WATER WAY TO END THE YEAR

Work got off to an interesting start today. I don't recall if I mentioned, but about a month ago the truck drivers bringing our freight to the station almost ripped out a water pipe that hangs down near the wall by the entrance in the loading bay. Only one has really done that that I have seen, the others somehow manage just fine. Well, didn't manage it today! I'm getting ready to do my thing when I hear an alarm go off. I try to find the cause of it, but saw nothing on my floor so figured it for a false alarm. That's when someone tells me the truck hit the pipe and water was gushing all over. I went down to see and sure enough, we had a nice waterfall that already created a swamp in the decline that is our loading dock. It was already a couple inches deep in a few spots. I ran back up the ramp and down the rear stairs to get around it, where I found the undelivered packages getting a bath. I quickly tried to save as many as I could, with eventual help from Ortis while he was still off the clock. We managed to get most of them to higher ground using nearby cubbies and the recycle cart, while saving the wet ones before they got too water logged.

The fire department showed up as the alarm alerted them since the water was from the sprinkler system. They shut off the valve, but the water still came. It took 15 mins after for the pipe to run dry, and a good 35 mins after impact. The loading dock, the bathrooms, and the middle of the lower truck area were all covered in water. The calendars we were giving out that were right under the pipe were destroyed, and for safety the power was cut to the lift. What a mess. Well, with two managers there and maintenance already on it, I headed back up to finish my job before I got too far behind.

Somehow, they got things ready just in time for the sort. The freight was typical Monday level. I had 9 stops closed today, but together they left me with a lot of shit left behind which means if Wed's freight is heavy I'm gonna end up slammed. Had 17 stops, and 5 of them were bulk. Luckily, we got out fairly early which allowed me my choice of parking spots. With the construction crews off for the day, getting in and around my building was a joy. The only difficulty was trying to deliver a package to a place I've only been to once before, thus forgetting where it was due to the address on the box being their OLD floor. But, that got done, I got out, and was able to deliver my two outside stops to finish the day. I stuck around a bit extra to give Freddy his Xmas card I've been trying to for two weeks, then headed back. The remarkable thing was I caught EVERY SINGLE GREEN LIGHT on the way back. Usually, I get stuck at 2 reds on the way (one all the time, the other alternates between two streets typically) but today I had a straight run. I made it back in LESS than 10 mins! That will NEVER happen again.

I finally got in some game time before me and pops went out to get our food. I wanted the usual White Castle we've had for the last couple of years, and they got trays of food from the pizzaria we've been getting food from lately, such as hot dog puffs and chicken wings. We took the van for guaranteed parking, and pops drove to see if he could. No parking by the pizza joint, so I ended up having to circle the block instead of blocking traffic. Did it about 3 times before a spot by the hydrant opened up and I was able to pull in for the few mins it took to get the food finished and out. During one of my passes, I saw Tina come out of the corner market. I honked at her to wave, and texted that it was me in case she couldn't see through the darkness 'cause I saw a confused look on her face.

So that left the rest of the night to fart around, FINALLY getting to eat and overeating in the process, and waiting for midnight. I had a text convo with Tina briefly that stemmed from my initial one on the road. Got a surprise call from Amanda AND Britt for New Years. I then returned the favor to Amanda online and Britt on the phone when it came their turn (time zones). Wrapped up the night with another phone/chat convo with Britt, and of course, a few hours of the Honeymooners marathon. Better than the Law & Order crap and Twilight Zone running at the same time. The ball fell, and another year ends. Ma goes back to work this week (yes!) but I'm still stuck with pops for a bit longer (crap!).

Ah well, happy new year! And since I've been up for 24 hours straight, I think it's about time to call it a day!

WHEN ALIENS FIGHT, WE LOSE

Saw Aliens vs. Predator a little later than planned, but at least it happened. Movie was alright; too dark to see shit as the original and peppered with annoying human characters to balance out the non-speaking leads. Hopefully the TV viewings are lightened up like the first so I can actually find out what the hell happened in some scenes.

After, me and D had some pizza and chatted before heading our own ways. We MAY go see Legend tomorrow, but so far doesn't look too good. I may just go on my own since I'm sick of missing movies I wanna see. In the downtime before and after I got some Spiderfan reviews done, which leaves me with about a dozen left to do before I can move on to other things there. I'll probably do a few more then one mass upload.

ALIEN VS. LEGEND

Holy hell! An easy day! No traffic, PARKING, got all my outside stops done and was still able to get into the building quick, and made my last delivery with 10 mins to spare! What the hell? I musta been due. The last two weeks have been hell, so I was definitely owed. I even caught the other FedEx guy to make use of his close-list for New Years to top mine off. Lucky break. Unfortunately, only 9 of my regulars are closed. Unfortunately, those 9 could mean a LOT for me on Wednesday. Seriously, you'd think getting a reduction like that would be a good thing, except it bites you in the ass the next delivery day. But, what can ya do?

Because of the holiday comics came out today. As a result, I met a guy at my shop I never seen before instead of my usual crew. Nice guy, friendly, heavy on talking comics. I'm ALWAYS up to talking comics. But, I was also tired and hungry, so I bailed as soon as I could. 'Rents came home from somewhere with some Burger King (didn't I JUST have that?) so at least lunch was taken care of. I did try to start writing something, but all motivation left me. Apparently, I also passed out which made me miss a phone call I was looking forward to with Britt. Dammit. I HATE getting old!

Plans with D are final. We're gonna go see AvP tomorrow, then I Am Legend Sunday. Best part? It'll be FOR FREE. My ma still has some passes left to the theater and they expire Monday, so may as well go out with a bang, no? Too bad he didn't seem to thrilled about a double movie weekend, or else I woulda suggested we go see Alvin and the Chipmunks too so if it sucks it's still free. Probably will; the success of these cartoon-to-movie things is very low, especially since Jason Lee is in it.

LAW & DISORDER

Today was the day the city decided to graduate almost 1,000 new police recruits for some crime prevention operation they have in effect. What did this mean to me? Well, only that my enitre block was shut down for it! They weren't letting ANYONE (except UPS, of COURSE) on it. So this led me to try and find an alternate parking spot...which was easier said than done, especially with the amount of traffic. And with the little park in the middle of everything there, the street grid is not really condusive to circling around too well. I finally ended up a little over 2 blocks away, best I could do. I sent my help message (and didn't get any, as usual) and got to work. I was able to traverse the distance in two trips (thankfully I was light, and didn't lend out my handtruck like Tasha wanted) and got inside fairly quickly. Didn't too badly, 6 lates out of 70. Considering all the crap I had to go through, that's pretty damn impressive. Incidentally, today was officially my 8th month there. Earl got awarded for being there for a year as of last month, so I got a little view of what I'll be getting around late May, early June. Nothing special, to say the least.

