will be hanging with Ally on Monday and processing payroll for the office, also getting paid for my other job on Tuesday which means I cna pay off a chunk of debt quicker than I thought. Starting in on X'mas gift making now, hoping to have everyone's done by X'mas. Hopefully all will be useful and loved gifts. Just need to get the walls puttied and painted before I can really start sewing in earnest. Oh and talking about redoing walls and moving furniture if anyone wants some lovely wooden chest set of drawers I have 2 big ones that I need gone. They don't match my other furniture and since I moved into smaller condo they look way too big for the rooms. I have too much furniture period. I need to get rid of some IKEA desks, and a glass top sink unit as well. If I can get some $$$ for them great but if not, oh well. I just want them gone. The side table with marble top as already been claimed though. Again on another note, will finally photograph and get to selling dollies. One of my Unoa girls is going as well as both my Volks (F28 sunlight one off boy and my F31 sunlight elf boy). I will likely put up more for sale soon but those three are going first as well as the white skin FDoll boy body ad potentially my breakaway head (though not yet, I'm still on the fence about him since I haven't painted him yet). Kasa is helping me sculpt a lovely girl head since I've been unable to find a head for my Rill character since I started this hobby in `04 and in return I'll be sewing some clothing for her limited dolls once she sculpts the bodies. I'll probably end up helping do some of the website design too XD who knows (just graphic and look not the coding since I don't remember much of that anymore) I hope to be in Japan next year as well. My lolita socks are getting ratty. I guess unlike most lolitas I wear mine every day since I love them so much lol so now I need mooooore~! On the lolita front I want to also get started on the two projects I have lined up 'French Princess Stripe' ver 1 & 2. So much to do so little time. At least I don't plan on going anywhere this weekend. Gonna try for the 18th for my unBirthday party since I want to wear Wonder Story again before the year is out. bleh, guess I should go post on the Wicked Details Blog now, and finish up a couple of art commissions. methinks I might just stick to the chibi commissions although for some strange reason people want my other styles more.... anyhoo just having a brain fart and blurbing everything on here helps organize thoughts...feel free to ignore. Current Mood: bouncy (Comment on this)
Wednesday, September 7th, 2011
8:44 am	Vancouver BC Tea Party Sept 4th, 2011 Photos ( Cut to the pics and interesting stuff ) (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, August 18th, 2011
3:02 am	:3  Today was pretty nice. Sunny outside, though I think maybe I got a little too much sun and didn't feel awesome after lunch. I was supposed to go to Pirate Pak day in Vancouver with Dav and a few others but ended up having to cancel (though I did manage to score a pak via take out and some nice friends who felt sorry for me XD) Other than that, I managed to get work done in fair quick time, and re-sew the waist band on my first ever lolita skirt I made. Having had a go at it again, I realize that 1) I need to redo the waistband wider 2) and in nicer cotton now that I have a nice poplin. Currently the shirring is on the wrong side cause I was in a rush to finish and wear it but otherwise it looks great even though it's still a little large in the waist (by about an inch or two). Good to know I'm not quite as fat as I thought I was lol. Tomorrow will be the great day of chores: 1) Wash the car 2) take it to ICBC to check on the windshield ding/crack and see if it can be patched or needs to be replaced. If replaced I'll be out $300 3) take my sewing machine in for servicing (about another $130) 4) take my car in for oil change + servicing (prolly another big chunk of change) 5) pester strata council for a letter so I can finally get to filing my permit again for the new roof deck 6) deposit pay cheque and pay Hydro bill 7) Clear up house so workers can fix the walls and stuff >.< 8) finish inking and sketching more commission work That's not all the stuff I need to get done, but the top priority stuff really...want to get the sewing machine back soon so i can work on more projects....like the upcoming twin sets which I've titled "French Princess Stripe Set". Will post that to the egl sew loli project registration as well as Craftster. Hope to have both sets done by the end of Sept. (gambare) but missing integral organza lace and some nice overlay border lace. Once I have those I can start... anyhoo it's late...won't bother anyone with more prattle on my end :) (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, June 15th, 2011
11:54 pm	Insanity....  So...today again the riff raff come out of the woodworks and trash the city. Most of the troublemakers came specifically to make said trouble (and I doubt winning or losing the cup would have made a difference - seriously to pack cans of exploding stuff to go downtown and not be planning trouble?) Anyhoo beyond the fact that most fans were peaceful and went home quietly, the few that stayed to cause issues (from what I can cobble together from media reports and eye witness accounts) many were from out of town, even out of province.  Anyhoo us Vancouverites are already moving on and there's a big event planned to go and clean up downtown tomorrow barring police stopping entry into the city centre. I plan to be there once cleanup is underway. more hands the better I say so if you have time come on down and help out. There's a FaceBook event set up for it. If you want an invite let me know, Now on another completely different note (and much happier of course) I've started a new blog with a friend of mine kurasune . The blog is Wicked Details and all about the zany things we do and are in to. Mostly the crafts we create, some tutorials and some of the events we like to plan now and then. If there's something that you know I do or make and you want to know how, let me know (or better yet post on the blog :)) and I'll be happy to try and make a tutorial for you Current Mood: disappointed (Comment on this)
Monday, March 28th, 2011
