Welcome back to the Good News Journal! Doing this a little early today, but with the humidity and impending storm, I think the majority of big events is over.

*Went with Dad to Winkler to do a bit of shopping. While there, we found a food truck that served greek food. Tried my first ever Doner/Gyro (which it was depends on who you ask)

*The food truck was right near the rural airport, so we sat and watched the crop dusters come and go while we ate the delicious food

*Took the kit car for the first ride in a few weeks; it's pretty much done, and parked in the front garage

*Supposed to be a big thunderstorm tonight; other than losing power, I love big storms!

*Built some self-resetting flagpoles that never get tangled, so that's cool

Here we go with more good things that happened today! In no particluar order;

*Put the near-finishing touches on the family kit car; it's back in running condition, with only one or two small things left before it's completely done!

*Started a new embroidery pattern that I'm really looking forward to working on

*Found out that leftover home-made stir fry is just as good, if not better than fresh.

Short list today, but the first point took up the bulk of the day. See y'all tomorrow!

As the title suggests, this is a good news journal. For a week or so, I've been comitting to writing down a daily journal, but only recording the good things that happened. It really helps remind me that good things DO happen, even if they're just small things.

I thought I'd share the good things that are happening to me every day with anyone watching me, starting today!

*I got to be in a parade today
*One of the people also in the parade gave everyone a full-size packet of Skittles candy (I love skittles)
*When I cut my hand fairly badly on a pin, the women in the Ladies' Auxiliry kitchen made a huge fuss over making me feel better, and giving me a brownie
*Talked to someone, and found out that we were mutually avoiding one another, and said we'd stop
*Found out that SecondLife was having a sale on quarterly premium accounts, and got myself one; I now have a (small) house again!
*I didn't get lockjaw from the rusty needle!

Expect more good things tomorrow, listeners!

I envy people who have a strong belief in their religion. I've seen them take such comfort in the fact that they know their place in the world, that they have a place to go, and that everything will be alright.

Yes, I know that there's all sorts of atrocities that have been comitted in the name of various religions. Anyone who brings that up in the comments section will have their comments removed. I'm not here to start a crusade, jihad, holy war, or athiest clusterfuck. There are plenty of places on the internet for your opinions, leave me my opinion here in peace.

Anyway, back to my thoughts. I've come to the conclusion that you're either predisposed to religion, or you're not. It might be a genetic thing, it might be the environment you're raised in, a combination of both, or neither of them. What causes it isn't part of my thinking right now. Some people are inherantly disposed to believing in something, even if that belief is that there is nothing worth believing in. Whether or not athiesm is a belief is another one of those arguements I don't want to get into right now.

I wish I was in the first category. I wish I had something that I believed in. As some of you know, I'm going through a rough time right now. I have two degrees that aren't getting me a job, I'm living in my parents basement, and most recently, someone who I thought I was very close to made it clear to me that I wasn't important in their life. Every goal I have ever made has failed, most beyond salvaging. I have nobody close enough to turn to. I could really use a good dose of certianty of the sort that religious individuals exhibit.

I've tried to be pious in the past. I come from a christian family, I know a little about the religion. For years, I attended church every Sunday, was involved with the community. I sang the hymns, I listened to the lessons, I learned a few prayers by heart. Never did I feel like I was doing anything meaningful. I've always felt like I was just going through motions without feeling the motivation behind them. Scripture has some interesting stories, but that's all I see in it; stories. The words of some men brought together, telling stories of how to be nice to each other. I agree with the message that we should be kinder to one another, if nothing else, but I see no more work of the divine in christianity than I see divinity in Dragonlance. It doesn't take a diety to tell us that being nice is pleasant.

Understand that I'm not denouncing Christanity. For all I know, they might be right, and there is a loving God out there somewhere, taking care of all of us. It's equally possible that the athiests are right, that there is no God, and that our existance is a coincidence brought around by a quirk of nature. I don't have enough information from either side to comfort me. I have never felt the warm embrace of a loving God, nor do I find it reassuring to know that my every action is a result of random quantum forces interacting.

Other religions are even more alien to me, probably because I didn't encounter any sort of religious diversity until I was already in university. I find their doctrines and beliefs just as interesting as I do those belonging to Christianity. Alas, I also find the teachings of S'Allumer - a fictional religion based on the sun - to be equally interesting and possable as the rest.

There's really no closing to this, I'm just speaking my thoughts. I didn't write this to offend anyone, and I'm sorry if I did.

TL;DR: I wish Religion worked on me. Don't be a dick in the comments section

I fully expect to get no answers, but I have questions and nobody to answer

What do you do when you need them more than they need you? You say nothing for two weeks, missing them for every moment. They don't even notice that you were gone.

