Cedarcest Sanctum – Page 2 – Cedarcrest Sanctum

Immortal Holiday, Part 2: The Plan

April 15, 2017April 15, 2017Leave a comment

While there aren’t any travel perks to being a Vampire, having boatloads of cash and one-sixth of a private jet never hurts. No lines, no TSA, no luggage limits… feel free to hate me now, but just a little. You also don’t have to travel to a major airport; any permissible airstrip will do.

Weston, West Virginia has just such an airstrip, so we scheduled a pickup for early evening. Even though this is a holiday primarily with my still-living parents, I’m still taking my buds Cole and Travis… for all the reasons I haven’t thought of. We’ll visit a bit on the plane, but once we get up to Michigan, they’ll have accommodations ready at a local rental to make sure my day-bed (read: grave) is up to specs.

I’ve made up the convenient excuse that part of my time in the area will be split between visiting and local scouting of charitable entities for the Cedarcrest Foundation of Appalachia; while it’s technically true (I use this excuse often), it means I shouldn’t be missed since I’ll be blissfully six-feet under while Mr. Sun is patrolling the skies.

My dad always tried to give my mom and I the best of everything growing up as his businesses improved, but I’m looking forward to seeing the look on his face when I invite him onboard our Gulfstream G650ER.

Otherwise, there’s no plan here; just me dealing with any relative-prompted situation that comes to pass. What could go wrong, hmm?

Take your power seriously. Keep each other safe. Be indomitable.
~ Janiss

Email janiss.connelly@cedarcrestsanctum.com
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Immortal Holiday, Part 1: Forethought

April 14, 2017Leave a comment

Vampires don’t travel on a whim. We must plan ahead if we’re to remain docile: where we’ll rest during the day, the travel time to get there, and of course “staying hydrated.” I didn’t travel much before becoming a Vampire, so I never gave much thought to traveling afterward.

Imagine my surprise, then, when my parents suggested taking an Easter vacation to visit a few distant relatives on my dad’s side. Wow — did all kinds of fears pop into my head! Then I thought, you know, I can do this. Figure out an itinerary, polish up a few ready excuses, and spend a few bucks to get ahead of any potential issues… hell, why not?

This little getaway, unfortunately, would lap the three-day facility limit Cedarcrest Sanctum has set for residential treatments, but Nancy volunteered to provide a draw in a pinch, so I could squeeze a good five days out for myself before having to get back.

All righty, then — let’s do this!

Take your power seriously. Keep each other safe. Be indomitable.
~ Janiss

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The Answer is Still No – Vampire Verisimilitude

February 5, 2017Leave a comment

If there was an organized Vampire Nation, a Council of Bloodsuckers, or an Undead Italian Governing Body, the answer still has to be no.

Vampires won’t fix things for you.

As a reminder: the Vampire population is much lower than mortals who believe think they are; a good rule is one bloodsucker for every three-quarters of a million people. The United States, for example, is home to a little over four hundred immortals; New York City only has about twelve… not exactly enough to fill up a night club.

Most of us stay far away from politics and even further from religion.

Yes, I’ve watched the news: what’s the new guy done now? Well, he hasn’t repealed the Vampire Tolerance Act (there isn’t one) or declared all immortals enemy of the state (because we don’t call that kind of attention to ourselves). The most influence we’ll exert is to keep our little corner of the planet safe for those we care about — which for most immortals is only themselves. Besides only being influential at night, we can’t go on television and mass-hypnotize everyone into getting along; the most we could do is prove we exist to the world, are a credible threat, and give you a specific enemy to fight against together.

HBO’s “True Blood” covered much of that… poorly — not to mention those season finales were always so bad.

beetlejuicejunocasworker Whether you believe in your elected leaders or not, whether your candidate got in or not, the Vampire Vote just doesn’t carry any weight unless you’re bringing ire and grief to our doorstep — in which case, there won’t be any emergency actions or filed appeals, but it also won’t go any further than the foolish individuals who knock on the crypt door.

What I’m saying is, stop wishing for a knight in shining armor, a superhero with a cape, or a vengeful spirit seeking retribution to fix all of your problems.

To quote Juno the Caseworker from Beetlejuice: “Get them out yourselves — it’s your house.”

Take your power seriously. Keep each other safe. Be indomitable.
~ Janiss

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I, Fictional Character – Vampire Verisimilitude

September 25, 2016September 25, 2016Leave a comment

Ever feel like you’re the star of your own television show? Not a good one or the most watched one, but a show on the bubble, always teetering on cancellation?

You wake up, think about things, then go about your life. There are recurring supporting characters, the occasional guest star, and those who are written out because their contract’s up.

If you were the outside observer — a mere viewer tuning in for a bit of escapism — how many stars would you give your own program?

trumanshow There’s a movie called The Truman Show about a man (Jim Carrey) whose life being broadcast live 24/7, only he’s blissfully unaware that his existence is scripted — entertainment for the masses. All of his successes and failures are orchestrated under the control of a director and a writer’s room.

I don’t know about you, but I feel like that from time to time.

I’ve updated all of my social media profiles now to include the description “fictional character.” I’ve done this for a couple of reasons — one of which was covering my backside after being warned a few of my private posts were bleeding over into public viewing — but the best excuse is that it seems correct. After some of the most horrible things I’ve endured or seen, I still ask myself too often, “Did that really happen?”

So my question is, how about you? With online media and cameras everywhere, every word recorded and every image archived, doesn’t it feel nowadays like we’re all on television? On display for the entire world to judge or sympathize with? The only control feels like whatever you put into your profile, a sentence or two to sum up your full existence into an easily digestible bite for any potential audience.

janisscorporateportraitgscclock2016 Here’s mine:

Bleeding-heart Millennial w/tragic backstory & fangs. Stargazer. Whedonite. Phlebotomist. Fictional character. Hugger.

On half of my profiles, there wasn’t enough room to squeeze even one additional word in, so I changed them all to match the smallest allowed description (turns out that’s Google+ with 140 words or less) and I like the consistency.

But I would be remiss if I didn’t confess a few folks I’ve spoken to don’t believe what I’ve been through in my short thirty years on this earth. I’m obviously disillusioned, a liar, and/or starving for attention… blah blah blah and yada yada yada. So for them and for me, there it is: fictional character — a made-up or imaginary person… because we all present the image of ourselves we want others to accept.

Maybe I should have someone mock-up a few fake book covers and slap my face on them. Timothy?

Keep each other safe.

~ Janiss