Whitechapel - The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-01T01:09:16-07:00

After spending most of the July dying of the heat and barely getting any sleep, I woke up this morning feeling a bit chilly with the windows open. To clarify, this felt damn awesome, since it means the nights of heatwave insomnia are starting to be over for this year, fucking finally. Or, failing that, at least there was one precious night of deep, sweet sleep.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-02T10:14:24-07:00

Say hello to Chance (aka Chancy Fancy Pants). She's the newest addition to our household. She's probably a Newfoundland/Rottweiler mix. You can barely see the familiar Rotwieller brown markings on her face in the right light. She's a big sweet oaf.

We actually fostered her about 5 years ago and have regretted not keeping her ever since, so it's a lovely set of circumstances that brought her back to us. Unfortunately, she's been eating crappy food and hasn't been taught much in the way of manners in the interim, but we'll get all that sorted out.

Welcome home, pooch.

PS - Taking pics of a black dog is hard.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-02T10:56:44-07:00

MY MOTHER DOESN'T HAVE CANCER!

REALLY relieved by this. Basically, my mom got a growing spot on her neck and was concerned. The doctor told her last week essentially "Well, it could be a wart, or it could be Nodular Melanoma, the most dangerous and fatal skin cancer of them all. Go see the dermatologist in three weeks!" which my family agreed was a real dick move. Since the receptionist saw that my mom was worried, she got a dermatologist appointment for today and we've spent the last week just wondering "Well, is this it? Is there now a time limit on her life?" and my overactive, worrying imagination (which I got from mom) imagined all the horror that would ensue.

But she just got out of her appointment and called me to tell me that it was what I thought it looked like (a wart that develops primarily in people over 50) and that the dermatologist was a bit pissed off with her doctor for not catching that right away.

So PHEW! I'll be having a celebratory drink later in the day, methinks!

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-02T11:11:22-07:00

Disaster averted, hail Arcadia! Excellent news, Robin - tell your mum Whitechapel rejoices for her... unless this place scares her. Which, y'know, not impossible.

Sleestak, you are now the proud owner of one of the sweetest, most caring, and most emotionally mature of all dogs. I had a newfie growing up, and she was the best friend a high school kid could ask for, a big lazy pillow/foot warmer, who somehow knew EXACTLY when I'd had a bad day at school, and knew exactly how to fix it - namely by coming over and crushing my kneecap with her face until I played catch with her. Best damn dog in the universe.

If you're the type to rassle with your pets, they're great for that, too - just watch the paws, they like to swipe with those! Chance looks like an absolute sweetie-muffin.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-02T11:25:04-07:00

Good to hear Oldhat!!

So, I almost had to cancel my Burning Man trip this year. Like I was already leaning towards not going, and a had a couple moments where I had already just resolved to not go. But I couldn't do that. I was able to work things out in the end, playa magic pulled through for me, and now not only am I still going (hooray!), but I was able to score an early entry pass and get to be on site for an extra week before the event starts. Extra hooray! It adds an extra level of planning and stress for me, which is kind of blegh, but it'll be so worth it.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-02T11:43:48-07:00

@oldhat--Good news! Doctors can be real dickheads when it come to news. When my wife was in the hospital a few years ago, the fuckers took delight in looking at her chest x-rays and MRIs, bugging out their eyes, dropping their jaws, and intoning It's a good thing you came when you did. Yeah, it's a good thing you don't have my teeth in your neck, you buffoon.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-02T13:33:35-07:00

Huzzah! @oldhat. That's some scary shit. @Fauxhammer, this is not the thread, but don't even get me started on medical ass-hattery from doctor/medical folks I've dealt with.

Good thing #1 - I had my daughter every weekend in the month of July. She taught herself to swim, so most of my weekends were spent in the water. Big fun!
Good thing #2 - I don't have her this weekend. This is a good thing because A) beer misses me & B) A friend of mine will be in town this weekend from New Orleans. I haven't seen him in several years. I'm not exactly sure what the plan is, but beer will be joining us.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-02T14:00:28-07:00

Had a FOUR HOUR interview type thing on Sunday. I've been unemployed for over a year. A friend of mine linked me to a craigslist post for a guy needing a "Photoshop Artist", which I quickly sent my site address too and told him I'd be very interested. He replied back rather quickly, and the job pays more than I've ever made doing anything EVER. He's what I guess you'd call a commercial artist, he does photography, comes up with concepts and then has someone create those concepts in photoshop, doing compositions and such. He then sells those for ridiculous sums of money. I drove 2 hours to his studio to check out the work and meet with him. The guy who held the job previously committed suicide on the 22nd pretty much out of nowhere. So while I was down there, he had me run through some tests and stuff, I didn't do amazing cuz I was way stressed, but I think I'm good enough and proved to him that I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make something happen. Part of the reason I was there for 4 hours, is because he has a project that he needs to get done, and we were trying to find the right Photoshop file, and then save it to a disk. The file was 5.14GB when we did find it. Anyways, he had to mail me a flash drive with the file and some stock images which I got today.
Time to put on my professional hat and get back into 4 hours of sleep a night mode. If I get this composition looking perfect, and I mean, PERFECT, I think I'll have the job. His last words before I left the studio were "It's all up to you now."
So as much good juju you can throw at me would be appreciated.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-02T16:09:33-07:00

Random...juju coming your way. Good luck.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-02T20:53:26-07:00

Random: not to be all anti-juju, but: are you doing a big chunk of the job that this guy is ostensibly hiring for, before he's actually hired you? You sure you're not getting scammed?

