Below are the most recent 5 friends' journal entries.

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010
willowwolf28	1:58p	The story thus far... My family moved to Southern California in early July. We moved on the pretense of help with our business and provided income for 6 months. When we arrived all the promises proved to be lies. We were left stranded with one good friend to help. The truth though is that one friend cannot fix your problems, we had to do everything we could to find a place to live. We were lucky, we found a place... at the cost of every ounce of income we were bringing in each month. Cost of living in California was/is so beyond our means that we have struggled each month since arriving in Santa Maria. Luckily we received help from the state, unluckily they have been slowly taking away the meager funds they were providing to us. Each month is more of a struggle and my family falls deeper into a state of fear and anxiety. We decided that with all the promises left unfulfilled, we could not possibly remain here in "SoCal" for any longer. It was high time to move where we have wanted to be for over 4 years, North Carolina. About 2 months ago I began the search on Craigslist, trying to find homes that would accommodate us with the amenities we would need. I searched long and hard when I finally found a beautiful townhome in a small historic town 45 minutes northeast of Charlotte. I can barely think about this place without my eyes misting up and my heart fluttering in desire. I have never longed so deeply to be somewhere before, yet here I am. We began making plans a few weeks prior, figuring costs to make the move, discussing the best options for getting our family across country in one piece. At this point we understood where the money was coming from and where it would go. We KNEW what would be in our hands, and what we would have to work with. Unfortunately, the truth is that it doesn't matter if you've received the same check every two weeks for 45 years- anything can happen. Any chaos can be the stick in the spokes of your bike tire that makes you fall flat on your face. This is where we are now. The money we KNEW would be here- hasn't come. Payments that should have arrived still are not here, art that should have been completed has not been sent over for finishing touches, cards that should have been received are still in the process of "getting here" and none of it is really our fault- but we end up suffering. We sit here wondering what we will do now... where we will turn. $1200 that we saved had to go our current landlord who refused to accept our security deposit as rent payment and also refuses to say whether or not any part of our security deposit will be returned. Our water has been shut off because of non-payment and a pocket so empty that not even the moths will linger. We cannot stay, the landlord was already informed of our move. We cannot afford to search for a new home here, and do not wish to. We need to make $3500 in less than 16 days... and we- I- am simply lost. If anyone could give me an answer, help me realize something that I'm not seeing. I'm not one to look for handouts, I feel too proud too often to expect others to help in my situation... yet I feel that maybe its time to start asking for help. I've got my fingers crossed for North Carolina, and a God-sent miracle. -Lisa P.S. - Although I'm not a fan of handouts, I'm willing to do what is necessary. If you wish to donate something to our cause, or want to give money in return for a great piece of Jeremy's art, please give a mighty click on the button below. (If you are sending some sort of payment for art, please also email Jeremy at Crisis.hour@gmail.com to let him know that you've sent money and what you want from him) Jeremy's art rates are as follows: Full Color 2.5 x 3.5 (sketchcard)- $50.00 Full Color 8.5 x 11- $125.00 Full Color 11 x 17- $200.00 Current Mood: discontent Current Music: Tom Petty (Comment on this)
willowwolf28	12:09p	I HATE CALIFORNIA!!! I HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HORRIBLE CALIFORNIA AND ITS HORRIBLE PEOPLE!!! The cost of living here is mostly likely going to stop us from achieving our goal of getting the hell out. This fucking sucks. (Comment on this)
Thursday, December 31st, 2009
