For those of you still keeping track of this search of mine, I did end up making it up to San Francisco last week; my stay lasted from Monday to Thursday, and while it was indeed fun, it also seems to have been productive. While it's not official that I have the job yet, it's looking very positive - the interview went wonderfully, and at the moment they are running a background check on me. Keeping my fingers / claws crossed on this one.

Now, especially as this is looking pretty good, I do seriously require that housing assistance if at all possible. I've had a few nibbles on that front, but in the end everyone seems to be quite full-up house-wise. As much as I'd be willing to spend nights outdoors in the area - the entire time I was there, I think I was mildly chilly once, and even that was a fair bit north of where the job will be - I still have my cat to worry about. Also, I'm not entirely sure of the legality of such a thing in Mountain View. ^^;

Finally, a friend of mine,  Baphnedia, is also in need of a little bit of assistance; his, however, is more financial. At present he is trying to produce a game called SIN through Paradice Games; however, he lost his job about a month after I did, and as such cannot really back the project any more. As I cannot help in my current situation right now, I felt that at least spreading the word might help somewhat. If you're curious, send him a note or something! I'm sure he'd be happy to tell you all about it. :3

So! This is mostly to update on the things I mentioned on here last time.

I took the advice of  Toksyuryel and  Baphnedia and changed a few things about how I was marketing and selling my e-book. First, I did increase the price (not by much, only to $5); I figure, I did spend the better part of six years writing the manuscript on and off (I really hope the next book does not take that long), and then a very large amount of time typesetting it myself so it would be presentable. Additionally, while the series (The Return to the Temple) already had a Facebook page, I have been increasing that particular page's visibility. (For those of you curious, it's here.)

Additionally, everything is set to go for my getting to San Francisco; I will be just missing FC and arriving early the morning after, but in the end that's probably for the best anyway. Thanks to some arrangements, I am staying in a hostel downtown for three nights; however, that is all those who made the arrangements could afford. If everything ends up absolutely positively, I will still most definitely require a place to crash. Please, and I know asking this on FA is like asking the wind to stop blowing at my back, but if there is anyone out there who reads this who might possibly be able to help with that, let me know. Notes, email, comments, I am open to all of these. Again, first priority would be to get out ASAP, so I hope I would not be so much of a burden. ^^; This is purely so I can continue living with a job.

I've moved heaven and earth to get this far - the zodiacal shift, totally my bad - here's hoping I can keep on keeping on so it isn't all a waste.

First, because it happened shortly after my previous entry and wasn't mentioned there, Journey to Fire's Keep is now available as an electronic book through my website, http://pihost.us/~baphijmm for one dollar. Completely typeset by yours truly to avoid any possibility of a lawsuit (because technically the publishers typeset the paperback) and also to make it more visually appealing. It is in .pdf format, which I understand most e-book readers can handle just fine.

Second, I have, as the title suggests, a serious request. A number of things have happened in the past month, including several serious job offers from the San Francisco Bay area. I do presently have a way to get there; however, once there, I do not have a place to stay or means to pay. If anyone, anyone at all, would be willing to let me crash on their floor or couch for what I'd hope would be no more than a month, just to let me get on my feet out there, please let me know. It would be relatively soon (the sooner the better, because then I could additionally visit FC! As a complete bum, but still. >_>; ), so... yeah. I would/should be able to feed myself, so that won't be an issue at all. We could discuss alternate or deferred payments if so desired. Send me a note or reply to this journal if you can help.

So a few things have manifested themselves in my life that I desire to post about; after all, isn't that exactly the point of these journal-things?

About a year ago, I began to notice a pain in my leg; I figured it was just a cramp or something, except it got worse as the weeks went on. I am now walking almost constantly with the assistance of a cane (I can walk without it, but... well, the explanation's coming). After much deliberation and discovering several other seemingly-unrelated symptoms, my father and I have determined that I probably ended up with Marfan syndrome. Why he didn't tell me about this possibility before, I'm not sure. Anyway, it's a genetic disorder where basically my cells don't produce a specific protein necessary for certain connective tissue to retain its elasticity and strength. The leg pain is entirely phantom, a result of a swelling in my spinal cord; other symptoms of this include a major worsening of my narcolepsy, an increased frequency of headaches, a more difficult time thinking, and minor loss of control of extremities (and not in the fun way). I have also now concussively dislocated both shoulders, among other things that point to this disorder.