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-02T20:58:06-07:00

Everyone: thank you for the cheers. It's...man. Been said. A hell of a relief.

Random: Stay on guard with jobs like that. I went through almost the exact same recruiting process and was thrilled to get it and it ended up being such a hellish job that I quit after a week and got $200 less than what I actually deserved.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-02T21:08:45-07:00

Thanks everyone. This guy seems pretty legit, his studio is massive, he sits on the Washington, DC arts council, etc etc. I'm getting paid for this job no matter what. He even paid for my gas to get down there and back. It seems like it would be pretty hellish, honestly. Right now though, anything is better than nothing, and the salary is well worth it.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-02T23:53:28-07:00

Oldhat: Cheers and Whew! glad it was the overactive imaginings of the MD.

Randomentity: Good Juju your way.

Rachel: (from the july thread) Yay! for progress. take care.

Meanwhile in Mudskip: Progress! Ideas! Concentration! and lists to get it done right 'n timely!

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-03T02:58:36-07:00

@Oldhat - that is awesome beyond compare. Thank goodness!

@Random - Good juju, knocking on wood, etc. Rock it, baby.

Finally caught up with a lot of shit. Loads more still to be done but I'm feeling less frantic ATM. Feeling really solid about myself, relaxed, sure of what I can do. Of course, now I've got to do it.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-03T04:35:17-07:00

@oldhat Yay! for your Mom. Cancer sucks.
@Random Good luck to you.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-03T05:28:41-07:00

@oldhat - WIN!

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-03T07:52:49-07:00

Just celebrated 5 years with the Bureau of Prisons. I get a fancy pin, and a new badge, and my last guaranteed raise for the next three years.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-04T00:20:34-07:00

Figured out how to get my mic on the mic stand - I thought I'd need a special gizmo to adapt them. And my dad repurposed an old film camera tripod that's even older than I am so that I can keep my laptop at eye level and that way I can read copy into the mic while standing. Sweet!

Also, exercised after a long hiatus. then there was shochu and Hellsing. Not a bad combo, really.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-04T11:45:34-07:00

SO MANY GOOD THINGS TODAY YOU GUYS. (To be continued once the self-imposed information embargo ends.)

I seriously can't remember when I've last been in this good a mood! Wheeee!

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-04T13:57:23-07:00

While @oldhat and @randomentity definitely win for good news for the day/week... And both of them get a toast from me (woo excuses to drink tasty beer)

Got my first article published over on @randomentity's gaming/geek culture site The Critical Table.
Also finally got the script for my short zombie horror flick "Lazarus" finished, edited, and sent out to the actors.

Also grats to @oldhat on the awesome looking beer... want...

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-04T21:43:46-07:00

While I'm having fun with my own medical oddities right now, I didn't get the spinal tap that I was sent to the ER to possibly get. Getting to keep my spinal fluid in my spine is always a good day.
I also know I don't have Lyme's or West Nile. So hopefully this virus is just a mysterious mystery that clears itself the fuck up soon.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-05T00:15:12-07:00

Yikes @glukkake and I thought getting to remain shoeless for a whole day was setting the bar a bit low for a good day. Please get well soon!

long day of days. Brain is a bit fried and its really kind of nice. Picked up my demo from the producer and my initial take is that I love it. I'm waiting on word from a few pros but my mom loves it! Hah. I didn't realize how good it would feel to hear that. But it really is. She's helped me so damn much, through college, through this career shift, etc, etc. And that's even though she's not really sure what to make of my love of theatre. She hasn't seen me on stage since high school (maybe earlier, I don't even remember) but largely because I never put my work where she could see it. But now I have something that I could share and so I played the demo for it and she thought it was great. Heh. that's what a theatre degree, almost a dozen years of work and more debt than I want to think about can do!

and then I had a new improv class this evening and...RAH! The awesomeness is wiping me out. Hah. Good shit.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-05T05:54:57-07:00

@glukkake--Keep us posted, willya?

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-06T06:28:54-07:00

Phase 1: COMPLETE

I'm now in on running a booking agency. Bands, weird circus folk, anything interesting. Onward to phase 2, which is where things start getting insane. Do wish Lucky Productions luck, if you can spare some...

