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  1. Lunchtime on a busy Tuesday afternoon

    January 13, 2009 by Collin

    It’s lunchtime. Today that means soup and crackers. Yesterday it was soup, crackers and a sandwich. Tomorrow it’ll probably be crackers.

    Speaking of tomorrow, tomorrow night is our home owner’s association’s monthly meeting, and this month it’s time to elect three new board members. This year I was talked into running, although my feelings about it are mixed at best. On the one hand I hate politics. On the other hand… Hm. Anyway. Come Wednesday night I might a have a new, non-paying job that will suck up a silly chunk of my already sparse free time! At least that’s what I put on the posters throughout the neighborhood. Am I a political machine or what? Just kidding. I didn’t campaign at all.

    On to a bit a meme stuff to fill up space and possibly entertain. A few days back Heather took part in a meme-quest that she inherited from her blog-friend Kathleen that required her to post 10 things that she loved that start with an assigned letter. Heather’s letter was ‘D’. The letter she has given me is ‘B’. I’m not going to be as fancy as Heather, linking to pictures and whatnot, since my lunch is half over and I haven’t even thought about this list yet. As you shall soon see.

    So, the rest of this post is being brought to you by the letter B…

    1: Board Games – Almost any games, really, but board games are in there. Not Monopoly though. That one can go to hell.

    2: Ummm… B? Really? Hm. Boston Creme donuts – I almost never eat donuts anymore, but if the situation arises and donuts need eating, these are the first I go for.

    3: Beef Stew – This is probably seperating “love” from its friends, leading it down a side street followed by a dark alley and beating it until it’s unrecognizable, but beef stew is what I’m eating right now and it’s pretty tasty. And starts with B. On we go!

    4: Brevity – I hate to ramble on and on and on and ON and on and onnnn and on and on and on and on and ONNN and on and on and… yet I always seem to. Brevity in others is pretty sweet too.

    5: Bouncing Superballs – in an empty, near windowless room with another person, trying not to get hit. I haven’t done it since I was nine, but it was a blast. You take turns throwing the ball as hard as you can against any surface you want and then duck and weave while it goes ballistic.

    6: Halfway there, and I was out of good ideas somewhere around “Board Games.” Too bad it’s not things I hate… Let’s see. Well, Boobs are quite a wonderful thing, and I love them far more than anything else on the list so far. All kinds of boobs really. Except man-boobs. Yes, I was bottle fed. Your point?

    7: Bowie, David – For such and odd fellow, he sure can sing.

    8: Best of Bootie – Music for schizophrenics, or people who really like their music mixed up in all kinds of fun ways.

    9: Bumper Stickers – Even when I owned my car, I didn’t put bumper stickers on it. I don’t like them on my car. I love them on other people’s cars. Especially when I come across a car festooned with all kinds of crazy. Like so many that there’s even a bumper sticker wrapped around the tail pipe and a four inch square of empty space left in the back window to see through. I’m constantly tempted to hang around the parking lot until the owner of a well decorated car comes out just so I can see what he or she looks like. Bumper stickers might be a truer window into a persons soul than their eyes ever are.

    10: annnnnd here I am at the end. I was originally going to save boobs for this position but I panicked. Instead I’ll put Brains here. Besides, I love these more than anything else on this list, yes even boobs and bumper stickers. Not just for the zombie angle, as some of you who know me are probably thinking. No, I love brains because stupid people drive me nuts. NUTS!

    I’m outta time and although I’m not happy with the list it’s going to have to do.

    Catch you tomorrow.


  2. What a freakin’ bleak day.

    January 12, 2009 by Collin

    Matches my mood almost to a T.

    It’s a-snowin’, the wind’s a-blowin’ and I nearly slid into a curb getting in to work. Missed it by less than a foot, nearly head on trying to make a turn. Before that I had barely made it up the slight hill on a parallel street to the one that’s a monster hill I normally drive up. Not enough traction today. No telling what it’s going to be like trying to get home tonight. What a fucking day. But I’ve already said that.

    Getting back into the swing of posting is nothing at all like riding a bicycle. Just thought I would toss that out there. I have no analogy for what it IS like. It damned sure isn’t easy though.

