Shannon Larratt is Zentastic

So before I get to writing for ModBlog, I'll tell you a little more about my relatively uneventful day. As you know, the morning got killed off at the colo space (and Phil stayed here working on submissions), and then it was off to breakfast with Marty, his mother, and Badur.

Then I “built” (that's taking a little too much credit) a house for Nefarious that she got a big kick out of and insisted on taking lots of pictures (here she is taking a nap after moving in a few toys and bedding)… I think because she's grown up not just around cameras, but around multiple people who take a ton of pictures, she expects everything to be documented.

Later we headed up to Office Depot to pick up an ethernet cable for my laser printer so we could convert it into a network printer (done and done), as well as a few CD racks so I could take my old music out of storage and set it up next to my stereo. In the process of unpacking the old CDs, I found some digital photos from back in 1997, including this shot of my right arm when it was first tattooed with what would eventually become my Frank-inspired sleeve.

It actually kind of freaks me out seeing this old picture of my arm… Not so much because of the lack of tattoos, but because I was so disturbingly skinny back then. It never really bothered me in my body or face, but I hate seeing myself with thin arms. For comparison here is what I look like now (let me just add that I feel like a total dork taking posed pictures like that, I just wanted to illustrate), and this is about the size I've been most of my life… Again let me emphasize that follow-up picture is there only to illustrate the difference and I cringe at having posted it.

Anyway, I'm far from big now (as in muscle mass, not just mass in general) and haven't exercised in the least in two years (gotta get myself out to the gym and get that rolling) so I'm kind of sloppy and fat, but I have this obsession with bending steel and old time ironmen… so who knows… maybe I'll find the gumption to get in shape before I let it destroy my (currently excellent, barring a couple of looming problems) health… I've said that how many times before?

I do like the idea of being able to bend crescent wrenches as a party trick. I like it because at first people are like “wow, how did you do that, that's amazing” but then a moment later, as you're waving good-bye and starting to jog down the street, they shift over to “hey, what the fuck did you just do to my $500 tool set?” as they stare at the useless twisted metal in anger.

Mwah-ha-ha!

Sorry for the non-posting yesterday, both here and elsewhere. My old friend and one of my favorite people Emrys came up to Toronto to have his face branded by Blair (it looks great, and really “natural” — as in it flows with his face and looks like “it should be there”). At Passage (where it was done) I saw (and embarassingly didn't recognize her even though I've known her for, oh, five years) Liz who tattoos there, as well as Matt who pierces there (and has a bunch of pictures in today's update).

I feel like my conversation style when I'm in a social situation is about half way in between “wow, that guy sure talks incessantly, usually about himself” and “wow, that was an awkward silence” — but not the “about right” middle point you'd expect… More of both at the same time I think. Well, so far people seem to forgive me for it so I'm not stressing it too much. But yeah, if I made anyone feel awkward I apologize.

As I said, the branding went really well and I assume you'll see pictures on their pages and/or BME soon. We videotaped it as well for possible inclusion with the DVD that comes with Blair's book. Afterwards it was off for Ethiopian food with Phil, Tom, and Badur joining us… I broke vegan edge (it's a very dull edge for me) and had some kitfo with Emrys. I don't mind it completely raw, but it's also nice when very lightly cooked… Unfortunately they cooked it far more than I think is appropriate for kitfo, but I guess we read as gringos incapable of handling the real deal?

I noticed a Nicaraguan restaurant across the street so I think I'm putting that on my list of unknown cuisines to check out… Other than that, I got a call from another old friend today who I've never met in person but said they feel like they know me (oh, you know me anyway!) from how personal my blog is… So now I'm all paranoid about my sophomoric writing because there's a growing list of people who I respect, and if I had my way, would like to impress on some level, that I know read this.

Well, tomorrow I'll have to write up my entry “proving” (my standards for proof are only slightly higher than my standards for maintaining veganism) that God's hand really has been shaping our nature since the start of life on the planet… but don't worry, my definition of “God” is pretty easy to understand and doesn't require you to believe in some variation on a particularly spiteful Santa Claus. But for today, I'll get you an image update in a few hours, do some writing on other blogs still, but mostly I'm going to watch Survivor with Jon, Michael (who needs to get a chef tattoo so he can join IAM), and Saira.