Music Monday: Lightning and Turbulence

So as I said last night, I've arrived safe and sound in Singapore. Despite my current safety, it was one bumpy ride to get here.

Making the trip over the Pacific is always interesting, at least in my experience. Flying up the BC and Alaska coastlines we hit a lot of turbulence. Like, plane sometimes dropping in those nifty air streams. It felt like a roller coaster, which I very much enjoy so it wasn't really terrible. However, we had screamers. Every time the plane so much as vibrated there were gasps. The same turbulence hit us while flying parallel to Japan. It was a long 11 hours.

Shanghai to Singapore was much more calm, although we had to make a very slight change in course when we flew beside a raging lightning storm. Now, I love lightning and thunder. So, obviously, I was glued to the window. I also switched my iPod from the "Downtempo" playlist (12am-5am flight, I was wanting to sleep) to a song called Turbulent Rock Anthem by 3LAU and Kap Slap. I had it on repeat. I listened to it four or five times. It makes for a rad storm soundtrack, hahah.

Oh, and the song is a mash-up. If you don't like those, don't click the link. Or, click it anyway and see if I can change your mind.

photo by snowpeak

Arrival

So I've been in Singapore since 5am, though it feels like a lot longer because of all the stuff I've done today. I'll do a proper update later, I'm in dire need of uninterrupted sleep. Just wanted to check in and say, "Hey! I'm here!" and whatnot.

Pictures will also follow, though I opted to not get a data plan for my HTC so the uploads won't be instant. Sad face. I'm sure we'll all manage.

In other news: I just ate dinner a few hours ago, and I'm already hungry again. Curses.

a Pre-Departure Checklist

...otherwise known as the things I've done and am doing before I leave.

Done

• drive to Kelowna with the cousin
• drive to Mission with the friends
• have a pig roast
• win at "beersby" multiple times
• play fetch with a random dog
• have a massive bonfire
• chug back tonnes of lukewarm Timmys
• have a games night that includes Rockband, karaoke, and dancing
• eat waffles at the Jammery
• go out for pitchers and wings
• watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, part one
• eat a Boers breakfast at the Jammery
• drive to and from Sicamous
• buy UBC shirts to bring to Singapore

Doing

• watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, part two
• eat more waffles at the Jammery
• go out for pitchers and wings, again
• drive back to Victoria
• watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, part two, again
• eat hot pot bibimbop at Korean Garden
• go table hunting

Oh, and pack. Packing might help, too.

the Tattoos

So these are long, long overdue. I've had my most recent tattoo finished since December 2010. Better late than never, eh?

Here they are, then. The smaller one is a stylized Eye of Horus, and is the second tattoo I had done. The first, a stylized Eye of Thoth, is underneath the firebird's wing. That's actually the "tail" of the Eye curling out above the bottom-most feather.
The firebird is my latest and probably last tattoo. It took two sittings to complete, one in September '10 that lasted three hours for all the linework, and another in December '10 that lasted just under two hours for all the fills.

Suffice to say that, after around six and a half hours of total time spent under the gun, I'm in no hurry to go back for more.
I'm still not entirely accustomed to having the large firebird arcing across my body, and I often forget that I even have tattoos. I intentionally placed them somewhere I could hide them easily, so I guess the forgetfulness is a given.

Well, that's enough rambling from me. Ask any questions you might have in the comments below!

on Name Changes

An online era has come to a quiet close. It's probably a little too dramatic to say that, but it has a ring of truth.

Last night I switched over my Protagonize author account from JackRubashevskiy to Jackerbie. I'd been on the site three years with the former name, and had build up a reputation with that name. Laying it aside was difficult. So difficult, in fact, that I chose to keep it as my listed name.

Why the change, then? The main (and only?) reason was to solidify my online presence more. Almost every social account I currently use has the Jackerbie moniker attached in some way, in both the username and vanity URL. The change makes sense with that reasoning.

That, and people had a hard time remembering how to spell Rubashevskiy. Heck, I have a hard time remembering how to spell Rubashevskiy sometimes.

There shouldn't be any sort of outcry against the change, but you never know. No-one has said anything yet. That's a good thing. I said it was a quiet close to the era of JackRubberchicken. Shhhhh.