I Write Things

kigeni @ 2016-02-20T23:59:00

2016-02-21T07:59:08Z

Hello Internet,

I miss these journals. The format lets you put so much more thought into what you convey on the net, compared to the 5 seconds snippets on twitter or the re-post spam of facebook.

With the advent of so much social media presence, I wanted to poll who still checks Livejournal. In order to gauge this, please respond to the poll below.

Who is still following this journal?

View Poll: Who is still following this journal?

A look at the past year

2014-01-12T22:49:30Z

Dear Internet,

It has come to my attention that I have been quite absent from the internetterweb-o-sphere for the past year. Real life has come a'knockin' and has stolen most of the time that I used to commit to e-friends and artwork.

While I can't say that I regret the last year, I do feel that I owe everyone a recap. Those who still read this journal have, and always will be, a part of my life. :)

In the interest of parsing down a summary of this year's events, I've constructed the following list of highlights. Those wishing more information on a particular event may comment on it and I will respond with some more in-depth information.

Without further aduei, I present to you:

2013: The Year of the Progress

From the start:

1) FC 2013
Where I discovered that I still have a billion friends within the community, but determined that the convention itself holds little interest for me. Instead of tieing myself to a table, I spent the weekend running around visiting people and rekindled my love for friends I hardly get to see or have fallen out of touch with.

2) Promotions at the workplace
I've been a Mortgage Loan Officer for the past two years. I am not a Senior Loan Officer.

It isn't the most glorious or fun job I've had, but I'm damn good at it. As of next month, I will officially be licensed to do home loans in 10 states (CA, WA, AZ, UT, HI, NJ, NM, CT, DC, WI). I was our top guy in the company for 6 Months out of the year and, for the first time in my life, I feel like I'm actually getting paid well for doing a good job. It's a pretty awesome feeling.

3) Debt
This also marks the year that I KILLED over $10,000 in debt. Seriously. Instead of going out and buying that fancy new thingy, I seriously plowed into some debts and am finally back on track with my student loans. Goodbye credit cards. Goodbye weird-phone-bills-from-years-ago. Goodbye car tickets... and good riddance.

It feels good to finally have that weight off my shoulders.

4) Wife!! (Almost)
Most of you have already heard this one, but I can't say it enough times: I am officially engaged.

That's right, ladies and gents, the eternal bachelor is officially off of the market. Not to say that I have left my days of wine and music behind; now I just have a partner in crime to share them with. I asked coffeeslayer to be my wife this year and she said yes.

Every time I say that, I'm still shocked, surprised, pleased, excited, terrified, jittery, and utterly in love. I couldn't be more happy.

Here's a few pictures of the shiny thing.

2013 was a big year. 2014 is shaping up to include such illustrous things as a house, a vacation, and who the hell knows what else.

How was your year?

Either way, I'm looking forward to it.

Kigs out.

Truly,
Kigs

FC

2013-01-08T06:25:45Z

Yup. I'm going.

The good news is that I am going to be doing Stand Up Comedy Sunday! Feel free to drop by. :D

The bad news is that my rooming situation fell through. So, does anyone know someone who has some crash space? I can pay my share and bribe you with booze, friendship, and art. :)

Truly,
Jorge Sidhu

The American Dream

2012-12-02T10:55:12Z

Dear Internet,

What exactly were you raised to believe was the American dream?

I have my own ideas, and I will share them shortly, but I am curious what you have experienced. Feel free to respond even if you aren't American. ;)

Truly,
Kigs

Job, League of Legends, and Job

2012-11-01T09:10:22Z

Dear Internet,

I figure I should get back into the habit of posting on this thingamajigger; I miss the catharsis that comes from putting my thoughts into writing.

The job front has been a too-sour martini. I've received a promotion and am now helping people refinance their homes in California, Oregon, Washington, and Colorado. I should have Utah as of the 15th of this month. That's the good news.

The bad news is that I have had ABSOLUTELY no time lately. I need to find a good outlet to balance out the long hours at work.

