Fan Expo and musings.

Just a quick update.

So I've been attending the Toronto FanExpo for years now, it's a massive comic/sci-fi/anime/horror convention.

For years I only went for the comic book side of things, I grew up during the Image comics revolution so comics were BIG when I was a little kid. Since then I've ventured into a deep love of Science Fiction, and ask anyone who knows me or who's ever taken a peek at my bookshelves and you'll know I'm a massive Horror Lit fan.

But Comic Books, THOSE were my first love.

The first comic book I ever bought with my own money (that I can recall) was an issue of a book called Pitt. I want to say it was something like, issue #14, but that's not 100%. I bought it based on the cover art, period. The art was FUCKING STUNNING. The man behind that art? A Toronto local by the name of Dale Keown.

So long story short, Dale was a repeat guest at the Toronto FanExpo. I met him (for the first time) at the ripe old age of twelve or thirteen.

His fantastic work, and the fact that he was super nice kept me coming back year after year to see him again and again.

He stopped coming though, for whatever personal reasons, and didn't show for something like half a decade.

This year, he was a last minute addition to the guest list, and I got to meet him again. Suffice to say I think he's just as badass as I remember he was back in the day, and I got a chance to talk with him for a while this year and I think it's safe to say that he made this years convention for me.

He ALSO just put out the first PITT book to see the light of day in a decade, so that got me super pumped, I bought both variant covers, and had them signed. He asked me to keep in touch with him when I left, and he's on my facebook and I plan to do so.

On a completely different note. I HAVE to stop putting off my female friends, I'm starting to think that "being me" has turned me into "that asshole" who offends, unnerves, and confuses the women that I appreciate the most. I used to think I knew what I was doing, anyone mind telling me what in the hell happened there?

I think I'm going to go draw, I need to go do something introverted.

Number Crunching

Well Ho Lee Shit,

Today my friends has been a day filled with exorbitantly large numbers, some good...some, stressful.

I've been working on a project at work for a little while now, lets say about a week in my spare time, for some of my higher end clientel. It's starting to pay off too, and big. I'm working on the sale of an entire home worth of hardware, which as it currently stands amounts to: $9'864.61 and there's probably a few small items to add to that running total. Really makes me wish I was on some sort of commission, but either way it will throw my sales numbers for the month through the roof.

On a slightly more distressing note, I was having a conversation with one of my co-workers who's entering her first year of university and we got to talking about school fees and registration.

Now if you've been following the soap opera that is my academic life you'll know that my deffered examination meant I didn't have the credit count to apply on the same date as the rest of the third years at U of T, which meant then when I did try to apply, many of my classes were full. I've been sitting in cyber waiting lines waiting to get into classes.

So, we were talking about the cost of tuition, and I decided to peak at my current balance owing, turns out I owe U of T a whopping : $5,147.38

But what's REALLY scary, is that the deadline to make my tuition payment? Tomorrow... Aug 19th

If I hadn't of thought to check as a result of my inter office work chat, and missed the deadline, I would have been revoked my place in all my classes and essentially given the boot.

Can you say Absent Minded, man?

On another (far cooler) note, I've recently moved out of The Big Smoke, and back to the sleepy town of Pickering. My bedroom has been accosted by my 9 year old niece and any relative that decides to spend the night Casa Ivany.

So I've moved into what I'm currently dubbing "The Bat Cave", my unfinished, dusty, dark, dank little basement. Why is this cool you say? Because I have plans you see...Big BIG plans.

I'll let you in on the news as it breaks,

Chase

Mommy, It's Over!

It's done and dusted, dead as a door nail, finito, finished, kaputz. I'm wiped (and Staaarving) so I'll talk about it more later, suffice to say I think I passed it, and therefore *should* have my credit and *should* have saved myself the $1000 or so dollars it would have cost me to take another year long class instead.

I'm off to...eat, or get drunk..or skate or play pinball or something.

P.S. I can FINALLY return to the tower, The Wolves of the Calla call and I shall answer them.

-Chase

The End is Nigh.

Slowly the bell tolls, and the time of reckoning casts its shadow upon me.

So having read the better part of 1200 pages of works that are now 100 years old in the last week, I'm reaching the end of my literary educational sprint. At least the 100 meter dash that is my exam prep. I've tackled 6 novels, and I'm now trying to get a full fledged review of the works under my belt before my exam at 9 am tomorrow in some building in Toronto that I've never been to before. There's a decent amount of planning involved tonight, I'm about to have dinner, then try and make my way to the library to print off plot synopsis and character overviews for the six works I've read. Some I haven't read since last years school term so this bit is desperately needed to jog my memory.

After that? I have to plan a route to get to said building and find the room I need to write the exam in. I plan on catching the 7:22 train to Union station which will land me around 8AM, then I have an hour to get to where-ever it is I need to be.

Do I feel prepared? Well, to some degree I do, I've read the works and understood them. Do I feel I have an intimate understanding of the nuances of the novels and their characters...well...to some degree I suppose. I'm concerned I'll get bogged down by quotations and references that wont catch in the mesh of my memory. That I'll know everything but the questions that are asked of me. This I'm sure is the norm for exams, and being someone who has a traditionally shitty memory, I've certainly found myself in that position before.

Where do I stand, what do I need to achieve with this exam? It's worth a third of my grade, or 33.3333333% if you're a mathlete, and I have currently a 43% in the course. Being an English major and having avoided math for the latter half of my life, I'm not sure the EXACT percentage I need to achieve a 50% in the course, but I think it's probably safe to say I need to aim for a 60% as a bare minimum.

We shall see how it goes, at least it's early tomorrow and I wont have to dread it all day, exams always make me feel (to some degree or another) sick to my stomach.

I'll pass on my impressions of how it went tomorrow, we shall see...

Life on other fronts is a bit all over the place, work is of course steady but my social and romantic life never seem to find their adequate balance these days. I'll update you as it happens...I miss writing this, I know I have a "fanbase" or "readership" of like...four people...but I don't mind.

I might have a new site coming soon, we'll see what happens.

Thanks for following along, and caring to read.

Take care of yourselves faithful few, I appreciate that you're here.

-Chase

On The Run.

Typos be damned, I'm writing this on my way out the door.

just letting the Faithful few know that I'm still alive and kicking, if you've been following along in your textbooks you'll realize my exam is only in a day or two, I'm cramming like a mad man, and will give you a full update of how things go later on.

I've seen a cool concert, been to a few parties, made a few friends, lots has happened since we last spoke, and I might be in the works of building a new site.

But we'll talk about this later. for now I must bid you,

Adieu adieu

-Chase