The bird bird bird, the is the worst!

Today while waiting for my husband's car to be inspected, he and I walked over to a nearby shopping plaza to kill some time. I saw a pet store and immediately went in. I love animals and all, but I really just wanted to see if they had chinchillas. I'd never own one due to the price of one/the fact you're not supposed to separate it from it's mate so you're supposed to buy two, but I love to look

When we walked in, the first thing we did was look at the giant birds they had in the window. We saw this giant cockatoo sitting on top of it's cage that I'm betting was pretty overpriced. The moment it saw us, it started to scale the cage. We thought it was afraid of us at first because as it was climbing down, it hit the cage door with it's foot and made it move. It went past the cage door, however, and plopped down onto the ground.

It stared at us for a moment, with it's head cocked to the side so it could look up at us with it's weird side crazy eye. With his head still cocked, it then proceeded to run after us, only breaking eye contact to look at our shins with it's beak open. When it became apparent he was going in for the kill, we briskly walked away. He chased us for a bit with his head still creepily cocked to the side, until he was distracted by a different customer that was on his phone.

Even though I was laughing, I was a little unnerved. I could hear his little talons click against the tile of the store as he ran amok. The new guy it was chasing was trying to ignore it. He'd turn and walk away from the damn bird, only to turn around to see it essentially standing on his shoe, flapping it's wings. It actually bit at the guy's pants and the mohawk thing on his head fanned out. It was pretty terrifying.

Once we got the nerve to try to get past the bird so we could leave, it noticed us again and stood between us and the door. I was mostly afraid it would follow us out and we would be responsible for paying for it. I'm sure we'd be able to sort the situation out with the owner though. It'd seem a lot more likely that the bird would attach itself to me rather than escape.

We had to actually wait for the bird with it's cocked crazy stare to get distracted by the phone guy again before we ran out the door. Once out, we looked back and he was starring at us through the window on the door.

I'll probably never go back there.

Are cockatoos usually that mean?

Flush it down... Open up!

So my husband and I have been dealing with Smokey living downstairs for awhile now. Things have gotten sort of awesome on that front, though.

The other day we saw her packing stuff into her car. We hoped she was moving, but decided it was likely she was moving some of her late husband's things into storage. Life wouldn't treat us THAT well. Especially as of late.

This last weekend we lost water to our apartment. Apparently some roots had grown into the pipes and water and sewage were getting clogged on their way out. Long story short, it's fixed now, but it was a long weekend of strategic pooping and marathon quick showers.

Thankfully our water was fixed and things were mostly back to normal, because then my husband got food poisoning. After our weekend, I never thought I'd be more thankful for flushing. Turns out I was wrong.

He's better now though. And things just got even BETTER. The police came banging on our door, looking for Smokey. I can't even imagine what she did to have the police after her, but they were pretty desperate to get into her apartment. I imagine she killed like, 20 people with her second hand smoke, but who knows. It was probably something more realistic, like 30 people. Or babies. Or 2 other otherwise happily married men who just want to breathe in their already questionable air.

She's awful.

Also, it turns out she is in fact moving out at the end of this month, so that's pretty exciting! She either got a new apartment, or a jail cell. Either way, I'm happy for her. Mostly for me though. Just sayin'.

Help! I want to start collecting Doctor Who stuff.

I have no idea where to even begin.

I'd love to collect the 5in figures, but I'd have to sit down and decide which of each figure I'd want. Would I want "police woman" Amy Pond, or her regular outfit? Which of the 5 or so David Tennant figures would I pick? They're all basically the same, plus or minus glasses and different color suits. Also, would I even buy a Martha Jones figure? Probably not.

Instead of the 5in figures, I could also get the Hot Toys Doctor Who dolls. They're wicked expensive though. And there's only 2 different ones; hardly enough to fill the blank shelf I have. I wonder if I could find a Dalek in the same scale? Maybe even a Tardis?

I have to think really hard about what sort of Doctor Who collectibles I want. I don't want my collection to get out of control, so I need to set a limit before I start and decide what I want.

But I can't pick! I want it all!

I wish my curio cabinet were bigger on the inside.

Take that, lady downstairs!

Just discovered a temporary solution to the smoke odor problem my husband and I have been having from our neighbor below...

DRYER SHEETS!

This surprisingly helped clear the smell of smoke out of our bedroom. Will our clothes smell more like smoke now that our dryer sheets have potentially absorbed the odor? Probably. But at least I can breathe temporarily.

I just called... to say... I'll hire you!

My phone just rang from an unknown caller and woke me up. I answered it, thinking it was a prospective job interview. I've applied to a few different places recently, hoping to find some sort of a second job. Turns out it was for a job interview, but with a company that just "happened to view my resume" online. The woman asked me to rate myself on organization and time management on a scale of 1-10. Obviously I gave myself 10. What am I, and idiot?

