The Sweet Up and Down

I've decided to stop posting in my LiveJournal because there's really not much for me to talk about anymore. I used LJ to rant and complain about life but my life is actually pretty good right now so I feel the need to get things off my chest is over. At least for right now.

New stuff before ending this thing: I got my mom all moved in to her new place. It was a huge pain in the ass because I almost had to do it all by myself. Luckily my aunts helped so we were able to get a lot of stuff and actually clean the old place. Her new place isn't exactly in the best area of Lawrence but it's what she can afford. Meanwhile, me and Audrey are living pretty good together and Cameran seems to be enjoying being cared for by Audrey. Audrey and I have also set a date for the wedding. October 24, 2009 and we plan on having it at the Stony Point Banquet Hall just south of Lawrence in the Vinland Valley.

Crystal had her baby on the 17th. Shawn Allan (or some variation of the spelling). It's good to know she now has her own child to take care of that she can ruin and turn into a miniature version of herself that's no relation to me. Yay!

I'm also really getting into my website, www.tauycreek.com, which I actually post on a regular basis and do my Born Loser and comic strip mocking, some writing, news and anything else I find on the Internet and want to show. For next week, I plan on trying to find a lot of Halloween stuff to post so if you want you can find me over there. No subscription or account necessary.

Until next time, I remain...
~Brian

I move on Saturday. I move to my own house with my fiancee and son. I am freakin' excited and am anxiously waiting for Saturday to get here so we can get our stuff into that house. I've been thinking a lot recently about growing up, having responsibilities and basically being an adult and whoever said that high school are the greatest years of your life is an idiot and needs to be shot. High school sucked compared to this moment in my life. (In all honesty, high school sucked period.)

I'm not a big fan of MySpace although I use it constantly and check it everyday because somehow MySpace always seems to draw drama and I am not a fan of drama because it's usually associated with someone else and I want to keep your drama away from me because drama is contagious. I'm proud of the few friends I have on MySpace and occasionally attempt to acquire more. Especially if they don't have a Facebook profile. From about July to August 2007 I was friends with this girl, Vanessa who was my ex-girlfriend's roommate. After she discovered I was friends with her Vanessa quickly deleted me and we both moved on. Well, I contacted her again because I like the girl. She was nice and I would listen to her life story which reads like a modern-day Dickens tale. She accepted my request and for a month everything was fine then inexplicably she deleted me again. No warning. No explanation. Nothing. I don't know what happened there but I figured two times your out. But when it happened my brain just kept asking "Why do you care?" And aside from the reason cited above, I had no other reason. I wasn't going to send a message asking why or anything but I found it very strange.

Also, way too many people are getting married and having babies. I keep forgetting that I have entered the prime marrying age but it still unnerves when I see someone I know getting married. Or, what I really hate, when I just discover it without being warned. I tend to handle change better when it's within my own spectrum but when it's change adjacent to me and I either have to deal with it or interact with it, I don't do so well. I guess what I'm saying is that I want things to change, I just want them to be gradual changes that don't amount to much right away. Or just ask me for my Change Request Form and I will email one to you. You can just fill it out and I will either approve or deny it.


The final Calvin and Hobbes strip always makes we long for the days of childhood but when I really think about it, "let's go exploring" is probably how Randy and I will end our time together if it should ever come to that and with kids, house stuff, work and family, there is no time for exploring and out of everything from my childhood, that is what I miss most of all but I'll get into that tomorrow.

~Brian

I Googled myself this morning. I wanted to see what was the first thing that came up about me. The first thing came up on page ten and was a link to my short stories on AuthSpot which is cool because those are things I could get paid for (which brings me to an advertisement: Read My Stuff). The next thing was my Blogger profile which was on page 15 or so. My name is a lot more common than I originally thought because there are quite a few people with my name out there. Search on MySpace and there are two in Lawrence alone with profiles. I also share a name with a member of Monty Python who passed away in 1997, an author who wrote The Saskiad and I Should Be Extremely Happy In Your Company and a lot of graphic designers and photographers. I only went 39 pages into what ends up being roughly 1,170 but you know as you get further the results just turn into pages that just happen to have my name in them but do not result in anything important.

I noticed the "writer's block" section of the home page asked "Which of your five senses could you live without?" How would you choose which to get rid of. You certainly wouldn't voluntarily give up sight or hearing but touch and taste would be equally tough to give up. Smell would more than likely be my choice mainly because it's one sense that I think I could live without although I would relunctantly give it up. I came to the conclusion that I couldn't live without sight or sound because those are what make the world beautiful. While olfactory senses gives us smells like roses, steaks cooking, gasoline and smoke it also gives us poop, burnt popcorn and burning rubber but it's your choice which sense to give up. I've made my choice and I stand by it.

Also, I ended my comic strip blog for a while as I focus more on writing for both money and for my LiveJournal (I want it to be something more) plus get more involved with packing and moving (which happens September 15th). The blog will be back on September 20th which is also the day we should be completely moved in so I am looking forward to that. I'm hoping to update my LJ more frequently and am considering using it to post drafts of stories I think of but am unable to flesh out until I get my mandatory two a month written. I have a couple doozies I've been itching to write so they may appear here pretty soon.

