Dream Scholarships - Godaddy .ME Scholarship

If you are on your way to college or already in college this is for you. Godaddy is having a scholarship contest, which totals up to $100,000. 10 winners will be chosen to receive $10,000 each for writing a 500 word essay describing how the Internet or Internet Technology (e.g. websites, blogs, forums, social media, etc.) has helped you during the course of your studies and how you envision benefiting from it through college and beyond. You would also need two professional or personal references like an instructor, or a mentor to give you a letter of recommendation. You can't use family members, so keep that in mind.

The contest started January 11th, 2011 and the deadline for submitting the essay and recommendation letters is March 31st, 2011. I think it gives plenty of time, even if you hate writing essays.

If you are interested, good luck to you! Anything is possible if you do your best, and believe in yourself. Even if you don't win, you still gave it your all!

Here is a FAQ from Godaddy that gives more information

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Studying for a Test

Oh how we love when we have tests or exams coming up :)

I'm sure you are excited and well prepared right? Trying to cram it all in one big night of studying?

It's not happening, BUT I have a tip. Well I don't think if you have a test tomorrow, it will help because it is already too late (teacher's love giving a nice juicy test or pop quiz on Fridays, dunno why). If you know you have a test coming up in advance or having some sort of sensory perception where you can tell one is on the way, then read below:

* Study as you go along. If you go over new material in class, while your doing homework or whenever go over what you learned. It takes memorizing a step further because not only will you have read on or around the material even more than others in the class, the next day when it is reviewed, you will have your hand shoot straight up to answer or to ask more about it - which in turn will build your confidence and furthermore, you will remember what you said or what you asked the teacher to give you those brownie points. So when the questions on the test pertains to the material, you will remember how you answered the question correctly to write it down again. I feel that if you receive something positive about things you want to learn about, it will be more natural to know it when you are asked. Plus, this definitely helps when you are given a pop quiz. You can never be too prepared for those. They really used to get me (5 questions and if you only get 2 or 3 of them right, your still screwed with a low grade).

I know this sounds pretty confusing, and it is really hard to explain, but it is how I got out of studying for tests. Sometimes it isn't a walk in the park, but with good practice, studying as you go along makes the big cram night a small cram night. Throw the red bull out, its not good for you to drink it anyway.

When Nobody Likes You - The Epitome of Being the Outcast

Do you sometimes get the feeling that you are alone with everything you do? I mean, do you feel like the world is against you? You take two steps forward and get pushed six steps back? It is what they call... the outcast. Your the type of person that doesn't follow what everyone else does because you don't agree that what they do is something that you would enjoy. I know, I've been there, and unfortunately, I'm still there. This doesn't go away when you struggle to be yourself in society.

I always like to keep things honest, and let readers know whats on my mind from time to time. When you are an outcast, you end up accepting that you are by yourself, but sometimes you find yourself trying to do what others suggest or what is popular at the moment so you can fit in. It is alright to be by yourself don't get me wrong, but as humans we have an instinct that we must be around others, so we feel the need to try, but it never really works does it? The fact that you are trying, to them, only makes it easier to push you down. They make all sorts of lame excuses about things that hardly matter only to tell you that you've wasted your precious time. I understand everyone makes their judgments and opinions from what they've experienced and sometimes they can be very discriminating about what they think people will like, but I don't understand how people can make decisions for others that have never seen, heard, or experienced it yet, unless they have hidden agendas on trying to make you look like a fool. The reason I say this, is because, the judgmental type can be lenient to others but hard on you. Why? Who knows.

