hey everyone.. im just dropping a line to let everyone who i may see at horrorfind know whats up..

im leaving sunday to go to virginia to work a show for a few days.. and instead of driving 5 hours home for one day to have to drive 5 hours back to the convention.. im packing up double and just gonna find a place to stay the one day off before the con.. this means i will not have access to a computer to keep in last minute touch with anyone.. if anyone is going and would like my number just in case ( i dont care if you call or text or dont do either) just send me a message and i will hook you up with my info.. i will only have a computer until sunday morning so let me know..

also.. i just want to let those who will be attending know that i have small gifts for my hauntspace friends.. nothing special really.. just a little something to show how much this community means to me..
the kicker of it is though.. is i will only have 6.. so whoever i meet and see first are the lucky ones.. (i have no time to make more)

so thats that.. in other news...

im sure you all remember me ranting and raving about not having a spirit store here this year.. well about a week ago.. i received word that spirit is indeed coming back.. it makes me sooooo happy to hear that.. but yet it still angers me at how much effort i put forth to not have a single person cooperate to hear me out.  bah.. damn corporate sh*t..

last night i put 3 of my corpses and 3 of my zombies.. along with random body parts and heads in a "monster cabaret" at a local bar.. it was just a way for me to show off my work.. i received many compliments which is in turn a good prediction of how halloween might turn out this year.. im looking forward to it..

other than that.. i dont have much to report.. i was just on the road touring around to different venues in 3 different states working shows.. it leaves me NO time to get anything done.. ive been finishing off small things here and there but nothing that im super proud of.. and also i still am having problems with this stupid computer.. i still cant post pics of everything ive accomplished within the last month or so..

someday..

my official busiest time of the year has started.. every day from august until november i work up to 14 hour days.. no days off because i spend all my time at spirit that im not at another job.. i like to stay busy.. i hate laziness.. (i do have my days though) haha..

so yeah.. hope everyone is doing well.. im sure ive left something out..  my brain is somewhat zapped from weeks of lack of sleep and not enough hours in the day..

take care..and to those who it concerns.. see you at horrorfind! i guarantee ill be like a kid in a candy store..

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i am in no means at all computer friendly.. although i find things very useful.. i prefer the old fashioned way in finding information in books..

anyhow.. ive been doing a lot of work.. but for some reason i cant save my pictures the way i usually save them.. so i figured out another way to do it..however.. when i upload the pics here..they are so teeny tiny it is not even worthwhile to post them.. i also have the problem of my camera being too good i guess to be able to open them up and post them (all the pics i upload onto here i take with my phone)..

so back to the work.. ive put together another 7x24 backdrop.. its going to be made to look like a brick wall with old aged plaster spots..this one though i made into three seperate pieces i just velcro together... the reason for the three pieces.. i just got a new ez up tent and it came with 4 walls... 2 of which have "windows" in them.. i made the center piece of the drop fit around the windows.. this way.. if i use the drop for anything besides with the tent..i can put the outside pieces together to have a 16 foot drop.. i havent yet painted it..its going to take a while and i need to do it outside due to lack of space inside the house.. but ill tell you.. sewing it all together and sewing on the velcro..and taping off the sections that will be the plaster have been a heck of a time consuming job within itself.. i know it doesnt sound hard.. haha.. ill have pics.. i promise..

i also made a new body frame for another 6 foot body.. and made a frame for a groundbreaker corpse as well.. both that i made completely from scrap wood so it helped clean out the pile a bit..

ive just been painting and painting..planning..fixing.. detailing.. you all know the drill..

and coming from a meeting the other day with one of the people in charge of the new haunted house im doing.. i saw a guy throwing away an amazing old crappy nothing matches table.. i threw the car in reverse.. backed up.. and asked if i could have it.. he laughed and gladly handed it over.. although it will fit in nicely with all my other old crappy furniture..if anything happens.. its at least good for the hardware holding it all together.. (i love bolts)..

well.. im off.. im heading onto the road for a little while.. as of right now.. im doing 2 shows in scranton pa.. then heading to new york for a show.. than to new jersey..then back to scranton.. who knows..this time around its a sorta throw all your clothes in the car and figure it out as we go trip.. so i wont have much time to get things accomplished...

and when i come back. im home briefly and then heading to Horrorfind in maryland.. and i cant wait

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well.. i guess.. the bad news first.. get ready folks.. this is a long one..

