Random Access

Yesterday was a good day.

Scott and Angie came over for Movienight. If you get the chance, establish a Movienight of your own; ours wind up becoming watch and talk about/talk back TO the movie while filling your face with various forms of snacks and goodies. Last night’s fare: “Midnight Run” and first of four “The Record of Lodoss War” DVDs.
Scott brought “Midnight Run,” Angie and I had never seen it; it was quite funny. I’ve never been a big Charles Grodin fan, but his role – and his characterization – in this film was good. Robert DeNiro was the other lead; I don’t think that I need to say anything about his performance – that man is consistently great in movie.
“The Record of Lodoss War” is a 4-DVD/32 episode anime. I borrowed it from someone at work. We watched it in Japanese with subtitles (so Scott and I could follow along). It has an interesting, if somewhat confusing at times, storyline. And there is just a touch of soap opera-like romance nuance to boot. The odd thing about it: At the end of each episode, there is a little chibi cartoon recap. This was bizarre. This was the first time that I’d really seen any of this style of animation. According to Angie: “That’s a type of their method in Japan.. whenever they do some parody or something, they make characters very young and have ’em become a clown.” On the whole, I enjoyed this, too. I’ll have more to say about the other DVDs as I watch them.

After Scott and Ang left, I tried to bring a little order to the computer room.
Jess called to tell me about last night’s problems at work (see her entry in my Friends section).
I finally got tired, so I showered and went to bed… and once again the cats decided that lights out and me getting in bed meant that it was their playtime. *Yay* I remember that the formative stages of a poem were flitting around the corners of consciousness as I was starting to drift off… Maybe I’ll remember exactly what it was while I’m at work.
Jess got in a little before 6. She gave me the Cliff’s Notes version of what had happened and how it wound up.
After that, I slept. Soundly.

The alarm went off at 11; I woke up at 12:45. I love “Mondays.” On the plus side: Working on the weekends is pretty relaxed. Also, I don’t think that any of the managers will be there for the next five days – they’re off on the weekends, they and some of the other supervisors have off-site training Monday and Tuesday, and Wednesday is their holiday. Thus, I may not see them until the ninth of July. I also realize that this may just be wishful thinking on my part, but we all have to have our little delusions.

There’s a rumor that we may actually go bowling tonight… which has been abortive for the past two weeks. It would be a nice change.

Well, I guess it’s time to put on my work face.

Peace

“Hi-ho! Kermit the Frog here for Sesame Street News!”

Okay, I feel better now. I had to get that out of my system.

Today was good. Went to China Grill for Mallday. Yeah, yeah… it’s been a few weeks since Mallday was actually AT the mall, but why nitpick? Anyway, CG is where I met most of the people with whom I go to Mallday and Movienight. After that, went to the Beans & Brews and got a frozen mocha (no espresso shots today)… came home… Jess and I put some of the final touches on the cleaning – my playspace is still a wreck, but that can be dealt with later. Our friend, Brooke – who also works with us – came over and we talked a bit and then watched “To Sir, With Love.” I [heart] that movie. Brooke and Jess left a little after 7pm and so, here I sit. For now.

I’m talking to Friend Meg (“Hullo, Meg!”) while awaiting feedback on the plan for Movienight – the idea of going to see A.I. was thrown into the ring, so I need to get the popular concensus. Looks like I missed tonight’s ep of “Farscape.” *grrr* C’est la vie.

More later.

Peace.

Let’s see: What did I actually get done today?

Got food.
Got my comics. What can I say? I’m an overgrown Toys ‘R’ Us kid.
Watched “Whose Line,” after missing most of the first episode.
Did some cleaning/rearranging.

All in all, it was a good day. Jess and I met Scott and Angie for dinner/lunch at Guru’s. After that, we all went to Barnes & Noble where I picked up the two newest paperback Spenser novels by Robert B. Parker.

SIDEBAR: I’m a big Spenser fan; it’s a little surprising that I actually waited this long to get them. Before I moved out here, I used to watch Spenser for Hire almost everyday that it was on; it was one of the simple pleasures. I started reading the Spenser books after I finally put 2+2 together and realized that the TV series was based on the characters from the book. Ok, I actually figured that one out pretty quickly, it just took me a while to get around to LOOKING for the books. I haven’t read any of Mr. Parker’s other series, but if they are anything like the Spenser books, I will.

