tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21552647731919363872024-03-23T08:19:46.320-04:00Comic Book SuperzeroPhilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11862076124481389094noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155264773191936387.post-13578436679975758912013-03-20T21:33:00.000-04:002013-03-20T21:39:47.532-04:00The 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<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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I'll probably never go back there.<br />
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Are cockatoos usually that mean?Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11862076124481389094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155264773191936387.post-28278893768591854152013-03-13T17:06:00.001-04:002013-03-13T17:08:55.146-04:00Flush 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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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She's awful.<br />
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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'.Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11862076124481389094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155264773191936387.post-8512826515476469182013-02-27T20:25:00.004-05:002013-02-27T20:25:51.360-05:00Help! I want to start collecting Doctor Who stuff.I have no idea where to even begin.<div>
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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.</div>
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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?</div>
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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.</div>
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But I can't pick! I want it all!</div>
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I wish my curio cabinet were bigger on the inside.</div>
Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11862076124481389094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155264773191936387.post-6302721167244376342013-02-23T23:03:00.003-05:002013-02-23T23:03:33.768-05:00Take that, lady downstairs!Just discovered a temporary solution to the smoke odor problem my husband and I have been having from our neighbor below...<br />
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DRYER SHEETS!<br />
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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.Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11862076124481389094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155264773191936387.post-88622375969133637502013-02-20T08:00:00.000-05:002013-02-20T08:00:11.431-05:00I 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?<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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Anyway, share your stories with me in the comments section!Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11862076124481389094noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155264773191936387.post-62216451351090504932013-02-13T13:00:00.000-05:002013-02-13T13:00:00.505-05:00CAN WE TALK FOR A SECOND?! I'M SO EXCITED!Holy crap!<br />
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Ok, here's a little background info before I tell you what I'm so excited about:<br />
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I'M A HUGE JEAN GREY FAN!<br />
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That about sums it up.<br />
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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!<br />
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Then, this last Sunday, it happened...<br />
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THEY ANNOUNCED A THIRD VARIANT! Her Age of Apocalypse costume!</div>
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That's right! I get not one...not TWO... but <b>THREE</b> Jean Greys!!!</div>
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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!Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11862076124481389094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155264773191936387.post-82588236975260687102013-02-11T01:59:00.001-05:002013-02-11T01:59:43.708-05:00Also, I have a new blog!Check it out at <a href="http://boundlesswit.blogspot.com/">http://boundlesswit.blogspot.com</a>!<br />
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And don't worry, I'll update both regularly. I promise.<br />
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Let me know what you think and make sure you follow so you're notified when I post new things!<br />
<br />Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11862076124481389094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155264773191936387.post-77611096544248343922013-02-11T01:55:00.000-05:002013-02-11T01:55:07.109-05:00Dear 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.<br />
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Quitting wouldn't kill you. Just saying. In fact, it might have the opposite effect.<br />
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Sincerely,<br />
Your upstairs neighbor who's thinking of smelly ways to get you back.Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11862076124481389094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155264773191936387.post-80528952583145171362013-02-07T03:03:00.003-05:002013-02-07T03:03:57.928-05:00IBS: Irregular Blogging SyndromeI 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". <br><br>
Anyway... Yay for setting goals!Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11862076124481389094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155264773191936387.post-66647443396664891152013-02-06T17:33:00.003-05:002013-02-06T17:33:49.585-05:00Chumps OnlineCity 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.
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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.
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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.<br><br>
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:<br>
1. I played all day on Superbowl Sunday and I didn't even get to watch the puppy bowl.<br>
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.<br>
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!)<br>
5. I'm excited to be in one of the most popular Supergroups in the game (Red Academy).<br>
6. I've regularly gotten frustrated because I can't decide which of my heroes to play.<br>
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.<br>
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.<br><br>
That definitely got worse toward the end.
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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.Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11862076124481389094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155264773191936387.post-43973849911460935952013-01-13T14:49:00.001-05:002013-01-13T14:49:45.767-05:00I 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.Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11862076124481389094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155264773191936387.post-5908977427270651822013-01-11T00:10:00.001-05:002013-01-11T00:10:07.599-05:00Second Hand FrustrationI 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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It might be worth a shot though.Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11862076124481389094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155264773191936387.post-59293366903766549032013-01-10T20:26:00.000-05:002013-01-10T20:43:06.434-05:00I 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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"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.
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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.
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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.
