Well....despite how much I really hate Thanksgiving (the drama, the family dealings, the whole theme of the day...), I wanted to at least attempt festivity and wish everyone (Stateside anyway) a
Happy Thanksgiving
Wish me luck. I am going to go see my mom for the first time in several months and my aunt and uncle who I've not seen in probably over ten years, who I used to really just love being around, but now, as an adult, am forewarned by my mother they are bigoted, conservative republicans. Oh joy. I'm damned proud of being liberal and don't take idiotic comments quietly nor calmly. (Apparently, according to my mother's email to me, my sister and aunt have already gotten into a drop-down, knock-out fight about abortion - one of my very hot-button issues as well - and when they took my aunt up to the Homosassa Springs area for a day trip and she made what I suppose she felt were "funny" comments about not wanting to be around "homos.") I'm disgusted by that. And I feel betrayed because I always looked up to my aunt. She's a retired NYC Police Officer and she had always been one of my favorite aunts (I have four on my mom's side) when I was growing up. To think of her as so closedminded and hateful just sours my stomach. Joyful turkey day for me. *blah* I really despise this day - more and more each passing year.
Man, today is my last day. And it's a half-day so I'm only here until noon. Let me tell you, I'm eager to head home. I've really not been able to sleep and my stomach has shut down in protest of the strange hours and lack of 8 hour sleep nights. (I've been getting like 5-6 at most.) Of course, because it is a short day, it seems to be going by even slower then normal! *lol* It's not that the temp job has been horrible - far from it - it's just that there's only so much you can do for that many hours in a small office by yourself where you can't get up, there's no tv, napping is not an option and you have to just wait for the phone to ring. There's really only so much you can do that's entertaining online for that many hours before your eyes just start glazing over and you swear the clock ticked back a minute rather then ahead. *chuckle*
I definately wouldn't mind having something part-time though on a more semi-regular basis. Nothing with long days really, but if I could do a few half days a week or every other week, man that'd be perfect. It is nice getting up and out of the apartment, even if it's just to sit in front of a strange computer and surf the net rather then do it in my pj's in my bedroom. ;) Still need to figure out what's going on with the ever-looming move (since, as the complex we wanted to move into wants us to give $860 in deposit up front in addition to the rent that really ain't going to happen 'cause we just don't have that kind of money sitting around in addition to needing deposits, moving costs and transfer fees for the other ultilities) so I can figure out where to look for a job (what area) and possibily get something, even if it's just small shifts at a store or something. The few extra bucks would be a help and it'd give my days a little more purpose.
Hrm. Well, I've been sitting here staring at what I've written for a couple minutes now and nothing new has come to mind so I guess I'll go ahead and just end the entry rather then leave it blinking in front of me. Ta for now.
Well, when you're up in a little room by yourself waiting for the phone to ring with really only the net to hold you attention, you find some weird things.
DisturbingAuctions.com is just that - the crazy shit people try to sell on ebay complete with pics of the many times laugh-out-loud items. The commentary is what gets me the most and it was so outlandish a collection of things, I had to share. Unfortunately, the items are all from several years ago (no really recent items) so it seems this site might not be updated anymore. Still, one has to laugh at the creepy evil clown lava lamp or the ram's head - on wheels! The description for the weaner pedal car is a riot, but I think the all time best though is the Velvet Jesus Bless Truckers picture. I just about lost it on this one.
Ah...note: If you didn't get enough of the archived listings, there is a Daily Listing page which links to current auctions. (They're not as funny though. Pity.)
Next on the list is something really less funny in comparison to the auction hall of famers, but something I got a good chuckle over anyway. You might have heard that Napster is back, but this time as a pay-for service. I decided to swing by today to see what the deal was and accidentally found their really amusing Animations of the Napster return. It starts out with the "cat" logo escaping jail and getting shot. Kinda amusing. I watched them all and they all made me chuckle. The heavy metal one was especially funny.