She then asked me if I would be available for an interview "tomorrow or Wednesday". I tried to think of what I was doing tomorrow. Normally this would be the simplest of tasks, but I was still in a daze from just waking up and I was completely bewildered. I sat there for what felt like an eternity tying to figure out what day it was. I couldn't ask, or my 10/10 organization and time management skill rating would be out the window.

I spent the next minute or two mumbling things like, "Let me see here..." and making noises with my mouth to make it sound like I was checking my incredibly organized agenda. If only "checking my agenda" was the same thing as "picking crusties out of my eye"... I would've nailed it.

After giving up on figuring out whatever the hell tomorrow was, I asked her if she had anything later in the day instead of mornings. She told me possibly next week around 4. I could've checked my schedule on my phone, but by this point I felt like I pretty much blew the interview with the company who's name escapes me.

I left it open ended saying that as soon as I got my work schedule, I could let her know. She gave her name and number. I asked her to repeat the name of the company since I missed it earlier while checking my imaginary planner. Turns out it was for a company that sold life insurance. It also turns out that it was probably a scam. After I hung up with her, I googled their name and on the first page of results there was someone complaining about how they'll give anyone an interview and ultimately they'll just waste your time.

Have you ever totally bombed an interview or embarrassed yourself on an important phone call? One time during an interview at Best Buy I accidentally said I was a life guard instead of telling them that I was CPR certified. I corrected it immediately, but I didn't get the job. Should've just let him think I was a life guard! The manager seemed impressed at first.

Anyway, share your stories with me in the comments section!

CAN WE TALK FOR A SECOND?! I'M SO EXCITED!

Holy crap!

Ok, here's a little background info before I tell you what I'm so excited about:


I'M A HUGE JEAN GREY FAN!


That about sums it up.


Ok, so last August Hasbro announced they're making a Jean Grey action figure in their Marvel Legends toy line. As you could probably guess, I was super stoked. Then in October, they announced a variant of the figure! It was Jean Grey in her White Phoenix outfit! I didn't think I could be more excited!


Then, this last Sunday, it happened...

THEY ANNOUNCED A THIRD VARIANT! Her Age of Apocalypse costume!

That's right! I get not one...not TWO... but THREE Jean Greys!!!

I literally couldn't compose myself for about an hour. Between the giggles and the pointing at my computer monitor, I was inconsolable. These last few months have been a pretty good time to be a Jean Grey fan. Not only is she alive again in the comics, but she's also in the upcoming Marvel Heroes game, which I'll surely be obsessed with. And now, I get three action figures of her!

Also, I have a new blog!

Check it out at http://boundlesswit.blogspot.com!


And don't worry, I'll update both regularly. I promise.


Let me know what you think and make sure you follow so you're notified when I post new things!

Dear downstairs neighbor...

I'm beginning to hate you and your incessant smoking. I can smell it through the floorboards and it's terrible. I wish you stop smoking so I would feel less compelled to punch you in the face next time I see you. And so I can breathe.


Quitting wouldn't kill you. Just saying. In fact, it might have the opposite effect.


Sincerely,
Your upstairs neighbor who's thinking of smelly ways to get you back.

IBS: Irregular Blogging Syndrome

I suffer from it, but I've found a cure! I've decided I'm going to post every Wednesday. I even set a reminder on my iPhone so I won't forget. So be excited for that regularity! You may see a blog here or there on others days, but there were will definitely be at least 1 blog every week on Wednesdays. I though this was a good day because if nothing else, I can talk about a comic that I read that day because, for those of you who don't know, every Wednesday is "New Comic Book Day".

Anyway... Yay for setting goals!

Chumps Online

City of Heroes closed down, and it sucks. I never thought I'd find another superhero MMO that I'd be obsessed with, until Champions Online. This game has completely taken over my life. For the last two weeks, I've done literally nothing but play that stupid game in my free time.

It all started after City of Heroes announced they were closing. I was pretty upset! I had played that game for 8 years and created my very own superheroes and played as them for hours on end. I should note, that after 8 years, the initial addiction wore off about about 2 years. Since then, I played on and off and managed my life accordingly. I played for quite a bit when the announcement to sunset City of Heroes came out, but then took a 3 month break from playing.

Then, something clicked (or broke) in my head, and I became obsessed. If I have a day off, I will literally get out of bed, play Champions Online, and then go to sleep. On my best days, I'll get a few levels on my hero, as well as brush my teeth and shower. I can't even image what my bad days will be like. I'd imagine it'd start by making the wrong decision between doing one more "Alert" mission and going to the bathroom.

