Because every entry can't be bitchiness and depression.

I do have some good news, and this deserves to be spread around too. So!

Good thing 1 - while my hours had been cut, from five days a week to three, things have altered so that I am actually getting more hours on the days I work, and tech hours at that! I have one whole day of teching only, on Thursdays. I still have to do both kennels and teching on Fridays and Saturdays, which makes for very long days (downright insane during the holidays), but I'm getting tech pay now, which is nice. This means my bills are able to be paid, and I managed not to deplete my savings before that came into effect. I was on a trial basis for the tech hours - over at the end of December, but until recently I was only teching on Friday and Saturday, kennels only on Thursday. They asked me to take teching on Thursdays and gave my kennel hours to the other girl who does them, so I'm taking that as a good sign.

Good thing 2 - I was accepted by the committee who rules such things, and can now take the RVT test. I have to take it by May 2008. I haven't scheduled it yet, but I've begun going through my books again and boning up on everything I've forgotten since I graduated. Too much!

Good thing 3 - I've been drawing more lately, and actually posted a few pics to my galleries because I had access to a scanner for an oh-so-brief a time not long ago. This is an update on that list of free sketches I'd offered a while back. Tanamin! Witchie one! I still need to know what you want!
1. MilwaukeeDriver - something with racoons and ravens - In Progress - 50%
2. Aurindrix - himself Redraw - Complete
3. Tanamin - has to decide what he wants
4. ProverbialCheese - himself - Complete
5. Spiritual-Arrow - wolf anthro druid - In Progress - 50%
6. Elloban - updated himself - In Progress - 50%
7. Firewitch - needs to decide what she wants
8. Raeveness - raven-winged wolf - Complete
9. Neferankh - moose anthro - In Progress - 50%
10. Rune_Imagiro - Complete

Additional victims*
Bloodhound - Complete

More somber musings.

I've been spending a lot of time visiting my grandma. I go over every week. It hasn't been easy for her, and she's got good days, and bad ones. I try to help as much as I can, though I often feel like I don't really do anything. Still, some days I get shown just how much simply being there for them can mean to someone. Today, my grandma and I went to the mountain near her home. Though the bulk of my grandfather's ashes will be scattered at sea, she wanted to leave a little in the redwood forests that he loved. So we went into the park, found an out of the way, little trafficked, and wild place, and buried a few handfuls of ashes. I know, guilty of a misdemeanor for not "properly" disposing of human remains, but y'know... what it meant for my grandmother made it worth it. And grandpa would've loved the place. I took a pictures with my camera, and we headed back to the car.

Maybe it was just me, but the camera didn't capture it, and in the car, looking out the windows made the whole day gray. It was a little overcast, yes, but... if you just looked with your eyes, everything had a slightly rosy tint. The light through the clouds somehow lent a warmth to everything from soil, to fencepost, to tree. Things were -vibrant- to the naked eye. The green moss on trees, the russet cast to the bark of the redwoods, the clouds themselves. I kept the window down so I could -see-, all the way down the mountain and into town. I felt more peaceful than I have for a long time. Then we drove to a nearby beach - going from mountains to sea in about 15 minutes - to watch the huge swells of the waves that are hitting the coast right now. 18 footers. The beach was foggy, and the little sandpiper birds raced along the waterline. Salt was heavy in the air, and seaweed. Grandma stayed at the rail while I walked by the water, picked up a feather and a stone, and soaked in the ocean.

We went back to her house after a while, had dinner and played the card game she so loves, and then I drove home. It may not have been a good day, really, but I think it was a day we needed.

And now, some pictures.

Recently I got icons from LavaCat and oCe, and I likes them a lot. Big versions below.
By LavaCat.
By oCe.

Also, everyone must see this if you haven't already. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qit3ALTelOo