rococoro

[i love dollHeart]

Sat, 10 May 2008 22:04:11 GMT

Remi finally has a DollHeart outfit! Hooray. Some of what they've released recently for SD I found unimpressive, but Cherry Romance I was drawn to in with the same intensity as the MSD Blue Berry set. I love the little buttons! ARRR, so cute.

I love all the frills, especially on the skirt.

Lucky that I actually got this set, I found out about the pre-order way after the fact and it was sold out at every third party DollHeart seller I knew of. I posted a WTB thread on DoA, and lo and behold someone pointed me in the direction of jpopdolls who had it in stock. In all honesty I would have never bought from them if I wasn't so bent on getting this set, IMO the site looks a tad bit cheap.

[frustrations with car salesmen and child care.]

Fri, 02 May 2008 00:02:22 GMT

Let me start this out by saying that this is a very personal post, not a doll post. A long personal, semi angry frustrated rant. Beware. This picture of my beloved cat should take care of the warm fuzzies I'm always obligated to share on LJ, other than that, pleasantries be damned.

I've been taking pictures of Osa in the morning, when I'm chilling before I get to work at nine. And that's where this all begins, I have a job job now. I decided to go with a temp agency in my journey to find the graphic design job just for me, one that will permit me to keep my happiness and sanity while maintaining a happy home life since I have to care for my handicapped husband. My husband always comes first and I need to be mentally sound in order to help him to the best of my abilities. Although ideally I'd get paid better doing graphic design, something I spent my entire college career studying, the fact of the matter is a job in that field is always so demanding in every way.

Time consuming, soul sucking, life-impairing work.
But I love it so much. I just need to find a firm that won't totally abuse every facet of me.

That being said, and returning to the whole temp agency deal, I've decided to take my time finding this perfect design equilibrium. Right now, steady employment is my main priority. I have to have income and I need time to zazz up my portfolio, get my feet wet in the work force and cultivate some exceptional job reference. A regular job should buy me the time I need. Having a job is important, but what this leads up to is the fruition of a healthy career.

All of this brings me to my first assignment with the agency: a receptionist/data entry specialist at the Child Care Services department of YMCA corporate. Soulless, yes. Mind-numbing, yes. Pays crap, yes-- BUT I can use as little as 15% of my mind and still excel. It's like being the smartest kid on the short bus. They treat me better than I ever have in my past bakery jobs, I get paid more, I have more alone time, I spend five hours shredding documents as far back as 1995. For now, I like it. Unfortunately I have to deal with people I consider to be the scum of the earth on a daily basis.

To sum up my experience with YMCA CCS, the body of who we cater to is a microcosm of what I believe to be what's wrong with society, humanity and the universe. Those who act without consequence, those who disregard responsibility and still demand help, the undeserving who insist on breeding without reason. In our office we've reported around five different cases of suspected child abuse and heard staff complain about having to file these reports like it was some arbitrary chore. I've managed the accounts and discovered severe financial hemorrhaging due to unpaid child care bills, mostly from people receiving county subsidy vouchers. I've had play the role of bill collector, threatening people with the removal of after school care for children due to delinquent accounts in the hundreds of dollars.

I will focus on the latter of my experiences for the meat of today's rant. Today I managed a ten year-old boy's file regarding collection of delinquent payments due to several bank draft declines. We come to find out that the account we've been drafting out of no longer exists. It was a joint account of the mother and a father who had recently gone through a divorce. I tried calling the mom who had registered her child to our program, all numbers are no longer in service. I tried the father's work phone only to find out that he no longer works at the medical supply company that we had listed on file. A site director had called me up with an updated mobile number of the father, I come to find out he works for Paramount Kia.

He's a car salesman.
I made the fatal mistake of engaging in small talk with a car salesman.

Turns out he cannot pay any portion of the boy's dues, he requests to pay it on Thursday of the following week. I said I'd make a note of it on his son's file, and that if he needed to make a payment through the phone to call our offices and ask for me, Pia. I jokingly say that I'm looking for a second vehicle, which is true, but maybe in about three years when gas no longer as precious as a pint of AB negative blood. This comment is laughable, officemates who hear my conversation laugh. I laugh inside, I mean, it would be smarter investment for me to buy six Sato-Exclusive FCS dolls right now than it would to purchase a car. Buying a Nicaraguan baby for shits and giggles on eBay would be smarter than buying a car. He takes it seriously. A joke is made about Pia owning a Kia. I thought by now he would be eager to get off the phone with a bill collector threatening him with the removal of his child's after school care. He asks for my last name, I give him a fake name. He wants to call me after work to talk cars with the goal to eventually sell me a car, I give him my number with the wrong area code.

