Where I speculate this winter will be fantastic.

I’m so terrible at keeping a regular blog.  I say something similar to this every time I post.

Anyway, I was going back to college to get a degree in Criminal Justice and focus on a Bachelor’s in Cyber Crime.  Well at the tail-end of August, beginning of September, I landed a job.  I’m now a Correctional Officer in training.  This means that yes, I’ll be working in a prison.  Naturally I’m really excited. I’m also nervous, but I don’t think that’s an overwhelming emotion at the moment. I start tomorrow (October 3), which is perfect because my unemployment is about to run out.

I start my new job on Monday, and Wednesday I’ll be going to a concert in Atlanta.  I’ve been excited for this concert since it was announced in July, and it literally feels like I’ve been waiting forever for the tour to begin.  Well, now it’s here and I couldn’t be more excited.  I’ll be seeing Imperative Reaction, System Syn, and God Module.  I’ve been a fan of Imperative Reaction and System Syn for roughly 5 years now, and I’ll confess I only just started listening to God Module (around the time the tour was announced, but I love everything already), and I’m amped for the chance to see this show.  There’s also going to be online friends I’ve connected with through our mutual love of these bands (and Combichrist), and Lisbeth, wife of Ted (frontman of Imperative Reaction) will be there to sing on stage for a few songs.  My friend and I have VIP passes, so we get to hang out for a little bit before the show.

So, all in all, I think this winter will be much better than my summer (which I posted about).  Now I just need to survive the correctional officer training.

Additional post.

I’ve also heard about what happened in Norway. I honestly didn’t get clued in until this morning. I don’t watch much TV, so I’m often times not in the loop.

My heart goes out to the families of those lost. There’s no words to express how death and murder isn’t right. I’m not a believer in one god or religion or anything, but I am an advocate for peace, acceptance, and human rights. This isn’t okay. Just because your ideals don’t mesh with another person’s doesn’t give you the right to kill for the sake of it.

We all share this planet, so why do we have to hate so much?

Link to story here. (Note: only after posting this did I read through the linked story. This link is to a Norwegian news site reporting the story. Some of the pictures posted could be considered graphic, please use your best judgement.)

Also BBC coverage here.

I will never understand the senseless violence of mankind.

RIP: Amy Winehouse

I confess, I wasn’t a fan of Amy Winehouse. Her music was fine, but not to my taste. Mostly I pitied her because of her behavior. Amy obviously needed help. It’s tragic that she’s died today. She was only 27. May she find peace.

Ms. Winehouse. Clicking picture takes you to a news story.

New tech: Google+, Spotify

There’s been a lot of tech news going around lately. Since I was able to get in on some of it, I thought I’d talk about it.

Google rolled out a new social networking site, Google+. It’s still in testing from what I can tell, and as far as I know, you still need an invite to get in. I won’t go into detail about what it does or doesn’t do, plenty of you either know or can figure it out by, well, Googling it.

I have friends that love it, I have friends that are in the middle, and I have a cousin that hates it. I follow people that are still trying to figure it out. Personally, it took me 2 days of playing to figure out what did what, and I’m completely used to it. I hold no opinion of whether it’s a “Facebook killer”, because as of right now, each does something the other doesn’t. Until G+ begins rolling out new features, I will only say that I like it, and it has lots of potential.

Google also released the Google+ app for iPhone today. Those with Android got the added perk of already having a native app, while those enslaved to Apple (i.e. me) had to wait. Well, now it’s here. If you can find it in your phone’s app store, that is. As of yet, I still can’t find it.

Don’t get me, wrong, it’s already on my phone. I had to take the long way around to get it, though. First, I had to go here. (This link was shared to me on Google+ via a friend.) Then I opened it in iTunes, downloaded the app, and synched my phone.

Since being alerted to the app and getting it, I’ve been occasionally searching the app store on my phone for it. Still no luck. It has yet to show up in the new apps, or when typing ‘Google’ into the app store search bar. Yet it shows up in the iTunes app market on my computer. Weird.

Edit: According to a tip on Twitter, searching for Google Huddle on your phone takes you to the app.

