I am sitting in an auditorium, listening to speeches, waiting for my firstborn to walk across the stage and receive her high school diploma.

Parenting Achievement 1 unlocked!

Now on to college and military service!  ^_^

Finally got our move done.  Figured out problems with our internet and AC and resolved them.  Still waiting on our contractor to take out some paneling and paint some rooms, but everything we can move in has been moved in.  Also, I have my basement game room set up, something I've been wanting to do for about as long as I knew my dad played D&D.  I have made a Magic Tavern in my basement, and nearly all of my fantasy art and medieval-esque game props are on display.  I went to Goodwill and found some tankards, wooden bowls, pottery platters, and a metal coat of arms for cheap.  I put up my oversized Faerun map on the walls, and put LED candles in all of my glass lanterns I've been collecting.  I even found printer block cases to put on my wall that will hold a good portion of my minis.

I have a dedicated game room.  DM ultimate physical achievement: Unlocked!

Hooray, it's moving day!.

And soon, I get my own basement to do the same as the prior poster.

This one could have gone either way...but I'm gonna call it a good thing...(if I wasn't on salary, it would definitely be a bad thing...)

Somebody managed to fry our sound board today, after the first show of the day.  And I mean, FRY...it will power up...but NONE of the functions work, we can't get the control screen to even light up, much less display any information, no sound through it...it's pretty thoroughly shot.  So, the rest of the shows for the day were cancelled.  Makes me happy, we were all hoping for another day off...the only people upset by this news were our managers, the park management, and a few of the patrons who'd come specifically to see the shows (I hope they went back to the Guest Services office to ask for refunds, like they were threatening to do...top management doesn't seem to accept the fact that people actually do come to the park just to see the entertainment, having someone demand their money back because there was no entertainment would kind of underscore the principle...)

In calling around, we learned that NOBODY in our area has this model of sound board available...nor do they even have something that has the same capabilities, apparently, because the earliest a replacement could get shipped in would be Wednesday.  Because it died on a Friday, nobody could send anyone to look at it and see if it can be repaired...so the best-case scenario on that is Monday.  And since a large group of my friends were getting together for a big party all day tomorrow (Saturday), and I'd been telling them I would have to miss it because of work...

Turns out, I won't be missing it, after all.  And I'll even have some downtime to spare to do some repairs and touch-ups on the set, before we get back to someone performing on it every day of the week.  I should probably feel a little bad that I don't feel at all bad about this happening...but I don't.

for years I've written my own material for my sci-fi campaigns.ships guns, locations. etc...I got serious about trying to put together some stuff to submit and evidently it was good enough to catch the eye of a publisher when I submitted it.

last year while i was working on a project I had trouble relating to the artist what I wanted a few things t look like. So I decided to set down and learn to do 3d Modeling, and CG renders of my ideas.

well then things went south for a bit, the publisher overloaded their plate with projects and canceled my project releasing my material back to me. but then suggested I self-publish it using a community content agreement.

For a while my art was not up to snuff, I mean some of it looks lame even to me. but I think I am getting the hang of it. Or at least close enough for people to take a liking to it...don't ask me I think most of it still looks lame.

But in the last week or so things have sort of happened at once. I have received some decent support and advice, and encouragement to go ahead and publish, on top of that I am now selling some of my art for that funny green stuff that everyone is so excited about. Enough to take my lady out to dinner with at least.

And now A local Gaming Shop has given me shelf space and is definitely behind selling my prints in the shop...for cash...

On top of that's I have an opportunity as an artist providing illustrations ( two opportunities actually)for a pretty successful product line... nothing major not like I'll ever be getting rich or famous..but it's kind of cool to know at least a few people think am able to do professional quality work.

The flip-side of the vent I just posted...

In spite of massive car trouble, and thanks massively to some truly awesome friends, I'm making a dream come true...at least, on a small scale.  With my car dead, a neighbor loaned me his Astro van...which was good, because last night, we started shooting a Star Wars fan film, and I needed to haul costumes, props, some lighting, all the food for the cast and crew...

This is a dream come true for me because it's a story I wrote.  Had some input from a couple of friends on it, but it's my story, and while I've had stuff that I've written produced before (a few times, actually), this is the first time I've been the director for it...it's my story, and my vision of my story.  Yeah, it's only five minutes long...but it's happening.  And it looks pretty good, I have to say, so far.

Again, because I have awesome friends.  A friend with some nice lights and a very nice camera.  A friend whose family owns a small sheep ranch, and is willing to let us bang around in some unused corners of it at all hours of the night.  Two friends who are experienced actors, and a third who's not all that experienced, but is game for anything.  A friend who heard about the project and suggested her son as an actor.  Other friends who've provided logistical and moral support.  A friend who's doing all my CGI work on his own time.

I really do have a lot to be thankful for in life.

After about 9 years, I finally have a piano in my house again.  After 9 years, I have begun to reteach myself how to play.  Within three run-throughs of an old favorite song of mine, I had an intact, mostly in-tempo piece of music filling my house.

Thanks, Mom, for all those lessons when I was a kid.

Something slightly related to the origional post, a buddy of mine has been having issues with sign stealers stealing his yard signs. While I don't like to publicly discuss politics irl, I was able to offer him a solution. I learned about bird repellent from a post online where someone talked about their sign stealer issue, so I suggested my buddy get bird repellent.

It worked gloriously. He said one person tried to call the cops over it. Nope, bird repellent isn't illegal, kid.

If I get yard signs or anything at some point, I'm buying bird repellent too.

Wow!  The series was incredible and the music....Man, was that good.

Lots of R&B, smooth soul, jazz. Can't say enough.  Definitely good stuff!

