I got some news today that annoyed me. It was work news, so it shouldn't really worry anyone else.
The job is fine. I just found out that our shipment had some problems. My store is not alone in the problem. In fact, it is nearly all the stores that receive Marvel Comics that are the ones effected. Turns out, over the weekend, there was an accident. Thankfully, there were no injuries reported, but it seems that many comics were destroyed. This is pretty significant in that it will definitely impact sales. Many of the major Marvel titles for this week will be short in number. They have to allocate as much as possible. Of course, it's from my warehouse that has to allocate the most.
So, this coming Wednesday will be highly annoying for me. I will have to make a sign telling of the shortage. A sign no one will read. I will then have to tell everyone that walks in what the sign means, because they are morons and cannot understand English unless it is present by guys and girls in spandex. I will also need to keep track of what we actually get in, so that all of the customers that reserved certain books that are short, will still get them when we get the remainder of the reprint. Then people will complain that it is a reprint and not a first print. Fate just likes screwing with me on Wednesdays.
This Sunday was rather bland. I had wanted to head to Target for a completely different reason than for 3D glasses. Apparently, there was a 3D portion of the Grammys tonight which was a Michael Jackson tribute. I watched the Grammys, and they were all right. Still, I wanted to head to Target for simple shopping.
I haven't been shopping in a while. I need to get a couple things and occasionally like to browse. I mainly want to get some blank CDs. I am still happy over getting a functioning CD-player at work. I have a few soundtracks I need to bring into work to fill the silence of a Monday. Three of them are the Back to the Future soundtracks. Still, I didn't make it out. I had to stay home while dinner finished cooking.
We had a small Thanksgiving here. I had to wait for a turkey, stuffed with stuffing of course, to finish in the oven. It was nice. My brother, Matt, and his girlfriend's son was over. The hardest part was trying to explain how to play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 to the two of them. They have a Wii in their household. After dinner, I hopped on the Xbox to play a little CoD:MW2 online to show what you can do against living opponents. It was fun. I don't play as much as many others, but once and a while it's great to just shoot some people without repercussion.
So, other than that, I did watch the Grammys. That was after I watched Death Race 2000. Now, this is a movie worth seeing. It has unnecessary nudity, but it fits in the plot of the movie. It not only has David Carradine, but also Sylvester Stallone. I could have sworn, but when I was a kid, I thought I had the Hot Wheels version of Frankenstein's (Carradine) car, Monster. I just can't find any pictures of it on the interwebs, so I may now be mistaken.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Snowy Birthday Wishes.
Man, I am out of it this weekend. Everything just seems to feel odd.
It probably started on Thursday when I wasn't feeling too well. I think I am sick with something. I'm not quite sure what. It's not something that really knocks me on my ass, but it sure as hell keeps me from 100%. From stomach problems and body aches, to headaches and eye strains, I feel like I have hit a lot of symptoms for something larger, without getting the whole show. Not that I am complaining, mind you.
Today, I would like to say Happy Birthday to my friend, Dawn. Her husband set up a surprise birthday party for her this fine afternoon/evening. It was planned and prepared by dawn's mom. It was a common consensus that Dawn's mom should go into business party planning. She is extremely good at it. Today's theme was casino. The tables were all draped in red and black, with different playing card suits as centerpieces. There were poker chips, dice and a deck of playing cards on each table as well. There was even a toy slot machine that eventually led to the winning of prizes.
The problems started t arise when many people started to bail on the party, almost including the guest of honor. There was a snowstorm that swept through the area that caused many to panic. Of the group of friends, I am associated with, there were only 4 of us to make it. Not a great showing for people that have know the girl since around high school. It also didn't help matters that the location of the party didn't show up on google map searches. It really wasn't that hard to find in the end though. It had a pretty visible sign right at the entrance.
Things were starting to get hectic when the party planners were worried that Dawn wasn't going to come. The apparent cover was someone else's 30th birthday party. Sadly, it was someone from dawn's youth, but not necessarily a priority friend. Dawn wasn't feeling that guilty if she didn't make it. It didn't help matters that I-95 was shut down due to an accident. Dawn was in traffic with her husband for probably around an hour. She eventually walked in and was surprised, but it was nearly the zero hour for the reveal just to get her there.
