First Day Jitters

Well the day arrived and I slowly and shiftily snuck into my new job. The minute I walked in people started talking to me about the insurance exam. No one else had taken it and I was instantly notable for being over that hurdle. It seemed everyone regaurded it as an impossible hurdle blocking their path. Some people told me about a weekend spent feverishy pouring over there book after failing the first practice test Friday. In a way it s humorous that a test that I barely remember worrying about had so deeply affected these people. It isn't even like it's a big deal to fail, the next test is free and they tell you what areas that you didn't do so hot in. So you focus on those areas and hit it again. Anyway I spent most of the day telling people to relax about the test and that they would be ok. I said "take the practice exams to get used to the wording of the questions and then just use them to study from." Other then that I advised that they needed to make sure they slept enough to be ready for the test. Sleep, relax and study moderately. Anyway it helped me meet people quickly since everyone came up to me on the breaks. Other then that we looked at a contract, checked out thye online resources that help us have the answers and then I talked to HR while everyone else took another practice exam. Easy day.

New photos and the contest winner

Well the week is over and now I await a new challenge on Monday. I am a wee bit nervous but nothing I can't handle. The tux job was a good time but I am looking forward to making more money. The tux job asked me to consider working a few Saturdays for them and I think I may just do that. I enjoyed the people I worked with and I could really use the extra money. It was nice to be asked.

I added a small photoset to the webpage. It is nothing to amazing and I probably will try and hit those places again at a different time of day but I think they are entertaining so check them out. Urban Scenery. Then let me know what you thought.

My mom won the free t-shirt I offered last week. Most of you are like free t-shirt? When, where, how? And yeah there was a t-shirt up for grabs and all you had to do was email me about the site or post a comment on the site or do something involving the site. Easy contest and yet only one person participated. Keep your eyes out next month for a similarly easy contest. I plan on doing a contest every month as long as the funds allow it. So keep an eye out for them and you can get some free swag!

Hope all is well in your little worlds! Mine is going along just fine!

All this and nothing at the same time

Well it was annual talk like a pirate day yesterday.... and I missed it. Even after this blog entry! I am sorely disappointed in myself! 40 lashes with a cat of nine tails for me! Landlubbbers beware this is no place for ye! Ok I think I feel better now.

At work I am counting down the days. When I told them I was quitting, the district supervisor cut my hours by 12 hours! I was like "Wow! Can we say petty!" So not real happy about that. My manager, the one that is excited for me and pissed at me at the same time is hooking me up with 6 hours so in the long run I only lose 6. My manager is awesome. Swab the deck! Sorry the pirate lingo is popping out, it is all due to having missed my day. Anyway the week at work is dragging along. I am ready for it to be over and for me to be moving on! It is only 3 more days I keep repeating like a mantra. I should get a big gong and sing the only 3 more days thing and hit the gong between each time. It would be like the gregorian chants ecpt it would be the mikeorian chant.

I recently updated the webpage. You should check it out Crazedlunatikdesigns.com. Then you should email me at crazedlunatik@gmail.com to tell me what you think of the new picture and color scheme.

In semi related news I did a redesign on my ninjashredz design. I am looking for a few inspired suggestions to take what I have and turn it from a paragraph of cleverness into a sentence or two of wittyness! If someone can help I will buy them a shirt from my various stores of their choosing. Email me at crazedlunatik@gmail.com


I have a large Ode to Stewey tshirt up for grabs to the next person who emails me something site related. It can be spelling errors, blog comments, critiques, or even a picture for me to post. Just relate it to the site and you will get a free shirt! Once again the size is Large so if you can fit it or you know someone to give it to get emailing now!

Quitting a job and living it up on the weekend

Have you ever felt guilty for quitting a job to get paid more? I have. The tuxedo job was fun. It was fun because the manager at my store was cool, the workers in the back were great and the owner was nice. The job itself was a little exhausting. Staying on your feet all day, rushing through the warehouse to replace a product. Measuring people and helping them make important decisions about their big day. Dealing with emotional brides and their harried grooms. Even better is the overzealous mothers that need to add their two cents and make the tension level rise. I always take this moment to remind people that it is a celebration of the bride and groom's commitment to each other and that means it should be a joyous and fun occasion. Then I say don't forget to breathe. There is a lot of good mixed with things I don't like but the money difference is too significant to make staying an option. I guess that is retail for you. Go figure.

After dealing with that this week I had a nice break from the norm with a visit from my dad. I worked everyday but today so I was disappointed that I couldn't drag him to Mt. St. Helens (which is smoking apparently) or to some other random place. We did try a breakfast place or two out. We also went sports bar hunting. We drank beers mixed with limes in glasses lined with salt. They were not high quality beers we normally drink. In fact the first night they were an awful beer called Kokanee. I had tried it on a whim and had hated it but with salt and lime the beer was good. We had ribs one night, wings the next, and pork chops another night. We smoked a pipe and we went to bars. It was a good time. As far as the sports bar hunt goes. It was a wee bit disappointing because the sports bars near me consisted of a couple small tvs showing a few games with the sound off. We finally found a passable place but I am not sure the search should end there. I demand a sports bar that lives and breathes sportiness and bar-i-ness. I want it all baby! Every tv has football on, the tv volume is loud and the fans are raucous! I mean after all what else is there to do in a bar on a perfectly nice Sunday? I mean who needs blue skies and birds singing when there is football? I could do with more shots of the football cheerleaders between plays but football season is great fun. Even when your team chokes big time. Grrr! Stupid crappy Cardinal-Seahawks game! Damn those overeager Seahawk fans/bandwagoners in there hideous blue and neon green jerseys! I mean who decided that color of green was a good idea? And what shade of blue is that anyway? What was with all their passing, running, rushing, blitzing and scoring? They needed to lose! Seriously!