Will I be attending FC? I am certainly trying to. The world seems to not want me to, though. (Along these lines, anyone know of any job openings in the Bay area? At all? I'll be happy as a janitor. Anything to get me there and grounded so people stop turning me down simply because of my current lack of proximity when they say they'd otherwise hire me on the spot. >_> ) Will I have any of my books on me? Again, I'll try to, but this one is less likely.

A lot of things are hinging on the movie I'm going to be in. Oh yeah, by the way, totally going to be in a movie. Hoping to make enough to join the SAG with it.

India didn't pan out, mostly because of the Indian bureaucracy; I couldn't get the paperwork I needed (for which I needed my visa) before my visa expired. I might make another attempt, and in fact am still strongly looking at such an option, but it really is a pain in the ass to deal with their government.

Amazon now carries my book, for those of you who might have been waiting for that moment. I know I was. :3

My first book is published and available for sale!

If you are interested in the book but not the price (not set by me, I swear!), let me know. I can get a bulk sell deal going if enough people display interest.

oh look fa's back

now to go back to ignoring it like I did all week

Nah, I'll probably check in from time to time, but it's incredibly unlikely I'll upload anything else here; the administration still hasn't responded to the last issue I had several weeks ago, and now with this recent crap I'm done.

Sorry for folks who follow me here; I'll leave the stuff that's currently in my gallery, but otherwise I'm off to YS.

OMG THAT PICTURE IS SLIGHTLY GRAINY *BAWLEETED*

OMG THAT GUY ASKED ME WHY I BAWLEETED HIS PHOTO WHEN CLEARLY IT IS OF INFERIOR QUALITY; LET ME JUST SCRAP HIS GALLERY

So, after extensive deliberation, I have decided to wait on the India assistance and hold off until March. I do not have nearly enough money, time, or stress threshold at this point to try and get there for their first term. It was a difficult decision to make, but in the end I just can't do it right now.

I do still intend to try to go in March; hopefully by then things will have worked out a little better. As such, I am not calling off the search for donations; I very strongly doubt I will be able to make the money necessary to go in four months at a part-time cashier job that cares so little about me they won't even schedule me for orientation.

As before, with every $100 donated, I shall absolutely sit down and write another page of ScreenPets 5 (and, if it is completed by this method, ScreenPets 6); in addition, do not be afraid to ask me to do stuff for you if you're donating. If you want a story, I shall write it; if you desire a picture, I will do everything in my ability to draw it. Hell, I can even do needlework if desired (of course, this might require commission status and pay for materials at the very least).

Anyway, yeah, pulling back for now but still looking to the future.

So I thought of something that would motivate me towards the end of this project I've been putting off, as well as perhaps assist with my current situation.

Currently, I have $245 total in my India stockpile; I need about $1150. In addition, I currently have about four pages written of ScreenPets 5. My thought is, once increments are reached, I will deliberately put aside whatever else I'm doing and crank out at least another page.

Now, this is by no means saying that I won't finish the story without input, nor is it saying I expect donations before I continue. This is merely a contingency plan - regardless of whatever work I have done on it, if one of these benchmarks is reached, I will crank out another page.

In addition, this is by no means meant to take the place of potential requests; if you have something in mind you want to see from me, let me know in some way. If you're actively giving me money, it's kind of hard for me to turn you away. :P

But let's say, every $100 in donations gets another page guaranteed? Do people think this is a good idea, or am I spinning my tires? ^^;

Ah! I almost forgot the link: http://baphijmm.xz.cn/india.html

Because I was recommended to post the gist of this here, to both reiterate previously-mentioned monetary needs and to provide information about the latest updates...

I've added a fund-o-meter to the page asking for donations. It's nothing fancy, just standard HTML; I'll update it regularly as I obtain funds. The final costs listed there are a one-way ticket to Goa (if this ends up being the final amount obtained, I shall have to start a more fervent campaign in November to get me back) and a round-trip ticket to Bangalore respectively, each including the price of a passport.

In other news, I've encountered no less than five distinct baby horned toads in the yard in the past weeks. This makes me happy, as they're pretty difficult to find normally.

Wow, that was special; I had no idea I could create an empty journal by pressing Enter at the incorrect time.

