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Sunday nights at ye olde belmont.

Xochimilcos

Yay! Margaritas!

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I knew it. My cats really do like each other.

My hands have finally started to thaw.

Bad circulation+malfunctioning furnace=cold. That issue was resolved yesterday.

I feel like I have a lot to say, but I'm totally censoring myself for some reason. I almost feel like if I start talking, I'll have a hard time stopping. I know a few of my friends are worried about me right now. I'm okay. I'm just kind of living inside my head.

Oh, I figured out a kitty food recipe that will make your cats love you more than they already do:

Layer one:
Gushy food.

Layer two:
Crunchies.

Layer three:
A few treats sprinkled on top.

I call it "Kitty Surprise!". Jinx didn't sneak up behind me and stare at the back of my head a much as she normally does. It was kind of a thing for me.

Haunted happenings.

We are right smack dab in the middle of my favorite part of the year. The leaves are falling, everything smells like burning leaves, and I have a constant urge for donuts. And pumpkin beer.

I think I will make this weekend an unofficial "all things weird and creepy" weekend.

Items on the agenda:

1. Many of you have heard me speak of my love for the Redford Theater. A beautiful building and a live organ. This Saturday evening, they are showing the classic "House of Wax" with Vincent Price. They will also have paranormal investigators talking about the theater. I am beyond excited for it.


2. Find a hell house. If you do not know what a hell house is, let me enlighten you.

Hell houses are haunted attractions typically run by American, fundamentalist Christian churches or parachurch groups. These depict sin, the torments of the damned in Hell, and usually conclude with a depiction of heaven. They are most typically operated in the days preceding Halloween, although they are not part of the holiday.

A hell house, like a conventional haunted-house attraction, is a space set aside in which actors attempt to frighten patrons with gruesome exhibits and scenes. The format is that the various scenes are presented as a series of short vignettes with a narrated guide. Unlike haunted houses, hell houses focus on occasions and effects of sin or the fate of unrepentant sinners in the afterlife. They are scheduled during the month of October to capitalize on the similarities between hell houses and haunted attractions.

The exhibits at a hell house often have a controversial tone and focus on sins that are also issues of concern to evangelicals in the United States. Hell houses frequently feature exhibits that depict sin and its consequences. Common examples include abortion, suicide, use of alcoholic beverages[citation needed] and other recreational drugs, adultery and pre-marital sex, occultism, homosexuality, and Satanic ritual abuse. Hell houses typically emphasize the belief that anyone who does not accept Christ as their personal savior is damned to Hell.

I have been interested in attending one of these for a couple of years now, but I can never find any in Michigan. I kind of would like to see the people running it, and see what it is like. The people watching would be incredible. I know I'd be willing to make a trip.

3. http://theshadowlands.net/places/michigan.htm is a great resource for haunted places here in our great state. A lot of it is hokey, but if you do a little digging, I am quite confident that you will find something that may interest you.

4. I plan on purchasing my Halloween costume, and for that, I will most likely hit up Halloween Bazaar. http://www.halloweenbazaar.com/

5. Sample different pumpkin beers. The Rochester Mills Brewing Company (which is a very short stumbling distance from my apartment) has New Holland Ichabod as their guest tap this month.

If any of these activities sound interesting to you, let me know. It's always more fun with a group!

Unbelieveable.

I thought my bad luck had passed. After all the craziness of last winter/spring, my life had started to calm down. My panic has been under control, and I had finally begun to pull myself out of a deep depression. I was reconnecting with friends, my job was going well, and I was really excited for birthdays, weddings, new tattoos, hanging out by the pool with Katie, and long nights drinking porch beers with my friends.

Sunday night, we went to the Belmont in Hamtramck. We had a great time chatting it up with Tait and Darcie, and it was a great night. On Monday, we celebrated Eric's birthday. We went to schedule an appointment for his new tattoo (a birthday gift from me) and played skee-ball at Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum. We stopped by his parent's house so Eric could open gifts. Huey the cat came out to get pets and wish Eric a happy birthday before retreating to his chair. We then headed out for a nice evening with friends in downtown Utica. Right as the night was winding down, we get a text message from Chelsie, Eric's sister. Huey had hurt his paw jumping off his chair and he was in a lot of pain. Huey is a 17 year old cat, and has been very sick. Seizures, strokes, and renal failure. We went right over to the house, and instantly, I was in tears watching this poor cat try to get around and hide. We made the horrible decision to take Huey to the vet to be put down. Eric and I took Huey to a 24-hour vet. The whole way, he was crying, and so was I. I tried my best to comfort him on his last car ride. I was bawling as we walked him in to the vet. We signed all the papers, and they took Huey into the back. They made a pawprint in clay. We spent some time with him, and then it was time. I gave him a kiss and some gentle pets and walked out. It was fast, and he didn't suffer. The ride back to the house was quiet. Neither one of us knew what to say. After dropping off Huey's pawprint and giving hugs, we went home. It was very late. I had a meeting at the office the next day, but Sara and Katie knew what was going on with Huey, and I told them to tell everyone that I couldn't make it.

I wish I would have gone to the meeting.

Recently, Starbucks announced that it would be closing 600 corporate-run stores nationwide. Lots of different things factored into the decisions on what stores to close. I was positive that my store was safe. Yeah, we have been slower than normal, but between the Art and Apples festival and the holiday light fiasco, we made up for it.

Or so I thought.

My store is closing. I have a choice between a possible store transfer or a severance package. I really don't know what I should do. I just know that I am scared and really sad. I love my store, and my coworkers are family to me.

I have been sitting around all day reeling from the events of the last two days. If only I could go back 48 hours so I can spend just a little more time before shit hit the fan. I know that a lot of people are far worse off than me. But, as my dad said to me yesterday, I have never been able to deal with change well. It takes a long time for me to adjust to new routines, places, and people.

I know I'll be fine, but I'm feeling pretty lousy right now.

Shadowplay

I have recently rediscovered Joy Division. Today, I was (and still am) feeling under the weather, and I decided to read "Touching From a Distance" by Deborah Curtis, wife of Joy Division front man Ian Curtis. While it was a really compelling read, sometimes the ideas you have about certain things and people are much better than the reality. She paints a very bitter picture of him, partly because I believe some of it was true, and some of it was bitterness over the failed marriage and the anger and guilt of his eventual suicide. I have always been a big fan of Factory Records and the Manchester music scene from the late 70's through the 80's. In my opinion, some of the most brilliant, innovative, and influential music came out of this town during this time.

Anyway, I thought I would share a few of my favorite Joy Division clips.



"Transmission", September 15, 1979




"Shadowplay", 1978, Granada Reports.




"She's Lost Control", September 15, 1979




"Love Will Tear Us Apart" April, 1980