(no subject)
Good lord, it's been a while. Not that nothing's happened -- it's just been a bit... unsettled for the past year or so, and sitting down at the computer to typey-typey for anything more substantial than idle chat or posting on message boards just seems to trigger an ADD fit or something and I wander off to do something more productive.
In January I got my business license(s), but it's going to be a while yet before I'm actually ready to hang out my own shingle. I've been working sporadically with my dad, will be starting my series of certification courses this fall, and find myself in a weird headspace -- I've never actually had a job doing something that I naturally liked to do, so I don't really know how to handle the fact that I actually want to be working.
The last job I was on with my dad was a particularly nice one, working on a massive refit of a pocket cruise ship. Four decks, eighteen staterooms and cabins... Lots of wiring for p/a systems, thermostats, loudhailers, surround-sound systems... :) And so now I'm a plankowner of the Safari Explorer.
Closer to home, I'm still heavy into the ontological equivalent of uprooting a stump. I've gone through most of my stuff and am happy in the knowledge that, for the most part, what I have here is what I want to keep. I'll admit, part of why I'm so eager to be working is because so many of the next steps to the structuring of my environment require money. New hard drive, new book cases, new DVD-R burner, and so on, and so on... The sick irony being that if I think about it I start getting stressed, and stress is the one most significant factor in managing my health.
It's finally warm enough to start riding my bike in earnest, paint large-scale projects like my Royal Guard helmet that I couldn't do in the garage without gassing myself, and the strawberries are almost ready.
I went to Sakura-Con at the end of March. Not counting Star Wars Celebrations (which have a rathe rnarrow focus), this is the first convention I've been to in years. And good lord have I missed that environment. :)
My friend Matt, whom I originally met in Vegas, had gotten quite burnt out in that town, and took me up on my offer of sanctuary. He's been here since April and has been working and getting his bearings.
Early in May, I also went to the Emerald City Comic Con, met a lot of artists whom I like and admire, got to hear some pearls from Wil Wheaton and got his new book (and had him sign all three), and generally had an awesome time.
Later in May I went down to Vegas to visit and help Jen pack and move out of her great-uncle's house where she'd been renting a room. She'd had a bellyful of the drama that branch of the family seems so fond of generating and trying to drag her into. She seems really happy at the campus health center at UNLV where she's been working since January. If school hasn't been such a frustration, she'd be pretty damn happy right now. At the moment, she's back home in California for the summer, and I'm looking forward to seeing her at Dragon*Con.
The other point of my visit was to meet up with Diane and assist in her moving up here. Managed to get everything packed into her car and I ended up being the one who drove the entire distance from L.A. to Seattle. *snerk* SHe's been here since then, and, after a few delays and complications, is going to be moving into her apartment in Seattle tomorrow.
ANd most recently, I've just gotten back from a week in the Mid-South. Flew into St. Louis, drove down to Eureka Springs, Arkansas, with my mom and one of my cousins to our biannual family reunion. That was pretty bittersweet. My (grand) uncle Don is not in good shape. He's got bad macular degeneration and it's really been interfering with his life and sense of self. I know what it's like to be almost completely blind, and feel kinda guilty that my vision's rebounded almost totally. And a lot of my relatives couldn't make it due to other commitments or (for those working in Michigan) the worry about not having jobs to return to if they take ny time off. Yay economy.
On the flip side, Eureka Springs was surprisingly neat, especially for a tourist town. Gologically quirky, historically intriguing, and I'd personally like to go back and explore it a little more.
Unfortunately, someone decided to break tradition and moved my Granddad's 351st Bombardment Group reunion from mid-June to mid-July, and I had to choose one or the other. *grump*
And to cap off the summer, I'm going to be spending pretty much the month of August on the East Coast. OtaKon the second weekend and Dragon*Con the last. And visiting my step-sister in Virginia Beach in between.
This fall, I'm hoping to get the kitchen designed and built here in my temporary lodgings. I wish I could say things are going to settle down at that point, but more than likely not. *heh*
In January I got my business license(s), but it's going to be a while yet before I'm actually ready to hang out my own shingle. I've been working sporadically with my dad, will be starting my series of certification courses this fall, and find myself in a weird headspace -- I've never actually had a job doing something that I naturally liked to do, so I don't really know how to handle the fact that I actually want to be working.
The last job I was on with my dad was a particularly nice one, working on a massive refit of a pocket cruise ship. Four decks, eighteen staterooms and cabins... Lots of wiring for p/a systems, thermostats, loudhailers, surround-sound systems... :) And so now I'm a plankowner of the Safari Explorer.
Closer to home, I'm still heavy into the ontological equivalent of uprooting a stump. I've gone through most of my stuff and am happy in the knowledge that, for the most part, what I have here is what I want to keep. I'll admit, part of why I'm so eager to be working is because so many of the next steps to the structuring of my environment require money. New hard drive, new book cases, new DVD-R burner, and so on, and so on... The sick irony being that if I think about it I start getting stressed, and stress is the one most significant factor in managing my health.
It's finally warm enough to start riding my bike in earnest, paint large-scale projects like my Royal Guard helmet that I couldn't do in the garage without gassing myself, and the strawberries are almost ready.
I went to Sakura-Con at the end of March. Not counting Star Wars Celebrations (which have a rathe rnarrow focus), this is the first convention I've been to in years. And good lord have I missed that environment. :)
My friend Matt, whom I originally met in Vegas, had gotten quite burnt out in that town, and took me up on my offer of sanctuary. He's been here since April and has been working and getting his bearings.
Early in May, I also went to the Emerald City Comic Con, met a lot of artists whom I like and admire, got to hear some pearls from Wil Wheaton and got his new book (and had him sign all three), and generally had an awesome time.
Later in May I went down to Vegas to visit and help Jen pack and move out of her great-uncle's house where she'd been renting a room. She'd had a bellyful of the drama that branch of the family seems so fond of generating and trying to drag her into. She seems really happy at the campus health center at UNLV where she's been working since January. If school hasn't been such a frustration, she'd be pretty damn happy right now. At the moment, she's back home in California for the summer, and I'm looking forward to seeing her at Dragon*Con.
The other point of my visit was to meet up with Diane and assist in her moving up here. Managed to get everything packed into her car and I ended up being the one who drove the entire distance from L.A. to Seattle. *snerk* SHe's been here since then, and, after a few delays and complications, is going to be moving into her apartment in Seattle tomorrow.
ANd most recently, I've just gotten back from a week in the Mid-South. Flew into St. Louis, drove down to Eureka Springs, Arkansas, with my mom and one of my cousins to our biannual family reunion. That was pretty bittersweet. My (grand) uncle Don is not in good shape. He's got bad macular degeneration and it's really been interfering with his life and sense of self. I know what it's like to be almost completely blind, and feel kinda guilty that my vision's rebounded almost totally. And a lot of my relatives couldn't make it due to other commitments or (for those working in Michigan) the worry about not having jobs to return to if they take ny time off. Yay economy.
On the flip side, Eureka Springs was surprisingly neat, especially for a tourist town. Gologically quirky, historically intriguing, and I'd personally like to go back and explore it a little more.
Unfortunately, someone decided to break tradition and moved my Granddad's 351st Bombardment Group reunion from mid-June to mid-July, and I had to choose one or the other. *grump*
And to cap off the summer, I'm going to be spending pretty much the month of August on the East Coast. OtaKon the second weekend and Dragon*Con the last. And visiting my step-sister in Virginia Beach in between.
This fall, I'm hoping to get the kitchen designed and built here in my temporary lodgings. I wish I could say things are going to settle down at that point, but more than likely not. *heh*