Used to be so good...

This whole blogging thing. I used to be more regular with it. I must not have as much to say.

Or more likely, I get too distracted by the intarweebs and forget I have things to say. Or that I could say. Or even would say. Or whatever.

I'm a month into the new job. Overall early impressions are good, both mine of the employer and the employer of me. I'm one of three employees, with the boss' wife making three and a half since she does the book-keeping. That means it's a much more intimate job than what I'm used to. With Best Buy in general, and Geek Squad in specific, it was very easy to blend into the background noise on most days. Just do the work, get my check, go home. I can't do that so much at Right Click. What with the Boss working right next to me on the computers. Most of the time, it's ok. But he's a very...particular person. And I'm still practicing his particular process. I feel like an apprentice of sorts. A journeyman level, at the least, but my boss is at least a level or two ahead of me. I wouldn't call him an artisan, but master for sure. So I carry on in my Journeyman Technician tutelage. It's a good job. I'm actually learning things. There's a whole lot more real potential for growth in my current job than anything I've done in the past. We're looking at a new location sometime in the near future. A much bigger place than our current (adequate) hole in the wall. And the initial problems I had seem to be fading. When I first started, most days I went in to work wondering if this was the day I would get fired. It might not have seemed quite so bad if I hadn't had so many very sudden dismissals in recent job history. It makes a man a might jumpy. But in talking with the boss this past week, and today even, there's strong hints of a possible raise or other bonus of some kind. Apparently even with the learning curve, I'm doing enough of what I'm supposed to be doing to make the money worth it. And that's saying something given the size of the operation and the current economic roller coaster.

Last night after work I hopped down the road to Little Dooey's to hear Bret Blackshear play some blues. That, alone, was worth the "trip" but several rennies showed up (plus the food was good) so a good time was had. Kristie, aka Cricket, brought her violin with her from a recording session with Bret's wife Kathleen, so she got up and fiddled a piece or two. All told, the crowd of friends and Bret made for a very amusing time.

Thanksgiving is coming up. Yay food!

This weekend upcoming I get to go up to Boone and watch App play football and other such fun activities with my dearest. It'll be nice to spend some time together without half a dozen or better teens running around. This weekend I had to work one day (today) but tomorrow I have off. A day with no obligations. I don't have ren-faire. I don't have to find a job. I don't have to do this or that to the car. I'll likely go to church. But even then, I'll still get to sleep in compared to a work day. Huzzah!

Christmas swiftly approaches! I'm excited this year for several reasons. Not the least of which is not having to worry about driving home. I'm at one of them already. Solves that little issue. I also actually have money I can spend on people. And I'm not saying that the only gift you can give is an expensive one. But even creative, personal gifts are hard to come by when you have less than no money like I have in the past. I'm catching up, saving, and I'll still have more than enough to give gifts to everyone. It's a nice feeling.

Also: it's cold outside. This makes me happy. Now if only it would snow. Here, Hannah. Boone doesn't do me much good as I don't live there.

i put 'er there to get 'er offa my mind

Art Quiz!

Your result for What Your Taste in Art Says About You Test...

Conscientious, Fulfilled, and Spiritual

The Renaissance was a cultural movement that profoundly affected European intellectual life. Beginning in Italy, and spreading to the rest of Europe by the 16th century, its influence affected literature, philosopy, religion, art, politics, science, and all other aspects of intellectual enquiry. Renaissance artists looked at the human aspect of life in their art. They did not reject religion but tended to look at it in it's purest form to create visions they thought depicted the ideals of religion. Painters of this time had their own style and created works based on morality, religion, and human nature. Many of the paintings depicted what they believed to be the corrupt nature of man.

People that like Renaissance paintings like things that are more challenging. They tend to have a high emotional stability. They also tend to be more concientious then average. They have a basic understanding of human nature and therefore are not easily surprised by anything that people may do. They enjoy life and enjoy living. They are very aware of their own mortality but do not dwell on the end but what they are doing in the present. They enjoy learning, but may tend to be a bit more closed minded to new ideas as they feel that the viewpoint they have has been well researched and considered. These people are more old fashioned and not quite as progressive. They enjoy the finer things in life like comfort, a good meal, and homelife. They tend to be more spiritual or religious by nature. They are open to new aesthetic experiences.

Take What Your Taste in Art Says About You Test at HelloQuizzy

On Politics

Ok. It's the middle of election season. And I've done what I can to keep out of the political discussions. I have many friends and loved ones from both ends of both camps and everything in between. I, myself, lean solidly to the right, but I understand the need for compromise and, sometimes, even change. Most of you know who I plan to vote for, and most also know why. And some of it has to do with who else stands by this person. Dean Smith (ok, that's kinda blind following, but it's also amusing/ironic to note it and it's just one of many), Andy m#####-f###### Griffith(!!!), and, I recently discovered, Colin Powell.

I read a blog. Shocking, I know. The author is a sci-fi/movie/pop-culture columnist and a sci-fi novelist. He is a moderate liberal. He is also an intelligent person, very witty, and an excellent writer. So I read it because it is amusing, even if he makes fun of conservatives. And even then, not all the time. He got just as mad at Democrats as he does Republicans in '04 when they snatched defeat out of the jaws of victory. But there's no doubt in my mind he's a patriot. His blog pointed me to the article I linked to some months ago about military funeral honors. And another post of his has touched along those lines with regards to Powell's endorsement of Obama. Read it here.

A full 360!

Well, sorta. This will make for my 360th post on blogspot since I started this thing back in August of 2004. And, interestingly enough, I find myself in a similar position as I was then. I'm at my mother's, but making the best of things. It was a reasonably optimistic time for me then, and it is now. I have a chance and a plan and it all might work this time. I've said that before, but I've said that before, too. History doesn't repeat herself, but she does like to rhyme.

I started work today. Finally. The job is not new, but thanks to the person I'm working for, I learned several somethings today I did not know before. I was amused and amazed. I'll need to remember to leave the boots at home, though. There's not a lot of sitting around at this job, but I do get an hour for lunch. I've done the math and I should be bringing home about $1500 a month after taxes, maybe a little more. It's not bad. And the sooner I get into the swing of things, the sooner I'll be making more. I imagine I'll likely be doing even better by Christmas. The opportunities and growth just itching to happen there is very thrilling. This is where I am working. Check them out.

Third weekend of Faire went well, I suppose. Once again, I felt like I was the only chaperone. Maybe it's unfair to feel that way, but there was the Mamma D show the first weekend. Wes had meetings and Hannah was sick last weekend. This weekend Wes was working (no blame), Chris was sick, and Hannah had drill. If Chris were well, he, too, would have been at drill. Luckily we had "only" 8 of our 12. Next weekend, we should have a full compliment of cadre and a whopping 3 cadets. Yeah. And I still have to drive. How did that happen? All told, the season is going very well, I'm just having to do a lot of, like, work, y'know? And it's all hard and junk. I mean, who do they think I am, a responsible adult in a position of authority and seniority?! As if! Chah! What were they thinking?! Oh well. Just have to make the best of it. I also found that poly-pro tights make all the difference. Also, somehow, there is always more than enough food for the guards. It's like a total loaves and fishes scenario.

But I swear on things that people consider holy, I'm gonna bust some heads if the bickering and infighting doesn't stop. I've got a bloody show to put on, and if the gossip-mongers and pot-stirrers and dramaphiles don't quit interfering, there's gonna be pain. I'm a patient guy, I really am. But Jesus. Kids and adults. Bitching, whining, sticking their noses where they don't belong! If you didn't hear it from both sides involved directly, then shut up. You can't know the whole story just looking at two people. Never assume. Stop your scoffing and sneering. As long as it's not affecting the job or the show, shut up. If you have an issue with someone, say something. Don't yammer on about how awful it is, or how hurt you feel. If you feel left out, or your contribution was ignoring, or someone forgot you did this or that, then talk to them. But don't be a turd about it. Some things you can't help. It happens. Decisions and circles above your pay grade. It happens. And bitching won't change it. It'll only make others miserable, too. So quitcher bitchin' and get back to work. If you're asked to do something by someone who is your boss, just bloody do it. Don't do it long enough for the boss to go away. You don't have to like your bosses. But you are expected to listen to them if they give a reasonable order. Just try not doing something a boss asks you to do in the real world just because you don't like them and see what happens. Don't undermine a peer's authority. If they don't respect a peer's authority, how long before they stop respecting yours? And never take the quiet ones for granted. Maybe they don't do it for the accolades like some of you jack-offs. That doesn't mean they don't appreciate getting a little thanks now and then. But never assume that just because they've always been there and always done their job that they always will. Everyone has breaking points. Don't poke the bear. It's a bad idea.

it's astounding, time is fleeting, madness takes its toll

Weekday Update

Good TV? What the heck? Season 2 of Chuck, Season 5 of House, Season 3 of Heroes. Lots of good stuff on.

Faire is running par for course. Last weekend was hecktacular. Opening weekend AND a Mamma D's show for the Sultan's Tent. It was hectic.

I have an interview tomorrow with a computer shop in Concord. It looks like an awesome setup. The coolest part, is I put in my resume this evening around 7:00-7:30. I got a call back and a phone interview about 20 minutes later. The result is a technical interview tomorrow morning at 11AM. This is the first real good lead I've had in months. Four months of this job search crap and a move back home later, and things actually look hopeful for a change. But I've got more applications and resumes to put in. I can't bank on anything actually working these days. Wish me luck.

i'm the dog, the big bad dog

Well. Here I am.