If your an outcast, you will always come across others that will be hard on you because they expect a lot from you which is always next to impossible to fulfill. I thought that if you shared the same goals with people, you would not have a problem of "who's better" or any type of competition. Why compete if we are all in the same boat together?? I thought that people who did different goals clashed with that concept or people who are not fortunate to do or don't agree with your goals at all. But, it is always a double standard. People tell you one thing, but contradict themselves by doing exactly what they tell you is not right. So, finally I will admit that making dressup games is a losing battle for us. I will accept that no one likes our games because of this, because of that, but it isn't the players that have ever complained about our games. Things are not always perfect and it cannot look perfect no matter how good it seems. To many, they may not like the things that are assumed to be popular, or the things that are popular can get old really fast if its the same type of style over and over again. Maybe that is the crowd I should cater to, since our games aren't worth adding.

I thought the whole point of adding games was for people to decide, and people cannot decide if everything has to be spoon fed. So I am so done with trying to circulate our games unless a willing publisher will add them for their content, or visitors picked a lucky number and ended up on this site. It is not worth my time to sit here and try to prove a point to people who don't think we will ever "fit in". I will be proud to be the outcast. PROUD! I will make my games and keep on. I can't lose, not like I would gain anything if I sat here and did nothing. Of course, that is what they would want me to do. To take my baggage and go away. Not like anyone is in our corner whether its online or in real life, so it isn't surprising.

Someone told me a while ago, that when things change with more standards, there is something wrong. Because of the recession in the US, many companies are being audited, copyright issues are swinging around left and right, and well, maybe people are just getting bored with whats being pushed in their face all the time. I am starting to believe that it is true, seems comforting to think as much, and besides, its a better excuse than the flying bull that I've started to hear lately. So if your an outcast, stay you, don't change for anyone else because you will be stuck doing the dishes, while they skip out on the bill.

User Image Gallery - Alexis

The following below are images that were submitted by Alexis. Thanks so much for sending us your submissions. We look forward to seeing more!

Dreams Don't Come True for Those Who Wait

Today I felt really inspired to post something very meaningful. I hope someone out there will hear me on this because I feel that the spark of creativity blooms when you are young and dissipates when you get older.

As the title states, "Dreams don't come true for those who wait" because it takes a lot of work to make things happen. Sometimes it will take months, even years to get on the right track. I think the biggest misconception that they tell us in school is to share to others what do we want to be when we grow up. It assumes that everyone will wait until they grow up to start doing their dreams, when in actuality, they should start right away. I hope this doesn't sound confusing, but look at it like this: If I decided to wait until I was grown up to make websites and to do art, I doubt that I would have any experience capable of creating the things that I have done. I probably would still do a bunch of testing and not have the confidence to even think about creating a website or games of my own.

I believe that when you wait for something to happen without little to no effort (or haven't a clue how to get there), you will grow up feeling disappointed because the dream that you wanted never came. Of course when your young, you don't really care about these things and you tend to say a bunch of things that you want to do, but those thoughts and dreams never go away. Adults like to pretend that paying the bills, buying a house and a car, going on vacation, is what it means to be "grown" but little do they know that dreams are worth much more than materialistic things that can be brought with money. What good is a house, a car, and some timeshare on a vacation spot do if your unhappy, overworked and most importantly, hate your job?

And the most funniest thing about it all, is when people get laid off, they look to their childhood and hobbies to figure out things they used to like doing so they can potentially earn income from what they know.  This will hold true for any generation. I have friends that are in their 30s that believe that it is the end of the world because they are not where their should be in life honestly because they never put any work or effort to get themselves there. Now look, I believe in miracles and once of a lifetime chances like anyone else, but I mean just sitting around like your on a bus stop waiting for it to come is not my idea of living life and getting what you want out of life. Depression and regret loves these type of people. They eat them up for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

So, its pretty simple to avoid all this. If you are young, and aspire to become great, you have to start NOW! Even if you don't have the means to actually do your dream, you can study it. If you want to be a doctor (I know its cliche but its an example nevertheless), it is obvious that you can venture online or at a library to learn more about the human body. Get a bunch of biology books, medical journals and began studying. Learn the meanings of scientific prefixes and endings to understand the meaning of those big words. If you have your checkups twice a year, you can prepare questions to ask your doctor (they love patients that are into their line of work). Heck, if you want to make it interesting, you can draw the parts of the body that you've learned. I've even seen people make flash games, blogs and videos explaining certain surgical procedures. On the topic of anatomy, you can also earn a living as an artist if you study the human body as well. You don't need to think about college if you have no clue what is in store for you when you get there, because you would waste your money if it isn't something that you like. So don't dream and wait, dream and start!

