Down & Out!

This grandma goes down for count! Mental note to self: be mindful of the soccor ball's location at all given times while walking near the field during game play!


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Still Alive

The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated! So, I'm almost completely settled in to my new place. There are still some outstanding issues (i.e. dryer not working, no internet.)

On to the subject of no internet... I didn't realize how dependent I was on the internet. I do just about everything online. Essentially, I have SBC (with a freaking contract of course), but the phone lines are owned by Grande Communications. Both companies tell me that I'll be up and running in no time, but I'm still with out my dsl. If John Lennon were still around, I could see him adding internet access to and updated version of Imagine... "Imaging all the people, living life with out the world-wide web!"

Anyway, I had an appointment with Justin this morning, which means I had to be all the way back up in Round Rock. Since I was in the area, I went ahead and stopped by my mom's house to see my ferrets and wash some clothes (and get on the internet.)

Kobayashi Maru

After an evening workout at the gym, I ran over to my mom's house to replace a dead-bolt that she's been having issues with. That was absolute pain in the ass!!! The lock didn't quite fit right, the door was metal, and my mom could find her drill! After about 15 minutes of brute force, everything finally fell into place!

Anyway, before I left, my mom gave me the best news that I've heard in a really long time. My mom, Kristy, and Kimball offered to care for my ferrets so that I don't have to give them up (all I need to do is provide the financial support for them, which is completely fine by me.) I was so shocked... so truly happy! I've only really cried 3 times since my grandmother died (twice when my heart was broken, and once when my ferret Kodo died unexpectedly,) but I came pretty close tonight after hearing this joyous news! I can't describe how relieved and blessed I feel! I was so sure I was going to have to give my babies up!

Cleaning The Past

Don’t let it be forgot
That once there was a spot
For one brief, shining moment that
was known as Camelot.
I have a nice desk in my study… each time that I’ve moved, I went about moving it the lazy way. I’d seal up the drawers quite securely, and then we’d carry the heavy thing out. This time I actually decided to clean out all of the contents from each drawer. There were things in there I haven’t seen in over ten years.

I found some old pictures of my old dog, Aspen. She was my birthday present for my 11th birthday. We found her at the Cedar Park Humane Society… she was six weeks old when she came home with me. I kept the pictures of course.

Anyway, I also found an old rose that I received from someone I loved dearly many years ago… she gave it to me on the last day I saw her. She told me that I would always be in her heart, but she didn’t love me (story of my life.) Needless to say, I threw it away tonight.

I also found the knife that impaled me when I was 16 years old. I had totally forgotten that I even kept that thing. Time may heal some things, but scars do remain… this scar is still clearly visible right under my rib cage. Not sure why, but I went ahead and kept the knife tonight.

The whole time I’m cleaning out the desk, my ferrets are right there watching me with curiosity... I can’t help but wonder what I’m going to do with them. It breaks my heart to have to give them up. I’m so lost on what to do.

I Am The Walrus, But Only On TV

Ever have one of those days where you're not really sure if your actually awake, but nothing really suggests otherwise... and it hurts to breathe, but only on one side of your body (probably due to sleeping back-ass backwards on a green sofa)... and your head hurts, but only when you say certain words out loud to yourself such as "sentient" and "conversance"... and everything you eat for breakfast tastes like the hot air from a car (with black leather interior) baking in the sun on July 5, 1995... that pretty much sums up my morning.

Days like this always end up with about 5 hours of wasted dead time blocked together at some point in the middle of the day. There will of course be a short nap that induces a migraine as well. Best of all, a realization that "fuck... there was something really important I needed to do today, but now it's too late!" Who knows, even the viewing of a movie at the theater that has about a 47% chance of being humorous (even in some convoluted manner... i.e. laughing hysterically at something that in all reality shouldn't be funny, but it still is), 39% chance of being completely unoriginal, and 14% makes 100%.

Today's thought of the day is brought to you by The Facts of Life!


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Bill On Superman

Anyone who's seen both volumes of Kill Bill should agree that the first is a lot better than the second. The first flowed so much more naturally, while the second one was just plain slow. The second one did however have a wonderful part in it that I remember vividly.

Near the end of the film, David Carradine compares Uma Thurman's character (a character born to kill... trying to live a normal life) to the character of Superman.

"Superman stands alone. Superman did not become Superman, Superman was born Superman. When Superman wakes up in the morning, he is Superman. His alter ego is Clark Kent. His outfit with the big red S is the blanket he was wrapped in as a baby when the Kents found him. Those are his clothes. What Kent wears, the glasses the business suit, that's the costume. That's the costume Superman wears to blend in with us. Clark Kent is how Superman views us. And what are the characteristics of Clark Kent? He's weak, unsure of himself... he's a coward. Clark Kent is Superman's critique on the whole human race."

