Switching over to the account name 'Stickwort'!

Be sure to update your shiz, people.

Brandon has been having hiccups something fierce for the last few days; to the point where holding his breath while drinking a glass of water, upside down, while being scared shitless was unable to relieve his ailment. Of course, being the witchy sort that I am, I had a tincture handy for just such a case of muscle spasms.

I gave him a cup of water with 4ml of my 'Passion of Somnus' tincture. The hiccups got fucking owned, right off the bat. Unfortunately, his voice has yet to return. Nick has taken to making fun of him, now that he can't respond.

Being a witch is so much fun!

Well, store update:

We fucking rock. In the last two days we've pulled in 2200 or so dollars...in cash. We've already secured the next two month's rent and we're moving on to phase 2. PHase 2 is where we start manufacturing our own goods and offering expanded services. We'll be making candles, Hand made books of shadows, oil blends, wands, and incenses. (the latter two will be my responsibility.) Among our increased services will be free in store tarot quick-reads, new classes, and paranormal consultations and investigations. We'll also be taking part in community events on a larger scale.

A girl named Wren popped into the store yesterday and gave us a bit of news that made me giggle. Apparently, places in New Hope, like Gypsy's Cauldron, are fucking terrified. They think we're going to run them out of business. From what I've heard, they're not doing so hot and we're the cause.

The new ad campaign is going to be focusing on the new staff and personality of the shop. I'll be playing up the young, attractive, personable angle of the shop and it's employees; Aesthetics is key. Instead of a pair of creepy old bitties, the shop is run by some rather handsome young men who actually know what the world is like and are willing to help. That's our angle. We're the new guard. We'll also be instituting a 5% discount for anyone with a valid college ID. A student discount for students of the most poor variety.

Things are going great. The only thing fucking it up are these dreams I've been having for the last couple of weeks. You know the kind: It's a dream that takes the biggest mistake you ever made and throws it back in your face. The kind of dream that, no matter how well things are going, makes you feel like a total fuck up. I mean, it's bad enough that I was thinking about it when I was awake...now it's waking me up at night, and man, nothing will harsh your buzz like regret.

Anyway, we'll be having a graduation party for Ryan's girlfriend, Kristen, the Friday before New Years. All are invited. Much fun will be had.

[movie anouncer voice]

Three weeks ago...
In a run down apartment building...
A police officer answered...

...a call...

What he saw that night was so shocking...
So terrifying...
No one believed his story...

...It's been three weeks since that night...

...and now...

...They're BACK.

Lock all the doors. Bolt all the windows. Pray for dawn.

This Saturday is... THE AROCKALYPSE.

[/Movie Announcer Voice]


Party begins at Approximately 7:30, although guests should arrive earlier. This party's theme is: Slasher movies. Nothing more fun than a bunch of well-to-do suburban teenagers getting gutted like fish out behind the garage. This time? We're the teenagers. OMG.

Don't have sex.
Don't drink.
Don't do drugs.
Never say I'll be right back.
Never run upstairs.
Never make fun of the killer.
Never ask 'Who is it?'
Don't answer the phone.
Don't assume the fall killed him.
Don't go out at night.
Never say 'It'll be fine. C'mon!'
Never Answer the Phone.
If you run out of beer, don't ever go for more.
Never hitch a ride to a party.
Don't...forget the rest of the rules, like I just did.

Of course, it's recommended that for optimum awesome, as many rules are broken as possible.

Well, that was a crazy whirlygig of fun if I've ever seen one. I wholeheartedly thank everyone who attentended the Hoojie Halloween Jimborie for showing up to make it as awesome as it was.

There's still an absurd amount of booze left over, so you can expect to hear word from me soon about upcoming events. We'll probably be taking at least one weekend off to make sure the apartment is sturdy enough to survive another bash, so keep your eye's peeled for upcoming announcements likewhoa.

