:: Venting Insanity ::

:: Friday, August 01, 2003 ::

luck o' the irish? fat chance...
Yesterday was a very bad day. I seem to have the worst luck lately.

I'm researching how to do that stupid macro on the web, and someone (who's obviously clueless as to what I was doing) snitched. So, I got fired. Nice, right? I tried to explain myself, but it didn't seem to go anywhere, so I just left.

There were other reasons I'm sure that Ken decided he felt it wasn't working out. My cell phone had gone off a few times. The company is very anti-cell-phone. I probably looked really bored, since I was working on the script so much. No one had a clue as to what I was doing anyway. I was probably the only computer programmer in the place. Ken didn't even like to use e-mail. Go figure. But, if people are going to be watching over my shoulder, maybe it's I'm better I'm out of there anyway. Especially if they're not going to understand something I can do. I had a lot of potential to offer them, they just didn't know what to do with it. If they want to keep their bass ackward ways, then let them.

Of course, Dad suggested a few ways I could try to get something along the lines of a contract out of them to do a new record keeping system for them, but I don't know if I want to bother. They use outdated software and I don't have a machine I can write stuff for them on anymore. I'd have to set up another machine with their versions just to make sure it works right for them.

talk about spontaneous
When I got home, I called back Linouse. She said that the reason she had called Wednesday was to see if I could get in to meet with her last night. I looked at the time. I had left the office early, so I could do it. So, I agreed, called Dad to meet me, and quickly got changed. Once I had all my stuff together, I headed off. Dad and I met up at the station near where he works and then easily found the building once we got into the city.

what do you mean i have to register?
So, we take the elevator up and the guy meets us there. He asks us to sign in. I'm like, "sign in?" I thought I was there for a meeting, not some silly seminar for some pyramid scheme. Well, Linouse is no where around and we're early anyway, so we shrug, say, "What the heck?" and head in. Besides it was a lot cooler in the other room.

We end up sitting through the seminar and Linouse seems only interested in recruiting me as one of her pyramid scheme flunkies or something. I'm so not into that. I really don't want to get involved in customer service, life insurance, or financial services. I'm not going to school for a Computer Science degree to sell life insurance.

Dad and I skipped out early, saying we had to catch a train.

good irish dinner
We went across the street, since both of us were starving. There's a place called Triple Crown. We head in. It's a nice place. Very clean. We sit down and our waitress comes over, asking if we want drinks. I nearly died from the cuteness. She had the cutest Irish accent ever! Turns out, she's studying here for a while. She's spending two years on the road, one here and one in Australia.

Anyway, we both had really great dinners. They were extremely filling. Dad had bangers and mash, and I had the stew. The meals were so filling that neither of us felt anything from the beers we had. Usually, I get a bit buzzed from two Killian's, but I didn't feel anything. Dad had two pints of Guiness. We both walked out of there full and sober. It was cool.

so much for one good thing...
So, we had a really great dinner. Even the rain couldn't bother me at that point. The whole atmosphere in the pub cheered me up. We walked along, headed into Penn Station, and went to get my ticket back to Hicksville. Dad would then drive me back to Ronkonkoma to get my car. I go digging through my bag.

Where's my wallet?

It's not there.

Sunglasses, lotion, make-up, keys... no wallet.

$#1+!

A quick retracing of the day, the only answer I could come up with is that I dropped it while I was doing my make-up on the train between Ronkonkoma and Hicksville. Nononononononono... this is SO not good. I, of course, begin to panic. Dad gives me cash for the ticket home (I could have used a check, but I wasn't thinking clearly enough to do that). I nearly cried.

I lost my fecking wallet. How stupid of me is that?

randomness strikes again
So, we get on the train, I'm really upset. Then, by some strange stroke of luck, I see the same conductor on the train that we had on the way in. She recognizes me (since I had asked her what car we were in so I could tell Dad where I was), but she hadn't found my wallet.

necessary crappiness
So, I get home, Dad calls Amoco (I had his gas card in there), I call Astoria Federal about my debit MC, never mind about the Sam's Club card (it's expired and costs $45 to renew, now... hence the reason it's still expired)... Today, I called the LIRR Lost and Found to see if it was turned in. The guy said to call back again in a few days. I went to the DMV and got a temporary license and ordered a new one to be mailed to me. I'm going to have to call Patty Hassell and order a new Grand Cross card for Rainbow, too.

Argh.

on the otherhand
I got a new cell phone, but I'm debating taking it back. I have to find the box from my old one and see if they can switch the service back or something. I don't know. All of a sudden, I'm getting a worse signal than ever now. My old phone was bad enough, but this one can't find a signal in my house at all.

stop the madness!
I did get my Party Lite stuff today. I was really happy with the way everything looked, too. I got this really pretty butterfly votive holder. I can't wait to see what it looks like with a candle in it.

snapple "real fact" #118
Honeybees are the only insects that create a form of food for humans.

