And I am thankful that it is. The whole month sucked. First there was knee surgery, then my Grandmother went into the hospital, then Hospice, then she died. The family went nuts and I actually had to call out some of them on a Family website, just to get glares at the funeral from people who would not even speak to me. Seriously? Members of my family thinking somehow they could out internet me? Insane. At least they ended up looking like the asses they are, replete with switching an old TV from my G-Ma's place for her new one as if no one would notice. They did this while we were at Hospice with G-Ma. Yes, you heard me...members of my family stole from my G-Ma while she was in Hospice, in lieu of visiting her. Wonderful.

Then, just in time for Mega-Conned, one of my cars quit on me. Alice needed the other one for work and I could not immediately pony up 750 on top of rent, since the Illuminated Domicile is making me limp through hoops to collect disability. Which, by the way, still has not kicked in.

So I rented a car on the cheaps and got out there...just as it was closing. But I did see a whole host of people I don't often get to see, including Demmie, which was great! Even got to see where her and Robio live as it was on my way home.

Great time at the Wolf Pack Elite party...thanks for the VIP treatment! Was approached by some of the Con guest who recognized me. Heh, I don't have to get interviews with guests...they find me.

There were some tender moments as well, and cool things did indeed abound as February broke its grasp and March began. Still deep in financial woes, but at least I can make out what appears to be the resemblance of light mayhap emanating from the end of a mixed metaphor rainbow.

I wish the scanner were working, because the doc took photos of the injury before fixing it.  You could see the massive gash in my meniscus and where they snipped it.

I get there and the attending nurse swears I've been in there before.  Neither she nor I think that maybe she's seen me somewhere else, until I tell her about the Willow Tree, then she's all like "oh yeah you're my favorite person there I just never knew your name!"  So she told everyone to give me the VIP treatment, which was funny.  At one point they kicked my parents out, and I said "yeah there's no room here...the strippers and buffet table is on its way."

Most amusing thing is they asked which knee it was, I told them the left so they wrote "yes" on my left knee and "no" on my right in sharpie.

As the anesthesiologist came in and described some stuff, I started feeling a lot better about things, mainly because they'd already jabbed me with an IV and he dosed me with some stuff.  Then he told me he'd given me something to help me relax, and we were on our way.

He was telling me about the oxygen mask and such, when a wave of "OMG we're shutting down" came over me, and I asked "how comfortable is the initial stuff supposed to make me?"

I never heard the answer.  Out.

I woke up with my doctor saying "and if you have not other questions, your family can come in in a bit.  See you in two weeks."

Before I could answer, he left and some battle ax of a nurse came in.  I asked about my doctor several times and she got a little impatient with me, and a bit snippy.  My family came in with some questions and she snipped at them as if they were stuipd, saying the doctor should have already explained that.

I had a chance to put her in her place, though.  She said "we'll give you a prescription for an anti-biotic for pain and swelling but that's it" and I went "hrm, anti-biotic for pain and swelling?  I know I am addled right now and being an ass by asking the same questions over and again due to anesthesia, and you have your full faculties, but that doesn't sound right at all, an anti-biotic for pain and swelling?"

"Oh, did I say that?  Thanks for correcting me."  And that was essentially that.  I really wish the attending nurse I had at the beginning was the one we talked to, she was nice and courteous, not like Mrs. Gets off on trying to outwit people just coming to from surgery.

All in all though, I am in pain and it hurts to move, but it was not as bad as I'd envisioned nor did I die, obviously.  Unless I perfected that program of transferring my consciousness to my Gamer Tag on the 360 and am communicating via a backwards Live feed to my network...

However, that's the nature of the disease in my head.  It always seems so trivial afterward, no matter what it is that plagues me.  Before though, it's always life or death and very viable toward the most extreme consequences.  I mean, it's like that for a lot of people, but I get absolutely consumed by it, to the point of physical harm in several different directions.

