Heh. a Halloween pun.
Zombies laugh.
So, yeah. Long day. Good day. I'm exhausted. Tomorrow is NaNo. Tomorrow is November. Tomorrow is only 1.5 hrs away.
Halloween was fun, though. Miranda's get together shindig party thing was spooktacular, even if I didn't speak. =)
Girls got lotsa candy. Irina was cute as hell. Feet are very sore. Pictures will no doubt be posted by the Steph soon, alongw ith a more coherent recap.
I'm going to sleep now.
Monday, October 31, 2005
Friday, October 28, 2005
Please, continue.
Heh.
Okay. So. A while back I decided I was going to revisit an old post of mine. I kept putting it off, putting it off, putting it off. Then, in one of those coincidences that the universe is so fond of, Annika brought the very post I was thinking about to my attention again. I promised her that I would do the revisitation thing. That was a few weeks ago, so I believe it's time to make good on my promise.
What follows is an unfinished story. It was originally posted in November of 2004, and was unfinished then, too. At that time, only one person added on to it. (That was Annika) I am going to reprint the beginning, Annika's part, and then a whole new continuation. At which point it will be up to you to add more onto the story (using the comment feature). Then, reading the comments that have been left continuing the story, the next person will continue the story, taking it in whatever direction it goes. The only rules are that your contribution must be at least two sentences long. (It can be one - if it's a REALLY good one)
Also, I ask that you not 'end' the story. Otherwise, it's fair game.
I still don't have a good work-around for if two people post at the same time - or if someone is writing their section of the story while someone else posts... So hopefully that won't be an issue.
If you don't like where I take this and want to build the story differently, the original post is still up and open for comments. Annika's comment ended with "I said...", so. Yeah.
And, on a side note, while it could be perceived as cheating by reusing words written toward my word count, I see it as fair game since the words I'm using were originally written in 2004 and this is a whole new year. Or something.
And with that...
Paul Washington was woken up by the ringing of the telephone. A beam of almost-noon sunlight sneaked in his bedroom window between the thickly drawn curtains. Groggily, he reached for the phone, willing the hangover away. "Hello?" he answered.
The voice on the other end shouted something in German. Paul didn't understand it, but there was no mistaking the urgency, whatever the message may have been. "Sorry, dude. Wrong number." He hung up and fell back into a deep slumber.
Ten minutes later, the door was kicked in. Paul sat up instantly, heart pounding. The adrenaline raced through his body and he was sweating as three men in dark black uniforms and brandishing machine guns surrounded his bed. The men were all yelling at him, obviously irate. Paul stuck his hands up, terrified. Well, at least my hangover is gone, he thought mindlessly as his brain attempted to understand the bizarre situation he found himself in. The leader of the men poked the nozzle of his machine gun into Paul's ribs and barked some sort of question. Paul shook his head and said, "I...I don't speak German."
The leader said the same phrase again, and again poked Paul with his weapon. Paul's vision blurred and he feared he would faint. He willed himself to stay conscious and said, "Take whatever you want. Just don't hurt me. Please." The leader grabbed Paul's arm roughly. He looked at his forearm, but obviously didn't like what he saw - or as Paul quickly determined, what he did not see. All three men had a barcode tattoo on their forearms, and they were expecting Paul to have the same. One of the other men asked a question - most likely, "Where's his tattoo?" - and the leader barked angrily at him. Paul was hoping was ferevertly wishing this was all a horrific nightmare that he'd soon wake up from.
Paul protested as the leader placed a pair of handcuffs on him, but these men did not seem to understand English any better than he spoke German. "You've got the wrong guy!" he yelled, as they forced him to get out of bed. He had on his jeans, but no shirt.
Realizing that dealing with these thugs wasn't going to work, Paul decided his best course of action was to get help from a neighbor. As the men started to march him out of his apartment, he screamed, "Mrs. Johansen! Mrs. Johansen, call 9-1-1!" His yells brought his next door neighbor to her door. Mrs. Johansen had been Paul's neighbor for the past 4 years. They attended the same church. He knew she'd help. The woman opened the door, and Paul nearly did faint when he saw that Mrs. Johansen had a barcode on her forearm...
"Can you understand me? Is the translator operating?"
Paul blinked. This day was becoming stranger and stranger. When the woman had spoken, he had heard her ask in English, but also slightly speak in German. Additionally, her mouth had not quite been in sync with the English he had heard. It was very similar to seeing someone on television who spoke a foreign language and hearing the translation spoken over it. All the while, the ocean wind noise was faintly whispering in his ear.
In a state of shock, Paul simply asked, "Translator?"
The woman, who must have been wearing her own translator - or who understood English - nodded and tapped her ear. Paul then noticed that something was in his own right ear. It felt like an earplug, but was, undoubtedly, a piece of machinery that was translating the conversation into English for him.
Paul thought all these thoughts, along with "Who are these people??" before realizing that the woman was again speaking and the machine was translating:
"...you will do best to answer my questions honestly. We do not know what connection, if any, you have with Fredrick Muller, but the fact that you were found in his apartment implies at least a casual relationship with that criminal."
Even though the translator did not convey much tone, it was obvious to Paul that this woman despised Fredrick Muller, whomever that was.
The woman went on, "My first question is - how do you not have any identification? Where is your mark?" She pulled up her sleeve, revealing her own bar code tattoo.
Paul swallowed, trying to get his bearings and determine exactly what he was going to say in response. The man with the gun made him nervous and he was confident that if he said the wrong thing, that he would end up a dead man.
"First," he said, "I do not know Fredrick Muller. The apartment you people pulled me out of was mine. You've obviously got the wrong person. As for identification, I have my driver's license at home in my..." the woman smacked him across the face, hard, silencing Paul.
She snarled, "Do not lie to me!" in German and the translator managed to chill Paul.
"How did you remove your identification?" she asked, yanking on Paul's free arm, looking again for his nonexistent bar code. "How?!"
Paul didn't know what to do, but didn't think that attempts at deceit would work with these people. Besides that, he didn't know what it was they wanted him to say, so he stuck with the truth. "I'm trying to tell you I've never had one!" he said in an exasperated tone.
The woman heard this in her translator and looked at Paul like he were crazy (Paul was beginning to think she might be onto something there). "That is not possible." she said flatly.
At that moment there was a knock on the door and another guard (Paul assumed, he had the look of a guard) entered and spoke to the woman. Paul's translator picked up the conversation and converted it to English for him, despite the fact that he probably wasn't meant to hear any of it. "Burr," (Paul at first thought the guard had said "brr", but then quickly realized that 'Burr' was the woman's name - or title, perhaps), "there is something you must see."
"I am interrogating the suspect right now." Burr growled back. The guard said, "There is another like him. Another person with no identification. A Negro in his thirties. He only speaks English. He was found in district five, trying to break into someone's home. Schmidt has him in the other room and is requesting you come right away."
Burr looked at Paul and then at the guard. "Bring the other man in here. I will interrogate them both at the same time. Perhaps the lack of identification and the English language are not all these men have in common."
The guard nodded and left the room. Paul didn't think his request would be granted, but saw no major harm in asking - especially since he could now be understood - "May I get a drink of water, please? And perhaps a shirt?"
Burr considered Paul briefly, then said to the man with the gun, "Water. Shirt." The man nodded and left the room without a word.
At that time the other guard entered, forcing a scared looking black man in front of him. He looked at Paul and seemed to draw several conclusions quite quickly. "They arrest you, too?" he asked Paul. Paul nodded, afraid to say anything aloud, but inside he was ecstatic to hear another person speaking his native tongue. The black man was forced into a chair beside Paul, and the guard with the gun said to Burr, "I'll go get a translator for him." The black man said, "I told you! I don't speak German. No shpreckin the Deutsch!" Paul smiled in spite of himself. He liked this man.
Burr frowned. "Tell your friend to shut up," she ordered Paul, "or I will kill him."
Paul had no doubt she would do it, either. He said to the man, "Hi. I'm Paul. Paul Washington. That woman there? She's in charge. Don't piss her off. Right now she doesn't want you to talk. I suggest you listen to her."
"Huh." the man replied. Then to Paul, "Oh. My name is Derrick. Derr..." but at that moment Burr smacked Derrick across the face. Derrick leapt up and was going to retaliate, but Burr kneed the middle aged man in the groin, dropping him instantly. "I told you to tell him not to speak." she said coldly to Paul. Paul simply gaped at the whole scene, unable to help Derrick up, since he was still handcuffed to his chair.
The other guard returned at that moment with a glass of water and a light blue shirt for Paul. The shirt was tossed into Paul's lap, the glass of water was put in his free hand.
Derrick slowly got back up and sat in his chair. The guard took that opportunity to handcuff his arm. Derrick didn't object - at least verbally - but Paul knew he wasn't happy about this development. This guard also had a translator and he placed it in Derrick's ear.
Burr asked Derrick if he could understand her, if his translator was working and to simply nod if the answer was yes. Derrick nodded.
"Good." Burr said. "Now we will begin to get some answers..."
Okay. So. A while back I decided I was going to revisit an old post of mine. I kept putting it off, putting it off, putting it off. Then, in one of those coincidences that the universe is so fond of, Annika brought the very post I was thinking about to my attention again. I promised her that I would do the revisitation thing. That was a few weeks ago, so I believe it's time to make good on my promise.
What follows is an unfinished story. It was originally posted in November of 2004, and was unfinished then, too. At that time, only one person added on to it. (That was Annika) I am going to reprint the beginning, Annika's part, and then a whole new continuation. At which point it will be up to you to add more onto the story (using the comment feature). Then, reading the comments that have been left continuing the story, the next person will continue the story, taking it in whatever direction it goes. The only rules are that your contribution must be at least two sentences long. (It can be one - if it's a REALLY good one)
Also, I ask that you not 'end' the story. Otherwise, it's fair game.
I still don't have a good work-around for if two people post at the same time - or if someone is writing their section of the story while someone else posts... So hopefully that won't be an issue.
If you don't like where I take this and want to build the story differently, the original post is still up and open for comments. Annika's comment ended with "I said...", so. Yeah.
And, on a side note, while it could be perceived as cheating by reusing words written toward my word count, I see it as fair game since the words I'm using were originally written in 2004 and this is a whole new year. Or something.
And with that...
