Bottletank

    What an exciting couple weeks its been! A little belated, but happy Love day! In Spanish, "love" has words of varying intensities and relationships. Te quiero is not as intense as te amo. Te quiero is stronger than just liking someone. Its literal translation is I want you, though it's used as a milder 愛してる (Aishteru). Te amo is the equivalent of like, full blown aishteru. In English, "I love you" can be grand or ... diluted. The point is whatever kind of love is around you, celebrate it. Every day.

My valentine's day was spent at the coroner's office.

 This was one I hadn't been to before. While there, I learned a lot. 10/10. Would go back.

Classes are fun. I'm enjoying them a lot. There's a lot to learn.

 

Clay is one of my favorite things to work with, but mortuary wax is SO MUCH BETTER. They're completely different but my god. I love everything about it. These are practices we do in restoration. The final project will be an entire head. I've yet to choose who I will sculpt. 

 

Kinda looks like professor Lupin.

 
The reason for the little angel was simply because they deserve just as much attention and affectionate detail as everyone else. These were not sculpted to depict anyone. They were mostly from memory.

That evening, Mr. Chicken took us out to a cute little Japanese spot.

It was so cozy inside!

 

But I have been the busiest bobble head. Today, I can finally sit and write without a deadline pressing on me (until next week). It kinda sucks that I can't really talk about my work as much as I'd like to. Though I appreciate its importance and the juxtaposition of its affects. So... if peeps are ever curious or feel up for indulging me- for any reason, I'd be happy to have an earnest conversation.
I had the strangest realization at work last week that gave me pause. It's one of those things where it's not something that can just be brought up followed by asking for advice to just anyone. When I consulted with one of my professors, his "Oh yeah, all the time. Especially when we went to Disneyland" answer brought me relief. Then I spoke with Mr. Chicken about it. His answer also gave me some reassurance, and fun perspective; a car enthusiast will observe cars. Sigh.

Mr. Chicken's been so great. He got me a chirashi bowl to nom on all to myself while I did school stuff uwu

He also gifted me Hogwarts Legacy and Like a Dragon: Ishin! This is nice and also torturous because instead of writing this, I could be playing either one of those. But no. Here I am. OH! And a friend of mine also gifted me an indie game called Birth. It's really interesting. Bizarre art style. I like what the artist is going for. It's really cute. Thank you Cam ^_^

My work schedule is sporadic and unpredictable which makes time with friends so treasured lol.

It was so good to see them again. We met up with them kinda late but aaahhh my heart. Been too damn long.

A most sophisticated bunch we are.

Boring hair. I wonder if there's some kind of game people have in secret about every girl that gets accepted into the program with straight cut bangs.

A dollar for every one that showed up after the first week of classes. And a shot of tequila for every one that actually graduates. There are many of us, lol. Imma statistic :D

 

So, there was something that happened that I was really proud over, can't remember what. And I had a day off after a few weeks, so I donned my newly acquired fabulous Oswald ears (Thank you so much, H!), my Fleischer jacket that I adore so so much yet never wear because hoodies are more comfortable, and jumped in the car with Mr. Chicken. We were off to Disneyland again.

First stop: California Adventure.

 

You already know for what.

And to my surprise... there it was. All of it. So much of it..

 

OSWALD !

His store was mostly his again. I was beside myself.

I wasn't sure what I was hoping to feel... disenchanted over kitschy blue merch wasn't it. Oswald from 1928 is public domain, I get it - they won't capitalize on that version as much. Oswald the Lucky Rabbit is Disney's blue-loving rabbit and they wanna push that hard. That's fine, but I can't automatically like something simply over it being themed in something I enjoy. Mr. Chicken felt similarly. His attempt to console was "if he makes Disney more money they'll hire better designers."

Breakfast :D

 

Avenger's Campus is really fun. It was cold that day, and yet still really nice out. I haven't watched the sequel to Black Panther, but figured the character waving at us was his sister. I was right. ^_^

While we sat there taking in the sights around us, we mused over how much fun it would be to have our friends there with us enjoying a beer and just hanging. No rush to go anywhere or do anything, just living in the moment.

These shot glasses were really cute.

Albeit disenchanted by 2023 Oswald's design comeback, admittedly seeing Oswald reemerge from banishment was satisfying enough that every time we'd spot someone wearing his ears, I'd take a mental tally.

 

People were wearing his ears, and that's all I wanted for him. I anticipate Ortensia ears in the near future.

