MEDIC!

This might be a sign that I've been a bit too active lately.

I like being active, and don't spend nearly as much time being boring and lazy as I used to. But I'm starting to think that, until all this activity starts showing in my attempts to get more fit, the occasional wrapped ankle is a price I'll have to pay. Then again, maybe it wasn't a good idea to go for a jog, then run errands, then a mile-and-a-half walk.

The sprain? Result of errands on Monday. Underestimated how close to the curb the bus was, stepped down wrong, and rolled the shit out of the ankle. Let me tell you... that makes for a fun half-mile walk home from the bus stop. I forgot to wrap it last night, and then worked 8-ish hours on my feet today, so it is staying wrapped tonight.

Other than that, the last couple days have been great. When I posted on Monday, it was while doing laundry, after paying the power bill, another bill, and visiting my sister at her work. She's a Radio Shack employee, so she's strongly suggested to give her the money if I want to get something, so she can use her discount for me. Awesome, right? We didn't get along very well growing up, but that's a story for another post.

For now, I'm going to lay down and get some rest. More work tomorrow, and then games with Steev and Megan! It's Steev's birthday! Go wish him well on Twitter, tell him I sent you!

KETCHUP! (Get it?)

JURY DUTY IS OVER!

 If you don't follow me on Twitter, or aren't my friend on Facebook, you should remedy that. 

Well, that, and you probably didn't know that I got a jury summons in Monday's mail. And we're going to pretend that's the reason that I didn't have time to write any posts other than yesterday's "Fifty on Friday". I've been ranting about it a bit on both Twitter and Facebook, to the limited extent that I was legally allowed. Aaaand that post is still to come. This one is a "my world lately" post, so be prepared to be assaulted with mediocrity!

 I've been writing, and more than that, researching. Specifically, I'm researching everything I can about Ancient Greece -- Greek mythology, Greek society and laws, and just about everything else I can find. My latest idea is going to involve a world where the Greek gods not only existed, but were present in the development of the modern world, and Greek society was the main society influencing the world as it got to this point. And the gods are still very present in this world, with the book actually starting with one of their deaths. Tentatively, it's to be titled "Who Killed Hermes?", but that's subject to change.

 Work has been... well, it's been. That's about all I can say for sure. today was better than some days, partially because the aforementioned jury duty had me unsure if I'd be able to work. Like I said, you'll get the story on that later. My coworkers were both people that I enjoy working with, so it was an uncomfortably-91-degrees-outside, filled-with-snark-and-sarcasm good time, all things comsidered. And towards the end of my shift, something funny and unexpected happened! I was answering Customer #2's questions, but because I was grabbing Customer #1 some food out of the hot food case, C#2 couldn't see me well. Imagine my surprise when I got back to the register where she could see me, and she said "Holy crap, you're handsome!"... That's always nice to hear!

 Finally, and most importantly, you might have been wondering how things have been going with the Long Distance Relationship. To answer that, I'll just say this: Great! It's still a bit hard to be so far away, but we're coping with it. Some time soon, we'll be having a Skype date. Thank you, The Internet! Bringing distant people that much closer. :)

A bit early...

It's great, the variety of things that kids will come up with. Since Saturday evening, I've been staying with Jim and Wendy and it's been a really good time. They're like family anyway, and now that I'm in a relationship with Jim's daughter, they've picked on me and acted like I'm actual family. Four days into the relationship, and Wendy has already made jokes that I can call Jim "Dad".

With that kind of humor flying around, it was only a matter of time until one of their kids asked a question that turned Jynni's face bright red. After dinner last night, their eight year old stopped her on her way out to join me for a cigarette and asked her, loud enough for everyone to hear (and completely serious), if she was going to get me an engagement ring.

I didn't hear the question, though. All I heard from my perch on the porch was quiet, and then roars of laughter. Jynni RAN out the door yelling "I will not entertain that question!", and came out onto the porch bright red to tell me the tale. Maybe I should point out that their eight year old doesn't always grasp the humor in jokes, but either way, it was hilarious. Four days in? Engagement is not on the agenda any time soon, and I think Jynni would agree.

There was loot to be had, though, from this quest for a relationship. At least until we see each other again, I have her giant d20, which she has affectionately named Colossus. And she stole my Dalek shirt, which was probably going to happen whether or not I got something of hers in return. I've turned her into a Whovian, so it is my punishment. It'll be nice to have something, to help with the long distance. Anyone want to drive me to the Tri-Cities area? :p

Birthday week, baby!