i dont think we will be getting a spirit halloween store back in our area this year.. which downright makes me very angry.. i have worked there the past and only 3 years we have ever had one.. the building we usually have the store in is all boarded up.. it really is a crappy building (which i always loved because it fit us nicely)..

i have made numerous attempts to contact the real estate department for spirit.. i have the home office phone numbers.. either noone ever answers..noone returns calls after leaving messages..and the one time i actually spoke with someone.. she promised to call me back and never did.. it disgusts me in their lack of professionalism.. i have scoured the area.. finding and speaking with real estate agents..finding square footage..addresses and phone numbers for locations that would be ideal for a spirit.. and noone wants to help me. i am at my wits end.. i dont know what else i can do.. any suggestions on anything i am missing?

i think what makes me so upset about all of it.. is not only because i love the discounts..the freebies..and extra cash.. but because we have absolutely nothing in our area besides walmart and target that appeal to halloween enthusiasts.. ive been told that noone wants to come to our location..that its too far out of the way.. but for christs sake..we are a half hour away from the next to nearest location..
the district manager we had for the past 2 years..he does not want to do it because of unprofessional love drama bullcrap he was involved in with one of store employees.. its pathetic to me..
i just dont see how we can NOT have one here.. every day in the month of october..we were between 4 and 10 THOUSAND dollars over goal per day.. we make that company so much freakin money.. i just dont get it..

i have considered trying to go to the next nearest location to work.. to let them know i will work from open to close on my days off from the book store..and open to close on weekends.. it is no problem for me to work a 12 plus hour day.. i have been offered manager position there previously but have had to decline because i just hate to make a commitment that i cant stay 100 percent commited to.. i dont want to sound egotistical but i am a great employee to that company.. i am obsessive with organization and neatness and i can NOT stand laziness.. no to mention that i pretty much know how everything works in order to open and run the store..

i just dont know.. it seriously upsets me..

but for the good news.. i spoke with a place that does a haunted house every year in my town..they have been around about 17 years and make quite a bit of money..i told them that im trying to move on to something bigger because where i currently put my work.. they just dont seem to serious about haunting.. they dont put forth much effort.. my stuff made the whole place (not to sound egotistical again.. but its kinda true)..

it took a little while of talking to him.. at first he said he didnt think they could use my services.. i would not settle for that.. do NOT tell me no.. i explained to him everything i do and have done.. said i would provide a portfolio of my work.. told him about my online haunting community.. he kept saying over and over.. "surely a person who does what you do would want some sort of payment" even though from the very beginning i said i wasnt doing it for money.. i was doing it to get my work out there in other places for people to see.. i finally convinced him of that.. and voila! the conversation actually went from not needing my services to letting me know that he and his wife are in charge of the haunt.. are retired..and would consider having someone else take charge of the haunt and get paid a portion of what is made at the door..

sweet!
 
im gonna keep my eyes open this year.. see what its like.. its a whole brand new place to me.. and go from there.. im not even remotely thinking this is whats gonna happen.. i never get my hopes up.. but it could be a possibility.. and one that i just might like to tackle.. the only thing though.. he did say something about parents of children complaining about gore..that they try to keep gore to a minimum.. so if its up to me.. thats gonna change real fast.. the more blood and guts the better in my book..

so we will see.. im gonna have a whole lot of time on my hands if spirit doesnt happen here.. i hate to even say that..

and ps.. i got 14 new nick cave albums this weekend.. and i am estatic..

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i unfortunately havent been doing a whole lot of work on my props.. as i seem to have so many obstacles in the way.. first is a hectic work schedule.. which im sure many people are very familiar with so i need no explaining there.. second.. im just at this certain stopping point.. the 2 major props i have left to finish at this point.. i need to paint outside.. it has been very rainy here lately or my schedule just hasnt permitted.. and i would paint in the basement.. however i have so many things that i have made or stashed..all over the place..so there isnt really a whole lot of room left.. its really one big vicious circle because i have a shed waiting to be built..but i have to build a platform before it can go up..which brings me right back to the whole problem to begin with.. BAD WEATHER.. uuggghhh..

i really thought getting all my work done over the winter would be a good thing so i could relax when the summer months came around.. but i was wrong.. it has left me pacing looking for something to do.. haha.. i just keep trying to take care of all the detail work.. although i tend to organize and clean up when i have nothing really to do.. (OCD) haha.. tonight i got the great task of ripping out 21 feet of seam that i had sewn in.. 3 drops were all sewn together but i now need them in 3 seperate pieces due to a change of plans..

