Posted on May 29, 2009 - by Yours Truly

Happy Now?

Appeasing numerous (and consistent) requests, I am giving the site an official update, and with it, I’m breathing new life into several projects. This site, for example, was doomed to fester for months on end because, other than updating the articles, essays, and short stories, I saw no real point to do so when I get all my ranting out on Muckmakers. Because the site was built with Wordpress, it came with the blog thing attached, so I had to use it despite not really knowing what to say here. Meanwhile, another project I started, Hardly Clerkin’, was also left to rot because I had absolutely no time to update it and give it the attention it deserved. With Muckmakers actually starting to gain a real audience, that became the top priority site, and a lot of work goes into that thing behind the scenes (including the many hours of extensive coding and tweaking that Ian does, as well as updating whenever I slack). When I bought both this domain and hardlyclerkin.com, I was only working one job. Now I have three, so I’m busy almost to the point of insanity. My job at the video store requires all the patience I have with people and the general public, which is absolutely none, so it’s always a strain to walk in that door day after day. I got a second job at an online college based locally, where I correct English papers. While it’s not what I want to do for the rest of my life, at least it’s a profession that requires my degree and I use my brain for, although the pay is absolute shit. In fact, jockeying a register pays $0.50 more than that place does and offers me benefits…hence why I can’t leave my primary hellhole. And finally, my third job is writing for The Abington Journal, a local newspaper that offers me freelance work every week or so. Granted, I don’t always get to write about what I’d like to, but it’s a start and it’s my name in print, so I can’t complain. That job also doesn’t offer much monetary compensation, but with the newspaper business dying a slow, painful death, I’m happy just to have the opportunity.

So anyway, I’ve decided to shut down Hardly Clerkin’ and turn it into a regular column for this site instead. (I’ve already added all the posts from that site to this one, as you may have noticed.) In fact, to keep the people who read this site satisfied, I’m adding several categories and turning them into columns so there will always be something to read no matter what mood I’m in. If I want to delve into my boring ass life (like Kevin Smith), I’ll do it under the Musings column, as I’ve done with this post. If I want to talk about movies or bitch about my shitty job and its even shittier customers, I’ll do it with HC. I already cover my interest in politics and religion on Muckmakers, so there’s plenty of links on the menu to my latest work there. I’m kicking around ideas for other columns that I’d actually be motivated to update, so if you have any suggestions, please leave them in the comments.

With this new outlook on my page, I decided that it also needed a new layout to go with, so I gave it this badass makeover that really puts my last design to shame. I think it not only looks much more professional, but it’s quite functional as well. That Thin Line is also getting a much-needed revamp as well, so look for that within the next week or two. This summer is really going to bring about a ton of growth for every site in the TTL network, and hopefully for me as a writer as well. I’m taking on one of the biggest projects of my career, and when it debuts, I have a feeling that all hell is going to break loose. I’ll probably be getting more into that next time. For now, enjoy the pretty pictures and the fact that you’re reading a post here actually dated “2009.”