Theory Of A Death Worker

In which I rant about my life to random people on the internet.

It's been my usual amount of time since my last update.

First and foremost, I've managed to contract COVID. I've no idea where exactly, but the two possibilities are my Church, or a bar I and a group of friends went to. I had experienced what was presumed to be a bout of food poisoning at said bar, which, thinking back on it, could have easily been a symptom of COVID. Either way, I'm fucked for at least two weeks. I've begun a regimine of Paxlovid as prescribed by an urgent care nurse, I am hoping that will knock this out without the need of hospitalization. Symptoms so far appear to be flu-like in nature, minus my arthritis kicking up a few gears. My knees are killing me, and my IBS has flared up again, both make for trouble considering I live on a top floor and the accessible bathroom is downstairs.

There isn't much else to report in the way of daily life, the paranormal group I manage has begun their transition to Telegram. I'm trying to figure out the best way to curb misinformation, we previously had a member who was making claims that Telegram had destroyed their phone. They have been put on probation for two weeks, with a warning that if it continues, a permaban lies within their future.

Other than that, all is well.

Until next time, blessings be with you all!

Hello, Fediverse, It's me again...

So, apparently, I've incurred the wrath of local mountain Demons/Gods/Entities. I've been forced to move. Again. This is a new record. Apparently, somebody spending the night to help me move in counts as living there...

I'm currently staying with a friend at his parent's place, it seems to be going well so far. But, given the current tide of things, I expect it to go sour soon.

This is a short update, sorry. Will report as it happens.

It's been a few days since my last update, in that time I've migrated myself and my belongings to a friend's apartment for the foreseeable future. The situation at my old residence had really begun to come to a head, with the other tenant getting all the more irate while lying through his teeth that he had no issue with me. Ha! I already feel safer than I have in the two years I was there, even before the other tenant had shown up. My energy levels are returning to normal, I even feel like writing again! I'd long since surmised that my depression, sleep problems, general anxiety and paranoia may have had a spiritual component to them.

Unfortunately, it seemed whatever haunts that house got one final laugh. When I got to the apartment, my medical advocate had brought to my attention a bloody scratch on my left shoulder. I've been attacked by things before, but they usually fuck off when I bring out the Holy water. It does slightly concern me as I was wearing my Rosary at the time, of which I am seldom without anymore. Whatever was in that house didn't care much for my proto-Catholic ass, there also appeared to be an imp infestation as well as shadow entities on the property. Everything got worse when the other tenant moved in, more violent, agitated. I've long since assumed something used him as a vessel, my priest and a few other people have confirmed this.

Yesterday, I woke up to an odd stomach pain and a lot of blood. I proceeded to the ER where I would spend the better part of a day only to find I have hemorrhoids. I did get to talk to a few interesting people though. The universe, or God, or whatever seems to like to stick me in people's path whenever we least expect it but most require it.

I finished reading a book by Nadia Bolz-Weber called Pastrix, about an up-and-coming Lutheran pastor's coming of age/faith journey. It was refreshing in a way I would have never expected out of a “Christian” book, no God-posturing or apologetics, just good ol' human disaster bullshit. She made no claims of superiority or self-righteousness, just the opposite, in fact. She was relatable, she described God not as a pissed asshole glaring down at us ants with some divine magnifying glass, but a God who was right here with us in this hell we call home, experiencing the same pain, suffering, and heartache and feeling just as helpless as the rest of us. I will definitely be checking out more of her books going forward!

I am going to attempt to update in a timely manner, despite the fact that I think nobody reads this!

Until next time!

Hello all, as you know, (At least, if you follow my Mastodon.) I've recently begun attending St. Timothy's Episcopal Church. As an Old Catholic, it feels like home. I was worried that when I came to Washington I wouldn't find another church like the one I left behind, I'm happy to announce my worry was all for naught! Tough, I've only been involved for a few months, I have been accepted without issue. Even with all my strangeness, odd raisings and strange capabilities! I am fully aware my given spiritual path is unconventional, and yet still I am accepted without issue!