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If she complained or made fun of me to her coworkers, I'd completely understand. I was inadvertently pretty unbearable. Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11862076124481389094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155264773191936387.post-35560195226594780982013-01-10T19:47:00.002-05:002013-01-10T20:28:42.612-05:00I'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.
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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 <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Apophasis?s=t">definition</a> is "the device of mentioning a subject by stating that it will not be mentioned: I shall not discuss his cowardice or his treachery".
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English is fun.
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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.Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11862076124481389094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155264773191936387.post-82137447057030380692010-01-28T03:09:00.004-05:002010-01-31T05:24:02.050-05:00I scream for a bowl and spoon!I really enjoy cake and I also enjoy ice cream. These two splendid things as we all know go marvelously together. Sometimes, however, not so much.<br /><br />Some people do the whole "cone" thing for ice cream. I can respect that. I mean hell, you eat the dish you serve it in. I'm an avid fan of not dirtying dishes so you don't have to wash them. You do still have to wash the scoop after, but that's not an entirely huge deal. <br /><br />I definitely sacrifice my "no dishes" rule though when it comes to ice cream. I prefer it in the bowl for sure. That way, there's no mess if the ice cream decides to melt and I can eat it at my own pace. Also, I don't lick ice cream, I bite it. I can't stand it when people lick ice cream, leaving their tongue trails in the tower of creamy goodness. Gross. In any case, I find it very beneficial to use a spoon when eating ice cream. It helps eliminate getting it all over your face.<br /><br />With cake, on the other hand, it's much more customary to eat with a fork, on a plate. Liquids and ice cream are for spoons. If you're eating a solid food, you use a fork. That's basically a scientific fact. And you use a plate because there's nothing to contain like you would need a bowl for. The one exception to this rule however is ice cream cake, for obvious reasons.<br /><br />Anyway, when it comes to eating cake AND ice cream, it only makes sense to put it in a bowl, and to use a spoon. It's much easier to scoop a chunk of cake and ice cream with a spoon than it is to stab the ice cream with the prongs of the fork as it runs through it like butter. Forget getting your cake to stay on the fork while you try to manage scraping that meager little portion of ice cream. And to add ease to the scooping of the spoon, it should be served in a bowl, lest it fall off the plate and onto the floor.<br /><br />I write this blog because recently I was served cake and ice cream on a flimsy paper plate with a fork. It didn't go well.Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11862076124481389094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155264773191936387.post-71054162345623615802009-12-04T02:26:00.005-05:002009-12-04T03:04:10.971-05:00Procrastination and Sunlight!Procrastination is something I'm really good at (or really bad with, if you want to pull the "cup half full/half empty" argument on me.) Right now, I'm putting off a 3 page paper that's supposed to be an in-depth look at 2 poems about sunlight, while mentioning up to 5 other poems as well. I could've picked a different theme besides sunlight, I suppose, since there were 2 others I could've picked from; "anti-war" and "end of the world", but I figured sunlight would be the easiest to find poems on. Poems with sunlight are usually a bit too chipper for my taste, whereas "end of the world" poems tend to be right up my alley. I only have to write 3 pages though, so oh well.<br /><br />In light of procrastinating, I'll point out the elephant in the room and say that it's been quite a few months since I've written on this thing. Sooo many things have changed in my life since my last post, I don't even know where to begin. I've started and practically ended my first semester at a state university. That's kind of neat. I'm an English major in the "writing arts" program. I really like it, although I admit it's very intimidating. <br /><br />I didn't write enough this semester. I know that through my recent lack of interest in writing essays and short stories for my classes. There would always be long periods of time where I would be doing nothing but reading or critiquing other student's stories. I should've kept up on my blog during these times. Not only would I continue to grow as a writer, but I wouldn't feel so panicked all of the sudden when asked to write something. In any case, that's all going to change. I'm going to keep up-to-date on this blog, and maybe another one about a more personal, yet amusing aspect of my life. More on that later.<br /><br />I believe I've found my niche as a writer, however. I enjoy writing darker stories and poems, but I also enjoy writing humor. Turns out, after submitting some stories in my Writing Fiction class, I'm much better at the latter of the two.