wikicrastination, the examiner, and kittens...

       i was reading an article on the frontpage earlier about triceratops, about how they didn't exist. that led me to wikipedia. from there i went to the brontosaurus, which also didn't exist, then to dinosaurs in general, then to the extinctions, then i was curious about the timing of it all so i went to the article on earth, and from there to the universe. i love wikipedia. but because of those last two articles i was left feeling very small and fleeting, and it made me want to be immortal so i could see all the things that were and that will be. especially the star trek kinda stuff. that would be fun. i'll be so disappointed in humanity if we never get to that point. but it made me think about my own life. i've been doing that more -- it's kinda weird. my brother and his family (wife and in-laws) are here, downstairs chatting away (i'm being anti-social), and i heard his father in law talking about how he's worked for the usps for over twenty years and how he has about fifteen more before he retires. i dunno. just makes me think about how much i want to accomplish and how time keeps on slipping (slippin' slippin' into the future) by. it's not fear, but it is scary.

       so week one on examiner.com is over. it's not difficult at all, but it takes time (mostly because i get distracted quite easily). seven articles in seven days, with just under 1,500 page views thanks to people here as well as marketing on a few other social networking sites (facebook, twitter, reddit). had a random spike of visitors on thursday that put me in the number one examiner spot for the city for the day and #5 overall in the city for the week. and i earned about $15 for it. haha. but i had absolutely no writing resume before this, so it'll help things along. i hope. and, hey, it's an extra $60 a month if things stay on track. woohoo!

       my cousin amber was here this weekend, too. she took me to a better than ezra concert downtown. she's been to about 40-some now. she's a big fan. this was my third, all with her, but it was widely agreed to be the best. we got to hang out with the rouge, one of the opening bands, after the show. we went to get copies of their cd and amber bought the last, just in front of me. i was sad because i was in love (check out the lead singer on my facebook under mobile uploads -- so hot) and they had amazing music. so the guy whips out his laptop and burned me a copy and had them all sign it. and he hugged me like three times and let me run my hands over him. it was nice. then they had to leave so we went back to better than ezra's bus and chatted up the band for a bit. i didn't know them, but the people i was with did. one guy had been to over 150 shows and another girl we were with was on her 50th. so the bte guys were showing us some videos of places they'd been and it was kinda cool. but the highlight for me was still that shirtless rouge guy. his stage presence was similar to freddie mercury. and he has an amazing voice. so check them out.

       i'll leave you with this:

two birds, two stones, one post...

       wow. i've been busy the last few days. being a self-professed news whore is starting to pay off. a little. early in july i applied to be a freelance restaurant review writer for examiner.com. i knew from the start that it wasn't going to be a lucrative position by any means -- i wanted it for the exposure, the writing practice, the resume/portfolio boost, and whatever i could get financially. because right now all i have is plasma and random jobs for the 'rents. because i'm awesome like that. i may have talked about this before? but anyway, they wanted me to be their "glbt business examiner" instead (i know, it should be lgbtq, but i don't have enough clout to change my title yet), so after more samples were sent they said i was a "go." little did i know how much work i'd be putting into it for so very, very little pay, lol. and i've only published two articles so far (just submitted the second one tonight). but i like it. it's getting me writing again, even if it's not my desired style of writing -- it's still writing. sort of. but the research is fun. and it will look good for my real job applications, especially if i do well.

       i'm paid a paltry flat rate by the article, but i'm also paid a commission based on subscriptions, page views, session length, and advertiser interest. so click here and check it out. pretty please? thanks. love you. yes, you. mhm.

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featured grownups. first august topic. if you could live in any book world, which one would it be?

<nerd>

       middle earth. post sauron, of course. or pre. just not during any of that war crap because that wouldn't be fun. i'm slightly torn between the shire and rivendell and lothlorien. the shire would be nice on vacations, though, a place to kick back in the country and have a pint. and lothlorien would be freakin' gorgeous, but i'd be afraid to fall out of the trees while sleeping unless they had something similar to those vine/bed/thingies in avatar. so it'd probably be rivendell. it's perpetually autumn there anyway, which is my favorite season. and it's homey while still technologically advanced. and i love wood and stone work and water features. yes, probably rivendell. i'm sure the elves are very progressive. and it's closer to the shire when i feel like kicking back and having a pint. which sounds really good right now.

</nerd>

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