This is the story of the overly ambitious eagle...

Writer's Block: Play it again, Sam

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 03:52:03 GMT

If you could only listen to one CD for the rest of your life, what would you choose and why?

Viewing the other answers will bring you much more joy than my answer ever could.

(I'd make my own MP3 mix CD, (he said, cheatingly))

"The Time Hulk Hogan Came Over and Had Sex With Me," by James (Reader's Digest condensed version)

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:28:45 GMT

First, though I am now not doing NaNoWriMo, I decided that I liked my start enough that I'm going to keep going with it, just not at the NaNoWriMo pace. There's not much there and it's not that good, but it has potential.

That's your context for this conversation I just had. Forgive the paraphrasing:

Mika: Write any novel today?
James: Nope.
Mika: Going at your own pace?
James: Yeah, I think so. I'm in no hurry.
Mika: Is it about wrestling?
James: *snort* No, but this is not the first time I've been asked that.
Mika: Who else?
James: Chad was all like "What's your novel about? Is it about Hulk Hogan? Is Hulk Hogan in it? Is it about wrasslin' at all?"
Mika: So he thought you were writing a fanfic then?
James: I guess so, a Hulk Hogan fanfic.
Mika: And what would it be about, Hulk Hogan having sex with the author? Isn't that how fanfic works?
James: Usually, as far as I know.

I don't really remember how the conversation went from there, except it mostly involved me repeating the title and Mika making this "heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" noise because she was laughing so hard that was the only noise that would come out. She also made me promise that I'd use the book's title as the title for my next blog post, so here we are. (The Reader's Digest condensed version only leaves in the dirty words.)

We determined that he'd still say "brother" a lot. And that by using only my first name, I'd be like the Cher of homoerotic Hulk Hogan fan-fiction.

This seems like it's maybe one of those blog posts that will get me in trouble somewhere along the line. People understand wacky inside jokes, right?

Probably best not to assume that.

The actual topic of the novel will remain a secret until I decide that the manuscript is both relatively finished and also not entirely awful anymore. This means you'll probably never know what it is.

thanks, that was fun

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 05:46:29 GMT

And, so much for NaNoWriMo for another year. Much like the last time I tried it (about five years ago, not long after I started this job), work has gone kablooey. One more ridiculous project, one more unlikely yet immovable deadline, one more personal project canceled along with a few days I'd booked off a couple months ago.

Deleted the rest of the post. Thinking about deleting Facebook, Twitter, and LJ accounts. Tired of noise.

Writer's Block: Would you talk to the dead?

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 19:37:02 GMT

Have you ever participated in a seance? If not, would you consider it? What spirit would you summon and what question would you ask them? Do you believe we can get messages from the dead?

View 666 Answers

I have never participated in a seance. I do not believe we can messages from the dead, and so I would probably never participate in one, but if I had to, I would sit there, hold hands (or do whatever it is you do), and keep my eye-rolls and snarky comments to myself in an attempt at civility.

And with that, I am done 31 days of blog posts and 31 Writer's Block questions. The month of blog posts will return next year sometime; the month of Writer's Block questions will not.

I expect next month will be fairly silent here as I am taking on NaNoWriMo for the third time, trying to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. Hopefully, it will actually work out this time. Ultimately, it depends on work. If work is slow, I should be able to do this with no problems. If work requires a lot of overtime, I don't have a prayer. I guess we'll see.

And now, I really should go write my Ben Folds review before November starts.

Writer's Block: Who will you be?

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 07:22:27 GMT

What are you going to be for Halloween this year? Are you going to wear coordinating costumes with a friend or partner? Did you buy something pre-fab or make it yourself?

Submitted By crazyprotein

View 1027 Answers

Didn't we cover the topic of costumes at the start of the month? I seem to recall posting a bunch of photos, back when I put effort into this sort of thing. I'm glad tomorrow is the 31st; not for candy, but so I can bring a merciful end to these 31 days of blog posts and Writer's Block questions (before launching into NaNoWriMo, which is even more soul-crushing).

