Updates on personal care
Mental healthcare is very important to me, but part of mental healthcare is taking care of the outside of myself, too. At least, looking nice/presentable is something i always took pride in. So, after getting my dapper military fade haircut the other day, a few hours later i decided that i would buy some hair promenade (i think i am spelling that correctly) or, for short; hair grease. It helps keep my thick hair “down” so it looks a bit more natural as my haircut is essentially an executive contour w/ a very high fade involved.
After that, i started looking at other personal care items that I would like to buy; Rebel Soap (which smelled great but didn't buy when i was at Target, foolishly), Murray's Promenade (bc this Axe brand that I bought is too frilly for my tastes), a Charcoal Products (i think it is called) face razor (using replaceable razor blades) that is a brass handle, brass shaver (number 3, short/close as fuck), and all the other accessories that go with it. Important to have a close face shave. Fuck disposables. As for shampoo, it is going to remain Head & Shoulders bc that is a lifelong thing for me, not changing.
Then there are the other “appearance” items that I want/need in my life. I am going to buy some t-shirts, black with a pocket. And also a nice pair of pants + some dress socks. The latter two will be bought this month, before my cousin's wedding. I am still not sure if it would be all that polite to show up at the wedding wearing a busted up pair of Chuck Taylors, so a cheap-o pair of shoes will have to be purchased as well.
And the most cosmetic of all these things would have to be a tattoo. I want to finish my collar piece at some point or at least get the rose in the middle of it so there are not just two awkward sets of asterisks on my collar bone w/o anything around them. Those are more for “decoration” as there needs to be an actual “piece” associated with it. I would like to finish the whole thing, which means simply adding more asterisks up to the shoulders. May take a minute.
These are things that will make me happier/healthier. Good things.
Be back in a bit!
word to ya motha
i don't know where i am going with that title, but, there it is
i haven't been up to much today other than waiting for the mail to arrive, which it did, and i got my Army surplus canteen (w/ OD cover). Thing is fucking nice and is light/wears well. I am going to try to get a dayhike in here in the next couple of weeks.
As for this weekend, the Labor Day weekend, I will be going to the hospital tomorrow to see the dad and catching up with him and then ON Labor Day the whole (immediate) family is going to be up there and catching up and whatnot.
The Black Metal album that i am going to release is on hold, but that is a good thing because i said it was coming out in October, anyway, so there is no harm/no foul with that shit. I need to get a midi keyboard that was juuuust out of my budget for this month, so i am going to order it next month instead. I put way too much work into this thing to not create/release it, so, I am v much so looking forward to what i come up with.
i am going to be up late tonight. Maybe.
I have also been making a killer Death Metal playlist on Spotify called “Crucifux” and drawing every so often, so i am getting myself pumped/staying inspired to release music.
Good times
be back in a bit!
bloggy oggy
hello
i have been absent from this blog for some time now. i have been writing in both an online, yet, unpublished journal and i plan to keep it that way for a v long time. i like having a blog. maybe i'll update here more often at another time in the future. but not right now.
dad has not been doing all that great but that is really another story for another day
on a positive note: i have been writing down lyrics more and more often and have four(4!) songs written! i d/l'd Garage Band for this Mac and am going to buy a midi keyboard to record music + vox and will be releasing the album under the surname XAAV and the name of the band will be A Clockwork Darkly. I am going to release all of the songs as an EP and put a limited number on cassette tape and distribute them myself online and in a couple local record shops (for FREE).
I have the cover, insert, and lyrics all written down and even have a little site for the whole thing on carrd.co! All is good news.
I haven't been up to much else. The student loan discharge is held up until i can get more paperwork (which i will do as soon as possible), the Fall 2018 semester at STLCC fell through bc of lack of funds, etc. However, i am enrolled at EdX starting October 3 2018 for a class called Citizen Journalism through New Media (that is what I am calling it, nonetheless, because the title of the course is very long). I am v much so looking forward to it.
I dropped CS50x. Tooooo fucking complicated and i was not enjoying it v much. No point in taking a class I don't enjoy.
I also went to SLCL the other day and checked-out “Successful Strategies To Book Publishing” (i forgot the author's name). I just wanna get a littttle more in-depth look into how to actually publish a book (the traditional way) should i ever want to go that route (even though i swore i would never attempt it again).
So, life is good. Some drama but nothing that i can't soldier through.
Good times.
hey
i have so many things to pay for next month
some things are just playing “catch-up”. other things are gifts for weddings and other events. Plus there are some simple life necessities in there, too.
not complaining just pointing this out
Anyway, i am listening to the “alt.alt.alt” playlist and enjoying myself immensely.
i slept a good amount today. and now i am having coffee
be back in a bit
On Not Doing Stuff
I am not doing anything this AM (it is 2:46 AM). I am not doing anything after the sun rises. I am not doing anything in the afternoon or the evening, either (besides maybe read my #book #publishing....book). And I will not have a hell of a lot to do the next day (Monday), either.