12:20 pm	Politics in Canada - it's important to know what you're looking at. I'm sure there are a billion blog posts out there, but really to all my Canadian friends please do read up at least on the basics of this Federal election, and please vote. I myself am not typically hugely into politics but I've been following for a few months now at the very least (if not longer) and I believe it's your responsibility to be aware of the issues going on and to vote. That being said, it can be such a pain to wade through all the issues and figure out what's been going on if you've been out of the loop. Please note that I do not like the current conservatives, and I really dislike Stephen Harper. While I try to present a relatively unbiased viewpoint i'll be the first to admit that I won't post much (or anything at all) that paints the last Conservative Government (aka the Harper Government) in a positive light. Remember that this was the man who said that Canada didn't need any economic safety plan when the world was spiraling into a global recession. Anyways without further ado, some articles to provide some food for thought. This article recaps the major issues that the Tories have chalked up during their term as the official governing party of Canada: http://rabble.ca/news/2011/01/ten-reasons-oppose-harper-candidate-your-riding Please don't forget that Harper is the first Prime Minister to ever be found in contempt of Parliment...that in and of itself should speak volumes about his leadership. I just think for a party that platformed it's way into government on accountability, transparency and anti-corruption they sure look like they have a pretty hypocritical leader. I'm sure that the Tories could pull up someone better. It's like the Republicans down south...they have some real crazy ones that push all their more moderates to abandon the party. If they stuck to more reasonable logic and politics they'd be much better off. Let's hope that the Tories here don't get that bad. Another article that interests me is this one that theorizes that Harper can't even run. http://presscore.ca/2011/?p=1980 And one other pet peeve I have is smear and attack ads and platforms. Harper and admittedly Layton are both doing this, duking it out here in Vancouver. Michael Ignatieff is playing it smart and not getting into the finger pointing and name calling fray much like his predecessor. I rather liked Dion and the fact that he tried to talk about the issues rather than pointing fingers. http://cornwallfreenews.com/2011/03/green-attack-ad-hitting-harper-where-it-hurts-by-richard-komorowski-march-12-2011-cornwall-ontario/ http://www.raesidecartoon.com/blog/stephen-harpers-attack-ads/ However I doubt the Liberals will stay out of the attack ad fray. After losing last election, they'll probably join in this time - I suppose the thought is that if they don't they'll lose whatever following they do have. I suppose for those who aren't keeping up with politics that the attack ads undermine confidence but I still wish they'd quit it. http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/954917--new-liberal-attack-ads-target-harper-s-contempt-for-canadians Either way, the Liberal Leader isn't the best that the party has seen in it's past, but given the alternatives currently I think he'd be better than what we've got. http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/927316--travers-attack-ads-expose-deepest-harper-fears And this article pretty much sums up a lot of my thoughts :) http://www.vancouverobserver.com/blogs/centrist/2011/03/01/tea-party-north Seriously though. I just shake my head at the antics. I've done my research and I pretty much know already where my vote will be going in May. I just wish the personal attacks would end sooner rather than later.... Current Mood: disappointed (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, February 28th, 2011
7:08 pm	just another update  Been a while since I posted last. Guess it's update time! 1) Heading to Montreal on the 16th, roomie will be in charge of the house for that weekend lol 2) have a few potential job opportunities coming up later. Will see if they pan out and allow me to keep the current contracts I'm on 3) Already lost 8 lbs so far this year. not too shabby I think. Gotta keep it up and lose another 12 to be back to where I was before. Then I can keep on going until I'm at my ideal healthy weight. 4) Trying to decide what to do for my b-day this year. normally I don't plan anything but this year I'll be a whopping 33 and I want to do something fun, maybe special...maybe both lol 5) still need to get sewing. need to do some buttons and other stuff that's come loose but mostly just get back into it. On another note, a nice girl on one of the comm's I'm on pointed out to me a TaoBao site that has some of the lace trim I bought in Japan and haven't been able to find here. So going to get some and see if my cousin in Beijing can help. Sadly my grasp of written chinese is nil...buuu me I've been fairly active on the drawing front though, which is probably why I haven't been sewing much. Need to put everything on pause though since tomorrow I have to let people in to review all my windows, doors and balconies for the big work being done on my building. wow my place is going to be chaos for the next little while methinks Otherwise life is chugging along. Will be emailing a few peeps to get back in touch now that I'm not quite so strapped for time and cash. will be putting in an invoice to my second contract and getting some money there but really, I'm just glad that I'll be able to get things rolling soon with other plans. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, January 23rd, 2011
1:06 am	just some stuff  Well updates for now: From my New Year's list I've done a bit of editing now after some thought :) 1) Working on new InnoSera events with limu and odanata: Looks like 2012 is when the big event will happen 2) Travel has been nixed for now. I -might- do some travel but for now I'm saving up 3) Let out the new apartment downtown - hope to have someone ready to move in by the time it completes 4) Get new part time job. Continue handling HR for my father's office and complete the Project Management for my other contract by March 5) Complete 4-6 sewing projects this year (I only managed 3 in 2010) 6) Draw and complete at least 6 pieces of art for 2011. Big kudos to croaky for starting me back into things. Rejoining PE also helped 7) Make more time to see good friends like yllyor, vestaka and votgs. I really miss them 8) Work on a few hand made things to give to friends. I've committed to 6 already from FaceBook. 9) Lose the weight I gained from working at my father's office (rather disgusting...I think it might be around 20lbs >.<) Aiming for 20 at the minimum by July. Earlier would be better and for health reason's losing a lot more would be best. 50 lbs would put me at the low end of my BMI The ones I'll be concentrating on first are the weight loss as that requires me to start now and really dedicate myself to it, and then also saving money and sewing (sort of goes hand in hand since I have so much fabric). I won't be purchasing any lolita for the next few months if not the rest of the year considering the mounds of fabric I have at home also it's an expensive hobby. If there's something I'm dying for I'll have to sell some of the items I never use to afford it. Same with dolls. I will be shrinking the collection if anything. For now between the two jobs and room mate I have enough money to get by. To my friends, I won't be going out to eat much unless it's a special occasion (like b-day or I haven't seen someone in half a year sort of deal). I'll be cutting down on a few social gatherings except for what I've already obligated myself to go to. More or less be a hermit XD well not really...I'll be out exercising and doing fun free stuff instead of doing expensive things for the next little while. Just want to see how my finances are and how much I can save by cutting back (I'd probably be surprised at how much I can save as well as how much I probably won't miss those extra things lol) Computer has been awesome so far. should be getting a few more things organized now. Anyhoo that's it...nothing much to report otherwise. Now I'll stop my rambling XD (Comment on this)
