Eldest.

For my Back 2 School Back 2 Blogging Assignment this week, we were instructed to contribute 10 or more ideas to the Idea Bank and then choose one of the ideas to write about on your blog. Quite a few relate to parenting and marriage, which I have no experience in at all, but this one caught my eye:

Idea Bank #382

Where do you fall in the birth order of your family? First, middle, baby? Do you think that affected who you are today?

I am the eldest of two children. I have only one sibling, my brother. I am 16 months apart from him. I was 7 month old when my parents found out they were expected baby #2. My mom was 5 months pregnant with my brother on my first birthday.

I think both myself being the first born and our closeness in age has affected who I am today. First, my parents didn't exactly raise me on my own. I was only alone for for a year and a half of my life, which I do not remember. I do not remember a time without my brother. I do not remember a time when I was not the oldest. All my jealousy that I had towards my brother wasn't because I remember how things used to be without him, but came from how my parents treated us as they raised us at the same time, since I was never aware of being alone and being treated like the first child.

My mom in particular (and even to this day) is all about fairness. If she bought something for me, she would buy something for my brother, and vice versa. There were times when we got the exact same thing but in a different colour. Despite how my mom tried to be fair, it wasn't 100%. My brother was always the baby. To this day, my brother is still the baby despite being 24 years old. In the divorce, my mom and dad split custody. My mom didn't see my brother for the longest time during the procedures, and if she did, it was only briefly. During this time my brother had a serious accident; he was rollerblading across a parking lot when he was hit by a truck that was trying to avoid the stoplight. He was sent to a hospital an hour away from his home with a fractured skull. My parents were told that he would either die or have serious mental problems. He was in surgery for a long time while they carefully put his shattered skull back in place. My brother not only survived, but also never lost his ability to function. He sometimes has trouble remembering things from his childhood but his accident when he was 14 never stopped him from doing well in school and graduating from a technical college. His recovery was miraculous.

My brother was also the first and only boy on my dad's side of the family in that generation, and he was the first boy born on my mom's side. My first boy cousin wasn't even born for another 5 or so years. My brother was special because of this. He was spoiled on both sides, but especially my dad's side because he was the gleaming hope that our surname would live on, while me and my two female cousins were dubbed not as special. We also lived closer to my paternal grandparents than my cousins.

I do feel a little jealous of my brother, and this has always made me strive to be as best as I can so that my parents acknowledge my worth as well. This isn't to say that they don't think I'm worthy, or special, but part of me has always felt I have had to compete against him, for attention and praise. This is why I spent my time focusing on school. I was a lot better at school than my brother. I was terrible at math, but everything else I pulled high marks. I went to university while my brother did not. I came out with a bachelor of science.

But, even my own graduation was over shadowed. I was sickened by the fact that my brother, who stayed in high school for an extra year, was going to graduating the same year as me from his college. I had worked 4 years for my degree and he was in his program for 2. My graduation got rained out because the university I went to prided itself on being environmental, green and close to nature. Our convocation was supposed to be held outside. It started to hail as soon as we got to our chairs outside the library. The grads were ushered into the biggest auditorium the school had. It only sat 300 people. The parents were told to go wait at the reception hall. Nobody saw us cross the stage to get our diplomas. We were congratulated by the dean and principal amongst each other and not our families. We had to walk back to them as the rain poured down. All the food had been eaten by the bored parents. When we decided to leave, the sun came out.

The next month, I went to my brother's graduation. The college rented out a hockey arena in the town. There was plenty of seats. The graduation would go on rain or shine. I was jealous.

Even in the things I excel at, my mom sometimes chooses him over me. I will show the ponies all year but when it comes to the big end of the year show in Toronto at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, my mom will pass over all my hard work and have my brother show the ponies instead of me, earning him the glory when they win the ribbons.

To this day, I'm not as jealous as I used to be as a kid. Sometimes I get frustrated that he appears to be better treated than myself. I realize he is special, just like I am special to them as well. But being the eldest who always did what she was told and did well, I sometimes resent that I have to strive hard to make myself feel justified.


