Hello all,

I realize it's been a fairly long time since my last update. Never fear, I have not forgotten. The antimatter just seems to be eating at me more than it used to.

I have recently acquired a job as an Accounts Receivable clerk at a local Roto Rooter office. It's decent pay, but I can't say that the job constitutes full-time. They opted to give me full time though, so no complaints. My main gripe is that it's a family-owned business, and it seems to me that this family should not be in business. Some people just aren't organized or motivated enough to run their own business. They literally have no procedures, very little in the way of a filing system, and their core program was written many years ago in DOS. They don't know why they even hit which buttons they hit, they just know it gets them where they need to be.

Needless to say, this has become a very stressful work environment. On top of the disorganization, they keep piling more tasks that are nowhere near being in my original job description. But for now, I just sigh and plod onward because I can't afford to not have a job again. I guess my life, creative pursuits, and projects will take a backseat to finance for the moment.

Back into the can for now, I go. Later on...

Are there dry cleaning tournaments as well?

hello all,

a lot has happened in the last couple of days. Firstly, my girlfriend and I were in a car accident. Don't worry, we're okay. It wasn't our fault either. Two girls ran a red light and missed hitting us by inches because my girlfriend slammed on the brakes. Unfortunately, she had to slam on the brakes so hard, the brake lines blew. So far as we hear, the mechanic said he was relaying all of her brake lines on her car. Worst part is, the two girls were obviously going to pick up drugs, since I followed them on foot to the apartment they were going to and they were only there for two minutes visiting a very shady looking guy. Not to mention, they didn't stop to exchange information, and they drove past laughing at us on their way out. So, my girlfriend hasn't had a car for a couple of days, which is unfortunate, because I've started to get jobs.

My job over the weekend has been to register guests and print off badges at SEFA, which is essentially a dry cleaning convention put together by a trade association. It's so weird realizing that there are 2000+ people in the southeast alone who are this psyched about dry cleaning. A lot of them act like they're some big celebrities too, like I'm supposed to know who they are. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem being courteous, but if they want their badge, I need to get their name. So yeah, long story short, that's been odd, but easy.

On Monday, I start as a monetary collections person for RotoRooter. Apparently the branch here in town is plowed under with unpaid customer invoices. I'm gonna do my best to give those a good fixin.

On top of everything, last night our air mattress sprung a leak. I was awakened to a loud farting noise on my chest. The girlfriend and I respectively vacated to the two other sleeping surfaces in the house: the other mattress and the couch.

Now I leave you to the antimatter, my friends, as I set out for another rolicking day of the dry cleaning convention. May you steam, press, and prosper.

This is what it sounds like...w-when wolves howl?

Hey all,

I'm feeling a little better from my last little outburst. Sorry you had to experience that, but then again, what are blogs for but creating controversy from judging the world?

The girlfriend and I went to the Oatland Island Wildlife Center here in Savannah. I didn't quite know what to expect since it isn't really a zoo and it's off the beaten path.

Let me tell you, this place is pretty cool. We got in for five bucks each, the staff was nice, and we got to see the animals fairly close-up. At least, closer than most zoos let you get. All told, we saw two bald eagles, a horned owl, four red falcons, a pig, a goose, three goats, a pond of small alligators, a black bear, a red fox, a cougar, and a pack of wolves.

It was pretty hot in Savannah for most of these animals, the climate being quite different from many of their respective natural habitats. I felt kind of bad for them, but they didn't look entirely unhappy. I got the impression, from the staff anyway, that the animals were pretty well taken care of. They didn't look sick or starved. I did end up telling a staff person that the cougar needed watering, his dish was empty.

Lastly, I'll tell you the coolest part of the entire day. We were walking back toward the main building to get ready to leave, and as we passed back near the wolf pen, the entire pack started to howl loudly. I personally had never seen a wolf pack in real life, let along see all of them begin to howl. The howling was followed by a struggle for dominance between a lounging lesser male and the alpha male. Needless to say, the lesser got peed on. Growling ensued.

I must say though, that single event was one of the most impressive and real things I've actually witnessed. It may not seem like much in text, but in person, it felt magical. I was awestruck.

As I ponder these wolves, my friends, I slip slowly into the antimatter universe. Transmission breaking...until next time.

