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Goals for 2006
Tuesday, January 3, 2006
First of all, I'm really grateful that God sent David and Kash to confront me about my last entry :). They really, really helped to balance me out and caused me to see that almost the entirety of chart I posted was exaggerated/false information. O__O;; How was I so easily deluded? Since when did I decide to regard everything I knew to be a lie and so quickly accept random new information as truth?! Arghh!
I'm sorry guys. From now on I'll be more careful about this kind of stuff and actually do some research before I drastically change my thinking. Sometime I'll look into these matters in depth and create my own left and right comparison. When I do, I'll post it here, as well as send it to my film teacher ^^. Oh yes... more exploration in store for Vic :).
I've been thinking a lot about my resolutions/goals for 2006. First, my priorities for the year:
1. God
2. Art
Secondary priorities include music, programming/job-related endeavors, my college degree, films, martial arts, writing, web comics/web surfing, miscellaneous fun stuff, etc.
For both God and art, I hope to totally fix my schedule. I'm thinking that if I get to bed around 10-11 PM and get up around 5-5:30 AM (depending on the day), I'll have almost one hour for God and one for art right in the morning, which would be super ideal. Especially for God, since it's become quite obvious that if I don't spend time in His Word in the morning, I won't have time for it at all. Now that you know this, you'll all have to give me a poke if you see me on AIM past 11 PM ;) because as some of you know, I have a horrid habit of staying up till 2 AM and getting up with only enough time to rush out the door on weekdays. Also, 5 hours of sleep is not enough for my scrambled, minuscule brain; I need 7.
I will never, ever be fully happy unless I have a complete and growing kind of relationship with God, the kind that's like a pearl for which one sells all her belongings (Mt. 13:44-45). I want the kind that is the Kingdom of God on earth, which gives a human all the purpose and fulfillment in life she could ever wish for. This past year, I haven't had that; I've been terrible about getting in quiet time and Bible reading (which I know has weakened me and my faith—I was almost giving up conservative Christianity in my last entry? That's NOT what I want to do). For one, not enough discipline, and secondly, parts of my human nature which have made the Old Testament and certain concepts extremely hard to swallow. So this year, I'll focus on quiet time plus Psalms/Proverbs and the New Testament; once I'm more in tune, I'll try again for reading the entire Scriptures ^^;;.
I have got to lose my feminist world view (as opposed to Biblical world view) because whenever I'm not emotionally involved in the matter (like I was in my last post, lol), I can always see that it has the potential to be my personal road to hell, if there can be such a thing. I will always wish for the equally good, if not equal, treatment of people regardless of gender; however, it's seeing things through a feminist lense that is detrimental to me.
I plan to make some more of these Bible comic things for myself. I noticed that if I sketch out the basic imagery of a passage, it makes it exponentially easier to absorb! (Otherwise, it sometimes goes down as obscure mumbo-jumbo :-/ ya know?) Here is part of Psalm 143, which has been kind of my theme chapter this last week.
So yes... lots of transparency here, but I've decided that life's too short to not be honest on your own blog ^__^. And, I may fail, but I felt it was important to make the first step of getting things written down. An hour may seem like a lot right now, but if I try my best and get even just 10 minutes of prayer done in the morning, well, that's like 9 minutes longer than what I've been doing ^^;;.
Now art: Besides these Bible comics (not really for the purpose of artistic value), I hope to do semi-frequent sketching, whether that is for the Daily Sketch Group or story-boarding for Candid Manga. Speaking of that, I'm thinking of basing the chapters of Candid Manga on the 49 commands of Christ. It would be a really cool challenge, and I'd have a motivation to get into Christ's teachings, which I've never studied in depth before. Anyway, I also want to try one serious matte painting this year, and hopefully some other long-term digital art pieces that I can eventually put into a portfolio. For now, there is so much about art that I still need and want to explore. I need to get a better handle on anatomy, design in general, and creating print-resolution images. I don't know what I will do with art yet, but I'll never know unless I jump more deeply into it.
Something I did for the DSG last week:
"She takes a moment to reflect over everything that had happened in the last year. Stuff she did, stuff she didn't do, people she interacted with, important events that occurred."
Oh, and new layout ^^; like it? Kinda different style for me, especially when you compare this violist to the ultra modest, head-covered, baggy-sleeved nun lady from version 2. If anybody thinks I should make this character a little more "edifying," please let me know. I will probably not change her hair color though. She's supposed to be slightly futuristic to contrast the acoustic instrument, ya know? XD
Anyway, thanks to Tony for his PHP script and for helping me get it to work!! Besides putting this site into a sort of PHP template, and switching my blog software to Movable Type, I've also updated the pages and added to random Weien quotes (there are now 50 of them :D). Something else new is that, now that I am free of frames (FREEDOM YEAHHHH), and because of change in personal preference, most links won't be opening in new windows anymore (I use Firefox's middle-click for opening stuff in new tabs now ^^). Let me know if you guys find any broken links/errors.
Cheers and may you all have a wonderful year, the best ever!
11:17 PM
Comments
"I am interested," he began, "In making the perfect grilled cheese sandwich. No--not 'a' perfect grilled cheese sandwich, but 'the' perfect sandwich--the sandwich made according to the secret recipe of the first grilled cheese sandwich makers. Legend has it that this family of sandwich makers were widely considered generous people, but would reserve this recipe--yes, the grilled cheese one--for those of their bloodline, only. Tragically, more and more of those sired into this family forsook the sandwich industry for more lucrative jobs. And some say that it--the recipe--has been lost."