Hopefully can do something about that some day.  I have always had a fear of surgery, to me the ultimate in yielding control, and never had to face it.  I did, and I surpassed that fear, however trivial it may seem to anyone else.

So a TV deal got dropped in my lap. I'm sure karma meant it for someone else, but I got it instead. It's nothing big at all, but it has potential...which is all I need to succeed. The show is called Globally Connected (I know, there's nothing much there right now) and I host a segment about technology. After my first, last and only take they wanted to know if maybe I'd want to expand and talk about games. Sure I do! If the segment does well, they are talking about more projects featuring me and more. It's on Brighthouse channel 49, it's local and small budget and may not be the best thing ever, but it's cranking out product, and it's done. It may be the start of something, maybe not but at least it's a chance with potential.

I've wanted to do TV for some time now and have all sorts of idead...if this can label me a content provider, then I'll be a lot closer to what I really want to do. The TV thing has not worked out very well in the past, but this is a totally different, vibrant feel coming form the project and people. Wish me luck? Like I said, nothing big...but I can see where potential can lead.

Still sort of reclaiming my life, so the routine I had two years ago of keeping in touch via the internerds has shifted to text messaging on the fly. Trying to reroute some of that effort into this as well, knowing that some people cannot be as flighty or pliant as my weird schedule allows me.

That being said, I have this one credit card I am trying to renegotiate with. Nothing seemed to work, so I read that if I stop paying for a while, they will talk. It has worked with a few other cards to talk them down a significant amount of percentage points.

Not with this one. They want to renegotiate to their terms but won't talk to me. They are Wells Fargo.

Nothing has seemed to work. I keep getting the total amount I owe and an envelope one part of the month, then a "why don't you love me anymore" letter the next part.

So my solution? I took one of the return envelopes, crossed out the total amount and wrote "Send the Pinkerton's after me" and mailed it yesterday.

Hope they have a good sense of humor.

Playing with my new Meat Grinder and having fun with it.  Thank you to the person who bought this for me, now our International Food Play-- nights will be even more fun!  Speaking of, it was an off week this week, so the Russians went with me to the Horse park to have a bar-b-que.  Later, we got stopped by the cops as suspects in a robbery.  You can hear about that on this week's 4Play--.  

So tomorrow night, after the first week we've ever taken off, Just Push Play-- returns triumphantly from JaniCon.  Be there live to chat with us about all things North of Center in Pop-Culture!

-Gary

Thanks to Billz and Uberbastard for helping out tremendously with my birthday. I really appreciate it you two! Alice had a nice surprise for me as well, so Project: EPCOT was a go!

Then our friends Geoff and Jenn surprised me last night before our show with a life saving gift. REALLY REALLY appreciate it, you have no idea what that meant to me.

Thanks to all of you for the well wishes too. It was a great birthday. Got to see Uber, Shell-O, Maus, Natasha, Lucas and his brother and best of all...Alice and my brother Brad.

Wow, in a month I've lost 15lbs already on this less drinky, more moving diet. Nice.

Which is good, because I am due to reprise my role as Spider J at Jani Con in November and I need to look good. I'd hate to disappoint the thousands of people who apparently want pics of me flipping them off. Go figure.

Speaking of cons, we're not going to Dragon*Con and it kills me. But we can't go because Alice is working a new job and can't afford the time off yet and we can't really do it up like we'd want to anyway. So have fun kids.

Made some Bul-Go-Gi wraps the other day for the SomaCow Media Network meeting. Seems to have gone over well. I was going to make meat wraps that had carrots, green onions, garlic sautéed in butter smeared onto the meat and various cheeses. Then the meat looked perfect for my favorite Korean dish and I just went with it. Can't wait to try it again!

Week one in the brewing process for my Hefe. The Valentina Tereshkova is almost gone, but I'm saving one for a friend who will be returning soon. The patience required for brewing is a lot.