How to get traffic to your blog...

ANSWER: nobody really knows.

Hell, I'm just broke, nerdy, and curious. I'm no business mogul. I can't tell you twelve ways to revolutionize your stock options, your daily output, your number of unique visitors...I just wanted to know how ads on websites worked in general, and AdSense didn't really seem that bad to me. I dove in and just chalked it up to a learning experience and something that might be fun on the side. But apparently, to everyone else, ads on "amateur" blogs are the corpulent wart on Satan's fiery O-ring. So sorry, Trent. Go back to protecting your soul patch goatee from all that pesky soy latte foam at your local altar of ecommerce adulation.

That's what gets me. Blogging as a new profession. It's a double-edged sword. Is it cool? Yeah, it really is. I've met some REALLY cool people in the past by blogging. It seems when money enters into it, like everything, it becomes as backstabbing, cutthroat, and petty as the sandbox in your local kindergarten play yard.

I mean, come on. How many sycophantic, pretentious, faux-intellectuals do we need on the internet blathering about inane bullshit? Really? I know what a lot of these self-righteous twits might have been called not ten years ago...wannabe writers. But now, oh now, heaven forbid we utter anything against the high and mighty expert on how to write a diary and get paid for it. So sorry, excuse me, I am but a mortal here.

The list of things you should or should not have on your blog fluctuates like the conversation about what part of the egg to eat used to. One minute lists are good, the next lists are bad, one minute ads are good, the next ads are bad, one minute, write with a human, every-man kind of voice, the next, write as an imitation Pulitzer journalist. Oh, New Yorker, here I come! You'll all bow before my wit and smarm one day, I tells ya!

The world cries out to me every day, a whole horde of people, ignorant, pretentious, you name it, and do you know what they all say? "I AM IMPORTANT!! I am far more important than ANYONE else. You all must back away and shrink out of my peripheral. If you dare approach me, you must have the utmost reverence for me, the all-high singular mind! I am human, hear me roar!" I swear, all this purple language, bluetooth use, and coffee-drenched ego are gettin me a little hot. I might have to take a cold shower...

Man, I wish everyone would get over themselves. For the record, I claim to be a fat, nerdy, out-of-work art student who has nothing to show for his life but a mountain of debt. That's who I "think I am." I'm no one important. I do not claim to be better than anyone, but I sure as hell know stupidity when I see it.

Perhaps I'll dive back into the antimatter to escape the forthcoming onslaught of negative repercussion, harsh words, biting judgment, and all that mess. Later on, friends.

It also leaves you smoking, dried up, and leaking juices...

Man Electrocutes Pickle to Promote Christianity.



Now what did that lil ole pickle do to deserve that?

Stick a fork in me...I'm done.

Breaking News...

WARNING:  The following video contains language that may be deemed inappropriate by some viewers.  It also contains hilarious stuff.  Be advised.

Performing tonight, for one night only...

Hey all,

Glad I've got some people stopping by to read at my own little corner of the web.

I just saw Mamma Mia! with my girlfriend.  She said I had to take her so that she wouldn't be embarrassed about going.  She's a costuming and theater student and she's not fond of the play, but she was wildly interested in the movie, so we went.  I was quite interested in it as well, being a lover of a good rock opera.

For those not in the know, Mama Mia! is a musical written around the songs of pop supergroup ABBA.  It's about a girl getting married who invites three men to her wedding to find out which one of them is her father.  The movie features an ensemble cast including Meryl Streep, Stellan Skarsgard, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Christine Baranski, and Julie Walters (Mrs. Weasley...YAY!).

For people who enjoy musicals, any of the people listed, ABBA, rock operas, Greece, or movies like Thelma and Louise or The Banger Sisters, I'd give this one a try.  The only downside is having ABBA in your head all day long if you don't enjoy ABBA music.  I do enjoy it, so it isn't a downside for me, but you WILL find yourself humming or singing ABBA songs to yourself.  Try to go with it.

I've been told that blog entries are better shorter than longer, so I'll end this one early.  If you like or don't mind the longer ones, let me know.  I could talk forever!

But for now...

Mama Mia, here I go again...ANTIMATTER, how could I resist ya?