The Warped Mirror

I am actually updating this thing! Like, for real!

Yesterday was a twelve hour film day - from 5PM to 5AM I forced my actor, the incredible Mike Rozycki, to suffer in and out of the makeup chair. At the end of the day, I had the highlight of my Division III emblazoned on DV tape - ripe for the editing table.

What was accomplished in that basement was nothing short of Hollywood caliber, and I am incredibly proud of the results we achieved.

So, mostly because I can't contain my glee, I present to you all a teaser image of Mike in full monster makeup!



=D!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In 1986, on the 14th of February,  at 2:18AM, I was pulled into this world.

Twenty two years later at 2:18AM, I am still awake. Go figure!

So, because a bunch of you did this - I figured I would too before bed. Boredom strikes!

1. Father went to college.
2. Father finished college.
3. Mother went to college.
4. Mother finished college.
5. Have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor.
6. Were the same or higher class than your high school teachers. I guess? Some were higher, some the same.
7. Had more than 50 books in your childhood home. Goosebumps count?
8. Had more than 500 books in your childhood home.
9. Were read children's books by a parent. Dr. Suess!
10. Had lessons of any kind before you turned 18.
11. Had more than two kinds of lessons before you turned 18.
12. The people in the media who dress and talk like me are portrayed positively.  We shoot up schools!
13. Had a credit card with your name on it before you turned 18.
14. Your parents (or a trust) paid for the majority of your college costs.
15. Your parents (or a trust) paid for all of your college costs.
16. Went to a private high school.
17. Went to summer camp.  A need based educational camp on marine biology... Got in for free based on grades and lack of money...
18. Had a private tutor before you turned 18.
19. Family vacations involved staying at hotels.
20. Your clothing was all bought new before you turned 18.
21. Your parents bought you a car that was not a hand-me-down from them.
22. There was original art in your house when you were a child.
23. You and your family lived in a single-family house. Not until later in my childhood when the other family moved out
24. Your parent(s) owned their own house or apartment before you left home.
25. You had your own room as a child.
26. You had a phone in your room before you turned 18.
27. Participated in a SAT/ACT prep course.
28. Had your own TV in your room in high school.
29. Owned a mutual fund or IRA in high school or college.
30. Flew anywhere on a commercial airline before you turned 16.
31. Went on a cruise with your family.
32. Went on more than one cruise with your family.
33. Your parents took you to museums and art galleries as you grew up.
34. You were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family.

I need a mini time machine to constantly go back and make the decisions that would be more fun - if less responsible.

Since when do I care if I am well rested before a day of work!? The heat is messing with my way of life!

In other news work alternates between tedium bordering on deadly and light hearted fun in a positive atmosphere. However I do know I want to do more practical effects next job, and without having to commute 3+ hours a day.

Also - Gabe's birthday dinner was pretty successful and fun.

Sleep.

Eric - "So are we calling it 'voo' or 'view'?"
Me - "I vote 'voo'"
Dan - "I switched over to 'voo'"
Jeremy - "view!"
Me - "you would"
...
Eric - "So what are you calling it Ben?"
Ben - "I'm not calling it anything"
All - "?"
Ben - "I'm calling it 'crap' because it doesn't work"

This is work.

My jaw is getting worse...

I will update for real soon about work and life in Amherst...

but for now....

Anyone wanna see Hostel II this weekend?? =D

So - Kelsey posted this thing - and as per the last one I was required to post it as well!

Contractually obligated!

So here you go Kelsey - enjoy. Also anyone else can play if they want.

1. Your Middle Name:
2. Age:
3. Single or Taken:
4. Favourite Movie:
5. Favourite Song or Album:
6. Favourite Band/Artist:
7. Dirty or Clean:
8. Tattoos and/or Piercings:
9. Do we know each other outside of LJ?:
10. What's your philosophy on life?:
11. Is the bottle half-full or half-empty?:
12. Would you keep a secret from me if you thought it was in my best interest?:
13. What is your favourite memory of us?:
14. What is your favourite guilty pleasure?:
15. Tell me one odd/interesting fact about you:
16. You can have three wishes (for yourself, so forget all the 'world peace, etc.' malarkey) - what are they?:
17. Can we get together and make a cake?:
18. Which country is your spiritual home?:
19. What is your big weakness?:
20. Do you think I'm a good person?:
21. What was your best/favourite subject at school?:
22. Describe your accent:
23. If you could change anything about me, would you?:
24. What do you wear to sleep?:
25. Trousers or skirts?:
26. Cigarettes or alcohol?:
27. If I only had one day to live, what would we do together?:
28. Will you re-post this so I can fill it out for you?:

Well would you look at this. I have a journal.

