WTF?

So I took the most bizarre, disquieting survey earlier. I just HAD to screen cap every question. I can't believe this was an actual e-Rewards survey...

The clincher? I ended up not qualifying for the survey! Apparently, I'm too confident in my sexual interests and desires for their study... Sorry about the 2nd picture, it's on the Large setting on the uploader and is still too small. If I try to enlarge it it gets blurry. But you still get the idea from the other three.

Also, my sister has finally joined the workforce. One of her friends works at a seasonal store in the Cambridgeside Galleria (ie, it was all Halloween costumes but now it's going to be Christmas stuff like decorations and wrapping paper and gifts) and convinced her into applying and she got the job. I think she starts tomorrow. She's happy because right now they're just setting up the merch so she doesn't have to deal with people at all. I give it a week before she get's sick of it and quits or gets fired for mouthing off LOL.

Etsy Updates

New item in my Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=34228859

Free shipping on all items until Nov 30th

New Twitter: @stringtheory101

Check it out!

Seasonal Update

I have to get back in the swing of blogging more frequently. It's been too long since the last time I updated. So even though it's 2 months before New Year's I'm going to make a resolution to update my Blogger, Twitter and FaceBook on an almost-daily basis.

So I think I'm having a quarter-life crisis. I'm turning 25 this month. On the one hand that's not old at all, but on the other it's 5 years from 30, and nothing I had planned to have accomplished by now has come to fruition. I'm still living at home, and I'm no closer to starting my career and getting married. I realized that subconciously I've been trying to recreate my youth. Over the past year or so I've been slowly collecting all my favorite childhood shows on DVD, the most important being Peanuts specials. For some reason, Snoopy will always stick out in my mind as being a big deal when I was growing up, and recently I've been rewatching the specials I already have on DVD or VHS and have been trying to collect the rest that are available on DVD (no small feat as there were over 130 made between the 1960s and early 2000s and not all of them are on DVD yet) I've been on the Peanuts wikipedia page and I found out there's a Charles Schultz museum in Santa Rosa, California that I MUST go to - and there's even a statue of Charlie Brown and Snoopy in Santa Rosa center. Other series from back in the day I've amassed in my nostalgia stupor include Garfield, Adventures of Pete & Pete, Darkwing Duck, Inspector Gadget, Clarissa Explains it All, Alf, and Punky Brewster. Not to mention all the old movies I have as well. I'm too young to be freaking out about my age and trying to recapture my youth, but right now the desire to relive the simpler times in my life is at full force. But it's not necessarily a bad thing. Those were some great shows and the fact that they're on DVD and I can watch them whenever I want is great - especially when there's bonus features because I'm a trivia whore.

They're having a Price is Right Live event at Foxwoods now through the 18th. Being the game show whore that I am and the fact that it's only 2 hours away and $25 for a ticket, me and Wig are thinking of going next week. Who knows? We might luck out and win some awesome prizes. It's worth the shot. I'd fare a lot better on Cash Cab, Wheel of Fortune or Jeopardy though, it's less up to chance and more reliant on my unending cache of useless random trivia. Also I just found out that there's a little sci-fi convention being held the 21st and 22nd in the Framingham Sheraton (the castle on the Mass pike) and fucking Brent Spiner is going to be there. Only my favorite actor who played my favorite character in the entire Star Trek universe. And tickets are only $35 for the whole weekend. I've already started overnights for the season, and getting weekends off is normally impossible this time of year, but my manager is a fellow nerd and he totally understood. I only really need Friday off so I can sleep and be well rested and get there early then I can do my normal Saturday overnight after I get back from the con. I don't need to go Sunday unless I miss Brent on Saturday and he's going to be doing signings on Sunday too. But I think Sat will suffice. But if I couldn't get the days off, I could function on a couple hours sleep and still work and go to the con. I can forgo sleep for one weekend for Brent Spiner. I know I'm being a total spaz right now, but this is a big deal. I've been a fan of Star Trek: The Next Generation since I was eight and Data has always been my favorite character, so this is a lifelong dream.