This is a very amusing joke picture about Micheal Jackson and the latest scandel. I like the pic, but I think my comment that "He has way too much nose in the picture" is amusing as well. :)
Hrm...there were more amusing things but I think I lost track of them today in my mindless haze of waiting for the phone to ring, or for it to be noon (either one was fine.) *laughs* Thank goodness tomorrow is only a half-day because I'm ready to SLEEP IN. (Of course, I still need to figure out what to do about my mom and Thanksgiving - as in I've still not replied to her because a] I can't access my pop account from here and b] I can't decide if I want to go or not - but that's a whole different can of worms)
No....really. There's nothing to worry about. We're just looking out for your safety. Honest. You'd believe old Dubya right?
Under the Patriot Act, the FBI can acquire bank records and Internet or phone logs simply by issuing itself a so-called national security letter saying the records are relevant to an investigation into terrorism. The FBI doesn't need to show probable cause or consult a judge. What's more, the target institution is issued a gag order and kept from revealing the subpoena's existence to anyone, including the subject of the investigation.
The new provision in the spending bill redefines the meaning of "financial institution" and "financial transaction." The wider definition explicitly includes insurance companies, real estate agents, the U.S. Postal Service, travel agencies, casinos, pawn shops, ISPs, car dealers and any other business whose "cash transactions have a high degree of usefulness in criminal, tax or regulatory matters.
Go read the rest of the happy joy expansion of Big Brother yet again, here. If you're not scared or outraged by this, you're either not understanding what this all means and how the administration is whiping their ass with the Bill of Rights, or you're a dumbass. There's just no two ways about this. America is sinking quite rappedly into nothing short of a police state.
Hello, hello... little more then two hours to go so I'm writing another journal entry. (Told ya I'd be back!) ;D
This time, I'm going to use a questionaire meme type thingy from a site I always forget to read though I have it linked on my super secret hidden link page (ok, so it's not really all that hidden, just my cheat sheet of links - good esp the rare time I'm not at my pc - like now). So, without further ado...
PromoGuy's Monday Mission 3.47 1. It is a lovely 21 degrees here in Oklahoma, and since walking in from the parking lot, I can't seem to warm up. I've got the coffee to my right and the space heater to the left and the non-functional central heat blowing above me. What do you do to get warm when you are very cold? Well, first things first, it's pretty much NEVER 21 degrees in Florida. If it is, it's panic and we generally have lost power because people don't know what the hell to do with themselves at that point. That said, in my situation, if I'm uber cold, I tend to first go to the a/c controls and take the settings from 65 where my Love perpetually leaves it, and bring it back to a much more livable 73ish. Beyond that, it's socks, huddling under a blanket and the ingestion of something warm like cocoa or tea. If all else fails (and it's an option), I snuggle up with the afore-mentioned Love and steal some of his always overwarm body heat. ;)
2. What is the first thing you do in the morning after you get up? I'd love for this answer to be something normal like "pee" or brush my teeth, but if I'm going to be honest, it's turn on my monitor and check my email. Then I go pee and brush my teeth. *hangs head in pc addiction shame*
3. I mentioned earlier in the week that Sub Hunt was one of the first arcade games I ever remember playing. Many years later I would become equally entranced by the Atatri 2600 (ugh, I am showing my age now, aren't I?). Do you remember the very first video game you ever played (arcade, handheld, console, etc.)? What do you remember about that experience? I think the first thing video game wise I played was probably something like Pong on Atari. Thought it was cool but I recall sucking major ass. It was the damned paddle thingy...it was wonky. But I do remember that when, a few years later I finally got an NES for Christmas, my mom in her infinite cluelessness actually said something like, "See, aren't you glad now that you never got an Atari?" I was like, duh, no...cause then I'd have had something to play these last few years. *smacks hand to forhead* Oh well. The first thing I owned video game wise was the NES bundle pack which came with Mario Bros and Duck Hunt (complete with gun) as well as the too-cool athletic pad thingy to play the olympic track and field game.
