Quick question for all you livejournalers.....
Today Rachel and I went to WinCo (which stands for Washington, Idaho, Nevada, California, and Oregon if you didn't know) and bought some groceries. Upon checking out, the lady says "$21.35," way lower than what we were expecting to pay. When we got to the car, we realized that the lady had forgotten to ring up six items, including a 12 Pack of Pepsi and a package of mini corn dogs. Now.....would you have gone back to pay for the unpaid items, or would you have taken them home and had a good chuckle about the whole thing?
I'll let you guys know tomorrow what we decided to do.
Thursday, March 31, 2005
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Football?
That's right.....spring practice starts today for our much maligned Beavers. Perusing the college football headlines the past few days, I found these stories:
*Arizona State RB charged with first degree murder.
*Two ASU players kicked off team for photographing female student naked without her permission.
*Two Cal players suspended after a routine traffic stop turned up several bags of marijuana and a concealed hunting knife.
*USC cornerback to be arraigned on sexual assault charges
Why does it seem like every player in the Pac-10 is suddenly carrying a Mac-10?
And people are acting like Mike Riley has lost complete control of his program. One player got in a fight with a national guardsmen on leave, two got high (GASP) and tried to pay a cabbie off with their weed, and one stole a sheep. A sheep! And at the ticket office, I get letters every day from season ticket holders giving up their season tickets because of a "lack of morality" by the athletic department. Do they think these things don't go on at other schools? Moreover, is it fair to hold the football coaches and athletic department staff accountable for the actions of the football players? It's not like these actions have gone unpunished. All the players involved in the fight at the Headline Cafe were suspended for the two biggest games of the year and only recently reinstated. Joe Rudulph may still be kicked off the team if found guilty in a court of law. Jimtavis Walker and Starr Paddock are still suspended. I'm sure Ben Siegert won't be practicing today.
The fact of the matter is that football is what is important to these guys. For some, it's all they have going for them. From these random acts of idiocy we can assume that these are not bright people on the fast track to success in the business world. They need football. Suspending them is probably the best way to get their attention. Moreover, immediately casting these players out and pulling their scholarships most likely will send them on a tailspin where drugs, crime and violence are the rule rather than the exception. Yet all our fan base seems to care about is getting these "miscreants" out of our community. Better to have them do nothing with their lives somewhere else than try to help them make something of their lives here. Bravo Beaver fans.
*Arizona State RB charged with first degree murder.
*Two ASU players kicked off team for photographing female student naked without her permission.
*Two Cal players suspended after a routine traffic stop turned up several bags of marijuana and a concealed hunting knife.
*USC cornerback to be arraigned on sexual assault charges
Why does it seem like every player in the Pac-10 is suddenly carrying a Mac-10?
And people are acting like Mike Riley has lost complete control of his program. One player got in a fight with a national guardsmen on leave, two got high (GASP) and tried to pay a cabbie off with their weed, and one stole a sheep. A sheep! And at the ticket office, I get letters every day from season ticket holders giving up their season tickets because of a "lack of morality" by the athletic department. Do they think these things don't go on at other schools? Moreover, is it fair to hold the football coaches and athletic department staff accountable for the actions of the football players? It's not like these actions have gone unpunished. All the players involved in the fight at the Headline Cafe were suspended for the two biggest games of the year and only recently reinstated. Joe Rudulph may still be kicked off the team if found guilty in a court of law. Jimtavis Walker and Starr Paddock are still suspended. I'm sure Ben Siegert won't be practicing today.
The fact of the matter is that football is what is important to these guys. For some, it's all they have going for them. From these random acts of idiocy we can assume that these are not bright people on the fast track to success in the business world. They need football. Suspending them is probably the best way to get their attention. Moreover, immediately casting these players out and pulling their scholarships most likely will send them on a tailspin where drugs, crime and violence are the rule rather than the exception. Yet all our fan base seems to care about is getting these "miscreants" out of our community. Better to have them do nothing with their lives somewhere else than try to help them make something of their lives here. Bravo Beaver fans.
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
Not for the faint of heart
So I realize that almost 80% of my readership is female, and this might not have the effect on you that it will a male, but bear with me. Any guy who reads this is going to go "ooooh" and make that face where your eyebrows wrinkle up and you exhale.
I was just getting dressed for work today, and I went to pull my jeans on. Now for whatever reason, I felt I needed to do this quickly so I did the whole sit on the edge of the bed, then grab them and jump and pull them up thing. Only I'd left my belt threaded through the loops last night. So when I jumped and pulled up, the belt buckle whacked me in the nads. No joke, I dropped to my knees and tears formed in my eyes. It was painful as hell. Took me about 10 minutes to regain my composure. I think there's a lesson here somewhere about never being enthused about going to work, but whatever.
Oh yeah, about the job....I quit at the oxygen factory. When Oregon State made the NIT, the ticket office begged me to come back and work for them. Albeit temporarily, I jumped at the chance to sleep in til 7 and work normal hours. Nevermind the fact I left a $10/hr job with potential for benefits for a minimum wage job with no benefits. For my sanity, I felt it was for the best. So I've been working for Oregon State for the past two plus weeks. I have a feeling they're going to let me go again at the end of this week, but I'm a glutton for punishment. I decided I'm just going to keep showing up until they tell me not to come back. Although I did get a call back yesterday about a job at a bank in Albany, so we'll see where that leads.
It's been raining like whoa around here lately. I know it sounds silly, but I love it when it rains. Gives everything this clean feeling. Plus, if you're gonna love Oregon, you're going have to learn to love rain.
Major League baseball kicks off on Sunday with a Yankees-Red Sox matchup. Didn't they just get done playing? I know that rivalries are great and all that, but can we please deal with some other rivalry? Yeah they hate each other. But it's been so hyped and so blown out of proportion that the players are starting to give WWE interviews.
"Schilling, what do you think about your opening day matchup with the Yankees?"
"Well you know Mean Gene, A-Rod is gonna wish he was never born when I get done with him. What ya gonna do, Alex? What ya gonna do with the Nation runs wild on you? When all the Red Sox of the past start haunting you in your sleep? WOOOOOOOO!"
Give me a break. I've never heard of a rivalry getting overplayed and overhyped, but I think it just happened.
I was just getting dressed for work today, and I went to pull my jeans on. Now for whatever reason, I felt I needed to do this quickly so I did the whole sit on the edge of the bed, then grab them and jump and pull them up thing. Only I'd left my belt threaded through the loops last night. So when I jumped and pulled up, the belt buckle whacked me in the nads. No joke, I dropped to my knees and tears formed in my eyes. It was painful as hell. Took me about 10 minutes to regain my composure. I think there's a lesson here somewhere about never being enthused about going to work, but whatever.
Oh yeah, about the job....I quit at the oxygen factory. When Oregon State made the NIT, the ticket office begged me to come back and work for them. Albeit temporarily, I jumped at the chance to sleep in til 7 and work normal hours. Nevermind the fact I left a $10/hr job with potential for benefits for a minimum wage job with no benefits. For my sanity, I felt it was for the best. So I've been working for Oregon State for the past two plus weeks. I have a feeling they're going to let me go again at the end of this week, but I'm a glutton for punishment. I decided I'm just going to keep showing up until they tell me not to come back. Although I did get a call back yesterday about a job at a bank in Albany, so we'll see where that leads.
It's been raining like whoa around here lately. I know it sounds silly, but I love it when it rains. Gives everything this clean feeling. Plus, if you're gonna love Oregon, you're going have to learn to love rain.
Major League baseball kicks off on Sunday with a Yankees-Red Sox matchup. Didn't they just get done playing? I know that rivalries are great and all that, but can we please deal with some other rivalry? Yeah they hate each other. But it's been so hyped and so blown out of proportion that the players are starting to give WWE interviews.
"Schilling, what do you think about your opening day matchup with the Yankees?"
