Zero

I didn't blog yesterday because, simply put, I was too damned tired. So today, I'm going to try and pull a little bit of double duty. Ready? Here we go.

05/27/2009

Yesterday was the Universal Studios tour. I got up stupid (and I do mean stupid) early to head out and catch the Rt 10 ARTS bus that runs not far from our hotel. After catching the bus, I made my way to the convention center to begin the wait.

I was there an hour early. Yeah, I had myself a pretty long wait. But soon enough, more and more Transfans began to show up and we had ourselves a good size crowd. There was laughing, joking, and many long nerdy conversations about toy robots. I was in heaven.

Once our tour buses arrived, we all climbed aboard, took our seats and began to enjoy the ride. Upon our arrival, we decided it would be best if we traveled the studio using the buddy system. I hung out with a small group of fans, led by "Chicago" and "Aussie". Are the names indicative of origin? Dunno. I digress...

We decided to hit as many rides as possible. The first was Shrek 4D. Being a total Shrek virgin, I can honestly say that the attraction was a lot of fun. I'm actually a bit interested in seeing the movies now. (I can hear Prime groaning in the back. To which I say, "Tough." To which he replies "Scre' ye, ye li'tl bas'ard" in an atrocious Scottish accent. Weirdo.)

After Shrek, Aussie wanted to hit the Terminator feature, so we headed over to catch the show. Unfortunately, it had already started, so we had to wait. In the meantime, we had a quick lunch.

I keep forgetting how Godawful expensive it is to eat in a place like that. Seriously, ouch.

After the meal, we went back and took in the Terminator. I would be lying if I said it didn't creep me out at a couple of points--part of the event involved having several Terminators shooting out some targets overhead. The very moment the blasted 'bots popped up, my heart began racing. I might adore most everything robotic, but anything that comes from Cyberdyne has a tendency to scare the living hell out of me. And the T-1000000 was no different That thing could cause nightmares.

After the attraction was finished, we were all about to leave when we were told by the ushers that our group could stay and meet the actors. Earlier in the day, we decided to buy a few 'Front of the Line' passes and one of the perks of said passes was a meet-and-greet. So we stayed, asked a few questions, met everyone and got a few pictures. Much awesomeness, if you ask me.

Chicago decided that we should hit The Simpsons ride afterwards, so we headed over. After taking a few pictures and video of Springfield, we hit the ride proper.

A word of warning: If you ever decide to ride that particular attraction, you might get a bit of vertigo. If you feel a bit dizzy, just put your head back and shut your eyes. Trust me, it helps. The attraction is actually a motion simulator--your brain and body may not sync up immediately and it might throw you off a little. It took me a few seconds to adjust to it but once I did, I had a blast.

We wandered about for a bit, then hit Jurassic Park. Four words: Most. Awesome. Ride. Ever. I didn't get too wet when we made splashdown, but Chicago got freaking soaked. I have never laughed so hard in my life.

Once we had gotten away from the dinos (and I had gotten myself a cute little souvenir), the rest of the group headed to The Mummy ride. I saw four words that encouraged me to sit that one out--high speed roller coaster. I don't do too well with those. Mostly because I risk throwing up. But I did visit the nearby gift shop and snagged another souvenir. This one was a litte pewter Bastet figurine. I can't help but think it was cool.

By now it was getting late in the day, so we hit two last attractions. We saw the behind the scenes/effects show and Backdraft. Both were a lot of fun, but Backdraft freaked me out towards the end. Stupid collapsing catwalk.....

By now we had approximately an hour and a quarter to wander about. So wander we did. There were costumed characters out and about, so I got a couple of pictures with some of them. It wasn't long afterwards that we left the park and our tour buses came.

I left Universal Studios exhausted and achy (my everything hurt!), but utterly ecstatic. It was wonderful.

Today:

Today was the Hollywood tour and Prime had the customizing class, so we both had to get up stupid early. There was just one problem: We had only gotten four hours worth of sleep! Now usually, I'm the one who's dragging their tail to get up and get dressed in the morning. Not so today--it was Prime who couldn't get moving. Seriously, he just wouldn't move. (Not that I blame him.) But after some prodding, we were on our way.

