C Note(s)

Finally. I'm nearing the completion of the second edition of Napkin Night: The Crunk Chronicles. I started the minute I purchased the first edition copy from Lulu . Especially since I discovered several items that I immediately wanted to fix. First and foremost, the book size format I choose was unfavorable for mass distribution with retailers like Amazon , Barnes & Noble , iTunes , and those are just to name a few. Second, based on reformatting the book size, I wanted to re-edit as artists and writers are haunted by always wanting to perfect their projects basically ... always. I felt there was some continuity issues, changing of point-of-view story telling, and choppy transitions as it was written in my mind as a script to a graphic novel / comic book / movie script. And lastly, it was my first publishing attempt therefore my first "pancake". Again, stay tuned for my big announcement soonish! 'los; out.

Woodinville, WA - I'm just north of two months in the warehouse. I've learned so much about building life. Mostly by experience, observation, and being open to learn and be critiqued. For example, acronyms and short sentences are the preferred way of communicating what you need and quickly. RTV is the acronym for Return To Vendor, which the item will be shipped back to the vendor. Or short phrases such as go-backs and box down are self evident tasks. Others are a bit obscure such as "I need a 99" or "a keyflick, please" as they are store specific. I've been warned that the culture tends to reflect high school, but what the warning doesn't incorporate that I was successful in high school. Or at least from my perspective. I was one of the few that could seamlessly slip from one social circle to another without incident or roadblocks of social convention. I decided that I'm not afraid of hard work so no task is beneath me. Go-backs are basical...

Wow. It took some digging, but with some monster help from friends, I've installed a solid state drive (SSD), 8 GB of RAM (maximum I can do in my laptop), and Windows 10. Thank you so much, Mari and Chad Kanotz! This laptop boot up time is literally seconds, and it's been Flash Gordon fast ever since. Chad warned me that the CPU is bearing the burden of computing so to watch for the heat build up. I joked it might be from all the work I'm getting done!

Merry Christmas, Mom, Last year I wrote a similar letter which I copied for the purposes of updating it (blog entry Open Letter To Mom - Christmas, My Only Wish. It's taken me a better part of a decade and a half to figure out why you loved the Christmastime so much when you were with us. Speaking of ‘with us’, can you believe that it’s been 18 years since your soul has been upgraded to another plane of existence?  For the years that followed, I upheld all the Bayne Christmas traditions. I started playing music on December 1 st , and kept playing  until December 31 st .  I continued to watch my Die Hard and Die Hard 2 movies within the month of December.  I digress.  This year I finally figured why you loved Christmas so much. And no, not because you were born and raised Catholic, either. I remembered every year you would have me crawl into the attic to drag down the tree, and decorations on the weekend of Thanksgiving – many of which you made y...

After a full 40 hour week at the Woodinville Costco (747), I only have a few observations. First and foremost, the entire staff at the building is super sweet, welcoming, and accommodating. That was a relief. I heard of experiences of transfers to buildings, and warnings about the work environment, and hearsay but didn't cloud my first impressions. And if you know anything about me, you know this is my SOP for any adventure. Be myself but watch and see what the situation will bear. I noticed there is a subtle hierarchy, in terms of tasks, within the workforce. I envisioned cart runs in the rain, and other not-so-desirable tasks, for my first week. I was pleasantly surprised with tasks that would help me be a better cashier at the front end. I won't list them out, or detail them out, but I'm not afraid of hard work so I accepted all of them with a smile and "I'm on it" on my lips. Secondly, there's a warehouse vernacular that is a mixture of English, abb...

I've started this blog entry several times, but still have difficulty posting it. You see, I have some bad news / good news to announce.  "Bad" news first so that the good news will help alleviate the bad news. As of Friday, 11/27/15, yes Black Friday, it will be my last day at Costco Travel. That'll be the end of 13 and a half years at the company. In this day and age of constant job change for one reason or another, this type of tenure is unheard of. I've been told it's quite an accomplishment. To me, though, it reinforces the type of person I am, and work ethic.  A pessimist would tell me that I simply tolerated what I couldn't change, and I couldn't find a way out.  An optimist would tell me that I am a loyal employee to a fault. I smirk - it's neither. I loved my work (still do), and loved the people and company I worked with / for. If you know anything about me whatsoever, you know this is simply the only acceptable explanation. Fri...

DJ Swarlos is simply my stage name in which I rarely use. If I’m the DJ / MC / hired entertainer I simply go by Carlos. Maybe when I have “arrived”, on a main stage somewhere or a regular fixture at a club, I’ll reference Swarlos. However, I digress. I wanted to announce that with enough gigs, and saving my cheddar from these gigs I finally have all the gear needed to be independent DJ. I don’t have the best in the business but it gets the job done. In the end, just like photography, it’s not the gear but the professional using it. There. I said it. Professional. My intent was to post about moving up from a novice / rookie / amateur but comparatively speaking … I’m a professional! I really do earn the money, and street cred that comes with my gigs. Despite any on-site challenges, or however chaotic the itinerary becomes, I get the job done with a high level of professionalism. My clients have given positive feedback, gratuities and requests to have me back next year. Only professio...