Paludarium-tastic!

Yes! Finally! The paludarium is set up and running quite well! The crabs are all enjoying their little habitat and I even got another pair, hopefully I'll be able to breed these. :) Also! I picked up a 55gallon tank yesterday! for 40$! Came with a stand and a shit ton of air pumps and other sorts of aquarium stuff. Now, you may be wondering where this money came from. Well, I'm in the same boat. I just haven't a clue. One minute I'm broke, the next I'm off buying a whole 'nother aquarium without fear of it impacting my funds for school. Crazy man. Anywho, how about some pics of the palu? Oh and as for the mask project, hell, you can tell I've been busy, yeah? With school on it's 2nd week, I'm already knee deep into a sculpture and simple assignments from my other classes. Though the simple assignment of buying all my welding "skin gear" is a tad costly. Enough rambling. Time for pictures! Check out the colors on those crabs!

Paludarium Update - NOW WITH RED DEVIL CRABS! :D

I couldn't believe it, my local fish store actually had Geosesarma crabs in today. They were selling pairs for only 30$ so I paid for one as quick as I could. They're even the red variety! The kind I wanted! I had kinda given up on the idea of getting crabs for this project and sticking to geckos because I am confident in my ability to keep geckos, but the second I saw the crabs, I knew I had to have them. It was just gonna be a simple trip to  the store too. I was just picking up some gravel and a few pieces of driftwood, but I just mentioned vampire crabs to Emily (girl who works there) and she was like "We have some up front!" 

Needless to say, I'm excited. The crabs will be waiting for me at the store until I get the paludarium finished, which should be tomorrow. What's really wonderful is that today I was gonna buy a 50 gallon off of craigslist, but I decided that I'd save my money for finishing up the paludarium project. I'm infinitely glad that I did. 

I did a near complete layout of the hardscape (driftwood and rocks) within the paludarium and used the actual light that will be over the tank. It really looks spectacular, can't wait to fill it with plants and water and fish and crabs! 

And that was the big event of the night for me. Just more working during the day! 

Masking Up for Lost Time

Well, I had a paragraph typed out, but I unfortunately closed the window on accident. And now it's late-pants and I am le-tired-pants. Big day for me, first day on the job for Chronic Tacos. Good vibes and energy working there for it being a taco shop chain. Guh, I should be sleeping, gotta get up early to buy Burning Man tickets.

In other news! I got back to mask making. I bet you all thought I had given up! Hah! NO.

First up - Mask #5: Hand Eye Coordination



Second - Mask #6: Suns that Refused to Sink


And finally, one that I particularly like -
Mask #7: Shudder


I think for the sake of them looking good on the blog, I'll shoot them portrait from now on. Am I really 30 masks behind already? Fuuuuuuuuu....zZzzZzzzz...
Edit: No wait, just 23. I can deal with that.

Technomania Circus

What a night... Sorry about the promising about masks, school and new job start next week so maybe that regimen will get me back to them. At least that's my reasoning. I instead finished cleaning my room. Somehow...
I am still in disbelief about it actually.


BUT Back to what the title of this post pertains to!
Tonight, I went to the Technomania Circus. It was absolutely fantastic. The show was Space Pirate Dance Party themed, if you can wrap your mind around that. There were fire jugglers, pirate jokes, robots, alien birth all over the stage, extreme acts of balancing and even a rockin' song about testosterone! Along with gratuitous amounts of blacklight. AND HILARITY.

These guys put on a performance once a month for the low low price of $10. So much better than wasting money on some movie that you won't remember a week later. I heard about it through the San Diego Burning Man announce email list and at first I couldn't believe that there was an underground circus act right in my own home area. Hell, I had to see it to believe it. I wish I had pictures, but at the same time I hate experiencing things from behind a lens and this was a participatory event. It had much of the same energy that you feel out at Burning Man. WHICH FELT AWESOME.

The fact that this was going on in someone's backyard. In the Barrio(a kinda run down area in SD). The front of the house had a huge neon sign outside that read "Technomania Circus." On Homemade stage. With Homemade lighting rigs. A big white and blue striped tarp/tent over the audience of maybe 30-40 people. Makeshift props. AND A CROWS NEST THAT THEY STOOD ON AND SHOT FIRE FROM.

Really world. I do love you. I just wish more of you was like this. I mean, not all of you. Cause that would diminish its uniqueness. But really, more stuff like this for folks under 21 to do. And for only 10$.

Proof? Right here:

Happy New Year and an Update

Well, I guess my break from school has kinda gotten to me. I've only made one mask in the time I've been away, but I've been busy with other shtuff!

Namely the fact that I now HAVE A CAR! It's a 1999 Ford Escort Wagon so it's kinda mom-y, but it gets great mpg and is big enough to comfortably sleep in. Perfect road trip vehicle. 

ALSO! I now have a new job! I interviewed prior to New Year's and they called me in for a second interview on the Tuesday after. Then called to tell me I was hired! I'm gonna go through training on Monday, but I'm stoked to have restaurant work again. Sign flipping has just gotten really old... 

In fishy news, I tore down my 20gal today because the tank wasn't really turning out how I wanted it. So I'm rethinking that one as I get back to work on my riparium/paludarium. Rufus, the dwarf gourami, is dead as well as Jawbreaker, the dwarf puffer. Rufus was on his way out and I couldn't bare to watch him suffer any longer so I humanely euthanized him. Jawbreaker died rather quickly from what looked to be a fungal/bacterial infection. I couldn't see what was wrong because of his tiny body and without scales the infection just looked like part of his pattern. Poor little fella. :( 

I would like to get the paludarium rolling by next Tuesday, before I start school, but I'm not sure I'll have the funds to complete it. I've recently changed my plans on the way the DIY hood will be constructed. I'm thinking I'm gonna try a Wardian case sort of top, with large glass panes on the front and back with screen on the sides for better airflow. I'm almost certain I'll be adding geckos and/or frogs of some sort in to the vivarium, we'll find out after I get my first paycheck from the new job. ;) Maybe I can just establish the underwater section first and work around it. That wouldn't be to hard and the fish need to be rehomed soon, they are a bit crowded currently. Anywho, maybe I'll do a mask tonight, maybe I won't, but I'll get back to them this week. I promise you that.