I remember doing fun things on the weekends. Now, I'm feeling like I just spend them recovering from the week. This is unacceptable.

On the plus side, I am FINALLY starting to get out of debt and I'm financially stable for the first time.... pretty much ever. I'll just have to rough it out and hope that it irons itself out.

Until next time,

Truly,
Kigs

I LIVE!!!

2012-06-23T05:37:43Z

Dear Internet.

Soo.... I am totally still alive.

Want to help me? Alicia and I are moving in together and she needs help supplementing her move in cost.

She is taking sketches for donations. Feel free to contribute whatever you can afford. I might give out a couple free sketches to supplement it.

Send an email to cindeegrrlie@gmail.com with your request.

Truly,
Kigs

FC 2012 Banner and Art

2012-01-11T07:02:11Z

Dear Internet,

If you go to the RAVE for FC, my art is on the wall. Sick. Awesome and totally not expected; I don't consider myself a cool enough artist to put things on a wall.

Secondly,

I am currently working on a grim dark MLP banner for me and Greencat's table. This is not the kind of stuff that I normally draw, but I can't help but think that it is coming out AWESOME!

More to come soon.

OR see it at table 54.

Truly,
Kigs

The dark depth of the internet

2012-01-09T23:23:44Z

Dear Internet,

Have you ever peered into the internet, stumbled upon something vaguely strange, and realized that you have no idea what you just witnessed.

I tried to explain this video to my room and realized that the english language was not meant to describe such an odd thing. The title reads: Ketchupbot + 20th Century Fox Theme on a Flute, but that didn't make a lick of sense to me until after I watched it.

What the hell did I just watch? What the hell did I just make you watch? What just happened? I'm confused.

Truly,
Kigs

Looking for crash space for Thursday at FC

2012-01-09T00:50:12Z

Dear Internet,

It appears that Alicia and I might need crash space Thursday night. We can pay our share.

We were originally planning on going to the con Friday evening, but she was able to swap her day off work next week.

The good news is that this means we'll get to hang out more. The bad news is that we're now in the market for Thursday crash space.

Any takers? We're normal artsy folks who are clean and easy to get along with. We'll also be willing to toss in our share of the room for the night. I'd prefer to stay with people we know.

Let me know if you can help us out. If all else fails, we're cool with floor space.

Truly,
Kigs

Anyone in the Sacramento area looking for a roommate?

2011-12-09T23:33:46Z

Dear Internet,

My good friend is moving back to California in January. Is anyone in the greater Sacramento area looking for a roommate around February?

She's a good woman. Clean and well adjusted, albeit a bit shy.

Let me know and I'll put you two in contact.

Thanks. :)

Truly,
Kigs

Haphazard Fog

2011-12-08T19:49:35Z

Dear Internet,

I feel like I've been working all morning, but haven't finished anything. I hate that feeling.

I think it's a mixture between seeking freelance work, a mild hangover from last night's bad vodka, and a lack of creativity. Oiy. It's Thursday and I find myself wondering where my week went.

Truly,
Kigs

Unhappy Discoveries

2011-12-05T20:47:19Z

Dear Internet,

You apparently cannot apply for Financial Hardship for the California DMV or IRS unless you are currently employed. Seriously.

Truly,
Kigs

Don't get stuck outside in the winter

2011-11-21T21:08:32Z

Dear Internet,

Tonight is going to be a big night for the local gamers. We're going to speak with the local Grange Hall at 7pm to ensure that we can continue to use the Hall throughout the winter. Otherwise, there are going ot be about 50-60 people playing in the cold this winter.

In case of the worst,
Does anyone know any public halls, office spaces, or late night places in Sacramento with a back room? We may be in the market soon.

Truly,
Kigs

The Tudors

2011-11-19T10:27:38Z

Dear internet,

Does anyone know how to contact the INCREDIBLE writer who wrote "The Tudors" on HBO? I have a heartfelt message to deliver to them.

I will give you a free piece of art if you put me in contact with them.