We missed the first bus, but caught a later one. After arriving at the convention center, we went our separate ways. I waited outside for the tour bus, while Prime headed inside for the class. Once the buses arrived and everyone got checked in, we were soon on our way.

This tour was different; we were basically being driven from place to place and given a bit of time to see the sights and take photos. I was able to see the Hollywood Bowl, the Chinese Theatre, walk down the Hollywood Walk of Fame, see the Kodak Theatre and best of all, walk down Rodeo Dr. I even ducked into one of the shops with a few of the others and walked around. The sales clerk kept glaring at us. It was hilarious. (And I'd do it again. In a second.)

We also made an unexpected detour to the La Brea tar pit. It seems we inadvertantly left someone behind, so he had to take a cab to catch up with us. I'm actually kinda glad it happened; I've never seen anything like the tar pit in my life. I found it a little bit sad.

Once we got back, we were dropped at the convention center. The first sight that greeted us was the incredibly long line for pre-registrants to pick up their gear. At first we all freaked out--we were thinking that was the line for the club store! But our line was much, much shorter.

I caught up with Prime and apologized for being late. We didn't have much time for talk; not long after, the doors opened and we were allowed inside. Prime and I made our way towards the club store when I saw something. It looked like a wing. A yellow, car door shaped wing.

That was when I gasped. And it wasn't the typical sort of gasp, either. This one was reserved for someone special. Namely Bumblebee.

I was staring at a movie Bumblebee statue.
I had to fight the urge to hug him.

Prime mumbled a soft, "Oh hell," as we passed by. He knew I was going to be insufferable after seeing this sight. But I kept myself pretty much in control until we got to the store. We got our forms, placed our order and paid. When we left, we spotted DA (who got in last night) sitting nearby. Prime rearranged our swag and gave me permission to go take a few pictures of Bumblebee.

I lost count of just how many I took. I was actually afraid I might fill the SD card.

Once Prime had gotten everything together, we met up with yet another friend who offered to stash our stuff in their room. So we headed outside. It was then I spotted someone who looked familiar--it just so happened to be the King himself. So I got his attention then nearly fractured one of his ribs hugging him. Good times, good times.

We stashed our swag, grabbed some eats and got back to our hotel. All in all, it's been a wonderful couple of days. I wish it would never end.

--Weasel, "I'm both sleep and food deprived, but I feel just great!"

2

I'm here. At last, I am here.

Would've posted a lot sooner, but the last few days have been insane. Saturday was a "nerd's day out", so to speak; Prime and I hit the local comic shop and did a double feature. We finally saw both Wolverine and Star Trek. Both rocked, as you can imagine.

Sunday I had to work, which cut into our prep time. Still, I managed to get some slag done, which put us a bit ahead.

Monday was the killer. And I do mean killer.

Between the last minute packing, the last minute print outs, the last minute laundry, the last minute ATM run, and grabbing the last minute snacks, I could barely function. Even worse, my nerves started kicking in; trying to sleep wasn't very easy for me. But I managed to grab a few hours. (Prime sez: Oh, frickin' PLEASE. One bottle of Mike's Harder Cranberry Lemonade and you were down for the count, shuuuuut upppp.)

Today, we got up at around four this morning (ugh!) and prepared for our flight. After getting dressed, we finally got on the road around five-twenty.

Got to the airport at 7:45. After going through TSA, we got to our gate and boarded soon after. It was a rather long but very uneventful flight. Our airline had XM, which kept me quiet and occupied.

Got to LAX at about ten-thirty. After the shuttle ride, we got to our hotel.

I am tired. Really tired. I could probably crash out and take a nap right now, but I won't. I'll be heading to bed early tonight, since I'll have to be up at a ridiculous hour tomorrow morning. I'm going on a pre-BotCon tour to Universal Studios. Yes, I can hardly wait.

Let the fun begin!

--Weasel, "I'm tired, I'm hungry and I feel great."