I just needed somewhere to let this out, sans Mastodon's character limit!

#religion #Catholic #ranting

First and foremost, Happy Second Sunday of Advent!

Yet another life update by me, Markus Gaines.

First off, my previously thought-to-be-Shiga was not, in fact, Shiga. Rather, just some weird issue with my body not agreeing with red meat. This isn't surprising considering I have IBS and GERD and God knows what else!

I found a lovely statue depicting the Holy Family for my altar, which, by this point, is getting rather crowded. I'll need to clear off space, which could be an issue considering most of the junk on the shelf isn't mine! Likewise, I figured I should have something for Advent, given this is my first time actually celebrating! I've also been praying The Auxilium Christianorum considering my roommate situation.

Onto said situation, currently, my living situation consists of me renting a room from a guy in Centralia for $300 a month for room and board. It was a good deal for a long while, up until about 8 months ago, in which a new tenant moved in. Since then, my life has been a real pain because this asshole apparently dislikes young people. Whoop-fucking-ee. He has gone out of his way to make my life an annoyance, I have explained hundreds of times that I have medical issues that make it hard to get around, but it seems to have no effect in how he treats me. He also seems to expect me to clean the house, when I only have use of my room and a bathroom. Furthermore, he's taken to bitching and moaning about every little thing at this point, and has recently threatened a friend of mine with gross bodily harm. Did I mention he's a registered sex offender and a self-professed next-John-Wayne-fucking-Gacy? Granted, so is my landlord, but that's just called luck!

But, enough about that shit show in motion! I've seemingly gotten more adept at psychic things and seeing spirits, I can more vividly hear them now, as well. I've confirmed with a few people to insure I'm not going insane. Or more insane, anyway. I'm still actively attending church at St. Timothy's in Chehalis, and going to my monthly Grove meetings. Some would call it an oxymoron, but I grew up with the duality, so, meh. I'm Appalachian, we're a strange bunch. I haven't really tied down to a specific religion, I suppose Folk Catholic describes me best. Not wholly mainstream, but wholly Holy in my opinion. Even as more Gods have made their presence known, the trinity still hasn't left me. I used to think it had to be one or the other, but given all that's happened, I'm just embracing the duality at this point.

My Altar

#life #religion #rambling

I'm trying to post things other than the extremely scarce life update.

I got back into writing in the middle of last year, mainly fanfiction and unposted poetry. It's been a ride, I've had so many ideas and nowhere to put them, nor the courage or self-esteem to actually find a place until now! I've been posting to AO3 for now, I might post here as well, no idea yet. As it is now, I've only posted kink related fics. I've never actually told anyone about my writing or put my name on anything, until now. I've already told 3 people about it and got nothing but praise! Likewise, I've run into a bit of a wall with a few fics I'm working on, need to rewatch a few shows to get the creative gears turning again.

Overall I'm happy, it's a great mood booster, and it could end up being a job as I want to apply to write for The Centralia Chronicle! But that's still on the cards, as I am unsure if it will provide adequate funds to live off of. I will update as things progress, if they ever do.

#writing

Fit and Feel

The buds are an odd shape compared to other buds, they're a bit thick and tend to hurt my ears upon first attempt at wearing them. The eartip size selection is not very good, even the largest size still feels to small for my ear canals. It took them a bit to feel semi decent, and even then they still cause a bit of pain after prolonged use. The case is bulky but well built, it's sturdy, the slide mechanism still hasn't broke yet. Much to my relief.

Listening Experience

Upon first use, the sound quality surprised me. They're loud, louder than any bud I've tried so far. The audio is clear but does sound a bit like it's underwater on some things. Overall, good sound quality. Good bass, doesn't seem to care for EQ setting, though. I attempted to use custom settings on LineageOS AudioFX app, and got nowhere. I could easily be doing something wrong, though, I don't know a lot about audio things.