It's a late birthday present from Jynni!

So, I've been kind of absent. Sure, there was the post on Friday, but that was totally a written-in-advance-and-scheduled thing of awesomeness! I've enjoyed doing the Fifty on Friday thing, and look forward to this Friday's, as well.

This weekend has been good. My bonfire on Friday night ended up being pretty "meh", but I cooked some steak strips in my homemade teriyaki marinade, and then Saturday was my birthday! I'm 26 now, hereafter (maybe) referred to as "closer to 30 than 20", and thank you everyone on FB and Twitter for all the birthday wishes. It was a good day, spent with Wendy and Jim, and listening to Jim sing and play guitar at an event he was hired for. I tried to get video to put up here, but that failed.

I tried to compensate for my camera's bad audio by getting it closer to the speakers, and put it too close. The video looked great, but the audio was so garbled that you couldn't understand even a little bit of it. Guess I'll have to get some video of him and Wendy practicing, or something!

"First night that we're a couple, and I'm sick." - @jynnigirl

Oh yeah. That happened, too! That's right, I'm off the market, and I know that there are so many people that are disappointed, but I'm pretty happy. Granted, it's only a day in, but she is able to match sarcastic comment with another sarcastic comment, and she makes me laugh.

Last thing that has happened lately: I have an opportunity for formally-published writing experience! Some of you might remember that being the biggest thing preventing my employment with The Daily Planet, but L. has approached me with an offer: she and I brainstorm ideas related to her work as a realtor, and I write the article (with shared credit) for a local free newspaper. Her business has a guaranteed spot with them every issue, so it's not just going to be a one-off article, either.

All cards are coming up "Justin" right now. I'm okay with that. :)

:(

It took a while to sink in, but after hearing about the tragic events in the early morning hours in Colorado, I'm filled with an immense sadness.

I don't know any of the victims, but the reality is that I could have, and that is terrifying. Most of the time that I think about how the internet has resulted in some of the best friendships with some very amazing people around the world, I forget to think about this part -- if something happened in their part of the world and they were caught in it, would I know? How would I react, or even properly grieve?

One friend did mention that, while she wasn't there for the Dark Knight Rises opening, that this was her usual theater. It's scary to think that someone that I went to high school with, someone who had me be the minister at her freaking wedding, could have been there when this happened. For me to be that horrified at the potential of something like this, I can only imagine how horrible things must be for the family members of those that were injured or killed by this one, crazed gunman.

If anyone connected to this tragedy sees this, my heart goes out to you. You are in my thoughts, and I wish you the best of luck recovering from the aftermath of this sad event.

It may be hard for some right now, but be well, friends. Both old and new, even if we've never met, or even talked -- I love you all.

How speedy is it?!

Can't you tell that I'm just so thrilled to be here?

My dryer finally broke last week. It's been pretty well-used in the last five(?) years, and still sort of works -- it just doesn't put out any heat, so I have two options: buy a new dryer to replace it (not happening!), or spend $50-$100 on a heating element... which I'd then have to learn how to properly take apart my current dryer to install. That one is probably what I'll eventually do, but for now...

SPEEDY WASH.

I guess that's the new name of the local laundromat. They have a card-based system now, rather than lugging around a dozen or more quarters, which is nice. And there is WIFI! Sweet, glorious WIFI!

So, yeah... that's what's up in the world of Justin, while it seems like every person that I freaking know is headed to San Diego Comic Con. And no, there's no jealousy here... none at all.... It's not like the artist for one of my favorite comics is selling trifold covers of an upcoming issue. Or like the casts of so many shows that I know and love will be there. *twitch twitch*

Reliance

Or, "Brain Retrain and Smartphone Dumbing".

In light of feeling like I might be too reliant on my smartphone, I'm going to buy a planner/agenda/whatever-they're-called. You know, the thing where you write (by hand!!!) phone numbers, events and appointments on the calendar, and things to remember in the note area.

I hadn't thought much of it until I realized how bad I can be with phone numbers. Do you know your best friend's cell phone number? I just barely do, and that's a recent development -- but I can tell you what his home phone number was ten years ago when he still lived around here. There are maybe a dozen (or two) numbers in my phone that I actually remember, at the most, but I can remember numbers that were cancelled by my friends' families years ago. Appointments and events? Not a chance, unless I write them down on the dry-erase calendar above my desk -- and I need a finer-tipped pen before I can do that in such small areas.