<br /><br />Speaking of which, I love the phrase, "The latter of the two." It's a phrase I've been dying to use for a very long time, and you just witnessed the first time I ever have. There were a few reasons why I've never abused the hell out of that phrase before. Not only was I not sure if it meant the first or second option, but I had no clue if it was "latter" or "ladder". When I went to end my last paragraph with it, I shit you not, I looked it up finally. There are a lot of phrases like that that escape me right now that I would look up for the hell of it (and to put off my paper some more). One phrase that I looked up over the summer was "The proof is in the pudding". Granted, I'll probably never use it, but it's nice to know what it means, and whether or not it's "pudding" or "putting". The later of the two makes more sense, because you could guess that it could mean where something's put, rather than something about a dessert. But, alas, it's the dessert.<br /><br />Anyway, I'll definitely be making a valiant effort to be posting on a somewhat regular basis again... at least once a week if I can help it. It's 3:00 am here and I should really get that paper started. I don't think I'll be going to sleep tonight. Can't wait to see the sunlight in a few hours.Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11862076124481389094noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155264773191936387.post-20389101519529682382009-07-22T03:35:00.006-04:002009-07-22T20:41:44.689-04:00Making up my mind, in a flash!I really like technology. I enjoy reading about it, playing with it, and buying it. That being said, I'm also very indecisive about it. I could research cell phones or something for days but eventually I'll be stuck between four different models.<br /><br />I had to buy a camera recently. I don't really know why I thought I needed a camera, since I'm really into writing. All I knew, was that I <span style="font-style:italic;">needed</span> that new camera. <br /><br />I have a perfectly good camera right now. The only thing that bugs me about it is that I have to push the "scroll left" button extra hard to get it to work. I'm not really the kind of guy looking to exert the extra strength that goes into pushing that button. It really irritates me, especially with the right button being so easy to push.<br /><br />Anyway, like I said, I needed a new camera, so I trotted on over to Best Buy and looked around in there for some models I had found online. I still wasn't exactly sure what kind I wanted. A camera with face recognition would be kind of cool, but to me, that's a "party camera", a camera college girls buy to take pictures of their best friends finishing up their first keg stand. Oh, the memories sorority girls share. I'd pay to see that scrapbook.<br /><br />I was definitely interested in a camera with a nice zoom, manual mode (if I can figure out how to use it), and a high mega pixel count. I was quickly approached by a sales clerk who asked me if I needed help. <br /><br />I looked up at him, "Oh, no thanks. I need a new camera and I'm just taking a look at what you guys have," I replied.<br /><br />"Well, what would you primarily use it for?" he asked.<br /><br />I lost eye contact and looked towards the table of cameras. I began, "Well..."<br /><br />I knew he was just asking so he could find the camera that would "best fit my needs". It's a classic sales tactic. If I had said "I'm just looking to take pictures of my friends when we all hang out," like any other half wit passing through, he would've sold me some crappy camera that does absolutely nothing. I'm on a "poor college student" budget, but I didn't want that to stop me from getting a good camera.<br /><br />I knew if I wanted to be sold a good camera, I couldn't possibly tell him the truth; I would probably use it to take a few random pictures of my friends the next time we hung out, then I'd lose it in a drawer somewhere and forget about it. I had to think of something really convincing so he would sell me something amazing, but inexpensive.<br /><br />"Well, I'm a photography major down at a school in Massachusetts. I'm looking to get my Masters Degree in it so that I can travel abroad and take pictures at fashion shows in Paris. The school I'm going to is really expensive, so I'm on a tight budget for a camera, but I need a really good one with lots of capabilities."<br /><br />Immediately, since I told him I was just looking, he decided to ask about my fantastic school.<br /><br />"I have a friend that's a photography major too! He was looking at the Hallmark Institute of Photography down in that area, but he didn't end up going, it was a little expensive and he wanted to go somewhere closer."<br /><br />"Yeah, it's a really nice school. I go there." I smiled at my now established university. I went on, "I love it. One of my favorite things there is the dining hall. They spend a lot of money on the food. It's nothing like those community colleges," I snickered a little, for good measure. I know how bad the local community college's food is. I just graduated from there, and it's pretty terrible.<br /><br />"Yeah, the food's pretty bad at those places." He paused as his eyes narrowed, "So, if the school has so much money for food, why don't they have a fund somewhere to supply you guys with cameras?"<br /><br />"They expect us to be financially savvy enough to buy our own cameras. Also, since everyone buys their own cameras, each different camera offers a unique eye to the world, further making each photography project unique."