So I was gonna make a post updating the world on my totally boring life...

( But today I just feel like this... )

That is all.

Hi, LJ Land! This is how Kirsten procrastinates: by giving attention to her neglected journal. :P

What am I procrastinating on? Well, I found out that UW actually has a 1-year Natural Science Illustration certificate program that I really want to apply for... so now I'm working on my portfolio. It's been neglected for awhile, so it needs serious love. Working on animal drawings... and trying to come up with a professional-looking website. I should probably get around to learning CSS now. Welcome to five years ago? I did finish this sea otter piece on DA. I have a clouded leopard piece, an alligator piece, and a Florida scrub jay piece going on now. Mmmm, art ADD!

Also, Twitter, The Nerd Machine, and Firefly DVDs facilitate distraction.

Running hit a bit of a slowdown, although not unexpected. My old shoes were finally kicking the bucket, so I broke down and got new ones - Saucony Progrid Guide 3. The hitch is, of course, that they still need to be broken in. :P Had a bit of a sore foot, so the long runs got cut short. And as soon as it felt better, we got 7" of snow, and so I was too lazy to couldn't go out and run in it. :P Trying to get back on track, though!

Finally got around to writing a Chuck fanfic, as you saw. I was having a "lay in bed until noon" morning, and that all ran through my head while I put off getting up. :p The show's been really up and down lately... I like the general direction they're going, but some episodes are really hit-or-miss. I just hope the show can squeeze out a fifth season. I think that is this show's eternal fate: to spend each season clinging to shreds of hope that it will get another. Also, I have decided that, until Zachary Levi sings on the show, it can't end. :P

Oooh, but I did score San Diego ComicCon tickets! I fought the epic battle with TicketLeap, and came out victorious! I have a 4-day pass, and now it's just a matter of saving up the money to get there and have fun! Definitely gonna get a Disneyland day in while I'm there, too - I still have a couple of comp tickets left, and I haven't seen World of Color yet. And the new Star Tours, Mickey's Soundsational Parade, and the Little Mermaid ride will be open by then. Epic win!

And reading! Haven't read as much lately, mainly 'cause I've been sketching on my lunch breaks. But I definitely have a giant stack of backlogged books to read.

( January/February 2011 Books! )

Also, why did I not learn of the awesomeness of the Dinosaur score before? This music is the perfect mood-setting for wildlife drawing. Way to fail at Disney music, Kirsten.

Title: The Road Home
Author: xfkirsten
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: Chuck/Sarah, Casey, Devon, Ellie
Spoilers: Nothing specific... set somewhere late season 3 or beyond
Warnings: Sarah!whump
Summary: When Sarah gets shot, the road home is not easy - for her or for Chuck.

( The Road Home )

So this is what I ran on today:



And this is what I want to run on May 1:



Mmmm... crazy-hilly training runs for a flat course. Rock on! ;) (Also: Burrard Bridge is that high? Really?!)

I'm also thinking of doing a half in March as part of my training. Mercer Island Half Marathon? Or Lake Sammamish Half Marathon? Can't decide! I may have to resort to The T-Shirt Rule: which race has the cooler swag? ;) (Come on, runners, don't lie: you know you've picked races that way before.)

...yeah, not much else going on besides running.

New episodes of Chuck are back... they're juicy, but I'm getting whiffs of late-series X-Files: too much obsession with a complicated mythology, and not enough fun monster-of-the-week episodes. Still definitely enjoying it, though! I wish this fandom had more good fanfic, though. I'm tempted to write it myself, but my attention span lasts about thirty secon - OOH! A BUTTERFLY! (What it lacks in fanfic, though, it does make up for in awesome like this)

I also have twenty million art ideas running through my head, and then my art ADD kicks in. Played a lot with Illustrator last week. Someday I will get good at that program!

Also, totally going to Salt Lake City for three days next week to visit a friend and get a little skiing in. So jazzed!

New year, new post! Woo! One day I'll remember to keep this thing updated.

Back and working at Half Price Books, until February, at least! It's good to see everyone there again! And oh, the reading crack...

