I ask fwooshmembers questions.
They answer them.
Canongirl " The toy karma it brought us was great!"
Where do you live?
Upstate NY, Albany area.
You went from East coast to Colorado and back to East coast.
Does Canongirl make these decisions or is it a joint effort.
Well, I moved to Colorado in 1996, long before I ever met Canongirl. The move was not supposed to be permanent, just a 9 month snowboard vacation after graduating from college. The plan was to move back East at the end of that 9-month period, but opportunities that I could not walk away from kept presenting themselves to me that kept me in Colorado for 11 years.
The decision to move back to the East was prompted by my father’s failing health. It was looking as though he was not going to make it through 2007, and I felt like I had to be here. Canongirl hated Colorado to begin with, and moving to the East Coast was something she’s wanted for quite some time (though not necessarily to Albany), so when I asked her to come with me, she agreed. (My father is still with us and is doing much better, BTW.)
Where do you work?
I work at a public high school in Albany, NY.
Which do you prefer speaking to groups or one on ones?
I have no problem with either. I’m a schoolteacher, so speaking to groups is what I do day in, day out.
Do you get summers off?
Yup. Although at the moment I am looking into teaching summer school.
What grade do you teach?
I teach at the high school level. The graduation rate at this school is about 37%, so it’s not unusual to have an 17-year-old in a freshman class, though most have been kicked out or have dropped out by that point. The violence at this school has made it notorious throughout the area. Just last week we were closed for two days due to riots and the kids are completely out of control in general. It’s really depressing. Needless to say, I’m going to be spending my summer looking for another job.
I’m an English teacher.
Do you play a musical instrument?
Bass. It’s the sound I love the most and what I have always fixated on when I listen to music. My favorite bass player ever is Peter Hook from Joy Division and New Order and he’s who I tend to rip off the most, LOL. I have a deluxe edition Fender jazz bass. Haven’t played in over a year, however, and I miss playing in a band. I’ve been in a lot of metal, hardcore, and indie rock bands in my time.
What kind of music did you play when spinning?
Throughout the ‘90s, I was a jungle/drum n bass DJ. Went by “DJ Canon.” Played about 10,000 raves all through the West and held residencies in practically every club in the Denver/Boulder area. Released several DJ mix tapes and mix CDs as well. It was pretty sweet and over the years I had the opportunity to open for people like RUN DMC and De La Soul.
Around 2002 I was completely burned out on the rave thing. I needed a change, and that’s when the whole electroclash scene emerged. I dropped DnB like a stone and switched it up to electroclash and indie dance and I found myself playing to a completely different audience at different clubs and underground parties. What was cool about this was it forced me to completely reinvent myself as a DJ and I was starting from the bottom again. I couldn’t just rely on my “name” to secure gigs and bring in crowds.
While I was in grad school I also had an‘80s night at a super posh club in Denver – one of those “super clubs” with 4 different floors and something different happening on each. I was originally hired to play electroclash in this room, which I was stoked about, but the crowd this club attracts wasn’t too into it, and from there it evolved into this crappy ‘80s night. It was extremely popular, but I hated it so much and did it strictly for the money. It was so cheesy, but I suppose there are worse ways to pay the bills while in school.
In late 2006 I began teaching full-time, and had to give up Djing completely (being in a club till 3:00 am then having to be in the classroom by 7:00am wasn’t going to work).
What do you listen to now?
I don’t seek out new music the way I used to. When I was Djing, I spent half my life in record shops, but now that I don’t have to do that, I find myself repeatedly returning to old favorites like Joy Division, Radiohead, The Misfits, and Pulp. But I have found myself liking newer stuff like Justice, Japanther, Art Brut, and The Cribs as well as whatever Canongirl discovers.
Who is in you family?
My dad, 3 brothers, 3 sisters-in-law, 4 nephews, and 2 nieces. However, I also consider Canongirl, her mom, brother, and nephew my family as well.
Any pets?
Two cats. Lennon and Tabitha.
What are your future plans?
Move to either Boston or Brooklyn, settle into a teaching position in a school I won’t want to leave, get married, have a kid, and all that good stuff.
Do you customize?
Some. I’ve done several repaints (Transformers), but have only done one real mod, which was adding a collar to Hasbro’s craptacular ML Banshee. I have several customs I want to get started on, but I can never seem to find the time to get to them. Once school is over in a couple weeks, I should be able to get to work on them .