Tomorrow, it's hit shit then watch movies night with Geoff. Yeay!

AFO is over and I'm still not ready to tell that tale. However, we must forage on to other stuff, especially with Orlando Comic Con around the corner!

I bought a home brewing kit. I've long been fascinated with making my own beer, but I am a lazy bastard, so I'm just getting to it. I did a lot of research and decided that Mr. Beer was the way to go for now because it's cheap, easy and if I do no more than what they have available in the beginner kits, then so be it and nothing really wasted. However, if I really like it and continue to home brew, then I can upgrade to something else more complex that allows me total control over every step of the process. But, I may not like it or have the aptitude for it, so this is what we have now.

Mindset is gone, hurray! Seriously, that guy was a giant cock in a cape. But most of us agree that with the "costume make-over" that Basura got screwed. She looked hotter in her recycled garb.

Plus, we wanted Homeless Man to make it.

On-line, guys have standards. No, really! They just won't tell you what those standards are, except that if you're at all popular, you're ugly. Not only are the guys lying, but they are part of a larger phenomenon on-line…the unrealistic standards people have on-line. I'll tell you straight out, no one and I mean NO ONE ever talks about their real life expectations or their standards for mating, dating or otherwise coupling with other people. By extension, people do this with their gaming tastes, sports affiliations and other stuff for fear of the giant negative machine known as any on-line message board (actually, the link is to the most real life message board I know) or social meeting place. Sure, some of it pokes through and there are always exceptions, but for the most part everyone has unspoken immaculate standards that you have to adhere to or you're a loser. Or, their expressed standards are so unobtainable that you'll never be able to prove them wrong.



Let me tell you something, even if you're on 4chan or youtube, eventually you get tracked down and the pics of you (if you're a guy) hugging your Ayane body pillow with the suspicious stains and interesting tears in the fabric get passed around like your sister at prom. Or, if you're a girl railing on some other girl, you're most likely some MySpace whore who feels the need to post pics of you and your mail order husband swapping mouth piercing spit. And no one wants to see that except you. So daddy didn't put all his eggs in your basketcase, you don't have to take it out on everyone else. All of you, I've seen your MySpace, come on!



What I'm trying to say is that yes, on-line and behind your keyboard, you most certainly would 'hit that with a 2X4' but in real life the people you delude yourself into thinking you can actually insult would make you cream your jeans, and the only thing that'd make you say "nuh-uh" like some experimental trepanning patient in ancient Somalia, is your bizarre and ridiculous on-line pride.



Look, I know I just cut a 'promo' on you too, but that's how I feel about the whole internet standard that's in stark contrast to real life standards. Not saying that anything you're into is wrong, but constantly putting down others for how they look or what they like is.

This rant is available at this place.

AFO is next weekend, I get to play evil. Or at least, an incarnation of evil. I think I'll do well…

We'll be doing a live broadcast Friday night, time TBA. Ana and CR will probably have to start without me as I'll be playing checkers.

I'm thinking of playing more Oblivion in a minute, but first, this chilling message from my cerebrum.
So it's election year, right? GB is sitting in the office, content with the fact that he cannot be elected again, correct?

Well, love him or hate him, my mind came up with something that will chill any devoted member of either of the two parties (Since all the third parties are relegated to perpetual fifth wheel by the party you despise and trust).

The Republican side has been really just treading water, putting in place holders and kinda really laid back, while the Democrats make mucho noise. They contested cloning and all the technology that could arise from such practices.

Maybe that's a ruse. Maybe it's subterfuge to throw us off…maybe they already did it!

Imagine if you can, a GW clone! Just waiting to run last minute and be put into office because by technicality, he's not the guy that's been in office for eight years. Sure, he may look like him, think like him and act like him, but he's not him. He was 'born' four years ago, so he's got at least another term in him from a technical standpoint. Yet DNA testing will put him well into range to run for president.

Just a thought, have a great day, won't ya?