To give you a bit of an idea as to how obsessed I am, here's a few sad things that should be listed and not given too much detail:
1. I played all day on Superbowl Sunday and I didn't even get to watch the puppy bowl.
2. I've payed real-life money to the game just to re-pick my hero's powers at least 4 times. 3. At work I spent a large portion of my time being excited over some new gear I was going to unlock in the game that night.
4. I regularly participate in costume contests in the game and get mad at stupid categories.(Like categories where they make you find a partner with a similar costume and compete as a duo. Seriously?! What the hell! People like to plan for these things!)
5. I'm excited to be in one of the most popular Supergroups in the game (Red Academy).
6. I've regularly gotten frustrated because I can't decide which of my heroes to play.
7. I got really upset when 5 different heroes on different occasions told me that my hero looks like Invisible Woman just because she's blonde and wears blue and black.
8. I've reluctantly changed the colors of my costumes so they wouldn't say that anymore, then changed them back to be defiant, then changed them again because I didn't want the game moderators to think I was copying her and then to delete my character, and then changed the costume all together.

That definitely got worse toward the end.

As I'm writing this my husband's playing next to me, and I'm super jealous. He's been just as addicted too. I'm glad he's in my life for tons of reasons, but one in particular is that I have someone to make me feel guilty about this obsession. Sure, he's just as addicted as I am and has never once suggested we do anything else, but I still have a desire to function like a human being because of him. He motivates me to be a better person on a daily basis, even if that just means brushing my teeth.

I can't decide!

I can't decide if I should start a new blog or continue adding to this one. Not that my content would be incredibly different from this one, but some entries on here were written so long ago, I don't remember writing them. It's literally like reading something someone else wrote. It's weird.

Second Hand Frustration

I think it's wonderful that I live in a country where people have the freedom to smoke if they want to. That said, if you sign a lease for an apartment in a building where there's no smoking, you should probably at the very least take it outside. I don't care how cold it is.

Both of neighbors smoke. I'm not sure which one it is that's seeping through my walls or floor, but I'm pretty sick to death of it. It wreaks in my apartment right now. It particularly smells in the only closet we have where we keep all of our clothes.

I could complain to my landlord about it (he's a pretty nice guy) but it's his brother-in-law lives next door and his aunt that lives downstairs, so I'm not sure how far any further complaining would get me.

I almost want to buy each of them one of those electronic cigarettes that don't smell. If I were made of money, I'd rip off an arm and a leg to pay for the damn things myself. Alas, I'm not made of money and I doubt the kiosk in the mall accepts bloody dismembered limbs.

It might be worth a shot though.

I thought I was a professional customer...

I thought that after all my experience with customer service, I'd be a halfway decent customer. Turns out I was wrong.

I went to K-Mart the other day with my husband to return some curtains. We were set to go; we had our receipt and it was within the extended return policy. The only thing that worried me was the fact that the curtains were purchased in a different state with a higher sales tax. I figured this would be a problem for the cashier since I had no idea how to fix that at my job. The thought that we wouldn't get what we were entitled to crossed my mind probably half an hour before we even got to the store and I couldn't stop thinking about it and how I would approach with without seeming rude.

By the time we got to the customer service desk, I had all this weird pent-up anxiety about what turned out to be like $.80 because I didn't stop thinking about it. The very helpful employee processed our return with no questions asked other than "Was there anything wrong with them?" There wasn't; we were just one window short.

At the end of the transaction I noticed we didn't get the right amount back for tax. I know how annoying people can be about returns after Christmas,so I wanted to try to be nice to this girl. With all of my built up tension from relentlessly thinking about it, however, it didn't come out so nice.

"Um... I think we're supposed to get more back. The tax is different" is all I was able to mutter to the girl in what I can only describe as the rudest, most condescending tone I can imagine coming out of my face. I have no idea what came over me, only that something had. It became extremely evident too when she glared over to her coworker at my expense. Good for her though, honestly.

I wanted so badly to apologize, but by this point it was kind of too late. I was excited to leave the store. I literally never go to K-Mart so the chances that I'd ever have to see her again were slim. Apparently not non-existant though. She was definitely fixing the carts as we left.

As we approached the door, she said, "Have a good night!" In a last ditch effort to be nice to her, I jumped on the opportunity to say "You too!" but I was a little too eager and it came out more like "YOU TOO!" I mean, it was a little cheery, I guess... But I still sounded like a crazy person with a temper.

If she complained or made fun of me to her coworkers, I'd completely understand. I was inadvertently pretty unbearable.

I'm not even going to say it!

I'm not even going to say that I'm going to turn over a new leaf once again and start blogging more. I'm just going to do it.

On a side note: did you know there's a word for bringing up something by saying you have no intention of bringing it up? It's called "apophasis". It's official definition is "the device of mentioning a subject by stating that it will not be mentioned: I shall not discuss his cowardice or his treachery".

English is fun.

A lot has happened since I last posted. I married the man of my dreams, moved across a few states, and still haven't gone on my honeymoon. Soon though! Hopefully.