I agree with this for the most part. The only argument I would make is that Clark Kent is Superman's critque of the human race, but not in the negative way that David Carradine describes. It is true that Kent is a bumbling idiot... but he's also extremely loyal, caring, and giving. This is what he knows exists in all humans. That is Superman's true critique on the human race.

And it is true that Superman will never have a normal life. All he can do is disguise himself as a normal human and try to get by. He won't ever be normal. He'll always be different. This is something that he has accepted, but still hurts him nonetheless.

Nasty Nate Strikes Back!

I'm a huge advocate of having fun at work. Beating the hell out of three defenseless bags of ice... fun!


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I can feel your anger. I am unarmed. Take your weapon. Strike me down with all of your hatred and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!

Tired Or Sad.... Maybe Both

Today’s the last day of work, more or less, for about 10 days… and I’m drained… I think I’ve spent a grand total of 15 minutes at home this last week! Too bad I won’t really get to rest til sometime next week as I now have to begin packing and preparing to move later this week.

I need to do something about my ferrets since they can’t come with me. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with them yet. I do know that I’m going to miss them terribly! No matter how alone I’ve ever felt, at the very least I always had them… now I won’t even have that. :-(

Han, Old Buddy, Don't Let Me Down

Sesar pays tribute to one of the great Star Wars characters that is commonly overlooked by most fans... Lando Calrissian!

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Superman Returns Teaser Trailer!!!

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Didn't See That Coming

On very rare occasions, people’s actions surprise me. For the most part though, just about everything everyone does falls right inline with the character I perceive them to have.

I wouldn’t say that my father and I are particularly close by any means. Sporadically, we’ll go out to dinner or see a movie, but that’s about it. We don’t talk about anything except for politics (which I don’t really care to talk about anymore.) I’ve always felt a little left out in my family… Jennifer was always my dad’s favorite kid, and Kristy was my Mom’s. Now they’ll both swear that they don’t have favorites, but we all know better!

Nonetheless, that being said, I still feel that I know my father pretty well… hell, I’ve known him my entire life! He’s very smart, hard working, and open-minded… but he’s also often quite cheap, completely indecisive, and very reluctant to help others.

Anyway, over this last weekend, he went to Beaumont, TX (near Louisiana) to help out with the hurricane victims! I’m still shocked! I have no idea what possessed him to do such a thing… it’s just so out of character! He just went on his own accord… on his spare time over the weekend… even took a day off of work to help out.

Whatever the reason, I’m so very proud of him for doing it! Most of all, I’m proud to be his son!

One More Personality Test

Modern, Cool Nerd 60 % Nerd, 65% Geek, 21% Dork

For The Record: A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia. A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one. A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions. You scored better than half in Nerd and Geek, earning you the title of: Modern, Cool Nerd. Nerds didn't use to be cool, but in the 90's that all changed. It used to be that, if you were a computer expert, you had to wear plaid or a pocket protector or suspenders or something that announced to the world that you couldn't quite fit in. Not anymore. Now, the intelligent and geeky have eked out for themselves a modicum of respect at the very least, and "geek is chic." The Modern, Cool Nerd is intelligent, knowledgable and always the person to call in a crisis (needing computer advice/an arcane bit of trivia knowledge). They are the ones you want as your lifeline in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (or the one up there, winning the million bucks)!

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 48% on nerdiness You scored higher than 94% on geekosity You scored higher than 26% on dork points

Link: The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test written by donathos on Ok Cupid

Sitting Here Bored

So today, I once again had to go to another store in San Antonio to help them fix some issues that have plagued them for quite some time now. As I left, I noticed a baby bat on the wall of the store. That was really the climax of my day... at the moment, I'm at a dead stop on the interstate. I'm literally sitting 25 ft from a terrible 9 car accident. I've been sitting here watching cop cars, fire trucks, ambulances, and helicopters come and go for the last 45 minutes!

Big Caulk Waiting For Me In My Office

I was suprised to find some caulk sitting on my desk in my office at work today. Apparently it has an aggressive initial grab, has excellent wet strength, and of course has easy clean up! A word of caution though... it's an eye irritant... avoid contact with eyes!

Dumb Ass!!!

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Dumb ass!!! That's pretty much all that needs to be said! (Though it is truly amazing how fast that arrogant little smirk transforms into complete pain!)

Just A Thought

It has occurred to me on several occasions that sacrifice and love may have a connection that goes back a long way. For nearly two-thousand years, one of Western civilization's great 'keepers' has contained this passage: "Greater love hath no man than a man lay down his life for his friend." (Ok... yes... this quote comes from the bible, John 15:13... but in no way am I a freaking bible freak... you get me! I just really liked the quote and its meaning!)

Anyway, I find the choice of words quite significant. Why not greater honor hath no man? Or greater righteousness? Perhaps it's because sacrifice... putting the needs of someone else before our own, is the cornerstone of true love. It's the bench mark by which we separate it from mere attraction or infatuation.