Anyway, I created a webpage for folks who wish to donate to the cause mentioned in my previous journal here. Remember, if you are interested in some sort of return, let me know and I shall do what I can.

(Crossposted from my LJ)

I have to get up the testicular fortitude to ask this at some point; might as well do it now.

So the first part of my LJ post yesterday (That most of you haven't seen; I really should remove this line... >_> ) was referring to a specific opportunity that has presented itself. Thing is, I need assistance in getting there.

A bit of background - a sort of schism has occurred recently within the Gelug tradition of Vajrayana Buddhism. The Dalai Lama has insisted that a particular protector deity is no longer to be invoked. This practice has been an active part of Gelug teachings for at least the past 300 years, so naturally there are a lot of people who don't agree with this; however, at the same time, the Dalai Lama does exercise supreme executive power over that sort of thing. As such, a group of monks have gathered in the town of Mundgod, India and founded a monastic university in direct violation of this decree; however, currently they seek people to assist in teaching English and computer skills.

I personally am not of the Gelug sect, but have a few ties to them; it was one of these ties here in the States, sympathetic to the cause I can only assume, who brought this need to my attention. Being of the opinion that education needs no religious boundaries and that one learns more about their own faith through immersion in others, I am quite inclined to take them up on this offer. This is especially true as they will be providing food and shelter during the stay, which must last at least four months. Most folks cannot make that kind of a commitment; I however, being jobless and potentially homeless by the time they're looking to recruit, would be perfectly capable of making this commitment.

Of course, this all boils down to one specific problem - initial cost. Because the monastery is just starting up, they have no means of transporting potential tutors. Because of my current situation, I have no means of transporting myself. This is where the testicular fortitude comes in.

Total for a one-way flight to Goa is roughly $720 USD; round-trip through Bangalore, assuming I leave in early April, is about $1050 USD (this includes taxes on a flight from Albuquerque). Considering that the current cost of tuition at Tech, coupled with my debt, would cost me about $4000 USD to be able to be hired on as a student again, this is quite cheap. This is why I feel much fewer qualms about asking for donations.

That's correct: I'm requesting a collective sponsorship to get me to this monastery.

The way I intend to do things is this: If you wish to donate to this cause, let me know. If, by the time I need to book a ticket (probably late September / early October), I have obtained a job, I will pay every penny back as soon as possible and not go; truly, as unfortunate as it is, a job is a much better option for me in the long run and there's no way anyone would let me take that much time off immediately. If you have a specific request of me, tell me and I will do everything in my power to make it happen. In the end, I don't want this to be a free ride; even if you ask for nothing in return, I intend to return the funds as soon as I am humanly capable. This money will be kept separate from everything else of mine so I will not be tempted to spend it before the time has come.

I have a donate button; I wonder if HTML will work? EDIT: Nope.

It's time for the "oh crap I'm out of money" moment for me now. ^^;

I strongly dislike asking for assistance, which is why I am instead offering to sell some things. I am not going to offer commissions because last time I did that I never finished (thankfully he never paid me).

Currently, I am offerign for sale:
Two 73GB IDE hard drives - the last two I have. These are on eBay, so, yeah.

Eragon - hardcover, with sleeve. This was the edition released with the release of Eldest. Barely touched, the edges of the sleeve are slightly scuffed from moving multiple times. Asking $10.

The Big O Season 2 Disk 1 - DVD entitled "Paradigm Lost".
Escaflowne Disk 1 - DVD entitled "Dragons and Destiny".
Gantz Disk 1 - DVD entitled "Game of Death".
Noir Disk 7 - DVD entitled "The End of the Matter".
Saiyuki Reload Disk 1 - DVD entitled... actually, this one doesn't have a subtitle.

For the most part, these DVDs are duplicates I've obtained at some point or other; however, Gantz and Saiyuki I just never got into. All are in pretty good condition, as I like to keep my collection as pristine as possible. Only the Noir disk is missing its insert (I obtained it used); the others are complete. Asking $10 each. I also have the first five disks of Fullmetal Alchemist I might be willing to part with at the same price each, as it was another series I started but never really got into.