Wednesday, January 19th, 2011
11:04 pm	New computer...woot!  Ok I think the last time I actually bought a computer/laptop was in about 2002. Now in 2011 I have me a shiny new computer! I decided to go for a desktop since a laptop really is only for travel and when I do that the most I do is surf the web, check emails and watch movies or something. Needless to say I've forgotten how much of a pain it is to get everything installed, updated and transfered over to the new system. I've got the bare bones now but need to look up all my old links etc and make sure everything works. Even with that hassle though I'm very happy :) back onto a nice larger monitor (19" woot) with capabilities to connect the whole thing to my 27" HDTV downstairs once my roomie stops sleeping in the living room (apparently the mattress on her bed makes her back hurt...and she's too broke to buy a new bed/mattress :( so she's taken to using the pull out bed on my nice leather couch). Anyhoo hope to get to play with CS4 soon but I always have PS7 as a backup. I don't think I'll be playing any WoW until I have everything all set up and another job under my belt. Anyhoo I'll probably be fiddling with this thing for the next week or so XD maybe longer to get her all perfect :) yay! Current Mood: energetic (Comment on this)
Sunday, January 2nd, 2011
1:29 am	Happy New Year et al :D Happy New Year's all~! Holidays were a bit busy with family gatherings and whatnot. Rang in the new year with friends which was also nice. I suppose a year in review is unecessary for the most part as it really just consisted of me working my touche off for my father's office, then quite a bit of traveling (which is always welcome). All in all 2010 went by in a blur. Stuff for 2011: 1) Working on new InnoSera events with limu and odanata 2) Save up for travel to Montreal, Japan/Hong Kong, Salt Lake, and New Orleans. I doubt I'll get to the UK or to Beijing this year again 3) Let out the new apartment downtown 4) Get new part time job. Continue handling HR for my father's office and complete the Project Management for my other contract by March 5) Complete 4-6 sewing projects this year (I only managed 3 in 2010) 6) Draw and complete at least 6 pieces of art for 2011. Big kudos to croaky for starting me back into things. Rejoining PE also helped 7) Make more time to see good friends like yllyor, vestaka and votgs. I really miss them 8) Actually plan something for my birthday this year. 9) Lose the weight I gained from working at my father's office (rather disgusting...I think it might be around 20lbs >.<) I'll probably flesh this all out in more detail but maybe not here as not to bore anyone. I'm sure people really want to hear me blather on about things. At least I have a good start on #5 and #6. #9 starts tomorrow with a nice good walk and sticking to my new diet plan (well more like lifestyle choices than a diet plan). I'll be heading to Fabricana tomorrow to grab a few needed items for #5 (lining for a petticoat and capelet, material for hopefully a hoodie, fabric for a new skirt in pink plaid and black high waisted pumpkin pants) Anyhoo January is pretty busy. Doll meetup on the 8th down to Olympia for the weekend of the 15th (to see Max for her b-day and to grab some software for the new puter coming in a couple of weeks). busy means at least I'll skim down on the spending. Dagger is coming out to stay here and I've pretty much got all my food bought for the next week and a half  to two weeks thank goodness. Just need to avoid eating out as much as possible and from buying anything else. Fabric needs to be used so I must not buy new clothes. I guess I'll be pretty boring through til June so if you want to drag me out I can't really afford to go somewhere spendy (the only expense I've set aside for already is a long overdue meal out with yllyor - I really do owe her a nice big delcious dinner) Anyhoo other than that if anyone wants to lose weight with me give me a shout :) Current Mood: optimistic (Comment on this)
Tuesday, December 7th, 2010
1:02 am	Late night musings... So I'm having a bout of insomnia...it comes and goes for me and when I get it it lasts a few days....so rather than lay in bed pretending to get a good night's rest I'm up doing things. anyhoo so just a few random thoughts tossed together by a tired brain. That and a few other things at the end that I've been up to :) *** My life up until now has been relatively pleasant and pain free. I consider myself lucky. I have good friends, great family, a roof over my head, and food on my table. I really have very little to complain about. I think I may challenge myself over the next few days to complain as little as possible. Anyone want to join me in this endeavor? I feel that we spend a whole lot of time complaining and not being constructive. So going to eat my own words and try it out for myself. *** I need to shed things out of my life. I spend so much time working on a bajillion things, most of which I really don't care about or should drop because, honestly, I need to focus on important things like my health (cause gosh darnit I deserve to be really fit and healthy and feel great every day), my happiness, and my future. I have so many things I want to accomplish that I need to sit down, prioritize and then start doing them. I'm starting to realize that people make these lists of 'some day' items but never really actualize them. I'm already 32, and I haven't even done a fraction of what I want to get done before I kick the bucket. Carpe Diem is something I need to work on. *** I've been clearing out my sewing room (which has turned into the temporary storage room). Physical, material things just clutter up the house and your life. No need to keep every little scrap. If you haven't used it and it hasn't seen the light of day in years, then really...you should consider chucking it. If it's something attached to a memory, consider writing about that memory (maybe take a photo) rather than keep something without value or use to you in life. There are those few things that really are treasured, but before you put everything into that category really think about why you're hanging onto it. Don't become one of those scary pack rats that have 43 vases and 84 left handed scissors. I'm trying to teach myself all this right now. It makes sense in the head but sometimes the heart doesn't want to follow. I intend to claim