So I've been moved out of Greensboro and (back) into my old room in the "basement" of my mom's house for about a week. It's not awful. I knew it wouldn't be. Of course, I would be moving in right when there's massive drama over my step-sister moving out. I remain unconcerned, not the least because if she moves out, it opens up a room for all of Chase's stuff. Chase took over the room Jerod and I shared when I moved out, but the little bugger's gone and gradumatated from the high school and has gone off to his freshman year at Averett University. Skywarp's set up. One of big bookshelves and one of the small ones are set up. My clothes are unpacked. Slowly, the room is beginning to resemble a living space and not a storage space. My cats have adjusted well. I'm an hour farther from Hannah than I was before, and that's unfun, but other than that one glaring exception, things aren't bad. Now if only this move will translate into work of some kind. I've got a lead or two I'm trying to follow up on, and some far off possibilities that I can't really count on, but hope for. We'll see.

No matter what happens, though, I want to be out by Christmas. And I will be out by the time Hannah graduates in May, or close to it. I like it here, but I'm 26. I'm not going to be that stereotype.

cause i wanna hear my record on the radio

Tattoo, yo.

Surprise, Totally Delayed

I got a tattoo. I don't have pictures yet. Pictures will follow sometime today.

Surprise Tomorrow!

Or today. Or whatever. I got something super sweet and awesome this week. I'm just not going to tell anyone what it is until Hannah gets home tomorrow. Then I will take pictures and show and tell.

these are the hands that built america

Geek Cave v3.0

Wes moved in and back out again in the space of a month. So that means we lost and gained back the front room back again. And I've spent the night moving the computer, desk, and TV back into the room. I've finally got my desktop set up on a taller table (our old dining room table) and the desk set up separately (either for my own craft work or for Hannah to use.) The TV, the cable, the router and my desktop are up and running fine and my bedroom is finally starting to cool down. And it's nice to have the front room open. Makes the apartment feel more open and large. I've got a little more room to work with, though. Maybe I should get a good futon setup or something. Ah well.

SO MANY MOVIES I NEED TO SEE ZOMGWTFBBQ!!!1

i say go, go, go!

Officially 26. Or within a few minutes.

At around 3:30PM on May 15th, 1982, I was brought kicking and screaming into this world. The circumstances of my existence were then (and are now) pretty amazing. It looks like my 26th year could be even better than my 25th, and that's kinda saying a lot. Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes I've been receiving all day at work!

Request #3

From Michelle:

"Um... nudist colonies?

No, wait! The proper way to braid a horse's tail!

Or How to battle against Athlete's Foot!"


These I'll address in order and succinctly.

Nudist colonies. Well, they're not for me and my preference for clothing, but if it's your bag, I don't see anything wrong with it. Some people have no problem not being clothed and being around those also not clothed. I know that the reality of nudist colonies are a large portion of people no one really wants to see naked for the sake of seeing something naked. There's a handful of pervs and exhibitionists, but they get a too titillated by nudity to really function.

Proper braiding of a horse's tail is a little more difficult for me to answer. I'm not a horse person, so I'm not speaking from a wealth of knowledge, but it stands to reason that as long as the braid doesn't irritate or hurt the horse, I see no reason why any braid you like couldn't work.

Athlete's Foot is a fungus. Plain and simple. And the easiest way to combat Athlete's Foot is prevention. Keep your feet clean and dry as much as you can. Wear clean socks everyday. Change socks if you've gotten them very wet either through sweat or water. This will also prevent blisters and resulting infections from torn blisters. As for what do when you get an infection, the answer is similarly simple. Pay close attention to cleaning your feet and purchase one of the multitude of over-the-counter products designed for this exact malady. Personally, I've never had Athlete's Foot, and I don't do anything special to my feet. But my feet feel so much better, as do I, when left bare as long as possible, so maybe fresh air is good, too.


I still have a small list of requests to work through, but if anyone has a topic they want to suggest, just leave a comment here and I'll get to them as I can in an order of my choosing!

Request #2

So this isn't in order, but it seemed the most urgent of my spout of requests all of a sudden like.

"The appropriate method for offering sage counsel to the grieving."

This one is a little more difficult for me to answer, but maybe not for the reason you might think. I've always handled death very well. Maybe sometimes a little too well. But I do find myself comforting those in pain and loss. Simply, don't offer sage counsel. Words won't do any good right now. So just don't say anything. Physical contact, I've found, does so much more than any words one might offer. Hug someone or put your hand on their shoulder. Look them in the eye. But don't let go so soon. Hold them a few seconds longer than you otherwise might, and do so firmly, but gently. Sometimes that's all a person needs to feel comfortable enough to cry. And most grieving souls will cry; and they should. It's a natural part of the process. Just be there. Hug them. Hold them. Actions are the important part, not the words. Eoncourage the process from start to finish. And after a little while, you start to remind the grievers that the sun also rises, and this world still holds some goodness and death is not the end, nor the beginning, merely the next step.

John, I'm sorry to hear about your loss. Hug your family for me.

Request #1

From callmeserenity :

{ I stole this from tforawesome's LJ

Come Summer, Is There a Real Woman in This Multiplex?

And, also, if you could explain to me how the Hulk's shoulder muscles could be so enormously bulging that they give him the appearance of a turtle sticking it's head out of it's shell? }


Well, to deal with the first question, we need to look at the Modern American Male Pleb and the Corporate Marketing Sceme(read: Scam). And the fact that it's summer.

The biggest reason you won't see much by way of starring women this summer is, simply, because it's the summer. Some time in the past someone released one or several big action blockbuster movies during the summer and they must have performed reasonably better than their other seasoned counterparts. And ever since, Action movies MUST(OMFGWTFBBQ!!!1) be released during the summer or suffer from Epic Fail. And Joe Pleb don't want no woman gettin' in the way of his 'splosions. The article makes mention of some of the Apatow movies that have come out and are coming out. Which I find headache-inducingly lame in premise and delivery, personally. But low comedy appealing to the masses, etc. I'm not what you'd call a feminist by any means, but I wouldn't mind seeing a woman kicking some tail on the big screen. The only problem is the difficulty in making that work. Too often you get the hyper-butch Xena Warrior Lesbian result which has lots of emasculated and useless men. And, as you might imagine, this doesn't appeal to your target demographic of Summer Monies, the 16-30 year old male, which finds itself with lots of free time over the summer since school is out. This isn't a highly researched observance, but in my experience, you see a lot more guys at movies than girls in the summer. This is either the cause or effect of the Summer Blockbuster phenomenon, but it's there. And these guys aren't typically going to see Bull-Dyke Strike II: More Ball Kicking. And, really, the number of female movie goers that are interested in the further adventures of Bertha McMantits are significantly smaller than the women who want nothing to do with that kind of brainless popcorn munchers.

Let me digress by saying that, first, being an action movie that requires no thought isn't, inherently, a bad thing. Second, there's a lot of smart, witty, deep, or otherwise promising action movies slated for this summer.

Women, by and large, prefer character development, plot, tears, drama, tension, sisterhood, romance, crying, thoughtful and well written conversations in their movies. Like every bad Jane Austen book or movie ever. And someone somewhere said that kind of movie MUST(OMFGWTFBBQ!!!1) come out in the wintery times of the year. Again, it's hard to say whether drama hit big in the winter because of a higher population of female movie watchers, or if the movies brought the women.

It kinda makes sense, though. In the summer, men are more likely to goof off between semesters and have time to waste sitting in a sticky seat watching shit blow up. And since it's between seasons, there's no sports on TV. Because baseball(or NASCAR) on TV is a great nap inducer. And since women know men have all this goof-off time, they are apt to find some task for the men to do in the yard/house. Men, in a remarkable show of smartness, know this, too, and go out to the longest orgasmically pyrotechnic orgy they can find to get away from their nagging girlfriends/fiancées/wives. Women are more likely to have jobs or go out with their girlfriends to the closest outdoor bar and get wasted on appletinis in miniskirts and clingy tops. Conversely, Winter is Sports Time Prime with football and basketball in full swing. And the women have GOT to get away from their stupid boyfriends/fiancés/husbands and their stupid sports for the night, but have class/work in the morning, so they can't go "clubbing/dancing" in the summer.

So in conclusion, it's because the public are saps for "subtle" marketing scams perpetrated by movie theatres. If you want strong women roles, wait until the winter. Until then, endure whatever Boomfest your guy wants to take you to. Because he'll have to bear his way through whatever Weepmonger de Jour you take him to in the Winter.


A for Hulk's shoulder muscles...well...he is, y'know, the Hulk after all. His entire premise is Big Green Angry Anthropomorphosized Muscle. Plus he totally works his delts, man.

Open Call

So I have this space here. And lots of free time at work for the moment. And often I have no idea what to write about because my day is, thankfully and unthankfully, fairly routine and unnoteworthy. So here's me calling out to all you out there who actually read my blogs. All three of you. If you've got an ideas for a topic to write about, leave a comment here and I'll put forth a honest-to-God effort into a blog about the topic. This might take a while if I don't know much about the topic. Or I might just make a willfully uninformed offering, as well. So there it is. I promise to be acerbically witty and/or informed and intelligent. Or at least make my best effort towards that goal.

