"Have you ever shot anybody?"

This is my least favorite question for someone to ask my dad. I mean, how does someone automatically assume peace officer = gunman? Because they carry guns? Why don't they ask just about every man here in Texas the same thing?

I don't remember asking my dad that except for once. I was somewhere between 11 and 13 I think. Maybe I was older. He told me that one time he arrived on scene just in time to witness a man get stabbed fatally. The wounded man ran over to my dad's squad car and died holding on to the driver's door. The murderer was standing in front of a street full of drivers. Dad pointed his gun but didn't shoot for fear of hitting an innocent bystander.

I know that here in the States we all seem to have this huge authority problem. I think it started with the Revolution, maybe even with colonization. People came here because they didn't want to be told what to do or not to do (or for enterprise, that happened, too). We still don't want to be told what to do, and a lot of people take it out on our peace officers.

My dad joined the force because he wanted to help people. "Fighting crime, surpressing evil, and protecting widows and orphans" is something he jokingly says quite often. But that's what he does. He hates writing traffic tickets and is pretty good to the people who recognize that this is his job and not a personal vendetta.

I guess what I want to say is, you have not gone through what a police officer sees. Don't think you know what they do.

Today I decided to make a gargoyle.

I made this little guy today and am going to list him on etsy later. I really like him, though, and might have to keep him. I like how sad he looks. Do any of you have some idea as to how much I should price him? A lot of people get onto me for underpricing.

This has me a bit inspired though. I want all of you to give me a random animal or mythological creature and a random emotion or adjective that describes a personal characteristic. This may not work since I usually decide emotion after I've made the head, but we'll see.

On another note, my first Spanish class was today and let me tell you, I am truly excited to be in this class. I love the professor already and can tell he's passionate about language and learning languages.

I saw it!

Okay, so I know I just posted on Prince Caspian, but I saw it on Friday and would like to say that despite my worries mostly being well-founded, I really liked the movie.

Yes, (spoiler) Susan and Caspian share a kiss. Not good. But I understand why they did it.

Yes, they begin the ritual to summon the white witch and Caspian and Peter are both tempted, but not Edmund. Not what happens in the book, but again I understand why it was done, there was drama, more character development.

Reepicheep never has "i don't like you" moments with Caspian.

I still haven't gotten through the book (I've been tired lately), though in previous readings I don't remember a storming of the castle. That bugs me but I also understand why they did this because of the direction they were taking with Caspian and Peter.

So I guess I'm saying, go see it anyway. It's a very good film.

I'm not happy that I have to wait until 2010 for the next one to come out. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is going to be awesome...though Georgie Henley is getting to be so pretty that it's going to be hard to justify her wanting to do the beautification spell on herself when she's in the dufflepuds island. I've been checking over and over again but I haven't seen any information for who is playing Eustace or the seven lords (wait, not all of them are there right? They find about five or so I think).

I also just shipped my first Etsy order! Here are pictures of him!

I'm worried...

Okay, so I made a new banner (someone needs to show me how to make photo layers on photoshop), not any of the three I previously had.

I would like to express my concerns over the new Prince Caspian movie.
I love Disney. Its classics are groundbreaking and part of history. Lately I think they've fallen in a rut (hey, this was a hit fifty years ago, let's make a sequel with careless animation, colors and backgrounds with no depth, a horrible script, and people that don't sound like the original voiceovers. It costs less money than a real film, and we'll make a lot on those idiot children who don't know quality when it hits them between the eyes! but I'm not bitter...) but I was so excited to hear years ago that they were teaming up with Walden Media to film the Chronicles of Narnia.
Now, Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe was good. Very few licences taken (except for a face off with wolves and getting caught on ice floes and the trees telling everyone about Aslan's demise, and the part where Lucy tells Aslan to wait when she's administering to Edmund is left out, they probably thought it was unimportant but I thought the opposite).

