Ron's Modern Life

I Hate the Haters

2005-12-25T13:13:00.000-08:00

So what if I haven't updated my blog in 4 years? Did you think something has happened to me in the last 4 years that was important enough to do an update? Maybe I've been in a coma. Maybe I've been busy with important things. Maybe I've done absolutely nothing worth mentioning?

Or how about this? Maybe I've been in an ecstatic mood, loving life, and not hating anything? Try to wrap your mind around that one, Chachi.

A few days ago, I'm contentedly sitting in my favorite chair, when my laptop starts beeping madly. I look at it, and find no less than 38 IM's from Stewie. All of them saying something to the effect of, "ZOMG!!!111!!! if you don't update your blog I'm going to take it off my favorites!!1!1!!"

You know what? I hate shit like that. Kurt Vonnegut's, "Breakfast of Champions" is one of my favorite books. It didn't stop being one of my favorite books because Vonnegut didn't keep updating it continually. Apples and oranges, some might say, but to me it's not. The body of work that I loved hasn't changed, just like the body of work I created did not change. Whatever caused it to be a favorite of Stewie's is still there and should still be a favorite. But he's a fickle asshole, so screw him.

When I came here this morning, I saw a lot more comments on postings than there used to be. I read them, and what did they say? Basically, "I hate it when people don't update their blogs." You know what? I hate it when people get on my case about the blog. Life is tough.

So for all the Haters out there, here's an update. Merry Christmas. Don't say I never got you anything.

I Hate Obsessions

2005-09-02T16:56:00.000-07:00

I like a lot of things, but I've never been one to wave the flag or banner for any of them. I'm not that guy. That guy annoys me.

Obsession is always something I've looked at with distaste. Having never experienced it before, I didn't understand it. I thought it was below me, like wearing trucker hats.

I was wrong.

The truth of the matter is, I always had an obsession. It went unfulfilled, unspoken for many years. Until now.

The object of my preternatural fixation?

Moleksine notebooks.

It seems harmless enough, yes. But it's not. I buy these whenever I see them. I have to. It's a compulsion. And they're not cheap! $9.95 for the pocket sized, $14.95 for the full size.

They come in blank, graph, and ruled. Ruled for me only, please! The others have no attraction at all. They have to be either pocket or full sized, nothing else is right.

There is just something about these. Like the name implies, they're covered with oil skin, or "Mole Skin" if you prefer (hence the name.) The name is Italian and is pronounced mol-a-skeen-a. They're compact, sturdy, and oh so wonderful. If you don't believe me, there are lots of other people who think they're great. In fact, there's an entire fan website called The Moleskinerie devoted to it. And why shouldn't there be?!?!

As stupid as it is, I can at least tell you where this compulsion comes from. Go watch Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade. Sean Connery's Grail Diary was a moleskine. I had been looking for one ever since I saw that movie. The joke was on me, because the company that made them for decades stopped selling them a couple of years before that movie came out. Recently, much to my glee, Modo & Modo of Italy has started making them again.

It's not like I don't use them, I do. It's that I'm still using the first one I bought. It's right next to me as I type this, actually. It's that I have about 8 of them in various sizes. I'm going to Barnes & Noble tonight. I'm going to end up buying more, I know it. Probably one of each.

Please pray for me.

Or, alternatively; if you wanted to be my Best Friend Forever all you would have to do is send me some. Just one or two to start with...

I hate being obsessed.

I Hate It When I'm the Good Guy

2005-08-28T09:09:00.000-07:00

You are Dewey, from "Scream." You are
good-hearted, but naive.

Which Horror Movie Character Are You? (Many Options)
brought to you by Quizilla

Dewey rocks. He's a hero and gets the babe.

5 Questions

2005-07-18T11:44:00.000-07:00

I got this from fnordboy's blog and stupidly asked him to interview me:

--------------------------------
Here are the instructions:

1. If you want to participate, leave a comment below saying "Interview me." "Blow me" or "Eat me" are not acceptable substitutes.