Must Read

As most everyone knows (or should) Hannah and Chris are members of the NC Nat'l Guard Funeral Honors program. I've tried, rather unsuccessfully, to express my feelings on this, and my pride in both of them. Esquire featured an article that all of you out there who claim either one or both of these two as friends should read. I've seen them perform these honors, and heard them talk about them. I know, personally, the care and effort they put into the difficult and powerful tasks they perform to honor their fallen brothers and sisters in arms, and those left behind, be they World War II veterans passing in their sleep attended by generations of friends and family, soldiers who have given their lives over seas leaving behind young and distraught spouses and children, or lonely veterans hospitalized in the VA's over-stretched but dedicated hands attended by a chaplain and a handful of caretakers. The honors are the same every time. And the dedicated and respect is the same. Every time. And they perform this honor and duty almost every day. And nearly always more than once in a day. Whether it's a stranger or a dear friend they have to present that flag to.

Read the article here.

Rennie Adoption: A Manual

Welcome
Congratulations on your decision to adopt a Rennie! Many of these fascinating creatures are in need of good homes where they will be loved and cared for. While keeping a Rennie can be expensive, time-consuming, and sometimes confusing, the results can be well worth all the effort. A well turned out Rennie who is happy and healthy is amazing to watch in action. The guidelines below will help you care for your new charge, but they are only guidelines. Every Rennie is quite unique and you should get to know your Rennie's personal quirks, preferences and skills.


Introduction
The most important step in caring for your Rennie is selecting the right one. Rennies come in many varieties. You will find them of both sexes, and in every imaginable size, color, age, health and plumage. But, far more important than their physical differences are the differences in their personalities. Every Rennie has a very unique set of skills, preferences and attitudes, and you need to take these into consideration as you make your choice.

If you have a nervous condition, a Daredevil Rennie is not for you. Likewise, do not adopt a Fighter Rennie unless you have a large yard in which he or she can chase around other Rennies with a sword. If you have small children in the house, you might prefer to adopt a Rennie other than the Arms Collector, and if you like your nights silent, keep in mind that Stitching Rennies are known to stay up quite late, whirring away at their machines, punctuated by occasional loud bouts of cursing.


Food & Drink
Once you have selected a Rennie and brought him or her home, your first concern may be, "What do I feed this strange creature?" Luckily, most Rennies are not picky about what they eat, and indeed, will consume with relish most anything you offer them. Do not be afraid to offer your Rennie exotic or strange foods. They have a highly developed sense of adventure and will likely at least try whatever it is. Keep in mind, that through some strange quirk, your Rennie will enjoy almost any food more if it is presented on a stick.

Your Rennie requires large quantities of water. Your Rennie will want large quantities of liquor. There is a very fine balance between the two that you must find to keep your Rennie (and in cases of more belligerent Rennies, yourself) happy and healthy.

Rennies are very affectionate creatures, and will often cuddle and love on you for treats. Favorite treats tend towards chocolate or nice liquor, though your Rennie may have different favorites. Recently, several varieties of Rennie have devolved a taste for Sushi, so you may wish to try that as well.


Sleep
While your Rennie may seem to have inexhaustible supplies of energy, they need a good nights sleep like any other creature. When they are having fun, but are exhausted, usually at the end of a faire day, they may behave much like a 4-year-old, insisting on staying up and playing, "just a few more minutes." It is advised that you be firm with your Rennie and insist that they come home and go to bed. It is also advised that this will almost never work, and when it does, Rennie goodbyes have been know to take upwards to two hours at a large gathering. Sit down near the door and have another drink.


Grooming
Rennies take great joy in grooming both themselves and others and can take hours to prepare in the morning. Rennie females, in particular will often need the help of others in preparing for the day. While they may seem inconsequential or frivolous to you, each pin, knot, and accessory is very important to your Rennie. When your Rennie is being slow in the morning, exhortations of "Hurry up!" will not speed matters along. "What can I hold/tie/pin/pull/lace?" will work much more efficiently.

That being said, by the end of that self-same day, your Rennie may be unrecognizably dirty, disheveled and grungy, though likely quite happy. While Rennies appreciate and enjoy a shower or bath every day, like sleep, this is not always something they feel is required. If your Rennie shows no inclination to bathe after a long day, helping them undress and drawing a bath or starting the shower for them may encourage them to get clean.

Please note that your Rennie will take great joy in all their clothing and accessories, and will constantly want to be adding to the horde. Every once in a while, please go through all your Rennies "garb" with them and help them to let go of pieces they no longer wear. Promising to donate the pieces to another Rennie will help ease the pain of separation, as will offering to replace it with something the Rennie likes better. New garb can work as a treat even better than chocolate or liquor.

Under no circumstances get rid of anything from a Rennies garb without their knowledge and permission unless you want your sweet happy Rennie to instantly transform into Furious Rabid Fighter Rennie and attempt to take of your head.


Communicating with Your Rennie
Rennies are extremely intelligent, and will likely understand everything you say, possibly in several languages. It is far more likely that you will not understand your Rennie when they are speaking in BFA, Gaelic, Romany or some other obscure or not so obscure language. Also, they can get quite animated when speaking about their favorite hobbies or most history. The correct response to almost anything from, "I can't do French seams in the gussets in that camica because the twill is too thick to turn twice," to "Henry VIII and Cardinal Richelieu weren't even alive at the same time, and France and England were at war in 1620! They can't put the Musketeers in England!!!!" is a nodding of the head and saying, "Yes, yes, of course."

There are two terms your Rennie may use frequently that you will need to be familiar with right off. The first is a loud exclamation of "HUZZAH!" This is a Rennie sound of joy and excitement, something you wish to hear often. The second is "privy." Your Rennie is asking where the bathroom is, and you'd best show them quickly unless you want to be cleaning up Rennie messes. Eliminating in garb can be a difficult and time consuming process.

All other terms can usually be picked up with familiarity.


Your Rennie and Play
Rennies have a highly developed sense of play and will often play any opportunity they get. The idea of what is play varies greatly from one Rennie to the next, though they will almost always be happier to play in groups. Some may enjoy contact juggling, some fencing, some equestrian pursuits, some computer games. However nearly all Rennies, whether or not they are skilled, thoroughly enjoy the arts of Music and Flirting. Given a good tune and the opportunity to sing, stomp or clap along, most Rennies will be quite happy. Likewise, what may seem to the untrained observer as heavy duty sexual harassment is usually two Rennies who have missed each other's company greeting one another. Unless your Rennie looks truly upset, it is better to leave him or her alone in these situations. See more under the Breeding section.

Your Rennie also loves toys. Amongst Rennies, favored toys may be sharp, shiny, pointy, sparkly, made of wood, leather, metal, pottery or fur. Get to know your Rennie to discover his or her particular preferences.


Illness, Injury, and Keeping Your Rennie Healthy
For some reason not yet determined by modern science, Rennies seem to have a slightly greater concentration of conditions, which range from irritating to debilitating, than those not of the breed. Common ailments can include hypoglycemia, fibromyalgia, MS, diabetes, osteoporosis and a range of bum knees, trick elbows and the like. These will likely only slow your Rennie down, not stop them completely. Your Rennie and others around him or her are usually well advised on the maladies in the group and will band together to take care of one of their number that is ill or injured, so that they can all return to the fun as soon as possible.

An injured Rennie is for some reason fairly happy. They do like to show off gruesome scars and talk about their gory wounds. Should your Rennie become injured, your best course of action is to simply dress the wound, give them a drink of water and then your Rennie will go back to whatever it was doing. Except in the cases of extreme injury, they tend to be a hardy breed.

To keep your Rennie as healthy as possible, make sure that he or she drinks plenty of water, gets lots of rest and exercise and limit their consumption of fried food on a stick. Keep the supplies for dealing with heat stroke, sunburn, dehydration and hypothermia on hand, as these are the most frequent complaints. Make your Rennie wear sunscreen. He or she will protest this. Make them do it anyway. Make them reapply frequently and when they get burned anyway, make them put on Aloe gel. They will protest this as well. Insist. While Rennies are often extremely intelligent, sometimes they're not very smart.


Breeding your Rennie
Nearly all Rennies love children, whether or not they have one of their own. They like to play with children, talk to children and show children things that interest them as adults. The adult Rennies overdeveloped sense of play makes them perfect companions for children, barring a tendency amongst the entire breed to curse. A Rennie child very nearly is raised by a village and may have dozens of Aunties and Uncles not related to them by blood scattered all over the continent.

Despite decades of observation by many interested parties, no one has yet determined a successful program for breeding Rennies. Their sense of high drama, passionate natures, and overly affectionate friendships have clouded the issue so deeply that it is still a mystery how they manage to breed at all. So, should you wish to breed your Rennie, it is suggested that you adopt an already mated pair. Even that is no guarantee of success.

You Rennie may have its own ideas about breeding. The best course of action to take should this happen is to stand back and observe your Rennie closely. In the event of a heartbreak step in and feed your Rennie his or her favorite treats. While this will probably not heal your Rennie, it will make them more pleasant to be around until they find another potential mate.


Conclusion
While the above may make adopting a Rennie seem daunting, it is an enterprise with great rewards. They are attractive, affectionate creatures, who will brighten your life for many years to come. Thank you for your interest.