 

However, I only ask this; Why would Oswald burst out of my head? He's not Sadako.

He is my Chimken. And Becky is my patronus.

After some moseying around, Mr. Chicken said we had to be somewhere around 11:30. He had made reservations and wanted to surprise me :3. Throughout our stroll around California Adventure, he kept teasing that we'd walked by the place 3x. I couldn't for the life of me figure out where he was taking us.

Where were we even going?? I've never gone into this area.

This place was SO CYOOOOOO. I had no idea it existed lmao. Like, I don't think I even noticed it because the little entryway is kinda camouflaged behind tables with umbrellas, and I thought it was just part of the winery. I mean, it is. Technically? Idk. I'm a baka chan.

Magic Key Terrace

 

This is a lounge located in California Adventure above the winery by the pier. It was a view of the pier and into Cars Land. The ambiance is so nice and like, get-away-y. Everything was so so so nice. Our poor server, omg.

AHHH, SO DREAMY

For drinks, I got the 5...4...3...2...1, and Mr. Chicken got the Millionaire's Manhattan. Both divine. We also got to sample two of their wines. I wanted to see if they had any sweet reds. There's somewhere downstairs a little ways further where I get sweet red wine lol, but they didn't offer it there. Instead they offered us samples of Prisoner (we already have that at home LOL) and a Pinot Noir. Neither were to my tastes, but I enjoyed them still because I just like analyzing and comparing smell and flavor.

Never used to care for tastings honestly, but Starbucks actually helped me develop a palate for it from all of the coffee tastings we'd do. I learned to appreciate and relish nuances in notes and accents, layers, fullness and body of flavor, even the subtlest textures. Pretty cool once you get it down.

For noms I went with the Bone Marrow Truffle Mac & Cheese. Mmmmm truffle. Macacheee. Bone marrow. Gaww. It was very yom. If it has truffle, I'm getting it. And Mr. Chicken, well he enjoys his sliders. And the charcuterie he ordered for us was also super nice. The cheeses were faaannncccyy. I love me fancy cheese. There was one that was like... wine infused, and another with whiskey and smoked, and 2 other ones that I don't remember but were yummy. The entire thing was just so lovely.

:D

And for dessert, the Irish Cream Dulce de Leche and Caramel churro thing sounded too damn yummy to pass up.

He beat me to it though, I didn't even have to say anything, he just ordered it.

Next it's TIME TO ENJOY IT WITH OUR FRIENDS!

We didn't go on any rides again. Just wandered ^_^.

Back to Avenger's Campus to try something.

Mr. Chicken's coworker was telling him about how much her husband enjoys these stouts from Pym Test Kitchen. They have this like, milk stout beer with marshmallows and vanilla ice cream and something else. Sounds super yummy. We both love stouts. The ones with chocolate and coffee accents? Divine.
So... that alone sounds amazing, right? So we get one each. Because.

Maaaan... :\

Any semblance of sweetness that I would've picked up on from the stout was negated from the sugars in the ice cream. So it was all bitter. Like, the ice cream cut the bitterness, but... idk. It was kind of a let down. This threw me off. But I wanna give it another shot. Because milk stout, vanilla ice cream and marshmallows can't taste bad. Like, it's mathematically impossible. This is me in denial, but I'm not giving up on the Molecular Meltdown.

Is it just me? Does any of that look good? Am I the asshole?

Had to hit up el Estar Gwars

Mr. Chicken spotted a certain Mandalorian making his way through the crowd. Would've liked to have taken a better photo but he was getting mobbed.

He was like Jesus, so many people were following him

Once we were done wandering there, we headed over to Toon Town to see what all the fuss was aboot.

It was closed. :(

Most of the area was closed off, and there was a long line to get into what I'm assuming is the new ride. I saw some teasers of it and it looks like it's styled like what cartoon network looks likes.
And then we were done around midday. I came home and worked on homework stuff lol.

Probably had an exam or something the next day, haaah. Jk, I learned my lesson with the wedding. No more weddings in the middle of midterms.

Lately been taking a lot of solace in journaling.

  It's nice to write things down again. The whole process puts me in like, a cathartic head space. Everything is so cute and available around me to use whatever I want, and it's all visually appealing, and my journal itself is just cute, and small, and it's like... being in grade school again playing with stickies, except it's for like, idk. Expression. 

