Thursday, December 31, 2009

GOALS for a New Year (2010)

New Year's Eve 2010 -  Times Square, NYC  - 12...Image by asterix611 via Flickr- do you know how stupid hard it is to find a picture of the Times Square Ball???
I looked at my GOALS from several months ago and realized that I had in some ways accomplished most of them.

Having a job has allowed me to loose some weight, if not as much as I would have liked by now. I won a copy of Guitar Hero for Xbox that I had no use for and sold it on eBay so I finished that GOAL in a very random manner. My portfolio is 90% set up and I won National Novel Writing Month on my first try, which not everyone is able to do. Downside is that I'm bored with Illuminated University for the moment now and am not sure if I wil be editing my National Novel.

But this is a traditional time to make GOALS so here it goes.
-Reach my goal weight of 175 lbs. I should be able to do this by the end of March at the earliest, by the end of the year at the latest.
-Get a job in theatre. Obvious. Perhaps I'll be less picky.
-Participate in Script Frenzy. 100 script pages in the 30 days of April. Like NaNo but with more dialogue.
-Get a home. Directly attached to the job part. Hopeful, very hopeful.

I rechecked this a couple weeks after first writing it and I can't add anything to it, though expect a "how I intend to do it" post in a couple of days.
-X

My Weight Ticker




Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Circular Problem

I thought this would happen. I like having something to do with my day, as in work, but I tend to be tired afterward and therefore don't feel like looking for "real" jobs. My employment only lasts for a couple of more weeks and I really should be preparing for another year of job searching. Some people are saying that I should stay on, but I'm not an idiot. There is a reason that there is only one chain toy store left.

I've gotten used to waking up again, but I really don't like the wacky schedules that change every week which creates an inabiltiy to plan my week very well. Okay, it's a lot like my weeks had been, but instead of sleeping through everything I plan to do, I'm standing through it (I work in retail, remember?).

I got hit by the snow and foolishly went to work anyway. Got stuck getting back and my alternator died. Possibly a good thing if my alternator was planning on dying anyway, but it cost money (Luckily, the car is my parents property. The one time I broached the subject of switching it to my name my father told me I could pay the taxes on it, not telling me that the taxes are about ten dollars - because it is a '92 Caprice. So they get to pay for repairs, I get embarrassment whenever someone looks up who owns my car.)

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Positive attitude

Something I have learned in my few jobs is that a positive attitude is the most important thing you can have. Sure, it sucks that I am working at a certain popular toy store during the holiday season, but if I was down about that my days would be that much longer.

And this doesn't just go for the employees, it goes for the customers too. My job description is to help you and I will, surprisingly happy at seven in the morning. Yelling at me, or dissing the store is not going to make a toy suddenly appear out of thin air, and rarely will it cause the management to let you buy two hamsters instead on of one.

I originally learned this working in the Scene Shop at Radford. We had volunteer help for the Theatre 100 classes and the most important thing I would tell them was to try to enjoy the ten hours of slave labor. The ones who came in and were excited about playing with power tools for a couple of days had their hours go by quickly and made my hours go faster too. If they sulked about and acted like they didn't want to be there it took forever.

Today was a long day, not because I worked for seven hours but because customers kept having problems, some were real, others were imagined and the imagined ones were the ones that make the day long. One had the attitude that the store was trying to screw them out of all of their money, at the same time as she was trying to cheat the coupon system.

And no I didn't get bonus points for trying to help them cheat the system.
-X

Monday, December 14, 2009

Knocking on wood.

GenoProImage via Wikipedia
I have been writing as one would guess as I won NaNoWriMo. I have not written any fiction since the end of November, but I am trying to form ideas of what else to write, whether it is an idea for NaNo 2010 or Script Frenzy or just writing something outside of those events.

To help keep me organized I use a Word Document that maps my linear outline and I have been using GenoPro to map families and relationships. The examples in the help menu use Harry Potter characters. It really helps even when I am writing in a fictional universe and can't really use real time measurements. So I have decided that I should actually buy a license for it.

It costs $49. I get my paycheck on Thursday (probably deposit on Friday unless I am really awesome), which I really shouldn't be spending on this. I can't turn off my laptop for about four days or I will lose the map for my current project. If I lose it, it will be gone forever, because I make many random assumptions while writing the information down - choosing birth dates, especially years, as well as names.

I half turned off Windows Update. It keeps telling me that I need an update but I don't think I actually have the software that it wants to update. Not to mention it whenever it tries to restart for "critical" updates at three in the morning it freezes up on the shut down and/or start up screen. Sometimes I can't tell.

Bad laptop. You're not allowed to die yet!!!!
-X

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Mid December update

I'm exhausted tonight for some reason and I need to start updating.

