Out of the depths

In reading my last entry here, I'm taken back to what was a very dark couple of months inside my head. To quote Lewis Black, inside my head "the left side looked at the right side and said, 'It's dark in here - and we may die'".

Fortunately, that didn't happen. The issues I was dealing with at that point have for the most part gone away; some fabricated by my own mind, some of them real. Which isn't important; only that they are now (thankfully) behind me.

Don't get me wrong, there are still things in my life that are unpleasant. During the last few weeks I've been trying to look at the myriad of things in my life that are positive, and not to obsess over the negative too much. This is easier said than done, sometimes. But I'm nowhere near mental collapse (I probably wasn't back in March, either, but it sure felt like it), life moves on and good things happen.

I am very happy to say that the new CD from The Combined Geek is finished! I burned the final master in early June; we are now waiting for labels to be done. At that point, they'll be available for sale off the Combined Geek site. 16 songs; 79 minutes and 50 seconds of music. Not bad!

I think it's very important to note that we are taking NO profit from the sales of the Combined Geek CD, or any of the assorted merchandise that's now available at the Combined Geek store. We are donating all proceeds to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and the Myelin Project.

I've decided to remove the History link from the Plastic Joe page. Plastic Joe was finished 4 1/2 years ago. There's really no reason anymore to dredge up the past. What's done is done, and I would prefer going forward to remember the music that we made, and the good times that we had in Plastic Joe when things were going well. This is in no way meant to say that I don't still completely stand behind what was in that page as the absolute truth. I just don't think it needs to be public anymore. Besides, what I am doing musically now is in many ways more satisfying to me than Plastic Joe ever was.

I still have the same job, contracting at the same insurance company. I've been there for over a year now. Make no mistake, I still really dislike it. My agency, though, did give me a pretty substantial rate bump, though, so it becomes a bit more palatable when the checks are deposited every couple of weeks. I'm looking forward to my next position, though. I hope it'll be a little more along the lines of what I am qualified to do, and not using 40 year old technology. I hope that it's at a much smaller site where I won't have to deal with excessive corporate bloat, inefficiency, and micro-management. Still - I'm a professional. No matter how I feel about it (and when I actually have work to do, I do enjoy it - but that's rare), I'll finish out the project. (And I look at it this way, too: I'd rather work at an insurance company than a bank, anytime. Insurance companies are definitely stuffy but they don't hold a candle in that regard to banks!)

Since October 20th of last year I've been involved in a group processing work units for SETI@Home. It's a lot of fun and has inspired me to build up a pretty impressive set of computers to process this stuff - in my master bedroom, I've got 7 computers, and I have a laptop in the living room giving me a total of 8. Of these 8 computers, 6 are processing SETI@Home data 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The two that aren't are running radio streams. Our group is called Space Geeks, Inc. - check us out!

Speaking of radio stations, Llama Lounge Radio is still going strong. When I changed DSL providers, I was able to restart Idiot Radio, as well. You can get to Idiot Radio from the Idiotsite, the best Whose Line Is It Anyway? site on the internet.

I think that's all for now. Try and keep cool; seems like it's going to be a hot summer!

Some things in life are bad,
They can really make you mad,
Other things just make you swear and curse,
When you're chewing your life's gristle
Don't grumble, give a whistle,
And this'll help things turn out for the best,
And.....
Always look on the bright side of life.
[whistling]
Always look on the light side of life.
[whistling]
If life seems jolly rotten,
There's something you've forgotten,
And that's to laugh and smile and dance and sing.
When you're feeling in the dumps,
Don't be silly chumps.
Just purse your lips and whistle. That's the thing.
And...
Always look on the bright side of life.
[whistling]
Always look on the right side of life,
[whistling]
For life is quite absurd
And death's the final word.
You must always face the curtain with a bow.
Forget about your sin.
Give the audience a grin.
Enjoy it. It's your last chance, anyhow.
So,...
Always look on the bright side of death,
[whistling]
Just before you draw your terminal breath.
[whistling]
Life's a piece of shit,
When you look at it.
Life's a laugh and death's a joke. It's true.
You'll see it's all a show.
Keep 'em laughing as you go.
Just remember that the last laugh is on you.
And...
Always look on the bright side of life.
[whistling]
Always look on the right side of life.
[whistling]
Always look on the bright side of life!
[whistling]
Always look on the bright side of life!
[whistling]
Always look on the bright side of life!
[whistling]
Always look on the bright side of life!
[whistling]
Always look on the bright side of life!
[whistling]
Always look on the bright side of life!
[whistling]
Always look on the bright side of life!
[whistling]
Always look on the bright side of life!
[whistling]