trekker9er	12:47p	2009 End of Year Letter http://www.jennifersuniverse.com/Me/2010/01/2009-end-of-year-letter.html Hello All Again, Well, the big news this year is of course the new house! People keep telling me how large it is, and I know it's very pretty, part of why I liked it. Three bedrooms, two and a half baths, a family room and a living room, and a kitchen full of wood! It's also only 20 years old. But the best part to me is that it's actually in Ann Arbor! I've been bicycling to work most days, until it started snowing in December. Now I take the bus that stops in front of my neighbor's house. I have wonderful neighbors behind and in front of me too. Despite fighting a persistent leaky toilet, a broken shower pipe, and the furnace dying and needing to be replaced just a few weeks after I bought the place, things have been good. Halloween was so much fun to decorate for! And the place looks beautiful for Christmas too! Pictures online: www.jennifersuniverse.com/gallery/ But a lot happened this year before the house, and a couple things since. First, my family got together and threw me a big 30th birthday party. It was wonderful! Friends, family, and lots of kids! We played childhood games like wonder ball, pin the cork on the wine bottle, egg racing, and toy car rolling. And of course there was karaoke. Also a time of sharing where I babbled a lot, and later people came up and said wonderful things about what my future holds. A very good time! Then I had a cancer scare with my thyroid. But thankfully it turned out to be nothing. Next up, I interviewed perspective students for Harvard College this year. What an amazing experience! I interviewed eight teens, and one was even accepted. I called this the year of medical issues. For in the Spring I had problems with my vision and vertigo. Turned out it was the spray on sun block I was using. Weird! Then over the summer I had surgery to remove a 4-5cm ovarian cyst. The surgery went very well, thankfully. My Aunt Bonnie, Mom, and Dad all helped me a lot in turn. My recovery was weeks longer than I had been quoted, but I'm doing fine. I remember a lot about the whole experience, more than will fit in this letter. But I want to mention two things that stand out to me. I had some awareness during the surgery, and about ¾ though I realized whomever was sitting with me had been replaced by God. After a while I got worried, because if God was there did that mean I didn't make it? I turned to ask, but as I started to, God pushed me through a door and I woke up. Good answer! Back when I had been prepping for the surgery, I made a list of phone numbers for my Aunt to call once she had news. While putting it together I realized just how many close people I have in my life, and it was a wonderful feeling. I truly am blessed. Other than a couple trips out to Massachusetts, I only made one "big" trip this year. I drove down to South Carolina in October to visit my new godson and my first godson and their parents. The baby looked JUST like his older brother did, and the older one is now such a sweet blonde 2-year-old terror! Despite lack of sleep, we all had fun! I also had another godchild born this year, back in May. That makes three godsons and one goddaughter for me! But he and his family moved to California shortly thereafter. I hope you all had at least as good a year as I have, and wishes for a better one still! (Comment on this)
Tuesday, January 5th, 2010
inkandpixelclub	10:33a	Thoughts on "The Princess and the Frog" Before I get to my musings on Disney’s latest, I’m going to announce the winner of IPC’s first trivia contest, which illness prevented me from doing last week. Our winner is markwilliamsjr, who correctly identified “Love” from Robin Hood as the song in Fantastic Mr. Fox that makes reference to another animated film with foxes in the starring roles. Check at the end of today’s article for a new trivia challenge. It’s no secret that I’ve been looking forward to The Princess and the Frog. Disney movies were what got me interested in animation in the first place and I have eagerly anticipated the studios return to their roots with a new hand-drawn feature. Plus, it felt pretty good to know that many more little girls would soon have a Disney princess who looked like them. But as the release date drew near, I was feeling conflicted. I liked a lot of what I was hearing about the film, but most of the trailers I had seen weren’t quite winning me over. I wanted the film to succeed and prove that hand-drawn feature films could still be successful. But at the same time, I worried that the film was going to be bogged down with unappealing sidekicks and suffer from all the same mistakes as the films that led to Disney kicking traditional animation to the curb. So when my husband and I finally found the time to see the movie, I was both excited and worried. Happily, the film soon put my fears to rest and gave me hope that Disney was really coming back. ( Disney goes back to its roots after the cut. ) (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, December 30th, 2009
inkandpixelclub	10:00a	Delays I'm spending this week recuperating from Christmas and whatever illness has hit me and my husband. Hope the holidays were kind to all of you. Check back next week for a new article. (Comment on this)