Odds and Ends

I feel guilty when I do not write. I cannot thank everyone enough for visiting and actually reading the large amount of stuff I’ve since flung at the wall. More importantly, I am extremely proud of Griggsy and everyone who has read and commented on his post. I’m very fortunate and blessed to have a friend in Griggsy and I look forward to his input on many things.

I try to write every night, but there are just times when it won’t happen. Last night was one of those nights. For those who do not personally know me, this is why I have been somewhat hit and miss both on here and on Twitter:

I am building a pond. The area where I am currently digging used to house a swimming pool, but a little lightning and some falling tree took care of that. As you may have gathered, I am not the most adept at this type of work. I can do it and I understand a theoretical application of said work, but when it actually comes down to doing so, well, that’s a different story. I’m also one of the most stubborn people  in the world and refuse to allow anything to get in my way once I’ve put my mind to it. I’ll show that clay and shale and sand who the boss is around here. All that you see has been dug by hand. I’ve been working on it for a couple of hours per day Monday-Friday for the last while. The current measurements are 15.4’x13.2′. It is a rather large hole. The majority depth is about 16-18 inches, and the deeper section in the middle (I will be adding an in-between depth shelf there, too) is a few inches shy of 3′ deep.

If there are days when I do not get something posted here, the above dirt pit is the likely culprit.

In other news, I did get some good news over the course of the week on my ever-present and long-suffering job searching. I did have an interview with a potential job in North Carolina. I am very hopeful for that. I also received a letter from the Civil Service Commission requesting college transcripts. That, too, is an excellent sign. Even if I end up not getting the jobs, I know how much better I feel mentally about even getting the calls and getting considered. Things were pretty bleak otherwise.

I was unaware of how divided the world would become over the final Harry Potter movie being released this weekend. I, personally, was a fan of the books and the movies. I didn’t go quite so far as others about them, but I was pretty involved in the fandom. That was largely what made them so enjoyable; being part of the fanatical madness of being a fan. The books were average-to-good, with moments of really fantastic writing, but were generally just good fun that touched on important lessons, especially for young people. Being part of the community, though, was as enjoyable as reading the stories. Talking with friends, making predictions, looking into the history and allusions being made. Somewhere along the line so much of that got lost because it became trendy to be an unabashed hater and professional grade assclowns to everyone who even admitted to liking the series.

Ultimately, it is a matter of preference and you can choose to read or watch or not do either of those items. Much like I said on the “rules” page – you can have a different opinion and, frankly, I hope you do, but be prepared to make a case. Don’t just hate on it for the sake of irony or because it became the thing to do. I have no problem with disagreement or differences in opinion. I have MAJOR problems when people cannot explain the reasons for said opinion/difference/whatever. I may be very, very, very wrong about something and haven’t seen the facts or a different side of an argument. Make the case. You’ll be shocked to see what can happen when you actually discuss something with someone.

Watching the internet tough guys on Twitter and Facebook just got me all rankled. Seeing the anonymous sniping at people for being excited about a movie coming out. I’ve yet to see it or the first part of the finale, but I will see them both, and hopefully soon. Some people like Harry Potter. Some people don’t. My friend @GeeLyn said it best: “Getting my Harry Potter on. I don’t give a shit if you judge me. We all have things we like. I don’t hate on you for what you like.” I liked that. It’s no different from people trolling Pirates fans for, oh, 18 years of painful loss, or Caps fans ragging on Pens fans for losing at the WC and for Sid being concussed. I know not exactly a 1:1 type comparison, but I think you get the message. It got under my skin, sure, but I just started ignoring it and was able to slough it off. I looked at as being the better person by not engaging in the tit-for-tat type of snark that exists pretty much solely on the internet. 99% of what was being said would never be said in person, especially to someone like me (the irony is not lost on me that I am, in fact, writing all of this on the internet). I just let the haters hate and went about my business.

As life moved on from one thing to another, I did become less and less involved with the Potter franchise, especially the films. They were still an important part of life for me. Again, this will likely not come as a shock to most everyone, but I am not the most social person. I enjoy things quiet. I don’t like crowds or dealing with a large number of people at a time. I prefer the country to the city. There are a multitude of reasons why these things may be true. Perhaps another time we can get into the ol’ Walt psychology, but for now, just know that I like it quiet in the world. With being as…not socially awkward, but socially unwilling, as I can be, I found a lot of people with common interests on various message boards and fan sites of the Potter universe. I, as many others have done, was going through some unpleasant times in the late 90s/early 2000’s, and I had a decent support system with many fellow Potter fans. For me it happened to be Potter. I got into it and it was good for me. Some people find that playing a team sport. Others find it being in a band. A wise man once said “the truth, like humour, is where you find it.” We all find our personal truths and what we believe to be important everywhere.

Realistically, I probably contradicted myself 40 times in the above passages. I tend to do that when I write without directive or any sort of pre-writing. C’est la vie. As I put it to a friend of mine, who has gone thoroughly under-appreciated for years because I’m a horrible person, “my ass is completely chapped from talking out of it so much” on this blog. I know hockey talk isn’t for everyone, and I do want to have more of these type of posts (or more like the post from earlier about music). When life happens I will try to keep you all on the up-and-up. I’m in the weird position of deciding how much information I want out there about myself (at least to those who do not already know me). Time will tell.

What to expect over the next week on Avoid the Clap – two more Pens Previews (Letang and a wild card), another round of Griggsy’s Gripes (next Saturday), and a little of this and a little of that.

Thanks for reading or completely glossing over the ramblings. Go Earthen butthole. Go Employment. Go Potter. Go Rambling. Go Pens. Go whatever you like and cheer for.

-Walt