Snow And Other Oddities

It snowed yesterday and things were a little slow at some businesses. Victoria didn't quite disappear but many of us stayed inside so it might as well have. Some brave souls went out to see how much snow we had accumulated.

It might have been snowing outside but I was 'steaming' inside. People seem to think Christmas cards and/or presents are a currency you exchange for phone calls, letters, or emails. They're not. They are gifts. Furthermore, people who only acknowledge me every few months can wait a week or two for my email.

I was thinking about the Christmas card issue when I visited MySpace for the first time in two weeks. Most of the bulletins were from one friend who hasn't said hello since November. I felt like he was demanding attention but not willing to reach out to people. I thought of deleting him as a contact but then decided to just write a quick note to everyone saying hello. The note became a 'say hello or delete me' post. The guy IMed me and we chatted for about 30 minutes. It was nice.

The last 24 hours have been so odd.

New Years Card

I just got a very nice New Years card from Men and Bo. (Thanks Men!) It is similar to these ones. Bo is soo cute!

Assignments

My friends have been giving me assignments to do.

One friend said I need to meet new people and go for coffee more (among other things. lol.)

The other friend said I need to experiment more with sushi.

The latter will be easier than the former. The former could potentially be more fun.

Gah, I feel like I am in school and wonder about deadlines. At least I have an idea what qualifies as a passing grade. -___^

Photos And Fantasies

I chatted again for a bit and it went well. Both of us were feeling down but things didn't get worse. Saying hello and recognizing your own and your friend's energy level is important. Knowing when to say good night is too.

It can be a drag when friends are also feeling blue and can't pull you out of a rut. It is nice to know they are there.

Playing with pictures was fun. It took many tries to get one or two pics I thought good enough to post at Flickr. I may even be brave enough to post another here. I feel so exposed sometimes when I do appear in photos. I feel that the pic doesn't show the real me. I also feel like I am being judged.

When I am down I look for something to keep me occupied. Sleep doesn't seem an option right now so I am blogging and playing Civ 4. Both involve a bit of fantasy. In one I pretend to command your attention for a while. In the other I try to rule the world. The latter is much easier.

Cheers

Shift

Sometimes words fail me. I feel so odd when that happens because I like to communicate and think I am good at it.

Yesterday I IMed a friend and he was busy. I asked a question and he answered. Suddenly I felt blank and couldn't concentrate on chatting. I said I would check on him later and went offline.

There were no issues to deal with and no news to cover so a wait wouldn't hurt. Still it felt odd.

I went and read for almost an hour and then IMed him again. Everything felt normal and we had a nice long visit.

I am used to making conscious decisions on whether to chat or not.

Thinking

I started to write a silly post to offset all of the serious stuff I have been writing lately, here, and in Shogun's blog. I couldn't write it.

I am feeling a little odd. I feel part of a network of friends and I haven't felt that way in a long time. For the first time in years I have more than one best friend. People value what I have to say.

This is all so strange... and wonderful.

I am nervous about 'the big post'. Part of me knows what to say and part of me thinks that nothing will be right. Meh, silly blogs. ^__^

2

Friends And Blogs

I was so tired yesterday that I slept through everything. I was Rip Van Firemind. I needed the sleep and felt much better today.

When I went online everyone was excited and asked where I had been. (That felt nice. Thanks guys!) I explained things and had some nice chats. It is fun to laugh with friends.

After Shogun posted the second part of my guest post I asked if I could write another post. The post talks about Shogun's Blog and some of the changes it has been through. At one time I was a member of his blog and thus it has special meaning for me.

I hope that my guest posts help people appreciate Shogun's blog. I hope the posts help people understand my friend a bit.

3

Awesome

Friends are awesome. If you have good friends show them you care. It will make you (and them) happy.

Audio Antics

Yesterday was a very good day. I was happy to work my usual Friday shift at the place I volunteer at. The afternoon was steady until about an hour before closing.

I was talking to a coworker about some blogs and I showed him Men's photo of two dogs playing. I explained about commenting in Dutch and the challenge it presented me. I added that I was slowly learning to read Dutch.

I was thinking about blogging when I had my supper and then when I walked home. I expected to write a quick text post but not work with any music or podcasts. Things didn’t turn out as expected.

The Interview

'The Masta' IMed me and then asked if we could switch to voicechat. I said okay and then found myself being interviewed in a podcast! What followed was a long series of impromptu gags and oddball questions. Topics included: terrorist dogs, rabid squirrels, Rambo, Oprah, and Michael Jackson. It was fun and weird.

The interview is quite long but is worth listening to. You can listen to it at The Masta's Blog. The podcast player is in the sidebar. The post you want is the latest one (the top one) called 'June 23, 2006 Phone call'.

Listen to the interview and leave comments in his blog and/or here.

Online Music

After 'The Masta' and I finished our interview and follow up chat I listened to the podcast for the first time. I laughed several times and IMed some friends and told them about it.

One of the people I talked to was Stephen. Part of our conversation was about the music at Radio Blog Club and other sites. Websites that allow people to listen to music or even download songs help promote musicians. I bought a Fall Out Boy CD after listening to them at MySpace and Radio Blog Club. I am thinking about buying another CD by a different band. Listening to this 'free music' got me interested in the songs and the musicians.

As Stephen and I talked we figured out the new and irritating method of song selection at RBC and posted songs at 2 Lazy 4 Radio.

Recognition

I was checking up on blogs today and noticed that two of my regular reads aren't getting a lot of comments. Part of the problem is that the bloggers don't promote their blogs or just don’t worry about that aspect of blogging too much. I decided to mention these blogs because I like them.

The Masta

The Masta's Blog is fairly new but "The Masta" is working hard to fill it with interesting posts. There’s video, text and even some podcasts. There are a number of interesting links too.

The blog may appeal more to younger readers but it is appropriate for everyone.

The Masta is a member of 2 Lazy 2 Blog and was the winner of the Mascot Contest. He and I have been working on different projects and he does contribute a lot to them.

Shogun

Shogun's Blog doesn’t really have a name at the moment. It is mostly a record of what he has been doing and/or thinking. I like it because I can keep track of what my friend is doing and sometimes he writes some funny stuff. Sometimes he writes some very good stuff.

I find that this blog is one of those catalyst blogs that get me writing. I find that other blogs influence me too.

Shogun's blog may not appeal to everyone but many of you will be able to relate to what he says.

Recognition

I have been commenting on theses blogs and supporting the bloggers. It would be nice for others to stop in, look around, and say hi. You may not become a regular reader but you will spread some good blog cheer.

No one asked me to write this post and I may even have to duck if they throw things at me. I just want these blogs to get the recognition they deserve.

Night Noise

Well, I fixed my microphone problem and as usual it was something simple. That meant I could spend an hour singing into a microphone and playing with audio effects in Audacity. Just by luck my scratchy voice was smooth so I saved a clip and will add it to a future podcast.

I had a nice talk with my supervisor as a follow up to Tuesday. The feedback was very good and I am looking forward to my next project.

My friend Di (as I will call her) was asking about some of my online friends. I told her about the contest at 2 Lazy 2 Blog and answered some specific questions. It is funny how my online life has become part of my "real world". We both noted how blogging and projects like 2 Lazy has allowed me to interact with people I normally wouldn't be able to.

I also think that seeing friends overcome challenges has given me a lot of encouragement. I have become more open to people and new ideas. Making online friends has helped me make some good offline friends too.