over the course of the next 2 weeks.. i will be setting up and then tearing down stages and booths and such for our local annual arts festival.. its part of the stagehand work and one of the reasons why i love that job so much is that.. certain gigs i come home with a lot of free stuff.. haha.. not only do i take things people will just throw away.. i get free lunch..a nice paycheck.. and above all.. inspiration and ideas.. im excited..

ill keep everyone posted on whatevers happening..as always.. haha.. and i try not to take my unproductiveness to heart.. it will all come into place im sure..

oh.. and i found this fabulous book while working at the store the other day..its called Scared! How to Draw Fantastic Horror Comic Characters.. by stever miller and bryan baough.. ISBN# 0823016641.. i had to have it.. the characters are great..and it gives you a basic sketch..which i thought is great because it is a good guide to posture and body position while making bodies.. be it chicken wire or whatever technique.. check it out.. you can find the book at bn.com.. just throw in the ISBN#.. it will pop right up..

ok im off.. again.. another long one.. haha..  i feel like i should thank you all for your time..

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i will be attending HF in august in maryland..  im just checking a little early to see if anyone else on hauntspace had decided to go.. ??

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just got back into town from working on the road.. ill have some pics to post in a blog soon as soon as i get some time.. (my best friend had emergency back surgery today so ive spent most of my time with her in the hospital)

just bought myself an outdoor shed.. it was very much needed because my halloween props are just stacking on up in the basement.. im very organized and need space so its been driving me crazy.. im just not looking forward to building a platform and putting the crappy thing together..

and last but not least.. i just purchased my august HORRORFIND tickets.. im soo excited.. ill be working for bruce springsteen on my birthday (july 31).. so horrorfind is going to be my birthday celebration..i couldnt think of any better way to spend it..

hopefully if things go well.. ill be getting some more prop work done this weekend.. ive been fighting a cold.. working at the book store.. and hangin out in the hospital so it hasnt left me any time at all to take care of things.. im around though.. ill talk to you all soon...

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well.. im off again.. this time headed to outside NYC to giants stadium to work another show.. ill be there for about a week which means i wont be on HS for about a week.. i may be able to hop on once or twice but im going to be working such long hours im not going to have much time to do anything..

so far.. my theory i had in early winter is working..  to get a good start on projects so that when the summer came around.. i wasnt stressing about getting things done.. i have a few somewhat large projects left to finish.. but for the past 2 weeks or so.. for the most part ive taken care of all the little detail work that needed done.. thats one reason i havent really had any pics to post..

the good thing about going is that ill have lots of pics to look at in the gallery when i get back.. it will keep me occupied while im in my sleep deprived vegetative state that im always in when i try to make the transition back into homelife.. you become so involved with working up to 18 hour days and then a 30 straight hour shift to end it all.. your body just begins to think that it really doesnt need sleep to exist.. thats where i get some of my ideas from.. hehe.. (i have a great forklift murder scene brewing in my head)

anyways.. looking forward to coming back already.. cant wait to see all the progress of work.. and to be able to keep working on all the evil things in my basement..

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year after year i find myself saying about really hitting up the yard sales that are around the area.. and i never really get to it besides a random one here and there.. well.. this weekend.. i spent more time out scouring than i have in my whole lifetime.. and luck has been on my side..

i did behave.. there are many things i said no to although i had a picture plain as day in my head of what i would do with it.. unfortunately i have to be very cautious with what i drag home..because although i have a huge van to haul it.. i dont always necessarily have a place to put it.. i know im not alone there.. haha..

it all worked out though.. i didnt spend much money.. i found some small odds and ends to use as props.. and some old crappy flannel shirts ..blah blah blah.. but somehow i managed to hit the jackpot.. and all for free..

check out the gallery if you havent already seen the pics.. this weekend really helped get me up one more step for halloween 2008

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well.. its been a little over a month of working on my kiddos.. it would have been sooner had that silly thing called work not have gotten in the way.. haha.. anyways.. they are finially complete.. except for some hair on them but that can wait until later when i can get some cheap wigs to cut up or find any other kind of hair.. im pretty happy with them i guess.. it was all around a learning experience since it was my first time working with chicken wire and pvc.. and that dreaded spray foam.. haha.. i have many hours into these kids so i hope they do the trick when it comes time to put them to use.. there is one problem though.. as of right now their names are Blue, Red, and Purple..  Red is a boy and the other 2 are girls.. im looking for names to give them so they feel a little more at home.. any suggestions?
if you havent seen the pics.. check out the gallery.. im truly excited now that we are one big happy family..

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