<br /><br />I was really running out of lies. Well, it wasn't that I was running out of lies, so much as it was about me forgetting what I had told him already. I already forgot what college I said I go to. I remembered it was in a state that started with an "M", but that was about it. It was time to bail.<br /><br />"Well, I like what I see here, but I'm going to head over to Ritz Camera. They had a Figifilm camera for under $900. I think I'm going to go with that one." I declared as I turned away and began heading towards the exit.<br /><br />He called out to me, "It's Fujifilm! And I thought you were on a budget!"<br /><br />I started to turn around to explain my inconsistency, but my feet decided that would just make things worse. Before I knew it, I was out the door. I didn't need a camera that bad anyway.Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11862076124481389094noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155264773191936387.post-34889034915541920012009-06-08T02:36:00.002-04:002009-06-08T03:08:55.874-04:00Summer BummerLife's been crazy lately with classes ending, but now that it's summer, hopefully I'll get back into my blogging routine. <br /><br />I recently got a pretty rad job. I work at a cell phone kiosk in <span style="font-style:italic;">Sam's Club</span>, and sell almost every cell phone imaginable. We sell three "contract" phones services, including Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T, as well as the five prepaid plans Boost Mobile, Virgin Mobile, Net10, TracPhone, and AT&T GO Phones. It's a fairly easy job, although the processes take some getting used to. I've only been there a month and a half or so now, and I've gotten most of them down pat. Some, however, I still have yet to learn. <br /><br />Verizon Wireless, for example is the biggest bitch ever. We have to do everything for them manually, including the credit check and contract. All of the others we can do through the computer, but since Verizon is done over the phone after a 15 minute wait, it definitely takes the longest to finish.<br /><br />When it's slow, there's literally nothing to do. The best I can do to keep myself entertained and stimulated, sexually or otherwise, is to greet customers and pace around like a lunatic. If there are no customers, I'm stuck using the computer. Once I'm done browsing the 13 pages that aren't blocked, I'm left to my own devices. By that, I of course mean my cell phone. Since I work at a cell phone kiosk, they're pretty lenient about making/receiving calls and text messages. That gets old too after awhile though. Half the people I send my "plz talk 2 me! I'm @ work and bored!" text messages to, don't reply. The ones that do reply, I simply run out of things to say to them.<br /><br />It's at this point where I hit an all time low. I will look for anyone, in my cell phone's contact list, or someone in the store to talk to. About absolutely anything. Once I find a person, if I don't hold my composure and hide my desperation for human communication, I'll scare them away, worsening my situation.<br /><br />I've recently found a way around all of this, though. One of my coworkers suggested I bring a book. I was so flabbergasted at the simplicity and obviousness of her suggestion, but I immediately started bringing various books and graphic novels to work. Today, I in fact got paid for 30 minutes of actual work, and 3 1/2 hours of reading comics. It was pretty fantastic.<br /><br />All this lack of business comes with a price, however. The kiosk is closing at the end of this month. It really kind of sucks, for a lot of reasons. The main reason it does, though, has everything to do with my online training. The district manager was really late making it available to me, so I got it finally after working there about three weeks. After about two weeks of actually having the training and, within the same two weeks, procrastinating doing the training, I found out the kiosk is closing. <br /><br />Now I'm stuck in an awkward position. I can either buckle down and do all of the training so my last 9 days of work go by smoothly, or I could skip it because there's really no point now anyway. Obviously, I'm going to skip it. It's going to be brutal though.<br /><br />I'm going to miss this job. The customers at the Sam's Club kiosk were a huge step up from the customers at Sears. As many of you know, you need a membership to get into Sam's, meaning that not just any half-wit can go in there and annoy the snot out of me with their petty retail problems. The only half-wits that are allowed in Sam's are the ones that are willing to shell out an extra $40 every so often to enter the building. They're few and far between, though.<br /><br />I did have one lady in the store today, who was either really stupid or totally stressed out by her kid. While it was probably the kid, one can never be sure when it comes to the general public. She asked me briefly about a car charger for her phone that she didn't have on her, nor did she know the name of it. During our conversation, she was holding on to her son's arm, trying to contain him and keep him out of trouble. To no avail, he was using his other hand to grab at my fake demo phones and let go, causing the tether to snap them back into their places. After he did that to a couple of phones, his mother turned to him and screamed, "YOU NEED TO STOP THAT RIGHT NOW! IF YOU BREAK THOSE, MOMMY'S GOING TO HAVE TO PAY FOR THEM AND MOMMY CAN'T AFFORD THEM!"<br /><br />I don't think she knew they were made of plastic with cardboard screens. If she did, she should really consider not spending her money on a membership at Sam's Club and worry more about saving up for the other plastic and cardboard things that her son will inevitably break.Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11862076124481389094noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155264773191936387.post-9004280673023644512009-04-02T03:06:00.003-04:002009-04-02T03:16:31.806-04:00Back Issue #3: I got bit by a spider (part 2) (WITH A PIC!)<blockquote><span style="font-style:italic;">Originally posted June 22nd, 2008 on <a href="http://www.myspace.com/xmenlegend">MySpace</a>.</span></blockquote><br /><br />Ok, so it's like day 6 of my spider bite. Still no super powers. All I'm getting is an infection. Seriously though, I'm somewhat afraid that my skin's gonna start rotting off my body. I looked up some spider bite pictures just now and holy shit... there's some pretty fucked up spiders out there. Take this <a href="http://www.snopes.com/photos/bugs/brownrecluse.asp" target="_self">link</a> for instance. While that remains undetermined whether it was a brown recluse bite or not, they suspect it was. I can't even imagine that happening to my stomach. I mean, duh, I didn't get bitten by one of those but my bite still has the potential to get pretty gross. And speaking of really gross... <br><br>Here's a picture of my spider bite (Click it for the "full effect"):<br><a href="http://s11.photobucket.com/albums/a186/stormfan12901/?action=view¤t=0622080036.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a186/stormfan12901/th_0622080036.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" ></a><br><br>It's gross, I know. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna have to see a doctor about it on Monday or Tuesday. It doesn't appear to be getting any better. When I move it stings like dry skin. It's pretty aweful. And since I'm not an Olympian God and don't have a 6-pack, the spider bite's on the top part of where my mini gut starts. So like, when I move, the spider bite's basically like, "WOW! [inflicts pain, inflicts pain] STOP EATING SUCH SHITTY FAST FOOD! I'M THE PAINFUL REMINDER THAT YOU HAVE A CREASE WHERE A GUT'S FORMING!"<br><br>Spider bites = best diet ever. If you're not convinced quite yet that that's true, take a good LONG look at my picture and tell me if you feel like eating after that.<br><br>Didn't think so.<br>Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11862076124481389094noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155264773191936387.post-88801581259201515282009-04-02T03:05:00.003-04:002009-04-02T03:23:54.901-04:00Back Issue #2 : I got bit by a spider, and I don't have super powers... what a sham!<blockquote><span style="font-style:italic;">Originally posted June 20th, 2008 on <a href="http://www.myspace.com/xmenlegend">MySpace</a>.</span></blockquote><br /><br />At least I think it was a spider. I don't know. Regardless of the species, I still have no super powers. I didn't think it was going to happen, but it would've been cool. Cooler than a giant, red, sore welt on my stomach at least. <br><br>I'm not really sure when it happened either, just that it happened on Monday. It REALLY creeps me out to think that it was inside my shirt and just biting me repeatedly. I have like 2 other smaller bumps near it.<br><br>So yeah, on another buggy note, I don't know if many of you know this about me, but I'm most definitely extremely afraid of centipedes. Now I know what you're thinking... "Really Phil? Those stupid little red things you see under rocks?" And yeah. Understandable. Allow me to explain. When I was little and lived in Hawaii, I had one crawl across my arm in my bed. And for those of you who don't know, centipedes look more like this in Hawaii...<br><br><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowScriptAccess="never" allowNetworking="internal" height="344" width="425" data="http://www.youtube.com/v/BHFnEVqfi94&hl=en"><br /> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="never" /><br /> <param name="allowNetworking" value="internal" /><br /> <param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/BHFnEVqfi94&hl=en" /><br /></object><br />Yeah. Fucking terrifying. So back to my story...<br><br>So a few days ago, I was in my room minding my own business and changing my shirt. As I pulled it over my head, I saw something on my newly made bed. Yup... you guessed it. A centipede. I freaked out so bad, anyone would've laughed. It was very reminiscent of a woman on Looney Tunes screaming on top of a chair at a mouse. Except it was me, on the floor. Still screaming, though. <br /><br />Anyway, I tried to think quickly and find something to kill it with, which happened to be my remote. So I grabbed the remote tried smashing it on the top of my bed. This proved rather ineffective at first, considering my comforter was cushioning all of my remote's blows, not to mention these guys live under rocks for Christ's sake, so they can take a beating. Eventually though, I killed it.Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11862076124481389094noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155264773191936387.post-17300031513628072872009-03-25T20:48:00.007-04:002009-03-25T21:38:46.194-04:00Filled with a case of "The Phils"My geology/meteorology teacher is a bit flakey sometimes, and that's giving him a lot of credit. One of the biggest problems in my opinion is after knowing me for well over 6 months, he still doesn't know my name, even though we're in an extremely tiny community college and I'd like to think I stick out like a sore thumb sometimes, especially since I'm a little chatty sometimes. Anyway, let me take you back to around late November 2008...