 

And the prep for it is just as cozy. You get your coffee, or tea, or yummy fruit infused water, grab some snackies, bring it over to your area, get all your stuff set out, get all comfy, and just... write. Mmmm ^_^.

 

Imma do that in a bit. 

Speaking of snackies, the Tokyo Treat boxes keep on coming. These are a little amazing and it's likely that once this subscription runs its course, I may renew it or opt for another box.

It's just a nice thing to get and open. And then the endearing things inside, plus the element of surprise.

This was a christmas gift from my bff, and I'm still enjoying it almost halfway into the year. Pretty great. Look at this!

We were craving dinner so we went to the spot again. I think it was like, a Wednesday or something. One might think, are we not tired of this place yet? To that, I say sometimes! But it's where I took Mr. Chicken on our first outing to impress him with my I can eat like a sumo wrestler skills, and it worked. So.

In between the fun stuff, this is my day to day.

Work & School

Keeps me pretty busy to say the least.

This fluffy mass of cuteness came in. I impulse pre-ordered this plushie because it beckoned me. No regrets. Very soft. Very squish. Very cyoo. 10/10.

Midterms got me feeling all kinds of whack. 

Math makes me cry. There's math involved in some stuff that we do. Sitting down with one of my profs today he kinda dumbed something down to its most caveman form, and I finally grasped it. He's great. I like him because he immediately picks up what I'm putting down. And he's weird, so it makes him more approachable, to me at least. And he gave me bottletank. So I went home and made a WoW character. A tank character. To remind me of the formula.

what's the concentration in the bottle?

volume of the bottle?

concentration in the tank?

volume in the tank?

BOTTLE TANK.

I should've just named her Bottle, that would've worked too.

I'm tired. lol

Slytherclaw

    Just got out of a zoom meeting with school stuff and I gotta say... although this (may be) my last semester, I'm a little bummed it's gonna end. Words can't describe it, but it's a bittersweet feeling. I like my professors. They're weirdos. Just like me- only much wiser.

This past week has been physically draining.
But I like keeping busy. I feel like this past week went by so quickly.

I like this picture. It makes me think of Harvester Game's art style for some reason. I look like I'm angled right, but the wall behind me looks tilted. Ophelia's bed contrasts everything, but it's like, not too out of place. This day I remember was especially long. My patience grows.


A new box from Tokyo Treat came in!

 

The valentine theme is really cute. Daifuku Kit-Kats are yum!

I need to control myself with these. They're all so cyoo and ready for nomming. But I must resist and save them for especially taxing homework evenings. Which are gonna mercilessly come at me in March.

Valentine's Day coming up! It's gonna be an exciting day for me. Mr. Chicken kindly got us several bottles of red wine. So sweet. He also got me the deluxe edition of Hogwarts Legacy. He spoils me all the time. I'm such a lucky ducky. I'd say that that's his V-day gift to me, but in all honesty he's always getting me little surprises and gifts here and there. He my Chimken. :3

The evening that Hogwards Legacy went up for PC I snuck in 2 hours of playtime after working on a paper. I can't stress enough how tantalized I was with it. The entire intro was like... crazy. They just throw you in mercilessly and it gets intense like, real quick lol. I like it though! Not to mention... this new genre of fantasy is refreshing. I think I'm pretty vocal about this but I've been done with nordic themed games since Wrath of the Lich King LOL. Like, that's when it all started, and it was like, a domino effect of norse and vikings and the cold north shit like, just fucking everywhere in every show, movie, game and expansion that came out. And it snowballed ever since. That and the medieval theme. And the two of them mixed together. Just. constantly. Lol, I'm sorry but I've been so over it. So this is the most delicious shit in the world right now because it's

1. Not a horror title and
2. Different

No critiques so far. I'm not a huge Harry Potter fan in the way that other people are. Like, I've not read the books. The movies are enjoyable though, I do like them. That said, walking around the school feels so surreal. It's massive. It's hours of exploration in the school alone. I can't even imagine the like... architectural design that went into that. It's phenomenal. And when you go into places you've seen in the films... and it's like, exactly what  you saw.... takes your breath away. Really does. Pretty impressive.

Got sorted as Slytherin again.

