• Handle large amounts of money and passports almost dismissively in a back room of a bank after taking out my mysterious security deposit box.
• Use a retinal scanner and have “Access Granted” spoken in a cool, even female toned robot voice.
• Make an “exchange” at a public location in order to get a taxi or briefcase. (Example: “Do you have a match?” Reply: “I have a lighter.” “Counter-Reply: “That’s better still”. Then stuff happens)
• Step off a helicopter that’s just landed and immediately be greeted by another suited gentleman/gentlewoman prepared to brief me on the “situation”. Sunglasses are optional, but awesome.
• Experience an explosion or controlled demolition. (Extra points, walk away from said explosion/controlled demolition without looking at it).
• Place a bug (and have it work).
• Follow someone effectively and gain access to somewhere you shouldn’t be.
• Skydive – but have a tuxedo (or a sharp suit on underneath it all. A diving wetsuit is also an appropriate change)
• Crawl through an airduct.

Christmas came and went as it’s prone to do, and the New Year was spent with friends.
I had grown a beard to shave off at the Solstice, so that was fun.

I graduated from college which still feels odd to say.

I think my next step is to find a part time job to keep me occupied while I figure out what I want to do next.

I think I need to focus on photography more though, I’ve been letting it slip by the wayside.

The idea that this holiday celebrates “the stealing of land from another native peoples” is completely missing the point.
If the holiday of Thanksgiving really came from the now mythical story of how Pilgrims were given bounty from the Native Americans and so they ate together and shared their cultures and feasted together; couldn’t that be the point?

Sure, what ended up happening to the Native Americans was unfortunate, but to mesh history together into a series of end games is unfair to the spirit of the holidays.

It’d be like saying that all white people everywhere were/are responsible for the slavery and subjugation of Africans. These sort of sweeping generalizations serve nobody.

Instead of attempting to rail against yet another Hallmarked holiday (which I agree many of them have become) by trying to subvert history and make it serve the idea that “White people suck, we hurt the Native Americans”, instead try to remember where the tradition came from.

At least how I learned it, the idea was of peoples of different creeds, cultures, beliefs and backgrounds came together to feast in a time when much was unsure. Winter was coming, and these brave (yes brave) Pilgrims came to a frontier land not knowing if it would mean their deaths. Yes they escaped religious persecution, yes in hindsight it is ironic that America is a land so known for religious intolerance. Regardless, it wasn’t the same back then. People could have died simply for not having stored enough food for the winter, and with the help of the native peoples, they were able to feast and survive and learn about each other.

Whether or not the story details differ from yours, the point remains the same. To understand that we are all human and deserve open arms in a time when the natural reaction is to close them around you and your own. Winter still scares people, even subconsciously and it’s a time when family is important.

What’s interesting is that the same people who have an intolerance for the “idea” of Thanksgiving being a racist holiday or a remembrance of slaughter of a people, they are the same people who come together and call it something else but still invite other people to their house. They still believe that nobody should be alone on Thanksgiving.

The spirit of the holiday is still there, people just tend to get wrapped up in fighting against the status quo, that they think equating Thanksgiving with an attempted genocide is a fair deal.

History is grim enough on its own, let’s not do injustice to holidays meant to encourage peace and love and understanding between strangers, family, friends, or anyone. It’s a time when literally one can give thanks to what makes life worth living.

From our infancy, every step we take is a concession we make. Every step is a controlled fall, so we forget how to fly.

This summer has been full of friends and fun, going to conventions like Origins (and being on the brink of Gencon) as well as the start of the Renaissance Faire season.

Can’t wait to meet all the new people I’ll meet at Gencon, as well as reunite with the friends from previous years. As far as updates go, I will probably keep those updates on FaceBook, because it’s easiest for me to do from my iPhone.

My Cat, as seen in anime. I was bored.

Story Here

If I end up taking a roadtrip, I think I’d like to see them in person.

Sitting at a stop light, in the backseat, my attention was brought to two attractive girls at the crosswalk, looking like they were heading to or coming from a bar. Looking back and forth from my friend who pointed them out and back to them, I noticed they saw us looking.

My first instinct was a kind of embarassment, though it didn’t really show, I simply averted my eyes slightly and tried to play it off. As the light turned green, and the car began to move, I made eye contact again and they smiled and waved. So I smiled and waved back.

