Leap of Faith: When Scary Works Out

At the time of writing this, I’m awaiting results for my audition to join the Chilling Tales for Dark Nights team. I’ve written about them before, but what I haven’t mentioned is their yearly contest, Evil Idol. Each year the team puts out a call for aspiring voice actors and horror lovers to compete. First place wins, among other things, the exciting chance to join the CTFDN storytelling team. Hundreds send in their recordings of spine-tingling terror, having practiced for countless hours perfecting their snarls and screams. And then there’s yours truly: going out on a limb for a shot at something amazing. Little scary, not going to lie.

Every now and again we get an opportunity to do something genuinely exciting. Riding a new roller coaster, singing in front of an audience, going on a book tour, etc. However, exciting can often be another word for terrifying. Roller coasters move quickly, stage fright exists, and I have no idea how Tahani survived her book tours. However, as the curse goes, “may you live in interesting times”, and sometimes taking a risk can lead down interesting paths.

Let me give you an example or two.

Avengers, Assemble?

I’ve spoken in the past about my travels to Vegas in pursuit of MtG games and friends. The 2017 event was actually where I was hoping to meet TGE’s own Dante Buccieri after we’d been introduced through a shared podcast. Alas, plans changed and Dante couldn’t attend. Soon after the event, he approached me with the idea of working with this cool new group of people, writing about all things nerd. Now, I hadn’t done too much writing since I finished school, and never in such a group/community setting. Beyond that, what all did I have to say? I remember thinking that there were only so many times I could talk about scary stories and cardboard before it got uninteresting to read. What would I do then?

Thankfully, Dante encouraged me, and got me in touch with Regina (long may she reign). After some discussion, I was brought into the TGE crew, nerves and all. Because of my time working at the site, I’ve made new friends, traveled to new places, read new books, and watched new movies. There have been serious and silly conversations, people willing to help with outside projects, and in-jokes born. I have a group of people with whom I can discuss the things I love and not be chastised for not knowing about something else. And without that little step into a new group, who knows where I would be now?

Nomadic Nerdery

As I write this, I’ve received the keys to my new apartment, hence my recent trouble with keeping on schedule. The lease is up where I currently live, and I needed to find a new home to keep from moving back in with my dad. That little taste of freedom….

If you’ve ever been apartment hunting, you know how stressful it can be, especially when staring down a timeline. With the lease up on my current place, 2 jobs, and no sleep schedule, the anxiety was peaking. However, a lot of digging, a little questioning, and a leap of faith later, we got the place. I’m still moving things in when I can, and it’s a new area, but it seems doable. Also, with this being the first apartment with my name on the lease, the responsibility falls to me now. It’s a bold new world out there for this little crab.

Sorry for being so far behind, and for the short piece this week. Like I said, once I get things settled, everything should be back to semi-normal. As always, this has been Crab, and I might need to borrow your pickup truck.

Cheers!