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Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010
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7:56 pm
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| Friday, August 21st, 2009
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6:22 am
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My grandmother passed away a little after midnight last night.
I'm sad, but she's been fighting pancreatic cancer for over a year now. She's lived about 6 months longer than expected, and it was not a good six months. We had to move her into a nursing home because my mom couldn't take care of her alone anymore, and her quality of life went downhill very fast.
She was in pain at end as her weight dropped to around 80 pounds and her body slowly shut down. She wanted to die, and asked for help to do so a few weeks ago. In the end her body just couldn't get any oxygen and she turned blue over the last few days.
I'm upset, but after a year I'm glad she's no longer in pain.
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(11 comments | comment on this)
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| Sunday, August 9th, 2009
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8:08 pm
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I finally finished reading Stephen King's uncut "The Stand". I started it in March. It took me so long to read since it was my 'home' book. I don't read books nearly as much at home, since that's where I'm usually reading comics. I read them at work on break and lunch, but I usually only bring paperbacks there.
This is the second full Stephen King novel I've read. I can do his short stories, and enjoy them, but I've tried several of his novels and usually can't make it past the first hundred pages. I've been reading this one is short bursts because of that, and I think it helped.
I couldn't even get through the Gunslinger, and that's a small one. I was so fucking bored reading it. I ended up downloading the audio book of that one last year and listening to it while I walked and worked out. I got through it, but it was not that good. A girl at work just finished the whole Dark Tower series and told me that was the worse of the books, I should try the others. I told her if you can't hook me with the first book I'm not going to read five more on the promise that they are good. I picked up the Talisman at the used book store two weeks ago, so I'll give that a chance.
***
In other news, I'm trying to finish up my portion of the thank you cards from our wedding. Jason used a picture from our wedding and made postcards out of it, so we're sending those out as the thank you cards. It still sucks writing these things. Some people at the wedding said they gave us gifts, but purposefully left their name off so we wouldn't feel obligated to send them a thank you card. These were all people that had been married and gone through this before. I thought that was nice, and I'll be doing the same.
Etiquette wise, from what we've heard you can get wedding gifts for up to a year after the wedding, and have that long to send your thank you notes. It's been 3 months now, which I think is long. One of Jason's sisters and her husband got us several very nice gifts. We really like her, but her husband is a total fake, a dick, and we found out has a gay son he treats like shit, so a hypocrite on top of all that. Anyway, from what we've heard though the grapevine he's been waiting for his thank you card. That sort of pisses me off.
I was raised to say "Thank you" whenever you're given something, etc. For those of you that have meet me you know I'm polite like that. So I really don't have a problem sending out the thank you cards. People bought us nice stuff, and I know it's my duty to say thank you. But to only give something for a thank you, well, that bugs me. It reminds me of the episode of Thundercats where Lion-o saved some village and was pissed that they didn't thank him in the end. He got an ass chewing from Jaga about it. You do something because you want to do it and it's nice, not for the thank you. That's just an added bonus.
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(4 comments | comment on this)
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| Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009
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7:47 pm - She's a Looker
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I had two pieces finished today from two different guys. This one is a more obscure character that even less people will know.  foenix will enjoy this one though.
My plan is to have the whole 'core' team of the 80s DC Outsiders team done. This piece was converted from a Savage She-Dragon statue, and turned into this, whereas the Gamora was an original sculpt that was turned into a kit for people to build up and paint. The guy that did this for me had to sculpt several things from scratch, and he did a great job.
The Outsiders aren't really characters that anyone will make a prepaint of or probably kit, so I'm doing to work my way through the 7 I want and have other pieces turned into them. This was the easiest since the base piece really captured the raw sexual feel of the character.
Without further ado I give you...
( LookerCollapse )
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(5 comments | comment on this)
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7:39 pm - The Most Dangerous Woman in the Universe
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It's new statue time again!
This time it's a lesser known character, but one that will thrill some of the folks on my friends list (specifically nique and lyssie ).
My painter has said this is the best piece he's ever done for me, and while he's not a comic fan he wishes he could keep it.
I give you the Most Dangerous Woman in the Universe...
( GAMORA!Collapse )
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(5 comments | comment on this)
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| Thursday, May 14th, 2009
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6:43 pm
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I just wrote the largest check of my life. Fuck Sallie-Mae.
We've paid off two bar loans in the last year, one to go. To give those of you that weren't in law school an idea of how much each bar loan is, the amount we've paid them in the last year would have been a very nice down payment on a house, or flat out bought a new car.
Hopefully I'll have enough by the end of summerish to pay off the last one.
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(5 comments | comment on this)
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| Friday, May 8th, 2009
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9:59 am
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| Saturday, April 25th, 2009
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6:49 pm
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| Tuesday, March 17th, 2009
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10:10 am
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Sorry, but I'm going to whine about my pain for a moment.