2. I will respond by asking you five questions - each person's will be different. I'll post the questions in the comments section of this post.

3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.

4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post on your blog.

5. When others comment, asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.
--------------------------------

Without further ado, here are the 5 questions and my answers:

1. You happen to be in Chicago on business at the same time as FreakMagnet is there for her Squier/Def Leppard concert. Do you say yes to her begging and go to the concert with her or do you make up a flimsy excuse (knowing full well that she won't believe it) just to save your precious ears from hearing that "music"?

I would probably present her with 3 flimsy excuses. I have found that in life, 3 is better than one.

2. What is the single most defining event in your childhood?

Back in 1978 I piloted the Miss Pay n' Pak to a Gold Cup victory on Seattle's Lake Washington during the annual Seafair hydroplane races. Not only did I shut out favorites Miss Madison and Miss Budweiser, but on that day I became the first 8 year old to pilot an unlimited class hydroplane to a Gold Cup victory. On that day, I became a man.

3. In case I hit the lottery: What sick act (by you) would $500k buy? Glass rod doesn't count.

I probably would not do a sick act for money. I definitely would not eat anything or have sex with anything. I know this is in reference to another post, but there was really nothing I had in mind, even though I alluded to that fact that I did. I was just trying to be mysterious. Are you glad you called me out on that? Did your plan work?

4. If you could go back in time and save one famous person from dying and allowing them a few more years to share their talent with us all, who would you save and why?

I wouldn't save anybody. I don't think anyone has died before their time and left work unfinished. If I was granted that power, I might take an ad out in the paper and let people make suggestions to me though.

I almost picked Phil Hartman, but really, by the time he died he started to not be very funny.

5. Sex with limbless girl (torso and head) with fully functioning sex organs. Hot or Not? Why?

Only if we really loved eachother. Otherwise not hot.

5.5 Bonus question: Would you let Gramps take photos for his personal collection?

No.

I Hate Unpacking

2005-07-03T10:26:00.000-07:00

Here I am, officially in Vegas for one week now. The movers showed up the day after I did, one week ago yesterday. You would think one week would be adequate time to unpack everything. But it's not. Not at all.

As we're unpacking, a re-occurring theme was, "Why the hell did I bring this?!?!" When you're packing, you don't want to forget anything. When you're unpacking, you want to get rid of things. Different priorities, I guess. Already we have 2 boxes set to go to the Goodwill.

God bless the wife, she was up until all hours of the night unpacking. This morning as I write this I see that all the boxes in the dining room are full, and all the previously full boxes in the living room are now empty. She was a machine! Lest you think I'm a cad, we had a deal; I had to pack everything alone, so she's going to unpack everything for the most part. I've done my stuff though, you don't want girls touching your personal belongings... even if they are your wife. They don't know what the 'good stuff' really is.

Moving into the new place is kind of fun though. We get to re-invision our reality. The new place is much better than the old one. Our old place was filled with hand me down furniture and cheap stuff we bought on special during the 'young years.' None of that came to the new place. We've bought all new furniture and are making a new lifestyle. That's not only expensive, but complicated in other ways as well. It can also be a lot of fun.

Still, there's a lot to do. I'm trying to setup a dedicated home theater room, which is requiring more and more purchases. I have to admit I'm winging it, with the idea of how I want it in my mind. I'm sure if I put it all down on paper and went for it, it would be quicker and easier. Instead, I'm doing X amount, then running into a new situation, addressing it, over and over. Kind of fun though still; it's not like I have anything better to do right now. Like unpack.

I hate unpacking.

I Hate Packing

2005-06-12T14:36:00.000-07:00

It's almost time for the move to Las Vegas. I've got most of everything packed up, I'm going to leave some things for the movers to do, mainly so they can take responsibility in case the things get broken. Mainly the kitchen and my home theater. Things that are expensive and breakable. Everything else is packed up and ready to go.

