Hey guys, how's it goin'? Pardon me while I dust away the cobwebs from this joint.

*elevator music*

Ah, that's a bit better...not LoL I know it's been a while and I'm sure most of you thought I disappeared completely and don't remember me. That's fine, because it's time for new beginnings anyway. What isn't fine, however, is that I disappeared without telling anyone a thing and for that, I apologize. Some of you I became good friends with online, out in the real world (talking to you  kozispoon) and some of you even managed to pop my webcam cherry (BoBzY, Dtaina) But to just disappear was wrong and inconsiderate on my part. So on that note, I believe you are all long overdue for an explanation.

When I was 9, I moved from here (Tampa) to Key West and resided there for the next 15 years with my mom and sis. Finally, in Feb '10, I decided to spread my wings and flock back here in Tampa to try things out semi-on my own. Since then, I've lived in my grandparents' home, working, saving $$, trying to get something going with myself. Too stubborn and anxious to go back to school, I've been studying and practicing my crafts via online tutorials, studying, reading, that kind thing. I've been cooking up ideas for fanfiction, artwork, animation and even stop-motion films. Eventually, I spoke to my grandfather about remodeling the back portion of the house into an art studio, so that I can have the space and freedom to get to work on bringing my dreams to life. With reorganizing, cleaning up and clearing stuff out, I nearly succeeded and was on my way to creating an epic workspace but...

...unfortunately, those plans never came to be. My grandmother fell ill and was hospitalized due to an artery that had burst in her esophagus. My uncle came up from Puerto Rico and immediately began to take charge of things. He moved everything back into the would-be art spaces, had me leave my 2 cats outside so that the dander wouldn't effect my grandma when she got outta the hospital, took over my computer and infect it w/ malware due to his stock market programs, blah blah. That was back in April or so. It's now October and since then, one of my cats died in an accident and my best friend (more like sister) of 15 years passed away in her sleep due to causes still unbeknownst to me. So yeah, despite finally finding a job in this city, this year hasn't been the best for me in more ways than I could've imagined. Thankfully, my grandmother's okay and on the 24th, she and my grandfather will be heading back to Honduras. As for my uncle...

...he's going to be here for a while and despite me reminding him and my grandfather time and time again that the space in the back is to be for my artspace, I may as well be talking to a wall. My uncle's totally reconstructed it so that he could rent it out to someone in the future. On top of that, my older sister has moved in so that she can save up money to buy a house. Let's do the math really quick. There are 3 bedrooms here in the house. My sister's taking my old room, my uncle will take my grandparents' room and the one in the back will be for stranger danger. So basically, that leaves me with either the living room or to move out. At this point, I'm choosing the latter.

Last year, I had a very elaborate dream one night that I had moved to Texas and into a gorgeous home with  StangWolf. We had the coolest crib, w/ puzzle-piece padded flooring, blue furniture, the whole place was just awesome. As soon as we settled in, I found a job right away (from searching a phonebook...don't ask LoL). I woke up feeling like I should be living that life, out of my comfort zone and trying something new. Every now and then, something about Texas will creep into my life, esp. Austin. My new service manager is from there and he talks about it constantly. So who knows, maybe my destiny lies in the Lonestar State.

Regardless of where I move to, I hope to accomplish a lot more with myself and to renew my spirits. I've lost my ability to actually sit down and concentrate on art, as everything's been so congested and chaotic around here. Everytime I go to work on an unfinished piece, I give up cuz there's so much going on around me. I'd like to finish what I started and begin projects that I've shared with some of you already. There's a lot that I want to express to the world and to you all and I hope that despite me being MIA for so long, we can still remain friends and keep in touch as I go through this journey. I plan on creating another account, where I can start out fresh and show you all my new "skills" ^^; Despite the crazyness that's gone on, one of my pieces was published in WWE magazine last year and was even Twitter'd by one of the wrestlers I drew. That caught the attention of a fansite owner, who commissioned me to draw another wrestler :boogie: That was my first commission ever!

I've never lived on my own before, truly. Being away from my mom and moving into my grandparents' place (while they were still in Honduras) was the closest thing. I won't lie, I'm scared shitless and would much rather move in with someone rather than face this alone. But at the same time, I look forward to the new road that lies ahead...unpaved, unknown and limitless.

Coincidentally, my grandmother gave me a beautiful figurine of a winged unicorn. For those who don't know, one of my favorite Sailor Moon characters is Helios. When I was a little girl, I always imagined myself as a flying unicorn, thanks to My Little Pony and Unico fueling my imagination. In Sailor Moon, Helios is the guardian of dreams so whenever I think about my future, he always flies into my mind or in this case, right into my hands...

...what are you trying to tell me, Helios?

Jenn