I’m all for changing it up a bit now and then, but I really don’t like Boo’s hair right now.
I’ll keep my mouth shut unless she specifically asks me. I don’t want to hurt her feelings.
I think I’ve learned at least that much about women.

Who wouldn’t want to go to Germany? I mean, c’mon, that’s where most of the really good music is made! maybe I should try to go during Wave Gothic Treffen…

Ah, who am I kidding. I can’t afford to go overseas! I’ve never been able to save over $500 at one time in my entire life! Whenever I start to save any amount of money it seems like something comes up that requires all of my available cash, like emergency visits to the dentist [even though I don't have a mouth]. It’s a never-ending cycle of paying off my outstanding debts, saving a little bit of cash, starting to feel good about having something to fall back on, and then immediately needing to fall back on it.

How the hell can I get ahead in life? I can’t get a “real” job because I’m too weird and besides, there aren’t very many “real” jobs to be had around here. I don’t want to work in the service industry because the hours are long and the pay sucks. I don’t know how to code or do any of that other computer-related stuff that seems to be in high demand. I can’t get a reliable job as an “artist” because I don’t want to paint French Quarter scenes or hang my work on the fence at Jackson Square.

Ugh. This is pointless.
I’m never going to get anywhere… or go anywhere.

And I also added a new section for YOU, the FANS! I dug around in some of my old files and pulled up some images to share with you. If you have any more for me to add, feel free to send them my way! I’d really like to build this section out with photos of people wearing my shirts, showing off their Writhe and Shine tattoos, pictures of happy fans receiving their books and stickers, and showing their skill with Fan Art!

Click on the FANS link in the Menu bar above!

I’ve been running all over town trying to promote some of the upcoming shows at the Bastille as well as the the new releases at Achtung Records. I unfortunately got a lot of sun riding my bike up and down a bunch of streets going to every café or cool store I could think of to drop off flyers and hang up posters. I feel kind of guilty going in to some of these places and not buying anything, but I’m really broke right now. Ah, it’s cool though. Most of the time I let them leave flyers at the record store for their events.

It’s kind of funny how some places are really good about tossing all the outdated advertisements and some others just let things pile up. I went into one place today that had a flyer area so stacked up that if I had put mine on top everything would have come crashing down. I decided t take a few minutes to clear a shelf so that there would be space. Turns out that only three of the things were current, everything else was SO OLD! There was a flyer in there from 2011!!!

The douchebag behind the counter was going to yell at me for throwing out other people’s stuff but I showed him that it was all out of date and he thanked me for cleaning it up. Whatever. He should do his own job.

In any case, I hope all this promotion turns into something. I have to close the shop when I go flyer during the day because a lot of places have the same business hours. I feel like I should be at the shop even more in case someone decides to drop by, but I also know that some promotion needs to happen. I have to do it all and it never seems like I’m doing enough.

If I had a super power it would be really good at anything I attempt. I wouldn’t be Gold Medal/best in the world at whatever I tried to do, just Olympic Team good.

I’m just really tired of not knowing what I’m supposed to know in order to get something done. I hate that I have to learn a new program or coding language every other day just to keep the record store going. I want to keep it well stocked with the most current music in the scene and in order to do that I have to keep researching and listening… which I don’t mind at all. Hell, that’s the best part of the job. The thing is that it takes time and concentration. I need to pay attention to what I’m listening to. But when I’m doing all the ordering, reports, keeping the website up and running, filling orders, and helping customers, I can’t get 5 minutes to listen to a track. I have to do that in my spare time at home… away from all the distractions. Heh, all the distractions that keep me employed and fed.

What I’m saying is that it’s difficult to run a business based on something you love.

Boo always says, “You can either throw a party or have fun at it, not both.”

It makes me wonder where Shine gains all of his insight. He may come across as a crass, uncaring jerk, but sometimes he just really gets it. I never ask him too much about his personal life before he moved to New Orleans. I can’t remember ever talking to him about his family. He never mentions his childhood or where he grew up. He takes things day by day not looking forward too much.

All I can assume is that he has learned some hard lessons… Lessons that he won’t let me go through the difficulties of learning.

I need to thank him for that some day.

Shine and I will be visiting Autin, TX. this weekend to attend Convergence 19 – Gathering ov Bats. It’s been a really long time since we’ve been at a Convergence… Hell we were first introduced to the public at Convergence 5 way back in 1999! That was fun. The guy that draws me made little ashcan comic books at Kinko’s… They were 8.5″ x 11″ paper folded in half and stapled together with a color card stock cover. I think there were Red, Orange, Yellow, and Blue books. There may have been other, he was kind of experimental in those days. He placed those books in people’s goodie bags that were handed out at registration. I think there may be a few of you that remember that. If so, we really appreciate it. Thanks for sticking around.

In fact, some of those books pop up every so often. Just last month we received an email from a guy who inherited a large collection of comic books. While going tons of bagged and boarded comic books featuring super heroes, he came across something unique, one of the Writhe and Shine books, and he was intrigued. It wasn’t like any of the other books in the collection but it was still well preserved. He was already trying to find the value of the rest of the collection so he emailed the guy who draws me. Unfortunately, he was informed that the only real value the book had was sentimental. I doubt he would be able to find anyone that would pay over $2 for it.

That whole situation got me thinking. I wonder how many of you out there in internet-land still have one of those books. If you do, you should send an image of you holding it. I believe there is supposed to be a fan page set up here pretty soon.

In any case, if you’re in the Austin are this weekend, stop by the Hilton Garden hotel to visit the vendor’s room for free. Make sure you stop by the Writhe and Shine table and take a picture with me or Shine [the dolls], and say ‘Hello’ to Robert.

What rotten luck indeed.

Tangent: Why does it seem that whenever I make a decision, it’s the wrong one?
Why is it that my choices or stances on particular subjects tend to go against what everyone else feels is right?
I always back the wrong candidate. I always pick the losing team. I always fall in love with the show that gets cancelled.
The weird thing is that since I know this happens, when I root for the opposite team my original pick ends up winning.

I could blame it on the heat down here, but I know it used to happen to me back in the Midwest too.
I just can’t win and I think I have to resign myself to that fact.
Poop.