Anyway, the app is pretty snappy and streamlined. I have yet to see any problems with it, although I haven’t tested Huddling. I’m getting notifications in the app faster than the email is getting pushed to my phone, so maybe I can finally turn off the email notifications. Even though I was enjoying the 60 emails a day. /sarcasm

Moving on:

Spotify, up until a week ago, has been a European music service, much like iTunes. Unlike iTunes, Spotify allows full song streaming and sharing of songs to friends. Free profiles are ad supported, and ads play between some song plays, but it’s a small trade-off for full album streaming.

Invites for Spotify have been like unicorn spotting, but I managed to get in. :3 So far, I love it. I’m enjoying it more than iTunes, more or less.

I only have one complaint about Spotify. After roughly 5 hours, Spotify stops playing. I can hear some of you already: “Really, 5 hours and she’s complaining? Madness!” Let me explain. I’m the sort of person that listens to music while they sleep. I’ll generally choose a playlist and it’ll play all night.

Spotify stops after 5 hours, normally around 3 – 4AM if I go to bed around 10:30 – 11PM. Most people wouldn’t be bothered by this, but I’ve been waking up when I realize there’s no longer music. I suppose I’ll switch back to iTunes for my nightly playlist.

I’ve also had a friend tell me he can’t listen to the songs I’ve shared to him, which is odd because I haven’t had any problems listening to anything shared to me.

I have nothing to share (or complain) about, so I’ll end this post. Enter in a new wave of people looking for Spotify or Google+ info as I tag my post with both. :3

Where I talk about a horrible summer.

It’s hard to put together a decent post when your brain feels like a bowl of tangled spaghetti. There’s a part of me that wants to rant and whine and complain. I suppose it would make me feel better if I did, in some ways I might even be entitled to a bit of complaining. Trouble is, I can’t form a decent complaint in my head. In truth, I can’t really think at all.

I guess my “Horrible Summer ’11″ started when I lost my job. I can’t even remember when that was. April? That’s sad that it hasn’t been that long ago, and yet I can’t recall the date. :/ I applied for school, but that doesn’t start until August. In truth it’s not that long of a wait, but keeping with the grand scheme of science, time is dragging its feet. I’m glad June is finally over, but July might last forever.

Anywho, everything seemed to be going well, as far as being unemployed goes, when my mom goes to the hospital. She was having horrible abdomen pains, which she thought was Diverticulitis. (She’d had this before and had surgery to correct it.) The nurses ran tests, did scans, took x-rays, and saw a mass on mom’s ovaries. Surgery time, because naturally everyone thinks cancer.

It wasn’t cancer. The mass wasn’t even on her ovaries, it was on her pelvic wall. But mom’s ovaries were swollen, and her fallopian tubes were twisted and necrotic. In short, everything was a mess, and the dead tissue from her fallopian tubes could have killed her. Without even waiting for consent, her doctor did an emergency hysterectomy. He saved her life.

She’s home and healing, everything is going fine where she’s concerned.

Moving on:

My younger half brother called me last night and informed me that our dad (my biological dad) had a stroke and was in the hospital. Further information over the course of last night/this morning was he had actually had 3 strokes back to back, two smaller ones and a big one. The left side of his face is paralyzed, and they’re not sure if it’s temporary or permanent. He promised to keep me updated.

I just saw him at the beginning of June, and I remember him telling me the doctors were having a hard time getting his blood pressure down. No matter what they put him on, it wasn’t working, like there wasn’t a dosage high enough.

I’m not extremely close to my real dad, but I do love him and his side of the family. They’re family. And I certainly don’t want anything bad to happen to them, so this…this is bothering me. I don’t know how to be right now, I can’t process what’s going on inside my head. This summer has been absolutely horrible. I know for certain there have been some fun times, but right now it’s all being overshadowed.

I can’t wait for school to start. I need something to take my mind off everything. Because I just can’t think.

Mobile Fun promotion: StuckBuddy

I blogged a while ago about a product I received from Mobile Fun UK, where my penpal Natalie works.  Today I received an email from them asking if I would mention their new promotion in a blog post.  I am happy to comply.

Mobile Fun is running a new promotion to correspond with the release of a new product, called StuckBuddy, which can be found here.  The StuckBuddy is a universal suction cup, which can be used for anything.

