anubis916

Still love me some fucking Patrick Stump.

(the video comes across as being a little gay, but it was the only one I could find with the lyrics embedded)


Thanksgiving and Christmas sucked, didn't do anything and stayed home for both. New Year's should go a little better.

Not much else going on.

Home. Halloween. No plans. Sad. No party, no midnight showing of a movie, no hanging out with people. Just here. Sad.

Well, not super sad, but it's kind of a bummer. Also, it's not Halloween; it is the Saturday before, but if I were acting like the young person that I literally am, this would be the perfect occasion to get out and socialize and kiss strange women in bars.

Shit, man. I should do something. I was thinking about going to a poetry reading of Edgar Allan Poe's stuff (see my new Poe fandom in an earlier blog post), but that isn't until Monday, Actual Halloween.

Ah, well...

Status
-Still alive.

Busywork
-Messing around with Linux Mint. Upgraded my PC hardware a month or so back, and apparently I need a new operating system, because the version of Windows XP that came with my PC is an OEM copy. The short version being, once I get a new motherboard (which I did) you need a new operating system, because that one is only tied to one specific PC.

I bought Windows 7 which I blogged about way back when before it was actually released, because I was testing the beta version, and also a new hard drive which hasn't arrived yet, because I felt like upgrading and didn't want to lose all of my data. My PC crashed a year or so ago, don't know if I blogged about it; I'm sure I did. But that sucked, so I'm a little bit smarter about it now.

I have to say I'm pretty pleased with Linux Mint- it's free, google it. It's a free operating system, and it's pretty cool. So much that I'm actually thinking about returning the copy of WIndows 7 that I bought and just learning to use Mint. A cheapo copy of Windows 7 is $100, and that's another OEM version, which will be tied to this PC- which I plan to use for several years, but still. If nothing else, Linux Mint will make a good backup.

-Been listening to podcasts for a while, the newest being the Mental Illness Happy Hour, which I stumbled upon because Teresa Strasser (whom I love) was on an episode.

Music
-I like Patrick Stump, still. He's actually gonna be in town Monday playing a show, looking forward to it. The last time I went to a show that I was really looking forward to was New Year's Eve, actually. Which, shit, was nearly a year ago at this point, now that I think about. Anyway, Stump has a new album coming out, but before that he put out a little six-song EP called Truant Wave, and ended up listening to the whole thing on Spotify. I like his lyrics and his voice, despite the fact that I'm generally not big on pop music.

Spotify is a super cool program that lets you listen to tons of songs for free, as long as you have a Facebook account (it's some corporate thing that Facebook is pushing for the time being, you have to log in via your FB account; Spotify is now their default music app).

Also gotten into Agent Ribbons over the last month or two. They started out as a local band, but they live in Texas now, and play all over the country (and occasionally in other countries). They're very lyrical, and likewise there's something about their voice(s)...


Other Things
-I deactivated my Facebook account, which is probably why I'm blogging. Also, it's occurred to me that I haven't blogged in quite some time, so...you're welcome, world. (I'm kidding, no one cares). Just a temporary thing, I felt like taking a break. Will probably be back on it in a week or so.

-I want a god damned car. Am [very slowly] saving up money. I suppose I should learn to drive in the mean time.

-I am working. Had been doing temp work for quite a while, but back in...May...? I started working at my old data entry job again...for like the 4th time. I was filling in for someone when they were out on maternity leave (the third person), and I ended up getting hired on again long-term (for the second time). Of course, things have been slow, so I may get canned again (for the second time), but who's to say. Even if I don't, the office is closing down next year, so even in the best-case scenario I only have another six months or so. Which is fine by me, really; I'd appreciate the closure. It's the best job I've ever had, and the only one I'd ever been fired from (not for a bad reason, just a company layoff thing), so I'd kind of like to see the ship go down- in a respectful kind of way. I would like to be there at the end.

I keep floating the idea that we should have a crazy office party where everyone gets drunk, but so far no takers...

-Fucking Netflix.

-Been sleeping on the floor in my livingroom; my mattress has a dent in the middle, but has always been a bit soft in the center. I don't sleep very well when I'm on it, apparently. I assume it's because I never had it on a bed frame and just set the mattress on top of the box spring on my bedroom floor, but it could be the mattress itself, I dunno.