My butthole hurts. Honestly, I don't think it feels any better than it did after the drugs from the surgery wore off. In fact, it may feel worse. Going to the bathroom is horrible. I've been reading horror stories online, and this is evidently a pretty painful procedure that makes you hurt for a long while afterwards.
Honestly, I think I could deal with this a little better, but on top of my ass hurting, my hips and back are sore from laying. I'm sitting up some now, reclined, but it won't last long. If I could just get some relief for my hips it would be so much better. I haven't even slept very good the last few nights because of it.
Part of the day I'll be okay, think things are getting better, then it gets worse. If I get in the right position it'll just be a dull ache in my butt, maybe no real feeling, but after awhile I have to shift because of my side or back.
Tomorrow I can start working from home for up to 4 hours a day. At least that'll give me something to do.
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(3 comments | comment on this)
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| Monday, March 16th, 2009
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10:04 am - Attorney Card
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As you all know, I'm not a practicing attorney. I do have my license, and my job does deal with a major government agency, but I do not actually practice law. Every now and then I do bring the hammer down on someone and it's fun.
In December I received in my preorder of the JLA three piece statue set I got off eBay. Two of the pieces were fine, but the Superman and Black Canary pieces were not. Superman was off the base and Black Canary was apart at the seam of her leg. Honestly, a little bit of glue and there would have been absolutely no telling. I ordered an unbroken piece though, and it was insured. I contacted the seller, and started the UPS claims process, with no big deal. UPS picked it up on Dec 29th. I have been able to track the claim process somewhat on their site, but I'm really out of it. For some reason UPS gives the claim money to the shipper, and not the person that received the package. For the past two months or more it has been stalled out, and I've emailed the seller and the emails were less and less detailed, where the last one just said, "okay". At this point I figured I'd been screwed over, but I'm laid up recovering, in pain, and pissy, so I took action.
I wrote to UPS and said that I wanted an update, that the item is actually my personal property under the law and wanted an update on the claim, and if it is not being processed I wanted the item back. They told me they returned it to the seller on January 7th. I really haven't heard anything from him since then, so I was pissed.
I did some hunting on the net and through my statue collecting community and was able to get an address and phone number. So at 10:30 CST on Friday night I gave the douche bag a call. I got a voicemail and left a message. I also sent the following email that says about the same thing:
Damaged Item Escalation
Rich,
I just left a voice mail message for you at (xxx)xxx-xxxx. I spoke with UPS earlier this week and it seems that my damaged item (JLA Build a Scene Black Canary and Superman)was returned to you through their claims process on January 7th. It is now March 13 and I have not heard a single thing from you besides, "okay". If I do not have a tracking number for a replacement piece or a refund of $150.00 in my PayPal account by Friday, March 20th, I will be filing suit against you in the Washington County Court, in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
You may wonder why someone would waste the money to hire a lawyer to do something for such a small fee. I don't have to, as I am a licensed attorney in the state of Arkansas. If I do have to resort to filing and you do not show up for the court date a judgment will automatically be entered against you. I will then file that judgment in your home state and a lien will be put against your property until it is satisfied.
I would prefer not to take such measures, but I am tired of my communications not being responded to and finding out you have had the item for over two months has angered me.
If you would like to contact me I can be reached here by email or at xxx-xxx-xxxx.
Thank you,
Brian Newberry
I never received a follow up call or email, but Saturday night around 7 I got tracking info from UPS for a shipment from him. Jason said it's probably going to be a turd in a box. Either way, for now I feel vindicated.
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(3 comments | comment on this)
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| Thursday, March 12th, 2009
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12:36 pm - Small life update
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Sorry, I don't update this thing that often. I read my friends list every day though.
Jason and I are doing a marriage ceremony on May 8th, our 10 year anniversary. We'll be going to Boston the weekend of April 24th to pick up the license, so we'll be legal in one state at least. We're really not sure what to do in the Boston area. We might rent a car and go up to Philly for a cheese steak or something like that, but we have no real plans. We have to be there for 3 days to get the license.
We're doing a ceremony here in Arkansas. Invites have been sent, we're doing it in the backyard of a friends house with tents and other decorations. Jason has his outfit picked out; I still have to do mine. Dinner will be Indian food and Italian (for the folks that won't eat Indian). We're expecting around 100 people. I'm trying to keep the costs down. My annual bonus comes out next week, and it will be paying for most of this. With the trip and wedding stuff we're hoping to spend less than $5k. That way I'll have enough of my bonus left to pay off one of our law school loans and maybe get something nice for us.