I am currently working seasonal retail after getting pissed off at my mother for "putting me to work" raking leaves. I don't really mind it but I prefer a concrete schedule. In theatre you have an odd week every six weeks, but you know about the other weeks, and even that week, the bad week (more commonly called tech week), and the weeks after are going to roll out. At the toy store I'm working at we find out once a week and it changes dramatically every time and the hours are odd. Otherwise it isn't that bad, though I must resist buying toys. I now have money coming in and my student loans are still in deferment because I am not working for more than thirty hours a week for a period longer than three months.

Funny/scary story, I added my student loan accounts to the Bank of America "My Portfolio" feature that allows to see all of your accounts across different banks on one site. It lists my net worth - about negative $25,000. It has a bar graph that only shows the loans from when I added them to the site. I looks really bad.

As I mentioned in my last post I succeeded in writing 50,000 words in 30 days, therefore winning National Novel Writing Month. I still need to change the web badge on the site to say "winner", but I'm really tired right now. That said it is far from readable. I wrote a passage early on that I thought I would have to remove before I could let anyone see it (for fear of being institutionalized, not for lack of quality) and by the end of the story I had been forced to add several different sub plots that were not well-thought out and in some cases not in good places. I'm not sure if I will seek publishing for it. At the moment I not suppose to look at it for a month, then I'm suppose to read through it and begin revision. So beginning of January I will decide if it can be saved.

An on a fun note I saw I Fight Dragons when they were in Baltimore. totally worth the two hour drive. And the cram sessions to finish writing.

Well that woke me up a bit. Another post sooner rather than later.
-X

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Response to Peter Carey's NaNoWriMo Pep Talk

Hi everybody!

(chirp... chirp...)

Oh well. Anyway on November 29th I successfully wrote 50,000 words in (less than) thirty days making me a winner of the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). After we wrote our words and validated we are kind of still on a high from it all and we continue to troll the message boards afterward.

We also get info on how to edit our novel and seek to publish it and we get one last pep talk.

Sadly the last pep talk was lacking in pep as one poster pointed out.

Here's the thread it was posted in near the bottom it's the longest one, I'll give the real link when I can. Anyway I ranted about it in the discussion thread (the second longest post) and some people (okay one person) complimented me on it.

Therefore to save it forever.
REPOST!


-Most of this was written from my first read through. You may notice what I got from it in the first pass. I realize that I am somewhat harping on a single thing ("turn off your television"), but of course I don't want to be a writer, I want to be an artist-


Shortly before I heard about NaNoWriMo I read the Idiot's Guide to Novel Writing, mostly just to see if there was something important I didn't know.

The author, Thomas Monteleone, got a Masters in English because he felt that to be a novelist he needed a high level degree in English, yet he discovered that academia didn't think that much of "commercial" writing (he was derided by his professors). He stated that he never made use of his masters and could have better spent the time. He also comments that many authors think that writing should be a painful, boring arduous task.

He disagreed. You should enjoy what you are doing. Otherwise why are you doing it?

Personally I have a degree in Theatre. My plan is to become a theatrical designer. I like art and I have a broad definition of it. A fiction novel is art, as is a television show as is a major motion picture just as much as the Mona Lisa, Stary Night or Shakespeare's Twelve Night or "Ave Maria" or "My Heart Will Go On". They vary in quality, but I understand that they are art. They are reflections of human emotions and in many cases they are felt by others and help them realize that someone else has gone through (or thinks about, or fears) the same thing.

If you want to be a serious writer watch television. Watch shows you don't like, because your characters won't all be writers and they will watch those shows. Watch chick flicks and the movies that bomb in the box office. Realize what those writers did wrong and do the opposite. See live theatre, see classics, hear the door slam that rang across the world, but also see how an animated film can be brought into real life too. Attend concerts, see a live orchestra or a rock band, note how they differ from the recordings. See how people react to their favorite idols in person. Travel, see your country, see your mother country, see something other than your own hometown. Watch the news, understand politics in your country and others. When a world leader does something you don't like, understand why they did it even if you still disagree.

Do these things and your stories will be greater for it.

Then Get Excited and Make Things
-X

“Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, everyday, something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do. It is bad for the mind to continually be part of unanimity.”
- Christopher Morley (American writer and editor 1890-1957)


Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Six thousand behind

As of right now I am just a little over six thousand words behind on my NaNoWriMo novel.

I'm not in the mood to write right now. I'm on a rather gory chapter and while I love reading gory chapters, writing them is quite a different thing. Every time I write a sentence I feel less like I want to someday publish it and more like I should be institutionalized. Much like the opening line in Castle "There are two kinds of folks who sit around thinking about how to kill people - psychopaths and mystery writers.". Yeah, that's not the only reason, but it is a major one.