4. Do you have a good memory or do you find that you need to write things down to remember them? Eh...this is really subjective I guess. Sometimes I remember stupidly tiny details of things and other times I could walk out of the building without my head attached.
5. I am currently really getting a kick out of the Citibank Citicard commercials about Identity theft, to the point of quoting them out loud (which no one gets, I really need new some geeky-er friends). What are some of your all-time favorite television commercials? I LOVED the one where Red (the M&M) faiting when he met Satna. I also got a kick out of the Snickers "Crunchers" ones where they were destroying the little figures ("Do you have, 'Don't worry it happens to all guys?'"). Basically, I like funny ones. Some of the Mastercard "Priceless" ones are pretty amusing too.
6. Since Thanksgiving is this week, I felt like I just had to throw in the obligatory food question, so here goes. Do you have a favorite Thanksgiving food that is made by one person, and no one makes it better? If not, then what is your favorite food to eat at Thanksgiving? (Those who don't celebrate Thanksgiving feel free to insert your favorite fall food) Man, the answer to this one is easy. My mom's pumpkin pie. I don't really even like pumpkin pie as a rule, but I LOVE my mom's. It's just so good and perfect. It's honestly the only thing I look forward to at Thanksgiving.
7. Wireless telephone companies will now let you move your cell number to another carrier, or move your land line number to your cell. Not only is this incredibly convenient, it forces cell phone companies to be more competitive. Are you planning to switch cell phone companies as a result of this new law, or possibly pit two companies against each other for a better deal? *gasp* Yes, I am one of the very few who exist (somehow) without a cell phone. In fact, I've been cell-free for about two years now. I admit the urge to have one creeps back on me sometimes, but overall, I'm good without one. Honest. *twitch*
BONUS: Where? n/a but anything has to be better then my old company of cingular who I detest utterly and completely and hope they die and burn in hell.
Darnit, I just did something and the post got eaten. Hrm. Retry.
So, if you remember, I came into my friend Rand's work on Friday to train to cover the phones for the two Admin people who were going out of town for Thanksgiving. I'm covering the phones for them and today is the first day that I'm in here flying solo. Though I literally only have to answer the phone - when I'm not doing that, she gave me her pc login so I could surf the net, or read a book, or whatever - it's still a bit nerve-wracking when you're literally the only one around. I just got my first (and only so far) call of the morning a few minutes ago. She thought that it'd be a quite week with so many people out on vacation and it being a holiday week and all. I hope so. I think it will be, so we're sticking with that plan. *laughs* I'm here today and tomorrow from 8:30am-5:30pm and then a half day on Wednesday.
This morning though, I woke up some time around five in the morning, really feeling ill and like I needed to puke. I got out of bed, coughing, and got myself a drink of water. I went back to sleep and didn't think any more of it. But when I got up this morning for real at 7am, I started to get ready, only to be overcome with being nauseous again and I stood there, dry-heaving for several minutes. Ugh, I hate that feeling so much. The overwhelming need to throw up; the way it makes me shake and tear up; the way I feel like I've been run over by a Mack truck afterwards.
I finished getting ready and took my Love into his work. Then on the way here, I stopped and got myself some Pepto with the very last of my cash, hoping it would dispell the lingering feeling of being ill. I also grabbed a Sprite when I got here and I'm sipping that. Overall, I feel better, but I still feel like I was sick a short time ago and could be again.
Let's see...subject change. The only real thing I'm worried about in terms of my couple days here is the length of the days. In all honesty, I'm not really used to sitting in place for 8 hours at a time. Sure, I spend a lot of time in my day (a few hours generally) surfing the net, but it's not all I do by half. I also watch some tv, I generally spend some time taking a shower, writing some letters or other PX stuff, maybe work on an art project like doing some jewelry or something. In all though, I move around the apartment at leisure and so it's a different thing for me to be in one place.