Pardon the dust....again

Okay, so I know the past couple of days have been a little strange with the site, but we are trying something different this year. I've decided to host games from other websites. They are very nice games, and I hope you will enjoy playing them, as you would our games.

On another note, the other day I tried to install a new system for uploading games, but it did not work out so well (got really frustrated with trying to make changes to the default system). It was much harder to use that system than to use our own methods. I think I need to learn more about PHP and MySql before I touch it again.

Although I have been busy updating the site, I have also started doing some free avatar art commissions on Gaia Online. I haven't done much art in a while, and Keyeske has mostly done art for most of the games with and without me adding to them, but I have decided to work on a dressup game as well. It is a fantasy anime style game where you dressup a fantasy princess. I would show the work in progress, but its mostly sketched.

Well I think thats most of the updates so far. OH! I almost forgot, I found a good solid chat system for the site, so check it out when you get a chance.

Back on Track

Everyone,

I have returned. I had to take a small break from working on the site. There were a lot of things that I needed to sort out before I continued any further. For one, I realized that my focus was to make girl games, not contests, giveaways, the blog, or the videos - it was for me to post the games that we created for users to enjoy. I also have to come to terms that most users will not really interact as much as I hoped, but because we are here for just games, that should be the main priority.

During my break, I have worked on a few games that have been left unfinished for some time. I plan to release them as well as update the Maidens Avatar Creator (long overdo). I appologize for getting so carried away, and safe to say that I will be back on track. Please look forward to our new games.

Bad News: Contest Cancelled, Postponed MAC Update Until Further Notice

Everyone,

I am canceling the contest. Not enough participation and lack of interest. I haven't really had the time to work on it like I would want to.

The Maidens Avatar Creator update will be postponed until further notice. I have other plans that I need to take care of, and updating the creator seems like a hobby since its little to no one playing or submitting anything, I have to consider that it is not keeping the site lights on.


----- My personal thoughts. No need to read below if you don't like to hear the "violin sob story"

I really had some good ideas for making changes, but until further notice, I am not going to update. I am sorry. Truthfully, I don't know if I'll post much in the blog either, until I come up with an ideal way for me and my games to attract a much wider audience. I could be upset, and looking at this all wrong, but until I get through this, I don't think that it is wise for me to spend time updating if I am throwing it into the sea of nothingness.

Please bare with me, doing this dressup games thing has been such a ridiculous bumpy ride its not even funny. Hard for the real, passionate but poor small team artist and easy for businessmen with a company, financial backing and a team of artists. I'm really trying not to complain, but it is irritating as hell...I will figure something out. trust me. Debating if I should keep the site around games, but instead make it more about interactivity. I'll keep everyone posted as to what my plans will be.

Feeling Down in 2011? The Wave of Negativity after the Holidays

Sometimes I wonder if the Holidays really have something to do with January being the most crappiest month of the year. New Years is supposed to be this brand spankin' new start, but it ends up as a hot mess. I'm sure you've seen or experienced it, and this year had to have been the worst yet.

I think I know why though. if you think about the balance of things, good/bad, night/day, positive/negative you will notice that during the holidays people are like positive to the 1000th power, so its only natural that things have to balance out with negative to the 1000th power. Even though you can prepare yourself by not being so cheerful around the holidays, remaining neutral and calm, the positivity that others around you have still ends up affecting you in some way. It wasn't as bad for me this year, but I remember a few times where January was very dark and deppressing. This year my dog decides to destroy expensive shoes, chew plugs, and rip rugs (all in one day!).