So glad my ISP hires some competent people in tech support. I had an issue with my internet connection this morning, and being in tech support myself I went through all the standard junk: check the cables, swap one out, power cycle the modem, connect directly to the modem (as opposed to wifi), check the management address, etc. Still didn't resolve the issue, so ISP tech here I came. As soon as the guy picked up and got my account open, I rattled off everything I had done plus the status of the lights on the modem, and he just sat there in stunned silence before going straight into the modem to check it. Five minutes later, internet was back due to an issue on their end. Thanks Rob @ TWC! :D

This almost was a vent, and then it turned out good!  I had some pumpkins and gourds, so I made a little basket for a harvest display for my front porch.  The squirrels then proceeded to gnaw on everything, leaving me with a tattered mess of half-rotten squash.

Then I had a coupon in the mail for a crafting store, and used it to purchase several nearly identical fake gourds and pumpkins, hot-glued them together so they couldn't be blown away, and now the display looks better than ever and is 100% non-edible by squirrels!

Oregon has vote by mail. We receive our ballots about three weeks before the due date, fill them out after due consideration, and either drop them off at any of the numerous collection boxes or mail them in. No lines, no chads, and there is a paper trail. And no excuse for not voting.

I got a lovely Christmas gift: a can of tea that smells like hot cocoa. Tastes great with my morning biscuit. ^_^

At the airport. My flight was late. Landed at gate E12 with 15 minutes to board the connecting flight at B12. Ran down there and got a courtesy text that the gate changed to B18. Ran there. Gate personnel told me the gate had been changed again to B76. Ran there so fast that I beat the courtesy text.

New Year's Resolution to run more: So far, so good!

So, after the official forum for one of my favorite RPGs went down, I moved to the unofficial official forum. Then, about a month ago, THAT went down without any warning whatsoever, and I was heartbroken. Today, out of the blue, I was linked to the new official forum, where the game's creator himself is an active member! Which is amazing for so many reasons, but most amazing because I posted up one of my pet projects that I've been working on for the system, and he was the first one to reply to the thread, and he said it was amazing.

I'm like... on a bit of a Cloud 9 thing right now. I don't even know how feelz works. I literally cannot even.

I am amused by the movie Sing. Gunther sorta grows on you... like fungus.

I am now a father! :D

In reply to Darbbackwards (msg # 707):

Congrats!  Being a parent is wonderful, frustrating, terrifying, gratifying... pretty much any adjective fits at one time or another!

In reply to Brianna (msg # 708):

Thanks! It's been awesome:D It's crazy that I loved her as soon as she was born (before that as well, but holding her just made it so real)

The RPG that I helped write for four years ago and got screwed out of payment for, I not only got my promised pay for (which I'd written off long ago) but 20% more because the guy who ended up with the rights to it is a stand-up, honorable guy who wanted to make sure the freelancers got paid!

In other news, my youngest nephew read my novel, and has decided he wants to write sci-fi / fantasy. He's really making me proud, every damn day.

Most Excellent, Ivan!

would it be against the rules to ask what rpg that is?

I work with the theater program in one of the local high schools...they just closed a two-weekend run of Jeckyll and Hyde...which is some deep stuff for a high school program to tackle.  These kids handled it like champs...seven sold-out performances (they sold so well the first weekend that a matinee was added for the second), doing a show that I've had mixed feelings about (it's got some grwat music, and it's very demanding for the leads...but prior to this, I hadn't seen a production that didn't feel tedious, even the one produced by and starring several of my friends, that I painted the set for.  Maybe it was the way the director cut the show down (almost every song lost a verse, at least, just because they went on and on and on...), but even in terms of performance, this was just a really good show.

And I feel incredibly blessed to be involved.  I've been doing theater pretty intensively for a couple of decades, now...and working with these students always reminds me of the joy and delight I felt when it was new to me.  I seriously think they're one of the reasons that I stay young (a soon-to-be 49-year-old who routinely gets taken for being in my mid-30s...)

Next show with the same group of theater kids.  This time around, they're doing The Little Mermaid (the Disney one)...and this is NOT a small show.  I think, when all is said and done, it's a cast of over 90 people.  And they're GOOD.

And I'm loving this show for a very different reason, this time around.  I'm a chronic Jack-of-all-trades (I get it from my dad), and especially in theater.  They initially asked me if I would do makeup for them.  Gladly.  Then they asked if I'd be willing to help paint some of the set.  Absolutely.  Then they asked me if I could make the costumes for Flotsam and Jetsam, and make Ursula's wig (sculpted out of foam).  Certainly.  And I've been helping with building and dressing the set.  Today, I started painting fish-scales on the leotards of all the mermaids (two sisters left, plus Ariel...)  If I can figure it out, I may also be helping the tech side of the show run, because they've got a pile of very nice body mics that are broken...and while I haven't fixed mics before, I've worked on enough shows to have a pretty good idea what the problem is...and solder well enough that I may be able to fix it.

I've never been so widely involved in a production before...and while part of me is flailing to try and keep up with all of it, part of me is all kinds of tickled to finally be facing this kind of challenge.

Hey, it's a three-peat!  My jack-of-all-trades status is getting a workout.  We're renovating a haunted house ride, at work...giving it a facelift for its fiftieth anniversary.  Normally, I have little or nothing to do with the rides...but this one's a special case.

So far, I've cleaned up four wax figures...helped do extensive repairs on two of them and light repair on one more.  Today I finished repainting a fiberglass figure...kind of like a mannequin, but not free-standing.  When I started, it was fluorescent orange...now, it's all flesh-toned.  Next project?  Repainting a prop Egyptian sarcophagus.

And in the middle of all this, I'm making a dragon-helmet for a friend's cosplay.  DEFINITELY not getting bored with my day-to-day anytime in the near future...