Meanwhile I'm sending vile hugs to all y'all with ailments, mysterious or otherwise, because that crap is just unacceptable.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-06T07:49:29-07:00

Have started Skateboarding again for the nth time. I'd forgotten how good it feels.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-06T10:42:25-07:00

Over halfway done with today's shift, then begins the vacation. Which is awesome, because night before last the bedbugs returned. Had to stop a meltdown from he girlfriend. She hasn't been handling these bugs very well. Can't say I blame her, they're disgusting. They pretty much leave her alone, but she has to watch them eat me alive. Last few weeks they've been pretty much gone, but eggs must have hatched, because they're back with a vengeance. Thankfully, we're leaving very early tomorrow, and the landlord has exterminators coming while we're away. Fingers crossed that we'll have seen the last of them.

On happier news, we'll be staying at an awesome log cabin out west of San Antonio, in Hill Country. I'm taking my girlfriend and my daughter hiking in Lost Maples, swimming and caving at Garner State Park, bat watching at Devil's Sinkhole, and horseback riding at some cowboy ranch. It's beautiful country, and I'm with my two favorite girls.

On the way back, I think we'll hang out a little in Austin. I'm thinking I must expose the girlfriend to Ruby's BBQ on Guadalupe.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-07T00:40:13-07:00

Went to a birthday party and the birthday girl gave me a bottle of wine! Hahahah... Well the party was a good time at a new nightspot in LA - Villain's Tavern, style-y (and a little pricey) and I guess scary warehouse-district-makes-a-great-zombie-hangout-after-dark neighborhoods are the new hip thing for hot bars because the area was sketchy like whoa and by 10pm the bar had a line around the block.

Brilliant friends are brilliant. That is all. }:>

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-07T10:32:06-07:00

i passed my driving theory test!

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-08T00:08:00-07:00

I started the Monday morning with a wonderful "don't give a shit about shit" vibe and by buying tickets to a Suicidal Tendencies gig in the end of the month.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-08T13:02:01-07:00

friends. ideas. travel. Murmur!

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-08T13:07:08-07:00

I just wrote the dialog for the first scene of a new comic, as well I have been smacked in the face by a clever title, acceptable Monday.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-08T20:49:21-07:00

I swung by Goodwill this morning to donate a couple of bags of my husband's clothes. This particular center happened to have used books with a section of comics! I picked up the first 12 issues of Nextwave for $4! It made my day.

And...on Friday I won 2 nights at an ashram in northern california in a raffle at my yoga center. This is lovely because I haven't been able to get out of town all Summer.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-08T23:21:20-07:00

I went to go see Attack the Block and then found a copy of The Thing on blu-ray at FutureShop.

Attack the Block was really good! Also, I am writing again.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-08T23:23:52-07:00

Actually got some shit done today. Surprised me.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-09T16:59:19-07:00

So my photo set seems to be gaining some popularity and I'm getting many pleasant sounds in regards to a whole series of related photos (in the post). So I'll be asking DC for permission to use the names (to explain to people who killed the victims if it doesn't appear too obvious) and if I get that, I'll most likely start a kickstarter for it so I can afford things like props, makeup, locations, models etc. I'm glad that a vision in my head came to life and people dig it.

And I just got informed that I'll have some social media work coming my way, someone will contact me regarding an album cover AND I applied for the retail area of one of Toronto's most famous brewpubs. Part of my duties will require giving brewery tours. Eee!

And tonight...baked potato for dinner, a bottle of AUDACIOUS BITCH and an episode of Star Trek: TNG.

Bliss.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-09T17:02:31-07:00

Oldhat, that's great and good luck. I have an idea for your next great album cover.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-10T06:41:20-07:00

Hello all,

Last night a few friends and I saw Jello Biafra live.

He was amazing. So much better than I could have imagined.

Despite having a new album he performed Holiday in Cambodia, California Uber Alles and Police Truck.

Police Truck.......Could not have been happier.

He is in his 50's and he was stage diving.

Glasgow loves Jello.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-10T13:29:56-07:00

Just booked this guy to play at one of the clubs I'm now involved with:

Yikes.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-10T13:47:05-07:00

YES! He's amazing live :D

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-11T00:53:54-07:00

Startlingly good day even though it never quite went the way it was supposed to and I kinda sorta never got out of my PJs (shh that's our little secret). Sent my demo to a friend who's in radio and he gave me a generally positive review. Out of the blue got an ok from a voice pro I follow on Twitter to send him my demo for critique. His only major comment was to tighten it up (of course, he doesn't know me & doesn't have much of a metric to judge my performance, but as a friend said at least it means I didn't make any amateur mistakes). Hell, it was awesome that he made the time to listen and write back. Fuck I love voice people!! Routinely patient and supportive.

Touched base with a couple teachers and...even submitted for a cheapie voice job I found. doubt I'll hear from the voice job again but now I know I can just plug away.

