I'm getting a tattoo next Sunday, but I have had to switch my appointment on my artist about eight times. Normally I'm not so flaky, but two people have quit at work and I needed to pick up the hours since everyone else is still in training. Then I got sick, and had to do two rounds of antibiotics. Ugh.

I've been staying "in the rules" at the shop as far as switching the dates go, but I still feel terrible. I don't really have the extra money for a better tip, but would cookies for the shop be ok? Is this totally weird or would it be cool to be like, "I suck and I really appreciate you guys dealing with my crap because I know I've been a pain in the butt and I'm totes sorry."

There is some GREAT art around here, and I'm hoping I can get some help :)

I have discovered my bank account a little bit fuller than I was expecting so I would like to get one of my planned tattoos. I think "to thine own self be true" is better suited to the life phase I'm in, but I'd love some suggestions for font and placement. I don't tend to like anything too "Gothic" or scrolly in nature - I like a sans serif font.

As to placement - over my heart seems to make the most "sense" ... but how was healing? I'm a big girl with boobs to match, and I'm wondering how much the bra makes things worse :s

Also, is there any imagery that comes to mind that reinforces this idea? I'd be okay with text-only, and I could add imagery later... just thinking out loud I guess. Stylewise I'm a little bit in love with this artist, after discovering his page 5 mins ago ;)

Placement: how about the wrists? it's a lot of text for one, but I could put "to thine own self" on one side and "be true" on the other...? I dunno.

Thanks in advance for all your input! And if you read this far, I'll give you a not-so-text-only treat: my back and my right calf. 2 of the 6 tats I have currently, with plans for 3 more (including this one).

Also sorry for the crossposting ~blush~

The drive to Denver had to be the most boring things I have ever had to endure. There is, of course, another route through the Rocky Mountains we could have taken that is shorter and more scenic, but we opted for better fuel mileage and a lower likelihood of driving off of cliffs. So with that in mind, we headed up through the flat, hellish, and desolate state of Wyoming. If there was any state that is devoid of anything remotely appealing, it is in fact Wyoming. I could continue to talk at length about how terrible I think Wyoming is, but I think you all get the gist of it, so I'll just skip to the good stuff.

I have never really been to downtown Denver; mostly just the outer areas and such. I have to say downtown Denver is quite a nice place. And very clean too. We were the first band to get to the venue; The Marquis Theater (yes, Denver has one too). This was the first of three consecutive shows that we played with Death Before Dishonor and Steel Nation, and also one of the best shows of the tour other than the 7 Gen show. I think we were all a bit curious to see how well we would go over to a predominantly "tough-guy" crowd.

We checked in with the promoter, and set up our merch. I was really wanting a cup of coffee, so JP and I ventured around downtown Denver in search of some. Sadly, all would could find that was open was a Starbucks. There are very few times where I will even settle for Starbucks, and this just so happened to be one of them. I ordered a soy cafe mocha. It tasted more like liquid Cocoa Puffs, and at that point, immediately regretted my decision to settle for Starbucks. We walked back to the venue and met up with our friends James and Amanda. We still had a lot of time before the show started, so we went and grabbed burritos at Chipotle.

Once we got back to the venue again, there were quite a few people starting to line up for the show. I think by the time we played there were at least 100 or more people there. We hung out and watched the first band play. I was mildly into them unitl the guitarist kept yelling "Fuckin' move you pussies!" over and over again to the crowd. Instant turn off.

We played second, and I felt like we played a pretty solid set. There we a few kids that started dancing a few songs in, and one girl even came up front to sing along with the end of "Destroy All Calendars" which was cool to see being that we figured no one there had really even heard of us. The ball of my left foot was swollen from stomping around at the show the night before, but I chose to ignore it and play like I always do. Of course, after the show I immediately regretted that decision as well.