Tonight was the hangout with April. She was off with her girlfriends first to talk about girl stuff, then was gonna come with me and supposedly D, but she didn't plan things too well and he ended up getting left out by the time he got back from work. Ah well. And I was running late as well, which worked out since they were too. That's just an example of the coordination involved all around here.

I went to KB Toys to wait for them, browsing all the stuff and finding two 1960s Batmobile Hotwheels (I've been collecting all the Batmanbiles I could find) when sis and Tina showed up. We browsed for a bit and goofed around before heading to Burger King. See, they already ate at Unos, but since she never got back to me with what exactly we were doing I only had some cereal to tide me over in case we were eating. So we talked as they sat and watched me eat. Talked about some things from the past, some personal anniversaries that have come and gone or are coming up, new/mutual people in our lives...things like that. That was cut short when Tina realized she forgot to put something in her car that would let her park at a bank her pops works for, so we had to rush over in fear of her being towed (which I thought was hardly a possibility, given the time of night and especially after seeing where she was parked).

We opted to take advantage and go drive around a bit to see the lights in Dyker Heights. The houses in that area (mostly mansions) always go to the nines for Christmas, especially this one particular house with giant...everything! They were as spectacular as usual. On the way, I was reading through these Truth or Dare romance card deck she had in the car, and we all got a kick out of this one question: who in your group would you go out with (paraphrasing). Well, if that wasn't the most loaded question that I had the fortune of reading out loud!

After the lights, we headed for the Dunkin Donuts we always seem to end up at. They got hot drinks, I got me some ice cream. Mmmmmm...chocolatey. Not really a big fan of Baskin Robbins, and it wasn't no Anapoli sundae, but it sufficed. Both girls had their cameras (ironically, me being the one who actually dabbles in photography did not) and where there are girls with cameras, there's picture taking. We did a buncha combos; them two together, then me with each of them. Even had a nice joke shot of me and Tina strangling each other. Now what made these pictures special were they were the first of me and April together by ourselves in a while, and the first of me and Tina together in officially just over 7 years!

Sis hadda go pick up her BF from dropping off his 'rents at an airport, so we took her to a bus stop and saw her off. Then it was my turn. At least when we left DD, D called and got to talk to them, and we got to re-plan to see some movies this weekend. Overall, a great end to an otherwise crappy day. Now, if only work could go as swimmingly...

SKUNKED

Well, it was light, and there was ample parking. I could have very easily made all my deliveries on time...except I made the mistake of going to help Rory at the behest of Natasha and himself. See, he messaged me he wanted me to take the stuff for the other building that's supposed to be on my route. Okay, no big...had the stop around the corner left, so I thought I'd go get the stuff, do the 2 stops, then cut through one of the stores to finish it up.

Good plan, except one of the stops ended being a bulk that required my handTRUCK, not the cart I had. He opted to give me an alternate instead, but instead of telling me it WASN'T the other stop in the building, he gave me one for the main building he does. It wasn't until I was on my way to the 11th floor I caught sight of the address. I rushed back downstairs and ran accross the street to the other side of the loading dock. As it had no ramp, I hoisted my stuff up, ran to the elevator, and made my way to the stop. Unfortunately, I never been there before so I didn't know I needed to go further down the extensive hall to their mail room, whose access point was a room between the hall and room no bigger than a closet. I dumped the crap in there, got my signature, and left to deliver my package 6 mins late. Skunked again.

IT'S CHRISTMAS TIME IN THE CITY

Here's what I got for Christmas:





(My 'rents think they're funny...)







(Don't ask)



I also got another pair of gloves, this thing ya put over a hat to make ear muffs, and an ugly ass shirt from the morons in Florida that will end up going out for charity. Ugly!

So we did the usual French Toast Sticks while we opened presents. Soon it was time to go see gma in the home. Thrills. I drove, and of course pops had a side-seat driver hissy fit moment 'cause he likes to think I don't do things I should when I do. About the only thing I really effed up was parking at the curb. Y'see, my truck, I pull in forward then adjust as needed...only way I do it. That's left my parallel parking skills a taaaaaaaaaaad rusty. Whoops. At least at home I did it better. Anyways, she was moody today so we gave her her gifts and left soon. Nobody wants to deal with that.

We got home and I finished wrapping D's gifts so I could head over to his place. We did the exchange, and I really scored with giving him a guitar stand (which he mentioned he was gonna get at Best Buy). I'm just glad it fit! It was also funny we gave each other Guitar Hero games, albeit different ones. We also watched a bit of A Christmas Story, although I had to get going.

Dinner played out as normal, except for gma being here since she was too scared to fly back on her own. Uncle Mike's coming up by Friday to drive her back. Fun times. The normal part was ma and pops THINKING they're funny and annoying the crap outta me. Fortunately Britt came online to save me for a bit before having to go back to her own family stuff.

Sucks I need to work tomorrow. Hope things are as light as they say it'll be.

T'WAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS

Dead. That's the only way to describe the city this morning. D-E-D Dead. I was surprised as all hell when I pulled on to the West Side Highway and had ample amounts of room! The sort went well; lots of missorts as usual without the experienced people down there, but despite that we were done not long after 8. We ran out of room on the catwalk thanks to our closes, but we managed. Kinda sucked that out of all mine I only had 4 stops closed. But, at the same time I didn't get that many of who were open, and despite needing all three handtrucks and no Billy I was moving at a good clip. I had time to exchange pleasantries and hand out the free calendars they started us on last week. Also got to see some benefits from the tips I gave the elevator guys (still need to do one more, haven't seen him yet...ah well) as one helped me out quite a bit on the 6th floor. Little kindness (and money) goes a long way.

Had 2 more stops closed I didn't realize, but that was all good. Unfortunately, while closes give us easier days initially, that only means more work another day during the week. I just hope it's gonna be as dead as they predict it should be. At least it left me time to go help Willie. Actually, almost ran OUT of time as I grabbed stops he already tried before he sent me a message to specify what he needed done. Ended up sending me to this stop you had to enter the building through this ghetto-ass alley which led to a ghetto-ass hallway and an even more ghetto-ass tore-up elevator. I was like holy shit! It's a good thing I locked the stop too 'cause turns out ya needed to go to another floor for their mail room. Will didn't know either, he just got that last week from Earl's route.