Been a proactive day like very few I have ever had. And I'm getting slight palpitations as a reward. Well, so far, this kind of stress is alright.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-12T10:11:09-07:00

I weighed & measured myself this morning, and I am now officially in the 160s for my weight.

Currently I weight 168.3lbs, have a 37.3% body fat, my waist is 31.75 inches, and hips are 41.25 inches. When I started last summer, I was about 190lbs, 42% fat, 35" waist, and 44" hips.

Also now I can do one real pushup and I can almost do crow's pose, which is really freaking hard. I'm feeling quite proud of myself at the moment.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-12T15:14:31-07:00

Well done Argos. That's great news.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-13T04:21:21-07:00

After a very annoying couple of weeks made it to the cabin. Ended the last evening by just sitting on a rock on the shoreline, looking at the deep enormous full Moon on the sky, enjoying the balmy August night, the scent of smoke from someone's midnight sauna floating in the air, looking at the bats flitting around me, almost skimming the water and coming so near you could hear their wings.

Then, 13 hours of solid sleep that made me blow all of my today's schedules, while not caring about it a bit.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-13T04:58:57-07:00

Argos you ARE GJ Jane!!

Keep it up!!

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-13T07:43:05-07:00

I spent last night sleeping in a tent in our backyard with my four and a half year old son. After we'd set up the tent and laid out our sleeping bags, we laid down for a minute to "test them out" and he said, "Isn't this the best day ever?"

A variety of emotions rushed through me. Pure joy that he loved my idea to do this. Anger and resentment at my own nearly absent father who never did this with me. Relief that I'm being a good father. Love for that beautiful little human.

I replied, "Yes it is."

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-13T15:29:01-07:00

My girlfriend found a cheque from her old work for $300 she didn't know about, I did a reading in a bookshop and it went well, I have good chance at this job I'm going for and Dr fucking Frank of Mr T Experience and King Dork likes my blog. Everything is great.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-13T17:33:53-07:00

Went for a wonderful walk around the city and ended up doing stuff like renewing my library card and trying iced black coffee for the first time. For dinner I ended up going down to the Danforth (aka Greektown) and had a Chicken gyro with "Greek fries", fries with olive oil and feta on top. Delicious. Then I went down to the Old Nick (officially my favorite pub in all of toronto), sipped a Spearhead, watched Beyond Thunderdome, which was playing on the telly and...just felt good. And in a few minutes I'm off to the pool for a swim.

This was yesterday, and already I'm giving it a TMI warning, but, I figured that in order to be more okay with myself in my ongoing project to Appreciate Robin, I should start looking at being more comfortable with my own sexuality. This thought caused me to go to a feminist co-op sex shop (the only ones that don't have all chainsaw-motor-operated items) and purchase a toy for myself. This is the first toy I've had in about 6-7 years and is the second one in my entire life. This one was also kind of an informed decision and is less...shall we say "ambitious" than the last one I had. The staffperson at the store, I think recognizing my uncertainty and "ohmygodrunaway" feeling that I normally get when anything sexual comes up, guided me through their selection and was very informative. So...yeah. I guess a portion of tonight might involve me, this device and some select clips of Patrick Stewart shouting and reciting poetry.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-13T17:39:11-07:00

I say this with absolute conviction: Robin wins these threads. <3

(Okay, sleestak made me tear up a little, too. But he's a Creeper, so I quickly regained my distrust.)

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-13T18:03:07-07:00

How the hell did I win that? Sleestak just has an amazing moment with his son and Argos is losing weight! They're the winners!

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-13T18:10:00-07:00

Psssh .... this is Whitechapel, so clearly we're all winners.

@taphead - ssssssssKABOOM!

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-14T00:20:43-07:00

Now look here, you two, this here's the vile hugging thread, not the fighting thread! Y'all get to hugging (in an appropriately vile manner)!

I cleaned out my art room and made it usable for the first time in a year or so; it had become a bit of a storage closet. Now it's a work closet again, so I told Photoshop to go fuck itself for a while and Made Things With My Hands. I'd really been missing that. Only downside: all my lovely callouses are gone. ouch.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-14T00:46:18-07:00

i ate a chicken heart at dinner, i feel i have gained some of its power

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-16T00:54:11-07:00

Crossed off one thing to worry about and gave myself a bunch more work to do by registering for the next Japanese class. Yup, watch out, I'll be going on and on about studying nihongo for the next four months again.

And I'm feeling a lot better about my demo today. An edit is coming down the pike, tightening it up, but it's pretty solid otherwise.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-16T15:19:48-07:00

Got blessings from mom (who I currently work for at her office) to look for another job. She recognizes that I'm completely unable to save up money while working here during the day and I should no longer feel obliged to stay. The reason I've been staying there is because my coworker was looking for another job and when he left I was to stay and help smooth the transition so mom can work on her own. But it's been a long while now and coworker hasn't found anything and keeping me here waiting isn't fair. So while I'm looking I can still work there and to top it off, when business is good I'm getting a raise (which will be saved) and when we get new clients in I will get a bonus (which will be saved).