There are a few parts that I've seen in previews that REALLY worry me. Really just like three or so.
1) Reepicheep apparently doesn't like Caspian very much. (Reepicheep is in essence valor and loyalty. Any disapproval in Caspian wouldn't be fitting)
2) The Pevensies storming the castle. As far as I can remember (I'm re-reading the book right now) this does not happen, and it's kind of a major event. I was pretty sure that the Telmarines FOUND the Narnians at Aslan's How and the battle took place there.
3) (this is the worst) The love affair between Susan and Caspian. The previews are rife with telling looks, and one short image of someone with Susan's hair rushing in to kiss Caspian rather passionately. I'm sorry if this is a spoiler, but Susan does not ever return to Narnia, even in The Last Battle (she's the only one of the Pevensies who stops believing in Narnia, becomes rather silly and self-absorbed). CS Lewis did not put these two in a romantic entanglement, especially since from what I recall, Caspian is rather taken with a lady star in "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader".

I'm so worried about this. I know that it's kind of silly, but I've been reading and re-reading these books since I was ten years old, and they're kind of sacred to me. You don't mess with C. S. Lewis. Especially big plot twists like that!

Possible Etsy Banners

Okay, so a big critique for my Etsy shop is that it does not have an easily read banner that fits my products. So, I have made two banners (and gotten one from the bannorator on etsy) that I could use. I need your help choosing which one!

Which one is the best? Please help!

Kate

Final Jewelry Exhibition

I realize I never posted these, though I was very busy the last week of school so I have a good excuse. These are the fruits of my labors! Here is the showcase, from left to right: the all-familiar rose window locket, the Allerleirauh piece, the selkie pendant, the pewter heart pendant (very heavy!) my new gold rose ring, below those are the copper bracelet and turquoise pendant, and then lastly is my walnut necklace, cast in pewter. See below!

Okay, so obviously the lower part is a walnut shell cast in pewter, the upper part is part of the actual nut. The problem was that during casting we had a few "bubbles" and that resulted in holes. So I got one of my dyed disfigured pearls, and wrapped it throughout the holes. Kind of a "make things do" piece, but I like it.This is a poor image of my gold rose ring. I wear this thing all the time, and I love it! I should, it took enough strain and time and tears!

And that is the end of jewelry making class. Makes me sad.

What the heck does a dragon's wing look like?

Okay, so I'm crocheting a dragon for an etsy user, and I need to make wings. Question? What does a dragon's wing look like. I've been doing image searches for awhile and I'm not sure what to do, mainly because dragons are mythical beasts and well...everyone has a different idea of what they look like. Here's what I have so far:

The Dragon himself!

The wing, without the ends woven in.

So, does the wing look wing-like enough? Do you have any absolutely awesome dragon images from which I can gain inspiration?

My last night in the nursery

This is my last night in my dorm. My last time to live in a college dorm, my last time to attend this university, my last time as a Resident Assistant. It's my last night for a lot of things, and I'm really sad. I wish I could think of a more eloquent way of saying that, but that's how I feel: sad.
When I graduated high school, I was ready. I was so ready to be out of the house, go on with my life, experience new things, take classes of MY choosing. And those two weeks before I moved to my first dorm, I was so fed up with living at home and so ready to live at school.
I am not ready to move back home. I am not ready to move on to this next chapter in my life.
I went to such lengths to make sure I could graduate a year early, and that's happening. I will graduate in August of 2008 when I was supposed to graduate in May of 2009. I really didn't have to work too hard at that, taking 30 hours (summer semester included) my freshman year, 36 my sophomore, and I guess with this summer 32 for my senior year. And I know there was really no way for me to graduate at this university in four years, because it was so difficult to even fund this semester alone.
I will not miss having so much trouble managing all my time, but I will miss being proud of my papers. I will not miss having to field residential complaints, but then I actually might.
I am not afraid of what the future holds, but I am regretful of leaving college so soon.
I'm sure I'll feel better in the morning.