Hey. I've been wanting to do a proper update for a while, but don't even know where to begin. This is not a fun story. It's been a remarkably shitty 6 months. Right around the time COVID became really serious, my wife had a major manic episode - something her doctor warned her about because of the antidepressant she was on, so we at least were able to recognize what was happening after the first 3 days of no sleep. My wife studied psychology in school, and knew what to look out for, even in her heightened state. We talked, and agreed to go to the nearest good hospital, and I was able to help and check her in. Due to COVID, I wasn't able to visit her while she was there, but I brought fresh clothes and books everyday. About 5 days into her stay there, I get a call at around 5 AM from my wife, telling me I need to come get her immediately because "they're trying to kill me". I had no idea what to do - I had gotten one call from her doctor early in the week telling me what meds she was on and that things were going well, but otherwise radio silence. I had no experience talking to someone who was experiencing hallucinations, and I just knew my wife sounded terrified and I reacted based on fear. I got in the car and started driving, and because she checked herself in voluntarily, she was able to leave. Things were OK at home for a few days, but got a lot worse very quickly. The symptoms of mania started ramping up, but my wife brushed them off as just a response to the trauma she went through at the hospital. Then she started going out driving. For 14 hours a day, every day. No texts, no responding to calls, no sign of where she was going. It became abundantly clear that she was still manic, and I started calling the hospital she went to, 5 or 6 times a day. I left messages, tried to reach her doctor, and never heard back. My wife was beginning to get aggressive, and very paranoid. I was later told that my wife was in a schizoaffective state, and was becoming increasingly detached from reality. I called in backup in the form of my Mother-in-law, who is a really remarkable woman - she is a pastor, and has seemingly endless compassion. After an especially nerve-wracking 18 hour driving session, my wife finally came home, and through some miracle was willing to go with my mother-in-law back to her house. Long story short, we tried and failed to care for my wife at home for 2 weeks as she became increasingly delusional, paranoid, and aggressive. Eventually, she finally crashed the car on her way to Maine to visit her abusive ex, who she was convinced was sending her telepathic messages. We found her at his house, high on shrooms and freaking the fuck out. Every conceivable local resource for emergency mental health care was shut down due to COVID, and literally the only option left was involuntary admission. It was the hardest decision I've ever made, but I was able to get my wife to get into the car with her mother and I, and we went to the hospital. As soon as she realized what was going on, she started freaking out. The rest is sort of a blur. I know we made it to the hospital, and there were police. The last time I saw my wife before the police told us to leave, they were surrounding her while she was hyperventilating on the floor. I remember they told her to calm down, or they would have to sedate and restrain her - shockingly, that didn't help. My wife was in the hospital for around 2 weeks this time, and was discharged and returned to her mother. She became VERY angry with me. We tried, again, to care for her at home, but she stopped attending the virtual outpatient program, and we weren't able to talk to any of her doctors because she had removed us from her contact list. She started missing the meds again, and quickly became disconnected from reality. Same paranoia, same delusions. It took us threatening to bring her to the hospital again for her to start complying, and even then it was shaky. During all this, I was still working as a full time teacher in VT. So I was driving the 2 hours to her mom's after work most nights, and driving back in the morning before teaching. Once the school year ended, I decided I couldn't do it anymore, and started getting ready to move back in with my parents. In the middle of all this were such joys as losing our insurance, my wife filing for divorce (not especially successfully, thankfully), and having one of my wife's friends trying to convince people online that we were gaslighting my wife and holding her hostage. Fun stuff, right? Things finally started settling down in August, after my wife found a new psychiatrist and a better medication. She finally started coming back to reality, and became stable again. She's still coming to terms with her Bipolar diagnosis, but she trusts the doctors she's been seeing. She just finished up her outpatient program last week, and finally seems like herself again. I am so thankful that she was able to get through all this, and so immensely proud that she has been so diligent about sticking to her meds. Things are far from normal still, but we are happy to be safe and relatively stable again. -------------------- Job hunting during COVID is pretty miserable. I've been working part time as a canvasser for a local State Rep, and have been sending out applications to 2-3 different employers a day. Despite having worked 4 different jobs for 2+ years, and having spent the last three years as a lead preschool teacher, I have not received a single call back from any of the places I have applied to. I started with schools, then daycares, and now I'm just trying to hear back from a fucking grocery store. I really don't know how much longer I can deal with this. The two places I haven't applied in town are an Amazon warehouse and weapons manufacturing plant, but I am really holding off as long as I can on those. -------------- The one positive of the past few months is, before I had to move back in with my parents in CT, I was starting to get involved in my local music scene in VT. I had a radio show that I was really proud of. I started making some music friends, and doing these improv synth shows. And I'm hoping that within a year or two I can move back up and try to pick up where I left off. I'm trying to make the most of where I am right now, but it's hard not to feel depressed here. But at least I've started meeting back up with an old friend of mine and making music every weekend. Hoping to record something soon, maybe. ------------------------------- I miss you guys, and I mostly haven't been active because I just don't know what to say. There's been so much weighing on me these past few months that I'm finding it really hard just to be a normal person. I hope everyone is faring well.
