Friday, December 31, 2004

We're Winning!

s it stands right now, BSU is leading Louisville 34-28 in the Liberty Bowl. I am not usually a football fan but I think BSU has gotten a raw deal this year from ESPN and the rest of the sports media so I am all for BSU stomping everyone. If we can hold on for one more quarter we will have the first perfect season in school history.

Go Boise State!!



Go Broncos!!

Give Me Liberty!

Well, I am off to my parents' house to watch BSU play in the Liberty Bowl. They are not favored to win but it should be an excellent game. My brother and hs girlfriend will be there as well so at the very least, I will be able to hang out with them.

Later today, I am going to my company's Christmas party. Seeing that I am not overly fond of about 90% of the people that will be there you may be asking why I would go at all; the reason, free food and prizes. Usually they buy so many gift to give away that everyone gets at least one so I figure I may as well go and if the gift sucks I can just return it and get a DVD or something. Jake is going as well so he and I will probably be inbibing a decent amount of alcohol together. Maybe I will come home and post after that because we all know how much fun it is to post after a good round of heavy drinking. We shall see.

Thursday, December 30, 2004

Vacation Update

I haven't posted for a couple of days so some of you may be wondering what I have been up to. Here is your answer: NOTHING! Mushi and I went on a mini-trip and stayed in a hotel across town and were kind of tourists in our own town for a couple of days. We just needed to get out of the house. It was relaxing to be out of the house...is it bad when you dread going back to your own home? We need to get a new house.

Today, is cleaning day. With Christmas and whatnot our house has gotten a tad cluttered and we are trying our hardest to stave that off. I have also been playing a lot of Half Life 2 lately. For the skeptics out there, that game is seriously one of the best games I have ever played. For being a first person shooter, you couldn't ask for more. Great graphics, excellent physics, excellent storyline, Half Life 2 has it all.

Well, I must get back to cleaning!

Sunday, December 26, 2004

The Day After

Yesterday was a mixed bag. This being Mushi and I's first Christmas as a married couple was just kind of odd. First off, we had to make each others stockings. This normally isn't that odd of a thing except that our moms both respectively usually do that job. After we got up...which was at 6:30am...ugh...we opened our presents to each other. Mushi got me the 5th season of the Simpsons and a cool shirt and some other stuff. I got Mushi a 1000 channel, dual trunking, police scanner. Nothing says love like a police scanner.

After opening our gifts we then ventured out into the cold (but not snowy) outdoors to go see my parents. Their big thing to us this year was a five megapixel Kodak digital camera and an HP Photosmart printer. Woohoo! We have needed a camera and now we have one. So far the Kodak has been a very good little camera for us. Now I need to get the bigger memory card. I also got some Polo Blue cologne. Good smelling stuff.

After opening our gifts from them, we again ventured out into the cold snowless world to go see Mushi's parents. Starting to see a pattern yet? They got us a badass KitchenAid mixer. I love this mixer. It is one of those things where now we have a mixer and will probably never need another one due to its quality. This mixer puts the mix in mixer. Now my cookies will be whipped into a smooth dough before cooking.

Ode to the KitchenAid Mixer in haiku form:

Chrome color that I love
With your huge bowl to mix dough
Kitchen is complete.

Ok sorry, I had to do that.

The rest of our day was spent going to see a couple of movies and in a general daze. My body does not dig it when I get up that early, especially on 4.5 hours of sleep. I took a lot of naps yesterday. Overall, it was a good day but a weird one. It just did not seem like Christmas for some reason. The Christmas eve service that we went to night before last did not help either. Usually, Christmas services are upbeat and fun but the guy that did this sermon was all about talking about the negative stuff in life and it was pretty depressing. I am not a big fan of fire and brimstone services.
Mushi and I are looking at this Christmas kind of as a test run for future Christmas's. Or would it be Christmasi...dunno. Anywho, this was a good Christmas just in a bunch of different ways. Thanks to all who gave us cool gifts and I hoped you guys liked all of your gifts as well. Now I am going to go snag Half Life 2.

Thursday, December 23, 2004

The Christmas Machine

Mushi and I's house is in full Christmas mode now. Mushi usually doesn't get all domestic, but she has been making cookies all day for our little gift baskets we are giving people this year. Earlier, she had me run a bunch of errands that were located in the vicinity of the mall. You can probably guess how much fun driving around there was. Surprisingly, most people were very courteous and I only wanted to kill one or two people during the entire shopping mission.