At the end of the day I feel smart for fooling this bastard of a father with fake information. I mean, really. I was obviously dripping with sarcasm. I told him I was German. I totally lied. Proudly evasive, protective lying like giving a fake phone number to a creep at the bar who thinks you're pretty but won't take the hint. I just wanted him to GO. AWAY.

Magically, at 5:45 I get a call from him.
What. The. Hell.
Despite all that false information, he found me.

I tried to let him know of my disinterest, and that I AM looking for a second car but in the far off future. For now I'm strictly looking, "looking" emphasizing on the definition of merely seeing. He wants to sell me a car as soon as tomorrow, I say no in every possible way other than using the word "No." His persistence is annoying, my patience dwindling. How do I tell an irresponsible, broke-ass, pathetic excuse for a father who I have the obligation to cater to to fuck off? I fake having another call on the line, but regardless he's coming to the office to settle his son's account on thursday.

And it begins. My stupid lack of professionalism is burying me once again in a pool of feces.
I need to find a graphic design job NOW.

[sharing my lunch]

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 19:24:01 GMT

its such a pretty spring day here in Ashelantis, the kind of pretty that can only be complemented by sushi.

mmm... gorgeous, gorgeous philly roll.

Writer's Block: Repeat After Me...

Sun, 10 Feb 2008 21:30:33 GMT

How have people pronounced your name? How is it supposed to sound?

View other answers

My name is Pia. I say "Pea-ah" or "Pea-ya."
Americans seem to have a field day with the pronunciation of my three-letter name. "Pie-yuh", "Pei-ah", "Pai", "Pee-uh", "Pyah"... and surprisingly I've head a few say "Pi-na." Where is that "N" coming from?

[home, yay]

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 22:26:57 GMT

Remi got this in the mail today, I love how the frilly outfits become her.

[foo fighters]

Sat, 26 Jan 2008 23:30:08 GMT

here we are again in memphis.
that means a whole lot of puppy lovin'.

we came to see the Foo Fighters at the FedEx forum. it was a good show.
Dave Grohl is a funny guy.

[snow]

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 19:35:32 GMT

there's a snow storm warning for the rest of this week up in Asheville. nice, powdery, pretty looking snow. lucky for those of us with foresight we are stocked up with enough supplies to last IF (and when) we get snowed in. and I am not driving.

alphonse makes a snow angel.
i will not.

tomorrow there might be one to three inches more of this stuff.

[holly days]

Mon, 24 Dec 2007 00:46:20 GMT

here's an obligatory holiday photo shoot,
brought to you by the color Red.

enjoy the season, everyone!
and to everyone joining this year's Dolpa 18 lottery and After Events, good luck!

[back from VA with wood]

Fri, 14 Dec 2007 17:26:08 GMT

we saw CAKE in Virginia this weekend. I know, it is friday but it took a while to muster the strength to blog. we also acquired some free wood stock. we has a back seat full of ipe, oak and blood wood.

i will miss a certain pup named tahoma. he's a cutie.

grocery find of the day: (brought to you by Kim's Oriental Store)

Instant Miso soup. gorgeous gorgeous instant miso soup.

[pet project]

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 22:52:30 GMT

currently redefining my "art style." new blog graphics may be coming soon(ish).

[clannad + lucky☆star = balsamic vinegar]

Sat, 24 Nov 2007 23:17:54 GMT

[stolen meme from violaine]

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 02:50:35 GMT

type your answers to each question on your choice of image search engine.
answer with an image from the first page of results.

1. The age you will be on your next birthday:

2. A place to which you would like to travel:

3. Your favorite place:

4. Your favorite object:

5. Your favorite food:

6. Your favorite animal:

7. Your favorite color:

8. The town in which you were born:

9. The town in which you live:

10. The name of a past pet:

11. The first name of a past love:

12. Your best friends nickname:

13. Your nickname/ Screen name:

14. Your first name:

15. Your middle name:

16. Your last name:

17. A bad habit of yours:

18. Your first Job:

19. Your grandmother's name:

20. Your major in college:

[screen cap]

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 22:55:37 GMT

cute renditions of Edward Elric and Roy Mustang make a guest appreance on Lucky ☆ Star.

[lovely inside]

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 20:24:13 GMT

cold weather days keep me from the outdoor shots. instead of photographing the dynamic autumn colors, i focus on the static yellowness of my house.
my mellow yellow, yellow house.