I also have a few odds and ends; for instance, I have this aquarium filter I'm never going to use. It came with the 10-gallon aquarium I bought at Wal-Mart for Vinny back when I first found him. I also have a bunch of old computer stuff; mostly Sun hardware, but I do have for example a Tandy laptop I'd be willing to sell for the right price (it has no hard drive or power adapter, but does still have a battery). Ask and I may be willing to sell.

Really, I just need money though. ^^; Being without a job all this time is starting to take its toll.

So  Hazarath (I hope I did that correctly) has a bit of a problem:

So, my pal had just 'nuff to go pay our rent, but, we were really low on food... I was expecting payment from a couple of pals that offered to help me, and so, we went shopping for only what we needed, now not having 'nuff to pay the rent. ..now, we don't have much left, and i can't even contact one of the pals that promised around $200, and if we don't get his money soon... yeah.

(I hope I did that correctly, too... >_> )

Anyway, naturally I can't assist too well what with my own unemployment and swiftly-dwindling reserves; as such, I wonder if someone out there might be able to.

Don't message me; message him. He can be reached at:

AIM: hazarathdragon
Y!: hazy.dragon
MSN: Hazarath.dragon[at]gmail.com

Anyway, yeah.

ZACK AND WIKI MAKE A PORNO

IT MUST BE DONE

Because of my lack of job and thus lack of money, I cannot make it to Denver this weekend as planned; as such, my housemates, all but one of whom are attending RMFC, need one more person in order for all costs to even out for their room. They're looking for someone to take either the floor at $15/night or a bed for $30/night. If this is agreeable to you and you're looking for a last-minute place to stay, comment here and I'll point you at each other for further communication.

In other news, I've got an interview in ~30 minutes. Crossing my fingers.

As some of you may or may not know, I've been unemployed for the better part of three months now (not for lack of trying, skills, experience, or ability, but that's beside the point). As a result, funds are kind of dipping low. In response, I figured I might sell some hard drives I acquired recently in a disk array; I had hoped to use the array, but I need the money more and the array itself isn't worth keeping. As such, I have a total of five 76.8GB IDE hard drives I'm trying to sell off.

Four of these are on eBay: http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/baphi.....Q_fromZQQ_ipgZ

The fifth has not been listed because there was potential interest from a local friend, though I may list it in the near future.

All these drives work; I just have nothing I can do with them at this time. I am merely using this opportunity to advertise their sale here. :P

What famous person do you think would voice Baphijmm if he were to be animated? Respond if possible with a video link which best demonstrates the voice you'd associate with my character!

So I know I said I'd be writing in most of my spare time for the next couple of weeks at least; that may end up not happening due to a new development. Upon speaking with the head of the Physics department here at NMT about various things, I have been granted permissory access to the school's optics laboratory, meaning I can finally conduct a series of experiments I'd been hoping to do since the Summer began. As such, most of my time will be spent preparing and performing these experiments. Certainly, it is entirely possible I might take a break and write at some point; however, my main effort will be extended towards this other purpose.

Hopefully, I'll be able to return to writing swiftly; until then however, please be patient and understand I am performing science for the betterment of society. :3

Meme-survey started by  poetigress stolen from  bluedude

1. When did you start writing? Depends on how you mean. My first work of fiction was written when I was roughly seven.

2. First drafts: Handwritten, typed, or some combination? Some combination. Usually anymore it's typed, but on occasion hand-written is necessary.

3. Do you keep any kind of notebook or writer's journal, and if so, what kinds of things go into it? I have a small index card booklet-thing that I currently use to write down ideas as I have them, so I won't forget them.

4. Do you set any quotas for your work (number of words per day, number of hours per day, etc.)? Why or why not? Occasionally I try, but usually it does nothing for me but stress me out.

5. Are you most comfortable writing short stories, novels, or something else? All of the above. Short stories are more common obviously, but that's because they're easier to finish due to their size.

6. What's your favorite kind of story to write? Depends on the mood I'm in. Obviously I enjoy writing smut, but often I find plot writing to be quite enjoyable as well, even more so at times.

7. Talk about a story of yours that was easy to write and one that was difficult to write, and why. Easiest was probably "The Puppet" honestly; I cranked that thing out in a day and loved every second of it. Most difficult so far would have to be a story I'm working on right now, because it deals with a lot of things I am terribly unfamiliar with.

