The Highways and Byways of the Stratosphere |
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Sunday, June 30
People in my checkout line always ask if the store is going out of business. I've heard that it isn't, but there's really no way of knowing. I didn't know Family Toy would close until it actually did. I really don't want Kmart to close, though, not because I really care much about my job, but just because it's old and familiar to me. I've been going there since I was a kid. They're supposedly building a Walmart in the area, and it might put the Kmart (and maybe even the Target) out of business, but I really hope it doesn't. It just pisses me off how Walmart wants to have a monopoly, rather than co-existing with similar stores. I don't like Walmart much anyway, but it's the fact that they don't want to co-exist with other stores that really bothers me. I'm sure Kmart is just as profit-driven as Walmart, but at least they aren't trying to put everyone else out of business (as far as I know, anyway; maybe they just haven't been very successful at it, but I prefer not to think that). Beth loaned me her copy of The Neverending Story, and I'm in the process of reading it. It's a very good book. I knew the movie from when I was a kid, but the book goes on for much longer than the movie did. Maybe the sequel covered some of the rest of the story, but I didn't think it would be any good, so I never bothered to see it. Saturday, June 29
I need to update my webpage. I kind of want to make at least the front page less text-intensive, but I really don't know that much HTML, so that might not be easy. Thursday, June 27
Sometimes I really think I'm a jerk. I have a habit of getting upset over little things, and acting inappropriately in response. I also say and do stupid things, without thinking beforehand. I'm sure most people do these things occasionally, but I'm just immature for my age, and it's something I need to work out. I should act like an adult, since I AM one. Sunday, June 23
Okay, I think this post will basically just be a quick run-down of the last few days. On Friday night, Beth, Craig, and I played Life. Craig managed to win with over $3 million, even though he was a journalist, and Beth and I were both doctors. It was fun. I like playing games, and Beth doesn't feel like doing that very often. That same night, I gave Beth a copy of the UHF DVD, and we watched the deleted scenes. As Weird Al said, the scenes were deleted because they SUCKED, but they were still interesting to see. I've heard the commentary is pretty funny, and I'd like to hear that at some point. On Saturday, there was a graduation party for Mark (who really needs to republish his blog, since it doesn't show up at all now). After that, Beth and I went to Atlantic City with Beth's cousin Dorothea, and Dorothea's boyfriend John. We went to eat at the Irish Pub, but I wasn't hungry (having already eaten a hot dog, a hamburger, and a sausage sandwich at the party), so I shared an order of mozzerella sticks with Beth. Today, Beth got a new puppy! He's a male short-haired dappled dachshund, and she's thinking of calling him Jethro, but I don't think she's decided for sure as of yet. I've never really known any puppies before, so it will be nice to get to know this one. He's really cute. Friday, June 21
If you needed any more proof that the Kmart management is on crack, here it is. Yesterday, my shift ended at 7, and I had a 15-minute break at 6:45. Doesn't basic arithmetic prove that that doesn't quite work out? (Well, it didn't really work out badly, but I have to wonder if it's a mistake, since nothing like that has ever happened to me before.) Today, I started work at 10, and my first break was at 10:45. After I get back from lunch at 2:30, I apparently have to work until 7 without another break (unless it just hasn't been written in yet). Where's the logic behind that? "Oh, those first forty-five minutes are the worst, but those last four and a half hours are nothing"? I guess they don't exactly give people breaks when they need them, but rather when it's convenient for them, or perhaps when the voices in their heads tell them to. Personally, I like to take my lunch break more than halfway through my shift, so I know that what's coming up isn't as long as what I've already been through, but the people who schedule breaks seem to see it differently. By the way, if anyone who reads this knows anything about computers, I have a couple queries for you: 1. What is a "redundancy error"? I got these several times when trying to burn a data CD. 2. I bought a headset microphone so I could talk to Beth using AIM's "Talk" function, and, after I talk, I can hear myself on a delay. It's annoying, and Beth says that doesn't happen to her. Does anyone know how to fix this? I tried to copy some files from my computer onto a data CD today, but it took longer than it should have, because the CD-burning program kept complaining about the incredibly long eMusic filenames. Thursday, June 20
They're doing some weird construction work on the front steps, and it looks like they're mostly destroyed. I wonder how I'm supposed to get in and out. Wednesday, June 19
I'm stupid. Work today isn't until noon, but I thought it was at 10, so I arrived two hours early. I was able to eat breakfast, so I suppose that's an advantage, but I wish I had known, so I could have stayed in bed longer. I really DO have to work from 10 to 7 on Friday, and it's a pretty lousy schedule, because it requires getting up early, yet I don't finish until late, unlike with, say, an 8-4 or 8-5 day. Tuesday, June 18
