Spring Reigns

At work, there's a song I hear quite often. It starts with bagpipes, so every time it begins, I think it's Dropkick Murphys. Or Flogging Molly. But no, it's Copperhead Road by Steve Earle. Which isn't a terrible song, and by terrible, I mean it isn't that effing Tennessee Whiskey song. But still... every time it plays, I think it's an awesome Celtic punk band... and... it's definitely not.

The other morning I had my last wisdom tooth pulled, upper right side. Immediately after getting a filling put in a lower right molar. Never had that much dental work done at once. Never been so numbed in my life. No solid food til lunch... the next day.

About two days later, I discover that I can't properly yawn. My jaw doesn't let me anymore. Awesome.

Currently listening to the Blurryface album by Twenty One Pilots.

The husband and I went to see Ready Player One the other night. Pretty good. Don't expect to catch all the pulp/pop culture references in one viewing. From Iron Giant to the Batmobile to Freddy Kreuger to Hello Kitty. And everything in between/beyond.

I've started playing Fallout Shelter. I'd gotten burnt out on Diablo 3 and needed something that required building, something to just pass some time here & there. So we found FS for free and got it. I'm enjoying it. Even the kid gets into it, especially when the ominous piano sounds, signalling the appearance of what looks like the guy from the Neighborhood Watch signs & stickers. Or maybe he has a trenchcoat that he reveals is full of watches he's selling... Anyway, he appears somewhere in your shelter, and if you find him in time and click on him, you get "caps" which is equivalent to money.

I miss my PS2 games. The Sims, Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3, Shinobi, Kingdom Hearts 2. Pro Skater 3 was a good one for passing time.

It finally feels like spring. It's nice. We really didn't get a fall, maybe less than a full week, and of course that's NOT a consecutive week. The two in-between seasons are my favorite. That transition from cold to warm, and from hot to cool.

Those seasons spawn some good thunderstorm too, which is always a win.

Latest art project: making my sister a Deadpool mug.

I think I'll put the Deadpool logo on the other side.

Battles

I've been fighting the PARCC testing for the past couple weeks. I found out that I couldn't opt my son out of the testing, but he had the option of refusing the test. However, put an AD/HD technology-loving kid in front of a computer, he's not going to say no. Even though he has no understanding of what he's seeing, cannot comprehend any of it, due to his academic knowledge being less than the "average" third grader's. So I spoke to the teacher extensively, and after making a few phone calls herself, she informed me that the school had no control in the testing and its rules. Because PARCC is issued by the state. So basically the the regions/districts are mooks that are doing what they're told. So! I took her advice and went to the state board of education about it. Typed out a nice long letter, in which I provided several heart-felt reasons why my son, and others like him, should not be made to take the PARCC assessments. It took a day for me to type this out, diplomatically. If there's one thing I can do, it's writing up something I have extensive knowledge, or feel deeply, about. So I did. And I sent it. Sent the letter I put significant time, thought, and effort into. Couple days later, received a reply. One that was basically automated, explaining PARCC from the BoE's point of view. Not once were any of the points I made specifically explored. They didn't even say "he" or "him." No questions about my child, his testing conditions, or likewise.

After reading that reply, I had to set my tablet & phone aside - far aside - so as not to send a reply through angry blurry-eyed vision during high emotions. Because there would have been a lot of cynicism and anger.

In other news... househunting is both awesome and terrible. Thought it might be a bit easier than this to get out of our duplex and into our first house as homeowners. But turns out, as you're going from house to house, not just anything will suffice for your getaway. Sometimes amazing pictures are taken of a really, ree-HEE-lly crappy place. And always, ALWAYS, expect the rooms to be smaller than the pictures show.

Yeah I'm new at this. Obviously. But it's still kinda fun. We're finally ready to have a home of our own. It's out there.

Got my bartending license! Booyah. I can add it to my Certificate of Ordination and basically be half a wedding. Unless you count camera phone pics as photography, then... grab some witnesses and you're set.

So the other night while I'm working, at the bar of course, I hear one of those stupid gambling machines playing a partial tune while someone's playing it. And it sounds familiar. Later, I hear it again. I definitely know what it is. So when I play "Battle Without Honor or Humanity" in its entirety on the jukebox, the machine players are all sorts of confused. Which leads to my thorough amusement.

("Battle Without Honor or Humanity" is the song that plays during a certain O-Ren Ishii scene from Kill Bill Vol 1, or, *sigh*, a scene with Bumblebee in the first live-action Transformers movie.)

Cue the Tunes

Happy New Year. A month and 20 days later... but hey, since when am I consistent and on point for holiday posts? Right, hardly ever.

My 2-days-a-week bartending job continues. Still enjoying it, other than hearing that goddamn Tennessee Whiskey song waaaaay too often. (Sometimes I counter it with Marilyn Manson or Sex Pistols.) We recently got a pool table, which translates to: Pool Table=Pool League=More Money For Linds On Mondays That League Nights Are At Her Bar. Yay!

Alright, got a few songs for you. The first is in the opening credits of the Justice League movie. I love it, has a good build-up.

This next one is from the latest Queens of the Stone Age album, Villains. After listening to its entirety several times, I discovered this was my favorite.

Sooo good. The band went a different direction with this album, with a producer who did a lot in the pop genre. Lily Allen, Christina Aguilera, Amy Winehouse, etc. It was a different sound from their previous records, but it still ended up being a great album.

Next is one I heard on a SiriusXM station, and fell in love with. They seem to be a lesser-known, independent group, and I can't find their music easily. Though I did find this song's album on vinyl, and am planning to purchase it soon. I can't explain why, I just love this song.

I've also recently discovered Fozzy, a heavy metal band fronted by WWE dude Chris Jericho. Yeah, I know, they've been around for a while. Shut up. Here's the song I heard the other day, I guess it's a new release.

Fozzy - Painless

Guess that's it f'now. Ta!