Do you cook?
I can boil water and turn on a microwave. Canongirl is the cook, and she is one hell of a cook.
What is in your collection?
We have a complete MoC set of TB Marvel Legends, DCSH, DCUC, Hellboy, a million Transformers, GI Joe (RAH), Minimates (Marvel & DC), JLU, Neca TMNT, 7th Kingdom, and Marvel Mighty Muggs. Our house looks like a toy store.
How did "Send a toy to your non-american fwoosher" program work out?
The “Canonball Run?” That was fun. I did that while still living in Denver in the Fall/Winter of 2006. When I heard Canada was getting none of the last couple waves of ML, XMC, Spidey Classics, etc…, I decided to help out because the Walmarts in my area were flooded with all of that stuff. I hit the stores, loaded up shopping carts, stored them all in our house, and then emailed Fwooshers with what I had available for them. Canongirl would literally spend whole days off just packing figures to ship out and it really felt like we were running a toy store. I basically did it because had I been in their situation, I would hope someone would help me out. I happened to be in a position where I could help, so I did.
Did you always get the first Toybiz Marvel Legends when they came out?
Oh, I was never the first. That honor always went to Waiting and tidave. However, whenever they found a new wave of figures (MLs), it was almost always exactly seven days later that I would find them at the Walmart near my work in Denver, making me among the first. I could almost set my watch to it and I basically relied on them to tell me when to start hunting. The one wave I DID find first, HML1, has the distinction of being regarded as the worst wave of the line, so there was no glory in that find, LOL.
Where I live now isn’t as fertile a hunting ground as Denver was for me. I found everything there really quick, but then I also had an army of scalpers to compete with which sort of conditioned me in my OCD hunting style. Here, there doesn’t seem to be any scalpers, just other collectors like SalemCrow and Magneto76. Makes hunting a bit more relaxed because I can walk into a Walmart or TrU on a Sunday afternoon and actually find something I’m looking for. We’re not pallet-diving every night unless there’s something I really really want, like MP Starscream.
Where do you vacation? Where would you like to vacation?
Well, when we lived in Colorado, we would take trips to Boston and to Albany to visit my family. Now that we’re ON the East Coast, we may need another vacation destination. Someday, I would love to take a Vespa tour through Italy.
What other sites do you visit?
None with the frequency of Fwoosh, but I do visit allspark.com, TNI, the FANtastic Exclusive forums, and TF2005. At school, a lot of sites are blocked, so when I’m there I just stick to news sites like CNN and the drudgereport.com. Tumblr.com too.
What do you spend your money on?
Freakin’ toys, trades, blu-ray discs, video games, gas, food, clothing, insurance, etc.
What is wrong with you?
Good question. I don’t even know where to begin.
Canongirl
Do Canonball’s answers look correct?
Yes, all of Canonball’s answers are correct. Though I remember the decision to move here to Albany as being mutual, not as something he asked me to do and that I agreed to. But that’s neither here nor there.
Where do you work?
I work in an optical shop just outside (think 10 minutes with traffic) outside of Albany as an office manager and I love it. The pay sucks donkey balls but my health insurance is covered and I can honestly say that I like each and every person I work with.
Who is in your family?
Canonball of course. And up until recently I thought I was from a small family (long story), and as it turns out I’m not at all. But the core group is: my mother, my brother (who will be starting treatment for stage 4 cancer soon), my 5-year-old nephew, my aunt and cousin. The first 3 are in Denver, CO and the last 2 are in Houston, TX.
What are your future plans?
To move to Boston (Brooklyn only if I must-though only for a short time. Boston is the only place I want to call home for the rest of my life), get married and have kid(s). I’d also like to go back to school, learn French and Japanese, and do some traveling.
Do you customize?
I wish. But I tend to get in over my head when it comes to new hobbies. I’m talking jumping in with some crazy Olympic style dive into the deep end instead of just dipping my toes first. I would never be able to just start off small by adding some paint to a figure the way Canonball does. So I’m just going to stick with collecting and save myself from getting in over my head.
Do you cook?
