Still no word on the job front, but something pleasant came in the mail today. Mum handed me an envelope, and contained within were my degrees. I know it was official a week ago, but this just makes it more . . . real. I'm more educated than most of the population, and it's weird!

Also, I just got an email from the person who now lives in my old apartment. Apparently the TwoKinds Kickstarter package FINALLY arrived. It's only two and a half years late, and sent to the wrong address. I guess I shouldn't expect so much from a closet-pervert furry webcomic artist that has people just throw money at him x.x Working with family to somehow get the package in my hands this century. Shame it wasn't two days earlier; I was RIGHT THERE and could have picked it up when I was in the area instead of making a dedicated trip.

On the plus side: I graduated officially today.

On the negative side; the perfect job I had applied for, the one that seemed like a shoo-in. I didn't get it. They didn't even phone, they just emailed me.

I'll just go crawl into a corner and whimper a little now.

As of today, I am officially graduated from the University of Winnipeg. I now am allowed to include letters after my name! If you include my ordainment with the Universal Life Church Monastary, my full name and title is now:

Reverend Master Irontail Flatley-Carami B.Sc., B.Ed.

Replace furry name with real name, and is even more impressive, but I don't want you degenerates knowing who I actually am <.<

No hard feelings? xDD

You know that the town you (might be) moving to is teeny and remote when the Google Streetview car never made it there.

http://goo.gl/maps/GXpX4

I just spent the last five hours cross stitching a woman's naked thigh. You'd think I'd be going cross-eyed (ha ha, punny) by now. But I just want to keep going. It's not like I have to be up in the morning! My family isn't surprised if I don't make an appearance before noon. I guess this is what you graphic artists feel when you just HAVE to keep working on a piece. I can see why you all enjoy it so much now :)

Well, I've put my best foot forward, and sent in a job application to a school in Northern Manitoba. It's basically everything I've been looking for in a job, and I don't mind being so remote (especially since the internet in the town is supposedly amazing). If this goes through, I'll be employed as the resident geeky teacher until at least June.

Of course, that also means that I'll be moving twelve hours north, to what is effectively the end of the roads. I believe this would qualify as a "life experience"

I've been sending cold resumes to various local businesses and institutions, most particularly schools. A cold resume is basically sending out a letter to a place of work asking if they have positions open, instead of waiting for them to post openings. So far, I've found that the local Adult Education centre is looking for someone to re-write their psychology course from the ground up to appeal to an adult audience (rather than teenagers), and the high school is looking for a Gr 8 Homeroom teacher from March until June, possibly later. The only issue I see with the latter one is that they /might/ require me to teach french, which I'm not really trained to do. I guess I'll see how things turn out.

And to think, I was going to apply to the grocery store today! Looks like I'll avoid backbreaking work a litle longer!

Go to a really nice restaurant, pay off the Maitre D' to play "Dick in a Box" partway through the meal. Stand up, and have the ring box stuck to one's crotch, with a post-it note stuck to it saying "marry me?"

(last journal removed 'cause emo sucks)

Really gets to me when people use the "what I'm listening to" feature on Skype. Spams the shit out of my status screen. I REALLY don't care what you're listening to. If I want to know, I'll ask thanks

I think I've been thinking too much about tabletop games and Roleplaying lately.

Let me clarify; I really enjoy games like D&D, and roleplaying characters on online games, but it seems to have dominated my creative mind in a way I'm not sure I like. Years ago, I used to be able to bang out a short story, or snippet from a larger piece in a few hours, maybe a day or two. I always had an idea where the piece was going, and what I wanted to happen.

Nowadays though, I seem to be in a bit of a rut. I still have tons of creative ideas, but they're more like prompts or jump-off points than finished pieces. I have characters and settings just bashing against eachother in my head, with very little in the way of storyline. I WANT to get back into fiction writing, but I can never find a thread of story in my imaginings.

Here's an example (in b4 cliche moaning; yes, I DO get a lot of inspiration from dreams): A young adult is just getting his life in order when out of nowhere, someone approaches him in public (mall, sports thingy, haven't decided yet), and claims to be his parent. He mentions things that nobody could possibly know about the boy, hands him a card with a date and a location, then vanishes into the crowd. Boy goes to meet-up, finds out that he's half dragon (hush, we'll have no moaning in the audience!) and his "true" parents want to re-connect, and bring him into the mythical community. But the elders of the community don't take kindly to half-breeds, hence why he wasn't raised in the group.

Good start? Yeah, I like to think so. I have NO idea where this is going though. I just can't piece together a storyline from so many parts. There are characters and ideas that I want to incorporate, but no threads to bring together. I don't have a final destination, and only a vague idea of the journey to the end.