~Kigs

PS:
If you might know someone who knows someone, let me know. Free art for the both of you.

Livejournal and Insomnia

2011-10-13T11:42:43Z

Dear Internet,

It appears that most folks have migrated to Facebook or Blogger.

Does anyone still read this ol' dealiebob?

Even if you do, I encourage you to read my FaceBook. :

http://www.facebook.com/jorgesidhu

Here's a brief update on my life:

Still no work. Freelancing as a Marketing expert and doing freelance art for rent. Clients are starting to run thin; I either need to make a form of income or get a full time job soon.

Rat-sitting for Alicia while she's at a conference for work.

Going through an existential crisis. I met with my cousin this week and realized that we both inherited a lot from my father's side of the family. It was kind of creepy to see someone grow up and have a similar viewpoint as me. It was almost eerie; like looking across a table and seeing an alternate reality.

Finally, I've recently become a Brony. What can I say; I love Lauren Faust's art style. I'm fairly ashamed of the fact that the first modern cartoon that I can appreciate for being well written and well drawn is MY LITTLE FUCKING PONY, but I guess the planets apparently just aligned.

For you doubters out there; imagine the girly My Little Ponies from your childhood being sarcastic, ironic, and having mental breakdowns. The writers stated that they wanted the storyline to involve each character having a major emotional moment in the series. Apparently, they ended up with each pony having an emotional breakdown and tapping into the greater internet subconscious. Funny how that works out.

Second finally,
So, Chaos gave me a microphone for Xmas last year. I need a good sound editing program, or a good sound editor, so I can record some stand up. Any takers or advice?

Truly,
Kigs

Birfday

2011-10-02T14:11:18Z

I am drunk as hell. It's 7 am and I just finished my Birthday, part deux.

Mission complete.

Truly,
Kigs

In the midst of the night

2011-08-15T09:44:53Z

Dear Internet,

It's been quite a while since I've posted.

I apologize to all those who have kept checking up in search of artwork, stories of adventures, or jokes to keep your day light. All in all, not much has happened. Works happened, then stopped rather suddenly. I'm still dating Alicia. The local vampire LARP swallowed me, then receded to an acceptable level.

The main reason that I've decided to return is to provide myself with a schedule and some inspiration.

Truth be told, I've missed posting my thoughts on an open forum and sharing all of your experiences, knick knacks, art, and whatever the hell you post on here. Good, bad, or ugly, I've missed having a place to share and be shared with. I've missed the sense of a community.

So, to start, I'll be posting progress on the job hunt and posting anything interesting that happens to me throughout the day. I hope you enjoy it. :)

For starters, this was Alicia and mine's Anniversary. Kind of. We're not entirely sure when we started dating. Truth be told, I think it was in July, but we had never celebrated it and decided to do so this weekend.

The weekend started off as planned. We dropped by GatCat and Lex's cabin in the middle of the woods, drank some wine, and had a good time. It was good to see Scotch and Genius again (Those are the two dogs). Scotch jumped up with such excitement that I wondered if he actually remembered me from our adventure in Oregon such a long time ago. As for Genius, she's gotten a bit into her old age and I couldn't really tell if she remembered me or not.

Good wine, good company, and good conversation were had. Extended conversation revealed that I had more in common with Gatcat than I care to admit too.

After that, Alicia and I drove up in search for a place to camp Saturday night. Which, we rather epically failed at. I must admit; It was my fault for not making reservations ahead of time. Every other time I've gone to California's Northern Coast, I just drive up Highway 1 and land in whatever campsite I'm nearest too around sunset. But, much to my misfortune, every single one was booked this weekend.

According to the nice old lady at the visitor center, the first two weekends of August are the BUSIEST time of the year. The weather is nice, the summer is nearly over, and it's the last chance for the local yuppies to take their kids camping before they get into school. So, Alicia ended up driving around for four hours while I called every damn campsite within 60 miles.

Nothing was found.