"Well you know Mean Gene, A-Rod is gonna wish he was never born when I get done with him. What ya gonna do, Alex? What ya gonna do with the Nation runs wild on you? When all the Red Sox of the past start haunting you in your sleep? WOOOOOOOO!"
Give me a break. I've never heard of a rivalry getting overplayed and overhyped, but I think it just happened.
Saturday, March 26, 2005
Let the rain fall down....
Where's the rain? I got all excited when I looked at the forecast for today and it said "over an inch of rain possible." That's like a deluge, and those are fun. It's always nice to be indoors and look outside and see flash flood conditions. Sadly though, we've got nothing but stupid misty rain. What the crap? Nothing like a good rainstorm to make you feel good about sitting around the house all day. Lightning struck a tree outside Gill Coliseum the other day. The thunderclap was so loud I had to check the webcam to make sure that the football stadium hadn't collapsed. I seriously half expected to see construction workers running for their lives as Raising Reser Fell. Oh well.
Watched two movies I'd been meaning to see for a while now this week: Ray and The Passion. Both were good movies, but definitely not movies I'd plan on buying. I think it's got to be extremely hard to be an actor in a non-fiction movie. If you can't act exactly like the person you're portraying, the movie won't be believeable at all. Like remember in The Sandlot, when Babe Ruth comes out of Benny "The Jet" Rodriguez's closet? That guy reminded nobody of Babe Ruth. They had to explain to everyone that he was Babe Ruth because we couldn't figure it out ourselves. This is why Jaime Foxx won best actor.....he did a great job of playing Ray Charles. I bet if they released the final results of Oscar voting, Leonardo DiCaprio would've been runner up. But more people liked Ray than Howard Hughes, so there you go. The best acting job I've seen in a while was the chick that played Katherine Hepburn in The Aviator. She was awesome. I can't remember if she won an Oscar, but she should've.
I figured out I still have a shot at winning my bracket challenge pool, but in order for it to happen, Arizona needs to beat Illinois, Louisville needs to beat West Virginia, Michigan St. needs to beat Kentucky and UNC needs to beat Wisconsin. Then Louisville needs to beat Arizona and UNC needs to beat MSU, followed by a UNC over Louisville national championship. I don't like my chances.
Watched two movies I'd been meaning to see for a while now this week: Ray and The Passion. Both were good movies, but definitely not movies I'd plan on buying. I think it's got to be extremely hard to be an actor in a non-fiction movie. If you can't act exactly like the person you're portraying, the movie won't be believeable at all. Like remember in The Sandlot, when Babe Ruth comes out of Benny "The Jet" Rodriguez's closet? That guy reminded nobody of Babe Ruth. They had to explain to everyone that he was Babe Ruth because we couldn't figure it out ourselves. This is why Jaime Foxx won best actor.....he did a great job of playing Ray Charles. I bet if they released the final results of Oscar voting, Leonardo DiCaprio would've been runner up. But more people liked Ray than Howard Hughes, so there you go. The best acting job I've seen in a while was the chick that played Katherine Hepburn in The Aviator. She was awesome. I can't remember if she won an Oscar, but she should've.
I figured out I still have a shot at winning my bracket challenge pool, but in order for it to happen, Arizona needs to beat Illinois, Louisville needs to beat West Virginia, Michigan St. needs to beat Kentucky and UNC needs to beat Wisconsin. Then Louisville needs to beat Arizona and UNC needs to beat MSU, followed by a UNC over Louisville national championship. I don't like my chances.
Friday, March 25, 2005
"Bees! They're everywhere!"
Last night a spring training game in Arizona was called off in the fifth inning because a swarm of bees descended on the stadium. A few quotes from pitcher Darren Oliver, who left the field in the middle of inning and refused to pitch anymore:
“ I love this game, but I like myself a little bit more. ”
Oliver said the bees apparently were attracted to the coconut oil in his hair gel.
"I guess I must have smelled good. It was kind of funny at first, but after a while I started getting a little nervous and scared out there," he said.
Wow.
“ I love this game, but I like myself a little bit more. ”
Oliver said the bees apparently were attracted to the coconut oil in his hair gel.
"I guess I must have smelled good. It was kind of funny at first, but after a while I started getting a little nervous and scared out there," he said.
Wow.
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
kissin cousins?
So last night was my grandpa Butch's 85th birthday. This means all four of my grandparents made it to 85. I'm feeling pretty good about the length of my life. Plus my mom's beaten breast cancer and my dad, who might've been one of the unhealthiest people alive during the 80's and 90's has had no serious health problems closing in on his double-nickel (55) birthday. Bring on the fast food and inactivity!
Anyways, over the past few years Butch has become pretty intrigued in our family ancestry. He wrote a book a few years back that was half autobiography, half genealogy. The autobiography part is pretty interesting, the genealogy part put me to sleep. Now I'm sure piecing together your family history is pretty interesting, listening to someone recite names and dates for 20 minutes at dinner - be it about your family or otherwise - is brutal. Last night Butch came through with a story about some guy who supposedly crossed the Delaware with Washington during the Revolutionary War. This guy ended up surviving the war and having a family. And his granddaughter, Amelia Lemon or something, ended up moving to the midwest and marrying some guy named Persinger. Rachel's last name is Persinger. You know in a tennis match how all the heads in the crowd follow the ball back and forth? That was dinner last night. Everyone's head snapped around from watching Butch to see Rachel and my reactions. Nothing like finding out that your girlfriend of the past few years might just be a distant cousin. There's no witty comment to save you from that one. Again, I'm going to stress the word DISTANT.
In lighter news, as I used the restroom at Gill Coliseum today, I noticed that those paper toilet seat covers are made by a company called "Life Guard." C'mon.....I think we're overstating the importance of toilet seat covers here. I highly highly highly doubt you're going to contract anything fatal from a toilet seat. Maybe some sort of jumping insect, but I have a hard time believing that a flimsy sheet of paper is going to offer much protection from scabies or crabs. And honestly, nobody carries diseases on their butt cheeks. A butt cheek is probably less germy than the hand that touched the roll before you. So I imagine that the paper is there to cover up anything that might've "splashed" onto the seat. Now if there's some pee on the toilet seat, it's going to soak through the paper and touch your butt anyways. And if there's some fecal matter on the seat, well no amount of paper is going to get me to sit on that seat. Period. Anyone who tells you different is a liar....or severely disturbed. This led me to believe that the paper toilet seat cover may be the greatest invention of all time. They are essentially worthless, serving no actual purpose. Yet every public restroom in America is virtually required to carry them to ease the paranoid and phobic minds of the general public. Absolutely brilliant.
That's all I got.....enjoy American Idol tonight! And yes, I do have a Carrie Underwood wallpaper on my computer right now....get yours today at idolonfox.com!
Anyways, over the past few years Butch has become pretty intrigued in our family ancestry. He wrote a book a few years back that was half autobiography, half genealogy. The autobiography part is pretty interesting, the genealogy part put me to sleep. Now I'm sure piecing together your family history is pretty interesting, listening to someone recite names and dates for 20 minutes at dinner - be it about your family or otherwise - is brutal. Last night Butch came through with a story about some guy who supposedly crossed the Delaware with Washington during the Revolutionary War. This guy ended up surviving the war and having a family. And his granddaughter, Amelia Lemon or something, ended up moving to the midwest and marrying some guy named Persinger. Rachel's last name is Persinger. You know in a tennis match how all the heads in the crowd follow the ball back and forth? That was dinner last night. Everyone's head snapped around from watching Butch to see Rachel and my reactions. Nothing like finding out that your girlfriend of the past few years might just be a distant cousin. There's no witty comment to save you from that one. Again, I'm going to stress the word DISTANT.
