Sound of Silence

See, the weird thing is that I had plenty of time and topics to write abut over the last week. I just didn't have a functioning computer with internet access to actually compose my thoughts. It's kind of sad that I resort my self to technology as a crutch to write.

In any case, I guess it's time for an update.

It is solidly in the Christmas season at work. Hours officially changed with Black Friday, but now are staring to effect me. See, for the first few weeks, only weekends were really effected, with opening early and staying open late. Now, this week, the whole week has early openings and late closings. My Wednesday is going to suck, since it is then that I both open and close. In fact I have to go in before open to get work done then. I'm going to need some Red Bulls or something.

My Thanksgiving was all right. It was vastly different than past years. Instead of my home playing host to my immediate family, I joined my mom in center city Philadelphia for an extended family Thanksgiving. My brother was married on the next day, so with his wife's family in from another state, they had Thanksgiving dinner at the hotel were the wedding was to be held. It's strange having such a classic meal with menu options. Don't worry, I had the turkey choice. It was good, but nothing like a home cooked meal. I am also surprised how many people actually go out to eat for Thanksgiving. There was over 100 reservations for the hotel restaurant. Granted our party was most of it, but it still seems like a lot.

My brother, Chris, was married on Black Friday. This was significant because it gave me the greatest excuse (aside from a death) to not have to be at work. An added bonus was the extended days off, my first 4 day weekend/vacation since I was sick in January 2008. It was a good ceremony. It seemed non-denominational. They aren't actively practicing anything that I know of. Still, it was good to see all of my family. It is an extremely rare occasion when even my immediate family is all in one place. I talked with cousins, and generally had a good time. I drank and danced and tried my best to ignore my coming sickness. It never fails that I get sick to some degree whenever I am away from work for extended time.

Saturday started day one of house sitting. Since my brother was recently married and heading to a honeymoon in Belize, I was drafted to house sit and watch his cat, Blue. To describe it in a word, I would use "lonely". I didn't have a computer to connect with he outside world, so I settled for ondemand television and seasons of old TV on DVD. I finished up Generation Kill, Fear Itself and The Adventures of Brisco County Junior. I also brought my Xbox 360 to hook up to the HD television... Well, I hoped to at least.

The cords I had were for standard definition. I thought they may work in some capacity anyway. even if I didn't have the ful HD experience, I could at least connect it to the the internet and play some Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 online. Hell, with the new Xbox updates, I could even check my twitter and Facebook accounts. I held out for a day and headed to Gamestop the following afternoon. There I broke down and bought the HDMI cables needed for full High def experience. That was a good $50 right there. Then I headed to RadioShack and grabbed a 3ft ethernet cord for $10. I was in a good mood. I was going to waste away the rest of my solitude filled nights with mass killing of virtual people. I opend the packaging for the HDMI cable and set to connect it to the TV. Were the cable now connected to the TV, it didn't connect to the Xbox. Apparently, I have an early model that didn't support HDMI. Well, there's wasted money. Instead of getting too annoyed, I opted to attach the Xbox to the TV that was in the bedroom I was staying in. It didn' have internet access, but at least I could get some use out of it. I resorted to played a couple nights of Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2.

Now, if you read this blog with any frequency, you may have perused the one written about the date I had. It was fun. We went out a couple times over the next few weeks. We talked nearly everyday. Then Thanksgiving came, and there was silence. With attempted phone calls and text messages left unanswered, I am just assuming the worst. I just have no idea what the hell happened. I'm not going to try calling again until I hear something back. There are other things I should be focusing on, like Christmas.

Videowrestling

Someone said I don't post here often. I would have to agree.

I need some time away from moving pictures at the moment. So, for the moment, I am listening to a gaming podcast while attempting to write something. I was playing Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection for the Xbox 360. It's a lot of fun. Probably the best $30 I spent recently. I finished up a game called Beyond Oasis, which I started just to grab an achievement. It's sort of like Zelda in that it is an action adventure game with a fantasy theme. Parts of it were frustrating in that they didn't really show you where to go. I did a lot of backtracking and roaming around. It was fun, but easy at the end.