I wanna be a Ravenclaw damnit, lol. They're way cooler. Who gives a shit about being cunning? Evasion, deceit? Pitiful. Half-assing something having more value than your own merit is... gross. I rather take 8 hours doing something correctly, getting the results I know are Good than to take 4 hours with crappy shortcuts that give passable, mediocre results. Also, opportunists annoy the ever-living shit out of me. Power is... useful only sometimes. And easy to circumvent. Wtf am I gonna do with power when my standard of results differ than other peoples'? Useless. No. I belong in Ravenclaw.

So I switched to Ravenclaw. I'm a poser. :(
Blue is ugly though, I much prefer Slytherin's green.

That's so funny, I'm going off like I'm this super flawless, efficient person that doesn't make mistakes while also being the person who starts crying trying to understand the written formula {f} = x because I took it too literally. Like, I was asking what else "function" was supposed to mean, like was it a double entendre, because the function of x doesn't inherently mean anything, and I couldn't wrap my head around that basic principle of it just showing that x is the result of something. So I started crying. :)
Homdray and Lifa were trying to explain it to me on the whiteboard. We were probably a couple shots of Jack in. Mr. Chicken was also trying to explain it.

In hindsight, it's pretty funny to think about.
So yeah. Ravenclaw. Ravenclaws probably wouldn't cry over seeing a bunch of algebraic symbols though. Hm. Maybe I really am a Slytherin. Damn. I just made myself sit down LOL.

Welp. 

That's...

Alright then. 

Cool lol. ANYWHO. It's too late now. I'm in Ravenclaw. Maybe I should make another character and just stay Slytherin. Like the little crybaby I am. Bruh, who cries at math? ME. GOD. I am literally not a Ravenclaw. LOL WHY AM I LAUGHING. So dumb lolol. Ahhh. xD.

okay okay.

Speaking of math, I'm learning to quantify and calculate these.

In theory, it's not hard. In practice... well. You see, I cry at math. I'll get there. It'll just take me a little longer to grasp than other people, but I'll get there. That's what the wine is for. What is all that? Chemicals with various functions. They must each be calculated through a specific equation so that results are controlled and presented up to ideal measures and standards. Math. One of them looks like Thai milk tea.

OH. SPIDERMAN NOIR IS GETTING HIS OWN SERIES. You know what that means? All the times I thought about cosplaying him but didn't will now be influenced by the very fact that he'll gain notoriety and everyone and their mom will be cosplaying him! Mark my words. That's good though. Man. Two of my fav characters getting lots of love in the year of the rabbit. First Oswald, now Noir Spidey!? Pffffffffffftt. WHO'S NEXT??? Lemme think.

DOCTOR MANHATTAN (I didn't watch the show)
V
Poe Collector!?!??!

Can you imagine a Zelda game based around like, the Poe Collector? God. It could be along the same madness vibes as Majora's Mask.

-Actually, no. I'm tired of seeing rehashed stuff. The 80s and 90s were cool because there was so much original stuff that came out all the time. Now it's just collabs and remakes. The viking/medieval collabs- UGH
Alright lol, that's enough. Not much for this week's ramblings.
I finished up a bunch of stuff today so I'm gonna enjoy some Hogwarts Legacy tonight. Hope everyone's having a great week. Apparently the Sorting Hat knows me better than I know myself LOL.

Byyyyye ^-^

Jiangshi

 The world feels like it's spinning quickly by me, while I'm in this slow hum of respite. This isn't to say that school isn't clenching asses. It is. Though, I feel I'm starting off more confident this time around than before.

I've gotten into the rhythm of keeping to my journal. Admittedly, it's because of how attractive I've endeavored to make the experience.

Much of that comes from my new washi tape set that recently came in. It's added another layer of activity. And it's attractive! Seeing tangible results motivates me to continue.

The theme is antiques. Old shit is cool. Simple. Intricate. Designed to be alluring, dignified, and functional.

These two rolls are my favorites. The bottom one has multiple designs, though this graphic made me smile when I first saw it.

Another wonderful thing was the surprise Mr. Chicken came home with.
While we were in Disney Cali Adventure, he got stuff for his coworker who also likes Oswald. In turn, his coworker gifted him these bad boys.

I recognized them instantly. They're Tokyo Disneyland exclusive Oswald ears. I lost it. Thank you so much, H. I will wear them proudly when we go again. Which is soon. Hopefully. We'll see how burned out I get lol. I feel like... I spoke too soon with the meltdown thing. I think this time around it's gonna be more burnout than meltdown. We'll see. I don't know. But these ears made my day! I can't wait to take a billion selfies in them. :3

Another amazing thing was the beginning of our specialized training.