So I got back, exchanged the holiday pleasantries, and headed for home. I had contemplated getting some black & white cookies from this local bakery I tried last week, but was far too busy for me to bother. And at $2.50 a pop at that size? They weren't THAT good. Rather drive the 3 hours to Roscoe and get more from Buffalo Zach's. I drove me and pops to the Burger King in the 40s for some lunch, then came home and began doing my Xmas greetings on the web.

Took for-freakin'-ever. Myspace AND Facebook were slow as shit, so leaving my comments left me with lots of errors and re-dos. I think I finally managed to get everyone that mattered over the rest of the night. Hopefully I didn't miss anyone. Also tried out a mass-post thing through Facebook which I hope everyone got. Guess I'll find out if people never talk to me again, eh?

Dinner was fairly typical, except for the fact that gma was still up here. Uncle Mike's gonna drive up from Florida to drive her back 'cause she doesn't wanna fly as she's getting frail. So whatever; we had our pasta and ma made lobster tails for herself. It was cute: as ma gave Figaro a piece of lobster at the edge of the table so he could grab it, the piece started to move BY ITSELF away from him. We couldn't figger out how that happened till we saw Smokey was tugging the table cloth on the other side. That was too funny. And TC raided the kitty stockings early as something in there had some catnip. Gets 'em every time.

Went next door to do my annual phone calls, where I troll down my contact list. I've done it every year except last when all I did was a mass text message. As many of you know, last year was not one of my better years, so I just wasn't in the mood to be bothered trying to muster some Xmas cheer. Thankfully, a couple went to voice mail which makes things so much easier, while a couple ran longer than I anticipated.

I actually had a couple new calls to make this year. One was to an old classmate, Crystal, who gave me her number last night when I talked about this so I said I'd do it. And I did. And then there was Britt. I'll admit, I was a bit nervous on how that one would be recieved as things haven't exactly been kosher between us lately, but it was for naught as we had a great convo like none of the crap ever happened (which is fine by me!). Hell, I even timed it perfectly for once as they all just got back from church, so go me! It was a lot of fun as usual while I listened to her family interactions. Her sister even got in on the act and talked to me for a few minutes. Leaving off with them, I had only one bar left on my battery (which meant I had jack shit power left) so I decided to make one last call before I threw it on charge and finally called Amanda. Luckily she was one of my voicemail calls 'cause I dunno how long a convo I could've sustained without charging (god damn these batteries are useless). That made her night she would later tell me in IMs.

Once that was done, it was off to present wrapping! I got the laptop and A Christmas Story (since the apartment didn't have cable) and got to work as I chatted. Didn't take too long as I didn't have many people to buy for this year. Finished up the night watching the movie a few more times and chatting with Britt and her sister. Finished my online greetings, and placed the gifts under the tree. Now, all that's left is to get on to bed so Santa can come on down and be the next contestant on the Price is Right.

Merry Christmas!

OH WHAT FUN IT IS TO RIDE IN A WHITE CAM-ER-AY

D calls up the 11th hour to try and get me and Nel to the movies. Nice idea, but a bit late. I talked them into us hanging out while I ran to the store, just so I can kill two birds with one stone and we can finish up at D's. Unfortunately, Nel double-booked as always so he hadda be back by 3:30. I had also placed a Best Buy pick-up order to further justify my going, but the store didn't have it. Dammit. We went anyways, then Wendy's for lunch, then to the store, and I got Nel back just a few minutes late. It was fun, despite the rush. AND we got to hang, at least. Gotta say, Best Buy wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be this close to Christmas. Pretty crowded, but not as much as I woulda guessed.

Rest of the day wasn't very productive, as usual. I need to get my work ethic back. I just took a personality test that said my easygoing nature may make it difficult to accomplish tasks. Probably right. Especially since I have a new time sensitive story idea that I doubt I'll get done in time. Again. So much to do, so little time.

I'M DRESSIN' UP AS SANTA (WHEN I GET OUT ON PAROLE)

The danger of the internet is people can't hear your inflections or see physical actions. This sometimes leads to misunderstandings, especially if you don't get someone's sense of humor or are not particularly familiar with it. That was a problem for me this week, especially since when I get so comfortable talking with someone I tend to forget we may've only known each other a short time and thus I'm still an unknown quantity. So, to prevent any further complications and the risk of losing friends, I'm gonna clarify here and now for EVERYONE who reads this that I chat with: I am NOT serious 98% of the time. Unless it's a serious topic of conversation, odds are I'm speaking with a kind of jovial attitude or levity. The bigger clue is if I use goofy smilies, especially the tongue one. I find smilies kinda diminish the weight of the message when I'm being serious, so I won't use them at those rare occasions. Believe me, folks, I am VERY easy to read. You will NEVER have to guess at my meaning or intentions. Ever.

Now, here's hoping enough people peek at my blog to get this message. :P Alright, enough PSA bull...to the meat and bones of it!

...Which is unfortunately very sparse. I did some writing, did some work on my comic lists, did some work on my comics and chatted with some friends. I'm about ready to order my boxes to try and finish getting my collection away, and then I'm gonna need to figure out when the hell I'm gonna get to read all the comics I got. I'm behind a month on my new ones as is. That and I still need to wrap my gifts now. So much to do, so little time...

YOU'RE A MEAN ONE, MR. GRINCH

The hot topic for today: a FedEx truck full of Christmas presents was hijacked at midnight on it's way to New Jersey for deliveries. Driver and truck were eventually found in different parts of Brooklyn, and once the cops release the truck the company's gonna go through it to find what was taken. Nice around the holidays, eh?

This shitty parking situation has gotten me WORN OUT. I ache all over, and I'm just physically tired like you wouldn't believe. It looks like they're prepping me to be the back-up off-load coordinator for when he goes on vacation. I dunno how in the hell that would work. I'd have to come in, get equipment ready, manage the sort, do my truck, do my deliveries and then manage the second wave crap? No way in HELL is that possible. We shall see.

Third day in a row of no parking. At least I got a different spot a few feet closer to where I needed to be. No much, but it'll do. Because freight was delayed all over, service was extended till 11. Nice to get that info at 10:40 when I was already counting lates. Busted my ass to finish my building, then ran out to do my outside stops 'cause no help was coming AGAIN. At least until I was heading around the block. Dude from Empire came on over and grabbed 2 stops from me. Helped, but wasn't enough as I ended up with 1 late. 1 is better than what I've been getting, that's for sure.