Over all, it was fun. I had a good time just talking with the other few people I knew. The food was good and there was plenty of it. The music selection was varied from a traditional party fare. There was a dance floor, which no one used. The kids there were highly entertaining with their antics to keep from being bored. It's amazing what children can do to keep themselves busy and distracted.
There was talk of heading out to Sugar Mom's in Philadelphia afterward, but that didn't happen for me. I wasn't feeling too well, and I wound up needing a nap anyway. Naps are sort of a reset button for me. Now, I just have to wait for my 30th birthday.
It probably started on Thursday when I wasn't feeling too well. I think I am sick with something. I'm not quite sure what. It's not something that really knocks me on my ass, but it sure as hell keeps me from 100%. From stomach problems and body aches, to headaches and eye strains, I feel like I have hit a lot of symptoms for something larger, without getting the whole show. Not that I am complaining, mind you.
Today, I would like to say Happy Birthday to my friend, Dawn. Her husband set up a surprise birthday party for her this fine afternoon/evening. It was planned and prepared by dawn's mom. It was a common consensus that Dawn's mom should go into business party planning. She is extremely good at it. Today's theme was casino. The tables were all draped in red and black, with different playing card suits as centerpieces. There were poker chips, dice and a deck of playing cards on each table as well. There was even a toy slot machine that eventually led to the winning of prizes.
The problems started t arise when many people started to bail on the party, almost including the guest of honor. There was a snowstorm that swept through the area that caused many to panic. Of the group of friends, I am associated with, there were only 4 of us to make it. Not a great showing for people that have know the girl since around high school. It also didn't help matters that the location of the party didn't show up on google map searches. It really wasn't that hard to find in the end though. It had a pretty visible sign right at the entrance.
Things were starting to get hectic when the party planners were worried that Dawn wasn't going to come. The apparent cover was someone else's 30th birthday party. Sadly, it was someone from dawn's youth, but not necessarily a priority friend. Dawn wasn't feeling that guilty if she didn't make it. It didn't help matters that I-95 was shut down due to an accident. Dawn was in traffic with her husband for probably around an hour. She eventually walked in and was surprised, but it was nearly the zero hour for the reveal just to get her there.
Over all, it was fun. I had a good time just talking with the other few people I knew. The food was good and there was plenty of it. The music selection was varied from a traditional party fare. There was a dance floor, which no one used. The kids there were highly entertaining with their antics to keep from being bored. It's amazing what children can do to keep themselves busy and distracted.
There was talk of heading out to Sugar Mom's in Philadelphia afterward, but that didn't happen for me. I wasn't feeling too well, and I wound up needing a nap anyway. Naps are sort of a reset button for me. Now, I just have to wait for my 30th birthday.
Friday, January 29, 2010
These ears can hear.
We finally have a new CD layer at work.
Ok, so it isn't technically new, but it's new to the store. The old one broke early this week for failure to play CDs. It was selective about what it wanted to play. At first I thought it was only burned CDs it was avoiding. It turns out it was anything with a slight scratch or scuff. Only the most pristine were even considered for play, i.e. the player read them and counted the tracks. Most discs I would put in would read as not there and try to be spit back out. If it read the disc, it was a 10% chance it would play it. Even with those odds, a couple CDs were played. Granted, some of the CDs only played for a couple songs before the player gave up.
My boss likes to call me on Fridays to see when he can come in. Friday mornings used to be a day off for him. I usually had someone else to cover the time with. With our store being short staffed, my boss doesn't get much time home. The usual conversation consists of him asking how crazy it is. Most of the time it was rather quite. Once and a while, something happens when there is a ton of phone calls or just annoying customers, and it makes me extremely irritable. He doesn't want to walk into that, so he wants a buffer. Still, the only bothering me this morning was how quite it was because I couldn't listen to any music and had to rely on mall sounds.
During our conversation, his wife over heard him. She suggested he just take their CD player from home into the store since it wasn't getting any use there. It's old, and it works, so that's fine with me. It even has a 5 disc changer so I can just set up a few discs and let them play. I didn't do it today because I wound up getting the CD player at around 3PM. I settled for listening to the Dragon Age: Origins soundtrack my friend Gregg got for me.
