Work

Everybody's nuts! Wait, not everybody. My boss is nuts! Aside from the desire to hang unstable objects from high places, he's got some stupid ideas. And believe me, I know stupid. When O-dog has an idea for one of his stores he's dead set in actualizing the plan. You can't tell him no, either. Well, you can, but he won't listen. He came in today and asked my opinion about his latest scheme. After saying "we need to get rid of the crystals, nobody buy the crystals" (the crystals he so vehemently rallied for about two years ago) he proposed a plan for an even more ridiculous "service." He wants to remove the crystal machine in place of an "office" wherein customers can check their email, print things, make copies and faxes. He asked me if it was a good idea. I told the man that nobody has ever asked me about copies, faxes, checking their email, or the need to print things. His defense? It'll attract customers. Oh, Mar. When will you learn?

We had a new memo the other day. I was so upset I didn't get to write this one! Had I the opportunity it would have been golden. Unfortunately there's no saved copy of it on the PC, so I'm waiting a bit to snag from our bulletin board (the inside of a cabinet) to scan it. A little taste of the memo: "When you are working alone, you are not really alone I'm always looking at the cameras." Good, but dammit, it could have been 10 times creepier if Yadzia had changed "looking at the cameras" to "watching." Yep. Anything to keep my sanity.

Ropes & Knots

While I've got down time at work I'm teaching myself to tie different types of knots for lassoing and such. And since the roof is leaking, we've got opened up trash bags on the floor to prevent people from slipping on wet spots.

I awoke with the "I hate this routine" feeling again. Being deprived of my outdoor activities is making me all grumpy again. I haven't been for a hike since school started. I think. Partial remedy? Concert tonight. And maybe Enter the Dragon at the cinema down the street at midnight. Band? Formerly "the Muslims" now "Soft Pack" and I can't really say they're all that great, but it'll be good to get out.

Harlem Globetrotters next week. Even if I have to go alone.

Music For 2/5/09

We Are Scientists

Let's See It

The Mountain Goats

The Mess Inside

Free Birdmonster

To those of you lazy mooks out there who have yet to pick up a copy of Birdmonster's first album (or have no Birdmonster in your collection and need some), No Midnight, they've done everyone in the world a kindness by putting it up on Noise Trade to download for free or whatever price you feel like paying. That price should be the retail price, but I understand that we're all either cheap, poor, starving, and/or saving and stocking up for the zombie invasion, so I won't be too offended if you download the album without paying for it. So long as it inspires you to drive great distances to see their live shows (which are some of the best things ever) and buy up loads of t-shirts, stickers and tell the guys how amazing they are, I'm ok. Do it.

Comp Lit 561, Modern Fiction

A class made of boring. A class where I could fall asleep if I had enough cover. A class that I'm currently listening to my headphones in while we watch a video. A class that allows me to write to you all and not miss a beat. Professor Edson, why do you drain all life around you? You ever so slowly crush the will to live with your blank stares, your ignorance of any and all of the material you teach, your sorry excuse for a French accent and the knowledge that such a dull, uninteresting and untrained person could become a professor of literature. Sure, it's a state school and most of the students here need help just crossing the street, but that's still no excuse to have this dimwitted lobotomy case teaching an upper division literature class.

At least Natural Disasters and graduation make up for the self-inflicted brain drilling this semester. Speaking of Natural Disasters, we're due for something big. Also, Wednesdays, don't expect much writing. Tuesdays and Thursdays? Expect writing only from 11:00-12:15 and 4:00-11:59. Other days? Who knows?

Oops. Left this alone for too long and forgot to post it. Forgot where I was going with this.