I also discovered that I'll be getting $1000 from my grandfather's inheritance. Not as much as I was originally told I was going to get, but something to be saved up for.

With a little luck, I'll have a place of my own by this time next year.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-17T18:12:50-07:00

Had a pretty good interview with a Senator's office, for a unpaid internship. I can at least get experience, which is EVERY FUCKING THING in the legal field.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-17T21:01:44-07:00

At the office we got a new client, which means a raise for me as well as a bonus from two previous new clients. All money to save up for the apartment!

Applied for a couple of part-time jobs, one of which I hope that I get!

Got some news that I can't talk about but was really, really good.

Taking a break from Supergods and reading Terry Pratchett's Equal Rites. It's so awesome to know that Pratchett can still make me smile.

I've decided what my first tattoo will be of, but not how it will look. It will be Odin's ravens Huginn ("thought") and Muninn ("memory").

And now I'm sitting in my robe watching Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares (I swear any reality show involving that guy I will watch the hell out of), eating triscuits and looking forward to the small joy of stepping in to a cold bed with freshly shaven legs.

Today was definitely a "little things" day. And I love those.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-18T13:14:52-07:00

oldhat - After a full season of Master Chef, I have a Gordon Ramsay voice-over in my mind whenever I make myself food lately, even when it's a Delicious! Stunning! bowl of reheated Chinese takeout. (It's my voice-over, after all, so only uses positive adjectives)

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-18T13:20:17-07:00

Finally managed to get a clue to a mystery that's been bugging me since the middle of March - namely, why a close, old friend suddenly stopped talking to me. The clue itself doesn't actually bode all that well, from what I can see, but at least now I have some idea of what happened, and that's one step closer to finding a way to maybe fix it.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-18T15:51:36-07:00

Am sailing. The times they are a'changing: the reading material in the outhouse is Wallpaper and there's a free wifi in the harbour.

It's a cloudless night with nearly no light pollution, and the stars you guys! Wish you were here.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-19T02:14:30-07:00

I woke up before the clock was in double digits. This is Progress for me. Work on the shop proceeds slowly.

Now I must away to clean house for a family friend arriving tommorow.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-19T03:08:53-07:00

Yesterday I took a trip to London with a friend and hauled some sofas around. Listened to a shitload of good music,, had my lunch paid for and got paid £20 for less than half-an-hour of work. It was good to get out of the house, and now I have a tiny bit of pocket money.

Last week I received a rejection from a job I really wanted, which was disheartening to say the least. Well, this week they called me up to say that the guy they hired can't start for two more months and they really need a freelancer in the meantime. It's very well-paid work, albeit very temporary, and it'll leave me with a fair amount of cash that should tide me over until someone hires me full-time. It's also something great to add to my CV.

It's been a long time since I last had anything to put in here.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-19T04:03:20-07:00

No particular news to report. I replaced my dying phone with a shiny new one, which means Apple will announce mine being obsolete in the next day or too. You're welcome. I'd been holding off based on the rumors of an impending iPhone 5 since about April. It was time.

I mostly thought I'd stop by and play nasty uncle SMYS who hugs a little too close.

@OldHat - Congrats on the filthy lucre!
@Rough Night - Gordon is much nicer in your head. In mine he's all "IT'S BURNT! Now piss off to the dining room and eat it."
@Alan - Good luck with that.
@keyofslience - Temp jobs can turn into perm. Just kick so much ass that their other hire looks like crap. Or you could always get vengeance by sneaking in early on your last day of work and hiding dead rats in all the air vents. I totally did that once, however I was working from home at the time and it didn't end well.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-19T10:32:43-07:00

I've not checked into Whitechapel for a while.

Big news: new job in Blackwell's Books on Charing Cross Road in London. Come and say hello in a week or two when I've found my feet. This after six months of unemployment.
Good news: passed the 75K mark with my novel. Only five chapters left to write.
Sucks: Lost my wallet and the £80 in it. Losing that much money when you're unemployed is total drag...
Book news: I'm reading Simon Morden's 'Equations of life' and loving it. Near future, noir shenanigans, with a Russian protagonist. Good fun.

(Edited for typo)

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-19T11:39:44-07:00

Had to go up to Birmingham via the M11 this morning, M1 was closed 'due to accident J12 to 13'. It was about 6.30 am and the light was all low and golden, i looked across to the field on my left, a small deer trotted out of the trees and started cropping the grass. A beam of sunlight lit it up and for a moment it was as if it were a figure fresh cast in bronze, brought to life by some great and strange enchantment.