Married. More to follow after honeymoon.
Been busy as all hell the past two months. We're really understaffed at my preschool, and I'm running myself pretty ragged. They just cut our hours down to 30 hours a week, which I am actually pretty grateful for at the moment. I don't have to go in until 11:30 every day now, which finally gives me some time to work on things before I am completely exhausted at the end of the day. I've made it my goal to make some new music every day, and so far I've managed to keep up with that goal for the last two weeks or so. If you want to listen, you can check it out here. Pretty much all just ambient stuff, I've been going back to recording live on tape and slowing things down. I'm considering taking about an hour's worth of the best tracks here at the end of the month and printing a limited run of like 25 tapes. I also did some music for a friend's short movie recently, which just came out this weekend: And last, here's something I'm really proud of that I made for the preschoolers when we were talking about robots: It's a light/touch sensitive synthesizer thingamajig! LDRs for the eyes, and custom-made PCB touchplates on the sides. The kids had a blast exploring this. Hope all the Hubskiers are having a good start to 2020 2.0!
Engaged.
Allow me, if you will, to nerd out for a minute. I hunkered down this long weekend with "Handmade Electronic Music by Nicolas Collins" and HOOOOOLY MOOOOOOLEY did I have fun. Can't recommend this book enough for anyone who likes tinkering. I especially loved the section on 40106 chip oscillator circuits. It's insane to me how expressive such a simple circuit can be. Just got some cheapo solar panels yesterday, planning on making some audio automatons this weekend. Here's my attempt at making a "digital fire" by making a bunch of lfo-rate oscillators, controlled by photosensitive resistors, and playing them through Piezo pickups taped to pieces of wood: And here's a track I made last night using the circuit pictured and a couple FX: I am absolutely blown away by this shit. This would have made my gig scoring a horror movie a few years back infinitely easier! And all for like $2 worth of materials (ignoring the effects, all of which could pretty easily be emulated using free VST plugins or a Pi running Pure Data). No programming, no automating effects in my DAW, just putting my hand in front of a flashlight for a few minutes and seeing what happens. If anyone's interested in the specifics of that track: Two oscillator voices, both running into separate FX units on my Koma Field Kit FX. The first one is run into a frequency shifter which changes frequency every second or so, the other run into a resonant band pass filter. Both run together into a ping pong delay and harmonizer (set to a perfect fifth) on my Raspberry Pi. The circuit is powered by a 5V solar panel, which in turn is powered by the flashlight in that picture. When it receives full power, you hear a little rhythmic "ping" sound. When I cover it partially, the circuit is "starved" and starts making the whiny rumbling sounds. goobster I definitely recommend checking out that book if you're ever looking to play around with your own custom synthesizers! It's very clearly explained, and assumes no prior understanding of electronics. It's all geared towards tinkering and exploration rather than mastery, and I've found it incredibly fun to work through.
