Repertoire: What to Expect

As stated in Monday’s post, Thursdays will be about adding to my repertoire. So, this is just to let you guys know what to expect on these Repertoire Thursdays (or whatever I’ll call it).

Art

I create two types of art pieces: colored pencil drawings and the Just Vinyl comics. My colored pencil work is generally people, more realistic, takes more time, and exposes my stans and fandoms. Just Vinyl started as a way to cope with a bad job, turned into a daily fun thing in a stage show I was doing, and turned into a way to convey feelings and/or jokes. Maybe as we continue with Repertoire Thursday, I’ll do more kinds of art, like painting.

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Writing

Writing is a big part of what I do, so I put some of my written work on the site. From short scenes to excerpts from full-length pieces. At this point, the only thing I don’t write is poetry (but maybe I should start). As well, for the year 2021, it is my goal to write a first rough draft of a novel and a comedy play, so I’ll probably putting a lot of that on here as well.

Theatre

This will more than likely be the least posted on Thursdays since theatre work, especially now, is few and far between. But if I do anything (I’m hopeful), I’ll be putting that up.

DIY/Making stuff

Creativity sometimes includes doing stuff with my hands, whether it’s making costumes, pins, jewelry, or journaling/scrapbooking. These aren’t priorities in my creativity, though, so they won’t be around often, but they’ll pop up occasionally.

Critiques

This is something I haven’t put up yet, but want to start this year. Due to my love of reading and my education, I’ve developed what I believe is a good critical opinion of books. I’m back on a reading challenge for 2021, and I want to write critiques for the books I come across. I’m hoping this will better my critical writing and introduce you guys to more books (and hopefully some good recommendations).

And that’s what you should expect on Thursdays: one of these artistic endeavors. This will help increase my repertoire, better my skills, and I hope this will inspire, encourage, or entertain you.

Hugs

Alexandra

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My Thoughts On My Own Blog

The last time I wrote for you guys was 18 November 2020. I said there’d be no post on Friday and then went on a two month hiatus.

So, what happened?

Three major things: 1. The end of a really rough semester. I was very busy with schoolwork, finals, projects, finding an internship for spring, setting things in motion to graduate in 2021, and more. Hectic. 2. Covid. At the end of the semester and through my entire winter break, I was down with the sickness (cue song); I had Covid pneumonia followed by a minor sinus infection followed by hives due to an allergic reaction. It was a mess for a long time. And 3. National events in January (you know what I’m talking about) made me pretty emotional and I didn’t want to bring those emotions onto my blog.

Long story short, the last two months have been nothing but mental, physical, and emotional messiness, so I was not around.

But these two months also gave me time to think about what I wanted to change about my blog.

So, what’s gonna happen?

Not long ago, I’ve been putting more of my work, not just my thoughts, onto the site. I want to put more work and less thoughts onto the site. This gives me more incentive to create and expound, but it also lessens the stress of thinking/planning three blog posts a week. I’m hoping this will be the best for me.

So, moving forward, I’ll be posting twice a week. On Mondays, I’ll be putting up a blog post, in the same format as it has been. On Thursdays, I’ll be putting up an ‘addition to the repertoire’. Whether it’s art, writing, or something theatre-related (maybe I’ll even add critiques). It will post on the home page and add on to the submenu it belongs in.

I’m excited for this format, and I hope you guys can get excited with me. Let’s try to get this year back on track.

Hugs

Alexandra

Entering Finals…

Every semester, it’s the same post: finals is here.

This semester has been particularly tough thanks to a certain class, so finals are gonna suck a little extra hard. But we’re gonna work hard, as we’re meant to.

Others are also entering finals soon, if not now, and I wanted to send my well wishes to you poor unfortunate souls as well. Don’t kill yourself to get work done, but don’t leave it in the wayside either.

Just do your best.

And everyone’s best is difference.

I’m going to work extra hard this week on some projects and presentations, so no post on Friday.

Hugs

Alexandra

Bringing the Dementor Back

I realize I never talked about this, so now’s the time, I guess. It gave me a lot to think about, so I wanted to share this experience.

Last year, I made an over-seven-foot dementor for a Hogwarts themed harvest fest. It was a mega hit, and I loved doing it. (And if you want to know more, I made a post about it last year here).

This year, the person in charge of the harvest fest asked if I could bring the dementor costume back since she was going to be doing the Hogwarts theme bigger and better. I said, of course, and I set out to fixing it back up, since it’s been in storage for a year.

The day came, and I was a little ill-prepared (I forgot some padding to lessen the pain of wearing it). But it’s all good. The reactions make it worth it. Let’s get to it! Walk around, scare some kids, impress the farmers.

Unfortunately, I didn’t stay in costume for long.

I was in costume for maybe 45 minutes or an hour before I quit out of frustration.

Something I knew would happen during the fest would be kids playing along, pointing wands at me, running from me, expecto patronum-ing me. I’m super down to play along with them, too. But, this year, kids and preteens were poking me with their wands (I don’t appreciate being stabbed with a wooden stick), yanking on my cloak (which is almost entirely supported by my neck, and I don’t want to die today), and pushing me (my vision is limited, and if I fall I’m not getting back up). The worst was when a young man, 12 or 13 maybe, decided to punch me in the stomach!

Punch. Me. In. The. Stomach.