I have too many feels, I don't know what to do with them. I'm turning into an angsty teenager ten years too late

Just got my hands on a "FitBit". It's this weird cross between a pedometer and sleep tracker, that syncs to the internet n stuff. Combined with the website, it tracks calories and fitness shizwiz. Maybe actually SEEING my activity on a chart will motivate me to get off my butt and do something!

That, and it was the only thing on Amazon that I was even remotely interested in spending my gift card on xD

For awhile, I was thinking about doing custom cross-stitch commissions. I've come to the conclusion that the market just can't take what I'd be forced to charge for my work. The materials for doing the patterns are relatively inexpensive, but the sheer amount of time required to do a pattern makes it prohibitively expensive.

For example, I'm currently working on a small(ish) pattern. So far, it has taken me around 30 hours, and I anticipate another four or five before I can finish. Even if I charge HALF of minimum wage, this makes a simple embroidery pattern worth over $200. People will pay that for a tail they can wear around, or an incredibly intricate and beautiful picture, but I doubt they'd pay it for a string rendition of a picture they already have.

Am I way off-base here? What are everyone's thoughts on this issue?

I'm going to be graduating from the University of Winnipeg this Wednesday. If anyone is interested, it will be broadcast live via the internet at

http://www.uwinnipeg.ca/index/convo-webcast

The ceremony lasts between two and three hours, starting at 2:30 Winnipeg time. If you already know my "real human" name, you'll recognize me. If you don't, then feel free to watch and imagine who I am. I've already contacted those I really want to e-attend personally, this is just an open invitation to be bored out of your mind along with me.

Only eight more sleeps until I get to wear a dress in front of a thousand people, and not only will nobody notice, they'd be more surprised if I WASN'T wearing one!

Person who figures it out gets one e-cookie

I haven't been feeling all that well today, so I was sitting back, watching the Boob Tube (look it up kiddies, I don't mean porn) while my mind wandered. Part of the show I was watching mentioned the Cold War, in particular the Tzar Pushka, which was the largest bomb that has ever been detonated by the human race. It set me to thinking:

Isn't it incredible that this bomb was SO powerful, that Russia - a country stereotypically known for being a bit unreasonable - went "woah, this is getting out of hand, we better cut this out". On top of that, the OTHER country known for being a little over-the-top in the military department - The United States of America - responded to this obvious sign of Russian supremacy with ". . . dude, you're right. That's just too scary; you win this peen-measuring contest, I'm not even going to TRY and out-do you this time!"

I have no doubt that the tactical missiles that are being held in reserve these days are at LEAST that powerful, if not moreso, but as least everyone is still scared enough of the "Power of the Atom" to tone things back down to a dick-waving contest, rather than outright dick-sparring. With the way that Russia's soviet-minded president (premier? I have no clue) is heading, do ye think we might be in for a sequel to the Cold War?

Sorry, I didn't mean to get political there; the point I was wanting to get acrosss is that I'm still amazed that humanity made something SO INCREDIBLY SCARY that we all collectively shat our pants full of bricks, and pinky-promised each other that we'd never do something so stupid again.

Some good news for once; Dad and I finally managed to get our project car into such a state that it's licensable! I've just gotten back from the first joyride it's ever had, and let me tell you; this thing is FUN!

Of course, it's the slowest car on the road; not because it's sluggish, but because it's so open and so low to the ground that going 60 km/h feels like you're in the Indy500. Other than that, it's smooth, it's quiet, and it's comfortable. Shame it only has one seat so far.

Dear Christ, I just realized that I've become one of those people who posts depressing and angsty journals on the internet with minimal details, in hopes that someone will care enough to ask . . . then am surprised when nobody does.

In other news, just got booked for 4 days of substitute teaching, so that's nice.

Suddenly furry?

https://youtu.be/9c3EQhtf9-U

I guess I'm single again (still? Does it count if you were only ever together online, even if it was three years?).

I can't help but feel that somewhere, the being in charge of Karma is chuckling to themselves a little. The wheel turns, and sometimes you wind up on the bottom.

At least I can take solace from my Grade Eight teacher's cousin: There's Nowhere but Up From Here

After a lot of introspection, I've come to a conclusion. I am a better friend to the people I know than they are back. I know this sounds like I'm a little full of myself, and I guess I sorta am. Let me explain:

Every morning, I get up and check my email/messengers to see if someone left me any messages overnight. If they did, I respond right away. Then, to a select few (you likely know who you are), I send general messages of greeting to, so that they feel appreciated. Throughout the day, depending on what I have going on in my life, I make an effort to contact several of my friends at least once each. I have been following this routine more or less constantly for the last three years. If someone asks me for a favor, I try to oblige them, and I rarely ask for any compensation. I virtually NEVER call in the favors accrued this way. If someone has a complaint about something I've done, or some way I've acted, I apologize and ask how I can change (even if I meant exactly what I said or did). I genuinely care about those I communicate with, I show interest in their lives, want to know their thoughts on various topics. I try to be an integral part of their lives, even if just a small part.