Anyway, I don't think we're doing anything for Halloween this year. If something should come up at the last minute, I have my Mr. Peeps costume that would suffice. Not sure what Mika would do, though; but like I said, I don't think it's going to be an issue.

In the interest of fully answering the question, I bought my Mr. Peeps costume on eBay. I had a tax refund and a moment of stupidity.

Tomorrow is my EDO. No work for me! We'll see what kind of hell this unleashes next week. I have made a to-do list, but there's not much on it - vacuum, write my Ben Folds review, buy a few groceries, make a pumpkin pie, pick up my paint pen from the Toyota dealership, take out the garbage, do laundry, do dishes... maybe I will make those Bits and Bites that I have been threatening. I should also sleep buckets because I haven't been doing enough of that lately, even though my new American comforter is super great. In fact, I should go do that right now.

Writer's Block: Mysterious benefactor

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:19:45 GMT

If you could give a secret gift of any value to one anonymous recipient, who would you choose and what would you give them?

Submitted By enchantra71

View 788 Answers

Well, if I told YOU, then it wouldn't be a secret, now would it?

I do fantasize about winning the lottery and giving giant gifts of cash moneys to folks who deserve it. So far, I haven't won more than $50 so you're all on your own for now.

For the record, you "deserve it" by being a pre-existing friend, family member, coworker, or other associate of mine who has developed a problem that can be solved through the judicious application of a giant amount of cash.

I like giving gifts when I can find just the right thing. Most of the time, I'm not very imaginative and I just wind up buying stuff, nothing special. I've only ever hit a few grand slams that I can remember, and I'm not going to list them because it might have been a gift I got for you, and maybe you didn't really like it, and I don't want my illusions shattered, thanks.

I like giving gifts more than getting them. Or, rather, I don't like opening gifts in front of people. I'm always worried that I will react inappropriately. As it is, I don't smile much or talk overly animatedly most of the time, so people think I'm in a bad mood (or that I'm disappointed) when I am not.

This all reminds me that I need to start my annual Christmas spreadsheet listing everyone I need to buy presents for and what I am thinking about getting. Maybe I'll do that now rather than more blabbing here.

Writer's Block: Nature or nurture

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 04:13:12 GMT

Do you think your moods are controlled by your brain chemistry or that your brain chemistry dictates your moods? Do you believe people are born with particular emotional temperaments or that they are primarily shaped by environmental factors?

Submitted By abelincoln1864

View 724 Answers

I think that looking for simple either/or answers is usually a waste of time, especially when it comes to such complicated subjects as personality or the human brain. It's partly nature, partly nurture, and partly dumb luck, and whatever particular cocktail of influences gives one person one reaction will not do the same thing for the next person.

In other news, I went to the grocery store and bought cereals with which I shall try to make nuts 'n' bolts. I probably didn't buy enough cereal, since my recipe (thanks, Aaron) calls for six boxes/bags of stuff, and I only bought four. We shall see. Maybe I'll get an extra pack of goldfish crackers and call it good.

Didn't vote today. I am a bad person, I know. I just didn't care. The conclusion was never in doubt and it really wasn't about to affect me one way or another anyway. Instead I will watch some Ultimate Fighter and do some dishes and in my mind, that's a wiser choice.

Writer's Block: Seeing stars

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 05:47:34 GMT

Which character from any film, television show, or book would you most like to take on a date and why?

Submitted By blue_mariposa88

View 2265 Answers

Oh God. I am staying awake to answer this? Fine. Gina Carano was on a TV show. She's super cute and it would make Dave really jealous. Plus, she could kick my ass and might actually do so, so one way or another, I'd get a great story out of the evening. Done.

Trish Stratus was also on a TV show, and I saw that episode of Confidential where they toured her house and her house was ridiculously awesome, so that should give her an advantage, but I do know she's married and I don't know if her husband is the stabby type, so she is disqualified from this stupid question.

Hmm. But Gina Carano might not count as a character, whereas Trish Stratus most assuredly does.

STOP THINKING ABOUT THIS NONSENSE

I signed up for NaNoWriMo this year. 50,000 words in 30 days. BRING ON THE FAILURE. Maybe I picked a bad time to get WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2010 and DJ Hero (and apparently I am borrowing Batman: Arkham Asylum right away too).