After driving around all day, we did find one place with some sites and decided to check it out. It was called ">Lawson's Landing", on Dillan's Beach. Remember that name; it will be important later. Never go there.

So, we drove and hour from Santa Rosa to snag ourselves the final camp site in Northern California. We traveled through winding hills, cow fart infested air, and glorious sun glazed vistas. At long last, we arrive in Dillan's Beach. The beach is clean and friendly. Dozens of families are engaging in volley ball, BBQ, and swimming. So far, so good.

A small wooden sign directs us to the campgrounds a mile up the road; it's rivets rusted and threatening to fall off the post at any moment. How quaint. After a half mile, we see some RVs, then some motor homes, then finally the camp site nestled within a series of Dunes about half a mile off the beach.

It's packed neighbor to neighbor. Tent to tent. The campgrounds themselves are about a mile of dirt and dry grass with literally hundreds of tents, RVs, and families packed one right next to the other over flat lands.

Neighbors and no privacy. Well... that isn't too bad. I'm used to camping in similar situations during SCA and the ladies at the front gate are quite friendly. Perhaps the view isn't too great, but it's only a half mile's hike to the beach. It's a bit white trashish and isn't actually what we were looking for, but hell it's a place to sleep for the night and the people are friendly.

So, we start looking for an empty space to set up camp. First, we do a lap to the end of the site before my first red flag goes up. It turns out that Lawson's Landing ends in another half mile of mobile homes; most of which don't look quite so mobile anymore. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't mind folks who live in motor homes. I've had quite a few friends who have lived in one and they tend to be fine people.

Except, this particular breed of mobile home owners makes me feel a bit nervous. There are clothes lines in the front yards, dozens of car parts, and another dozen loud, barking, noisy, obviously aggressive, dogs yapping up a storm. Finally, there was an undefined odor emanating from this corner of the campground which can be best described as a combination of feet, moldy jelly, and old milk. This makes me feel a bit nervous.

I believe Alicia made a joke about a gypsy caravans stealing children into the night.

Well, crap. No worries. We just won't camp by the B-side horror movie film set. There's plenty of space and we should be fine if we just set up camp on the opposite side of this stretch of land.

So, I go scouting. I get out of the car and run around the Dunes for a while until we find an empty, and fairly secluded, little valley between two hills of sand. Perfect for some privacy.

No sooner do I start entering the Dune than the neighboring sand-valley's inhabitants begin to give me a hard time about setting up camp there. They gave me a few reasons, ranging from bad winds to waiting for their friends. So, I decide to be neighborly and look for another spot.

VIOLA! We find an empty patch of grass nestled between a canvas pavilion and an RV. It isn't too big, but the pavilion's inhabitants look like they are laughing and friendly. So, I open the passenger door to go ask if the space is free.

No sooner do I leave the car than two large dogs come bounding out of the RV, growling and barking. Now, I tend to be pretty good with animals, so I starting coo'ing and trying to calm down the larger dog. At this point, the larger dog, which looks to be some kind of yellow Labrador mutt with a particularly short, wide snout, starts to get very, very aggressive.

It started by growling. So, I ask the folks in the Pavilion if it's their dog. Then, it actively begins to snap at me and close the distance between me and it. I stand my ground and go back to trying to talk it down calmly. So, it decides to leap at me and bite me in the leg. Or, try too. I'm pretty quick and manage to wedge my sneaker between me and its teeth.

I'm normally not very afraid of dogs, but this one struck a coord deep in my mind that told me that this was not a situation that I wanted to get too. It snapped at my leg, so I jumped onto the hood of the car and tried to shoo it away. First, with soft noises, then by getting ready to kick it in the head. It proceeded to snap at me again and start trying to get atop the car and attack me.

Thankfully, their owner started screaming something in a southern drawl from inside the RV and the dog whimpered and began to wander off. I took the opportunity to dive back into the passenger seat and GTFO. Swiftly.

I reported the unleashed, aggressive dog, and the ladies at the front were nice enough to file a report and give me my money back without a fuss.