A Back To School, Back To Blogging Post

My Love/Hate Relationship with Thunderstorms

When I am talking to someone about an on coming or occuring thunderstorm, I usually say "Thunderstorms suck" and the other person in the conversation usually replies "I love thunderstorms". I realize that saying they suck is a negative statement, but I actually do love thunderstorms. But at the same time, I hate them. How can this be? I've decided after last night's light show, that lasted from 12:30 AM to aprroximately 3:30 AM, I would speak my mind about thunderstorms.

I LOVE thunderstorms because thunderstorms are fascinating to watch. If you have ever been as lucky to be able to see one forming over a lake, you know this already. I used to live across from Lake Ontario, and it was always a great joy to sit outside in the summer and watch the storms brewing. Lightning has always been exciting to see, not just the flashes in the sky but the actual cracking bolts that strike down into the earth (as long as you are no where near them).

But I also find thunderstorms to be annoying.

• Thunderstorms mean more work. If it is really bad out, then most of the ponies have to come in. Usually the ponies are outside for the majority of the time. Which means the stalls don't have to be cleaned. As soon as they are brought it, it's extra work. You have to prepare the stalls for them, and then clean them back up the next day ontop of everything else that has to be done here.
• Thunderstorms make my dogs nuts. Anyone with a dog probably knows this already, but most dogs are crazy when it comes to thunderstorms. I've had a few dogs who didn't care, and even my dogs weren't insane over them until the last two years. They run down into the bsaement, panting and whining. I made the mistake of letting Maggie in my room last night. She climbed onto my bed, stepping on my head in the process because she wouldn't wait for me to move to let her onto the bed. She then panted in my ear last night and tried to shove me off the bed. I kicked her out once, and then my step dad let her back in. I got her to get out of my room when I went to go check on the horses.
• Thunderstorms mean getting up in the middle of the night and putting the ponies away in the rain if they are unexpected. This happens in the day too but you can see a storm coming, so you at least get some time to do this before it pours.
• Thunderstorms will keep me up if I do not fall asleep before them. If they start before I fall asleep, goodbye beauty rest.
• In horror movies, bad things always happen during thunderstorms! Haha.
• Internet always gets knocked out during storms because we have satelite internet. Satelite tv usually goes out too. Rarely does the power go out, but in a country setting where all you can do after dark is read, watch tv or go on the internet, this is murder, especially if it goes out at an early hour like 8 or 9.
  

Hurray a rant!

I am like many people my age. I was convinced to go to university, since the world would be my oyster if I had a degree. If I wanted a career, this was a MUST. They don't really tell you that no matter what you get a degree in, you'll likely have to follow up with a Masters to get what you really want to do. This means spending more money and time at school while the rest of the world is growing up. When you come out of school, whether it is your undergrad, a diploma/certificate or your Masters, you end up finding "Hey, there are no actual jobs out there". Okay, there are jobs, but not the one you were looking to find. They exist, yes, but someone else has been in that position for twenty years and at the rate of the economy, they aren't going anywhere anytime soon.

So then you have to weigh your options. Do I go back to school for another job prospect? Hey, why not! So that's what I did. A year at school, a year on the job and I found out it's not what I really wanted to do. So now I have a degree that cost me 10k and is way too general, and a diploma that is way too specific. I browse through the want ads, and I see openings for jobs with degrees. Oh boy! Oh wait, you want a degree in Business or Communication. Next please. Oh look, no experience necessary, some college required. Oh, but you want me to sell something over the phone. Hmm. Not what I had in mind.

I currently do make money, working for the family but it's not what I want to do. I appreciate making money, but it feels like such a waste of my potential. Yet, looking through the jobs I can't find anything that really suits me (Customer Service Representative... No) or that is worth my time (Pouring coffee from 1 AM to 4 PM, not what I went to Unviersity for). I realize that getting started in a career is hard. Very hard. It's hard to just get your foot in the door and you know you end up getting positions where you're making peanuts but MAYBE someone will boost your career with the experience or will know someone who can hire you for bigger and better things in that field.

Since I work at home, I am constantly being told that I need to get out and get a better job. No, not a job. A career. I ask these inquirers if they know where the careers are because I certainly don't see them. Sure I can hop on Monster.Ca and apply for all the waitress jobs and house cleaner jobs that I want and maybe find employment but it's not a career. Careers aren't that easy to come by anymore. And sometimes I don't know what would suit me as a career. I know what I like to do and I know what I hate to do. Things I like to do are: research, counsel, problem solve, write reports, learn, educate, explain, coordinate, organize. You'd think that would be easy enough to peg hole into.