Yesterday my in-laws came over with a uHaul truck to take furniture away that didn't make the cut for the move. They're donating it to an immigrant family, I think. 2 couches, 2 TVs, a bed, a big ass lamp, a huge ass oak dresser, and I don't know what else went. It was all decent stuff, but just not worth actually paying a mover to haul it cross country! Better to get new stuff. Better stuff. Stuff that wasn't handed down or bought with too little money and not enough time to comparison shop. Stuff that just isn't us anymore.

I've also made five trips to the Goodwill with my truck, and I will be making at least one more, possibly two. Combine that with the estimated 20 big green garbage bags that have found their way to the dumpster and the countless recycling bins that were filled up... Arg. I'm amazed there was anything to still pack up!

Tomorrow movers are coming to give estimates on hauling everything from Portland to Vegas. Hopefully they'll be able to take it all very soon. When they take everything, I'm outta here for good.

Today I was going to finish packing, trashing and Goodwilling. Things went awry though. I woke up at 7am like I normally would. Had 2 cups of coffee, read the news online, then promptly fell back to sleep until around 1pm. I took that as a sign of exhaustion and that I should take today off. Still plenty of time to do the rest tomorrow. I'm not doing jack today. Maybe watch a couple movies, go to the store to get food and smokes, and that's about it. I may break down and sweep the kitchen floor, but at this point the Psychic Soccerball just says, "Ask again later".

I hate packing.

I Hate The Truth!

2005-06-07T15:58:00.000-07:00

I took an online personality test after seeing it on a friends blog. It was by no means scientific, although I'm having a hard time arguing with it.

Smartass
You are 57% Rational, 57% Extroverted, 100% Brutal, and 71% Arrogant.

You are the Smartass! You are rational, extroverted, brutal, and arrogant. You probably consider people who are emotional and gentle to be big pussies who are obviously in lesser stature than you. You have many flaws, despite your seeming intelligence and cool-headedness. For instance, you aren't very nice. In fact, you're probably an asshole. And you are conceited and self-centered. Not only that, but you are very loud and vocal about all this, seeing as how you are extroverted. There is no better way to describe you than as a "smartass", I'm afraid. Perhaps just "ass" would do, too. But that's a little less literary and descriptive. At any rate, your main personality defect is the fact that you are self-centered, mean, uncaring, and brutally logical.

To put it less negatively:

1. You are more RATIONAL than intuitive.

2. You are more EXTROVERTED than introverted.

3. You are more BRUTAL than gentle.

4. You are more ARROGANT than humble.

Compatibility:

Your exact opposite is the Emo Kid.

Other personalities you would probably get along with are the Capitalist Pig, the Braggart, and the Sociopath.

If you scored near fifty percent for a certain trait (42%-58%), you could very well go either way. For example, someone with 42% Extroversion is slightly leaning towards being an introvert, but is close enough to being an extrovert to be classified that way as well. Below is a list of the other personality types so that you can determine which other possible categories you may fill if you scored near fifty percent for certain traits.

The other personality types:

The Emo Kid: Intuitive, Introverted, Gentle, Humble.

The Starving Artist: Intuitive, Introverted, Gentle, Arrogant.

The Bitch-Slap: Intuitive, Introverted, Brutal, Humble.

The Brute: Intuitive, Introverted, Brutal, Arrogant.

The Hippie: Intuitive, Extroverted, Gentle, Humble.

The Televangelist: Intuitive, Extroverted, Gentle, Arrogant.

The Schoolyard Bully: Intuitive, Extroverted, Brutal, Humble.

The Class Clown: Intuitive, Extroverted, Brutal, Arrogant.

The Robot: Rational, Introverted, Gentle, Humble.

The Haughty Intellectual: Rational, Introverted, Gentle, Arrogant.

The Spiteful Loner: Rational, Introverted, Brutal, Humble.

The Sociopath: Rational, Introverted, Brutal, Arrogant.

The Hand-Raiser: Rational, Extroverted, Gentle, Humble.

The Braggart: Rational, Extroverted, Gentle, Arrogant.

The Capitalist Pig: Rational, Extroverted, Brutal, Humble.