I'll share a few events:

-The worst breakup I have experienced happened in January. Dumped me right at his house and I had to drive home crying, yelling, and swerving because I could barely see the road. It was strange because I was helping another friend of mine go through her breakup, and then the next day it happened to me. I didn't want to go to school because my face was so swollen. (this was in college btw)

-Lost a good friend of mine in January. He was friends with the wrong people (gang members), and well he ended up being a crime victim. Very hard to cope with because in high school he didn't seem like the type that could get caught up in something like that, but I can say that he was a little naive at times, but whatever happened to him, he did not deserve.

-Key and I spent one Christmas buying gifts like crazy (electronics mostly). Went to a Gamestop, and they were having problems with their credit card machine, but then the guy told us the transaction went through. It charged us twice. Meanwhile we had went out to dinner, brought gas, etc. and in January our bank balance was really in the hole (like $1500 dollars in the red). The bank charged us for being in the negative ($25 for every day in the negative) plus the bounce fees all because GameStop messed up. So we call the bank, and they tell us that we have to call GameStop so that they can fax a letter explaining that they charged us twice, and trying to get GameStop to do that was pure chaos. Between getting hung up on and constantly calling to see if they sent our bank the fax, and calling the bank to see when our stuff would clear up, it was just plain horrible.

So in a nutshell, if your feeling like crap in January, it is not just you... its the crash of the holidays.

Are you on Gaia Online? and other Updates

Hey there!

I recently went on Gaia Online - Its been a while for me (like a whole year) and a lot has changed. They have a few new games and plenty of clothes for their avatars (like always). Anyways, you can be my friend on there. My username is Chykara. If you need some help on Gaia, let me know. Also, you can make yourself known by placing your Maidens Avatar picture in your signature (gotta use photobucket though).

If you haven't heard about Gaia Online, its just a teen community where people chat, play games, watch videos and so much more. Its a very nice community and most of the people are very nice.

ALSO

I will be updating the Maidens Avatar Creator later on today. Bernie gave me some ideas on how to improve our Background Creator, so if you have any suggestions for both the Maidens Avatar Creator as well as the background creator, let me know either in the comments or email me! You can remain anonymous. Also, I am thinking about bringing the chat back. I needed a chat that could control the spam, as Meebo was hard to do anything with.

If there are any other games that you play online, let me know!

Chykara

Gaia Online member since 20092,712

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User Image Gallery - QueenBebop

Queenbebop has her very own website with lots of recipes and inspirational sayings. Check out http://queenbebop.com when you get a chance.

The following below are images that were submitted by QueenBebop. Thanks so much for sending us your submissions. We look forward to seeing more!

January 2011 Contest Clue #4

Today's clue to find what game has the secret word of the day. Good Luck! Remember to take a screen shot of the game. For more details on the New Years Fan Contest CLICK HERE!

Website Updates: Contests, Gallery, Videos Oh My!

Wow I bet you are wondering what in the world happened to the website? Well it seems that Key and I wanted to make some changes, and focus the site more on the Avatar Creator and Background Creator, so we decided to put our hard hats on and spent a few days revamping the front page.

I wanted to keep everything on the front page, since it would be no point to have back pages that no one hardly visits, and the fact that I want to emphasize on emailing us, was another thing to consider. While I was added I decided to make a contest. So in a nutshell, the new layout was sort of last minute decision, but I am glad that it was updated.

Its really early in the morning as I am posting this...so I need some sleep.

User Image Gallery - Heather

Even though I had already mentioned Heather in a previous post, I wanted to create a system where I would be able to keep track of everyone's submissions.

The following below are images that were submitted by Heather. Thanks so much for sending us your submissions. We look forward to seeing more!

User Image Gallery - Bernie

Bernie originally tried to email me her images on December 23rd, but I did not receive them, so she sent them again a few days ago.

The following below are images that were submitted by Bernie. Thanks so much for sending us your submissions. We look forward to seeing more!

----- Last Updated January 24th 2011 ----