I've thought about going back to school but I've already been burned once (or twice) by the current education system. Colleges and Universities clamor for your hard earned money, promising that getting an education with them will open up a whole world of opportunities for you. Heck, they even have a 93% success rate, meaning that 93% of their graduates find jobs within 6 months of graduating. Isn't that wonderful!? What they don't tell you is that it's any kind of employment. A graduate of business can go and start working at a coffee shop and that's employment. The education system works! You have a job! Hurray!

It's based on that fact alone that I am weary about going to school again. I check out the projected stats in my province but it still does not guarantee a job, or that after you spend 2 years getting that education that a job will open up for you. The jobs I really want to do have about 500 people all wanting that same spot. Sometimes I don't think the risk is worth it. I may be out $5000 and then there's a class of 25 new whatevers out in the world, but only 10 jobs and then I have to go back to working at home again, or getting a retail job at the mall? No thank you. I wish I had the confidence in the working world to believe that if I get X certificate, I will have a job. But it's my uncertainty that makes me balk.

My family wants to start up another business venture but I'm unsure about it. I have so many questions and want to know where you can move up in it. It has to do with law, and I would love to pursue law, or paralegal but as I explained before, a little iffy on the whole thing.

In the midst of it all, I applied for a seasonal position at something I went to university for. Unfortunately they want me to relocate. And unfortunately it's for less than a month. And unfortunately it's less pay than I'm getting at home. The only upside is that it would give me experience in the field, and MAY lead to other opportunities. Or it might not. My family thinks I should turn it down because with the cost of living, I'd be making less than what I make now. But at the same time, it's a new experience, it's not for very long, and it might help me in the long run. Or it will cause me to lose out on some money because I'll be paying out more than I take in, and I might not get any job leads afterwards. I've been asked for a telephone interview for tomorrow and I'm scared. I haven't replied yet. I know I should soon. But I have no idea what to do. Take my losses and get some experience or stay here and hope something better happens with this new business deal. Both may help me get into a better career.

Until then, I'm sitting in my pajamas, waiting for phone calls to happen, but the market is dead. This is NOT what University prepared me for!

Louisbourg Day 5 & 6

I decided to lump Friday and Saturday together since Saturday wasn't much about Louisbourg.

Friday, August 27th 2010 (Day 5)

7:10 AM
I woke up and started packing since I was going to be leaving for Halifax from the Fortress. I had already packed up most of my stuff the night before and all I had to do was the finishing touches (you know, the toothbrush and toothpaste deal). Once it was all packed up, I dragged my suitcase and two bags down three flights of stairs and popped them in the car.

8:00 AM
Went down for breakfast and asked how to check out. They told me we were having french toast and since I had already had it during my stay, I could choose something else if I wished. I told him it was fine and I'd jut have the french toast again. I like french toast, so it was no big deal. I was just glad it wasn't the Island Bake again.

8:30 AM
I agreed to drive Larry to the site, and drop him off as I was leaving town. Bruce Fry stopped into our B&B looking for a couple who had sneaked into the lecture we were having at the Chevlier House. We weren't quite sure how they got in there since we were pretty careful not to let the public visiting the fortress in. Bruce told us that we were going to look at some siege sites outside the Fortress area so we should all meet up at the Visitor Centre parking lot and inside of it. We were also leaving after hours so we had to make sure we got our cars down to the Fortress since they locked up place after hours.

8:45 AM
On the way to the Fortress, Larry told me that we should pull over and check out Wolfe's Ridout. A ridout is a camp they would have made to prepare their troops for the siege. It was about a 5 minute walk. We quickly checked it out. When we met up with the others, Bruce asked us what had taken since we left before him. I told him Larry wanted to take a side tour.

9:00 to 10:00 AM
Bruce drove us around, stopping the cars every once and awhile so we could go out and explore. Since it had rained all day Thursday, the area was marshy and wet. The natural environment had over taken the siege sites and it was very hard to see what was left. We went to a ridout called Green Hill which was a valuable camp for the British since you could get a clear view of the Fortress. Back in 1758, this area would have been totally cleared of the trees.

