Operation Half-Full

It was two months ago today that I posted that I had become a statistic - that is, one of the growing number of unemployed people taking over the country. It's too bad we're all so demoralized and bored, or maybe we could stage a coup.

What's changed since then? On the job front, sadly, not much. I thought I had one there for a couple of days last week, but it didn't work out. Don't ask me what happened; it's all very confusing. With this latest defeat and lots of other personal issues, it's been tough lately to keep my chin up. Let's talk about other things instead, though. Someone told me today that I'm good at having a glass-is-half-full perspective, so here we go as I try to make him proud & prove him right.

Today:

• I had dinner with Sam, who was passing through on her way south. This is particularly good because she's one of a very few people who know me and understand me so thoroughly that I never have to put on a false happy face or worry that she'll take everything I say the wrong way.
• My roommate told me that the crack in my windshield shouldn't prevent my car from passing inspection, since it's on the passenger side. I have to research this, but for today at least, I'm putting it in the "good things" column.
  
• I got an invitation in the mail from my friend Chip, to his police academy graduation. It's really awesome to see someone I care about fulfill a dream. I'm so proud of him and touched that my presence there is important to him.
• I've also been invited to join a group of people from Form & Function Festival for a meet/greet/dinner/funtime next month. I'm really excited to be getting to know some great people to work for things that matter.
• When I got bad news today, I didn't have to bear it alone. People were there for me, reminding me that no matter how bad it gets, I'll never look to my corner of the arena and find it empty.
  

In the past week:

• I did work 2 days, so that means a little bit of income.
• My post about the time I didn't recognize Dashboard Confessional earned me a nod from 30Threads and some pleasant conversation from Ginny, who also added me to their blogroll. That was nice.
• My friend the Music Fascist scored a couple of tickets to see the Rosebuds, Lost in the Trees, and Midtown Dickens at the Golden Belt in Durham. It was a really great show, full of positive energy, talented people, and quality music. The taco van out front also deserves a mention, as I'm certain those were the best tacos I've ever had. Many thanks to the MF for loaning me the $5 so I didn't have to walk the half mile to the nearest ATM.
• I visited friends and family in Virginia Beach.
• I learned that another friend got a new job and is really excited about it.
• I simultaneously decluttered my life a little and made a few people happy by shipping extraneous copies of CD's to friends. As glad as I am to have shelf space back, it brings me no end of joy that I can put a smile on a friend's face.
  

In the past month:

• I got to visit New York City, see the Toxic Avenger musical, do some window shopping with my mom, and spend a day with a friend who took a train down from Albany to see me.
• The MF and I went to the Odessa Records launch party, mostly to see The Kingsbury Manx, who rocked the Cradle as expected. Not only did the band play a great set, but I won the doorprize: a test-press of the new record, which I got the band to sign. The MF had introduced me to one of the guys in the band a few times, and I'd met him at CD Alley a couple of times, so when he told me he was really glad I was the one who'd won the record, I got a kick out of it. Oh, and at the party, there was really good cake.
• I had a birthday, and was spoiled rotten by my friends and family. Melissa designed & had printed a book of my poetry, a gift that really touched my heart. Elwood (in addition to the early unbirthday present a couple of months ago) sent me a mini-me, a Baroness doll, which is a gift most apropos from a toy master himself. My mom indulged my addiction to House, M.D. with season 1 on dvd. Chip always finds the perfect gift to make me feel like a kid again, and like it's cool to be a total nerd. And those are just the beginning, floating atop countless emails, text messages, tweets, and Facebook greetings, letting me know that I am loved.
• I did a guest blog at Pointless Banter.
  

And of course, the good people at Threadless remind us that there are some jobs out there that suck worse than unemployment:

Birthday and Deathiversary

Today was my birthday, but I can hardly be my own villain. As luck would have it, it's also the deathiversary of one of Jeri Smith-Ready's brainchildren.

Villain of the Day: Shane McAllister

You don't need me to tell you Shane's story. You can find it here. You might be inclined to think that Shane is a type-2 villain, that is, falling into the second part of the definition you can find in the sidebar to the right. He is a vampire, after all. Go ahead - make assumptions. You know vampires. Or do you? I bet you don't know vampire DJ's who just can't escape the 90's - literally.

If you know what's good for you, you'll quit making an ass of yourself, shine your little shoes, and hightail it over to Jeri's website, and once you're hooked, call upon your friendly neighborhood bookstore to get the rest of her work.

Baroness's note: The above-referenced work of fiction is of a very mature nature. Aside from the sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll, death and suicide play major roles in the story. This post is in no way intended to give false hope to anyone contemplating self-injury that becoming a vampire is an option. Should you have any thoughts in this direction, please seek real help, not fiction or oblivion.

Aries: Everything is about you

...and today, it's about Melissa, because it's her Aries birthday!

Villain of the Day: Melissa Oyler

To my friend who also feels it's necessary to take and delete 80 photographs in order to make sure we're both in the shot, at good angles, I wish the happiest of birthdays!

Origin: The Bluesman

At dusk, when the sun hands the keys over to the brass-knuckled doorman of Night, the Bluesman goes to work. Evil-doers flee at the merest echo of the haunting refrain that has been the demise of their brethren in the Northwestern Underworld. They know the minor-key wail is just a preemptive requiem. They know that a messy death awaits all those who face that music.

But where did he come from? Who is he? From what does he draw his power?

We may never know the answers to these burning questions, but one fact has surfaced: Today is his birthday.

Sources who claim to be close to the Fedora-bedecked vigilante could not be enticed to give his true identity, but assure us that while he may take the law into his own hands (and harmonica), the public, and especially his friends have nothing to fear, for their hearts and thoughts are safe with this most worthy of friends.

To the denizens of smoke-filled speakeasies and foggy alleyways, he is justice; he is the muse of destruction; he is... the Bluesman.

To those fortunate to know the man behind the dark sunglasses, he is friend; he is brother; he is a gift to us all.

Happy birthday, Blues Brother From Another Mother!

Belated Early Birthday Tidings

How many people get to have an extra birthday!? At least one! Me!

Rewind about a week. I was having a spectacularly abysmal day, but suddenly got a message from Todd, my long-lost Blues Brother from another mother, saying just "February 3rd. Maybe sooner." When I inquired about the meaning of it, the gist of the response was basically, "if you don't know, I'm not gonna tell you."



Cut to Saturday (incidentally, Jan. 31, not Feb 3rd, which would be today, but "sooner"), when I came home from an evening out with Melissa, to find a mysterious package with my name on it. Inside was the best early birthday present ever: Arrested Development on DVD! Todd was appalled when he found out I'd never seen it, and now I understand why! It's great! Happy new birthday to me!