Crafty Carvings

Finally carved jack-o-lanterns yesterday. This year may be the latest I carved them. Less than a week before Halloween. At any rate, here's the result:

The smaller is Devon's. He chose that design, and I carved. (Has a totally lopsided grin, but sometimes those are the best!) The larger is mine. Not my favorite design. I didn't put as much thought and effort into it this year. But, I tried making up for it a bit afterward with a bit of creativity.

Cannibal Pumpkin says "You're next, Gourdo..."

I plan to make up for it next year. Maybe have a design that matches the intricacy that my Beetlejuice required. Or, if all else fails, just do the Ghost with the Most again...

Been at my housecleaning job for over a month now.

Oh! And I made one of the two recipes I posted about awhile back. Pappardelle alla Lepre. Ribbon pasta with rabbit sauce. While it could've had more sauce to it, it had a very good flavor and it went over pretty well.

Time To Gore The Gourd!

Hey there. Hope this finds you well. I met my newborn nephew over the weekend. Quietest baby I've ever heard. Barely cried. One of the first things he and I did was sit down and watch Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Good times! Nerdy aunt for the win.

Currently in the middle of my fourth week at the house cleaning job. While there are some elements I dislike, as you'll find in almost any job, I'm quite liking it. Perfect schedule, and I've already gotten a 25¢ raise. I get paid weekly, which is a big difference from the once-a-month that the school system had. But... I'm making about $200 more, monthly, than they were paying me.

Also over the weekend, we caught most of "Autopsy: The Last Hours of Phil Hartman" on tv. So now I'm getting ahold of the show NewsRadio, all 5 seasons. He died in between the fourth and fifth season.

Bought my yearly pumpkin today! Haven't sketched out a design yet, though.

Actually... just drew one up. We'll see whether or not something better comes along.

Excited it's October. Though once again, not getting in my quota of scary movies. I'll work on that the next two weekends.

Here's to many scares, fewer cavities, and fantastic autumn days... and of course nights!

Break It Down, Now...

Five days ago, I was employed by a hotel, working 2-3 days a week for very little money, half an hour away. Not very satisfied with how things were, but unwilling to return to unemployment, AKA Square One.

Four days ago, I received a call from a local business I'd applied for some time ago, and given up on.

Three days ago, I went in and talked to the manager/owner of this business, and agreed to start the next day. I left that meeting, went home and grabbed my hotel uniform, and drove the half hour to return it.

Two days ago, I started my Monday-thru-Friday day job cleaning houses. And I'm much more satisfied with where I am now.

So... Yay!

I keep listening to the new Red Hot Chili Peppers album. Really like it. The last song is currently playing. I like the rhythm to it. But also, cool beginning, cool title... "Dreams of a Samurai." Reminds me of "Death of a Martian" from their Stadium Arcadium album, which has been a favorite of mine for some time.

Alright, so... "Death of a Martian" just got more meaningful. Apparently, the band's bassist, Flea, had a dog who died during the making of Stadium Arcadium. So, the song is about and dedicated to Martian the dog. Now that I know this, certain lyrics make more sense. "Make room for Clara's bare feet"... Clara is Flea's daughter. "Chase lizards, bark at donkeys"... "She caught the ball"... And to be honest, I never appreciated the last part of the song - it seemed out of rhythm to me - but now that I know it's intended to be a poem, I appreciate it a hell of a lot more.

Here's a bit of background on the song...

Hope this finds you well. Happy belated first day of autumn/Autumnal Equinox! I'm excited, but apparently the swarm of mosquitoes outside my front door hasn't received the memo. Beat it, bloodsuckers.

Oh, and I'll leave you with one last note, and it's in regards to the Chili Peppers. It's not so new, so you may have seen it before. If so, I hope you liked it enough to enjoy watching it again.

Tis What Tis

Third day of Front Desking (yes, desking, why not?) under my belt. There are still ropes I don't know the threads of, but I'm getting there. There's a lot more to Front Desking (yep, deal with it) than I ever knew. Like I told the manager training me, I'm good til a curve ball gets thrown. Which happens frequently.

I miss being a paraeducator.