I'm not really asking people to write this for me, or even to glue the bits I come up with together. I suppose I'm asking how any writers out there do their thing. Anyone else overcome a similar rut to what I'm in?

tealdeer; I used to write, then I took a D&D to the knee

https://youtu.be/-UNJMvW21Xg

This was playing in my head after I got off the phone today. My ISP decided to enact a "30-day termination period" that was not mentioned anywhere in my contract or bills. Since I cancelled my internet (leeching off parents') back in Dec, I just got a bill for it. This being Canada, the bill was huge. I phoned up the company to dispute everything, they tried to give me the runaround, but I stuck them out and got my money back, albeit with a tongue-lashing.

I now owe them nothing! I have out-screwed the professional screwers!

Put the finishing touches on the repaired sewer pipe today. It's all buried and paved over, works perfectly. I am pleased to report that I am 10% manlier, on account of having used a jackhammer!

Oh, and the job I talked about awhile back? They haven't called me back. I don't think I'm on the short list.

. . . is it weird that there's exactly one religion in the world that I know of, where the most holy member *ISN'T* a follower of the same religion?

I mean, Mohammed the Prophet was islamic, the Buddha was either the founder of buddhism, or one of the first followers (depending on who you ask). Snorri the Sage was a follower of Odin, Amaterasu and Tsukiyomi were followers of Shinto, and Jesus was . . . not Christian at all. Dude was Jewish, which is SIMILAR to Christianity, but not the same. Not the same at all.

Maybe I'm just weird for noticing that kind of thing xD

Good news; I've composed my cover letter and sent off an application to this teacher's aide job.

Bad news; The kitchen sink is completely blocked. Dad and I have been messing around with it all day, and have narrowed down the problem to one spot. A T-joint. Under the concrete floor. Despite several hours of buggering around with a drain snake, we've managed to make it WORSE. Instead of draining slowly, now it won't drain at all.

Fortunately, it's just the one branch. We can still use the toilet. We just need to clean out the whole room, and jackhammer out a good portion of the floor. I guess I know what we're doing tomorrow. Looks like paper plates for the foreseeable future.

After all my negativity earlier, I thought I'd put something nice out for once.

After a little bit of soul-searching, I've decided that I might switch careers slightly. Instead of going for school teacher, I might look into teacher's aide. I wouldn't be responsible for grading anything, or planning any lessons. I wouldn't be responsible for keeping in contact with parents, or any of the other guff expected of teachers. I would either be assigned to a class, and work with all the students that go through it in a day, or I would be assigned to a student or group of students, and work with them one-on-one. I'd follow them through the day, and help them with their schoolwork.

The pay is slightly less than that of a teacher, but then, I don't need to worry about all the crap that was worrying me about the job.

The best part? A nearby town is looking for a teacher's aide that is proficient with computers. I am ridiculously over-qualified, so I hope I'm a shoo-in. I should know for sure by teh end of January!

Sorry to everyone I confused or worried with my earlier journal. I suppose I better clarify.

Dad has this habit of asking questions I either have no answer for, or would rather not answer. In this case, he was asking whether I've ever had big goals or dreams for the future. I honestly never have. I've always done things that either I've been forced into, or enjoyed. When I graduated from high school, I knew I wanted to do university for computers. More for fun than for any job though. Dad suggested I also go into teaching, as it's a good "fallback if the computer garbage doesn't work for you". Not having any better idea, I did. I've since worked myself into a corner, making myself nearly unemployable with my choices. I will have a teaching degree, but only have experience working in computer labs. I have virtually NO experience or training in a classical classroom.

Really the only goals or dreams I have are either very short term, or useless for directing a career. (wanting to finally meet in person with close friends is a good goal, but not one to base a lifetime on)

It hurts, having to admit to family that I have no clue what I want to do, or where I want to go. Even material-ways I have no huge desires. A nicer computer would be pleasant, but I don't really lust over one. I guess I'm just going through a bit of an existential crisis.

I'll be fine; I think there's a job opening in the next town over for a teacher's assistant. It's not something i see myself doing long-term, but it's better than schlepping boxes of fruit at the grocery store.

That awkward feeling when your parents start asking you all those hard questions you've been asking yourself for the last two years, and don't have answers to TT-TT

Over a year ago, I backed something on kickstarter. In this case, it was helping a webcomic artist raise enough dough to be able to print their book on hard-copy, and sell it. After the allotted time, it turned out that he'd raised enough money. I waited for the backer reward to come.

And I waited.

And I waited.

I contacted the seller, asking for an update. As far as I can tell, it was never read. I graduated from university, and forwarded a change of address to this artist. Again, no response. Over the year, he told a tale of woe and difficulty, which was supported by the truth. Then he told a tale of how he had received all the product that was owed. Then he vanished. The webcomic is still being updated, but the artist isn't answering any posts on their forum, or on the kickstarter page. The payment is over 60 days ago, so I can't even file a suit with Amazon payments.