As I'm unable to get myself to write I keep doing everything else. I've read, I've watched Hulu, I've even drawn. I once again have the feeling that I cannot be myself here, mostly because I lacking a desk. I have nowhere to work on anything from drawing to writing, even looking for jobs is uncomforable without being at a desk. I you haven't realized I have a laptop, yet I prefer to use it at a table of some sort. Instead I'm delegated to lying in my bed (not good for my wrist) or on the storage tote I put half of my clothes in, which is about level with my bed so it is a little awkward to use. I tried to sit on my bed like a chair, but it is a little saggy, which is even irritating me for sleep purposes.

You know what I think it's time for? The "I Need a Job" song!
-X

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Painful Decisions

Once again I am contemplating my plan(s).

I don't know what to do.

I want to move but I have no money. I don't even care what job I get when I get their. I would just be able to function.
  • I don't want to hear my mother rant about how someone has pissed her off again.
  • I would like to be able to sit downstairs without breathing cigarette smoke
    • and be able to leave the door to my room open with it smelling like smoke.
  • I would like to be able to do anything without my parents making a big deal about it 
    • which hasn't really been a problem
      • then again, I've been locking myself in my room to prevent this
    • I would like not to be judged whenever I do anything or say anything
  • I would like to be myself.
What am I to do?
-X

Monday, October 26, 2009

The search for fiber

I have discovered that I do not eat enough fiber.

Okay, that was like the pot calling the kettle 'black'. I knew that I was not getting enough as I don't really eat fruit and rarely eat vegetables. I never thought of myself as being constipated, but well, apparently I have been.

Anyway, I decided to find some fiber-y foods that don't suck. My first plan was pyllium husk, which is a pill of fiber - that's really how I roll, but I guess it is only at health nut stores or possibly in powder that you add to water (which definitely ain't how I roll), and well I couldn't find it and didn't get it.

So then I was wandering around the pseudo-Super Walmart (it's being reconfigured and they don't have meat or produce yet) looking for things that I had heard were high in fiber. Most of the things I glanced at were fairly bad, 1g in most thing and in many even less.

Finally I get back home and check on CalorieCount.com and find that fruits will be my best bet. Of course I can't eat anything because I trying to lose weight and I know have to figure out how to add in a lot of fruit into my diet. Maybe the fiber will help clean me out.

On the healthy type movement note, I half raked the yard today. My father wants me to mow this week and I don't want to be pausing every five minutes to empty a bag of leaves. I really hate the number of leaves this house gets.

Now, to exercise or write?
-X

Sunday, October 25, 2009

That's a lot of words

So I already decided that I would participate in National Novel Writing Month aka NaNoWriMo, wherein I will have to write 50,000 words during the month of November. That's 1,667 words a day, every day for thirty days.

I wasn't worried about this, until I glanced at my draft for Storms of Chaos. I checked it and the two half-complete chapters I wrote together make about 1,700 words. I suddenly remember that in the early days of this blog I had trouble writing 200 words. (Still have trouble with 200 words, this post is about 100)

What was I thinking?

Meanwhile I haven't done anything on this site, less on Illuminated University.I'm really just worried that my outline won't last long enough, otherwise I think I can make it.
-X

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Now that is a boost

I've recently gotten a boost in pageviews. Not from any real content but because I used the term "Plan B" in a post way back. Google thinks that I was talking about Plan B contraceptives aka the morning after pill.

I don't mind that much. It makes me feel very popular. Maybe I'll actually start having people read this dealie. By people, I mean women who forgot their pill last week or used a cheap condom, but I can't complain.

Well, it is late. Perhaps tomorrow I'll write a real entry that doesn't insult my potential readers.
-X

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Distraction

As always happens in October I have gotten the urge to watch horror movies. Unlike every past October, I do not have other things to do to prevent me from watching more than just a few horror movies.

Okay, I really do have more important things to do, but given the choice of looking for a job, watching House of 1000 Corpses, practicing writing for NaNoWriMo, catching up on episodes of Sanctuary, reading Dracula, exercising, keeping my room organized, well you get the idea.

Outside of all of that I've made almost no progress on writing any of my stories and have been terrible on updating Illuminated University. Funnily enough I was reading the NaNoWriMo book and it says never stop work on a draft for more than two days in a row because you will lose track of the story, start reworking the story. I've already done that to IU before, so once I have the time for it I "should" be fine.

I'm actually very well planned out for NaNoWriMo, in fact I'm starting to get worried that I may be too prepared for it. They warn that too much preparation causes you to be bored with the story and unable to write it. Alfred Hitchcock apparently had that problem with everything he did. He hated filming his movies because he already knew exactly what they were going to be like, as if he had watched them a dozen times and could stand them anymore.