And some day I hope to talk about my North Dakota trip, and not just in the Ben Folds concert review I have yet to write. I don't have any really great stories, I guess, but I so like to keep records of these things.

For the record, Cookie Crisp cereal really doesn't taste like cookies but I still think I am a better person for having tried it.

Writer's Block: Forgive and forget?

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:33:34 GMT

Do you tend to forgive and forget or hold grudges? What is the longest you've ever stayed angry with someone? Is there anything the other person could say or do to win back your friendship and trust?

View 1509 Answers

Aw man. In all honesty, when sufficiently motivated, I can hold a grudge like nobody's business.

Maybe that's a bit too strong. Mostly, I'm real bad with the "forget" part of "forgive and forget." I'm not so great with the forgiving either - not as good as I'd like to be - but I find forgetting to be harder.

Case in point, I went to school with some people who were jerks. Those of you who remember me from back then will point out that I had it coming and I cannot deny this. At any rate, I don't worry about anything that happened then - I don't ever really think about it at all - and I could be civil (if not downright friendly) if I ran into one of those folks today. So I guess it's forgiven? I don't know. It isn't forgotten, and I guess I figure that forgiveness and... um... forgetfulness go hand-in-hand, and if that's the case, I'm only partway there.

Dear school friends who are on Facebook and who may see this: I don't mean any of you. Probably.

Writer's Block: Yes, offense taken

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 06:51:05 GMT

If a friend or relative makes a racist or homophobic remark, do you tend to confront them or let it slide? Are you more likely to confront them if it offends you directly or someone else who seems reluctant to speak up?

View 1563 Answers

Well, I certainly don't have friends or family members who would do such things.

(looks around the room, whistles, twiddles thumbs)

I said yesterday that I am not big on confronting people (again, this is not to say that I have never done so, just that it generally does not work out too well). I feel much the same here. Maybe I'm a chickenshit, but the more you argue with people, the more convinced they become of their own correctness (and the more convinced you become of yours). If you want someone to see the (perceived) error of their ways, it's better to be a good example than to shout someone down. Slower, but ultimately more effective. Real change doesn't happen over the course of one conversation. Fighting with someone won't make them change their opinion of anyone or anything except you.

I also don't want to be the guy overreacting to a joke. Not that I aim to endorse such jokes, but I think intent is important, you know?

Having said that, it can be difficult to keep my mouth shut sometimes. And some would suggest I am doing more harm than good by doing so. I like to think that I'm being civil and not being cowardly but there's probably some of both there.

Writer's Block: So funny I forgot to laugh

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 05:32:21 GMT

If a friend cracks a corny joke, do you force yourself to laugh politely? What about if it's your boss or teacher? Do you get annoyed if someone else pretends to be amused?

Submitted By maxwearsboots

View 811 Answers

I don't really see any reason to be overly rude. I laugh politely at jokes that aren't funny all the time. You can call it kissing ass, I call it civility because I am a snot like that. Besides, I want people to be nice to me when my jokes bomb.

Besides, laughing helps other people laugh. TV shows (used to?) have laugh tracks for a reason. Sometimes I watch SNL with Mika and Dave and Rob, and a sketch will only work for one of us, but we're all laughing because one person started. It's only after I get home that I realize that hey, that show wasn't actually any good. I don't always notice when I'm actually watching it.

Writer's Block: Take the pain away

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 05:29:43 GMT

If you could say anything you want to the person who has hurt you most in life, what would it be? Did you ever confront them? Why or why not?

Submitted By secret_berry49

View 1524 Answers

Back from the States. Ben Folds was awesome, I got all four Kiss-themed Mr. Potato Heads, and my kitchen is full of American snacks. So maybe I am feeling content or maybe I am just exhausted (I figure about 24 hours of driving in the past three days) but I can't even think of who would have hurt me the most. I have a few guesses, but that was long ago and I can't say I really give much of a care anymore. So I guess things are pretty okay.