8. Which of your characters is closest to your sense of self? In other words, who do you most identify with in your own work to date? Aside from the obvious Baphijmm / Ba Phyi Zhum... probably Angelo Villalobos from my Return to the Temple series. He's young, moderately experienced in the ways of the world, initially very distrustful of folks he meets, and is still a child at heart.

9. What work are you most proud of right now? Not sure. It really is a toss-up all around.

10. What do you feel your strengths and weaknesses are as a writer? I believe my strengths include a decent sense of world-building, an understanding of character base and development, and a fairly good grasp of grammar. Weaknesses can all be boiled down to one thing: laziness.

11. Name a few writers who have influenced you or your work in some way. Orson Scott Card. Larry Niven, Christopher Paolini (negatively), Tsugumi Ohba (negatively), William Shakespeare.

12. Talk about something you've written that you later found embarrassing for some reason. First drafts for Journey to Fire's Keep. Good lord. A lot of it boiled down to, I wasn't sure how to tell the story, coupled with the fact that it was written on random loose-leaf sheets during such events as basketball games and trigonometry class. It read slightly better than Paolini's work.

13. Talk about the earliest stories you remember writing. What were they about? The first story I recall writing was about a young man named Kamonyin who lived in Antarctica; one day, while out making a nuisance of himself, he discovered designs for making a hot-air balloon and decides to follow them. Keep in mind, this was when I was seven or so.

14. If you knew you would be successful, what would you most like to write? A satire of the human condition in America. I'm kind of already writing that, though.

15. What inspires you? Anything and everything. I've been inspired to write by everything from an old stone bench to the contents of a storage shed.

16. How many projects do you tend to work on at once? Define "at once". Currently, I have maybe ten different stories on my plate.

17. Who reads your work before it's released to the public? Do you have beta readers, a critique group, etc.? Occasionally I'll hand a story to a few friends and ask them what they think of it; usually however, I'm my own proof-reader.

18. When you're not writing, what do you do for fun? Playing video games, traveling, doing science, bowling, singing...

19. Advice to other writers? In the end, write for yourself. Even if "for yourself" means you're getting paid to write for someone else, remember you write for your own self-benefit and enjoyment.

20. What are you currently working on? A short story for a friend, the next chapter of ScreenPets, several fantasy and science fiction novels, and a slice-of-life novella. I might start writing research proposals in the very near future as well.

21. Share the first three sentences of a work in progress. From "ScreenPets 5":

"Doctor Crenshaw, your assistance is needed in Emergency. Doctor Crenshaw, your assistance is needed in Emergency."

"Yes yes, I heard you the first time." Crenshaw hated working the graveyard shift at St. Blaise; it meant he rarely got to practice his specific interest in neurosurgery.

So folks, it's been a while since I updated this thing seriously. Let's see if I remember how to do so.

Over the past week, I finally won the battle with NMT to allow me back in the Fall, meaning I'm no longer on suspension. This also means I have the opportunity to go back to working for the MRO as a student, if they'll have me. If they won't, the Socorro Consolidated Schools interviewed me the other day for a job in their computer department, so I'm not desperate just yet. In order for everything to work out though, I definitely need to get a student loan arranged before the semester begins.

July 15, I'm flying back to Cincinnati for some family time; I'll only be there until July 19, but still. It's unlikely I'll be able to hang out with people while I'm there. Until then, I'm going to try to finish a few writing projects I started a while ago. Hopefully, some stuff I intend to post here will be among that stuff I finish. Likely after this trip, I'll be picking up my cat so he can start living here.

If I recall, RMFC takes place the weekend of August 7 this year. I will be traveling in a carpool with my other housemates; however, I will not be attending the convention itself. I find the city of Denver reason enough to travel, and the convention seriously failed to impress me last year. So, I'll be there, but don't expect to see me unless you catch me in the lobby or something.

Top priority is obtaining that student loan, but hopefully things will be coming here within the next month as well.

I can't believe Farrah Fawcett's dead! :(

EDIT: And Ed McMahon!? Where have I been the past few days? 8(

I return! The kitten thing ended up working out such that a shelter in the next county had room, so they're going there until they're weaned; after that, one of them will be returning to my possession, Toulouse.

Well, for a couple of weeks, and probably really just from FA. Going to be staying with a friend and taking care of three orphaned kittens while job-hunting, so I will be exceptionally scarce until everything settles. Just felt like informing everyone, in case anyone really cared.