A Rambling Review of "There are worse things I could do"

"There are worse things I could do" by Adrienne Barbeau

Last month I went and listened to Adrienne read excerpts from her book about her life and by the time she was done I had bought her book and I was on my way to becoming a fan. Adrienne Barbeau has led a fascinating life full of entertaining stories and experiences and this book is a collection of those. Some are funny, some sad but all are well written and ultimately filled with optimism. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about her experiences on movies that were hits and some that were not (like the infamous rat movie). I enjoyed reading about her experiences on Television shows such as Maude and Carnivale. I was engaged as I read about her battle with self esteem, asking for what she wanted, and her various relationship stories that ultimately led to what sounds like a rewarding marriage with her husband and her three children. It is a book that works the broad spectrum of being a human. Her book is told in short stories that are actually perfect for the way I like to read, since I count pages of chapters before I begin to decide if I want to continue reading. I found myself reading further then I would normally because the chapters were engaging and not too long. I really liked her honest style of writing. She makes you feel like you are talking to her while sipping a cup of coffee and that maybe you are old friends. It is a great book and I recommend you look for it at your local bookshop. If you like audio books I have come to understand that she is going to be releasing one as well. She will be the reader which is such a treat because she made the stories come to life when she read them to us. The whole audience asked her to read more when it seemed she was wondering if she should stop. She also was amazingly approachabel and her autograph lie was a little slow because of it, she actually listened to what people said as she signed and posed for pictures. I did not go to the reading because I knew a lot about her or that I was a fan before but after I read a little and I got to know her I will be keeping my eye out for her in the future, in film and in print (she is going to be writing a vampire series).

http://www.abarbeau.com
http://thereareworsethingsicoulddo.com/

Another Baby

I recently put in a lot of information in my blog about Kevin and Becky's baby. I also talked about my cousin Robert and Denise's impending (April) bundle of joy in my newsletter. That prompted my other cousin Jeremiah to send pictures of his new addition. I had promised these pictures a while back and they are finally here and she is a cutie! Her name is Maile.

This last picture is so funny. She has a beautiful smile!

Barnes and Noble and all the dog poo you can handle

I was at home after a long Saturday of work. I had watched my Netflix rental and I was starting to get antsy. I had not done anything after work because I had felt tired. Now 3 hours later I had no idea what to do with the rest of the evening and my tiredness had faded. I hadn't eaten dinner but I wasn't hungry. I had watched TV but now I couldn't find anything decent to watch. It was too late to really hop a bus and find something to do downtown. So I headed to my old back up plan. Barnes and Noble. I can kill a few hours reading a Graphic Novel (also known as big comic books) and pretend like I was doing research for the comics I want to start producing..... When I got there the parking lot was pretty empty. The only places still open were Chili's, Macy's and B&N. I parked and headed to the door and along the way I saw a trail of dog poo.... fresh dog poo. Then I saw a man and his dog. I kept telling myself just go inside and don't worry about it. Then my righteous ingignation flared up and my mouth opened and sound came out. "Clean up after your dog!" He looked at me startled, then decided to forego any response and merely ignore me. That was probably his worst mistake ever, being ignored only increases my dramatics as I am sure a lot of you have noticed. "I know you heard me. If you are going to own a dog you have to know it will take a crap occasionally. Knowing that, you should be ready for that occurence and clean up after it. If you don't want to pick up dog crap don't own a dog. However, since you do in fact own a dog and it has defiled the walkway it is now your duty to clean up after it." He continued to ignore me by staring through the Barnes & Noble window at the books on display. I had just gotten primed and I was not done. "You can click your sparkly red shoes together and recite 'There is no place like home' all you want Dorothy but it doesn't seem to be working. So you might as well pick up after Toto." This got a snicker from the high school kids who sat on a nearby bench. It also made the man walk away real fast in the other direction. I yelled, "I hope you are running off to get a little baggie. There is a whole lot of poop back here!" His pace quickened as he yanked the little dog behind. I finally went inside and fell into my book and soon I was being told over the speakers that the store was closing. When I came out the poop was still there. Damn that Dorothy! And his little dog too!!

My Labor Day

My labor day was just packed.