In general, I find that confronting people never works out well. Not that I have never done it, but it doesn't ever usually have happy results. You're not going to say what you imagined you'd say, and they're not going to give a care anyway. Also, you might get punched if it goes really poorly. So move on and enjoy life - just don't look at me as a shining example of one who actually practices what he preaches.

Writer's Block: War and peace

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:59:23 GMT

Many countries require all citizens to fulfill a mandatory period of service in the armed forces. Do you agree or disagree with this policy? Do you think the current recruitment system creates or sustains socioeconomic inequality?

Submitted By jeepgirl77

View 607 Answers

Of course the interesting question comes when I'm too tired to answer it.

I guess I have to say I'm opposed to mandatory service because I sure would not want to have served. I have the utmost respect for the people who do, because really, c'mon... I don't even like bees. I bet I'd like getting shot at a whole lot less. I would be an ineffective soldier for all kinds of reasons and I think it is for the best for all concerned that the people who defend us actually want to be doing so and are able to do it properly.

The two situations aren't really comparable, but I worked at a computer school that had, shall we say, lax entrance requirements. If you could find a way to give money to the school, you were in. As a result, the students who had the aptitude and the interest and the genuine desire to learn were held back by the people who didn't know what they were doing, didn't care, didn't want to be there, and were just killing time. If I was in the military, I'd most likely fall into that second category.

Which is not to say the experience mightn't have toughed me up. I'm sure I'd be an entirely different person if I had a few years of military service under my belt instead of, say, a few years of pizza delivery, and most likely in a positive way. I just don't agree with making it mandatory.

Writer's Block: I'm sorry

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 05:21:21 GMT

If you only had one day left to live, and you had the chance to tell one person from your past "I love you," who would it be? How about "I'm sorry"?

Submitted By crazy_lil_loud1

View 1406 Answers

First - if I had 24 hours left to live, I'd conquer the novelty four-pound burger at one of those places that does that sort of thing, and then ride a motorcycle out of an airplane. While also being on fire. It would be my apology and also my love letter TO THE WORLD.

Second - Didn't we cover this already, with the "old friends" question and the "if you only had __ left to live" question? Maybe I never paid attention to the Writer's Block questions before I started this little endeavour, but we seem to keep covering a lot of the same ground here.

Anyway. I spent yesterday in Saskatoon at a sales rally, which is basically a conference-type thing that my department has once every few years. A few hundred people get together, listen to speeches, get fed, check out a tradeshow, and just generally socialize. The motivational speeches - especially the first one - were good enough to override my long-ingrained dislike of the genre, the food was tasty, and I met a few people who I had only previously talked to over the phone or through email (or blog comments).

The evening's entertainment was a hypnotist and as soon as I found that out, I knew people would be wanting me to go get myself involved. If there was one significant lesson (or "takeaway," as the suits say) of the sales rally, it was that if you are the goofy guy at the office, people will volunteer you for hypnosis. I suggest you take that and apply it to your own life.

Anyway, there were 30 seats on stage and 28 were filled. Someone gave the hypnotist the keynote speaker's name, so they goaded him up to the stage. I didn't think was particularly cool, but whatever. Then they gave him the CEO's name, but either he had enough sense to hide, or else he left before the entertainment.

Then someone gave him my name.

Still not sure how I feel about that.

I am a ham, and I can appreciate trying new experiences, and I have been thinking that I would be a happier person if I let myself get further out of my comfort zone. But at the same time, the idea of making an ass out of myself (well, a bigger one than normal) in front of hundreds of coworkers wasn't appealing either.

At any rate, he said my name, people seemed to like the idea of me going up there, so I said "to hell with it." And I can say that once I was up there, I gave it an honest attempt. I did all the relaxation stuff, everything I was told to do, but after ten minutes, when we got to the first real hypnotic suggestion (locking my fingers together and believing they were glued together), I could tell that it just hadn't taken hold. Of the 30 of us, 22 left the stage. The other 8 rubbed their butts on each other, won the lottery, and grew extra fingers.

They also tried talking to their crotches, but someone in our management put an abrupt end to THAT skit. A line was crossed, perhaps.