Steel Nation and DBD were decent for what they were. I'm not really into either of those bands, but they are pretty nice dudes despite their intimidating appearances. Steel Nation reminds me of Biohazard a lot, which is kinda good, but mostly bad. We ended up selling a lot of merch that night, and quite a few of the kids at the show were really into us.

The highlight of Denver hands down was staying at James and Amanda's house. They live up in the hills just outside of Denver in an amazing house. The view from the back patio is breathtaking; especially at dawn. Again, another missed photo opportunity due to the fucker camera battery. They also have a hot tub on the back patio that we all took full advantage of. This also, coincidentally, helped my swollen foot feel a ton better which was nice.

I was awoken the next morning by the sweet aroma of vegan blueberry pancakes. We all stuffed ourselves silly, and then packed up and hit the road again... This time on our way to Omaha, Nebraska...

a little hint regarding the next entry... fuck Nebraska!

I wrote this about six months ago but never really did anything with it. I'm not sure if anything will ever come of it but I like it.




And if the best thing in my life
Is that I did the best I could
Then I have lived my life the only way I know how
With busted knuckles and life torn apart
(With bust knuckles, broken hearts)
I’ll still die with a smile on my face.

And if the things I do aren’t good enough for you
Then I’m sorry; truly sorry for letting you down again.
But this is the only way I know how to live
This is the only way I know.

I can’t change the way I see the world
And I can’t help but see through your lies.
Working class, blue collar, scraping it together
I’ll still make do.
With a little help I can still make it all better.
And if my brain was as strong as my back
I wouldn’t always have to work so hard.

Oh the irony...



I think I'll stay right down here on this floor
Cause if I get back up I'll only fall down more
It ain't the liquor and it ain't the beer that keeps me down
It ain't the sad songs or heartache it ain't even this town

Now I must've had a pretty good time to end up here
Made a pretty good run it caught up with me my dear
There's no need to make a fuss cause I'll be all right
Just let me lay here a while 'til I can stand upright

Now I'm just a little bit tired that's all
Don't make me get back up cause I'll just fall

Please stop talking so loud and just let me sleep
I ain't in nobody's way they can just step over me
Well I think I'll just stay right down here on this floor
Cause if I get back up I'll only fall down some more

We pulled up to the venue in the middle of downtown Ogden, which is about 20 miles north of Salt Lake City. It was a little cafe/coffee shop called Mojo's Cafe. At first glance is seemed as if no one was there; maybe about 6 people or so. Needless to say it made us feel a little suspicious if anyone would be coming to the show at all, especially since it was a Sunday night in a predominantly Mormon community.

We set up our merch next to one of the local bands tables. They had two younger girls (presumably in their mid-teens) selling their merch, and they were pretty intent on annoying the shit out of me. I put on as nice of a face as I could and just went along with it until our friend Heidi, who was tagging along with us to New York, took over merch duties. I'm pretty sure they annoyed her just as much as they did me. Anyway, it was at this point that I found out that we got free coffee. SCORE! I had about 3 mugs of delicious coffee, which just so happens to not only be delicious, but also contains magical powers which lend themsleves to my stage performance... or so I'm told.

Anyway, the first two bands were locals. Their names escape me right now. About 30-40 kids had shown up at this point, and both local bands played. The first band was pretty good, very With Honor-ish. The second was pretty terrible mosh metal. The locals seemed to enjoy them, but it was definitely not my thing.

We were the third (and last) band to play, but almost all of the kids that were there stuck around. The stage was a really odd set up and backed into a corner of the venue. We set up and played our set, and the kids seemed pretty into it for the most part. A few kids knew almost all the words to the songs we played, so that was a pleasant surprise. Drew made a joke that I was 52 years old to the crowd, and I had two kids ask me after the show if I was really that old... awesome.

We hung out and talked with a lot of the kids while we tore down our gear. They were extremely friendly and kept thanking us for coming all the way out to Ogden to play, and also complimented us on our set. Come to find out that there had been a recent shortage of shows in Ogden, and they were telling me that this was one of the better turnouts they had seen in a long time. One kid even came up to me saying "Yeah man, I'm not really into hardcore at all, but you guys gave me chills." That totally floored me.