If you like modern-day hard-boiled detective stories, I recommend this series; if you don’t like those kinds of stories, I still recommend it. Just my 2¢ worth.

After the book run, Jess dropped me off here and here have I remained. I’ve done a little to improve the overall condition of the kitchen and living room, but my playspace seems to have gotten that much worse. Coincidence? Probably. Oh well, I’ll deal with that next.

Tomorrow/Today/Whatever… is Mallday and Movienight. And as far as I know, no plans have been made for where we’re going to eat for Mallday. *shrug* That’s usually a pretty easy decision to make. The choices for Movienight are similarly up in the air, but we have a LOT of movies and if nothing else, there’s a Blockbuster right around the corner.

Back to cleaning…

Peace.

Woke up… around 1pm. Yay! I’d wanted to get up around 11 or 12, but when you don’t go to bed till 6am – and you don’t have to be anywhere – you sleep. I need to do a little cleaning and straightening at some point today since people will be over tomorrow for Movienight.

Today’s accomplishments:

Woke up.
Took care of personal hygiene and grooming.
Got dressed.
Called my dad – and let me say: I [heart] my parents.
Talked to some new friends online (“Hi” to JB and Meg).
Considered what to eat for “breakfast.”

On the To Do List:

Get food.
Get this week’s books from the local comic shop.
Go to the inlaws’.
Possibly get some frozen mocha goodness; it’s double-punch day at Beans & Brews.
Remember to watch “Whose Line.”
Do some cleaning.

Well, I’d better get to it…

Peace.

Hullo, again, to Agrobat. I read your entry and think that I should set a few things straight.

First: Thank you for the apology, but it is completely unnecessary. I am not, nor was I, upset or irritated with you. You had every right to vent like you did. My reaction was NOT one of anger; it was more along the lines of “I really do not know how to respond to that.”

Second: You got the shitty end of the stick today at work. You know that; I know that. Also, I think that the person “did the deed” was PUT into that rather untenable position by two people – his predecessor and his superior. Hate the message, but don’t kill the messenger – he was merely doing his job; under other circumstances, it could have been me.

Third: After ALL the shit that you put up with from me during the entire “Psycho Ex” phase, if you think that something as minor as you getting some righteous frustration off your chest is going to piss me off, you are sadly mistaken. You’re human… at least, I think you are. More importantly: You’re my friend – I don’t think that any explanation beyond that is necessary.

Note: To make sure that he see’s this, I posted a copy of the above on Agrobat’s page.

And now, on to our regularly scheduled tirade…

Work today wasn’t too bad. As Jess mentioned, we had a little surprise from one of our plants tonight: 16,000 pieces of “mystery mail.” It just… “showed up.” *gah* It was about 11:30 and I was on Ops with Gary, another supervisor; we had just spoken with our manager about letting people leave early. I was scrolling through the system screens and noticed something a little out of sorts: A machine that had 16,000 pieces of mail… that had been pending since just before 8pm. We called the plant and they were as stymied about the appearance of that mail as we were. Needless to say, everyone stayed to their regular shifts’ ends. By the time I left at midnight, all was well again. Hopefully, it stayed that way; I’ll ask Jess when she gets in.

So… I came home, watched L&O and cooked – dinner was steak, rice, and green beans. And, oh did the Corona flow. Sweet frosty malt beverage, truly thou must be a nectar sent from above!!! Ahhhhh…..

Tomorrow is “Saturday.” No major issues other than some cleaning to deal with. Head down to the inlaws’ for a while and hang out. Maybe do a little tech or book shopping. *bliss*

Anyway, that’s it from here… for now.

Peace.

Well, not really. But since I’m telling this story: If I say there’s a bay… there’s a bay, dammit!

Got up about an hour ago, which isn’t bad, considering that I think it’s the earliest that I’ve gotten up this week… but I still slept through gymtime, AGAIN!!! *feh* But, it’s my “Friday,” so 8 more hours of postal madness for this workweek and then “It’s the weekennnnnnd, baby!” I’m going to pitch the idea of having Movienight here this week since I already have a couple of friends coming over Friday night.