In lighter news, as I used the restroom at Gill Coliseum today, I noticed that those paper toilet seat covers are made by a company called "Life Guard." C'mon.....I think we're overstating the importance of toilet seat covers here. I highly highly highly doubt you're going to contract anything fatal from a toilet seat. Maybe some sort of jumping insect, but I have a hard time believing that a flimsy sheet of paper is going to offer much protection from scabies or crabs. And honestly, nobody carries diseases on their butt cheeks. A butt cheek is probably less germy than the hand that touched the roll before you. So I imagine that the paper is there to cover up anything that might've "splashed" onto the seat. Now if there's some pee on the toilet seat, it's going to soak through the paper and touch your butt anyways. And if there's some fecal matter on the seat, well no amount of paper is going to get me to sit on that seat. Period. Anyone who tells you different is a liar....or severely disturbed. This led me to believe that the paper toilet seat cover may be the greatest invention of all time. They are essentially worthless, serving no actual purpose. Yet every public restroom in America is virtually required to carry them to ease the paranoid and phobic minds of the general public. Absolutely brilliant.
That's all I got.....enjoy American Idol tonight! And yes, I do have a Carrie Underwood wallpaper on my computer right now....get yours today at idolonfox.com!
Monday, March 21, 2005
Survey
*What is the geekiest part of your music collection? I'm the only person with all six of Sir Mix-A-Lot's CDs that I know. That includes Mix himself.
*What do you eat when you raid the fridge late at night? Typically I won't raid the fridge. If I'm hungry late night, that usually means a trip to La Conga or Sharis.
*What is your secret guaranteed weeping movie? Free Willy or Grumpier Old Men
If you could have plastic surgery, what would you have done? I'd get a bigger......nah, I don't need plastic surgery. I'm happy with what I got.
*What do you have a completely irrational fear of? People sticking their finger in my belly button. Seriously. It weirds me out.
*What is the little physical habit that gives away your insecure moment? shifting my weight from one foot to the other.
*Do you know anyone famous? If by know you mean I can call them and they'd know who I was, then no. But if you mean that I know their birthday, favorite food, and paid to be part of their fan club, then yes.
*Spontaneous or planned? Spontaneous is always fun.
**Who should play you in a movie about your life? Hmmm....Probably Kevin James from the King of Queens....pretty much that show is my life. Just call me Doug Heffernan. If only I worked for UPS...
*What do you carry with you at all times? My cell phone and my debit card.....and a sense of humor.
*What do you miss most about being a kid? Being able to walk to my best friends house to play video games or head to the park to play baseball or hoops or whatever.
*Are you happy with your given name? Yup.....could've been a lot worse.
*Have you ever been in a play? Don't think so. I once had to play a waiter in a skit for french class in high school. Ever seen a waiter trip over a carpet and scream "Mon Dieu!"? I have. It was me.
*Have you ever been in love? have been, still am, always will be.
*Do you talk a lot? As much as possible.
*Do transient, homeless, or starving people sometimes annoy you? Yes.....when they loiter and ask for change when they're 3 blocks from an employment center.....hello people.
*Do you spend more time with your partner or your friends? My partner...we live together. I miss my friends sometimes though. We need to institute an annual vacation for the guys as soon as possible.
*Something you love and hate? Pepsi....so good for the soul, so bad for the waistline.
*Do you tell your friends about your sex life? Not so much anymore, but when I was dating girls that I wasn't that serious about, I was an open book.
*Can you drive a manual car? Yup. Took me a while to master, but I got it.
*What's one trait you hate in a person? Not following through.
*Favorite writing instrument? My Anaheim Angels pen.....er....my Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim pen. Nevermind. I hate it.
*What's the one car you will never buy? a '95 Ford Mustang Convertible.
*If you won the lottery, what would you do? Get married, buy a house, get a suite at OSU football games, and maybe move to LA for a year to get Angels season tickets.
*Burial or cremation? Burial. I want people to be able to come visit me and leave Pepsi cans at my grave.
*How many online journals do you read regularly? About 7 or 8. Some of y'all need to write more.
*What's one thing you're a sore loser at? Anything that I feel I have a reasonable shot at winning. I don't get mad if I lose to Joel in a round of golf, but if I lose a game of Trivial Pursuit to anyone I get grumpy.
*If you don't like a person, how do you show it? I really don't. That's probably why I was voted friendliest in high school. A lot of the people that voted for me probably didn't realize I despised them.
*Do you cry in front of your friends? I don’t cry!!! I avoid it at all costs. They make fun of me when I do. It's not fun.
*What kind of first impression do you think you give to people? This guy is odd. Nice guy, but odd.
*What's one thing you like to do alone? Write in my online journal.
*Are you a giver or a taker? I'm a both-er.
*When's the last time you cried? A few months ago sometime....Rachel and I had a pretty emotional conversation.
*Favorite communication method? In person.....best way to get your point across.
*How many drinks before you're tipsy? Don't know....never attempted to get tipsy.
*Do you think you're cute? I do from time to time. Right now I need a haircut though.
*Do you have problems changing clothes in front of friends? I make it a point not to know what my friends
genitals look like, as well as making it a point that they don't know what mine look like.
*What do you eat when you raid the fridge late at night? Typically I won't raid the fridge. If I'm hungry late night, that usually means a trip to La Conga or Sharis.
*What is your secret guaranteed weeping movie? Free Willy or Grumpier Old Men
If you could have plastic surgery, what would you have done? I'd get a bigger......nah, I don't need plastic surgery. I'm happy with what I got.
*What do you have a completely irrational fear of? People sticking their finger in my belly button. Seriously. It weirds me out.
*What is the little physical habit that gives away your insecure moment? shifting my weight from one foot to the other.
*Do you know anyone famous? If by know you mean I can call them and they'd know who I was, then no. But if you mean that I know their birthday, favorite food, and paid to be part of their fan club, then yes.
*Spontaneous or planned? Spontaneous is always fun.
**Who should play you in a movie about your life? Hmmm....Probably Kevin James from the King of Queens....pretty much that show is my life. Just call me Doug Heffernan. If only I worked for UPS...
*What do you carry with you at all times? My cell phone and my debit card.....and a sense of humor.
*What do you miss most about being a kid? Being able to walk to my best friends house to play video games or head to the park to play baseball or hoops or whatever.
*Are you happy with your given name? Yup.....could've been a lot worse.
*Have you ever been in a play? Don't think so. I once had to play a waiter in a skit for french class in high school. Ever seen a waiter trip over a carpet and scream "Mon Dieu!"? I have. It was me.
*Have you ever been in love? have been, still am, always will be.
*Do you talk a lot? As much as possible.
*Do transient, homeless, or starving people sometimes annoy you? Yes.....when they loiter and ask for change when they're 3 blocks from an employment center.....hello people.
*Do you spend more time with your partner or your friends? My partner...we live together. I miss my friends sometimes though. We need to institute an annual vacation for the guys as soon as possible.
*Something you love and hate? Pepsi....so good for the soul, so bad for the waistline.
*Do you tell your friends about your sex life? Not so much anymore, but when I was dating girls that I wasn't that serious about, I was an open book.
*Can you drive a manual car? Yup. Took me a while to master, but I got it.
*What's one trait you hate in a person? Not following through.
*Favorite writing instrument? My Anaheim Angels pen.....er....my Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim pen. Nevermind. I hate it.
*What's the one car you will never buy? a '95 Ford Mustang Convertible.
*If you won the lottery, what would you do? Get married, buy a house, get a suite at OSU football games, and maybe move to LA for a year to get Angels season tickets.
*Burial or cremation? Burial. I want people to be able to come visit me and leave Pepsi cans at my grave.
*How many online journals do you read regularly? About 7 or 8. Some of y'all need to write more.
*What's one thing you're a sore loser at? Anything that I feel I have a reasonable shot at winning. I don't get mad if I lose to Joel in a round of golf, but if I lose a game of Trivial Pursuit to anyone I get grumpy.