I woke up around 9 to embrace the day with a bowl of oatmeal. Then I ran out the door and caught a bus downtown. It was free admission at the Oregon Historical Museum..... apparently everyone else in the state (that weren't at the beach) got the same memo. It was crowded. I tried to peer at the exhibits but it was like 3 people deep. I kept getting elbowed and people kept bumping me out of the way. Some muttered apologies and some looked at me like I had offended them by being in their way. One guy ran into me and I picked him up and threw him through the "I like Ike" display in the Presidential exhibit. I am typing to you from prison. Bubba says hi and he thinks that I have a "purty" mouth. Ok so maybe I am at home and imagining hurling that guy through the exhibit, being in the pokey and having a guy named Bubba compliment my mouth. The guy I wanted to hurl most definately existed as did the "Ike" paraphenalia, they are both still intact though. It was way too crowded and I ended up speeding through the exhibits because I couldn't stand all the random people jostling me about. I couldn't read the words explaining the exhibits anyway, I could never get close enough. So I looked and noted that I would come again.... unfortunately the presidential exhibit is going away soon so I guess my views from afar will have to suffice. I had been in the museum for an hour and I was really tired of the crowd. So I headed down to Powell's. I grabbed a mocha and an available chair and busied myself reading a book for a while. I was there for about the same amount of time as the museum when I got antsy and bolted. I started walking South. Hoping to catch the tram to the bus stop. I never did catch the tram. I did not have patience to wait for it. I walked to the bus stop and as I rode away I finally saw the tram come by. Had I waited I would have been waiting again for the bus. I headed home. I was a little irritated with the way the day turned out. I had a coupon for a free rental from Blockbuster. So I stopped by to use it, in hopes that this movie would be my saving grace. It wasn't. The movie I rented was not even something that could hold my attention for very long so there will be no review. In fact I won't even mention the name. I found myself sitting at home watching Buffy again when I remembered that the Mission Theater Pub had Buffy night on Mondays. Big movie screen, beer and food + 3 episodes of Buffy with other buffy lovin' freaks!! What more could I ask for? I hopped in my car and this time followed the mapquest directions (something I failed to do last week which resulted in lack of Buffiness). I got there and there was a line of similar minded geeks waiting to be let in. Once we entered we heard that the projector had broke and a new one was on the way. With a slight delay the Buffy show would go on as planned. I ordered a beer and a cheeseburger and picked a spot. It's a theater pub so that is why I had a beer.... I already said that, try to keep up. I waited and waited and waited. The projector that was brought in was not able to be set up. I think it was because the guy didn't know how.... but whatever. He announced that if we wanted a refund on the food and beer purchased (the Buffster was free) he would gladly do it. He also said that for those that would like to stay we could watch Clerks 2 for free. The film projector worked, the digital projector didn't. I had already thrown my reciept away so even though I had seen Clerks 2 I decided to watch it again and wait for my food. It was much better the second time. I think most of Kevin Smith's movies are better on the second viewing. Anyways the beer and burger were good and the movie was a lot funnier. Maybe because all attendees were over 21, as opposed to the matinee I had seen with mothers and daughters and old men trying to beat the heat. Or maybe it was the fact that I was watching it with a beer in hand. It was a slight disaster of a day but it was a fun disaster. Next Monday I will try it again, the Buffy part I mean. Not the disaster part. Or the hurling people part.

Writing sucks... sometimes

Every once in a while I have trouble putting words to paper. I hit a wall and nothing seems to flow out right. I have ideas and things I want to write about but I can't get them to follow a pattern that makes sense. All the ideas try to rush out at once and all I have is several paragraphs of confusing nonsense. You can tell there is a point I am trying to make but you are not sure what it is. At these times I usually head for a book called "A Creative Writer's Kit". It has one idea everyday for the whole year. I do not follow it religiously it is just for back up which means that in 2 years I might have used 20 ideas from it. Most of the ideas I find incredibly stupid or hard to work with but I force something out so I can move on. I have never had an idea from that come out so well that I share them. Like I said it is my back up. I use it to help me get going again. Usually it works but I don't think it did today. What came out was a bigger mess then usual. I will just have to force myself to get out tomorrow, experience life and try again.

The Baby, Job talk, holiday plans ramble

The baby take 2:

Mercedes Rose is 7 pounds 5 ounces and 20.5 inches long. It is still cute... as far as I have been told.

On to other things:

I wanted to let everyone know that I recieved a call right before I spilled the beans about my impending departure from the tux job. The call was from the new job saying that they wanted me to push back my start date until the 25th because I was licensed. So I am still working incognito at the tux place. I recently saw a bit of reality with the tux shop as far as pay is concerned and I have no intention of making a quick change to the tux job as a career. I was talking to the manager and she was telling me her annual salary would be still less then I would make with the insurance company. That included her commission. That was enough for me. It just isn't enough money to work as hard as you do. My back and feet are killing me and everyday I get less and less excited about the next day. Yeah it will be good to get out of there while I can still enjoy it. I wish I had some cash to take advantage of the dress clothes discounts but unfortunately I do not. I can order a suit and pay cost plus ten percent. Oh and I am not just talking tuxedos! Oh well.

So does anyone have any Labor Day plans? I was thinking about a little bbq action and maybe a beer. Then the landlord struck by leaving an evil note saying no bbq'n on the patio or the decks.... but it fails to tell you where you can bbq. This bums me out a bit and I have no back up plan. My dad is going to some fossil beds in Eastern Oregon with Maryjo. I had been thinking of heading down there and poking around but that is a no go. I will let you know what I come up with..... you should let me know what you are doing. And if you are wondering if my you means you you, it does. Hehe. You big group of non emailing peeps!