Paul Washington was woken up by the ringing of the telephone. A beam of almost-noon sunlight sneaked in his bedroom window between the thickly drawn curtains. Groggily, he reached for the phone, willing the hangover away. "Hello?" he answered.
The voice on the other end shouted something in German. Paul didn't understand it, but there was no mistaking the urgency, whatever the message may have been. "Sorry, dude. Wrong number." He hung up and fell back into a deep slumber.
Ten minutes later, the door was kicked in. Paul sat up instantly, heart pounding. The adrenaline raced through his body and he was sweating as three men in dark black uniforms and brandishing machine guns surrounded his bed. The men were all yelling at him, obviously irate. Paul stuck his hands up, terrified. Well, at least my hangover is gone, he thought mindlessly as his brain attempted to understand the bizarre situation he found himself in. The leader of the men poked the nozzle of his machine gun into Paul's ribs and barked some sort of question. Paul shook his head and said, "I...I don't speak German."
The leader said the same phrase again, and again poked Paul with his weapon. Paul's vision blurred and he feared he would faint. He willed himself to stay conscious and said, "Take whatever you want. Just don't hurt me. Please." The leader grabbed Paul's arm roughly. He looked at his forearm, but obviously didn't like what he saw - or as Paul quickly determined, what he did not see. All three men had a barcode tattoo on their forearms, and they were expecting Paul to have the same. One of the other men asked a question - most likely, "Where's his tattoo?" - and the leader barked angrily at him. Paul was hoping was ferevertly wishing this was all a horrific nightmare that he'd soon wake up from.
Paul protested as the leader placed a pair of handcuffs on him, but these men did not seem to understand English any better than he spoke German. "You've got the wrong guy!" he yelled, as they forced him to get out of bed. He had on his jeans, but no shirt.
Realizing that dealing with these thugs wasn't going to work, Paul decided his best course of action was to get help from a neighbor. As the men started to march him out of his apartment, he screamed, "Mrs. Johansen! Mrs. Johansen, call 9-1-1!" His yells brought his next door neighbor to her door. Mrs. Johansen had been Paul's neighbor for the past 4 years. They attended the same church. He knew she'd help. The woman opened the door, and Paul nearly did faint when he saw that Mrs. Johansen had a barcode on her forearm...
"Can you understand me? Is the translator operating?"
Paul blinked. This day was becoming stranger and stranger. When the woman had spoken, he had heard her ask in English, but also slightly speak in German. Additionally, her mouth had not quite been in sync with the English he had heard. It was very similar to seeing someone on television who spoke a foreign language and hearing the translation spoken over it. All the while, the ocean wind noise was faintly whispering in his ear.
In a state of shock, Paul simply asked, "Translator?"
The woman, who must have been wearing her own translator - or who understood English - nodded and tapped her ear. Paul then noticed that something was in his own right ear. It felt like an earplug, but was, undoubtedly, a piece of machinery that was translating the conversation into English for him.
Paul thought all these thoughts, along with "Who are these people??" before realizing that the woman was again speaking and the machine was translating:
"...you will do best to answer my questions honestly. We do not know what connection, if any, you have with Fredrick Muller, but the fact that you were found in his apartment implies at least a casual relationship with that criminal."
Even though the translator did not convey much tone, it was obvious to Paul that this woman despised Fredrick Muller, whomever that was.
The woman went on, "My first question is - how do you not have any identification? Where is your mark?" She pulled up her sleeve, revealing her own bar code tattoo.
Paul swallowed, trying to get his bearings and determine exactly what he was going to say in response. The man with the gun made him nervous and he was confident that if he said the wrong thing, that he would end up a dead man.
"First," he said, "I do not know Fredrick Muller. The apartment you people pulled me out of was mine. You've obviously got the wrong person. As for identification, I have my driver's license at home in my..." the woman smacked him across the face, hard, silencing Paul.
She snarled, "Do not lie to me!" in German and the translator managed to chill Paul.
"How did you remove your identification?" she asked, yanking on Paul's free arm, looking again for his nonexistent bar code. "How?!"
Paul didn't know what to do, but didn't think that attempts at deceit would work with these people. Besides that, he didn't know what it was they wanted him to say, so he stuck with the truth. "I'm trying to tell you I've never had one!" he said in an exasperated tone.
The woman heard this in her translator and looked at Paul like he were crazy (Paul was beginning to think she might be onto something there). "That is not possible." she said flatly.
At that moment there was a knock on the door and another guard (Paul assumed, he had the look of a guard) entered and spoke to the woman. Paul's translator picked up the conversation and converted it to English for him, despite the fact that he probably wasn't meant to hear any of it. "Burr," (Paul at first thought the guard had said "brr", but then quickly realized that 'Burr' was the woman's name - or title, perhaps), "there is something you must see."
"I am interrogating the suspect right now." Burr growled back. The guard said, "There is another like him. Another person with no identification. A Negro in his thirties. He only speaks English. He was found in district five, trying to break into someone's home. Schmidt has him in the other room and is requesting you come right away."
Burr looked at Paul and then at the guard. "Bring the other man in here. I will interrogate them both at the same time. Perhaps the lack of identification and the English language are not all these men have in common."
The guard nodded and left the room. Paul didn't think his request would be granted, but saw no major harm in asking - especially since he could now be understood - "May I get a drink of water, please? And perhaps a shirt?"
Burr considered Paul briefly, then said to the man with the gun, "Water. Shirt." The man nodded and left the room without a word.
At that time the other guard entered, forcing a scared looking black man in front of him. He looked at Paul and seemed to draw several conclusions quite quickly. "They arrest you, too?" he asked Paul. Paul nodded, afraid to say anything aloud, but inside he was ecstatic to hear another person speaking his native tongue. The black man was forced into a chair beside Paul, and the guard with the gun said to Burr, "I'll go get a translator for him." The black man said, "I told you! I don't speak German. No shpreckin the Deutsch!" Paul smiled in spite of himself. He liked this man.
Burr frowned. "Tell your friend to shut up," she ordered Paul, "or I will kill him."
Paul had no doubt she would do it, either. He said to the man, "Hi. I'm Paul. Paul Washington. That woman there? She's in charge. Don't piss her off. Right now she doesn't want you to talk. I suggest you listen to her."
"Huh." the man replied. Then to Paul, "Oh. My name is Derrick. Derr..." but at that moment Burr smacked Derrick across the face. Derrick leapt up and was going to retaliate, but Burr kneed the middle aged man in the groin, dropping him instantly. "I told you to tell him not to speak." she said coldly to Paul. Paul simply gaped at the whole scene, unable to help Derrick up, since he was still handcuffed to his chair.
The other guard returned at that moment with a glass of water and a light blue shirt for Paul. The shirt was tossed into Paul's lap, the glass of water was put in his free hand.
Derrick slowly got back up and sat in his chair. The guard took that opportunity to handcuff his arm. Derrick didn't object - at least verbally - but Paul knew he wasn't happy about this development. This guard also had a translator and he placed it in Derrick's ear.
Burr asked Derrick if he could understand her, if his translator was working and to simply nod if the answer was yes. Derrick nodded.
"Good." Burr said. "Now we will begin to get some answers..."
Same old song, DJ sucks.
A few months ago, Las Vegas radio got a little bit better.
100.5 FM, which had been "Lite 100" and played Adult Contemporary (whatever that means) suddenly switched formats.
It became the "All new Jack FM", which plays "What they want to". It also boasts the "biggest playlist in Vegas" and from what I've heard of the station, that is true.
Jack stations are apparently across the country, but this was a new development to me. The station doesn't have any DJs. That's right. No annoying banter in the morning. No stupid callers on air to make requests or ask "What's the name of that one song that John Meyer sings?" Yay!
The drawback to that is that if you hear a song you like (and Jack FM has played quite a few songs I've liked) you're left wondering who it was and/or what the song was called.
But still. No DJs!
Instead, the station plays a huge variety of music - ranging from country to disco to alternative and ranging from the late 60s up to today. In between these songs, they have "voice mail" messages. Where people who call the station's line and leave kiss ass words about how wonderful the station is. Most of the time, once the person talking has finished, a robotic female voice says, "Message saved." (Sadly, they don't say "Low battery." after each one, like our answering machine at home does. That would be amusing. Another missed opportunity is for the female robot to say, "Robots unite!" Hmm. Maybe I should program radio stations instead.)
Anyway. So Jack FM has become one of my favorite stations - it's on right now, in fact, playing "Back in the High Life" by Steve Winwood (that's one I know!)...which is now ending. What's next? Let's see.
Um. Well. It won't end. Heh. Man, that song had a long instrumental ending.
Oh. Now they're playing some sort of disco song that I don't recognize yet. Oh!!! "Jungle Boogie". Hee.
See. Any station that can go from Back in the High Life to Jungle Boogie is okay by me.
But. This (long winded - go word count!) post isn't entirely about Jack FM.
Because apparently, as of last week there's a NEW player in town.
107.9 FM, which used to play R&B and hip hop has switched formats. It's now "Area 108", and it's currently DJ-less. The station is using an alternative format, and is playing heavily on the songs from the 90s that I really enjoyed. I haven't listened to Area 108 as much - I only just discovered it yesterday - but the fact that there are now 2 stations in Las Vegas that have no DJs and who are playing songs that I like is quite good news.
EDIT! I've been listening to Area 108 all night now, (for about three hours, anyway) and dude. In addition to being DJ-less, right now Area 108 is commercial free! You can hear for yourself (assuming your computer has speakers) at area108.com End edit!
In conclusion, Robots unite! Message saved. Low battery.
100.5 FM, which had been "Lite 100" and played Adult Contemporary (whatever that means) suddenly switched formats.
It became the "All new Jack FM", which plays "What they want to". It also boasts the "biggest playlist in Vegas" and from what I've heard of the station, that is true.
Jack stations are apparently across the country, but this was a new development to me. The station doesn't have any DJs. That's right. No annoying banter in the morning. No stupid callers on air to make requests or ask "What's the name of that one song that John Meyer sings?" Yay!
The drawback to that is that if you hear a song you like (and Jack FM has played quite a few songs I've liked) you're left wondering who it was and/or what the song was called.
But still. No DJs!