*If you don't like a person, how do you show it? I really don't. That's probably why I was voted friendliest in high school. A lot of the people that voted for me probably didn't realize I despised them.
*Do you cry in front of your friends? I don’t cry!!! I avoid it at all costs. They make fun of me when I do. It's not fun.
*What kind of first impression do you think you give to people? This guy is odd. Nice guy, but odd.
*What's one thing you like to do alone? Write in my online journal.
*Are you a giver or a taker? I'm a both-er.
*When's the last time you cried? A few months ago sometime....Rachel and I had a pretty emotional conversation.
*Favorite communication method? In person.....best way to get your point across.
*How many drinks before you're tipsy? Don't know....never attempted to get tipsy.
*Do you think you're cute? I do from time to time. Right now I need a haircut though.
*Do you have problems changing clothes in front of friends? I make it a point not to know what my friends
genitals look like, as well as making it a point that they don't know what mine look like.
Friday, March 18, 2005
Bracket busters and security guards
Who told Vermont it was ok to ruin 98 percent of the brackets in the nation?
I should've known not to ride Syracuse when all of the "experts" picked them to go to the final four. When was the last time a 4 seed was the favorite coming out of their region? Stupid stupid stupid. Now I'm down a final four team. Fortunately so are most people. Although my heart has almost skipped a beat 8 or 9 times already. We really could see a 7,8,9 maybe even a 12 seed in the final four this year. The teams are that even. Once my bracket goes to hell, I always root for the underdogs. So you'll soon see me on the NC State, UAB and UW-Milwaukee bandwagons. But not Vermont. Those bastards caused me too much pain.
So I worked an OSU baseball doubleheader today. Usually that means an afternoon in the sun watching the game alone. I only sold 39 tickets today. Total. For two games. Yet I got 6 hours of pay out of it. Anyways, like I was saying, that usually means a day in the sun enjoying the game by myself. And I almost got it.....except it was cold and overcast and I had a psycho security guard next to me that didn't shut up the entire time. Cue Andy's rant on security.....
Who hires these people? Half of them are old, crippled or overweight women. Not that those people shouldn't have jobs, but how exactly do expect these people to restrain fans from rushing the field or tearing down the goalposts? What college student is going to say "dude, don't bring that flask to the game.....that old crippled woman will be watching!" It's a joke. Now there's some security guards that are great. Some of them are nice people, good at their jobs, and have a good head on their shoulders. There's one lady in particular that I really like. She's not physically imposing, yet she has that motherly quality that makes you respect her when she says something. She's good at her job. There's another guy that's good at the job, yet he takes it way too seriously.....inspecting tickets and booting people out of seats that have sat empty for the first half of the game. That's not necessary.
Then there's the lady that makes herself a part of your conversation whether you invite her to or not. One game, Lesley and I were sitting there talking about something, and this lady just interjects that her nephew tried to commit suicide, and her other nephew when he gets mad likes to use his own head as a basketball on the driveway. What is wrong with this lady? Apparently more than you'd think. Nicole informed me Wednesday that this lady had told her that "a poltergeist shoved me down the stairs and that's how I broke my arm." A poltergeist! Not a ghost, not the spirit of my dead grandma, a POLTERGEIST! Nicole was so shocked, she asked the lady what a poltergeist was just to make sure that she didn't mean some sort of animal or something. But no, this lady was convinced that a ghost shoved her down the stairs.
All of this is leading up to the guy I worked with today. He told whopper after whopper. From the college roommate of his who was offered a B average in his classes and $1500 a month to play baseball for Cal-Berkeley, to the friend who was paid by UTEP to keep it's basketball players out of trouble, to watching German soccer league games as a fourth grader in the snow through a knothole while his dad was in the army, to his grandpa taking him up in his vintage plane and flying into the crater of Crater Lake. All of these whoppers led up to him telling me that he heard Mt. Saint Helens erupt back in 1980. He was in Ashland. He claimed he was on his way to class. I checked. The eruption occurred on May 18, a Sunday that year. Riiiiight dude. He talked the entire game. He would've talked the entire second game too, but I was saved by rain. What a maroon.
In other news, I decided to download a new wallpaper for my phone. I had a program that was called "college and greek logos." Sweet! I can get a beaver logo for my phone! So I pony up the $1.99 to download it. They don't have OSU logos. I had to download a Wisconsin logo. My phone will never forgive me.
I should've known not to ride Syracuse when all of the "experts" picked them to go to the final four. When was the last time a 4 seed was the favorite coming out of their region? Stupid stupid stupid. Now I'm down a final four team. Fortunately so are most people. Although my heart has almost skipped a beat 8 or 9 times already. We really could see a 7,8,9 maybe even a 12 seed in the final four this year. The teams are that even. Once my bracket goes to hell, I always root for the underdogs. So you'll soon see me on the NC State, UAB and UW-Milwaukee bandwagons. But not Vermont. Those bastards caused me too much pain.
So I worked an OSU baseball doubleheader today. Usually that means an afternoon in the sun watching the game alone. I only sold 39 tickets today. Total. For two games. Yet I got 6 hours of pay out of it. Anyways, like I was saying, that usually means a day in the sun enjoying the game by myself. And I almost got it.....except it was cold and overcast and I had a psycho security guard next to me that didn't shut up the entire time. Cue Andy's rant on security.....
Who hires these people? Half of them are old, crippled or overweight women. Not that those people shouldn't have jobs, but how exactly do expect these people to restrain fans from rushing the field or tearing down the goalposts? What college student is going to say "dude, don't bring that flask to the game.....that old crippled woman will be watching!" It's a joke. Now there's some security guards that are great. Some of them are nice people, good at their jobs, and have a good head on their shoulders. There's one lady in particular that I really like. She's not physically imposing, yet she has that motherly quality that makes you respect her when she says something. She's good at her job. There's another guy that's good at the job, yet he takes it way too seriously.....inspecting tickets and booting people out of seats that have sat empty for the first half of the game. That's not necessary.
Then there's the lady that makes herself a part of your conversation whether you invite her to or not. One game, Lesley and I were sitting there talking about something, and this lady just interjects that her nephew tried to commit suicide, and her other nephew when he gets mad likes to use his own head as a basketball on the driveway. What is wrong with this lady? Apparently more than you'd think. Nicole informed me Wednesday that this lady had told her that "a poltergeist shoved me down the stairs and that's how I broke my arm." A poltergeist! Not a ghost, not the spirit of my dead grandma, a POLTERGEIST! Nicole was so shocked, she asked the lady what a poltergeist was just to make sure that she didn't mean some sort of animal or something. But no, this lady was convinced that a ghost shoved her down the stairs.
All of this is leading up to the guy I worked with today. He told whopper after whopper. From the college roommate of his who was offered a B average in his classes and $1500 a month to play baseball for Cal-Berkeley, to the friend who was paid by UTEP to keep it's basketball players out of trouble, to watching German soccer league games as a fourth grader in the snow through a knothole while his dad was in the army, to his grandpa taking him up in his vintage plane and flying into the crater of Crater Lake. All of these whoppers led up to him telling me that he heard Mt. Saint Helens erupt back in 1980. He was in Ashland. He claimed he was on his way to class. I checked. The eruption occurred on May 18, a Sunday that year. Riiiiight dude. He talked the entire game. He would've talked the entire second game too, but I was saved by rain. What a maroon.
In other news, I decided to download a new wallpaper for my phone. I had a program that was called "college and greek logos." Sweet! I can get a beaver logo for my phone! So I pony up the $1.99 to download it. They don't have OSU logos. I had to download a Wisconsin logo. My phone will never forgive me.
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Tourney Time
Today should be a national holiday. Nobody should have to work on the first two days of the NCAA tournament. I'm going to miss being a college student today more than just about any other day. I'm really going to miss going to Tailgaters with Joel and Steve and Dave and eating cheesesteaks and watching basketball all day.