I felt like crap a couple hours ago. Lack of food does that. Now, I have some chicken in me, but I don't think I will make it out to see the Poison cover band a friend asked me to see. I will probably gather up enough strength to just head to the bar and have a drink or two, just to get out of the house. I'm not really in the party mood, but you never know what the night may present.
On another note, I want to see The Losers when it comes out. It's based on a Vertigo comic under DC's imprint. It is about a group of black-ops characters that get betrayed by their government, and they want a little payback. It's more of a revenge kick than Burn Notice, but I think it looks good just he same. Here's a link to where I saw the trailer: VIDEO: The Losers – The Full Trailer Now Online
Ok, so it isn't technically new, but it's new to the store. The old one broke early this week for failure to play CDs. It was selective about what it wanted to play. At first I thought it was only burned CDs it was avoiding. It turns out it was anything with a slight scratch or scuff. Only the most pristine were even considered for play, i.e. the player read them and counted the tracks. Most discs I would put in would read as not there and try to be spit back out. If it read the disc, it was a 10% chance it would play it. Even with those odds, a couple CDs were played. Granted, some of the CDs only played for a couple songs before the player gave up.
My boss likes to call me on Fridays to see when he can come in. Friday mornings used to be a day off for him. I usually had someone else to cover the time with. With our store being short staffed, my boss doesn't get much time home. The usual conversation consists of him asking how crazy it is. Most of the time it was rather quite. Once and a while, something happens when there is a ton of phone calls or just annoying customers, and it makes me extremely irritable. He doesn't want to walk into that, so he wants a buffer. Still, the only bothering me this morning was how quite it was because I couldn't listen to any music and had to rely on mall sounds.
During our conversation, his wife over heard him. She suggested he just take their CD player from home into the store since it wasn't getting any use there. It's old, and it works, so that's fine with me. It even has a 5 disc changer so I can just set up a few discs and let them play. I didn't do it today because I wound up getting the CD player at around 3PM. I settled for listening to the Dragon Age: Origins soundtrack my friend Gregg got for me.
I felt like crap a couple hours ago. Lack of food does that. Now, I have some chicken in me, but I don't think I will make it out to see the Poison cover band a friend asked me to see. I will probably gather up enough strength to just head to the bar and have a drink or two, just to get out of the house. I'm not really in the party mood, but you never know what the night may present.
On another note, I want to see The Losers when it comes out. It's based on a Vertigo comic under DC's imprint. It is about a group of black-ops characters that get betrayed by their government, and they want a little payback. It's more of a revenge kick than Burn Notice, but I think it looks good just he same. Here's a link to where I saw the trailer: VIDEO: The Losers – The Full Trailer Now Online
Damned and Lost
I'm frickin' freezing, Mr. Bigglesworth!
It's cold in my house. It is apparently getting colder and colder this weekend. If I were a meteorologist, I would assume any dramatic change of weather would be the end of days. To quote my friend Paul, "Al Gore is a fraud. There is no global warming."
My body also aches all over. While, sure, some of that could be attributed to just being old, I don't think that is the full case. For starters, it just really started today. I would think it would be a gradual thing if it was normal wear and tear. I think my body is fighting something. I don't know if it is a flu or not. I am still pretty active, and not really lethargic, except for the idiocy to not sleep on a regular schedule. I'm not nauseous, much. There are occasional bouts of upset tummy, but nothing producing anything. Most of it just comes down to not focusing on it. I think it is trial of willpower.
Everyone seems to want me to play Dragon Age: Origins. Next to Mass Effect 2, Dragon Age seems to be the RPG people are talking about. My biggest problem is that I don't really dedicate time to playing many games. Dragon Age is up my alley, with the whole fantasy aspect were decisions actually have consequences. The company that made it, Bioware, has a track record for allowing choices to be made that effect the story and/or game-play of the video game. I played their original RPG, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic on the original Xbox. It is a great game, so I am not surprised that Dragon Age isn't also awesome.