Reflections on a Rainy Monday

Monday was...an experience. I haven't attended an unusual amount funerals in my life. But this was the first time I've ever been asked to participate in one. For those few of you who read my blogs and don't know, a friend and fellow cast member(if former) of CRF was hit by a drunk-driver earlier this month. Lisa Smith was certainly dedicated to our "little" faire as well as being a devoted officer of the law and veteran. We held her funeral yesterday in an appropriate miserable afternoon at the National Cemetary in Salisbury for the graveside service. Our friend (my roommate) Doug is a Reverend in the Universal Light Church and led a very moving and respectful service. I was given the task of the opening prayer. I struggled to come up with something. It may come to some shock to you, but rennies are not typically whitebread Christians. I, too, was caught completely unawares by this discovery. I am, however, a Christian. So I knew my prayer would be a true prayer to the God I believe to be the One and True variety, but I also knew that I was being asked to open not for myself, but for everyone there celebrating the life and mourning the loss of our friend. I picked "Sgt. Mackenzie" as the "bulk" of my prayer. "Sgt. Mackenzie" is a song written and sung in a true Scots dialect made famous most recently as part of the movie We Were Soldiers(why does Blogger lack underlines?!). I was more than a little nervous. I love to sing. Really. But I've grown very comfortable as a harmonic singer, rather than melodic. To the musically untermed, I mean I'm used to singing as part of a group, adding to someone else's lead. My vocal talents aren't unimpressive, but it's been almost two decades since I had any real training and many years since I did any regular singing. But I spent two days memorizing the song as best I could. I would have still preferred to have a headphone in an ear playing the song in my head as I sang along, but everyone says I did a good job with it. The funeral was recorded, so I'll have to watch to see.

And before anyone freaks about it, Lisa made a great number of friends in a great number of places. Many of these dear friends weren't able to attend because of distance and time. They are no less deserving of the chance to witness our send of than anyone who was able to attend.

I finished with a few words of my own, asking that God would hold us close to His heart and allow us to weep in His comforting arms and then move us to live and revel in the joy of our memories and the wonder of our world that we still remain in. I also quoted a verse from Revelations talking about how in the end, when God's Kingdom comes down from Heaven, there will be no more tears or pain. Our friend Jeff sang "Parting Glass" to tears. Doug quoted a few passages of scripture and spoke a touching eulogy. Lani sang and cried her way through "Merry Meet, Merry Part" on behalf of our dear friend and former queen Lolly Foy, who also loved Lisa.

To close it all off, Chris pull out all the stops for the veterans honors. He called two live buglers to play "Echo Taps," which was gorgeous. And the "big finish" was a six man flag fold with a three flag presentation. Performed with nearly perfect grace by the Royal Guard cadets. In Chris' words, "they learned in three hours what I went to school for two weeks to learn." The six man flag folding is a carefully coreographed fold with very precisely timed and executed movements. And the kids pulled it off beautifully. Even Wes put away his usual attire to dress in the red, black, and gold of the Royal Guard Company "E." I opted for my kilt with my black dress shirt and jacket and black tie. Black leather boots, belts, pouches and my grey fedora. I felt it an appropriate combination. Several people told me that Lisa would have been pleased to see me so "cleaned up" and that touched me.

Afterwards we all convened at Phil's for a much needed unwind and remembrance. There was a little drinking and a little eating, but mostly it was just a much needed and unspoken need to just be there with each other. To remember, to laugh, to joke. To affirm that we still live, and that while we still can, we must make our lives as full and rich as we can. And one of the best ways to do that is to enjoy the company of our friends and (man, I'm getting old) encourage the Next generation to do the same. "Our" kids did a fantastic job. From start to finish, they kept their composure. And afterwards, they thanked and were thanked by the other attendees of the funeral service and then just Lived like only youth can. It was a very moving day, all around.

ad amiculus absentia

Keep on Truckin'!

This is, quite possibly, the best job I've ever had. I have my own desk and a huge office I share. My office mate is a cool guy and we get along great. We both mesh well with our supervisor. There's a comfortable amount of down time to spend doing whatever is available in the office (like post to my blog, heh). But there's enough work to keep us from getting bored. And some days we're busy all day. It's the same hours every day I work, which I like. But the actual work varies enough to keep it from becoming stagnant. I'm learning something new every day. The campus itself is beautiful even with no leaves on the trees yet. I spend a significant part of my day outside walking. It's just a great mix of things I enjoy. The weather's been pretty nice so far. I have a window that I open up most days (the heat is on and it really doesn't need to be) so there's a nice breeze in my office. And the fact that it has windows that open out to something other than parking lot is a great feature. Intrex and ElitePC+ had me stuck in the back with no windows most of the time. Bleh. And the amount of money I'm making is stupid awesome. And I love it. Even Mondays at 8AM are great. I actually want to come into work for once. How weird is that?

dolla dolla bill, y'all

First Impressions

Well, it's been a week at the new job and I think I've got a winner. There's a little less PC work involved, but that just means there's more for me to learn. The job isn't hard but it's pretty straight forward. It's not easy, but it is interesting most of the time. My job is to maintain, repair, upgrade and install teaching workstations. These stations have a PC connected to the network at school, a DVD/VCR combo, a document camera, an external VGA connection, and a switchboard that controls all the devices and their inputs to the projector in the ceiling. It's just peripherals attached to a switch. The work we do is mostly entry level troubleshooting. Replacing burnt out bulb on projectors, replacing bad wires and connections, reseating pulled out wires, terminating and installing new cables. The most work I've done so far is just replacing a computer that had a bad drive. The hard drives are preinstalled and working, so all we had to do was replace the equipment and Bob's your uncle. Spring Break and this Summer will be a little more work as we'll actually be able to install whole workstations, thanks to students being not there. But I think it'll be fun. The people I work with are laid back and friendly. I'm really happy to have this job!

workin' for the man every night and day

Good news, everyone...

I got off the phone with my contact at UNCG and I should be receiving my job offer as a PC Consultant from their office mid-late this week. This is beyond amazing news. This is exactly the kind of job I've been hoping and praying for. Minimum of $30,000 a year. My experience may net me a little more, but 30K is half again as much as what my highest paying job to date was getting me. State health benefits and the ability to use NC State Employee's Credit Union. And on top of all that, the college gives me free tuition on up to three classes a semester! Huzzah! H.H.Gregg is a decent job, not really any worse than any other retail position I've worked before. But the pay is too inconsistent and I'm not a fan of never having weekends off. At all. UNCG will be 8AM to 5PM, but I can get in a routine for that with relative ease, since those will always be my hours. And I'll have weekends free! This much greatly is the exciting for me!

whaaaaaaaaaaa?

New job, new comic, etc!

First off, I haven't posted lately because I've been more occupied with trying to get a new job. For those of you that don't know, I worked the job at ElitePC+ for all of three weeks before the bosses there decided to close down the retail location on December 17th. I was supposed to get my first pay check on the 15th, but never did as my immediate boss got sick and couldn't open the store. I immediately began looking into new employment, while waiting on my check, which was "in the mail." I waited and waited. Finally, after having great difficulty, I was able to get my former immediate boss on the phone on the 27th (right around when I should have received my second and final paycheck) to ask what was going on. He told me that his bosses had told him checks had been sent out on the 26th of December. Mail is slow on the holidays, so I waited patiently. Sort of. Many attempts at regular communication with my old boss failed, as per usual. No paycheck. On the first weekend of January, I was supposed to meet a guy and he was supposed to give me my check. I was early and stayed more than an hour after he was supposed to be there. Nada. Angry emails and voice messages ensue and I finally get a contact email address for my boss' boss. Just in time for the email server to have some conveniently inconvenient problems. Then my boss was supposed to give his boss an angry phone call to call me back within the hour. When that didn't happen, I was supposed to give my old boss a call and he would give me his boss' phone number. This was last Saturday and, of course, I haven't heard from my old boss. So Tuesday I filed with the NC Dept. of Labor with the incredibly sparse contact information I had, and we'll see if I ever see that $1260 I'm owed. Of course, from what I've been told, the NCDOL usually gets the employer to give twice that as compensation. I'm ok with that. I was still really worried about money, and still am truth be told, but not as much. Until that gets settled I'll at least have some income starting Monday.

I've done my usual gamut of applications in the area in gradually increasing distances, but there were a couple of jobs I felt much better about. I found that UNCG was hiring a PC Tech Support position or three, so I put in there, but in the conversations I've had with their coordinator, and my knowledge of how these things go, it's a slow process. I did have some luck with a new electronics/appliances retailer here in town called hhgregg. All lower case and in one word, according to their logo. I interviewed Thursday and they called me today to ask if I can start next Monday. I'm a little nervous, though, because your pay is based on commission only. I think I'll be ok, though, given what I know I can do in a retail environment like that. But it'll be different not having the safety net of that regular pay. Still, it'll be nice to make money based solely on performance. If I'm as good as I think I am, I should be sitting pretty. I'm still going to pursue the UNCG and/or similar jobs, though. I didn't really want to go back into retail again. I'm good at it and I have experience in it, but it's just not what I want for a career.

And without further ado(do), here's another comic.



after all, what's life without work?