My knee dislocated again - this shit only happens at home, I swear - and I had a headache already, so I'm on painkillers and sorta drowsy.

But anyway - yes! Journal! I have not said hello to you in so very very long! Today I amend to fix this issue. I will try and update regularly, to be true and faithful to you as you both deserve and demand. But first - let us review.

So my last entry was (leaves to check) between semesters! Goodness! Here I am in the summer after my third year, practically standing on the cliffs edge of my Div III year. How time flies. So - Spring Semester:

Academically speaking this was one of my best semesters - I wrote a screenplay I love, a noir horror-comedy set in a modern Lovecraftian MA. I learned how to use Foam Latex and really improved my sculpture skills, casting skills, and molding skills in preparation for Div III. I made some goofy and fun video projects while learning to enhance my video capabilities with Video 1. I also animated again after a bit of time away from the craft for Topics in Animation, finishing up with a fun compositing project.

The youngest sibling unit has just given me an ice-pop - yummy!

Godless skies! I popped it out again ::whimper:: what the hell is up with my knee today?!

-Anyway-

You can see some of the things I just mentioned via these convenient links!

Leave of Leave! - An action movie trailer featuring all the big names in acting today!
Transformation of the Grotesque - Me playing in After Effects and Fusion 5 (before knowing how to de-interlace)
Blobz - Sci-fi horror trailer from last semester!
My YouTube profile page! - For other stuff

I'll post the Foam Latex stuff when it's cleaned up some =)

Socially speaking this semester saw me finally getting to know Alice some! ::gasp:: Yeah, a bit late in the game, but still very nice to finally sit down and hang out with her. Watching Pan's Labyrinth with her was delightful and then she surprised us all by coming back to Hampshire and helping with some of the Spiff Sprocket stuff =)

I also got to know Julia - one of my orientees from this year - at the very tail end, which was nice. It's good to see people enjoying themselves at Hampshire! She came out to dinner with us and saw just how silly we all are - and will be when shes around over the summer! Waha! So many people are around this summer!

Except Alice ::sniffle:: If only she would come and play with us!

So yes - then we have mental health part of the semester. I so dropped the ball for parts of the semester. I fell back into unhealthy work habits which intermingled with not healthy feelings and such. Messy scene - but one I clawed back out of! Isn't that vague!? I'm trying to finish a part of my life in a good clean fashion without it causing trouble with other parts. It's interesting - but I need to move on... just without moving very far... I don't know! ABSTRACTION!

Moving on.

The last bit was graduation! I watched so many wonderful people step up and receive a piece of paper that says they are now educated. Everyone did so many different and wonderful things, immense projects and films and researches and reports! I don't often brim with pride - but I did, as I watched so many awesome people close a chapter of their lives with big blotchy dabs of ink. They best keep in touch... Peter... Becca... Will... I am pointing long bloody implements at you menacingly.

Recapped and wrapped - we progress!

I am currently home on Long Island until Sunday - at which point I drive my new (yet old) car up to my apartment in Amherst and begin my internship at Powderkeg Studios. I get to do compositing, animation, and in general, effects. So needless to say - I am excited.

In the meantime - lots of fun with Niraj and Steven - soon Jimmy as well, Richie too! I visited the High School today and heard about more stabbings and shootings - Lowes donated a fountain rather then money - making for the most out of place fountain ever. I busted my own brother for cutting class by mistake while their as well! Tonight I see Pirates III for the first time - but not the last time - in theaters =)

I also look forward to visiting Ellen in that place she lives this summer for a bit - if my schedule can come together in a smooth and reasonable fashion regarding this. So that should be fun! I get to meet all the people she has told me so much about for the past two years.

So I lack focus when on drowsy inducing painkillers and lost any plan of attack I had for this update - so you all have this wonderful mess of text.