<br /><br />Last semester, when he was my geology teacher, he had us do these big research projects where we had to write a 5 page paper and do a PowerPoint presentation about, as it turns out, anything we wanted to. I, unlike some of the people in my class, stuck to geology and did my project on diamonds. I didn't know much about them at the time, and thought it would be kind of fun to research. After doing all the research for it though, I'm really glad I picked what I did. Diamonds are pretty fucking cool. I would normally go on about all the awesome things diamonds do, but I'm far too lazy and tired to list everything, or even something, that I researched.<br /><br />Moving right along, it came time to do our presentations, and I gave mine, and it went along smoothly and I got a good grade. But that's when things started to get weird. My friend Jeff went up to do his presentation on... whatever it was that he did... and my professor said, "Ok Phil, so you're doing _______?" and Jeff replied, not really catching that he called him Phil. I certainly noticed though. I've always felt like if there was one person in the class that the teacher would always forget their name, it would be me. For some reason, I'm used to being called the wrong name in class, but never have I been the person the teacher calls other people. And to be clear, Jeff and I look nothing alike. <br /><br />Anyway, Jeff finished his presentation, and sat back down. As our professor was talking to the next presenter, I leaned over a little and got Jeff's attention from a few rows down, and mouthed a few words that somehow got across, "You might want to remind our teacher who you are. He called you Phil and he's going to give me your grade because he's an idiot."<br /><br />Jeff raised his hand: "Hey, who's name did you write down on that paper?"<br />Professor: "Uh... yours!"<br />Jeff: "What did you write?"<br />Professor: "Philip!"<br />Jeff: "Yeah uh... my name's Jeff."<br />Professor: "Oh gosh, DUH! I would've caught that eventually!"<br /><br />Sure you would have, <a href="http://www.wptz.com/weather/786288/detail.html">professor</a>, sure you would.<br /><br />Anyway, normally this wouldn't weird me out as much, but frankly he should know who's who in a class of only 15 or so on the week before finals. Oh well though, it was a simple slip-up I guess... or was it?<br /><br />Fast forward 5 or so months...<br /><br />My professor likes variety in his classes, so what better way to do that than to assign the exact same research project in meteorology as he did when I took geology! One day we had to have a summary typed up on what we were going to do our research projects on. I chose lightning. Frankly, there's a lot of information on it, and it's pretty sweet. I also plan to incorporate extremely loud thunder claps when I change each slide on my PowerPoint, just to give my fellow classmates the "full effect". So I gave that to my teacher and he read it and liked it. Then my friend Jeff went after I did. He was going to do his project on the mini ice age that occurred in the 1500's or something, but my professor said it was too vague.<br /><br />After going through a few other people's ideas, my professor made a few general statements to the class about the subjects people have been picking. He started off by saying...<br /><br />"Like I was telling Phil, doing the mini ice age of the 1500's is too vague. You need something more specific."<br /><br />This is coming from the guy who thinks a good research project is comparing a baseball player's batting average to the weather.<br /><br />After he finished his little lecture on how to pick a research project he hasn't seen done before because he's bored with some subjects (which, I'll have you note, isn't lightning apparently), another student raised his hand and asked a question about the projects. My teacher replied:<br /><br />"Good question, Phil! Let me explain..."<br /><br />That's right. All of the sudden there's 3 Phils in my class. <span style="font-style:italic;">Surprise!</span> I'm the only Phil that he has in that class, and probably all of his other classes too (it's not a big college at all).<br /><br />So I've deduced a few things out of his inability to remember which person I am in the class. It's one of the following options...<br /><br />1. He doesn't know anyone's name in the class but the name "Phil" sticks with him, so he just decided to stick with that.<br />2. He knows there's a Phil in the class but has no idea who I am, so he's calling everyone that.<br /><br />and finally...<br /><br />3. I do something that really bothers him and makes him think about me.<br /><br /><br />I hope it's number 3. If that's the case, I need to find out what it is that I do that annoys the snot out of him just so I can do it more. It might seem a little vindictive, but that's just necessary sometimes. <br /><br />Anyway, if anyone has any other ideas as to why he might be having such a hard time remembering who I am, please leave a comment below. I'm interested to hear your theories!Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11862076124481389094noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155264773191936387.post-19133556489752505852009-03-10T01:47:00.005-04:002009-03-10T02:28:57.268-04:00"Hey Wendy, forgetting something!?"This happened over a month ago, but since I've been busy with school and stuff lately, I haven't really had a chance to post it.