HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!
What are some of YOUR New Year's Resolutions?

                      CLICK PICTURE FOR FULL SIZE.                                                            My Christmas gift to my family. From left to right: Dad, Mom, Gerard, Grace, her fiance Dan, Ben, Me, Leo, Rose, Vincent, Dominic, Helen, and Sammy (the kitten). Japanese anime is fairly well liked in our household, as well as being the subject of many of our jokes. Therefore, I thought it would be amusing to portray the family in typical "anime" style.

As Requested...

Hey all! OK so one of my readers requested that I put up more of my drawings. I was tickled pink to have someone ask me this, so I complied wholeheartedly. There are a couple below with descriptions and explanations underneath each one. Enjoy! Feel free to tell me what you think!

I'm sure you've all read Regina Doman's "modern fairytale novels." If you haven't, go do it now, because reading those books is one of the biggest favors you will ever do for yourself. Anyway, these are the four main characters (l to r): Bear, Blanche, Bear and Blanche's baby (I had not yet read the 3rd book at that point, so I didn't know they had a boy), Rose, and Fish.

Full size version. I love Rose's smile. It's exactly how I pictured her.

Close up of the married couple and new baby. <3

Rose and Fish. Best love story EVER.

Wow. This one requires a TON of explaining. OK, so the "two" girls in white are actually the same person. It is supposed to be a representation of the two sides of one girl. The deadened one sitting on the swing is the good side. The strong one standing up is the evil side. I have targeted various other parts of the image below.

Note the triumphant smirk. She thinks she's won. Also, see how she has her hand on the sitting girl; it's a sort of "in charge" motion, as if she's the one who calls the shots.

See how she looks despairing, nearly dead. She's almost been swallowed by the evil inside her. She gives you a blank gaze as if she's lost all ready. She's sits weakly; she has no energy left. Her hands are crossed lightly on her lap; the fight has left her.

The last person I showed this to said "Yea, you're right! I can tell who's evil and who's good because the evil girl's feet are so weird looking! They LOOK like evil feet!!!" Weirdest statement ever. (Albeit amusing). But that's not why I show you this part of the picture. See what the one girl is standing on? It's water and fire -- Hell and baptism. They basically represent the two choices we can make: good vs. evil. Love vs. Hate. We can be saved and abandon ourselves to His love, or we can voluntarily step into the fires of eternal torment. The girl on the swing dangles above these two elements. She can give in to sin and fall into the fire, or cling to Hope and be saved through Christ. The ropes of the swing are being eaten away by the demonic fire -- where will she fall?

Note the oddity of the sky. The black moon is in the pale sky -- what was once pure and beautiful has turned ugly and unnatural.

But although the sky has turned almost completely black, the rays of the Son still pierce the darkness -- Hope lives. And one is left with the feeling that, through Him, she will be saved, will conquer the darkness.... My favorite part is their dresses. :-D They are simple, yet exhibit an exquisite beauty -- as does the soul. The white represents the purity which we receive in baptism, and blood represents the sacrifice of the Crucifixion through which we are saved and purified.

An Advent Prayer.

 Lord, I humbly ask Your guidance in this last week of Advent. Let me choose the right gifts, not burn the food, and remember all the decorations. But if it comes down to it, I don't care if the gifts are wrong, the food is charred, and the house is bare -- all as long as there is Peace in my heart, Love in my home, and Joy in the world. Let me be a small candle to guide the lonely, the hurt, and the forgotten to your unconditional and everlasting love. Amen.

LUCY PEVENSIE: The Ultimate Female Lead Role (Model)

      This past Saturday, I went to see The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader in digital 3-D. Many things struck me about this movie. There was the beautiful music, the breathtaking effects, the edge-of-your-seat battles, and, of course, the dashing Edmund Pevensie. ;-) There was, however, one aspect of the film which I did not expect to be so caught up in. This was the character of Lucy Pevensie.
      I enjoyed Lucy in the previous two films: she was cute, kind, and ever faithful when it came to Aslan. But I really was not prepared to experience her as a realistic role model in this third Narnian installment. You see, Lucy is really a one-of-a-kind girl in today's silver screen world. She is essentially an opposite of every popular female character. Now I've yammered on for far too long. Let me actually get to the point and tell you why she's so different.
   