I have recently decided to pursue a degree in media arts and animation through the Art Institute and I will be sending in my application tomorrow. I had to wait because you need to pay the 50 dollar admission fee these days. I didn't have 50 dollars in fact I still don't. I am borrowing it from my dad. It will be an online degree so I can work it into my schedule no matter when I work. It will work with my focus on working a job and squashing my debts taking precedence. I like the idea of the flexibility and the curriculum had a lot of the things I want to learn anyway. SO I am just doing it.

Other then that I have nothing new to add..... Ramble out.

BABY!

Well I had some things to tell you but Kevin and Becky trumped me by having their baby yesterday at 3 am. I know that both baby and mama are doing well. The baby is named Mercedes Rose. Here is a picture for your enjoyment, courtesy of Kevin.



I do not know anything like weight or length or anything as of yet. I still haven't called him... Yeah I am a bad friend. He started it though by emailing me the news... so nanny nanny boo boo.

Kicking out the latest and greatest....

I suppose everyone is wondering where I have been.... or maybe not. I have been working all week and that pretty much sums it up. I am not filled with angst or irritation, I am not jobless or underemployed, in fact I have too many jobs... That is a first and that may be the reason the blog entries have decreased. I have to give my notice at the tux job this week. That ought to be fun (please read that line with a hint of sad sarcasm). I know that Carolyn (the store manager) likes me and Ed (the company owner) does as well. It makes it a little harder to leave knowing that but I highly doubt they are going to raise my salary up enough to make the other offer go away. I don't see why they would. If they did they would have to raise a lot of peoples wages and let's face it... that isn't good business. Or so they tell me. Good business is paying as low as possible and then complaining about the lack of loyalty and the difficulty in finding good solid employees. Good business is laying off hundreds even thousands of workers in order to prevent yourself from having a bad quarter. Good business is not trying new things because they might fail. Good business is not something I am interested in or even particularly fond of... I would love to be a multimillionaire but I really don't think I have the right mentallity to ever get that accomplished. I finally said it... I am not the next Bill Gates. Oh well. The reality of the situation is I want a livable wage and to not work myself to death to accomplish this. I know work is a necessary evil even though it galls me that work takes up so much of everyone's life. I have always felt that work should be less of a focal point in our day to day interaction. I have even wrote the line "I am not my job" in this very blog. Unfortunately other people don't see the world that way. You either have a respectable job and a good living or you are not worth the time. I want to get out of debt and work on building a future instead of worrying about how to get through one more week of poverty. That is why I am heading to the best paying gig since I left Liberty Mutual two years ago. This time thought I don't have to sell anything.... I just have to deal with upset people. Guess what every job I have ever had I have dealt with upset people. Do you know why? People are emotional creatures we go through a new set of emotions every few seconds. We are also a bunch of whiny windbags.... You know it's the truth. I mean my whole blog is full of me this, me that and a heckuvalota woah is me's! So I am returning to a call center but this call center will actually pay me a decent wage....

In the meantime I have made some interesting decisions about what I need to do to find a better fit in the future. I have been all over the place in the last month or so with different schools and what not but I am finally realizing that whatever I do it needs to be something creative. Photography, writing, animation.... maybe all of it. I figured that much out now I need to figure out how to make it happen.

Speaking of creative endeavors..... Kevin K has started taking photos at weddings for people. He asks for a little bit more then his costs and hands over tons of shots to people. He still is in the digital only stage but he is taking on a few projects where he will produce a whole album for a few weddings. I mean a hard copy album by the way. That is pretty exciting. In other news Becky K is very pregnant and the baby should be arriving sometime this upcoming month.

Their is another Kevin that has been in my thoughts lately. My college roommate and good friend Kevin C has announced his upcoming wedding recently. It seems I will be heading to LA sometime next year.

My mom has been on a rollercoaster so far this year with her new job as a Junior High resource teacher. She has had great days and horribly abysmal days. She is always seeking advice from me and other people and I have been telling her all along the same thing. Keep going into work everyday caring about these kids and things will work out. That is the only true path to achieving what you need to do, plugging away until the job is done. Everytime I tell her that I get to remind myself of that fact. The only way to get what you need is to go out and seek it out. The only way to do that is to get up everyday and work towards it. Whatever 'it' may be.

In other news my grandpa has been having problems with the government lately. Recently the government discovered the classified him wrong when doling out his pension and have decided tat he owes them for their mistake. So for the next 18 months he will not be getting a check.... Seems like a good call, right? I don't really get how a decision that is your responsibility and done by you or in this case by your human resources department is someone elses mess to clean up. The mistake is yours and the correct way to fix it is too stop overpaying and suck up the lost income. The mistake was on your end after all. The government is retarded. I love that their solution is too take it back by not giving him anything for a year and a half. There by making their error his problem. Talk about a compassionate system. To add to all this he has been having heart problems in which his heart slows down to scary levels which result in him not having enough blood pumping to get energy to do anything. On a good note he found some people to sell some of his garden's crop too. He has been making a little cash by selling Okra in town to some local business. He has had a few calls already for a new supply to be delivered.