Got home, ate because I was starving, and then passed out for a 5-hour nap. Think I was tired any? I'm still sore as hell, but at least I feel a little better. Unfortunately, today is totally shot. Speaking of shot, got a call from D saying our plans Sunday needed to be canceled and altered due to his knee acting up. Ya know, I remembered we had plans but I couldn't remember exactly what until after the call. Fine by me as they had us hanging out in Times Square and I HATE that area. So we'll probably end up chilling at his house. And instead of our usual Xmas eve hangout we're pushing it back to Xmas itself as he'll be getting back real late and will have his family stuff after.

12 PAINS OF CHRISTMAS

Day two of the same crap. Late freight had us leaving late, and once again I had NO parking. The problem is all of a sudden these charter buses are parking on the block taking up most of the spots. By the time I get parking again (the same spot as yesterday) all the spots suddenly open up. If I tried to get those, I'd lose them anyway! At least this time I didn't have a suitcase issue, but I did have to go two-by-two (third handtruck finally came in handy!) to get into the building. I called for help since 9:10, especially to take my outside stops 'cause there was no way to get to them. Nobody came, so I ended up with 14 lates. Better than yesterday, but geeze. And supposedly there was LOTS of help out there, according to Carlos. Yeah...where was it then?

For the holidays, management treated us to a buffet of Spanish food. The only thing that looked remotely edible to me was this pork and spaghetti and shrimp dish (once I plucked out these green olive-looking things). And it wasn't so much a buffet as a sampling since the trays they got were so small. Earl, whom I heard double-fisted the food at the company BBQ back in July, didn't enjoy the small portions we were given. The food was alright, but you shoulda heard the uproar over the shrimp in the spaghetti! Apparently, we got quite a few folks allergic to shrimp in the station, and a few more who never heard of that combo. I'm like, hello, shrimp parmigan, anyone? Ain't nobody eaten Italian before?

Did some editing on the script, and I'm finding I'm not too happy with the ending. Don't think it's strong enough for a first issue. Also, I realized that during my attempt to make it 22 pages I ended up shorting myself one somewhere. Musta been when I changed a scene or two. I'll never get rid of this thing, you realize this.

SCROOGED

Okay, so I couldn't think of an Xmas song title that sounded close enough to SCREWED.

Today was a shit day. I didn't have many pieces or stops, the sort ran fine, all was well at the station end. The block, however? NO PARKING. Now, it's been difficult to find a spot before, but not THAT difficult! Had fucking cops taking up 2 spots, construction in several different ones, big rigs and buses. I ended up all the way down the block, a few spots from the corner. Thaaaaaat's right. Didn't help I had 8 suitcases to bring there too.

So, what I did was I loaded them up on 2 handtrucks, then shoved Juan's stuff (which was a lot today, of course) on top of them an' wheeled both over at once. Shoved his crap on his flat and caught him on the way back to sign after dumping the cases in the loading dock. Took me 2 more trips with the handtrucks and then the luggage cart to get everything to the building. It was fun considering all the traffic, double-parked cars, and people to avoid, plus that I had to do it all one-handed while I stabilized with the other. Then I hadda wait fer construction and a shitty operator to get in. I didn't start delivering till 10:20. Luckily, Billy took in the stuff I brought there up for me, so that was a slight edge. Not that it helped much. At least they couldn't say I didn't ask for help in a timely fashion, as I asked since 9:30 AND told them my problems.

Two of my stops tipped me, one gave me $20 the other $40. I hated it. I hate getting things, especially money. But, what can ya do. So, I put the money towards clearing out my comic bag as it was getting ridiculously large due to the massive volumes that have been coming out.

I intended to ready Wade's pic to mail out to him to leave with my ma and pick up on my way home from the comic shop, but never did it. I intended to do a few things, but had to lie down for a bit as all the straining I did today caught up with me big time. I did some editing, so at least that got done. Tomorrow gonna try to finish that all up so I can mail things out and work on my next submission for Phil's book. Still no progress with my Idol entry, so we'll see what happens there.

SO THIS IS CHRISTMAS

There are times when we do something we know we shouldn't, yet do it anyway. Something we instinctively know is a bad idea, yet it happens. Nobody is free of this, not even those who can see 4th dimensionally. Why does it happen? Maybe it's because we have a moment of sheer stupidity? Maybe it's an outside factor, like being tired enough at just the right moment to not think straight? Or maybe it's just the fact of being caught up in the moment and not realizing? Who knows. One thing you can be certain; when it does happen trouble tends to follow. All you can do is hope the damage isn't irrepairable.

And that's my philosophical moment for the day.

I updated my website today. Planned to do other things, but having to restore cover images ended up taking up a good part of the day. I'll save announcing the updates on the message boards till tomorrow. Got some comic things in the works and moving forward, so I look to get a li'l busy soon.

Thanks to the cat piss, when I was sitting in the bathroom last night I had cats coming up to sniff me. Figaro did his merecat impression trying to stand and sniff my hands. TC did the same, except she was smart and grabbed my hand to keep it close to her. It was cute. Of course, the cutness faded when TC wouldn't stop smelling me while I was trying to sleep... Damn cats.

RUN, RUN, RUDOLPH

Two alarm clocks. Two. One I hafta get out of bed to turn off. NEITHER went off this morning, so I woke up at 4:50. At 4:50, the only way to get to work on time was if I was driven, but with pops on vacation and unable to drive right now, that wasn't gonna happen. So, I got there half an hour late, and had to rush to get everyone their crap within 10 mins. Somehow I just managed to do it. Then I rushed checking my truck and getting my gear so I could load up.

Next problem came as missorts gallore came up the belt. With an offload crew of mostly rookies and dipshits, it was expected. Hopefully they keep me down there at least tomorrow to equalize it. I didn't have many stops, but I was heavy in pieces as usual. I was sure I could make it on my own, but I had a couple of delays which cost me, and I ended up taking a 2-late hit. Everyone had lates so I didn't feel so bad. It was a crap day. I did finally get my third handtruck, though. A piece of crap that was sitting in Tasha's office all this time, but as long as it can do the job I'm good with it. Now I have no excuse not to make service. Ah well.

I had a nap and spent the rest of the night chatting. I also got two interested responses to doing Idol with me, so we'll see if my description won them over to join the team. Something tells me I'm not gonna be in the competition this year... In that case, better hope my pitch to Phil goes over well.

Oh, and the topper of the day was I went to go put out the trash, and ma left gma's bag on the porch. Well, I came up smelling like cat piss. One of the strays musta went on it for some reason. Perfect end to the perfect day...

BLUE CHRISTMAS

I try to catch myself before I do something very stupid, but sometimes I think I don't catch it fast enough. As much as I try to avoid uneccessary conflict over retarded things, sometimes just getting in a position to have that conflict is enough to render the same result as having the actual conflict. Sometimes I'm just too stubborn for my own good...

