S.B.'s Room

Running into the ground - Passages Update

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 04:18:35 GMT

My NB is pretty much trashed, so I forced this through and still don't know how. Kicking and screaming usually don't work.

Passages 10, which I should call the Finish Line.

Merry Christmas to everyone!

Sessions Holiday Update

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 01:46:48 GMT

A little early, but gfitz and I decided we probably can't produce another one between now and Christmas.

Sessions 21 - Your Arms Feel Like Home

Updating Despite Myself

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:25:55 GMT

Long long illness. But between gfitz holding my hand and basic stubbornness, I updated Passages. I did it backwards. It's been a long time since I took shots and then wrote, but it was easier for me.

Passages 9

Cruz's Garage - Passages Update

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 02:57:13 GMT

Thanks to so many people who encouraged me this year - your wonderful lots, coaching, suggestions, all of it. Thank you.

Passages 8

Passages Update

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 13:39:38 GMT

I posted this in the middle of the night, somewhere between 2 and 3 AM, which was kind of a good thing since I was so tired I didn't care if I'd reused a sitting pose. It should be read in conjunction with Chameleon 5 - Strangers which was just posted by gfitz.

Passages 7

Sessions Update

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:11:28 GMT

After major crashing and lot problems, we posted an update to Sessions, called, amusingly enough (ok amusing to me), It Only Hurts.

It was painful to try to finish it, and I could not get the shots I wanted, but it's up there.

The Sessions/Dark December/South Beach Story Recap Summary Thing - Finally

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:07:27 GMT

I spent the last several days messing around with headers and stuff, and, while I was at it, I created a story summary. Highlights of the series Gayl and I have been working on for 3 years now.

Why? Because it is too freaking long now. It's intimidating. It's huge and scary. I'd be scared off.

In contrast, the summary isn't long at all, just a few paragraphs. There are pictures. I hope someone who hasn't read our work, or much of it, will read the summary and let me know if it works.

Story Recap

And this is just a shot of our world.

Knowing When to Give Up - Passages Update

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:47:35 GMT

This is one of those pieces I really don't like, which is why it took me two weeks to force myself to put out something so short with only one set. No drama, but I had to set it up before I could move on. I was calling it Parking Lot Wars but I think I'm the one who lost the battle here.

On top of problems with the writing and the concept, the lot drove me insane. Crashed and crashed and crashed again.

Passages 6

Feeding Frenzy

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 06:37:09 GMT

In between fixating on obscure genealogical problems, we did manage to get out another Sessions update. Ok Gayl did. I helped by trying to make everything worse.

Blood on the water - Sessions 18-Hangnail

OCD Behavior

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:47:42 GMT

A couple of weeks ago Xtina asked me about a family tree for our monstrous complicated tangled work.

I spent a day staring at templates and spreadsheets and text boxes and realized there was no way I was going to be able to do it that way. So I did it another way, using the tribalpages website (thank you maonaoand phoenixfg!).

And I am still at it. Two days later. Filling in blanks I didn't remember were there and fussing with relationships and grabbing names off the sides of boxes sitting around in the basement. (There's a reason for the surnames Roget and Belkin...) This is insane. I mean who the hell cares what the mother of some minor character looks like? Why do I need a shot? Why does the blank square bug me so much? When am I going to STOP?

meme

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:06:15 GMT

Ok, I'm going to take a shot at this since it looked like fun, if I can figure out the LJ cut, which I probably can't.

1. What does your LiveJournal name mean?
It's part of my name. I started using it a long time ago and I'm too lazy to change it.

2. Elaborate on your default photo.
I like sexy shoes. So does my guy.

3. Do you still talk to your ex? Why?
No. That's why they are in the ex category. I don't like them.

4. What's your current relationship status?
Married

5. What exactly are you wearing right now?
Jeans, one of my husband's wife-beaters, and red socks.

6. What is your current problem?
I'm avoiding the mail. There's too much of it.

7. What do you love the most? My kids and my man.

8. What makes you happiest?
See answer to number 7.

9. Are you musically inclined?
No. My mother tried to teach me to play the piano, and she forced me through 2 years of band in middle school (the flute). I hated it and I sucked.

10. If you could go back in time, and change something, what would it be?
Deciding to take skiing lessons at Squaw Valley, or maybe just choosing that particular instructor. They hire those people for a reason and it is not just because they can ski really really well.

11. If you MUST be an animal for ONE day what would you be?
A falcon.

12. Ever have a near death experience?
No. I've been knocked out a couple of times, which is unpleasant, but not nearly dead.