By the way, this entry will most likely be full of errors even though I'm using the backspace continuously - it's one of the normal, non-split keyboards so my fingers are getting all mixed up with each other and then to add insult to injury, the backspace button is one of those half-sized ones. ;) So...pardon the keyboard for my typos. I'm trying to get them as I type and I'm not typing anywhere near as fast on this keyboard as I normally do, but still, there's probably some in here somewhere.
I think I'll nose around the net a bit since I'm just kinda writing whatever comes to mind and that probably makes for a boring entry. I'm sure I'll be back late when I've run out of things to go look at and blather more then.
Hypercolor Tee Shirts - Metamorphic Color System by Generra
Man. Sometimes I hate walking down memory lane. It reminds me of things I loved; or thougcht were cool; once owned; that no longer exist. One such thing was my rememberance of the Hypercolor t-shirts. They changed color with heat - I had one that was green and would turn yellow, and another which was purple and would turn pink. They were the "must own" shirts in the late 80's/early 90's. You saw them everywhere and for awhile, you'd even see (pretty pointless) Hypercolor socks. (Saw a pair at a dollar store a few years after the shirts vanished off the shelves.) Short sleeve tees were the most popular, but they also had long-sleeved shirts and sweatshirts in the standard rotation. Thinking about it reminded me that I believe I got rid of my Hypercolor shirts [finally] a few years back when I'm pretty sure so many years in the Florida heat made them stop changing colors. Now I'm all sentimental and I want one again. *chuckles* A quick search on ebay show six currently up for grabs and another 16 which have recently closed. Most of them appear to have stood up to the test of time and will still amaze you with the really coolness of clothes which changed color. Sure there were problems with this concept (armpits generate a lot of heat and everyone always felt the need to touch - or worse yet blow - on your shirt, but still, as far as inovation goes, it's still great.) But it seems they also go for a heck of a lot more then the walk down memory lane is worth to me. (Not to mention, I really don't need an XL shirt and most seem to be of that size. Did large[r] men just not wear theirs and hense, that's what's left of the stock?) So, I really had to know more about this whole concept - looking back at something which is no more - and I did some net searching.
I started with the information in an article and some random people's comments on them in blogs and message board archives. From what I gather, they were made by a company named Generra. (A domain name exists for them, having been registered in 1995 but showing only the words "Site Under Construction") The company originally started as an importer of men's fashion but soon moved into being their own branded label for sportwear. They came out with the wildly popular - though one-hit-wonder fated - Hypercolor shirts (a patented, secret proceedure from what I gather) but still went bankrupt somewhere in the 1992 area.
In the domain registry, the owner of the site is another company called Public Clothing Company (or PCC). So, I hit this as my next stop on the hunt for more information of this ill-fated, yet well remembered company. PCC seems to have bought the rights to Generra in 2002. Says their website:
As one of the great start-up fashion success stories of the 1980s, Generra imbedded itself into the American consciousness. A casual and complete lifestyle concept, the label has graced nearly every category at retail including men's, women's, kids, accessories, and footwear. Capturing its market with a style that ranged from basics to innovative fashion the brand also extended its reach by strong support from national consumer and trade advertising on a variety of media.
In 2002 PCC acquired all rights to Generra and is now gearing up for a major relaunch in spring 2004.
Hrm... "gearing up for a major relaunch" makes me wonder. From what I've read on the above-mentioned blogs and message boards, some people seem to feel that the Hypercolor product line will be coming back - new items, not just the worn/used clothing you can buy from garage sales and thrift stores. And while they don't make any specific mention of Hypercolor, the words, "innovative fashion" scream "something really otherwise unheard of like color-changing clothing." Well, to me anyway. So...does that mean they might be making a re-appearance? Might I overcome the sense of longing I feel for having ridden my already overflowing dresser of my old shirts? Could it be that one day - maybe even some day soon? - I could walk around with a handprint on my back just once more? *smiles* It'd be nice to have one again, even if it was just for the memory of how much I used to like it.