This morning I did all my Xmas shopping. Done in about 2 hours with under $200 spent. Not too shabby. I need to get to the bank on Tues so I can take the money out for my credit card, as well as take $200 more as gifts for the elevator guys in that one building. I think greasing their palms is the way to keep people happy. I mean, only one has been a real big help, but if I just do him and not the others then I could screw myself over.

Almost got the preliminaries done. Pitch is giving me a hard time and the villain profiles need some tweaking, but I'm rolling along. Decided to put out there my need for talent, and hopefully I'll get some hits. I think I've also got a lock on my story for the CAG giant anthology our West Coast guy is putting out. It's times like this I realize maybe I should have stuck with my art. Every artist who just joined CAG already has a full plate of work coming their way, as well as books being put out. Me, I've got two stories that aren't even totally mine and nothing else ahead of that. If I don't find anyone for Idol, that goes bust. And if my pitch doesn't get taken for CAG, that's bust. It's not easy being a writer.

So what do I have going on this week...well, I'm expectin' the last hurrah before the holidays so the week might be hectic. Orrrrrrrrrr, since we don't do residential, maybe we already got everything and it'll be an easy week. I do need to finish finding out what places are closed; I do have most of them done, just need to write them on the actual sheet yet. I need to bang out my script for Idol and the anthology, as well as edit the one for my cousin. I found my envelopes so I can send out Wade's pic finally. This weekend me, D and Nel are supposed to go do something. I am kinda hoping this co-worker fix-up thing will disappear like so many other similar situations have because, honestly, my interests are already skewed elsewhere. And until that changes, it would just be me leading someone on in the meantime, which is not what I do.

We shall see.

THEY'LL BE HOME BEFORE CHRISTMAS

One thing I forgot to mention yesterday was I had to move my handtrucks. Again. For those keeping track, this was the third time. When I came in and got my stuff, Ron told me they're gonna make where I had them now a re-wrap area for damaged packages. Gonna love to see how that works out. So, I moved my stuff over to the bar next to where they were originally before they put the cage for undelivered packages. The second place, if you recall, was moved because they made that the dangerous goods area. Gonna love to see what they put in THIS area next. Pretty soon we're gonna have NO place to lock our stuff.

I spent all day working on my stuff, being gradually distracted by my 'rents. It sucks having them BOTH home. I mean, I get rid of ma and then pops comes out from the back. Then I got both till pops goes back, and then I still got ma. The process repeats. I don't get ANY of my alone time. I am being driven quite mad. Add to the fact next week is ma's vacation and pops is ON vacation...yeah, I look forward to having to go to work now.

Highlight of the night was an hour-long phone call with Britt. We had a few laughs, a nice chat as always. Poor girl sounded about ready to pass out, though. Guess I gave her TOO much time to work on work stuff. Ah well.

A VISIT FROM ST. NICHOLSON

3rd time's the charm. First, there was a little matter of 26 stops I ended up with as we approached 9. Rory dumped a building he normally takes on me thinking I was lighter than he was due to the fact I theoretically was in pieces. But these stops, combined with the time I'd be leaving, possible construction delays and elevators, I never woulda made it. Luckily Tasha saw the stop number and sent a fellow comic guy along with me. Traffic was light, surprisingly, and I had a choice of FOUR parking spots which made it difficult to choose till I finally settled on the one by the loading dock. I gave him 6 of the 9 outside stops to do while I set up the building, then sent him off to help others thinking I'd be fine. Of course, that assumption was premature when my 6th floor stop held me up for several minutes to give me an Xmas box of chocolate. A nice gesture, but I had to bust my ass to make up for lost time. I also couldn't carry this box (wasn't very large but not very small either) and do my job at the same time since I gave the other guy my cart to use in those small elevators of those stops, so I subtlely ditched it at my 7th floor stop. Who better to appreciate a box of chocolates than a room full of women? Juan also gave me a $50 gift card for his store. Also a nice gesture, I wasn't expecting anything. Since I was running behind didn't have time to politely refuse it...not big on recieving. Maybe I'll pass it along to someone, seeing as I don't usually shop there.

I managed to make it and retrieve my equipment. Then it was off to 1 Penn for my third attempt at the raffle prize. I took a reattempt package with me, did that, then ended up having to go BACK to my truck for the tickets I left inside. D'oh! I ran to 1 Penn to make up for more lost time, and this time was actually ON the damn list. I got my pass, figured out how to get to the elevators, and got up to the floor only to find myself in a lobby area with two locked doors. I called Tasha to find out how I get in, then called the number on the phone there she gave me. Someone eventually let me in and led me to a waiting area where I sat and waited. After about half an hour of fighting to fall asleep, I went to the reception lady there to see what's up, and it turns out I was taken to the wrong side of the office. Oy! I was led to another receptionist who hooked me up with my prize in no time at all then led me out. It should've taken me mere minutes!!!! Gah! And in the end, it turned out to be something I couldn't even use; a stereo docking port for an iPod that connects under your cabinets. Or, an iHome. When I got back to the station and showed it to Lissette, I inadvertantly found someone who'd want it based on her reaction, so I gave it to her. She tried to fight that, but she wasn't gonna win that one. No way I was carting that thing around for an exhaustive search. I bought the tickets for charity, not for a prize. Sometimes, doing a good thing is more hassle than it's worth...

Got shit done today thanks to pops needing me to take him to the bank and dcotor's. Didn't end up leaving till after 3, so I dropped him and gma off then hit the banks myself, then came out just in time to go pick them up. After that, and without my nap, I was pretty much shot so I didn't do anything else except chat. Tomorrow, though, I warned them I wanna be left absolutely alone so I can do my thing and get ready for idol. And Christmas shop. Oy!

Oh, yeah, and in a strange bit of news one of the new girls at my station was telling me a friend of hers saw me once and thought I was cute. Um, okay? Hispanic girl, full-figured, college graduate, decent job...two kids was the only negative I heard so far. So, we'll see what happens. I'll meet the girl to be fair (if it happens), but honestly, my interests lay elsewhere at the moment...

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS FRIGHTFUL...

Hail. Sleet. Ice rain. Snow. Yeah, we pretty much got it all today. Fortunately, it came at the END of my shift during my last two deliveries. I eventually hadda put on my windbreaker 'cause that damn hail was stingin'! Anyways, I was off to 1 Penn again and this time I remembered my raffle tickets...however they forgot to put my name in the system so security wouldn't let me upstairs. And the number they gave me to call to make it happen was constantly busy. I tried for 20 mins before giving up before getting a break violation. Tomorrow is another day. All this for something I never even wanted...hope it's worth the hassle.

