On The Precipice of Mediocrity, Teetering
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| I Am John's Stomach Pains. On The Precipice of Mediocrity, Teetering |
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Friday, November 30, 2007 Cold November Historically, I have a habit of falling off the blog-radar whenever November rolls around. Not sure why, probably a combination of year-end crunch-time at work, various vacation time, November sweeps, and a general malaise after daylight savings time is lost. So, that being said, a quick rundown on the life of Holz over the past fews weeks: The new house is just awesome, and I think it's safe to say we are now fully 100% moved in. I say 100% because I don't think you feel comfortable leaving clothes lying around as you're trying to move in :-) That's what I've noticed lately, as we were unpacking everything, and getting it all set up, we went out of our way to keep the place immaculate... now that it's done... that imperative is kinda gone. Well, it's gone for me at least... sorry, babe. To get to 100%, we had to get some final touches done on what's considered "my" room. This room is the computer room, along with a new futon we got, and all the video game systems we have hooked up to one of my old TVs. Plus, my comics books have for the first time undergone a complete new ordering, as I transferred the last 7 years of comics out of a dozen long boxes (which previously took up tons of space as a monster cube) to 30 (yes - 30) short boxes that now fit in comfortably in a big closet. The new boxes are those new-fangled houses which allow easy filing and pulling of back issues, instead of having to move tons of boxes to get to the X-Men that are always at the bottom of any ordering system. For fellow fanboys out there, I really recommend them (note these don't have the new catch in the back some other companies provide, so I don't know how well those work). Let's see, what else. Well, I took off work the whole week of Thanksgiving, and finally got around to playing Kingdom Hearts II, which I got for Christmas last year. It's just as much fun as the first, and I imagine I'll be playing that for the next few weeks, and then get towards the end and not finish it... like I always do with video games. Still, as a huge Final Fantasy fan, as we well as enjoying Disney (this may come as a surprise, but I'm a huge fan of Winnie The Pooh and the gang), it's easily one of my favorite games to play. It's a tad too easy at times, but it's get a less button-smashing tendency than the first one, so that's cool. Thanksgiving was awesome, as the Outlaws once again put on a delicious spread, as well as had a nice crowd, with some of Night Nurse's family came in, and I got to meet them before the wedding, very nice people (and I could even deal with the occasional John Kerry sniping... because, come on, if your go-to gut liberal hit is Kerry, I'm not that worried). Best part of the meal though was my girl's contributions of some of the best yams I'd ever had, as well as hands down the best thing I've ever had in my mouth, a new Pumpkin Cobbler that better be on my Thanksgiving plate every year. Swear to ya', it had everything that's great about pumpkin pie (re: the pumpkin), minus the crappy part of pumpkin pie (re: the crust), plus cake mix, butter, and sugar. Absolutely delicious. And in case you were wondering... yeah, I threw my diet out the window during the T-day weekend. Gained 6 lbs, but I'm already back to below 200, so allz good. Let's see... movies. Amazingly, haven't seen much recently, other than Beowulf, which I caught last weekend in the new 3D theater we have in town. Visually stunning flick, with a pretty engrossing story (which should be a given, as it's a story that's lasted for centuries). I found the 3D a bit migraine-inducing sometimes, but it was a pretty cool effect that I enjoyed alot more than I didn't. The final dragon fight could've been better in my opinion - too many far shots, not enough closeups - but the format worked for me. Solid 3 out of 5 Stars, and definitely worthy to see if you can in 3D. TV Shows... hmm, I'm still loving Pushing Daisies and Journeyman, and I'm annoyed the latter isn't doing better in the ratings, 'cause it's totally working (although some of the time-travel rules are conflicting with each other already). Chuck and Bionic Woman have gotten good, and they are must-watches for me, but if they went off the air, I wouldn't be crushed. Kris and I have just recently gotten to catch a few episodes of The Big Bang Theory, which is quite possible the funniest sitcom I'm seen in years, but seeing as I'm a comic geek, and I've had some of the conversations the character have almost verbatim, I'm a bit biased. Finally, Kris has become a big fan of Criminal Minds and Bones, lately, and they've both become staples of our joint-viewing. Funny thing, she only realized that David Boreanaz was from Angel this past week... so here's hoping I'll get her into watching all my Buffy and Angel DVDs next summer (or next month of the writer's strike doesn't clear up) Music... well, really, the only thing I've been listening to with regularity is Jonathan Coulton. First heard him through Jenna Fischer's MySpace song Re: Your Brain, then tracked down some further stuff through TAMSY. Since then, I've downloaded Smoking Monkey and Thing a Week One from ITunes and can't help listening to them constantly (listening to my favorite De-Evolving at this precise moment). Not sure who I'd recommend him to... if you like BNL, maybe. Gotta like funny songs (but not really Weird Al-funny). I'd recommend listening to Smoking Monkey first... Finally, I'll leave you with a math problem I found on Fark this week. Sadly, it took me three guesses til I got it... and I consider myself a math guy (or at least I used to be). ...note the puzzle is updated weekly, so it's changed since I blogged. Labels: comics, life, math, move, movies, music, review posted by Holz | 11:02 AM | Rant & Rave, Bitches! (1)Thursday, November 