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What Kind of Relationship is Right For You?

posted by Nathan at 1:05 AM

 
I'm thinking of quitting my job at Kmart. They're just really bad about giving me time off. I need time off for my driving test, and I gave them ample notice, but they put up the schedule without even looking at it, and then insisted I needed to switch with someone, because the schedule was already posted. I really think this shows incompetence on their part. They also rejected my request for time off to visit Beth, and they said I couldn't have it because full-time employees were taking their vacations then. Sheesh, it's not like they even have to pay me if I don't work then. I'm just fed up with this, but I'm apprehensive about quitting, because I'm not sure I can find another job. Then again, student workers will probably be going back to school soon, so it might not be that difficult. Anyone have any thoughts?
posted by Nathan at 12:39 AM

 
I need to get a cell phone. Well, I don't really NEED to, I suppose, but I'd like to have one. I think it would be cheaper than making regular long-distance calls. I guess it isn't hard to get one, since so many people have them these days. There's a Verizon store nearby, and my dad likes this one family plan they offer, so maybe I'll go check that out sometime soon.
posted by Nathan at 12:27 AM

 



I'm soul Madonna, who are you? Madonna Quiz by Turi.
posted by Nathan at 10:32 PM

 
Okay, so last night, I went with Beth and her cousin Dorothea to see Sloan in concert. Unfortunately, the sound levels were bad (see Beth's entry for more details), but the concert was a lot of fun. They played louder than I would have expected from most of their studio stuff I've heard. I think they played four songs I knew: "She Says What She Means," "Everything You've Done Wrong," "The Lines You Amend," and "I Am The Cancer." I was afraid they wouldn't play ANYTHING I would recognize, so this actually worked out pretty well. I actually had a line from "The Lines You Amend" stuck in my head a few days ago, and couldn't remember what it was from, so the concert jogged my memory. I need to hear more of their music. Maybe I should have bought an album at the concert, since they were pretty cheap there, but I didn't. I did get a T-shirt, though.

Incidentally, Andrew Scott of Sloan reminded me of a more muscular Dan Hickey (the drummer from They Might Be Giants). They have similar haircuts and faces, and they both look older than the other members of the band. Maybe that's just a typical look for drummers.

After the concert, Beth and I watched some tape I had won at an Oz Convention called Journey Back to Oz. I guess you could say it was loosely based on The Land of Oz, since it had Mombi as a villain and an invasion of the Scarecrow-ruled Emerald City. There were also characters who resembled Jack Pumpkinhead (called simply "Pumpkinhead," and voiced by Paul Lynde, which was why Beth wanted to see it in the first place) and the Sawhorse (called "Woodenhead Stallion III"). The similarities pretty much stopped there, though. I'd say the main difference was that the book was really good, and this movie was really crappy.
posted by Nathan at 6:11 PM

 
I scheduled another driving test, but it won't be until August. I wish I could schedule more than one test at a time. As of late, it's been pretty much impossible to schedule one less than two weeks or so in advance. Hopefully I won't need to schedule another one, though.
posted by Nathan at 1:46 AM

 
I don't really have anything interesting to say, but I haven't blogged in a few days, so I might as well do that now. I'm still trying to set up a driving test. I'll probably have to wait until August to actually take it, though. I wish this whole thing weren't so confusing. I'm tired of missing the bus, so I really do need a car and license. I haven't heard back from Princeton, and I haven't gotten any other interviews. I guess that's about all.
posted by Nathan at 12:49 PM

 
Last night, Beth, Craig, and I played Risk. I'd played the game before with my dad, but I wasn't very good at it, and I'm still not, really. I was the first to conquer an entire continent (Australia), but I couldn't keep it for long. I was the first to lose, and Craig was the winner.
posted by Nathan at 1:56 PM

 
I don't really care for my new haircut. I got it at the same place I did last time (and I DID like my last haircut), but a different barber cut it this time, and I don't think he did a very good job.

I'm having trouble rescheduling the driving test. I thought I might be able to take it on Tuesday, but it doesn't look like anyone can take me.

Dewey is a cute puppy.
posted by Nathan at 11:39 PM

 
I failed the test. I'm disappointed in myself, because I really thought I could pass. The examiner I had this time was actually pretty nice, and he let me take an extra back-up on parallel parking, so I actually made it. On the course, though, I pulled out too close to another car, so I failed. The thing is, the examiner had me take a different route from the one I usually practiced with my instructor, and I probably would have passed if I had taken the normal route. I mean, I don't know this for sure, but the road where I made the mistake was kind of confusing anyway. I probably won't be able to take another test for a few weeks, so I guess I'll have to take some more lessons, so I won't get out of practice.
posted by Nathan at 12:35 PM

 
Last night, I read a few of the film and music reviews at family.org. They were pretty amusing, but scary in a way. The goal seems to be to protect kids from the corrupting influences of society, such as swear words (including such horrible profanity as "heck," "weirdo," and "stupid"), violence, drugs, and burping, so that they don't turn out to be violent, foul-mouthed drug addicts with gas problems. Of course, they don't seem to mind that they want to turn kids into closed-minded conservative homophobes, but so it goes.