I'm going to move my GOAL for eBay back a month. I haven't been around to place anything on the site but I should be able to run with it again.

Now I think I'm going to sleep and get up early to work on some of the stuff I want to do.
-X

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Irritation

My mother started on at a family event criticizing my lack of a job. I'm busy attending my cousin's wedding, that makes it kind of hard to find a job. But no she has to inform everyone that I'm unemployed and don't have any money, not that anyone thought I had any money.

So now I'm lying in a hotel looking at job sites. Not finding much. I'm just really sick of her attitude. What reason should I be taking advice from a professional secretary? Yes, she thirty-three years older than me, but she dropped out of college to get married and it took her two decades to get a job that pays as much as most of the jobs I'm looking at applying for.

Hell, I don't want to live in her house. I would move tomorrow if I could but she won't let me.
-X

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Continue?

I applied to another job today. In Chicago. Yay.

Also I discovered my brother and sister-in-law's surprise, which I can't say anymore about. They were in for the weekend to visit and force us to promise not to tell. Which was apparently very hard for my mother (she delayed them telling us by at least twelve hours).

Now, I'm very tired. I haven't looked at as many jobsites as I would have liked. And I have another wedding to go to.

Really wish I had a friend to hang out with.
-X

Monday, October 5, 2009

Positive outlook

So, now that that is out of the way.

Now that it has been said I can move on and go on to bigger better things. Today I'm declaring GOALS. Hopefully they will last longer than my other goals.

GOAL - Get to 215 lb by Halloween (just in time to regain it :P)
GOAL - Sell more on eBay, make a profit for the month of October
GOAL - Set up my online Portfolio
GOAL - Write one entire chapter of my story

Starting tomorrow I will not make anymore sweets (I have some in the oven right now). Tonight I'll add things to eBay and I'll try to design myself a logo.

I can do this! Yeah!
-X

Done so much and it ain't what needs to be done

Got back from my vacation in Cape Hatteras. I feel very guilty about it since you can't vacate a job you don't have, but it was free and I would have spent more money if I hadn't.

So... I just feel like updating... my job situation...

I graduated from school and decided to stay in my apartment until the end of my lease while I looked for a job. That way I could continue to hang out with my friends for a couple more months. I move back to my parents at the beginning of July because I still do not have a job. They "put me to work" which I resent because I spent two goddamn weeks doing everything except looking for a job. Lacking any finances for an exploratory mission, I continue to be stuck the largest city without theatrical venues (no matter what journalists say). I ended up traveling a lot because my parents happen to be and it's not like I'm going to get a job on a weekend anyway, but it really cuts up the weeks and makes time go faster. I was in Atlantic City one weekend and Detroit the next. One weekend hanging with a friend from school and a couple around Maryland then off to the Outer Banks for the vacation. Next, I have another wedding in North Carolina before you say "get a job you lazy bum" it's going to be November, thus the holiday season so Thanksgiving and Christmas, for which I have no money to buy presents.

Yeah, my life is kind of sucking right now. Post too long. Need another.
-X

Sunday, September 27, 2009

About Me

Today is my twenty second birthday and I am currently on vacation at the beach. In honor of my birthday I am breaking some of my original statements about being anonymous.

My name is Alexander. In real life I go by Alex, but I can't stand to see "Alex" in print. I always sign my full name and it was just a coincidence that I started using "Xander" online. I'm quite use to it now and like it a lot better.

I am a white male, I'm about fifty pounds overweight, actively dieting, and 5'11". I'm a "picky" eater, but what I do like, I like the most expensive, gourmet brand possible. For the most part I live on turkey sandwiches (yes, there is an expensive gourmet brand of deli turkey).

I am a moderate conservative. I completely disagree with the Democrats agenda, and I won't associate with the "Grand Old Party", they are not "Grand" nor are they the "Old Party".

I have a slight New York accent, even though I only visited a couple times. I went to school in southwestern Virginia and became disgusted with the accent I was starting to get so I actively changed my accent. It really comes out when I argue with people.

I live on sarcasm. I don't mean at least half of the things I say literately. I also try to take thing to the next level of odd to see if it can become funnier. This has gotten me in trouble occasionally, I don't mind that much as I consider them to be idiots if they can't take a joke.

My favorite humor is schadenfreude. I actively laugh at others misery, but I've always hated when it happens to me.

I love metaphors, but once again people don't get them. Maybe if it was a movie they could rewatch they could but they never try in real life.

All of my grandparents are dead. Two died when I was very young, the others more recently. I truly wish I could have known the ones who died when I was little, I hear many great stories about them and even more so, how my remaining grandparents changed after their spouses passed away. My friends, whom I did not have many, would tell me that they were glad that their grandparents were not in as bad shape as mine were. I couldn't be upset when they died. It was a relief for me and for the entire family waiting for the time to come.