Li'l hiccup in my Idol entry as my artist Ginny hadda take herself out of the running in favor of getting her own project done through Dimestore, which conflicted with entry rules. Fair enough, I supported that. Told her we'll do a project down the line as other chances will come up, but now I REALLY need to get it in gear and get things done so I can shop for talent. I'll hit up both SPA and CAG and between the two I should find someone. Ideally, I hope to be done by Saturday.

Apparently, when people wanna stay awake while driving I'm the one to call. Britt called me tonight for that reason (not to say that she DIDN'T wanna talk to me as well, but the primary at least) as she was driving a long road that puts her to sleep. So we talked till she was almost there and her friend called. I don't mind it and talking to her is fun as all hell. Just find the repeat "business" interesting and funny.

Here's something scary: her car was a Dodge Neon like you-know-who's, and was involved in an accident today, like you-know-who's (car was totalled, but she and it's driver are fine so no worries, folks!). It also had the same spedometer problem, but THANKFULLY was a different color. If it was white I mighta freaked. :P I'll say this much for the Neon; a piece of shit little thing, but while it may get totalled in any kind of collision it sure as hell does its job protecting the driver.

SILVER BELLS AND WHISTLES

They told me at work that I was supposed to go to 1 Penn to pick up my prize from the raffle I entered a couple months ago. Whoops! Nice they mention that li'l fact to me. I was gonna go today, but I had forgotten to take the tickets outta my bag 'cause I was given charge of a newbie who just started. I was gonna head up past my locker when I went up to my truck, but he decided to take the ramp since he didn't see me head for the stairs around the truck, so I followed so I could hand him off to Tasha. And thus, I forgot. Ah well, I'll do it tomorrow.

Good thing I did forget, 'cause I also had to pop off to Hess to pick up our traditional Hess trucks, which in turn led to me buying White Castle accross the way (of course), and then I had to get my comics. So, my hands were pretty full and I dunno how big this thing is gonna be.

Pops is recoverin' fine. Hadda take him fer a walk yesterday, he went out on his own today. Won't be long before he's outta the house (and consequently what's left of my hair). I rely on those few sacred hours between my gettin' home and them fer peace and quiet. I like my alone time, thank you.

Checking out my Myspace page, I saw I dropped in my friend count again after just gaining one, and saw it was this one friend who keeps deleting and re-making her page. Seriously don't think she can make up her mind one way or the other. Although, there might be a pattern to that so I'll hafta keep an eye out for when she requests me again. On a lark, I checked out my Facebook friends and saw that Babs (remember her?) finally either deleted me or her Facebook. Surprised it took so long, frankly, considering how quickly she deleted me from her Myspace and severed all contact with me despite the fact how cool she said I was and all that. Maybe I misread this girl too? Seemed like a nice enough gal. Of course, what do I know considerin' I thought our dates went so well and apparently misread the connotations of "I wish you lived closer" thinkin' they were good things. Ah well, live and learn.

Meanwhile, a few unsavories I haven't spoken to in a long time and would rather NOT again have kept me on theirs. Explain that one.

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS MY COMIC PUBLISHED

A Monday disguised as a Tuesday. Once again, I had a delay with the construction going into the building, and then I had to wait fer some asshole who obviously didn't know how to drive a van to park so I had some room to work. I got everything into the loading dock, then hit the outside stops to be productive. All this combined gave me sufficient delays that I ended up with 7 lates. Crud.

I had to reclaim a package I delivered 5 days ago due to a mis-shipment, so I saved that stop for last. Took a while, but they found it in their possession (although without a box). I couldn't take it right then 'cause the recipient wasn't in and they weren't 100% sure that was it or everything, so I offered to go back tomorrow. They waited 5 days to contact us about it, they can wait 1 more.

I've officially decided to try for Idol '08, so that means I need to kick it into overdrive and finish all the background stuff and a 12-page script for my artist. Yep, I got an artist lined up so I hope we pull it off. All I need to find, according to her, is a letterer so I think I may tap CAG for that since I tapped SPA for her. First prize is some money and a 4-issue publication deal, so ya know I'm game for that. I'm also a couple panels away from finishing that other script, so I can send that off along with Wade's autograph as soon as I find those envelopes.

IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE MANHATTAN

Looks like the MTA found a new place to fill in the deficit plauging them right now. They've started to add ad boards to the walls in the subway stations here. Predominantly, that's something you see in most Manhattan stations. However, for as long as I can remember, the Brooklyn stations have been kept clear. Until now.

Had a fairly easy Monday. The equipment was given out right quick, the sort went smoothly and I didn't have as much as I usually did. I did, however, have 25 stops. I was hoping to leave the handcart behind so I could just come out and use it for the outside stops, but that plan was short lived. What I ended up having to do was run out through the front with it (I held it so they couldn't bitch too badly if that was a problem) and grabbed the other stuff and just ran to knock out the stops. I finished with 3 minutes to spare and in under an hour. I even had a little problem with the other FedEx guy snagging one of my packages unsure if it was his or mine, so he delivered it under my numbers and left me to panic that it disappeared from the floor. Luckily I found him and he told me, and I wrote down his route number so I could message him in the future. Despite that delay, I STILL made it. Woot! The only screw-up was I missed vanning one package. Not sure which one it was, but I don't care so long as it was delivered.

I tried to do all my homework assignments I hadn't done yet, ended up only doing 2 out of the 4. Considering all the extra assignments I did when she casually assigned 'em, I can live without doing 2 stupid things. Got the last class Wed, then I'm outta school till next semester. Ah well. Time to do some school research! Class was as pointless as ever an' ran all the way, so I didn't get home till almost 11. Blah. NOT gonna miss that, nossir. At least I had someone to talk to by then.

SLEEPY SUNDAY

Uneventful as most Sundays are. Tried to do the chat, got distracted by other things. Was still recovering from yesterday so I didn't get as much as I'd hope done. I went over to D's fer a bit where I let him try out Bully. We've also got plans with Nelson in 2 weeks, so that should be fun. Got to "meet" Britt's sister as she came online while Britt was off doing something, and Rebecca decided to call me with the news a pic she did at the Animefest got her a chance to be on Conan once the writer's strike ends. Very cool.

STRANGE WORLD

Meeting was pretty big today. I ended up a couple mins late 'cause I went to the nearby Dunkin Donuts to get some (very limited selection) but it was all good. Met Ed outside, Tony and Jim were in the lobby, and others were already outside the room waiting on Gary. We had quite a few new members, and the return of some missing ones like Michelle. Also, the dude I talked to at Salicrup's party back in July at Bob's request finally joined up, having been working with Rachel who told him to talk to Mark at the con. Nothing like having to recruit the same guy twice. Jim also did a workshop on panel construction.

