I cannot believe Thanksgiving break is next week. I have so much to do before then, but for now I'm allowing myself a very short break. I went and saw one of my favorite bands in concert tonight, and it was amazing! My university's Student Activities Council brought them, so it was a good venue with a decent crowd (not small, but not huge either) and wonderful ticket prices. You just can't beat seeing Motion City Soundtrack for $12. XD And I went with one of my roommates; which was really nice, since we haven't been able to do anything social together lately (such busy, conflicting schedules. ;~; ) Afterwards, I even go a picture with the lead singer! It was a wonderful night.

Since I have all of the A-Fest cosplay photos uploaded, and I don't have any cons planned anytime soon, I'm going to be uploading a lot of concert and theatre pictures in the coming months. I have three concerts sitting on my computer (Eyeshine, Hellogoodbye and Motion City Soundtrack) and a LOT of theatre photos (I offered to run the photocall for six one acts. Sooo many pictures. @.@)

Can you guys believe that it's been almost a year since the Yuki Cross photoshoot with ? That photoshoot is was got me onto deviantArt. I might dig up some photos from the set that I haven't uploaded to celebrate the one-year on the 26th. :3

just posted this, and I thought it was cute, so I'm gonna do it, too!


THE BASICS:
Write a Christmas/Holiday wish list. It can be any 10 wishes you'd like to have granted, no matter what they are. Possible or seemingly impossible. People look and grant the wishes if they can. It's not about "OMFG PRESENTS", it's about making someone else's holiday a little brighter by giving. Personally, I get more out of giving than receiving sometimes. It's just a good feeling to give.


STEP ONE:
** Make a post in your journal. The post should contain your list of 10 holiday wishes. The wishes can be anything at all, from simple and fun ("I'd love a Snape/Hermione icon that's just for me") to medium ("I wish for _____ on DVD") to really big ("All I want for Christmas is a new car/computer/house/TV.") The important thing is, make sure these wishes are things you really, truly want.

** If you wish for real possible things, make sure you include some sort of contact info in your post, whether it's your address or just your email address where Santa (or one of his elves) could get in touch with you. In this case, you can always just note someone on dA for the sake of privacy.

** Make sure you post some version of these guidelines in your journal, so that others can join in and participate to spread the holiday joy!


STEP TWO:
** Surf this forum ( [link] ) and browse the lists. Here's the important part:

** If you see a wish you can grant, and it's in your heart to do so, make someone's wish come true. Sometimes someone's trash is another's treasure, and if you have a leather jacket you don't want or a gift certificate you won't use--or even know where you could get someone's dream purebred Basset Hound for free--do it.

** You needn't spend money on these wishes unless you want to. The point isn't to put people out, it's to provide everyone a chance to be someone else's holiday elf--to spread the joy. Gifts can be made anonymously or not--it's your call.


There are no rules with this project, no guarantees, and no strings attached. Just...wish, and it might come true. Give, and you might receive. And you'll have the joy of knowing you made someone's holiday special.


+My list+

1.) I wish to spend Christmas with my family - to go home and sit around and just talk and laugh and not worry about money or school or anything like that.

2.) I wish for my cousin to beat the breast cancer she was recently diagnosed with.

3.) I wish for a pretty, gorgeous new flash for my Nikon. *_* Preferably one that works just wonderfully indoors~~

4.) I wish for a little extra cash for London so I don't end up spending -all- of my student loans (don't worry, I won't actually spend it all! XDD)

5.) I wish to see Hachi, Franny, Bridget, Amanda, Marina and Echo - my Kansas City anime/cosplay/best friends. We haven't had one of our amazingly enjoyable anime/cosplay/baking/games nights in a really, really long time.

6.) I wish to make it to Vegas to finally physically meet one of my best friends,

7.) I wish for this major step in my life that I have finally taken to help me accept, forgive, and move on.

8.) I wish for pretty pretty Princess Tutu and Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles fanart. -^^-! (I just had to! XD)

9.) I wish for the time to make a new cosplay. I miss cosplaying~ ;~;

10.) I wish for everyone to find happiness and love in their holiday season!


When I was younger, like maybe eleven or twelve, I witnessed something that would change my life forever. As I walked out of the mall with my father after unsuccessfully looking for a present for my mom, we saw a mom and daughter getting out of a car. The car was probably the most pathetic automobile I had ever seen - the door was being held closed with a rope, it was making the strangest noise, and paint was chipping all over it. Without a moment of hesitation, my dad walked over to the mom, handed her a $100 bill, and told her to buy something special for her daughter. Then he took my hand and walked away.

It wasn't until after my father passed away that I learned that this was not an out-of-the blue thing. He adopted families at Thanksgiving and Christmas, always took food to Soup Kitchens, and secretly donated money to friends and strangers that needed it the most (there was another time that we snuck an envelope of money into a struggling friend's mailbox at Christmas.)

As a college student who is now paying for college entirely on her own, I'm unable to help out as much as I would like to. But I still do what I can, when I can. I do so not only because I want to, but I want to keep my father's memory alive. I hope his story inspires you to do what you can to give this season. It doesn't even have to be money; even a kind smile to a stranger or a helpful gesture to a fellow holiday shopper can make a world of difference to someone. I work retail, I definitely know that that's true.

So to all of you, have a wonderful holiday season! I know it seems premature to say that, but technically, it starts next Thursday. :3