First day of fall in just a few days! Time to start thinking about Halloween and baking my pumpkin chocolate chip bread. Gotta get my playlist of season-appropriate movies lined up. Beetlejuice, Hocus Pocus, Trick R Treat, Halloween... the original, not the remake. Speaking of scary movies, if you enjoy scary and/or creepy, watch V/H/S. It's from 2012. I watched it last year, I believe, and it freaked me out a bit. (Maybe more than a bit.) Some may find it more weird than scary, but I found it creepy, disturbing. If you're into that stuff, get ahold of it. See what you think.

And now I'm re-acquiring it. Glutton for punishment, this one.

So uh, not sure how legal it is to not have a lunch break but... yeah. Manning the front desk for 8 straight hours is how it goes. Guess it's great for getting paid a couple dollars more and maybe losing a few pounds... Shrug. Snackage it is.

I started a new art project. A jukebox in colored pencil. I'm discovering a few things. Colored pencil is great for precision, but not for shading or blending. The color isn't very solid, a lot like pastels. As opposed to oil paints. Kinda stuck right now, because the chrome... joints? plating? not sure what the right word for it is... is difficult to achieve. Might have to find a way around it for now.

Anyway... Here's what I've done so far:

It's not sellable quality, but it's not bad, I guess.

Tonight's playlist includes the RHCP album I mentioned in my last entry, the soundtrack from Rescue Me, and now the Strangers To Ourselves album by Modest Mouse.

One perk of my new job, I have half an hour of music each way. It's pretty enjoyable to be driving down the highway/freeway to music of your choosing, and not only listen to a song and a half. Either my trip to the interview, or my first day there, I looked through the CDs I had in the car, and put in Limp Bizkit's Results May Vary. GREAT album. And when I tire of it, I have CDs I burned over the summer for the vinyl-seeking road trip I went on. John Grant, Queens of the Stone Age, Metric, Massive Attack, Glitch Mob (ooh, they'll be next), Elbow... Oh yes.

Well, hope this finds you well. I'm working on a rum & cola, certainly not my first of the night, and trying to adjust myself to the 3-11 shifts I have this week.

Oh! Quick addition: A song from the Modest Mouse album I'm currently listening to was in a Season 3 episode of The Blacklist! That was pretty exciting. And not only that, but it was my favorite song from that album, "Wicked Campaign." The rhythm to that song is the perfect mix of fast, yet smooth.

Agents of Red Hot Picture Shows

Had issues with my last post. For some reason, the font is way tiny. And every time I try to increase its size, it either stays the same or gets smaller... So I apologize if it's unreadable. We'll see how this one turns out.

Update: I'm employed! But don't get excited. Not sure if it's going to work out right now. Little pay for a job 30 minutes away. Gonna see how it pans out. I enjoy the work, and they seem pretty flexible on my schedule... We'll see.

How it happened: I got interviewed two days ago, and received a call about 2 hours later with a job offer, and a request to come in the next day to start training. Which I agreed to. So yesterday and today were my first two on-the-job-training days.

The position is Front Desk Agent at a hotel. And the whole time I'm there, I'm waiting for my moment to make Tim Roth proud. (Watch the movie Four Rooms. So great!)

Red Hot Chili Peppers came out with a new album a few months ago, and I just heard about it in the last week or so. It's called "The Getaway" and it's pretty good. What really got my attention was that it was produced by Danger Mouse. Danger Mouse was one half of Gnarls Barkley, with CeeLo Green being their other half. You probably know their song "Crazy" if nothing else. He also produced the Demon Days album by Gorillaz, which has Feel Good Inc on it. Great album (I like to listen to it when I mow the yard). But, what made him popular before all that was when he released The Grey Album. In it, he combined Jay-Z's vocals from his album The Black Album with the instrumentals from The White Album by the Beatles.  Anyway, this album marks Danger Mouse's first time with the RHCP, and he replaces the band's former producer, who had been with the Chili Peppers for 25 years - and 6 albums.

By the way, typing RHCP is dangerously close to RHPS (Rocky Horror Picture Show), so if I ever slip up either way, you now know why.

Listening to "Feel Good Inc" now... great song to groove to.

Tis all f'now. Ta-ta.

Daft Novels & Blacklisted Pastels

Since my last entry, I've started watching The Blacklist. And I'm hooked. In love with James Spader. He's amazing. The slow, slow revealing of the main character's past and her connection to his character, Raymond "Red" Reddington, is damned frustrating, but I think that if they were to reveal the truth in its entirety, the show would lose a chunk of its following. "Well, now I know, so what's the point of watching..." So I understand. But I'm quite looking forward to that reveal, whenever it shall show itself. (Probably the series finale.)