-There was a girl. Turns out, there wasn't. Was sad. Feeling much better, now.

-Been reading Edgar Allan Poe stuff lately. There's an Agent Ribbons song named "That's Not Edgar's Heart," so I decided to lookup The Telltale Heart (classic story of Poe's), and ended up reading several of his short stories. I hadn't read any of his stuff since I was in the 7th grade or thereabouts, much more interesting now as an adult. He's renewed my appreciation for short stories as an art form; I had this idea that you weren't really an author unless you wrote novels, preferably ones that were like 900 pages long and were about boring bullshit.

Poe, though...his stories are so...it's hard to describe. He certainly has a style, and it's kind of a pop-style. It's almost like a comic book or something, in that it's really cool, and so I'm confused that people so readily accept Poe's work as classic literature. It seems too cool to be literature. Anyway, recommended stories:
The Oval Portrait (short)
The Telltale Heart (best-known work, besides The Raven)
Annabel Lee (short sad poem)
The Imp of the Perverse (essay/short story combo)
The Black Cat (story about an evil man and his black cat)


Movies
Have seen the following movies recently, or semi-recently, or pseudo-recently, and liked them:
Attack the Block (movie about aliens invading a UK neighborhood and the residents fighting them- and occasionally one another)
Awful Normal (movie about two sisters who try to track down the man who molested them as children; documentary)


There are more, and I didn't do any TV shows, but I feel like this post is already too long.

Thank you, and goodnight.

Still alive.

http://www.whosay.com/DemetriMartin/photos/7419

My entire 20s.

Walked into an AT&T store today- was on my way to see the Opera, kinda. Well, a movie theater. Anyway, I messed around with some of the phones, since mine is old and terrible. Well, it works perfectly fine, it's just...not new. It's a flip phone, for one thing. And while that was fine a few years ago...eh. I mean...you know. And there's no fancy stuff, like watching videos or listening to music, or even putting files on the thing. And the camera sucks. I mean it's decent, as far as cameras go- it takes pictures of stuff, and with enough effort things come out relatively clearly if you're close enough-



But, the resolution is low.


Anyway, I've decided if I ever get any money, I'm gonna get one of these. It's a pretty sexy phone. Does all kinds of stuff, most of it I will never use it for.

But, considering I mostly just text people to stay in touch and take random pictures, maybe I should just get a decent camera, instead?

I should really just get an iPhone, but everyone has a fucking iPhone, so why would I want one? That's my teenage antisocial streak, still intact.

I dunno, I just want cool stuff. Other stuff to buy once I get some money: ( Read more... )



Also, it never occurred to me that this song had lyrics. I'd just heard it in the background during movies/shows/commercials. Pretty good lyrics, actually. Well, the translation is good- it may sound odd in its native French.



Also, changed the layout for my LJ. I'm not sure how many of you are still reading, but FYI. On that note, I'm not sure if I'll ever be inviting people here. This is just my little webspace to rant and vent in mostly-private.

Should go back and do some sort of retrospective.

But you know what...? This has been a pretty good year for me, in terms of personal growth. You may or may not remember my hateful rants of yesteryear (literally yesteryear, I think- though I'm not sure of the legitimate definition of that word).

I wouldn't have guessed it, but it's like last year, in reverse- that year started out solid, and ended up shitty, and this one was more or less the opposite.

Not doing super great, but feeling pretty well. Emotionally, I think I'm in better shape- the painful exercising of emotions, to continue the metaphor. But, it's a good thing.

This is despite my chronic unemployment over the last year- I've worked a few jobs here and there, but nothing nearly reliable as in the past, no legitimate jobs. It's just... Nice. I don't know, I'm feeling pretty nice right now.


See also: hateful rant, director's cut, posted below (crossposted from my Facebook)-
( Read more... )

Two friends are teachers at a private school for girls. A mean-spirited little girl starts spreading rumors that they're lesbians, and even lies about having seen/heard them being together. Shit hits the fan, bigtime.

Good movie.

Also, and I've mentioned this like 4 times on as many websites, I had no idea Shirley MacLaine used to be really fucking attractive. I've only ever known her as some crazy old lady with weird red hair.