On a positive note, I quit my job at the oxygen factory. The ticket office called and begged me to come back to help out with the NIT tournament. So I quit. even if it's just for this week, I'd still rather be down here than working that crappy job. It's really nice sleeping in my own bed at my own apartment again. It's even nicer not having to get up at 4 am.
OSU lost on a buzzer beater to Cal St. Fullerton in the NIT last night. What a game. We were down 18 one point, and came back to tie it and had a chance to win it at the end of regulation, but DeWitz's three bounced off the rim at the buzzer. Then some guy named Ralphie for CSF hit a fadeaway jumper as time expired in overtime to beat us. Great game, great ending, just didn't go our way. It's a shame that David Lucas and JS Nash had to end their careers that way.
That's all I got. As a Beaver fan, I cannot wear green today. Plus, in support of the Jimmy V foundation for cancer research, it's wear your favorite teams apparel to work day. Thus, I'll be donning the orange and black
On a positive note, I quit my job at the oxygen factory. The ticket office called and begged me to come back to help out with the NIT tournament. So I quit. even if it's just for this week, I'd still rather be down here than working that crappy job. It's really nice sleeping in my own bed at my own apartment again. It's even nicer not having to get up at 4 am.
OSU lost on a buzzer beater to Cal St. Fullerton in the NIT last night. What a game. We were down 18 one point, and came back to tie it and had a chance to win it at the end of regulation, but DeWitz's three bounced off the rim at the buzzer. Then some guy named Ralphie for CSF hit a fadeaway jumper as time expired in overtime to beat us. Great game, great ending, just didn't go our way. It's a shame that David Lucas and JS Nash had to end their careers that way.
That's all I got. As a Beaver fan, I cannot wear green today. Plus, in support of the Jimmy V foundation for cancer research, it's wear your favorite teams apparel to work day. Thus, I'll be donning the orange and black
Wednesday, March 9, 2005
dying a slow death
A few things I thought about today:
*Why is it bad to be a piece of shit, but good to be THE shit? And how come I never thought of this before?
*Is it possible to jump off the Portland State bandwagon before you even get on?
*After last night's little volcano show, doesn't Dante's Peak seem like a much scarier movie?
I was one of the lucky ones who got to witness the eruption live. I was driving downtown to the Big Sky Conference basketball tournament, and as I was going through the Terwilliger curves, I saw a very unnatural looking cloud. As I got closer to downtown, you could see the entire mountain and subsequent cloud. I actually saw it before the radio station made an announcement about it. That was pretty cool. I heard on the radio last night that the 1980 eruption lasted for 9 hours and went about twice as high, which is just a very very scary thought. Ironically, I saw an IMax movie in Seattle on Saturday about the 1980 eruption. Coincidence?
Joel's not the only one with cool coworkers. I think I'll start referring to the oxygen warehouse I work in as the gas chamber. A few tidbits I overheard today:
*I'd love to be a fighter pilot.....get in a dogfight in one of those bastards where it's kill or be killed? That'd be the shit!
*Hawaii has a state fish? That's weird.
*I'm thinking of taking an $8,000 loan out to pay off my credit card bills.
*Whenever I'm in my car, I can't find anyone to street race. But when I'm in my dad's car, I always pull up alongside imports that wanna race.
*My son knows his ass better be in bed by 10 pm or he won't have a bed the next night.
Yeah, they're real interesting people. I think my favorite guy is the asian dude who says 2 words a week and smokes like a chimney on his breaks. By the way, I find it hilarious that most of my co-workers smoke. We fill OXYGEN tanks for people who can't breathe on their own anymore. We service probably 2,000+ tanks a day. I'd guess at least 90% of those are going to people with problems that can be attributed to smoking. Wow.
Random song lyric of the day: "Hey might Brontosaurus, don't you have a lesson for us?" The Police - Walking in your Footsteps
Attention friends of Rachel and me: STOP getting married! It's expensive flying all over the states for weddings. Right now we're looking at 3 in 3 months: one in Wisconsin, one in Florida, and one in Maryland. I doubt we'll make it to all three. We might have each pick one and go. But we'll see. Maybe the gas chamber will provide enough money to fund these flights.
Michael Jackson allegedly licked a kid after giving him "Jesus Juice" in a soda can. Licked the kid on the forehead.
No punchline I insert here will be funnier than the sentences above. I'm serious.
Some guy named Scoop Jackson now writes for ESPN.com's Page 2. He wrote a manifesto of what he believes in. Some how he believes that Allen Iverson is the best player in the NBA, then names 5 players that he claims are better than AI. What? He goes on to do this again...."I believe marketing has ruined sports. I believe marketing is the best thing to ever happen to sports."
I'll tell you what I believe: I believe this guy is an idiot.
*Why is it bad to be a piece of shit, but good to be THE shit? And how come I never thought of this before?
*Is it possible to jump off the Portland State bandwagon before you even get on?
*After last night's little volcano show, doesn't Dante's Peak seem like a much scarier movie?
I was one of the lucky ones who got to witness the eruption live. I was driving downtown to the Big Sky Conference basketball tournament, and as I was going through the Terwilliger curves, I saw a very unnatural looking cloud. As I got closer to downtown, you could see the entire mountain and subsequent cloud. I actually saw it before the radio station made an announcement about it. That was pretty cool. I heard on the radio last night that the 1980 eruption lasted for 9 hours and went about twice as high, which is just a very very scary thought. Ironically, I saw an IMax movie in Seattle on Saturday about the 1980 eruption. Coincidence?
Joel's not the only one with cool coworkers. I think I'll start referring to the oxygen warehouse I work in as the gas chamber. A few tidbits I overheard today:
*I'd love to be a fighter pilot.....get in a dogfight in one of those bastards where it's kill or be killed? That'd be the shit!
*Hawaii has a state fish? That's weird.
*I'm thinking of taking an $8,000 loan out to pay off my credit card bills.
*Whenever I'm in my car, I can't find anyone to street race. But when I'm in my dad's car, I always pull up alongside imports that wanna race.
*My son knows his ass better be in bed by 10 pm or he won't have a bed the next night.
Yeah, they're real interesting people. I think my favorite guy is the asian dude who says 2 words a week and smokes like a chimney on his breaks. By the way, I find it hilarious that most of my co-workers smoke. We fill OXYGEN tanks for people who can't breathe on their own anymore. We service probably 2,000+ tanks a day. I'd guess at least 90% of those are going to people with problems that can be attributed to smoking. Wow.
Random song lyric of the day: "Hey might Brontosaurus, don't you have a lesson for us?" The Police - Walking in your Footsteps
Attention friends of Rachel and me: STOP getting married! It's expensive flying all over the states for weddings. Right now we're looking at 3 in 3 months: one in Wisconsin, one in Florida, and one in Maryland. I doubt we'll make it to all three. We might have each pick one and go. But we'll see. Maybe the gas chamber will provide enough money to fund these flights.
Michael Jackson allegedly licked a kid after giving him "Jesus Juice" in a soda can. Licked the kid on the forehead.
No punchline I insert here will be funnier than the sentences above. I'm serious.
Some guy named Scoop Jackson now writes for ESPN.com's Page 2. He wrote a manifesto of what he believes in. Some how he believes that Allen Iverson is the best player in the NBA, then names 5 players that he claims are better than AI. What? He goes on to do this again...."I believe marketing has ruined sports. I believe marketing is the best thing to ever happen to sports."
I'll tell you what I believe: I believe this guy is an idiot.
Sunday, March 6, 2005
survey
What comes to mind when you hear..
..snow?: don't drive
..rain?: home
..tornado?: Hideo Nomo
..summer love?: That crappy Freddie Prinze movie. Oh wait that was Summer Catch. Whatever, it still blew.
