Unwanted Commentary

I've spent the last two days in training for our new workorder tracking software...and you can rest easy, I did survive...but barely. The trainer was a good guy, seemed nice, but oh my god was he annoying. He didn't start off annoying, the first day he seemed kind of cool with a side of quirky. By the end of yesterday I wanted to rip his throat out and destroy his soul and I swear to god that if I hear the phrase, "know what I mean?" within the next month I will spontaneously combust! But it's over now.

I had a pretty nifty weekend...I don't know what you losers did, but I hung out with fuckin' Chewbaca . No seriously, I went to a comic con this last weekend and got to hang out with the guy that played Chewbaca! Sure it was only for about ten minutes while he and the gang I was hanging out with smoked...but now I get to say I hung out with fuckin' Chewbaca!

The comicon convention in Plano, TX was my first con and it was an interesting experience, though I was told that this year was much tamer than it has been. That was probably a good thing for a newbie like me, but it was if nothing else an interesting observation of humanity. I hung out with my co-worker who's a part of HeroRealm.com, they had a booth at the show and they gave movie promotional items away to the slavering crowds.

Now if you want to see humanity at its base level you watch the crowd that gathers twenty or thirty mintues before hand to receive free crap. Then you get to watch them bitch, beg and bicker about the crap they get or the crap they want to get. I loved it, and the gang went about their task with all the fervor of old lags tired of fighting the long war.

So that was about it, hung out with my friend Dustin Sunday night while he managed and I got free drinks. I finished up Stormwatch (now on to Authority) and I finished up my very frist comic book purchase: the first trade of Hellboy.
The assimilation continues.

Posted by Jeff at 09:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Not much going on here lately. I'm going to my first comic book convention this weekend, in deed my first "con" of any sort. I'm not a big comic book geek, but I'm slowly being lured in by my co-worker...he keeps loaning me books and I keep reading them.

I started watching Kurosawa's Hidden Fortress last night. This is supposed to be one of the films that inspired Star Wars and I believe I've seen the influences. I say "started watching" because Kurosawa's films tend to be really long at over two hours long. So far I've seen Throne of Blood, Seven Samuri and Ran. I've queued up a lot more of his films and eagerly anticipate watching them.

Well that's about it...have a spiffy end o' the week

Posted by Jeff at 11:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I received Burnout 3 from Gamefly yesterday and got a small dose of it last night before bedtime. General first impression is that it really kicks ass! Cool cars, inhuman speeds and bonus points for doing dangerous stuff, I heartily approve. I wish I could arrange some multiplayer, I sense that the real beauty of the game lies in multiplayer. I'm sure I'll live with single player (I more or less have to), but I dream of the mayhem of trashing cars controlled by other humans.

Fable has been sent back. I think I'll buy this when (or if) it ever comes out as a $20 Platinum Hit. The game play is fairly monotonous, but in a way it was relaxing to run around lush landscapes killing bad things. I never finished the game, but since I saw how you do it I didn't feel obligated and besides, finishing the game isn't all that much of an accomplishment.

I have a couple of games I haven't gotten to really play lately:

Knights of the Old Republic & Ninja Gaiden that I borrowed from a friend.

Simpson's Hit & Run that my dad bought before he gave me the Xbox & Siberia that I bought on a whim.

Posted by Jeff at 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm coming along nicely in what is my third attempt at the Body for Life program. I've taken a slightly less stringent and anal approach to the program. I don't keep records and I allow myself to eat bits of candy from time to time...stuf like that. So far it seems to be working pretty well. I'm down ten pounds and I'm feeling a lot better, energy wise.

I've been having real trouble sleeping lately, possibly something to do with my wife leaving or maybe just cowinkydink. I took the step of getting a sleep aid. I took some last night and was sound asleep by 10:30, seeing as I get up around 6:00 in the morning this was a good thing. If I could keep the cats off me I might even sleep better.

Posted by Jeff at 11:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Spent the weekend in Wacko visiting the parents and family types. Went to homecoming and the home team won! Yay, woo hoo, go team! I got to see my fifteen year old cousin march before the game and again on Saturday as they competed for UIL regionals...they got Division 1! So now they'll march for state...pretty cool, especially with such a small band.

It was a good time, quite and relaxing...a lot of good conversations about my situation and I'm feeling pretty good about everything. I have great parents, I really couldn't ask for anything more...well maybe they could be really rich

I got home Sunday and worked out, took care of the cats...who had been alone since Friday afternoon...they're good boys, they managed just fine. They were glad to see me....they needed food, I figure once they figure out how to feed themselves I'll be terminated.

Posted by Jeff at 11:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I signed up for GameFly which is the same principle as Netflix, but with games. I own an Xbox, but there's no way I can afford to buy games for it and renting from the local Blockbuster is a pain in the butt. I've also found, through the games that I do own, that owning them is really a waste of money in as much as they don't seem to hold my attention for more than a few weeks. At fifty bucks a pop it just ain't worth it.

So it would seem GameFly fits the bill perfectly. Twenty bucks a month, two games out at a time and keep for as long as you like. My first two selections were Star Wars: Battle front and Fable. I definitely got the bang-for-the-buck on Battlefront as last week a friend and I staid up till 6:00 or so in the morning playing it. Not such a great single player game, but then it wasn't really meant for that. Having felt I got all I could from the game it was sent back for the next selection.