We had fun registering for stuff. We've had to go to enough straight people's weddings and buying stuff for them, that by god we were going to register. I think they are planning a shower for me at work to. Jason and I have been together for 10 years and have been pretty well 'married' for 7 or 8 of that, but we're going to do it as official as we can. Anyway, we're registered at Bed, Bath and Beyond, Amazon.com, Target, and Wal-Mart.
This next section might be TMI.
I'm also on the first day of recovery from hemorrhoid surgery. I'll be out of work for 2 - 4 weeks. So far everything is okay. I feel like I've been anally raped by a horse for a few hours, but that's about it. I can walk around fine, and have some throbbing in my ass. I can't sit down, but I can lay. After a week I'm allowed to work from home on my laptop for up to 4 hours. I figured I would be really tired yesterday after the procedure, but I wasn't. I stayed away until nearly midnight. I slept well though. I know what women go through once a month. I bled through my underwear and pants and onto the couch and Jason's leather car seat. After that we got some bandages to put on it. I bled through three of them last night, but that has tapered off. BMs and passing gas hurt like a bitch though. From the 'net horror stories I read though I'm doing pretty well. I don't think I'll need to be off work for a month. They are paying me though, so that's good.
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(14 comments | comment on this)
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| Sunday, November 16th, 2008
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9:35 am - Rom the Spaceknight
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Rom holds a special place in my heart. When I was about five, my family moved to Guam. My mom would take my brother and me to the island comic shop and let us get stuff from the quarter bins. I picked up a couple of Marvel Handbooks, and they had the entries for R and S in them. That covered Rom and the Spaceknights. I read about them and thought they were cool. When we went back I raided the cheap bin for Rom comics. It's the first comic I ever really 'collected' even though it was over at that point.
Recently a MB kit of Rom was re-released. The original run was a private commission a few years ago by some guys in France. There was a MB and FS released. I really wanted a FS, but there was no guarantee that they FS would be re-released, so I took what I could get with the MB. My painter did an excellent job on this piece. I think it's my favorite piece in my collection, and that includes licensed pieces as well. Wouldn't you know it though, a few days after I get the MB in, they decide to release the FS again. I'm picking it up, since I like this MB so much. I may end up selling the MB at some point. I'm also thinking of having the FS sent to a guy to chrome it.
The pictures of the piece do not do it justice, but it's all I can show.
( SpaceknightCollapse )
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(3 comments | comment on this)
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9:33 am - JLI's Fire and Ice
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| Tuesday, November 11th, 2008
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9:29 pm
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Someone tell me I'm crazy for thinking about getting another degree.
I'm looking at distance LLM programs in either International Trade or Intellectual Property (and yes, those areas can, and do, cross over).
I feel the need to be working towards a goal past my current job, and Masters of Law would be a step towards me teaching at a law school at some point. I just don't know if I have the dedication to put myself through this again. But at least doing it online I wouldn't have to quit my job.
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(5 comments | comment on this)
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| Sunday, September 14th, 2008
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10:06 am
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| Saturday, August 23rd, 2008
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12:05 pm
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| Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008
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7:34 pm - Big Fo...SASQUATCH!
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My painter finished my newest kit up yesterday.
I've got the Bowen version, but this one kicks Bowen's ass, so I had to get it. Plus, my Bowen is the White version, and I wanted an orange. This thing is as large as a full size statue, so it's pretty big for a minibust.
I won't have anymore statues for awhile. My painter just got a Rogue in I ordered in November, and I have a ROM minibust to mail off, but those will take a bit.
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(1 comment | comment on this)
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| Thursday, May 29th, 2008
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8:17 pm - I can do MAGIK!
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Ever since I started getting unlicensed kits/statues there has been one character I was determined to get. Any guesses?
Yeah, anyone that knows me and my comic likes knows that Magik is my FAVORITE character. A year or more ago there was a minibust of her produced in a private commission of 15 pieces. Recently another private commission was finished of Darkchylde. They were both started before I came on the scene, so I've been shit out of luck, and droll everytime I see one.
Well, someone sold their set. I snatch them up (I won't mention for how much).
Here they are!
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(4 comments | comment on this)
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| Saturday, May 17th, 2008
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9:51 pm - Archangel Statue
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I bought the kit/statue in October and my painter finally finished this one up. The guy who painted it has done some prototype work for Bowen busts and statues. This is now one of my favorite statues in my collection.
It's an Archangel with a Ship type base (styled after the Bowen Apocalypse MB). He's got three changeable heads; standard, mask off with hair, and Death Mask. I've got him displayed with the standard head.
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(6 comments | comment on this)
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| Tuesday, April 8th, 2008
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8:25 pm - Jubilee
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My painter has just finished up my Jubilee statue/kit. She'll be on her way home tomorrow!
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(1 comment | comment on this)
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