Instead, the station plays a huge variety of music - ranging from country to disco to alternative and ranging from the late 60s up to today. In between these songs, they have "voice mail" messages. Where people who call the station's line and leave kiss ass words about how wonderful the station is. Most of the time, once the person talking has finished, a robotic female voice says, "Message saved." (Sadly, they don't say "Low battery." after each one, like our answering machine at home does. That would be amusing. Another missed opportunity is for the female robot to say, "Robots unite!" Hmm. Maybe I should program radio stations instead.)
Anyway. So Jack FM has become one of my favorite stations - it's on right now, in fact, playing "Back in the High Life" by Steve Winwood (that's one I know!)...which is now ending. What's next? Let's see.
Um. Well. It won't end. Heh. Man, that song had a long instrumental ending.
Oh. Now they're playing some sort of disco song that I don't recognize yet. Oh!!! "Jungle Boogie". Hee.
See. Any station that can go from Back in the High Life to Jungle Boogie is okay by me.
But. This (long winded - go word count!) post isn't entirely about Jack FM.
Because apparently, as of last week there's a NEW player in town.
107.9 FM, which used to play R&B and hip hop has switched formats. It's now "Area 108", and it's currently DJ-less. The station is using an alternative format, and is playing heavily on the songs from the 90s that I really enjoyed. I haven't listened to Area 108 as much - I only just discovered it yesterday - but the fact that there are now 2 stations in Las Vegas that have no DJs and who are playing songs that I like is quite good news.
EDIT! I've been listening to Area 108 all night now, (for about three hours, anyway) and dude. In addition to being DJ-less, right now Area 108 is commercial free! You can hear for yourself (assuming your computer has speakers) at area108.com End edit!
In conclusion, Robots unite! Message saved. Low battery.
Thursday, October 27, 2005
In case you can't tell, I'm being sarcastic.
(I'm not. But the title fits.)
The other day I saw a headline that said:
CLS Growth 'great' for Las Vegas
I have no idea what CLS is, or why or how it is growing, but I'm confused as to whether it truly is a good thing or not. Aside from my own views on unsustainable growth, the writer of the headline 1) used the word great and 2) used quote tags.
Someone truly needs to do a documentary on the evolution of sarcasm in the English language.
Why is it that the word great is so rarely used honestly? I'd say that ...oh, 80% of the time I hear someone say something is "great", they're being sarcastic.
And when did air quotes get assigned as the sarcasm body language signal du jour? And how? Also - the tone that one uses when they are speaking sarcastically. Everyone (except children, evidently. I read somewhere that children don't get sarcasm...so at what age is it learned?) ...everyone knows the sarcasm-tone. But someone had to be the first to use it. Who was that? And how did it catch on?
Huh. I just looked up wikipedia's entry on sarcasm, and apparently someone has written a book on the history of sarcasm - Leonard Rossiter, The Lowest Form of Wit - so I'll have to look into that.
Interestingly enough, in the wikipedia entry, the example they give of online sarcasm is "That's just great."
Huh.
In conclusion, this entry was absolutely 'great'. Really.
The other day I saw a headline that said:
CLS Growth 'great' for Las Vegas
I have no idea what CLS is, or why or how it is growing, but I'm confused as to whether it truly is a good thing or not. Aside from my own views on unsustainable growth, the writer of the headline 1) used the word great and 2) used quote tags.
Someone truly needs to do a documentary on the evolution of sarcasm in the English language.
Why is it that the word great is so rarely used honestly? I'd say that ...oh, 80% of the time I hear someone say something is "great", they're being sarcastic.
And when did air quotes get assigned as the sarcasm body language signal du jour? And how? Also - the tone that one uses when they are speaking sarcastically. Everyone (except children, evidently. I read somewhere that children don't get sarcasm...so at what age is it learned?) ...everyone knows the sarcasm-tone. But someone had to be the first to use it. Who was that? And how did it catch on?
Huh. I just looked up wikipedia's entry on sarcasm, and apparently someone has written a book on the history of sarcasm - Leonard Rossiter, The Lowest Form of Wit - so I'll have to look into that.
Interestingly enough, in the wikipedia entry, the example they give of online sarcasm is "That's just great."
Huh.
In conclusion, this entry was absolutely 'great'. Really.
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Talk about, pop music.
Victor wrote this one. And the questions are all song lyrics. It's like someone wants me to return to posting at the WD or something.
Who Are You?
Who who. Who who.
I'm just a guy. Really.
I Am What I Am. Are you Are What You Are, Or What?
Yes.
How Do You Know When It's Love?
When it hurts, I guess.
Where's The Man?
Sadly, The Man is ubiquitous.
What Makes You Think You're The One?
Delusions of grandeur. That's what makes anybody think they are the One.
Hey, Joe. Where Ya Goin' With That Gun In Your Hand?
Nowhere. Seriously, man. Nowhere at all.
Do You Wanna Touch Me?
Not as such.
Who Wants To Live Forever?
Genes. Those stupid selfish things. I think they might also be demented, because I can't for the life of me figure out WHY.
How Soon Is Now?
Right...now! Now! Now!!
In other words, it's pretty soon.
What Kind Of Fool Am I?
That's between you and your god. Hee.
How Do You Talk To An Angel?
Well, if you own the DVDs...you just pop it in and start talking to the screen.Or, if you know David Boreanaz personally, then, you know, there's that.
Who Will You Run To When It All Falls Down?
Oh, you know. soandso, I guess.
Stop Walking Down My Street. Who Do You Expect To Meet?
The devil, maybe? Hmm. And I'm wondering if I got the answers to the last two questions mixed up...
Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad?
Have I? I would venture to say that, yes. I have.
Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?
Not as such.
What's Love Got To Do With It?
Everything. Ev. er. e. thing.
Where Do We Go From Here?
Damned if I know, man. I'm just trying to figure it out as I go along.
Who who. Who who.
I'm just a guy. Really.
I Am What I Am. Are you Are What You Are, Or What?
Yes.
How Do You Know When It's Love?
When it hurts, I guess.
Where's The Man?
Sadly, The Man is ubiquitous.
What Makes You Think You're The One?
Delusions of grandeur. That's what makes anybody think they are the One.
Hey, Joe. Where Ya Goin' With That Gun In Your Hand?
Nowhere. Seriously, man. Nowhere at all.
Do You Wanna Touch Me?
Not as such.
Who Wants To Live Forever?
Genes. Those stupid selfish things. I think they might also be demented, because I can't for the life of me figure out WHY.
How Soon Is Now?
Right...now! Now! Now!!
In other words, it's pretty soon.
What Kind Of Fool Am I?
That's between you and your god. Hee.
How Do You Talk To An Angel?
Well, if you own the DVDs...you just pop it in and start talking to the screen.Or, if you know David Boreanaz personally, then, you know, there's that.
Who Will You Run To When It All Falls Down?
Oh, you know. soandso, I guess.
Stop Walking Down My Street. Who Do You Expect To Meet?
The devil, maybe? Hmm. And I'm wondering if I got the answers to the last two questions mixed up...
Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad?
Have I? I would venture to say that, yes. I have.
Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?
Not as such.
What's Love Got To Do With It?
Everything. Ev. er. e. thing.
Where Do We Go From Here?
Damned if I know, man. I'm just trying to figure it out as I go along.
15 What
A boq from Bally. Always a pleasure.
What's up?
Meh. I am, although I wish I weren't. It's been a roughish week. And I'm currently in the 'I despise working for the Man' part of my mood cycle.
I'm hoping that answering some boqs will help kick me out of it. (And boost my word count. Go word count!)
What do you say when you answer the phone?
Here at work it's, "Programming, this is Pat."
At home it's "Hello?"
What is your favourite soup?
Chicken!
What shall we do with a drunken sailor?
I think it's too earl-aye in the morning for me to answer that.
What was the best financial transaction you ever made?
When I sold my soul. For 37 thousand dollars.
Oh. Wait. That never happened.
But, man. That would be a sweet deal, wouldn't it?
Um.
Let's see. I don't know. It must be too earl-aye in the morning to answer this, too.
What is the name of your favourite takeaway food outlet?
Takeaway food outlet? Heh. Sometimes Bally speaks funny. [/p@ calling the kettle black]
I don't know that I have a favorite, but the one I visit the most would be Taco Bell.
What was the number of the last bus you were on?
202.
But only because the bastards stopped running the 807.
What is intelligence to you?
Stupid.
Heee!
Seriously? Seeing patterns and thinking ahead, in a nutshell.
What would Jean-Paul Sartre do?
Bitch and moan, I'm guessing.
Hooray!
What if the Beatles had never existed?
As a group, or do you mean that the individual people had never been born? Either way, I'm guessing that music would sound slightly different today. If Otherland were ever to come about, it would be interesting to create a world in which that were the case just to see.
Related Simpsons quote: "America rules! Our Beatles are way better than your Rolling Stones!" - Homer, regarding Britain.
"What if now you're still not sure?"
Then...not much has changed, actually.
What was the last thing that made you jump?
The kittens.
Speaking of kittens, and of jumping. This morning, they were attacking each other, as per usual, and they ran toward each other, then both lept in the air, swatting at each other while in the sky. It was totally like the Matrix, only with kittens.
What the hell is going on?
It's the end of the world as we know it. Sorta. Slowly. Maybe. Eventually.
In short, I have no idea, dude. But I never have. I never have.
What is the largest number of people you have ever seen?
Er. 6 billion? I mean, if you see a picture of the earth from space, then technically that's a correct answer.
what's last... ?
Zzyxyz.
What now?
Now I go do some work. Later, I will do more boqs and blogging. Later still, I go home.
What's up?
Meh. I am, although I wish I weren't. It's been a roughish week. And I'm currently in the 'I despise working for the Man' part of my mood cycle.
I'm hoping that answering some boqs will help kick me out of it. (And boost my word count. Go word count!)
What do you say when you answer the phone?
Here at work it's, "Programming, this is Pat."
At home it's "Hello?"
What is your favourite soup?
Chicken!
What shall we do with a drunken sailor?
I think it's too earl-aye in the morning for me to answer that.
What was the best financial transaction you ever made?
When I sold my soul. For 37 thousand dollars.
Oh. Wait. That never happened.
But, man. That would be a sweet deal, wouldn't it?
Um.
Let's see. I don't know. It must be too earl-aye in the morning to answer this, too.
What is the name of your favourite takeaway food outlet?
