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Mental health day --
Aug. 6th, 2005 10:47 pmToday I took a Mental Health Day..
Today was Rachel's monthly 7th Sea game in Aurora -- this means I have the day to myself.
I had to mail a couple of DVD's of the SWRAP expo today -- the automated center at the Post Office makes this easier when it's Priority Mail. Now if only I could've done this with the Global mail I sent recently to Australia.
After that I got the call from my dad to bring his checkbook up to the new house; they're building dad's new garage -- something like a 40'x40' thing that should hold at least 4 cars, if not 6.
Then I got to my day.. I went around to a bunch of different stores, looking at movies and video games, and then I went to the mall. Everytime I go to the mall I get disgusted. All the girls look the same, all the fashions are the same, and while I know I'm getting old and crotchety, even the "alterna-kids" seem to be nothing more than fakes that are conforming to just a different standard. All the mall stores are too crowded and too small for the people within -- I've never quite figured out why.
Hot Topic has some good stuff, but their prices are usually too high, and the "brands" they carry at any given moment usually disagree with me (Napoleon Dynamite, etc..) but they get video game t-shirts, which is what I like, along with the Anime t-shirts as well. Sometimes they get new stuff that's not too bad.. apparently Drawn Together has garnered a cult following as they now have t-shirts at Hot Topic.
They've also got stuff for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and the Devil's Rejects -- Charlie and the Chocolate factory I'm completely not surprised about; it was a good movie, but Hot Topic having it just feels like more manufactured buzz and cult following ala Napoleon Crap-o-Mite. And Devil's Rejects? Well, from what I've found out, it looks like a prequel to House of 1000 Corpses. Considering that House had some good imagery, but Zombie's concepts of plot are a bit (understatement) weak, I expect Devil's Rejects to suck just as bad. It's Zombie's name attached to it that'll get it most of it's viewers, I, unfortunately, will see it as well, I'm sure, mostly as a student of cinematography. But again, because of Zombie and Hot Topic, I suspect Devil's Rejects will be a "hit," regardless of whether it deserves it or not.. More and more it seems like many of the cult fads seem to be more manufactured than discovered. Firefly is a genuine movement; the fans are grassroots and took over before any corporate entity told them to.. on the other hand, Napoleon Dynamite and similar Hot Topic properties seem to be hits because Hot Topic tells the kids they're hits.
The highlight of my day was going to KayBee toys -- they had a Commodore DTV hooked up to a tv and I decided to start playing with it. I thought of maybe writing a simple basic program to try and get the address out for SWRAP, free advertising and all that.. A couple of the girls working the store noticed what I was doing, (especially when I loaded up the picture of Jeri, Robin, and Adrian) and they freaked out and asked what I was doing, so then I got to explain to them about the DTV and what it is and what it can do and how I know what I know (being able to tell people I know Jeri helps). One of the girls had been a commodore user and remembered stuff fondly.. mentioned maybe picking one up for someone (presumably her SO to play with..) I told her about dtvhacking.info, and so on.. They were making comments like "I wish I was smart." I'm not sure I should be pleased that I impressed them or not..
So I splurged a little today and spoiled myself with movies -- Robocop, Johnny Mnemonic, and the Back to the Future Box set, along with Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry.. Then I went and had dinner at the Chinese Buffet.
Now I'm home, watching Johnny Mnemonic.. ("I WANT ROOM SERVICE!") Rachel's home, and things are good..
As to what I've been up to lately.. seeing as how I've been incommunicado..
Well, the course of events at my job that was supposed to happen didn't; They "highly encouraged" the manager of the warehouse to leave. I got promoted the same day. So now I manage the warehouse of a fairly large hobby distributor. And by hobby distributor, I mean rpg's, dice with more sides than a Denny's menu, miniatures, etc. Odds are, your local hobby store may get their product from me. I also get a fairly sizable employee discount. ;)
However, I now open the warehouse at 8 every morning, and I generally am working until 7-8 at night. I've been averaging close to 50-52 hours every week, which, despite the cut in hourly wage, is giving me more money than I made at my last job, with the tradeoff of less "free" time. However, Rachel has noticed that I seem to be in a much better mood most of the time, and that I seem happier with this job, and I suppose that's the important thing. And while I'm not in the "full time IT" positiion that was discussed, I -am- learning MAS 200 slowly but surely, and I can now "officially" say I have managerial experience. But I just wish I had more free time.. That, or a raise.
Other than that, I am now doing my part to help the environment. I have a new baby -- a 1995 Plymouth Neon Sport. I finally have my little meep meep sporty car that I've wanted.. It's white and beautiful. I love my new car.
Rachel brought her cat, Zipper, home a week or so ago. Willow wants to play with Zipper, but Zipper is old and cranky. I'm getting used to having two cats in the house, and I -think- the cats are adjusting well. But then, being a "non" cat person to begin with, I'm no expert and have to trust Rachel's judgement on cats.