5

I'm off today, work tomorrow then I'm off on Monday and my vacation starts. Weird schedule, I know. But I'm not complaining. Too much.

My suitcase is packed. I'm about halfway done with Prime's (it sounds odd, and...it kind of is--he can pack boxes for shipping toys to eBay winners or for moving, but suitcases drive him nuts); I'm thinking I'll have it totally packed by tomorrow night. At least I hope I will.

In a few more days, I'll be heading to California. And I don't think I'll need the Tylenol PM to keep me quiet while on board. Not considering this piece of news.

Oh yeah, I can board that plane. Nothing's stopping me now.

--Weasel, "This will be awesome beyond words."

8

Just tangled with my local CU; that was not a fun time, I tell you. But it's done.

I'm not as far ahead today as I was yesterday, preparation wise. But it's nothing I can't get on top of. It's just really annoying. (Doesn't help when I feel like I blew most of the day dealing with stupidity.)

I can hardly wait. I've been needing this.

--Weasel "For a few short days, the world will not suck."

A Public Service Announcement

If you ever move to Wisconsin and you're looking for a credit union, stay the hell away from Lakeview. Apparently, they do not know their ass from an effing hole in the ground.

--Weasel, "It'd be easier pulling teeth with a screwdriver than dealing with these morons."

9

Got a couple of days off, so I'm doing the usual: Trying to nail down a few things before I leave for BotCon. I'm actually a little bit ahead of myself right now, so I'm taking a bit of a break.

Work hasn't been so bad lately, which is a blessing. It helps to make the wait a bit more bearable, if you know what I mean.

I haven't had any run-ins with Sammy. I am counting my blessings on that one because I'm hearing more and more crap about her. To be perfectly blunt, she's actually scaring me a little. A lot of the other cashiers are getting pretty pissed off at her because she's riding their skidplates over stupid crap. That tears it-- she really is from my old hellhole store. A week away from her will do me a world of good.

I just dread getting on board that airplane. But whatever it takes, I guess.

--Weasel, "Gotta finish packing my bags..."

12

The new schedules are up: My vacation has been approved, like I had expected.

Today was insane; I was bounced around at least five times throughout the day. At first, I was people greeting, then I was on GM self-checks, then it was 23, then 17... By the end of the day, I could barely remember where the hell I was or what the hell I was doing.

I hate days like that. They make me feel like a total moron. And they also drag by.

But it's one less day's wait for BotCon, thank Primus.

--Weasel, "I'm too old and tired for this crap."

13

I really ought to be doing laundry, but I simply cannot work up the energy to do it right now. So I'll blog instead.

With only 13 days left for BotCon you would think I'd be in a pretty decent mood. I wish I could say that I was. Work has been driving me insane. Again.

Sammy, our front-end manager, is on the warpath. She's been tearing into people left and right, ususally over something that's really, really minor-- like being four minutes late from lunch. I'm not kidding. She's been going nuts on quite a few cashiers and worse, pissing off even more. Vi, who works the GM self-checks when I'm not there, has wanted to get a few more hours; nothing much, just maybe an extra half an hour each shift, since she's been stuck working five and a half hours almost every single day. When she asked Sammy what could be done for this, she was told to either change her availability (not happening, since she has to act as a shuttle service for her family) or sign up to fill a full shift.

The problem? She can't work a full 9 hour shift because she has to get her kids to and from school and work. Sammy knows this but she doesn't give a damn.

The kicker? Sammy's from my old hell-hole store. And she's acting like it. (Yes, that is one of the major reasons that I left that store. You would not believe the amount of backstabbing and bullshit that I had to put up with on a daily basis. It was insane.)

Less than two weeks. That's what I'm telling myself. If I can make it until then, it'll all be worth it.

--Weasel, "I wasn't kidding when I said I was earning this trip."

15

The "i"s are crossed and the "t"s are dotted; we're almost ready to go to BotCon.

I'm already nervous as hell-- did I mention that I hate flying? Seriously, I do. Can't stand it at all. But I'll deal with it, like I always do. (Pass the Tylenol PM, please.)