Name: flac, Brendan, etc. Location: VT Age: 24 Still here, just lurking. I've been keeping very busy; I work full time as a teacher in a little radical school in the woods (which all the teachers just finished building a yurt for), I've been finishing up writing a folk EP, I've been learning the harp. I've been planning a wedding, helping plan this summer's plays/plans, working on a garden and building a geodesic dome greenhouse. I've become obsessed with 3D printing since finally buying a printer in December. I've started designing/printing some little modular wall art pieces to sell, and am just waiting until I've printed enough to start selling. Expect me to shamelessly plug an Etsy imminently. Some samples: Glow in the dark moon phases. assorted nerd shit. I've also been playing an insane amount of the new Super Smash Bros. game - PM me for my friend code if you wanna catch these hands. Also, as of today, I am finally a licensed driver. EDIT: Also, PM me if you want the Tinkercad files for any of the above wall art, gratis for my hubskifolx
Hello, comrades - it's been some time! My first year of teaching at an actual school is officially over, having trained the summer teacher yesterday. Despite some helicopter parents and challenging kids, it was a really rewarding (if unbelievably exhausting year). My summer break starts today, and boy oh boy do I have some stuff to take care of - a preposterous amount of music has been on the back-burner all year, hopefully going to put out at least an EP of some kind by the end of the summer, with any luck there'll be more. Anyone interested in a collaboration? :D Also have a lot of work to get ready for my wedding, which is in just over a month (August 10th!). I am going to a fabric store today to find something (preferably in charcoal grey) to make a suit out of. I have silver coming in the mail soon to make the wedding rings out of. A harpist friend of mine is playing during the ceremony, and I am working on finishing writing some pieces for her to play throughout. Some things I have been enjoying: Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber Jerusalem by Alan Moore The Black Hack Second Edition The Quiet Year My ongoing music backlog After finally fixing some issues my 3d printer has been having for the past few months, I am hoping to possibly get production on little art pieces to sell underway sometime this summer too. I'm finishing up writing a simple code in p5.js to make generative designs, and am working on some original designs as well. Things are good, and it's nice to have some time to breathe before getting back into the school year. I hope everyone here is doing well, you should be seeing more of me (until september, at least!)
https://clyp.it/usexn1kh?token=6b246bf67f75305854b843d44de20023 I'm gearing up for a move myself, felt inspired to write about it and lay down some really quick vocal tracks. Might re-record later [EDIT: I have, indeed, re-recorded the vocals. Much happier]. I sped the tempo up to 145 and pitched it up so it's in the key of F major. I'm missing you Hubski folks - my life has been really crazy the past few months, but I'm hoping things will settle down again soon. Expect to see me in a pubski soon... LYRICS: A new start, carried in cardboard piled up on the stairs we packed up all the sins we could bear Oh, we're starting to ache bags are starting to tear OK, I guess we'll leave 'em right there You thought you heard a ghost You swore you saw her T-shirts from all the old concerts stuffed into a drawer we never have the time anymore Too tired to set up the bedframe we'll sleep on the floor and talk all night like we did before We felt like we were kids We felt like having... How long 'til I can say this is where I'm from? How will I know when my real life has begun? Where will my ghost haunt? Where will my ghost haunt?
Wedding in one month. Finally locked down music for the reception. Decided to make something for party favors, got myself a cheap woodburner and made some coasters. 150 of them. In one sitting. Been messing around with some of the extra wood, too.
Y'all. The wedding suit is DONE (almost). Still needs doing: strap for the vest, slip-stitching on vest/jacket/pants, sleeve buttons for jacket, hem for pants, lots of cleaning up (unfortunately, there are some small iron burns on the lapels of the jacket which I'm trying to figure out how to deal with). This was the biggest sewing project I've undertaken, and I am generally really pleased with how it turned out. The suit fit me really poorly as-is because I am pretty lanky and fall in-between two sizes, so I had to do a lot of alterations, and still might do some more here and there. Unfortunately, this was after I had already bound the seams of the jacket with bias tape, so the insides of the jacket are not as clean as I would like. The suit is made of a linen, which was fucking HORRIBLE to work with because of how much it stretched and shrunk throughout the process. All told, it took three days to sew - one for the vest, one for the pants, one for the jacket. This was my first time making any of these patterns, so there was lots of learning to do. T-Minus 17 days til the wedding. Still need to make rings, but that can wait another day.