I'm tired of it.

I have realized that, in my entire ten year online life, I can think of only a single person who messaged me without my first contacting them. I end up offering my thoughts and opinions without being asked, often to deaf ears, or non-answers (aww *pets* is NOT an answer, it's a way to pawn me off without seeming like you don't care). I'm convinced that nobody would notice if I suddenly vanished from the internet without a trace. The way people act to me, I've found out that I need my friends far, far more than they need me.

I don't want to be the nice guy that everybody knows, but never stop to get to REALLY know. I'm learning the hard way that nice guys really DO finish last. I want someone to care about me the same way that I care about everyone. Someone who would notice if I missed a day talking to them, who would go out of their way to find a way to contact me. Someone who would make me feel like more than a chatbot.

I'm not leaving the internet. My whole life is here, and I don't think I could start again. Just . . . don't expect me to be all that cheerful for awhile.

TL;DR: Canadian patience and forgiveness has a limit, and I'm approaching it fast.

Just got back from my first real job as a teacher; I spent a morning substituting on a Hutterite colony just north of here. For those not familiar, Hutterites are sort of like "Amish Light". They keep to themselves, live in communes, eschew /some/ technology and luxury, but aren't too concerned with little things like Electricity and Television.

Also, they all learn to speak a dialect of German before they speak english, so everyone has a thick accent, despite growing up in Canada for generations.

Everything went great! Now I just need to wait for someone else to get sick/pregnant/dead, so I can have THEIR job x.x

I've come to the conclusion that I need to exercise rather a lot more. I've been spending the last six months sitting around the house, on the computer. Finally it's been nice enough to take the bike out. It turns out that I was severely dehydrated, and just didn't notice; had several brown-outs on the ride, and don't remember the last few minutes of it; woke up flopped out on the bed half an hour later.

If a 3 mi bike ride is enough to kill me that bad, I need to do it more often.

After three years of tinkering and ignoring, the day is almost here. For those of you I haven't talked to for awhile, I've been working on a kit car with my Dad for some time now. It's a replica of a 1929 Mercedes. As of this moment, the electrical (other than the headlights, waiting for parts) is completely done. Tomorrow morning we're going to put in the essential fluids, test the spark plugs, and see if it turns over and starts!

If it does, that leaves just the upholstery and seats before we take the thing to be licensed.

Is it really so much to ask that I could watch a single TV show (non-reality show) that DOESN'T have a bleeding romance in it? I've got enough on my mind right now WITHOUT being constantly reminded of it by the very thing I'm using to try and NOT think about my life

It turns out that if you have an electric gas-tank door on your car, it will open when you re-connect the battery. Every time without fail. This is (apparently) a safety feature of some sort?

I'm not good at cars xD. I know the basics of how they work, but the nuances just escape me.

I don't think I've talked to more than like, two people in the last month. Wher'd you all go? We should play L4D or something, I'm lonely!

It's been an up and down day. On the down side, I was looking forward to blasting some music while my parents were out. Right as I had everything wired up, they pulled into the driveway. Didn't get to listen to a single song.

On the plus side, my teaching certification went through, and I got my papers in the mail today. I am officially a teacher for life. Still no work, but at least I'm on substituting lists for now.

Whether it's been not returning your messages, or seemingly blocked you on Skype, I'm sorry. I just wanted to open conversation with something positive, and it's been too long since I've had a position where I feel good enough to . . . (risk? can't think of the right word) make contact without being afraid of making things worse.

Still waiting on the child abuse registry check to come in, then I should be ready to submit the final applications for substituting across southern Manitoba. I can still only do a maximum of ten days without the certificate (due in april), but it's something. Still no sign of a full-term job, either now or September. Tons of jobs available, but none of them are for technology positions.

You know, with all this modern movie-making technology, and 3D animation and modelling, I'm surprised animators aren't going back and re-making old classics more often. Case in point; there has to be at least ONE furry in Disney that has both the ability and the desire to remake the old Robin Hood animation into something a little more modern, possibly for a different audience.

Just throwing it out there, in case anybody is listening ;)

Got my applications out to substitute teach in three different divisions. Not much else I can do at this time of year, I suppose.

If anyone can think of someplace that is looking for someone with degrees in Computer Science and/or Education, let me know; I can start right away, and I can move to another place if need be!