I do not know what happens after death, but I do not believe it could be worse than anything we endure during life and I refuse to fear it.

I dislike my body.

As I said before, I'm about fifty pounds overweight. I hate looking at myself in the mirror. As long as I don't I forget what I really look like. In my mind I'm some type of perfect weight where my clothes fit perfectly and I don't have to be self conscience. I haven't been that thin since I was twelve.

I will be a clothes horse once I loose my weight. I love clothes. I wish men were allow and/or expected to dress up more often, hell, I already look great when I dress up. That said, I will really be happy when I can wear horizontal stripes, which is possibly a year away for me right now.


Twenty-two years and counting
-X


Thursday, September 24, 2009

Broken Schedule

So my sleep schedule is somewhat broken again. Better than it was at my apartment but still sucky.

I really tired too. Either I'm sick or I have cabin fever. I want to go play and have fun but I have no where to go.

Not counting the beach next week. Which reminds me that I need to pack. Bringing lot of games, movies, a book or two. And art supplies, just in case I get the urge.

Should be a fun week in the middle of nowhere.
-X

Monday, September 21, 2009

Writing a book

So I almost never complete anything without outside motivation.

Projects, dull video games, writing, drawing. I can't do them without completing with someone (whether or not they realize we are) or a deadline, and with the deadline I tend to wait till the last minute. Lucky for me in college I would artificially pull up the deadline, either on purpose or accident.

Even this blog, I'm completing with the Google Analytics benchmark.

So the fact that I'm trying to write a book is amazing. I also think it shows how much time I have on my hands.

Now remember I have no formal training in writing novels, in fact my elementary school said that I would never be good at writing (also they said that I would never would learn to spell, which is only true on my keyboard)

So my adventure continues...
-X

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

keeping busy

AImage by ~jjjohn~ via Flickr
I am preparing to go on vacation. I know, unemployed people shouldn't get vacations, but my parents are paying for it. I am cleaning out some of my old stuff, condensing down the boxes I brought from school. Hopefully, I'll find shit to sell on eBay and continue to resist the urge to buy stuff.

The date for a couple of my job applications has closed and I'm expecting to at least hear something from them. Still, I look now trying different keywords and different free sites.

Meanwhile, I'm writing in my other blog Illuminated University. My writing for it has been so so because I keep doing it around midnight, but I will edit old posts if necessary.

Speaking of which, I have another post to write.
-X

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Yeah, I did it

I started a new blog to put my random writings on.

Visit the University and discover a new world of magic and mystery.

http://illuminateduniversity.blogspot.com/

My first post was a little lackluster, but I'm trying to create an entire world and I stumble whenever I have to come up with another name.
-X

Friday, September 11, 2009

Another one?

I mentioned yesterday that I have been writing. I was doing a lot of background work on it this world I half created years ago, flushing it out as I haven't really thought about it recently.

Then it occurred to me that it's a great deal more interesting what I am writing for a story that will probably never be finished then what I usually write for this blog. I could easily create another blog dedicated to that world defining places and things in it and maybe I could stay interested in the story I am writing.

I'm checking urls. See if there is one I like. A lot of good ones were taken by losers who only posted once.
-X

Thursday, September 10, 2009

A Good Day

Today I woke up at a reasonable time. I did not eat too much. I exercised. I left the house once. I baked cookies. I watched a decent movie (City of Ember) I had never seen before. I wrote about characters I created three years ago, expanded their personalities and histories and may, just may actually write a story involving them.

Bad news, my eBay listings that I put with free shipping all cost more in shipping than I earned in the first place, but now I am more comfortable in the process. Now I just need to start raiding my boxes for shit to sell.

Still no signs of employment, but for some reason my hopes are very high right now.
-X

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Wasted Time

Image representing hulu as depicted in CrunchBase
So my last couple of posts have been a bit sub par. No real point to them. That might jive if I was some type of celebrity, but I'm not so I really need to add some type of content to this blog dealie.

Well, the last week or so I started watching Hulu.com ad nauseum. I caught up on several shows I hadn't been watching and now it set up to notify me of new episodes, or if one of the actors sneezes. Really makes it a lot easier to get hooked on shows, such as Eureka, Warehouse 13, Bones, and Leverage.

Actually I should point out that they send you to the TNT site for the episodes of Leverage which sucks because that site really isn't set up for it.

Did I mention that they have the first three seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer on there too?

Yeah, this is why I don't have a job.
-X


Monday, September 7, 2009

Me and my beloved wrist

Ligaments of wrist. Posterior view.Image via Wikipedia
My wrist hurts again.