I MADE SOME SHIT, Y'ALL First of all, my first sweater is done! Really happy with how it turned out, just a smidge short, but that's okay. Already started another sweater, because I'm crazy. Also, I started painting stuff this weekend. I've never really been good at or liked drawing/painting, but I've been toying with some isometric stuff for the past few weeks, which has been fun. I'm making about 1 room a day, might connect them, might not. First one: (The dog is named Sammy) Not quite as cleanly executed as I'd like, but I like the design of this room. Might make it again sometime. WIP of the current one.
Made my girlfriend a birthday dress. Apart from the mockup I made, it's the first dress I've made before. I made the mistake of buying a cheap pattern with weird sizing issues, so I had to do a lot of alterations, both to the pattern and to the final product. I drafted a bodice block so that doesn't happen again... In action. Inaction. The back. Still left to do: add a small clasp at the top of the back, make a hem, do some slipstitching. Happy with the overall dress, just need to take more time getting the size right beforehand. Also, the ring is done. Proposal imminent. Married folks of Hubski, how did you propose?
SHIT'S POPPIN' I have a temp job that fulfills almost all the requirements I was looking for last week - consistent schedule, paid breaks, near where I live, reasonable pay, and a place to sit, if I want to. It's warehouse work, and I'm pretty good at it. But more importantly, I got an interview for that job I really fucking wanted. The one over here, the one I thought I was unqualified for. I requested to be the first interview of the day, and they have about 10 other people they're considering for the job. I don't own a jacket. I don't own a white shirt - though I think I may make one tonight after work. I'm really nervous, but I feel good about the possibility of working a job that I both like and think is important. ---------- Also, the album is unfortunately not coming out on the 15th. Job hunting has been an all-consuming affair. Sometime this month, though. EDIT: Interview went well! They're doing a second set of interviews next week, should be hearing back this weekend about whether they want me to come in again.
SHIRTS, Y'ALL Oh man, this week has some real bold moves. I feel like I am now post-taste, I can't even tell when I'm making insane things anymore. Pictured here: the best my hair has ever looked, and a flannel dinosaur shirt. The fabric is all black and white, but I had the idea of buying some fabric markers and treating it like a coloring book. I plan on carrying around the markers with me when I wear it so that other people can fill in a dinosaur if they want. Horrible horrible quality, but here's a picture pre-washing. Picture one is after the first wash, the colors become a bit more muted and pastel. "You're not actually going to wear that in public, right?" - My Mom, 2k16. Birds and flowers and flowers and birds. Did some fitting after I took this picture. --- It now takes me about 2 hours and 1.75 yards of fabric to make a short sleeve shirt, which is pretty exciting. I will probably be making a new shirt every other day until I leave, which leads me to: Leaving for Portland in 15 days! I am very excited. EDIT: I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has been giving me support and advice, I really do appreciate it. Thank you for finding value in my work.
I wasn't really prepared for the emotional toll that leaving all these preschoolers was going to have on me. I still have a few more days teaching, but I've told the kids I'm leaving and they are... not pleased, to say the least. The hardest one has been a 3 year old kid named Ian, who's been at the school since it opened. I babysit him sometimes, because his family's a mess. His parents just finalized a divorce, his brother bullies him all the time, etc. When I was babysitting him yesterday, I told him that I'm leaving soon, but we still have time to play at the school a few more times. His exact response was: big tears "BUT YOU'RE MY BEST GROWN UP" Starts running away from me in the Fred Meyers food court Once I caught him, which thankfully didn't take long, he told me that it's okay I'm moving, because soon he's just going to get a jet, and use that jet to bring me and my family to live at his house. So, there's that.
Things I tell preschoolers every day that I would like to tell grown-ups: You need to use your words if you want something. I want to help you, but I only can if I know what you need. Sometimes, you should just walk away if someone keeps causing you problems. Sometimes, you staying around them is part of the problem. Ask before touching - people and things. Worry about whether you're following the rules, not about if other people are. If everyone does that, it'll be ok. The flowers are for everyone, not just you. Please let them grow. EDIT: If you play with the water, you're going to get wet. If you don't want to get wet, don't play with the water. (They never listen to this one.).
