Phasing Moment

Today's August 9 - the eve of my vacation. With less than twelve hours to go before my vacation officially starts and a week before my 23^rd birthday, it's pretty much inevitable that things will fly out of left field.

Sometimes we just aren't prepared to face the present as it unfolds. Corporal Brigitte Stark would know that personally.

As these (fun) events inch closer and closer, they no longer float about as part of the future, but as the present we continually keep living out. As such, these left field things will keep being thrown my path, and I must adjust to the constant rain.

Cryptic and confusing chatter aside, let's just see what's got me shaken up as we inch closer to the future now.





CURRENT MUSIC:
Bear McCreary - "Dirty Hands"
Battlestar Galactica: Season 3 Original Soundtrack

"Dirty Hands" aurally represents a "working man" theme, conveying through music a sense of hard labor and strain. As I've been a working man of sorts, I have to say that this blues-sounding track carries a musical representation of the hard work I've done and the hard work I'll have to face in the future.

When I first featured "Dirty Hands" on this blog, I said the above paragraph (albeit with other things worded in-between) and meant it. The light aggression that this track offers seems to match really well with the plight of all blue-collar workers (and the drones in white-collar jobs who end up doing blue-collar crap) - hell, it just matches the plight of any worker facing any kind of oppression or unjust actions in the workplace.

Now, by playing this, this has nothing to do with my current work conditions. Sure, they're unbearable at times and the people are strained farther than they should be, but it's a job. All jobs suck. All work sucks, and we're forced to grin and bear with it if we want our paychecks. However, it's nice to have matching music in the background to help aurally support us in a time of labor and strife.



"There's a period in any war between the first blow and the second. It's a quiet moment - an almost tranquil time - when the realization of what has happened is just sinking in and everyone feels they know what happens next. Some prepare to flee. Some prepare to hit back. But no one moves. Not yet. It's a perfect moment - the time when the ball is at the highest point of the throw. The action has been taken, and for one frozen moment everything is moving, but everything is at rest. Then there are those jackasses who can't leave such things alone. And the ball starts downward again - the second blow is thrown - and we plunge into the maelstrom."
- Michael Liberty
(StarCraft: Liberty's Crusade)

I'm not at war, and I'm not in conflict with anyone in particular. However, whenever something shocking happens, sometimes we can't help but stand there in shock for one split-second. That maelstrom is inching closer to me, and I think I'm prepared. But not yet. Either way, we're going to be in for a grand old time.





Good afternoon, everyone. As mentioned before, we have less than twelve hours before my vacation and a little less than a week before my birthday. Let's see what bars the path from here to there... or rather, what I should expect to deal with in the interim.





Gripes of the Inevitable
(Or: Josh's profile finally caught the Timeline disease.)

Today marks the last grueling day of work that's blocking me from my beloved vacation. It also conveniently marks the last week I will be 22 forever. (I just said this twice, didn't I?)

Rest in peace, old profile page.

It also marks the last time I was able to see Facebook in the old school way - you know, the one before all this Timeline shit.

Yes, I know I'm going to be just like every other person who whines and gripes about this change and then accept it a few days later. Yes, I'm aware that Facebook is a business and they can do whatever the frak they want. Yes, I'm aware that we're all sadly used to their constant changes.

But c'mon! Facebook, you decide to screw with my profile a week before my birthday? Frak you! Frak you with something hard and sandpaper-y!

*sighs* Not like it matters anyway - it's not like I invest my entire life and well-being on that thing. (After all, I do use it for important things, like social networking and advertising this blog.)





Upgraded Bags of Holding
(Frostweave Bags would probably be better.)

In other (uneventful) news, events have transpired that have forced me to switch some things. Don't worry; it's nothing major. Okay - it's major for me, because if you've hung around me long enough, this cosmetic change might catch you off-guard for a second.

Out with the old.

For the longest time, I've used this Haruhi Suzumiya-themed messenger bag as my primary bag of holding. I want to say it's been over two years since I bought Haruhi (yes, I name my messenger bags), and she's served me well ever since. As can be seen, I've decorated the bag to have my own personal style and flair (with lots of pieces of flair as well), and I even got Stephanie Sheh (Mikuru Asahina's English voice actress in Haruhi) to sign my bag.

However, while the autograph was written in Sharpie, it's beginning to finally fade away. That, and the pocket inside's beginning to wear out due to constant use. So, after careful consideration and a quick rummage through my storage unit, I decided that it was time to phase Haruhi out and retire her from active use. She'll probably break out during major events, like Pacific Media Expo 2012, but apart from that, she'll be kept under protection.

In with the new.

Taking over the primary role of "Josh's Bag of Holding" is another messenger I bought some time ago: "C.C." from Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion. As can be seen, all of the flair I had on Haruhi got moved onto C.C. (albeit in different locations). She officially stepped up to the plate back on Tuesday, and so far she's showing promise. While Haruhi proved to be a great and compact messenger bag, C.C. is bigger (and I mean that in both ways *snerk*)

Of course, the size has its perks and drawbacks. While I can carry more things, I have to worry about C.C. not being able to fit in more cramped locations with ease like Haruhi was able to. Work lockers are one example (though I've solved this by just taking C.C. with me to the Electronics counter).





Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go off and do some work. Knowing how this week's been thus far, they're going to have me do some busywork that'll get me off of the floor for some time. Let's see what's on the printing agenda this week...

Backstory? A team member was creating a batch of labels for the first time and had to fix a Market endcap that had a bunch of graham crackers on it and no price labels. So after I instructed her on how to make the labels, the computer asked her to come up with a name for the batch. She inputted "crackers," but I forgot (read: "forgot") to mention that the computer only accepts the first five inputted characters. Hence: "crack."

...ooookaaaay, then. Well - I guess I have some crack to make at work tonight. I'll see y'all once my vacation starts, so until then!