Until next time, I remain...
~Brian

Cameran really seems to enjoy his new school. He had to move from Sunflower in the southwest part of town to Sunset Hill in the central part because I have residential custody of him. When we actually move into the new house, we'll be closer to school and I plan to walk him there instead of drive so that may be an adventure.

He went to Sunflower for one day before they ordered him out and to Sunset. So while Cameran had to get readjusted, he seemed to do it rather quickly, which I knew he would because he's had to readjust a lot in his short life and kids that age are so resiliant. Oh to be six again.

I'm debating on whether I should volunteer for stuff since I am closer to the school but I don't know. I think I'll wait and see what all they have coming up and see what peaks my interest. I went to parent's night about a week ago and they had a sign-up sheet for all the stuff that's coming up and if you are going to bring anything or volunteer. I'm sorry but I don't want to commit myself to something that's not happening until November. I want to be involved but my laziness tends to try to override anything I try to do. And that's fine for some things but I sometimes feel bad for working and sleeping all day.

I know that if I volunteer there's no way in hell I'm gonna get my name on the marquee sign as Volunteer of the Month but maybe there's a kind of "We Got 'Im" honorable mention or something that's more my speed. I have plenty of time to figure out what to do.

2008 has shaped up to be a really good year. After the massive disappointment 2007 came to be, I needed a good year. First, I met Audrey. I had originally intended to just test the waters with her, make sure I could sustain a relationship, get back into the flow of dating but no real attachment. I ended up falling in love with her and proposed to her back in June. We're moving in together on September 1st, finally being together all the time in Lawrence. Audrey is really the only major change in my life and I am so happy to be with her. She is the first girlfriend I have ever had where there is not a Jason, Matt or Dan also vying for her affection. I think I finally know happiness in relation to the person I'm dating and I could not be happier.

Elsewhere, I'm making it a goal to get two stories written every month. Hopefully I can follow through with it because I've been stuck on the same two stories (The Kings of Framingham and Seven) since about May or so and I have all this other stuff that I want to start getting down. But as for my other things such as my comic strip, it's slowly becoming more popular and I am actually starting to get more views on that than on my MySpace. But MySpace tends to be a huge disappointment anyway especially since I haven't gotten a message/comment/friend request in months. The same happens with my Facebook but at least other stuff happens on Facebook...MySpace just sits there.

Postings here my get even more scarce as I fill extra time I have with packing and getting ready to move but hopefully around moving day I'll let you all in on how that's going and maybe get some picture of my new abode.

Until next time, I remain...
~Brian

Things are looking up. I'm leaving Affinitas--found something much better that pays more. I'm still dating Audrey and still really in love. I'm looking at engagement rings for her and we'll probably start looking at houses here pretty soon considering we plan on moving in together in September. My comic strip blog is actually starting to take off and I'm trying to think of ways to promote my book so I can get checks bigger than $0. Things seem to finally be going my way and because my schedule and time away from home has been so wonky, I've been posting here less.

After I grabbed the two week notice form and sat down at a desk, I noticed I had a really bad scrape on my hand. It was really bad: skin was peeled back in three big places and I was bleeding. Is that your revenge Affinitas? You'll have to do much better than that. I'm leaving whether you like it or not. And you can keep my soul.

I'm getting over yet another cough leading me to think I've been sick just about the entire year of 2008. I hate being sick and until I started working at Affinitas in May 2006, I rarely--if ever--got sick. Stupid work ruining my immune system. I'm also having problems figuring out something to write about. It's been awhile since I've done any posting outside of my comic strip blog.

Another reason I haven't posted as often is because all I have to talk about is the God awful people I talk to on the phone at work. New Orleans people are stupid, Kansas people--for some reason--feel entitled, Omaha people are slow, Gainesville people are jerks and Las Vegas people are always in a hurry. I expect New Orleans people to be stupid ("There's a hurrican a-coming! Why didn't you leave when they told you to?!") but the other characteristics baffle me. When a huge storm flooded the Baton Rouge office, the emergency plan was to route call to us and not say anything so for three days we are taking Baton Rouge calls and either telling them to try again or transferring them into a queue that reroutes them back to us. Thanks Baton Rouge! That's providing good customer service.

I just didn't want to whine about work. And the only dream I've had of interest lately was one where I was dating Carrie Underwood and she dedicated and gave me her music award. What a sweet girl.

So I will be back on the 25th with a Lazy Sunday blog but until next time, I remain...
~Brian

I am still doing this lame attempt to keep something posted on this thing. Sadly I've actually written two new things on my MySpace blog. There's something I'm tired of and it's high-time I get it fixed. More on that later.

