Greetings!

12/19/05

Since my last update, things have been up, and things have been down. Here and there, I've learned a lot about myself, my friends, and where things go.

I've also been to Austria and France, had people complain about my actions (and, particularly, my description of them), lost 20 lbs, regained about 15 lbs, withdrawn from some people and opened up to others. I've been accused of growing up (which stings more than anything else), been embarrassed, been misrepresented, and had my words thrown back at me.

And yet, I'm generally feeling more bulletproof than I was when I started, and life is remarkably good.

It's strange how the world sometimes stands on its head for you, isn't it?

I admit that there isn't much new here (sneaking around will get you some of it). Since coming back to the States, I've been a bit short on time. But there are things in the works, so don't fear.

08/01/05

As some of you know, I'm single again. After seven years and two months with Tina, she broke up with me one Friday morning. It's an interesting experience, being single. It's especially interesting when almost no one knows.

In general, I told people who fit a single condition: something that we were doing involved a trust issue. If they slept in a tent next to me at a festival, if we were going to be in a place that involved them trusting that I wouldn't cheat on my girlfriend, or if there was something specific that made it a trust issue, then they were told.

It was rare that I told people because I felt they needed to know. Over the months since she broke up with me, I have mentioned it to two co-workers, seven friends, my parents and my brother. A few more have been added since, but at one month after she had broken up with me, you could still count the number of people I had told on one hand.

We will officially be having a "Breaking Up" party. Most people have engagement parties. Well, since we never made it that far, we won't get the chance to do that. That will occur next weekend, and will introduce most of my offline friends to the idea of me being single. Invitations are going out today and tomorrow.

There's a whole lot I could say about it, but I'd like to point out that those seven years were the best of my life. I'm not at all concerned that they'll be the last good years of my life. I've accepted, and mostly moved on, even if I'm not over her. I won't be for a very long time, if ever; however, there's nothing I can do about this, so I'll just do what I normally do.

Part of the reason I didn't say anything is that I didn't want to get out of one relationship and rebound into another one. I didn't want to hurt any of my friends.

Another reason, of course, is that I didn't want to hurt myself. I've watched people leave healthy relationships and end up in very unhealthy, destructive ones immediately after. I don't want to be spiteful and angry. I don't want to obsess. I don't want to be a burden on my friends. It's annoying and it's not fun. In many ways, I don't think I'm ready to date anyone but Tina, but I'm patient, and dating others will come with time, whether I'm ready or not. Keeping it under wraps just helped keep me safe until I was really ready.

The whole process of breaking up was a reality-altering process for me. Basically (and this is the only way I can currently describe it), she took my reality, broke it, and replaced it with hers. Her view of our relationship was vastly different than mine, but we're still friends, and I still love her. She hasn't moved out, and as of this writing, she isn't planning to. I know, it's hard to believe that two people can break up and remain friends, but I have a damn good track record on that front, and I don't intend to let 7 years of friendship go down the toilet.

I am emphatically not looking for a new girlfriend at the moment. I'm taking all things one moment at a time, and will not be rushing anything.

Anyway, enough of my "I'm Single Now" sob story. It's unimportant, anyway. There are some cool new things on this site you might want to look at! This is my largest update to the site since this webpage came into existence!

First, I have my clergy journal. It's a year worth of work and thoughts and ideas. I started out in August of last year (2004) trying to figure out what I wanted to do, whether this clergy thing was really for me. I actually was planning to apply for an exception to the rules last year, and try to become clergy before Summerland 2004. I didn't do it, partially because some very good points were made, but mostly for the great reasons outlined early in the journal. I have, though, decided not to turn it in to the Clergy Council. In the end, I want it online (like all my journals are), but I don't want to put anyone through reading all of it. Re-reading shows me that it's kinda Luke Skywalker-y whiny. Because the journal ends today (August 1, 2005), I'm still fighting to get the whole damn thing online. You'll be able to view every entry eventually, but for now, the index page has links to the first date that's up in each month. You can kinda skip around a bit.

You'll note that the left sidebar has had a small update. On it, you will find a link to my LiveJournal and one to my CafePress store. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I am indeed selling Chronarchy.Com thongs. But better than that? Chronarchy.Com Clocks! Now you too can be ruled by time! Of lesser note, you'll find some fun designs. As a bonus, anything you buy from my store should also get some cash for the Grove! (Emphasis on the should. The theory is still being tested. You can check out the Three Cranes Store, too!)