What the hell do I know about love though?! Really nothing. Just a thought. Speaking of which, time for another one of Jack Handey's Deep Thoughts:
"The face of a child can say it all, especially the mouth part of the face."

Kill Them With Kindness!

Yeah, it seems like I’ve been at work for quite awhile lately… let’s see, I was there for about 20 hours yesterday… came home and stared at the ceiling for about 2 hours… got up, took a shower, and headed back to work! I left an entire hour early today, so I feel that makes up for me having to live there more or less over the last 2 weeks.

Shortly before I leave, Beverlee snagged a true asshole customer. Essentially, he was very rude and obscene with her and others in the store. First off, I usually do what I can to make the customer happy… unless they’re an asshole, which this guy was.

I actually love to deal with pissed off people. Most of the time, if they listen to what I have to say and can remain calm, they usually walk out quite happy with what I can do for them. And then there are the asshole jackass customers, who I feel it’s my duty and responsibility to stand up against! I won’t ever let them get their way! It’s the price they pay for being an asshole, and sometimes it’s a high price they have to pay for the lesson I have to give them!

I’ve found that in my experience with pissed off customers, one thing that I can do to escalate their anger is to be completely polite and even sweet to them. It’s so much easier if I were to go up and be an asshole right back to the customer… it gives them some sort of sick justification that they’re right… I never give them this satisfaction!

He wanted us to waive a 15% restocking fee on two open monitors… normally, this isn’t really a big issue… we’ll just waive it… but again, not for assholes! So I go up to meet the jackass customer to see what I can do…


Me: Hello! How are you doing today? Is there anything I can help you with? (In my sweetest demeanor no less!)

Jackass Customer: Screw you guys! I don’t care if you charge me a restocking fee or not! I’ll never shop here again! There’s nothing you can do!

Me: Is there anything I can help you with? (Even more polite and engaging now now)

Jackass Customer: No god damnit! You’ll never get my business and I’m going to make sure you all pay for this!

Me: I’m sorry you feel that way. Well, if there’s nothing I can do to save your business, then I think we’ll go ahead and charge you that 15% restocking fee. Thanks for coming in! (I should have won an academy award for my stellar performance... I was over the top overtly delightful and polite!)


Before he leaves the store, Beverlee asks if he’d like our corporate number… he responded rudely that he already had it… then he stormed out.

He then proceeded to drive around to the back of our store to our Roadshop. He asked Keith, the assistant roadshop manager, if he could get our corporate number. Keith called Beverlee to get it (seems that the jackass could have saved some time by getting it from her in the first place.)

About 15 minutes later, I get a phone call… it’s Mr. Jackass Customer again!


Jackass Customer: Hey, Frank… I’m that guy that was in your store awhile ago returning two monitors.

Me: Ah, yes… how are you doing today? (Still very polite)

Jackass Customer: I just faxed over twenty thousand dollars worth of receipts to your corporate office so that they could see the customer they were losing.

Me: Wonderful. They always enjoy hearing from satisfied customers! (I was surprised… I didn’t even sound sarcastic!)

Jackass Customer: Oh yeah… well you need to work on your customer service skills! (Now getting very upset because I refuse to get angry and fight with him.) You just go ahead and keep pushing papers and maybe one day you’ll be somebody important!

Me: Thank you very much! I appreciate your advice! (Sounding very grateful… still surprised that I was able to get it out without sounding sarcastic with such ease!)

Jackass Customer: (Now extremely mad because even insulting me isn’t getting a rise out of me!) Oh yeah… well I just got off the phone with American Express, and they’re going to reverse the charges!

Me: Congratulations! Sounds like you’re having a fantastic day! Feel free to call back anytime if there’s anything else I can do for you! Thanks for shopping with us!

Jackass Customer: (Slams phone!)


In conclusion, assholes thrive on the indulgences of society's understanding... they must be fought without hesitation or remorse!

Conference Call

The woman in the upper, left-hand corner is having some issues with her connection to the video conference call (amongst other problems.) She can't see anyone else, so she safely assumes no one can see her either; however, that's not the case at all!


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Cool Pigs!

These two officers that came into the store looking at portable dvd players are the top ranking cops in Austin's Bomb Squad. Personally, I thought they looked a bit old to be doing something as exciting as disarming bombs.

You can't really tell from the picture, but the cop on the left has an awesome scar on the right side of his face from shrapnel! He told me that he'd arrest me if I put his picture on the internet! Go for it pig!

I was disappointed in the fact that all they wanted to talk about were the portable dvd players... I wanted to talk about bombs!

Quid Quid Latine Dictum Sit, Altum Videtur

It's occured to me for quite some time now that pretty much everything said in Latin sounds so profound. What's up with that? Dunno. Anyway, for those of you who have the luxury of understanding Latin (i.e. Jennifer,) enjoy!

Veritas vos liberabit. Vitae est amor essentia. Amor ordinem nescit. Amare et sapere vix deo conceditur!