Christmas was awesome! I finally got a smart phone - picked up a Droid 2 Global. (PS - new phone number! If you need it, message me or look on my Facebook info!) A full set of 120 Faber-Castell Polychromos colored pencils. Oh, they are amazing. *kicks her waxy Prismacolors to the curb* I also got a new CD player for my car, since my old one was kicking the bucket. A copy of "Zoo Story," "Stokes Field Guide to Birds," "Audubon Society Field Guide to the Pacific Northwest" (I loved their Florida one!) a few gift certificates, and Snuggie. Yeah, you can be jealous.

Getting back into running! See, the thing about running on a place called "Cougar Mountain" is... there's hills. Lots of them. Big ones. One of my regular runs has a segment that's about a mile, almost 200 ft elevation gain, and 7% grade. Ouch. Rarely can I make it up that without walking a couple hundred yards. Ah, well! It'll help in the long run! Starting to get into a training cycle for the Vancouver Marathon on May 1, so Van peeps - Kirsten wants to come play!! XD I also bit the bullet and put my name into the lottery for the New York City Marathon this year. My chances aren't that great, I know it can take people a few tries, but I've never been to NYC, and it would be awesome to run a race there...

Felt the drawing itch a lot lately! I've been playing around with some little cartoon animals (um, baby okapis are still freakin' adorable. Disney-style baby okapi character has invaded my sketchbook) I also tried out the new colored pencils on this drawing of Chuck and Sarah. Chuck has freaky eyes. Blah. Should do some more portraits to work on that. But I'm pretty damn proud of the hands. I usually suck at those! Had a request awhile back for a drawing of Emily (Ben's mom, Helen Mirren's character) from National Treasure: Book of Secrets, so I need to get going on that one. I've also been planning a big piece to celebrate WDW's 40th anniversary this year, and I'd REALLY love to get a piece entered in the Official D23 Expo Fan Art Contest.

And speaking of things art-y...

So I've come to the conclusion that I'd like to go back to school. Zookeeping is a super-competitive field, and while I love it, I don't have the experience or contacts to get a job in this economy. So I've decided I want to go back to school and study animation! I've loved it since I was little, and would love to do it for a living. So I'm looking at an Associate's degree program in Animation Art and Design at the Art Institute of Seattle. I've even considered their BFA in Media Arts and Animation, but money is a concern... I'm just curious if my college coursework would take out most of the GEs and make it much quicker. I really wanna do it... now I just need to figure out the financial side of it. $20k a year... yikes... In any case, I'm gonna see about getting down there in the next week or two or a campus tour and to talk to an admissions advisor. Fingers crossed!

Oh, and GO SEAHAWKS!!! :D

Because when I get into something, I jump in headfirst... I've now completely caught up on all three and a half seasons of Chuck! WOO!! Hooked, and totally can't wait for the next new ep!

So, here's my little rambly thoughts. Spoilers for all US-aired episodes ahead!

( Don't freak out! )

Also, I just read a Tangled article where Zachary Levi admitted that he is a "Disnerd" (the only people who ever even KNOW that word are the people who actually ARE Disnerds), that Aladdin was his favorite Disney prince (until Flynn Rider, of course), and then started quoting Newsies. Seriously? LOVE. SO MUCH LOVE.

So, yeah, that whole updating thing!

I'm back in Seattle now... feels WEIRD to be back after so long. But it's nice to see I haven't been forgotten! :P I'm back and working at Half Price Books again, at least until February. And past that, I haven't a clue. :P

Cross-Country Trip!

So moving from Florida to Washington entails a long drive! Dad and I spent a week in the car, seeing everything along the I-10/I-5 corridor. So here's a few stops and links to pics!

The Myrtles Plantation, St. Francisville, LA - one of the most haunted places in America! Kinda cool to see a real, old plantation, especially a haunted one. Nothing weird while we were there, and it was bright and sunny and pretty and not at all creepy weather. :P Although my car died a half mile out of the plantation, so maybe the ghosts hitchhiked? We spent an extra night in St. Francisville, waiting for the car dealership there to get the part to fix it.