Moments like that might stick out as a missed opportunity, but that simple gesture gave me a mood boost, even though I wasn’t in a bad mood, they managed to make my good mood better by reminding me that it’s okay to make contact with another stranger once in a while.

Sometimes the city’s weird rules play me out like I’m on autopilot, avoiding eye contact and trying not to smile, it really can feel like an urban jungle, where showing one’s teeth is a sign of aggression.

So thanks to the ladies who reminded me the value of a simple smile and wave.

For those that know, I spent money taking bartending courses so I could learn the trade and perhaps get a job doing said bartendering.

In fairness, they did warn us that a man becoming a bartender was difficult, but at the time, with all  was learning, I couldn’t see how my knowledge of the subject couldn’t ensure some kind of job.

So cut to nearly a year later, and numerous experiences in which I failed. I got a “connection” nudged my way to work as a bartender at a popular nightclub in the city, when I went, I got the run around and somehow landed a volunteer job of walking around the city promoting the club. Nuts to that, exit stage left. I don’t *need* a job, I would like one that I would enjoy.

But what’s really started to get to me, is the preponderance of situations in which female friends of mine have heard about my new found (and paid for) skills and simply say to themselves “I should do that” and immediately have job offers.

I’ll be completely honest about this next part, and it’s not meant to be derogatory (which pretty much ensures that it will come across that way): For the last year, I’ve not had stellar service at any bar/lounge/club I’ve went to, and at first I thought it was just me being elitist. Back when I didn’t know the standards of courtesy and whatnot, I guess I just took my drink and drank it with the goal of getting drunk.

These days, I want to appreciate whiskey and I find myself considering the drink I’m in the mood for. How am I supposed to feel when the bartendress doesn’t know whats in a fuzzy navel or a screwdriver and even after I give the hint, she is slow in figuring out where everything is?

How am I supposed to feel when I myself can look at a bar and identify the drinks needed for a certain concoction and still be met with a confused look and an insistance that they don’t make that here (I’ve been dying for an Old Fashioned).

My friend recently asked a bartender friend of his about any job openings, cause he knew a guy who was good at bartending who was looking for work. The bartender’s reply was “Don’t really need guy bartenders”

Of course not, he’s already got a job, fuck anyone else.

I expected competition, but many of these subpar bartenders I can’t even begin to see them as effective competition in the realm of knowledge or skill.

I admit, I got suckered into the idea of making tip money and being able to be happy with that. I didn’t count on the fact that it’s nearly impossible to get hired since I’m a guy.

Still, I at least have the knowledge, and I’m thinking of going back for the free classes so I can brush up on my learnings. I feel they’ve been getting dusty since I haven’t been practicing. Also there are still steps I can take with them, apparently it’s lifetime membership, so I can go with job placement assistance if they have spots open. We’ll see.

I just felt like ranting about it, cause it seems like everywhere I turn there’s an inexperienced bartender behind the bar, fucking up my drinks (never making a red devil in the same way twice) and expecting a tip out of the deal.

Coheed & Cambria and System of a Down

These two bands, I would totally listen to if they:

a) got a new singer

b) did an instrumental album

c) all of the above

My favorite bittersweet song by Coheed is Welcome Home, unfortunately, my ideal version requires me to skip around to get to the non singing parts. It’s also not like you could find a polite way to say “Hey, you mind redoing this song but taking your voice out of it?”

I don’t have a favorite SOAD song because I’ve given up on them for years, but everytime I hear a cool tune, I secretly worry that I won’t have it for long because Dude-Man’s voice will start a’wharblin’. Up down Up down high low high low.

If I had great musical accompaniment but starting singing in one of my many joke voices, everyone I know would be like “Sasha, stop that, that’s annoying, you’re ruining perfectly good music.”

Instead of, oh I don’t know, hailing my style as original and different from the general malaise of music these days. It’s an illusion, if enough people like SOAD or Coheed, the rest of the people will find a reason why the singing is okay in this instance. If any of these bands auditioned for anything requiring regular singing, they’d grab the attention of the casters with cool opening riffs and then spiral down the toilet once the singing started.

Placebo and Wheatus kind of fall into this category, but I’m not a fan of the music.

Opinions are like assholes. Everyone else’s is wrong, and mine is correct.