Thursday, March 26

Busy couple of days..

I went from 'not working on anything creative' to 'finishing one story, starting another and making jewelry.'

Yep, I popped out several new pieces of jewelry, finished my Women in Practical Armor story AND started a Pirate piece for another possible anthology.

Here's a small blurb from that piece, and below it are the images from my new designs.

Hanging low in the sky, The Lusty Nymph awaited her new captain. When the news had come down that their captain had chosen to retire and try a hand at living in one of the newly built sky cities, the crew had thought their first mate would take over. He'd been with them for some years now and even the captain had commented on how sure he was of the young man achieving every officers true goal.  Their own ship. 

But as the days rolled by, it became apparent that this was not the case. Jefferson didn't have the money, and the former captain was staunch on his desire to have what the Nymph was worth, and not a penny less. 

Days turned into weeks as the ship had been all but grounded since then, with potential captains looking over the ship and discussing prices with the polished older man. Sitting in a nearby tavern, their home away from home, the crew was beginning to grow worried that new births were in their future. 

"You see who's looking over the thing now?" Came the hushed voice of one of the men. 

"Who cares, the capt'n won't accept their offer either. Mans set a price in his head and won't go below." 

"An most of the ones who want the ship can't even come close to that price." 

"This one might. Man was dressed in foppery, arrived in a personal coach and everything. Could see the drool on the Cap's lips at the sight of it." The first told them, causing silence to fall on the crew. 

"I won't work for no fop." One of the others murmured. "I don't care how much money he's got." 

"You'll work for whoever pays you." Another said, "Works hard to find right now, unless you wanna take up a land job." 

It was a well known problem among the shrinking sky ships. Once you'd taken to the sky, it was hard to stay too long on earth. Each one would rather die, then be forced to ground before their time. But with the cities moving into the air, their space was falling away and more captains were forced into simple transport services, between the cities. 

"Alright boys, sale has gone through." Came a commanding voice from the doorway. "Your new captain will be here in three days time to take possession and start your new life." He smiled at them, "I'll miss ya, and I hope you honor Captain Hayford like ya do me." With a mock glare, he looked at each of the men in his former crew. "If I hear ya'll been anything else, I'll be back to kick you off the plank myself!" 

He waved over Jefferson, "Come on boy, I'll give you all the details you need to know." 

So here she sat, waiting an unknown future.  The old captain hoped the crew accepted the changes coming their way. Not the least of them, Captain L. Hayford. 

---- 

Jefferson looked at the officers and nodded his head at their shocked expressions. He couldn't wait until the rest of them found out. 

"He refused to sell to you, a man who knows how to captain a ship, but to one with no training beyond her father being a captain?" 

"Matthew Hayford is one of the finest captains to fly. If his daughters half as skilled as he was, we'll be in good hands." The navigator stood and looked at them, "My worry is this foolhardy desire to be pirates. The Lusty Nymph has a long standing history dating back three captains. She's been cared for and isn't built to take on this new life." 

"That's why I've given each of you the chance to leave, with several months 'pay' to cover your down time." Came a voice from the doorway. 

Heads turned to look at the newcomer. The woman before them stood tall, her broad shoulders taking up much of her captains coat. Of all that she conveyed, it was her age that surprised Jefferson the most. 

"I'm untested, by the normal standards. But for the last thirty years, I've been at my fathers side on every ship under his command. This isn't the some whim of a child looking for adventure. Our skies are changing, and we have to change with them." 

She strode into the room, taking note of each mans face as she walked. "This is the finest ship, and crew, the world has to offer. I want you with me on this journey, which isn't to follow the pirates of old." Her smile was broad, with a cunning that drew in each of the men. "If you'll see fit to follow me, we'll make history. No one will remember the fine history of The Lusty Nymph, but rather the shocking discovery of The Siren's Song."
























Kristy C

Wednesday, March 18

Sucked into another world....

I've recently become refascinated by Pokemon.

Yeah, it might seem a bit silly, but its the truth.  It started when I was able to play FireRed again, and turned out to be better at it than I used to be.  :D

Then I said 'I wanna watch Pokemon' so, to netflix [and then streaming sites] I went.

THEN, I researched weird questions like 'Do Jesse and James end up together?'

This lead to...

Me reading the Manga, Pokemon Adventures.