Obviously my smartphone will still be important, since I don't have internet access most days of the week. Emails like my pay stubs and for cooperation with people whose phone numbers I don't have will still be a necessity, and I still plan on using it to entertain myself and keep up with sites that I follow. For the most part, though, let's see how this next month or so goes.

The bus is alive...

... with the sound of muuuusic!

As I type, there are three people singing on the bus. The driver is singing something (kind of) quietly in his native language -- something from the middle east -- and a young couple is practicing choir songs. Occasionally, they stop to discuss a slightly off note, and other choir-y topics.

It's an interesting contrast to my own history as a choir student. I was a baritone/bass, and spent four and a half years in choir, at the same time singing in a church choir -- yes, I used to be one of those religious-y types. Really, I sang whenever I had the chance... unless there were people that I didn't know around. Yeah, stage-fright. The blogger who is way too open about his life has stage-fright, which is why I write instead of make thousands of dollars with YouTube videos... well that, and the fact that I'm not a "thousand dollar idea" kind of video maker.

So I sang in the privacy of my home, the seclusion of the choir classroom, or with a group in concerts. And dammit, I made that tux look good.

Ghost Rider 2: Thoughts and tweets

Time for some Ghost Rider 2 fun.... Sure, it's a couple days late, but I'm dealing with Safeway's wifi, so I think we've both been punished enough. Don't you? Plus, I was the one who watched this horrific piece. So, for those of you who don't follow me on Twitter, here's a recitation of my tweets while I watched the movie:

• Mansplaining the entire first movie, Nic Cage?


• Well, now I know which country to get hospitalized in, if the pain meds are THAT easily accessible.


• This is the most horrible "interrogation" acting I've ever seen. "You're a BAAAAAD MAN! And this thing feeds on BAAAAAD MEN!"


• HEY I'M NIC CAGE. I CAN SPEAK IN A LOW VOICE TO A KID AND BE TOUCHING TOO, RIGHT?
  
  
• Oh, hey, Raiden/Connor MacLeod. You're kind of a dickhole. I guess that's why you're the monk with writing on his face.
  
  
• Vomit fire into his mouth, young one! #Tonyism
  
  
• That's f**king dumb. Wait, this IS Ghost Rider 2 we're watching.
  
  
• F**king HORSES**T! "Demon's an angel", my ass. Feel how goddamn fast I return this to the Redbox, Nic Cage.

Yes, this movie was THAT bad. In a world where X-Men: The Last Stand and Spider-Man 3 both exist, this is by far the worst comic book movie that I've ever seen. I would rather watch the Transformers movies in one marathon viewing. This movie was so bad that Tony, who has a bit of a man-crush on Nic Cage and thinks he's a great actor, lost a bit of respect for him. Of the two of us, he was the one who expected this movie to be good -- I rented it just for the humor of seeing how bad it could be.

I stopped thinking that Nic Cage was a good actor a while back. One of my friends put it best when she said "We all used to think Nic Cage was a good actor, until we realized he was playing the same role in every movie". Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get some bleach and scrub this movie out of my brain.

The Daily Planet....?

I've mentioned before that I don't talk about my workplaces by name (anymore). Pseudonyms stand in for the real business names, and while I don't work there yet, I've got the ideal name for the local newspaper: The Daily Planet.

It's actually not far off from the real name, and it keeps with the SUPERGEEK theme I have going... if, by "theme", you mean "life". Short story long, I'm not going to be a reporter for The Daily Planet -- at least, not right now. The few reporters they do have all possess many years of experience, and he said he'd need to see some published, formally-formatted writing from me, so he would know that I had the talent.

The new plan: submit things to weekly papers, rather than dailies like this one. Get a few feature articles, then bring my ass back to the Planet and say "See? I CAN do it!".  More of the story tomorrow, but for now, WORK.

F***ing HORSES**T!

Here it is, almost two weeks after I posted last, and some of you are probably thinking I've fallen into a bottomless chasm. Well, maybe some of you thought that. Maybe some of you didn't wonder at all, and lastly, maybe some of you have been following me on Twitter, where I've still been active. Last night, I even (sort of) live-tweeted my first and only watching of Ghost Rider 2.

