It’s a rainy Sunday morning and while it seems more than a few folks are getting snow today, I’ve no such luck. But it’s still a good day for staying indoors and chatting next to a fire (even if it’s on the TV) with a beverage of choice – water for me today, thanks.
Last Sunday was Pearl Harbor Day, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t take an opportunity to remember my friend Mr Tom Poole. Mr Tom was a Pearl Harbor survivor (Raleigh), helped liberate Casablanca (Massachusetts), and survived the sinking of Meredith during D-Day’s “Operation Neptune”.
In the times in which we find ourselves I find myself often asking “what would Mr Tom do?” and the one thing I know he’d do is that he’d try to do the next right thing.
I try to do that, too.
Krystal and I have been watching the It prequel Welcome to Derry and while the season finale is tonight, I’m still reeling from last week’s episode. It was horror in the best possible way, meaning that I hated every minute while also needing to know how the story was going to go. I mean, we already know how things are going to go (it is a prequel, after all) and that too contributes to the psychological horror of it all.
You might remember from last week that Krystal and I did some shopping. One of the things that I picked up was a used copy of Gangs of New York. Well, I went to watch it this week and discovered the second disc with the second half of the movie is unplayable to the point it freezes my player, requiring me to unplug it just to eject the disc. And the thing there’s no visible damage to the disc; it looks like it should play just fine.
Now these discs are admittedly so old there is a helpline printed right on the DVD in case someone has trouble playing it, and just for fun I decided to see if it was still operational. The website now redirects to a list of Disney’s animated films and I didn’t have the courage to call the phone number.
In the grand scheme of things it was $5 and I can buy a new copy for $11 but now I’m halfway through the film with Happy Jack dead on the lamppost and it just feels wrong not being able to finish the film . . .
Sigh.
Work went well. On Monday I helped someone in a different department, and in gratitude they brought me a brownie for National Brownie Day!
The workweek was improved even more by the fact that we had a wintry mix weather delay on Tuesday (we got freezing rain) and our winter office party was held offsite on Friday. There was good food and the annual “Dirty Santa” gift exchange.
I contributed a cast iron wax melt warmer that, when I found it, I liked so much that I bought one for myself.
I wrapped it inside an old ginger ale box along with some tea lights and a small box of matches (because leaving them out would be like giving a battery-operated gift without batteries) and used Nightmare Before Christmas-themed wrapping paper, which turned out to be a draw for folks opening it, but it turned out not to be a gift folks wanted to fight over. Ah well.
I ended up with a bottle of Korbel Brut Champagne, and since I’m ambivalent when it comes to champagne, I decided to reuse it at another Christmas party that night.
That party was held at the aerial studio Krystal goes to (and sometimes stage manages for) and it was really quite nice and lovely. For one of the first times in a long time – maybe ever – at a party I didn’t feel awkward or out of place. I knew people! They were happy to see me!! The host fought for one of the Dirty Santa gifts I brought (and won it)!!!
Earlier that day, Krystal asked me to put together a Dirty Santa gift for her to take, and not really knowing what to get beyond “look for something Twilight” I went to Five Below and bought:
- a 2026 horror movie calendar
- two mini puzzles (Renaissance cat and Starry Night llama)
- a bind box with an “Angel or Demon” face inside
- a Twilight mug and coaster set with Edward Cullen on it
The host flat out asked “was this meant specifically for me?” and I revealed I’d just tried to put something together that I though folks would like based on what Krystal had told me. Even the next day, she reached out and said
When you said Krystal gave you a list of a bunch of things that people like at the studio, I realized that most of us all just have very similar interests 😂 I’m still amazed! and I’m going to use my Edward Cullen mug every chance I get ❤️
The way the game was run was really interesting too, and I loved it! When you dropped of your gift you put your name in a box, and when your name was drawn it was your turn BUT (after the first two people) you ALSO drew a card that indicated if your were NAUGHTY or NICE. If you were naughty, you had to steal a present from someone else. If you were nice, you had to pick a new present from under the tree. I thought this was a really cool variation on the game!
I ended up with some kitchen items: a gingerbread man-shaped tray, a gingerbread man-shaped dish scrubber, and a gingerbread man-themed kitchen towel. When I went for them, the host said
Of course Jay’s gonna go for the kitchen decor!
And that made me smile to be known that way by my friends.
Krystal won a Gandalf “Fuggler” doll.
There was also a tattoo artist doing aerial-themed flash as well as having a few pieces for sale. I was tempted to get a ghost holding a pumpkin, but decided against it since . . .