So that's how my day went..
Today was Rachel's monthly 7th Sea game in Aurora -- this means I have the day to myself.
I had to mail a couple of DVD's of the SWRAP expo today -- the automated center at the Post Office makes this easier when it's Priority Mail. Now if only I could've done this with the Global mail I sent recently to Australia.
After that I got the call from my dad to bring his checkbook up to the new house; they're building dad's new garage -- something like a 40'x40' thing that should hold at least 4 cars, if not 6.
Then I got to my day.. I went around to a bunch of different stores, looking at movies and video games, and then I went to the mall. Everytime I go to the mall I get disgusted. All the girls look the same, all the fashions are the same, and while I know I'm getting old and crotchety, even the "alterna-kids" seem to be nothing more than fakes that are conforming to just a different standard. All the mall stores are too crowded and too small for the people within -- I've never quite figured out why.
Hot Topic has some good stuff, but their prices are usually too high, and the "brands" they carry at any given moment usually disagree with me (Napoleon Dynamite, etc..) but they get video game t-shirts, which is what I like, along with the Anime t-shirts as well. Sometimes they get new stuff that's not too bad.. apparently Drawn Together has garnered a cult following as they now have t-shirts at Hot Topic.
They've also got stuff for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and the Devil's Rejects -- Charlie and the Chocolate factory I'm completely not surprised about; it was a good movie, but Hot Topic having it just feels like more manufactured buzz and cult following ala Napoleon Crap-o-Mite. And Devil's Rejects? Well, from what I've found out, it looks like a prequel to House of 1000 Corpses. Considering that House had some good imagery, but Zombie's concepts of plot are a bit (understatement) weak, I expect Devil's Rejects to suck just as bad. It's Zombie's name attached to it that'll get it most of it's viewers, I, unfortunately, will see it as well, I'm sure, mostly as a student of cinematography. But again, because of Zombie and Hot Topic, I suspect Devil's Rejects will be a "hit," regardless of whether it deserves it or not.. More and more it seems like many of the cult fads seem to be more manufactured than discovered. Firefly is a genuine movement; the fans are grassroots and took over before any corporate entity told them to.. on the other hand, Napoleon Dynamite and similar Hot Topic properties seem to be hits because Hot Topic tells the kids they're hits.
The highlight of my day was going to KayBee toys -- they had a Commodore DTV hooked up to a tv and I decided to start playing with it. I thought of maybe writing a simple basic program to try and get the address out for SWRAP, free advertising and all that.. A couple of the girls working the store noticed what I was doing, (especially when I loaded up the picture of Jeri, Robin, and Adrian) and they freaked out and asked what I was doing, so then I got to explain to them about the DTV and what it is and what it can do and how I know what I know (being able to tell people I know Jeri helps). One of the girls had been a commodore user and remembered stuff fondly.. mentioned maybe picking one up for someone (presumably her SO to play with..) I told her about dtvhacking.info, and so on.. They were making comments like "I wish I was smart." I'm not sure I should be pleased that I impressed them or not..
So I splurged a little today and spoiled myself with movies -- Robocop, Johnny Mnemonic, and the Back to the Future Box set, along with Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry.. Then I went and had dinner at the Chinese Buffet.
Now I'm home, watching Johnny Mnemonic.. ("I WANT ROOM SERVICE!") Rachel's home, and things are good..
As to what I've been up to lately.. seeing as how I've been incommunicado..
Well, the course of events at my job that was supposed to happen didn't; They "highly encouraged" the manager of the warehouse to leave. I got promoted the same day. So now I manage the warehouse of a fairly large hobby distributor. And by hobby distributor, I mean rpg's, dice with more sides than a Denny's menu, miniatures, etc. Odds are, your local hobby store may get their product from me. I also get a fairly sizable employee discount. ;)
However, I now open the warehouse at 8 every morning, and I generally am working until 7-8 at night. I've been averaging close to 50-52 hours every week, which, despite the cut in hourly wage, is giving me more money than I made at my last job, with the tradeoff of less "free" time. However, Rachel has noticed that I seem to be in a much better mood most of the time, and that I seem happier with this job, and I suppose that's the important thing. And while I'm not in the "full time IT" positiion that was discussed, I -am- learning MAS 200 slowly but surely, and I can now "officially" say I have managerial experience. But I just wish I had more free time.. That, or a raise.
Other than that, I am now doing my part to help the environment. I have a new baby -- a 1995 Plymouth Neon Sport. I finally have my little meep meep sporty car that I've wanted.. It's white and beautiful. I love my new car.
Rachel brought her cat, Zipper, home a week or so ago. Willow wants to play with Zipper, but Zipper is old and cranky. I'm getting used to having two cats in the house, and I -think- the cats are adjusting well. But then, being a "non" cat person to begin with, I'm no expert and have to trust Rachel's judgement on cats.
So that's how my day went..