Why were the kids so violent this year? Anyway, after multiple instances of abuse, I called it quits and took my costume off for the day. My friend, Kiki, who was there with me that day, was so angry and wanted me to point the kid out so she can drop kick him for me.

I wasn’t terribly hurt. A little sore but not injured. But that shouldn’t matter. It is NOT okay to touch or hit a character at an attraction, which is what I was. I’m a person underneath all that fabric, and I can get hurt, physically and emotionally. I was upset and sore, and I don’t know if I’ll be busting out the dementor again.

Just wanted to share the experience with those who maybe have kids. Please teach your children not to touch or mess with a character at any kind of attraction, whether it be Disneyland or your local harvest fest.

And I didn’t even get any pictures this year…

Hugs

Alexandra

Veterans Day

A recent assignment of mine involved going through an archive of an organization of Spanish-American War veterans. Coincidentally, Veterans Day is today. So, how about a little education, now that I’ve got veteran brain:

Veterans Day was originally Armistice Day. That’s because it celebrated the armistice with Germany at the end of World War I. In the 40s and 50s, those who fought in World War II wanted to expand the holiday to all veterans, not just those who fought in World War I. Congress changed the name in 1954, about 35 years after the original Armistice Day.

The reason it is celebrated on the 11th of November every year is because World War I hostilities formally ended on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. There was a time in the 70s (or 80s, but I’m pretty sure it was the 70s) where they tried to have it on the fourth Monday of October, but it only lasted a couple of years before they went back to 11/11.

Maybe some of you are confused about the differences between Veterans Day and Memorial Day and Armed Forces Day, etc. Let me explain: Veterans Day celebrates the service of ALL US military veterans, Memorial Day honors those who died in service, and Armed Forces Day honors currently serving military. Each military branch also has their own day.

So, if you know someone who served or is currently serving, today is the day to thank them for their service and remember that they can kick your ass.

Jokes aside, I have family who served. Some were POWs, some came home with hella trauma, some didn’t come home at all. It’s an important day in my family as we remember what they went through. We appreciate them and honor their memory.

Happy Veterans Day

Hugs

Alexandra

How the Shop is Doing

If you didn’t know, I opened an Etsy shop about a month ago. I started selling earrings and necklaces that looked like the witchy potions or gave off a Dia de los Muertos vibe. I set it all up to the best of my ability and…

Nothing.

So, how is my shop doing? Not good. Haven’t made a single sale.

Now that a month has passed, I’m thinking to myself, ‘what can I do to better this situation?’

So I looked into it. YouTube tutorials, Pinterest advice, asking friends on Facebook, and Google searching as much as I could. Here’s what I found:

• Utilize social media, especially Pinterest
• Up the number of listings
• List with free shipping
• Remain active on your shop daily
• Update your photos
• Optimize SEO
• Use e-rank

So, I’m gonna be trying out a few things for the next month and a half, and at the end of the year we’ll see if it helps.

I’ll give an update at that time.

Hugs

Alexandra

P.S. Link to the shop if you’re interested: https://www.etsy.com/shop/FromMyMindandHeart

Election Year

On top of everything else that this year has spawned, it’s an election year here in the U.S.

And, boy, has it been one dumpster fire after another.

Threats of riots if Trump wins; threats of mass killing if Biden wins. It’s a scary time.

At my time of writing this, in the evening of 5 November, there still hasn’t been a result. By the time this is published, on the morning of 6 November, there may be.

No matter what happens, please be safe, please be smart.

Hugs

Alexandra

November Bullet Journal

I was introduced to a very short series called Over the Garden Wall. I fell in love with it instantly. I decided to have this super autumn show be my theme for the super autumn month. My good friend who introduced it to me is also doing this then in November, so I’m having a good time.

Let me know what you think. I’m also wondering what to do for December, so if you’ve got ideas let me know!

Hugs

Alexandra

Did October Exist?

Seriously, it feels like the spooky season passed right by us.

I’m hoping November is better to all of us, and will do my part to make sure it is.

If that includes more study time (because finals), or if that includes more self care (because finals), I’ll do it.

Let’s make it a good month for ourselves, any way we can. Or at the very least, let’s give it our best shot.

Hugs

Alexandra

PS Happy Belated Spooky Day, Halloween, Samhain, Dia de los Muertos, whatever you celebrate around this time.

I made star freckles that didn’t get to be seen by a lot of people because the world is nuts. Tell me what you did for this holiday.

Concussions, Stitches, Burns, and Falling Behind

Out of the four adults in this house, three of us suffered some recent injuries.

One of us fell and cracked her head on the pavement, causing a concussion and some major body pains.

One of us burned his arm during welding class.

And one of us had a benign tumor in her back and had to get it removed.

The fourth adult in the house has Parkinsons, so we’re all doing bad.

Thanks to some rough seas, I fell behind on school work, so much so that one of my professors emailed me about it. Oops.

Sometimes stuff happens in your life and you fall short. This happens. The question becomes, do you stay at the foot of the tree or do you start climbing again? I fell behind because of stress, taking care of house stuff, and caring for some stitches in my back, but I know I can work hard and catch up. And I will.

We can’t always control if we fall out of the tree, but we can control if we stay out of it.

Hugs

Alexandra TG

P.S. I’m fine, and healed for the most part. So is everyone else.