Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Really Fuckin' Annoyed
I just discovered that the Colorado/Anaheim hockey game is apparently on the "NHL Network," whatever the fuck that is. I paid good money for Center Ice, and now they're telling me that I can't get my games? WHAT THE FUCK?!?
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Crazy Magnet Pt. 2
I have further proof of my last post!
I stopped by Safeway on my way home this evening to pick up a few things. As I was finishing up and getting ready to head for check out, I heard someone yelling and cursing. I headed towards the sound to check out what was going on. Turns out, a couple of store employees were physically restraining a guy on the floor. He was cursing them out and threatening to sue the store. I'm not exactly clear on why they had him on the ground, but there was a cart right there that one of the store managers quickly spirited away. This went on for at least 15 minutes while I was there, and was still going on after I had checked out and left the store. It's my assumption that they were waiting for the police.
Okay, so unlike the rest of my examples, this didn't happen directly to me, but I believe my point still stands. I mean, really, what were the chances of that occurring at the exact time that I just happened to be there?
I stopped by Safeway on my way home this evening to pick up a few things. As I was finishing up and getting ready to head for check out, I heard someone yelling and cursing. I headed towards the sound to check out what was going on. Turns out, a couple of store employees were physically restraining a guy on the floor. He was cursing them out and threatening to sue the store. I'm not exactly clear on why they had him on the ground, but there was a cart right there that one of the store managers quickly spirited away. This went on for at least 15 minutes while I was there, and was still going on after I had checked out and left the store. It's my assumption that they were waiting for the police.
Okay, so unlike the rest of my examples, this didn't happen directly to me, but I believe my point still stands. I mean, really, what were the chances of that occurring at the exact time that I just happened to be there?
Crazy Magnet
For some reason, in the last few weeks I have become a magnet for crazy. Naturally, not everyone and everything around me is crazy. But it does seem like the number of crazy people I encounter on a regular basis has increased recently. Now, I don't mean people talking to their shoes kind of crazy. More the walk away and think "wow - there's a nut job for you" kind of crazy.
First, there was the guy who was trying to convince me and one of my friends that the "immaculate conception" was really the product of space aliens. And he was sure that, since I am a pagan, I believed the same. We just smiled and nodded.
Then there were the two drunk girls a couple weekends ago. One of them stumbled up the table my friends and I were at, proceeded to try and bet us that she weighed more than I do. I am not exactly a small person, so we knew she was drunk/crazy. She wandered off, and we just kind of laughed and went back to watching college football. As we were leaving the bar, however, we encountered the two of them again. This time, they were having problems with their car. As in they had managed to lock themselves inside and couldn't get out. Yes, that's right, INSIDE! One of them (the one who had tried to bet us earlier) had made it out through an open sun-roof. The other was terribly upset because her "boobs were too big to fit through!" (Her words, not mine.) And on top of it all, she couldn't get the keys out of the ignition and couldn't get the car to start. One of my friends climbed in through the open roof, got the keys out of the ignition with no problem, and handed them out to me. I opened the door, letting the other girl out - who promptly ran inside, moaning about how badly she had to pee. I tried starting the car - and had no trouble whatsoever. We told them to go back inside, and get a cup of coffee to warm up (and hopefully sober up, too). Yeah, crazy.
Next, there was the couple who switched back and forth between talking to me about football and beer, and having a loud, rather heated argument about plane tickets from Phoenix to Las Vegas. The argument ended when he said "this relationship is over" and she stormed out. After he paid and left, all of us in the near vicinity looked at each other and quickly agreed that that was rather uncomfortable.
And most recently, was the guy who tried to tell me that he could determine my entire personality based on the beer bottle I had in front of me. While this might have actually been really interesting and amusing, he never actually got around to telling me what kind of personality I have. I also decided not to tell him that the bottle in front of me wasn't mine, but one that someone had left just prior to my sitting down. For the record, it was a Bud Lite bottle. Anyone who knows me will tell you I DON'T drink Bud-fuckin'-Lite. Or any other mass produced American pilsner for that matter. Bud, Coors, Michelob, etc, not my taste.
For some reason, people like to approach me and want to talk. I'm accustomed to this. I don't particularly give off a threatening vibe or anything, so random people will talk to me. That, and the fact that I tend to make eye contact with people. It's my way of acknowledging another human being. So I make eye contact and people feel free to talk to me. But recently, a lot of those random people have been down right crazy. It's like I'm wearing a sign which says, "Hey, please dump all your crazy right here!"
First, there was the guy who was trying to convince me and one of my friends that the "immaculate conception" was really the product of space aliens. And he was sure that, since I am a pagan, I believed the same. We just smiled and nodded.