SATURDAY WAS TATTOO DAY!
You might remember that for the past few weeks/months I’ve been talking about getting a tattoo for my birthday. One of my Laramie Project castmates had recommended a talented artist a few hours away, and when the December books opened for appointments I jumped on the chance to book with Ghost, whose impressive portfolio gave me confidence I’d found the right person for an idea I’ve had for over six years.
Now Saturday was also the first night of Candlelight, but since last year I said I was taking 2025 off from volunteering for Palace events I had the night free – and I made sure I had the night free by booking the appointment on a Candlelight day, lol. I’ll admit it felt a little odd not to be involved, but Krystal didn’t get home until almost midnight and said there’d been a lot of complications that haven’t happened in the years I’ve been volunteering and the last tour didn’t start until 10:30 or so. For reference, the lastest tour I’ve had in the last seven or eight years started at 9:30, so I must say I am glad I wasn’t there last night.
I asked two good friends of mine, Kai and Amanda, if they’d ride with me, and they graciously said yes (as well as assuring me multiple times that I wasn’t wasting their time or their day).
We planned our travel time well, stopping for breakfast at Hardees along the way and pulling into the Red Diamond parking lot at 11:53 for my 12:00 appointment.
I was dressed for the occasion: hair pulled back in an MCR scrunchie and wearing a House of Wolves t-shirt (both from Hot Topic) and wearing my custom MCR-inspired perfume from Mad Labs Studios.
Ghost and I introduced ourselves and I filled out paperwork while Ghost set up the tattoo space.
Shoot me like one of your French girls
I said to Kai as I settled in for two hours of tattooing (three including setup and other details) and talking to Ghost about the meanings behind my tattoo choices and our respective music tastes and what brought us to where we are today. Ghost also said I have really good skin for tattoos!
The time passed quickly and I must say Ghost exceeded every expectation. It wan’t just good service, it was exceptional, and even now as I’m healing from yesterday I’m already thinking about some new projects – and I’d go back to Ghost in a heartbeat.
And that’s how today, after about six years of planning and looking for the right person at the right time to bring this idea to life, I now have (on my left arm) the Death of Rats from the Discworld novels in the style of Pepe, the skeletal bandleader logo from My Chemical Romance’s album The Black Parade. Discworld and MCR are two massive influences in my life, Ghost perfectly combined the two together in an amazing execution.
Here’s in inspiration photos I sent:
And here’s how it went:
I have no words for just how happy and delighted this makes me.
In the books, the Death of Rats is also called the Grim Squeaker – so I’m calling this tattoo “M SQUEAK R”
ba dum tish
I also got a tattoo on my right leg! I kept this one somewhat secret because I wanted to surprise the friends I play D&D with. It’s no surprise that I like cats, and some months ago a photo was shared in the group chat of medieval marginalia in a German text of a cat churning butter. I saw it asked asked “leg tattoo when?” – before realizing that I, in fact, needed him on me.
Trying to describe this to the folks I told often resulted in quizzical looks, but when they saw the photo they understood. Ghost was beyond pleased to be able to do this, saying it was the first such piece she’d been able to work on, and we talked about how the legacy of this unnamed scribe continues to live on.
I have named the cat him Klaus, and he brings me joy.
When I was done we went next door to Dairy Queen (the shared wall being responsible for the thermostat in the shop pushing 79F) where I treated my friends to whatever treat they wanted. I had the Holiday Nog shake, it was really good!
We drove home (listening to pop punk/emo music on the way) and pulled back in my driveway almost nine hours exactly after leaving that morning. The adventure was well worth everything involved, and I couldn’t have asked for better friends to keep me company or a better artist than Ghost to bring my ideas to ink.
Happy Early Birthday to Me!
Later last night I made supper for Krystal thinking she’d be home around 10:00 (kielbasa and potatoes) and when that didn’t happen I went back out and got her a milkshake, too. I forgot to say that before leaving for my tattoos, I made a batch of cookies for Krystal to snack on throughout the day.
When she made it home she ate, we opened a package from my mom, and then we both crashed. I slept until about 9:30 AM, which you’ll recognize is incredibly late for me. But I needed it.
I’ve spent this morning doing some light cleaning in the kitchen and typing this post. Later today there is another winter party, but that one is “drop in and chat – come and leave when you want” so we’ll be doing that this afternoon.
What about you? How have you been doing? What are you up to?
Running In My Head 
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