:: Wednesday, July 30, 2003 ::

hmmm
So, as I'm hearing more and more dirt on this place, I'm beginning to wonder if I got myself roped into a company like EES, where my dad works. It seems a bit overwhelming at first. There are more negative things from people than anything else, it seems.

tiredness
Of course, I'm rather exhausted for the moment, so I'm not going to post too much right now.

snapple "real fact" #183"
The Capitol building in Washing, D.C., has 365 steps to represent every day of the year.

more down time
I just have filing. I can do that later in the week...

blah
My serial number label script is buggy. I can't get the loop to end, so it just keeps printing and printing the labels. That means my check statement is faulty somewhere. It's kind of frustrating, to be honest. Plus, I need to find a way to insert a page break instead of just continuing through like there's no end to the paper. {{grumbles}}

I will get this. I'm determined, now. It's the same as when I was working on the C++ project and was trying to get the calculator and the game working. I'm just as determined now... {{sigh}} Why do I do this to myself?

lunch time
Tom/Greg went out and got us lunch today. Well, he got Charity and me lunch. He went over to this new Country Rotisserie place in the new shopping center across the way. I got this BBQ Chicken and Bacon wrap. It was really good. Charity and Tom/Greg both got the Chicken Caeser wrap. They both liked it, saying the dressing was really tangy. I think I'll try that next time.

Almost time to go.

:: Tuesday, July 29, 2003 ::

flash from the past
So, I'm showing Mom pics that people have found from the set of HP: PoA (which I'll link to in another post later) and this IM pops up on AIM from someone I haven't seen in like three or four years now. O.O;; I knew Drew in high school, and then started hanging out with him a bit in college when I was hanging out with the theatre crowd. I mostly hung out with his brother, Mark, though. Then, Drew moved on to another school and what not, and basically fell off the face of the earth for a while.

Well, he's apparently still in touch with Stef, who's down in Florida at the moment. She and I talk as well still, chatting it up about whoever and whatever. She mentioned to me that she was talking to Drew and that he was married and had a baby girl. I was a bit surprised, but I sent on my congrats.

So, Drew IM's me today on AIM, out of the blue, saying that Stef suggested he talk to me. We caught up on some stuff, but he wasn't on for very long, so he popped off again after about ten minutes or so. But, I got to hear a bit about his daughter (still lacking a name in my mind... lol) and that he's working nights right now, considering going back to school, and that he feels things are going okay for him. I told him about school, and that I just started a new job last week.

It was good to find out that he's still alive. LOL.

work work
So, I found out all sorts of dirt today. The girls up front kept telling me about Ken's bodily functions and his apparent lack of notice in that department. I was amused (as most things of that nature are still funny no matter how old you get), but a bit grossed out with the prospect. I really hope I don't get a dictated letter that has a fart in the background...

There were a few more "I hate that person" moments today, too. Apparently, Ken can get a big stick up his @$$ at times, resulting in many pissed off people across the plant. Charity hit her six month mark last week and has been trying to get her paperwork done for her benefits. She feels like she's really getting the run around, which makes me worried. It's bad enough I have to wait another six months before I get anything, but then for it take longer because no one wants to be bothered with the paperwork? Damn! That's gonna suck!

Of course, Charity's afraid to say anything in case he decides to go all 'boss-like' on her and possibly fire her. That's not a good thing. It makes me seriously rethink trying to redo their database/word document/record keeping system. It's a pain in the @$$, but I don't think Ken's going to be thrilled with the idea of hiring a temp to transfer information from one set of files to the other... or pay overtime for us to do it ourselves.

sigh
Oh well... what are ya gonna do?

snapple "real fact" #113
The fastest recorded speed of a racehorse was over 43 miles per hour.

short down time
I have some time to myself, but it probably won't last long. I'm waiting on some drawings for an old manual I have to remake for a customer. Their machine was first built twenty years ago (1983). Yikes! Talk about old.

I did a heck of a lot of filing today, but I cleared out that 'to be filed' folder. It was stuffed. It only took a few hours to separate, sort, and put them in the right books. I entered everything in the computer yesterday.

Anyway, I'm still not on the phones. However, I think I figured out the Visual Basic code to use for that fancy macro I wanted to do up. It's now testing time.

Gotta go!

:: Monday, July 28, 2003 ::

bob hope, 1903-2003
Bob Hope dies at 100 years old. Someone many consider a comedy legend, Bob Hope is most known today for his stand-up comedy acts and golf tours such as the Bob Hope Classic. Hope starred in many films as well, and also served through several wars on USO duty, entertaining millions of US Troops.

He is survived by his wife, four children, and four grandchildren.

movie review
Last night, I saw xXx (Triple X) over at my friend John's house. Vin Diesel (A Man Apart, The Fast and the Furious, Saving Private Ryan) stars as Xander, otherwise known as "X" to his friends. Xander is into X-treme sports and has made a career of motorcross, any type of boarding, motorcycle racing, various skydiving stunts, and a variety of other things. After pulling a risky stunt that involved stealing a Senator's Corvette and jumping it off a bridge to film a point ("Don't be a dick, Dick."), X gets recruited by the CIA for a special operation in Europe. Well, more like drafted, since the Corvette stunt could cause him some serious trouble, and Agent Gibbons, played by Samuel L. Jackson (Die Hard: With a Vengeance, Unbreakable, Star Wars Prequels), promises to wipe his record clean once the mission's over.