In other news, I had a couple Etsy sales a few weeks ago. Two in a row. I also joined an Etsy Team. It's the CreateCrochet team and it's wicked fun. Every month there's a new challenge theme. This month's is "winter" and the possibilities are endless. You make your item, list it, and it gets featured on the blog and in treasuries. Every week there's a featured seller and I was the featured seller 2 weeks ago. I got much love for my brain slug amigurumi as usual and a bunch more hearts but no sales. We're also doing a swap right now where we were matched up with other members to convo back and forth and get to know each other and make each other surprise gifts. I have to work on the swap and the winter challenge item plus some new ideas I have for the shop. I don't know what I'm going to do for everyone for Christmas yet. I have a lot of ideas that cost a lot of money but no money to pull them off, but I don't know what I can crochet for everyone that I can get done in time. But I'll think of something and pull it off last minute.

I actually had a decent Halloween for the first time in years. Me, Wig, Inyx, Sin and Ed went into Salem. It's so overrated and overcrowded and has been totally ruined by the tourists. But the highlight of the day was seeing a DeLorean decked out just like the one in Back to the Future! Complete with a Marty McFly and Doc Brown for photo-ops. They were collecting donations for TeamFox for Parkinson's Disease research and any donation allowed you to take a picture in the driver's seat. I love the Back to the Future trilogy and I love DeLoreans because we share the same initials, DMC. My dad used to joke I was named after the DeLorean Motor Company, and I'm even considering keeping my maiden name when I marry just to keep the coolest initials ever. More pics on my flickr.

I had a job interview a couple weeks ago. While the position was in Beverly I had to go to the main office in Sudbury for the interview. It was for a part-time music teacher for a daycare/school called Next Generation Children's Center. I thought the interview went really well but I got a rejection letter literally 3 days later. With my license still pending and no experience, it's next to impossible to get a job in anything remotely teaching related. But I'm not giving up yet. I have a list of online resources for private school job listings someone my mom knows sent her for me, and there's the option of private lessons. I'm also seriously pursuing the idea I had for a children's book: Hayden Go Seek. I don't know whether I want to do it like an I Spy book or for younger children where you lift open flaps to find items, but the plot is that you have to find specific orchestral instruments, parts of the musical staff and composers. Also my eBay sales have been steady. No huge hauls but I'm getting a few bucks for things I don't need anymore (or promotional items I got for free or for as little as a penny!). Although I'm having some issues with a couple buyers not having paid yet. They're already late, it's been over a week, but I try to be understanding and lenient. I mean, there could've been a death or medical emergency and they haven't been online in a week. Who knows? But if I still get no reply or payment in a few days I will file a claim with eBay. This is the first time I've had this problem on eBay, although I had it once on Etsy. Generally I get paid instantly or within the first 3 days. I pride myself in having 100% positive feedback and everyone praises my fast shipping and communication. I'd hate for my reputation to be tarnished.

And my car has been in the shop TWICE in the past month for leaking coolant. The first time was a cracked something-or-other valve and then 2 weeks later the radiator went. When they were replacing the radiator, they found that the transmission lines were rusted and one broke so those had to be replaced. Fortunately, the guy that does all my repairs is a close friend of my dad's and didn't charge any labor. I still owe my dad and my grandmother a ton of money for helping me with car parts and repairs. :(

And we have a new kitten! Heather's friend couldn't keep him and she didn't want to see him go to the animal shelter, so she brought him home. We were supposed to find a new home for him but we got too attached and kept him. His name's Frankenstein. He is the most obnoxious pet I ever owned but he's adorable. And my parakeet Gemini died the other day. Sad, but not devastatingly sad as I wasn't too attached to him, and he was old for a parakeet and I think het got sick in the past couple months.

I saw Boondock Saints II: All Saint's Day. If you haven't seen the first one, what the fuck are you waiting for?! And if you have, see the sequel you'll fucking love it! It was much like the first one with the action and the spurts of comedy but it had a deep backstory that Saints fans will appreciate. Wig and I both give it two thumbs up.

Well, I think I'm going to work on some crochet projects and rest before my overnight shift. I'm going to try to blog more often so my few readers know what's going on. Until then...