Then there were the two drunk girls a couple weekends ago. One of them stumbled up the table my friends and I were at, proceeded to try and bet us that she weighed more than I do. I am not exactly a small person, so we knew she was drunk/crazy. She wandered off, and we just kind of laughed and went back to watching college football. As we were leaving the bar, however, we encountered the two of them again. This time, they were having problems with their car. As in they had managed to lock themselves inside and couldn't get out. Yes, that's right, INSIDE! One of them (the one who had tried to bet us earlier) had made it out through an open sun-roof. The other was terribly upset because her "boobs were too big to fit through!" (Her words, not mine.) And on top of it all, she couldn't get the keys out of the ignition and couldn't get the car to start. One of my friends climbed in through the open roof, got the keys out of the ignition with no problem, and handed them out to me. I opened the door, letting the other girl out - who promptly ran inside, moaning about how badly she had to pee. I tried starting the car - and had no trouble whatsoever. We told them to go back inside, and get a cup of coffee to warm up (and hopefully sober up, too). Yeah, crazy.
Next, there was the couple who switched back and forth between talking to me about football and beer, and having a loud, rather heated argument about plane tickets from Phoenix to Las Vegas. The argument ended when he said "this relationship is over" and she stormed out. After he paid and left, all of us in the near vicinity looked at each other and quickly agreed that that was rather uncomfortable.
And most recently, was the guy who tried to tell me that he could determine my entire personality based on the beer bottle I had in front of me. While this might have actually been really interesting and amusing, he never actually got around to telling me what kind of personality I have. I also decided not to tell him that the bottle in front of me wasn't mine, but one that someone had left just prior to my sitting down. For the record, it was a Bud Lite bottle. Anyone who knows me will tell you I DON'T drink Bud-fuckin'-Lite. Or any other mass produced American pilsner for that matter. Bud, Coors, Michelob, etc, not my taste.
For some reason, people like to approach me and want to talk. I'm accustomed to this. I don't particularly give off a threatening vibe or anything, so random people will talk to me. That, and the fact that I tend to make eye contact with people. It's my way of acknowledging another human being. So I make eye contact and people feel free to talk to me. But recently, a lot of those random people have been down right crazy. It's like I'm wearing a sign which says, "Hey, please dump all your crazy right here!"
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Unusual Weather
Well, in addition to it finally being winter - or at least what passes for winter in this part of Arizona - we had heavy heavy fog this morning. We're not talking a little fog either. This was thick enough that, at times, driving visibility was below 1000 feet. And since it was still dark, that made the drive into work kind of fun! At least most of the drivers out had enough sense to take it a little slower - this is actually a bit of a shock given the usual behavior of Arizona drivers in bad weather.
I haven't seen fog like this sense I was in Wales, where the whole area is often in the middle of a cloud. You get used to it when it's always foggy, but it's been long enough for me that this morning was actually pretty cool! This was the kind of fog that is so thick, it almost appears as a solid wall when you approach it. For example, the parking lot was shrouded in fog, while my building wasn't. I took a minute to look back when I got to my floor's landing, and I could see where it was nice and clear and where the buildings suddenly disappeared in gray. It was almost like something out of an old bad horror flick!
I haven't seen fog like this sense I was in Wales, where the whole area is often in the middle of a cloud. You get used to it when it's always foggy, but it's been long enough for me that this morning was actually pretty cool! This was the kind of fog that is so thick, it almost appears as a solid wall when you approach it. For example, the parking lot was shrouded in fog, while my building wasn't. I took a minute to look back when I got to my floor's landing, and I could see where it was nice and clear and where the buildings suddenly disappeared in gray. It was almost like something out of an old bad horror flick!
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Well That Was Stupid of Me
As I said a few days ago, I was hoping to be able to get a little more sleep now that my coursework is done for the semester. This morning, I tried to make that happen.
I should have gotten up at my usual time.
I really was pretty stupid to think that the Universe would let me sleep in without some kind of reprisal. I had failed to take into account that today is the first day of finals. And since there are finals which begin at 7:30, there are far more whiney little undergrads running around this morning than usual.
And, of course, I had decided to sleep in only about half an hour - which meant that I came into campus at about 7:20. Just in time to have deal with these undergrads. I think being dragged over carpet tacks and dipped in rubbing alcohol would have been more fun.
But, at least now I'm safely in my office, with some Irish-punk playing, and my coffee in hand!
I should have gotten up at my usual time.
I really was pretty stupid to think that the Universe would let me sleep in without some kind of reprisal. I had failed to take into account that today is the first day of finals. And since there are finals which begin at 7:30, there are far more whiney little undergrads running around this morning than usual.
And, of course, I had decided to sleep in only about half an hour - which meant that I came into campus at about 7:20. Just in time to have deal with these undergrads. I think being dragged over carpet tacks and dipped in rubbing alcohol would have been more fun.
But, at least now I'm safely in my office, with some Irish-punk playing, and my coffee in hand!
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Unexpected Development
So, I have mentioned problems with my roommates before. As of sometime yesterday, I don't have to worry about it any more.
They moved out.
They were there when I left for work yesterday morning, but when I got home they were gone. Poof! All they left behind were a pumpkin they bought right before Halloween, their keys, the gate remote, and an empty Sunny-D jug (in the fridge, for crying out loud!). Oh, and a water glass sitting in front of my bedroom door. Even I'll admit that was a nice little parting statement.
Luckily, they had already given me a check which covers last month's utilities and about 2 weeks of December's rent, so I'm not fucked for rent this month. The fact that the check was left for me Monday morning and they were gone by Tuesday evening makes me think they had planned this out a bit.
