Big week

Well, the week has been a pretty eventful one for me. For starters, I bought my first cell phone, the Samsung Galaxy Prevail.

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It's a prepaid phone on boost mobile. It's on the Android operating system (I have 2.3.5). I've never felt so connected before. With the 3g network, I can be almost anywhere and check emails, text, call, stream music on Rhapsody, etc. I am going to work to pay off the service bills by myself, but I think it's totally worth it.

The phone itself is quite nice. It is usually $150, but it was on sale at Radio Shack for $100. It's got a camera, GPS, WiFi, and a micro-SD slot.

Android is really an amazing mobile OS. The voice recognition is especially incredible. It's so dependable, that I have grown accustomed to using it instead of the keyboard (though I am trying to break the habit, so I can get used to the keyboard).

The other bit of news is that I went to take my driver's permit test today. I was terribly afraid that I wouldn't pass. After waiting almost two hours, it was finally my turn. However, I never even ended up taking my test, because I failed the vision exam. This means that tomorrow, I need to see an eye doctor, who will probably prescribe glasses for me. Apparently, I have 20/40 vision in my left eye.

Well, I don't mind glasses, and I'll probably only have to wear them while driving anyways. Hopefully I'll get my permit soon. I'll probably end up taking it before January 9th.

Well, that wraps it up. Cherio and Happy New Years!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to my readers!

I love to celebrate Jesus' birth, and I'm glad we can set aside time for it.

Last night I caroled with my siblings. We have been preparing some music to sing for a few weeks. I got some excellent gifts, including a guide to computer careers, which I look forward to reading.

In other news, I am studying for my drivers permit test this Thursday. I've been waiting to take it since June.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

The Blue Mountains

Illustration by me :) 

"[Ranger no.2] passed the time just watching trees and brush go past on the Jeep's right side. Growing bored of this, he eventually turned to the windshield to survey the horizon. It was no longer flat. There were hills now, and curves in the road. But these did nothing to obscure his view of something in the far, far distance. He squinted his eyes to make out the forms of monolithic mounds which were beginning to appear against the sky. They were painted with an entrancing haze of blue which made them difficult to clearly perceive.


'That’s them mate.' Said ranger no.1 in a quiet voice. 'They're something else, aren’t they?'


And ranger no.2 knew at once that he beheld the Australian Blue Mountains."


  -Excerpt from Tazonea

Tazonea Cover

I know I haven't updated for a while, and I apologize. I haven't abandoned the blog, but I've been taking a bit of a break, with Christmas vacation and everything.

I wanted to share the cool cover that my sister designed for my recent novel, Tazonea. You can click to see the full version.

She's incredible at designing stuff like this, and I think it looks great. I'll be using it when I get a print of my novel after I finish the next draft. 

-Brandon

Drawing

After having dedicated a whole month to writing, it seems I've felt like working on my drawing now. I'm always embarrassed practicing this hobby at home, since I'm mediocre at it, and my older sister is exceptionally good.

But, she gives me lessons from time to time, and I try. So, since it's my blog, I may as well.

Here's a couple of things I've made this week. Both were hand drawn and then scanned and colorized/edited in Adobe Photoshop elements 9.0. You can click to see full versions of both.

Grieg van Eichelberger

He's the daytime butler. His older brother, Jack, is the nighttime butler. I drew him too. I don't know what on earth is wrong with this guys shoulders...

I haven't named this guy. He might be the main character from my recent novel when he was young. But I don't know, so I won't say anything for certain. His chin is oddly flat, but I like his hair better than Grieg's.

I'm always drawing heads and torsos, since I can't really draw full bodied characters yet. I'm working on it, though. Hopefully it won't be long before I have some of those to upload too.