I'm considering starting on some jukebox art. Either oil paint on canvas or colored pencil on paper. Nice contrast of neon with dark undertones.

OR maybe the Daft Punk guys.

Kinda phasing out of pastels.

Amy Winehouse in the ears as I type. Her Back To Black album.

Started reading Forrest Gump a few days ago. The novel is pretty different from the movie. It's a bit of a slow read, I think mostly due to it being written as he would write it. Example: "We foun a place to put the gun an stayed there till it got dark - an all night long, too, but nothin happen. We could hear all sorts of shit goin on everplace else, but we be lef to ourselfs. Sunup come, an we hungry an tired, but there we is."

I may have started reading Hannibal by Thomas Harris at about the same time, to balance things out a bit, grammatically and intellectually.

There are two meals I'd like to attempt sometime soon. One from Captain America: Civil War, the other from the Hannibal TV show.

Chicken Paprikash

and...

Pappardelle alla Lepre

(Papparedelle with Rabbit)

Yum. Times two. Actually, dunno about the Paprikash, but I know I'd like the pappardelle. (Which is really wide, flat noodles.) AND, as luck would have it, I was recently given rabbit meat. Score.

Them Crooked Vultures now.

I recently found a really cool picture online. I was browsing Cthulhu pics on Google, and found this one:

How cool would it be to be driving down the freeway and see this looming in front of you? Or maybe in your rearview mirror?

I know, I'm odd. But really... It'd be pretty cool.

This one is pretty awesome as well. A brilliantly made gif...

Alright, gonna wrap things up. Take care. Hug a cephalopod. Buh bye.

Winey Goats

So, I drink rum on a close-to-nightly basis. Takes 3 or so pint glasses of the rum & cola mix for me to start feeling the effects. Keep in mind, pint glasses means they're doubles.

Then one evening I enjoy some wine with my husband. Two glasses in, I'm in that same state that requires 5-6 shots of rum. What the hell?

Ha! Get this. I was just playing Goat Simulator, and gained 3 different achievements. Unintentionally. Airtime Easy, Airtime Normal, and Airtime Hard. In other words, get your goat as much airtime as possible. And I apparently achieved all three consecutively, due to getting my goat's head stuck in a fence in midair. Win!

Time to be employed again. As much as I'd like to be a stay-at-home mom, it's not me. I gotta work. Gotta stay busy. I'm more structured when I'm employed. Fall into a reclusive homebody funk when I'm not.

Geek Girl Rant

Tonight my beloved was headed to the grocery store. Asked if I wanted anything, and I requested "rum and cola." He leaves. When he returns with Kraken and RC, I almost jump his bones. Talk about above & beyond! No generic rum and store-brand cola tonight, lads and lasses.

Suicide Squad was good. VERY, VERY good soundtrack. And it was one song after another, bambambam, at least in the beginning. All stuff you've heard before. A lot of people were against Will Smith being cast as Deadshot, but I thought he did a wonderful job.

Much like Ben Affleck being cast in Batman V Superman. He was amazing. First time I've seen Batman AND Bruce Wayne portrayed beautifully by the same person.

I'm glad that DC has finally started upping their game. Marvel has kicked their asses for about a decade now, when it comes to live action movies. Sure, DC has better animated movies, but live action needs to take precedent right now. Marvel had the stand-alone movies, like the Sam Raimi Spider-Man movies and the two Fantastic Four flicks. But after that, they started MCU. Marvel Cinematic Universe. Where all the movies are connected somehow. Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Guardians of the Galaxy, Hulk...

Well. Now it's DC's turn. And they've got a pretty damn good start. Though, I feel that the character I really want to see won't make an appearance anytime soon.

...I want to see Cassandra Cain. Live action. I've wanted that ever since I read the No Man's Land storyline of the Batman comics. I truly believe she'd be a great character, if she were written correctly. Try reading the Cataclysm/No Man's Land story. Gotham City is isolated, left to fend for itself. I love this story. Huntress, Batgirl, Oracle, Joker, Two-Face...

Give it some attention. Especially the hardback novel, by Greg Rucka. Do it!

