One computer down, and one more to go…
3 minute read
March 30, 2004, 8:39 AM
Well! Monday night at Becky’s (the person whose computer I was fixing) in Harrisonburg was productive and fun. It was determined to be the W32.Welchia.B worm, after a Norton Antivirus scan was run. We also did some general housekeeping, running my favorite “spyware” cleaner, Ad-Aware, as well as getting rid of some unused programs.
We also had a load of fun that evening. We went to Chili’s on East Market Street for dinner after running the system scan, and then while we were out, went to OfficeMax to see if we could cash in on the “STORE CLOSING EVERYTHING MUST GO” sale going on. I didn’t get anything, but Becky and her roommate both found something. At 50-70% off, it’s quite a deal. Becky’s roommate got a DVD-RW for like $75, which I thought was pretty darn good. Amusing product: A do-it-yourself divorce kit. It’s actually a little box that supposedly has everything you need for getting a divorce. No wonder it was marked 70% off. I’d love to hear testimonials of people who used it: “I got a divorce-in-a-box and look at me now!”
After OfficeMax, we went a little bit down the street and headed over to Wally World, a store that all of us are much more familiar with. We bought some stuff, and we had a blast, and I brought my cell phone with me, and so we have pictures. A sequel to the Wal-Mart photo set from 2000? I don’t know, but I definitely got enough to make a photo set out of it for Life and Times. That will also mark the first time that the cell phone gets some extensive use with the Web site. But we had a blast, buying up some junk food, some stuff you want to keep away from the “bad ol puddy tat” (you’ll see), as well as hamming it up with the “quintessential Wal-Mart item”, Spongebob Squarepants, etc., etc., etc.
Continue reading…How did this dream come about?
2 minute read
March 29, 2004, 9:41 AM
I don’t get this one. This is a strange dream that I had last night that I don’t understand at all how it came about.
In the dream, they’re scrapping the set for The Cosby Show. So far, so good. The show’s over, we rationalized, and so they’re dismantling the set since the show has ended its run. Heck, we even had an appearance from Theo’s friend Walter Bradley, better known to audiences as Cockroach. Don’t know why I was on the Cosby Show set, but there was the Huxtables’ living room, ready to get dismantled.
Cockroach, however, in my dream didn’t look like he normally did on the show. Instead he looked like he did in the episode where he and Theo were going to audition for a spot with “The Mannequins”, which required them to shave their heads. Theo never got that far, but Cockroach did, and shaved his head.
So in my dream, Cockroach looked like this:
Categories: Dreams, Television
And we said it, and it was.
< 1 minute read
March 28, 2004, 4:21 PM
No sooner did we say it, and another one said, “Here, smell this nasty meat!”
Pee-yoo. Gross.
Anyway… otherwise, I have two wonderful days off. Time enough to feel refreshed, and ready to come back to work and smell more nasty meat.
So there you go. And to Harrisonburg we go on Monday. I can’t wait. I get to see a friend and fix their computer, and I also get to run some errands while I’m up there. Generally just going to take care of a bunch of odds and ends while I’m around, and visit the old alma mater (that is also a frightening term to use, right along with “alumni”). I’m going to walk around campus and say, “Ah, this is just as I remember it!”
So fun.
And thus the first of the days off. And so there you go.
Categories: Walmart
Here, smell this nasty meat!
< 1 minute read
March 28, 2004, 4:28 AM
One of the things about working at the Service Desk is that customers sometimes want to show you exactly why they’re returning the products. This is usually the case when they’re returning food items, usually meat. Customer comes up, says politely that the meat was bad, and then insists that I smell it up close (despite it having a rather pungent aroma from a distance).
It’s for stinky, nasty meat, and other things like that which is why Wal-Mart should issue clothespins to the people on the Service Desk. Why clothespins? For our noses, duh… Though for attacking the customers would be amusing, too.
Meanwhile, I discovered that lifting up the center clip on a till looks surprisingly like a certain profane gesture, which got a couple of laughs.
Meanwhile, Sunday is my last day before a “weekend” off, which will be fun. Going to Harrisonburg and Blacksburg. All up and down I-81. So that ought to be fun. Visiting and fixing people’s computers.
So there you go.
Categories: Walmart
Whee, today was an interesting day.
5 minute read
March 26, 2004, 12:21 AM
I worked register! As in cashier. That was an interesting change after working Service Desk for weeks and weeks and weeks.