Canobie Lake Nostalgia

Today Wiggins and I went to Canobie Lake Park. It's been far too long since either of us been and we'd never been together. It was a lot of fun. Early September is the best time to go because a lot of people are already back to school so it's not packed, there's no lines, but it's still warm out. We had $4 off coupons which were going to expire Friday so we went today instead of next Wed for our anniversary. We tried to go last year but there was going to be a thunderstorm and they had already closed the park by the time we got there.
So we went on almost all the rides. The only exceptions were the kiddie ride, the Log Flume, the Round Up which is now called Zero Gravity for some stupid reason, the kiddie rides and the ferris wheel because it was closed :( It was Wig's first time on a lot of these rides, including the Boston Tea Party, where he totally underestimated how soaked we were gonna get, and the Turkish Twist which totally blew him away. I found out Wig loves rollercoasters and he insisted on riding in the front cart on the Corkscrew. Of course I had to play my requisite games of Skeeball. I ended up getting a deck of Japanese Harry Potter trading cards, only because it was the most random item you could see at a prize booth at Canobie Lake. I would've gotten more pictures but I forgot to charge my camera's batteries and then my cell phone started dying. I still got some good shots from the Sky Ride and a picture of a guy dressed as a huge grim reaper promoting Canobie's October Screeemfest (yes, there's 3 Es in scream).
It was great to finally rekindle an annual tradition. Next trip will be Funspot.
Now we're back at Wig's watching Sex Drive, which is heesterical. Seth Green as a sarcastic smart-ass Amish is comedy gold. And they're driving a '69 Pontiac GTO Judge, which is one of the greatest American cars, next to the Corvette Stingray and the Ford Mustang. It's your typical teenage roadtrip comedy but it's really funny so if you're into that kind of comedy you'll be thoroughly entertained. And now Nibbler is attacking Wig so I'm going to save him from the cute fluffy ball of death.

Halloween in August

Just came back from seeing Halloween II with Wiggy. It was awesome. It totally showcased Rob Zombie's signature style he's honed in his first remake and in House of 1000 Corpses and Devil's Rejects. It rocked. It was uber gory and fucked up. I wonder if Rob Zombie's going to make his own Halloween III too, because the way it ended left it open that way. So if you like horror and gore and shit, this is the movie for you. Also watch for a hilarious surprise cameo (2 surprise cameos if you're familiar with G4's hosts)

Keeping Up Appearances

Haven't blogged in a while, so just posting so the few people who do read my blog or who will eventually come across it don't think I'm dead.



Since I last blogged, I saw AC/DC at Gillette Stadium. The concert was AMAZING but traffic to and from Foxboro SUCKED, especially trying to get out of the parking lot. It took me 3 hours to get home. THREE FACKING HOURS! But man, I'd go to the ends of the Earth for AC/DC. I hate to admit it, but they're starting to show their age a little bit: Angus looked more tired than usual and I think he slipped up on the TNT solo and he picked the intro the Thunderstruck which is always does hammer-ons and pull-offs live. But he still kept going non-stop the entire time and except for those 2 little off moments was as perfect as any performance. As always, they put on the most high-enegery, electrifying rock show ever.



That same week, I drove to Hartford, CT for ConnectiCon, the last anime convention of the summer. ConnectiCon's a big one because we always have the Artist's Alley Networking Party. It's a way for fellow artists to get together and share their craft and make connections to get their work out there and also to unwind and get drunk and have some fun at the end of the con season. Sales were great, and I sold a Super Mario Invincibilty Star to a cosplayer who was doing a spot-in Billy Mays impression selling 1Up Mushrooms and throwing in the invincibility for free. You can see it on YouTubes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojwo7ioDEIo and buy both 1Up mushrooms and Invicibility stars at my Etsy, stringtheory101.etsy.com.

And if driving to Foxboro and Hartford wasn't enough, the following Tuesday I then went to Mansfield to the Comcast Center for Mayhem Fest, which has effectively replaced the new defunct Ozzfest as the must-see metal festival of the summer. This is only Mayhem's 2nd year but they were able to get big names both last year (Disturbed) and this year (Slayer). Slayer was a BIG DEAL to all the metalheads there. Marilyn Manson and KillSwitch Engage were also headlining. KillSwitch played their cover of Holy Diver, which, no offense to Dio (especially since Ronnie James Dio is a fellow mini-guinea and we's gotta stick together) rocks harder than the original. We left early to try to beat the crowd, we like Marilyn Manson, just not that much. We stayed for the popular songs like Disposable Teens, Dope Show and Beautiful People. He did his cover of Sweet Dreams too. But with leaving 15 min early and our optimal position in the parking lot, we made a "Leaving Comcast Center" record of 5 mins! We hit a little bit of traffic on 95 because everyone was rubbernecking to watch firefighters put out a burning bus, which I can only assume was a Fung-Wah or Lucky Star bus since they have a history of exploding or tipping LOL.
So between AC/DC, ConnectiCon, Mayhem Fest and work, I spent more time on major highways and in traffic in 2 weeks than I have in the 7 years I've had my license.