I can barely wait. I've been looking forward to this since it was announced back in December. I just hope I can hold on until then. (Work has gotten worse; I'll blog about it later.)

--Weasel, counting down the days

'POWER DELAY'

Well, there's something I've never seen before as an onscreen header when in the midst of watching a Brewers game on FSN Wisconsin. A mess of the lights went out at Miller Park tonight during their game against the Cubs. Prime and I watched as Milton Bradley (Yes, that is his real name...) stood ready at the plate as the Crew were blowing a significant lead in-progress when it suddenly darkened quite a bit.

44,428 people there, and I have to wonder how many dillweeds left the game early because of it. I mean, there're always the monkeys who leave during the last third of a game when it seems like one team or the other has it in the bag (and tonight is a perfect example of the idiocy inherent in such a call, as the Cubs are now within 3 of tying it up as I type this--not at all insurmountable...not that I want THAT to happen, hell naw). I've just never gotten that whole 'leave before it's over thing'--really, beating the traffic's that important to you? Why don't you just stay home, then, and leave the sold-out tickets to be sold to someone who'll fill the seats for the full nine?

Like me & Prime? /rant rant impotent raaaaage

Still can't believe that I've become such a fan of baseball in general and the Brewers in specific. Prime did this to me. He's still not sure how. And I think he's afraid that I'm going to steal all the swag/merch/paraphernalia he's collected since he was a kid.

(Maybe I will, unless he promises to get me a jersey. I haven't decided if it'll be 'Swindle' with his number--that's an actual Brewers player, BTW--or 'N. B. E.' 02. Decisions, decisions.)

...quick edit: woooo, 12-6!

This kind of ties in with my post from yesterday. While WGN was my original/main source for episodes of Transformers as a kid, there were many...MANY...times where I'd be unable to watch, because there'd be a damn Cubs game there to preempt the showing! Oh yes, there was much, much rage. So there's little surprise, now, that like a good Brewers fan, I haaaate the Cubs! XD

--Weasel, "I'll take Megatron over the Cubs anyday."

25 Years

Prime thinks I went a liiiiittle overboard with this. But he's not the writer, he's the editor. The editor under my THUMB OF DOOM. So nuts to him. :)


Twenty-five years ago today, the very first Transformers comic hit the newsstands. Although I have few memories of that day or that comic, the franchise it helped to launch became a very important part of my life.

Growing Up Autobot

My first introduction to The Transformers came from the toys, which I had spotted in a store in my hometown in North Carolina. It may have been Kmart, or it could have been the local Best Products. In any case, the result was the same...to say I wasn’t impressed was putting it nicely. My mindset was simple--a robot should be a robot, a car should be a car and never the twain should meet. It wasn’t until later that I would change my mind.

It was the cartoon that ultimately drew me into the Transformers universe. More specifically, a plucky little yellow Autobot who quickly became my first crush.

Since my father now worked for the local cable company, my family received free cable. One weekday afternoon, in a fit of boredom, I was restlessly flipping through the channels looking for anything decent to watch. I stumbled across WGN, which was called ‘The Chicago Channel’ by most people living in the south, including myself. In a stroke of good fortune, I discovered that they were airing cartoons. At that age, only animation would keep my attention for an extended amount of time. Curious, I decided to watch.

The first was GI Joe. It was interesting enough, so I stuck around to see what else was on. The next offering that met my eyes would influence me for many years to come, though I had no clue at the time. The second cartoon was Transformers.

Within a few moments, I was already draw into the mythos; an entire world of sentient robots? I had adored all things robotic since I was 4 years old, so sign me up! After seeing the first episode, I wanted more.

I watched the entire three-episode special. I was hooked instantly.

Then came Transport to Oblivion. It was then I fell in love. My first crush was an Autobot named Bumblebee.

In the episode, it happened so suddenly--Spike Witwicky was in danger and Bumblebee rushed in to save his friend. As if that wasn’t noble enough, what Bumblebee said during the rescue sealed the deal: “I got him into this mess, I’ll get him out!”