I think i need to slow down. Breathe air. Chillax'. IDK.
What's New?
Nothing! Dad is still in the hospital. I saw a pic of Grandpa O'Leary for the first time in my life today (i look like him). I had a lot of coffee today. I am ditching Gwen as a friend. And i am expecting a decent sunrise tomorrow.
Coffee is on
Been journaling offline quite a bit (hence my absence here).
Ordering a couple articles of clothes for the wedding next month (shoes, socks). We also have a family reunion later in the month, as well.
Gotta get a haircut! Soon!
Got my meds + nicotine lozenges in the mail yesterday. That is a v good thing.
I need/want weed. Haven't had it in a few years. Would be a v good thing.
Will be back in a bit!
Playlists, all day long!
Been listening to a lot of music this AM/early afternoon. Added a lot of stuff to the “punker” playlist as well a got stuck in a 1980's hardcore punk clickhole. I also added a couple songs to the “alt.alt.alt” playlist.
I am going to visit dad at the hospital in a little bit (in a few hours), so, that will be cool. He ended up getting a nerve block yesterday (i am not sure what that is), and according to my mom, they loaded him up with narcotics while they did the surgery. Crazy. I hope he feels a lot better today.
Gonna be a full day. Need to do laundry & reallllly clean my apartment. Probably get a pop when i am oot and aboot, too.
be back soon
Anarcho Minimalism
I have never heard this phase before i thought it up. A rudimentary Google Search turned up a Reddit thread where someone talked about minimalism being in-line w/ anarcho values, but no one actually used the term “anarcho-minimalism”. In my take, it is a spinoff of anarcho-primitivism in the sense that it is the rejection of technology. But not only does it reject technology and promote a nomadic style of living (hunter/gatherer (aka primitivism)), but also a philosophy of “less is better”.
To truly be nomadic (comfortably) one almost HAS to adopt a minimalist lifestyle. Anarcho-minimalism of course endorses that, but is centered around the rejection of technology, industrialization, world trade, and (in a political sense) capitalism and plutocracy.
In the Wikipedia entry for anarcho-primitivism, the entry often refers to Henry David Thoreau's “Walden” (as do many minimalists) but i am convinced that HDT didn't take minimalism far enough, nor did he actually adopt anarcho-primitivism/anarcho-minimalism because he was not nomadic.
In my eyes, having anarcho values + primitive beliefs + a simple lifestyle does not go far enough as an anarcho-minimalist is concerned. One must be ready for “ultra-nomadism” (traveling far, quickly (if need be)) and also living with the absolute bare bones necessities. As some people refer their lives/lifestyle as to what fits in what sized backpack, i would use that comparison as to say no more than a 10L backpack. Oftentimes, much less.
Ideal anarcho-minimalist possessions would usually not encompass more than what would fit in your pockets or on your person. Bagless travel would be a typical scenario.
Courses or Books
What helps me learn the most? Some people say that college courses help them learn the most, but i am not most people. To be honest, it is the reading material WITHIN those courses that make up the “meat and potatoes” of education. I suppose i could hurry up and enroll in a different certification program (before the Oct. 3 EdX course begins), but i will devote that time to reading instead. I live right next to a friggin' library for fucks sake, and like the old saying goes: “You paid $50K for the same education I got for $5 in library late fees.” It's how one reads and their ability/desire to learn that makes the difference. Fascinating how these days (particularly in Uni's) I always hear about people “cheating the higher ed system” and “buying educations” and even treating (some accredited, some not) Uni's like diploma mills. College, or as I simply refer to it, Higher Education, is supposed to be a place where “great minds meet”. Similar to what I said before in the last journal entry about travel: the world is happening FOR you. And I would say the same thing about education: education is happening FOR you. Not TO you. Unlike how people treat college as a place to earn a pricey piece of paper that their parents are forcing them to earn; i view higher education as a state-of-mind, somewhat. Certifications, and records of completion and all that are well and good, but, YOUR education is happening FOR you regardless of who wants you to do it, what piece of paper you earn, or what you are capable of regurgitating 1-2 weeks after some course material. Education is not about paper (degree or money), but it is about what YOU get out of your experience from it. I certainly do not remember 90% of the stuff I read. But if I am interested enough, I will remember MANY things from the book (or essay, whathaveyou) that i have read. Again, it's for ME to remember for the sake of....learning!
another night of crickets
and thankfully, the neighbor below me has turned off his radio and i can now hear nothing BUT crickets. A good thing. Life is full of good things.
be back soon