that room back for sewing projects ASAP. *** I guess I've had a rather contemplative year. I've made some definite decisions about certain things going on and they've led me to realize that I'm growing up and the things that seemed so important to me when I was a wee lass, perhaps really weren't all that crucial, or maybe that what I thought I wanted really wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Maybe this time of year, the end of the old year and beginning of the new, has me thinking about all this, but all in all...I'm glad I did. I'll be writing up some personal resolutions soon...not to do with new year's because majority of people don't follow through or end up breaking them soon after...these I'm going to write down and post up so there won't be any hiding from them - in the hopes that seeing them physically will help keep me going (heh maybe everyone can be my collective conscious as well lol) Anyhoo enough of my ramblings...here's a few updates in random order as they popped into my head...I'm probably missing out on lots of stuff though. ( updates under here for those interested ) Current Mood: contemplative (7 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, November 24th, 2010
4:05 pm	Another update...seems I can do this fairly semi-regularly if I try lol my art buddy croaky convinced me to take part in sketch-a-vember. So far I've been pretty good. sketching a sketch a day (though if I miss a day I tend to catch up with additional sketches on other days). Most days I get at least 2-4 sketches done, though most of the time very rough sketches. Some days it's only 1 sketch but tends to be a more finished looking sketch. I did find though that I tend to sketch in different sketch books depending on my mood. I tend to stick to smaller sketchbooks better since it's not quite as daunting maybe? but with the smaller sketches it's more like I'm just jotting down ideas that I want to come back to later. I have a couple of new image series I want to do - interesting they seem more mood oriented than specifically character driven like most of my art has been in the past. It's been rough getting back into drawing though...feels like I've taken a million steps backwards for letting myself put art to the side for the last year or two. Slowly though I'm getting back to it. uneide has convinced me to rejoin PE (Private Exchange) and I feel pretty good about that step. I tend to need focus and limitations in order to draw since my mind tends to drift and be easily distracted lol. We'll see how it goes. Either way I need to get going on that :) I've also asked to join a Christmas exchange. With 2 projects going for a month I should be back into the swing of things On the work front, I'll be looking for full time employment soon. I'm taking it easy now and getting my house in order and helping my family for now which is good. I've come down from the day in day out high stress levels of my previous job though I'm still stuck going back a few days a month to help clear up things. I have to put my foot down though and tell them I'm not working for free and they have to pay me if they want to have me continue doing payroll and helping with HR related issues. I have a part time lined up though in case I don't get a full time job before the end of the year which is good and luckily I have a roomie who's paying for bills and maintenance etc. For my lolita buddies - my Cinderella Jewelry skirt and headbow came in. I love the print but there are some minor details that I need to tidy up on it. I agree with Kurasune that lately Baby, the Stars Shine Bright and Alice and the Pirates have had some quality issues. If I'm paying that much for brand I expect minor details like loose threads and well lined up fabric to be perfect. I haven't taken too close a look yet but the number of loose threads that I have to go and clean up is a little alarming. It's harmless I suppose but for a skirt that cost well over $150 I'd expect better end product and service. Ah well. It's one of the few prints and pieces that my non-lolita loving family actually really like. My aunt watched me open my box and noted that it was a lovely skirt. I'm glad I got the blackXpink colourway as well. Now I have some new lolita to wear out along with what I got at Closet Child. I have a few plans to sew some new pieces and make use of the fabrics I bought from Japan 1.5 years ago, so hopefully being snowed in for Dec means I'll get more done lol. Either way I'll be photographing everything I have for insurance purposes as well as to keep track of what I still need to round everything out. I want to make an order with QutieLand for one of the coats and the new Rose Melody high waisted skirt in black with navy embriodery (gotta get something to match my MMM socks lol). Also will be listing for sale some of the pieces I don't use and won't be altering (my Putu JSK is staying I just need to buy matching fabric and get some lining material unless I have enough of the brown or red left over). neko sort of laid claim to my AP country OP for now but the two pink meta JSKs (cross lace and old emblem print with bloomers and hair combs) will be up for sale and also probably my pink candy house skirt - finding the mainly pink pieces just aren't really for me...or maybe they're too sweet? turning more to gothic and jewel tones though I'm happy with my mint milky berry JSK (darn you kurasune and making me fall in love with milky berry). Other than that I have a few pairs of socks I'll be selling and a few other odds and ends. Looks like I just don't like whatever I get in my lucky packs lol. For my dollie buddies - my Unoa Zero came in! woot woot! It's daunting that there are 4 faceplates in there. I think I'll probably only use the Marion open eyed faceplate for now but even before that I have to put her together. There's a few pieces where I have to use a bloody hairdrier to heat the resin and put the joints together because they're -that- tight fitting. I can't wait! I got new sanding sponges to use on her and will get around to painting her once she's all together. Now to also make her clothes. I've decided to let go of my Volks dolls because I never play with them (the one off and my FCS elf boy) and likely at least one of the MSDs and possibly one of the Yo sized as well. Thinking of having a day to work on dolls...sanding and painting and all that XD need to get a hairdrier now too unless someone is willing to lend me one for use for about 30 mins Weather has turned cold for now...I hate driving in the cold so I think I'll be transit bound for the next little while. Thinking of hitting up my old school Christmas Service...been eons since I went plus I'll get to see a few old high school friends if I go. Other than that my X'mas plans are quite bland. No job so not heading to Salt Lake until I have a few more bills paid off and that looks unlikely until 2011. Need to find a renter for my apartment come Feb 2011 as well so we'll have to see how it all pans out.... Well other than that...I should have a pretty quiet holiday season. Don't expect a lot of pressies from me peeps...I has no money...but I'll try to make things....oh and if people are interested I'll be doing a gingerbread decorating party again...probably just gingerbread men/women and not the houses since that was soooo messy lol Current Mood: mellow (Comment on this)