I really wish that I had health insurance and could go to a doctor to have it checked out, but no job, no doctor. This doesn't mean I want the current healthcare bill to pass, it won't go into effect for years and if I still don't have a job by then, well, I'll have bigger problems.

Since I'm talking about myself, I suppose I should mention that I haven't really lost any weight recently, but I starting to take it seriously again, so I hope to make progress over the next couple of weeks. Heading to the beach in a couple of weeks so I doubt dieting will be the main topic of interest then.

I'm surprisingly tired tonight, might possibly be sick. Weee!
-X

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Now with less Whine... or not...

D&D uses polyhedral dice to resolve random eve...Image via Wikipedia
I feel a little better about myself today. Not that I actually did anything, which may be related to not being able to get to sleep until 4:30 AM.

I really should be cleaning my room up. It's exercise and I may allow me to perform actual exercises in my room, but instead I'm trying to beat more amusement out of the dead horse know as the internet. The internet is so big that I really doubt that I could beat it completely to death.

I want to draw, but I have nothing to draw. I want to play Dungeons and Dragons, but have no one to play with. I'm bored and want out of the house but I have nowhere to go.

So I blog about it.
-X

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Waiting: Good Idea or Bad Idea

A week or so ago I applied for several jobs. They are very much the type of jobs I am looking for, ones that I qualify for and understand what the responsibilities are.

I'm waiting to hear back from them. They are academic jobs, which have a certain deadline so for at least one of them I can't expect to hear from them until after September 11th, I'd guess the week after sometime, if they chose to contact me.

So now I'm debating whether or not to look for other jobs while I wait. Logic says I should, but it is so exhausting looking online for jobs. I don't even want to talk about it right now. I am writing this blog post to prevent myself from looking at jobs right now.

Yeah, it sounds really whiny, but if you haven't been looking in a while I need to update you on the feeling you get. The sheer boredom combines with the endless possibilities and eventually leads to your ass hurting from sitting down for so long, or in my case my back because I don't have anywhere to sit in my room, so I'm lying on my bed which I spend most my day because I'm unemployed and don't have enough room in here for a goddamn chair and therefore may not be able to sleep tonight, that is if I ever get fucking tired because I barely got out of bed today.

I have a mild case of cabin fever. I usually keep it down by going to the movies, something I learned to do last year, but this year I don't really have money so I kind of feel guilty about going. This week there was nothing I really wanted to see so I didn't and now everything from my sleep schedule to my back is fucked. The sleep schedule thing is because I actually get up to go to the movie, if I don't have a reason to get up I don't until noon.

I'm really sick of this.
-X


Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Some thoughts on Education

Title page to Locke's Some Thoughts Concerning...Image via Wikipedia
So I'm reading up on a case of homeschooling. I think that the case is simple. The father fears that his daughter is not being properly socialized by her mother's homeschooling and the mother is trying to turn it into a case of religious discrimination.

I'm not a fan of homeschooling. I couldn't have imagined having to spend the day learning from my mother, especially now that I realize how much she doesn't know. I decided in high school that the point that parents start saying that "teens think they know everything" is really just when the teens realize that the parents know nothing.

There is no test for parents to homeschool. I can see parents who decide that they aren't going to teach algebra because they (the parent) are not good at it and don't like it. There are so many things that public and private education forces kids to look into, such as literature, drama, and history, which could be considered optional and I fear what a most adults would decide is enough. I know that their are some exams that the students have to take, more now than before, but I fear that someone might not be exposed to Romeo and Juliet because the parent couldn't understand Shakespearean or Animal Farm because the horse dies (sorry for the spoiler) and they thought it upset them (the parent, not the child).

The real concern I have is that when you hear about successful homeschooling the kids are already taking community college classes by the time they are sixteen. There is a flaw in the current system of public education is that they slow down the class for the worst students, who might be a slow learner or might be just stupid, then the smart kids get bored, and their grades suffer for it. I know that is how it works because it happened to me and to both of my brothers. Our antagonists in elementary school were not other kids, but the teachers themselves, who fought battles with our parents, trying to convince them that we were retarded troublemakers.

Once we got out of there we were awarded our proper status as "gifted", we acted out because we were bored and had incompetent teachers. I've been out of that place for ten years and I still hate it with an passion.

My point is that they don't want to hurt the feelings of the stupid kids by leaving them behind, and therefore they damage and slow the education the the smarter kids. Then they waste time with dumb activities and organization, I'm trying to compare the eight hour public school day to the three hour homeschooling day and failing.

But my elementary school said I would never be able to string three sentences together so I've proved them wrong.
-X

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Requiem In Pacem: Ted Kennedy

I will not watch the news right now. I do not need to hear about how Ted Kennedy was the greatest man who ever lived.