..Jon?: somebody forgot their h
..Mike?: I wanna be like mike a like mike
..Shea?: Mets
..banana?: Those long phallic shaped bicycle seats
..dizzy?: This old Disney cartoon featuring Goofy being Goofy with the song "Dizzy" playing in the background.
..Laura?: my late aunt
..Juan?: Juan-to see my penny collection?
..car?: transportation
..white?: snow
..peppermint?: schnopps -why I don't know.
..New Found Glory?: Don't they sing some song that people like that sounds like every other band of the same genre? Is there really a difference between New Found Glory, Simple Plan, Sum 41, Good Charlotte, Maroon 5, Five for Fighting, Green Day, etc.?
..placebo?: that cord they cut when you have a baby.
..orange juice?: Free like OJ all day.....
..candid camera?: surprise!
..sister?: Erin
..brother?: G-Deezy and Crunk
..hate?: being unemployed
..school?: over
..President?: would never want to have to make the decisions he does.
..football?: Raising Reser
..rap?: gettin funky.
..pop?: Pepsi
..rock?: chalk jayhawk
..punk?: Ashton Kutcher
..death?: not ready
..baby?: names...Rachel and I threw around baby names on the way home from Seattle yesterday. After about 45 minutes, the conversation kind of got weird. A sampling:
(As we drove by a Fred Meyer, Wal-Mart and Big K)
Rachel: What about Fred?
Andy: What about Wallace Martin Lasselle? We could call him Wal-Mart?
Rachel: And if we have a daughter named Kylan and she's big, we can call her Big K!
Andy: Or if she's retarded, we can call her Special K!
We're both going to hell.
..duuude?: What's mine say? Sweet! I know, but what's mine say?
..the end?: movies.
What is your favorite..
gum: Trident Bubble Gum
restaurant: Red Robin
drink: Pepsi
season: Spring
type of weather: sunny highs of about 72, light breeze from the west
thing to do on a half day: Drive to Seattle for an M's game.
late-night activity: If I'm with my friends it's an Xbox marathon. If I'm with Rachel......
sport: baseball
city: Portland or Boston
store: I do most of my shopping at Costco.
When was the last time you..
cried: When I thought Rachel was going to move back to Wisconsin
played a sport: I played basketball last week.
laughed: On the way home from Seattle last night.
hugged someone: yesterday evening.
felt depressed: When my alarm went off at 3:45 on Friday morning and I had to drag my ass to work.
felt overworked: You know.....I don't ever feel like I've been overworked....guess that means I'm not trying. Maybe in high school when my coach didn't think I was in shape so I had to run laps around the gym for 20 minutes after practice. That kinda pissed me off. I played 28 of a possible 32 minutes every game! How was I not in shape?
faked sick: I think it was a couple years ago when I was going to the beach with the guys for Memorial Day.
lied: I don't really recall.
What was the last..
word you said: outside
thing you ate: ice cream cookie sandwich
song you listened to: Rachel talking
thing you drank: coke
place you went to: Seattle....specifically Pike Place Market and the I-Max theater at the aquarium.
movie you saw: an I-Max movie about Mount St. Helens. Actual movie was Hitch
movie you rented: The Notebook....what a ridiculous movie.
concert you attended: Herman's Hermits at the KISN the Summer Goodbye tour. Mom had Peter Noon sign her arm. It was absurd.
Who was the last person you..
hugged: Steve when I was leaving Seattle
cried over: well I cried when I thought Rachel was leaving...but the last time I cried over an acutal person was when my grandma died.
kissed: Rachel
danced with: Rachel....we did the cha cha slide in the living room.
shared a secret with: Rachel
had a sleepover with: I stayed at Dave's a few weeks ago.
called: Grant
went to a movie with: Rachel
saw: not counting people I live with, Steve.
were angry with: my mom.
couldn't take your eyes off of: Rachel....this is getting repetitive.
obsessed over: Lila McCann.
Have you ever..
danced in the rain: Yup....I remember one night where Joel, Sue, Katy and I all walked all over Corvallis in the rain, dancing and playing football. Joel took a football off the face if I remember correctly, and someone said someone was "dripping all over the floor like a wet puppy"
kissed someone: yup....many someones.
done drugs: Sudafed maybe.
drank alcohol: I haven't.
slept around: I've slept around the house.
partied 'til the sun came up: Not so much anymore, but there was a time.
had a movie marathon: Grant and I once watched Crocodile Dundee three times in a row. But my goal is to have a weekend where one day I watch nothing but natural disaster movies and the next day I watch giant animal movies.
gone too far on a dare: if too far is pretending to hump the Buick across the street, then yes.
spun until you were immensely dizzy: Yup...we did this at basketball camp once and had races.....one guy almost knocked himself out running into the wall
..snow?: don't drive
..rain?: home
..tornado?: Hideo Nomo
..summer love?: That crappy Freddie Prinze movie. Oh wait that was Summer Catch. Whatever, it still blew.
..Jon?: somebody forgot their h
..Mike?: I wanna be like mike a like mike
..Shea?: Mets
..banana?: Those long phallic shaped bicycle seats
..dizzy?: This old Disney cartoon featuring Goofy being Goofy with the song "Dizzy" playing in the background.
..Laura?: my late aunt
..Juan?: Juan-to see my penny collection?
..car?: transportation
..white?: snow
..peppermint?: schnopps -why I don't know.
..New Found Glory?: Don't they sing some song that people like that sounds like every other band of the same genre? Is there really a difference between New Found Glory, Simple Plan, Sum 41, Good Charlotte, Maroon 5, Five for Fighting, Green Day, etc.?
..placebo?: that cord they cut when you have a baby.
..orange juice?: Free like OJ all day.....
..candid camera?: surprise!
..sister?: Erin
..brother?: G-Deezy and Crunk
..hate?: being unemployed
..school?: over
..President?: would never want to have to make the decisions he does.
..football?: Raising Reser
..rap?: gettin funky.
..pop?: Pepsi
..rock?: chalk jayhawk
..punk?: Ashton Kutcher
..death?: not ready
..baby?: names...Rachel and I threw around baby names on the way home from Seattle yesterday. After about 45 minutes, the conversation kind of got weird. A sampling:
(As we drove by a Fred Meyer, Wal-Mart and Big K)
Rachel: What about Fred?
Andy: What about Wallace Martin Lasselle? We could call him Wal-Mart?
Rachel: And if we have a daughter named Kylan and she's big, we can call her Big K!
Andy: Or if she's retarded, we can call her Special K!
We're both going to hell.
..duuude?: What's mine say? Sweet! I know, but what's mine say?
..the end?: movies.
What is your favorite..
gum: Trident Bubble Gum
restaurant: Red Robin
drink: Pepsi
season: Spring
type of weather: sunny highs of about 72, light breeze from the west
thing to do on a half day: Drive to Seattle for an M's game.
late-night activity: If I'm with my friends it's an Xbox marathon. If I'm with Rachel......
sport: baseball
city: Portland or Boston
store: I do most of my shopping at Costco.
When was the last time you..
cried: When I thought Rachel was going to move back to Wisconsin
played a sport: I played basketball last week.
laughed: On the way home from Seattle last night.
hugged someone: yesterday evening.
felt depressed: When my alarm went off at 3:45 on Friday morning and I had to drag my ass to work.
felt overworked: You know.....I don't ever feel like I've been overworked....guess that means I'm not trying. Maybe in high school when my coach didn't think I was in shape so I had to run laps around the gym for 20 minutes after practice. That kinda pissed me off. I played 28 of a possible 32 minutes every game! How was I not in shape?
faked sick: I think it was a couple years ago when I was going to the beach with the guys for Memorial Day.
lied: I don't really recall.