Thursday, October 28th, 2010
9:32 am	I'm back! I'm back (as the title says lol). I had a really nice relaxing time in Hong Kong and Tokyo this time around though my mother certainly kept me on my toes. Wow she loves to shop. I must say that I did a fairly good job in keeping her purchases down and reasonable for the most part (though she did slip away one morning to do some errands and came back with several pricey name brand handbags and shoes - d'oh!). I mostly met up with family and family friends which was nice and made the trip much less of a rush since we only really went to meet up with people rather than take others on a whirlwind tour of all the big name tourist spots. Also made for easier going when I wanted to stay somewhere and wander about and explore. Unfortunately I didn't remember to bring my camera so all I have are a few iPhone photos and those are mostly food photos XD (yay food porn!). I'll get around to eventually posting those. Now that I'm back I have to start the job hunt. My old work still has me going in and doing things for them (not sure if I'm being paid for those things but we'll see). I took this last week to sort through things and get my room in order (I came home with 3 weeks worth of laundry and then more laundry I didn't get done on top of that and all the clean laundry exploded on my floor) and update my resume and cover letters (yup I write a different one for every application I do). I'm going to be applying to several posts at UBC - better hours (i.e. M-F 9-5 for the most part) great benefits and best of all...I don't have to take the work home with me!!!! I might have to take a slight pay cut (down to just under 40k) but the reduction of after/before hours calls and all the extra work will also be gone. My weekends will be real weekends. It's funny that although I've been laid off from my old job I still get phone calls during the day and evenings to do things. Anyhoo I hope to catch up with a few people. I have a few small giftages for family and close friends - since I'm out of work and now flat broke I'll be making X'mas and any other b-day gifties. On another front, I've started sketching and writing a little again. Did some crafty sewing stuff to help some friends so I hope to be back on track with that as well. Now that I have a life again and time to actually do things rather than slave away for work 6 days a week at all hours of the day, I'll be getting back into my regular routines - eating properly, exercising properly (and gah need to loose that 15 lbs I put on since I started working at the office back in Jan) and also planning extra events again. For my lolita friends - yes I did buy a bunch of lolita over in Tokyo, mostly from Closet Child except for socks. I'll post photos of stuff once I'm done clearing out my room. My closet is now pretty full and I'm finally getting around to tossing old ratty clothes out and making room for the new lolita and new work clothes I bought. Anyhoo there's some lolita I havenn't even worn so soonish I'll be posting sales on the comms but anyone who wants something from me can have first dibs For my dolly friends - I think my Unoa Zero has arrived. I was expecting her in Sept but she arrived the day I got back and has been waiting patiently at the post office lol. At least I think it's her. Anyhoo like everything else I'm going to be doing some cleanup and getting rid of things I don't use at all. DoA will likely get the brunt of stuff but locals and friends will get first dibs :) PS - yllyor: gonna try calling you sometime this weekend. I tried emailing and IMing but not sure if they're getting through >.< Current Mood: accomplished (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, October 18th, 2010
12:43 am	Yikes, it's been ages again since I posted. I don't even remember what I haven't talked about... So let's just go with what I'm doing now. I'm sure when I have more time when I get home I can post about all the crud and happy bits that have happened to me over the last few months. Right now....I'm in Asia...Japan to be exact. Only have 6 more days here before I fly back home. I've gone on a shopping extravaganza (well as much as I can with my limited funds). The hostel I'm staying at I've stayed at a few times before...not sure if I'll stay here again since for some reason this time around the tatami rooms had this musty smell....maybe the unusually hot and long humid summer (it's still super warm and humid during the days now) have done something to the tatami...either way I'm thinking of something closer into town anyways maybe on the Shinjuku or Harajuku area next time since I spend more time there than anywhere else. Tokyo without my mom's boatload of buddies and without my sisters (who had never been to Japan before) is infinately much more relaxing. I've had time to shop at my own leisure without worrying about some relative or friend getting bored. Unfortunately I haven't been terribly impressed with the fashion this year. Normally by now I'd have hordes of socks and other items but this year all I've gotten are the basics which I knew I needed to replace from UniQlo (god I love that store for basic leggings undies and stuffs). Paris Kids has been pretty good for hair things but otherwise Mighty Soxer was a letdown for knee socks...I might go for some leg warmers though since they had a really nice soft pair there. TutuAnna was the same...didn't even get anything there. BodyLine was total MEH for me (not that I usually grab tons there) - nothing I absolutely had to have in terms of basic shirts pettis or even socks. I did manage to pick up more brand socks (one of my missions this time around). Queen's Coach in whiteXblue and creamXrose from AatP, another pair of Blooming Garden socks from Meta in yellow (I have cream but I think a spare pair in yellow can't hurt), and a pair of card suit over the knees from BTSSB. I'm thinking of maybe getting the wine coloured velveteen headbow from Baby since I need something to match my old Baby JSK and possible the Masquerade Theatre headbow from AatP since it's just cute and can match a lot of things in my wardrobe already. I kind of fell in love with a muffler from IW as well...but we'll see (they also have some cute hair accessories and socks there too). Black Peace Now had some cute stuff but of course I didn't bother trying them on being my size. I did grab a bowtie from them at last as well as a bracelet from Peace Now. Closet Child in Shinjuku had Wonder Cookie in purple JSK but I passed since it'd be like a baby doll dress on me with my bust since it's not very long in the torso area. I did see a