Today’s agenda is simple: Make it through the day without having to snap my foot off in someone’s ass. I don’t think that’s too much to ask, but remembering for whom – and WITH whom – I work, getting my wish isn’t an automatic guarantee.

Well… off to waste some time before I begin my 8 hours of indentured servitude.

Peace.

Pretty quiet day:
… got my frozen mocha;
… went to the inlaws’ and semi-fixed the camera/computer connection – I’ll fix it Thursday;
… went to work – and nothing bad happened!!!
… came home.

Amazingly enough, the supervisors’ was even posted today. This is nothing short of a miracle; we usually have to wait for Thursday (and sometimes Friday) for it. Under normal circumstances, this wouldn’t be an issue. But I work for the USPS, so “normal” goes right out the window. Anyway, the USPS workweek starts on Saturday, so you can see how it can be a little annoying to have to wait until the last minute to see if your schedule will change… or if you’re even ON the schedule. Maybe I’ll even relate the story of what happened to my schedule TWICE in January someday. But the schedule was up and – much to my pleasant surprise – I’m working on July 4th. Before everyone gets on the “Why would you want to work on the 4th” bandwagon, let me explain why I consider this a good thing.

Base pay for working AND holiday pay on top of that.
Holidays are CAKE! Next to no mail. I should be out of there early!
I’m scheduled off on the 5th and 6th.
My parents and uncle come to town on the 7th… and I will hopefully get the weekend off – FOUR-DAY WEEKEND!!!
I live in Utah, where “Pioneer Day,” on 24 July, gets MUCH more fanfare than the 4th – more about that one in a bit.
Jess has to work, too… closing. But if volumes are low, she’ll be off early, too.

And that’s why I don’t mind.

And about “Pioneer Day:” it’s the celebration of the day that Brigham Young and his caravan first entered the Salt Lake Valley and he declared “This is the place.” As someone who grew up in one of the original thirteen colonies, I found… umm, FIND… it a bit odd. I understand that it was the end of a long and arduous journey. I appreciate what it took for the pioneers to make the trek. I even admire their spirit and dedication to finding a place where they would not have to live in persecution. What I find “odd” is a state holiday that gets more attention than a national one; Jess, who is from here but was also in the Army, finds it a bit odd, too. *shrug*

That’s about it for now.

Peace.

Overslept, but today, I consider that a good thing. I got into bed a little after 4am, but didn’t actually fall asleep until sometime after Jess got home around 5:15. And I can’t blame the cats this time – they were pretty well behaved last night.

So far, I have done the morning hygiene ritual and tried to decide what to wear and what to take for lunch. Operative word: “Tried.” I still have :30 to figure that out and get out of here.

Today’s agenda:
… Run down to the inlaws’ and try to figure out why their new digicam isn’t playing nicely with their computer;
… Pick up a cup of frozen mocha goodness;
… Off to Happy Land for 8 hours of postal bliss;
… home.

Also, “Howdy and welcome” to my friend, Agrobat. He’s yet another who’s heard me talk about LJ and decided to use it as his personal sounding board.

I’d better bounce, 30 minutes can go by quickly!

Peace.

Just getting in from work. Ok, I’ve really been home for :30, but let’s not nitpick.

We had another adventure at work today. First, I had to be the bad guy, again. It went better than I thought – the person involved understood the whys and wherefores of what happened and agreed that she would do better in the future. After that… it was pretty much cake. And then, the real fun began: We had three systems – which all route mail through the same computer – go belly up around 7:30. *YAY* I was at lunch when it happened, but came back to watch the chaos unfold. An hour-and-a-half later, we were up and running… and chock full o’ mail. I have to say that the keyers did an incredible job of handling all of the mail that the sites had when the computer came back online. We finalized our side of processing and got the info back to all three plants with a little time to spare in all cases. Our on-duty manager seemed rather pleased with the way that Jess, Gary and I handled Operations and the plants (whenever they called to bitch). The site supervisors also called and seemed to have nothing but praise for how well we managed the situation, too.

It’s “Wednesday night” and I’ve only got 2 more days of this to deal with. But for now, I’m hungry and I’d swear that I hear a Corona calling my name.

More later.