And while the timing is not great, it could be worse. At least I'm done with classes for the semester, and I know that there are usually people looking for a new place to live around the first of the year. Granted, it would have been nice to know that they were planning on leaving. Ah well.
If it seems a little strange that I'm not going off in my usual fashion on this, it's because I had pretty much come to the conclusion that it was time to get rid of them. Nothing personal, exactly; it just wasn't working out for any of us. The final impetus came, ironically enough, with the rent check left on Monday. I didn't see my roommates Sunday, so I left a note on their bedroom door Sunday night, stating what the rent was for this month, and asking that they just leave a check on the table for me to pick up Monday morning. Left with their check was a note saying sorry, but they didn't have enough money in their checking account to cover the full amount and that they would leave another check for Tuesday morning with the balance. My thought was, "Well that's a pain. Haven't you guys learned yet that rent will be due start of the month? And you should know by now roughly how much it will be. Try planning ahead." But I didn't make a big deal out of this simply because I had other things more deserving of my attention at the start of this week. Well, yesterday morning I got up and looked for a check on my way out the door. There wasn't one, but since I knew I wasn't going to make to bank yesterday before they closed, I decided not to worry about too much.
I related the first part of the this check saga to Journey over the phone Monday night, and she said "I think it's really time you got rid of these guys." She was right, and by the time I got up Tuesday morning, I had decided to give them notice that it really wasn't working and that I was going to ask them to be out by first of the year. I figured I could give them until the end of the month, especially given that at that point I was assuming they were going to pay for December. But, they beat me to it.
So, if I'm not fuming about it, heaping curses upon them, or dropping the F-Bomb, it's because the decision had already been made. I was (and still am) a little annoyed that I had to scramble a bit last night to get roommate-wanted ads posted, but that I can live with. Hopefully I can get some good applicants this time around!
(Needless to say, this was NOT what I had in mind when I posted yesterday afternoon, but it does fit the bill I guess!)
They moved out.
They were there when I left for work yesterday morning, but when I got home they were gone. Poof! All they left behind were a pumpkin they bought right before Halloween, their keys, the gate remote, and an empty Sunny-D jug (in the fridge, for crying out loud!). Oh, and a water glass sitting in front of my bedroom door. Even I'll admit that was a nice little parting statement.
Luckily, they had already given me a check which covers last month's utilities and about 2 weeks of December's rent, so I'm not fucked for rent this month. The fact that the check was left for me Monday morning and they were gone by Tuesday evening makes me think they had planned this out a bit.
And while the timing is not great, it could be worse. At least I'm done with classes for the semester, and I know that there are usually people looking for a new place to live around the first of the year. Granted, it would have been nice to know that they were planning on leaving. Ah well.
If it seems a little strange that I'm not going off in my usual fashion on this, it's because I had pretty much come to the conclusion that it was time to get rid of them. Nothing personal, exactly; it just wasn't working out for any of us. The final impetus came, ironically enough, with the rent check left on Monday. I didn't see my roommates Sunday, so I left a note on their bedroom door Sunday night, stating what the rent was for this month, and asking that they just leave a check on the table for me to pick up Monday morning. Left with their check was a note saying sorry, but they didn't have enough money in their checking account to cover the full amount and that they would leave another check for Tuesday morning with the balance. My thought was, "Well that's a pain. Haven't you guys learned yet that rent will be due start of the month? And you should know by now roughly how much it will be. Try planning ahead." But I didn't make a big deal out of this simply because I had other things more deserving of my attention at the start of this week. Well, yesterday morning I got up and looked for a check on my way out the door. There wasn't one, but since I knew I wasn't going to make to bank yesterday before they closed, I decided not to worry about too much.
I related the first part of the this check saga to Journey over the phone Monday night, and she said "I think it's really time you got rid of these guys." She was right, and by the time I got up Tuesday morning, I had decided to give them notice that it really wasn't working and that I was going to ask them to be out by first of the year. I figured I could give them until the end of the month, especially given that at that point I was assuming they were going to pay for December. But, they beat me to it.
So, if I'm not fuming about it, heaping curses upon them, or dropping the F-Bomb, it's because the decision had already been made. I was (and still am) a little annoyed that I had to scramble a bit last night to get roommate-wanted ads posted, but that I can live with. Hopefully I can get some good applicants this time around!
(Needless to say, this was NOT what I had in mind when I posted yesterday afternoon, but it does fit the bill I guess!)
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
I Think I Can Start Sleeping Again
Well, as of about 30 seconds ago, I have turned in my last paper for the semester. This means I no longer will feel the need to be in quite so early every day. There's still work for me to do for The Overlord, but with my classwork done for the semester, I relax a bit.
I really must admit, I'm looking forward to sleeping more than 5 hours a night during the week. And with any luck, I'll be able to go back to getting some real positing done on a regular basis! I even have a couple of things in mind for later this week or the start of next week.
I really must admit, I'm looking forward to sleeping more than 5 hours a night during the week. And with any luck, I'll be able to go back to getting some real positing done on a regular basis! I even have a couple of things in mind for later this week or the start of next week.
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