possible Skirt there from Baby though. I did end up buying a Baby ring and a H.Jelly cardigan (it still had the tags on...guess whoever bought it never wore it). Oh and shoes...good grief! I love shoes. Beyond the boots and heels I bought in Hong Kong...I picked up a red pair of Anna Sui shoes...so cute with a brassy buckle at the front. Very unusual and I kept going back to them at the department store over the last couple of days so I knew I wanted them. I bought a pair of flats though as well with very cute clip accessories. The flats themselves aren't anything out of this world but the clips really make the shoe lol I need more clips - either way they do well in pinch since I have a lot of walking to do and my other ones I'll probably just toss since they're cheap $10 Payless slip ons. Tomorrow is Harajuku day and time to see if I can get some pink or black shoes and possibly pink or brown boots. I decided to just repair my black boots. I'm going to hit the Closet Child in Harajuku as well and see if there are any cute skirts to be had or possibly JSKs (if I'm lucky an OP that will fit me). I'll stop by Putumayo and probably Innocent World before heading to La Foret and possibly spending a lot there lol. I'm contemplating reserving the Cinderella Jewelry skirt in BlackXPink, NavyXBlue or BrownXCream - so if I don't find anything at closet child then that's what I'll be doing. The new Meta reserve looks nice too. I checked out the different swatches of colourways and they look nice but not really my style. I love some of the new IW prints but nothing in my size alas and while I looked over Moitie the only thing I could really get there would be socks or other accessories which I passed on since MMM is about 2-3 times the cost of other Brands. Tuesday I think I'm off to Yokohama for picturesque photo ops and more shopping with a local friend :) doing a bit of touristy is good. Wednesday is day with mom. SHe wants to take me to Beige for lunch or dinner or something\- ah and my mom did her typical thing of leaving something important somewhere. This time around she forgot her backpack at the department store so she's going for it tomorrow. She had put it on while trying on shoes moving it away from the huge pile of shopping bags we had amassed today so I couldn't keep track of it. She took it off to try more shoes (I guess she was tired or it was hot or something) and never put it back on :( so by the time we were halfway home on the Metro she realized. Hopefully it'll be there at the dept store tomorrow as it has some emergency medication in there (inhaler etc) - it has her name on that stuff so should be ok I think. Thurssday and Friday I think will be days where I go back and grab anything that I think I still want. I may separate from my mom and go to Akihabara and try to grab a few gift like things for people since no one wants to go back to Akihabara :( I did manage to find the exact style of hairdrier my dad wanted though so he'll be happy. My sister's bf got something from my mom and I think I have to buy a t-shirt for my other sister's gf. Other than that some jewelry from Paris Kids for random gifts for anyone important I forgot to get stuff for and I should be set. Oh I did promise Kurasune I'd bring her hubby back some mochi-creamu and my sisters some Manneken Waffles....yikes! I only brought one suitcase but at least it'll be full on the way back of gifts for others if not all for me. (BTW Ylly I found some cool stuffs for you and uneide you too!) (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, October 4th, 2010
10:17 pm	heading out into the wild blue yonder... Not really but I am hopping a plane at 2am headed towards Hong Kong for a few days before setting out again to visit family in Tokyo. Hong Kong is mostly family business to get done with my mom though I'm sure there will be some sight seeing as I haven't been back since pre-hand ove. Japan will be onsen time (my ankle seems to be bothering me again and last time I went all that hot water did wonders for it) and seeing my grandmother, aunt and cousins. Not a terribly exciting trip but after the year I've had it'll be nice to get away for a bit. Unfortunately my plans to go to Salt Lake and visit old co-workers from my eBay days has to be cancelled as I need to find a job of some sort once I get back. Should have some potential news about what's going to be up and coming with me in terms of events. I've been itching to plan something since I haven't really done anything since the Lolita Granville Island tour with Kurasune. Anyhoo I'm reachable by email though I'll be slow. Current Mood: bouncy (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, June 19th, 2010
11:04 am	More updates... It's been a while since I last updated. Nothing terribly interesting happening other than getting a year older ;) Work Stuff: - work is work. I still work 6 days a week mostly even if I take time off I still end up dealing with work on my days off :( - thinking of taking some time off in September and going away somewhere to the US with my free points - seems like all my time off is happening in October. I'm pretty much taking the entire month off. - sometimes my brain feels like exploding...just as I get something under control something else pops up that needs to be dealt with T-T Lolita Stuff: - still have to make it down south to pick up things. Thinking maybe next weekend if I can leave work around 2pm and head to Olympia. need to check with limu if that's ok :) Can't wait to get my IW JSK, AP OP and Putu shirts - my order and payment for my Rose Melody JSK is done :) yay it'll be the last lolita JSK/OP I buy until at least Oct methinks. Just need to eventually buy that lavender wig - no more buying for me at least for a while. I need to make sure that I'm saving enough for when I go to Japan/HK/Shanghai - the Lolita Day meetup was good. Had lots of fun, as did the girls who came apparently :) kurasune was a super big help in organizing. Only one person really submitted scavenger hunt photos though. Someone else did it but didn't remember to submit the photos (oh well) - need to finish the waistband on my Blooming Garden skirt. Need to get it done by my sister's wedding - OMG prince_du_ciel gave me a cute summer jsk for my birthday. Meta in off-white with strawberries and cherries!!! apparently an older sought after print (probably because it also fit bigger girls like me :)) it has a little stain on it but I'm taking it to the dry cleaners to take a look at it and see if they can get it out without wrecking the rest of the print (no chemical dry cleaning :P ). I did wear it after a gentle cleaning to work and everyone loved it. I guss some stuff I can get away with at work...just not some of my more lolita items since this one just looks like a cute summer dress!!! I should probably find out what the name of the print is and how much it's worth so I can make sure to increase my house insurance. Since I bought it my wardrobe probably has increased X3 with