We made the drive back down to SLC where we were staying for the night. On our way back, we found out that our blower fan for the front A/C-heater decided to give up on life, and stopped working. Luckily, we were able to turn the temp knob to full hot and get at least a little heat from the floor vents, so we didn't freeze to death.

We stayed at The Bike House which was (at one point) an abandoned house that a bunch of punk kids took over and fixed up. It also just so happens to be home to an adorable dog and two equally adorable kitties, and was also featured in the National Geographic documentary on Straight Edge (instead of address numbers on the front of the house there stood two large black X's, which I thought was awesome). I would've taken pictures, but my camera battery was being a fucker and wouldn't stay charged. We were also hoping to be able to get breakfast at the always amazing Vertical Diner (can you say banana and blueberry pancakes?!) the next morning, but our 8 hour drive to Denver the next day quickly thwarted our plans for that.

It was a pretty cold and drafty night. Jason woke us up yelling "I DON'T WANT CAKE DONUTS!" in his sleep. We all woke up early to get a decent jump on the day, and were quickly off on our way to Denver.

So I got these both yesterday(under the cut), the one behind my ear is fine so far, but the one on my forearm is already bleeding ink. My arm is also swollen and I was wondering if anyone has asked their artist about using an ice pack on a swollen tattoo?

( tattoos here )

so... now that i'm back at home (and coincidentally back at work, bleh) i still find myself trying to piece together the last 10 days. it doesn't even feel like i was gone for that long, but when i think that i made it all the way from san diego to boston in those 10 days, along with everything else i experienced in that time, it does seem to appear to be a much more grand adventure. so with that in mind i'll take the next few entries day by day to keep this from becoming a novel.

we started off the tour in san diego at the always "fun to play" che cafe for 7 generations last show. the night was of course bittersweet. i always get teary eyed and emotional watching bands that means so much to me call it quits, and this night was no exception. i know it sounds silly, but it is what it is. despite the grim feeling that was lurking throughout the night, it was great to see so many familiar faces. people that i once considered to be strangers are now people that i can exchange hugs and catch up with. not to mention that they actually show a genuine feeling of interest when i talk to them, which seems to be an increasingly rare trait in people these days.

as for the show itself... i can't even begin to describe how each band's set was. it was almost as if i was going to my first show all over again; getting that feeling of intensity and danger that attracted me to hardcore music in the first place. everyone seemed to care. everyone seemed to be listening. yet another trait that seems to be dwindling recently.

the response from the crowd during our set was one of the most unexpected and flattering events that i can recall in my life. there was literally a wall of people climbing on top of one another screaming every word in unison with us. some were hanging from the rafters in front of the stage as well. to see that many people reacting that way to something that we as a band had created made me feel that every ounce of thought and emotion that we had put into creating those songs was finally realized and being felt by others. i've never really known what it feels like to be a part of something that very many people would care about, but i now know what it feels like to have finally done something meaningful; to have done something that contains purpose. absolution might be a strong word to use, but if i had to pick only one word to describe it that's the first one that comes to mind. even as i type this out, i'm getting chills as the memories of that night run through my mind.

our next show had us driving all the way to ogden, utah; roughly a 13 hour trek across three states. a friend in las vegas was nice enough to put us up, so we could take a few hours to sleep and let "ol' lebowski" take a break. i was so drained from the show that once we arrived in vegas, and despite my bandmates many attempts to wake me up, i didn't even budge. needless to say, i woke up in the van alone and disoriented, not having the slightest clue where i was or what was going on. i also had to pee really bad and didn't know which house the rest of the band was in. luckily there was an empty water bottle in the van to relieve me of my urinary woes, so i went back to sleep till drew came out to wake me up.

we all made some breakfast, cleaned ourselves up, said our goodbyes, and piled back into the van. i spent the rest of the day thinking about the night before and how unbelievable it had been, and after a while we finally arrived in ogden.