Agency work has its moments but the scenery's good.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-19T11:48:17-07:00

I'm finally getting out of the cubefarm and into an office of my very own. Boo. Yah.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-19T12:01:51-07:00

My workout sucked today because I was in a weird mindset BUT the one real pushup I can do is getting better. Hooray form and efficiency! Also I'm making apple pie empanadas for tonight :D Pre-emptive good thing, but I'm excited about it.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-20T11:40:32-07:00

Working on ideas my kid gave me.

Children's book about a ghost robot. Like one of those old b-movie style clunky looking things. Like an old wind-up toy. Possibly named Fritz. He floats around and instead of the normal ghost "BOO", he's more of a "BOOP...BEEP" it's cheesy, and silly, but, y'know, for kids.

Also may include a zombie robot friend, who instead of moaning "brains" is looking for "more disk space" and occasionally stops, mid-attack, for buffering.

Seriously, my kid's hysterical.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-20T11:55:05-07:00

we played a semi final of a battle of the bands last night and we lost!

but we also got payed enough that we could go buy some nice beer tonight! so thats good!

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-20T15:40:36-07:00

I went to the doctor this week past. Good news: I dropped ten pounds, due to increased veg intake. Bad news: due to stress and ill sleep, the words "heart attack" crossed my medic's lips, with the implication "you will take one if you don't chill out".

Motivated by these two factoids, I am beginning a new exercise regimen: elliptical every day, heavy lifting every other.

I have ten pair of 34x34 jeans and ten pair of 34x34 dress pants and I BY GOD will wear them again.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-20T16:21:41-07:00

Huzzah Chris hold strong and steady.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-20T16:48:34-07:00

Over the past two days, I have done this:

Ahahaha. HAHAH. HAH.

Oh gods, everything that could've gone wrong did. But I owned that beast and it feels good in my brain meats, even if my body wants to simultaneously vomit and implode all at once.

I'll see all you NYCers at the party tomorrow night!

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-20T21:51:42-07:00

I am no longer living with my parents.

I am in Salt Lake for good. Classes start on monday.

I had a lovely session of a letterpress workshop yesterday, and the teachers were impressed by my scratch film. One of them will be helping to teach my letterpress class on wednesdays. Next saturday, I'll have completed little book things.

Got my sister hooked on Twin Peaks after only a day and a half of being roommates. We watched the whole first season today basically. I think living with her is gonna be the best.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-24T10:11:14-07:00

sellmeyoursoul - The trick is to remember only how he talks about future food. If food hasn't been prepared yet, he's downright childlike in his enthusiasm, and the capitalized words with exclamation points come out. It's only once someone has defiled the food with imperfect cooking that he gets that "burn everything down" look in his eyes.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-24T11:14:14-07:00

Okay, so... been working on a few things.

Work-related, thanks to the wonderful Allana, the first steps towards a web site for my photography will be happening soon. This is also going to lead to business cards as well. Also, The Book is almost done and when I figure out how to do it, I'll be starting up a kickstarter (or international equivilent) to help fund my Villain/Victim series.

Personal stuff...eh. Been feeling really crap lately in the looks and life department. To help the former stuff I'm dressing a little nicer and actually doing shit with my appearance. To help the latter I'm doing the stuff I wrote above.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-24T11:28:21-07:00

Just got the working proof of the anthology I'll be in later this year. Editor wants the authors to confirm that all of the italics in their stories are correct (I guess the program they use for layouts has a tendency to randomly reformat certain things and italics are one of them). Third book I'll be published in ever and first one for this year.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-24T11:46:58-07:00

Ok, so we're on orders to confiscate any paraphernalia related to Santa Muerte, and I just picked up one of the most bad assed sculptures I've ever seen; made out of soap. Made out of fucking Irish Spring. When my Lt. takes a picture of it, I'll post it on here.

The guy got locked up in Special Housing Unit for an unrelated contraband offense and I found the sculpture in his cell. It would have been thrown away if I hadn't taken it, now it'll probably go on our wall of awesome contraband.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-24T12:57:00-07:00

my lovely gorgeous friend Rebecca, Who's a crazy Canuck Gothette, returns to Iceland today after a 3 month exile (enforced upon her by the Icelandic State). this time she can stay longer as she has been accepted for a place at the University of Iceland studying English!

Woot!

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-24T15:50:09-07:00

I have a unpaid internship that begins on Friday, with a government thingy. Let's just say its with the Department of Redundant Department.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-25T09:14:49-07:00

This was yesterday, but still.

So we had a big lightning storm last night. I've loved storms since I was a child when I went camping during some of Ontario's biggest ones. They really comfort me. So when lightning was striking every five seconds and thunder was echoing through the sky I grabbed a beer, went out on the porch and sat back enjoying it all. So when I was feeling sleepy, I got up, thanked Thor and thanked the storm itself for showing up, raised my hand to wave goodbye and suddenly a single bolt shot down in the distance, split in to three bolts that then shot upward. It's shape was kind of like a pitchfork, but it bloomed like a flower. It's beauty nearly made me cry.