These Five

If you're like me (and you probably are) when you're looking through peoples' blogs, you tube, any site that allows it, you're probably going to peruse the comments. If it's something like you tube where a page can have hundreds of comments, you might look at the first few, or (if it's really that thrilling) several pages of whatever childish name calling is going on about whatever group, celebrity, etc. Anyways, that's not really important, so long as you read the comments on this site. More specifically, the comment left by "Carson Daly" a few posts prior. If you did check it out, and you did follow the link, you'd find quite possibly the best thing ever. In fact, everyone pales in comparison to these five men. While reading it I found myself saying aloud at various times "Wow!" "Oh my God!" "Holy shit!" "That's fucking awesome!" and a few other things in that vein. So cool I bookmarked it; so cool it gets its own post; so cool it's getting a permanent spot as a link to the left. Here it is, in case you missed it.

Music For 2/4/09

It's a late one, but here it is:

Birdmonster

Concrete Lights

Ahem

First of all, I'd like to let out a (pending) BOO-YAH! Secondly this was amusing. And because of that link, I'll post this again:

Ah...definitely a good day.

Music For 2/3/09

Scott, I don't know if you've checked recently, but some kind gentleman/woman (I'm guessing woman due to the user ID) got the Fountains of Wayne/Mike Viola concert from the 18th all recorded and on the you tubes.

Mike Viola

All Bent Out of Shape

Fountains of Wayne

Hackensack

HUZZ-aw...

So that post yesterday about my co-worker leaving on Thursday? Not happening. Apparently she had a really bad reaction to the shots she needed and she was also being guilt tripped a bit into staying by her dad, who I'm sure was relieved when he discovered she wouldn't be able to go due to the shot thing. And while this means I'll have my 4-9 schedule again and more opportunity to get out, the fact that she was denied the opportunity to aid others, something she's wanted to do since she was a little girl, just makes me feel a bit bad. To know exactly what it is you want to do in life and be told you can't do it because nature (I guess in this case the vaccination) says "no," it doesn't seem fair. What can you do? Oh well, I guess she's got a license to some freedom as she hasn't told Omar of what's happened. Though he may be reading the screen right now through his magic technological powers and obsession with spying on his employees' goings on...

It's 11:30

It's 11:30 and the 12 hours gone by this day (and the last half hour of yesterday) have been pretty damned good so far. Sure, I only got three hours of sleep. Sure, I'm tired right now. Sure, I've got class until 3:15 and I'll have to battle through unnecessary traffic in order to get to work by 4:00. But sleep and work be damned, free Grand Slams at Denny's are reason enough for me to wake up before the sun comes up. Their coffee isn't bad and though it isn't very strong, it sure was worth it. $4 for a hearty breakfast, which was the cost of coffee and a milk? Not bad at all. So while I sit through yet another God awful lecture in Modern Fiction, I can't help but smile. Not just because of the breakfast either. Go Andy. And go Andy's love of Zombie massacres.

End Of A Good Thing

Alas, I knew my schedule of 4-9 shifts only would come to an end. Ever since I returned to my station behind the counter in Seaport Village I've had it easy. My one and only co-worker, Yadzia, was quite possibly the hardest worker I've ever seen. Used by the bosses to do all of their dirty work, including the ebay page that caused me to quit last March, she's been a trooper who cleans, organizes, orders, and keeps the bosses happy with an effort that shouldn't be put into such a menial job such as this one. Why's she leaving? Because she landed herself a job she wanted in South America helping impoverished folk...or something like that. Either way, she's leaving on Thursday and being the only person left knowing the way the store is run, I'll no longer have the night shift. Six days a week, two night shifts to allow for schooling and one day where I just can't show up due to an all-day class schedule. Looks like the days of going out to the desert, the forest, the ocean etc. to rock climb, hike, sail, get fresh air will all be gone as I'll be forced to show up to work by 10 almost every day. Just when I bought myself a new pair of backpacking boots. How do I know they're sticking me at the 10-4? Seeing as my boss tried to schedule me at 10 on my 930-315 class day after I've told him about 4 times and left a copy of my schedule with him, clearly stating that I can't work Tuesdays or Thursdays until 4, and being scheduled 10-4 Friday-Sunday I'd say that I'm SOL as far as night shifts are concerned. Now I'll be left with Marci's hideous cackle that makes my ears bleed and actual work to do. Dag yo.

