I've been excited to write again since reviving this blog yesterday. I suppose writing for myself again, and not as a corporate mercenary (as I have for the last ~20 years) makes a difference there. It's nice to work on finding my voice and not worrying about honing a message for a target audience, or SEO, or whatever shareholders might want to increase value.
I put away that McFarlane doll yesterday due to frustration. Instead, I switched over to some Rogue Trader-inspired beakies, sculpted by Big Mr. Tong. They're fairly faithful interpretations of the classic Imperial Space Marines, and they've been a delight to paint. And I only paid about 30 bucks for 10 or 12, instead of the same amount for an original mini from the era.
Hobby scalpers just make me sick. Over the years, I've been feeling priced out of the hobby. First, from rising prices from Games Workshop and its competitors, and now by sellers. Thank goodness for those creators and printers who are offering their wares for a reasonable price.
This whole month I've been feeling in a funk. I think it's the state of the world, and my father's death day is approaching. I try not to think about it too much, but I can't help it. It saddens me knowing that I'll never hear him laugh again, or chat with him about Warhammer, or D&D, or a cool show he watched. He had the best laugh, deep and boisterous, and it would just bring it out of everyone around him.
On the other hand, the last time I was with him couldn't have been more perfect. I spent the day with him and my stepmother, and the evening at their house. We had such a good, deep conversation until he fell asleep in his favorite chair while the second Black Panter movie finished playing in the background. His favorite cat, Merlin, was curled up in his lap.
Thinking of the Black Panthers, I've been seeing more and more videos cropping up of the Panthers out there, supporting their communities. It reminded me that my wife and I have been discussing our own gun purchases. Unfortunately, in this day and age I think you need to be armed in America for the extra safety it brings you. While you can open carry with no issue in Texas, we're planning to take the extra step by securing our concealed carry licenses. You have to do a class, a test, and a skills assessment. Before we begin, I think we'll start with some refresher training. I haven't fired a gun in years - not since I was a boy and we used to shoot regularly with Dad.
I've been really into listening to every album by the Church of the Crystal Skull. I've been hyper fixated on their progressive pop sound. The organ is top notch, as well as the layers of lyricism in their songs. There is a sinister undercurrent to their sound. When you listen to Bill Fisher's solo material (the main creative force behind the band), it becomes even more apparent. I like the spaces he explores with his music; he's such a talent. Currently, I think my favorite album of theirs is "Everybody's Going to Die," as well as the single from that same record. I suppose with the way I've been feeling it's been a comfort to me. There's such a yearning power in the layered vocals of that song.
I meant to paint this evening, but I couldn't find the time. After work was preparing dinner and then playing Halo 3 with my son. Even though I've owned an Xbox 360 since 2008, I never played any game beyond the first. While the game is fine, I do enjoy the chance to bond with my son. He's at that age where he's finding his own identity, so I'll have to take what I can get these days.
Dave reached out today and wants to schedule a game of second edition 40k. I'm going to try and accommodate him. We've been playing a loose campaign between his Crimson Fists and my Blood Axe Space Orks, and it's been terrific fun. Each game has been slowly escalating in points value and extra rules. I look forward to introducing psykers. I got penny card sleeves so that I could print the strategy cards, but I still need to do that; I'll try to by Sunday. The games we've had so far have been some of the most fun, and we've been playing Warhammer of various flavors since 2008, so I guess that's saying something!
Since we've put away the Christmas tree, we've set up our treadmill again. Both me and April have been trying to get our steps in. I'm also looking at subscribing to a fitness app to help me out. I used a program offered by my old job, called Wondr, and it worked really well. I lost 40 pounds over the course of the program. And while I'm not too bad off, I definitely put on about 15 or 20 pounds back on that I would like to take care of.
Dinner was shoyu chicken and rice, and I made spam hand rolls for my son. I used the chicken to make hand rolls for my daughter. I don't mind doing so, I'm just glad they want to eat something green and nutritious. My daughter had me write down the recipe last week so that she could take it to school. They are making a cookbook, and she wanted to add that specific recipe, so that felt special to me.
Let's keep this going as long as we can. Thanks for reading.
-Daz
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