Then, with the storm still going on, I fell asleep and it was the best sleep I've had in a very long time.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-25T19:11:01-07:00

I just took a drink of magnesium powder and chamomile tea.

I feel real mellow now.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-25T20:21:54-07:00

MET. ODDBILL.

Bam, bitches.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-26T10:04:51-07:00

I did too! Even if it was ridiculously short due to my massively piled up Thursday.
Saturday?

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-26T10:46:32-07:00

God, to meet Whitechaplains. Maybe if ever I'm in NYC again or something.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-26T10:47:20-07:00

I just sat at my dining room table in front of my laptop and got paid £100 for it.

I usually do that for nothing.

Oh, there was a part where I did some sub-editing as well. And on my break I played a round of Left 4 Dead 2 on Xbox Live with friends.

I wish I could maintain this sort of self-employment forever.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-26T14:23:17-07:00

@govspy: Is there a particular reason why Santa Muerta related things aren't allowed?

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-26T17:50:58-07:00

That evil thread is gone, that is something wonderful.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-26T20:57:09-07:00

Well...I had a good day at Fan Expo and ended it all with a bit of Drinkin' and Smashin'

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-26T21:06:51-07:00

@ oldhat - OH. MY. GOD. What did I tell you about crossing the streams? Your hammer is more powerful than your tee-shirt. If you had a shield, I'd marry you.

@ dorkmuffin - he's pretty awesome, huh? THINK OF THE JOY YOU COULD HAVE IN TORONTO. Plus, no hurricanes. (Tornadoes, maybe. Earthquakes, sure. ME, even. But no hurricanes.)

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-26T21:15:47-07:00

I've met more new people that I've actually known for a while but never occupied physical proximity with this week than I ever did before. TORONTO! MANHATTAN! Here is the roster of chaplains it has been my pleasure to encounter:

Oldhat
FC
Allana (FIRST TIME!)
Mister Hex
Greasemonkey (FIRST TIME!)
Dorkmuffin (FIRST TIME!)
Glukkake (FIRST TIME!)
Artenshiur (FIRST TIME!)
Jon Skylar (FIRST TIME!)
Joanne Leah (FIRST TIME!)

Plus a couple of friends of the above, an old friend of mine, and another new friend from a different online community.

And as a bonus the earth sent a hurricane to make me stay here in Manhattan until Tuesday.

It has been a good vacation.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-26T21:49:00-07:00

Well, last Saturday I messed up and went in for work at the wrong day. However, today I got a paycheck for my wandering around, probably because it shouldn't have happened in the first place. It isn't a lot--three hours--but still. Paycheck!

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-27T05:56:31-07:00

@Trini

Technically, Santa Muerte isn't a recognized religion, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Originally, the BOP only recognized a few major religions, like Christianity, Judaism, Islam, etc. Over time (and usually after a lawsuit) the Bureau began recognizing other faiths.

The following list is incomplete, because I know we recognize Mormonism, Satanism, and others, but this was the only list of recognized and "approved religions" that I could find:

BUDDHISM, EASTERN RITE CATHOLICISM, HINDUISM, ISLAM, JUDAISM, MOORISH SCIENCE TEMPLE OF AMERICA, NATION OF ISLAM, NATIVE AMERICAN, ODINISM/ÁSATRU, PROTESTANT CHRISTIANITY, RASTAFARIANISM, ROMAN CATHOLICISM, SIKH DHARMA, WICCA.

Now let me state that the concept of "approving religions" bothers me, but I do understand the reasoning, although I do not understand exactly why Santa Muerte is treated differently.

Basically, at one time, the concept of Freedom of Religion in prison was pretty much universal. Then some jackass invented his own religion involving mandatory sex with women, and dinners with steak or lobster, then sued the jail for refusing him to practice his faith. After that, prisons became very skeptical about what religions they would allow, or what practices they would allow those religions that were recognized.

Recently, we had a training session, led by our chaplain, who explained that any religious paraphernalia regarding Santa Muerte was contraband. I disagreed on the grounds that (technically) it is no different from Santeria or Voodoo, being that it is a culturally significant version of Catholicism, and just because one doesn't like it, doesn't make the religion less valid.

Because Santa Muerte is so closely connected with the Mexican and South American drug cartels, none of the higher ups are losing any sleep discriminating over this.

What I see happening, is eventually, someone will sue the Feds over it, and the Feds will lose, and then it will be recognized. The majority of people in the Federal system that are being discriminated over this are usually illegal immigrants, most of which are more concerned over their criminal case than their religious freedom. They're more likely to just keep practicing, get caught, take the reprimand, and then keep practicing; never once worrying about suing anyone, until eventually they're deported and forget all about the Bureau.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-27T13:49:11-07:00

@govspy: That's one clever jackass. That is sad though. Thanks for the explanation.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-28T03:09:12-07:00

Oh, the jackass didn't win.