My mother was awarded a “Good Neighbor” award – awarded annually to an individual in her county – yesterday afternoon. I’d have liked to be there, but couldn’t because: a) I don’t live closer; b) I’m not independently wealthy and had to work; c) don’t have my own airplane/can’t fly under my own power…YET. I think that she is very deserving of the award and wonder why it took the selection committee so long to come to the same conclusion that I had come to years ago: I have one of the coolest mothers in the world. Actually, she is THE coolest – but I don’t want to get tons of hate emails from people who feel the same way about their own maternal units.

Anyway… I’ve known about this award ceremony since Jess and I were there last month. We also knew that short of a minor miracle (or major windfall) that I wouldn’t make it back to NC for it. That was pretty easy to accept. Reality, what a concept! The odd thing was trying to time a phone call so that I could say “Congratulations” to her AFTER the whole thing was over and not ruin the surprise. That, in and of itself, should have been relatively easy… except that neither I nor my uncle (in NY) could get in touch with anyone who knew what time it was. So, I did what any good time zone-challenged son would do: I waited until after 8pm in Mom’s timezone. Some friends of the family – more like “extended family” – had driven down from MD for the event and were there when I called; that made me feel a little better.

Talking to her, she also confirmed that she, my stepdad, and my uncle will be coming out for a short visit in two weeks. I’m looking forward to this because: One of my sisters is the only family member who’s been out to see me since I moved here and my folks will get to meet Jess’ parents. Of course, I now have to figure out things that we can do/places to take them while they’re here. That shouldn’t be TOO hard… I hope.

Anyway… it’s almost 2:10 and I should finish getting ready for work. Thank God that it’s my “Wednesday,” only 24 working hours to go.

Quick “Hi” to Jess. Hiya, hon!!! 🙂

She’s been hearing me talk about this site – and the posts on it – for a week now and has decided to join the merriment… or is it “madness?” They are so close that it’s hard to tell the difference sometimes.

This ought to be interesting not only because we: a) live together – and our puters are about 3-1/2 feet apart; b) work together; and now c) are both posting things on here. Of course, this does mean that you will possibly get to hear a different opinion about some of the things that we (or I) do. Or even better: You may even get to hear both of our opinions about some of the asinine things that happen at work (I’m not SAYING anything about the radios, this time… but you get the idea).

*random thought* This has the potential to become a “Regis and Kelly” kind of thing or a bad Jerry Springer episode

Ummm… I said that aloud again, didn’t I? *shakes fist*

In all honesty, I think that it’s great that she has joined. And, NO, I didn’t say that just because I don’t want to sleep on the sofa tonight. Besides, I have a nice and comfy futon in my Playspace. I’m really glad that she’s on here. Really. Stop looking at me like that; I AM!!!

Anyway, Hiya Jess!!! And welcome to the madness.

It was just brought to my attention that I said “hi” and welcomed one friend of mine who started a LJ, but didn’t do the same for another one. Bad form on my part.

So, to Diamond LiL: Hi there and I’m sorry that I was so slow (read: “didn’t think”) to say something when you started posting. I have commented about a couple of your posts, but that’s not the same as an out-and-out welcome. I hope that you accept my apology. 🙂

Luv ya,
Me

Work actually FLEW by today. No major problems. For the most part, we had enough mail to keep the DCOs busy. The plants were on top of their mail situations AND (here’s the kicker) were right on top of telling us what was going on. I was amazed.

Jess called a little before I got off work and said that Angie had called and that we were invited to Scott and Dan’s again for Movienight II. So… that’s where I wound up after work. I have to admit that I was a little shocked: It is a “school night,” as we call weeknights when someone has to work. But it was Movienight II, so we collectively shrugged and hunkered down for “Meet the Parents.” I hadn’t seen it before; I’d wanted to but hadn’t gotten around to it yet. It was funny. And I am VERRA thankful that meeting Jess’ parents wasn’t anywhere near as frustrating for me as it was for Ben Stiller. Angie said that she was getting sleepy and left about :20 into the movie. *shrug* There will be another Movienight. Left the Scott and Dan’s and came home, with a sidetrip to the grocery store to stock up for the week. Came home. Put away groceries.

Now… it’s time for Millennium.

Peace.

When last we saw our hero, he was preparing to enter the lair of the fiendish organization known only as USPS…. Suddenly, spotlights shine down and a cacophony of disembodied voices call out from all around!