I am excited to open a new chapter in my life this summer - to live with Gabe and Colin - to have Jacob and Lindsay down the street - to have Julia, Jerusha, and Panda a town away - with Keegan and Andrea a few miles away - and Flarnie and Angela and Josh and Steven and Vikki and Dan all around as well! ::splodes::

Once again - if Alice were around it would be perfect! (No pressure)

I want to play and read and work and do projects and so much more with everyone! But for now I will be content with talking to people online while hyper-tired and waiting for Pirates III.

Also I am thirsty!

Hello.

So yes, break is drawing to a close and this is alright with me. Not that break was bad, I read good books and saw good people and enjoyed time without commitment to deadlines. I saw Jenn and Michelle, which is the surprise ending to 2006, it felt really good to see them, I really missed them and love how unexpected their lives have been. Hanging out aimlessly with Steven is, as always, a highlight of every break and I love that bastard. Movies and games with Niraj, surprise trips to obscure coffee houses with Jimmy and everyone in the back of the van. The best parts of my life before college are always here when I come back, and thats an odd comfort that surprises me every time.

I also now own World of Warcraft for the first time and have a character on Shadowmoon (lvl 17) and Medivh (lvl 10) and have been really enjoying the game so far. I will say, however, that PvP servers are more fun so far on a game-play level, but I have more fun just playing on Medivh since I play with Jimmy and Steven to obscene hours of the night.

I love how Firefox 2.0 has active spell checks for text fields, it's awesome.

The first thing I will do in 2007 is get a haircut I believe, which is sorta exciting, the last thing in 2006 was to drive around aimlessly with Steven and talk over coffee. A more fitting last event I could not have picked. I have two days to try and fix my sleep cycle before school starts, my laptop always sounds like a plane in desperate engine-squalling free-fall, I have so many exciting new books to read, and I have some fun new clothes to wear. I have a headache right now, but that not so bad. I got ice cream with my family last night, unexpected but nice, we didn't eat it together, but we purchased it together.

Jan term is coming and I am excited, although I will be busy often. I will be 21 soon, and I am excited about being silly and dressing up all fancy. It is reassuring that, at (soon to be) 21, I still get excited about silly things and that I have yet to lose overly much of my little kid notions on life. Disillusioned I may be, but I still look at everything as a potential toy or situation of mirth. I'm still waiting, but that is so much of life.

I need to get back into the rhythm of school, of life in general, I have so many concepts and ideas and voices and needs and desires and memories and fears and expectations and songs and words and just emotions clogging up my mind with no where to go, I need that rhythm to give them places, homes, to settle down and stop gumming up the works.


I want Jacob to read a story to a group of us, it's been awhile.

I have succeeded in drinking huge amounts of water this break, and I think I am properly hydrated for once. A major victory in the war on my body.

I am disproportionately happy that I made a Facebook group with a logo.

I will be bringing back so many fun movies. For some reason Decoys was given to me for Giftmas. This is a movie about alien women who have over powered sex drives and kill their lovers. It's the Species for the budget minded director. I also have one of those 50 Movie Packs, the horror themed Nightmare Worlds one, which has a movie called Werewolf Woman in it. Also some good 'ol Bomberman DS for me and Gabe to get angry at each other over when I trash talk him into a murderous rage.

So thats my train of thought derailment of the month, all over the pages of LJ. Hampshire is just a year away.

Prompted by my job last summer sending out a year in review pamphlet* I am reminded that summer will be happening someday... some dark and terrible day.

Anyway, this reminded me that I will be submitting applications and letters to various FX houses this J-term about internships. I will also, at the same time apply to Cybercamps to be a counselor for the summer, as a brilliant plan was formulated between Gabe and myself.

We could work the Amherst College camp, while living in an apartment in Amherst! Godless skies above! The implications! Gabe could teach programming and do UMass research while I run Game Design and Video while playing the roll of the slacker house-mate. I would, also, be doing some FX stuff with whoever was around... as I am sure people like Jacob would be interested in living the valley this coming summer... this last summer we will have! (That hook was to bait Jacob, but I also expect others to be interested in the idea, I know some of you already do the Amherst Apartment thing.)

So yes, barring an FX guru wanting me to come study with them out in Cali for pay... this seems like a likely scenario. A damn fine scenario to boot. I am still waiting to see what new locations Cybercamps releases, I know Hawaii and Disney World (Yes the park) are officially on the roster as far as I know, so who knows what else they could release.