For most of the act, I actually knew what was coming - my mom and cousin had seen the same act a few weeks ago and told me about it.

They say that being hypnotized is very relaxing, and you come out of it feeling like you've had a full night's sleep. I don't know if I'd go that far (but then again, I didn't go under), but I did feel very relaxed once I got back to the table. So that was neat. But I don't think I could ever let myself get relaxed enough in a room full of people to actually go under. Besides, I can rub my butt on other people's butts without hypnosis.

The schedule may be a bit sporadic for the next few days. Mika and I are off to Fargo tomorrow to see Ben Folds on Friday. I will try to keep the daily pace as long as Fargo's finest Super 8 has free internet as promised. You'll get 31 questions answered this month one way or another.

Writer's Block: Ohhh, baby

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 04:34:05 GMT

If your best friend asked you OR your partner to help you conceive a child, would you consider it? How do you think it would affect your friendship and your relationship?

Submitted By moho2987

View 969 Answers

Well, I didn't see this coming. It's a lot more original than "do you like your job" or "friends, right, what's up with those guys" but I think it might hit new standards for stupidity.

I mean, just look at how this question is phrased. My friend wants to help me or my partner conceive a child. My friend doesn't want me or my partner to help THEM, they want to help ME. And it sounds like we did not ask for their help.

"I want to have a baby and I need your help." Okay, if someone says that, I understand it. But this question sounds like "I want you to have a baby - let me help" and that's a waaaaaaaaay different thing. Either some guy is saying "you clearly need help knocking up your girlfriend - let me give it a try" or some girl is saying "you would be great with a kid - I'll take one for the team and help you get set up."

Assuming that the question was just poorly written and that one "you" wasn't supposed to be in there, no, I don't want to knock up any of my friends. And I assume "my partner" doesn't want to get knocked up by any of my friends either, but that wouldn't be my decision to make. I'd find it pretty weird if someone asked either of us, but I like to think it wouldn't make things awkward forever. It would depend on the other person's reaction when we declined, though.

That was way too many "knocked ups" for one entry.

Tomorrow, I will probably ignore the question to talk about tonight's failed attempt at hypnosis.

Writer's Block: Take my advice

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 01:11:50 GMT

What's the best and worst advice you ever received? Did you follow it even if it ran counter to your gut intuition? How did it turn out?

Submitted By forecastisrayne

View 438 Answers

Man, these questions just keep getting more boring. I'm sure there are people out there who can use them to launch into great stories, but I am not one of those people. In general, I don't respond well to "quick, name the best/worst whatever." I freeze up and finally blurt out the first thing that comes to mind, and as soon as it's finally out there, I think of 20 better answers.

Well, here's one. When that wheel tore off my car the other year, I thought that the best thing to do would be to sell the car for scrap and put the money towards a new car. Instead, lots of people told me to not do so, and seeing as how I know nothing about anything, I listened. To be fair, if I'd done so, I'd never have known that the total cost of the repairs would be significantly more than what I would eventually sell the car for. But I can't really blame the people who gave me advice - my plan did sound stupid, and I am not learned in the ways of the automobile, and also I'm the worst negotiator on Earth. Maybe someone who liked to wheel and deal could have made lemonade out of that situation.

As for good advice, well, Deserée told me to apply for the job I have now. And I didn't want to, since I'd applied at the same company numerous times before and never been given so much as a go-away letter. But I did it anyway and now here I am, riding out the clock, preparing for tomorrow's sales rally which will take up an entire day with free food (yay) and entertainment (tentative yay) and motivational speeches (boo). But aside from the motivational speeches, things are pretty good, work-wise and money-wise (knocks on wood), so I guess that was some good advice.

Writer's Block: Bucket list

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 18:33:01 GMT

If you found out you only had six months left to live, what would you do with the rest of your life? Do you have a "bucket list"?

Submitted By prototypic

View 1312 Answers

Well, the way I currently want to spend the next six months involves smashing this laptop into little tiny bits for erasing my entire journal entry as I was trying to post it. You slide your fingers over this little pad to move the cursor, but there is some sort of secret motion that translates into making your browser go back a page. I have no idea what the secret motion is, but I can always manage to find it when I've written something, or just about finished a puzzle or something. And I don't believe there's any way to turn it off. Hell dammit.