It was love at first sight--someone who was self-sacrificing, loyal and incredibly cute. At the age of nine, I had figured out who my dream date would be and it was Bumblebee. In my eyes, he was utter perfection. I idolized him, adored him and often thought how awesome it would be to meet him. He was the reason I became a fan of The Transformers.

I had very little money as a child, so my collection consisted of only two toys: one lone Powerdasher jet and an Astrotrain that I had gotten from my uncle at Christmas. But that did not stop me from being a fan. I showed my affection for the Autobots in other ways. During fourth grade, I begged my mother for Transformer-themed school supplies. I wrote short stories and fanfics in my spare time. When my mother would banish me from the house with the words “Go outside and play!” I would cast myself as a secret agent, working for the Autobots. In my fertile imagination, I would join up with Bumblebee to spy on the Decepticons or help him in mounting a rescue mission to save Optimus Prime and the other Autobots from certain destruction at the hands of Megatron. In the back of my notebooks and on spare pieces of paper I would scribble the words “I love Bumblebee”. Although I lacked the toys, I certainly did not lack the enthusiasm.

My Life as a Teenage Cybertronian

During my turbulent teenage years, I began to forget; I forgot about Bumblebee and Optimus Prime and the other heroic Autobots. My life had taken a different turn. I was now fighting my way through adolescence and desperately trying to fit in, which I never really did. It wasn’t until later that I began to remember...that fate guided me back.

During my freshman year of high school, I suffered through several particularly bad days. I was lost and lonely. I had no friends and had a very difficult time identifying with the other students. I literally knew no one; unlike everyone else, I had gone to private middle school rather than a public one. Not only was I the 'little fish in the large pond', everyone was a complete and total stranger to me. Being painfully shy did not help my situation, either. I was simply too timid to speak to anyone. Those that I did speak to often thought I was weird and wanted little to do with me. I had never felt more alone in my life.

Every day, after school let out, my mother and I would visit my great-grandmother. After a quick visit, I would walk to the Kmart that was located behind her apartment building. One especially lonely day, I wandered through the aisles of that Kmart, trying to take my mind off my lousy life. I had already tried losing myself in their book section, but that didn’t help. So I turned towards the toy aisles, hoping that I could simply forget.

It was then that I spotted him. He looked a little different, but I knew him just the same.

It was Bumblebee. The Kmart-exclusive Legends Bumblebee, to be exact. I picked him up from the hook and whispered, “I remember you.” With the only money I had in my wallet--five dollars--I took him home, smiling for the first time in weeks. When I returned to my great-grandmother’s apartment, I gleefully showed him off to my mother. “It’s Bumblebee!” I said, laughing. “Remember him from Transformers?”

I have often said that Bumblebee may either be my jinx or my guardian angel. This was the beginning of that trend--having a horrible day and finding a new Bumblebee toy or catching wind of a related bit of news--anything along those lines. But I had no idea how important that action figure would become later in my life.

At the age of seventeen I met the boy who would be my significant other for the next five years of my life. My then-boyfriend had been an avid Transformers collector and, until he decided to pick up the controller to a Nintendo Entertainment System on a regular basis, owned over 200 figures. When I first visited his home, I was shocked; it felt less like a trip down Memory Lane and more like a family reunion. I was completely enchanted. Transformers brought us closer together and we often spent time reminiscing about the franchise.

When I started college, one of the assignments I was given was to bring an item that I felt was important. I brought Legends Bumblebee. At first the other students seemed slightly shocked until I explained how he reminded me of my childhood and of my past, which was very important to me. This actually started a pretty spirited discussion in class. I actually felt proud of myself for once.

When I got home, my good mood vanished. My mother and father were not on speaking terms. Dad was stressed out due to his job; he had come home that night and had suddenly rearranged the furniture in the living room. Worse, he barely spoke to Mom. It was like walking on eggshells. Neither one was sure whether or not things would work out. Mom was already talking about a temporary separation.

