Adrenaline Rush!

BotCon pre-reg is up and a go!

Prime and I are already done, by the way...

--Weasel, trying to come down off the high

Aftermath

So, the storm's gone. We actually have some sunny weather for once. Cold, but sunny.

I called my parents last night, so they would know that we're not forced to build igloos in order to survive. Talked to my mother and since there's no delicate way of putting this, I'll just come out and say it.

She's been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Yeah, it hit me like twelve tons of bricks, too.

It's stage zero and the cure rate is 99% which is damn good. But still. This is one of those things that's supposed to happen to someone else. But when you think about it, you're "someone else" to somebody else.

I'm surprised I'm even up and blogging about this: my first reaction this morning was to roll over and sleep the rest of the damned day. The only reason I'm doing this is if I don't keep my mind occupied, I'll just crawl back into bed, yank the blankets over my head, grab Slumblebee and start sobbing. Which of course, serves no real purpose. It might make me feel better, though.

This also means I now have a family history of cancer. Again, if there were some actual functioning and affordable robot upgrades, I'd trade in this meatsack in a nanosecond. Who's with me?

Suddenly those damned pink ribbons and that Pinktober stuff doesn't look so frigging ridiculous.

....fuck.

Put Down the Autobot, Asshole!

The guy on self check-out was acting very oddly.

As I stood at the pay station, keeping a watch on the self-check lanes he kept throwing glances in my direction, like he was hiding something. He had already scanned his first item, a pack of gum, and was getting ready to scan his second and final item: an Ultimate Bumblebee.

He repeatedly swiped the bar code over the scanning bed, still looking nervously at me. Suspicious, I kept my eyes on the pay station's screen. Imagine my surprise when I saw the "price" he was going to pay for that toy.- $5.92.

He had scanned it in as a journal.

"Oh hell no!" I thought, plastering on the biggest fake grin I possibly could. I hurriedly walked towards self check-out number 43, trying to keep my cool. In a pleasant voice, I said, "You know, that price doesn't seem right. The check-outs have been acting up off and on all day. Let me check that for you." I seized Bumblebee and trotted back to the pay station. Mr. Sticky-fingers followed. As quickly as I could, I tapped "Item Inquiry" button on the pay station's register and scanned Bumblebee's bar code. The real price popped up on the screen- $79.88.

"Oh, it's that much?" Mr. Sticky-fingers spluttered. "If it's that expensive, I don't want it."

"Sure," I said, smiling pleasantly. "I can put him back for you." Jerk, I thought, wanting nothing more than to slap the wanna-be thief. As I placed the now rescued Ultimate Bumblebee by the register at the pay station, Mr. Sticky-fingers paid for his gum and left. He couldn't walk out of the store fast enough.

Bumblebee stayed under my watchful eyes for the rest of the night. I kept that box as close to me as possible and whenever I left the pay station, I kept my eyes on him. No one was going to walk off with that toy without a fight. I would make damn sure of it. When it was time for me to go home, I gently cradled the rescued Autobot and carefully walked him up the Service Desk. After tucking him into the Toy returns cart, I told one of the head cashiers what happened. "Nice save!" she said, grinning.

"What's going on?" asked one of the other cashiers, who happens to be a friend of mine. I told her. "Go, you!" she exclaimed as she gave me a high five. "I knew if someone tried to steal a Bumblebee, you'd stop them!"

I walked out of work with a huge smile on my face. It was a good night.

Moral of the story: Never fuck with this female's favorite Autobot, or you will go down. She'll make damn sure of it.

Unsure where I got the pic above. If I can find the original link, I'll give credit.

Round Two....

And here we go again!

Wal-Mart has been quietly pulling dog treats off of their shelves since July. The products were Chinese made and might have sickened pets.

So why hasn't anything really been done about this? Where the hell is the outrage over this latest round of recalls? What's it going to take to stop this bullshit?

The stupidity just makes my head hurt.

Warning Sign created here.

The Pet Food Recall

As most of you now know, there's been a huge pet food recall, affecting both cat and dog food. Usually, this sort of thing doesn't affect me.

Then, I read the newspaper this past Sunday. One of the recalled brands was Iams.

I occasionally give my cat a pouch of Iams wet food as a treat. Needless to say, I panicked.

Prime checked the remaining pouch of food we had in the pantry. It wasn't part of the recall. I dug out a pouch of chicken flavored food that I bought recently. Prime checked that one. With a serious look on his face, he told me to get the empty pouch of salmon we had fed Sammy two nights ago.

As it turned out, the salmon pouch was okay. The chicken was not; it was part of the tainted batch. I could have inadvertently fed Sammy something that could have sickened or killed him.

I pretty much lost it right then and there. I started crying. Prime managed to calm me down, but he was pretty upset, too. We were damned lucky. We dodged a potentially fatal bullet.

Sammy's fine, thank heavens. His appetite is great, he's full of energy, and just as goofy as ever.

The pouch went back to the store. I figure if I'm going to treat the cat to chicken, it'll be the real thing, not processed crap. I refuse to gamble with his health again.