Though you can tell I still have Service Desk on the brain when I’m on register. My service desk greeting is usually “Can I help the next person?” or “How can I help you?” and so on. On register, it’s “Good morning/afternoon/evening. Did you find everything all right?” When I’m not thinking, I’ll say “Can I help you?” instead of “Good morning”. The problem is that on the Service Desk, it’s not immediately obvious what they’re there for. They could be there to make a complaint, return something, send money, and so on. On the register, we know what they’re there for, for the most part. They’re checking out those six cartloads of canned corn.
The other thing is where I get my ending goofed up. On Service Desk, I say, “[Amount] is your change, and if you would please sign on the dotted line. (They sign) Thank you very much, have a great day.” Since they have to sign for a refund. On register I say, “[Amount] is your change, and here’s your receipt, and have a great day!” I get some weird looks on the register when I ask them to sign on the dotted line (which I say out of habit).
Categories: Walmart
This proves that I can sing…
2 minute read
March 23, 2004, 11:52 PM
It was an associate’s birthday, and so I got to sing Happy Birthday over the loudspeaker for them, at the urging of one of our CSMs. So my rendition of “Happy Birthday” was the talk of the store today. So that was fun.
Otherwise, I had a little shopping disappointment after work. My order from Casual Male was waiting there on the porch for me. That was exciting. So then I took them in and opened them up. Now I wasn’t sure what “French Terry” meant exactly when I ordered the “French Terry Cargo Pants”, but I expected more along the lines of what you would think of as cargo pants. These were more like sweatpants. They were too much like sweatpants to use at work. So I never even took those out of their little bags.
I also got some Dockers corduroy pants. Those fit the program as far as appearance, but failed in the fit, being too small in the lower leg (that’s a new one – usually it’s quite loose around my calves, and I’m worrying about waist and thighs). So I neatly folded the pants back up and put them back in their little bag. How disappointing.
Categories: Clothing, Retail, Television, Walmart
“Pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon?”
< 1 minute read
March 23, 2004, 11:22 AM
I remember that phrase from the commercials in the 1990s. You have someone asking some totally random person at a random location, “Pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon?” It just strikes me as amusing.
I mean really, who is going to just randomly be carrying a bottle of Grey Poupon with them?
I usually mention that when I get the Dijon Mustard dipping sauce for the chicken at work. I say, “This is the kind of thing you just want to say, ‘Pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon?’ for.” And I’ve never even had Grey Poupon before, either. One of those things I need to do one of these days, I guess.
Especially if I’m going to say it, I might as well have at least eaten it, eh?
Categories: Television, Walmart
I went to Washington DC on Saturday…
3 minute read
March 23, 2004, 2:40 AM
I went to DC on Saturday, March 20, the year anniversary of the beginning of “Operation Iraqi Freedom” (a name that still doesn’t sit right with me). Originally, there was supposed to be a big ANSWER anti-war rally in DC, but it unfortunately never materialized. I found it strange that there were rallies in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, etc., but not the obvious choice for a political rally, Washington DC.
However, there were two small rallies that I kind of swung by in passing. One was at Constitution Gardens a few blocks from the White House, which was a pro-Aristide march for Haiti. The other was a silent anti-war vigil at the Capitol, which is documented in the “A Sunny Day at the Capitol” Photography set that I just posted.
The Haiti rally was interesting, as it was interesting seeing the rather small group on the sidewalk along Constitution Avenue saying “Whose streets? Our streets!” That one chant just seemed out of place, what with the difference in how it was presented last April, where it was the anarchists’ call as they actually marched out into the road, and shut off a lane of traffic.
Meanwhile, the silent vigil at the Capitol seemed to go well, as the small group stood in silence (for the most part). Between the Capitol group and the Haiti group, the Haiti group was a lot more united. The Capitol group didn’t seem as “together” and presenting as strong of a message due to their appearance.
And if there was anyone who thought it was otherwise, let me restate it. I am not a cowboy.
< 1 minute read
March 19, 2004, 4:15 PM
Nope. No cowboy blood in me. No wild west spirit yearning to break loose within me.
And how do I know this?
Well, I decided, since I had a long lunch break, to ride the mechanical horse in the game room. It’s one of those things I’ve kind of wanted to do for a while, and so I seized the opportunity and did it. So I got on, fed the horse my quarters, and then went out to the wild west. I should have bought a hat in softlines first, and then gone riding. But no. Still, I was having a blast, really hamming it up pretending to swing a lasso and saying, “Hi-yo, Silver!”