"I have been grateful over the years for the loyalty of our editors and the wonderful support and love expressed to me by fans of the comic strip. Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, Lucy...how can I ever forget them..." is what Charles Schulz wrote in the last Peanuts strip. I saved every article I could and even saved the final strips. Schulz inspired me--and a lot of other people. I actually cried after reading the book Peanuts: The Art of Charles Schulz because it was so touching and gave some insight into his life.

The saddest article I have is about a biker who adopted a girl with cerebral palsy and made a promise: "I'll always be here for you." Roy Hutchison adopted little Tiffany and kept that promise for 15 years before Tiffany passed away. Tiffany was born at Truman Medical Center in Kansas City. Her mother was mentally disabled and didn't know she was pregnant. The umbilical cord was wrapped around Tiffany's neck cutting off oxygen to the brain. When Hutchison first saw Tiffany, she was blind, her spine severely curved, her hips and shoulders deformed. He was informed that she would probably die soon but he didn't care. He treated every day as if it were her last. Tiffany's body started shutting down and rejecting treatment and Hutchison decided to let her go. "You'll hurt no more, baby," Hutchison whispered as Tiffany passed away.

Next to that article is the obituary for my best friend's dad and then an article about an accident at my high school involving a boy being hit with a broom. I used to work with the boy who did the hitting. He stabbed me with a fork--in the hand but it still hurt. Anyway, then comes the newspaper announcement of the birth of my son. Don't bother looking, I'm not mentioned. I do have something amusing, a photo of a man in Pakistan setting fire to the American flag during a protest/celebration. In the next picture the flag burning got out of hand setting the man on fire. Hi-larious.

I also have an obituary for Kathryn Zeller, the special events coordinator for Baker University between 1998 and 2001. She was good at what she did and it seemed like she didn't get the respect she deserved. When she died I can't believe I missed her because she was bossy, pushy and other things but she liked working with me--I guess I made her laugh with my lackadaisical attitude and innocent stupidity about catering. Her last words to me before I left Baker were: "You'll be the death of me, Brian." She said it with a smile. I guess working for her wasn't that bad.

To be continued...
~Brian

This is my lame attempt to show that I am not really neglecting LJ. I am currently busy writing a lot of other which I will tell you about in due time. So enjoy this three-part yawn-fest I wrote several months ago.

I was looking through my scrapbook--yes, I have a scrapbook--and although it's not all that great--not a tribute to dead people and funny ads like my mom's--but it all is, or was, very special to me at one time. Several comic book covers are in there because they fell off the actual book decreasing their value exponentially. On the first page is a newspaper article from 1996 on a cemetery in the middle of Lawrence which is a little glimpse into what would become a hobby five years later. The second page has a Funky Winkerbean comic that started a story about a bombed post office. Since then Funky has gotten really depressing and it's quite sad now. There are also several--actually a lot--of Mutts comic strips which is actually a terrible strip in retrospect.

On page 14--I numbered them. Who are you to judge me?--is a drawing of Picasso, his bird and cat and a mouse done by an old friend Erik. I remember he did it in art class. His stuff was always 95 percent better than mine. I then moved away from art and focused on writing. Soon we come across an island nation we created together. Someday I want to use it for a story. There are way too many comic strips in here. Soon I moved the strips into a different book. Mutts is still a terrible strip on page 41 as it was on page 12.

After about page 50 the memories become more serious starting with an article on Phil Hartman, an actor who was murdered by his wife in May 1998. I also saved all the articles from my high school paper written by Emily, a girl I had a crush on. That ended horribly so we're gonna move onto a column by Dave Barry about The Blair Witch Project which is one of only four horror movies to be really scary to me. After that comes several articles on the 50th Anniversary of Peanuts and Charles Schulz's retirement. The cream of that is the article written by Calvin and Hobbes creator Bill Watterson about how much Schulz inspired him and millions of others. You turn the page and Charles Schulz has passed away...

To be continued...
~Brian

February started out good. The best month in a long time but even as I was happier than I've been for almost six months the quality of the month steadily went downhill. I'm in a sort of personal crisis and I don't know how to get out of it. It's not even my fault, I was placed in this situation by someone else and for that I will not forgive. Had it been my responsibility or my fault then I wouldn't be upset but I don't like it when someone else's mistakes reflect badly on me.

I've been responsible my entire life, which I have pointed out before, and have nothing to show for it. I may not even know where I'll be living within the next week because of blatant irresponsibility. I have good friends who have been pointing out possible solutions and a girlfriend who has offered up her place to me and my son but I refuse to be placed in this situation again. In a perfect world I would not have this much responsibility but I do and I actually enjoy it because it shows everyone that I can do this. I am an adult with all the perks that come with it but I don't want to be included in someone else's failure because I am better than that.

On a side note, I am getting Randy back which I am ecstatic about because even though we saw each other back in February of 2007 in Denver we didn't exactly get much time to hang out and be ourselves because we were stupid and in love and talked mostly about our relationships. I guess I'll admit that Randy is my best friend and I will probably never say that again to hopefully Randy savors that sentence. I guess the plan is to go out and eat, drink and be merry so that'll be fun. It's been a while since I've done that.

Until next time, I remain...
~Brian

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