Gainfully employed and moving to Vermont in a week. Teaching music at a K-8 school in the woods, pretty much the dream job. On the music front: I'm within spitting distance of finishing the score for my friend's movie. Here are some tracks that somewhat make sense on their own.
Hey. Something sad happened this weekend.. In the grand scheme of things, this building doesn't mean that much - it hasn't been a functioning theater for a few decades, and was close to falling down on its own anyway. I grew up right next door to it, and played in the park outside it every day. I threw rocks at it in middle school, broke into it in high school, and helped try to fix it in college. I spent weekends painting walls that were falling in on themselves, cataloging moldy costumes, laminating old playbills. My family has run a theater program the last 5 years on the grounds of the theater, and have been trying to get the place opened up again, at least so people can see inside of it. They've had some success - we did a play last summer on the balcony of the theater, and opened it up for tours for the local schools. They both work full time jobs and put all their spare time and money into this program. They've gone to every town meeting for 5 years to try and get any support they can, with very little luck. They stayed up all night to watch the fire, because what else can you do? ----- I used to sneak out of my bed and sit on the roof with my brother when I was a kid so we could hear the shows they did on summer nights. We couldn't see anything through the trees, but we could hear the words, and my brothers tried to explain what was going on. I was planning in getting married in the park. Just ordered invitations, too. Going to visit the wreckage this weekend and make some decisions. Anyways, here's a song I wrote. PS: the kicker is that at the last town meeting, people were talking about how now they could finally build condos there.
Dala, some knitting. A hat, made with this pattern. Probably the most complex knitting I've done so far. Some fingerknit leg warmers. Half a scarf. Brioche knit. --------------------------- I've started working 35 hours a week at the preschool. That is too long. 9 hours today, 13 kids. --------------------------- I'm 23 today.
Thus, my first game of Diplomacy ends victoriously (I'm Turkey, the yellow one). All it took was a few weeks of treachery and subterfuge... GG to: mk, Quatrarius, spencerflem, nowaypablo, zebra2, and wasoxygen. May we fight again soon.
I'm motivated, y'all I'm feeling a ton more confident than I was yesterday when I put up this post, due in very large part to all the helpful advice and perspective. I'm going to bike over to the place I applied to yesterday to turn in my resume in person. I'm also going to spend today finding at least 2 other places to apply to, and spend every one of my days off doing the same thing until I get an interview somewhere I like. We're gonna turn this mother out. ------- My album is going to be out on April 15th. I needed an arbitrary deadline, and this is my Mom's birthday. It's so fucking close to being done, and I'm never going to finish it if I don't have a date. I'm going to master it myself, and if it sucks it sucks. It's going to be the first music I've charged for. $5. ---------- I'm sewing again. A shirt I made my bf for his birthday. Yes, it glows in the dark. It's also got some hand-embroidered stars around the collar that are kind of hard to see. 90% done with this, just need to hem. Unbelievably cozy. For anyone interested: this is the month that I actually open up an Etsy shop. Get hype. --------- A story to make you feel things I went to Lan Su yesterday, which was absolutely stunning. In one section of it, they had set up a Qingming display, where patrons could honor the deceased with written notes. Lots of beautiful little remembrances to lost parents, pets, stuff like "I hope that you are happy in heaven, Dad" etc. And then, this. Which destroyed me. I seem to actually be feeling emotions these days, which is a nice (if draining) change of pace. EDIT: Uh, accidentally made some sweet fuckin' glitch art when I was editing it.
"Huh, I only have a few more days with my family, and I haven't packed anything at all. I should probably sew a pea coat." The pattern I used, for any interested parties. Polka dot flannel lining, wool exterior. Still needs some finishing touches (hems, buttons, etc). My most ambitious project yet, happy with how it turned out. Going to make one for my boyfriend this week, which leads me to: Relocation 2: ECLECTIC BUGABOO I've shipped my shit, I've winterized the beehive, I've cleaned my room, and I'm going to be in Portland in about 36 hours. Not much to say apart from that I am extremely excited - to be out of CT, to be with friends, to be able to bike again, to take my life off hiatus, to find out where cgod's coffee place is, etc etc etc.