Takeaway food outlet? Heh. Sometimes Bally speaks funny. [/p@ calling the kettle black]
I don't know that I have a favorite, but the one I visit the most would be Taco Bell.
What was the number of the last bus you were on?
202.
But only because the bastards stopped running the 807.
What is intelligence to you?
Stupid.
Heee!
Seriously? Seeing patterns and thinking ahead, in a nutshell.
What would Jean-Paul Sartre do?
Bitch and moan, I'm guessing.
Hooray!
What if the Beatles had never existed?
As a group, or do you mean that the individual people had never been born? Either way, I'm guessing that music would sound slightly different today. If Otherland were ever to come about, it would be interesting to create a world in which that were the case just to see.
Related Simpsons quote: "America rules! Our Beatles are way better than your Rolling Stones!" - Homer, regarding Britain.
"What if now you're still not sure?"
Then...not much has changed, actually.
What was the last thing that made you jump?
The kittens.
Speaking of kittens, and of jumping. This morning, they were attacking each other, as per usual, and they ran toward each other, then both lept in the air, swatting at each other while in the sky. It was totally like the Matrix, only with kittens.
What the hell is going on?
It's the end of the world as we know it. Sorta. Slowly. Maybe. Eventually.
In short, I have no idea, dude. But I never have. I never have.
What is the largest number of people you have ever seen?
Er. 6 billion? I mean, if you see a picture of the earth from space, then technically that's a correct answer.
what's last... ?
Zzyxyz.
What now?
Now I go do some work. Later, I will do more boqs and blogging. Later still, I go home.
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Hail, hail, rock and roll.
It hailed today.
Hail! In Las Vegas! In October!!
Neat.
Um.
I don't really have anything to blog about right now. I think that I
might try NaNoWriMo (again) this year, but if my current bout of lack of
writingness (?) doesn't fade by next week I won't be getting very far.
We'll see. Earlier yesterday - and even into part of today - I was
pretty excited about it, but now...not so much. Eh. A lot can change in
six days.
Friday, October 21, 2005
some questions, answered
It's still boqtober....
Bored?
(note: I answered this originally while at work, and am cutting and pasting the answers now, so they are nolonger technically accurate.)
I don't know!!! Stop asking me questions! ...Oh. This is the last one. Whew!
That'll have to do for now. More later.
Bored?
No. Well. Kinda. But, dude. You're the one who's reading this.
At what point do you take a "sick" day (or as my dad calls them "mental health days")?
Usually if I'm "coughing up a lung", to steal a phrase from a popular movie from the 80s.
Or, if the Steph is super convincing in making me stay home. (She doesn't need to do a lot of arm twisting lately)
Or, if the Steph is super convincing in making me stay home. (She doesn't need to do a lot of arm twisting lately)
What do you do?
I ...um. Next!
And finally,
What are the top Four places you'd like to be this weekend?
Home.
Disneyland.
Pismo Beach.
Oregon.
Next!!
Home.
Disneyland.
Pismo Beach.
Oregon.
Next!!
Where you are now...
(note: I answered this originally while at work, and am cutting and pasting the answers now, so they are nolonger technically accurate.)
Is it town our country?
I think he meant "town or country". It's a city.
What's the closest...
street or road?
street or road?
Jones Blvd is mere feet outside.
gas station?
There's an ARCO right up the road, about half a mile, maybe?
bank?
Um. The Washington Mutual is about four miles down Jones. There are, no doubt, other banks, but I don't pay attention to those.
shopping center?
It's before the ARCO.
supermarket?
It's in the same shopping center that I just referenced, actually.
convenience store?
Gas stations and convenience stores are the same thing, arent' they?
restaurant?
There's a Wendy's next to the ARCO. Does that count?
cinema?
Down Flamingo about two miles inside the Palms Casino.
theatre?
Erm. Same thing as a cinema, I was thinking.
stadium, arena?
I have no idea.
(Not true. I do have an idea, but I need to pee, and thinking isn't on my top priority list right now)
(Not true. I do have an idea, but I need to pee, and thinking isn't on my top priority list right now)
bar, pub?
[shrug] I don't know.
pharmacy?
Heh. It's inside Smith's, which is in the shopping center which is near the ARCO, which is up the road.
hospital?
Um. 5 miles away?
cemetery?
That's on Eastern. But I don't know how far away that is.
house of worship?
No idea.
institution of learning?
Heeeeee.
museum?
Um. Man. These questions are hard.
subway or train station?
Mmm. Subway. It's within walking distance. It's across the street from the aforementioned ARCO.
airport?
McCarren is ...I don't know. Nearish. I'm wishing I had Yahoo Maps available, though.
river?
I suppose that would be the Colorado, which is some 20 or 30 miles from us, I guess.
lake?
Lake Mead. Same thing.
hill, mountain?
Errr.
park?I don't know!!! Stop asking me questions! ...Oh. This is the last one. Whew!
That'll have to do for now. More later.
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Zombies and stuff
I haven't updated in a while, and there's been a lot to say. This post is going to be a long 'un, so sit back and enjoy the ride. Or, go find something more interesting on, whichever makes you happier.
First the update:
Tina - my current supervisor - is leaving. She will be moving to Oregon, and her last day here at the station is October 28th.
I applied for her position - which is what the last post I made was about (obviously it wasn't meant to be blogged. I was emailing my wife and got all shtupid and blogged it instead)
Anyway, the company did not hire me. I did a powerpoint presentation and everything, but, in the end, the gig went to Tommie - who was my supervisor in Master Control. The more things change, huh?
So. I'm a little bit bummed about not getting the job - it would've meant a lot more money - but I'm also pretty relieved - it would have meant a lot more stress and responsibility, too. Plus, I'm getting a raise out of the whole situation, and Tommie is a pretty good guy to work for, so it could've been much worse.
In nonwork news - Saren spent the past week home with the chickenpox. Cock-a-doodle doo!
She's over them, as it wasn't a superbad case to begin with. I must admit that I'm a little bummed, though, that her time away from school didn't make her want to remain home permanently. Oh well. I'm just glad she's feeling better.
And now, Harper has the pox de la chicken. Ugh. Hopefully she'll get itchy and get over it in a relatively short amount of time. I hate seeing my kids sick. It truly is one of the worst things imaginable.
Netflix update: We've begun our zombie themed movies. So far we've watched Night of the Living Dead and Shaun of the Dead. Night, while still a classic, is pretty cheesy. I didn't realize what an annoying bint (hee!) Barbara was.
And Shaun was funny! It started off really slow, though. If you're gonna rent it, skip the first 20 minutes. You won't miss much, honestly.
Saren later said her favorite part was (and I'm not giving anything away here, since this scene is in the trailer) when Shaun and Ed sing "White Lines" and the zombie moans along. Heh.
My favorite part was probably the Queen song in the pub. [/vague enough to not require spoiler tags]
[begin spoilers for Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead (2004), 28 Days Later and Shaun of the Dead, highlight to view]
With about fifteen minutes left in Shaun, I said to Steph, "Man, no zombie movies ever end happily." Because at that point, it looked as though things were gonna be pretty grim for Shaun and Liz.
But! Then there was a happy ending!! Yay!
But NotLD, and Dawn of the Dead both had unhappy endings. 28 Days Later's ending was argumentitavely happy, but it was a blah movie to begin with, and I can't honestly remember which ending it went with (I watch the alternate endings on the DVD and they've all blurred together).
I wonder how the other movies will end. [end spoiler]
Steph and I were also thinking - what's really so bad about being a zombie? In a lot of zombie movies, becoming one of the undead seems to be a better alternative than surviving with the group you wind up with. That would be an interesting take on the zombie movie. One told where the zombies are more sympathetic.
Um. What else? Well. There's been other stuff, but my wife covers it so much better than I do.
Okay. Onto the anniversary segment.
It's been three years since I began this blog. On October 19th, 2002, at 1:23pm, I began myh first post with the prophetic "Oh, watch how boring this entry will be." It's gone through numerous changes, but one thing has remained the same over the years. And I don't know what that is.
Happy Blogiversary to me!
In conclusion, Oh, watch how boring this entry will be.
First the update:
Tina - my current supervisor - is leaving. She will be moving to Oregon, and her last day here at the station is October 28th.
I applied for her position - which is what the last post I made was about (obviously it wasn't meant to be blogged. I was emailing my wife and got all shtupid and blogged it instead)
Anyway, the company did not hire me. I did a powerpoint presentation and everything, but, in the end, the gig went to Tommie - who was my supervisor in Master Control. The more things change, huh?
So. I'm a little bit bummed about not getting the job - it would've meant a lot more money - but I'm also pretty relieved - it would have meant a lot more stress and responsibility, too. Plus, I'm getting a raise out of the whole situation, and Tommie is a pretty good guy to work for, so it could've been much worse.
In nonwork news - Saren spent the past week home with the chickenpox. Cock-a-doodle doo!
She's over them, as it wasn't a superbad case to begin with. I must admit that I'm a little bummed, though, that her time away from school didn't make her want to remain home permanently. Oh well. I'm just glad she's feeling better.
And now, Harper has the pox de la chicken. Ugh. Hopefully she'll get itchy and get over it in a relatively short amount of time. I hate seeing my kids sick. It truly is one of the worst things imaginable.
Netflix update: We've begun our zombie themed movies. So far we've watched Night of the Living Dead and Shaun of the Dead. Night, while still a classic, is pretty cheesy. I didn't realize what an annoying bint (hee!) Barbara was.
And Shaun was funny! It started off really slow, though. If you're gonna rent it, skip the first 20 minutes. You won't miss much, honestly.
Saren later said her favorite part was (and I'm not giving anything away here, since this scene is in the trailer) when Shaun and Ed sing "White Lines" and the zombie moans along. Heh.
My favorite part was probably the Queen song in the pub. [/vague enough to not require spoiler tags]
[begin spoilers for Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead (2004), 28 Days Later and Shaun of the Dead, highlight to view]
With about fifteen minutes left in Shaun, I said to Steph, "Man, no zombie movies ever end happily." Because at that point, it looked as though things were gonna be pretty grim for Shaun and Liz.
But! Then there was a happy ending!! Yay!
But NotLD, and Dawn of the Dead both had unhappy endings. 28 Days Later's ending was argumentitavely happy, but it was a blah movie to begin with, and I can't honestly remember which ending it went with (I watch the alternate endings on the DVD and they've all blurred together).
