Hey. (Sans Facebook)
Status
-Still alive.
Busywork
-Messing around with Linux Mint. Upgraded my PC hardware a month or so back, and apparently I need a new operating system, because the version of Windows XP that came with my PC is an OEM copy. The short version being, once I get a new motherboard (which I did) you need a new operating system, because that one is only tied to one specific PC.
I bought Windows 7 which I blogged about way back when before it was actually released, because I was testing the beta version, and also a new hard drive which hasn't arrived yet, because I felt like upgrading and didn't want to lose all of my data. My PC crashed a year or so ago, don't know if I blogged about it; I'm sure I did. But that sucked, so I'm a little bit smarter about it now.
I have to say I'm pretty pleased with Linux Mint- it's free, google it. It's a free operating system, and it's pretty cool. So much that I'm actually thinking about returning the copy of WIndows 7 that I bought and just learning to use Mint. A cheapo copy of Windows 7 is $100, and that's another OEM version, which will be tied to this PC- which I plan to use for several years, but still. If nothing else, Linux Mint will make a good backup.
-Been listening to podcasts for a while, the newest being the Mental Illness Happy Hour, which I stumbled upon because Teresa Strasser (whom I love) was on an episode.
Music
-I like Patrick Stump, still. He's actually gonna be in town Monday playing a show, looking forward to it. The last time I went to a show that I was really looking forward to was New Year's Eve, actually. Which, shit, was nearly a year ago at this point, now that I think about. Anyway, Stump has a new album coming out, but before that he put out a little six-song EP called Truant Wave, and ended up listening to the whole thing on Spotify. I like his lyrics and his voice, despite the fact that I'm generally not big on pop music.
Spotify is a super cool program that lets you listen to tons of songs for free, as long as you have a Facebook account (it's some corporate thing that Facebook is pushing for the time being, you have to log in via your FB account; Spotify is now their default music app).
Also gotten into Agent Ribbons over the last month or two. They started out as a local band, but they live in Texas now, and play all over the country (and occasionally in other countries). They're very lyrical, and likewise there's something about their voice(s)...
Other Things
-I deactivated my Facebook account, which is probably why I'm blogging. Also, it's occurred to me that I haven't blogged in quite some time, so...you're welcome, world. (I'm kidding, no one cares). Just a temporary thing, I felt like taking a break. Will probably be back on it in a week or so.
-I want a god damned car. Am [very slowly] saving up money. I suppose I should learn to drive in the mean time.
-I am working. Had been doing temp work for quite a while, but back in...May...? I started working at my old data entry job again...for like the 4th time. I was filling in for someone when they were out on maternity leave (the third person), and I ended up getting hired on again long-term (for the second time). Of course, things have been slow, so I may get canned again (for the second time), but who's to say. Even if I don't, the office is closing down next year, so even in the best-case scenario I only have another six months or so. Which is fine by me, really; I'd appreciate the closure. It's the best job I've ever had, and the only one I'd ever been fired from (not for a bad reason, just a company layoff thing), so I'd kind of like to see the ship go down- in a respectful kind of way. I would like to be there at the end.
I keep floating the idea that we should have a crazy office party where everyone gets drunk, but so far no takers...
-Fucking Netflix.
-Been sleeping on the floor in my livingroom; my mattress has a dent in the middle, but has always been a bit soft in the center. I don't sleep very well when I'm on it, apparently. I assume it's because I never had it on a bed frame and just set the mattress on top of the box spring on my bedroom floor, but it could be the mattress itself, I dunno.
-There was a girl. Turns out, there wasn't. Was sad. Feeling much better, now.
-Been reading Edgar Allan Poe stuff lately. There's an Agent Ribbons song named "That's Not Edgar's Heart," so I decided to lookup The Telltale Heart (classic story of Poe's), and ended up reading several of his short stories. I hadn't read any of his stuff since I was in the 7th grade or thereabouts, much more interesting now as an adult. He's renewed my appreciation for short stories as an art form; I had this idea that you weren't really an author unless you wrote novels, preferably ones that were like 900 pages long and were about boring bullshit.
Poe, though...his stories are so...it's hard to describe. He certainly has a style, and it's kind of a pop-style. It's almost like a comic book or something, in that it's really cool, and so I'm confused that people so readily accept Poe's work as classic literature. It seems too cool to be literature. Anyway, recommended stories:
The Oval Portrait (short)
The Telltale Heart (best-known work, besides The Raven)
Annabel Lee (short sad poem)
The Imp of the Perverse (essay/short story combo)
The Black Cat (story about an evil man and his black cat)
Movies
Have seen the following movies recently, or semi-recently, or pseudo-recently, and liked them:
Attack the Block (movie about aliens invading a UK neighborhood and the residents fighting them- and occasionally one another)
Awful Normal (movie about two sisters who try to track down the man who molested them as children; documentary)
There are more, and I didn't do any TV shows, but I feel like this post is already too long.
Thank you, and goodnight.