My goodness... have I been away /that/ long? O.o;

*shoves aside the last journal entry and ahems*

Well then. Sorry 'bout that. I've turned into more of a lurker for the past year or so, a lot of things going on. 'Net Drama, lack of interest, focusing on a developing project/company with ~Foxfirestorm, other games, lack of a scanner... Just a very complicated and busy past year, one thing after another.

May consider updating with new arts and writings in the near future, but one thing at a time. I've still got RL to deal with. >.>

Botcon, Botcon, Botcon. I know some of y'all might be tired of hearin' about it ('specially if you didn't get to go), but it was my first one that I actively participated in. Besides, I needed an update to my journal in the /worst/ way.

SO. Went to the Air Force Museum tour and saw a /lot/ of planes. B-1 Lancer, the Fulcrum, F-22, B-2, F-117, and a /lot/ of other ones. Didn't see an F-14 (awwwh) but ah well. The admission price is a bit steep ($45 admission, I believe) and the IMAX theatre and cafeteria food are extra, but it's well worth the sore legs from walking so much. Also, take the 'residential tour'--for free, you get to see 4 old Presidential planes and also the hangar where they have the experimental planes like the Valkyrie (basis of Jetfire/Skyfire's alt-mode, I think, beyond Macross/Robotech and all).

I met a lot of people at the 'Con as well. Fusillade, Spectrum, Neva, Whirligig, and a few others here at DA. Hehe, yeah, we had fun times and sometimes not-so-fun, but it all worked out so it's OK.

And the all-important dealer room. I spent roughly $312 in there over three days, but what I got was worth it. XD; Since there was a lot of stuff going on in the background, I gave a G1 Sixshot (with one blaster) to Spectrum from 2k5 MUSH as thanks, since he /did/ want it and technically saw it first. Let's see, what did I get...?

Convention boxed set (Shattered Glass) w/ Ricochet extra toy
G1 Sixshot
G1 Bluestreak
G1 Sideswipe
G1 Sunstreaker
Black MP3 Soundwave
G2 Dreadwing
Cybertron Snarl (missing tail)
BW TM2 Prowl
Hard Head Ironhide bust
Hard Head Prowl bust
Hard Head Devastator bust

I think that's it. I'll likely get some reminders about anything I missed, but that should do it. Anywho, I think this'll be a yearly event that I'll attend, so I'd better save up money as much as I can...

((P.S.: Find the Appleseed movies, and maybe a new Hellsing OVA too. Not sure if the Hellsing one is truly out, but hey. I can look.))

Baaaaaaah. Over a decade ever since The Dusting*, and a nice few days into spring... and what do we get? Snow. And a lot of it. ><+

Yesterday morning started out with sleet and freezing rain--so I kept my youngest brother home instead of making him walk to the bus-stop in that stuff. (and 'cause I didn't want to stand in the cold watching him to make sure he gets down there OK). Turns out school was let out 2 hours early too, so my younger brother got home at about 1:45 or so (due to the bus being slower than usual).

Last night, we got a heapin' helpin' of sleet and freezing rain--and I /swear/ I heard thunder too! It didn't turn to snow until sometime early this morning, but when I woke up a few hours ago, we had about 3-4 Inches of snow--and it's still coming down. Not to mention the single-digit wind-chill. >>;

Well, now my two brothers are at my father's (they left shortly after my brother got home from school), and my sister's at her boyfriend's. Which leaves me and my mom at the house. Everyone's all nice and cozy... but now I'm getting fidgety getting stuck in the house, even though I /know/ it's not safe going outside right now. Bah... u.u;

At least it's not so bad in my area. In Louisville and Cinci (and in CJ's area), it's at least a foot of that soft white cold stuff on the ground, and it's still coming down over there too. Seems like it followed the Ohio River, actually... And, if the roads are this bad in my area, I'd hate to see how bad they are in those places...

*************

*The Dusting = A Lexington (KY) inside-joke referring to the last heavy snowfall about a decade ago--roughly 1998 or thereabouts. Meteorologists predicted that it would only be a bunch of flurries at best ("We're only expecting a dusting")... but it snowed--hard--for about 3 days straight. When all was said and done, we had about 12-18" on the ground and school was out for most of the week as we dug ourselves out. The poor meteorologists have never lived it down, and it's become an inside-joke for us ever since.

Thanks to a emoticon starter pack I found around here ( [link] ) , I've been emoticon-izing Transformers a bit. So, that's all you may see from me for a little bit. All of them will likely be static--unless I'm given an idea that I just /have/ to turn into an animated one.

So. Canons, my OC's, other people's OC's--I'll be trying any of them, just 'cause. :3 I've already made a few, and that should give you a brief idea of what to expect. ^^ So, if you want to see a specific TF emoticon-ized, let me know and/or stay tuned--there are quite a few I want to try eventually.

Yes, Botcon is in Cincinnati this year, and seeing how I have family living up there and it's not that bad of a drive... I'm so going!

I've already gotten my finances figured out for the next 3 months or so, that way I can have spending money and all, and my mom's coming as well. She's not a fan of TFs like I am, but she is interested (and I'm sure she sees this as an opportunity for me and her to have some time together without any sibling interference).

Anyone else planning on going? ^^