I'm wearing the scrubs that Ponies gifted me. That day has come.

I don't know how to compartmentalize what I'm feeling in regards to this, but myself and my colleague are both tremendously excited and optimistic. This presents an imbalance in my morality department because I don't know that it's socially okay to be excited over this... part- all things considered. Regardless, I am. Very much. It was our first opportunity to work as involved as we were, alongside our mentor.

We left exhausted, sore, but full of experience and confidence. And it felt good. The end result is something we all want so much to be an kind of help to someone, or a group of people.


Following that amazing thing was another amazing thing!
A few months ago, I got to meet an artist whose work I admire. At Designercon! Imagine!
I didn't learn my lesson with @Tokyo_Jesus. I was a shy gremlin then, and was still a shy gremlin this time around but we got to talking. But we chatted, his lovely lady was there too. She's so beautiful in person. Super sweet! ^-^

Next thing ya know, we're out and he's treating us to dinner and I'm face launching feral screeching at what he brought us.

The artist is Jryu. He's a sculptor and multimedia artist. It's been years actually that I've wanted one of his lil jiangshi pieces. Now that I was finally able to, I ended up commissioning him for 2; one for myself and one for Mr. Chicken. They're the most adorable little babies in the entire world omfg.

The place we went to was so quaint and yommy. It was nearby, so may stop by again sometime. Super chill evening. Was really nice to connect to someone who like, gets it. As far as like... things that are a little darker, but also is a nerd.

Our closest friends are all right there too, and I can't stress this enough;

Surround yourself with people who are chill, at peace with themselves, and flow with your wavelength. It's life-changing.

It was so nice to hang with this dude. Looking forward to the next hang.

Me screaming, probably.

I was foaming at the mouth when we got home because I grabbed Mr. Chicken's camera lights and went to our back yard for very important thing.

INTRODUCING THE BABIES.

Nothing says Asian horror like a cyan light.

Is that ... FOOD?
Why, YES. IT IS.
The babies have FOOD in their cute little hats!

Beef Noodle Soup and Sashimi
🖤

Says so on their cyoo little talismans.

Jesse went in and cooked us up the yummiest noms (delicately sculpted) on the cyootest babies.

The packaging took me out. He handed us the bag with the little take out boxes and I-

My heart. I just. They're both just. With their little boxes. I-
gasping.

Says sashimi, that's adorable. Chirashi bowls are one of my favorite foods. I inhale them, it's feral. And beef noodle soup is also a favorite, but it's complicated. I'll never be able to say why on here, but you can't even imagine and don't want to. Sorry. And I mean that.


Another cool thing is restorative art class. Moving along through all of the parts of the face and how to sculpt them. This was challenging at first, but I like the results.

I didn't mean to make Denethor with Corey Feldman lips, that was total coincidence. But fun! I feel good about sculpting. It's my preferred medium. Mostly because I can see what I'm doing right in front of me and correct in real time as opposed to trying to imagine something, calculating angles and translating that onto a one dimensional plane. Too hard uwu. Professor feels I'll do well. That's encouraging. ^-^

No days off for the next few weeks. I'm okay with that. Today my patience was tested a bit. Certain personalities simply rub me the wrong way. The types who default to complain and are catty while trying to spin it in a blithe, comedic way. It misses. Bitterness is exhausting.

So once we cleared that we didn't have to be there anymore, my friend and I left. Grabbed some essentials at Daiso and had lunch to decompress.

We were in luck. After the headache we'd just escaped, the restaurant provided us with a quiet afternoon lunch.
Loud environments in a confined space are... unpleasant. We have this area in the back corner that we sit at to deliberately keep to ourselves. I'm not sure what happened to encourage this, but it's not quiet there anymore. We must re-establish a new base. There are so many voices going on at the same time, by our once little quiet corner... why? There's gonna be a day when I'm gonna look like an asshole because I'll resort to standing up mid lecture and walking to the empty side of the room, and sit there. I'll feel bad for leaving my friend in the loudness. But I foresee this happening if our base continues to get rushed like this.

In spite of this, I'm home now. Exhausted. But drunk on happy little moments all throughout the week. I wanna sit and journal but fear I'll start dozing off as soon as I lean onto the table to write. I may nap for a bit. There's more I'm going to work on tonight. A lot to do and study for. But brain needs to recharge.

Here's hoping the weekend brings little yays to you, reader. Happy Friday! ♡