A great many words about my dog, Cooper I found out a few days ago exactly what breed my dog is. His prior owners thought Doberman/terrier, we thought Australian terrier. Someone who knows better told me that he is, in fact, a Jagdterrier. Created between WWI and WWII by a German eugenecist/biologist interested in a new breed to compete with English hunting terriers, they rose to prominence in the lead-up to WWII, and their popularity was greatly bolstered by growing nationalism and their perception as a truly "German" breed. They are real good at killing, and at tracking blood. Nearly as good as bloodhounds at the latter. Mine is mostly good at hiding under blankets when it gets too cold, and climbing the back of the sofa to lay his head against my neck. He can track mud perfectly, not sure about a scent. ----------- Things haven't been great. ----------- We took him to the Humane Society on saturday - by "we", I mean myself and my pseudo-mother-in-law. She's the only one I know in Portland right now with a car. He was not too happy about it. I was hoping they might be able to take him in - I'd been talking with them on the phone for a week or so about what the best course of action is with him, and if they would be able to find him a home. They told me to come in for a Behavioral Assessment, which consists of the following: testing interactions with humans in a variety of situations; testing interactions with dogs in a variety of situations; complete physical; assessing level of training/trainability. He did real well with the humans, physical, and training. I never had any doubts that he would - always been a people puppy, quite a bit on the overloving side if I'm being honest. They brought a dog in (their calmest, I was told). Cooper barked the dog into a corner, at which point they replaced the real dog with a toy dog that looked like him. Cooper broke out of his harness, and within seconds had bitten the head off of this toy dog. So I've been told, at least - I was in the waiting room, talking with Jen about what it is to be young and fairly apolitical in Portland. They brought Cooper back to me, and I was told by the head trainer that they didn't feel safe housing him. She said that she didn't know of any rescues that would take him, but she would send out some emails anyway. She said my best option was to find friends or family nearby to take him, both of which are in fairly short supply for me in these parts. Other than that, she said my best bet was finding an individual owner, and... trailed off. I broke down a bit. I just kind of sat in the lobby, crying a bit and hugging Cooper until another dog came, and I felt like I should go. ------------ He ate a whole lot of treats that night - the very best that the local-ish Walgreens carried. There was some song playing above me about how "I would do anything for my baby"; I got him a squeaky toy too, and booked it before the soundtrack had a chance to get even more on the nose. The heating is shit in this house, and because my beau is out east for a funeral, Coop's my heating pad at the moment. I watched 8 hours of stand up specials, and knit a cowl (pictured below). We fell asleep on the couch. Same thing the next day, sans cowl. ------------ Cut to Monday. I get a text from a man an hour or so north of me, followed by half a dozen pictures of: A. terriers and B. Nutria (of the dead persuasion). He's spent the last 17 years rescuing terriers (and other hunting/working dogs), training them, and finding homes for them on farms / rural areas. He was contacted by the trainer at the Humane Society, who has evidently been working like crazy to find a home to take Coop. This is the man who told me what kind of dog Cooper is, and that he would be willing to take him in if I want him to. We talked on the phone for a while - I made Cooper sit in the other room because I'm a crazy person and haven't had much sleep. I'm giving Cooper to him this coming Tuesday. He'll be living in a house with 2 other dogs, and he'll go out hunting every weekend. This guy lives on a couple acre property where Cooper can just run free and eat mice and shit all day if he wants to. He'll probably stay there a few months till he's been trained to behave with other dogs, and then he'll go to a suitable home where he can do some sort of work. It's perfect for him, and I'm sad. This dog has brought me a whole lot of joy, and I've learned a lot from him. But he shouldn't be 36 pounds, and sleeping on a couch all day. He shouldn't be inside 95% of the day because I'm afraid of another dog attacking him (or, more probably, of him attacking another dog). he shouldn't have to hear little critters on the other side of the wall all day unless there's a chance he can chase them down. I've been looking for a home like this for him since about a month after we got him, and it looks like he'll finally be somewhere he can do what he was made to do. I can't stop thinking about blood. About how the fuck a type of dog bred for hunting by Nazis ended up in Oregon, and how now I've been feeding him CBD biscuits twice a day so he doesn't jump over the fence and kill my landlord's chickens. I feel an abiding sadness for dogs who have been bred past the point of being able to fend for themselves, but this is the first time I've cared for a dog who is probably much better equipped to live alone than I am. May he find work, and a lasting home. Hell, may we all. Pictures: https://imgur.com/a/pLjZP EDIT: I was teaching the kids how to say "I love you" in spanish, and then "I love you forever". A kid asked what forever means, I told them. They asked "where does the love go when you die?" and I couldn't think of an answer. The best I could come up with is "you take it with you", but then they asked "where?". I told them to ask their parents.