<br /><br />I was in creative writing one day. Let me tell you, definitely think twice before taking a class like that... especially if you can't stand poems of questionable quality written by your peers. If you answered yes to the proceeding, then that class isn't for you. That said, I really enjoy critiquing them... probably too much.<br /><br />Anyway, class got out one day, and I want standing around with my friends Beth and Wendy. The 3 of us were talking while getting our stuff together when I saw a set of keys on the table. At that moment, I thought it'd be funny to take Wendy's keys so she'd freak out later. So I grabbed them and just carried them around a little, thinking a was a smug little bastard who pulled one over on her. I played with the light on the key chain. I even shined it in her face a few times to see if she'd say anything, but to no avail.<br /><br />A few minutes later, the three of us had gone down 3 floors and went outside and were heading to the cars. While we were in the middle of saying something, I got tired of being anonymously clever, so I took the keys out of my pocket. The conversation went as follows:<br /><br />"Hey Wendy, forgetting something?!"<br />"Oh my God, who's are those?"<br />"They're yours! I took them off the table while you weren't looking!" I replied, grinning ear to ear. Just then, Wendy reached into her pocket and grabbed her keys,<br />"No... <span style="font-style:italic;">These</span> are my keys!"<br /><br />The smug look completely washed off my face. I had definitely just stolen some random person's keys. I was borderline horrified. I quickly turned around and literally ran up those three flights of stairs and back into my classroom. I noticed they were my classmate Jodie's on the way up. Thankfully she was still in there. <br /><br />She looked a little confused when I ran in the room panting practically shouting some story about what I was trying to do, which probably made me look like an even worse person.<br /><br />At the end of the day though, Jodie has her keys, and I failed to prank Wendy yet again. That's what <span style="font-style:italic;">really</span> matters, right?Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11862076124481389094noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155264773191936387.post-20003181261169155462009-02-07T20:38:00.006-05:002009-02-08T22:57:38.408-05:00Stop HateWell folks, I have another serious post for you.<br /><br />A few years back, my town heard we were going to have some unwanted visitors. Anyone ever hear of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Phelps">Fred Phelps</a> or his family? The family from the Westboro Baptist Church, the ones that make outrageous claims against gay people and the soldiers in Iraq? If you have no idea what I'm taking about, take a minute or two and watch the following videos.<br /><br /><object width="262" height="222"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/lpNxwvKOpJk&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/lpNxwvKOpJk&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="262" height="222"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="262" height="222"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/mc5FIMpHbgU&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mc5FIMpHbgU&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="262" height="222"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />There you have it, nuts in a nutshell. In any case, these people came to my town's <a href="http://www.mayorscup.com/">Mayor's Cup</a>, and decided it'd be a good idea to protest against our gay mayor and say that he's doomed to hell and the like. This didn't bother me too incredibly much. After all, while Phelps was essentially protesting our mayor's sexuality, he was also protesting the town, and by doing that we united, backed up our mayor, and many joined the "<a href="http://stophate.org/">Stop Hate</a>" program. He eventually left... but guess what! He's coming back.<br /><br />This time, he's not attacking the mayor (who's now out of office), he's attacking our schools. My high school and SUNY Plattsburgh are his new targets. My high school likes to promote tolerance, and therefore started a <a href="http://www.gsanetwork.org/">GSA (Gay Straight Alliance)</a>, which a friend of mine was head of, and one of the founders for our school. Many students are members.<br /><br />SUNY Plattsburgh also has a similar program I believe called the Laramie Project, which they focus on Matthew Shepard, the man who was murdered and tied to a fence for being gay.<br /><br />All these programs do is promote peace and acceptance. Phelps and his little followers believe however that the people involved in this program are "sinners". So now they're planning a trip back here to protest at our schools.<br /><br />This infuriates me. Kids, regardless of what gender(s) they want to sleep with have every single right to go to school without being hassled about who they decide to love. I wish I still went to that dreadful little high school, just so I could show them a thing or two. The thing that really gets to me, is the fact that what these people are doing is perfectly legal! This shit needs to end. Protesting should be preserved for things that improve the quality of life for other people, not for things that make people feel shitty about their lives and to promote hatred to a minority.