Let's All Go To The Juuukebox

My guy and I are going to a drive-in theater to see Suicide Squad and Lights Out tonight. I'm looking forward to it. Suck it, indoor theaters!

I made a new playlist on Spotify the other day. Put together most of the Death Proof soundtrack. Good stuff. Tarantino knows how to pick his tunes.

The jukebox in the movie is actually his. It looks amazing. The artist and title selections are all hand-written, by him.

Better start saving for that posthumous auction...

So, I recently went from 14-gauge earrings to 10-gauge. It's... a bit of a jump. But that's what baby oil and alcoholic beverages are for.

Square One, We Meet Again...

Had a pretty good evening. Went out with a friend to get a beer, then watched a couple of bad Sci-Fi movies. I was in the mood for them. First up was Ice Twisters. Didn't really fulfill my needs. Too scientific. Then came Sand Sharks. Much better! Weird animals where they shouldn't be, suddenly appearing and eating people... sometimes bloodily. That's the stuff.

The day started pretty well too. Began with some music. "Beautiful Freak" album by Eels. Nice and mellow.

I'm really ready to be employed again. Ready to have something that keeps me busy, and pays me money. And HEY! MAYBE, just MAYBE, I'll get a job where management aren't complete asshole prick douchebag shitheads.

I know, I'm asking a lot.

Inching

Low point, last two days. But, working my way out of it.

Currently listening to Nine Inch Nails. Their "Year Zero" album, my favorite. So good. It's a concept album (a set of songs that express a particular idea or theme) that is set 15 years after the album's release, which was 2007. At that time, 2022 has been renamed "Year 0" by the government. Meaning the U.S. was reborn that year. Apparently there was a film adaptation of the album in the works, but nothing came of it.

My favorite song from the album is "My Violent Heart." I really like the contrast between the verse and the chorus.

So, I got ahold of the Grindhouse double-feature a while back. First film "Planet Terror" by Robert Rodriguez, second film "Death Proof" by Quentin Tarantino. I watched the first by itself, and quite liked it. I really liked Michael Biehn in it. His mannerism and timing is just great. Had me laughing. And the relationship between him and his brother, played by Jeff Fahey, was a good addition. I also really liked seeing Freddy Rodriguez in a leading role in a movie, after watching him in the Six Feet Under TV show.

Then there's the "Death Proof" movie. It starts out slow, with 3 rather attractive chicks driving around talking about guys, but then it picks up. The second half of the movie features Zoë Bell, whom I've come to love. She's Uma Thurman's stunt double in the Kill Bill movies, has a brief role in The Hateful Eight, and is a derby girl in Whip It. She was great in Death Proof! She probably had the greatest line. Very tense moment, and she pops up with a peppy comment.

I think I can say that the car chases in Death Proof are some of the best I've seen.

Alright then... G'night.

Taped Tats

Tape Face! He's made it to the Live shows, and his first Live show was pretty great. Here y'go...

I loved it. As soon as the second pair of sunglasses came out, I said out loud, "PLEASE do Peter Gunn!" and I wasn't disappointed. He's my odd act. He's why I watch the show. The dancers come out, and you expect them to dance. And they do. Singers come out, and sing. Tape Face... Who the hell knows!? Excellence. And it's so simple! His act is so simple that it can't go wrong. No wrong step, no bad note. Just incredible imagination. Fantastic.

Really wanting a new tattoo. Looking for my sixth. I have a few options, but again, a lack of income. Really wanting something to cover my upper left arm. Or the Elbow cube, between my shoulder blades at the base of my neck. I think that one holds a lot of meaning for me.

Short on words tonight, other than the above. More soon, perhaps. Bye bye.

Overdrive

Greetings. Since I've last posted, SO MUCH has happened!.... No, not really.

Summer continues. The kid went to camp, spent all week there this time. Ruled the roost, apparently.

Family vacation took place. Three days, two nights. It was nice. The zoo we went to was friggen hot. Humid, with no breeze whatsoever. The animals we never saw were obviously seeking shelter. But I really enjoyed later camping along a small river, with a spring feeding it from a hundred yards or so upstream.

Then, once home from vacation, I took another 2-day road trip to assist someone in the acquiring of vinyl records - and stands - for his up-and-coming record store. The first half of the trip was fun, the next day's acquiring of the records was fulfilling, and then... I guess we just wanted to get back home. A rather long and quiet trip back.