The Smartass: Rational, Extroverted, Brutal, Arrogant.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 22% on Rationality
You scored higher than 61% on Extroversion
You scored higher than 99% on Brutality
You scored higher than 79% on Arrogance

Link: The Personality Defect Test written by saint_gasoline on Ok Cupid

I hate it when the Internet thinks it knows me.

I Hate Peer Pressure

2005-06-05T19:18:00.000-07:00

So a friend of mine who also has a blog, decided it would be a great idea if a bunch of us that have blogs all write about the same thing and post it at 9pm tonight. Like a fool, I went along.

The topic he picked was about bars and restaurants in Washington DC prohibiting smoking.

As a smoker, you would think I would be mad about this.

I could not care less.

In about 3 weeks I'll be moving to Las Vegas, NV. In Vegas, you can smoke everywhere. Even in non-smoking restaurants and hospital rooms that use oxygen. As far as I know, you can smoke while pumping gas. I've seen people do that! You can smoke any place you can find a cigarette and a light. Which is most places, because if you don't have one, you can ask the guy next to you and he'll give you three.

"But hang on a second!" you might be saying. " They can enact those laws in Nevada too, then you'd be in the same situation!"

Nope. The biggest tax payers and utility customers in Nevada are the casinos. They provide more government cheddar than most other groups and businesses combined. Every time a law has been brought up that doesn't benefit the casinos, it goes away really fast. Almost like John Titor came back in time and erased it from ever happening. The casinos like the smoke. Hell, they like anything that keeps people walking through their doors.

Some have opened non-smoking areas, and that's great. But believe me, it's not out of any altruistic vision towards the welfare of their patrons. It's because they found out a certain non-smoking percentage of the population would visit if there was a non-smoking area for them. In other words, it was yet another gimmick to go after customers that wouldn't otherwise go. Keep in mind, to get to the non-smoking area people will have to walk through many smoke filled corridors and rooms, but that's not the point.

As for Washington DC, hell, they enact all kinds of crazy laws there anyways. I'm more surprised the tobacco lobbyists haven't sponsored a law to make smoking mandatory in all restaurants and bars. I'll never go there, what do I care?

But on the off chance I do go there, you'll find me easily. I'll be the one standing outside the bar with my aforementioned friend blowing smoke into your hair and clothes as you walk in.

I Hate Oregon Weather

2005-05-14T14:23:00.000-07:00

People make fun of the saying, "It's not the heat, it's the humidity" or when someone says, "...but it's a dry heat." Today it's only 70 degress outside, and it's raining. It's also as miserable as hell! It's stiflingly hot, so hot I'm sweating. Why? The humidity.

When it's humid, there's no such thing as a cool breeze. There's nothing you can do to get away from it. It's like being in a broken sauna all day long. It's miserable. It's sticky.

In just about 30 days I'll be living in the Nevada high desert. It will be freakin' hot. But it will be a dry heat. I won't miss the humidity.

I hate Oregon weather.

I Hate Selling My Car

2005-05-12T18:55:00.000-07:00

I'm moving out of state and have an extra car, which I don't want. It's a nice car, a covnertible with very low miles. But I didn't buy it, I inherited it and I want to get sell it. It's a fun car to drive, runs great and gets good mileage, but I don't need it and I don't like having it around as a constant reminder of the person who gave it to me. It will never be my car, it will always be hers. Also, I already have to drive my truck 1200 miles when I move, I'm not looking forward to flying back and having to drive the convertible down again.

Not to mention I could use the extra money to help out with moving expenses!

I've got an ad running in 2 local papers and 3 online auto sites. I need to sell it by the end of the month. A couple of bites so far, but only one person has actually came out to drive it. This was today, this is what inspired this blog.

The potential buyer calls me this morning and says he'll be over in about 30 minutes. I rush to get some things together and wait. Then I wait some more. And longer. Finally, 90 minutes later he shows up. We walk around the car, then he wants to go for a drive of course. Before we even start moving, he has to ask what every little thing on the dashboard does. Every knob, dial, twisty, etc. There's nothing unusual in this car, it's exactly the same as any other car. It's all self evident. I walk him through everything.