He took a drink of a thin, reddish liquid before continuing. "However, the winds say otherwise. They speak of a perfect golden-browning to me. And from my research, I am almost completely sure that the recipe for The Perfect One has not yet been forgotten. It may be that only one person in the entire world still remembers it, but I wish--no, I have--to find that person."
At this point, the man began to grow more increasingly animated. "They say that there are six or seven billion people on this earth." His smile split his tanned countenance. "I am willing to search each and every one."
I didn't know how to reply to this, so I let my head sway from left to right, then from up to down, in that wishy washy projection of undecidedness. But enthusiasm not weakened by my response, he stood up and clamped down a hand on my shoulder.
"To begin," he whispered into my face, so close that I could smell the cheddar, "I will begin with my most powerful of sources who is... well, let's just say that he has served me very well for a very long time."
"What's that?" I asked.
"Google," he breathed in reply. "I will Google search 'The Perfect Grilled Cheese Sandwich.'"
I pushed him away in disgust and swiped at my shoulder where his hand had been. "Google is NOT a 'HE!'" I screamed, tears streaming from my eyes. Then I ran. I ran as if I'd been running my entire life. And, alone in my battle for the equally good, if not equal, treatment of people regardless of gender, I allowed my tears to wind-dry.
Posted by Weien at January 6, 2006 12:31 AM
Although it may look simple on the page, it's an awesome and powerful thing to have identified your priorities for the year, especially since God is given His rightful place as Number One. Awesome!
One thing that has helped me in learning to be more faithful in my Quiet Time is Keith Daniel's message called "Abide in Him." I think I may have a copy you can borrow if you're interested.
The Scripture sketch is way cool. What a great way to meditate on God's Word! I should try to do some myself—I certainly don't have your artistic talent/skill, but I can at least draw stick men, and it's a good way to think more about what the Scripture really means.
Sweet Harmonious Biscuits! =D
Posted by David at January 6, 2006 3:26 PM
lol Where does your bro come up with all these wacky storylines for his comments?
Anyway... Sorry I didn't get to confront you more about the whole left-right chart thing... thankfully David covered pretty much everything I was going to say. But thanks for the credit anyway ;-)
I like that sketch, and the painting/whatever too. They're both very nice. I have to agree that the new layo is very different from your past ones... but let you tell you, those trenchcoats with built in belts drive me crazy. Trenchcoats aren't supposed to have belts! Use the buttons!
lol but I don't mind pictures of them so much.
Posted by Kash at January 6, 2006 5:44 PM
I see where you're going with that, Kash, but unless you have EXACTLY the right build (and exactly the right coat), wearing a trenchcoat makes you look fat. The belt, while it does nothing to discourage the allusion that you're fattish, panders to the logical mind and explains that while you may look weighty, in fact it's just the trenchcoat's fault.
Belt of Truth, baby.
Posted by Weien at January 6, 2006 10:45 PM
Really liking the new layout! Glad your sorting your priorities. I've already fallen behind in acting on some of mine. -_-; Its very interesting to see how your art has evolved. Update again soon!
*my one cent* And the coat-girl may very well be wearing a dress coat. Which often have belts as well as fully functional buttons. Sorry! *ducks and hides*
Posted by Ag at January 8, 2006 10:58 PM
LOL wow Weien...that was incredibly weird. But anyhow, Victoria, hello, and greetings from Taiwan! Nice post...I really like your sketch-the-bible passage idea...it's really cool. :) And I like the new layout, too! Good job! ^^ hehe.
Posted by shiowei at January 9, 2006 2:51 AM
Hey, I like the site. Very nicely done. Thanks for showing it to me. ;-)
Posted by Ben at February 2, 2006 11:51 AM
New layout? Adore it.
The picture? Massive love for the sketchy, edgy, yet overall wistful softness.
Hope your 2006 carries out well hon!
Posted by Cyn at February 3, 2006 1:09 AM
Wait, they set you straight for that last post? You're asking some hard questions and coming up with daring answers on your way to learning what you believe about the world. Please don't accept pressure not to continue examining and challenging established viewpoints, especially on something as important as who we should elect as Christians!
A lot of Christians think that the "right" wing politicians are Their Men in Government and stop there, which is a big mistake. In fact, there are Christians on both sides and corrupt politicians on both sides. Republicans and Democrats don't want us to realize that there can be more than two parties, either, which is a whole other issue that makes me want to throw out the ideas of Left and Right altogether as a useless oversimplification.
Please keep thinking about these hard questions. I grow the most when I'm working on something hard.
Nice blog, btw, good to see what you're up to these days. I linked to mine in this comment, some kinda abstract Ruby discussion is there lately.
Posted by Ryan Platte at February 4, 2006 8:54 PM
"Outside, the nun-lady weeps. She takes a moment to reflect over everything that had happened in the last year. Stuff she did, stuff she didn't do, people she interacted with, and long breaks between blog entires."
The stars never procrastinate, but men and beasts do.
Posted by Weien at February 19, 2006 12:39 AM
"Bible comic".It's really a fresh word for me,what's that stuff?Sorry that i have little relationship with God.
One question,Does the Girl smoking or it's very cold there? I see some fog or so in font of her.
BTW, really hard for me to understand all of the comment.hehe ,tommorrow ,i'll come back
Posted by siao.CN at February 21, 2006 11:32 AM