10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
The others were eager to get back to digging, but I wasn't. I had already found something better than iron nails and glass. The site was slightly flooded as well due to the rain. I decided to stay back with the collections manager and help label and catalogue the artifacts. Most of it was writing on pottery shards and glass bits, but I enjoyed it. We had some tea, and talked about this and that. We decided we'd go to the site around lunch to see what was going on with the others. I wanted to explore the rebuilt town a little bit more. We got a chance to see stuff during the week, but there were still some places not yet ventured. Since the program had a "Do What You Want" attitude, it wasn't a problem.

12:00 PM
We went out with the lunches to the site. I went over to the site to find out what had been found (nothing) and inform them that lunch had arrived. They grudgingly left their work for food.

1:00 PM
We all went back to the site. I hung out for a bit, but then left to go look for the blacksmith from the day before. Hubba hubba.


1:30 to 2:30 PM
For an hour I went about the site, snapping as many pictures as I could of buildings, exhibits and people. I cursed myself for not charging my camera like I should have, since it was dying quickly. I talked to a few of the interpreters and while I didn't see the whole site, I felt like I had seen enough to get a feel of the place. I also picked up some more souveniers for people because I didn't have too much success in town. I took my stuff back to my car so I wouldn't have to carry it around with me all day. I walked back to the Chevalier House because I was going to go deo some more catalouging when I ran into Bruce on the way back. He said that he was just getting Heidi the collections manager and they were driving up to the site and I could catch a ride with them if I wanted to.

2:30 PM to 3:10 PM
I went back to the site and helped people shift their their dirt, which was now mud. It was a lot harder to find artifacts this way since they were all covered in mud. There were about 2-3 of us working on a bucket at a time.

3:10 PM
We packed up everything and the archaeology crew began covering the sites. We took our equipment back to the Chevalier House. During the week it stayed in the equipment tent. Once we arrived back the the Chevalier House, we were told we were going to go to one of the exhibits about fortification and the military before we met up for dinner at the L'Epee Royal, the upper class restaurant, at 4:30.

4:00-4:30 PM
We explored this little house with some artifacts of the remaining walls, drums and military explanations. We then walked to the L'Epee Royal.


4:30 to 6:00 PM
The meal was on the Program, so we didn't have to pay for alcoholic drinks like we had to Wednesday. I had a glass of red wine with my meal. We had the same type of soup from Wednesday, and we were also served fresh baked buns. The choice was turkey or salmon and I wanted something diffeernt. We were given a big bowl of rice, and Paul and I were given a plate of turkey with a wild mushroom and carrot dressing. Dessert was the same little brownie, but it was good.

6:00 to 7:00 AM
We went back to Chevalier House to pick up the rest of our stuff. After we all went to our cars and drove out to an area called Black Rock. This was a huge rock that over looked the Atlantic Ocean. We stayer there for awhile, snapping photos. I agreed to drive a couple people back into town. Paul's ride showed up at 5:30 and likely left him, so I told him I'd drive him back to Sydney since it wasn't really out of my way too much. I was driving to Halifax airport that night, with the unhappy event of sleeping in the airport since I had a 6:45 AM flight back to Toronto.


7:00 PM
We all said our goodbyes. I dropped off people and said my goodbyes to them. We had all given each other our emails to keep in touch and share photos.

8:00 PM
By 8:00 PM I driven to Sydney. I dropped off Paul and gased up the car for the first time in Nova Scotia, which I was a little impressed by. I spent the entire time driving straight through to Saturday...

Saturday August 28th, 2010 (Day 6)

12:30 AM
I arrived at the airport but like an idiot I went in the wrong lane. I had to find the gas station too since I was required to leave the car with a full tank of gas. I ended up driving up to the commercial car lane and an airport worked helped me out. I found the gas station at the airport and it was CLOSED. Ugh. I popped in gas station in my GPS I had brought along and it directed me to a gas station 10 KM away. I drove out to this gas station to have my credit card denied at the pump. I went to another pump, gassed up and had to pay at the window.

1:00 AM
I finally got to the rental car drop off at the airport. I pulled everything out of the car and repacked some stuff. I had not packed my mugs yet so I wanted to wrap them up well. I checked the car over for anything else that belonged to me. I was scared that the airport may be closed since I didn't think there were many flights coming in this late. I dropped the keys off into the drop off box, and prayed that they wouldn't charge me for the stupid stone chips out the window that were already on the stupid car in the first place.