1. SHE HAS FLAWS.
       Unlike Megan Fox's role in Transformers, who is stunningly, almost frighteningly beautiful, and obnoxiously good at everything. (Including fixing hard-core cars and looking seductive simultaneously without getting oil all over her barely-there clothes). Lucy is not particularly attractive. If anything, I'd call her cute. She has blah colored hair and a pug nose. She is quite jealous of her older sister Susan's classic beauty, a vice which nearly leads to her own downfall. She isn't constantly making eyes at the camera, and doesn't always know what to say. And I, for one, love her for it. I mean, really. Lucy is someone I, and most likely millions of other girls, can relate to. We all have the sister and/or friend who far exceeds us in beauty. We don't always have kick-ass come-backs on the tips of our tongues. We sometimes get in the way when people more talented than us have work to do. But here's the best part: rather than bringing Lucy down to our level, we are brought up to her's. Meaning, Lucy embraces or overcomes her flaws, depending on what they are. With her faith in Aslan, she triumphs over her desire to look like Susan and embraces her true self. She joyfully learns to become who Aslan (or God, if we look at this allegorically), truly meant her to be. Sure, I'm a sap. But I still left that theatre thinking "I don't want to be anyone else. I want to be me, the best way I can."
           "Be who you are, and be that well." ~St. Francis De Sales

2. SHE IS ONE TOUGH COOKIE -- BUT IS AWESOMELY FEMININE.
     In a world which insists that you can either be a loser 1950's housewife or a kick-butt feminazi, Lucy sure proves otherwise. She is a totally awesome "watch-your-bad-guy-back" fighter. She's got a sweet dagger which any ninja would be jealous of. She goes on scouting expeditions with the men, and never goes down without a fight. She makes heavy decisions and is High Queen of Narnia, for crying out loud!!!!! But she also holds herself with incredible dignity, and never speaks harshly of anyone or to anyone. She dresses practically, yet modestly -- befitting a young woman who's saving the world from evil. She is never too old to exhibit inspiring, childlike faith. She is always the instigator of peace, and embraces her feminine desires for beauty, mercy, and love. She displays strong and touching maternal instincts and sympathies. (Which, I might point out, none of the men even thought of doing!). What the best part of this is, is that Lucy finds the perfect balance between "tough cookie" and "feminine grace." She doesn't have a split personality, and she doesn't behave contrastingly. She behaves as a whole. The numerous attributes which she possesses are all part of her as a true woman. This is Lucy behaving as the woman God meant her to be.

I could go on for a while here. I mean really, I actually had 3 other things I wanted to talk about. However, this has ended up being so long that I think I'll just leave it here! Thanks for reading. :-) Feel free to comment -- positive or (constructively) negative! I hope you enjoy Narnia, also!!!

~Wyld
WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
 

OK, so I'm just this lame. So sue me. I have a lot to do, so I couldn't give a bona fide post. But, here's a picture I drew which was inspired by one of my favorite books of all time: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. The title of the picture is a quote taken from the book. Oh, and sorry the scan quality is so lousy. -_- Ask me to show it to you in person.

Responsibility: a POSITIVEly scary word

The title is supposed to imply that responsibility seems scary, but is positive.

Yea.

Anyway.

I have always hated responsibility. The word, the action, implications that it must eventually exist within me... You name it.  But recently, I had a change of heart.
 Recently meaning today. 

A couple days ago, life slapped me across the face (how rude!), and said (in a very loud voice) "You have to become responsible eventually, Wyld! You are not five, so you can't keep acting like you are."

And you know what? Life was right.

So, with my face still stinging (Life hits HARD, lemme tell you), I made yet another decision to better my life: I decided to grow up and shoulder responsibility. Among other things, this means:

1. Actually getting up when my alarm goes off, regardless of how long it took me to fall asleep, and how many nightmares I had.

2. While recognizing the incompetence of certain teachers of mine, I had to also recognize the lack of effort on my part and stop blaming ALL of my poor grades on him.

3. Doing the little things, even when I didn't want to. (Such as: washing my dinner dishes BEFORE I wrote this blog entry).

4. Having a good attitude when I'm feeling down, and not dumping on everyone else like I'm the only person in the world to be pitied.

Now, those are only four things. But do you have any idea how ridiculously HARD they can be?!? I'm not trying to enthrone myself in glory here, but MAN! It's TOUGH! Especially when I've been cutting myself a ridiculous amount of slack for... oh, I dunno... the past 22 years, maybe?!

I think one never realizes how set one has become in one's habits until one tries to break them. Now that I am actually thinking about this, and clearly seeing how lazy and childish I've been, it's quite a wake up call to how much I need to change in my life.

