TC Media Studio closing

[Drunk Monk]

By psychologically stable, I really meant that I don't want to burst into tears when talking to some old friend. That got a little edgy last Wednesday.

The KFM forum stands as of now. It doesn't cost that much to maintain and it still gets traffic. I'm working with it as long as I'm still on the payroll but not nearly as vigorously as before. If I secure the freelance position as a social media proctor, I'll keep doing admin. It's not too much effort and part of my social media package offering.

[Greg]

Very good.

[Drunk Monk]

Losing the mag has been a fate that I've been dreading for years.

Losing my job, well, that blindsided me. I figured I could keep a place at TC even without the mag, and I may still have some freelance work there, but not enough to pay all the bills. The pandemic factor on the economy was the mitigating factor.

I did not expect this at all. And I never foresaw the physical effect it would have upon me.  The anxiety is crazy. Both Tara and Stacy suffered from anxiety issue due to medical conditions. This is purely psychological and it's...well, freaking me out. The ongoing paranoia that it might be covid isn't helping either. 

I am so dreading the formal announcement Tuesday.

[Drunk Monk]

So many of my resources will be left at TC - my crew, first and foremost. After working together for 20 years, Patrick, Kevin and I had an intuitive relationship when it came to tasks. We were so efficient, and like a band, we could anticipate each other's moves and accentuate them.  Today, there were two examples:

My school posted my essay on their site (the one that plugs STRO https://www.plumpub.com/kaimen/2020/xingyi-sheltering/). When they first did it, they grabbed a wrong pic of GM Guo, posting a pic of someone else, GM Ku, actually our GM for our BSL lineage. It was a major gaff and I had them correct it immediately. The other thing was that they decided to cut my Revelations subtitles, which kinda blows the trilogy thematic element that I was working at, but I'm not that attached to that. Maybe the articles will bring them lots of eyeballs, and lots of sales, and they'll give me a job (it's a small company - Ted, Deb his wife who posted the article, and Linda - they don't have room for another, but here's to hope).

The second was that I don't have Adobe suite. I only have that at work. I was prepping some images for my personal social media for Tuesday and only have Paint 3D at my disposal here, which is hardly a graphic program at all. Maybe I should run images through the snapchat filter program or the photo editing on my iPhone in future. I can't afford Adobe suite and I'd really have little use for it. I don't do anything but little odd jobs like making laminates, but I won't have to do that for some time. Maybe I can do those at Kinkos in future.  If there is a future. 

I need a better name for this Tuesday's announcement as that is feeling like an overwhelming and ominous pivot point. Blue Tuesday? KFTC apocalypse? THE END? KFTCDOOM? 

Forgive all the babbling rants I've been putting out here lately. It's become my venting place.

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

When AFS was circling the drain, I was going through similar anxieties. I planned on retiring at AFS, had been working there for over 15 years and didn't know how I was going to pay rent. I had to constantly remind myself that I was not going to be homeless. You'll get through this, but it is gonna be unpleasant for a while. Keep reminding yourself of the realities and not the catastrophes that haven't happened. As you mentioned earlier, health and self-care are key. I have total faith that you will land on your feet.

You are networked and well regarded in your field, thoroughly grounded in online biz/brick & mortar, EMT stuff, organizing events. Your writing chops are very good. Content creation/tech writing are possibilities.

I'm with Stacy on this: It will be very interesting to see what your next incarnation is.

---

Fear of homelessness was my big thing; my dad ended up homeless, so I knew it was/is always possible

[Greg]

Vent away. And if you go big, we'll call it Venté.

How about the Changeover! It's not the end, only a transition point.

If you only use photoshop in Adobe Suite you can get the photographer's bundle for $10 a month.

[Drunk Monk]

I appreciate your support, my brothers. 

When I left AFS, I remember regretting that I wouldn't have access to a shop and I'd lose my shop skills. I nibbled at getting some of my own tools, but to what end? I did get enough to make some Bodhidharma Canes, but I didn't get far there. I made the prototypes for Tiger Claw's mass produced ones and I made a nice one for myself out of black walnut, but that was it. I don't miss shop work although I always thought I'd do more with it. 

Don't I have to invest in the Adobe suite before I get that photo bundle? 

I'm not worried about becoming homeless. My mom's home is paid in full. Our Fremont home is a nest egg, not paid off yet - still a few more years to go - but we could liquidate that. Hopefully not, of course. We always intended that to be an investment towards another house, hopefully here in Seabright.

It's the job market that gives me the most trepidation. How many are unemployed now? Stacy said she could probably get me a job working the desk at the Well, assuming the Well reopens at some point. Even tho the pay would be low, and no medical, that actually has some appeal, at least until things get better.

---

It's totally the END. The END of the mag. The end of an era. 

Here's a story I just shared with Stacy. When Patrick was cleaning out his desk last Weds, he found a postcard from India that I sent him in '97. That was before I worked there. We had met when Shi Yanming came through, and perhaps at John Ervin's tournament (a pupil of Sifu in Ohio) where we both worked, then we crossed paths at a Shoreline Dead show, which led me to think he was a Deadhead. He's not. He's an old skool NYC raver. I had sent him a postcard of Hanuman, berating him for fusing Hanuman and Monkey King myths. We both laughed at him finding that. Man, I'm really going to miss him in my daily life. We've been through so much together. He joined the JNK for a while. We did a lot together outside of work - went to so many screeners together. We'll still stay in touch, of course. He'll be the only one I really want stay in contact with from TC.

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

The job market will bounce back in the Bay Area faster than any place else in the US. So much of our big money is generated by businesses that don’t actually make anything (or if they do, it’s where life is cheap, like China, Bangladesh, or Michigan). The young Tech-Bros all need their services which will generate a certain level of quick/low paying work. Might be a pleasant change for a while. California is the place to be for work.

[Drunk Monk]

I hope you're right about that. I'm dreaming of something in the Cruz. Something mundane even. And it'd be great if it was flexible enough to accomodate my side hustles.

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

I think that will be very doable.

[Drunk Monk]

There's well over 200 articles that I wrote for KFM. That's not counting the ones from the last update (which was feckin Nov of last year - our IT never got around to that last update which is somewhat my bad because I should've laid into him harder) or the ones that I co-wrote (several dozen with Patrick). 

That's a lot of cut&pastin...but I think that would be the most efficient way to get them all - store them in word files and leave them in a flash drive for future use. 

I have all the links stored in an excel file, but that hasn't been updated either. I'm supposed to do a phoner with Jonny because I proposed some of the changes that need to happen for KFM with the closure of the print mag (there's actually a lot) and I'm hoping Patrick and I can get those done within the two month grace period...while we both search for new jobs.

[The Queen]

Re Adobe: no, you don’t have to invest in anything else. I have the Photoshop+Lightroom bundle and it’s $9.99 a month.

[Drunk Monk]

I'll have to look into that. Thanks. 

Although I doubt I'll be making any laminates anytime soon, and that was my primarily personal use for photoshop.

[Greg]

Good thing I answered this question in another thread before reading this here. Happy Monday, everyone!

[Drunk Monk]

sorry, haven't been tracking threads that well lately.