After lunch, I was off to the Javits for the Anime fest. Figured I'd see how they handle that kinda thing to get ideas for our con in April and to visit Rebecca. Hoooboy, it's a whole other world there. Everyone in freaky-ass costumes, weird products and characters. They make us comic people look normal! Although I'll say some pretty cute girls into Anime...which was ruined by 15 year olds in provocative costumes *shudder*. Had trouble findin' her 'cause she was walking around when I came, but eventually met up. I stuck around fer a bit, even found some normal comics to buy (got one that's haunted me for a decade in ads although I ended up passing up one I needed, dammit) before the show closed down. Rebecca opted not to stay for a concert she was going to and went with me. We passed by Fantasma Magic on 33rd to check out some tricks and get a small performance from one of the employees. We also had fun playing with the handpuppets there. After, we headed to the mall to get some food before catching the trains back.

One thing I learned was never listen to anything Ed says. He mentioned this website that's become a radio sensation with Youtube videos of reactions to it, so like I dummy I went and checked it out. GAH! You don't even wanna know what the hell it was, but lemme just tell you it was sick! People have problems.

SHRKINKING LISTS

The easiest day of the week, but I was tired as all hell. Dragged myself to the bank, then went straight home and passed out. I got up and spent the rest of the night chatting and working on stuff for the meeting tomorrow, as well as almost finishing up that damn script. Another hour on it and it should be done and ready to be sent out on Monday (should I find the large enveleopes since I also need to send Wade his autographed pic...which I forgot where I put now d'oh!).

As some of you know, I keep track of my Myspace friends 'cause when one deletes me it drives me nuts when I can't ID who it is. Not that it really matters, it's just one of those things. Well, earlier this week, I've noticed that I've lost almost all of the people I met when I originally started using Myspace more. All my buddies from the chatting days when I needed it. I've tried to keep in contact with most of them, but things like life and computer problems always got in the way. I had meant to do through the list at some point and drop a hello message, but damned if I did it. That and when I got nuttin' to say I don't say nuttin'. Once the flow of convo is lost, it's hard for me to get it back. Long absences don't help.

LITTLE THINGS

It was chilly enough today that I needed to wear my jacket (I brought my regular on road too, but just settled with the windbreaker which is infinitely more wind-proof than the cheap-o winter jacket they give us) and my gloves to handle the handtrucks. Exposure to the elements is one thing, hand on cold metal is another. Unfortunately, I didn't really need my jacket inside but with no place to ditch it I suffered some. And then I couldn't take it BACK off outside 'cause I had sweated which would have froze me more than just the wind alone, so with it I was stuck. Other than that it was an easy day.

I was too tired again to bother going to the school (not seeing much of a point as the classes are no doubt full by now anyways), and I didn't even go to the bank as I planned. Nope, went straight home where I thought I would nap, but instead enjoyed the macaroni and beef dish I missed out on last night 'cause it wasn't ready in time for school (which also happens to be one of my favorite dishes). Then of course Britt came on so I shot the idea of a nap down to hell (rather talk to her anyways...sleep could wait).

I spent the rest of the night talking to her while working on stuff for the meeting Saturday. I also overate by eatin' all the macaroni, plus chocolate cake, plus pizza. But it was sooooooo good.

SOMEONE TO BLAME

I've just been made a liar out of to Britt. We talked about snow once since she lives in a land where it never happens (aka Texas) and I told her it hasn't snowed as frequently as it used to around here, and probably won't happen till January. Then Sunday it snows. Then yesterday it flurries. And then again today was another dusting. Oy! Converse are the wrong shoes to wear when it's a dusted powdery snow, 'cause it semi melts and becomes extra slippery. When I went to class tonight on the snowy parts I had to make like I was ice skating. It was actually pretty fun, and not as tiring as regular running, ironically.

Funny thing happened on the train ride home from school; this dude saw me reading a comic and then we got to talking. Nice to meet another comic guy on the train for once. We had a pretty good chat, and he lives somehwere around me. Probably shoulda got a screen name or something. Ah well, mayhaps I'll see him in passing again. I could use more comic guys to talk to on a regular basis, not just about CAG stuff.

This guy Dale at work always had a few screws loose, but lately he's really losing it. He does early early deliveries, so I need to give him an extra truck to take out. Now, trucks are hard to come by as is, so it's a struggle even finding those extra trucks. Lately, he's been ripping my head off because the trucks I give him suck. Well, hello! Ya just start working here? They ALL suck! I pick a random key, making sure NOT to give him a particular truck he begged not to get. He's had a problem with every one since, then acts like I should know what their problems are so I DON'T give them to him, as well as where they're parked so he doesn't hafta look. Guess what, bunky; my job is to give you the mother fucking keys to the mother fucking trucks that we've got. End of story. You want royal treatment, head on over to UPS where they get regular maintenance. I ain't taking primadonna bullshit at 6 AM like I have any control outside of what I do.

Speaking of trucks, we had the safety guy in today talking about how we need to fill out the sheets about them properly and if we feel a truck is unsafe to refuse to take it out and what not. We all laughed at the guy's ignorance that if we actually did that, NONE of these trucks would leave the building. Except we can't, because there's about a dozen on the roof that don't work, meaning no replacements. If my brakes get any looser I'm definitely throwing my truck out of service. I don't care. End of the week, if it's not resolved I'm refusing the truck Monday.

The route yesterday was a little heavy, but fair. I was a li'l behind but somehow I managed to get it all done. Today was another story. I didn't have many stops, but once again I had bulk around the corner and a super late start. Fortunately they threw me some help WITH equipment this time. I FINALLY, for once, got to do the route as I wanted with 3 handtrucks, and it worked GREAT. He dexed 2 stops that didn't open till 10, then we split the building and that allowed me time to get out and re-attempt one of the dex stops and deliver the first half of the bulk. Rory originally was gonna take it, but he said he wouldn't be able to...which changed 'cause when I went back for the rest he was vanning the stuff offa me and closed it out before I could stop him. D'oh! So, my van stats and his delivery stats took a 7 package hit which Natasha says should balance out by the end of the month, so we'll see.

Oh, and somewhere between getting there and delivering my first stop, I lost my stylus. I couldn't find it worth a crap and had to borrow my partner's pen so people could sign. I eventually found it back at the station, sitting on the hinges of a shelf in the truck, which caused it to virtually blend in. Ah well, at least I got it back. Damn rushing.