The prisons basically say (most of the time) that you can invent whatever religion you want. But the prison is under no liability to provide you with the means to practice your faith if it comes into conflict with any other prison policy.

Also similar to the guy who started a Union for Inmates. He was allowed to form a union, technically. But policy states that we don't have to allow the union to meet (because inmates are banned from forming meetings), he isn't allowed to create any sort of pamphlets (inmates are not allowed written communication, unless certain circumstances apply, like parent/child, husband/wife, or siblings), he's not allowed to hold recruitment drives or charge union dues, form demonstrations, strike, or generally anything unions do. So basically, he's allowed to say he's in a union, but in name only.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-28T05:35:28-07:00

Mixed my First Spoken Word Gig. It went rather well, all things considered. (That's the good bit)

(Now for the advice.) If you ever find yourself on stage in front of a mic and the soundsystem starts to border on the edge of feedback, you may think this is a volume problem, and start talking/singing more quietly. In this case your diagnosis is correct, but the corrective measures are the exact opposite of what you should do. So: LOUDER, pleas. My yesterday was full shy poets who just went real quiet. It was kind of heartbreaking to hear people come up to me to ask if I could turn the poets up a little.

But still. A good day. Also! I did a short bit of soundscaping for a LARP yesterday, and had forgotten a whole bunch of adapters and cables and whatnot, so just went nuts with a guitar amp and a cable, twisting it around in my hands, poking it into power cables, etc. First No Input Gig: achievement unlocked.

And oh yeah, I have recently given my phone number to a random encounter for the first time in my life. A cute girl kept shooting me looks at the usual haunt, and upon departure she totally made a heart with her hands at me. Another First right there!

Oh right, and we're plotting something with Whitechapel's very own Bryce Midas.

Phew.

All you people with Weather: Stay Safe.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-28T07:53:39-07:00

Yesterday/Today I had a fourteen hour conversation about everything with one person and also designed a story game about a family run circus at 1am in the morning.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-28T16:12:16-07:00

Just finished booking everything for my bands first out of towner! :D

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-28T22:19:37-07:00

Paddling down Coyote Creek with my boy sitting on the front and my girl in the back was the highlight of my weekend.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-29T14:18:03-07:00

I'm near the end of Assassin's Creed 2. I haven't completed a game in a while. It'll make a change from getting stuck and abandoning them.

Looking forward to playing Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-29T23:53:47-07:00

Yesterday, the boy at the 24 hour store gave me a drawing of a cat. He said he'd been waiting for someone to give it to. On the back he'd written "I hope this brightens your day!"

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-30T14:41:19-07:00

Well, I'm going off dairy again. This time it may well be permanent after September. I'll have to give a proper goodbye to pizza and fancy, smelly cheeses that I enjoy with wine, but in the end it's for the best. When I did the No-Dairy experiment last year I had never felt healthier. Time to do it again, methinks.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-30T15:07:17-07:00

All I will say is this: having an editor take you by the hand and, gently, for your own good, whapping the back of your knuckles while saying, "Don't do that!" is very very good.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-31T00:01:00-07:00

Ah.. yesterday picked up 4th White Key at Narcotics Anonymous to celebrate some drug related mad stuff. I was hugged to fook and am still full of the legendary 12 step serenity thing. Serenity is a bit like coke..costs loads, lasts five minutes and has a shite comedown..DON'T DO IT!!!

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-31T01:21:00-07:00

@oldhat: giving up dairy doesn't necessarily mean giving up pizza! There are lots of non-dairy pseudo cheeses that apparently have the same texture and even melt the same as cheese (or so I hear. You can have my cheese when you can pry it from my cold dead hands). I'd also suggest going with almond milk instead of soy milk (unless you're allergic to almonds...). The texture is closer to skim than whole milk, but it has way less calories than either cow or soy if you go with unsweetened. Sweetened still has slightly less calories, but not as much. (We really need to bring the food thread back...)

On topic: I started doing my week-nightly push-ups again. Already starting to feel the strength coming back into my arms. More 'last week' than 'today:' I've kept my promise to myself and started playing trombone again. Just 30 minutes or so once a week, but it feels good to know that I haven't forgotten EVERYTHING about how to play. But there's a lot of stuff I can remember in my head but lost the muscle memory for, and that'll take some time getting back again.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-31T15:57:40-07:00

@Oldhat, I've heard rice cheese is good for melting.

The Vile Hugging / Good Things Today Thread (August 2011)

2011-08-31T16:02:01-07:00

Oh dear. I've just agreed to buy the following bit of gear from a friend:

- Nikon D40 body + 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II AF-S DX
- 18-200 mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED AF-S DX VR-II
- 35 mm f/1.8G AF-S DX
- Nikon SB-400 flash
- 52 and 72 mm circular polarizing filters, 52mm UV filter

(For about 1000 dollars american.)

Can't really afford, but I tried that out last summer and got hooked. WANT.