I wonder how the other movies will end. [end spoiler]
Steph and I were also thinking - what's really so bad about being a zombie? In a lot of zombie movies, becoming one of the undead seems to be a better alternative than surviving with the group you wind up with. That would be an interesting take on the zombie movie. One told where the zombies are more sympathetic.
Um. What else? Well. There's been other stuff, but my wife covers it so much better than I do.
Okay. Onto the anniversary segment.
It's been three years since I began this blog. On October 19th, 2002, at 1:23pm, I began myh first post with the prophetic "Oh, watch how boring this entry will be." It's gone through numerous changes, but one thing has remained the same over the years. And I don't know what that is.
Happy Blogiversary to me!
In conclusion, Oh, watch how boring this entry will be.
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Another test.
Yeah. Because we haven't had enough of those recently.
Now. Will it work? That remains to be answered.
I swear, someday soon, that I will return to my normal boring style of posting, rather than this accelerated boring type. [grin]
| Just | another |
| test | of |
| the | table |
| system. | Yay! |
Now. Will it work? That remains to be answered.
I swear, someday soon, that I will return to my normal boring style of posting, rather than this accelerated boring type. [grin]
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
movie goers
Let's all go to the lobby...[/preamble]
Going to see a Movie?
Have you ever gone to see a movie alone?
Yep.
If yes, do you often or was it a one time occurrence? If no, why not?
I think I've done that twice. I didn't enjoy it either time. It feels...weird somehow.
What was the last movie you saw? Did you see it with anyone?
Well, most of the movies I see anymore are either at home due to Netflix or at work due to ...work.
The last movie I watched at home was Van Helsing, and I didn't watch the entire thing because it was really horrible. Stephanie was with me.
At work the last movie I watched was.. um. Oh. Return of the Rebels, which was extremely boring. I'll bet Patrick Swayze wishes that movie were banned from existence. He's not alone in that wish.
As for the theater going experience, the last movie I saw on the big screen was Batman Begins, and I was with Stephanie. (And a bunch of other people I didn't really know) I enjoyed that movie.
Did the people (or lack thereof) enhance the viewing pleasure of the movie? (how so?)
Well. Hmm. Watching movies at home or at work doesn't really fit into the question. But going to the theater... It's a delicate balance. Prescreenings (like Batman Begins was) can be irritating because that many people results in a large amount of stupid. But there have been movies I've gone to where the theater is emptyish... and you know, actually, that's better. So forget what I said about delicate balance. Having less people in the theater is better. [up]
When you go see a movie with someone do you converse with them during the movie (possibly in a low whisper, or even a dull roar)
No.
Who do you normally go to the movies with? (friends, significant other, shadow)
Steph and /or the girls.
After seeing a movie is there anything you often do?
Bookstore!! [grin]
Do you like to talk about a movie you watched after seeing it?
Yep.
How often do you go to see movies?
Extremely rarely. It's expensive, and most movies are crap. Having the movies come to us is so much better.
What type of movies do you prefer to see?
Free ones, generally. The next time we go to the movies will most likely be in November when we see the prescreening of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
What type of movies do you avoid like the plague?
Teen movies. Most "comedy" movies. Most action movies.
I'm not sure what that leaves, but if you figure it out, that's my niche.
What is the last movie went to see?
Batman Begins, as stated above.
What is the next movie that you know is coming out that you will be going to see?
Repeating myself here, but Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
Do the same principles apply for renting movies?
Nope. Netflix = seeing stuff we'd never go to see. Or stuff that we'd maybe go see if we had money and free time. Like Van Helsing. Or War of the Worlds. Or, well, pretty much anything. Netflix is one of the best inventions ever.
One and One is five. (explain)
That's not a question. But... UM... You know, I dont think I can. Although, you know. One (P@) and One (Steph) did equal five in the case of Spish. So there ya go.
So…
Have you ever gone to see a movie alone?
Yep.
If yes, do you often or was it a one time occurrence? If no, why not?
I think I've done that twice. I didn't enjoy it either time. It feels...weird somehow.
What was the last movie you saw? Did you see it with anyone?
Well, most of the movies I see anymore are either at home due to Netflix or at work due to ...work.
The last movie I watched at home was Van Helsing, and I didn't watch the entire thing because it was really horrible. Stephanie was with me.
At work the last movie I watched was.. um. Oh. Return of the Rebels, which was extremely boring. I'll bet Patrick Swayze wishes that movie were banned from existence. He's not alone in that wish.
As for the theater going experience, the last movie I saw on the big screen was Batman Begins, and I was with Stephanie. (And a bunch of other people I didn't really know) I enjoyed that movie.
Did the people (or lack thereof) enhance the viewing pleasure of the movie? (how so?)
Well. Hmm. Watching movies at home or at work doesn't really fit into the question. But going to the theater... It's a delicate balance. Prescreenings (like Batman Begins was) can be irritating because that many people results in a large amount of stupid. But there have been movies I've gone to where the theater is emptyish... and you know, actually, that's better. So forget what I said about delicate balance. Having less people in the theater is better. [up]
When you go see a movie with someone do you converse with them during the movie (possibly in a low whisper, or even a dull roar)
No.
Who do you normally go to the movies with? (friends, significant other, shadow)
Steph and /or the girls.
After seeing a movie is there anything you often do?
Bookstore!! [grin]
Do you like to talk about a movie you watched after seeing it?
Yep.
How often do you go to see movies?
Extremely rarely. It's expensive, and most movies are crap. Having the movies come to us is so much better.
What type of movies do you prefer to see?
Free ones, generally. The next time we go to the movies will most likely be in November when we see the prescreening of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
What type of movies do you avoid like the plague?
Teen movies. Most "comedy" movies. Most action movies.
I'm not sure what that leaves, but if you figure it out, that's my niche.
What is the last movie went to see?
Batman Begins, as stated above.
What is the next movie that you know is coming out that you will be going to see?
Repeating myself here, but Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
Do the same principles apply for renting movies?
Nope. Netflix = seeing stuff we'd never go to see. Or stuff that we'd maybe go see if we had money and free time. Like Van Helsing. Or War of the Worlds. Or, well, pretty much anything. Netflix is one of the best inventions ever.
One and One is five. (explain)
That's not a question. But... UM... You know, I dont think I can. Although, you know. One (P@) and One (Steph) did equal five in the case of Spish. So there ya go.
Friday, September 30, 2005
Wake me up when September ends
[frown]
B... October is right around the corner. It's gonna be a busy month, I
just have a feeling.
New song are lyrics needed, the Renaissance Faire, Halloween, Tina is
leaving, 4th quarter starts up, and the year goes into hyperdrive. I
know there's a gabillion other things I'm forgetting. But I just know
that October is gonna be a handful. I'm not sure I'm up for it. At least
it starts off on a Saturday to help me coop.
It's a gas gas gas!
To do today:
Get paycheck. (done)
Cash paycheck.
Fill up gas tank.
Pay gas bill.
Have lunch at Taco Bell.
Thursday, September 29, 2005
What's my motivation, again?
I'm in a better mood now, and since I left the last recap in a cliffhanger, I'll provide the recap of the Get Motivated Seminar now.
So, we got there around 9:15am, got our notebooks, and entered the auditorium. We were VIPs, so we were seated down on the floor, very near the stage. Which was great, except for the fact that the stage had floodlights. Which were shinning directly into our faces. Anyway, when we got there Zig Ziglar (hee. I wonder if that's his true name. I doubt it.) was already in the middle of his speech, and we had apparently missed Steve Forbes. (Yeah, I was heartbroken. [rolleyes])
As soon as I sat down, the very first thing I heard him say was, "If man can make something as wonderful as penicillin out of moldy bread, imagine what God can make out of you."
Uh-oh.
He acknowledged the fact that in an arena the size that we were in, and with as many people as there were in there, that not everyone was going to have the same faith. That there would be people in there with little faith, with no faith, with different faith. But with a wink, wink, nudge, nudge type of attitude, he went on about the Christian belief system. For agnostics and atheists he said, "Some people don't like to talk about the spiritual side, but I believe you should, because my research shows that you're going to be dead a lot longer than you're alive."
He didn't spend the entire time up there proselytizing, though. He also mentioned... um. Other stuff. Although I don't remember a lot of it now. A good portion of it (a good portion of the entire seminar, truthfully) was stuff "you already know". Mind body connection stuff was brought up. Positive thinking. ("Positive thinking can't help you do everything, but it does a lot more than negative thinking will ever do." [/paraphrasing]) and just all around other 'motivational' type of things. Then, right before he got off stage, he mentioned that his CDs and books were available to buy, and he gave a few away by drawing names out of a raffle (our tickets had a tear away sheet with our information on them when we went into the arena). I didn't win. I also didn't buy any.
After he was done, an Indian born man named Krish Dhanam spoke, but only for 30 minutes. He was kind of a Zig Ziglar Lite. He didn't mention God or Jesus, interestingly enough, but he did have a whole lotta love for the United States of America. He said that "if you were blessed enough to wake up in this great land this morning, you've already won." (Um. How many people in the audience had to fly into the country that morning?) He also said that, "If you do nothing for the next 500 years, the country that comes in second will still want to be you."
It's awkward enough hearing this type of jingoism from native born citizens of this country. Hearing it from someone who came here deliberately... I don't know. Maybe it was just me. It's probably just me.
After he got off the stage, there was a performance by someone that was in Santana, I think? They didn't make it very clear who he was. He sang "Bright Sunny Day" while people got up and stretched and had coffee and smoked.
Next up was some guy who blathered on about stocks for WAY too long. His shpiel was basically a set up for people to take his course and to get on his stock trading website because he'd made a buttload of money, and so could you!
By this point, I was starting to get a headache, not only from the lights, but also from hunger. It was nearing lunch time -around 11:30 - when the next speaker was called out. It was Michael Powell, son of Colin Powell, and former chairman of the FCC. As one coworker put it before the seminar - "I just want to have the opportunity to punch Michael Powell in the face." I told him that he'd have to form a line. I don't think many of us were really excited to see him. We were thinking about bailing during his speech and going to lunch early, but we figured, eh, it'll probably only be 30 minutes.
