It's been awhile, but we're back!!!!!!!!!!!

A lot of things have happened since my last entry here.

- I was hired by Citybeat to write about music for them. Mainly metal, hardcore, crust punk (hoping to get a friend to write for that and stoner stuff, though...), and noise. They're starting me out with the Sound Advice column in the... November 4-10 issue?? I'll be writing about the Ramming Speed show at Blue Rock (which is FREE!!!) on the 8th and the Cannibal Corpse/Hatebreed show at Bogart's the same day.

- I stopped caring about what people think of me, which has resulted in my doing some things that people found surprising. Got a short haircut, started regularly shaving, have been wearing my contacts semi-regularly again, went back to wearing button-up shirts, wearing my yarmulke regularly, put up an Israeli flag in my window, bought an IDF wool sweater, decided to form a grindcore band instead of a black metal one, have been working on a solo worship music project, claimed edge (well, that was in late May, but still...), stopped posting on the main local music message board, started attending Crossroads Christian Church in Oakley, joined a house church with a bunch of really cool people who are genuinely happy and joyful, despite being members of various underground music subcultures and rejecting conservative politics (well, most of them...) without being whiny about it. I'm happy for the first time in six or seven years and I'm finally starting to realize that God really does love me. I'm actually feeling joyful, and my life has been transformed...