I still have Fable. When I read some of the comments people were making I didn't think I'd like the game, simplistic combat, too easy, and very linear… blah, blah, blah. I've really enjoyed it, as Trinity can attest, everytime I've talked to her I've been playing it. I can't describe it, but watching your character get scars and get bigger as you level up is really cool. Getting tattoos (something I could never do in r/l) is strangely satisfying and for some reason getting hair cuts is highly entertaining. The game isn't very long, in fact I managed to stumble into the final battle without realizing it was the final battle…I almost won too, but they got me by a nose.

My enthusiasm is waning though. While there are a lot of cool things to do and see, the game world, that at first seemed so huge, is really pretty small and I've seen it all. I'm still intrigued by becoming HUGE and having sex, neither of which I've managed to figure out yet (for clarity, I'm still talking about the game). So there you have it...and I should go do some work.

Posted by Jeff at 09:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Testing.

Posted by Trinity at 03:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I was driving home yesterday and happened to be behind a pickup truck. As we were waiting for the light to turn green I was busily starring off in to nothing when I noticed that the bumper was in inscribed with the following: GLASSCOCK CHEVROLET.

Now, a lot of things went through my mind when I read that, starting with, "Wow, what an unfortunate last name." Of course all the standard, woo they've got a funny last name stuff filtered through and I chuckled internally. I suppose I am assuming that Glasscock is the last name of the person that owns the dealership, I suppose it could be a location. It could be near Glasscock Creek or Glasscock mountain. I know it isn't a town as Glasscock Chevrolet is proudly located in Big Lake, TX.

*chortle* glasscock

Posted by Jeff at 12:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Phew...everything seems to have worked out okay...I got my money, my check finally cleared as of yesterday morning. Some good did come out of this turmoil. While I was busily pouring out my anguish to Trinity she asked if I had online banking. Did I? Do I? Yes...I did at some point have online banking...I should check into what happened to my account.

So I jump onto the tech support line for my online banking account and low and behold I do have an account. I get my ID & password changed to something I can remember and I log on. How nice...I missed online banking.

I'm feeling pretty good right now, I've been working out and eating right and that's helping my outlook. I've cleaned the apartment, and now that my wife's stuff is mostly gone that's a lot easier. I'm not sure how I really feel about my wife moving out just yet, but so far I've enjoyed being in control of all aspects of my life again. I do miss her. And I'm going to stop there because I dont' want to write a dozen pages...hehe.

We had planned a trip to Shreveport before the wife moved out and while I was still somewhat interested in going I have to admit my enthusiasm had wanned. I talked to her yesterday evening and it looks like we can back out and I'm happy about that....now I get two days off to do what I want. This makes me happy.

So, all in all...things are looking more generally uppish.

Posted by Jeff at 09:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sept. 31: So my wife moves out. No fighting, no cheating. Needs to be on her own. Ok.

Oct. 1: I go to deposit my pay checkand find out that I can't get any cash because I'm in the negative, despite the fact that I had put a $100 in the day before...fine, not get mad...my own fault, bad at math.

Oct. 2: Evidently my bank doesn't process checks on Saturday...boo...no money...it's okay, the apartment allows me to pay rent on the 4th as long as I get it in before 9am. No problemo

Oct. 3: Well it is Sunday, day of rest, no money. Go to bar, friend is managing, comps all my drinks. He's a great fucking guy...I love him.

Oct. 4 Morning, write check for rent, knowing I have no money in my account...I pray that they don't process the checks before my check clears...which will be today right!?

Oct. 4 Evening: go to store, surely check has cleared, I can buy food...mmm, food. Do shopping, pick out what I need, put in basket...fortunately I decide to check my balance before getting in line for the cashier, really no need, I know it's cleared...just a formality, want to be sure. *sigh* WRONG, no money. Have ten spot in wallet, buy some essentials at least. Call mom, tell her wife moved out, not happy times.

Oct. 5 Check did clear, checked this morning and I have money now. w00t! Then I realize that there won't be any hockey...October hasn't started off real well.

Posted by Jeff at 02:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I admit it freely, I absolutely loath having a fucking converstaion when I'm at the urinal holding my freakin' johnson. Excuse me for my rudenss, but it just strikes me as the wrong time to catch up on idle chit-chat. I don't want you to know how I'm doing and I don't need you inquiring about how I'm doing...everything is fine, rest assured if something was not proceeding according to plan...well...I'd go see a doctor.

This is one of those general pet-peeves that I tolerate and am forced to participate in against my will, basically becuase I don't want to be a rude asshole to my co-workers. I've learned to live with it, roll with the punches, accept life and its cruel, cruel fate. So now its just more an amusing aside, something that when it happens I observe outside of myself and smirk about it.

Until today, this morning as a matter of fact. When a co-worker bellied up to the urinal next to mine and asked me pointedly, "Hey Jeff, what's up?". A rather loaded question under such circumstances.

Not knowing really how to answer I went with what seemed safe , "Not much.", I replied; which, was both factual and non-commital...thankfully the sureal nature of the moment kept me from instinctively inquiring, "What's up with you?".

And...good night

Posted by Jeff at 03:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)