Now. Before I pitched a fit over this goddamn laptop, I had said that the term "bucket list" is obnoxious. I also said that while I appreciate the sentiment behind "live each day as though it was your last," that's also not a very responsible way to live your life. I have a job and an RRSP and a savings account and regular dental checkups, and all of those are good things that I wouldn't bother with if I had one day (or six months) left.

And in this part, I acknowledged that I might possibly have no heart, soul, or imagination.

But this all avoids the original question. If I knew I had six months left - and I mean knew knew, not "was told" knew - I would go travel. With family and friends. And we'd eat. And I'd finally jump out of an airplane, and I might guilt other people into jumping with me. Do you think the banks would give me a big loan and sell me that "your estate doesn't have to pay this off if you die before it's paid off" insurance? And would they give me enough money to get into one of those Russian space tourist rocket ships?

Writer's Block: Come here often?

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 04:59:25 GMT

What's the best pick-up line you ever heard (or tried)? What's the worst? If you're instantly attracted to someone, will a stupid pick-up line dampen your interest?

Submitted By downfall35

View 727 Answers

I really don't like most of these questions, LiveJournal. Does anyone actually use pick-up lines? For anything more than occasionally hilarious jokes, I mean. I'm sure I've heard some funny ones, but nothing is coming to mind, and I've never used one. I'm not very good at asking girls out in general, but that's another story (one which my girlfriend will gladly tell you if you ask nicely).

As much as this question fails to interest me, it's a lot better than the Saturday Night Live I'm currently watching. I think it's about to get kicked off my DVR queue.

Writer's Block: Nothing to fear but fear itself

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 05:00:24 GMT

What is your biggest fear? Have you tried to overcome it?

Submitted By teammccracken

View 1474 Answers

Hmm. Well, earlier this year, when I talked about going skydiving next year with my dad, I spent one sleepless night because every time I closed my eyes I imagined falling out of a freaking airplane. So I guess that's my biggest fear? I don't know. If it is, I haven't done anything about it. I might next year, if we actually go skydiving, but then we were supposed to go rollerblading this year and I'm thinking that's not about to happen.

There are all kinds of things I don't enjoy. I'm overly... I don't know if "sensitive" is the right word, but I'm very jumpy. I don't like loud noises or surprises. Easily startled. And so if I know that something's around that might startle me, I'm on edge waiting for it to happen. I hate bees because I'm always watching them, waiting to get stung. It's only ever happened twice, but still. I hate balloons because I'm always watching them, waiting for them to pop. When we went to the wrestling shows in August, I had to fight the urge to cover my ears every time a wrestler came to the ring in case they had explosive pyro as part of their entrance. But I wouldn't classify these as fears so much as things that I intensely dislike.

I don't know where one draws the line between fear and dislike, I guess. I am not a fan of public speaking, but I've done it (and I'm not half bad if I've properly prepared). I approach scary animals with caution, if at all. I don't like the dentist, but who does? And from time to time - when I have too much time on my hands - I worry about loneliness and death and all of those things that I should be too busy to concern myself with. But are any of those fears?

I clearly need some sort of hobby (other than debating semantics with myself on the internet, I mean).

Writer's Block: 1, 2, 3, 4, Journaling can cool earth's core!

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 08:05:12 GMT

Will you participate in Blog Action Day, powered by Change.org? Do you think journaling about environmental issues can raise public awareness and drive (pedal?) grassroots activism to chill global warming? If so, join
blogactionday and start posting for a healthy planet.

Submitted By blogactionday

View 203 Answers

What the hell?

Whatever that thing is, I'm not going to do it. I'm not even going to click the link to find out what it is that I'm not doing (which, I guess, means that I might do it entirely by accident). I gather they want me to blog about the environment? Well, let me instead tell you about my weekend. I say that despite the fact that it is late Wednesday/early Thursday as I write this. I can read a calendar, but no longer have any sense, any feeling, of what day it is.