Last night, I had a dream that I was at a They Might Be Giants concert in a small auditorium. During an intermission or something (I don't remember them actually playing any songs, by the way), this annoying little boy was running around, yelling, barking like a dog, and such, and John Flansburgh tried to calm him down, and signed his school notebook. They were right in front of me at the time, and I was hoping I could meet Flans, but I woke up too soon. I apparently can't take the driving test in Frazer until 3 July at the earliest. I'm wondering whether I should wait for my next work schedule to come out before scheduling the test, or I should just ask for a day (or part of a day) off to take it. Sunday, June 16
Thursday, June 13
The Flash animations on No! are really cool. "The House At The Top Of The Tree," "Fibber Island," and "The Edison Museum" are probably the best ones, but the others are good as well. It's kind of a shame that three of the songs don't have animations. I'd wanted to see the flying cars and gigantic metal bugs from "Four Of Two." I missed my driving lesson this evening. I knew it was today, but I just lost track of time, and didn't remember it until it time for it to be over. I rescheduled it for Tuesday. I feel stupid about missing it, but I guess it's not a really big deal. Wednesday, June 12
I am now the proud owner of a ridiculously overpriced copy of the No! CD. I ended up getting it from Sam Goody after all. I asked at FYE again, and they said it would be in "sometime today or tomorrow," they'd only be getting one copy, and it would also be $18.99. What is it with CD prices in this area? I'm listening to the CD now, but I'm only on the fourth song, and I've heard most of these songs before. I'll have to try out the interactive stuff sometime today. Tuesday, June 11
Speaking of weird Amazon combinations, take a look at this. I don't really know anything about Buffy, but I don't think it's geared toward the same audience as a CHILDREN'S album. They Might Be Giants' children's album, No!, was released today, but I still don't have it. Coconuts didn't even know what I was talking about when I asked about it. FYE (formerly Record Town) said they might have it in tomorrow. Sam Goody had it, but it cost $18.99. Incidentally, Sam Goody put it in the regular TMBG section, rather than in children's music (a pathetic section in every store I checked) or new releases. I called the Chester County Book and Music Company, and it's $17.99 there. I think it's less for club members, but I think that costs money, and I don't buy enough there to justify it. Maybe I should have asked. Anyway, if I don't see it anywhere else tomorrow, I guess I'll just buy the outrageously priced one at Sam Goody (since the bus fare to the other store costs more than I would save by buying it there). CD's cost too much these days. Sunday, June 9
You know how Amazon has those deals where you can buy two items together for a discount? For some reason, the item you can get with the Talking Heads' Sand in the Vaseline is the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone DVD. Both good items, but why would they be offered together? Saturday, June 8
Craig needs to blog more often. So does erin, but I don't think she reads this, and it probably wouldn't change her mind anyway. I have work in another hour. I'm at the library now, but I have to remember to mail my cover letters and résumés before work. Wednesday, June 5
It's been some time since I last blogged. There's been stuff I had to say, but I haven't really felt like writing recently. I have been sad about Beth's dog Sam, who recently died. I loved him, and I miss him. He was the best dog I'd ever met. Not everything has been sad as of late, however. On Saturday, Beth, Craig, and I went to the Appel Farm Folk Festival. It was fun, despite too much exposure to sunlight. Even though we all used sunscreen, all three of us got sunburned. Craig had it the worst. Anyway, the first group we saw was 4-Way Street. They were pretty good, but not spectacular. After that came DaVinci's Notebook, a really funny mostly a cappella group ("mostly" because there was a little guitar, keyboard, and harmonica). All three of us bought their albums after their set (fortunately, they had three albums, so it worked out well), and then got them signed. The first guy who signed my album (I forget which one it was) noticed that I was wearing a They Might Be Giants T-shirt, and mentioned that they once tried to do "Ana Ng" at an audience member's request. He also said that a song on their new album was "They Might Be Giants-esque," although the title didn't sound like it was. I forget the exact title, but it had something to do with enemas. He didn't mention that they had done a cover of "Shoehorn With Teeth" with Moxy Früvous, which was actually the first DaVinci's notebook song I had ever heard. The next act was Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer, and they were more traditional folk performers. They used a lot of weird poetic metaphors and stuff. I remember Dave Carter saying something about how the weather affects people's souls, and then told the audience to give thanks to the Goddess. Most of their stuff wasn't that impressive, but they did one song that was pretty good. It was something about being like a raven, with a cool hoedown-style violin part. Some freaky girls were doing some weird dance during this set. Craig took a picture of them, but I have yet to see it. After those people came some blues artist named Guy something, and I didn't care for him. Finally (at least for us; we didn't feel like staying for Jonatha Brooks and Jackson Browne) were Nerissa and Katryna Nields. In case you were wondering which is which (as I was), Nerissa is the light-haired one who plays guitar and writes most of the songs, and Katryna is the dark-haired one who talks incessantly about her baby daughter. Last night, I went to see a Ben Folds concert with Beth and her cousin Dorothea. I had never seen him live before, and I didn't know most of his songs, but he was really impressive. He's an amazing piano player, and a good showman. It was a lot of fun. |
