Ants 44

[update #9]

I have been getting sooooooo tired lately. Like the more tired than I can even figure out at all kind of tired . . . the kind of tired where things start to happen.

But why would you be getting so annoyingly tired Mister Whiney-pants-everybody-does-a-lot-of-stuff and-isn’t-always-complaining-about-getting ‘sooooooo tired’ Bumpercar?

Well – as a quick aside to a pretty quick story . . . I think that I have been getting so tired because – and I am in no way pointing fingers here . . . but it is possible that someone has been dosing me with a bit of the knock-out juice when I’m looking the other way (you know who you may/may not be) – or perhaps it’s just the 4(four) hour commutes intermingled with all of the dog walking and other fun stuff on my (paper) plate . . . who can say – for sure?!

So there I am on the train going into the city – which is good – because if this would have happened going the other way – the homeward bound way – I would be in Canada by now . . . I had watched my little television show (by far my favorite pastime these days) and had 2 (two) stops (or about 23 (twenty-three) minutes to go in the commute – and then the next thing that I knew – everything was dark . . . and quiet.

At first I couldn’t figure out what was going on – or even where I was for that matter. And it totally freaked me out – in the way that you get freaked out when you are a tiny kid in a department store and you get lost and nothing in the world seems right kind of way. I was on a dark and empty train and it was really odd. It then got “scary” when I realized that all of the doors were locked and there was no way out.

Looking back – I’m annoyed not that for some reason no one decided to wake me up as they left the train – no – it isn’t their responsibility to rouse me from my slumber . . . what irks me is that I was on a train all by myself – and aside from frantically pushing a lot of buttons (which did nothing) – all I did was get a rabbit beating heart and hollowly utter a few “Uhm . . . hello . . . uhm . . .hello anybody . . . is there anybody there??” while pawing my way through the train . . .

Some (super) hero I am . . .

Eventually I got to the conductors car – which is probably totally filled with all kinds of fun awesome – and all I did was get the door to open (about 4 (four) to 6 (six) inches) at which point I waved my arm around and started yelling “Hello” to the empty platform. At least I never yelled “Help” because that would have just been a bit too pitiful for words.

After a couple of minutes a guy comes down the platform – stands in front of the door – and says in his most New York – look what kind of moop this guy is accent “Well – well . . . Looks like somebody went and got themselves locked in the train . . .” as he unlocked the door. Bleary eyed with terror – and thrilled to have been freed from my “Iron Horse” of a prison I said “Yeah – I guess so . . . I don’t know . . . how I . . . uhm . . .how it . . . uhm . . . I . . . yeah – thanks. . .” and then I ran ran ran all the way to work.

Now I use toothpicks in my eyelids to keep me awake during my commutes – and I daydream about how if there is a next time where I get stuck on the train alone and in the dark . . . I will probably do something a bit more awesome . . . like . . . one of those awesome things that people probably do when they don’t just have panic attacks when they get stuck on trains.

Yeah – those kinds of awesome things . . .

Probably.

Ants 43

[update #8]

My Wii Adventure

Ugh . . . So I have been itching (a bit) to get a Nintendo Wii – and was even around when two of my pals got them (I was way too far away from temporary headquarters to get one for myself at the time). But I kept trying to tell myself that even though I wanted it – I would be good and wait wait wait until (both) I had the time to play and I didn’t have to camp out in a line to actually get my hands on one.

And then I finally broke . . . a little switch went off – and what had started as lazily walking into toy stores (or electronic stores) every so often and asking the good/kind people inside the over emasculating question “Do you happen to have any Wiis?!” turned into full scale planned forays to specific locations. I even went to a Wal-Mart every night for 3 (three) nights after work (getting there at midnight) to pump them for information (On the third night – they told me that they would be getting a shipment in on Dec. 6 “But get here early if you really want one . . .”).

Well – I really wanted one . . . but then more information came through the pipeline from ‘Raj’ the manager at Circuit City who said that even though “they had the system in the back,” they “couldn’t put them out for sale until Sunday . . .” ugh – ugh – ugh – I replied that it seemed like a questionable business practice to have something in the stock room that they wouldn’t sell (to me especially) when I wanted it wanted it wanted it (yes I understand that the last bit makes me sound a tad brattish – but I gotta tell this stuff as it happens – or where would the truth ever come from?!) – Luckily – though – mi esposa was there to pull me out of the store (clucking the whole time).

Sometimes I cluck.

Toys R Us said they would have some the next morning. So I got up (what I thought was) stupidly early to drive over there and get one . . . only to be met by a nice worker that laid out the same deal of “some in the back – can’t sell them until Sunday.”

Here is my take on the whole thing . . . I understand that stores are hoping that people will keep coming in looking for a product with the possibility that they may buy other things when the thing that they want isn’t in stock. But it really seems like by letting people know that they have things – but aren’t selling them because they want people to get into a line on a random day (in the cold cold cold) – they have gots to understand that this tactic just annoys the dickens out of people and tends to engender customer dissatisfaction – I happen to be a dissatisfied customer – check out how engendered I am right now . . .

Blah blah blah with my tiny rant thing – I am nothing more than a beat down consumer . . . it drives me (to buy things – and stuff that I totally have to need to want to have).

I went to Circuit City on Sunday at a little after 7 (seven) am and was about the 25 (twenty-fifth) person in a line of about 150 (one hundred and fifty) people. We waited until 10 (ten) am [I was tired and cold and was feeling particularly anti-social – so I avoided as much conversation as I could – but I also blew it – because I had forgotten my cell phone – or anything at all to keep me occupied – so I just stood there and listened to a bunch of hoot-en-nanny going on around me.]. At 10:06 the doors opened. I was number 25 (twenty-five) and there were 20 (twenty) systems. So I went home empty handed with my tail solidly between my legs.

The next day (today) I came to the workplace – and said to my boss “Hey – if you want a Wii – they have them at Toys R Us across the street – and the line isn’t too too bad.” He was all like “Oh – I got one yesterday at Target.” It seems that he was one of the people in the world that was lucky enough to pretty much walk up to a store – and without any of the fenagling – or jumping through hoops that I had been hopping (partially) through.

After I finished the early part of work – my coworkers convinced me to ask if I could go and get one (and by convince – I mean they seriously had to bend my arm – one at the wrist – another at the elbow – and the last at the shoulder – a lot of bending was going on).

I zipped over and stood – and waited (only for an hour) – and then poof – I had it – and I actually felt myself getting giddy . .. which was odd/fun because I couldn’t remember the last time that I got giddy – and it is a good way to get! The funny thing is how excited I had gotten to spend a bunch of money for something that I really don’t even have the time to play with right now. When I got back to the office – I even did a (small) bit of a giddy dance.

(really really small)

So hooray Wii – and watch out temporary headquarters . . . because we are about to get some serious accelerometer action going on up in there (up in there) . . .

And I’m gone.

Friday Photo [#2]