I'm selling my washer and dryer.  If you're interested you should let me know.

Suns = 4-0
Still stoked.

After taking almost 14 hours to get back to Phoenix today (including one bus, two trains, and two planes)... I made it home from Boston in one piece. There's quite a bit of stuff that I'll eventually write on here about the last 10 days, but I'm much too "jet-lagged" right now to make the time for it.

Tour was unbelievable to say the least, and I'll leave it at that for now.

so i recently started going to ucsc and i was wondering what is a tattoo shop you would recommend in santa cruz? i walked into staircase tattoo on front street and i got really bad vibes the people didnt seem friendly or willing to do any tattoos.. have any of you gotten tattoos in santa cruz? tell me your experience!

Hi. I was wondering if you all could recommend some online printable activities for autistic students. I'm looking for games/activities that do not present themselves like schoolwork, yet reinforce positive social behaviors.
Do you know of any good websites that offer free printable activities? I did a search, but couldn't find much.
Thanks!

I'm almost done moving. 
I'm starting a new job tomorrow.
I went to a show and two parties for Halloween along with text message talks with friends out of town.  All of that was cool and it was nice to hang out with people even though I'm in a generally bad mood most days.  Actually, I'm not sure if bad is the right word.  I'm exhausted a lot and also have a lot of my mind.  I'm still looking for the right word to describe it I guess.
I got an offer to go stay in Colorado for a bit for free.  I'm not really in a position to go but I really want to.

Suns = 3-0
Stoked.

"One of the penalties of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds" - Aldo Leopold.

Average and Total Numbers of Animals Who Died to Feed Americans in 2008
Chickens
Total number died for food: 8.13 billion (7.67 billion for meat, 458 million for eggs)
Average number killed per American meat-eater: 27.5 (26 for meat, 1.5 for eggs)
Average number consumed per American lifetime: 2,147 (2,028 for meat, 120 for eggs)

Turkeys
Total number died for food: 269 million
Average number consumed per American meat-eater: 0.91
Average number consumed per American lifetime: 71

Pigs
Total number died for food: 117.6 million
Average number consumed per American meat-eater: 0.40
Average number consumed per American lifetime: 31

Steers and Calves
Total number died for food: 40.8 million
Average number consumed per American meat-eater: 0.14
Average number consumed per American lifetime: 10.8

Rabbits
Total number died for food: 2.4 million
Average number consumed per American meat-eater: 0.009
Average number consumed per American lifetime: 0.69

Fish
Total number died for food: 6.5 billion
Average number consumed per American meat-eater: 22
Average number consumed per American lifetime: 1,700

Shellfish
Total number died for food: 64 billion
Average number consumed per American meat-eater: 218
Average number consumed per American lifetime: 17,000

ALL LAND ANIMALS
Total number died for food: 8.56 billion
Average number consumed per American meat-eater: 29
Average number consumed per American lifetime: 2,261

ALL SEA ANIMALS
Total number died for food: 71 billion
Average number consumed per American meat-eater: 240
Average number consumed per American lifetime: 19,000

ALL ANIMALS
Total number died for food: 80 billion
Average number consumed per American meat-eater: 270
Average number consumed per American lifetime: 21,000

My teenage years are soon to be lost with almost nothing tangible to show besides a plethora of journal entries laced with negativity and a Marilyn Manson obsession. Sure, there were great memories and a little bit of growth but I am still just as lost as I was when I was twelve. I've been in a grave for years and I wonder if I will ever gain the strength to dig my nails in the dirt and climb out.

The world's only known female, idential twin, autistic savants!  A fascinating, moving, and occasionally heartbreaking story about two very special human beings who like to call themselves human computers.

Thought you might get a kick out of these:

10 Audacious Amputee Tattoos
http://www.oddee.com/item_96857.aspx

*warning: a few are NSFW*

why the fuck do i even bother?