So it was a really quite birthday today, which isn't really a bad thing. Normally I get to celebrate at MFF but money, school, and work just won't allow it. Thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday both here and on Facebook. I'm off to have dinner with the folks at a little Italian restaurant.

So first off, I'm working on a computer that will not recognize HDD's or external boot devices. I tried booting into Fedora 14 live and that didn't go so well. Not sure what all could be the problem, everything looks ok on the inside.

Speaking of Fedora 14 I'm now running it on my laptop. Everything is running pretty well but I'm having an odd crackling from my audio. It seems to happen when the audio is either to high or to low, but the volume doesn't make any difference. Any solutions out there?

Well my birthday is Monday. I'll be 27 so yay that I suppose.

Hmm Updates:

Well I have one semester left after this and that will finish up my Network degree. Then I just have to take my CCNA in the summer.

I'll be taking my A+ and hopefully my Security+ and Net+ latter this month but not sure yet.

The next con I make will most likely be Furry Fiesta again since it's the closest convention to me. Hopefully in the summer I can make AC but I'm not sure yet.

Well I just graduated last week with my first of three associates of applied sciences. I graduate with a 3.955 GPA and am ecstatic. Now I just have to keep my GPA up over the next year or so.

I can't believe it's been so long coming but May 7th I graduate from my first associates in computer system maintenance. I've been looking at 4 year university's lately and just have not found a degree program I like. I'm not really interested in computer system information since it's basically a business degree, and I'm not a programmer, maybe ladder logic but not C++ or anything like that so that really limits my undergraduate options. Maybe after I finish the network admin and network maintenance associates I'm working on, which I should graduate from next Spring, I will find an undergrad degree I like.

While I'm not interested in a business degree I would like to take a class or two on small businesses. and maybe those would change my mind but a business class can't hurt anything but my GPA. So I'll probably give it a go next year.

Since a couple of my friends have posted on this I thought I would as well. I started playing in OB and have a lifetime sub to the new mmo. I've really been enjoying it when I get a chance to play and just finished City on the Edge of Never this morning though I felt a little low for it.

Right now I command the USS Leopard as Lieutenant Commander Stria Inbiri. Hopefully I'll get to commander in the next week or so if I have time. I really need others to explore with as I've been doing most content solo.

Well Furry Fiesta is just around the corner and I'm so excited. We'll be heading up Friday morning and heading back Monday morning. Can't wait to see everyone there. I'll be bringing both Sugar and Stria.

I was at my favorite comic book store today hanging out with one of the guy's who works there and started to flip through one of the statue magazines that they get there and i was shocked to see this http://www.actionfigurepics.com/wp-.....rd_dzwirra.jpg

He didn't know how to order it so when I got home this evening I tried looking it up and found that the four horsemen are putting out a group of action figures/statues from the 7th Kingdom and that 6 of these statues are anthro feline women. Well Ihad to order them and began the task of seeking them out.

To my sadness they are sold on different sites and each figure is exclusive to that site. I was also disheartened because D'Zwirra and Akkuli are both sold out and it was a limited run. I'm not sure how many are left of each of the remaining figures but they are limited, if someone finds D'Zwirra and or Akkuli for sale anywhere I really want the complete set.

If you wish to look at all the figures in this set and the link to where they can be purchased please check the link below.

http://www.actionfigurepics.com/200.....d-series-recap

MFF can be summed up in 4 words this year. BEST CON SUIT EVER! We had so much fun I can't belie I was on staff. Con suit was amazing, between the mayo incident at the beginning of the con, the 311 incident (love you Alex and Felina), and being Dr. Horrible while working and singing with Felina.

I'm wondering who has pictures of Sugar and Dr. Horrible.

Thanks to everyone who made this such a great con.

Just waiting at the airport now. I should be in Chicago at 6:30-6:45. If anyone is arriving around that time at the Midway airport maybe we could share a cab since it's kinda high.

Can't wait to see everyone, I'm already wondering what I forgot, at least I didn't forget Sugars padding or Stria's tail (that was embarrassing). I really want to see everyone. The best place to catch me is at the con suite cause I'm staffing that this weekend. Oh I only brought Sugar this time cause of my limited time to suit, and since I'm staying at the other hotel.

So yesterday had to be one of the coolest days ever. Our club at school Skills USA, Invited a gentleman to come and talk to us about his work in computers and networking. His name is Ben Barker and if you don't know who he is, he's part of the team that created Arpanet. He had some amazing story's of himself at 23 years old working on what essentially became the predecessor to the internet.