I've been robbed of my money by Webcomic artist Tom Fischbach, of TwoKinds fame. http://twokinds.keenspot.com/

At this point, I couldn't give a damn about the supposed rewards. I just want my $70 back. I would greatly appreciate if anyone could give me suggestions.

It's getting worse. Today started off quite pleasant; parents out of the house, and I hooked up the Wii to the TV, played some Okami.

Ever since they got home, though, we've been at eachother's throats. Dad seems to believe that because he's interested in something, that everyone is ALSO interested in it. To that degree, I've been volunteered to help serve a meal at Ft Gary Horse (a millitary group) in Winnipeg next weekend, as a member of a group that I really have minimal interest in. The only reason I'm going is because it's MUCH harder to live with a parent giving you disappointed puppy eyes than it is to plate food for an hour.

I've only been at home for 6 days. Already I'm trying to find a way to get out on my own again. It's not even all that hostile here, I just can't take the CONSTANT being around them. If I go off on my own for awhile, even to watch a movie or play a game in my room, I get guilty-faces when I emerge. They obviously want to see me, but just as obviously don't want to intrude.

Just . . . FFFFFFFFFFFF

I'd talk about this with my friends, but they're all far, far away; either in body, or in contact (really, where did you all go?) #alone

This is why I didn't look forward to coming to live with my parents again. I might have been used to it when I was younger, but I'm not anymore.

My parents always seem to be on the verge of a minor spat. ALWAYS. The smallest things can trigger it. Take today for instance; I was wondering if Mum had seen my old computer track-ball. She hadn't, and I told her it wasn't a problem, that I was just curious. Then, because I know how she works, I asked her to not look for it, because I know that she'll be in a shitty mood if she can't find it.

I go and shuffle around the boxes I brought with me from moving for awhile, then come and sit down. She's (predictably) worked herself up into an almost angry temper from not being able to find the mouse that nobody's seen for the last two years. I suggest that it's not a problem, and that she not worry about it. I get snapped at, Dad thinks it's hilarious, and everyone's on everyone else's nerves.

This is not the first time these last three days that this has happened. It never gets /quite/ to the stage where I'm needing to get away from them both, but it's always RIGHT at that boundary. It will only get worse when I start looking for a job. I have enough stress to deal with without having to deal with these two being at each other's throats constantly.

(Side note, we got into another spat while I was typing this; I've been on the couch in the main room, and mum's been in the kitchen. She forgot I was upstairs, and started talking to Dad about whether I should be helping with Christmas decorating. When I announced my presence, I (somehow) got shit for existing? I'm not even sure why I was getting picked at)

TL;DR: I've been living on my own for so long, I'd forgotten how dysfunctional families actually are

Just updating everyone on how I'm doing. I've moved out of the city, I'm back at my parents' place for the forseeable future. Finished all my classes, should be graduating in February with two bachelor's degrees. Can't get a teaching job until april at the soonest.

I don't think reality has set in. It still doesn't feel like I'm here to stay yet :/ Don't know how I feel about not being a student anymore. Feeling a bit down, but when am I not?

It's two in the morning, and you're only JUST cooking dinner, and it's NOT EVEN LATE YET!

This is a new one on me, and it's instantly become a huge peeve. Censorship. Particularly, the use of what I'll call "objectionable" language online. Sure, I can understand not allowing someone to use objectionable things in usernames and submission titles. Having a dirty mouth in a journal is slightly more acceptable, but still to be frowned upon.

This takes the cake though; I was registering for some website, and was being thwarted by the password "quality control". Either it was too short, or didn't have enough symbols and numbers. Finally, I got pissed off and just threw in something stupid, like "fuckYourPasswordReqs99455858", just to see if it was long enough. I was returned with the error "cannot use 'fuck' in your password". REALLY? Me having a slightly naughty password is TOTALLY going to ruin your image, website. Exactly ONE person is going to know about it, and I can give you a 100% guarantee that they don't give a flying assnugget about your censorship.

Well, that does it. I'm done my University career one way or another. I wrote my final exam EVER! Despite taking almost the whole 90 minutes, being needlessly verbose with my answers, AND spending ten minutes doodling on the scrap paper, I was still the first one finished. I'm not sure how to feel about this.

Let's just mark it down that I write really fast, and have had a whole two years more university experience than many of the other students <.<

. . . that I was supposed to be keeping a class reflection journal for the past month. I was supposed to comment and voice my thoughts on the various presentations over the past few weeks. Alas, they were so uninspiring that I didn't bother doing the reflections at the time. Now, looking back, I can't remember a single one of the presentations. They were THAT distinctive that I can't even remember the TOPICS they were supposed to be covering! x3

Debating whether it's worth trying to bullshit my way through this for such a small part of the grade.