A group called Anarchy '99 is known for various anti-government stunts and for the general chaos and mayhem they cause. The CIA has become involved due to a rumor of a plot for mass destruction world-wide. They send X to the Czech Republic to infiltrate the group. His look, TV/sports fame, and general public record of being a troublemaker makes it easy for him to blend. It was the main reason the CIA sought him out in the first place. Regular agents just weren't cutting it. He goes in and starts gather intelligence, reporting back everything he finds. An annonymous tip to the leader blows his cover, and Xander finds himself under orders to return to the U.S. and end the mission. Knowing what's going to happen if Anarchy '99 isn't stopped, Xander blows off his orders and attempts to stop their plans himself. Not to mention save the pretty Russian agent, Yelena (Asia Argento), who wins his heart.

The movie is mainly the stunts and the equipment. Big guns, big rockets, flashy cars and motorcycles, all are integrated with a serious of adrenaline pumping stunts. The storyline provides a current story, dealing with terrorists and mass destruction plots, laced with some light humor and quippy one-liners. While it's not overly funny (being more of an action flick), this movie knows where it stands in various genres of film making. Vin Diesel isn't an overly amazing actor, but the flashy scenes cover it well, giving the audience plenty of eye candy to tide them over. The only other major actor I recognized was Samuel L. Jackson, who played the agent X reports to. Asia Argento has done work mostly in Europe.

The ending says, 'sequel', but doesn't blast it in your face the way some more recent movies have done. It left it open nicely, but without any hanging ends. There is a xXx 2 (also known as xXx²) being filmed at the moment (due for release in 2005), according to the IMDb, and I'm not overly surprised by that fact. So far, the three major actors have returned to recreate their roles.

more learning
They showed me a few more things today. Charity seems more open to showing me more than one thing a day. It's usually Diane that holds back, thinking I might not be ready. Maybe she's only worked with training dumb people before or something. {{shrugs}} Who knows.

Either way, I got handed more responsibilities today. That's a good thing. Now I'm less likely to end up being bored. Of course, I still have to find a way to get those macros to work. And I also think their website is a bit lame. It looks like someone threw it together in either Front Page, Word, or Publisher. Yikes.

I just wish they had picked a different color for their logo. The red's a bit much. I'm more of a blue fan, myself. The sister company, AutoMate, is more my color scheme. They use blue in their logo.

wheee
John S called last night. I went over and we watched xXx (Triple X) last night. It was pretty good. The cars and stunts were really cool. It was good seeing him again. We haven't seen each other in a while.

Of course, there's been things going on that I'm not really sure how to act upon. With the way he was talking the other day, I'm not sure how things are going with his girlfriend. It's really strange. Plus, I don't want to be the one to mess things up for him with her if he's happy. Of course, if he's not happy, then he's just staying with her for sake of having a girlfriend, and that's totally not right. I'm a bit confused on how to handle this one now. {{sigh}}

snapple repeat
I got the same Snapple "Real Fact" the other night. It was the one about Captain Kangaroo.

:: Sunday, July 27, 2003 ::

fixed
I fixed the double on my navcolumn. I'll check the other templates for mistakes later.

night in
We hung out at Estelle's for a bit last night. Erin and I made a 7-11 run to get ice cream, Estelle played DJ with the computer, and we played a couple card games. It was pretty late already when I got there, and Jay got there after work, so we didn't do a whole lot, but it was nice to just hang out for a while.

Erin showed me her wedding dress. I think it's very pretty. She and Estelle both said the picture doesn't do the dress justice. That's usually the case anyway. Of course, I'd like to see it in person. The picture doesn't really show the detail work in the beading on the bodice, sleeves, and skirt. They were trying to describe the colors and the types of beads, and I'd really like to see the dress in person. It sounds like it's a very pretty dress.

party time
Auntie Lyn won Mystery Hostess today at Donna's party. Unfortunatley, it was only her, me, and Mom that went today. Poor Donna set everything up and no one came. Of course, she's only just started consulting, so she didn't really have a lot in the way of past hostesses to invite to the party. We still had a good time. Just the four of us chatting about various things and looking through the catalogs. I got a couple of candle holders, and I won this really pretty glass votive holder with flowers on it in a grab bag. I'm a candle nut, so it was all good.

I still have to get my guest list together for my party on the 6^th. I'm debating on who to invite, though. {{sigh}} I need to get addresses together...

speaking of hosting
I've been hosting Delta Force games. I finally figured out how to open up the computers and allow for game hosting. It's actually really fun. I host Task Force Dagger, since I can't run Black Hawk Down, yet. I downloaded a ton of maps, too. They're really fun. Also, I think it's more fun to host than just to play.

If anyone plays Delta Force: Task Force Dagger online, feel free to stop by AMEAGLE15 and look for Gael104 |AE|. That's me.

snapple "real fact" # 148
The tallest man was 8 feet 11 inches.