Cowl for my beau. Been knitting like a madman to get christmas presents done, will upload more later. Going home soon, looking forward to a bit of snow and the inevitable viewing of the Muppets Christmas Carol. EDIT: Family presents. Hat for sister, tie for brother, socks for mom, mittens for dad.
I made a shirt! $2.50 worth of the cheapest flannel fabric I could find. This was my first attempt making something from scratch, and I'm pleased with how it turned out. As a bonus, I also had enough fabric left over to make a very cozy pillowcase. Moving in a little over a week, scared and excited. Pulling 8 hour days recording/mixing now. I think this album is going to actually be good.
Things I made this week Socks. Mittens, for the babe. Ring, v. 1 In action (on me). It turned out okay, not perfectly straight. The solder joint is a bit messy, and I only have a polishing cloth to buff/polish with, so it's not as well finished as I'd like. Still, good first try.
Officially starting as a full time pre-school teacher this September. Talked with the manager of the school I've been volunteering at, and she thinks I've been doing an awesome job. I'm going to be a paid assistant teacher at some summer camps in August, and that should be enough money to get me through the month. I put in my "til the end of the month" notice with my direct supervisor at the warehouse, and I couldn't be happier to be getting the fuck out of there. Here's to the next thing. ------------- Meeting up with some strangers from craigslist tonight to talk about starting a Dungeon Crawl Classics campaign. I've been feeling a bit isolated recently, and like I could use a bit of, well, fun. Hope this will scratch my RPG itch till I can start DMing in August.
Friends, I am here, just tired all the time and not doing much interesting enough to post about. That being said, I'm quite happy with how most things are in my life these days. I'm working full time at a preschool, which is both great and exhausting. Learning a lot, and the school is paying for me to get an Associate's in teaching. Also planning a wedding. Also learning the harp. Also writing scores for some extra money. Please find attached the score for a friends movie which is nearly done being edited.
So, thenewgreen commissioned a shirt from me, and I decided to make a Hubski-themed one. Still mid-process, needs buttons and hems. Here is is head-on. Mostly black, subdued, but then... BLAM color everywhere. Collar down. Cuffs closed. placket. Proud of how this one is shaping up, lots of nice details in it - goobster, there are honest-to-god pleats and plackets on this puppy, I'll upload detail pics later. ---- Also Made my sister a dress for her birthday. (There is a picture of me modeling it, but it's a bit early in the day for that...) ----------- Relatedly, my mother, who is a saintly woman, saw me working on this shirt last night, and she literally pulled my father by his shirt to the machine and said "OUR SON CAN MAKE A PLEAT" like it was the most mindblowing thing she had ever seen. My dad has been, uh, not super pleased with my sewing in the past, so it was nice to at least get a "huh, pretty good" from him (even if it was kind of forced). Bottom line: my mom is awesome.
THINGS I'M MAKING My very first sweater, which I sadly don't think I have enough yarn to finish yet. More rings. Been working on some hammered finishes. Getting more consistently good seams. DOG CODA I've been getting updates from the rescue place that took in my old dog, and apparently he's doing great there. He's comfortable enough around other dogs that he can just chill out in the same room as them for the duration of a movie, no barking, no scratching. He's getting tons of exercise, and can just run around in the yard for as long as he wants. I think he's going on his first hunting trip this weekend, which will be a lot of fun for him. Really happy that he's making progress, it makes me feel good about my decision.