Unfortunately, it was too late to find a place for the night. Alicia and I ended up driving the 2 1/2 hours back to Sacramento and spending the weekend at her apartment. Not the most romantic way to spend an anniversary.

All things considered, I still had a few great moments this weekend. During the madness, we managed to walk around a gorgeous beach by Goat rock, pick wild blackberries (which tried to eat me), give Alicia a makeshift bouquet of flowers from the side of the road, and spend some time with an good friend. We got some good pictures of a graveyard on Alicia's old Minolta camera and ate some delicious sushi.

Still, next year, I'm going to make sure that we do something a bit more organized. Being spontaneous may be more fun, but getting stuck driving all over Northern California, then being forced to drive all the way back home, put a bit of a dampener on the weekend.

Tomorrow, I have a Grange Hall meeting and should apply for more work in Sacramento. I hear that there may be a few Government jobs opening up next month; hopefully I can get on board doing some statistical analysis.

Tuesday, we have a storyteller meeting for TAG, a local Vampire: The Masquerade LARP that I'm a storyteller for (I'm a dork)... and I should continue looking for work.

I will likely spend tomorrow afternoon floating around League of Legends and scanning some of the quick sketches that I did this week.

Until next time,
Truly,
Yours,
The only,
~Kigs

PS:
If you'd like a quick sketch, I'm pumping them out for an easy $5. Let me know.

2011 West Coast Gangrel Gather

2011-05-06T07:38:21Z

For all of you dorks out there; we just finished booking the campsite for this year's event.

Everyone is welcome to come. :)

Truly,
Kigs

Why do you internet?

2011-05-03T11:55:25Z

Dear Internet,

We're all steeped in fantasy.

Games. Art. Characters.

Why do you do it? What drives you here? What void does it fill?

I want to know. Then I'll tell you my reason

Truly,
Kigs

Spreading the Word

2011-02-24T04:36:06Z

Dear Internet,

Sorry for ignoring you. But, I have some good news.

I'm Employed!

I am now the Marketing go-to guy for CSU Sacramento's Outdoor Program. I've been spending my days drawing artwork and making advertisements to get people to come rafting, rock climbing, camping, and ski'ing with us.

I'll have to post some of my stuff up here soon. I'm really proud of some of the fliers I've been making. :)

Truly,
Kigs

Ski Pics, as Promised

2011-02-04T08:00:50Z

Dear Internet,

Sorry that it took so long to get the images. It turned out to be quite difficult to get these onto the net.

Here's a few photos from my trip to Royal Gorge in Soda Springs, just south of Lake Tahoe. It marks my first attempt at skiing, as well as my first attempt at any real snow sport. The snow has never been my friend and it showed me its spite during this weekend. But, despite its best attempts to bump, scrape, and bruise me, I had a blast.

Before you take a look at them, I want to point out that my "spiffy snow outfit" is made of random crap I found in my closet. The newsie cap is there because it's my only warm hat, the pants aren't water proof, and I randomly discovered that I had a pair of snow goggles in my goggle collection the day of the trip. Lucky surprise.

Just before this was taken, I totally fell over while trying to get my boots clicked in. Having Skis on is like having really long, eternally slippery feet.

Here's Val, who was also trying to figure out how these things worked.

A squirrel running away into the snow with my last remnant of lunch. Bastard little things.

There's a couple so you can get an idea of the view.

Jael trying to figure out where the hell we are. We were looking for the easy Seseme Street route in Royal Gorge and somehow ended up lost and on a much more difficult trail than anticipated.

This picture is a total lie. It appears that I am laughing while gracefully gliding up a slope. In reality, I kept slipping down the hill due to all of the ice. This is about my fourth attempt to make it up this little hill. It was embarrassing at hell! Mary was nice enough to come down and show me how to walk up hills using those poles as braces for the skis.

In my defense, even Betty, who knows what she is doing, was falling over due to the ice occasionally. I guess that it hadn't snowed in Tahoe for three weeks prior to us going up there, so the entire resort was covered in a thin layer of slipper, awful, frozen ice.