I lived for seventeen years in a very conservative household so I heard absolutely nothing good about Kennedy until a couple of days ago, particularly from his Wikipedia entry and a couple other bits throughout the web and on the news. It seems like he was a great guy to have as your senator and as a public official representing you, but the mainstream media needs to realize that outside of Massachusetts, and maybe the District, no one cares that much about him. Some coverage of his funeral is fine, and maybe even proper, but for the most part they shouldn't be anywhere near it. (Historically, funerals are private matters.)

I have this sneaking suspicion that there is real news out there just waiting to be found, but they would rather take the easy path and hug a corpse.

Of course Ted knew this would happen. His party is planning on using his death to pass their healthcare bill, just like they wheeled him out other the last several months just to prevent the conservatives from doing anything, so we won't stop hearing about him for at least another couple of months.

But, if he they will let him - Rest in Peace
-X

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Tips For Movie Makers to Make Movies Suck Less

I watch a lot of major motion pictures. I consider it my duty as I have a degree in the entertainment industry. I've been thinking of a couple ways that movies could suck a little bit less. Some of these are based on current movies, others I came up with long ago.

Don't number sequels.
I think it has to do with the concept that everything has a beginning, a middle, and an end that if a move has one sequel, it must have a third. For some reason they insist on numbering the movies, so that you know that they are related. I understand the concept, but it causes the viewer to compare the movie very closely with the original. If the original was big because it was in fact "original" the sequel will bomb because they audience will be expecting it to be as cool as the original. It also suggests that the later movies have no reason to exist other than to continue the original story, which should have been wrapped up in the first movie.

Which brings me to my next point

Do not cliffhanger a movie.
The last thing anyone wants is to watch a movie or $10 only to discover that in six-twelve months he will have to shell out another $10 to find out how it ends. It's okay if the main story has been closed up and that it just implies that the journey continues, but it is rude and disgusting to actually treat a movie ending like a season finale, yes I'm looking at you Matrix Reloaded. They are cutting the last Harry Potter book into two movies but I'm allowing the exception after the atrocity it did to the sixth book.

I like how this is flowing to...

If you base it on something else (a book, a video game, etc.), actually base it on that material.
Every year at least a dozen books/video games/cartoons/comics/etc are made into movies. Three things I think of here:
  1. Stay true to the original work
  2. Update it to be current
  3. Enhance the work to become a Major Motion Picture
Don't completely change the story and claim that it is still based of said work. Updating is fine, change the Nazis to terrorists, Soviets to aliens, US agency to UN agency. Add a black guy to the cast. Make the pseudoscience match better to real science.

Do not change the laws of the universe, such as was done in Eragon. Do not kill off all of the main characters, like in X-Men: The Last Stand.

Respect the original work and make sure that you raise it up to the right level. Just because it is based on a Saturday morning cartoon doesn't mean that you can't take it seriously. In fact, I know I've seen children's movies where they take the kids more seriously then they do super heroes.

If you are going to do it, do it awesome.
This is almost something you could live by. If you are going to do it as well as possible. It should feel real to the audience, there is no excuse for it not to be.

That took longer then I thought.
-X

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Feeding Time

If you haven't noticed I'm posting more often, about once a day in fact. This blog is a growing boy and needs lots of posts to keep it alive.

I'm trying to get myself drawing some more. I'm one of those people who are lazy and don't get out much and I'm not the fruit drawing type. I'm considering a trip to downtown to maybe draw our town hall. I'm also planning on taking part in the Seventh Sanctum contest. I submitted to the third one and never again, then again I haven't had time in ages.

I've refreshed my eBay page so that it will be nice and usable as soon as possible. Oh and I applied for three jobs last night. I really should try doing that earlier in the day but it's never that likely with me.

I happen to be tired because of that and because I read Umbrella Academy last night. To say I enjoyed it would be an understatement.

Well, night then.
-X

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Get Rich Quick Scheme

I'm contemplating get rich quick schemes.
I, of course, have no income coming in except for late graduation gifts, so I'm trying to invent other methods of creating money at least temporarily.
Can I create things cheaply? I'm trained in contruction techniques, painting, and sewing as well as I know how to create jewelry and definitely would like to play around with that some more. I'm just not sure if I want to invest the energy into any of those ideas.
Do I have crap I need and can sell? Yes, actually I do. I don't have a lot of stuff, I gave away and threw out a lot when I moved back to my parents, but I have some things I could get rid of, make less to bring with me and make a couple of bucks on.
To the eBay account then?
I'm still not sure. The last time I sold stuff on eBay I didn't have much luck, this time I do have more time on my hands.
This is not a well thought out entry, because I'm usually not well thought out. I have a couple jobs I actually want to apply for. Tootles.
-X

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Movie Review: G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

SDCC Poster 15 - GIJOEImage by heath_bar via Flickr

So I finally decided what to see. Went to see G.I. Joe, in my usual theater, with my free movie ticket. It was dissappointing.