I managed to slip into my bedroom and collapse on my bed, clutching my favorite little Legend. He was a slight weight on my chest--so very slight. But he was like an anchor that kept me from feeling completely adrift. I have no idea how long I laid there, cradling Bumblebee. It may have been hours, it may have been seconds: I honestly cannot say. I only know that his presence was the only thing that kept me calm that night.

Thankfully, my parents worked things out. But during that time I spent a lot of time in my bedroom, writing terrible fanfic and cradling my Bumblebee. The fanfics are long since gone but my Legends Bumblebee remains with me to this day.

It wasn’t terribly long after this incident that Hasbro released Transformers: Generation 2. Frank and I spotted them while out and about one Saturday. When he pointed them out to me, my heart soared; one of the figures on the pegs was Bumblebee. I had a second chance to collect the figures I had missed during my childhood. And collect I did. Every spare bit of money I could scrape together went towards my brand new Transformers collection. My very first figure? Bumblebee, of course. Frank began collecting as well. Whichever figures he couldn't buy, I would buy for him and vice-versa. Those were happy days for us; collecting seemed to bring us even closer together. Unfortunately, that feeling wouldn’t last.

The Beast Within

Generation 2, the successor to the original series, wasn’t much of a success, and it eventually died away. In its stead came what many at the time first considered to be the pretender to the throne--Beast Wars Transformers. Frank was underwhelmed, to put it gently.

“They’re not real Transformers,” he scoffed. I, being so very naïve in spite of my age, believed him. So my collecting stopped. It’s a decision that I still regret to this day; I missed out on quite a few figures.

Even though I was no longer actively collecting, I was still quite interested in the franchise as a whole. But I honestly believed that I was one of the few people who still remembered them. That is, until the advent of the internet. One day, on a whim, I typed “transformers” into a search engine on a library computer at my local college. Most of the results were related to electrical equipment, but a decent number of them were dedicated to those robots in disguise that I loved so much.

I wasn’t alone. There were other fans out there. Eventually, I found an email group called the Cybertronian Conference, or CybCon for short. I signed up and after a little lurking, began to actively participate in discussions about the toys, the cartoon--everything. To most it would have been idle nerd talk, but to me it was the most fun I had in a long while.

Then the bottom dropped out of my world: On 30 October 1997, Frank admitted that he had cheated on me with my best friend’s stepsister. I was devastated. Everything I knew (or thought I knew) had been turned upside down. Although I tried to forgive Frank and work things out between us, it couldn't be done. We couldn't even remain as friends. In one fell swoop, I not only lost my significant other, but I lost almost all of my friends as well. Most of them quickly sided with Frank, believing that I was the one at fault for the whole sad affair. I was alone yet again. I was adrift, with no idea what to do next.

Cupid in Disguise

During this time, which I refer to as the Year of Hell, I kept my mind occupied by getting more and more involved in the online Transformers fandom. Also, now that I was free of Frank’s influence, I began to pick up some of the Beast Wars action figures that still lined store shelves and hung from their pegs. The first one I ever purchased was a Fuzor--it was Silverbolt. My reason for purchasing him was pure aesthetics; his being a mixture of wolf and eagle made him the most visually pleasing to my eyes. I was bitten by the collecting bug yet again. I simply couldn't get enough of Beast Wars.

When the WB network debuted in our city, I was able to catch up on the episodes of Beast Wars I had missed, and came to realize just how much of an idiot I had been; Beast Wars might have been a different chapter in the mythos, but it was an incredibly engaging one. I mentally kicked my own butt for denying myself such an amazing storyline. This would be the first of many things that I would discover than Frank had been terribly wrong about. It would also be the first step in relearning to trust my instincts, a step I owe to Beast Wars.

But even though I had fallen hard for the Beasties, I was also trying to recapture a bit of my youth. I was always on the lookout for a "new" Bumblebee to add to my paltry collection. Thanks to CybCon, I was able to get my hands on a G2 Go-Bots Bumblebee and managed to acquire a pair of G1 Action Masters Bumblebee toys. One remained sealed on his card, while the other was freed from his paper-and-plastic prison to adorn my desk. What I didn't know is that Bumblebee wouldn't be terribly safe on that desktop.