Jed & Dark, vol. 2

Yes, folks, I'm beginning this madness once again. The sprite sheet rebuild will slow down any plot, so the first bunch of episodes will likely be contrite means of introducing my new sprites. Huzzah and all that. Happy New Year!

return of the mac

Holidays...OF DOOM!!!1

Not really, of course. It's just fun to put "OF DOOM!!!1" at the end of something. So here's some quick-fire updates.

Work is still good. Not being broke is immensely useful. I'm working out a budget and/or plan to get a lot of things back on track which all should go into effect at the start of the year. Saving! Investing! Oh my!

The cats are, well, cats. But they seem to be happy and healthy enough, and that's all that really needs to be said about that, I think.

Once a room is cleaned, it doesn't take all that much to keep it that way. Who would have thought? Maybe those parent types actually knew something after all. Kinda scary, huh?

Yay party this weekend! It'll be good to see all my Charlotte ren-friends again. There's something comforting and almost medieval about Phil parties. We show up, we eat, drink, laugh. There's a pack of dogs rolling about all over the place. We sleep where we crash and start over again the next day. Truly, an image of Heorot. And this suits my blood just fine.

It's finally close enough to Christmas for me to not hate incessant Christmas music. I spent most of last night organizing my collection of songs, as well as ripping a lot of cds I'd forgotten I had into iTunes. "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" has always been one of my favorite Christmas carols/hymns. "Oh Holy Night," "Carol of the Bells," and "Angels We Have Heard on High" rank pretty high up the list, too. Add in a mix of Manheim Steamroller and Trans-Siberian Orchestra into a blend of the likes of Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and Burl Ives and you've got my mix o' Christmas songs. And the ubiquitous Barenaked Ladies version of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" with Sarah McLachlan because it's just that awesome.

I should probably get back to work.

come thou dayspring

Get Comfortable...

...this is going to be a long one.

Mostly because it's been over a month since my last post. Heh.

First and foremost, faire was a blast and I'm sorry it's over. My body and sleep schedule aren't, but I am. The kids were absolutely fantastic this year. They're a hit with everyone there. Or at least anyone that Chris and I have deemed worthy of consideration. Each weekend their drum jam got more and more spectacular, and it seems the last weekend was beyond phenomenal. Our good friend, Pirate Lisa, inducted each of the guards as honorary members of the Order of St. Anne, which is a real and good and true order of some note. The kids also received the Director's Choice award from Matt, our kind, benevolent and patient entertainment director this year. It has a place of honor in it's temporary location over my mantle in the living room. The cast party was fun, as it always is. I tried pumpkin beer/ale for the first time. So good! And I ate myself stupid. Huzzah! Really, the only reason we put up with ren faire and spend all the time, effort and money to go is the free booze and food after the last day. Heh. Hannah and I are already planning for next year, as are many of the kids. She's insisted on making me a couple of new doublets for next season. Twist my arm.

Speaking of next season, Chris and I are conspiring mightily. If one can even do that. We're currently researching the steps and such necessary to incorporate as a 501c(3) non-profit organization. He's really excited about the notion of carrying on the tradition of his leadership academy at what once was Imani Institute. The Lofton Academy/Foundation/Institute, which would be part summer camp, part after-school program. And the best and brightest from the program would be given the chance to join the CRF cast as royal guards in the years to come. The royal guards showing the highest promise would be given a chance to branch out as their own characters, or to move on to the Fairhaven militia, which would require more thought, reliability, self-sufficiency, independence and responsibility than the Royal Guard. Or at least that's the notion at the moment.

Next season also looks good for me, as far as characters go. I didn't get to play a prince this year, because we had no king. If I were the queen's younger brother, and she were unwed, she'd not be queen and I'd be king, not prince. Hence, no prince for me. But it looks good for next year. We've got one or two really good candidates going for it next year, and I've got a good working relationship with both of them. But I'm all for Tom getting it. For no other reason than so Chris doesn't. Bwa-ha-ha. I will outrank him on stage! Though it'll be tough to let go of Captain Grey if I do get to play as Prince William next year. He's a very familiar beast to me. And I'll miss being directly involved with the guard I've struggled so hard to create over the last eight years. Granted, I'll still be in charge behind the scenes. And if I were prince, I could, technically give orders, but it's not the same as being the Captain of the Guard. It's just been so much a part of me for so long. But if I get the chance, I'm gonna take it. So there.

The apartment is starting to look like a habitable space again. I've made the living room back into a living room, no bachelor crash space. With the money I got from faire, I was able to afford a decent, inexpensive vacuum. Though I've probably put a year's worth of wear on the thing just vacuuming the living room. God knows when it was cleaned last. But it's already made a profound impact on the appearance of the place. I cleaned out the front closet, which houses the litter box, too. I made good headway, cleaned out all the trash, but it'll still need a little work again relatively soon. I must be getting old if it feels good to clean. Hmm.

And I start a new job on Monday. Intrex just isn't what I thought it would be. Promises made aren't being kept, and there's just no real money in it. Granted it was an alright job, and better than Best Buy, but it wasn't better enough. So I was just kinda looking around for stuff, and found a new competitor in town, Elite PC+. So I jumped ship and turned my coat inside out and I'll be making a little more money. With reviews every 6 months, not annually. It's kinda funny, too. I went in, asked if they were hiring, filled out an application. I checked back on it a few days later, and was told I would be called in a couple of days. The manager said if I didn't hear from him, to come in anyway. Turns out, he never intended to call, but was seeing if I'd come in. He scheduled an interview for this morning. And by "interview" he meant "come in so I can find out when you can start." I'm pleased with this arrangement.

The cats are fine, I'm reading a lot, and I'm cooking and eating healthier. Not that it'll matter after Thanksgiving, but you do what you can.

ciao

Boo! Hiss! Slacker!

So it's been a few days, wanna fight about it?

A lot's been going on, and I haven't been able to sleep in since mid-September. Busy little bee. Two weekends of Faire down and things are going well. There were some paperwork issues, but those have been handled. Wes even got to teach the kids some stage combat techniques, very cool. The weather could have been cooler and there could have been some rain at some point ever, but so far the biggest complaints I have are climate and the hour at which I have to get up. Can't do a whole lot about either, so I do with what I have.

Work is work. It's not bad. I have mostly good days. I enjoy what I do. The other day I had to deal with Midget Lord Fontleroy and his bureaucratic control over the tech bench in Greensboro, but I've dealt with worse examples of douchery. He really can't complain about me working on my own machine when he won't let me work on anything new on account of me not being there but two days. Make up your mind, man. I could much rather like not having to drive to Winston-Salem three days a week. Even if I'm going from the shortest distance between the there and here to work, it's still taxing on me, my car, and my gas money.

I'm looking forward to this weekend. Hannah will be there instead of at drill, huzzah, and it's supposed to rain this week, so maybe Fairhaven won't be a gorram dustbowl.

Clockwork Orange

Today, after work, I picked up a new kitty. He's a little orange kitten. I have named him Clockwork. I will get some pictures of him as soon as I charge my batteries. He's a fiesty little guy, and hungry, apparently. But he and DT seem to be getting along alright after just a few hours. Mostly calm. And, oddly, it's little CW that's instigating most of the scuffles. Things should smooth out soon enough. I just hope this helps DT be a little less prone to separation anxiety.

it's people! soylent green is peee-heee-heee-puuuuullll!!!

Yes we're men!

Today was a manly sort of day. I got up around noon all by myself. Remarkable given my tendency to sleep in much later on Fridays. I got up and I got everything ready to change the oil and such in the Lincoln. I've changed oil in cars before. I know how to change the oil in a car. But I didn't know specifically how to do so for the Lincoln. So I checked my Hayes' Manual and got all my stuff out and I lift the car up, put it on jack stands, squeezed under it (not a lot of room, even jacked up) and saw I needed a bigger socket than what I had. Crap. So a run to K-Mart and Wal-Mart later, I have a new wrench set to go with my socket set and some new spark plugs. Huzzah! Get under it again, drain the oil, wiggle out, turn the wheels, get the filter out, replace filter, seal up oil pan, and bob's your uncle. I also did the air filter, but that's a nothing change there. I'll replace the headlamps a little later and as soon as I can get some help, I'll do the spark plugs. I thought those would be easier, but not so much. I need skinnier arms, really.

But at least for a few hours, I was "real man." Lost all grease-monkey points I gained, though, when I got a flourescent bulb for the "Geek Cave" to keep the room cooler for my computer. Heh.

macho macho man

Adventures in Bachelor Cuisine

I am not worried about my ability to cook anything ever. Tonight I combined leftover egg noodles, a box of shells and cheese, garlic and spices, a can of spinach and some Parmesan cheese into something easily edible! I had to put some italian seasoned bread crumbs into it to thicken it up a bit it was otherwise fine!

Yum!

Great Jeeaaaarrrrreerrraaarrrrbb!

I am officially on salary with Intrex as of today. I turned in all my insurance paperwork along with my time sheet for this last pay period this week. And if things turn out the way Curtis (District Manager) says it will, I should be Lead Technician at the Winston store before too long. Which will help make that commute worth the money a little more. My "hourly" rate in the salary isn't all that much different from what I was making when I left Best Buy, but I have benefits (vision, dental, AND medical) and a guaranteed 40 hours a week. So that means more money, seeing as how a good week at Best Buy meant 32 hours instead of 28. Huzzah, and all that. And that Lead Technician bonus would be mighty sweet, it would. We'll see how that goes.

