Talking on Internet

1:46pm: There is nothing so great in my life that I cannot ruin it.

10:44pm: Dude. LOST.

4:01am: The only thing you need to know about New Super Mario Bros. is that the enemies dance to the background music. If that doesn't make you want to run out and buy the game right now, nothing will.

11:50pm: I'm using my old AIM screen name, djREGN, because I forgot the password for TheLoweringTide and AOL is a bitch and won't give it back.

That's all.

8:57pm: I've decided to go see Mogwai at the Metro (Chicago) tomorrow.

I have 4 days off and nothing else to do.

3:03am: Today's fun experience?

Chilling at the corner of Riverside and Mulford, waiting for the light to turn green.

BAM.

Turns out Emeril was hiding in my back seat.

No, seriously, I looked over and the car next to mine had just been hit and spun 90 degrees. The car that did the colliding veered right and missed me by about 6 inches. The entire front end was torn up like a tin can. It was all pretty surreal; it happened in a matter of seconds, but I can recall several discrete thoughts that seem too complex to fit into such a tiny timespan.

Thoughts such as:

What?

and

Holy fuck.

and

Please don't hit me.

and

Dammit, I don't have collision insurance.

and

Oh my god that was close.

The light turned green a few seconds later and I had to move on so as not to obstruct traffic anymore than it already was.

If you're a misanthrope like me, you're keenly aware of the stupidity of the general populace. Sometimes you forget that the same geniuses you interact with on a daily basis routinely take control of a 2000 pound high velocity metal box and propel it along in your general vicinity. Sometimes you have to force yourself to forget or you'd be too scared to go outside.

12:51am: True story: Insight cable sucks balls. Their internet server was down for like 12 hours a few days ago, and since then my connection has been intermittent at best. I'd call to complain about it, but their goddamn phone is busy everytime I try. I'd switch to another service, but thanks to the modern miracle of collusion and its partner government sanctioned monopoly I don't have another cable company to choose from. I'd switch to DSL, but my bandwidth addiction is now such that anything below 2 megabits just doesn't get me there. I'd switch to dial-up, but I'd have to seriously weigh its merits versus suicide.

Fuck you Insight.

So I built myself a new computer. Athlon 64 3200, GeForce 7600GT, gig o' ram, pretty black case. It's fast enough to run Oblivion, so I've been using it to run Oblivion. I was putting some pretty serious thought into buying an Xbox 360 for the express purpose of playing it, but I think this is a better solution. Besides, keyboard + mouse is so much more natural for first person games anyway.

Went to see Sigur Ros tonight. It was pretty incredible, but the seats were awful. Both in the sense that mine was too far away (row BB) and in the sense that they were uncomfortable. The lighting absolutely blew me away. I've seen better/more elaborate stage shows, but I don't think I've ever seen anyone do so much with a handful of spotlights, a translucent curtain and a projector. The music was as awesome as I knew it would be...never before have I had so much respect for feedback as a musical instrument.

11:28am: My calendar just keeps looking more and more awesomer
4/28 - Comedians of Comedy
5/10 - Sigur Ros
5/25 - The Avett Brothers (maybe...they're just the openers so I haven't decided whether or not it's worth it)
8/4 - A Silver Mt. Zion!!!!!
8/5 - A Silver Mt. Zion AGAIN!!!!!!!!!

1:15am: God damn.
Something Awful's humor/quality is pretty hit-or-miss, but holy fuck, this makes up for a lot of misses.

10:50am: What do you collect?
I didn't think anything could surpass the Great Outdoor Fight for pure awesome quotient, but today's Achewood the most optimal mixture of bizarre, inexplicable, unsettling and inappropriately hilarious ever combined into a single entity. In other words, this strip is Achewood.

P.S. SoundManifesto.com guys. Come on.

10:28pm: I started a music blog. Why? Boredom mostly, along with an ever present need to impose my listening habits upon as many people as possible.

Anyway, the layout is crap, but I'm working on it (when I started this morning I had virtually no practical knowledge of CSS, so I'm pretty impressed with what I've been able to accomplish).

So...check it out!

Add it to your bookmarks or your RSS reader or what have you. See what I'm recommending at the moment and give it a listen; you might even like it. And, of course, share the link with anyone who'd give a fuck.

1:13am: During a recent discussion with my sales supervisor about my career goals with U.S. Cellular, he brought up the question of whether I'd be willing to relocate to take a promotion. I nonchalantly told him that I would, but my internal voice was standing up and screaming, "Holy fuck, yes! Anything to get me away from here as soon as humanly possible!"

My life in Rockford just feels completely stagnant...I've long since used up any potential this city ever had to offer me, and I've been waiting for some means of escape ever since. This is already the best job I've ever had by far, and if in addition it could serve as impetus to help me get away from here it would raise my appreciation exponentially.

Not that I'm going to get a new position anytime in the immediate future, but my supervisor suggested a timeframe that could be as soon as 6 months. That mere possibility is like a glowing beacon of hope that gives me something to strive for.

12:33am: I know what you are thinking. You are thinking, "I wonder if Ben has gotten any new awesome T-shirts lately."

( As a matter of fact, I have. )

11:51pm: I cannot wait for things to happen
Tomorrow: BEATMANIA.

3/31: Payday (including February commission!)

4/21: The goddamned Silent Hill movie.

4/28: COMEDIANS OF COMEDY TOUR IN CHICAGO

8:48pm: Occasionally the internet generates a sort of intangible force of pure awesomeness so great that it must escape its electronic confines to manifest itself in the real world.