0.0

HOLY SHIT, is it a good story. Red is one hell of a trainer. Ash might be 'based' off him, but its poorly based. I mean, no comparison. If anything, its like comparing Harry Potter to Harry Dresden. One wins mostly on dumb luck and the other wins on skill.

If they ever went up against each other, Ash would get his ass kicked.  Nevermind that in the manga, the trainers seem to take as much a beating as the pokemon.

So far, I've read...

  • Arc 1: Red, Blue & Green
  • Arc 2: Yellow
  • Arc 3: Gold, Silver & Crystal
  • Arc 4: Ruby & Sapphire
  • Arc 5: FireRed & LeafGreen
Let me tell you, that's a LOT of stories.  Better yet, they follow a slight formula style, but each one has challenges for the characters to overcome. In other words, THEY GROW UP!!!

Yeah. I know, weird huh?

When reading the third arc, I became so engrossed in it.. That I was up til past 2am reading the over 15 chapters of The Final Battle... Before I finally forced myself to stop reading.

If you're looking to pick it up, do it. Honestly, its a good storyline and sucks you in.

Plus, the pokemon are awesome.



Kristy C

Saturday, March 14

How to tell the world off...

^^

Simple post today, but I wanted to share this song by the AMAZING Nick Pitera.

Like A Boy, on Spotify

If you don't have the app, then here's a YouTube with the lyrics that a fan made.


What do I like... No LOVE, about this song?

Fairly simply. As you've noticed, I'm kinda a weird girl [I think I'm weird, and I know others have found me that way at times.] And so I get it. That tendency for the world to say 'Hey, you're not acting like you should. Change.'

This song says, in a very nice way, 'Fuck you, I'll be who I want to be.'

Kristy C

Friday, March 13

How to get my MoJo back...

I feel like I need to read a book called 'How Kristy Got Her Mojo back.' or something.

Not kidding on this. Can't seem to be inspired to do much of anything. I'm kinda thinking that when I rearranged my little work space, all I really did was clutter it up. That, coupled with the three weeks of work, left me feeling very 'blah' about jewelry design or even writing.

And that's not good for business. Today I'm going to work on updating Etsy and my story, with more of the story and etsy tomorrow out and about. If I don't game on Sunday, perhaps I'll spend the day cleaning up and rearranging a bit more.

I get that when I start cleaning up, I sit there and go 'OMG, SO MUCH CRAP!!!' and flail about like Kermit at the start of the show. But I have to try and focus, work on a spot and then move onto the next one. I can't live in a mess, it kills me creatively.

Anywho, this is more of a personal 'Do this!!' post, hoping that by putting it out there, I'll get off my ass and work.

Kristy C

Monday, March 9

Review: Act One, Wish One by Mindy Klasky

So, I've been staying in bed later than I should lately, but the last few mornings at least I've been reading.

A few days ago, bored of something, I started a book I picked up around christmas time for free.

Act One, Wish One by Mindy Klasky

When I got it, can't recall if it was in the romance or paranormal sections, or both.  Just that the cover had been kinda cute and intriguing.

Ms. Klansky's website is here

The book revolves around Kira, a 20/30 something who works in the world of the Theater, and her discovery of a magic lamp, and the Genie inside.

As with all stories evolving a genie, you have the zany-ness of the elemental being themselves, the desires they hold that revolve around YOU and the wishes themselves.

Its hard to talk too much about the story, except that you take an interesting trip with Kira as she navigates her wishes and learns how to grow up along the way.  The story was cute and engaging for a light read, and nothing too adult that a younger mind couldn't enjoy it as well.

Kira wants to stand tall, but at the same time hasn't yet learned how to go about doing that.  In the end, she seems to regret nothing she's done, and finds peace that is much needed.

There's also a book 2, which I believe follows either the Genie itself, or just the idea of genies and wishes into another young woman's life, who also happens to be in the theater world.

I'd give it 3 out of 5 stars, as it was a cute and fun read. Doubtful that I'll go back and reread it, but I want to pick up book two, along with another of her books to try out.

Kristy C

Saturday, March 7

One of those days....

Yesterday was a mixture of 'argh' and 'blargh'.

First, I'm gonna give you the 'rundown' of my morning.  Once it got started.