More news as it happens.

Don't hold your breath.

Cause you'll pass out or something. Kill brain-whojawhatsits.

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I was, at least as far as posts go, holding my breath. I had an interview with Greensboro Day not too long ago and I was waiting to say anything about it until I heard back from them. On account of me not wanting to jinx it and all. But it's been too long waiting and not posting anything. Bad me or something. Heh.

Intrex is a good job. There's potential, and this seems more realistic than anything ever was a Best Buy. And I'm making a little bit more than I was in the ol' Geek Squad and there's a lot of side benefits. A "busy" moment in the store is 5 customers. That creates a significantly smaller portion of People Stupid going around. There's at most 5 people working on any given day, and that's if the District Manager is there. The managers, even the DM, are pretty down to earth. That's a first for me. I'm used to DM's being these mysterious Black Shirt SS types coming in with fire and fear as their weapons. With a swish of their pen, you could find yourself banished from the light! But Curtis is more like unto a store level manager in terms of relationship. But then, any given store is no bigger than a department, employee-wise, at a big box retailer. And everything is blissfully more laid back. I pretty much just do my thing and I get left alone to do it. Joy! I have to help "the floor" sometimes, but everyone does. Big whoop. The best part is, come the 7th, I'll be on salary. Some people don't like salary, but I do. At least in this particular scenario. I already get an hour lunch. With a lunch that long, I don't mind working longer. The longest day I could ever have is 10 hours. From 10AM to 8PM. But that's not ever likely to happen. I don't ever have to be there earlier than when the store opens, since only the opening manager has a key and he always shows up at opening time. And I don't ever have to stay one minute past my shift. Ever. It's a good job. And since I'm El Floato Tech between Winston and the Southwest Greensboro store, I'll be getting a little extra compensation for the travel. Even more on top of that is the productivity bonuses and Curtis has me ear-marked to help start up an On-Site program in Greensboro. The initial radius? Within 10 miles of the store. To help make this make sense on how awesome this is, I live just under 2 miles from the SW Greensboro store. I'd be doing work in my own neighborhood. It's just a sweet setup.

Greensboro Day would, however, ultimately be a better job. The money would be about half again as much. The benefits are a little better, and I have the chance to re-negotiate my salary every year. So if I go and get a certification or two during the year, I can go in and work out a little more money for the next year. And it's a 10 month contract paid out over 12 months. Paid. Summer. Vacation. And I can always get a summer job if I want to make a little more. More so the dream job would this be. Even over the very exciting potential that Intrex has to offer.

Really, though, I just need to get bloody paid already. Intrex pays on a bi-monthly schedule, much like the military, according to Chris. Once at the 1st of the month and once on the 16th. Which means all the work I did from the 7th til the 15th I'll get paid for this Friday. And my first full paycheck I won't get until the 15th of September. Bleh.

Oh yeah, I had an adventure in vehicle repair this weekend. The Sunday before last, the starter went out on the Lincoln when I went out grocery shopping. Fun times. I wasn't until this past Friday that I was able to get a new starter, thanks to Doug's very much appreciated generosity. So Friday afternoon and into the early evening, I did my best to help Wes, and later Chris, put a new starter on the Lincoln in the Lowe's Foods parking lot. We even ended up replacing the battery terminals. Good times, good times. But it's all working again now. I went to have lunch with my mom, Randy, and Chase Sunday. I finally got my comic books and some other things along with some casserole dishes my mom was willing to part with. And as soon as we went to leave, the car wouldn't start. BLARGH!!! It turns out that the new terminals weren't as tight as they should have been and the exposed wire ends might be a little corroded. But Randy just took a socket wrench to them and it started right up. Whee.

Last night was fun, though. Hannah and I went to visit Pirate Lisa at her place to see Mars be all bright or whatever. I love astronomy, even if I don't know anything about it. But space and planets, stars, novas, nebulae, it's all so very cool to me. So we drove out to Denton and gathered around a little fire and chilled. I got too cloudy to see much of mars, but it was pretty cool getting to see this bright red dot in the night sky for a little while. The moon was gorgeous, though. Lisa lives way out away from any kind of city light, so the effect of a very bright full moon was much more pronounced. I've always loved that silver-blue light on a clear night. You could see well across the fields out by her house. A good time was had by all. Most were rennies of one sort or another, so as soon as there was alcohol, there were all manner of lewd and crude stories, jokes, and songs. A great time, really.

Today was sorta mundane. Just another work day, but that's nothing so bad. It's still a little uncomfortable in some things, especially financially (it's my own dumb fault I got canned and didn't look harder for something over the summer. Yadda yadda. I'm well aware of how I got into this mess.), but by mid-September, everything should be right as rain in that regard. Chris and Lani are mostly moved out and Doug is mostly moved into the master bedroom. Which means very soon I/we can start getting the apartment very awesome. I'm very excited about that.

There is one bad thing about working at Intrex, though. I have access to waaaaay too much awesome gear. I just built a great new PC in Skywarp, but I've seen the cutting edge up close and it's just so. very. cool. But I restrain myself. At least for now. I think this year I'll be able to participate in Intel's Retail Edge program and get a hold of a nice Quad Core CPU. If you don't know what that means, it's like a V-12 engine as far as performance goes. And most of everything else is a beat up four-banger 20 year old Ford Escort in comparison. Just sayin'

working in a gold mine

I Has Employment

The interview with Intrex went really well, it seems. They called me not 24 hours later to offer me a job. It's not Greensboro Day School, sadly, but it's still a big step up from Best Buy as far as potential is concerned. I'll be starting out making at least as much as I did when I left Best Buy with plenty of opportunities for bonuses and the like. I go in tomorrow at 10AM (bleh-ish) to start the paperwork and all that fun stuff. And it looks like they don't mind working with me on some weekends so I can work the Renaissance Festival with no hassles. Even better, the job I'm being offered has a SET schedule. I know what I'll be working every week unless someone asks me if I can make a change for a week. Huzzah! And even if I didn't have a set schedule, the store is only open for one "shift" anyway. The store never opens before 10PM and never closes later than 8PM. I can live with that. It looks like I might, might have to get up at 8-8:30AM at the earliest. And I doubt I'll ever have to be there later than 9PM. I'm really jazzed about the job. They offer health, vision, dental, 401(k). And the room for growth is good.

Also: I'm feeling a lot better now. Everything's gone except a little congestion, but the loratadine I got from Wal-Mart (generic Claritin) is helping that out a whole lot.

take the 8:15 into the city

Not Dead, Just Sick

Yeah. About a week ago I picked up some bug or another. No congestion at first, just that sudden creeping pain and fever that crawls up your back and up over your head. Flu-like in that regard. Felt fine at dinner, then like utter crap a few hours later. Fever's broke then come back a couple of times only now there's post-nasal drippage. Fun times, fun times. It's not terrible. I feel like I'm getting better. Less ache and little, if any, fever. It's really more groggy/funny feeling in the head than fever and ache now. There's no discoloration of mucus to suggest infection, at least. And I'm not really all that congested. Just enough to be really irritating, but not enough to be able to do anything with it like, I dunno, sneeze/cough/hack/blow it out. Bleh. I've had much worse.
Gross, perhaps a little too much information, but these are the things I think about when I'm sick. Very clinical. There's a lot of medical professionals in my family.

In good news, I have a job interview tomorrow at 11AM. Not with Greensboro Day School, though. I haven't heard anything from them, yet. Which is disappointing. I'd much rather have that job. But I got a call today from the District Manager of Intrex Computers today. They're a local-ish computer parts only outfit. It's retail-ish, but it's a job at least. I do, however, grow weary of having to explain why I don't work at Best Buy anymore. Actually, I get tired of having to do it in a way that doesn't come off as virulent and bitter. It's not easy. But yay interview? Especially considering they weren't hiring when I put in my application and test. Go figure that out.

iiii-hiii am a maaa-haaaan of constant sooorrroooowww...

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

I'd love to write a full review, but the book came out two days ago and I'm not really one for spoiling things. But I can give you a breakdown of some vague highlights, at least.

Read time: Two sittings. First Sitting: approx. 235 pages, 2 hours. Second Sitting: Finished the book, 6 hours.

So points I liked, in all their vague glory: Snape and Neville. These two characters get to shine, albeit kindly briefly. This was Harry's book and efforts alone, really. Not the solid team effort that the last two books were. The ending...was foreseeable. It was good, mind you, but not terribly surprising. That might be the only complaint I really have with the book. Some of the major points felt a little telegraphed. But maybe I'm just good at predicting things based on previous evidence. Did anyone else feel this way, or am I the only one? *shrug* Well worth the $20 and ten minutes we paid at K-Mart to pick it up Saturday at midnight in the morning.

darth severus. heh.

Hannah Misses Snow

I couldn't think of a title. So sue me.

A lot has gone on since my last post. Heh. I'm all slow and can't blog anymore. Is ok. I've seen Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It was ok, but felt more like And Now Some Highlights from the Book... But it was good. The biggest thing I wanted to see but missed was Neville growing a spine and coming into his own. I really think it could have been about an hour longer so as to shove in a little more depth, but it was good. It was certainly MILES better than Eragon, which is only topped by Legend of Earthsea in horrible book raping.