See, I went to go to wrestling tapings with Dave and then Sara came to visit - this takes us all the way back to mid-August - and I was off work for two weeks. I came back for a few weeks, but then I went to Calgary for a wedding and took a few more days off. I came back to work for a little better than a week, but then it was the Thanksgiving long weekend followed by a few days off work with Dave in town again. Tomorrow is my first day of work since the 8th.

If that wasn't enough, this coming weekend I am going to Saskatoon, working there on Monday, spending all day (and evening) in a meeting on Tuesday, driving back to Regina on Wednesday, and taking Thursday and Friday off to drive to Fargo to see Ben Folds (weather permitting) (fingers crossed). So yeah, my natural sense of the passage of time is completely screwed. But hey, time off is fun and so are concerts.

The weekend part of my weekend was spent at the farm where I ate three pumpkin desserts. We also played with some baby kitties that were only about a month old and some of them were squeaky and one would knead into you and some were stripey and some were black and it was pretty great.

I came back to Regina and was here for about an hour when Dave showed up with my new TV which is also his old TV. On Tuesday, we tried to take my old tube TVs to the recycling place, but they wound up in the hands of very happy passers-by before we made it there. Then I tried to buy a TV stand from The Bay, but their computer lied and said they had one when they didn't. The nice man at The Bay gave me a printout which showed the model of the stand, the price, and the notification that they had one in stock. This worked out well for getting Future Shop to beat their price. Back at my apartment, we assembled the TV stand. I helped a bit with this, but I did not help at all when putting things on the stand because I managed to put my back out like a chump. Robaxacet and giving myself a backrub (not easy - you need tools) eased the pain enough that I had a fine time when we went out that evening to see Collective Soul.

Today - I think this was today? - we disposed of my old TV stand. Then Dave left and I took back my recycling, went to the chiropractor, filled up the car, did laundry, and began an intensive apartment cleanse. If I haven't used it since I moved here, it's getting tossed. My storage closet already looks so much better now that I have decided that I did not need 20 strands of coax cable. I am terminating with extreme prejudice. And now it is late and I should be in bed, or so the calendar and the clock says. My body says that making CDs and getting a jump on Thursday's blog post is a better plan.

Writer's Block: Happy go lucky

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:07:12 GMT

Do you believe some people are more fortunate than others or do you think people create their own luck? In your opinion, are some people cursed?

View 888 Answers

Boring question. Sometimes people have good luck and sometimes times people have bad luck, and it stands to reason that you could fluke into a hot or cold streak instead of keeping things relatively balanced.

And sometimes people do stupid things and blame it on bad luck. Very few people seem to do smart things and blame it on good luck. They blame their failures on the fates, but not their successes. I'm sure I do the same.

There's nothing wrong with hedging your bets, planning for the worst, or harvesting acorns for the winter. I have enough clothes and food and water and entertainment tucked away at work to be able to stay there for probably 48 hours if I had to. I've never had to, but if a really bad blizzard hits, I can ride it out in relative comfort. I guess, in this instance, I've created my own (relatively) good luck. But there are a million things that could happen - no matter how unlikely - and you can't plan for everything. Having a fresh shirt (or as fresh as one can be when it's lived in a filing cabinet for a year) is great when I mustard myself, but it won't do me much good when the zombies attack.

Writer's Block: What is your muse?

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 06:30:50 GMT

If you're trying to create something, like a story, a composition, or a design, etc., do you find yourself imagining how others will react to it? Does that impede or enhance the creative process?

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Holy crap... an interesting question? One that's not about old friends or old girlfriends or work or Facebook? You surprise me sometimes, LiveJournal. So much so that I have to sleep on this one.

*****

Okay, it's now nearly 24 hours later, I have given two old tube TVs to good homes, I bought a TV stand, I put my back out and made Dave do all the work of setting it up, and we went and saw Collective Soul before watching some of the Best of Smackdown set. So I haven't really thought about this all that much.