If you haven't seen Ghost Rider 2, I suggest you keep it that way. Even Tony, who expected to enjoy it, thought about giving up 2/3 of the way into it. When he found out that it was from "the guys who made Crank", all he could say was "Oh, god dammit". And, really, "oh, god dammit" and "fucking HORSESHIT" are the only terms that I can use to accurately describe the levels of fail that the movie reached.

Also, there's a (lame) excuse why I haven't been blogging: LOTS AND LOTS OF WORK. I had an eight day work week, then two days off, and now I'm on day four of a seven-day work week. Swing shift has a lot more work and a lot less podcast-listening than graveyard, but still... so much happier. So, starting probably tomorrow with a collection of my tweets and thoughts about Ghost Rider 2, I'm going to try and blog more. Wish me luck!

Drawing A Blank

Few things are more irritating than a blank piece of paper. It taunts you with its lack of words. You know you can write something, but the decision of what to write is the problem.

You can look at other notes you've taken, but some days, none of the ideas that pop into your head feel right. On those days, none of your thoughts feel right to write -- and not writing the right thing feels abhorrent, like blaspheming against yourself.

Today is day two of being swing shift on the regular, and I'm looking forward to it. It was great to be back at my Murphy's store yesterday, and some good exercise walking part of the way home. Hopefully tonight will be good too, now that I know about what to expect.

I'm noticing a definite improvement, being off of graveyard shift. Sleeping at night the last few days has resulted in me waking easier, feeling more rested, and feeling less drained when I'm done with my shift. It's a good feeling, not working graveyard anymore.

Lastly, I called to check on that reporter position again today. It's not in the paper anymore, so I'm not going to get my hopes up, but I'm going to keep calling and pestering every few days until I get an answer. One way or another, I'll know -- they'll either hire me, or tell me to go to hell. Either way, I gave it my best shot. :)

Project: COIN BANK

In the true fashion of the supergeek, a project has begun! Someone bought me some small plaster coin banks lately, and I got bored yesterday -- so I started painting them.

The coin banks are in the shape of an elephant and a train, and when I started painting them, the idea came to mind. The glorious dream of coins being protected by the best among us -- those few elite metahumans that represent us. In that fashion, the train and the elephant are slowly revealing their secret superhero identities: The Flash Train and Superphant! Next time I go to the dollar store, I'm thinking about picking up more of these, and painting the core Justice League: Batman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman to add to the rest.

I'm definitely not the best artist, but it's still a nice little distraction from The Crap that's been going on. When they're a little further along, I'll post pictures, but I'm not sure how long that'll take. I work the next five days -- and I'm off of graveyard! It's about damn time I'm on a "normal" schedule! :D

I was on the news!

Sure, it's not quite reporting the news yet, but it's still pretty cool to have been interviewed for a local news story.

Over at Grays Harbor Down, I wrote an article describing my alligator sighing from Wednesday night. Today, Richard Thompson from KIRO-7 reached out to me on Twitter to interview me for a bit more detail. I didn't have much more to give him than I wrote on my own, but they found out a little bit more than I did.

Man spots alligator in Hoquiam river - KIRO 7

I didn't manage to get to a TV to watch the news story, so if anyone sees it online, please link it to me. I've heard positive things, and want to see how the full story was reported and played out. Did anyone else get a chance to watch it?

RICE, I HATE YOU (but not really, I love you, baby!)

Hold your applause, because I KNOW. It really is a whole lot more delicious than it looks, and I'll be the first to say that it looks pretty tasty (but maybe that's just me).

I'm not one of those classy food bloggers that has an awesome camera, and photographs every step, and uses actual amounts instead of guesstimating. Part of that is because I don't have the equipment necessary, and part of it is because who the hell needs actual amounts?

My favorite thing about having volunteered to housesit for the Booms, aside from feeling like I've helped some friends, has been being able to cook some of the stuff that I had in the freezer the way I want to cook it. At home, I can't really cook spicy, or have a whole lot of fun with my cooking. Two days ago? Maple salmon, adapted from this recipe. Tonight, as a before-work meal? Beef, thin-sliced carrots and one diced garlic clove, marinated for five hours in a sweet chili/chili garlic sauce mixture.

As soon as the rice is done (RICE, Y U NO COOK EASY?!), I'll serve this wonderful-tasting steak mixture on top of that. I just have to remind myself to leave some steak to have when the rice is cooked. So I'm going to distract myself with Mythbusters. :)

Oops, I did it again!