I am guessing that by this time next year, Mushi and I will be in a different house. This house for all of its cuteness and charm is just too friggin' small. Our version of decorating for Christmas, is letting Christmas take over our house; not willingly mind you but we just don't have the room to put up decorations or even a Christmas tree without sacrificing a lot of space in our already limited-for-room house. I love this place but bigger will be better in this circumstance.

In other yule tide news, it is official, I am done shopping for Christmas gifts. Mushi, Parents, Brother, In-Laws, Pets, everyone is taken care of. Thank goodness. I am also now on vacation as of today. I am going to do a whole lot of nothing for a good portion of it and that is good.

Earlier today I took my mom to an Indian restaurant for lunch. That was a ton of fun! My buddy Tony went with us and upon arriving at the place, I found that my other friend Dylan had the same idea with his mom and cousin so we all sat down and had lunch together. Very fun and very yummy curry....ahh...curry.

Now I am going to relax and play some City of Heroes. See ya later!

Sunday, December 19, 2004

What Evil Lurks In The Hearts Of Men?

People have always thought I had a criminal streak in me. I do, I won't lie; there are days when I see something at work and think to myself, "It would be so easy to rip that off." I never follow through with those thoughts of course, but nonetheless, they are there. I don't like stealing, I am not overly fond of thieves either but, I think I would probably make a pretty good one. I have a knack for talking to people and getting them to do what I want them to...I am a salesman after all...but I could also make a decent con-man too. So this is my idea.

Everyone lately is on a reality tv show bandwagon so I am going to toss in my reality tv fantasy. Imagine a show in which the contestants would go into stores and steal things. Whoever was able to steal the largest dollar amount worth of goods would win that amount of money. If you wanted to really make it a reality show, you could toss about eight people into a house, and tell them that it was their job to steal as much as possible without getting caught, physically hurting someone, threatening to hurt someone, or stealing from a person over the age of 65 and under the age of 10. Thats right, no bank robberies...at least not holdups and no ripping off people that can't defend themselves. So each week on the show there would be a new challenge. One week, you might have to con someone into giving you money or goods. The next week, it is steal from the convenience store day. Every month, the person with the lowest dollar amounts would go home the loser. The thing that would be fun, is to give the person with the lowest amount a lifeline to see if they can steal from another person in the group. If they can, the victim would go home a loser and the person that had the lowest dollar amount would inherit the money amassed by the person they stole from. All in all, I think this show would rock. I know that I would watch it.

Each contestant must fit a criteria however. First, the person cannot have a prior record that includes violent crime or theft of any kind. We want normal people for the show, not trained criminals. Second, after the show, the people in it cannot be arrested for committing or attempting to commit a crime. If they do so, all winnings from the show will be stripped from them. All contestants must be at least 21 years old...except for the Teen Theif mini competition. Think college week on Wheel of Fortune but with a five finger discount.

Now, I know there are those of you out there saying that this show would portray a bad lifestyle that people should not look up to or try to imitate and I could not agree with you more. But on the same token, what kind of example does The Real World set for teens? A bunch of twenty-somethings screwing and drinking to their hearts content. At least my program comes out and admits that what it is showing is not a good thing to do. And to those that are worried about the losses to the businesses the contestants rip off, all items stolen would be paid for by the show. That is why there would be commercials, you have to pay for that stuff somehow. And what would the show be called, "To Catch A Thief". If there are any networks interested in this idea, feel free to contact me. I would give you a steal of a deal. :)

I for one would be a most willing contestant for the show. I think there are a lot of people out there that like me, feel that they would make a good criminal but have those damned things called morals keeping them from crossing that line. I think there is a little evil in everyone and that it is healthy to positively confront that vice. I think this would be a good venue to do that in. But hey, thats just my opinion.

Friday, December 17, 2004

Almost There

After today is over I will only have five more days until my vacation starts. YAY! This should be a pretty fun time off seeing that Tony is coming back into town for most of it and most of my other friends are already here this year. I have a little more Christmas shopping to do but other than that, I am set.

Mushi and I went Christmas tree hunting yesterday and picked out a nice looking one. I love decorating the tree but I hate having to wait for the branches to drop. Drop...you branches...Damned you!

I just got finished downloading every single Captain America comic known to God or man. I will never read them all but it is that mysterious collecting urge that keeps me downloading....or possibly the fact that I am getting them all for free. :) Anywho, off to work I go.

Wednesday, December 15, 2004

Feeling A Tad Evil Lately

Lately, I have had an itch that I get from time to time and it is hard to make it go away. It used to be, I did some not so nice things on computers. In high school I was actually almost arrested for some stuff I pulled. Anywho, I have not done anything truly illegal involving computers for quite some time now; piracy does not count because that is a survival tool. I don't make bad money but my software tastes are a little spendy. That is beside the point.