Carlsbad Caverns, NM - Um, this was quite possibly one of the coolest things I've ever seen. Seriously. As a kid I always wanted to see real caves, and this one is awesome, in every sense of the word. It's HUGE. Like, I don't think you can understand how huge it is until you see it for yourself. Photos just don't do it justice! I'd love to go back here again and spend more time. If you ever go, do the Natural Cave Entrance Trail. It is steep, but there's lots of swtichbacks to make it easier, places to rest, etc. But if you miss that, you miss a LOT of really cool sights. I enjoyed that part WAY more than the "Big Room" that you see just by taking the elevator. Do yourself a favor, get the workout, and go through the Natural Cave Entrance.

Disneyland - ...you knew I'd do this, right? Duh. Yay, comp tickets! It was the first day of the Christmas stuff, so the park was INSANE. But we got there early enough (8:30) and made liberal use of FastPass, and did almost everything we wanted to. (We missed World of Color... something to go back for!) A Christmas Fantasy, Believe in Holiday Magic, it's a small world holiday, Haunted Mansion Holiday, and stuff like Finding Nemo that opened since I left. W00t!

Seattle

So I'm chillin' in Seattle again! Seen a few movies (Tangled - see below, Megamind - hilarious!) and read a few books (yes! book update below!) and got up to Alpental for skiing for the first time in a few years.

It took a couple of warm-up runs to get the feel of it back. For the Pass, the snow wasn't too horrible! It was a bit wet and heavy, but DEEP. Deep enough that my older-than-sin skis had some trouble with it. Almost buried myself up near the top of the Edelweiss chair. :P But it was back to expert runs by the end of the day, and pain for the following two days.

And within a week of getting back, we got a nice snowstorm. I'd forgotten how entertaining it is to sit inside here during a storm and watch the chaos on the news. Srsly, Seattle, thanks for the lulz.

Had my birthday that week, too... and had kind of a poopy one. My Wii went 101, so I gotta get it fixed... I need to play Epic Mickey, but that's hard with a system that doesn't work! :( Latte (my chocolate lab) finally had to be put down that day, too... at age 17. Yup. 17. Rest in peace, puppy...

Tangled

For the benefit of you overseas kids, I'll stay spoiler-free here! Basically, I LOVED IT. I wasn't really expecting much out of it, 'cause the trailer made it seem cheesy, but really, it wasn't. It was sweet and touching and ZOMG ALAN MENKEN I STILL WANT TO HAVE YOUR AMAZING DISNEY MUSIC BABIES. Seriously. I've been rocking out to the soundtrack a LOT. "I See the Light" is BEAUTIFUL. That song needs to win awards. I love it liek woah! And "Something That I Want" is just fun to rock out to. Pascal? Kinda rocked. Also, Rapunzel? Marion Ravenwood would be proud of your frying pan skillz.

Chuck

So I just started watching this show and am SO IN LOVE. Dare I say it's... awesome?? Seriously, it's one of those "why didn't I start watching this before?!" shows. I've plowed through two seasons in a week, and am partway into season three now. I'll be caught up long before the next new episode airs. Chuck = ADORKABLE. Um, check the icon. Yup. Adam Baldwin WINS again as Casey - it's like Jayne gone super-spy! And the Chuck/Sarah ship - aside from being frustrating at times - brings out my inner squee! I also want to hug Morgan. He's squishy like a teddy bear. :P And the dialogue just rocks. Great music, too... hell, they picked Cake for the theme song. You just can't go wrong there. And power to the nerds! Plus, Robert Duncan McNeill as a producer is extra win. So I've been TOTALLY fangirling that show now. So, Chuck fans... AWESOME FICS! SHOW ME THEM!

(also... can we have singing!Chuck at some point? 'Cause Zach Levi's voice in Tangled is SO gorgeous...)

Books

Yes! Lots of books to catch up on!! ( August through December 2010 Books! )

Um, so Encore was kind of AMAZING. Like, now I'm totally suffering withdrawls because the show was SO much fun. We had a blast, we got a GREAT reception from the crowd, and raised a lot of money for the Make A Wish Foundation. (Exactly how much, we don't know yet, but based on the full shows and other factors I'm sure it was far more than Encore has ever raised in the past...) And I reiterate, had SO much fun! I ordered a CD/DVD of the show that they make available to cast, so I'm really excited to get that...

