Things to do in October

I am not going to do all of these things. I should, but I won't. The pessimist in me is peeking out.

1. Figure out a Halloween Costume.

This should be an easy one, but is strangely difficult for me this time. The past couple of years I had some inkling of what to do for dress-up, but this time I got nothing. I typically make my costume, or even piece together something. This is making things difficult, because time is running out. It also doesn't help matters that there is one Halloween party I'm attending at the moment, and I have plenty of back up costumes.

2. Get Thee to a Hayride

Seems almost obvious being this time of year. I don't think I went to one last year though. I guess I just can't muster the group together. Well, any group together. I know they are expensive and whatever, but I don't care. This is my: Tis the season.

3. Go to the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire

There are mainly 2 reasons for this. One is that I haven't been to the faire in a while. It's usually a good day all around. Plenty of people acting in character. Me feeling awkward because I don't look the part. I don't have any medieval clothing. Looking at buxom wenches. Being able to say buxom wenches and getting the actual wenches to giggle. The funny thing is that I'm not big on the whole weaponry thing.

The second reason is that a friend of mine is actually working there this season as a jouster. I mainly want to see him do what he loves. He travels the country hitting shields with lances, and he hasn't worked the PA Faire since I have known him. It doesn't hurt matters that he said I could have a complementary ticket. Frankly, I don't need the ticket, I'd gladly pay to see a good show.

4. Go to the zoo.

I haven't been to the zoo in ages. Not only is there a new baby giraffe, but there is also a Lego exhibit of animals on display. Plenty of people have said they would like to go. The problem with this one is timing. When to go? It is apparently open 7 days a week between 9 and 5. My schedule sucks when it comes to events during the week. Weekends are usually doable, but that normally conflicts with anyone else that wants to go. Such is life.

5. Pumpkin picking

This was a suggestion from my friend, Nichole. It usually doesn't occur to me, but I live exceptionally close to Linvilla Orchards. It's fairly well known in the Philadelphia area. I just about drive past it when I go to work. I have never been there. I have had friends that have worked there, but I never even saw inside the place. Still, Nichole and her boyfriend plan to going to pick pumpkins eventually. It sounds like a good time, and I could use some pumpkins that aren't local. Seriously, I had pumpkins growing in my yard last year. The leaves on those things are huge.

6. Halloween Parties that need attending

So far, I have 1 party on my docket. It's the week before Halloween. They would have planned it for the weekend of Halloween, but bigger plans for parties involved (read: not me) are occurring. Other parties could be moot if I can't figure out a costume though.

So, there you have it. A list of things I probably won't do. Lists are nice. Now, it's back to listening to Halloween mixes I've made over the last few years to figure out which songs I can't use for a new mix.

Messages Unlimited

I have a headache. I should just probably go to bed.

Well, not much has happened since I last wrote here. It has only been a day. I went and changed my phone text messaging plan. I was 94 messages over my alloted limit, which means a 10 cent payment for each. And that's only so far this month. So, I went and upped it to the unlimited one. Now, I won't feel stingy when texting people, and I can cause less guilt to people who text message me a lot.

I still don't have one functioning button on my phone. It's the "star" key, which eliminates my shifting to capital letters. It also doesn't allow me to lock my keypad. There is a reason I don't carry my phone in my jeans pocket anymore. I got tired of calling random people and sending the occasional request for overly expensive, crappy internet. Yes, despite my phone being from the bronze age, it still gets a rudimentary internet. It shows a satellite as it's image for it and everything.

Now, I just have to breakdown and figure out what new phone I should actually get. If I get one of those "smart" Phones, yet even more billing is in my future. Data plans allowing me access to the real interwebs could be too much of a distraction. We shall see.

I should sleep now. My bed is texting me.

Celebratory 150th post!!1!!

Christ, I haven't written anything in a very long time. And I honestly mean that. I'm calling on you, Lord. Grant me the inspiration to try to make something that is passably readable.

My choices for this late hour were slim at best. I could continue strolling through the internet, where I would waste time looking at things I shouldn't care about. (Jesus, I don't even remember the last time I looked at porn.) I could listen to some podcast that is waiting on iTunes. Granted, most of my podcasts consist of video game crap. Seriously, I don't even play video games that much any more. It's just one of those things I just need to keep up on. I could play World of Warcraft. Yes, I play WoW. I started at the beginning of the summer at the encouragement of a friend from work. I wouldn't say that it succumb my life because: 1) It's not like I had a real life to begin with, and 2) I'm not doing right now, am I? I could have started reading a book. God knows I have a lot of them. I wouldn't even know which one to begin with. There are literary pieces, sci-fi novels, biographies (ok, wrestling biographies), countless comic books and graphic novels, and magazines (both video game ones and ones about writing... go figure).

Instead, I popped on iTunes and am listening to daft punk's Discovery. It has enough energy and mellow parts to continue shifting my perspective. Of course, what that perspective is, is entirely up for debate.