The photos on the page show it being used to prop up a smartphone or tablet/e-reader, or as a portable hook to hang light things.  From the Mobile Fun Blog:

The StuckBuddy is a small suction cup which can be used to easily and sturdily prop up any smartphone, tablet or similar device.  It’s a simple idea that makes a big change – not only can it hold your device in either landscape or portrait mode, it will also stop it slipping and sliding around on the desk and is portable enough to carry wherever you go.  There’s really no need to lug around a bulky, expensive stand when this low-cost solution can slip easily into your pocket or handbag!

This looks like a very versatile product, since it is small enough to carry with you.  The price of the StuckBuddy is £4.99, or about $8.26 with U.S. currency conversion.  But fear not, Mobile Fun is giving these away with every purchase.

By using the promotional code ‘BUDDY‘ in the rebate code box (when you check out), Mobile Fun will send you one for free.  I periodically browse the site for accessories that don’t require plugs, because of the difference in UK/US plug ends, and I’m very interested in getting one of these myself, to test out its versatility.

Note: This blog was written as a favour to Mobile Fun.  I am in no way paid for my opinions or this review.

When priorities get mixed…

I finished BioShock 2.  Again.  I got the same ending as when I played the first time.  Perhaps I should have harvested all the Little Sisters…

I still haven’t written anything yet like I’ve been meaning to, but I have the outline done full and proper, so writing should be easy.  Should be being the key words there, and at any rate writing should be… easier with the outline.  As much as I love writing free and clear with no restraints, I am writing about true events so it’d be nice to have a set direction.  Nothing would be worse than a book full of ramblings.  If I wanted people to read that, I’d try to recreate the Necronomicon or something.

But at least I can say I did something constructive.  I have the outline.  Now I need to start writing.  But that comes later, I have to work in the morning.

I seem to only write catch-up blogs…

I neglect this thing far too much.

I haven’t fully decided if it’s because I wait until things happen in my life that are worth writing about, or if I only write when I try to alleviate my guilt for not putting forth any effort to be the writer I know I can be.  Probably both; although I seemed to have more to say when I was a whiny, angsty teenager complaining in my DeadJournal… O__o

Where to begin?  I suppose the beginning is always the best place, especially if one is catching up.  I suppose I should start in December, after my last post.  That’s where I left off, anyway.

I was living in Newnan with friends, on unemployment still, and fervently trying to look for a job.  Nothing panned out, the new year came and went, we started fighting about money, we had a falling out, I moved back home with my parents.  (There’s the annotated version because the long-winded version plays out like a bad soap opera in my head every time I think about it.  Everything is over and done with, and while I regret losing a best friend for something very stupid, it still happened.  We live and we learn, and truth be told I will never do that again.)

Enter February.  I started a new job as a quality control technician in a plant that’s not far from the house.  Sounds fancy, doesn’t it?  It’s not.  Putting it simply, I inspect parts that are made in the plant.  The plant itself (TI Automotive), makes gas tanks for certain models of BMW, Volkswagon, and Hyundai/Kia cars.  There’s about 8 different lines running in the plant, not to mention all the shipping and receiving that goes on.  It’s loud, crazy, and monotonous work.  Truth be told, I hate it, only I can’t complain because the pay is not bad and I can pay my bills.

I only complain about the job until the “this job is bigger than you” thought crosses my mind.  Then I get set back into my place for a while.  The plant makes gas tanks that will be in cars that people actually drive, and I’m inspecting the parts.  I stop complaining after that.  The job is still boring, though.  I catch myself watching the press near me make a part and the robots do their designed task.  Boring as it in there, it’s fascinating.

Moving on.

Ever since I went to London in 2007, I’ll pine for it every 3-6 months.  I’ve been missing it lately, just thought I’d share.

Lately I’ve gotten this bug about getting things done, and not leaving anything unfinished.  This includes writing, cleaning, whatever I can think of that I’d usually put off.  I started digging through my notebooks trying to find a script for a movie I was working on, only to remember that it was on my external hard drive, which crashed ages ago.  Back to square 1 on that one.

I was without a gaming console for a few weeks after I applied the January Dashboard update to my Xbox.  My original 360 Elite went through a ton of freezes before it finally red ringed, so I took it apart (my warranty was gone ages ago) and attempted to fix it myself in addition to modding the case.  The fix didn’t work, so now my case mod is useless, especially since I gave up and purchased a newer 360.  X_x  I tried to save it, though.  I really did.  I can game again, but I’m sad I can’t use my Emilie Autumn 360 case mod.  It really is beautiful.