I remain unemployed. My last attempt resulted in "we only have part-time, at minimum wage"... Doesn't work with our budget. So I'll start actively looking again next month, and hopefully find something the pays decent and starts about the same time the kid starts school, and is something similar to school hours. Wish me luck, I'll need it...

All there is, for now. G'night.

Leaving Fleas & Taped Tunes

My summer continues. It got hot quickly this year, up in the 90s by the 2nd week of June. We were hoping to hold off as long as possible on putting the air conditioning window units in, but that just didn't happen.

Unfortunate news... Our beloved cat, Vigo, will be leaving us. No matter our efforts, he is set on getting outside as often as possible. There are fleas outside. Well, mostly outside... Anyway, hopefully he goes to another loving home and we get ours cleared of pests.

I just wish I could turn all our little "guests" into one large Flea...

...And the rest of the Red Hot Chili Peppers are welcome to set up shop here as well, of course...

A few weeks ago, I looked into more Stoner Rock bands. Basically anything Joshua Homme has done has been, or at least included, Stoner Rock. Kyuss, Eagles of Death Metal, Queens of the Stone Age...  So I wanted to find more. And I found Atomic Bitchwax. Well right away, the name had me. Loved it. I'm listening to it now, their Gravitron album, which is their most recent, released last year. I'm enjoying it. Though, they seem to have a bit of a faster tempo than the usual Stoner Rock. No matter, still good.

I may be switching back to my rum & colas. I'm not sure if the Stonewalls I've been drinking for some time now are actually better for me or not, so I'm opting for the cheaper route.

Ah now on to Arctic Monkeys. They're a good go-to when you're not sure what to listen to.

There's a bit of a chance we'll be relocating... majorly. Over 22 hours' drive worth of relocating. To a place that's half our town's population, and... in the desert. I don't handle heat well. People say that a "dry heat" is better than humidity. I'm not arguing, I'm just saying heat is heat. It's more difficult to escape heat than it is cold.

But then I thought... I'm always looking for something new. While it's not necessarily my first choice, it's still something new! I have a select few people I interact with regularly that I'll be heartbroken to leave behind, but I'm not exactly drowning in friends.

There IS a brewery there whose best seller is a red ale, so I know where I'll be spending a lot of my free time. AND another one about an hour away, bordering a lake.

Now for some throwback. Eve 6. Their self-titled.

I started another art project the other night. Rather than continuing with the Gotham Gals oil paint, I started a chalk portrait of Illyria from the tv show Angel. She makes her appearance in the final season. I've always been drawn to her blue hue... Her hair, her eyes, her lips... and the character that accompanies these attributes. And I feel like the desire to capture it in a portrait has recently reached a peak, so I obeyed my desire.

Also, I think I figured out why I prefer using oil paint on canvas over using pastels. It's more precise. If I need a sharper line, I can get a smaller, finer brush. You can't really do that with chalk. Sure, pastel is easier to fix, but I found oil paint to have a better finished product.

Oh! Right! MUST mention this! We watch America's Got Talent, and I think my favorite act of the year showed himself in the first one or two episodes. Tape Face! I always go for the "odd" acts. There are plenty of competitive shows for singers and dancers. Even magicians and stand-up comedians have a type-specific show they can try for (though I have a soft spot for comedians). But the odd acts! Like Uzeyer last year! And this year, Tape Face! Here...

If you don't like the first part, just hang in there for the second. It's great. I can't wait to see more of him. Very creative, imaginative.

Apparently I have quite a bit to say tonight.

Now listening to Fun. Another good go-to. Their style is different. But excellent.

Alright, I'm gonna call it a night. Gotta get up somewhat early for the kid's dentist appointment.

May your summer be a "dry heat" and your air conditioned.

Closes

Today was my last day of work. Yesterday was the kids' final school day, today was an in-service day, and once I left the school at 3:30, I was no longer employed by the public school district. Turned in my I.D. and key as I walked out. Luckily to the secretary, with whom I've had a good relationship with, as opposed to the principal. It's been a bittersweet couple of days. Saying goodbye to the kids the first day, and then my coworkers the second.