1:30 AM to 2:00 AM
I walked around the airport, looking for the places I had to be in the morning. Wet Jet would not allow me to check in at their kisosks so I had to wait until the morning. I wanted to check my bags so I wouldn't have to sleep with them but I lucked out. I found a spot by the security that was also near a bunch of shops and an indoor playground for kids. There was also a wifi table so I logged in to check some stuff. I curled up on a bench with my three bags positioned so if someone attempted to take my stuff, I would have been awoken. I woke up three times; once because I was cold so I had to fish a sweater out of my suitcase, and twice because that was the time people were polishing the floor. At one point I grabbed all my stuff and slept on the floor because I was tired of getting bench marks on my legs since I stupidly wore khakis that day.

4:15 AM
By this time, people were coming into the airport. I awoke to the security staff talking. Since I was scared of being asked to move, I decided to wake up and go check my bags. I checked in on my laptop at the airport with its wifi when the kisok wouldn't let me so I had to obtain a boarding pass while I was checking my bag. I got one and was told I should get through security now since it would probably get busy soon. Boarding was at 6:10 AM.

4:30 to 6:10 AM
I got through security like a zombie. I got a little nervous when they took awhile to scan my laptop. I went to my gate and hung out there for a bit. When other people started getting Tim Hortons, I decided to get up and also get some breakfast. I asked for a bacon breakfast sandwich but got a sausage one instead. I didn't really care. I got a small cappuchino to keep me up since I didn't want to fall asleep at the gate. We boarded at 6:10 AM. I was surprised that I got the same seat as my flight in; 6A. I was delighted that in a three seat aisle, I was the only one in it which was strange since it was a fairly crowded flight. As soon as I was sitting down, I put my pillow to the window. I had fallen fast asleep before the review of the safety features finished. I woke up on the flight and checked where we are. We were nearing Toronto and I couldn't really get back to sleep. I watched the tv without sound for a bit until we landed.

8:00 AM
We arrived in Toronto at 8 AM on the dot. I decided not to call Linds, who graciously was allowing me to drop my stuff there while I attempted to get into Fan Expo until I was actually ready to leave. It took me awhile to get my bags, and I got lost looking for the luggage pick up since nothing is labelled well in Terminal 3 of Pearson airport.

8:30 AM to 9:30 AM
With my bags in hand, I called Linds who told me to take the bus from the airport to the subway to the subway drop off near her place. It was wonderful to just sit down and go somewhere without having to think too hard about it, like driving haha. I had a neat little trip going from Bus to subway to car. They came and picked me up and we got breakfast (yay!)

10:00 AM to 4:00PM
We hung out for a bit, and then we decided to try to leave for Fan Expo around 1:50 PM. We took the subway to downtown and the line ups were huge. Crazy even. As much as I love Sci fi, Comic books, D&D, Gaming and Horror, I wasn't prepared to wait in line for 6 hours and pay $35 to get in, and likely only get to get an hour out of it. I knew quite a few people who were there, and I was sad I didn't get to see them but I suppose I should have planned better. I wasn't too upset about it. We went back to the house, and I called to find out when I was getting a ride back home.

5:20 PM
Linds and The Newf dropped me off at the Go Station to I could get picked up at Oshawa. I didn't want my ride to have to come get me in Toronto.

6:30 PM
Back in Oshawa, got picked up, finally arrived home! Gave people their gifts and went to bed at 9:30 PM like a wuss. Slept in until 11 AM Sunday, haha.

Review of Final Crisis or Some Comics Are Not Newbie Friendly

While browsing the comic book store a few months ago, I came across a couple of isses of The Return of Bruce Wayne. I love Batman, and I couldn't resist covers with Batman as a cave man, a puritan and a pirate. I snatched them up and took them home to read.

After I read issues #1 - 3, I felt that I was missing a part of the story. Why was this happened? I felt I couldn't really get the whole story without knowing. I asked one of the guys at the store and he told me ROBW followed Final Crisis (and incidently, Battle for the Cowl which I should also read). He told me the premise and mentioned there was a copy in the store. After looking at the picture of Superman holding the corpse of Batman, I was sold. I asked if there was anything else I should read before Final Crisis and he said "pretty much the entire DC Universe". Figuring I knew enough about DC from watching Justice League, I left it at that.