All in all, I had a lot of fun despite making a complete ass of myself. It's always fun to try something new and I discovered that cross country skiing is an incredible work out. The funniest part was slipping around only to look behind you and see a six year old gliding effortlessly down a steep hill. I guess no matter how good you get at a few outdoor activities, there will always be something new to suck at. :-p

Truly,
Kigs

PS: My LJ subscription runs out in five days. Sad panda.

Employed

2011-01-25T09:46:43Z

Dear Internet,

Here is a random picture I found on the internet.

In other news...

I got the job. :D

As of Monday, I'm officially a Marketing person-thing (official title) at CSU Sacramento. The staff is awesome. they decided to start off my newfound workplace by taking me ski'ing at Royal Gorge in Soda springs, up by south Lake Tahoe.

Here's some random pictures of the resort taken from google images.

Once Paul gets me his photos from the trip, I'll post a few. I believe most of them involve me FAILING at ski'ing. It was my first time actually trying to do a snow sport and the entire resort was icy. I also discovered that Cross Country Ski'ing is EXHAUSTING. I'll post more tomorrow, but I have to get some rest for now. :)

Truly,
Kigs

FC 2011

2011-01-13T10:20:06Z

Yup. I'll be there.

Look for this ugly mug:

coffeeslayer and I will be table'ing in the Marketplace. She will be doing face paints, and I will be offering my normal flavors of badges, artwork, and we have brewed up some jewelry for this year. Be sure to drop by and say hello.

No Stand Up Comedy gig this year, unfortunately. It just didn't come together.

On the bright side, if I can get my printer to work, I may be able to (shhh it's a super secret) get some comedy CDs for sale. We shall see.

Truly,
Kigs

Interview and FC

2011-01-11T19:33:28Z

Dear Internet,

This week is a bit hectic for me.

Today, I have a big Marketing Interview. I'm utterly terrified; it's between me and someone who is a much better graphic artist than myself.

It comes down to whether they decide to go with a graphic artist with some business experience (other candidate) or a businessman with design experience (me). I already got through the first interview, so this is the final one. Just me and the designer.

Today, I'm getting my business license for FC and doing my interview. My brain feels scrambled and I find myself thinking about a dozen things at the same time. If I want this to work, then I have to do things one at a time until I find myself at the end of the day. So, here's my makeshift list of stuff that I need to do today:

1) Breakfast. What the hell should I have for breakfast?

2) Shower.

3) Kiss Alicia. Try to relax.

4) Interview.

5) Drop by the Board of Equalization. Get my Temporary Seller's Permit for FC.

6) Eat lunch.

7) Murder Mystery tonight.

Then, tomorrow, I start prepping for FC. I should be there Thursday night. Unfortunately, Devin and I will not be doing a Stand Up Gig this year. But, I will be booth-monkeying it up and having my own table for artses. Make sure to drop by and say hello.

Speaking of, would anyone like a Badge for FC? I have some time to kill Thursday. Your badge would be done and available by Friday morning when the FC tables open up. :)

I'll post my, "How to recognize a Kigs" and "Kigs Con Etiquette" thingy tomorrow.

Truly,
Kigs

Rain and Cats

2010-12-10T20:06:38Z

Dear Internet,

Today has been interesting, and it's only been an hour long in the land of Kigs.

Woke up around 11am to a knocking at my door. It was the AT&T Technician who had been scheduled to come out yesterday, but never showed up.

Which is fine, really. I wasn't doing anything better today and 11am is an entirely reasonable time to wake up. Even if you went to sleep at 6am.

chlorophyta is over. That's a load of fun. We've been adventuring and talking about life for the last day. It's been a nice escape. Very down-tempo, but very welcome. Sharing music. Conversation. Decent food.

Now, I'm going to figure out how to rearrange the furniture in the living while simultaneously cooking breakfast. Let's see how this goes.

Truly,
Kigs