Also, I have beaten Portal. GOD, I LOVE THAT GAME SO MUCH.

I realized that it had been awhile since I poked around DA, and thought that it was about time to fix that. School, ROTC, and stories have devoured my LIFE. Seriously, outside of those things, I really feel like I don't do anything. It makes me feel really lame when I try to write letters back to people, because I haven't done very much since I sent the last one out. It doesn't help that money is really tight for me right now, and I'm way too embarrassed to ask my parents for help, considering how stressed they are with the fact that our old house hasn't sold yet (which is ridiculous, because it's an awesome house, close to a school, and going for cheap) and they're paying for a lot of stuff already, like my older sister's wedding. IN JAMAICA. o_o;

So, yeah. I'm attempting the "living on $20 to $30 a month thing." It's not really all that fun. =/

On a slightly neater note, my boyfriend and I will hit our one-year anniversary on Sunday. I. . .I guess that I'm excited. I mean, it's the longest relationship that he's ever had, so it's kind of a big deal for him. For me, though, one year is around the time that Shit Hits The Fan, so I'm a little nervous, even though Wes is a great guy and I really don't have anything to worry about. This is definitely one of the healthiest, happiest long-term romantic relationships with a man that I have ever been in. But, anyway.

Does anyone have any fun ideas for anniversaries? I will feel like the biggest douchebag if he and I don't do something, but I've been so stressed, tired, and burned out from training that I'm having some difficulties being creative/romantic.

On the NaNo front, I feel as though I have lost the battle and I'm currently in the process of losing the war. My word count is stuck; I have no idea where to go or how to get there with my story. I got a bunch of beginning scenes, none of which connect in a cohesive manner, and it's. . . God, it's a mess! At this point, I'm ready to throw my hands up in defeat and go back to my fanfics. At least when I get stuck in those, it's not because I lost my plot line.

Speaking of fanfics, though, I'm taking a little break from YGO (my behemoth, drabbles, challenges, memes, fandom; everything) to try to refocus on some older stuff. I got bitten by the FFVIII bug a few days ago, and have been working off-and-on on what I think are the scenes leading from the end of Queen of All Time to the beginning of Theological Gods. O_O! Wow, talk about a blast from the past! For those that don't know, QoAT is the FFVIII novelization that I started about seven years ago before fizzling out on it, and TG is the sequel that I had planned for it. I started replaying FFVIII as well, and GOD HOW I HAVE MISSED THIS GAME. If there is a reason why I enjoy the Final Fantasy franchise, it is because VIII and Tactics are beautiful and can always make me smile or cry.

. . .I miss my old style these days. My writing may have gotten more technically advanced, but it just reads so drab and boring next to the beginning chapters of QoAT, Pillars of Salt, and some of my crazier song-fics (I'm looking at you, Playground). Where did it all go? When did I get so trapped in conventions that I forgot the kinds of things that I loved to write about? Where did all the crazy, wild, beautiful descriptions and twisted themes go? I. . .miss them, and I wish that they would come back.

Well, that's all I really have today. I'll try to get back on later tonight/sometime tomorrow. I apologize in advance for the long wait between replies. I have a full box of deviations and some journals to dig through, and I'll try to get to those then. To anyone who commented on my work or faved something of mine in the last month, I'm very sorry! I promise that I haven't forgotten you and I'll be responding to those messages soon. Thanks for being so incredibly patient!

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