When I get this itch, usually if I go wardriving and jump on some networks it satisfies the urge for a while. Yes I know, I am easily amused. So I went wardriving a little bit last night and have found that quite a few more networks have popped up but some have also gotten smart and either added encryption or stealthed themselves. The most outstanding of the places that I found that have actually gotten a clue include one private bank and a local hospital. Way to go guys, it only took you a year and a half. The part that drives me nuts is that I would make a much better sysad then those places have but I don't have the credentials. I think one of my 2005 resolutions will be to get those credentials. I don't want to be at my job much longer, despite the fact that this week was one of the best weeks I have ever had working. I think a job in the IT industry would be fun, or at the very least, a change. Jim and I are going to sit down in January and start studying for the A+ exams. That will be the first cert that I get. I like hardware repair and I do not think this test will be that difficult so I figured it would be a good start.

As for my itch, I think I will probably go out again this weekend and try out a few things I have been wanting to play with a little bit. I will post more on this if something interesting pops up.

Friday, December 10, 2004

"Happy Holidays" and Other Stupid Phrases

Lately, there has been a trend to make Christmas more politically correct and it makes me want to yak. In the retail industry, management is pushing for the employees to say "Happy Holidays" or "Seasons Greetings" instead of the tried and true "Merry Christmas". This pisses me off. Have you ever been able to say "Seasons Greetings" to someone without them looking at you wierd because you sound like a tool? No, because the only time that phrase sounds even remotely nice is when it is on a greeting card. So why all of the commotion about saying "Merry Christmas"? I will tell you why.

The big trend in the US is to make sure that Christians do not offend Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Wiccans, Atheists, etc etc. This drives me up a wall because Christians make up the vast majority of the population. I am not saying that we should not respect other religions, I just don't think I should have to sacrifice mine to do it. Take the New York City public school system for example. Kids there cannot promote Christmas in any way other than acknowledging it is a holiday. No Christmas songs with the words "Christmas or Christ", no crosses, no trees, nothing even remotely religious or Christmas-like at all. I would not have a problem with this except, Star of Davids, Cresents, and Menorahs are allowed to be displayed. What in the hell is up with that?

This is my very un-PC reply to this trend. I know Jewish people and Buddhists and none of them are offended by Christmas. If Christmas is not your bag because your Jewish or Muslim or whatever, that is fine. But, I would expect you to politely let me celebrate and express my Christian tradition just as I would politely let you observe your traditions. Everyone is getting too freaked out over what the ACLU and their ilk will think if someone so much as whispers the word "Christmas" but other religions can freely and openly express themselves in public. This is not right. If Christmas offends you, I am sorry. But please be respectful of the fact that the vast majority of the United States celebrates it. I welcome all people of all religions to come to the United States, but come here knowing that between 80-90% of the population is Christian whether you are or not and we should freely be able to celebrate our holidays as you should be able to celebrate yours.

To the non-Christians out there: If someone tells you "Merry Christmas" go with it and take it for the general message that the phrase encompasses, goodwill and peace to all of mankind. Is that such a bad ideal? Show Christians respect and let them have their holiday season and traditions.

To the Christians out there: Feel free to celebrate the birth of your savior. Sing songs, go to parties, give gifts, be with family and friends, and decorate your houses. This is a time to be happy. Also keep in mind that there are other religions out there and show them the same respect that they should show you when their holiday season arrives.

All of us can get along and all of us can express ourselves. People need to learn to be respectful of others and that does not just apply to Christians. Everyone needs to be respectful to each other, regardless of your religious beliefs. If we can all do this, I think the world will be a better place.

Oh yeah, Merry Christmas!

Tuesday, December 07, 2004

Brown Snot Baking

I had today off so I got all domesticated and decided that in honor of St. Nicholas day I would make gingerbread cookies. Legend has it that St. Nicholas gave gingerbread cookies out to all the boys and girls he ran into. So anyways, I make the dough and stuff it into the fridge like it says to and I let it chill in there for a little more than two hours. After it had sat a bit, I took it out and opened the lid to find that the dough had still not set up properly. Back into the fridge. After another hour, it still looked odd so I let it chill while I went to see the Incredibles again. Good movie, check it out if you have some free time and cash.

After the movie, I come home and the dough still does not have the right consistancy but I want gingerbread cookies so I heat up the oven, drop some batter onto the baking tin, and cram it in the oven for about ten minutes. Upon taking them out of the oven, it became blatantly obvious that somewhere along the line I messed up. The mass that was melded to the cooking tin was more like brown snot that someone had heated to 350 degrees than my beloved gingerbread cookies.

