“It’s Like Seeing a Blue Tiger in a Jungle…”

“It’s like seeing a blue tiger in a jungle…it just isn’t going to happen.  You will never succeed without me.” 

Blue Tiger in a Jungle

I have never forgotten those words that were said to me when I was just 15.  They have been the words that kept me motivated to finally open my own business, “Blue Tiger Creative Media“.  I made it official on July 17, 2008 and I am so happy to finally have achieved it.  The funny thing is, I am actually glad those words were once said to me, because I was bound and determined to be successful, on my own two feet, and it inspired the company name as well.  And here I am, 20 years later and looking forward to the challenges ahead of me.  Look out world!  There’s a BLUE TIGER roaring to get noticed!!

I LOVE the SIMS (1 & 2, and soon 3)!!!

It was just about 6 years ago when I first discovered the joy of the SIMS, a creation by Will Wright, a game designer from Atlanta, Georgia who had big dreams to bring his small ideas to life.  In February 2000, he released Sims in conjunction with EA Games and the world has never been the same.  Sims gave way to Sims 2 and soon here, Sims 3 will be released (and I am SO EXCITED!!).  I believe I have every expansion pack both in SIMS and SIMS 2 and I just can’t get enough!  He recently designed and released SPORE, a monster creating game that may not be as fun for me, but none-the-less, it is very cool!

I want to share some of the cool houses I made in SIMS and SIMS 2 and the rest are in a collection in my ONLINE ALBUMS, enjoy!

These Drawings are AMAZING!!!!

Ok, I thought I was pretty good at drawing, (see my pencil drawings), until I stumbled on www.ratemydrawings.com.  These people use digital pads or mice to make the most vividly stunning drawings that are created right in front of your eyes!  I am absolutely speechless!  I tried to create a drawing live online but my mouse is not smooth enough, it kept catching on my mousepad, so until I get a digital tablet, forget it!!! So far my favorite artist is “GoldDragonfly“, if you have a few moments, PLEASE take the time to watch her draw “Reflections” and “Ssssssnake“….AMAZING!!!!

American English is a Funny Language

I am so fortunate to have been born in a country with one of the most difficult languages to learn.  I wasn’t tortured by all the wacky synonyms and antynoms and idiosyncrasies of this goofy language.  Why is it that American English has rules that keep changing and sounds that can be spelled different ways?  More than 2 or 3 ways to say the same thing?  How terrible to be a foreigner trying to learn it??  Take for instance the letter G.  When combined with a U after, it is pronounced GW, but with another vowel its simply GEH or GEE, but sometimes in GIRAFFE or GERMAN it is pronounced JIR.  Why is this?  Take C.  It can take on a K sound in CAT or an S sound as in CITY.  And combine that with H, you get a CH sound like one is sneezing!  It’s all a bunch of memorizing in this case.  In fact when I was a teen, I saw a comedian, Gallagher, who did a take on this very subject.  Ever since then I have been in agreement at how silly it can be.  I guess since American English is a melting pot of cultures, it is no wonder that there are several rules or maybe a lack thereof?

09/26/08: NEW UPDATE

I found this in an email sent to me recently…which supports my point:

“You think English is easy ? 

                   1) The bandage was wound around the wound.

                  2) The farm was used to produce produce .

                  3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.

                  4) We must polish the Polish furniture.

                  5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.

                  6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.

                  7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.

                  8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.

                  9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.

                  10) I did not object to the object

                  11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.

                  12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row

                  13) They were too close to the door to close it.

                  14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.

                  15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.

                  16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.

                  17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.

                  18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed atear.

                  19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.

                  20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

Let’s face it – English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple.  English muffins weren’t invented in England nor French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren’t sweet, are meat. We take English for granted.  But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.  And why is it that writers write but fingers don’t fing, grocers don’t groce and hammers don’t ham?  If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn’t the plural of booth, beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese?  No.  One index, 2 indices?  Doesn’t it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend?  If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?  If teachers taught, why didn’t preachers praught ?  If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?  Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane.  In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital?  Ship by truck and send cargo by ship?  Have noses that run and feet that smell?  How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?  You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which, an alarm goes off by going on.  English was invented by people , not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all. That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.”

PS. – Why doesn’t ‘Buick’ rhyme with ‘quick?’

28 Things

1. My name is Shawna Rochelle Sullivan and I have many nicknames – more than Sylvester Stallone.

2. I shamelessly stole the idea for this list from another person’s blog.

3. I rode the bus to school when I was younger, my bus driver’s name was Mr. McGinty.

4. A few years later, Mrs. Connelly decided I was gifted.

5. I plan on retiring my career when I’m 55 and becoming an owner of a bookstore in the mountains, growing my hair long, sniffing Patchouli and writing creative stories for cats.

6. I graduated with honors from College but have never furthered my career. I want to get a Bachelor’s someday.

7. I will never stop learning.

8. I love techy stuff and cool gadgets.

9. I love the word “stuff”. I use it every chance I get.

10. I love books, and buy lots of them even though I rarely read them.

11. I am close to my family and friends.

12. I was named after a Rochelle Street in Palm Springs.

13. I have been to Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Idaho, Nevada, Texas, Colorado, Arizona, Oklahoma, Missouri, Ohio, Iowa, Indiana, Tennessee, New Jersey, New York and DC.

