up where the air is clear

Update 6/7/13
Back on the ground again and speedy responses have resumed. The next journal update, whatever it may be about, will be a new entry so this fragmented mess can move on and be forgotten. Thanks again to everyone for their patience.

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Update 6/6/13
Sorry guys. This should be the last update like this for a while. I'll be traveling again today and won't have internet access until later in the day (when I'll be tired and grumpy from being in airports all day). Prompt note and comment responses will resume tomorrow (Friday June 7).

I'm also working on putting together another guessing game contest, similar to this one from last summer. So hopefully that will be up in the coming weeks.

Happy June

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Update 6/3/13
The winner has been chosen by random.org. elphieofkiamoko is the winner!

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Update 6/1/13
Raffle entries are now closed (though, you can still answer the tag if you want ). Winner to be announced soon.

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Update 5/27/13
I'm back on Earth and have successfully cleared a bursting inbox. Thanks to everyone for their kind and supportive messages. The raffle is still on (until the end of the May).

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Heads up to everyone, especially those with an active commission or prize coming from me. I'll be spending a good chunk of the day in airports and in the air. And I'm both wary of public Wi-Fi and way too cheap to pop for it anyway. So considering this and the fact that I'll probably be tired and grumpy tonight when I have access to a secure connection again, I probably won't be responding to comments or notes until tomorrow (Sunday, May 26). Thanks for your patience.

I'm off to the airport. Let's get this over with...



In the mean time, enjoy a "filler" journal that I've had socked away for a while:

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I have several unfinished tags to do so I'm combining them in one journal and answering them all in one fell swoop. I'm not going to bother listing the rules/instructions. If you've been on dA for long and don't know them yet, then I'm afraid there's not much hope for you. XD

•List ten things about yourself:
1. I don't mind the flight itself but HATE airports.
2. Deep water (deep enough to not be able to see the bottom/floor) scares me.
3. I'm really bad at reading analog clocks quickly.
4. I'm allergic to cats. (Not that I let that stop me.)
5. I generally disliked art classes as a kid.
6. My favorite shape of pasta is penne.
7. I've never broken a bone...
8. ...but have lost count of how many stitches I've had.
9. I collect hubcaps.
10. I found it very difficult to come up with ten things about myself.

•Alterraen's Questions [Original tag here]
1. Who is your favorite artist?
Visual artist? I'm way too lazy to mention them all here.
2. If you had to marry a celebrity of your gender, who would it be?
Pass
3. Who is your celebrity "I would tap that!" person?
Pass
4. Do you think that I like celebrity tapping?
Lol. It sure sounds like it.
5. Have you dyed your hair?
In the past, yes.
5. Do you ride horses, and if no, why the hell not?
Not currently. But I have in the past.
6. What is your favorite video game?
Again, it's hard to say just one. Some favorites that come to mind are Sims 2, Tetris, and Super Smash Bros: Melee.
7. What is your favorite letter?
Of the alphabet? I'm probably showing my vanity here but I like the letter V.
8. Who is your favorite author?
Again, too lazy/too many to mention.
8. Would you ever teleport to me if I was in a crisis?
If teleportation were possible, sure.
10. Did ya notice the double eight?
And the double 5 and missing 9.

•Acornflare's Questions [Original tag here]
1. Cliff diving or Skydiving?
Skydiving. Though, I've never done either.
2. Do you have an obsession? And if so, what to?
Cats and art
3. Favorite number?
17
4. Would you ever kill a spider with a water bottle?
Kill? No. Trap inside and release outside? Yes
5. Have you ever meet a celeb?
Yes
6. Are unicorns real????
I've seen no credible evidence to support their existence. Though, the fact that they're not "real" doesn't mean that I don't still think they're awesome.
7. What do you thing of the band "Within Temptation"'s music?
I only own one of their albums (The Heart of Everything). They're not among my favorites but they're cool.
8. Do we own cats, or do they own us?
I like to think that it's a relationship built on mutual respect. How often that's true, I'm not really sure.
9. What are your thoughts on extreme highlighting?
You mean as an artistic choice/style in paintings and drawings? Obviously, I'm fine with this. Though, I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm not interpreting this question correctly.
10. Will you wish me a late happy birthday?
Sure! Happy late birthday!
11. Whats your hair color?
Dark brown (and grey)

•AlatusAquae's Questions [Original tag here]
1) What's a quote that you really like?
"When a man loves cats, I am his friend and comrade, without further introduction."
-Mark Twain
2) What's the best gift you've received?
Probably my cats.
3) What is one place in the world that you want to visit?
There are a lot of places I'd like to go back to. But a place I've never been to before and would like to visit is Scotland.
4) What's something that never fails to make you smile?
My cats
5) Who is your favorite person in history?
I couldn't narrow it down to just one. But Norman Borlaug comes to mind. If you're not familiar with him, then do yourself a favor and take a minute to read about him. He used the badassery of science to save billions of lives.
6) What's your favorite song?
Again, narrowing it down to just one is nearly impossible. One of my all-time favorites is "Song from an American Movie, Pt. 2" by Everclear. It's off one of their lesser albums but it's a song that still means a lot to me.
7) Earth, air, fire, or water? And why?
Probably earth. I don't believe in astrology but all my signs on various zodiacs are coincidentally earth signs. That, and I think I'd be an earth-bender in the Avatar universe.
8) What do you think is one of the best things about your personality? (go on, brag a bit, I know you're all awesome)
I have plenty of faults, most of which I'll absolutely admit to. But if there's one thing that's always been important to me, even as a little kid, it's the fact that I'm trustworthy and keep things in absolute confidence when necessary.
9) You have the opportunity to travel in time, but only one trip, there and back. Where do you go?
I'd like to give a smart or intellectual answer and say something like witnessing the start of the universe or the signing of the Declaration of Independence. But honestly, I'd just go back in time to see loved ones who have passed on.
10) What is one thing that you are happy about in this very moment?
That there are good people in this world.

•My ten questions:
1. What would you request as your last meal on death row?
2. Are you a dog person or a cat person? (Or both? Or neither?)
3. Do you prefer to do your schoolwork/paperwork in pen or pencil?
4. Favorite concert or live performance you've ever been to?
5. What was the last song you had stuck in your head?
6. Do you know how to tie a tie?
7. If you owned a pro-sports team, what would you name it?
8. What actor would you choose to play you in a movie about your life?
9. Link me to the last deviation you added to your favorites.
10. Link me to a guilty pleasure song of yours. Be brave. This is a safe space.

As usual, I'm not tagging anyone specific or asking that people do the full tag in a journal (though, you're welcome to). But if you answer my ten questions in a comment below, I'll enter you in a raffle to win [a very humble] 10 dA points that I have lying around. (Entries will remain open until the end of the month, at which point a winner will be chosen randomly and announced in another journal.)

Hope everyone's enjoying the last days of May.