I spent the entire night reading it, and when I got to the end... I was confused.

I didn't know who some of the characters were. I didn't understand the plot. When Ross at the comic book store explained it, I understood it better. He told me a part of the story that I didn't even read in the comic. Unless I missed it from being confused. I didn't know what was going on. At one point there was a Nazi Superman. The Superman went to some other dimension with a bunch of other Supermen and fought vampires. I think. The only thing I got from the trade was that Batman died. I didn't even figure out who won. Did the bad guys win? Did Superman stop Darkseid? I have no idea. But Batman died and his funeral rocket was sent back in time where he would become Chief Man Of Bats.

Due to this, I started to think that some comic book universes are not noob friendly. If I wanted to start reading Marvel Universe (Like Civil War or House of M, of Avengers), I feel like I couldn't start there. How far back would I have to go? Same with DC Universe. I felt lost looking at this series. But where would I have started to know the full story? I realize that comic industries rely on repeat customers who follow huge story arcs and have been reading for a very long time, but at one point do they make something noob friendly? If they want me to be a loyal fan and continue to pick up series and follow along, I have to start somewhere and sometimes it's not very inviting. Half the series I have ever picked up have been because a cover has caught my eye. Or the premise of a story. But if I need to know the entire DC or Marvel Universe to understand and enjoy that story, I'm not there yet.

I would like to start reading comics and following a series, but as a newb in the comic world, it's all too overwhelming.

Scarf Update

I have completed three scarves in a week. Two of them I did in one day each. I'm taking a break from crocheting. I have a couple of large posts in mind, but I'm not 100% up for writing a lot right now after working my fingers for so long!

Today on the news they were advertising a free spay and neteur clinic for feral cats in Scarborough. The aim of this campaign is for people to bring in stray cats roaming the GTA and help cut down the cat colony population. They stated many times during the promo that this clinic was NOT for anyone with a cat, but feral cats only. The operations were being provided for by donations and money from intrastructure.

It's a good start but it doesn't address the real problem with people not spaying or netuering their cats. The real reason behind the huge feral cat population in not only the GTA but every city in the world is that the cost for spaying an animal is way too expensive.

I know some people will say "If you can't afford to properly take care of the animal, including medical expenses, you are not responsible enough to own a pet" but people do anyways. Small animals like hamsters, rats and gerbils are cheap. You can pick them up for under 10 bucks. Why would anyone spend $100 for medication for these small animals when they get sick, when you can just get another animal for a cheaper price, especially when the life span of these animals is so short?

People will not justify paying $100 to alter small animals so they don't end up with accidental litters, which they then need to get rid of, or become over run with animals.

The fact is, pets are cheap. If you don't want to spend the money on a pedigree animals, you can pick up one cheap or for free on Kijiji or Craigslist. Anyone can pick up a kitten anywhere for free.

Back to the cat epidemic; there are way too many cats roaming the streets because people dump unwanted kittens after deciding it's way too expensive to spay Fluffy and she never goes outside anyways, so why spend the money, yet someone she escaped when someone left the door open too long. They dump them in the city, them dump them in the country. These cats then run around and breed, and it's a vicious cycle. Most of these cats in the country find homes at farms where they hunt for mice. Farmers are welcoming to have cats on the farm to protect the feed for their livestocks, but they aren't going to pay to get each one of those cats fixed. The barn cat population either naturally keeps itself in check, or it explodes. There are many reasons why the barn cat population can keep froming becoming an epidemic. There are many hazards for a barn cat. They are not vaccinated, they are not medicated when they get sick, they are prey to wild animals and they sometimes get kileld by farm equipment and machinery. If none of these factors are in place, then it can be over run by cats who will eventually starve unless they are humanely put down.

The news today reported that a spay or neteur can cost anywhere between $200 and $400. The cheapest I have heard for a spay is $95 which is slightly more reasonable than $200, but I still feel that even $95 is too much. I realize that vets need to make money, and that the drugs used in the surgery are part of the cost, but I think the price must be very inflated.

If Bob Barker wants us to take his advice, the vets need to lower the cost or else it's just going to continue, especially in this economy.

Comic Hell

In all of my life, I never thought I would be one of those comic collectors. By that I mean, I never thought I'd be hunting down comic books. As mentioned before, I like trades. Trades just make everything so much easier. The story is all there, composed in book form. There's no fear of missing issues - even though you still have to buy them in volumes. They are easier to find and order than a single comic book (or so my experience has lead me to believe).