Music For 2/2/09

Just Guns

Off My Mind

Music For 2/1/09

Today's music has a bit of an intro. About a year or two ago my dad was telling me about a band called Nothing Painted Blue and said that if I liked the Mountain Goats then I should give 'em a listen. Well, I looked them up, but couldn't really find anything about them and not remembering their name when I made it back down to San Diego, they were forgotten for the time being. So last night at work while I was reading John Darnielle's website, digging through the archives and all that jazz, I came across the name Nothing Painted Blue. Of course, bells went off in my head and I remembered that this was the band my dad had mentioned to me. I immediately went to youtube and looked them up, finding only Mountain Goats covers of NPB's song "Houseguest." I, of course, gave them a listen. The first I gave a listen to mentioned that Franklin Bruno, frontman/singer/songwriter of NPB was playing guitar with John during a Halloween show (John Darnielle in a far too snug Batman costume = golden). What was this connection? Writings of NPB, Bruno playing with Darnielle? I followed a link to a Franklin Bruno solo song because there are absolutely no videos of Nothing Painted Blue. Reading the description (and a trip to allmusic.com) I found that Bruno was also in a band called the Extra Glenns. As it turns out, Bruno and Darnielle started their musical careers at around the same time and somehow (I haven't quite figured it out yet, though Darnielle's near-nomadic living probably means that he met him in one of his various places he called home or visited) became friends. For a period the two collaborated on a project called the Extra Glenns while they were working on their own individual music. They had only released EPs and weren't very well known, but as most things not very well known, they developed a cult following. Together they released one album, which was a compilation of their various EPs, where the collaboration was to stop. That album was released back in '02. From what I found online, the music is great! Figuring that a band as unknown as Nothing Painted Blue wouldn't be found in stores, I went to my old stomping grounds for music collection. Ebay. On their way should be three different NPB albums and I'll soon try to find the Extra Glenns on there as well. So today's selection is the one Franklin Bruno song that I found, the one Extra Glenns song that I found, and a Mountain Goats cover of "Houseguest".

Franklin Bruno

Two Knives

Extra Glenns

Baltimore

The Mountain Goats

Houseguest (the link is to the Halloween show. It didn't make the video today despite the fact that Mr. Bruno is in it because the synching is completely off, but I couldn't let you not look at John Darnielle in that Batman costume. Also, I didn't know that John smoked. Go figure.)

Sunday, Sunday, SUNDAY!

Given that it's Sunday, 11am(ish) and I'm not writing a brief piece or a piece on music, you can tell that I'm at work. Work time has been designated my computer writing time. Since I don't have anything else to do. As you all know (maybe) it's Super Bowl Sunday. I don't like football. I like Super Bowl Sunday, though. It's one of those days where people have an excuse to congregate in an area to watch a sporting event where the sporting event doesn't necessarily have to be the center of attention.

What's that? Andy's advocating social interaction? Preposterous! C'mon, I'm not some heartless bastard.

I know that everyone hypes up the commercials on SBS, wondering what the next hi-larious 30 seconds of their life are going to be. I don't know what'll happen this year, but I did get an email from Denny's telling me to watch the game for a heads up on what their newest deal is going to be. Could it be mouth-watering breakfast at an outrageously low price?! Oh, the suspense is killing me!

Actually, I can't remember the last time I watched the Super Bowl. I do remember watching it my Freshman year of college, getting drunk in my room with friends while my roommate's nasty socks hung from the window. But was that the last time? I can't remember. Did the Super Bowl with the commercials for Bi-Polar awareness come out that year, some year prior or some year after? For some reason that particular commercial sticks out in my mind because it wasn't something that you'd normally want to think about when watching Clash of the Roided-Up Guys Who Think They're Titans, But Are Just Highly Paid Jerks. I don't know. Maybe those socks did more damage than I thought.

Whatever the case is with the commercials, I've really just forgotten what it was I was talking about. Something about social gatherings...Super Bowl...Eh. Screw it. I'm not watching it anyways. I'm at work! Wait. When does it even start? And where are my pants?