Powell was, easily, the worst speaker of the day. His speech was ladled with cliches and it jumped from point to point to point. Things I remember from his talk:
He started off the speech with reference to the infamous 'wardrobe malfunction'. (Of course.) Stating that 'all he wanted to do was watch the Super Bowl'. But that it was 'soon eclipsed by what would be either the highlight or the lowlight of television history, depending on your view'. And that for him, the weeks that followed that 'sucked.'
He moved on to his past -
In his family, while growing up, there were three Rs. Right. wRong. and Responsibility.
Also while growing up, he prayed to get hit. Because getting hit was better than the "I'm disappointed in you." look.
The only real way to get in trouble while being raised by Col. Powell, apparently, was to not have an answer to the question, "What did you do wrong and what are you going to do to fix it?"
In other areas of his speech -
He made some vague plea that we should 'unplug'. Saying that the amount of information coming into our lives could bury us. (Interesting coming from the head of the burearacy that is in charge of all forms of technological communication. But I got the feeling that he didn't really mean it. It was just one of those things to say.)
He also told us about his time while in the Army when he was in an accident in a jeep that resulted in him having his spine broken. Yeesh. I had no idea about that, and it was graphic to hear about.
In between all this, he mentioned that leaders need to have 10 guidelines to stick to, that you will not compromise for anyone. Not your boss, not your spouse, not your children. Nobody. He left it up to the individuals to choose their 10, and he never explained why there were 10 to begin with, but whatever.
When he finished, it was noon. Many of us were very very hungry, but the next speaker they brought out was Joe Montana, and since a good portion of my coworkers wanted to see him, I stayed to listen to him. His speech was short - only about 20 minutes - but it flowed a lot better than Michael Powell's did. He focused on teamwork in his speech, and I don't remember much of it now, but I liked it at the time. [shrug]
After he was done, the emcee came on and told us that we had a sixty five minute lunch break, but not too eat too much because when we came back, there was going to be a dance off and the prize was going to be a trip to DisneyWorld in Orlando Florida. Woo!
So. 6500 people all left for lunch at one time. Our group got to one of the few open diners in the Mandalay Bay (it was really weird to pass restaurant after restaurant that were closed) and we waited in a reallly long line. I'm glad that one of the salespeople was charging lunch on the company card because for six of us the total came to $74. Just for cheeseburgers, drinks and fries for six people. Okay then.
By the time we got back to the auditorium, the dance off was done and the next speaker was in the middle of his talk. This guy's name was Tom Hopkins and he was all about sales (which is what most of our group comprised of - salespeople). He seemed like a nice enough guy, but the fact that his whole speech was about manipulating people was deeply troublesome. Some of his points were: We ask questions to gain control, to receive agreement, to arouse and control emotions.
And nod when you ask questions that you want a yes answer to because it helps to build "yes momentum".
Creepy!
Next up was the president (??) of Get Motivated Seminars, Peter Lowe.
He had some pretty cool things to say. Again, mostly stuff you 'already know', but still good to rehear. Focus on already having accomplished your goals, don't focus on obstacles. That type of stuff.
When he gave away a hundred dollar bill to the "most enthusiastic person out there" - a man actually ran up on the stage. Later, he had a volunteer come onto the stage and break a (trick?) board made out of wood with their hand.
His speech was about having balance in the body, mind, and spirit (or soul). The mind thing was basically about how the words we tell ourselves become our reality. And the body part was about breathing, using laughter to relax, that type of stuff. I was with him on the body and mind aspect, and while I agree with the idea of having balance in the spiritual area of one's life, it bothered me that it was again a Christian viewpoint they were using.
He stated that a study had been done about high schoolers (or maybe younger, I don't remember) that had supposedly found that there was a connection between a persons outlook on god and their self esteem. Those who believed that god was going to punish them and was vengeful, etc, had a low self esteem while those who viewed god as a happy benevolent santa claus type figure generally had higher opinions of themselves. (Sort of interesting. Too bad he didn't site where this study was done, who had conducted it, how long ago, etc.)
He even said something along the lines of "you can never rise consistently above your view of your creator."
Anyway. He then went on about some story about getting a speeding ticket and going to face the judge, who just happened to be your father, and how the judge would have to make you pay the speeding ticket fine (or go to jail) just like everyone else, but that he could then take off his judge robes and as your father he could forgive you.
He concluded with some parable about a farmer not planting his seeds because of fear of them not growing, but I was more or less tuning him out at that point.
Next up was the biggest fucking asshole of the day. His name was James Smith. He was billed as "America's Leading Real Estate Expert" and the drinking game with him would have been to take a drink everytime he used the phrase "Watch this". The man was arrogant, cocky, and (watch this!) a Christian.
Things from his speech that I remember -
He talked about taking section 8 checks from people, investing it for them for X number of months, thus letting them own their own homes. (Huh?)
He mentioned that "The Bible says 'the poor will always be with you'." (And... that's a good thing? Well, I guess, as long as pricks like him can make money off it, then woo hoo! Because as long as the poor are with us, that means there must be someone who is rich, too.)
Jesus was a carpenter - a vocation directly related to Real Estate.
Bah.
He wound up selling a class as well, but you know, I think I'll pass.
Finally it was time for the "Secret Mystery Guest".
It turned out to be Jerry Lewis.
He was, to his credit, pretty funny, although certainly not very politically correct. (I didn't take any offense at his jokes, but the one about naming Chinese babies, for example...) He wasn't exactly a 'motivational' speaker, but it was nice to have someone up there that wasn't shilling something, ya know?
Next up was the final speaker of the day, Rudy Giuliani. Before that happened, though, they had a blonde lady come on stage and sing "God Bless America" (I guess to make us feel more patriotic??) Oddly, I didn't get goosebumps at all. I got like, antigoosebumps. Weird.
Anyway, after she was done, Giuliani came on stage, while red, white and blue confetti strips of paper fell from the sky, fire shot out of the corners of the stage, and "New York, New York" played over the loud speakers.
His speech focused on the sinking of the Titanic. I'm kidding. He focused on 9/11, of course. His points of being a good leader were that you need to
1) Know what you believe.
2) Be an optimist.
3) Have courage.
4) Prepare
5) Understand teamwork
and
6) Communicate
Good points, all, I suppose.
It was interesting that Rudy was the only speaker that had security guards. Not even Michael Powell did.
He finished up, we all left, and that was that.
Overall, the seminar was a waste of time for me. Yeah, it got me out of the office for a day, but there was so much I could have been doing otherwise. Besides, I don't want tips on how to fix the life I have now. I don't want to know how to make more money. I want a simpler life away from the rat race. I don't want to be motivated, I want to be relaxed. I want to be happy. I want to be stress free. I want out. All in due time, I suppose.
There. Now, who's motivated?
So, we got there around 9:15am, got our notebooks, and entered the auditorium. We were VIPs, so we were seated down on the floor, very near the stage. Which was great, except for the fact that the stage had floodlights. Which were shinning directly into our faces. Anyway, when we got there Zig Ziglar (hee. I wonder if that's his true name. I doubt it.) was already in the middle of his speech, and we had apparently missed Steve Forbes. (Yeah, I was heartbroken. [rolleyes])
As soon as I sat down, the very first thing I heard him say was, "If man can make something as wonderful as penicillin out of moldy bread, imagine what God can make out of you."
Uh-oh.
He acknowledged the fact that in an arena the size that we were in, and with as many people as there were in there, that not everyone was going to have the same faith. That there would be people in there with little faith, with no faith, with different faith. But with a wink, wink, nudge, nudge type of attitude, he went on about the Christian belief system. For agnostics and atheists he said, "Some people don't like to talk about the spiritual side, but I believe you should, because my research shows that you're going to be dead a lot longer than you're alive."
He didn't spend the entire time up there proselytizing, though. He also mentioned... um. Other stuff. Although I don't remember a lot of it now. A good portion of it (a good portion of the entire seminar, truthfully) was stuff "you already know". Mind body connection stuff was brought up. Positive thinking. ("Positive thinking can't help you do everything, but it does a lot more than negative thinking will ever do." [/paraphrasing]) and just all around other 'motivational' type of things. Then, right before he got off stage, he mentioned that his CDs and books were available to buy, and he gave a few away by drawing names out of a raffle (our tickets had a tear away sheet with our information on them when we went into the arena). I didn't win. I also didn't buy any.
After he was done, an Indian born man named Krish Dhanam spoke, but only for 30 minutes. He was kind of a Zig Ziglar Lite. He didn't mention God or Jesus, interestingly enough, but he did have a whole lotta love for the United States of America. He said that "if you were blessed enough to wake up in this great land this morning, you've already won." (Um. How many people in the audience had to fly into the country that morning?) He also said that, "If you do nothing for the next 500 years, the country that comes in second will still want to be you."
It's awkward enough hearing this type of jingoism from native born citizens of this country. Hearing it from someone who came here deliberately... I don't know. Maybe it was just me. It's probably just me.
After he got off the stage, there was a performance by someone that was in Santana, I think? They didn't make it very clear who he was. He sang "Bright Sunny Day" while people got up and stretched and had coffee and smoked.
Next up was some guy who blathered on about stocks for WAY too long. His shpiel was basically a set up for people to take his course and to get on his stock trading website because he'd made a buttload of money, and so could you!
By this point, I was starting to get a headache, not only from the lights, but also from hunger. It was nearing lunch time -around 11:30 - when the next speaker was called out. It was Michael Powell, son of Colin Powell, and former chairman of the FCC. As one coworker put it before the seminar - "I just want to have the opportunity to punch Michael Powell in the face." I told him that he'd have to form a line. I don't think many of us were really excited to see him. We were thinking about bailing during his speech and going to lunch early, but we figured, eh, it'll probably only be 30 minutes.
Powell was, easily, the worst speaker of the day. His speech was ladled with cliches and it jumped from point to point to point. Things I remember from his talk:
He started off the speech with reference to the infamous 'wardrobe malfunction'. (Of course.) Stating that 'all he wanted to do was watch the Super Bowl'. But that it was 'soon eclipsed by what would be either the highlight or the lowlight of television history, depending on your view'. And that for him, the weeks that followed that 'sucked.'
He moved on to his past -
In his family, while growing up, there were three Rs. Right. wRong. and Responsibility.
Also while growing up, he prayed to get hit. Because getting hit was better than the "I'm disappointed in you." look.
