I can has employment?

I can!

So, as of last week I have been employed. I started at Hats Plus on Irving Park on Friday. I really enjoy working there because, lets face it, hats are pretty cool. I spent my first day in the stock room sorting hats and whatnot. Hats, as it turns out, require more sorting than they do actual upkeep while they remain in the store. I was then introduced to the job that has occupied me there ever since. I've been writing copy for the store's website. The description on this page, http://www.hats-plus.com/detail.aspx?ID=106&Name=Stetson-Andover-Straw-Hat , is my work. It lost a lot of its soul in the editing process because my boss has very specific ideas about how he wants them marketed. That notwithstanding it is there and I did it.

Starting on Tuesday the tough part began. I have been splitting my days so that in the morning I go to work with American Chamber of Commerce Resources and then I ride for an hour on the blue line and a bus to get to hat's plus for a few hours work there. American Chamber of Commerce resources is an independent publisher which does in house business to business telemarketing. My job is to call businesses and sell them these human resource guides which outline labor law. They're really good resources and they are backed b chambers of commerce so it's all pretty easy to get behind. I still feel a little soulless for deciding in the end that it's the way to go. Basically tomorrow I'm going to have to go to Martin at Hats Plus and give him the "it's not you, it's me" speech about how I have to go here because it's where the money is and that I really enjoy working at Hats plus. maybe I'll stay on at hat's plus for a day here or there but I don't imagine it will be a big part of my life in the future. I've already learned a bunch about hats. I'm sad to have to let it go.

I know I haven't updated much of late and usually Summer is my most consistent time. hopefully I'll get back into the swing. I'm also continuing to add features to the page so that you will have something to check out more often than not. There's a section now on the bottom left where you can check out some of the blogs I (try to) read regularly. along with the twitter feed out should be well rewarded for each visit (I'm using Pavlov's theories here). I'm also working on a way to put the gems of the internet in a separate column. We'll see how that goes/ if it helps at all. I was impressed in the early days of my blogging by Adam Scott of the Monkey Chow Diaries (http://www.angryman.ca/)in that he had different sections of his site for the different features he did. I'd like to have something like that here. not tht you are likely to care all that much.

On that note, here is today's Gem of the Internet. The last gem contained a video of a fellow named Jonathan Coulton doing a rendition of Baby got back This got me on a kick of checking out his music. I have since walked to work all week singing my favourite song of his and spent inordinate amounts of time on YouTube finding new songs to which I can listen. Long story short I highly advise you check out his stuff. The amazing thing here is that for once I seem to have stumbled on a true gem of the internet. Just as I happened upon the Monkey Chow Diaries while Adam was still making them I seem to have found a real, honest to goodness, sensation on the rise.

Jonathan Coulton has released his music under the creative commons act and allows amateur film makers to make MVs for his stuff for free. He also seems to be nothing if not a creature of the internet and a product of the information generation. I na a world in which Google has made the amount of information which once comprised entire degrees our 18-35 year olds are fascinated by nothing so much as Zombies, Ninjas, Pirates, robots and the synthesis or competition of the four. The internet has allowed us to make these things into phenomena and Coulton's lyrics reflect this childishness cum adulthood which we seem to enjoy to the accompaniment of some of the best guitar compositions I've heard for a while. Anyway, here is his homepage, http://www.jonathancoulton.com/ . Now, of course it wouldn't be one of my gems without something to watch so here are some of my favourites.

Codemonkey, the story of an average, everyday working simian in love.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4TnhemCEmc

I'm Your Moon, guaranteed to be the finest planetary love song you've ever heard. This one made me think, when they demoted Pluto it's a good job we didn't tell the Plutonians. They'd sure be confused because I'm sure that from where they're standing we look pretty small too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOExYm6xPYo

I Crush Everything, About a self loathing giant squid. He just loves too tightly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RFEzpUsUBk