We go for the drive, and it suddenly becomes apparent that he's one of those people that do not enjoy comfortable silences. He has to yammer on 24 hours a day; well, as long as he's awake anyways. We're no longer talking about the car, we're talking about him. His life. His hopes. His dreams. Yowza.

Finally we get back from the ride. He likes the car but is going to look at another one next. He promises to call me back in 2 hours to let me know. That was 4 hours ago. Another guy was going to come by after work to look at it, was going to call me around 6. That was over an hour ago.

I hate having to put my life on hold for these people.

I hate selling my car.

I Hate It When I Ignore My Blog

2005-04-18T02:36:00.000-07:00

So I checked the page and I realized... it's been a week since my last post! Dang, when I started this I was hoping to do it at least every other day. Guess that's out the window. In my mind, 40 years from now this blog will still be going. Little did I realize that it only be 14 posts long!

It's been a busy week. I started a new shift at work. I read a book (thanks again, Steve!) and I went grocery shopping.

Wheeeeee!

Truth be told, blogging can be a pain in the ass. It makes you think. It makes you examine. It makes you look at things. You have to pick apart things and decide what's "Blogworthy." You know what? Not a lot is.

You also have to consider how other people will view things. Don't get me wrong, I'm not talking about what other people will think of me. If I did, I wouldn't be doing a blog in the first place. I mean to say, what interests me isn't going to interest you. What I find mundane about my life, you may find exciting and fascinating. Who knew?

Many people find my work interesting, or at least think they do. To me, it's a pain in the ass; same as your job is to you. SSDD. So I don't write about it. We spend enough time at work, don't we? Why would you want to think about it in your spare time? People that hang out constantly with coworkers and talk about work during their time off drive me crazy. It's OK to hang out with coworkers. But talk about things that don't have to do with work!

If you haven't guess already, this post is a space filler. It exists to make me feel better about neglecting my blog and to give N. something to read at lunch. Nothing more, nothing less.

I hate it when I ignore my blog.

I Hate It When I'm An Idiot

2005-04-10T21:17:00.000-07:00

Tonight I was watching Arrested Development on FOX. It's a good show, if you don't watch it, I suggest you do. It's hard to believe that the same network that brought us Married With Children also makes this show.

But I digress.

I'm watching Arrested Development, and there is a scene where George Michael is telling Maeby what a great gal she is. And I hear him say, "I'd hate to see you get fucked by someone that doesn't even care that you're blossoming."

What? Did they just say 'fucked' on broadcast TV?

No. No way. Can't be.

I have TiVo, so I rewind. And I rewind again. And again. I turn on captions, but captions aren't working for some reason. It sounds like he said fucked. Can't be, there would have been something about this on TV or in the newspaper.

I play it back one last time. He says, "I'd hate to see you get plucked..." It' s a whole big spring time/flower analogy. But I play it back one more time. Yeah, he's definitely saying 'plucked.' But it still kind of sounds like he's saying 'fucked.' But I know he's not.

I fell for their attempt to shock and awe me.

I Hate It When I'm An Idiot.

I Hate Idiots

2005-04-08T19:57:00.000-07:00

My neighbors directly across from me are having friends over tonight. They're loud, I generally don't mind that. I crank my home theater, they can have friends laughing and talking. Usually it's all good. Annoying, but we all get along.

I'm outside on my deck, minding my own business and having a cigarette. They're fairly close and loud enough that I can hear everything they're saying. They're all in their early 20's. If any are over 25, I'll eat a bug. A big hairy bug. I casually 'overhear' this exchange:

"So, what do you do again?"

"Oh, I'm retired actually. Very recently" This of course peaks my interest.

"Really? How?"

"I was working for this company, and they went out of business a couple of months back. Since then I've been trying to make some money doing freelance tech support."

"That's great!"

WTF?!?!