I'm hoping to have him come back to our school at least one more time next semester. What's cool is that he's local and loves to talk about his days at BBN. He may be in his early 60's now but when he talks about this it's like he's back there working on Arpanet again. He was at the teletype when UCLA and SRI first connected and he sent the first message across, three weeks before they sent the login message that crashed the system.

So yay I turned 26 today, we went out to Binihanas and my sister got me a Guild t-shirt.

So I was driving home from school today and the light in front of me is green. A guy in a wheelchair decided to wheel out and stop in the lane to the left of mine, this is the lane for oncoming traffic, and the traffic was oncoming. Luckily everyone saw him and moved around but he just sat there not looking the least bit alarmed that cars were coming at him. When my light turned red he started going again to the other side.

A couple weeks ago on the same street a couple of people were cruising down the road in the center of the lane going the wrong way. If your going to drive your wheelchair down the road at least be in the correct lane.

If you've watched Glee before then you'll recognize the human in the Middle as Sue Silvester, or better yet, my brother dressed as her, in the newest picture I have posted. My brother's a good guy if not a little obsessed about my furry side but it's all good.

Well not really but when it wakes you up at 5:30am I do. I normally am not phased by anything when I sleep, even some of the hardest storms have not woken me up. But every 30 seconds or so the tree above my room seems to be releasing all of its water, causing a very loud noise on my roof.So yay no sleep for me for the rest of the night/

Ok so I have a google blog I want to update often. http://striasworld.blogspot.com/

Also check out my newest post on there to see my new favorite show ever, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. I have the link to it on there as well.

Well school starts tomorrow, and while I'm only taking 15 hours right now this will probably be my most intensive semester yet. I'm taking PLC's, Microprocessors, and Convergent Technologies as my 3 hardest courses and a fundamentals course that I missed my first semester.

If you received a text message from Ginger this afternoon I need you to contact me. She told me who she sent it to but I forgot several of the names. Please do not reply here but send me a note.

Love always,
Stria

Hello, my name is Stria, many of you know me and I have been given permission by Ginger to write this.

Over the last several days events have unfolded that you have read here on her journal. She has a lot of emotional stress and pain that she needs to work out in her own time and in her own way. She will not be around for a while as she sorts this out. In the mean time please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

If you have any questions please contact me on my journal and not here. She wishes everyone the best.

Love always,
Stria

X posted from Ginger's journal

I know several of my good friends have had there you tube accounts taken down because of a troll claiming that there is copyright infringement in there videos. I have the fortunate luck to have a relative that works in youtube and have asked them to look into this. The more information I can bring to them the better chance he has. If you have had this problem lately and have the emails to support this please IM me.

Also if you try and fight this please be aware that they do send your personal information to the complainant. This could be bad if this troll is as bad as they are when it comes to removing accounts from youtube.

Well, for those that watch my twitter account you know I have been cleaning and decorating my room lately. Also you saw I was looking for ideas how to display my con badges as they are lovely pieces of art. Well I displaye them on a cork board, striping the cork and using velcro. This way I can take them down for conventions. Well the badges only cover the middle of the board so I'm looking for ideas on how to decorate the outside of it.

The boarder would be 21" by 15" and 2" thick.

So any ideas on what to do?

Well I just finished finals yesterday, woo! I got 4 A's and a B and took 20 hours this semester. This leaves me over halfway done with my computer maintenance degree plan and I should finish it next spring. The sad thing is I'm only out for a month before I head back to school for summer classes. I'm taking an online math course as well as Digital Fundamentals, which is basically a binary and base 2 math class. That's 5 days a week for 5 days. Unfortunately that means I can't make AC this year because AC bumps into finals week for summer classes. I hope to make MFF in November but we will see how my school schedule goes.

I really miss talking to everyone. Feel free to drop me a line any time I should have free time to talk now. I can't receive text messages though for the rest of the month but my IM is always on.

Ugh, I feel awful. I think I ate something bad last night cause I can't keep anything in. So I'm dehydrated and tired from lack of food all day. My stomach and head hurt but meds won't stay down to work. I can't sleep because I can't hold anything down, and am really hungry cause I haven't had anything stay in me all day.

Life just doesn't seem to be going my way right now.

(x posted from my LJ)

So I thought I should try and post something before school today since I haven't posted in a while. Well schools been going ok, got two more tests this week though and at least one is going to kick my tail. The operating system test will be simple but the electromechanical test will be increadably dificult sense theres no real way to study for it. Well there was a way to study for it but the teacher hasn't gotten the site to work for our class. Ohh and I found out I have like 2 weeks to right a paper for the class too because the school will no longer let first year classes go to the tech expo in place of the papers. So yay me.