13. Name an obvious quality you have?
Stubborn.

14. What's the name of the song that's stuck in your head right now?
Burn It to the Ground by Nickelback

15. Who did you cut and paste this from?
gfitz

16. Name someone with the same b-day as you:
Al Pacino; Renee Zellweger; Oliver Cromwell

17. Have you ever vandalized someone's private property?
Once, when I was 9 years old and mad at the people who lived next door because they wouldn't let my friend come out and play. I got in TERRIBLE trouble, the only time I remember my father being angry with me.

18. Have you ever been in a fight?
Yeah. I learned not to try to defend myself with a knife against someone 6 inches taller than me.

19. Have you ever sang in front of a large audience?
Not even my mother would have encouraged that.

20. What is the first thing you notice about the opposite sex?
Legs. Then mouth and teeth and eyes.

21. What do you usually order from Starbucks?
I don't usually because it's a lot of money to pay for something I shouldn't be drinking anyway.

22. Have you ever broken a bone?
Oh yeah. Lots of them. Riding accidents mostly.

23. Has anyone ever said that you look like a celebrity?
My husband thinks I look like Thisbe in the painting by Waterhouse; he has a print stapled to his wall in his office.

25. Do you still watch kiddy movies or TV shows?
Of course. I actually prefer them.

26. Do you wear braces?
Lost those when I was 13 years old, if that refers to teeth.

27. Are you comfortable with your height?
I'm a bit over 5'6"; another inch would be useful, but in general yeah I am.

28. What is the most romantic thing someone has ever done for you?
I'm not particularly sentimental so I tend not to remember romantic gestures. The falling in love at first sight thing, when it's mutual, and when it's real, is pretty freaking romantic though.

29. Do you speak any other languages?
No. Data I don't use frequently falls out of my head, and that includes languages.

30. Do you have a crush on someone on your LiveJournal?
I have massive amounts of respect and admiration but no crushes.

No Surprises - Sessions Update

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:46:39 GMT

Gayl and I posted Sessions 17 - No Surprises.

It's hard to believe that we're up to 17 chapters. It is almost incredible to look back almost 3 years now. We've been working together almost that long. And it is still a great joy.

Baby Work - Another Update

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 18:00:00 GMT

I can't believe I've punched out 5 chapters in less than a month with this.

I want to thank everyone who has been so supportive, reading and leaving me encouraging comments. It truly is wonderful and has kept me going. Attempting something new has been nerve-wracking and second-guessing and hair-pulling and so on. Thank you.

Passages 5

Not a very pretty rabbithole

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 23:58:03 GMT

I posted another Passages update, and didn't edit the shots because I was so freaked about the whole thing in general. I am not going to take all of this stuff so seriously though.

Passages 4

Loving Short Updates

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 22:55:50 GMT

I mean my own of course. It is such a relief, particularly when I'm dealing with community lots all the time, to keep the damned things SHORT.

So here's a SHORT update. Passages 3.

Yeah, I'm not naming them either. Three is going to do it.

By the Way - Sessions Update

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 07:23:39 GMT

I don't know how to resize the shot or how to center it, but at least I'm getting shots up here...

Gayl and I posted a Sessions update yesterday. It's going to be a long long long time before I attempt a sit/talk scene again. My frustration with the overlays threw me into a screaming tantrum. It still feels like algebra.

Our usual warning: language etc.

Sessions 16 - By the Way

Passages Update - Beautiful and Ugly Things

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:24:07 GMT

I was able to get another update out on the storyline I've been working on, and I got the shots in one day. That has to be a record for me.

My biggest problem is, of course, with the freaking pose boxes. When I can identify the one in the catalog that I want, sometimes the pose does not look like I thought it was going to look. Not at all! Weird arms and leg action, doesn't sit right in a chair like it's supposed to (at least, if it says 'chair' pose, I am assuming it is actually a chair pose). These things are wonderful, wonderful tools but they make life very difficult at the same time.

Anyway, here is the second chapter:Passages 2

I really appreciate all the support I've received. It's been scary doing this.

Something a Little Different

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 01:11:31 GMT

After a lot of false starts and technical difficulties, and a lot of help from a lot of great people (thank you Gayl, Phoenix, and S@ndy), I was able to get up a new blog to cover another second generation character from our long-running collaborative work Sessions.

So here's Passages. I am completely unable to figure out how to insert a link in a post (why does LJ hide everything??), so I'm putting in the whole url.

http://ddpassages.blogspot.com/

Thank you...again

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 18:26:41 GMT

Thanks to Phoenix - I could never have managed to put up this site without her. And to Gayl, for sharing the link to the template. Both of you rock!!!!