Mail: We are mail! We are many! You are human! Delivery is futile!

Postal-Man: No, wayward letters! You SHALL be delivered! On time and to the correct homes and businesses!

Mail: You shall be overwhelmed. Your forces will fall before us! Our numbers are endless! We shall not succumb to your encoding ways! You will never be rid of us! *maniacal laughter*

Postal-Man: A-HA! Have at thee, vile mail!

And, thus was the battle joined….

Whoa… did I say that out loud?! Dammit. I hate it when those inner monologues keep slipping out. Kinda like “reading to yourself” aloud… or having your lips form all the words while you read. (And don’t act like you haven’t seen someone do that…. or even done it yourself.)

Last night was a pretty quiet for a Saturday. Mail in. Mail out. System crash. *Yay* One of the plants that we process for was having “issues” and decided to completely disconnect their system from us. They came back a relatively short while later and we were able to get them cleared out – ahead of schedule! In fact, operations wrapped up about an hour-and-a-half ahead of schedule. (SIDEBAR: Hopefully, my managers won’t see the reports, think that I did a great job and decide to keep me on this late-Saturday shift.)

After work, went home and then couldn’t fall asleep…. until after 6am. The cats decided that it would be fun to tear-ass through the apartment and play some bizarre hide-and-seek/tag game around 4:45. Not wanting Jess and me to feel left out, they were thoughtful enough to make one of their playzones in the bedroom. Ordinarily, this wouldn’t be too much of a problem, but I had to be back at work at 1:30pm. Mental note: Consider changing mantra from “Oops” to “No rest for the wicked or USPS-employed.”

Woke up this morning when the alarm went off (11:45am)… and turned off the alarm and rolled over and fell asleep. At 12:18, I awakened – FORTUNATELY – and looked at the clock. It then became time for everybody’s favorite game: “How Quickly Can You Get Ready For Work?!” I can’t tell you how glad I am that I had the foresight (or dumb luck) to take a shower by dawn’s early light, hoping that it would help me to fall asleep. That meant that the two major hurdles were shaving (not something to rush through when you shave your entire head) and figuring out what to wear. I managed to get these – and other necessities – done and be out the door in twenty-two minutes. This meant that I had time for a quick jaunt to the local Beans & Brews for a cup of frozen mocha goodness… with a double shot of espresso – it would be bad form to fall asleep on the job. Listened to “A Prairie Home Companion” on the way to work; I like that show. I even made it in with ten minutes to spare. Now, I’m just waiting for the caffeine to kick in and then all will be right with the world.

More later….

Peace.

A couple of quick things:

1) “Hi” to my friend Angie (Ambuttercup); she just started a LiveJournal. *waves* She was one of the people at Movienight @ Scott and Dan’s last night. In her entry, she talks about Voldo and a game she didn’t know the name of: It was SoulCalibur. And if you haven’t seen it (or it’s predecessor SoulEdge/SoulBlade), Voldo is a bad BDSM accident waiting to happen… with big knives. In a sick and twisted way, he’s actually pretty amusing; we’ve even “renamed” a couple of his moves to be more befitting his character. I never said that WE weren’t sick and twisted. *evil laugh*

2) Another friend, Sivvy, saw my post from last night and asked what a “mullet on the hoof” was. A mullet is a hairstyle that should have never been allowed to see the light of day – short/almost buzzed on the top and long in the back. Unfortunately, they gained a new foothold in the culture when Billy Ray Cyrus first came on the scene. Of course, it does make for good sport to try and spot the best (or would it be “worst”) ones in public. When I said “mullet on the hoof,” I simply meant that there was someone at the grocery store who had one. For more info on mullets, check out www.mulletsgalore.com It’s got more mullet-related information than you can shake a stick at!

Umm… it’s my “Monday,” but I don’t go to work until 7pm. I’m still trying to decide what to have for breakfast/lunch; I was thinking of going to Guru’s, but Angie’s already been there today. *shrug* Maybe Jess and I will still go; I’ll ask her when she gets back. I’m not in the TGIFriday’s mood and we just ate at Applebee’s yesterday.

That’s about it for now. Off to get ready for lunch and work. And remember: Be kind to your local postal employees; we know where you live. 🙂

Peace.