How the hell is that being retired? Retarded is more like it!

I'm unemployed, living off unemployment and my Mom's friends give me $20 to fix their email, is what he was really saying.

Again, WTF?

How stupid is he? How stupid is the guy he's talking to? These are the times I really wish this was all taking place at a bar, and I've had a few too many drinks. If it was, and I was sitting off to the side, I would've asked him how the hell that was different than being an unemployed loser? Because to me, that's what that is. He only compounds his stupidity by saying he's retired.

Dude, retired is not working and still having an income. For the rest of your life. Forever, as far as you're concerned. You are not retired. You are an unemployment statistic.

I hate idiots.

I Hate Work

2005-04-05T06:25:00.000-07:00

I don't hate the job I'm doing right now, I just hate work in general. The fact is, I kind of like the job I have, and I will be kind of sad to see it go when I move out of state this summer. Yes, my job exists where I'm moving to, but it won't be the same. It won't have the same people, same rules or same problems. I'm not career oriented, so I won't be looking for work in the same field again, anyways.

But I digress.

I hate working. I really do. This goes along with how I hate people that make me do things. At work, there are lots of people that make you do things. Even when I was a Dept. Head at a previous job, there were any number of people that made me do things. Some of them weren't even part of my organizational chart, and shouldn't have been able to make me do things. But they did. Quite often they were way below me on the organizational chart, and they made me do things.

I'm thinking of the part in the movie Office Space where Peter Gibbons goes off about how when he was in high school he didn't have an answer to, "What would you do if you had a million dollars?" When I saw that, I was like, "Right on Brother!" My answer was the same as his, I would do nothing. Really, nothing at all.

I don't understand people like Bill Gates. If I were him, I'd have retired years ago. I'd be sleeping late, throwing all night parties in my mansion, watching more movies, reading more books, and travelling. Once I found out I had $40,000,000,000 cash in my checking account, I would have checked out.

Drew Carey just did that. He figured out that he had enough money now to last him the rest of his life. He retired from show business. He said he's not going to do anything ever again. Lucky bastard.

I hate work.

I Hate People Who Make Me Do Things

2005-04-05T06:19:00.000-07:00

It's been a week since I updated the blog. I've been busy. A lot of things going on in my life for the short term, so the blog (among some other things) was a casualty. I hate to say it, but I really haven't had the time to hate things for the last week.

This morning I went to my blog and saw my last entry had a comment. I read it. I suggest you take a moment to do that to, so the rest of this makes more sense. Go ahead, I'll wait. I'll even provide you with a paragraph break so you can find your place again.

Back? Excellent.

So Nickie, this blog's for you!

I Hate Posers

2005-03-28T18:55:00.000-08:00

If you looked a the title of this blog, shook your head, rolled your eyes, and thought, "That should be spelled POSEUR," then you get to be hated too.

Today is not about you though, so step off.

Today is about other people with blogs. Namely, people I consider friends who also have blogs. More importantly, blogs that I consider good enough to read.

Why the mention of posers? Well, Steve started it all. Then Eric copied him, then I copied him, then Nickie copied us. So we're all fucking posers.

Except Steve.

He's like the Lance Fucking Henriksen of the internet or something - he's been posting blogs since before there even was an internet.

Click on their names to see their blogs.

I Hate Moving

2005-03-28T18:26:00.000-08:00

Moving sucks. It really does. I'd be perfectly content to leave all of my items and myself in one location for the rest of my life. I see no need to load it all up, go down the road a ways and start all over again. Don't get me wrong, I like to travel and see new things. I just don't feel the need to take everything I own with me when I do it.

So we're getting read to move, a big move. Not down the street, out of state. Like over 700 miles away. I've been trying to go through things, figuring out what to sell and what to toss/donate. They say if you didn't unpack it from the last move, you should should just toss it out because you obviously don't need it.

This is bullshit.

None of my most valuable items have ever been unpacked since I moved from Seattle in 1991.