I'll keep playing with it. I'm a slow learner.

Update and Thanks!

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 15:04:29 GMT

I'm going to try to put this up, both for gfitz and to thank Phoenix for helping me with the LJ site, in many ways. Thank you girl!!!!

Not sure what I'm going to be working on while my collaborator is down for surgery, but I'll try to keep up with things for her. Like she said, we have an update. We particularly wanted to get it out before her surgery, and managed only because it's not very long and used only one set.

She's already provided the link but here it is again. Because I need to practice doing this.

Sessions 15 - Sacrifice

Weather Report - Partly Muggy

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 16:10:10 GMT

It's been so long since I posted anything here. I have problems with LJ - never can figure out how to put up a shot.

So what's going on? I'm fighting with Photoshop because I have a weird flaw at the bottom of my shots when I use a specific type of lighting.    We're still updating (most recent was Far Away) although never on any regular schedule.   That's just too hard.

And I'm trying to keep up with writers I've recently discovered. The variety and creativity are always astonishing.    A lot of people have moved on and quit, so it's great to see how many are still here.

Light Effects

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 23:52:48 GMT

Starting with those in my car...just went out in the dark and the slick rain to go buy cat food and discovered my battery is dead. I never leave the lights on...I even manually turn off the one in the roof. Whatever, it's dead.

But I'm having a strange problem with some shots. NB shots taken in the dark result in what looks like streetlights on every single square. They're not. If I'm in a lot and take a shot down the street, the lights line up properly. Not that big a deal since I rarely use NB shots but it's odd and I don't like it.

Distortion

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 23:59:20 GMT

After 6 weeks of pitched battles with my computer, Vista, tech support staff, people at alienware who kept telling me they were sending things they didn't send, and evil CC...I think I finally have TWO shots that are not distorted and the constant crashes are gone. The nVidia GeForce 9800 graphics card is definitely better than the ATI HD4870 card -- the one I didn't want to begin with.

The widescreen monitor that came with the alienware package, the samsung 953BW, is now disconnected and sitting quietly on a shelf. I could never figure out how to use it without distorting my shots. I grabbed a 3 year old Sony SDM HS75P off the shelf in my storage closet, 17 inches but still a flat screen, plugged it in and now I have shots that are not warped like a fun house when I try to resize them to fit a 2 column template.

I'm not sure where I went wrong in this whole process, but there has to be an easier way. I'm brain dead at this point.

Delusional Behavior...

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 13:49:54 GMT

Since I've been struggling with crashes and "access violation" errors for some time, I decided that my 2 yr old Dell wasn't up to TS2 anymore and bought a new one. Which came with...cue scary music...Vista.

And I've been fighting with it for 4 days now. First it wouldn't load the games. Once I figured out how to jigger the compatibility in properties, I could force them to load. Then the real fun began.

They would load up to the "twisting spiral staircases" script in the load screen, then the graphics went totally insane. Like a strobe light, flashing black then the screen then black, so fast that I could hardly find the icon to quit. The game isn't crashing, it's just not useable.

I've spent hours on the phone with tech support for alienware; uninstalled and reinstalled I don't know how many times (holding my breath that SecuRom wouldn't freak out on top of everything else); updated drivers; and ordered a different graphics card since I didn't want that ATI Radeon HD4870 thing to begin with -- maybe it will help when I install the nVidia card.

The only thing that seems to help a little is installing directx 9.0c on top of directx 10. The crazy flashing seems to have stopped, although I'm scared it's going to return, but I get trembling fluttering graphics on the lots. Changing the graphics all the way down doesn't help.

Anyway, at several points I told myself that it wasn't the computer, it was me. Total delusions that I was going to be able, somehow, to make this thing work. I've made small progress but it's been a long, hard, stressful climb.

I wish it was currently raining

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 01:16:36 GMT

Inspiration is low, like the water in the creek behind my house.

I blew up a main character trying to delete clones in SimsPE. Lost some old family photos I can't replace (ok maybe they're not lost, just misplaced. Somewhere.)  And facing a visit to my mother, who has Alz and won't know who I am, on her birthday Saturday.

At least I figured out how to fix what I messed up. And I like rain, so anytime it rains, I'm happy!

I have no idea what I'm going to do with this thing. Whether I'm going to just write about the bats flying around in the dark or the fireflies over the water behind the house or the dog that poops on the floor. Or nothing.