Not because of many of he reasons that have been thrown around already. More for the corny names than anything else. Everything else they modified and evened out - to the point of the Joes being arrested after being found alone at the scene of destruction equiped with high tech weaponary, but they still have the stupid names. How do you keep a straight face saying those crappy names? Even good friends don't always use nicknames, that's part of knowing that they are really friends (as in knowing someone's real name).

Otherwise the graphics were fine, after some of the reviews I was scared of what I would see. The story was much better than I thought was possible for a movie about action figures. Though I liked the old version of Cobra being from an ancient alien race, than just being a emo kid. That said Joseph Gordon-Levitt did much better with then I think anybody expected him to. I don't think we give enough credit to actors and what roles that can play. We type cast a lot of young actors in young immature roles because they start in them and then resist them when they try to branch out.

It reminds me of Heath Ledger as the Joker, they all doubted at the time and now they feel like no one else could possibly do the character anywhere near the same character.

Enough for now. Added lots of extra reading for you.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Theater Quality

So tomorrow (today if you want to get particular) is Tuesday, which for me is movie day. I go on Tuesdays because I usually go to a Regal Cinema, which have $1 popcorn on Tuesdays. I get it out of tradition, only a couple of times have I gone to a movie and not gotten popcorn. Once was right after I had my wisdom teeth out and I thought it would be bad to have popcorn with a torn up mouth. The popcorn at my Regal actually sucks pretty bad, which is why I go on cheap popcorn night.

So it occured to me to try one of the other local theaters I use to go to. Last time I was there I was not impressed, but I checked the ticket price and they are selling at five dollars, which makes me more willing to check it out. Downside it is kind of defeats the point of going on a Tuesday, it was like a special holiday.

I still haven't decided if I'll go or not, I get points for going to Regal theaters so cheating with a competitor will make me miss out on a free movie (only redeemable two weeks after opening). And this other theater was very sketchy the last time I was there, sticky floors and such.

I'm not even sure what I'm going to see yet and that may have an impact on where I decide to see it. Really in the mood for G.I. Joe.

We'll see.
-X

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Pain and agony

Today, I haven't been very hungry. I couldn't finish my late brunch sandwich and I ate very little at dinner. Had a doughnut for dessert and realizing that I really hadn't eaten enough (for a 21 year old 221 lb man) I threw together a peanut butter sandwich.
Then I had to go to the bathroom. Badly.
I was thinking back to last week when I was in Michigan that I had a similar problem, but no reason why. I barely ate anything in Michigan, mostly because I did not have an opportunity. I thought maybe it was crappy food from the 24-hour dinner we kept eating at. Then I remembered those warning they put about dieting, particularly for vegetarians.
The warning are based off of the concept that people who do vegetarianism correctly feel a lot healthier, note that those who do it wrong feel like they want to die. Anyway, apparently if a vegetarian starts losing weight from when they were eating meat it makes them feel like they are eating meat again, which involves bathroom troubles as well as other various ills, such as headaches and nausea.
They also used similar reasoning on an episode of House M.D. where a young man got sick off of an over abundance of chemicals that had been stored in his body fat (vitamins A, D, E, and K can be stored in Fat, among other things) as the young man loss weight.
So I thought, was I not feeling good a couple months ago when I was last in the 220 pounds range? Oh right, that was when I bought and ate a tub of cookie dough a week before it was recalled out of an e-coli scare. I didn't care at the time because I cooked the dough and it was very much gone by then. I wondered if my upset stomach had anything to do with it but it was already mostly passed my by then.
What similar adventures will I discover as I attempt to lose weight I've had since I was fifteen?
-X

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Every Weekend

mother of dreamsMother of Dreams by breezeDebris via Flickr
So I've been busy. Not busy finding a job, no I'm busy traveling to Atlantic City (for fun), Detroit suburbs (for my brother's wedding), and a neighboring town where I use to do youth community theatre. I keep feeling bad about not looking for work harder, but when I go to the sites they tend to have even less then usual. I should check the temp sites, again.
But in order to not do nothing I am planning on starting affirmations. If you are unfamiliar with the concept it is basically saying what you want over and over again until you get it. It's suppose to be very effective. Also I got a fortune cookie tonight that said
"A dream you have will come true"
Not very specific, as I have a lot of dreams. I have a good feeling about it being the getting an awesome job and moving out of my parents, not the one involving the zombie apocalypse.
I was really hoping to be farther along with a job by now with decent plans to move out by the end of the month, but all of the trips, etcetera I have actual not left me with much time alone to work on it.
Now I've spent enough time playing with this blog tonight, time to try to work.
-X
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