<br /><br />These people are part of the reason I'm an atheist. I don't want any part of some religious cult or otherwise. I like knowing that I have control of my life. I like believing that you're not a sinner for loving someone. More importantly, it's nice believing that masturbation isn't a sin either... If it is, I'm certainly going to this alleged "hell" faster than anyone else. I accept everyone regardless of their race, religion, orientation, whatever. <br /><br />I'm not saying people who have a solid religion are all crazy like these people... That's certainly not what I mean. I have the upmost respect for any religion that doesn't preach hatred. These people, however, have not earned that respect.<br /><br />Anyway, I felt I needed to say something about this. People like this who believe in causing torment in the lives of other people should be locked up and put in a looney bin if you ask me. I think lighting them on fire is a more fitting answer, but who am I to decide their fate.<br /><br />I more than welcome your thoughts and opinions about anything mentioned in this blog.Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11862076124481389094noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155264773191936387.post-39836329453661306492009-02-04T12:30:00.003-05:002009-02-04T12:46:14.543-05:00Watch your mouth!Today at my college was a special day. We had a fire drill! I've been at this school now for over 3 semesters, and not once have we had a fire drill. I was in the cafeteria and apparently it was someone's brilliant idea to not install fire alarms in teh cafeteria. I can't imagine why they would anyway. Lets face it, fires don't happen in places involving food and stoves. That's unheard of!<br /><br />In any case, my friend Wendy and I went outside in the <i>freezing</i> cold air and stood around and joked about the people around us. I then reminded her of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1248736/">last week's episode of The Office</a>, where they also had a fire drill. I then started quoting it and laughing about it.<br /><br />As we were going back inside after the drill, I quoted this one part where Michael Scott said, "Stay fucking calm! JUST STAY FUCKING CALM!" and this lady who works at the school turned around and said, "HEY! Watch your mouth!" and she gave me a seriously angry look. I was so offended! I mean, not only was I not actually cursing at anyone in particular, but she has absolutely no right to tell me what I can and cannot say. I'm less then 2 weeks away from being 20 years old, and I don't need some old bat telling me to watch my mouth. Regardless of whether or not I was saying anything vulgar to her or anyone around me is none of her business. People really just need to let things go and not try to control what other people do or say. It was really asinine.Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11862076124481389094noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2155264773191936387.post-83511453300476602002009-02-01T05:58:00.003-05:002009-02-01T06:20:57.935-05:00"Jewelry, This is Dianne!"I love pranks. I love plotting them, pulling them on people, and watching their usually horrified reaction. Lets face it, the best pranks are the ones that are borderline mean, but still funny.<br /><br />One of my all time favorite pranks is one I pulled on my friend Dianne when she and I worked at Sears. I was working in the shoe department, and she was working in the adjacent department, jewelry.<br /><br />One night, sometime last August, it was really slow I felt like being a little mean, so I devised a brilliant idea.<br /><br />When you use the phones at Sears, there's numerous nifty things you can do with it. For instance, if you hit "8-1" you go over the intercom. If you hit "*-8", you can talk to another department over the speakerphone on their phone, which usually subsequently scares the crap out of them. Scaring people like that though is a bit tired, but still a little funny, especially when you make noises into the phone. It's also fun to do that and pretend to be a customer and say "Hello, ma'am? Can you help me over here?" and then watch them from afar say "Where are you? How can I help you?" ... It's pretty great.<br /><br />Anyway, I picked up the phone in my department and hit "8-1" to go over the intercom, and set the phone very carefully on the table. I then went over to Dianne and told her a customer was calling about a watch that had broken and they apparently had a problem using the switchboard to get to the right department. So I asked her to come over and take the call.<br /><br />As she was leaving her booth, a manager stopped her and asked her to start putting the jewelry away since we were closing soon, but Dianne told her she had to take a call in my department. The manager understood and said to do it after and that she'd wait for her in the department (managers have to watch associates put the jewelry away for security reasons). Dianne came over and I carefully handed her the phone as to not make any noise. When she put the phone up to her face to answer the call, throughout the entire store rang the words...<br /><br />"JEWELRY, THIS IS DIANNE!"<br /><br />She then stared straight ahead and hung up the phone quickly. The look on her face was absolutely priceless. I still laugh to myself whenever I picture it. She promised she'd get me back even worse, and I'm still waiting for it. I looked at the manager, who at this point was trying really hard to look angry, but even she couldn't help but grin a little. She did manage to say "Phil! That's not what the phones are for!"<br /><br />Dianne, thank you for having a sense of humor.Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11862076124481389094noreply@blogger.com2