lolita brand items so I should really increase the amount to cover my clothing too Dolly Stuff: - helped kurasune order a few things form Leeke and ended up buying a few AnotherSpace items ;) missed out on the blind wig sets though :( - prince_du_ciel left her dolly at my house to paint later...I have a bag with something insane like 8 heads to paint. Need to do a dolly painting party again at my house :) - still waiting on a dolly. I don't expect it here until late September. B-day Stuff: - come and gone. Celebrations lasted a week like usual with my little sister's b-day only 6 days after mine. Tried to take work off for a couple of days and that didn't go too well. Ah well, at least I got a haircut, my nails done and had free dinner for the last few days lol. - Other Stuff: - I went to Lace Embrace to try on my corset. Again I've confirmed I have a weird body shape lol. it needed to be taken in at the hip and underbust and just over the bust. I'm glad I got them to make it rather than try to do it myself. They did a great job with my stripe silk fabric. Decided to go with subtle binding and a little bit of contrast flossing instead of lace or anything flashy since it would be overwhelming with the stripe pattern. - I bought a new board/card game. Need to play more games and relax rather than spend money on stuff - wanted to buy this pair of Selfish Girl brand shoes at Parker Place. They were pale pink with a heart shaped heel, ankle strap and open toed with a bow. Apparently I fit a size 8 in those but the pair I tried looked like they'd been tried on a lot and kinda manky :( they wanted $149 for them too and wouldn't let me know what other colours I could order in. If anyone knows where I can buy them online or something please let me know. - roomie gave me rent (yay) hopefully she'll slowly pay me back for the backrent and bills she owes soon :) means my credit card bill will be $0 very soon :) I was living off of it while I was unemployed so for the last few months it's been hacking away at it so I can travel free of debt. I had to update my wardrobe for work as well as keep the home going while the roomie was unemployed so it got a little out of hand on top of what I was trying to pay off beforehand. Either way I managed somehow to keep my nest egg emergency money in the bank so now that she's working I can probably cut that down in half to $1000 and nuke 65% of my credit card bill in one fell swoop. Once I get the rest of backlog rent my credit card will be done yay! - going to try and organize a smoker/BBQ party with kurasune and hubby. would be great fun methinks :) - need to organize a sketch and art day...I have ideas floating around in my head and no time to draw right now. I haven't really drawn since Feb :( so sad - allergies are killing me T-T - my DVD player crapped out...need to either invest in a PS3 or get a cheapo DVD player... - trying to save money to buy puter bits for a new puter... Current Mood: crappy (Comment on this)
Sunday, May 9th, 2010
11:01 pm	ARRRGH!!! Peeved @ Meta. They wrote back and basically all they did was update their website with the 'correct' waist band sizing on their site. I was stupid and didn't screen cap the original pages with the top most measurement listed @ 78cm/30.7". Anyhoo have asked if I can purchase a strip of material now to redo the waistband myself rather than try to hack up the waist ties to make a new waistband. Anyways not happy with Meta customer service. If they'd at least acknowledged the error then I would have been ok but they seemed to glide right over it and assume that I was blind since now the page is all hunky dory in their eyes. Jeeze suck it up and take some responsibility for an error. Everyone is human - all I wanted was a 'geeze, we're sorry that was a typo, we can't make a bigger skirt but you can buy a strip of scrap material if we have any left." Anyhoo that percludes me not buying from meta for a long while. I shall instead turn to other brands that I know are much more customer service centric and well...maybe more expensive but you get what you pay for. I won't be posting to any comms either because I don't want to deal with wankers and I'm not the type to whinge in front of strangers... Oh well at least I had fun at today's meetup. a bunch of the local girls and I went to Burnaby Village. Jamie Keith and kurasune's hubby were the photographers and as usual kurasune and I did quite a bit of camera-whoring XD Anyhoo long story short I took very few pics myself we had fun in the nice weather and rode the 1920s carousel then went for sweets at Aoyama in Aberdeen Centre. Anyhoo some of the cute pics that turned out :) Keith took the train stop photos...I just took some candids of the inside of the train and the one of me and kurasune ( thar be more pics under here... ) Current Mood: pissed off (Comment on this)
Tuesday, May 4th, 2010
9:53 pm	more updates more updates...some grrr some yay. I apparently have 3 packages waiting at the post office (yay X 3!) one I know for sure is my Meta order, the other likely my QutieLand order (and will be making another one soon) the last...not sure what it is...mebbe I forgot. Maybe it's the skirt I bought off the comm sales (punk style :)). Clothing-wise I need to head down to the US for some outlet shopping at Banana Republic for some work clothes. Otherwise I'm trying (and failing) to save money and not buy any more lolita clothes - well at least after my Putu order and possibly Qutieland (RHS with wood bottoms in black with ribbons, some blouses/shirts which I can use for work too, cardi and likely a coat and some bloomers). May hold off on the QutieLand order since no one wants anything from there right now and I'm not really dying for anything cept maybe the shoes and coat. Anyhoo I've been unlucky (or maybe luck in disguise) since all the recent releases that I actually like would never fit my bust. Ah well...means I can save some money. On the dollie front, not much happening. I plan to get some faces painted this month but looks like it may not happen til later this summer.... ....because.... I may have to go back to working Saturdays again. Well not 'may' but more likely 'have to'. Not sure yet which day I will take off in lieu but likely it'll be a split weekend. However the consultant at work keeps forgetting/misunderstanding when I tell her that I had prior obligations that I've been reiterating (and even sent email about) on many occasions (about every Sat when I tell her I can/can't work depending on if I can move my other engagement - which lasts until Sept too). Anyhoo the other receptionist doesn't want to change her shift and honestly I don't want to hire yet another new person when honestly we don't need another body there. I may need to cut someones day's down soon though. I have a meeting with the receptionist team to get them going on the work they need to do and booking patients in (or else I really will have to let someone go). The consultant is dealing with the operations staff at