And now that the con season is over, I can relax on the amigurumi a bit and work on other crochet or craft projects. I made some new guitar pick earrings and I finally finished the Shit Pickle amigurumi. The Shit Pickle is a cartoon pickle covered in shit that bounces around and repeats its name a la Pokemon. He's got a big buck tooth and cross eyes and is only there to be annoying. He is the creation of independant filmmaker James Rolfe, who is world-famous on YouTube for his Angry Video Game Nerd webisodes where he reviews the crappiest games and consoles of the 80s and 90s with hilarious results. I was inspired after seeing the Shit Pickle in some of James' videos and seeing that Shit Pickle had a bit of a cult following. Other fans have gotten tattoos, drawn fan art, made a Shit Pickle version of Monopoly, cookies, and decorated their XBox 360s. So I said, man, a Shit Pickle would be easy to crochet! So I did. Then I emailed James Rolfe about sending him the first and so far only Shit Pickle. I also asked for his permission to sell them on Etsy, but he said they don't know what they're planning on doing with Shit Pickle for merchandising right now. He's tied up with contracts from Spike.com and MTV (they own GameTrailers.com which hosts his newer Nerd videos) and he's an indie filmmaker running his own small business so I respect his rights. It's different from Nintendo characters where it's such a huge corporation and they're already making millions and they'd barely notice one person on Etsy selling 1Up mushrooms.
Another project I was able to finish was my Pint o'Guinness. Wig's friend Fetus, being fiercely Irish, always drinks Guinness when he's over Wig's. I thought it'd be cool to make an amigurumi in the shape of the trademark curved glass, complete with a big head of foam. I was working on a rug using the same crocheting and increasing in the round I use for amigurumi to make a spiral design, and it was coming out pretty well but it was getting tedius, so I stopped for a while and made an Oreo cookie. I also plan to make some more scrunchies. I have too many ideas for crocheting and not enough time to do them. I'm also trying to get my name out over the interwebs more so I can get more traffic to my Etsy. Sales have stalled out since last month, but I'm hoping they pick up soon.
But that's all for now, hopefully I'll write sooner next time.