Tonight I watched Dangerous Liaisons. If you've seen Cruel Intentions, you'll follow it pretty well. Cruel Intentions was a modern take on the former movie, and both are an adaptation of a novel. Dangerous Liaisons, released in 1988, has John Malkovich, Glenn Close, Uma Thurman, and Michelle Pfeiffer in it. Also Swoosie Kurtz, who is in the remake, and... sigh... Keanu Reeves. This is the second movie I've seen him in where he's in a role that doesn't fit him. The first was Dracula, with Gary Oldman. I don't agree with Keanu being in historical-type movies. He's a modern-day guy. Maybe I'm missing something that the people in show biz see. I dunno.

(Those two paragraphs were from two nights ago. The following is from the now.)

Today I watched another Glenn Close movie. Albert Nobbs was made in 2011 and it features Close in 19th Century Ireland, posing as a man just to hold employment. I enjoyed it. Close played a big part in getting the story on film, as well. In addition to playing the titular character, she's also credited as a screenwriter and a producer.

My garden is fairing well. Bit worried about some of my tomato plants. Couple of them have been growing every which-way, it seems. I'm afraid to straighten them to attach them to a stake, and that's a ligit fear, because today while attempting that very thing, I broke off a rather large branch of a plant. Frustrating. This branch had buds on it, too! Erg.

Artistic Anticipation

Finished my Harley Quinn oil painting about a week and a half ago. Here's the finished piece:

I'm pleased with how it turned out. I know I said I'd do Catwoman next, but it's been difficult figuring out how to portray her. So I may have found a way to do Poison Ivy instead, and I hope to get started soon.

Less than 3 weeks of school/work left. I'm rather glad.

Not sure what the summer's going to bring. The kid will have summer school and perhaps a week away at a camp (last year he only lasted one night) and maybe some other stuff. I'll be job hunting, of course, and cleaning around the house. Tending to our garden! I check on it and my potted stuff every morning before I leave and again when I get home. Hopefully we got rid of the rabbit problem by putting a fence up around the veggies.

My birthday weekend started this evening, even with having work tomorrow. It was kinda spur-of-the-moment, but those are worth the groggy mornings...   ;)

Soundtracks

Some days I have a hard to finding something to listen to while driving. Yes, my destination is usually less than 10 minutes away, but that doesn't make this issue any less annoying. Between static, commercials, and lousy choices, I've really been missing my teen years of jamming out to my favorite songs via store-bought or burnt CDs. So, I think I'll return to this particular way of delivering pure joy to this music lover. I already know my first two albums to get. "Songs for the Deaf" by Queens of the Stone Age and "By The Way" by Red Hot Chili Peppers. Followed by Franz Ferdinand's self-titled and "Good News For People Who Love Bad News" by Modest Mouse. I owned these CDs once. Legitimately bought, listened to, and enjoyed. Yet I can't find them now. However! During my search, I found several soundtrack albums in my possession...

Rather eclectic mix, wouldn't'cha say? Damn proud, too. And these are only the ones I found! Somewhere out there, are the soundtracks to Sid & Nancy, O Brother Where Art Thou, Tomb Raider, the 2003 Daredevil movie, The Fifth Element, Gone in 60 Seconds, Resident Evil, and Night at the Roxbury.

I take pride in my soundtracks. Some horrible movies have amazing albums.

Descent

Well Friday ended on a low note. Got told by the principal that I had 2 options. Either hand in a letter of resignation to the board of education effective the end of the school year (next month) or my position would be terminated.

So, let's recap.

1)Didn't get a part, or even a callback, for the play I desperately wanted to be in.

2)Kid is headed towards getting put on behavior meds.

3)I'm being forced to resign from the job I strived to get only a year ago.

Yeah. Feelin' pretty defeated.

But, I have a growler of beer here that is trying its best to help me find my white chick groove as I listen to the Night at the Roxbury soundtrack. Temporary peace of mind.

I'm ready to do something. Get out of town. Hopefully next month.

Silver lining, I'm looking forward to having the time to continue my canvas art and hopefully completing the project I'm trying for. I'm mostly done with the first, and I believe Catwoman will be next. I'll leave Ivy for last. She'll likely be the most challenging. Not that that's a bad thing.

 Alright, I'm out. Just wanted to express my current state of mind. No one reads it anyway.

Countdowns & Hang-Ups

Glad tomorrow's Friday. Thirty-nine days left of school I think? They've started a tear-off calendar where I work. Today we took a field trip to a local art center. The kids worked with clay, which I never really excelled at.