Besides this future planning crazy talk, life is plodding along at a steady clip. I am on Long Island from now till January Second (2nd) for holiday break. So far this means reading books and playing games, which I can't say is all that terrible. I keep on playing Saint Saens' Symphony No. 3 and Carnaval des animaux, mostly for Danse Macabre on Carnaval, but also because it's all so good.

I am still working on repairing damages done this semester past, notably my sleep cycle, which sees me not sleeping at all on some nights/days. Well, not like I'm short on time to do it, so no worries.

*The pamphlet had all the expected nonsense... however, to note, they only listed two problems that happened over the summer. "One camp couldn't keep a director and another couldn't keep a staff." Well, you will all be proud to know I worked at BOTH those locations in question, we drove our director away at Adelphi (not really, the company did) and Fordham experienced a walk-off of three counselors. To be fair all three were complete assholes, Snafu in particular, guy was a joke of a counselor.

Got back to Hampshire via train yesterday at around 4:30PM

So in other words I am home once again, with any luck this means my sleep cycle will return to normal and I won't die.

So much work to do, so little drive to do it.

Oh crap, I need a monitor and keyboard! Does anyone who reads this have or know where I can find a computer monitor to borrow for two or so weeks?

The keyboard I can take care of.

Work times.

So, I am home.

The very act of me being home was punctuated by my iPod attempting to sync with my playlists, which live in my dorm, and syncing itself clear of 90% of its musical contents. My iPod just stranded me at home without music from now till Hampshire. Home was further punctuated by loud arguments between my parents heard by me up here on the other floor; it only took an hour of being home! New record!

Also, left my phone charger at school. So yeah, I sorta dropped a ball their.

Home will suck, this was not unanticipated, but still, even the anticipated can come as unexpected. Or unwanted, whatever.

My health is finally starting to take an upshot, I think, the migraine that completely shut me down on Tuesday seemed like the last sickly event for awhile, but at least Raf got to see what it looks like when my pupils dilate to different sizes. This migraine followed hot on the heels of what I have termed GRIM PORTENTS, by which I mean the last stone has fallen out of my Apocalyptic Jester. As a good natured Atheist I know this does not actually mean anything... but as the boy who wears this particular item, one which I seek comfort and protection in, I can't help but feel this is a little red flag for not fun times to follow for me.

Gabe's Wii is fun as all hell, and I look forward to the expanding play experience it will come to represent in the coming months.

I feel like my education at Hampshire really took off this semester, and that I have made some real progress in the personal department. I also feel like a very specific part of my life is currently upside down. It is also on fire. In a ditch. The ditch is also on fire. A number of friends have pointed out this flaming pile of wreckage, and have given me moral support and I love them for it. They shouldn't be able to notice it, but hey, it is on fire.

So yeah, I guess I'm just in an odd place right now. So much is starting to look good about life again, health, academics, the weather getting cold; but these things are all like a small circus happening right next to that flaming pile of debris where a small orange rind-stone now lies screaming out doom.

Overall I would say that I am exhausted in a variety of ways, but can't help but smile about so much of it.

I bet it's obvious that this entry is one of those streams of conscious deals where I lay out a series of staccato bits of my brain as a means of cleaning myself out.

I'm resorting to iTunes - Radio now to keep the silence at bay. It has commercials!

I don't know, journal, I just want to continuously point out, in various ways, that life is currently a train filled with delights on a track uncertain of its own rails. That everything will be a fun ride till we find out that the track just comes to an end. It's like some sort of desperate attempt to contain the feeling in as many analogies as I can, to trap it in words so that whatever it is I fear won't happen. All those shadows dancing about my candle will find themselves the victim of redundant prose and never have the chance to jump out at me.

Sadly I fear I will be unable to trap the negative spirits of life into the vacuum cleaner of verbosity. No one can ever say I didn't try though, I guess.

It looks like my aunt was knocked off my bookcase at some point and is currently in two zip-lock bags. I will have to remember to inquire into this.

Well, at 3:15AM I feel I should really kick off this vacation. I will sleep for awhile, wake-up to order a present online, do some work, get dragged to my other aunts (the one who is not in zip-locks) for a hellish Thanksgiving with extended family, come home and do more work, play some games or something I don't know. Oh! Look into train tickets for Saturday.

Oh well, one thing this vacation has brought about so far is a good conversation with Roogle. Mutual venting about aspects of our lives occurred; also with Pam, whom I hadn't spoken to in awhile. Although these were all online and could have happened while I was at school... we can pretend they happened in person!

