Board Games are the New Dance Clubs

My guy has a tradition. Every Wednesday night after his show ends, he and a few of his fellow cast members sit backstage and play board games. While I have always been invited, I have never been able to actually go because of my part time job bartending at the strip club. That all changed last night and I'm afraid I may have a board game problem.

We played this game called Eketorp. Check it out and then try to tell me you don't want to quit your job and play this all day. What's so great about this whole gaming experience though is the fact that this particular group of people were all into the game. There were battles left right and centre and no one was upset or angry when they lost a round and had to give up a brick. Well, just that one guy but he's part Viking so I guess that's okay.

Can't wait to see what we play next week. I have heard rumblings of a Twilight Imperium marathon that is making me twitch...

One of the Best Days

This day started out great. I slept in a little bit, was woken up very nicely and then driven to my office job. Once there, I sent in an invoice to a magazine that I freelance at and asked if there was anything they wanted me to do for them. They responded with a very vague sort of description of what they wanted and I said sure. I don't really know music very well and since this is a music based article it would be good for me to cut my teeth and get into that genre. And then I was told what the article is about and pretty much shit myself at my desk.

The article is all about bands that use their fans to make videos and gain exposure through Youtube and other video-based stuff that fans send in. Along with that are a bunch of contests and various other publicity things set up by various marketing geniuses. This was all very intriguing to me as I remember NIN doing something a few years back that involved a track on their cd that was open for editing. Fans were encouraged to fiddle with the track and then send it back to Trent who would select his favourites and then...do something with them. Look, I'm really excited right now and I can't think straight. Shoot me for not getting it all right.

So for this article I have to interview various people, both bands and marketing gurus who thought up all these neat ways for record labels to save money. These people include NIN, The Offspring and Placebo. That's right; you heard me. I have to interview three great bands plus their marketing people for my article.

And I'm being paid for it. All you who said I'd never make it: Eat it.

Demo Days

Took a bit of a trip back into my childhood this weekend. Growing up in a small town means town fairs every summer and with those town fairs come the demolition derby. My father was a mechanic and every year he would build a car from parts of other cars that he'd scrapped. Each year my brother and I would help him put pieces together to form a new car that he would crush in the derby, or as us townies called it: the 'demo'. Each year my brother and I would hang off the iron bars surrounding the sand covered area where the cars would smash into each other and not once did we ever think anything would happen to Dad. He was completely indestrucible, and his winning the demo every year he entered was proof of that.

As I stood there, twenty years later in someone else's hometown watching their town demo, I was struck by just how dangerous it is. Spectators are mere metres away from the cars as the whirl around and spin into each other. I think the close proximity of the beer tent pretty much took care of any uneasiness on the parts of the crowd, though. For myself, I was too busy drinking in the atmosphere of the place; hearing the sounds of the midway, smelling the saltiness of the various meats being cooked at diferent stalls and watching the glee on a little girl's face as she watched her daddy compete in the demo.

I'm not going to lie, it was an emotional weekend for me. I miss my hometown desperately but would never go back simply because of all the horrible memories I have of it. What I long for isn't that particluar place per se; rather, a small town where I can be my own person without having to explain where I've been all these years. Somewhere I can set up my own business and write my books and make a bit of money while avoiding all the bullshit that I am encountering right now. I don't consider it running away, I look at is as making a positive change. After all the crap I have been through lately I am really looking to make some changes in my life.

I have a two year plan that will hopefully see me in the position I want to be in, both professionally and personally. I have good people around me and a partner who loves me the way I need to be loved and all that's missing is...

Well. I'm not quite ready to talk about that yet. Sit tight.

Well, Well, Well...

I do not have time to recap the entirety of the past couple of months. Let's just say that I am in a great place; not only with my career but also with my personal life. Things are exactly the way I have always wanted them but was too scared to take the plunge for.

My new job has the potential to be perhaps the best job I have ever had as long as things pan out the way they are supposed to and one person retires when they say they will. Last night marked the end of my madness as an event that I have been planning since I started three months ago wrapped and I now have time to actually assess the job itself. While there are administrative aspects to it, most of my job is dealing with media-related issues. For example, last night's event was an awards show for a specific group of people within the magazine publishing sector. Not a huge show, but very frantic with trying to get all the people who were to present specific awards up to the podium on time. Not to mention the fact that I don't know any of them, so I had a bit of a challenge on my hands. One person stepped up and tried to help me wrangle these people and it's because of him that I am able to post today. Because otherwise, I would be in a metal institution curled up in a ball in the corner of my room pissing myself.

I am very lucky that I have this job. It encourages me to be creative, and the woman for whom I work has given me opportunities to flex my writing muscles by letting me write copy for press releases and website reports. It might not sound huge, but to me it's everything. Plus I have a very special person in my life who has always been by my side encouraging me where others have not and loving me consistently when I wasn't able to love myself at all. I will not kiss and tell at this point simply because I am going through a very nasty divorce and I know my ex will read this but suffice to say that I am very happy and surrounded by people who love me and encourage me to follow my dreams rather than tell me why I can't achieve them.

And that's all I got right now. Perhaps Monday I will tell you all about a demolition derby...