Well I hope you are in good health as you read this.... Drop me a line sometime. crazedlunatik@gmail.com

The book reading

After I tinkled into a cup for the requisite drug test I hopped into my car and headed 20 minutes away to a Border's bookstore where the book reading and signing would take place with Adriene Barbeau. I was early so I grabbed a few comics to read while I waited then I migrated upstairs until I could get a great big comfy seat. I continued reading until she was introduced and started talking. It was alot of fun her stories she read were funny and she was extremely nice and approachable. I picked up a copy and then immediately prayed that I didn't need to gas up until after the 1st which will be my next payday. I stood in line while people that actually knew things about her career went up and talked to her about this or that. I really had nothing to say even though I had seen her in a few things so I had her sign my book, snap a photo and I asked about her website because I like everyone to be able to access people and things I talk about. She was gracious and showed me that it was on her bookflap.... I thanked her and ran away. I had really enjoyed listening to her talk and read. I would greatly enjoy getting an audiobook of this ladies stories. It is interesting to me that until 6 years ago she never considered herself a writer but in the first chapter of her book she talks about writing journals since she was in the fifth grade. You don't have to be published or hang out in coffee shops and read melodramatic poems to people that like the poem only when it makes no sense to be a writer. A writer is someone who has a hard time not writing everyday. Someone who struggles with the right words to fully express the emotions that flew threw them through the days. Someone that absolutely has to write even if they never plan on sharing them. A writer is more then a job it is a way of life. I am a writer. I write even when I am not posting it for you to read. I am a writer even though you can't buy my words in the bookshop or on the newsstand. It was great to hear how this book came about and that she will have future books on the way. She was signed to write a series of vampire novels, which made me giggle. From not thinking of herself as a writer to being published and then being tapped to write a series.... not a writer my hind parts! It was fun to hear her talk about the different projects she was a part of. The television shows, the movies, and the plays. She seems to be a fascinating person and I look forward to reading this book. So if you know who she is and if you don't chek her out... she seems worth her salt. The book is titled "There Are Worse Things I Could Do". You might recognize that line from a song sung by Rizzo in Grease. She was in the Broadway version.

http://www.abarbeau.com
http://thereareworsethingsicoulddo.com/

The up to date update...

Well it seemed like it was time to update. Last week was long and tiring. I wasted time Tuesday with an interview with Farmers. I accepted thinking that it was another claims position but when I got there I soon realized it was a sales position. Another position where they expected me to come out of pocket.... I have nothing in my pocket. Why do they require such an investment why can't they help you get started and set up a reinvestment program that a portion of your money made would go back into your business. They could even set it up that if you quit before making certain numbers you would have to pay a portion back. It would get the more serious people in the door and it would provide incentive to keep plugging away. Of course we all know that insurance companies do not like to part with money so none of this is relevant. They will keep doing things the hard way and not allow poor people to get started in their business.

Speaking of the evil insurance companies. Thursday morning I had another interview with a different insurance company. It was for a customer service position. I did the interview my way which was comfortable and then I went to work. Today I got the offer. They want me to work for them as long as I pass the drug test, background check and the credit check. I am sipping on a huge glass of water right now so that I can take care of the drug test. Doesn't it always seem that when you need to pee you can't? The drug test center is right up the street so I will head there in 30 minutes and then I am off to the Borders store for a book reading by Adrienne Barbeau. She has been an actress for many years. She was in Escape from new york, maude, carnivale, cannonball run, creepshow. Anyway she wrote her own autobiography and she will be reading from it and it sounds like fun.

In the Tuxedo world, they have hired and fired 3 people last week and they are in dire need of help. People all over the state will be leaving for college and there are major gaps everywhere. I am not sure what they will do about people and I am sure when I give my notice they will be a little dismayed.... I am waiting until the final go ahead from the insurance company. I want to make sure it will happen before I put myself out in the breeze. I have a large amount of debt floating around so that is the only thing I am currently worried about. Well wish me continued luck and have a great day.

The Job and my last 2 day weekend in the near future.

I survived my first 5 days of work. It is a lot of running around and pretending to have a clue about what is going on. Today we got 3 other trainees and one came in wearing a t-shirt. I was pretty amazed. I am slowly getting the hang of measuring people for their tuxedos. I am pretty good at walking the floor with them and helping them select styles. The other guy that started with me took an hour and a half with one couple. I was floored. Like anyone wants to spend that long talking to him. Speaking of the guy I started with this is an interesting story. I got to work on Friday, later then I would have liked but 5 minutes before I would have to start. SO I clocked in and went to work running around, measuring people, and talking to the guy who was leaving the company. I was at work for a half an hour before I noticed that guy was not there yet. We will call him J for the sake of this story. Anyways J was not there and he hadn't called. 2 hours later he was still MIA. They called his phone and he didn't answer. He did not call at all on Friday. So we wrote him off. We figured he had moved on to bigger and better things. So I show up today and we are looking at the schedule because he had figured prominently in this week's schedule and we had figured we had seen the last of him. It started getting busy and I was checking suits back in and sorting them out to be cleaned. All of a sudden I hear Carolyn (the store boss) say "J! What are you doing here?" He went into some stupid story about being on his way to work and having his car break down. He tried to get it startedbut it was not his lucky day. After 15 minutes he called someone to have it towed somewhere. At this point Carolyn says "Oh well we hadn't heard from you and we were worried. We thought you liked it but you just didn't show up or even call." J says well I called Pam (the regional mgr) because all I had was her number around 1 PM. She did not get back to me until Sunday.