I spend way too much time learning about video games than actually playing them. I am probably a scholar of it at this point. I have no practical knowledge of the product, but I know what everyone else tells me. That can probably be about many things concerning me. I typically listen to 2 podcasts a week dedicated to video games. I even read a magazine or 2 a month on the subject. That doesn't count the websites I check for news on nearly a daily basis. I probably put more work into learning about video games than I do leaning about comics.
I more than likely follow video games as a hobby instead of comics because comics are my job. Video games are escapism for me. There is only so much comic rumors I can take. Just like wrestling, I usually can tell what path the comic industry will take, but I will follow it regardless of what happens. With video games, options open up. With such a significant price tag attached, as well as time committed to playing the game, a lot gets invested by the consumer.
right now, there are about a dozen or so game I would like to be playing. right now, though, I am settling for Grand Theft Auto IV: Episodes from Liberty City. It is a disc version of the downloadable content available for the original game GTA4. I am currently going through The Lost And The Damned, where I take the role of the second in command of a biker gang. I have only played for a little while, but it interesting how the gangs story happens at the same time as the original GTA4's protagonist's, Nico, does.
I never even beat the original GTA4 game. I asked for GTA4: Episodes from Liberty City for Christmas, and it was the only game I got. I am playing it before I get something else, like Dragon Age.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
The Nail
Wow, am I tired? I just spent the last hour or so passed out at the computer. I thin I crashed from the Red Bull I had before leaving work. These things can happen when one works for 13 hours on little sleep. It also didn't help matters that I felt sick all day. Even right now, my body's insides are giving me problems.
I found out shortly before passing out, that a friend of mine had an injury at work. He is a floor-layer and had a nail shoot into his eye. Let me repeat that: A NAIL SHOT INTO HIS EYE! It was almost nonchalant how his wife told me. Granted, it was via the instant messenger service on Facebook. Still, reading the text it was like o big deal. Still, he is okay, and can probably return to work on Friday. Needless to say, he is one of the luckiest and unluckiest people I know. Unlucky in that he had a nail in his eye, but lucky in that it was an eighth of an inch away from where he could lose his sight. He was wearing safety glasses at the time. It could be that the nail ricocheted off whatever and shot up between the glasses and face. It was a crazy, short story regardless.
In standard Wednesday fashion, I wanted to kill half the people that came into work today. Maybe not kill, but maim could be more accurate. I was being driven insane because the CD player at work refuses to function. I got to listen to two and a half songs before it crapped out on me today. The silence was so nerve racking, that I thought it had to be 5PM, but when I looked at the clock it was only 2:30PM. Even chronology was fucking with me. I wound up creating a temporary solution. I listened to my iPod in one ear as I did some work, just to have that little bit of music to break up the silence and monotony.
Now, I should get to bed. My body is turning against me. It allowed me a bit of a reprieve to type this whole thing out. It wants to keep my promises as best as possible.
I found out shortly before passing out, that a friend of mine had an injury at work. He is a floor-layer and had a nail shoot into his eye. Let me repeat that: A NAIL SHOT INTO HIS EYE! It was almost nonchalant how his wife told me. Granted, it was via the instant messenger service on Facebook. Still, reading the text it was like o big deal. Still, he is okay, and can probably return to work on Friday. Needless to say, he is one of the luckiest and unluckiest people I know. Unlucky in that he had a nail in his eye, but lucky in that it was an eighth of an inch away from where he could lose his sight. He was wearing safety glasses at the time. It could be that the nail ricocheted off whatever and shot up between the glasses and face. It was a crazy, short story regardless.
In standard Wednesday fashion, I wanted to kill half the people that came into work today. Maybe not kill, but maim could be more accurate. I was being driven insane because the CD player at work refuses to function. I got to listen to two and a half songs before it crapped out on me today. The silence was so nerve racking, that I thought it had to be 5PM, but when I looked at the clock it was only 2:30PM. Even chronology was fucking with me. I wound up creating a temporary solution. I listened to my iPod in one ear as I did some work, just to have that little bit of music to break up the silence and monotony.
Now, I should get to bed. My body is turning against me. It allowed me a bit of a reprieve to type this whole thing out. It wants to keep my promises as best as possible.
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