Hey Everyone, It's Mancala time! ^^

Mancala is a fun game that originated in Ancient Egypt and is still played today. Along with a unhealthy obsession with Ancient Egypt, here are other ways I waste my spare time:

° Video Games: Luvluv the Video games, especially Squaresoft ones (big graphic whore that I am). RPGs are my favorite, but I'm not above passing on the Old school games (like Tron, Gauntlet,, Joust, Pac-man, Defender, etc) to Kupo, or playng a mean game of sonic with him. Anyone remember Q-bert? I sure do!

° Photography: I have always had an interest in photography and really got into it during my "art school" period. I tend to take pictures of street scenes and objects (as opposed to portraits) to use as backgrounds for my digital art. Now that I have a better camera (a Minolta) I definitely plan to learn more, and I have a photography site in the works.

° Wanna See Mah Etchings? I like to sketch figures and things that either come out very bad and/or in bad taste. No matter, the more you practice, the better you get. *shrugs* The "How to Draw Manga" series, "Figure Drawing Without A Model" guide and Julie Dillion's Photoshop Tutorials are some of my best friends.

° Pucca Pi, Happy Meals, and Kotobukiya: I love (and collect) all things Pucca; There's something about the adorable tomgirl Pucca, her boyfriend Garu, and their crazy cat that makes me happie! XD I'm also a Happy Meal toy freak. Before you give me the eyebrow, think about it....there's enough food in a damn Happy Meal for a decent lunch, whereas the Super Size is super-big and amounts to super-hips. Plus I get free knicknacks for my computer desk, which is good, because I shell out the dough for the Final Fantasy Kotobukiya dolls.

° Venetian Glass: LuvLuv the glass! And I love it even more when I get a good deal (ie, a Venetian glass ashtray for 5 bucks), but's that's becoming a rarity. I've been collecting different pieces since the mid 90s, and I'm also a great fan of the Murano, Crackle, and Carnival styles, as well as those huge Pop-Art Weird shaped vases that your Mom has hidden in the attic because they go so well with my...

° Fiberglass Furnishings: Yeah, baybee! XD. I like fiberglass furniture because it's generally kid-safe, easy to clean and reupholster, and has that funky retro vibe that goes with all that damn glass I've mentioned previously. Unfortunately, all the auction trolls got in on the goodness, and now pieces that were once cheap to be had (like Eames chairs and certain items by Knoll) have now skyrocketed through the roof. Even...*shudders* BAKELITE isn't cheap anymore, and you know that's a shame. All I have to say about all of that is thank GOD for IKEA...they're the only store that has items that even remotely match the retro pieces I have at a reasonable price.

° Reading is Fundamental: And it should be. I admit it, I'm a bookophile that reads all the time, and has taste that ranges from so-called Classic Literature (such as Kafka, Langston, Poe, and Camus) to Classic Trash (Collins, whoever wrote "Valley of the Dolls, certain Donald Goines novels, Henry Rollins, etc). I've never met a bookstore that I didn't like. My gran once gave me a happy dating hint that turned out to be a good rule of thumb for both men and women: "When you go to your date's house for the first time, check and see if they have or own any books. If they don't, run!" Personally, I've expanded my list to also include graphic novels, magazines, newspapers, because if after all that you still can't find any proof that they've even picked up a book after HS and college...well, that's scary. Only thing scarier is our nation's illiteracy rate.