The only real way to get in trouble while being raised by Col. Powell, apparently, was to not have an answer to the question, "What did you do wrong and what are you going to do to fix it?"
In other areas of his speech -
He made some vague plea that we should 'unplug'. Saying that the amount of information coming into our lives could bury us. (Interesting coming from the head of the burearacy that is in charge of all forms of technological communication. But I got the feeling that he didn't really mean it. It was just one of those things to say.)
He also told us about his time while in the Army when he was in an accident in a jeep that resulted in him having his spine broken. Yeesh. I had no idea about that, and it was graphic to hear about.
In between all this, he mentioned that leaders need to have 10 guidelines to stick to, that you will not compromise for anyone. Not your boss, not your spouse, not your children. Nobody. He left it up to the individuals to choose their 10, and he never explained why there were 10 to begin with, but whatever.
When he finished, it was noon. Many of us were very very hungry, but the next speaker they brought out was Joe Montana, and since a good portion of my coworkers wanted to see him, I stayed to listen to him. His speech was short - only about 20 minutes - but it flowed a lot better than Michael Powell's did. He focused on teamwork in his speech, and I don't remember much of it now, but I liked it at the time. [shrug]
After he was done, the emcee came on and told us that we had a sixty five minute lunch break, but not too eat too much because when we came back, there was going to be a dance off and the prize was going to be a trip to DisneyWorld in Orlando Florida. Woo!
So. 6500 people all left for lunch at one time. Our group got to one of the few open diners in the Mandalay Bay (it was really weird to pass restaurant after restaurant that were closed) and we waited in a reallly long line. I'm glad that one of the salespeople was charging lunch on the company card because for six of us the total came to $74. Just for cheeseburgers, drinks and fries for six people. Okay then.
By the time we got back to the auditorium, the dance off was done and the next speaker was in the middle of his talk. This guy's name was Tom Hopkins and he was all about sales (which is what most of our group comprised of - salespeople). He seemed like a nice enough guy, but the fact that his whole speech was about manipulating people was deeply troublesome. Some of his points were: We ask questions to gain control, to receive agreement, to arouse and control emotions.
And nod when you ask questions that you want a yes answer to because it helps to build "yes momentum".
Creepy!
Next up was the president (??) of Get Motivated Seminars, Peter Lowe.
He had some pretty cool things to say. Again, mostly stuff you 'already know', but still good to rehear. Focus on already having accomplished your goals, don't focus on obstacles. That type of stuff.
When he gave away a hundred dollar bill to the "most enthusiastic person out there" - a man actually ran up on the stage. Later, he had a volunteer come onto the stage and break a (trick?) board made out of wood with their hand.
His speech was about having balance in the body, mind, and spirit (or soul). The mind thing was basically about how the words we tell ourselves become our reality. And the body part was about breathing, using laughter to relax, that type of stuff. I was with him on the body and mind aspect, and while I agree with the idea of having balance in the spiritual area of one's life, it bothered me that it was again a Christian viewpoint they were using.
He stated that a study had been done about high schoolers (or maybe younger, I don't remember) that had supposedly found that there was a connection between a persons outlook on god and their self esteem. Those who believed that god was going to punish them and was vengeful, etc, had a low self esteem while those who viewed god as a happy benevolent santa claus type figure generally had higher opinions of themselves. (Sort of interesting. Too bad he didn't site where this study was done, who had conducted it, how long ago, etc.)
He even said something along the lines of "you can never rise consistently above your view of your creator."
Anyway. He then went on about some story about getting a speeding ticket and going to face the judge, who just happened to be your father, and how the judge would have to make you pay the speeding ticket fine (or go to jail) just like everyone else, but that he could then take off his judge robes and as your father he could forgive you.
He concluded with some parable about a farmer not planting his seeds because of fear of them not growing, but I was more or less tuning him out at that point.
Next up was the biggest fucking asshole of the day. His name was James Smith. He was billed as "America's Leading Real Estate Expert" and the drinking game with him would have been to take a drink everytime he used the phrase "Watch this". The man was arrogant, cocky, and (watch this!) a Christian.
Things from his speech that I remember -
He talked about taking section 8 checks from people, investing it for them for X number of months, thus letting them own their own homes. (Huh?)
He mentioned that "The Bible says 'the poor will always be with you'." (And... that's a good thing? Well, I guess, as long as pricks like him can make money off it, then woo hoo! Because as long as the poor are with us, that means there must be someone who is rich, too.)
Jesus was a carpenter - a vocation directly related to Real Estate.
Bah.
He wound up selling a class as well, but you know, I think I'll pass.
Finally it was time for the "Secret Mystery Guest".
It turned out to be Jerry Lewis.
He was, to his credit, pretty funny, although certainly not very politically correct. (I didn't take any offense at his jokes, but the one about naming Chinese babies, for example...) He wasn't exactly a 'motivational' speaker, but it was nice to have someone up there that wasn't shilling something, ya know?
Next up was the final speaker of the day, Rudy Giuliani. Before that happened, though, they had a blonde lady come on stage and sing "God Bless America" (I guess to make us feel more patriotic??) Oddly, I didn't get goosebumps at all. I got like, antigoosebumps. Weird.
Anyway, after she was done, Giuliani came on stage, while red, white and blue confetti strips of paper fell from the sky, fire shot out of the corners of the stage, and "New York, New York" played over the loud speakers.
His speech focused on the sinking of the Titanic. I'm kidding. He focused on 9/11, of course. His points of being a good leader were that you need to
1) Know what you believe.
2) Be an optimist.
3) Have courage.
4) Prepare
5) Understand teamwork
and
6) Communicate
Good points, all, I suppose.
It was interesting that Rudy was the only speaker that had security guards. Not even Michael Powell did.
He finished up, we all left, and that was that.
Overall, the seminar was a waste of time for me. Yeah, it got me out of the office for a day, but there was so much I could have been doing otherwise. Besides, I don't want tips on how to fix the life I have now. I don't want to know how to make more money. I want a simpler life away from the rat race. I don't want to be motivated, I want to be relaxed. I want to be happy. I want to be stress free. I want out. All in due time, I suppose.
There. Now, who's motivated?
Average!
Last night's Lost was an extremely mundane episode! It more or less screamed out Meh!! I'll keep watching anyway!!!
Spoilers for Adrift - highlight to view (and don't worry, it'll be brief):
Sawyer is Spike. Hate him. Can't wait for him to die. Which means he won't. He'll probably end up trying to rape Claire who will fall in love with him. After he gets his soul. Blech.
This episode was like ..only half an episode. Because a good portion of what we saw we already knew was going to happen!!! Maybe they wanted the viewers to feel psychic, so we could relate to Walt better? But, dude. They reshow Locke going down the hatch, they reshow the face-off between Desmond and Jack, and we KNEW that Michael wasn't going to get custody of Walt, so what the hell was the purpose of the flashback? Gah!
On the bright side, I loved Locke's psychoticness. "Are you him?" "Yes. Yes I am." Hee! Apparently he's watched Ghostbusters. And the entire hatch of the 70s is, right now, very intriguing. Why did Desmond need Locke to enter the numbers on the computer? Hmm.
And of course, the Others. Yay for creepiness!! Now, will these turn out to be the true others, or the other half of the plane? Or a little bit from column A, a little bit from Column B? We'll find out next week, maybe.
End of spoilers.
stuff. In other news, I am SO glad that it's payday tomorrow. Money solveseverything. nothing. stuff.
Spoilers for Adrift - highlight to view (and don't worry, it'll be brief):
Sawyer is Spike. Hate him. Can't wait for him to die. Which means he won't. He'll probably end up trying to rape Claire who will fall in love with him. After he gets his soul. Blech.
This episode was like ..only half an episode. Because a good portion of what we saw we already knew was going to happen!!! Maybe they wanted the viewers to feel psychic, so we could relate to Walt better? But, dude. They reshow Locke going down the hatch, they reshow the face-off between Desmond and Jack, and we KNEW that Michael wasn't going to get custody of Walt, so what the hell was the purpose of the flashback? Gah!
On the bright side, I loved Locke's psychoticness. "Are you him?" "Yes. Yes I am." Hee! Apparently he's watched Ghostbusters. And the entire hatch of the 70s is, right now, very intriguing. Why did Desmond need Locke to enter the numbers on the computer? Hmm.
And of course, the Others. Yay for creepiness!! Now, will these turn out to be the true others, or the other half of the plane? Or a little bit from column A, a little bit from Column B? We'll find out next week, maybe.
End of spoilers.
stuff. In other news, I am SO glad that it's payday tomorrow. Money solves
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
What's my motivation?
Yesterday, September 27th, 2005, there was a seminar at the Mandalay Bay Event Arena from 8:00am until 5:00pm. Here's a recap of how my day attending that went.
I arrived at the station around 7:15am. I was going to carpool with Tina. She had told me that she would be in around 7:30.
Around 7:50, she called to let me know that she was still stuck in traffic, and that we would be going with Nancy, who should be arriving at the station shortly.
Nancy is one of the station's top salespeople. She is also a New Yorker (New Yawkuh?) who stresses about pretty much everything. It's just the way she is. And it's hard to tell, really, if everything is truly stressing her out, or if it's just that she's a high strung personality. Regardless, she is a character who always has something to say and a unique perspective.
8:00 am rolls around, and Tina and Nancy show up. We get into Nancy's car (which was really freaking nice. I am not big on cars - as long as it gets me from point A to point B and back again, I'm happy - but dude. I can see why people spend the extra money on luxury automobiles) and she begins to drive.
I think that they should charge admission to ride along with her. She was weaving in and out of traffic, zipping through the streets and doing things that I didn't think were physically possible in a car. All the while, smoking, talking on her cell phone, and carrying on a conversation with Tina and I. Crazy. Cool.
At one point, we had pulled up behind a company-sized truck that was going to be turning right at a stop sign. The cross traffic didn't stop, so we were going to be sitting there for a while. Nancy put the car in reverse, pulled up beside the truck driver and yelled out Tina's window, "For the love of God, make the right turn already!" As the driver turned, we could see that he was chuckling about it. That's the way Nancy is. Even when she's yelling at you, you can't help but laugh. Um. Except when she's really angry.