But the weird thing is this: considering how much I've been shying away from responsibility my whole life, you'd think I'd be miserable, now that I'm actually TRYING to be responsible. But... I'm not miserable. In fact, I feel kinda good about this whole deal. I'm realizing that responsibility is not a scary thing. It's hard, yes. However, it's also really, really positive. I feel a lot happier today than I did all last week. Are you dying for proof? Here it is:


1. I can sit and draw, listen to music, chat with friends... whatever. All without feeling like Damocles' sword is hanging over my head, because I've ALL READY completed my homework.

2. Instead of immersing myself and others in my gloomy mood, by acting cheerful and not letting myself worry, I find that I really AM cheerful -- because I'm not focusing on the negative. It also is a much more positive atmosphere for people around me.

3. I feel like life is an adventure. I feel like maybe, just maybe, if I can learn to handle things (starting with handling myself), then I needn't be so scared of the road ahead. In fact, I might just be able to speed down it, blasting music, and thanking God for the blessings He's given me, including the wake up calls which brought me these realizations.

OK, so my cheek is still a little pink and a little bruised. But that's where He comes in with the salve and bandages. Without this little slap, who knows what wounds I might have caused myself?

"For he wounds, but he also binds up; he injures, but his hands also heal." - Job 5:18

Yes, I DO have other issues, and NO, I'm not in rehab.

As you continue to read this blog (God willing), it may come to your attention that I am entirely dependent on many, many substances, and am severely addicted to multiple serious conditions. (Such as ranting).

And now, I feel I must let the world know the truth of my grave relationship with a certain substance, namely Coke. I know. I know what you are all thinking. "Clare?? A drug addict? But she seems so NORMAL!"
Well. All I have to say is that if you genuinely think I'm normal, then you don't know me well enough. But that's a side-point.

I am NOT addicted to any drug. (Except for maybe Ibuprofen. I get a lot of headaches). My worshipped substance's full name is Coca-Cola. Yes. It is true. I am addicted to soda.

Do not laugh, dear reader! Do not cry "HA!" (Actually, do. It's lots of fun. Sometimes when I'm stressed, I just randomly yell "HA!" at the top of my lungs, and I feel much better. Anyway...)
NOW YOU KNOW THE TRUTH! It's quite sad, really. Last semester I only had one job, and was making $28 dollars a week. Well, despite the fact that I was trying to save for a car, and had to buy day-to-day things like shampoo and toothpaste, then I would generally spent at least a third of that money on soda. I KID YOU NOT. And you know what I'd do??? I'd buy those 200 pound packages of who knows how many cans of Dr. Pepper, and drink them all WITHIN 3 DAYS!!!!!!! Seriously!!!! And when I ran out, and I was shaking in the corner at 3 AM from soda withdrawal, I would stagger around the dorm building, begging change from poor unsuspecting fellow students, and them jelly-leg my way down to the soda machine to buy a ridiculously overpriced coke.

So. Yea. The whole point of this was to mention that I now have no Coke. And I am SUFFERING FOR IT!!!! Name brand Coke is hard to find in Italy, and the other stuff is GROSS. Revolting, I tell you. So I'll have to take a long and dangerous journey over to the farthest grocery store in the neighborhood, just to buy MORE outrageously overpriced Coke.

*sigh* I think I'm worse off than Lindsay Lohan.

Anyone know of a good Rehabilitation Center?

Rantaholics Anonymous... and Other Relevant Interests.

Hi.

My name is Wyld. And I'm a rantaholic.

My last rant was one day, five hours, and fifty-one minutes ago.

I am tired of ranting, and I have made the first two steps towards a rant-free life.
First, I have recognized that there is a problem. Second, I have decided to change. So, one of the many reasons I have decided to start this blog is to learn to control my ranting (i.e. complaining). I can post anything I want about anything I want (sounds thrilling, huh?), but it CANNOT have complaining or whining or self-centered fussing in it.
Feel free to correct me if I do any of the above on this blog. I give you license.

So. Now that we're clear on the Ultimate Origins of the Rant Free Blog, I can monotonously notify you of the other reasons I started this blog.

Well... the main reason is that I was bored. Heck, I still am bored. Hmmm... you know... I bet YOU'RE bored, too! What a coincidence. Anyway, there really aren't any other reasons besides my boredom and my ultimate decision to stop complaining. Oh, but I was also inspired by my Mom and my friend, who are both Bloggy Bloggers. They will love me for calling them Bloggy Bloggers.  

Anyway, in the time warp where I sometimes partially exist, it is past my bedtime. So...

Goodnight, people of the universe.