Let’s put it this way: The Lone Ranger I am not. End of story, but it was fun, and funny.
Categories: Walmart
More flamingo photos!
2 minute read
March 18, 2004, 11:52 PM
As promised, here’s some better flamingo photos…
This is the whole yard, as seen from the street. Lots of pink flamingoes, let me tell you.
Categories: Amusing, Virginia local news
What a surprise to find as I was leaving for work…
2 minute read
March 17, 2004, 9:39 PM
Look at this:
This is our neighbors’ front yard. And it is covered with pink flamingoes. Yes, pink flamingoes. From what I understand, it has something to do with a church program, but I’m not sure what it is. Still, I was amused, and snapped a picture of it with my cell phone. I’ll take some higher-resolution ones with Big Mavica tomorrow before I go to work.
Categories: Amusing, Television, Walmart
“You retard!”
3 minute read
March 12, 2004, 2:14 AM
Yes, when I came back up to the Service Desk after my lunch break, before I could even say hello to anyone, I’m greeted with a familiar voice saying, “You retard!”
It was Sis.
And returning a printer cartridge that I bought two weeks ago. Seems I bought the wrong one. I just followed the list that Dad gave me. So it’s not my fault.
Still, it was amusing to see Sis and her friends (Matt and Ben, both of whom I also like) at the Service Desk as I came back. And amusing is what my coworker asked of Sis: “Is he as hyper at home as he is at work?” She answered, “Worse!” All in all, I was amused. Plus I got to find out about their trip to New York, which I couldn’t partake in due to work.
Plus this was the first time Sis got to see me in my vest, since the last time she was at our store while I was working, I was on lunch and carrying it in my hand as I was ringing up my food on the self-checkout.
Still, amusing.
The phone horn is back…
< 1 minute read
March 9, 2004, 4:51 PM
So I have nailed a new nail and hung the phone horn on it. And of course the first thing I did was call the house. Just to test it out and make sure that it’s going to run. And what do you know – it did.
And I didn’t put it in its old spot. Now, it’s above the VCR, next to the closet. About four feet away from where it used to be.
So on the decor, it’s so far, so good. I have the WMATA poster up over the couch, the bulletin board went over the head of the bed, the white board went behind the door, and my degree from JMU went up between the windows.
Next up: the little pictures.
Categories: Bedroom remodel
Today I got majorly confuzzelated.
2 minute read
March 7, 2004, 1:45 AM
Call it confused, confuzzled, or confuzzelated, but let me tell you… I was going in so many different directions today I probably couldn’t have told you which way was up.
New experience of the day: I got to spend an hour out in the parking lot doing carts. We have a machine that pushes, and is controlled remotely by the associate. Then the associate stands in front and steers. And it sure beats the heck out of pushing them by hand, which I also did some. It was also nice to spend some time outside, which was a nice change from the Service Desk, since we’re in what could almost be described as a well-lit cave.
And I learned that I can control a machine pushing a pile of carts that is about 50 feet long (at least) better than I can control one of the electric carts that people ride around the store. One time when I was greetering, I had to park one of those things after someone was done with it, and promptly backed into a wall. That, by the way, earned me the affectionate nickname “Crash”.
Categories: Television, Walmart
This is one day I was glad to have end…
2 minute read
March 5, 2004, 11:48 PM
Yeah, this was just one day that I was glad to see end and go onto the list of days completed. Today just seemed to drag, with the Service Desk just hopping at the same time. I don’t know what it was, but I just am glad that the day is over.
Meanwhile, I’m trying to figure out what to do. I need to get out on one of my days off for this coming up week. Don’t know where I want to go. I just know that I am taking one day and going AWAY for the day, and dragging Big Mavica, my tripod, and my cell phone with me.
And I really don’t know where I want to go. All I know is that I am craving some city. I want to see tall buildings, I want to see people enjoying manmade surroundings, and I want to see the streets light up at night.
You see, I think that despite having lived in the country for quite a while, I find that I am still an urban person at heart. Realize that my parents both grew up less than an hour away from New York City (my mother in Ridgewood, New Jersey, and my father from Asbury Park), and then they lived near Philadelphia for about sixteen years (in and around Glassboro, New Jersey).
Categories: DC trips