Welcome to Gaia! ::

Thanks! I start early march :3

http://vocaroo.com/i/s03xyayCqQoP
Ah... I wish there was an editing option, but I'll start to practice being more fluent in making these...

And get some sleep if you need it! That time sounds rather early... emotion_zzz

Soap operas... bah! I know how those go like... I try to avoid conflicts as much as possible. There's always someone wanting to argue with everyone else... But other than that, It sounds like a safe and happy atmosphere to be in! Every place seems to have some form of drug or alcohol issues... =_=

Racism... It impacts us all... I sometimes argue to myself thinking that the media and government want us all to hate each other. But I can't say that's entirely accurate. There's hope between other races and people's cultures. Some people are horrible, chasing others away or starting issues. I wish that there was a way to make things better... And the day Obama won the Election... I'll never forget that day! It's sad how racism impacted everyone during that time. Even when he steps down, the comments and prejudices will still exist. As for the other people in town, I didn't want to believe that they were lazy... gonk

Yes... earthquakes... They scare me at times, but they're rare. (I don't know for how long though,,,) I haven't experienced anything significant when I was younger, but I was always curious about the 1906 and 1989 earthquakes... After learning what it was capable of, I stopped thinking about what something like that was. That was... until the earthquake in Napa, California. I've never felt anything like that. I was watching Black Lagoon at night, then it begun. I was in my mind thinking, "This is it! The big one... get it over with..." But it stopped. The next day, I was talking to everyone, and they felt it from where they were living; some even woke up from it! I shall become brave during those someday. I must also remain safe... It's so tempting to protect the valuables... and to think, there's potential chances for earthquakes far more destructive to happen! DX

Ah, pace yourself. I tried to draw something quickly in a short amount of time, and I suffer from fatigue and get sloppy. I must make this game I have envisioned for years... I keep daydreaming about it as if it were an actual story or series... And I must enjoy life! I don't need to constantly despise it for it's flaws and downs. I am getting better some days, while that one bad day of the week is severely aggravating. The other days are just... meh. I'm going to look forward to a good week... I need to be more optimistic!

yeah I don't think there's any place that doesn't have drugs and alcohol as an issue. When I did my observation for being an EMT a long time ago we had to do it at the main hospital here where I live now. That was a long drive. I worked I think 12 hours maybe and took no breaks. There was a lot of what the staff call "frequent flyers" basically people just looking for narcotics. One lady that came in had everything in the book wrong with her and most of it was wrong due to high levels of drugs and diabetes which made everyone think she was drunk but her blood sugar was dangerously low. Plus she was hypothermic since whatever she took plus the diabetic emergency made her go out in the snow in nothing but a tee shirt and underwear. So hypothermia had set in. Poor lady. I seemed to be the only one she trusted and she screamed every time I left. I asked the charge nurse if it would be alright if I just sat with her since even with the glass doors closed she was scaring the other ER patients. They allowed it. Once she fell asleep I was able to leave but had to be super quiet to sneak out. I can't tell how much of that was diabetes and how much was drugs and how much was mental illness with that whole episode. The only information we could get was in her wallet since she couldn't string a sentence together even. I hate what drugs and alcohol do to people. I drink occasionally but I limit myself to one beer or one small glass of wine and stay at home or with close friends that I trust will not let me be reckless.

Yeah racism can happen from anyone. My grandpa hated Mexicans and Blacks. He was Mexican himself. Though some of the family is thinking we might actually be Italian and just happen to come from Mexico. Which who knows, it's possible. There's quite a few Asians in Mexico too. I couldn't understand how my grandpa could hate people just cause of their color. I grew up in such a melting pot so that was a really good thing about California. I remember watching a stupid documentary of a white guy going into the jungles and finding people who have never had contact with a white person. He kept making rude remarks about their customs and misunderstandings of him. Like he's any easier for him to understand. He made so many assumptions about them that were wrong it made him look like a real jerk. He scared all the children in one village because there was a story that death came in the form of a white man. He got chased out of another village with arrows and machetes because he insulted someone important. Dude that's why Americans have a bad name ><. I love different cultures and study them for fun. In certain parts of Africa it's customary for adult and child friends to hold hands, man and man, woman and woman, man and woman. But an American looks at a picture of two guys holding hands and assume they're gay. Just different customs all over the world. That's why scientists have to disregard anything they know to be true when trying to find something new. Because it's new, it's not going to be familiar.

At least in areas like California and Japan where earthquakes are common they build most structures to a code that can withstand the majority of earthquakes. Japan seems to have the most devastation from earthquakes though. Probably just because of the sheer number of people stacked on each other. And when buildings fall it's usually a massive near record breaking earthquake. Our planet is in constant motion so we have to expect the planet's crust to shake when it meets resistance along the line or a new fracture forms. Just not really easy to stay logical like that during an earthquake event. The first time I flew back to California my aunt took me to Olive Garden for lunch and there was an earthquake while we were waiting for our food. Our server came around to make sure we were all okay. My response was "wow that was awesome. California just welcomed me back!" and he said "yep just making sure you were still awake after your flight." it was a small earthquake though. Just enough to make all the glasses hanging shake and clank against each other but nothing broke. For those ones you just stay in your seat and wait for it to pass.

Oooh good luck with your video game! What type of game will it be? Fantasy RPG? First person shooter? A game that you just sit in a park and feed the squirrels and if you're not quick enough they turn into an angry mob of zombie squirrels?

I try to stay optimistic too, it's tough but it's all perspective. Our reality is only as real as our mind says it is. Some things are physically here and happening and other things are just illusions of reality. Most events being categorized good or bad is our own perspective categorizing it. I generally have very little emotional response. It's part of my dissociation, I've pretty much separated myself from my feelings. I had anger last week though, and it nearly put me in the hospital since I didn't think I could handle it. I made it through though without hurting myself or anyone else. So gotta focus on the fact that I did get through it even though I thought I couldn't.

Example of how perspective affects us: A dog gets hit by a car.

Perspective of the little girl who owned the dog: worst day ever! crying and sad
Perspective of driver: Going to have to get car's body work done, didn't see the dog off leash till too late. Angry and have sympathy for the kid but dog just cost them big bucks
Perspective of single parent of little girl: will have to confront death with their daughter but having a guilty pleasure knowing it's one less expense in their life after a recent divorce. mixed feelings
Dog: Ball! Ball! Ball! oh crap!

The only two things that were real in all this was the dog and the car and an impact. The rest of it was responses based on perspective, interpretation, reaction.

it's not? Guess you've never put a desk together from a box then....