01, 2007 UPS: Unbelievable Piece of Shit For those not in the know, Night Nurse and I moved last weekend into our new digs. While we really liked our old place, the new place is a bit bigger, we have a two-car garage, an actual backyard, and it's about ten minutes closer to work for both of us (in fact, I think Kris can get to work in under 4 minutes now). Only problem is Kris's school is now a bit further away, and the Outlaws (and Chloe) no longer live within walking distance for us. The move went smoothly, as the Outlaws, along with Kris' brother and fiancee (aka Robin Hood and Blondberry) were kind enough to help us move all the big stuff over in two moving truck trips in the span of just 8 hours or so. Not a single thing broken, and in time to be able to catch both my Red Sox continue to dominate, and my Nittany Lions put on a game that showed that Ohio State sadly deserves the razzum-frazzum number one spot. Anyway, while the move has gone well, I did run into one major fucking annoyance this week, and that is the sheer incompetence of UPS. Now, conservatives says that when comparing government run programs to private enterprise, the private companies always come out smelling like their shit don't stink, but holy hell, did I get a lesson in the true meaning of "What Can Brown Do For You." Basic setup: on Friday, UPS attempted to drop a package off at our old address at noon. Naturally, we weren't there, and as it required a signature (for reasons I still can't grasp... it's just NutriSystem food) they couldn't drop it off. Said they'd try again Monday. Fine. Come Monday, I go to the UPS place at 5:15 to see if the package is there. No luck, they attempted to deliver again that day, and it was still on the truck. Again, I fully understand, I should have gone online and asked them to Will Call it over the weekend. Still, they have a half hour window from 7:15 - 7:45 later that night to pick it up. I say thanks, and head home. Cut to 7:05, and I head out to the place that's under 10 minutes away. Kris is in the process of making dinner, and I tell her I'll be back in 20 minutes, so shoot for the food to be ready then. I get there at exactly 7:15, but the doors are closed. Five minutes later, still closed. Eventually, it opens, and there's already a line formed. I'm about fourth in line, and by the time I'm helped it's 7:25, the time I originally shot for being home. Problem is, all the people in line had all their packages on a little gurney, and my large box is clearly not there. I've also noticed the guy handling the the transactions (the only guy there) is writing them down on a little legal pad. I eventually find out this is because the previous guy at the desk shut down the computer when he left. Amazingly, I am able to resist from asking the moron why he doesn't just push the bright little power button, as that would clearly be a solution to the problem. So, the guy picks up the phone and calls someone to track down where the box is. After a few minutes, it's clear that it's still on the truck, and was never pulled, even though it was clearly marked in the computer to be pulled. I text Night Nurse that I'll be late. A guy in the back goes to look in the truck for the package, while I wait with the proverbial thumb up my ass. Cut to, 10 minutes later. Call comes in. The package isn't on the truck. It's been sent into processing by mistake. They ask if I'd like to wait 10 or 15 minutes, see if they can find it. I sigh a big no, and just say I'll come back tomorrow, just put it on Will Call for me so I can get it on my way home. It is now 7:45, my food is cold, and I missed out on eating dinner with my girl. Scene: Next day, and I leave work early, yet again, to pick up the package before the doors close, as I want to head up to the old place to remove any remaining loose items and empty the fridge. I arrive, and surprise-surprise, the package isn't at Will Call. They check the computer, and whaddayaknow, they attempted to deliver the package yet again. It's still on the truck on the road. Would I like to come back later that night and pick it up? I sigh and shake my head no. "Well the good news is this was the third attempt, so it'll definitely be here tomorrow for you to pick up." Yay. So, the next day I eventually get the package, as I leave work early yet again. Huzzah! I just got a call from UPS. They tried delivering another package today. Would I like to set it up for Will Call? Does this cycle never end? Update: So like I said, we got a call saying they were trying to deliver a package yesterday, but as they could tell the house was completely empty, they were kind enough to call. I told them we'd moved, and they could just leave it with Will Call tonight. We show up at 7:15. No package on the gurney. The guy has someone check in the back. Nothing there. He has someone search in the computer, but seeing as we don't have the packing slip (remember, just a call), apparently it's impossible to track a package by, oh, I don't know, a last name, or an address. In the hopes of getting something that night, we actually call Papa Outlaw to run by the house, see if there is a sticker, and if he can give us the tracking number. Heads over there, but obviously no sticker. Thirty minutes later... yes, it is now past 7:45, there is still no package, no tracking of the package, and we just give up. We provide our new address, which is written down on paper, so I doubt that'll get in the computer correctly. I doubt I'll ever send anything by UPS ever again. Sadly, though, if I want to keep losing the weight, NS delivers only through UPS... posted by Holz | 11:22 AM | Rant & Rave, Bitches! (5) |
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"Let a man get away with fuckin' you once, you stay bent over so's he can fuck you again whenever he damn well pleases. An' if one man can do it? Another will too. An' another, an' another still. So's being fucked, that's yer life. 'Til who you were, you ain't. 'Cause all you are is an asshole." 100 Bullets #42 | |||||