I have been in a wrestling mood lately. It started a couple weeks ago leading up the Wrestlemania. My friend, Ken, came down from NYC to go to a wrestling show here in Philly. Granted, Ken is originally from Philly, but a live show with a respectable price at the old ECW Arena is rather enticing. Ken and I were joined by a third, John. Ring of Honor snagged a recent television deal, and we just happened to be on the second night of a two part TV taping. Lot of action and a lot of fun. No slow points.

Other than that, I really want to pick up Samckdown vs. Raw 2009, to link both the videogame stuff with the wrestling stuff. They just released more downloadable content for it too. Before the extra content was a couple current "superstars". The current addition is more retro. When the list of new wrestlers includes Doink the Clown, it's almost a must buy.

I really didn't do much this Saturday. I played some games, watched friday's Samckdown because I missed it do to "Out Drinking", and generally just sat around. I didn't really have anywhere to go that wouldn't suck the money from my wallet. I had enough sucked out today due to car insurance.

Remembered Faces, Forgotten Names

I went to a sort of neighborhood reunion on Saturday night. It was advertised a bit on places like Myspace and Facebook, I believe. I saw it only because a friend posted on a forum.

It was a night of remembered faces and forgotten names. Most of the people I recognized were from high school. It was no one I really associated with in high school though. I was never the social butterfly. It came through again that night. I only jumped into conversations when people I knew were already talking with someone I didn't. I don't quite know how to approach some one when it comes to a reunion aspect of familiarity. "Hi, I remember you from when we were in high school. We didn't have any of the same classes, none of the same friends, and probably said only two words the four years we were there together. How are you?"

I don't think I could pick out any of the guys from the yearbook. It doesn't surprise me that I recognized the girls most of all. Hell, it's what I used to look at the most while I was there anyway. If only they felt obligated to break out the old school uniforms. That would have been something.

For the most part, it wasn't a terrible night. Granted I didn't go home with anyone or grab any numbers for future conversations, but that's par for the course. A few people I haven't seen in a while did show up to my surprise. The air was thick with smoke and old school rap. There were many people there I didn't care to deal with and plenty that I wouldn't mind getting to know better. Sadly, I am not entirely forthcoming with the whole ice-breaker thing. The setting seemed almost too forced.

My friend Bill had no problem reintroducing himself to people. He's a loud personality that likes an audience. He was all about mingling as much as possible. I believe his theory was that if he ever met you once, he would try and make sure you remember him this time around. I think it worked on a few unfortunate souls.

The night ended with an escape from the parking lot followed by a trip to Denny's with some friends. That part was so great for me. A half hour wait to be seated is fine. Almost an hour wait for our food to show, not so good. Worse still, my food dropped last while everyone else was finishing theirs. I don't think I will be returning to Denny's any time soon.

Recovering after a night out

I should have been pretty drunk tonight. I was hanging out with a few old friends. I was going to see the Olde City Sideshow, but it was a mix up in dates and they weren't performing. Instead I hung out with John, the OCSS talker, and my friend Ken. We were joined later by some other fellow employees and former employees of my work at a bar in Media, PA.

It was a good time. Many memories were brought up. There was talk of current problems. There was even an announcement of a new job. No, it wasn't for me.

After we had decided to part, I hung out with a couple guys afterward and went to another bar to have a couple more drinks. This was probably not a good idea. I had two more, and thought that was too much. When we left, they headed to a diner, and I headed home. I sat in my car for a bit and finished an energy drink.

Things didn't agree with me on the ride home. I was alert enough to not drive irregularly, but my stomach ached. It was like when I have sweet malt liquor, as in hard lemonade or twisted tea. It hurts my belly. I convinced myself to just make it till I got home. Only one traffic light was against me. I got home fine and parked, things took a turn for relief shortly thereafter. I feel much better now, and don't think I will be up for much longer.