least and I don't have any more late nights except on Thursdays (but that's another discussion entirely and best had over tea or dinner or something). Anyhoo enough about work grrs... I may be going down south next weekend...possibly not. I'm confused as to whether or not I'm supposed to go. If not I'll end up working on Saturday again. I am cancelling my June trip to visit Jess. Sorry Jess...but I haven't booked the ticket yet and until I can get this whole Saturday mess sorted out at work it's not likely I'll get any weekends off. I won't get any weekdays either until the office can run without me there in person all the time. August Japan trip may or may not happen depending on if limu can go. Should know by June. October Shanghai trip IS happening. I refuse to give up the last vacation I have scheduled for this year. (consultant doesn't quite understand that the time off I take isn't for fun and games and I work those too). Mom wants me to go to Hong Kong with her, but I think I'll need to pass. Need to save money for Shanghai and when I do eventually end up going to Japan Roomie still hasn't found a paying job. She's interning at CTV but not getting paid. It's not like I'm dire for the money but since I know she's jacking up my electric bill (just don't know how much yet but I think I may S**T myself when I get the bill because of her lack of energy consciousness habits) I probably won't be a happy camper for too much longer. I've printed out the balance sheet for her so she knows I'm keeping track of $$ owed. To top it off... I found out Sunday that her bf is taking her to Europe for a week (this week in fact). I've gotten 2 calls for interviews from places she's applied to already but if she misses out on those that's her own fault. Anyhoo...signing off for the night... (11 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, April 17th, 2010
4:27 pm	More updates from rilly Update of my life...in a nutshell (again) The work stuff: Well, it's getting better...very slowly but better. I hired a new receptionist and she's doing very well. I think I may be able to leave her on her own earlier than I originally planned which means I get my life back (mostly) - weekends yay! I'll still need to work late on Wednesdays (until May 5th) but then all will be well. We're starting into the marketing phase now to pick up new patients for the office. Wow I'm learning a lot...like how both dentists that are airing ads on 1130 AM radio...well they're not really implant/smile makeover specialists. Seems like that stuff isn't classified as a specialty so any dentist can say 'I do implants' even if they've only just taken a little course on it. Some of the people referred to my office have had some really bad dental work done on them and it makes me cringe (yet at the same time feel very relieved I have such an awesome dentist and staff). One new patient had been in to see another dentist for a filling and had to go back 4 or 5 times because it was still causing her pain. After the last visit she couldn't take it anymore and was referred to Dr Wong who had to redo the entire filling. I don't think she'll be going back to the other office anytime soon since she seemed happy here (and I think booked her other 3 fillings to be done when she left). Anyhoo, the office atmosphere is really great now, just mostly ironing out the issues (mostly billing and dealing with insurance companies) that creep up from before I was there (and never informed about). It feels so good that things are actually getting done - sort of like that feeling you get after slaving away with the spring cleaning. Just satisfying! The house stuff: Roomie is still jobless but she's had a few second interviews and some sounded really promising. I hope she gets it soon since the TV station is draining on her I think. Hydro slapped me with another bill for the last 3 months (I guess they want to get the extra that they're increasing on bills now on the backdated stuff...grr). It's not that much but still it sucks to have to pay more. Need to remind the roomie that she needs to cut back on the heating in the house. Strata told me that the plans to fix the building passed. That and good news is that the balconies will be changing over to metal and glass (much much cheaper and better looking for the building too) rather than tearing down the current parapets and rebuilding them all up again out of hardwood. Can't wait for the building to be redone - my home value will skyrocket after since it was the building itself that was keeping the value down so low. Also right now doing the spring cleaning. Yllyor wants her stuff from our artist alley days which means some more room in my storage to put stuff lol. Hopefully by the end of this weekend I'll have my sewing room back and can move the sewing stuff into place and free up the dining room area XD The car stuff: it be fixed and good. it got pooped on but nothing a good carwash can't fix. It wasn't too spendy to fix either which means I can start on those long trips again once I renew my passport The family stuff: Hung out with the sisters the other day. It was good. Hopefully will hang with my aunt later today...gotta give her a call The lolita stuff: Waiting for the bill from Meta. Should be in next week I think. Other than that I missed out on the Baby Masquerade OP in red (the only colour I wanted) but it may be a blessing in disguise since it was one of the most expensive OPs I've seen out there in a long while. Started a QutieLand and nana_jun group order. If you want in check my previous post :) (heheh post happy today) Also starting to plan something for May 9th. Looks like an out of town Lolita will be around and wants to see Vancouver with a flock of lolitas by her side lol. Once the spring cleaning is done I expect I will have the urge to sew again lol, especially since work shoud be slowing down for me now. The Dolly Stuff: Domuya still hasn't shipped but they did write me back to say they were checking on kurasune's doll. Crescent Shop has evil timing...or I should say Alchemic Lab does. Unoa Zero pre-order! Gah my dream dolly! I did a price check on it and for everything I want it'll cost me about $1500 USD plus shipping. Yikes so spendy but I know I want the dolly....she'll be the most spendy one of the lot I own (mind I did buy option parts but she's nekkid and I have to build her). I'm still hovering about to make payment. I may wait to see if the dollar hits parity again or goes over so it's not quite so scary. Gah to get her or not...I want her...but she's so expensive...I've been thinking about this doll since she came out 2 years ago and didn't manage to win the lottery. She was going for insane amounts of money after that though since she was so hard to get....gah I should just get her and then deal with it when she arrives....in September lol Need to organize that  faceup workshop still and try out some of the new Unoa Freak 2 patterns.... Too much to do lol. Current Mood: busy (8 Comments |Comment on this)