Speaking of art, I've decided to keep the canvas I'm working on, and hopefully make 2 more - Poison Ivy and Catwoman. All from The Animated Series. Ivy might be a challenge, but I'll sure try. Hopefully the end result will be our living room wall livened up by the ladies of Gotham...

Finished my pirate novel, now I'm reading K-PAX! Loving it. I love the movie and am pleased to be enjoying the novel just as much. It's first-person narration, from the doc's point of view. So naturally, I'm reading it with Jeff Bridges' voice in my head. And I'm desperately wanting to watch the movie the whole time I'm reading. But I'll wait.

I'm ready for my summer roadtrip, assuming it happens. My mom and I have been talking about it. We both have that desire to just pick a direction and drive. No plans, just seeing what we see. The less freeway, the better.

Rough Waters

Rough time lately. Problems with the kid in school. Problems with myself apparently. (I believe I'll return to seclusion and retreat from attempting a social life.)

I found a new-to-me band this evening. Eluveitie. Celtic Death Metal.

Remember that art project I mentioned before? My first time painting on canvas? It's going alright, I guess...

I'm both enjoying and loathing working with oil paint. Definitely taking my time with it. But I'm learning. I'd probably do another, if it's as basic as this one. (Red, black, and white. Mixed black and white for the gun. The blue was borrowed and done in a matter of minutes.) All I have left now is to get a light brown for the gun's cork and to finish the background. The smudges will disappear as I put in those finishing touches.

Been reading a historical fiction pirate novel. The author is quite good. Definitely done his homework on New Providence Island, Charles Vane, Edward Teach (Blackbeard), Woodes Rogers... and much else. I commend him. The novel is call Hunt For White Gold. It's the second book in the Pirate Devlin series. I've also been watching Black Sails. Transitioning between the two has been... interesting.

Adieu.

The Desired Callback Didn't Call Back

Today was Callback day for a play I tried out for earlier this week. I received no call. So I'm attempting to drown my disappointment in rum and waiting for the thunderstorm that's been threatening us all day to finally arrive.

Feels like two fails back to back. Lousy (better, but still lousy) evaluation from douchebag at work and now this.

Now for appropriate music... Do I want to do heavy/angry rock or the soothing sounds of Elbow?.... Yeah I'll start with the former and go from there. Rise Against followed by Framing Hanley. Their "You Stupid Girl" and "Weight of the World" are good tunes.

More rum? Yes please. Thank you.

I finally got ahold of a song I've heard on the radio a few times and took a liking to. "Blue on Black" by Kenny Wayne Shepherd. From his 1997 Trouble Is... album.

Currently attempting my first canvas craft. Oil paint on a 14x11 canvas. If it turns out, it'll be a birthday gift for a friend. It's similar to yet different from using pastels on paper. Oil paint gets on your skin without you knowing... and spreads... everywhere. On you and your craft. Pastels do as well, to an extent, but they're much easier to handle, fix, and clean up. Also, the paint takes days to dry, while the pastels are done as soon as you are. But, I have to laminate the pastels, so that they don't smear. No need with the paint. Once it's dry, you're good.

I have a sudden crush on Iggy Pop. His personality, his voice, his everything. He was mesmerizing when he and Josh Homme debuted "Gardenia" on Stephen Colbert. Excellent frontman.

(Rubik's Cubes Iggy Pop art.)

Midnight-thirty. Still no storm.

Currently listening to Florence + the Machine. 

2pm. Rather still outside, other than a slight breeze.

Obviously I've not had anything to add, so I'll end it here. 

Quadfecta

Today has been kinda gently hectic. A lot to deal with, but not overwhelmingly so. The third grade class is preparing for their PARCC tests. During today's prep lesson, one of the students began to get upset about something... which is always quick to be pointed out by another student. I pulled her aside, and she emotionally told me that her dog had died unexpectedly the past weekend. I held her in an embrace for a bit, letting her quietly cry into my shoulder, then gently said that I would take time and help to create either a written or drawn memorial to her pet, as soon as we had time later in the day. It successfully got her back into the PARCC prep lesson, and gave her a better outlook on the rest of the day. Here's what I ended up drawing for her:

...And she was pretty pleased.

End result: Today was something for the memory bank. I helped turn someone's sorrow into awed excitement. It wasn't much, just a sketch I drew from a clipart image, but it's one she chose, and I drew it, and she went from sad to grinning in a flash. I hope it's something she remembers. That there are ways to make an unfortunate situation a little easier to handle.