Yes, and bake. My current fave dish that I make is sundried tomato risotto with balsamic reduction. Canonball is vegan and I am a vegetarian (which rules out us meeting some fwooshers cause I hear that will cause us bodily harm ) but I hate the taste of soy (except for tofu, I’ve always like tofu) so my claim to fame is finding way to make vegan meals that are traditionally made with meat that taste exactly the same. I do pretty damn well if I do say so myself.
A reduction is just Balsamic vinegar left on low heat for a long time?
Not exactly. You start off with no less than a cup in a small sauce pan over medium heat and stir frequently because if you just leave it the vinegar will not caramelize properly. I read some recipe that you can put sugar in it to reduce the “bite”. But the bite is the best part… plus I would imagine that would just make it too sweet.
Do you like cheese?
Yes but I hate the smell. I adore goat cheese with a little fig spread on petite toasts and brie with butter on bread. God I sound like a pompous ass.
What is in your collection?
Well as Canonball stated we have a complete MOC set of TB marvel legends and I started Canonball on Hellboy. Hasbro killed the Canongirl there for a while but NYCC got my juices going again so to speak. Some of the stuff (and I do stress some) I saw at the Hasbro booth was great. I just hope that the final product looks the same; they have a history of screwing us over that way. I use to collect figure factory but right now it’s just mighty mugs. I’ll pick up the random Simpsons figure here and there and just recently I got a Mach 5 and Speedracer ,not from the movie line-this one is actually good.
Do you have any tattoos?
I have what is called a “tramp stamp” it is a Hindi word written in Sanskrit. It is not finished nor am I with tattoos. I love them. I have a quarter sleeve design and a set of Chinese characters (please note these are not your typical “peace” or “love” characters) that I have wanted for forever and a half.
Does Canonball try and correct your English?
LOL Not really. My grammar and spelling tend to be pretty good, when I’m writing anyways. But if I’ve gone to long without coffee or I’m just generally dead tired my brain will start to get mushy and I’ll either make up words altogether or pronounce them in new and interesting ways.
What did you think about the “Canonball Run”?
Loved the cannonball run. Wish we could still be doing it actually. The toy karma it brought us was great!
What is it like to be female in the male dominated Fwoosh?
I think some females may be intimidated. Some (not all mind you) have been introduced to comics and figures through their significant others and may feel like they wouldn’t be accepted since they haven’t read certain comics or whatnot. Who cares how anyone came here, the point is they are here.
Do you ever get angry or fight over toys?
No way. Why would we fight over something that is mutual?
Some people hide their purchases from the significant other.
Can’t really do that here. We do everything together, everything is out in the open, we have a joint checking account, and all bills that need to be paid are put on the fridge so we remember to pay them.
Do you two toy hunt together?
We hunt together for the most part. Canonball has more time off then I do, especially now that he’s done with school, so there are times where he’ll go to a certain Target or Wally without me. But he’ll always let me know if he’s found something or whether or not it was the same old same old. I have to admit though that I wish he didn’t find anything when he goes out by himself because finding something you want and have been looking for when you’re with someone is awesome because you can nerd out together.
Where do you vacation? Where would you like to vacation?
Currently, nowhere. But there a lot of places and things I’d like to do. I’d love to go to the standard places: London, Paris, Venice, Tokyo. But I’ve always wanted to go to India, Thailand (Bangkok sure but mainly to spend some time on an orangutan preserve) and Kenya at a gorilla preserve. I have a thing for my furry ancestors.
What other sites do you visit?
Ain’t it Cool, CNN, NPR, NY Times, that’s about it. I don’t stray to far.
Where do you get your information from?
I listen to NPR every morning and check out CNN.com before even getting ready for work (sometimes I do both simultaneously). So I guess I stay current out of force of habit. I don’t really seek any specific topics out though I admit to being a political junky so I listen to pieces about the current presidential race with a little more interest or read political articles first.
What do you spend your money on?
Well, I can be pretty stereotypically female. Clothes and shoes if not toys. It use to be books and music, but not… err… anymore. <_<_> But since moving to Albany that’s slowed considerably. Albany isn’t much of a fashion Mecca… When we moved here I thought we would be going to Boston or NYC every other weekend but that’s turned out not to be the case. Hopefully we’ll go to Boston soon though so I can fix my stagnant wardrobe.
What is wrong with you?
Whoa boy… Hmmm… I’m actually way to practical when it comes to everything except my own impulses , as well as shoes, I’m short so I like heels, if that makes any sense,
Thanks C & C !
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