It was an accident, really--I was opening one of the drawers and it got stuck. Irritated, I slammed it shut, which caused my poor little Action Master to tumble off the top of the desk. When I noticed he was gone, I panicked. Frantic, I tore apart the area around the desk looking for him. Five minutes later, I found him. He was lying behind the desk, none the worse for wear. I apologized to him (!) and placed him back in his spot, all the while threatening to burn the desk for allowing something so horrible to happen.

Later that night, I made mention of the incident while posting to CybCon. Imagine my surprise when someone contacted me privately about it. "It's that top-heavy thing, isn't it?" the email began. The member, whom I knew as Prime, apparently had his own difficulties in keeping his AM Bumblebee upright while it was wearing its heli-pack. It was an odd start to a conversation, but what a conversation it was.

Frank and I were officially done in August of 1998. It was a difficult time for me, so I took a few months off trying to collect myself and figure out how I was going to get on with my life. But after wallowing in more self-pity than truly necessary, I decided to stop existing and start living. In November of that year, I asked for a computer for Christmas. When I got it in early December, the first thing I did was re-subscribe to CybCon.

I got a warm welcome back, which surprised me. I actually had friends out there. After a few weeks, I also reconnected with Prime. We began chatting again, only this time it was a little bit different. I started to really look forward to his messages in my inbox. I begin to giggle happily every time he replied to me. I was acting like a giddy little schoolgirl with a crush on someone. It felt wonderful.

As the summer of 1999 approached, BotCon loomed on the horizon. A few CybConners mentioned that they were going, among them Prime. Since I had been saving some of my money for the past two years and had about three thousand dollars handy, I decided that I could afford a trip as well. I preregistered and with the help of my mother and her credit card, I was able to go. I told a few of the CybConners that I would be there, but I emailed Prime personally, gave him a description of myself and told him that I would be looking for him. I gave no one else that information. It only went to Prime.

I arrived in St. Paul, Minnesota on Saturday. After heading to the convention center to pick up my prereg items, I rushed into the dealer room. It took several minutes, but I was able to spot Prime standing in the ridiculously long checkout line at Rugby's Starbase. It took me a few moments to get my nerves under control, but I managed to walk over to him and introduce myself.

For the few hours we spent together, we were inseparable. We talked, laughed, and acted goofy. For the first time in nearly a year, I was having a great time. When Saturday came to an end, we had to go our separate ways. I went back to my hotel and he to his. Although there was an "official" CybCon gathering at the convention hotel, I couldn't make it due to extreme exhaustion. It was my fault; I had only gotten a grand total of 6 hours of sleep in the last two days. I'm surprised that I wasn't hallucinating by that point.

I was only able to stay a few hours on Sunday, but I spent as many of those hours as I could with Prime. We wandered the dealer room yet again, just enjoying each other's company. As we wandered about and made a few purchases, I spotted a MOSC Goldbug (Bumblebee's 'evolved' form) on a dealer's table. I looked him over for a few moments but put him back down; I didn't have the money for him, as I had purposefully limited the funds I brought along for the trip. "Don't you have him?" Prime asked. I shook my head. "Nah, I never had the money to grab him when I was younger," I replied, a bit sad. What happened next is something I will never forget.

Prime picked up Goldbug and bought him. I patted him on the arm and said, "You give him a good home, now." Prime smiled and said, "Oh, I will." He then handed the Throttlebot to me.

Prime had just bought me a present. I was shocked. No one had ever displayed this sort of kindness to me.

I nearly knocked him down when I tackle-hugged him. I don't think I've ever thanked someone so profusely in my life. I didn't want that moment or that day to end.

It was hard to leave St. Paul and harder still to leave Prime. It was then that I knew I had fallen in love with him, the thoughts of which made me both happy and terrified. Happy, for we felt so perfect together and terrified at any possibility of getting my heart broken again.