What was the last..
word you said: outside
thing you ate: ice cream cookie sandwich
song you listened to: Rachel talking
thing you drank: coke
place you went to: Seattle....specifically Pike Place Market and the I-Max theater at the aquarium.
movie you saw: an I-Max movie about Mount St. Helens. Actual movie was Hitch
movie you rented: The Notebook....what a ridiculous movie.
concert you attended: Herman's Hermits at the KISN the Summer Goodbye tour. Mom had Peter Noon sign her arm. It was absurd.
Who was the last person you..
hugged: Steve when I was leaving Seattle
cried over: well I cried when I thought Rachel was leaving...but the last time I cried over an acutal person was when my grandma died.
kissed: Rachel
danced with: Rachel....we did the cha cha slide in the living room.
shared a secret with: Rachel
had a sleepover with: I stayed at Dave's a few weeks ago.
called: Grant
went to a movie with: Rachel
saw: not counting people I live with, Steve.
were angry with: my mom.
couldn't take your eyes off of: Rachel....this is getting repetitive.
obsessed over: Lila McCann.
Have you ever..
danced in the rain: Yup....I remember one night where Joel, Sue, Katy and I all walked all over Corvallis in the rain, dancing and playing football. Joel took a football off the face if I remember correctly, and someone said someone was "dripping all over the floor like a wet puppy"
kissed someone: yup....many someones.
done drugs: Sudafed maybe.
drank alcohol: I haven't.
slept around: I've slept around the house.
partied 'til the sun came up: Not so much anymore, but there was a time.
had a movie marathon: Grant and I once watched Crocodile Dundee three times in a row. But my goal is to have a weekend where one day I watch nothing but natural disaster movies and the next day I watch giant animal movies.
gone too far on a dare: if too far is pretending to hump the Buick across the street, then yes.
spun until you were immensely dizzy: Yup...we did this at basketball camp once and had races.....one guy almost knocked himself out running into the wall
Friday, March 4, 2005
Hey Dirtay! Baby I got your money.
First week of work is in the books....23 hours. It's weird being able to say I worked 7 hours and am home by 1 pm. It's insane. Makes for some early nights...hard to stay up to watch shows that start at 9.....but other than that it's alright.
More signs that I don't quite "connect" with the people I work with - James was telling me that he jumped his car last night. I was like "oh that sucks, did you have jumper cables handy or have to wait for someone?" He looks at me like I'm a moron, and tells me he hit this hill on a backroad going 125 and caught air. What kind of psycho hits a hill at 125 mph? Said he almost died, and he said it with a tinge of honor in his voice. Good job dude, maybe next time you can try it at 140.
Rachel's interview went pretty well yesterday it sounds like. From what she said, it sounds like by the end of the interview it was less interview and more friendly chat between people. I'd be surprised if she doesn't get offered the job. Although what do I know.....I thought I was a lock for the last two jobs I interviewed for.
Went to Philly's last night for dinner with Rachel and JR. I love that place. If I ever open a bar, I want it to be pretty similar to that. Plus the cheesesteaks are amazing. It was a really good time. People can say what they want about JR, but that guy has always had my back. I'm excited about the prospects of getting to hang out with him more if Rachel does take this job and we do in fact move up to Portland. I do wish he didn't smoke so much weed, but then again maybe he wouldn't if he hung out with people who didn't smoke it....i.e. Rachel and I.
Having to say goodbye to Rachel last night as she headed back down to Corvallis was tough. It's only been 3 days since I "moved out" on her, and I kinda got this really crummy feeling after she left, like I wasn't going to get to see her forever. I hope that someday I can do as much for her and be as patient with her as she's been with me. I doubt it'll happen since she's got her life way more together than I do, but if something ever happens, I'm going to be there for her no matter what. I think that's the least I owe her.
More church signs I saw last night -
*Nothing wrong ever happens at the right time.
*Plan ahead - It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark.
Enjoy your weekend......I know I will! I can sleep in past 4 am!
More signs that I don't quite "connect" with the people I work with - James was telling me that he jumped his car last night. I was like "oh that sucks, did you have jumper cables handy or have to wait for someone?" He looks at me like I'm a moron, and tells me he hit this hill on a backroad going 125 and caught air. What kind of psycho hits a hill at 125 mph? Said he almost died, and he said it with a tinge of honor in his voice. Good job dude, maybe next time you can try it at 140.
Rachel's interview went pretty well yesterday it sounds like. From what she said, it sounds like by the end of the interview it was less interview and more friendly chat between people. I'd be surprised if she doesn't get offered the job. Although what do I know.....I thought I was a lock for the last two jobs I interviewed for.
Went to Philly's last night for dinner with Rachel and JR. I love that place. If I ever open a bar, I want it to be pretty similar to that. Plus the cheesesteaks are amazing. It was a really good time. People can say what they want about JR, but that guy has always had my back. I'm excited about the prospects of getting to hang out with him more if Rachel does take this job and we do in fact move up to Portland. I do wish he didn't smoke so much weed, but then again maybe he wouldn't if he hung out with people who didn't smoke it....i.e. Rachel and I.
Having to say goodbye to Rachel last night as she headed back down to Corvallis was tough. It's only been 3 days since I "moved out" on her, and I kinda got this really crummy feeling after she left, like I wasn't going to get to see her forever. I hope that someday I can do as much for her and be as patient with her as she's been with me. I doubt it'll happen since she's got her life way more together than I do, but if something ever happens, I'm going to be there for her no matter what. I think that's the least I owe her.
More church signs I saw last night -
*Nothing wrong ever happens at the right time.
*Plan ahead - It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark.
Enjoy your weekend......I know I will! I can sleep in past 4 am!
Thursday, March 3, 2005
two down too many more to go
Work isn't getting any better, but it certainly isn't getting worse either. Who knew that I could wake up at 3:45 in the morning on consecutive days before my alarm went off? Crazy. I must be motivated. Or broke. Maybe that's what's motivating me........
Had this conversation with this gut James at work today:
James: So did you go to Portland State?
Me (suddenly realizing I wore a PSU t-shirt): oh, no actually I went to OSU.
James: So why'd you stop going?
Me: I graduated.
James: you mean you have a degree?
Me: Yep.
James: So what are you doing working here?
That about sums it up.
Things I overheard today:
In the bathroom at work: "So then the next day I had some sausage chili dogs. I can't believe I'm still alive."
At Good Samaritan Hospital: "Holy cow you're still alive." A DOCTOR said this. At least he had the white coat on.
I know these things aren't related, but they're still both funny.
More church signs:
*A clean conscience makes for a soft pillow
*Hear my Cry
Had this conversation with this gut James at work today:
James: So did you go to Portland State?
Me (suddenly realizing I wore a PSU t-shirt): oh, no actually I went to OSU.
James: So why'd you stop going?
Me: I graduated.
James: you mean you have a degree?
Me: Yep.
James: So what are you doing working here?
That about sums it up.
Things I overheard today:
In the bathroom at work: "So then the next day I had some sausage chili dogs. I can't believe I'm still alive."
At Good Samaritan Hospital: "Holy cow you're still alive." A DOCTOR said this. At least he had the white coat on.
I know these things aren't related, but they're still both funny.
More church signs:
*A clean conscience makes for a soft pillow
*Hear my Cry
Wednesday, March 2, 2005
workin in a coal mine
Ok, it's not a coal mine, it's a warehouse. But it isn't exactly stimulating. I stand at a table and handle thousands of oxygen tanks. I take the old labels off, check to make sure the valve works properly, clean it up and put it on a rack to get filled with fresh oxygen. Then we take those and load them back onto the trucks. I do this for 8 hours. It's repetitive for sure, but it makes the time go by rather quickly. It was a shock to my system to get up at 3:45 this morning. My shift runs from 5-1:30 with a half hour lunch break. Not ideal hours. Now I have to struggle to make it through American Idol. But hey, I'll make money and it takes some of the pressure off of finding a full-time job. My supervisor is a great motivator too.....pushed the right button with me. Told me that as long as I'm easy to work with, put forth a good effort and show up on time, Apria usually tries to find full time employment for their temporary help. The better news is that they'll try and find a job that fits you, meaning I might be able to find something a little more my style than working in a warehouse. But if I gotta do this for a while to get to a place I want to be, I'll do it.