Carolyn and I were talking during J's hour and a half sale. She doesn't believe him and neither do I. First of all how do you not have the number? It's in the yellow pages. Don't you think if it is your first week you would be trying to get in touch to tell people you are having a day of bad luck as opposed to being fired?

Seems fishy right. Let me help you read between the lines. For whatever reasoin J got up and did not want to go to work. Maybe he overslept, maybe it was the 9 am to 8 pm shift he put in or maybe he had a sweet interview to go to. I am not sure but for whatever reason he decided to not go to work today. He waited until late enough in the day to call Pam and wiggle out of it with a car break down story. Except she had had a full week and she had called it a day early. She got back to the phone and called him when she felt like dealing with it. Then J pulled out all the charm and talked his way back into a job.

Meanwhile that day of having him gone really earned me points and helped me build confidence in how I do my job. I can handle a lot of scenarios now.


So work is going well. I can't say I love it but I can handle it. My weekend was good though. Unfortunately it is the end of the 2 days off in a row as long as I have this job. My dad rolled into town Thursday for a Friday conference. Thursday night we headed to a Chinese food place in my near vincinity in his big ol' (make that new) Dodge Ram. Friday night my dad cooked. Saturday we hung out all day in downtown Portland. We rode the bus into town and we just went romping about. We headed to Henry's for the burgers. I had a Brewery BBQ Burger and he had the Mushroom Swiss Burger. We split them up so we could have half of each. I learned that I prefer my burger to his. We cruised around on the street car and ended up at Bridgeport Brewery. We shared a sampler and decided that if we had our druthers we would go somewhere else but we did find a few beers that we could stomach.We liked the Amber, the porter and (suprisingly) the ESB. We could tolerate the Stout and the IPA. We did not like the Pale Ale or the Barleywine. The Supris made us nearly revisit our lunch. From there we headed to Borders and spent some quality time with books we had no intention of actually buying. Then we headed back to Henry's for a beer during happy hour. My chice, Paulaner Octoberfest, had went bad and it soured my experience. Even the excellent Hoegaarden did not revitalize the experience. We threw in some great crab cakes into the mix and then headed back home on the bus. Sunday I cooked breakfast and we ran a few errands and then he headed back home.

The new gig...

I never knew how much choice went into selecting a tuxedo. I guess since I have never selected a tuxedo before I never really understood how many choices there were. I have definately worn tuxes but I have always been part of the wedding party and the marrying couple do the picking. I never went to prom and as best as I can recall I never got married not even all those drunken nights spent in Vegas. There was no Britney Spears moments that I recall. So if one day a lady shows up at my door claiming to be my wife I will be as flummoxed as you will be. So all these choices are being presented to me and I am trying to remember there crazy numbering system on top of it. Another thing that is completely new is having to measure people. I did it twice today and I was downright flustered. The other new guy I am training with seems to be a better fit for this vocation. He seems to be a little more in tuoch with his fashion sense and has opinions about things. I am pretty much good with all the styles but he can talk for hours about what he likes and doesn't. I am not sure that he is gay but he definately would be metrosexual. If you are new to the term google it.

The first day we spent reading, walking the floor and looking at the various styles, exploring the warehouse facility where they dryclean, press and configure the tuxedos. Today we started off reading about measurements, practicing measuring and then we spent the rest of the day helping out on the floor. I felt like an idiot measuring people because I could never get the tape to work with me. I did enter an entire order from walk in to walk out. I also assisted in the checking in and out of tuxes. It was pretty exciting, action packed and getting a chance to do it started putting things into perspective. I still feel timid about all this but I know that soon I will feel right at home.

Tomorrow we start at 9AM and burn until 7PM. We will start in the back wharehouse where we will put together several tuxes to be pulled for tomorrow. Then we will head up front and check out tuxes all day. It should be slamming busy and that will be a good way to learn.

I have to tell you that my feet are killing me. My dogs are definately barking! I have a good idea what I will be investing in when I have a few bucks to spend. Comfortable dress shoes made for standing all day. Do you have any recommendations?

BTW no one has commented on the new blog layout.....

The Rambling Review of CHICKEN LITTLE

There has been a lot going on in the past week. I have given up my cable because I couldn't afford it. I have taken and quit a job. I am about to start a new job o tomorrow. It seemed like a day to see a movie. I had canceled Netflix but apparently not before they took their $15.00 charge out. So when I checked the mail I had 2 films waiting for me. Chicken Little and Aeon Flux. I looked at the two and I thought Chicken Little is the safe bet..... so now I bring you the RAMBLING REVIEW of CHICKEN LITTLE!!!

(These reviews so need theme music)



This is a Disney movie that is retelling an old fable. Familiar country for that kid friendly giant with the mouse ears. Unfortunately everyone that made this film is a comlete and total idiot. Ok, maybe I am going to far. Maybe kids shows don't have to be good, I mean they are after all for kids. The same group that love Barney, Teletubbies and the Wiggles. It's not as if they are charging money to both child and adults to see this. Oh wait they are. This is not ok there is no excuse for this movie. This movie was just plain awful. It is not funny, entertaining or even all that clever. Hold on this is a review not a bash so let me step back for a minute.