For any brave souls who waded through that, congratulations! That was all just random stuff that got skimmed off the top of my brain and turned into words.

In other news my friends are all awesome and I have never laughed as hard as I have been these past few days. I'm glad I'm getting to know Will, Sam, and Becka more. I am also glad I almost managed to kill Sam close to five times with nothing more then water.

I will update you again soon journal. I am sorry I have been letting you rot in the corner as nothing more then a chronicle of my ill-health.

Well, I was feeling good for a few days. I now have a stupid head cold.

This ride is too long, I want to get off.

My independent study meeting has been canceled, that's nice I guess.

Last entry I said I was "just regular kind sick." That was a filthy, terrible lie. I had a virus moving from organ to organ and making life hell for two full weeks. I believe yesterday was my farewell to the stupid thing, as I hawked a freak show as an old man. This marks the end of a terrible health experience as well as a terrible work week where almost anything that got done did so in the face of amazing odds.

A bigger update will come sooner or later regarding Halloween and what-not, but I felt like updating on the death of the virus, and subsequent adaptation of my immune system to better identify and kill it and it's ilk in the future.

It was sort of fun, however, waiting to see if my eyes yellowed and I coughed up blood, like my doctor said.

Also, boo to all the people doing laundry now, because I wanted to.

My body no longer hurts to a degree where I want to cry... but now I'm just regular kind sick, which still blows.

So, to recap:

Monday i skipped my Internet Art class, which was because I was tired as all hell and only feeling a bit un-ok, but I figured it was all me being lazy. Monday night me and Jacob start to play with clay for In Search of Character, I had just finished up a great deal of coffee and was feeling funny, so I started to drink some water. Around 3:30AM I start to feel really bad, by chest and head are throbbing and my stomach feels like a solid brick wall. 4:00AM rolls around and I'm curled up on the bathroom floor throwing up coffee colored vomit, pain everywhere. Around 4:40AM I am on the verge of tears from pain and call the EMT's out of desperation.

This is how I find myself hospitalized from 5AM to 10AM for severe dehydration and reflux on a Tuesday.

Apparently this dehydration thing isn't new, I appear to have been dehydrated for awhile. Dehydration makes veins very shallow, which means it took multiple people over 8 tries to get a damn IV in my body, eventually the back of my hand worked. The rest of Tuesday was spent in pain, not as bad but still OW, and drinking water.

SO. Lesson learned: DRINK FUCKING WATER.

Today I just feel regular kind sick, my body aches I have a cold sweat and the deal, possibly a fever, but I think that broke during my really fucking weird dreams and wake-ups last night.

I avow to drink more water and not to drink more then two cups of coffee in one session. Also: never on an empty stomach.

At least everyone involved was nice about the whole situation, I have much respect for Coolie Dickenson Hospital and Hampshire’s EMS team now.

I will now go off and continue to contemplate shower and lunch. I am unsure if I will go to class if my current situation fails to improve.

An update?!

Yeah I know, crazy shit right?

So yes, updates! Well, classes are going better then ever:

In Search of Character - Sculpture, Mask Making, Theory on Character and Caricature. This is one of the more awesome classes ever; I got to sculpt a life sized replica of Jacob's head!

Internet Art - A course on the internet as a medium for artwork and expression! Fuck yes. Class work is contained in a blog no less.

Creative Writing Design and Body - Fabrication and Writing, what more can I say, it's amazing and also deals with character and the human body. A story written for the class will be posted under a cut.

Independent Study on Special Effects - We are ironing out the script now, but expect blobs and zombies and blood. Hell, we blow a hole in a girls head at one point!

So this is all amazing and awesome and great and such. Clubs go well; Excalibur is going smoothly, although Twin Peaks is not a well received show. This is fine; we plan on switching it out soon anyway. Necronomicon is better then ever, each Friday has us doing something new and awesome, and it shows no sign of slowing down!

Personal life is fine, been having some social anxieties lately and sometimes feel like I can't escape or hide anywhere, but with any luck I can deal and make better use of public spaces on campus. Also face some strange interpersonal stuff, but hopes are high I can negotiate these situations as well. My classes are all creativity oriented, which is a lovely outlet to have, I realize I missed writing after a semester away from it.