My driving test is tomorrow. Wish my luck. I hope I'll do all right on the parallel parking. I know the technique pretty well, but I have to be careful not to hit the curb.
posted by Nathan at 2:05 PM

 
I need to buy a car. I looked at a few lots today, but most of the used cars there didn't even have prices. I really don't know anything about car shopping, but hopefully I'll figure it out soon.
posted by Nathan at 12:47 AM

 
I had my interview today. I don't know how it went, really. I guess it was fine, although I got there a little late, and my mom says it was short. I should be hearing back about it next week, but I don't really want it anyway. I DO want to know how to interview, though, because that's important. Next time, I should remember to write down the person's name and phone number, and get better directions. I suppose those are good lessons to learn.
posted by Nathan at 9:42 PM

 
There was a weird problem with my blog. Whenever I tried to publish, it said there was a problem with my template. Eventually, as per Beth's suggestion, I re-selected the template, and used the source code to make it like it was before. It was kind of frustrating, but it's finally back to normal. Now let's just hope that never happens again.
posted by Nathan at 4:18 PM

 
Beth and I celebrated our second anniversary yesterday. We met in Philadelphia, and visited the Eastern State Penitentiary. We learned about how it had changed from holding cells to solitary confinement, and then to a more modern prison before it closed. It's pretty run-down now (we had to wear hard hats on the tour), but it was quite interesting. We heard about how people outside the prison would sometimes smuggle drugs and weapons into the place by means of baseballs, and saw Al Capone's cell, which was furnished like it was when he actually stayed there. It was really swanky for a prison cell.

We ate dinner at the Café Calamari on South 16th Street. I had shimp scampi over pasta, and Beth had ravioli. It was a little pricy for the relatively small portions we got, but the food was very good and the atmosphere was nice. We probably won't go back there very often (if at all), but I certainly don't regret going. We had dessert at the Painted Parrot, which was also very good.

After dessert, we went back to Beth's. We had wanted to ride a trolley while in the city, but they didn't run late enough, so we'll have to save that for some other time. As a present, Beth gave me the Books of Wonder edition of The Patchwork Girl of Oz (which is slightly edited, but more nicer than the old Del Rey paperback I have), and she says another gift is forthcoming. In the evening, Mark came over, and we played Parcheesi and watched UHF with the audio commentary from Weird Al and Jay Levey (as well as Michael Richards, Victoria Jackson, and Emo Phillips, but they didn't say that much). All in all, it was a fun day. I love my Beth very much, and I'm glad we've made it to the two-year mark.
posted by Nathan at 1:59 PM

 
Beth and I have been going out for two years now.

I set up an interview for this Saturday. Unfortunately, I was supposed to stay with Beth that day, so I'm pretty bummed out about that. I don't think I'll be able to see her again until almost two weeks after that.
posted by Nathan at 12:14 PM

 
Does anyone want a copy of They Might Be Giants' "Istanbul" EP? I already have a copy, but I bought another one at the local Coconuts today. Let me know if you want it. Otherwise I'll probably put it up on eBay or something.
posted by Nathan at 8:39 PM

 
I think the main thing I mind about working at Kmart is that there are so many people to contend with. I guess there will still be people around if I work at a library, but they hopefully won't be as annoying. Customers can be annoying sometimes, but I think the main problem is that there are always managers and supervisors breathing down your neck (not literally), usually telling you to do obvious things. Am I so incompetent that I need people watching me all the time? I guess I'd really rather just be told what to do, and only be "supervised" if I really need help with something.
posted by Nathan at 5:59 PM

 
I kind of have an urge to play The Sims, which I haven't done recently. The computer on which it is installed isn't hooked up right now, though, so I can't. Oh, well. I'm just kind of bored right now.
posted by Nathan at 9:18 PM

 
Well, yesterday was the Fourth of July. Not that that meant all that much to me. I'm not un-American or anything; based on what I've heard of the rest of the world, I'd rather live here than in most of it. I've never been a flag-waving, America-can-do-no-wrong jingoist, either, though. I remember hearing recently about how the American government wanted to pull troops out of Bosnia because there's {gasp!} a chance that they might be held responsible for their actions. I don't pretend to pay much attention to the news, but this really doesn't make any sense to me. Americans (or at least government officials) seem to have the idea that our county is above all the other countries out there. I'm sure these other countries think the same thing, but, not being superpowers, they're generally not able to get away with as much. I'm not trying to turn this into a "bash America" thing, but even the guy who announced the fireworks said that the United States is "the greatest country in the world," or something along these lines. Can't we celebrate our own nation without putting down others? The fireworks themselves were good, though, and isn't that really what Independence Day is all about? {g}
posted by Nathan at 12:06 PM

 
Ticketmaster pisses me off. That's hardly anything you wouldn't know already, though, is it?
posted by Nathan at 1:13 PM

 
I finished The Neverending Story last night. I should probably start rereading Captain Salt in Oz, since it's the Book of Current Focus on my Oz mailing list.
posted by Nathan at 12:04 PM

 
I went through the driving course with my teacher today. I should be taking the test on the sixteenth. I hope I can pass it this time

Some kid who lives in this apartment building said I had a small head. I never thought my head was especially small, personally.
posted by Nathan at 4:38 PM