Don't you love when places, instead of giving you info, pass you along to other places? The registrar at my school, instead of having any say in the very word in their name (registration) sent me to the department head to see what the deal was. Too tired to go yesterday, I sent an E-Mail in which he told me to come by his office. Greeeeeeeat. Then, I did a CAG E-mail for Sat's meeting, and once again my subject line got deleted. WTF? I contacted Hotmail support who told me because I use Verizon DSL I need to talk to Verizon's tech support. Wait, HOTMAIL says I need to talk to VERIZON to deal with a HOTMAIL issue. Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat? And it's not even a real goddamn issue! Just tell me what I need to set or re-set...is that so hard?!

Also having that powerless feeling again. Couple friends got some problems I wish I could help with or make go away, but alas I can't. Actually, the worse part is I could help one friend, and I would, but it'd require doing something highly inappropriate. See, that's the other thing...all these fine lines that exist that can't be crossed. It sucks when you can, yet can't, do something to help them. Sucks. I was, however, able to help another friend a with a very minor problem. So I guess that's something. Although, honestly, in this game I'd rather have more wins than losses. Especially the big ones.

WINDY CITY

Monday went as Mondays typically do. I had the usual bulk, and two unusual outside bulks which caused most of my problems. I had it worked out to where I could lock stops and JUST make it, except I failed to account for Freddy picking up someone on the elevator and taking him back UP on my way down, an asshole who tried to squeeze into a spot just too small for his truck and thus blocking my door and forcing me to pull up, and the intense winds that surround MSG. I got help, but instead of passing off one of my bulk stops, I gave my two smaller and tried to be a hero. The giant boxes for one succumbed to the wind and made it impossible for me to move without help, making the other stop late in the process. I couldn't've pawned them off anyways, you'd need two trucks for one and two trips for the other due to the small elevators. Plus, one stop needed to be done after 10 so you couldn't just bang it out. It was a messed up situation. The only thing that went right was I was able to get a parking spot for the Toyota as soon as I came home.

I had the brilliant idea of buying my own equipment seeing as the company is dragging it's feet on that. Brilliant until I saw the handtrucks we use range from $350-$600! And the luggage cart? $150!!! The hell???

Pops went in for his procedure today. From what I hear he was a big pussy as usual when a little pain was involved in the prep. But it went fine, all is well, and that's all she wrote about that.

TO ERR IS HUMAN, TO PISS OFF IS ME (UPDATED)

There's a fine art to pissing people off. It's so fine, sometimes you don't even realize you've gotten good at it. Take me for example. It used to take me YEARS before I could piss off one of my friends. D, April, Tina...years. In recent years, though...Charlotte only took several months. Liz, 2 months. Britt, 2 weeks. Okay, I admit, I'm an opinionated person. But, ya know, it's not like I give ample warning to this fact. I mean, I try not to be a douche about things but sometimes the doucebaggery is inevitable if it's something THEY like that I don't. Hence why I'm sure to clarify myself as a nice asshole; I'm a asshole, but you can't help but love me (or at least I'm not an asshole in all the ways that truly matter). Fortunately, in all cases, things were blown over and fixed...although I'm sure some damage must have been done. I'm probably the only person who really does put things behind them as they say they do. Brand new day principle. Unless your offense against me was so great, I really don't hold past ones against you. Except as jokes. Or blackmail. >:D The only real problem with me is I say exactly what I want to say when I want to say it and how I want to say it, but this world just isn't ready for that level of open honesty. Really, it's not. So until it is, it's a problem that probably won't be fixed.

On to another unfixable problem...my ability to find women I'd love to get involved with hundreds of miles away. Seriously, this is getting annoyingly daunting. It's almost comedic now. Many friends have offered theories and suggestions to this strange occurrence, and amongst them is the theory that my moving from the city will rectify that. My only concern is with my luck, ground zero will follow me. That means wherever I am this "just friends" thing I got going will follow, and wherever I was is where new "potentials" will pop up. Imagine one day I'm living in Toledo chatting on the internet, and suddenly meet a gal online with some interest in me living in NYC. You can NOT make this stuff up!

Don't mistake this for anything more than the observation it is; finding a "mate" is still not a priority for me. Sure, it WOULD be nice and sometimes I have days where I'd REALLY like it again, but I'm still on the it happens when it happens kick. I'm not actively looking, but at the same time I can't turn off my powers of observation and turn a blind eye to the facts presented to me. In all the research I've done and time I've spent helping people, mine is truly a unique case. I've yet to meet the other person (and I'm sure there's at least ONE out there) going through the same shennanigans I am.

One thing I always get with these out of state chicks is a desire to hear a real NY accent. So me and Britt did a number exchange but as usual I was hesitant to call 'cause I hate using phones. Well, we were talking and I decided the hell with it. I played off like I wasn't gonna, and worked it so she would have to ask me why I couldn't call her, to which I replied I was on the phone. About a second later (hopefully...damn cell phone delays) her phone should have rung with my number appearing on it. Now that was fun, and one of my favorite routines (which my older friends are familiar with...but luckily the new ones, not so much). And yes, I know, Amanda, I owe you a call yet...get your damn internet fixed so I can punk you too. :P Hell, I STILL need to call and find out what happened to that artist. And finish my cousin's script. Oy am I behind. Where did the time go?

We had our first snow of the year today. I woke up to see this white blanket outside and I was like WTF? Snow? In December? Unheard of! It wasn't much, but still. Almost impeded my going to the store as I didn't wanna get my ass wet on the bike, but I was able to snag the car. Woot!

First day of my aunt being here. Not bad so far, spent a while catching up with ma. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

THE SHIFT

People often come to me for advice. I dunno why I became the sage know-it-all or how, but I'm usually able to help. Unfortunately, sometimes the advice I can give isn't anything good. I hate when that happens. I'm not the type to sugar coat or to tell people what they wanna hear. I'll tell them straight out what they need to hear in order to do whatever it is they gotta do. Probably not as good a thing as I think it is, but it's how I roll. I just hate the stupid people who make it impossible to constantly give good, definitive answers. Makes me feel powerless. Not a fun feeling.

I spent the day writing then did a little organization of my comics. I decided to space out between the letters in each box, which means I'll need even more boxes than I originally anticipated. Way I see it, is if I sectionalize each letter I can add another box TO the letter rather than the constant collection shifting I ultimately end up doing. It's just too big for that kinda thing anymore. Now I just need to find the kinda boxes I can use. I'm leaning towards these shells for the comic boxes that virtually turn them into drawers, but we'll have to see. I'll hit up the comic boards for recommendations.

At least I had my new friend, Britt by the way, to keep me company as I worked. Always makes the night funner.