So yeah, it's the normal deal of me freaking out over nonsense while having other nonsense be awesome. My fingers all hurt from it, which sucks in its own way.

Costume supplies and props are fun to order, and my excitement for Halloween grows. Particularly with this whole Hampshire Freak show I am helping run and Necronomicon’s large involvement with the holiday. I can't stop renting horror movies these days; I love this season so much.

Updated thusly, I shall leave you with my short story in altered perceptions, Finding the Muse. Inspiration came in the form of my sleep deprived finals week last semester which saw me having physical hallucinations wherein my juice tasted different ever time I drank it.

 

Oh, Ellen’s favorite line from the story as a preview:

Knowing the time was generally useful. Amphetamines.

So, I had my first class today, Creative Writing/Design/Body. This is a creative writing course mixed with fabrication/design with a focus on science fiction and body... so in other words it is awesome.

In true Hampshire spirit we had a group talk about what the class was about and then promptly broke out spaghetti and marshmallows for construction purposes. So I made a pyramid with another pyramid intersecting it upside down. Jacob made a space-ship, and everyone else made other stuff.

 
So we all check it out, say what they represent (mine is a temple of dark worship, made of alien geometry not of this space and time, Jacobs has wings made to fly too close to the sun) which was fun. Then we were asked to pick an item or items and write a short bit about them, so I wrote about Jacob's with a cameo of my own item. This short bit is below, and as you can see it is a space based gritty sci-fi introduction.

What I wrote for class:

He slammed back the tepid water, painfully aware of the five days since he ran out of brandy on his lone spacecraft. Built to crew seven, all it crewed these days was a bitter space traveler down on his luck in the void. It wasn't always like this, of course, but it sure could seem that way as the days dragged by. Four weeks ago, as recorded in Standard Earth Time, was when they left a strange temple on a strange world. They had been salvagers back then, paid to go where intelligent people knew better to go and transport things of a similar nature back to said intelligent people. As far as most jobs compared this one was easier then a C7Prime girl, a big ol' building on a planetary surface was a dream to space based salvage teams. However, being the last of seven still alive on a crippled ship drifting far too close to an alien sun, it is clear things didn't stay so easy.

So yes. Class is off to a good start so far, although I still need an academic chair and to get my independent study off the ground.

Credit Decision:

Congratulations! Your loan application has been credit approved subject to program requirements and verification of identity.

The first thing that needs to be said is a huge thank you to everyone who left kind words in my last update! You guys are all awesome and those comments all made me overly happy and warm on the inside to read them. The appreciation factor on them is so high it can effect most giger counters. Yes, thats right, my appreciation is so high it is radioactive. You guys all rock the house hardcore! =)

It looks like the third time really is a charm like they have been saying all these years. This news, pending a terrible mix-up, brings an end to the larger woes in life, allowing me to focus on some of the smaller ones! Yay!

* I need to deposit my last check from the best summer job ever.

* I need to prove for the second time this summer that I really, in all actuality, am a full time student of Hampshire College to my damn health insurance company.

* I need to copy my Student ID and mail it in with my first jury duty summons ever as proof of my full time student status, and then cackle at avoiding my civic duty.

* I need to pay off $1222 to Hampshire (bye summer money) which remains from the "Oh gee, you could never meet this work study limit in a million years" mix up the FA office made last semester.

In all actuality those really are not overly woe-filled... well all but that last one. Now my reading and game playing will be for fun rather then escapist pursuit! w00t.

Oh, and this is just because I am a Google Whore, but I love how Google Talk can broadcast the current music playing in iTunes... and then add it to a Google History Search... thus allowing me to see my music listening habits... I am stalking myself better then Big Brother could ever hope to.

That update about my super awesome job is still in the making, I promise... it's just that... well... Soul Calibur III has sooo much to unlock and I still have to read A Feast for Crows!!

Speaking of Soul Calibur III, and this mostly pertains to Niraj and Steven at this point but will soon come to haunt the halls of Hampshire, Popey McPopeykins has changed to The Dread Bard. Beware!

=)

First of all, thank you everyone who left input on the job thing! All the comments helped and meant much to me. =)

So yea, anyway, I have chosen to take the camp job in NY rather then CT. The weekend training was a blast and everyone I met was amazingly nice as well as amazingly awesome. I still have to let the CT job know, through a series of fabrications, that I will not be able to take the position, but that is best left for when I am deep in madness that comes with sleep deprivation.