( It does this in the form of T-shirts. )

11:20pm: Toys
I've been buying so much crap lately:

-An Archos Gmini 400 portable media player. To the best of my knowledge, the only PMP that supports a goddamned Sega Master System/Game Gear emulator. Unfortunately it has a broken button and a dead pixel, so I have to return it...and I don't think CompUSA has any more. Boo.

-A pair of Shure E3c earphones. Normally $150, on clearance sale for 30% off.

-Super Princess Peach for Nintendo DS. Having played through the first stage, I'd give it a rating of "eh."

On March 5th I'll be eligible to get a new computer through U.S. Cellular's PC purchase program...I get to order with U.S. Cellular's discount and pay for it interest free through payroll deductions over the next 12 months. So I'm thinking about getting the Dell XPS 600. Because I desperately need two video cards, honestly.

8:48pm: VTEC just kicked in, yo
Oh my fuck, I got a new car.

Mine is (obviously) black, and it is more fun to drive than should be legally allowed. Seriously.

3:04pm: Tonight I get to go to Cliffbreakers and eat $28 filet mignon. I don't have to pay for it. Did I mention how much I love my job?

Also: I have a new phone. As an employee of U.S. Cellular I get unlimited calling, unlimited text messaging, unlimited picture messaging and free easyedge downloads. Did I mention how much I love my job?

1:01am: Man. I just downloaded IIDX 10th Style. You know, just for the hell of it. Having no controller (and a semi-functional PS2 that probably wouldn't work with a controller) I played a few rounds on the Dual Shock (5-key, Autoscratch; I'm not a masochist). Even playing what is essentially a shadow of the real game, I was suddenly reminded why Bemani pretty much owned my life for 2 years.

So basically what I'm saying is I need to get a IIDX controller.

In more news no one will care about, my car is kind of broken. It takes about 3-7 tries to get it to start, and occasionally it'll die again within the first few minutes. So I'm driving my mom's old Accord, which is 8 years newer than mine and yet runs about 8 times worse (aside from the whole not starting thing). The experience has served to remind me how goddamn boring it is to drive with automatic transmission.

The new(ish) job is amazing. They're sending me to Itasca this week for my final training assessment. To that end they're paying for me to stay in a nice hotel and giving me money for food. Amazing!

4:28pm: Seeing as all I've been doing in this silly journal for the last few months is update my employment prospects, I might as well go ahead and announce that I have a new job with U.S. Cellular. At the goddamned mall kiosk (WHY CAN'T I ESCAPE!?). This comes almost a month after the interview that I thought I totally fucked up. Now I have about a week to wrestle my sleep schedule back into something resembling normalcy.

12:32pm: Jokes!
Q: HOW MANY CROONERS DOES IT TAKE TO HOOK UP WITH WARREN BEATTY?
A: THREE TO ANIHILATE WARREN BEATTY AND FIVE TO WORK UNDERCOVER FOR THE MAN...


BEST EXCUSES IF YOU GET CAUGHT WITH ONE MORE BIMBO-BRAIN-GRAVEY
1. ACT LIKE ONE MORE BIMBO-BRAIN-GRAVEY IS BUCKINGHAM PALACE.
2. SAY " I JUST LIKE TO EATS YOU!"
3. SAY " ONE MORE BIMBO-BRAIN-GRAVEY IS ILL-REPUTED!"
4. SAY " NO! MEGAZORD MADE ME DO IT!"


GENGHIS'S SASSY BADGER-HORSE WALKS INTO A BAR. THE BARTENDER SAYS "DO YOU KNOW YOU HAVE WILSON IN YOUR ZIT-FUCKING SHAMBLES?" "YEAH," GENGHIS'S SASSY BADGER-HORSE SAYS, "IT ENROBES MY STRING. "


Q: WHAT'S ODD?
A: A ORDERLY GRAPE.
Q: WHAT'S REALLY ODD?
A: A ORDERLY GRAPE WITHOUT TURKEY BASTER AND ONE MORE PRAGMATIC FOOT-LICKER!

10:34am: I have another job interview tomorrow. At one of the 482,000 US Cellular stores in Rockford. Obviously I hope I get it...even more than the last potential job. Why? Not a kiosk. Also, US Cellular has pretty much the best coverage in the area, meaning much easier sells/fewer returns. Wish me luck. Again.

11:27pm: I have an interview on Friday for the T-Mobile kiosk (argh) at the mall (arg@#%@T*W). It certainly can't be any worse than my current position (which isn't really all that bad to start with), so....yay.

1:02am: Yeah.

So I have no idea what my employment status will be in nine days.

My kiosk is presently located inside Sam's Club, but it's owned and operated by Radio Shack. Except apparently Sam's is buying our kiosk (note: not the entire Retail Services division of Radio Shack; just our kiosk and a handful of others throughout the company. Huh?) So as of October 1st, we're out.

My understanding is that my probable options are:

-Take a position at an SC Kiosk in Madison or Gurnee. As much as it would thrill me to move out of Rockford, I'm just settling into a new apartment, can't afford to break my lease/move again in general, etc.

-Try to get hired by Sam's Club and continue selling phones there. Except they apparently don't pay commission and are only looking for part timers. Ha. No.

-Take a position at Radio Shack's Sprint kiosk at Cherryvale. Con: it's another kiosk. Meh. Pro: Mall traffic. Con: Cherryvale is evil.

-Take a position at a Radio Shack retail store. Get to do more than hover around an 8'x12' space all day. Less pressure to sell. Probably lower (but more consistant) pay.

I'd definitely go with one of the latter two options. It pretty much depends on what's available and if I can get a full time position at either.

The manager says we'll know more specifics in the next few days.

10:32pm: Amazing.
I just spent the last week downloading the entire first season of Lost, but my computer is too shitty to play back high resolution video.