I really miss talking to all of my friends cause of how busy I have been with school. I'm so sorry for any friends that might feel neglected by me at the moment. I have been so swamped at school, and with the family. After the loss of my grandmother we are now dealing with my grandparents on my fathers side who are having some hard times at the moment.

I hated missing FC so much but I had to many school and family commitments. AC is in question at the moment because they only offer digital durring the summer and it's 5 days a week. If I don't take digital durring the summer though I won't be able to take some classes for my 2nd year classes without it.

For those wondering about the subject line, I have been training for the Skills USA compitition and it deals alot with computer speed building and disasimbling, along with debugging and the A+ exam. Well some of the screws we were using in the cases are not the right threading so when striping the case I'm having to manually pull the screws out with my fingers and it's killing my time. And I cut my hand on the case too but I cut the nerve endings so it dosn't hurt.

My next con will be Furry Fiesta this weekend and I'm so excited. My girlfriend will be coming and this will be her first convention. If you are at FF you will notice Sugar got super skinny and a little shorter cause my girlfriend will be wearing her most of the time. I will be in Stria during the con and I hope her new paws will be in on time, they were supposed to be in by FC but I'm good as long as I have them by FF.

I know I'm not as talkative as I was before school but I love hearing from everyone. Please IM me if you have one of my IM's. My IM's are always up when I'm awake but if I don't respond I'm in school or doing homework. as soon as I can I'll try and respond, it's easier for me to respond to people then to start the conversation.

Love yall,
Stria

Today was the funeral, internment, and reception over at my Nanie's house. Two very dear friends of mine drove up from Corpus Christi to offer there love and support and I thank them very much for that. There were about 500 people last night and tonight, maybe about 750 total between the two, about half came to both.

It was a lovely service and I'll never forget it.

The whole reason I'm writing this though is to thank each and everyone of you who have expressed your condolences for myself and my family even though you have never met them. Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and your prayers as this is still a very hard time for us.

What follows is a lot of reminiscing, blubbering, and a little loneliness on my part. I just needed somewhere to put down some of my thoughts.

Well all week I've been going to school, getting ready for the services, and now it all starts. I have to pick up my suit this morning, the rosary is this evening and the funeral is tomorrow morning. All her children have been working very hard to get everything ready, I got to read the obituary yesterday and it was lovely. I got a haircut yesterday, went and got all my clothing and shoes except the suit which is being tailored, and found a great picture of my grandmother and grandfather when they were in the Bahamas and got it enlarged for the table at the reception.

Now I've been crying all week, just thinking about my Nanie. I am the oldest grandchild, and so have the most memories of her. I was also the one to call her Nanie. Nanie and my mother were trying to get me to call her gram cause that's what she called her grandmother, but I had different ideas. I was about 10 months old and still in the baby talk stage but making a little more sense. Saying things like mamama when my mom was around. I said that as well to Nanie but it came out nanana. She was so excited she called my mom and told her she was called nana, over the months it evolved into Nanie and that's what all the other grandchildren have called her.

Those memories made it especially tough when I was told I needed to write a letter that would go into the casket. I started writing in the living room but as I began to tear up I moved into my grandmothers bedroom to be alone. I wandered around for a second and ended up in her walk in closet. Inside was a huge white blanket she made and I started crying again. Whenever I was sick she would take care of me, especially when I was little cause mom didn't want the others to get sick. She would always wrap me up with that blanket and her being there, and doing that, made me feel so much better. Well I took that blanket back to the foot of her bed and started writing. Most of the letter is very personal but I'll share a couple lines.

The letter opens as follows.
To a wonderful friend, amazing person, and loving grandmother. You loved me forever, I'll love you for always, as long as I'm living my grandmother you'll be.

If you have never heard that last line, or something similar to it, I recommend picking up a wonderfully sad and touching book. It's called I'll Love You Forever. It's a children book I read back in elementary school and makes me cry whenever I read it. Throughout the whole book the mother tells her son; I'll love you forever, I'll love you for always, as long as I'm living my baby you'll be. But the third to last page, when the mother is old and dying the son holds his mother in his arms and tells her; I'll love you forever, I'll love you for all ways, as long as I'm living my mother you'll be. That's exactly how my grandmother past, in the arms of her six children telling her they loved her.