The story. A small crazy chicken freaks out his town, not a barn but a town. Yes there are no humans in this town it is just like a Richard Scarry book brought to life, if Richard Scarry was the worst writer in the world! Anyway so he freaks out the whole town by telling them the sky is falling. Mayhem ensues and then they figure he must be crazy. His dad hurriedly pushes the my son is crazy angle. His dad is lame, there are no redeeming qualities in his dad. He doesn't believe in his son until the end and he basically makes Chicken Little feel like a failure through the whole movie. Great fun... laugh riot. I love movies about disfunctional family relations and I bet so do the kids!! Anyway so everyone turns it into a big teasing game. The other animals are mean to him except an ugly duck, a pig so fat it can't hardly move and and a fish with a divers helmet full of water. Yeah, gee, I wonder why he gets picked on. Of course we find out that something really did fall from the sky. It was a piece of an alien spacecraft. The aliens seem mean and chase Chicken Little and his homies around until once again Chicken Little alerts the town and the town misses the show completely and they think he is crazy again. Dad comes back in apologizing for the kid. Then Chicken Little discovers a little alien that was left behind. At that moment the aliens start invading but they don't want to conquer the world they just want to find their kid. So a lot of senseless and stupid mayhem ensues, Chicken Little and his dad make up, Chicken Little shows the ugly duck some love and then he, his friends and his pops save the day. Woofreakinghoo! But wait there's more! The end has them all watching a movie abut what happened. It was like channeling Pee Wee's Big Adventure's ending. This was the best part. The last 2 minutes.
They have some serious star power in this movie: Garry Marshall, Zach Braff, Don Knotts, Patrick Stewart, Wallace Shawn, Joan Cusack, and Adam West. I mean they have quite a list of people but the movie was just bad. There was nothing redeemable about this movie. It wasn't cute, the story was horrible, and the characters were annoying. This screen shot of the pig shows exactly what I thought of the movie - A real stomach turner!

The amazing allure of the dollar

So my life and my job status are in upheaval.... An interesting series of events have made me switch career paths already.... It seems that the best thing to do is write a blog about.... About shopping.

I headed out last night to get a gallon of milk. I had found out that the nearby Walgreen's had milk for sale at a $1.99 per gallon of milk. That is the most I am willing to pay for milk. Anything higher is too high. That was the only reason I was in there and that was the only thing I was going to buy. I was wandering about looking at things because you should always shop at a leisurely pace and you should never shop for groceries on an empty stomach. I was slowly making my way to the cooler when I spied a box of Crunch n' Munch for a dollar. Now had it been a dollar and change it would have been overlooked but something about the magical price of a dollar seems to make sense to me. Anything for a dollar has a higher chance of being bought by me. Once it goes over a dollar I debate the merits of the purchase. A dollar is the magic price for me. So I grabbed a box. I continued on and as I neared the milk cooler I first passed the frozen food section. Last week I had bought a small pint of ice cream at the dollar price and I was checking to see if that sale was still going. It wasn't but that was when I noticed microwaveable french fries for a dollar. I soon realized that I needed to stop leisurely perusing the store because all I had was 5 dollars to spend anyway. So I grabbed the milk and dragged myself away from everything else that was priced with a huge dollar sticker. I would have bought a pair of blinders had they been a dollar just to make it out of the store. I paid for the items and hopped into the car and headed home wear I dined on Crunch n' Munch and french fries. Talk about health nut!

So what is the deal with my compulsion to buy things at a dollar price range? What makes me spend so much at the dollar store? Something about knowing that my items only cost a dollar a piece give me the illusion of frugality. In reality I spend 20 dollars easily every time I hit the dollar store. I love Albertson's as well because they have the 10 for $10 sales all the time. I try things that I would normally ignore if they are at the excellent and amazingly tantalizing price of a dollar. It is crazy! I have decided that I want to let major manufacturers realize that I am more then willing to eat smaller portions if they price those at a dollar. I am more likely to get on the bandwagon of new items if I can get them for a dollar. That being said I still think Mac and cheese should be 10 for a buck, candy bars should max out at a buck, I should be able to get a six pack soda for a buck and a gallon of gas for a buck. I might be a little behind the times on somethings but you know that if everything had a quantity for a dollar you would buy it too....

I think next time I get a date I might take her to the dollar store and say anything you want is yours... hehe

My day or a lesson in the proper use of mental shielding

I should be in bed already....

I mean it is way too late to be up and writing a blog entry that I could have wrote hours ago. Unfortunately someimtes I can't fall asleep until what I need to do is done. This time I think it is a quick or semi quick entry and then maybe then I can fall into sleep. It's a big day tomorrow and I am nervous....