We had a very brief visitor stay with us recently. One night recently, Hannah found a little kitten wandering around under cars and chased her around outside trying to keep her out from under the cars. Chris finally caught the thing. She was a little black thing with a small spot of white fur on her chin and the toes of three feet were white with one back leg nearly all white. So Chris named her Broga, which means "boot" in Gaelic. She was weak, so they took her to the vet. She had worms, and was a little dehydrated. They got some meds and a little kitten formula. Unfortunately, she was just too sick. She was doing ok for a day or two, but in the end, the dehydration was just a little too severe. She started to get weak and cool and they took her to the vet again. The vet said she was just too dehydrated. She passed away at the vet's office the following morning. Lani was, of course, torn up, and Chris was a little, too. His paternal instincts are starting to kick in, it seems. But it was like I told Chris: it was just her time. At least we made her comfy for her last couple of days. She was loved, well-fed, warm. It's still sad. Lani and Chris have been going to the local pet store daily for "fuzz therapy" since she passed. They're definitely thinking of getting another cat when they get moved into the new place, which should start this week upcoming.

And I'm going to be looking into it for my place, too. DT's never been a lone cat, Ebony's always been around. And cats being social-ish creatures, it's usually good to keep them in pairs or so. Or at least, we always have. And as much as I'd love a dog, I don't like small ones, I don't have a yard, and I can't afford one right now. Maybe soon, though. I'd love a Corgi.

Job front: no one seems to be hiring around my place in retail. Odd. But I have heard from Greensboro Day School's Director of Technology, and my interview should be scheduled for sometime next week. Yay!

let it snow?

ZOMG :-O

Right. So. Transformers. Haaaa!!! So awesome!

Seriously. The film was fan service in a crystal glass on a silver platter next to plate full of bacon at a five star resort pool served by Chuck Norris. Beer-battered and deep-fried with a side of ranch dressing. Heh. It opened with Hasbro in big across the screen. And Peter Cullen coming on a voice-over intro. Optimus Prime! The real Optimus Prime!! Shia LaBeouf shined as Sam/Spike, he's grown as an actor since his Disney Days. And Bumblebee's car mode antics were hilarious. The only thing I didn't like was the movie didn't lend much characterization to the Decepticons. Oh, they were awesomely badass. Every one of them had their own version. Except maybe Frenzy, but he was hilarious anyway. I plan to see it again.

Hannah should be home tomorrow evening. Which means I need to bust my butt and clean the place up. Sigh. I've started a little bit. Tidied some things up in the kitchen and living room, but that whole zone of the apartment is a disaster area. And I don't have enough direct control over the room to clean it up all the way. But I can do my own room and the bathroom, at least. Bleh. I hate cleaning bathrooms. But...

Eh. It'll just be nice to have her "home" again. I've missed her.

my brown-eyed girl

So...

This weekend was good.

I've been eating far more fruits and veggies than I had before, which puts me right at recommended dosage. I've been (attempting) to cut back on the fatty/fried foods and meats with limited, but some success. Hannah even mentioned that it looked like I might have lost a little weight. I'm ok with that. I certainly feel a little better, though not being able to sleep well is cutting into the getting-in-shape-itude.

I got to see the North Carolina National Guard 440th Army Band (Chris and Hannah both being members) play on Sunday. It was an awesome show. I love live concerts like that. They played in a little town called King, which is about 15-20 minutes north of Winston-Salem on 52. It was a good crowd, and they were all the Good Old Fashioned American Rural Types. Y'know, heart-felt flag wavers and the like. So many people came up after the concert and thanked them for coming out to play and for serving the country. One number the concert band does is a suite that includes all the songs for all the branches of the military. The commanding officer of the unit introduced the song and thanked the crowd for allowing them to play, at which point an audience member called back "No, thank you!" after which there was an immediate standing ovation. Before they even played the song. It was a powerful moment. I still get moved even now just thinking about it. After the concert everybody went back to the hotel for general hanging out, and I met a few more of Hannah's unit buddies. They all seem to think really highly of me, which is awesome. I chuckle, too, because Asshat, her ex, is in the unit, too, so he gets to stew in his own juices while she gets to be happy with me and everyone likes me a whole lot more than they seem to like him. Bwahaha! One of the people I met last night apparently works for IBM.com Global Services. He seemed impressed by the way I carried myself and said to keep in touch with him, especially once I start going back to school. Networking, FTW!!!1

Today wasn't nearly as exciting. I got up a lot earlier than I would have otherwise preferred but Hannah and the rest had to get on the road to Fayetteville and Ft. Bragg. But I came home and took a nap, so it was ok in the end. I also went to Joann's and got the fabric I've been wanting for a cloak for CRF this fall. Me and The Sewing haven't seen each other since I was a freshman at East Rowan High School. Like ten years ago. So this could be very interesting. Very.

she wraps her cloak around her

18 Days Later...

Just checking in before I run some errands.

I've signed up with a temp agency for the summer. They were impressed with my test scores and think they can place me right away. I'm just waiting to hear back from them about a potential job. As a note, I uploaded my resume late Thursday, filled out their online application, and got a call first thing Friday morning. Yay me.

I was in Raleigh for the weekend and had a fairly good time. My days were a little dull, but Hannah was doing her Army band thing, so there was no help for it. Though I did get a lot of reading done. Yay new book!

Hannah and Chris are going to be gone until the 4th or 5th on their Annual Training Band-a-Thon thing. So I'm going to find myself very socially bored very soon. Anybody got any ideas? Hopefully I'll start the temp work soon so I'll at least have something to do.

Speaking of reading, I highly recommend Steven Brust. He writes fantasy novels. The first set of his I got into was his "Khaavren Romances." I got the first book in that series, The Phoenix Guards, at a book fair in middle school, I think. That run is a series of five books styled after Alexander Dumas' Musketeer series of books. It's very fun, swashbuckling and witty banter. But my sweet and awesome lady-friend bought me The Book of the Jhereg, which is a collection of the first three books (Jhereg, Yendi, and Teckla) of his series of books about Vlad Taltos, a human assassin working for and in the world of Brust's universe's elves. They writing style is more modern in tone than the "high speech" of the Khaavren books, but that makes them a lighter read. All very good. I finished all three books in a matter of a few days, so now I've got to go buy the next collection or so. Yay books! ^_^ and/or XD.

But now I have errands to run and books to buy and lunch to eat.

take a look; it's in a book

So Bad At This

I didn't used to be, though. I used to blog all the time. And then I found something else to do, I guess. *shrug*

Well, the biggest news since the last post is that I am finally out from under the yoke of Corporate Retail. Best Buy and I finally called it quits. It might have dumped me, but the love was gone a long time ago. And I sure as hell wasn't going to be the one to quit on it. I'm no quitter. The last several days have been very relaxing. And, shock of shocks, I even have another job lined up! The Greensboro Day School job I've mentioned before is very, very likely mine. There's no 100% sureness to it, but my former co-worker and still friend Adam is putting in good word and effort for me. Huzzah! The only down side is that it doesn't start until August. Which means I need to find another job for the summer. Which is pooptastic if you ask me. But paychecks being meager due to crappy hours I don't have anything resembling enough saved up to pay my bills for two months. Bleh. Which probably means another two months of retail crap, since that's what will most likely be doing any just summer hiring. Feh. Feh I say!

Hannah's been here since last Friday. I'm glad for it, but there's some growing pains, of a sort. We haven't been together all that long, and we're suddenly seeing a whole lot of each other. But it's working out. That whole True Love thing and all.

Yay pool! I've spent most of this week's afternoons at the pool and it is good. I'm actually getting a little bit of a tan on this pasty flesh of mine. Totally killing the whole geek-cave-troll image, though, so I'll have to find a new one.

Well, if anyone knows of any just-for-the-summer jobs, send the ideas my way.

Tomorrow I get to go up to Boone with Hannah for the day. Yay mountains!

everybody's workin' for the weekend

Return of the Slack

I should have made a post a long time ago, but I'm easily distracted these days.

My new PC is finally built, and it screams. I can play Oblivion at maxed out settings with very little, if any, lag or skipping. It looks amazing. I had some issues with the first RAM I got, but it's all better now. The only lament is that the parts I had leftover, I was going to build Chris a tower out of, but the motherboard decided to quit on me. Fun time, fun times. I can't be certain, but I think there's a short near the IDE controllers on the board. Either way, it's dead and Chris doesn't have a desktop yet. But I can get good replacements for it for not very expensive at all, so it'll be all good in a week or so.

Hannah is recovering from her tonsillectomy nicely. I wish I could see her, but work just doesn't allow for it right now. Maybe next week, but I doubt it. We talk online and over the phone so it's not too bad. I'll be able to see her soon enough, but I do miss her so.

Mentioning work, is there anyone what knows of work in the triad area? 2 years and 3 months of retail is enough for me. I'm stuck where I am with no prospects or hopes of moving on or up. I need something better. As much as I hate mornings, I'd love a 9-5 Mon-Fri job. Or at least a M-F. I'd like to have my weekends free. I just need something that provides more challenges than just showing up on time. That's my "biggest" challenge at work. That's it. I schlep car stereos and GPS devices. There's no real fulfillment there. Even the amusement of separating fools and their money (not all of my customers, not even most) has lost its appeal. I want something that uses my brain. My current job doesn't. The most strenuous mental activity is figuring out in my head what stock I should put up when to maximize the use and location of my ladder. Whee. I do that, at most, twice a week. The rest of the time, I can shut the brain off and run in autopilot. And still perform well above standards and expectations. Job = too easy. At least Geek Squad required a little contemplating and thinking. Sigh.

i love to work at nothin' all day

Today is a good day to die!