Battery and Usage

The battery life on the buds is a bit above average, I get decent mileage even when I forget to charge them. They were a cinch to pair and get on with it. I haven't had an issue with any of my devices yet, they work well on every device I own. The touch controls don't work very well, most of the time I just use my phone. Neither bud recognizes touch very well, I've tried cleaning them to no avail. I hope to see it addressed in a future update, but I'm not even sure how that's supposed to work! I wish there was a way to integrate them with fwupd and do so that way.

Thought I'd go ahead and post an update. First things first, I'm not dead. Obviously.

I've been equal parts busy and bored as hell these past 2 months, with surprise bake sales and even a curse! I got sick for the last month, first got a shiga infection after I returned from Tennessee, then proceeded to get strep three days after! It's been an ordeal, I finally seem to have beaten it, though. Thank Gods.

Onto my second point, I went back to Tennessee for a little bit to visit with friends and family. It was uneventful, save for me getting adopted by a pendulum, and accidentally inciting Appalachian rage upon my friend! Those two are unrelated, by the way. I then went forth to Alabama! Huntsville, specifically, my old stomping grounds. What a weird phrase. It, too, was uneventful. I hung out with my cousin and his cat, visited another cousin and the previous cousin's girlfriend, and had a brief visit and coffee with an old friend!

This is related to the point before, I flew for the first time in my life! I know this is very out of order but whatever! It was interesting, I'll give it that! It gave me a bit of trouble with my VP shunt, more excruciating pressure than anything else. I'm getting better at energy work, I was able to cushion the blow on my joints for the landing!

More on the metaphysical, I've been doing tarot and pendulum scrying more. My empathy has gotten stronger, my sight is better than ever, I even conducted a psuedo-exorcism! My connection to the divine is ever-growing, I'm focusing on my catholic side for a bit. I went to church at St. Timothy's Episcopal Church the last two Sundays, it was nice. My best friend's ghost is no longer bound to my rosary, we've become intermeshed in a lot of ways. I think we're bound to each other now.

Until next time and Gods/Goddesses be with you all!

Hello and Happy Litha to all who continue to follow this blog. It's been a while since my last post, but here goes.

First and foremost the accursed Chromebook has been sold. I struggled to find any actual use for it as it didn't seem to like MrChromebox's firmware at all. It didn't even like Arch!

I attended a Beltaine celebration put on by some close friends. It was a nice reprieve from the usual hum-dumitties of life. I even managed to catch a sprite of some type on camera!

I've gotten into cooking more as well! I made an apple cheese casserole for Beltaine and attempted keto brownies for a bake sale. (Note to anyone baking keto: Use coconut oil!)

A friend and I did a bake sale for my Historic Paranormal Society; we barely managed 50$ but it was good fun.

That's all for now, folks!

I've gained a new name and title since my last post. I've been using it for years but it's nice to be “official”.

Since my last post I've gained ordination through the Universal Life Church, and I'm going to become a chaplain. I know what the general consensus is with ULC but still, it was the easiest route for me. I have no disposable income to speak of, so this was the best way.

I'm continuing my writing as well, just fanfiction for the moment Though. I'm working on a small southern Gothic story collection about my home state of Alabama. Basically taking my run-ins with the supernatural and writing about those.

I tried putting Fedora on the Chromebook. It went sinkingly, ultimately ending in me pulling the battery because it wouldn't stay powered off. I may try again with a different distro, or try an find a way to keep it from powering on unless I hit the power button.

I went to my first official Ostara festival. It was awesome! I'm also helping plan a Beltane celebration, the theory is we'll be celebrating every sabbat. It's nice to finally have friends to celebrate with as well.

I also may be attending DefCon. I've got to plan it all out, I may end up volunteering. I've always wanted to go, it'd be a great learning experience. I'm going to try an get a hold of a pinephone as well, it'd be a better idea than bringing my most likely vulnerable Moto Kiev