The sidebar update may or may not be complete on the entire site. It's hard to say. Honestly, given the amount of upload time this whole thing will take (every page on the server is being updated), I don't know if I'll manage to get even half the site updated before you guys start visiting. If it isn't updated yet, don't worry: nothing on the old sidebar should be broken.

One pretty nifty thing that I created is a Chaos Working generator. Stop by and it should give you a random Chaos Working to do! I'm updating this over time, so as you return to it over time, a few more things might come up.

There is also a new method of contacting me (just fill out the form, no email required!) Please use it. It hasn't been tested too widely, so help me determine its ability to take some real stress!

Of course, there are also some new essays: The Crow's Story, The Cockroach's Enlightenment, Fencing and Jail, Celeste, and a few other pieces that have never seen the light of LiveJournal. The entire index page has been updated, as well, which should make finding things easier.

Also new are some bits of Chaos. I love that whole section of my site, and believe that anyone who wants to figure me out needs to read the entire section, so I won't link individual newness. Go check it out!

There are also some new musings: Druidic Terrorism, the etymology of *ghosti-, I Want to Be a Ninja, Who Is Eris, The Fedora Eulogy, Hot Names, Nice Tits, The Ninja Cometh, Over the Top Piety, Situational Behavior, De Naturae Sandwichii, Kori and the Frogs, and a couple of other things. I also updated the index page here, because it really, really needed it.

The Festival Reviews are up-to-date, and several now include small picture galleries at the bottom of the pages! Also, you'll find my plans for Desert Magic 2006 and the hiking I want to do there.

Also completed are several sections of the ADF Clergy Training Program. Swing by and see it!

I simply must point out the in-depth biography of me drawn by Joe Norwood. The man is a freakin' genius.

A couple of interesting pilot projects are also available. First, there's the afore-mentioned form mail. Similar, there's a confessional that I set up for fun. No idea what I'll do with that. I've also added a section (currently one page) of "art" stuff.

There are, of course, the usual cookies and easter eggs for those who seek them out.

02/25/05

Most of the past few months have been a blur. I mean that: they've spiraled into strange shapes, out of control and far too fast. Where, exactly, did January and December go? Did someone take them? I don't know. I don't remember.

Guess what, though? It's an anniversary of sorts! On February 18, 2003, I started this little webpage, and it has grown from a mere copy of my last webpage to what it is today. Granted, I'm a few days off from the actual anniversary date, but in my defense, something also happened last year that totally messed up my webpage, and like clockwork, it did it again!

The LiveJournal is still active. Check it out if you haven't in a while.

Well, I've started some new projects. To begin with, I'm trying to open up a new facet to ADF's mentorship offerings. There's a whole bunch of people that we simply don't have the resources to help yet, and I really want to help them. I've also been writing a lot for ADF's newsletter, Oak Leaves. This has led to some interesting things and developments, and has helped re-birth my desire to write.

I've also been working, of course, with the PSA. Recently, I did a presentation entitled "Something Involving Tentacles" about the Cthulhu Mythos. You'll need Power Point to view the slides, of course (sorry, I can't afford to upload the videos as well). It was a blast to do it.

I've been dreaming more often recently, for better or for worse. It's a good thing, I think, even though I tend to only record nightmares. Several writeups can be found in both my Chaos essays and some of my musings.

There is also a new ritual up from the Spring Equinox of 1999. Check that out, and see if your fluffy meter goes off.

01/15/05

A lot has happened since my last update. Some of it good, some of it bad, but in the end I can certainly say, "the pleasure was worth all the pain."

In the past year, I've written a lot. Some of it can be found here, but not quite all of it. I was even interviewed for Oak Leaves, the quarterly publication of ADF. I've been very busy, as can be seen by the number of updates I made to this page in the last year.

New in this edition of my webpage: the interview from Oak Leaves #25; some festival reviews I forgot to update until just recently; and a new solitary Yule rite (yep, put up just in time for Imbolc!). There are also some new and interesting essays, if you decide to go looking for them.

Also, you can find the script for my Eagle Scout Court of Honour, as well as the news item that ran regarding it.

Check out the old 2004 entries!

Check out the old 2003 entries!

Content © 2003-2006, Michael J Dangler
Updated on 05/23/2006. Site Credits / Email Me!
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(Yes, I stole it!)