Today was a really good day.

Not in a fabulous and magical kind of way, but in the ordinary kind of way that means that much more. I woke up a little earlier than I would have liked, but not so early as to be ridiculous. It was a beautiful day out. A little too cool to have warranted a day in the pool, but not so hot as to be uncomfortable either. Bright, breezy. My mom came up from Salisbury and went to lunch with Chris, Lani, Hannah, and myself. The Mother met the Girlfriend, and there seemed to be mutual liking. Something much better than previous incarnations of whomever got stuck in the role of Justin's Girlfriend. We hit up the Celtic Cafe in Winston and had a very pleasant and tasty meal. Mom couldn't stay much longer than lunch, but it was nice to see her since I missed seeing her for Mother's Day (stupid job and last minute schedule swaps). After lunch we piddled around the house for a little while digesting before heading out and shopping. I ordered the last bits I needed to build Chris a new PC, then we hit up Best Buy to grab a few last minute details, grabbed ingredients for Guinness chocolate cake (yumtastic!) and dashed back home. While ingredients were being prepared (thank you Hannah! Love you!) Chris and I played Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (one of the last minute things I grabbed at Best Buy). Hugh showed up as the cake was cooling, we grabbed up some Wendy's and had a Drink and Smoke while eating the cake and drinking coffee. And the beautiful day had turned into a very pleasant evening and here we are!

All told, I'm not as introspective as I think I was last year. I dunno, more going right this year, I suppose. Don't wanna open tomorrow (or is it today?) but them's the breaks.

It was a good day.

no, YOU have no honor!

Yay music!

So the other day at work I finally saw the benefit of the rote memorization of company policies word for freaking word. At random, the closing manager one night asked if we knew the "core philosophies" and could speak them out loud. Having memorized the exact wording a long time ago, I swiftly shot my hand up, eager to display my bored knowledge. I was called upon, and, in utter amazement to myself and others, Annie told me to go pick out a CD. Huzzah! All because I could readily, and word-for-word, recite a few lines of corporate bull hockey. So I got Rush's Gold album. Why you ask? Well, when put to it, I can never remember the CDs I want to get. But Hannah loves Rush, and I like Rush well enough to get a CD of their greatest hits. And immediately after ripping the songs to my hard drive, I handed Hannah the set. New music FTW!

Other than that, I still don't like my job. I'm still fairly stuck at my job. Hannah is awesome. Pretty much the status quo, really. I have two days off in a row, Monday and Tuesday. Tuesday is my birthday. I plan to do some laundry, clean my room, play video games, possibly assemble some Eldar, and have a good ol' Drink and Smoke one or both nights.

Also, I'm a terrible son. I got swapped into working Sunday from open to close, so I didn't get a chance to call anyone to say happy Mother's Day. I'm also mad at myself for not managing my money well enough to be able to afford any cards this year. In my defense, my hours have been less than ideal and I got hit with rent, insurance, car payment, and gas expenditures all in one shorter-than-usual check. I still feel like a putz, though. I would have called after I got off work, but my phone was dead and my charger is in Boone. I'm using Skywarp to charge it right now, but it won't turn on yet (2:30AM), but it should by the time I get up tomorrow. So belated greetings I hope will be ok. Such a shmuck.

25 years. Man. When did that happen?

you say it's your birthday

Whose wine...

What wine?

Where the hell did I dine?

Yes, so it's been far too long since I last posted. I probably would have posted much sooner, but when Hannah is here I've got things more deserving of my attentions. And she's been here a lot. So I've not been on the computer late at night. Who knew? So, let's see if I can't catch things up.

Last Week. Whoooooole lot of lame-ass scheduling crap. When I left work on Wednesday there was Schedule A. Someone went through and changed it sometimes after that and didn't bother to tell the person who was out of town for the rest of the week. AKA me. So for most of last week I was coming in at all odd hours, never when I was originally scheduled. Jimmy and others are trying to give me heat about my timeliness when coming in for work. Yes, I understand the policy. Yes, I know punctuality is professional. Blah. Blah. Blah. My department is out performing the rest of the freaking store. We could very well finish out number one in the district (as a department) once again for the month. If not number one, easily number two. And in the top 25% of the Car Electronics (official external nomenclature, Hugh) departments for the entire company or better! I think it's ok to cut me a little slack if I don't come in exactly on time first thing in the morning for a department that takes two minutes to power on and get ready for the day. Especially since I never get to go home on time. Ever. Rassum frassum. And it's getting worse. It seems that when we finally get the part time help we needed in the department, it's not the way it needs to be. Instead of two people working full time hours with one person pulling an extra 10 or maybe 15 hours of gap coverage, what happens instead is the full-time employee gets full time hours and my hours get cut in half and the new part-time help works 15 hours a week. The heck. Blargh!

So Friday night I got switched to the closing shift. Which means I was privileged with putting the truck stock up on the shelves. Fuuuuun. Then I got to turn around and open the next morning (yay) and turn right around from that and run sound for Chris' gig. The sound part was fun, and always is, but it made for a very long weekend. Especially since I had to turn right around (again) and open (again) on Sunday. Whee. Needless to say, when I got home right after four on Sunday afternoon, my ass took a nap. For four hours. Man. That was a nice nap. Thankfully, I didn't have to go in until 4:30 on Monday, so I got plenty of sleep. Work was work, but nothing stood out in the usual unpleasant way, other than it was a little slow. Ah, but Tuesday was a good day. Why, you ask? Well, it was the first day of May and it was gorgeous. On top of all that, I was off! So I took it upon myself to visit the pool. And I am glad that I did. I sat out from about 3:00 to about 5:00-5:30. Got a little sun, dipped into the (quite cool) water. I read. Oh, how I miss having the time to read. Hannah came into town around 8. She was hoping to get out a little sooner, but that gave me time to do a little cleaning. The bathroom, mostly. (It's been all of two days and it's already looking like it needs to be cleaned again. Not as thoroughly as I did on Tuesday, but still! Doug generates mess just by being.) But Hannah got here in this fantastic little "sheath dress" she wore for a presentation or another at her old high school. Ha-cha, but she looked amazing. Not that she doesn't always look good (and other obligatory good boyfriend talk).

*Inhale*

But we spent the evening doing not much of anything. I did some laundry, she hung out with Lani. Later that evening we slipped out to the porch and smoked some hookah with some light drinks and romantic atmosphere. We turned in around 1:00 or so and slept in.

Or at least as much as she'd let me. I'm still teaching her how to maintain unconsciousness until after noon. 11:00 in the morning is not sleeping in where I come from. But we had some lunch and waited until Chris got home then hit the pool around 2:00. And it was good. Bright, warm. The water was still quite cool, but not too bad given the heat. More reading was achieved and Chris brought out Little Blue and some mint tobacco with him, so we were able to smoke it up a little bit. I finally got a little sun. I'm a little pink, but it's not "sunburn pink" so much as "pale Northern European flesh just saw more sun in two days than it had in 8 months pink." But I do have the benefit of actually being able to tan. Unlike Jerod. Who burns, peels, and is pasty once again. We came back inside and dried off and then took some hamburgers (marinated all day in teriyaki sauce) and some hot dogs out to the grill and had us a cook out. Wes was over, having lost his AC at some point the day before, and so we had all six of us outside around a picnic table eating hamburgers and hot dogs. We cleaned up from that just as the sun was setting, so we went back in for some Hustle (excellent TV show. I recommend it highly) and then bed time around 11ish.

Hannah had to get up at some ungodly hour this morning. At some point during the night someone had knocked out Late Spring and let Late Winter and Early Spring take the helm of the weather controls. It made my right leg (and especially the hip for some reason) very unhappy. Which is understandable. Going from warm and bright and relatively dry to cold, dark, and damp makes for a rather miserable morning. Hannah didn't want to get up, I didn't want to get up. We were both quite comfortable where the heck we were, thank you very much. But she had a school/class/something scholastic related she had to go to. And school takes a bigger priority right now than I do. Which was my decision. And it should anyway. But after she left I promptly returned to my near comatose sleep until around 2:00PM. I was, apparently, very tired. But I tossed my darks into the wash and had them dry right as I got out of the shower and just barely squeaked into work on time. Work wasn't bad, and my department (once again) out performed the store. Big shock. When I got home Wes and his roommate Chris were there and we were setting up one of our new little hookahs we (read: I) dubbed the Cupid. It's an awesome little thing with a steel cagey looking carrying basket. We think we'll sell quite a few. they're pretty, they're practical, they're small, and best of all, they're inexpensive. We had us a nice little drink and smoke with some coffee and lightly vanilla flavored tobacco. And now here we are. All caught up. Tomorrow I'm off again (Yay not having to close a Friday, boo only working four days this week.), but it'll be too cold to sun-bathe. The high is forecast to be a balmy 65 degrees tomorrow. Ick. So much for May. But it's probably for the best. I need to ease into the sun exposure. My poor skin just isn't use to it. Living in my Geek Cave and all. At least it's not my mom's basement anymore. Heh.

Oooh! I bet I've been paid by now! Yay!

woke up this mornin' with a wine glass in my hand