It's my 20th birthday today.
I don't update my journal as much as I wish I did.

Then again, I have a history of not keeping promises.

( TL;DR? )

Lessons I've learned through failure:

• It's tactless to show videos/sites/etc about sensitive topics (eating disorders, suicide, prison) to people who've actually experienced  them or know friends who have. Even if the video is for a really cute song, it's a bad idea.
• Never assume that someone's your age just because you take a class together.
• It's a terrible idea to compare someone you like to an anime character, unless they're in on the joke and fully consenting. Actually, don't talk about anime in general; most normal people hate it.
• Don't imply that your relatives are: (a) racist, (b) losing their memories, (c) have a disorder, (d) are out of touch.
• Try as you might, you will never be able to fully explain anime, manga, conventions, or cosplaying to your parents, unless your parents regularly watch/read entertainment of the Japanese variety.
• Make sure you take the time to READ measuring cups before beginning a recipe. Also, liquid and solid measuring cups are NOT interchangeable.
• If at first you procrastinate, you'll be forced to stay up late. (You may need to pull an all-nighter, too.)
• Never ask a person about their sexual orientation. When in doubt, assume they're bisexual.
• Never get up in someone's business when they're under the influence.
• No matter how scarce the job market is, if the job you get isn't working out, you really ought to leave.

Lessons I've learned through wins:

• Swallowing your pride is a good start for succeeding in life. Even if it does mean you'll have a face full of failures.
• An "I'm sorry," coupled with a hug and gift-art will fix most minor slights.
• Older people know better. And in most cases they're non-competitive enough to wish you success.
• If a boy is still willing to put up with you after you've verbally and physically assaulted him, he's probably a better friend  than you think. (That, or he has a thing for tsundere girls.)
• Your parents are nicer than you think.
• Skanking (by which I mean ska-dancing) is an excellent way to vent frustration, is fun, and is harmless unless performed in (a) large groups, or (b) a living room filled with breakable objects.
• Some guys dig arty chicks who aren't overtly sexy.
• Anime is an excellent bridge into friendships.
• Writing about anime conventions will get you into college.

And maybe later I will post some art. But right now I need to eat lunch and clean the house.

New year, new journal, and my first journal entry...
Where do I begin? I suppose a Q&A might be nice, so I'll start with that.

My name is: Katherine, but you can call me Katie or Katiesaurus. That's my most common handle on the internets.

And I'm a/n: college student, amateur artist/jewelry designer, anime/manga geek, student DJ, music geek, foreign films fan, amateur photographer, hippie turned punk turned indiescene kid.

Highlights of 2008 were: meeting lots of new people, seeing Andrew Bird & Wilco, getting to hug Andrew Bird, Barack Obama & Bill Clinton at my college, AnimeNext and the yaoi rooms, drag queens all over the place, Christian Siriano, Dastardly (my personal Epic Scene Kid).

In 2009 I want to: create a webcomic, make my own ball-jointed doll (I'm about 1/5 of the way there...) , upload more art online, convince my friends to be in music videos and photoshoots, sew more clothes, and hopefully go: abroad, to AnimeNext 2k9, and the CMJ festival in NYC!

I joined Livejournal: because I didn't do enough creative things last year. Sure, I did art because I was in classes, but outside of class it was all notebook doodles that I didn't want to trash up my DeviantArt with. I want to make the habit of keeping a blog, whether I'm making picture-posts or uploading radio playlists, or whatnot. Heck, I kept a pretty steady LJ when I first joined in 2004 (under the name neko_majin).

Why "milkplusse"? My Livejournal username is based on A Clockwork Orange, which is a hella tight movie and an even better book. It's one of my all-time favorites. There's a quote pretty early in the book, when the protagonist Alex is at a "milk bar", that he explains the concept of serving people "milk plus something else." In the book, this "something else" is usually alcohol and psychoactive drugs, but I've always liked the phrase "milk plus something else" as being like etcetera, a way of summing up everything. So this blog is going to serve its readers milk...plus art, or fashion, or music, or current events, or anything else that strikes my fancy. It's my way of keeping it completely open, like a digital fridge I can post ~everything~ on.

And with that said, happy 2009 everyone! ^_^