Update:
Read if you want. If you want to reply, you’ll need to do so via PM’s or make a new thread. These days I’m kinda in “driveby” mode. Stop, drop and lock, then fly.
OK. Warning. LONG.(gee, surprised?). Believe it or not, this is the HIGHLY edited version. You’re welcome. The previous draft was 30 pages before I abandoned it and it wasn’t halfway done. It also contained tons of stuff that, honestly, you don’t need to know about.
Depression sucks. Just a fact of life for those who have it. Little things can become big things. Stuff can easily get blown out of proportion. Small problems, while still actually small problems, become big problems, at least to perspective of the person dealing with the issue.
First, a little clarification about the break-in at the beauty and barber college: That issue ain’t bothering me anymore. That’s all you need to know.
OK, onto the meat:
The holidays usually throw me into deep depression. It’s not unusual; it’s kind of the time of year when people tend to take a dive. This year was kick-started with the loss of my Cold Metal C02 when I was at a yoyo meet. While the yoyo has since been returned, once the ball starts rolling, well, it kinda picks up steam whether you want it to or not.
Christmas itself is a mixed bag. This year, one kid went ballistic when she decided she hated everything. One item, an Ugly Doll(Mij to be exact) was especially hated. It was revealed that I was the one who picked it out(which is true). Well, she can be without that item now. I’ll keep the rest to myself. There was more bad than good.
Business in some ways took a downward turn. A promoter I like working for is taking a much-needed break from one show(Repo: The Genetic Opera) and the rights for doing Rocky Horror Picture show have been yanked by Fox, which put his other show out. There’s still the Sacramento Horror Film Fest. We’re looking to pursue other ideas, namely concerts. I do sound and lighting production for these events.
At the same time, things are looking up. However, I don’t have much hope on things until I see the contracts signed. My two regular customers, SacAnime and SHFF(Sac Horror Film Fest) are still with me. Lots of leads on new events. A promoter from my past is back up and running again. This appears promising. I may be working a lot in the Bay Area, especially the Benician/Vallejo area.
My year started strong with SacAnime. It’s the typical “I gotta suffer for my art”. I gotta sit through panels so I can get to mix the bands. Mixing the band performances is what I live for. I’m not into anime. Fortunately, the breaks between sessions gave me some time to yoyo. However, the “high” for me of doing a show is followed by a deep crash. This for me is “normal” and another symptom of the depression.
I’ve discovered Kendama. Fun, but I like yoyo a lot better. Still, it’s nice to have variety. I’ve also purchased some more spin tops.
I’m running sound/production for CalStates and BAC again this year. I’m very happy with that. I look forward to seeing many people, among those being Andre, Caribou Chris and many others. Please, PLEASE stop by and say “hi” if I can’t go out and see you. I even have merch this time, but I’m going to be too busy to sell it. Hopefully I remember to bring it in.
Now onto the stuff you want to hear about:
YoYo Progress.
Nothing major to report. I’ve discovered a bind, but it’s not reliable yet but I think I can make it reliable and repeatable easily. It’s not hard to do either.
Kwijibo is faster, smoother and better.
Asian pops, thanks to Jacob Gross’s video
Snowflake is coming along, again thanks to Jacob Gross’s video
Learned laceration by accident. Can bind with it too! Yeah, I can do the Ann-Bind. I can’t do it as well as she can though!
What the heck, suicide(the yoyo trick) is also coming along
Right hand(dominant) 2A looping was consistent, but then with adding in different yoyos in the equation has kind of screwed me up. I am sure this is correctable. The Loop1080’s are pretty nice, however, I still prefer the Unleashed better. I may double loop the 1080’s as they don’t seem to have the responsiveness I am after.
4A: Arm orbits are coming along, but I think I should concentrate on other stuff for 4A.
5A: No progress. I’m not even trying right now. No, not discouraging, just prefer 1A better. I think I need to use something other than a Pinnacle as I feel I need something heavier. I might get a Destiny soon to resolve that issue.
3A: Let’s not kid ourselves. That ain’t happening for a while!
I’m not listing new acquisitions here. I’m trying to keep this short. You can find it on my Facebook page.
Goals: Some grinds. Iron Whip, Jade Whip, boomerang, and boing-e-boing. After those, anything is worth exploring more. 2 handed looping and hop the fence are other 2A objectives.
Well, my yoyo secret is out. I was at an office party for my wife’s office job. This leads to the next part.
Of course, it’s not like I’m hiding this stuff. I’m walking around with a DM2 on a yoyo holder hanging of a belt loop practically everywhere I go.
People are recognizing me. I don’t recognize them. No, I’m not “all that”. I’m bad at putting names to faces. I can remember the faces, but not the names…. Anyhow, my son had basketball practice for his Junior NBA team. I’m playing with yoyos during his practice. As the practice ends, the other team practicing on the other half of the court, one kid just simply abandons the ball, and it’s bouncing towards me. So, I catch it. I’m expecting a kid to come get it from me. No. One of the parents got it from me. Turns out it was one of my wife’s co-workers. When he was talking to my wife, he mentioned that I was playing with yoyos. Not that I have a problem being “out of the closet”. I mean, I got no issue with people knowing I’m playing with these toys.
Also, people know me at my kid’s school as not only the idiot father who inline skates, but also plays yoyo.
I hope you’re enjoying my unboxing videos. I’d like to see higher view counts, but hey, I’m not monetizing anything so it’s not like I’m making anything off of these. I have one more unboxing video planned. After that I have a series of mostly short videos that will feature yoyos and other toys, found images and other sources. I hope you enjoy these as well. I’ve actually bought a lot of yoyo stuff I wanted for this project, as well as buying other stuff to help make this project happen.
Now, on my leave from YYE:
I’ll be back. Don’t worry. If you need to reach me, I’ve left multiple ways to contact me. Heck, I even have Skype, Voxer, AIM, Yahoo Instant Messenger and I am showing up on the IRC Chat room more often but often not for very long. If you feel bold, you can call or text me, but be prepared to identify yourself because I screen my calls and am not fast to answer strange text messages. Basically if you’re not saved into my phone, it doesn’t ring, and even then, it’s got to be something I’ve assigned a ring tone or text tone to. However, if you’re blocking caller ID, I’m not going to return your call or voicemail, period. You can even send me a private message as it will send me a notification via email, but DO use a subject or my email server is gonna boot that message to /dev/null faster than you can hit the send button. I’m not gone. But for now, time away is a good thing. But if you MUST reach me or there is something that I must address, I can be summoned.
Just understand: there’s no anger involved in this break. There’s no ill will or negativity. I simply am prioritizing things properly. I’m still throwing almost daily. I will still be buying from YYE(and other places as well). I still like YYE quite a bit. I enjoy the time I spend on YYE. Not to tip anything, but I’ll probably have at least one $150+ order most months at YYE in 2013. I do want the complete 2013 trading card set, but my motivation is based on “gee, what do I want to get?” I may make up to $200 available each month for BST’ers who want to do some fast no-hassle(well, maybe low hassle sales) to get cash for throws.
So, now to why am I taking a break? Well, as I’ve eluded, I’m getting busy. I’m having to re-direct my attention to other stuff, like some video projects and computer consulting again, and of course doing sound for events.
I’m not sure when I’ll be checking in. All I will say is that I’m preparing my stuff off-line so I can quickly login post, lock and then log-out and be on my way.
In the meantime, I can be reached. Should you need me, I’m still accessible. I am listening and I am available.