I stumbled across this movie on Vudu- which is a thing like Netflix, where you can rent movies digitally and watch them from your Bluray player etc, if it's hooked up to an Internet connection. Unlike Netflix, Vudu is online-only, so you don't get to rent any actual DVDs...it's a nice service, though. A lot of movies, and the prices are reasonable ($2-5 to rent most movies for a 48 hour period, and you can actually have them in the queue for a month since the timer doesn't start until you actually begin playing the movie. You can also "buy" movies, giving you the ability to watch them as many times as you want. You can also stream stuff in HD for usually $2 more, etc. I like it, so far. Though, I'm still on my free trial run- after I have to start actually paying for things, we'll see if I'm more critical.

Related to the above, I have a Bluray player now, bought one on Black Friday- one of relatively few purchases I made, what with my being so broke, and all.

edit:

Oh, also, I started a new temp gig today. I think I mentioned the other one, the law library I was doing occasional shifts at, looking at all of the pretty girls passing by? If not, that's what that was.

This one is...I don't know if it's more or less dull. Basically there are thousands of files on these shelves, and I along with my group of people I work with am taking them down and throwing them into boxes, and labeling the boxes appropriately, before throwing said boxes somewhere. Should be at this place until the end of the year, maybe into January- possibly even February, given the size of the task.

Kinda sucks, but the people are nice enough. And I don't know if this is just me being a guy, but there's something that feels "honest" about some sort of manual labor, even if you're just moving heavy-ish boxes full of files. Feels like you're really doing something, like you're really actually doing work. Now most (all?) computer jobs are more important, and my last legit job was a good example. But, I dunno, just seems...

Today, I'm slightly older than I was yesterday.

I am bad at updating my blog. I am sorry.

Goal for tomorrow: actually be productive. I've been on an eating binge since Thursday, and sleeping off my food hangovers in the process. I think literally the only things I ate on Friday were cake and water.

A gift:

Monday:

Did something stupid on Monday. Stupid/great.

This thing where you write someone a letter expressing all of your feelings, particularly negative, and then you seal it, and never actually send it. It's somehow worked its way into pop psychology, but I don't know where it originates from. The idea is to allow yourself to say absolutely anything, and express your feelings by actually writing them out. After that, actually sending it becomes academic and unnecessary, because the point was for you to express yourself and stop sitting on your feelings, and not to actually tell them off.

I did that on Monday. Except, I actually sent it. Well, it was a Facebook message, which makes it kind of lame, but it was appropriately long and rambling. I sent it to some woman who'd hurt my feelings on numerous occasions (none of you know her), mostly without her even knowing. I laid into her pretty good, but inevitably I ended up writing about how confused my feelings had been, and the way I'd reacted didn't really have as much to do with her as it did with me.

I felt free that entire afternoon, and felt great about it. And then I actually sent the message later that night, and I started freaking out.

WHY WOULD I ACTUALLY SEND THAT?? It was an insane thing to do, and I'd honestly not thought at all about what her reaction would be (she is a friend of mine, btw).

Anyway, all worked out for the best. It was weird for a while, at least for me, but I felt better pretty soon.


Would write more about the week, but I'm off to another temp job- just a one-day thing, this time. At a legal library. Should be super boring. Will let you know.

edit:

A few minutes, but this one is short:


Tuesday:


Tuesday I had a meeting at my old temp agency, so I could go find some work. They called me in to do a video resume, sort of: there's this thing now where in addition to your resume and whatever else, you can record a short video just giving a thumbnail sketch about you and your qualifications, so the potential employers can get a vibe reading off of you, instead of just seeing a bunch of stuff written down on a paper.

On a related note, you never realize how many weird facial expressions you make, until you record yourself making a brief 2-minute speech. Wow. I have a habit of looking up and away when I'm thinking about something or trying to remember something, which looks kind of odd, seeing it. I wonder if people think I'm being dishonest when I do it (sometimes I do it a LOT), though I'm actually just trying to remember details, or find the right words. Other than my standard over-usage of the word "uh" or "um," that was the big thing I noticed. I do feel like these things are pretty easy to correct...it's just that you never know you're doing them.

Anyway, everything went well, and the lady who was helping me out there (my...agent? What do we call these people?) mentioned the library gig which I'm on my way to in literally....45 seconds.