In the meantime, I found a bunch of video clips of the show online! They're only a small fraction of the songs we did, but a lot of my favorites made it in. These are all from opening night.

( Encore 2010 'Dream Our Dreams' Clips! )

Dream Our Dreams
...screw the link and the cut, I'm embedding this one...

Yes, it's from Light Magic. Forget that. We did it better. :P and with NO CREEPY DANCING PIXIES. Just pure, awesome spectacle!

So I should give this thing an actual update, huh?

Summer is here, in full swing... BLAH. It's kinda scary when Orlando actually gets a "Heat Advisory." So glad I wasn't working today. Just going outside to run to the mall was killer. Glad I wasn't stuck on a truck!

Work goes well. It is high Brazilian Tourist Season... and they're coming in record numbers this year. Really. Apparently management says there's actually more of them this year than there ever has been in years past. RUN, CMS, RUN AWAY.

In other parks news... we get to keep the Main Street Electrical Parade! WHEEEE!! *enthusiastically waves goodbye to Spectro* That's not really unexpected, but I'm excited none the less. Now if only the Summer Nighttastic fireworks wold stick around instead of boring old Wishes...

Encore shows are less than a week away! WOO! I'm so excited. Of course, we're going into hell week, so we'll see how long I have the energy to be excited. :P I went out today and got my outfit to wear to the show, and I'm actually going to wear a DRESS. I think that's a sign of the Apocalypse. But it's all coming together now... sitzprobes this week with the orchestra sounded AMAZING. This show is seriously going to be awesome. Tonight we finally get into the venue! (It's at the World Showplace at Epcot - that big white tent-looking think behind the UK/Canada)

The trip back home to Seattle went well! I had a blast at the marathon (as you could probably tell by my marathon-length recap of it) and got to see some old friends. Stopped by both the Woodland Park Zoo and the Point Defiance Zoo, too. So it was a fun week! I took a ton of pics, of course, but everything's just been too crazy to get around to uploading them...

Anyways - here's catching up on reading!! ( June/July 2010 Books! )

I wondered what 26.2 miles felt like, and now I know it feels like burning. Sweet, sweet burning. :P

So without further ado, in the vein of the 2010 Walt Disney World Half Marathon Recap, here is the 2010 Rock N Roll Seattle Marathon Mile-By-Mile Recap! Some of the miles are a little slim on description because they blurred together. A lot. :P

( The Pre-Race! )

( The Race! )

( The Post-Race! )

The Wrap-Up

I ran a freakin' marathon! In 16 months, I went from not running at all, to finishing my first marathon. And I finished it in 5:14:51. So like I've said before, if you think you can't do it, you're lying to yourself. It's not easy, and it takes a lot of work, like getting up at 4 am to do 20-mile training runs before the summer heat kicks up for the day. But it can be done!

Now in hindsight, Seattle, with all its hills, probably wasn't the perfect place to run a first marathon. I said at the start that only about 6,000 runners chose the full marathon, and apparently only about 4,000 of those finished. 33% didn't finish... but I did! WOO!!! I wanted to run it in my hometown, so there ya go. :P It was still a lot of fun, and very scenic!

As I write up this recap two weeks later, I'm pretty much recovered. I spent that afternoon trying to nap (who would have thought it would hurt to NAP after a race?) and about two days of grunting in pain every time I stood up, but I got back to normal by the following Tuesday. And I'm looking forward to getting back into the swing of running!

And for all my bitching about how much it hurt, I'm antsy for another one. I think there's something very twisted about a runner's mentality. As you run, all you can think about is how painful it is and wonder why you do it. At the pre-race expo, I picked up a shirt that said "This seemed like a good idea 3 months ago!" And then within days, you want to do another one. That type of thinking is actually pretty common in running. I bet some psychology grad student could write a fascinating paper on that. :P In any case, I think my next full marathon will probably be at Disney in January. Nice and FLAT. Plus I need a Mickey medal to go with my Donald one from this year...