Sightseeing and Other Things

So, Wednesday, Wig's cousin JT flew in from Mississippi. He's originally from Texas, which is where his mother - Wig's crazy aunt Marilee - moved back in the 80s, but didn't spare any time moving away from her once he was 18. So, he moved to Mississippi where his father is. Anyway, he's up here for the week and is staying w/Wig. Wig's mom Susan has his grandmother's van for the time being because she (Phyllis, the grandmother, not Susan) isn't in the best of health right now, so Susan went to pick up JT from the airport and Wig and I went on for the ride. I stayed w/the van while they went into the terminal to find JT and everything was fine until literally a minute before they came out when a statie told me to move. So I think I'm just going around in a circle, but I somehow ended up on the far end of the terminal, then spent about 10 minutes following signs until I got back to where they were. Fucking Logan airport. Then we went to Phyllis' for pizza. Phyllis had two mild strokes about 2 weeks ago, but you wouldn't be able to tell just by seeing her. She looked really good considering her recent health. Apparently, she also had a stroke back in November and didn't bother telling anyone, not even her 3 children. Wig's family is fucked up, but more on that some other time. I think her deteriorating health has mellowed her out, because when she saw me, she gave me a big hug and I don't think she's ever hugged me once in the 8 1/2 years I've been with Wig LOL.
So Wed we just chilled since it was about 8PM by the time we got back and JT was kinda tired. We played some video games and watched TV and the boys smoked. JT likes pot too, and he's into the same kind of music and video games as Wig and Gahm, so there was no awkwardness at all. I finally played Portal - which is an awesomely addictive puzzle/shooter game for the PC/360/PS3. If you've ever heard the phrase "the cake is a lie!" or the song "Still Alive" (not the Pearl Jam one) this is the game they're from. Basically you have a gun that makes holes in walls, ceilings and floors that transport you to other areas and you use these portals to get through mazes and move cubes around to unlock doors. The computer, GLaDOS, says some really bizarre, funny things and then sings the ending credit theme, "Still Alive" which is incredibly catchy and has some fucked up lyrics.
Today we wanted to show JT some of Boston so we took the train into Fanuiel Hall. We just walked around and looked at the shops and bought some Boston Chipyard cookies. We watched one of the street performers - an escape artist get out of a straitjacket and ropes while hanging upside down. Then we came back and got some subs and then I dropped Wig, Gahm and JT at Jack's house - which is where Wig and Gahm go every Friday and Saturday night to hang out and play video games.
Also this week Wig, Gahmstead and I made the best investment of our video game collectors' lives. Toys R Us was having the greatest sale ever: Guitar Hero: World Tour Super Bundle (that's the full setup w/drumset, guitar, microphone and game) for $99.99 regularly $189.99. But that's not all. You also got at $10 gift card. Then factor in my 10% employee discount plus a 15% off coupon and a $10 off coupon. It ended up coming to $61. That's split 3 ways between me, Wig and Gahmstead. While my mom and Heather would definitely play Guitar Hero with me (they loved the PS2 version), I don't really have the room in my room or in the living room for a drumset, and I'd play it more frequently w/Wig and Gahm anyway, so we're keeping it at their house. That also decided whether we get the Wii or the 360 version. If we got the Wii version, I could take it to my house whenever, I don't have a 360. But Wig and Gahm do, and the 360 has a lot more downloadable content so we settled on the 360 version. Sunday we christened it and me, Wig, Gahmstead and his girlfriend Janice rocked the shit out of it. Then Wednesday I finally got the AC/DC Live Rock Band track pack (yes, Guitar Hero and Rock Band instruments and games are 100% interchangable, at least on 360). My only beef is the pitch recognition on the mic for both Guitar Hero and Rock Band isn't very accurate. Or I'm just a shitty singer...No I can sing all right if I don't overdo it, but trying to follow the pitch bars can throw you off, especially if you naturally sing lower than the pitch bars want you to.
But I can't do my Brian Johnson impression as usual because it doesn't register as the right pitch, which sucks cuz I can't sing AC/DC songs without doing a Brian Johnson or Bon Scott impression.
Speaking of AC/DC, the concert at Foxboro Stadium is next Tuesday and I CAN'T WAIT. First time in 8 years seeing them! And I'm going to be completely decked out in AC/DC gear. I got the limited edition AC/DC Chucks, I have an AC/DC shirt, AC/DC skirt, AC/DC hat, AC/DC hairclips - even AC/DC underwear :) Then Thursday I'll be leaving for ConnectiCon, the last convention of the year unless we go to Another Anime Con in November. This is the big one, as almost everyone in our anime circle goes and we have the Artist Alley Networking Party. We book a suite just for Saturday night and get tons of pizza and booze and everyone shows up and just networks and draws and gets drunk. Expect tons of pictures on my Flickr, and when I get the chance I'm going to upload pics from past ConnectiCons too.
Tomorrow Wig's sister comes back from Texas where she's been staying w/Marilee - the crazy aunt and JT's mom. Marilee's coming back with her to see Phyllis. I wonder if I'll finally get to meet Marilee. From all the stories I've heard of her, I kind of want to avoid her at all costs, but it's been 8 1/2 years and I have to meet her sometime. It's kind of a morbid curiosity, like "I have to see for myself how bat-shit insane she is." Examples: She "doesn't believe in" cellphones. Something about brain tumors I guess; in high school, she lied about having cancer just to get attention; she tried tightening something broken on her car with her teeth and broke all her teeth; she shot at her cheating husband and HE went to jail for kicking out her car windows; she attacked a carjacker with a field hockey stick. Yeah...so I'm gonna just leave on that note there, cuz this woman's too fucked up for words. Talk to you later blogland.