And then when I got home, I discovered that my kid got written up for the first time. Yeah that sucked.

So I decided to break my 3-day booze cleanse a day early. Hello, rum. Welcome back.

Rum, music, cleaning and blogging. My quadfecta.

Good day, I say.

Musical Recovery and Subtle Glimpses

Happy Friday! I've been in quite a good mood today. Mostly due to the 60°F temperature all day. While I kinda prefer winter over summer, the changing of seasons is the best. Winter to spring, and summer to fall. The warm-up and cool-down seasons. And this is just the middle of February! Plenty more of my favorite time of year to come.

I'm almost done reassembling my music library. Just have T-Z left now.

Now on W...

Done! With my head clenched in both hands, I finally synced (sunk? sank?) my iPod. And... Success! I'm 161 songs short, but that can be attributed to doubles, or stuff I just decided not to keep. At any rate, my personal media player is now caught up on my collected music. I can now clean house, mow the yard, and drive with my own personal playlist again! And now for the very very vital backup process. Which will take a while...

Currently listening to MergingMoon. Japanese band fronted by a chick. Their genre? "Melodic Death Metal/Metalcore with Electronic Influences." Now, a death metal band is hard to find in Japan. And this is a death metal band with a lady as their lead singer/screamer.

This is for all the steadfast followers out there...

Yeah that's me. Or at least as much as me as I'm willing to share. :)

Have a lovely weekend, readers.

Don't Be Mine... Unless You Bring Rum

Valentine's Day today. Spent it dozing, watching Ant-Man, reading... And now working on my iTunes library. Reassembling my music. Yaaay.

Taking the kid to see Kung Fu Panda 3 tomorrow. I think he'll enjoy it. He loves the first two.

I know that sequels are almost always bad, or at least nowhere near as good as their predecessors... But I must say that Tron: Legacy is probably the best sequel I've ever seen. I love it. While I definitely appreciate the first Tron, the second installment is truly amazing. True, the plot is rather similar to the first, but it's still different enough. The cast is great, the music is phenomenal... Again, I love it.

Ramen

Just wanted to let you all know, I just had some pretty great chicken ramen noodles. Doctored up by yours truly.

Small pot of water, put on lit burner, add some red wine of your choice. Once boiling, add noodles. Once boiled to your choice of texture (I prefer them to be somewhat firm, rather than squishy/soupy), drain 3/4 of liquid. Return pot of mostly drained noodles to stove, to unlit burner. Season noodles with chicken flavoring, bit of garlic powder, bit of oregano, bit of cumin, bit of nutmeg. Stir. Serve. I quite enjoyed.

I have yet to add egg to my ramen, but I will, soon.

Politics & Ire

It's frustrating to have the job you know you can do, the job you can excel at. The job that's perfect for you, in many aspects. Yet, circumstances aren't allowing you to excel, aren't allowing you to shine. The circumstances make you look like you were a poor choice of a hire. And even though you did shine, you did show what you're capable of, for less than a month, due to being in a different setting, things go back to the way they were when you're suddenly moved back to where you're overshadowed and unappreciated. And therefore won't remain employed.

I want to scream.

I'll drink instead.

Here's to me.

Oh hey, here's something pretty accurate to how things currently are..

I have previously disclosed how I despise politics. This still stands. And call me an imbecile, but I'm 28 years old and I have never voted due to my contempt of today's politics. My view: Give me someone to vote for. Not someone who opposes and ridicules the opposite party just out of spite. However, this upcoming election will likely see my first ever vote. Not necessarily for who I want, but more for who I don't want. Which is extremely unfortunate.

Walken Weekend Wishes

So I just discovered that Christopher Walken had a cooking show, kinda. There are a couple videos online. While looking for an episode of Anthony Bourdain's past show No Reservations that had Mr. Walken on it, I discovered a vid that has Walken and Richard Belzer from Law & Order: SVU. It's interesting.

Here y'go.

Also, there's a new movie coming out sometime in the near future, directed by the guy who did the Men In Black movies, called Nine Lives. Somehow they convinced Kevin Spacey to do voiceover for a cat. In a live-action movie. And it has Walken in it! I'm unashamedly excited.

Yeah I need to go to bed. G'night.