I then thought to myself that perhaps these were someone's half-assed attempt at gingersnaps so in keeping with the brittle idea, I take the tin of brown snot out into the brisk night air for a bit to cool it quickly. This worked a little but not very well. The bottom line, either I messed the recipe up somehow or the recipe was not that great to begin with. I am guessing the prior but I do not know what I did wrong, I followed the instructions to the letter for once. Those that have seen me cook know that this is somewhat of a rarity. I have a pretty good nose and sense of taste when it comes to cooking so I end up winging it a lot of the time when I make stuff. Usually, it turns out pretty good...usually...I have had my blunders. But anyways, I want gingerbread and I can not have it. The brown snot does not taste too bad but getting it off the tin is a pain. If anyone has a good gingerbread recipe feel free to post it.

Sunday, December 05, 2004

And All She Got Was A Rude, Flippant Attitude

I got a hold of that customer's comment that she wrote about me and I must say, it is of biblical proportion. For every one line on the piece of paper, the lady wrote three. Very impressive indeed. As promised, the following is her complaint, word for word....and there are a lot of words.


11/28/04

I came in from La Grande, Oregon to buy a laptop/notebook. There was myself and my adult daughter and the kid behind the counter sort of ignored us as we looked, so we walked away. When we came back there were two guys there; one talking to a customer about cameras and one (Mogwai: the real name is changed to protect the innocent...err...me)just standing there doing nothing! We stood and waited and he stood there totally ignoring us. We kept waiting. Then the other customer walked away and the two kids started talking to each other still totally ignoring us. This went on until my daughter said, "Could you help us?" Mogwai (name underlined this time) came over and was so rude (also underlined) it was not funny! It was as though he was put out to be interrupted doing nothing. He wouldn't give me a decent answer, so it was for sure I couldn't buy the laptop. I tried to find a manager or a supervisor but "Mike" (my boss) was not working today.
All I needed was some questions answered; I did not get this. I got a rude, flippant attitude by a smart alec kid! I even said to him, "Perhaps you need to find a job you like better," and and he gave me another flippant answer, so we walked away while he laughed like it was a joke.
He was the most cocky, smart alec clerk I've ever had wait on me. This is not the usual (name of store) experience, and I dare say you would not tolerate this behavior if you had witnessed it!
We came three hours to buy a laptop, we left without one.

P.S. Went to CompUSA amd spent $2000.00. The guy there was very helpful. You really don't need Mogwai as your employee if you want to sell your laptops. He cost you my sale!


Overall, I would say this was a very well written comment. She used excellent punctuation and spelling, making very few mistakes. She used mostly complete sentences and very nice handwriting. I can tell she put a lot of work and feeling into it and I respect that. Yes, she did change some stuff around to make herself not sound like the rude hag that she was but I forgive her. After all, I did laugh at her as she walked away. Though, I don't remember doing this in such a blatant manner as she would have the reader believe. Oh well. It is too bad that no one will ever read her little note for any reason other than amusement. Yes, I am a bad employee. :)



A Bug in the City of Heroes

So, I have been playing City if Heroes quite extensively lately. The funny part is that Mushi has been too. I asked her if she wanted to create a character last week and she did and played it for a little while. Over the course of the week, Mushi has become a full fledged addict of the game. This is a sign that she is indeed my sould mate. :)

In other news, I am hoping that the guy I work with that has that grumpy lady's comment will bring it with him to work today. When I get it, I will post it verbatim on here for all to read. It should be fun.

Friday, December 03, 2004

The Angry Customer Gets No Justice

This just makes me giggle like a schoolgirl; the customer that I wrote about in my last post tried her hardest to get me in trouble. After stomping off from talking to me, she went straight to the comment box and proceeded to write a biblically large comment about the way I had treated her and addressed to the head of the warehouse. This could have spelled trouble for my had a couple of my co-workers not interceded. After the lady wrote her comment, she dropped it into the comment box and left the building. One of the people that had been working by the comment box had noticed that the lady was writing a negative comment about me and about five minutes after the angry customer left the store, she pulled the comment out of the comment box and gave it to another co-worker. In exchange for working on his computer, the comment goes directly to the person that should see it and be able to take action...me. What action am I going to take? I am going to laugh.

Part of me feels bad that the member, in all of her spite and rage, won't even get to voice her opinion to the people that matter. It is kind of nice to have friends in the right place at the right time. It almost feels like I am the head of some disgruntled, customer hating, employee mafia. Excellent.