The past few days have been a whirlwind of change.....Grant announced last night he's moving out at the end of spring term. Definitely didn't see that one coming. I can understand his desire to move in with someone other than Rachel and I. I wonder if me getting a job in Portland made it an easier decision for him to make. Now I think Bryony is great, but I'm not so sure I'd want to be her roommate. Especially if Grant wasn't living there. So I can understand. I hope that it makes his last term in college a great time. Probably be a little more partying living with Josh than with Rachel and I.
Everyone keep your fingers crossed for Rachel's job interview tomorrow. I feel like I put a ton of pressure on her to get this job by taking a job in Portland. I think she's definitely qualified for the job, and we went over interview questions the other night. She's got all the right answers. Legacy would be lucky to have her. Let's just hope there's not 8 other people they'd be lucky to get. Hopefully my eagerness to get up early wasn't a one day flash in the pan.....we gotta keep this going....
The past few days have been a whirlwind of change.....Grant announced last night he's moving out at the end of spring term. Definitely didn't see that one coming. I can understand his desire to move in with someone other than Rachel and I. I wonder if me getting a job in Portland made it an easier decision for him to make. Now I think Bryony is great, but I'm not so sure I'd want to be her roommate. Especially if Grant wasn't living there. So I can understand. I hope that it makes his last term in college a great time. Probably be a little more partying living with Josh than with Rachel and I.
Everyone keep your fingers crossed for Rachel's job interview tomorrow. I feel like I put a ton of pressure on her to get this job by taking a job in Portland. I think she's definitely qualified for the job, and we went over interview questions the other night. She's got all the right answers. Legacy would be lucky to have her. Let's just hope there's not 8 other people they'd be lucky to get. Hopefully my eagerness to get up early wasn't a one day flash in the pan.....we gotta keep this going....
Tuesday, March 1, 2005
Adios Corvallis
Well this is it. I've got a bag packed, and I'm headed to Portland. For the first time in almost 8 years, I don't know when I'm coming back to Corvallis. It's kind of sad. I've had a lot of good times here. Unfortunately, I picked a major that doesn't really help you get a job. And there aren't many jobs available here. So it's off to Portland. I can't thank JR enough for helping me out here.
It's really hard to leave Rachel. I'm sure when she agreed to move in with me she didn't think that I was going to say "oh yeah, and for the first 3 months, I'll be baling hay 70 hours a week...then when I get done with that, Grant will be moving in with us. And I think 9 months down the road, I'll run out of money and be forced to take a job in Portland, so I'll be moving out then too. Love you!" I certainly didn't plan to say any of that. It sucks. But she's stuck with me through it all. Sure she's complained every now and then, but she's allowed to do that. I'd be bitching a ton if it was the other way around. But I'm gonna do my best to make sure this is the last time something like this happens.
So, here I go....
"I'm gonna hitch my wagon to a wandering star. A guy like me can sure get far - with a little gas and a credit card....now that's a plan."
~Mark McGuinn - That's a Plan
It's really hard to leave Rachel. I'm sure when she agreed to move in with me she didn't think that I was going to say "oh yeah, and for the first 3 months, I'll be baling hay 70 hours a week...then when I get done with that, Grant will be moving in with us. And I think 9 months down the road, I'll run out of money and be forced to take a job in Portland, so I'll be moving out then too. Love you!" I certainly didn't plan to say any of that. It sucks. But she's stuck with me through it all. Sure she's complained every now and then, but she's allowed to do that. I'd be bitching a ton if it was the other way around. But I'm gonna do my best to make sure this is the last time something like this happens.
So, here I go....
"I'm gonna hitch my wagon to a wandering star. A guy like me can sure get far - with a little gas and a credit card....now that's a plan."
~Mark McGuinn - That's a Plan
Church chat
So I don't know when it became a big deal for churches to put inspiring messages on their readerboards. It used to be they'd announce when services were or when some event was happening. Now they try and convert unsuspecting commuters. You could be cruising along listening to 50 Cent and all of a sudden you're assaulted with words from the gospel. It's so amusing, because 90% of these messages are corny beyond belief. Among the ones I saw JUST TODAY:
"Suit up in the full armor of God"
"Fear knocked. Faith Answered. No one was there."
"To cast a good shadow, walk in the light of the Lord."
Where do they come up with these things? Does each individual church employ someone to come up with them? Is there a website? Do they come via email direct from The Vatican? These are things I want to know. There's this church on Durham Road right by Tigard High School that feels the need to try and belittle non-believers and scare them into coming in. It's hilarious. Their sign once read "How sad is it that people believe God is dead and Elvis is alive?" I can just imagine the people inside being scared half to death to miss a sermon for fear that Pastor McManus is gonna cast them out to live with the heathens, where they too will have to look to the lighted sign on the corner for guidance.
In other news.....I am now employed!
JR hooked me up at the staffing agency that got him his job. The plan was for me to start working in the warehouse with him. However, by the time I finished filling out the paperwork, they'd found another job for me starting tomorrow morning at 5 am. That's a quick turnaround. Adecco has their shit together. I'll be working for Apria Health Care. The way I understand it, they provide in-home medical supplies such as oxygen tanks and the like to people who need them in their homes. When those people no longer need the supplies(or die as the lady so nicely put it), the tanks are shipped back. My job is going to be taking these tanks off the trucks, filling them, figuring out where they're getting shipped to, putting the new info on them and sending them back out. Not exactly the most glamorous job, but hey, it's 40 hours a week, optional benefits, weekly paychecks, and most importantly it means that I have a goddamn job! Booya!
I'm feeling much better about things. I get to see Rachel on Thursday and Aunt Joan is cooking flank steak for dinner tonight. Can't beat this stuff, it's amazing. I'm out...enjoy your evening.
And remember, a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down...unless your medicine is in capsule form.
"Suit up in the full armor of God"
"Fear knocked. Faith Answered. No one was there."
"To cast a good shadow, walk in the light of the Lord."
Where do they come up with these things? Does each individual church employ someone to come up with them? Is there a website? Do they come via email direct from The Vatican? These are things I want to know. There's this church on Durham Road right by Tigard High School that feels the need to try and belittle non-believers and scare them into coming in. It's hilarious. Their sign once read "How sad is it that people believe God is dead and Elvis is alive?" I can just imagine the people inside being scared half to death to miss a sermon for fear that Pastor McManus is gonna cast them out to live with the heathens, where they too will have to look to the lighted sign on the corner for guidance.
In other news.....I am now employed!
JR hooked me up at the staffing agency that got him his job. The plan was for me to start working in the warehouse with him. However, by the time I finished filling out the paperwork, they'd found another job for me starting tomorrow morning at 5 am. That's a quick turnaround. Adecco has their shit together. I'll be working for Apria Health Care. The way I understand it, they provide in-home medical supplies such as oxygen tanks and the like to people who need them in their homes. When those people no longer need the supplies(or die as the lady so nicely put it), the tanks are shipped back. My job is going to be taking these tanks off the trucks, filling them, figuring out where they're getting shipped to, putting the new info on them and sending them back out. Not exactly the most glamorous job, but hey, it's 40 hours a week, optional benefits, weekly paychecks, and most importantly it means that I have a goddamn job! Booya!
I'm feeling much better about things. I get to see Rachel on Thursday and Aunt Joan is cooking flank steak for dinner tonight. Can't beat this stuff, it's amazing. I'm out...enjoy your evening.
And remember, a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down...unless your medicine is in capsule form.
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