If you have ever read anything I have written, especially here, I am not entirely forthcoming with things I should be writing about. I will never be a good writer because I don't discuss or lay on the table what is actually going on with me. I know my readership isn't huge, but this is the internet. Only God knows what will be seen by the wrong (right?) person. I could sit here in a semi-uncomfortable chair, drolling about my feelings. But, I don't do that. I don't have feelings, do I?

No, I do have feelings. They sting and squeeze like a bitch, though. Now, what could these feelings be about? You have 3 guesses and the first two don't count.

Did you know this is apparently my 150th post on this blog? I was surprised too. See, that whole thing in the beginning of the year really boosted my numbers. It didn't last long though, did it? I had a shallow attempt to write 500 words a day. I should get back to it. It would just be fairly tough trying to write that much while avoiding the object of my feelings.

I'm already running stagnant. I just stared at my keyboard and clicked on iTunes 3 or 4 times without writing anything. I'm not quite sure what to continue with. I guess that should be an indicator to stop what I'm doing. If I plan on writing more, I guess I just have to ease myself back into things. No need for a novella every time out, right? I need to start putting this English degree to work (even though a degree in English has nothing to do with actual writing).

In the cool of the evening

Hanker for a hunk of cheese.

I have no idea why I wrote that. It probably encompasses something Freudian. I have had an itch to write something lately. The problem usually arises as to when to write. I tend to involve myself in many other projects that take away from the whole focus on writing thing. It's probably this overload of information and activity that sparks the urge to chronicle.

At the moment, I am mainly just sifting through information. I need to settle on something to at least expand on. I little while ago a friend gave me some notes he made on a comic project. He wants to do the art, he needed someone else to write it. Granted he probably could have done it all himself, but a collaborative effort is sometime beneficial. I know there were a couple others that attempted to help, but things change. I guess it is now my turn to make heads or tales of it. Yes, I wrote that on purpose.

I went to one of those small comic conventions on Sunday. I wanted to make a day of it. It wasn't that far from my house, and I set my alarm to wake me at 10. Unfortunately, I set it to PM instead of AM. I finally awoke at 1:30, and the convention ended at 4. I made it down there close to 3, and thought I would be staying for the remainder. I didn't. I was actually home by about 4.

Still, while I was there, I talked with the one comic publish that showed his face there. Ever one else was a vendor selling their wares of beat-up comics and bootleg DVDs. I actually wound up buying about 8 books from the guy. He was from Ultimate Comics Group. Apparently, they are based in Atlantic City. The guy I talked with was, John, the COO and Editor-in-Chief. He also happened to write all the comics.

I usually like to give some credit to independent publishers. They are at least trying. So far, I have read about 4 of the comics I bought. They aren't really that good, but they aren't exactly terrible. The last independent book I read was Dinoman. It was self-published by a couple guys who thought they created the best thing on Earth. They were wrong. The premise was fine, but the execution was wrong. The art was pretty bad, something I could have done in 8th grade and the line tool in MS Paint. That could have been forgiven if the story was actually interesting. Instead it was all gay jokes that were just derogatory and didn't really seem appropriate in a book called Dinoman. Needless to say, my store didn't carry it. I even had some people read it just to show them how a comic shouldn't be.

Now the couple I read of the Ultimate Comics Group stuff could use a little work, but so can much of the professional stuff out there. It was standard superhero fare. It didn't hide what it was. Most of it was typical good guy vs. bad guy. People have super powers, some are good and others use power for their own gain. There were some glaring mistakes with the layout and structure of the comics, but nothing that couldn't really be fixed. Useless panels, poorly placed word balloons, and bad pacing were just some of the faults.

See, what I admired about the Ultimate Comics Group, is not only did they have a full color comic that was self-published, they had several. I'm talking over 20 books. They make it seem that they have been around a while, but the publishing dates on the few I have are from late 2009. It's hard enough to get one book out a month, but they want to seemingly do at least 3. They even have a distribution deal with the secondary distributor of comics in the country, Haven. John even told me why they didn't go with Diamond, the main distributor of comics (almost a monopoly). Diamond requires a minimum that's too high. Basically, you pretty much have to guarantee a certain amount in sales for it to be in their catalog. Haven is a little more forgiving. I even checked Haven's site, and the books were there to be ordered.

Now, will I order them? Probably not. I do want to keep reading them. I will try to grab the ones I missed whenever I see their booth again. The 4 that are order-able are the ones I already bought. I think I want to support them because they are trying and I feel there may be some potential there.

News bit.

It's really too late for me to write anything of length. I'll just say that Easter was good an bad. Good in that it was a nice day and seeing family was good. People generally got along, and even my mother and father were in the same room for extended lengths of time. The bad news is that this comes in the wake of my Aunt Trudy succumbing to cancer at 2am on Sunday.

I will write more on this in a bit. To be honest the reality of it hasn't really hit me yet. She was only 54, and usually in good spirits. Her funeral is Friday, so I have off from work. I will write soon, I hope.