Today was a good day. Ice Cube wrote about a 'good day' in a rap song but this was a good day completely different from that one. I don't live in the 'hood and I don't get harassed by the police. I don't even get to duck during drive bys.... So not having those things happen is not a new experience or a good experience it is just a normal experience. Today was a good day because I went out and explored a little and it didn't even cost me gas. My mom hooked up the bus pass for the month of August. So all I had to do was get to a bus stop. On the bus I studied collegiate promotional materials and tried to decide what programs made sense. I was at a stopping point and still on the bus. So I took a few minutes to look around. I noticed other people buried in books, plugged into iPods, and otherwise staring out the window. No one spoke to each other. No one made eye contact everyone created a mental barrier and hid behind it. I returned to my perusing of the course catalog for Marylhurst University and retreated back to my secret wall. In reality I was staring at the book and periodically flipping the pages while I thought about the reality of today's world. We are so scared of bad people and awkward situations that most of us do our living in specific places. With a core group of friends and family, people from work and hundreds of people on the internet. We actively guard against unwanted contact so much that the person right next to us might have been the friend or special someone we always look for. I started thinking about my barriers and I started to slowly take them down. I put the book away. I sat up straighter and I let my mouth position itself into a smile. Unfortunately the bus and the tram that followed are not the places to make direct eye contact. The more you look around and watch the more people develop a hole in their vision for where you are. I was determined to not let that affect me. I stepped off the tram and, still wearing that smile, I went into the library to return the books I had had for a month and a half that I probably spent 10 minutes looking at. Then I headed into the fiction section and selected a few books to peruse. It happened to be busy and every table had a person (not people just a person) sitting there. One table was particularly long so I headed over there and I asked to share the table and was met with a mumbled ascent and the person reengaged themselves to reading their book. The smile had not worked so far. I read for a while and after getting a wee bit antsy I decided to look for a few other books. I headed up the stairs to the third floor where the art books were. I was looking for a book on bookbinding and figured it would be a good place to start. I was wrong and I had to descend a level. I was wandering around looking for my section when a librarian asked if she could help me. My instincts and reflexes produced "No, I'm ok." Then I remembered my promise. I turned back to her and I said: "Actually I am looking for this series of numbers but I must have missed them." She took me over to the section and I thanked her and she went back to collating or whatever it is that librarians do... I had made contact... not significant contact but it was a step in the right direction. I selected a book and headed own to the checkout area. I was heading towards the machines that let you do it yourself but I realized what I was doing and changed course. The lady checked the book to me and asked about whether I had done any bookbinding and next thing you know we had a conversation. Success! Unfortunately another person was waiting to check out and we said our good-byes. I headed from there to the art supply shop to look at expensive paper and try to price the book binding equipment suggested in my book. I had a few dollars in my pocket so I bought a paper awl and as I was checking out the art school kids running the counter were discussing the merits of Gone With The Wind. One girl behind the counter had only made it to the horse death scene where Scarlet rides and whips the poor thing to an early grave. She had quit there and had never looked back. Two others including the girl that was helping me were extolling the virtues of the movie. Calling it the greatest movie ever. I had been debating whether to get into this ruckus and this was my chance. I have never been a huge fan of the movie so I said "You have to see it. You have to watch it all the way through. You don't have to like it but it is a part of American cinematic history. It is referenced in pop culture still. You have to see it for the referencing alone. Then once you have seen it you never have to watch it again. I haven't." This got a laugh from the girl who had abandoned the movie and a newcomer who added his two cents "Worst movie ever made". The two lovers of the movie were shocked and with a giggle I left with my paper awl. I continued wandering around with my smile and my urge to socialize. I wandered a mall called Pioneer Place which is a 4 story indoor mall. It has two sections which means if you walk in on one street you come out 2 streets down at the other side. I rode the escalators up and down every level and then headed out and caught the tram back to the bus stop. Along the way the tram was crowded it was rush hour and I remembered why people put up a mental wall on the bus. This guy got on and he looked older then dirt. A lady kindly offered his seat which he exclaimed "I am only 39!" Then proceeded to ramble in his slurry speech about this horrible story and that horrible story. He survived cancer but his wife left him, his neighbor skipped town and left an annoying cat whining in his house that he was taking to the pound, every young person thought he was old even genuinely old people offered their seat to him, did I mention he was slurring his words and looked like he was older then dirt? So I put my smile back in my pocket and I brought the newly borrowed library book out and I checked back in to my mental barriers. I realized the likelihood of sitting and trying to fake my interest for a 40 minute bus ride would be to much and I decided to avoid that. SO smile when you can escape but be protective when there is no escape.

Good Night (or good morning depending on where you read this),
Reverand Michael James Williams

Thankfully, July is over!

Talk about a month to call it a day..... Seriously last month sucked big time! I was already in the middle of money troubles and the job was cutting way back on hours. I was a little worried but they kept giving me a new schedule. Imagine my surprise when I was told before I started the new schedule to take a hike. I had not liked the job that much and it wasn't doing me any favors with the low wage and the ever shrinking hours but not having anything was not a good thing. I have been job hunting for 2 weeks now. I lined up a bar job but I haven't started yet. I  have orientation Friday and hopefully I have a few work hours that weekend. I need money sooner then later. In the meantime I have nothing to do until then. I do have a bus pass so my plan to kill time will be to hop on a few busses and see what I can get up to. I do have another job interview on Friday. It is for a job with more money attached to it so I am still holding out hope. If I don't get it I will enroll in school and get a degree to do something neat or at least halfway neat....

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