I’ve got a lot of things running through my mind but no clear way as to how I want to convey them.  Maybe that’s why I get so many headaches, too many pressing thoughts. :3

Well, this seems to be a good place as any to leave off.  I feel I’ve bloggored enough today, and I should get to writing something; although it’s more likely I’ll end up playing BioShock 2 until bed, though.

I really should stay current so I don’t have so many catch-up blogs.

Er, I’m quite rubbish at keeping up with blogs, obviously.  I mean, you’d think with me being unemployed ONCE AGAIN, I would have ample time to write petty nonsense in this thing.  I don’t know, at any rate, I haven’t been keeping track of much.

Let’s see, as I mentioned above, I lost my job in November.  Once again I was laid off.  It’s possible I should move back home with my parents, but I’m trying to see if I can find another job first.

December 4th I saw Trans-Siberian Orchestra.  I have to say the concert was fantastic.  It was everything I hoped it would be ever since I started listening to them at age 14.  I went away from the show feeling dazzled and slightly deaf, but so happy I saw them.

One week later (December 11th), I flew to New York with my friend Kim and saw Rammstein.  I can honestly say without a doubt it was the BEST concert I have ever been to.  To be a part of that history, to see them in the U.S. for the first time in almost 10 years, and in Madison Square Gardens, was nothing short of awe-inspiring.  Marking that off my bucket list was pretty awesome.

I went away from that concert with the ultimate feeling of euphoria, even more deaf than the week before, also hoarse.  It didn’t matter, I was/am so happy I saw them.  Words can’t describe the happiness.  I, like the other fans who saw Rammstein in NY, hope they decide to eventually tour the U.S.

What else?  Oh, well…tomorrow is my birthday.  Yeah, happy birthday to me.  I’ll be at my cousin’s, doing laundry and reading and hoping the day doesn’t suck too terribly bad.

Update over, I’ve nothing more to write.

Yet another catch-up and some general rantings.

Blogging whilst at work.  I’ve been meaning to write something for quite some time, but I’m only now getting around to it.

General catch-up

3 weekends ago Atlanta hosted Gay Pride.  I went to the festivities all 3 days (Friday to Sunday) and meant to blog about it.  We see how well that went.  I’ll write up a separate entry soon, because all the fun that was had cannot simply fit into this one entry alone.

By a stroke of luck at a local Barnes & Noble, I got my hands on the Complete Sherlock Holmes: Vol. 1 & 2.  I am part way through the The Sign of Four.  Finding quiet time to read is difficult at best; I’ve taken to locking myself in the bathroom and bringing the book to work with me for some alone time.  I’m not complaining, I rather enjoy it.

I’ve felt creative as of late, a smattering of poems and a partial story have been written.  None of it complete, should work on this.

My general rantings, however, deal with the atrocities on the Georgia interstates that claim to be suitable drivers.  They’re not.  They’re brainless, devolved beasts with 2-ton death missles, and that’s putting it mildly.  I don’t know what’s been emptied into the water supply to make everyone bat-shit crazy when it comes to driving on the interstate, but it’s been effective.  Maybe it’s the weather or the recent full moon.  Whatever the case may be, it’s made me think about modifying my car; perhaps into something along the lines of a tricked-out death machine you see in video games.

Not realistically possible for my make and model car, but I digress.

What else?  OH, Emilie Autumn’s second printing of her novel The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls finally shipped.  Now if mum will send my copy to me, all will be right in the world.  I cannot wait to have my copy actually in my hands.

OH!  Also, I’m so excited about Rammstein playing their first U.S. show in 10 years!  They’ll be in NY on Dec. 11th, and I HAVE TICKETS TO BE THERE!!  I’m so excited about this, I cannot wait for November to pass.

I also have tickes for Trans Siberian Orchestra next month.  More excitement.

At any rate, that seems to be the gist of it.  I’ve noticed since picking up Sherlock Holmes my speech has gotten far more proper.  As it should be, I suppose.  Not many in America know what proper grammar is.  Indeed, half my peers still use their/there/they’re and your/you’re improperly, and we’ve been graduated from high school 6 years.  No matter, at least I can say grammar/literature class were my best studies.

I’ll end this now, work to be done.