14. I just got married. I have never been married before and I dont ever want a divorce!

15. I love kids, they are fun to be around although I don’t want any of my own right now.

16. I love trivia and puzzles. I always buy puzzle books, crossword puzzles, wordsearches, logic puzzles and I actually finish most of them.

17. I have over 2,000 songs in my iTunes library.

18. I remember the full name of every boy I had a crush on.

19. I’ve never smoked, never used illegal drugs, and have only been drunk about 5 times. I smoke a cigar about 2 times a year.

20. I do laundry about 3 x a week. My largest load is darks.

21. I like wearing sweats and a T-shirt around the house when doing chores.

22. I love leftovers, sometimes they are better than the original meal.

23. I bought my first computer in August 2001. It was a Gateway 2000 and it rocked.

24. I have been to the top of the Haleakala Volcano (elevation 10,000 Feet) in Maui, Hawaii.

25. I stole a pack of gum when I was 6. I felt bad and told my mother. I never stole again.

26. I jumped out of an airplane at over 10,000 Feet to skydive on July 7, 2000.

27. I’m generally a very happy person.

28. If there is a reason for me being here, I believe it was to prove that elves really live among people.

My Thoughts on Being a Twin

If you don’t already know, I am identical twin.  When we were young we used to fight all the time.  Then in College we were friends.  Now we are a nice combination of friends and “You are Bugging me Right Now, I am hanging UP”.  But all in all, I wouldn’t change it for the world.  I simply ADORE being a twin.  You always have someone going thru basic life experiences with you, aging alongside you, always have someone to talk to when you need them, can exchange clothes with you, can wear the same shades of makeup, can switch with each other to fool people (okay, maybe not now), someone who has the same sense of humor, can finish each other sentances and someone who has been there with me since LITERALLY the beginning of my existence.  It’s pretty hard to beat that!!!

Virtual University

I love Virtual University and I have been a student for several years.  I first learned basic HTML and now I want to learn Java and Flash so once again I will enroll.  Highly recommended and very reasonably price.  Check it out!  http://vu.org/

 

Things That Make Us Feel Good

1. Falling in love.
2. Laughing so hard your face hurts.
3. A hot shower.
4. No lines at the store.
5. A special glance.
6. Getting letters.
7. Taking a drive on a pretty road.
8. Hearing your favorite song on the radio.
9. Lying in bed listening to the rain outside.
10. Hot towels out of the dryer.
11. Finding the sweater you want is on sale for half price.
12. A milkshake.
13. A long distance phone call.
14. A bubble bath.
15. Giggling.
16. A good conversation.
17. The beach.
18. Finding a $20 bill in your coat from last winter.
19. Laughing at yourself.
20. Midnight phone calls that last for hours.
21. Running through sprinklers.
22. Laughing for absolutely no reason at all.
23. Having someone tell you that you’re beautiful.
24. Laughing at an inside joke.
25. A day off.
26. Accidentally overhearing someone say something nice about you.
27. Waking up and realizing you still have a few hours left to sleep.
28. Sleeping in.
29. Making new friends.
30. Playing with a new puppy.
31. Having someone play with your hair.
32. Sweet dreams.
33. Hot chocolate.
34. Road trips with friends.
35. Swinging on swings.
36. Your first kiss.
37. Rays of sunlight that warm you on a cool morning.
38. Going to a really good concert or movie.
39. Making eye contact with a cute stranger.
40. Winning a really competitive game.
41. Watching a beautiful sunrise or sunset.
42. A good meal.
43. Spending time with close friends.
44. Seeing smiles and hearing laughter from your friends.
45. Getting a bonus or raise.
46. Running into an old friend.
47. Riding the best roller coasters over and over.
48. Watching the expression on someone’s face as they open a much-desired present from you.
49. Holding hands with someone you care about.
50. Getting out of bed every morning and thanking God for another beautiful day.

Cute Friggin’ Baby Pandas!!

I never really thought an animal could be so friggin’ adorable until I saw a baby Panda.  It’s black & white markings render it almost fakeishly teddy bear cutey patootey pie friggin’ cute and the way the workers haul them around is just so annoyingly “I have to have one right now” CUTE.  The latest email I received just made made my bite my knuckles and now, I want to adopt one.  OOOHHH!!! Check out these pics: 

Another Day of Heat

This is my first blog.  I am new to the “blogging” thing but decided to give it a whirl and see if I can link it to my existing website.

The heat in the Valley here is really starting to “burn”.  It reached about 114* yesterday and I don’t know about you, but to me that is STUPIDLY STUPID HOT.  I mean, please!  I don’t live in Death Valley, do I????  My air conditioning bill is going to be HELLA STUPIDLY HIGH and what is the purpose people???!!!  Ok, I’m done.  Besides that, I am sitting inside a very nicely cooled air-conditioned office so who am I to complain???  Besides, even though it’s ANOTHER HELLA HOT DAY OF HEAT out there, I don’t care!  Unless I have to run errands.  Even then, I am lucky to have my gym towels to soak up so more sweat, hey!  Yeah?  Who needs the gym?  LOL, no seriously folks, drink lots of water.  I’m going to need it.

~Shawna