I guess it ultimately depends what you want to do with your work. If you paint because you like painting and you have no grandiose dreams, then hey, great, knock yourself out. Do whatever you want. But if you want to sell it - whether to a mass audience or a niche - you definitely need to think about who you're trying to sell it to. If you intend to be one of those artists that actually makes a living (or at least a little extra income) from what you do, it's a fact of life.

For that matter, I don't think that it's necessarily a bad thing to tailor your art to meet your audience. I saw an interview with some comedian - no idea who, unfortunately - who said that the best advice he'd ever been given was "write what you think is funny, and keep what they think is funny." I liked that a lot. Do what you want and give the people what they want. Win/win.

Now, when it comes to getting the attention of the people, I have not a clue. But they didn't ask that. I'll just assume that if you put it online, you'll automatically draw thousands of instant fans.

Writer's Block: Cyberstalking

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 15:07:31 GMT

Do you keep tabs on ex-boyfriends and -girlfriends over social networking sites? Do you think it's emotionally healthy or dangerous? Amusing or painful?

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Ooh, what will today's question be? Will the theme of the day be "work" or "friends?"

Oh, I see, it is "friends." Must be an even day. And we have return visits from "the past" and "social networking" as well. I am starting to think that these questions are not user-submitted but generated by some sort of limited algorithm.

Anyway, despite my advancing age, I really only have two ex-girlfriends that I ever dated for any length of time and I am friends with both of them on Facebook. I don't tend to have really bitter break-ups, I guess?

They accepted my friend requests so I don't think you could call it cyberstalking; at the very least, I have given them equally free reign to cyberstalk me to whatever degree they feel like.

I am still good friends with one of them, though we seem to talk less and less these days as our lives are getting busier. That happens. With the other one, it's one of those cases where I pop over to her profile every few months, check to see if it looks like all is well, and assuming it is (it has been so far), I leave without saying anything. I had no expectation that Facebook was going to make us super close or anything; it's just nice to know that she's doing well.

I am Facebook friends with my current girlfriend as well, in case you were wondering.

Writer's Block: Go to the head of the class

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 17:11:59 GMT

When you take a class or attend a big meeting, where do you prefer to sit? Up close or way back where you can make a speedy get-away? Can you force yourself to focus even when you're not interested?

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In school, I always tried to sit somewhere between the back and the middle of the room. Not so far back to be an obvious slacker, but not so close as to draw attention to myself.

I don't like talking in meetings. In small meetings, it can't really be helped, and in big meetings, there are enough talkative people that I usually manage to be nicely invisible.

I have an all-day meeting next Tuesday - my first in a long while. We'll see how much attention I manage to pay. I have no idea what the meeting is really going to be about but I'm sure it will be a better use of my time than, say, doing my job.

When I was in school, I used to watch the clock. I always had to fight the urge to move my watch ahead to the time the class was supposed to end. "If I get to leave when the big hand hits the 5, I should move the big hand to the 5 now!" This never worked so I quit doing it.

So far, this has been all questions about work and friendships. I suppose you should be thankful that it's keeping me from bitching about the snow.

Writer's Block: Old friends

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 21:22:53 GMT

Have you ever reconnected with long-lost friends over the Internet? Overall, have the relationships you've rekindled been more meaningful or superficial? Are there any people you wish you hadn't run into again online?

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The internet is a wondrous place where you can look up pretty much everyone ever, unless you've lost touch with a bunch of people who have really common names, or the same names as celebrities. And I've spent a lot of time on Facebook, and many bored nights with Google before that. I've lost and found and re-lost and re-found all kinds of people.

I can't say that I've developed wonderfully close friendships with any of the "lost," though. Part of that is geographic - I can't go hang out with the guys who moved to Asia, or the three-quarters of my graduating class that wound up in BC or Alberta. And I don't really feel like spending hours on instant messenger like I used to do. I do have a webcam or three that I have never used for much of anything, but I'm guessing it will stay that way.

As a gossip by nature, I definitely like to keep tabs on what everyone is doing, but I'm not necessarily looking for anything more than that. Every so often, I like to check in on people just make sure they're still doing alright, and by and large, that's all I need to know. "You all good? Good. Talk to you again in two years."