I previously explained my dilemma about The Last Unicorn comic. When I called to order it, I never dreamed I would have a problem. Even Sharyl mocked me, when I expressed a worry that the comic may sell out. "I really don't think people are clamoring to buy a comic on The Last Unicorn" she remarked. Oh how we were all wrong!

After not hearing anything for a month from my comic book store about the progress of my order, I decided to check IDW and was perplexed that Issue #1 was still available. Digging around the site a week later, I was even more surprised that Issue #2 had been released on June 30th, and was completely sold out in less than a month. I tried contacting my local comic book store but didn't really get an answer.

Instead I immediately tried to search down the first two issues online. I found that websites either had one or the other, or were completely sold out of both. I ordered Issue #1 from IDW directly, and ordered Issue #2 from My Comics Shop. The next day I received confirmation and shipping emails from both companies, within half an hour of each other. I didn't feel like springing on a huge amount for shipping, so I went with standard. My Comics Shop covered their ass by saying "up to 21 days" due to customs. I am hoping they both arrive next week sometime. I also hope that they don't get lost, or I don't have any problems, as I have decided to subscribe for the other issues and pre-order them with My Comics Shop.

Of course, after I placed the order, I found a Canadian website that had them both. I've booked marked them just in case.

But that brings me back to my first point, which is, I can't believe I've become so obsessed with finding this comic. After some research I found that the comic was being published in small quantities as they weren't too sure how popular it was going to be. Clearly IDW knows nothing about three things; Women, Female Nerds and Peter S. Beagle.

In my experience, a lot of women love The Last Unicorn, and women who especially love it, are nerds. Nerds like to collect things. I myself want this for my Last Unicorn Collection. I have the anniversary publishing of the book, the VHS, the first release DVD, the 25th anniversary DVD and the SF&F collection with Beagle's short story follow up to the original story: Two Hearts. I'd love to get the soundtrack, and the deluxe version of the book containing both stories but I'm not that willing to part with my money... yet. The first publishing of this comic will just fit nicely with my collection and the other comics I own. I don't have a large collection of comics, and most of them are just trades. For someone who loves Batman so much (more about that in the future), you'd think I'd have more.

For a final attempt, I went to the popular Silver Snail in Toronto while there for other reasons (Miss Saigon!). I spoke to someone at the store, who tried looking for Issue 2, but told me he was sold out of Issue 1. He said he was surprised it went so fast. He told me that there was a good chance that IDW will release the comic as a trade. I hope so, because you can bet your ass, even if I manage to get Issues 1-6, I will be getting the trade as well!

The Frustraion with Comic Books!

I started to collect comics. I don't actually like collecting comics because I am a very impatient person. What I do like doing is buying the trades. Trades for those who are not comic saavy are graphic novels containing the entire comic series in one handy book form. This makes it a lot easier than collecting each issue. I have the entire Sandman series in trade form.

I learned that The Last Unicorn was getting a comic book form. I had to get it. So I decided to give my local comic book store some business and order it through there instead of ordering it online. Besides, I thought, it would save me money as I'd be paying in Canadian dollars at the store, instead of US and I wouldn't have to buy any shipping. I ordered around the end of June. I'm still waiting!

I talked to one of the guys at the store, and I had myself put on file so they would order me the entire series. I assumed it would take about a week or so for my comic to come in. Wrong. I was told I would probably be waiting 4 weeks, as the issue was back ordered. I wanted to know if that meant it was sold out, because I would cancel the order and just buy it online. I was told it was a matter of shipping, as the publication would be shipped from one location, to another, back to another and then to the comic book shop. I figured I was okay with this. I'm still waiting.

I decided to check on the status of the comic on the publisher's website. The first issue was still in stock. But the second issue has come out... and it isn't in stock! How did it get sold out so quickly!? It was released last week! I am floored. I hope they get more, or that I was on some automatic list and I'll get issues 1 and 2 together. I might have to speak to my comic book store sometime soon.

I have also started ordering The History of Bruce Wayne, where Batman gets transported back in time and lives through an incarnation through each century he turns up in. So far he has been a caveman, a witch hunter and a pirate. Next up is cowboy!