I don't generally write about people in a positive light because that seems to draw me more negative attention than pointless bitching, hate, and sarcasm ever have... but here we go.

We met because of the Swamp, as far as origin of location. We actually met because I was broke and lacking any real form of transportation so when Witchcraft came to town, I skipped them, and later when I read his review on the very show I missed on the Swamp I was compelled to say thanks. Normally I wouldn't have said anything, but I liked his ability to express himself and tell the story minus the usual pretentious jackoffery that comes with professional reviews. Fucking reviews...

At this point in my life, I'd recently quit my job and begun the new phase of my life - music bloggin'. I'd been stressed out pretty much nonstop for the last couple of years and ultimately decided that I needed to just quit what I was doing. I gradually then suddenly dropped everything I didn't like. I registered for school. I had time between quitting and the start of school, and music had grown a larger aspect of my life in the last couple of years, so I began the blog as a temporary time filling project.

Only a little time passed between the start of the blog and my thank-you comment so that he became my first official "reader". We obviously had Witchcraft in common, and it was apparent we also shared common favoritism of bands like Electric Wizard and Monster Magnet, among many others.

At that time, band connections were very rare for me as I'd just dropped a sea of Sublime and hardcore rap and "I don't like metal" and part-time music listeners from my sphere. My closest musical ally at this point was some Mike Patton-loving mongoloid I wasn't even really talking to any more. I tried to talk to people a few times on musical forums, but - unsurprisingly - stoner rock tends to attract potheads, and the ones of whom I spoke to probably shouldn't have graduated high school nevermind been allowed near a computer without a license...

Immediately, from Zilla, I noticed BRAINS. There was spelling - proper, adequate, real English spelling. And there was grammar. Did you know that there are people in the US of A able to write proper fucking grammar? I didn't. I always feel like an asshole because I want people to type at me like they're writing a book, not a bad fucking haiku, because I don't speak txt or l337 or drunken gibberish. I don't need capital letters or even proper punctuation most of the time, but can we all please just proofread once in a damn while? Alas, I'd found one of the rare people capable of the spelling and grammar my English-teacher-in-a-former-lifetime self had been lacking so long.

Naturally, this human being with their spelling and Monster Magnet existing on my Earth made me go "yay!" a few times. Even better, we seemed to be on a similar, slightly angsty wavelength, with a similar current state of life, and (gasp) we even lived near enough each other. That had certainly never happened before.

Enter long, drawn out, heart-wrenching story here about how that has seriously never happened before. I've met a hundred interesting people online before, and not a single one of them lived anywhere near me nor did I have any access to in "real life". I would call it a vice.

I decided early on that I was going to meet this new person. I wasn't sure how yet, but it was clear music was to be involved. Sure enough, some months later, I heard a mutual favorite band was coming to Plotland...

I was a little bit nervous/excited in the weeks leading up to the show, still not entirely sure it was going to happen at all even though I had ticket in hand. I was worried I'd back out, since I do that when I get nervous. Then I was worried he would, and I'd either have wasted time or have to go through the whole process of nervousness again. The day arrived, and like I'd imagined I'd be I was almost sick. I didn't eat enough. I left for the show a little later than usual as padding, hoping I'd arrive and he'd already be there because waiting just makes these things worse. By the time I finally got to the venue, noticed no one of any remote familiarity and sat down to make myself stand out, I had had so many adrenaline rushes that day that I'd approached the beginnings of a dead brain.

I was texting my niece, who'd suddenly decided three days AFTER I'd originally texted her to tell me some ridiculous sob story about why she'd not replied three days ago, when a face who looked familiar in some faraway mental land kind of way walked by. I got a knowing look, but I don't process these things fast and certainly not on a nervous dead brain, so I wasn't really sure until he had fully walked away. By that point I had another bullshit text... I decided I'd get up and find him again in a bit, not exactly confident in my ability to just walk up to people I wasn't sure they were who I thought they were...

As I replied to my text, he simply sat down next to me and said hi. Well that saved me a fucking year of "do I get up or was that really him or where did he go and errrgh?!"

I was really surprised at how well just text translated into real life interaction. The questions I knew existed via words alone were, for the most part, answered. Despite being pretty nervous and then pretty quiet (is this really news...), and maybe the environment not being the best choice for talking and/or being heard, the whole situation went well. I'd always thought that since I was cursed to befriend foreigners, my first meeting of a 'net person would go horribly awry, but it actually didn't...

And then I came home and wrote two pages on my cyberhearts for sHitty music, misspelling "Automaton" as "automation" because for all the brains I need, I lost mine in the Prozac Wars.

Life has long since taken hold of communication between me and Zilla, causing it to be what the natives call "intermittent". Nevertheless, as my first proper blog reader and first internet-meets-real life acquaintance slash friend, I have to say I'm really grateful to have met and know him, and hope to continue as much for some time yet.

His song (nah, I didn't try very hard on this one):