    Yesterday Heather and I went to Denver to see the musical version of ‘The Color Purple’; a Christmas gift from her aunt and uncle. It was the second professional musical that I’ve ever seen performed live; the first being ‘Mama Mia’ while Heather and I were in Las Vegas last June.

    It was surprisingly good. I wasn’t sure how they would manage to turn that story into a musical, but all-in-all it was fun. Some really good songs and excellent performances. The show was sold out. Too many people. I’m sure Heather will post more details over at her site.

    The only part of the experience that I didn’t like was driving there, parking, and then trying to get the hell out afterward. If we go to another play there I’m going to see what it’ll take to park away from the crazy and use the light rail to get into the thick of it. I would be willing to go to a play here in Colorado Springs, but we lack culture. Still, there may be something to do locally. I’ll look into it.

    A huge “hello” to Trashman! It’s great to know that you’re there still reading after all this time. I haven’t forgotten the Zombie Pimp and Ho’s drawing, and may even get to it this week now that I’m actually in the habit of drawing… somewhat. More than I am in the habit of blogging. Not to get your hopes up or anything. I will try to get it done.

    Any other readers from the past still reading?

    Have a great week, whoever and wherever you may be. I’ll be back again tomorrow.


  3. Would you look at the time?

    January 10, 2009 by Collin

    So. Here it is Friday night, near midnight, and I still haven’t posted. I’m not even sure at this point if I’ll make it before the clock ticks over and it’s Saturday. I also have no idea what to write about. The layoffs are still weighing heavily on my mind, and it’s hard to think of much else.

    Still, I would hate to fail in my resolution after only three days.

    I’m trying to create a couple of new designs to submit to SplitReason between bouts of panic, however it’s not going very well. Still, I do have one idea that I think could be solid. I just need to take the time to get it done. Some days I feel amazed that I’ve ever managed to create anything worth a damn.

    Enough of that.

    Tomorrow noon-ish, Heather and I are heading over to Derek’s house to record some new podcasts. When they post I’ll link to them. Chris G., if by some miracle you happen to be reading this, I was supposed to tell you on Thursday when I got back from lunch that we would still be doing “the pod” and you need to show up for your interview. I was so busy trying to get ads and posters finished before I left that I forgot, and currently I still don’t work on Friday. So… show up.

    Could this post be any more boring? Should I talk about dinner? Bah. This is part of why I stopped blogging in the first place. If even I am not interested in what I’m writing, why the fuck would I think that anyone else would be. On the other hand, occasionally I come up with something funny/worthwhile, and if I didn’t push myself to write something every day I never would.

    So on I’ll go.

    Have a great weekend, and I’ll post again on Monday. Hopefully something better than this.


  4. The economy sucks. Hard.

    January 8, 2009 by Collin

    Hey, look at that! I’m posting for the second day in a row! Now what to write about? Lemme think… (looking at title) Sure. Why the fuck not?

    I hadn’t planned on writing about the economy, that was a joke yesterday, and way back when I found out that my site was read by the owner of the company I work for I swore off writing about work. However, yesterday afternoon the two collided. Work and the economy.

    It’s something I’ve been expecting. We are in a recession, the automotive industry is in trouble, and the sole means of my company’s income (that I’m aware of) is the automotive industry. 1+1 nearly always =2. I’ve been worried ever since I took a 25% pay and hour cut back in August and nothing in the following four months happened to rosy up that picture.

    Being who I am, self-centered and paranoid as a person with really long interlocking sleeves and no shoelaces, I was certain that when the ax fell, it would fall on me. Dead-fucking-certain.

    I was wrong. Or at least off by a month or so. Time will tell.

    Instead a few of the people I liked best in this place suffered “career displacement,” one of whom I’ve been working with for at least 14 years and consider one of the best friends that I’ve ever had. It was a shitty thing to happen, and I’m pretty sure that certain animosities and friction led to his selection.

    I’m not going to name any names. The people who know us know who is involved, all the details, etc. I’m also still stunned. I feel like I haven’t slept. Everything has an unreal quality.

    It was hard coming in to work today. I imagine it’s only going to get harder. But I’m a pessimist like that. At least if the ship’s sinking, some of my friends got out while there were still some life boats left.

    I will say that I expect before this is over there will be another culling of the staff, and I have suspicions that they are considering eventually outsourcing the entire art department. That thought’s based on something said at the meeting after the slaughter and my aforementioned paranoia and pessimism.