'What will your obituary say?' at QuizGalaxy.com

So, the party scheduled for this saturday is moving forward as planned, however, it is no longer a 'full costume party.' I now have dubbed it the 'Half-asstume party.' Financial constraints have forced just about everyone attending to improvise wholeheartedly and halfassedly with their costumes. So, as long as you can justify it being a costume in some way, it is. Huzzah! Also, the party no longer begins at 7. It begins at 8 because I have work until 7:30 and a couple of folks will be arriving a little late, anyway.

Huzzah!

We just got the loan we need to rebuild the Dove in our ideal. I spent most of today rearranging the shelves. I put up the Samhain display (of which I'm mighty proud) and marked down the clearance stuff to MOVE. We've reordered the books we need. Mostly magical almanacs, the witch's datebook, and a handful of Lewellyn texts on magic and the like.

We'll be working on the transition back to magic shop in the next few weeks, phasing out the christian, judaica, feng shui, and most of the buddhist stuff. As cool as buddhism is, the market just isn't there.

I've also gotten the go-ahead to start my guirilla ad campaign, peppering the area with flyers. I'll be pounding the sidewalk pretty hard this week, but the extra business from the sale before Halloween should cover restocking the tumbled stones and for picking up the POS system we'll need to handle the money and orders.

We've been having a lot of good days recently. Like, 500 dollar days, which is well above par. Once we actually restock the shelves, we should see some major profit, which will allow us to move on to phase two: Remodeling.

Interesting turn of events the last few odd days. The long and short of it is, I'm buying Aphrodite's Dove.

Not alone, of course. Brandon, Ryan, and I will be partners in owning the business. After getting a small business loan, we'll be essentially ousting the current management to turn the Dove into less of a flop and more of an actual business.

The clientel is there, but due to poor management decisions in the past, most of the profit is squandered on...frivelous purchases. Most notably, the current management can't seperate store and personal finance...so we're going to do it for her. The best part is, that it essentially *can't* fail. The business is already there and we're already making profit. All we need to do is kick heather out and we're gold.

So, by 22 I'll be able to say I own my own business. None too shabby.

In other news, I'm feeling much better. Probably carrying some kind of emotional baggage, but it won't help to worry about it. I'll tell you, though, the last few days...boy did they suck. Got physically ill...which doesn't happen often. In any event, it's done with so far as I can tell.

Buying a business can do a lot to boost one's spirits, though.

It's herculean to express the intricasies, or even the vaguearies of how I feel at the moment. Even as my fingers dance across the keyboard, I lose the means to express the constitution of my character in any articulated fashion, the words coming out of my mouth as forced half-laughs and beleagured smirks, rather than from my fingers as analytical phrasings.

My aspirations have turned up barren, and my delicately laid dreams for the future have all but fallen apart. In a way, it's relieving, like that moment when the winds die at the end of a storm, before the realization of damages and death has dawned across the cheerful faces of muddled survivors.

I'm contemplating taking the rest of the semester off, if that's even possible. My mental state is by no means conducive to completion of the myriad of challenges that are bound to be heaped upon me as though no other responsibility matters, save these. My agnosticism in this is extensive, and I expect no reprieve, even if the scope of the goal that I've failed to attain were to be explained to them in it's utmost. Even if I were able, I doubt I would explain it to them. My malaise isn't exactly something you'd blather about to complete strangers.

Hm...as my word-vomit grows more verbose, the hour grows quickly stale. I've got to go prepare myself for the rigors of 'higher learning.'

Despite my rather affable position in life at the moment, there is a very small group of things that seems quite effective in the area of bringing me down. Indubitably, I, being the glutton for the regalement of vexation that I am, return to the trough with a glint in my eye each and every time. In all fairness, it is to be expected, and at this point would strike an observer as unavoidable, even unchangable. In normal circumstance, the effects of such a melodrama would be circumvented by ambition, but desire leaves me lacking of late, it's focus lost to me, and I seem to lose heart. I begin to understand the antecedent of this fatigue, but it pains me to admit such an actuality to myself.

My diatribe has gone on long enough. Word-vomit always has helped to cheer me up.