The benefit of this job, Cybercamps, over the one in CT, IDTech Camps, is that I am... well... in NY. My weekdays will be filled often, but not always my weeknights, that’s one major difference. Most importantly, my weekend will actually be free rather then just Saturday as with the CT job.

As of now my schedule appears to be:

Week 1 - Week 2 (26th - 30th): I start at Fordham on the 26th teaching young kids general computer stuff. Talking 7yrs old, and as the camp director of Fordham explained to me, the only guy set to teach the youngin’s present, it will mostly be games and me being goofy with spurts of computer teaching when we manage to harness the collective attention span of a group of children.

The Sunday of the 2nd I am working on pre-camp set-up for the Adelphi Camp.

Week 2 - Week 6 (3rd of July - 4th of August): I am now at Adelphi with a larger group of co-counselors... as well as a GIANT sized camp, talking 52kids at the largest week. I now teach an age range of 11-17 mostly in topics dealing with game design. When not teaching we are outside playing games, playing games inside on and off electronics, and doing projects related to the digital world. Every Wednesday is Wild Water World Challenge, wherein we go outside, arm the kids and us with weapons of water, and allow them to destroy us.

Week 6 - Week 7 (7th - 11th): My last week, and oh man will it be a week. The camp becomes w00tc@mp, a week long LAN party featuring cross-camp tournaments. The age range goes up to 16-18 and the games include M rated titles like CS. I will get paid to play games for a week.

I will be working some Sundays this summer, but generally only if I am resident that week as far as I can tell. A resident being when I stay at the camp overnight for the week.

Then that’s it, after the 11th I am once more work free till school, which I miss like hell, naturally.

Alright, I was just on the phone with Ellen for awhile, who made me forget anything else I was gonna type. That bitch! =P

So yes, in other news I look forward to Niraj's Crunk Fest Party which will be boring once the novelty of watching everyone get drunk wears off.

Go on Roogle, eventually you will read this, and when you do you better leave an insulting comment!

I also look forward to the Rachel Weiss Extravabonanza!! It will be amazing and awesome and bring people from around the globe to Rachel Rakov’s house in NJ. I hear even Steven Colbert is showing up!

In other news, it is overly warm and I have a cookie.

Alright everyone... a question is to be asked.

What job should Chris take for the summer? The pros and cons are many and varied, and I am conflicted.

The options are:

A. Camp counselor position for IDTech Camps. This would be in CT from the 25th of this month to the 11th of August. I would be paid $500 a week, making $3,500 for the summer. The pros are the money and the experience. The cons are the fact that I would be in CT from Sunday night to Friday night; a train ride would have me home Friday late night to Sunday afternoon before another train ride brings me back to CT. This means my summer would allow only Saturdays of each week for time with friends... or down time in general. I would actually have a midnight curfew at this place each night! That’s right, so much for reading books!!

B. Camp counselor position for Cybercamps. This would be from the 25th of this month to around the 20th of August. I would be paid between $300 and $400 a week depending on if that week is overnight. I would be working in NY, one week at Fordham and the rest of the summer at Adelphi. This means that, although paid less and denied the train adventures, I would have more time for friends/family and reading... although not terribly much more. The weeks when I am not an overnight staff I would be home by 7pm at the latest. The pros are location and time, cons are the training session this weekend and the lower pay.

C. Best Buy. I have an interview on Friday wherein it is expected I would be hired for the summer and subsequently other breaks in the school year. This has the obvious advantage of being a job where I get paid... albeit not nearly as much as elsewhere... but have the big added bonus of having time. Lots of time for friends and books and such. It would also renew my ability to actually visit people in other places, which the other two jobs make much harder. This one had been removed from my consideration for a short time period, but has since been re-added to my list upon reflection on the other two positions and the love of having options.

D. Since I sorta have till the 25th to really commit to any one path, continue to apply to positions and see if more options pop up. This is more of a bonus item that can be added onto other choices from the list.

I don't know how to make a poll in LJ, so this will be an old fashioned entry where I ask for input via a comment. What are your thoughts and opinions internet? The camp jobs all fill that nice "escape from home" thing, but do so a bit too well... but why would I subject myself to retail hell... if not for the ability to see friends!?

I will, for the time being, continue to exist as an employee to two camps while courting Best Buy...