[wig mod: afro pumkininny]

Sat, 27 Oct 2007 17:19:36 GMT

finally figured out what to do with peri's default wig (volks camel-colored volume waffle). at one point i tried to convert it into dred-locks but it never looked right. the final solution: an afro! i think it looks great, it'll work well for the halloween/autumn season... the pictures kill me though, talk about sun-washed.

hehehe, it only took about six weeks to do it and about -80% of the wig's original bulk, but i say it was worth it! now the frizz has turned in to a good thing.

[alice in chains]

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 17:50:13 GMT

jerry cantrell threw my husband a pick-- i swear to god he did! to quote naruto: "believe it!" (laaame) seeing Alice in Chains again was great, hehe, mike inez smiled at me at least once... no, seriously! believe it!

in other news, i BINed that frilly pink MSD dress (aka: my holy grail of the month) i've been pining for at eBay using Natalie's Toy House. there is worry over the fact that it's coming from Hong Kong, but my luck with getting limited clothing sets from VolksUSA has been horrible recently. its worth it! believe it!

[holy grail of the month]

Sun, 14 Oct 2007 19:26:09 GMT

nothing in this world i want more than what is depicted above. i am determined to have that gorgeous MSD outfit from the Volks September 2007 Collection and an F-18. this is yet another defining moment in my dolly life, as i have definitely decided on one day adding a long-legged MSD F-18 girl. i think it would be absolutely adorable to have Peri and the F-18 cosplay as Kagami Kuro and Kokonoe Rin, respectively.

[wig+eyes for sale at DoA]

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 00:22:58 GMT

i've got a couple of things up for sale at DoA and i just wanted to give my LJ peeps a little heads up. There will be more in the next couple of days, but for now, this is all i have:

http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?t=169108

won't you help me get rid of my stuff?

[stretch comparison]

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 00:37:32 GMT

these sheep ears are so adorable, they remind me vaguely of the bad guys from Voltes V. sans all the angst and up the cute factor, i guess.

eh? eh? anyone else remember this classic giant robot series?
... i thought so.

[to honor!]

Sun, 16 Sep 2007 22:18:15 GMT

this weekend we were in roanoke, virginia at our good friends' george and leigh's wedding. there was much drinking and smoking involved... all in all, i say good times. sadly, the buffet did not meet my inner foodie's expectations. liquor filled that hole in my heart instead.

congratulations to the new mr and mrs sprague.

shout out to shelby, my new asheville friend. good times at the apple grove.
and a toast "to honor" directed at patrick, andrew, jessie, daine, sarah, james and amanda's general direction.
none of them have liveJournals, but the thought always counts.

[officially back in asheville]

Tue, 11 Sep 2007 01:48:36 GMT

seriously, i didn't think we'd be gone for that long. i'm so glad to be away from the hole i call memphis... i never thought i'd say this but-- asheville, i love you so much.

could i be any more excited about getting my ram ears from leekeworld? i cannot wait to turn my girls into sheep-sisters!

some serious doll-clothes shopping is in order, but alas an upcoming friend's wedding is draining my doll funds. i had to buy a dress, a slip and miscelenous baubles necessary to make for a prettier me, not to mention a suit for hubby. ugh, and a wedding gift... damnit, and hotel reservations. i swear to god, there better be a kick-ass buffet for this to be worth it. i swear, i will eat six-hundred dollars worth of food to make that money back.

i'd rather buy doll paraphernalia than go to a wedding. grr, the buffet better be nothing less than superfluous.

p.s. i love my brand-new house.
p.p.s. why can't i find sewing needles in my house? no way i could have lost ALL my needles in the move.

[zeitgeist today]

Tue, 10 Jul 2007 19:25:49 GMT

Billy Corgan at the Orange Peel in A'vile
photo by p
w/ help from obi side on eye

[spiderman japan]

Mon, 09 Jul 2007 20:38:56 GMT

i'd like to thank my brother for helping me re-live the awesome power of sentai.

[for my father, jimmy]

Sun, 17 Jun 2007 21:32:14 GMT

happy father's day from us to you.
love,
p, p & o

[because i never leave the house when i hear sirens]

Thu, 14 Jun 2007 03:41:57 GMT

as i was filling up the waterdish for the outside dogs, i saw this awesome toad that i just had to take a picture of. i ran back indoors to grab my camera.

if not for that photogenic toad, i would not have gone back outside. i would have gone inside, taken a shower, watched Sasami: Mahou Shoujo Club with the volume up...

... and completely have missed the fact that a neighbor's house was on fire.