Anyway. The Mandalay Bay parking lot was overflowing with vehicles, as was the Luxor's (which is the casino right next door). We opted to park at the Luxor anyway, and after some insane maneuvering around their parking garage, we found a spot at the top of the parking structure. We began to walk toward the Mandalay Bay Event Center, wondering about the seminar.
The ticket indicated that the speakers would be: Zig Ziglar (listed under MOTIVATION and described as Americas #1 Motivator), Steve Forbes (BUSINESS SKILLS, CEO & Editor Forbes Magazine), Peter Lowe (SUCCESS, America's Success Strategist ), Special Mystery Guest (One of the five most recognizable people on the planet - Newsweek Magazine), Tom Hopkins (SALES, America's #1Authority on Selling) Michael Powell (ACHIEVEMENT, Legendary FCC Chairman), Joe Montana (TEAMWORK, The NFL's Greatest Quarterback) and Rudolph Giuliani (LEADERSHIP, Former Mayor of New York City). We had heard that the "Special Mystery Guest" was going to be Donald Trump (which is why I wrote that a few days back when I first mentioned this), but it turns out it wasn't.
My other guesses also turned out incorrect. Going off the clue of "One of the five most recognizable people on the planet", I started guessing recognizable people. Jesus Christ? Certainly recognizable. Adolph Hitler? Also very recognizable. However, neither of those people are still on the planet. And I don't know that Hitler would be someone most people would book for a motivational seminar even if he were still alive. (Although, he did have quiet the following...)
Ronald McDonald, perhaps? Mmmm. Cardboard tasting food....
Osama bin Laden? Well...he's recognizable. But his whereabouts are currently unknown, so that was a bit of a stretch.
Sydney Bristow! It had to be her! But wait. How would we recognize her if she were in one of her numerous disguises?
We decided to just wait and see who it would be.
By the time Tina, Nancy and I arrived, it was ...whatever. I'm not gonna recap this now. Fuck I hate myself sometimes. Jesus fuck. Stupid fucking fuck
I arrived at the station around 7:15am. I was going to carpool with Tina. She had told me that she would be in around 7:30.
Around 7:50, she called to let me know that she was still stuck in traffic, and that we would be going with Nancy, who should be arriving at the station shortly.
Nancy is one of the station's top salespeople. She is also a New Yorker (New Yawkuh?) who stresses about pretty much everything. It's just the way she is. And it's hard to tell, really, if everything is truly stressing her out, or if it's just that she's a high strung personality. Regardless, she is a character who always has something to say and a unique perspective.
8:00 am rolls around, and Tina and Nancy show up. We get into Nancy's car (which was really freaking nice. I am not big on cars - as long as it gets me from point A to point B and back again, I'm happy - but dude. I can see why people spend the extra money on luxury automobiles) and she begins to drive.
I think that they should charge admission to ride along with her. She was weaving in and out of traffic, zipping through the streets and doing things that I didn't think were physically possible in a car. All the while, smoking, talking on her cell phone, and carrying on a conversation with Tina and I. Crazy. Cool.
At one point, we had pulled up behind a company-sized truck that was going to be turning right at a stop sign. The cross traffic didn't stop, so we were going to be sitting there for a while. Nancy put the car in reverse, pulled up beside the truck driver and yelled out Tina's window, "For the love of God, make the right turn already!" As the driver turned, we could see that he was chuckling about it. That's the way Nancy is. Even when she's yelling at you, you can't help but laugh. Um. Except when she's really angry.
Anyway. The Mandalay Bay parking lot was overflowing with vehicles, as was the Luxor's (which is the casino right next door). We opted to park at the Luxor anyway, and after some insane maneuvering around their parking garage, we found a spot at the top of the parking structure. We began to walk toward the Mandalay Bay Event Center, wondering about the seminar.
The ticket indicated that the speakers would be: Zig Ziglar (listed under MOTIVATION and described as Americas #1 Motivator), Steve Forbes (BUSINESS SKILLS, CEO & Editor Forbes Magazine), Peter Lowe (SUCCESS, America's Success Strategist ), Special Mystery Guest (One of the five most recognizable people on the planet - Newsweek Magazine), Tom Hopkins (SALES, America's #1Authority on Selling) Michael Powell (ACHIEVEMENT, Legendary FCC Chairman), Joe Montana (TEAMWORK, The NFL's Greatest Quarterback) and Rudolph Giuliani (LEADERSHIP, Former Mayor of New York City). We had heard that the "Special Mystery Guest" was going to be Donald Trump (which is why I wrote that a few days back when I first mentioned this), but it turns out it wasn't.
My other guesses also turned out incorrect. Going off the clue of "One of the five most recognizable people on the planet", I started guessing recognizable people. Jesus Christ? Certainly recognizable. Adolph Hitler? Also very recognizable. However, neither of those people are still on the planet. And I don't know that Hitler would be someone most people would book for a motivational seminar even if he were still alive. (Although, he did have quiet the following...)
Ronald McDonald, perhaps? Mmmm. Cardboard tasting food....
Osama bin Laden? Well...he's recognizable. But his whereabouts are currently unknown, so that was a bit of a stretch.
Sydney Bristow! It had to be her! But wait. How would we recognize her if she were in one of her numerous disguises?
We decided to just wait and see who it would be.
By the time Tina, Nancy and I arrived, it was ...whatever. I'm not gonna recap this now. Fuck I hate myself sometimes. Jesus fuck. Stupid fucking fuck
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
what we have here... is a failure... to communicate
because i don't talk much at work, i think that many of my coworkers don't exactly understand me. or they have a perception of me that (in my opinion) is not completely accurate.
it just makes me all the more glad for stephanie. while she doesn't always understand me either (that's okay, neither do i), at least she "gets" me more than the average joe.
Monday, September 26, 2005
cApItAl IdEa
I wonder when (and how) capital letters and lowercase letters came
about. Isn't it somewhat odd to have two symbols for the exact same
sound? R and r are (heh) both the same phonetically, and yet we have two
different symbolic representations of the same letter. Looking at the
keyboard, there is only the capital letters, which one could assume
means that those are the more important representations. However, when
you strike a key from the keyboard, unless you have either the caps lock
button pushed, or you push the shift key, the symbol you type is NOT
equivalent to the symbol represented on the keyboard.
I'm not making any sense, and I don't really have a point. Just random
musings about letters.
Speaking of random musings about letters... I wonder how (and why) the
order of the alphabet is the way that it is. Humans being the way that
they are, it makes sense that when putting the alphabet together, that
they would try to put the letters most commonly used in the beginning,
and the least commonly used near the end. And that idea plays out, more
or less, with q and x and z being at the conclusion. But "s" is pretty
common too. So is "r" and "n". And why are the vowels not clumped
together? Who decided that "a" was more important than "e" or "i"? Hell,
shouldn't "i" be the first letter? (Or is that my self-absorption
shining through again?)
So many things I don't know, and probably never will. Oh well.
What do you do all day?
For anyone that has ever wondered what it is, exactly, that my job entails, I now present a copy of the Position Results Description sheet. (These PRDs are given to all the employees once a year as an evaluation of how they have been performing in their positions. Sadly, I don't have one from Master Control so I can't transcribe what I used to do all day (officially). But I do have the Programming Assistant's PRD. Hooray!)
MAJOR GOAL: To assist in the day to day operations of the Programming Department. Ensure a smooth flow of information regarding Programming to all related personnel.
KEY RESULT AREA #1: Listing Services
KEY RESULT AREA #2: Program Schedules
KEY RESULT AREA #4: Movie Scheduling and Booking
KEY RESULT AREA #5: OBIN
KEY RESULT AREA #6: Program Documentation
KEY RESULT AREA #7: Other
Yay. Proof positive that I matter to the Company. Aww. The Man cares about me. Or, rather, about whatever cog gets put into this position.
MAJOR GOAL: To assist in the day to day operations of the Programming Department. Ensure a smooth flow of information regarding Programming to all related personnel.
KEY RESULT AREA #1: Listing Services
- Weekly program schedule sent out to all listing services Monday of each week. Schedules to be six weeks out.
- Update and send out any program changes to listing services.
- Send schedule and program change information to Nielsen and company central programming/promotions on a weekly basis.
- Monitor accuracy of television guide listings and Nielsen overnights.
KEY RESULT AREA #2: Program Schedules
- Prepare and distribute quarterly movie and sports schedules with approval from Program Manager. Update as changes occur.
- Input into PALAS all movies, sports and special commitments for quarter.
- Schedule episodes for all barter and cash programming. Reviewed by Program Manager to ensure proper usage.
- Notify all related departments of any network or syndicated program changes.
- Update all program changes in PALAS and in house HTML schedules.
- Print out updated program schedules for Traffic Department. This will be done on a weekly basis.
- Provide back up programming information for all sporting events.
- Notify PALAS help of any scheduling issues in system.
- Receive viewer calls and handle in courteous and informative manner.
- Update receptionist as needed with program contact numbers and addresses.
- Answer questions from program distributors.
KEY RESULT AREA #4: Movie Scheduling and Booking
- Organize and maintain movie tape library. Perform monthly purge of unneeded films.
- Convert all applicable barter movies to cash formats.
- Maintain movie timing sheet books.
- Provide usage information and certificate of erasure to distributors as requested.
- Edit movies to proper length and produce timing sheet for each film.
- Ensure scheduled movies are in house and timed or formatted at least two weeks prior to air. Order movies via least expensive method.
KEY RESULT AREA #5: OBIN
- Screen all applicable weekly programs, cash and barter movies as assigned by Sinclair OBIN Coordinator.
- Notify OBIN coordinator of any issues with above programs and barter movies.
- Edit programs and movies to remove inappropriate content to ensure they meet company OBIN standards.
- Keep up to date on any new OBIN policies and procedures as assigned by Sinclair OBIN Coordinator.
KEY RESULT AREA #6: Program Documentation
- Ensure that contract files are kept up to date with latest information.
- Distribute related documentation to appropriate personnel including, updated satellite feed schedules, information on upcoming specials and sporting event information.
KEY RESULT AREA #7: Other
- Perform other duties as needed.
- Cover for Satellite Coordinator while not in the office.
- Review discrepancy reports daily, and update programming system as needed.
Yay. Proof positive that I matter to the Company. Aww. The Man cares about me. Or, rather, about whatever cog gets put into this position.
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