I went to the bank first, had to do something else.. Arrived 20 min early.. >.> Went to the store, bought a donut, choco milk and water… ate the donut, then did bank things… Then I headed downtown to the apple store. Arrive 20 min before THEY open, go to Starbucks and get a Chai… Wait a bit, head over to the Apple Store. Walk in 'Do you know what you want?' 'Yes, Gold, 64gb, iPhone 6'... Didn’t know one of the passwords, we tried all our normal ones.. Nothing… Nothing.. No one knows anything… Dad’s driving… argh. Went into the mall, and up to the Verizon store… Gave him infos, he checked ID.. 'Oh, I can give you the password, I’ve verified your ID'. >.> 'Ok. Do you have the phone in stock?' 'Sadly, no.'  Back down to the Apple store, with password in hand.. Get new phone.

Frustrating, sure. Worth it? I like my phone, and I pretend I managed to walk my donut off.

I get home, play around with the new phone, backup the old phone... Struggle with getting everything in the new one from the old one. Oh, and I list the old one on ebay.  :D

Then, I gather things up for my show. I arrive 30 min 'late' to set up, the good table is gone. [they only have 4 working 8ft tables. :P at them.]

I say 'I'd rather not be next to another jewelry maker.' and get told 'Well, suck it up and deal, you can't always pick.' >.>  Yeah, you can. The one in charge, can try and work things out so you don't have two people who do the same thing, sitting next to each other.  :P

Once I'm set up, I change and settle in. Have a few interesting people stop by, enjoy a few chats. One lady reads my palm, tells me I'm intuitive and good at communication.  I doubt her, as I'm not sure that's how I work. But, what do I know. Another lady loves 'this and this... only without that and this, only longer and OH thooooooose, only I have a pair at home similar.'

After holding a pair back and everything, I'm not sure she buys anything and leaves.  ~shrugs~ she has my car. I'll hope, but not hold my breath.

When I reach the end of the night, I've had 2.5 sales [one customer, a regular, made two purchases.] and haven't made out too badly, for just giving up time for the event.

Now, we're packing up. I'm almost finished. The lady in charge asks one person 'You need any help out? How were things? I loved so many of your pieces, but I'm trying to watch my spending. We'll try and do another one in November, when people are looking to shop.' Asks another lady the same thing, gives her the same spiel. Asks a third seller that, changing out 'I loved so many of YOUR pieces' to 'I loves so many of Person A and Person B's pieces'.

What am I doing? Packing up.

I'm finished, have it all on the tables. Do I get asked 'Do you need any help out?' Nope. Do I get to hear 'I loved so many of your pieces.' Nope. I get nothing. I just get to carry it all out on my own in three trips, then go home.

Normally, we do two a year... I think I'll skip the next one. This one left me very 'blah' at the end. 

Thursday, March 5

AHA!!! I'm here to post!

Ok, I swear I've been trying to type up a post for... Well, weeks now.

See, as ya'll know I'm unemployed/self employed and trying to keep from relying wholly on my father. I'd had an almost job with a company, but they said 'F-U' when I ended up having a past.  'le gasp, you're not perfect?'

Well, I applied at another company and THEY liked me, and don't care about my past, only my current.  So what started as a few jobs locally, turned into a second week out of town, then a third week...

I got home this last Sunday, and I don't think they'll have me go anywhere else, plus I can't go anyplace as I have a show tomorrow.

But, the long hours [67.5 working hours in 4 days, lots of driving around, then more driving, followed by 51 working hours in 4 days, then more driving] have paid off and I'll be doing some updating this weekend, including a new phone, some new tires, oil change, new PC [the old one isn't doing so good] and the like.

All in all, its pretty good and I'm happy.

Except, that I'm three weeks behind in everything else AND trying to remember how to be at home, and active [this week, hasn't been that good at being active] so I can get back to business.  Also attempting to NOT spend all my phone.  I'm planning on putting some of it into a CD account for the Holidays, and perhaps another one for future shows..

Which brings me to exciting news.

WORLD CON 2015!!! You are looking at a vendor!!  That's right, I was accepted as a vendor at one of the bigger SciFi-Fantasy events of the year.  This thing travels around all over the place, and somehow its landed in Spokane.

Its called Sasquan, and its in August... And I'm STOKED!!! To be going. BIG chance to make contacts.

So, that's my life recently... Making some 'big ish bucks' which will mostly be spent in a few days, but also mostly on things I need [ok, I don't 'need' a new phone, but I think I'm making the best choice for the future, as my phone is starting to act up.]

Kristy C