My only down point was that there weren't many women where I was. The only real interaction I had was with a friend's girlfriend. the second bar sported more women, but the ratio of guys to girls was something like 5 to 1. It was all out of whack.

Oh well, tomorrow is another day. I have yet to determine what it may bring. Hopefully, it will be enjoyable.

Weekend outlook

Well, the weekend starts tomorrow. I have no idea what I am going to do. For once, there is nothing planned or set-up that I am to be a part of. For now, I think I will relegate myself to playing Lego Batman and probably watching a few horror movies. Sadly, most of this is solo stuff. Something will have to come to pass for me to break from this. I do intend to see people at some point, even if it is just a jaunt to the mall to check out the Halloween store for costume ideas.

Speaking of costumes, if I can find the stuff, I will actually wear something I may want to wear to work. I said I wasn't going to, but in this case it fits. If I were a costume, what would I be?

Bloodletting

I am giving blood tomorrow. I do this every once and a while. Mainly, I try and give whenever the church around the corner from my house is having a drive. It's in easy walking distance and doesn't force me to drive. I can avoid vehicular accidents that way. I just have to remember the whole fluid thing.

The first time I gave blood was in high school my senior year. It was during 2nd into 3rd periods. I only remember that part because I had calculus the 3rd period and it was on the third floor. I had to walk from the gym in the basement to the third floor with a pint of blood drained from my body. It was a weird experience. Still, once I gave blood, they were after me ever since.

Turns out I am a prime candidate for bloodletting. I have no tattoos, don't regularly practice unsafe sex, and have never visited a foreign nation, especially one in Africa. It also helps that my blood type is the universal donor. Whoo hoo. I should start selling the stuff. I just don't know where to go for that though.

The last time I remember donating was about last year. Afterward, I drove to my friends' sideshow performance in West Philadelphia. At the time, I didn't take highways because I was a coward. It was a long drive, but I made it fine, even home fine. I think I only had a beer or two. I decided on Guinness because I rarely see it places I frequent and it's think enough to just sip. Also, the stout doesn't have that high of an alcohol content. I want to say it was the first time I witnessed the straight-jacket escape, but I'm not sure.

In any case, that's my whole plan for the weekend. I just give blood. Everything else is up in the air. I may attend the Renaissance Faire on Sunday as well, but you never know. Also, the Olde City Sideshow is performing at the Philadelphia Tattoo Convention this weekend. Should be a good time. I heard their name mentioned in a radio ad. No tattoos from me though.

Ahh, Saturday

Well, the weekend is now upon us. It is bearing down on the end of the summer. Many people are clamoring to get in the bar-b-ques and parties before the brisk wind of fall sweeps in. You know fun things people do.

Here's what I figure. I usually don't work weekends. In fact, I haven't worked a steady weekend since I was in high school. Somehow, working retail for the better part of 6 years, I have avoided spending weekends behind a counter. It is a rare occurrence that I work on a Saturday. The last time I worked a Saturday, my boss headed to a convention. Of course this led to it being one of the more annoying weekends at the store. People subconsciously stick around and annoy me when they know I shouldn't be there. Of course, a good friend gives me a call to hang out that night. Not only have I not seen him in a long time, but he wants me out because someone who I haven't seen in a longer time is coming out as well. I couldn't make it out because of work... when I normally wouldn't be there.

So, I have to work again this Saturday. Sure, my co-worker, Tim, thinks it will be easy. Boardgames and such were suggested to pass the time. I know that's not going to happen though. Everyone and their brother will show up. The will be loud, annoying, and trying to get in as much fun and late nights as possible before high school kicks back in. At some point, a friend will call me up. I will either not answer because my store is a bomb shelter and blocks all signals, or I will get an invite somewhere. It will more than likely be someone I haven't seen in a while. For God to play a cruel joke, it will be a girl. They will want to meet up in the city. I will probably be tired from all the boardgames and high school humor. It will take all my energy not to strangle some teenager. Somehow I will have to find the willpower to start my car. The divine would have to descend to grant me the strength to make it into the city.

This weekend will not be fun.