    Enough of that. I don’t know what else to say. I’m not exactly thinking the clearest right now. I fervently hope that everyone axed yesterday is able to move on to far better, happier, more satisfying things than this place has offered. I’ll likely be joining you before long.

    I’ll try to post something more upbeat tomorrow.


  5. New year, new start

    January 7, 2009 by Collin

    Hello to anybody reading this. If you’ve stuck around all this time, waiting quietly for me to blog again, congratulations! The wait has paid off! Don’t you wish you spent that time playing the lottery instead? Of course you do! Because right this moment you could be raking in the dough! Instead, here’s a post.

    yaaaayyyy…

    So. New year. All shiny and stuff. Not yet horrible. Closing in on the 10′s. My past attempts at blogging at my “website”, fizzleandpop.com amounted to “f”-all, so I’m back and ready to go, chock full of stories and fun for days without end! No freaking END I tells ya!

    Speaking of stories and fun, the other night I asked my fiancé how she was doing. She replied with, “Peachy keen, jellybean! How about you?” Since she had already established the rhyming form of answer, I stupidly attempted to continue it. UNfortunately my brain is poorly and I came back with, “Pretty good…”

    It was at this point that I realized where my brain was going. Nowhere safe or smart, but like a train wreck it was far too late to stop it. All I could do was sit back and watch as my lips moved. At least it was gonna rhyme. “… peckerwood!”

    Her eyes got big and her mouth opened in shock. My eyes got big and I started laughing in an attempt to defuse the moment. I explained that I hadn’t meant anything by it. I just wanted to rhyme, and I was unprepared. And you know me; I’m stupid. But it was funny!

    As I sit here writing this I still can’t think of a better rhyme with “Pretty good.” I guess I’ll leave the rhyming to the rappers.

    Tune in tomorrow for another post full of something! I don’t know what, but it’ll be here. It’s a new year and I’ll find something to talk about! Maybe the economy! Oooooooo! I’ll bet the thought of that has you just begging for tomorrow to hurry up and come already. Well, sorry, you’ll just have to wait.


  6. Two new shirts selling at SplitReason.com

    September 30, 2008 by Collin

    “Kill You With My Brain”:

    Kill you with my Brain t-shirt @ SplitReason.com
    Kill you with my Brain t-shirt design @ © SplitReason.com

    and “Not Goth – Sith”:

    Not Goth - Sith t-shirt @ SplitReason.com
    Not Goth – Sith t-shirt design @ © SplitReason.com


  7. Another shirt for sale at SplitReason.com

    August 20, 2008 by Collin

    Again, if you have a size in mind and it’s a popular one, you might want to order early. They preprint a set number of each size and once a size is gone it stays gone until/unless they do another printing.

    PaWN3D t-shirt @ SplitReason.com
    PaWN3D t-shirt design @ © SplitReason.com

    And another one is up for voting:

    Goth... Sith... @ SplitReason.com
    Goth… Sith… design @ © SplitReason.com


  8. Awesome!

    July 17, 2008 by Collin


  9. A post!

    July 7, 2008 by Collin

    I’m posting here again for now because… well, honestly I can’t post at my home site blog right now. Oh the annoyance. But Blogger is no longer blocked at work, so…

    I have 3 designs up for voting at SplitReason.com. Two are designs that I did for the Woot shirt derby last year, and one is a new parody I made of Gumby. If you like them, please vote for them.

    Zomby @ SplitReason.com
    Zomby design @ © SplitReason.com

    Zombie Day at the Mall @ SplitReason.com
    Zombie Day at the Mall design @ © SplitReason.com

    Taste the Brainbow @ SplitReason.com
    Taste the Brainbow design @ © SplitReason.com

    This has the potential of becoming a very good thing if you have been wanting any of my work on a good quality shirt.


  10. Is this the end of the Fizzle & Pop blog?

    September 12, 2007 by Collin

    Yes!

    And no!

    I’m done with Blogger, but I’m not done blogging.

    If you would like to continue to follow along and keep up with what’s happening in my life, click over to my brand new and ever changing site at www.fizzleandpop.com. There’s a blog there, and more.

    The only thing missing is my archive.