My original Mt. St Helen's ash in a glass peanut jar with a picture that 10 year old me drew of the eruption? Why would I unpack that? Other than to put it in a safety deposit box, I mean.

My half pint of actual Mercury? It's in an old, old, bottle with just a cork in it. It's wrapped in steel wool and put inside a small coffee can, not unlike the egg drop experiments in 9th grade physics class. I don't remember where I got it, but I'm sure as hell not going to give it up! One day it will come in handy. It's a rare item that you just can't get now days.

The Civil Defense surplus Geiger Counter that still works? Hell, you don't unpack that and show it around. All kinds of people will want you to go check radioactive stuff. That's staying where it is, thank you very much.

The half tube of Daisy brand BB's? Of course that's not going anywhere. No, I haven't had a BB Gun since I was 14. That doesn't mean I won't some day in the future. You never know.

If I should ever have kids I'll be dividing up old matchbooks from hotels on the east coast, playing cards from Las Vegas casinos and bottle opener keychains when I write my will.

I'm not a pack rat, I'm really not. I used to be, but then I got rid of a bunch of crap a few years ago. Now I'm down to the bare neccessities. And I have to pack it all up and take it on a big long journey across the country.

I hate moving.

I Hate Fast Food

2005-03-25T17:27:00.000-08:00

I usually don't eat fast food, but last night we were doing some shopping and it was getting too late to make dinner, so we hit a drive thru. I won't say which one, it's not important. As far as I'm concerned, they're all like this.

We get to the 2nd window, the one where you get the food. The girl in the window tries to hand me our drinks. I ask for a drink carrier.

"But I'd have to go to the back to get one."

"Um, OK."

How is that my problem, and why would that be something to deter me from getting a drink carrier that I obviously need? Was I supposed to say, "Oh, don't worry about it then. I'll somehow balance the drinks and drive stick at the same time!"

So she goes back to get one. A few minutes later she re-appears. Carrying one. Not a stack, not a handful, just one. Like drink carriers are a rare item and she's not going to need anymore for the rest of the night. Maybe she likes going to the back room. Maybe drink carriers are a valuable item and must be checked out one at a time? I don't know.

She hands me the bag and asks if there's anything else I need.

"Mustard please. Lots."

She hands me 3 lousy mustard packets.

"No, I want a lot. A whole bunch. Ketchup too."

A couple more packets of mustard, a smiddling of ketchup.

"Can I get more please? This isn't even near enough."

She looks at me like I'm crazy. WTF? The fast food industry is all about Super Sizing everything, but they don't want to give you the condiments to go along with it?

I hate fast food.

I Hate My Neighbors

2005-03-24T21:48:00.000-08:00

I live in a small apartment building, 12 units. We share a laundry room with 2 washers and 2 dryers. Today after work I go to do 2 loads of laundry. When it's time to put them in the dryer, they're full of someone's half wet, smelly clothes.

They've been there at least a day.

They stink.

They stink like they were washed without soap after being worn about 3 or 4 times.

So I'm taking out all their shit, and it occurs to me these are the nastiest, smelliest, hippy clothes ever; along with towels that have to be about 30 years old. I mean, I'm no clothes horse. I wear jeans and tshirts, so I'm not being a clothes snob by any stretch of the imagination. But I don't think even Goodwill would take these. I've seen similar clothes tossed aside by the Hobo Bobs that frequent my dumpster.

And now I have to put my clothes in the same dryers I pulled these out of.

I hate my neighbors.

I Hate Having My Teeth Cleaned

2005-03-23T08:06:00.000-08:00

So I'm going to have my teeth cleaned today. I really hate that.

It's my day off, and you'd think I'd be able to go spend it doing something fun. Like not getting my teeth cleaned. Plus, it's right in the middle of the day, so it really screws up everything else.

I also have to do laundry and the dishes. No, I agree. I'm sounding a bit whiney and those are small chores. I don't mind doing them. But I have a teeth cleaning appointment today, right in the middle of everything. Now, even the smallest tasks are getting screwed up.

This is supposed to be my day off.