And now that the horribly annoying pop music sounds of the early 2000s are stuck in your head, HELLO! I'm back!

With the way that work has been, I've only just realized that I managed to neglect this blog for another week. Holding myself to my prior "missed day = video" pledge, I think I'm going to have to bust my ass. I'm somewhere around three weeks of videos, unless my count is off. (shit)

The lowdown:

• I'm house-sitting at Boom House while the Hogabooms are having a blast at an unschooling conference. So, you know, party over here -- but not really, because it's nice that they don't hate me. Let's keep it that way.
  
  
• My resume has been updated! This wouldn't be a momentous thing in and of itself, except that it's because I'm applying for a job reporting for the local newspaper. Be on your best behavior, I'm not keeping this blog a secret.
  
  
• No work until Sunday night! That's probably the best thing so far about this weekend, even if I do get to hang with some awesome cats*. It's a chance to relax, and be out of the house.

Oh, and did I mention that they have wifi? Since I'll definitely get bored on the internet eventually, I can't imagine how I'll avoid blogging for this weekend. I hope you all are having as good a Friday as I am, and go check out my posts on Grays Harbor Down. You know, if you're not following that blog already... shaaaaaame. Shaaaaaaame on you and your house.

Grays Harbor Down: "Aberdeen, WA -- Iron Man HQ?"
Grays Harbor Down: "Aberdeen, WA -- Iron Man HQ, part two"

*No, I'm not a crazy cat guy that will grow old and die alone. I'm a crazy dog guy that will grow up and die alone.

What the hell happened?

I just realized that it's been nearly a week since I blogged, and I wish I had a better explanation. Over the last few days, I've just been lacking the inspiration to write any posts.

Maybe it's "blogger burnout"? I figured I'd last more than three months before that was a problem, but maybe not. It's probably not that, so much as it is the fact that very little has been going on besides working, sleeping, and trying to get some writing done inbetween those. There's also some stress going on about financial stuff, but hopefully I'll be hearing back about that today.

For the time being, though, I'm going to try and get back into the rhythm of blogging. I've got a couple of things I've been working on, and might post one of them. Maybe not, though, because I've also got to come up with some writing examples for the reporter job I'm applying for with the local newspaper. It's probably a long-shot since I have no professional experience, but it never hurts to try. The worst they can do is say no, and lately, I'm okay with that idea. Whatever happens, happens.

All will be well.

Justin Barlow's Day Off...

... is not nearly as awesome as Ferris Bueller's Day Off, which I'm going to see in a theater tonight(!!!). In just two hours, I'll get to see one of my favorite movies on the big screen!

But it's been a good day off or two. I went around to yard sales today and bought a 16" LCD monitor for $4 that I'll get to tinker with when my power cord gets sent to me from Amazon. My yard has finally gotten mowed, so my dog doesn't get lost when she has to go to the bathroom, and started the day off with an awesome burrito from El Taqueria Jalapeño, a Mexican restaurant around here that rocks. So, yeah. No parade-hijacking, or pancreas-eating, or amazing-car-driving... until I go see Ferris Bueller tonight, and live vicariously through Matthew Broderick.

Be well, friends. :)

I've become addicted

To what, you ask? Draw Something.

It's an addicting game, even though I'm a horrible artist. Most people can decipher my awful scribbles well enough to figure out what it is, with few exceptions. I put the symbols of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and Aquaman for "justice", and they didn't get it. =/

One person that I'm currently playing against drew an awesome Poseidon. I feel like the kid in the dunce cap, scribbling stick figures on the wall next to some of these people. And another person was able to guess "Aquaman" from nothing but his symbol and a stick figure -- I'd drawn more, but she guessed it before it showed her more.

I do wish there was a more conversational aspect to it, like Words With Friends' ability to have conversations on the side. But oh well, it's still a lot of fun. :)

All is well. :)

Today was pretty great, in case you were wondering. (You were, I could tell!) Sure, I had to use 2/3 of my paycheck that I just got today, but shit happens.

It wasn't really any one specific thing that made today great, it was just the overall enjoyment that I got from it. There was no depressed feeling weighing me down, and I was laughing at my own silly/stupid jokes throughout the day -- "teflon kitty litter" is still making me chuckle.

The Blue Lantern Corps symbolizes hope. They're my favorite Corps, and their recurring phrase is "all will be well". Today, it was.