When I returned home, I wrote him an email. It was the most difficult thing I had ever written. I gave him my telephone number and asked him to call, which he did. Eventually, I was bareing my heart to him, hoping he wouldn't reject me. Not only did he reciprocate, he admitted to the same feelings. I had found love, all thanks to a little yellow Autobot.

Their War, Our Shelves

In December of 1999, I took the plunge: I moved from North Carolina to Wisconsin to live my life with Prime. Since that time, my Bumblebee collection has exploded and our combined collection (including so many toys I had missed out on acquiring on my own) has grown by leaps and bounds. I've been an attendee at every BotCon since 1999 and made quite a few friends along the way. Prime and I have happily collected everything we could in that timespan, artifacts included. We've had long, drawn-out discussions on whether the Matrix may be sentient and if Tarantulas is actually Unicron's spawn. I'm working on building a shrine to my favorite Autobot, featuring not only toys but artifacts as well. I'm an admitted (robot collecting nerd/roboplastico addict/flaming robosexual/insert goofy robot-related term here) and I love it.

Although the Transformers franchise has changed time and again over the past twenty-five years, one thing remains the same--my undying love for Bumblebee and his Autobot friends. Because of my devotion to his character and the Universe of which he's a part, my life has become richer; I've made friends and family, all thanks to him. It's been an amazing quarter century for my favorite toy franchise and I can hardly wait to see what the next twenty-five years will bring. No matter what may come, I will always be a fan.

21

I promised a longer post, so here we go.

* As of right now, I have a song stuck in my head. Now if I could find the soundtrack or movie on DVD, I wouldn't have this problem.

* I am utterly exhausted thanks to work. The whole "Work 8 days, get two days off whenever" completely drains me.

* If I'm dead within a week, you'll know why: one of the cartpushers thought that he had H1N1 (swine flu) this past Saturday. Seems his girlfriend had visited Mexico and was dreadfully sick, so he thought he had been exposed. Too bad management didn't see it that way. So if I'm too ill to enjoy BotCon, that's why. (I'm still going, of course.)

* I'm actually on a bit of a downer lately; I'm thinking that the letdown from Dairycon has gotten to me. If this is the case, I'm going to be insufferable when BotCon's over.

* From the "Customers Are Stupid Assholes" file: Three days ago there was a crying toddler hiding behind a display in one of our main aisles. Every employee who saw the kid did as they were trained; they stopped and looked for Mommy. Mommy (who was about six feet away and hiding behind a different display) got pissed off because everyone was showing some actual concern for her kid. Hey, moron? Would you be saying that bullshit if your kid had gotten molested/kidnapped/murdered? Don't think do. How about next time we call the state and let them take your kid. Have fun tangling with that, idiot.

* I am getting sick of the stupid. The more I see, the more it pisses me off. It's getting so bad that I'm afraid I'm either going to snap at a customer or a member of management.

* Prime said something about the upcoming BotCon that I kind of have to agree with: this is a convention we've been to before. The only new guest we know of is Weird Al. Everyone else has been a guest previously. Man, I really wish Mark Ryan would come. (I'm still going, though.)

And that about does it. Tune in next time to watch me lose what little sanity I have left. (I must be nutbars to post what I'm going to post on the eighth.) Until then, this has been
--Weasel, "Signing off."

23

It hasn't been the best week for me: I've just come off an eight day stretch, the stupid at work is driving me nuts and I have a blog post (click the badge above for the what-n-why of it) due in three days. (I'll be working on it tonight. I seem to work better at night. Don't ask.)

I am tired. Very tired. Mostly of people and their stupidity. And trust me, there's been plenty.

I really hope I can make it to the end of the month with my sanity intact. Right now, it's looking a bit doubtful.

--Weasel, "I'll post more later. I'm just too exhausted right now."

30

I am on day number two of an eight day stretch. I don't know how long I'll be able to hold onto my sanity. So much stupid, so many cranky-ass little old ladies, so much bullshit. I really don't know if I can hold on until my next day off, let alone BotCon. Add on this little bit of news and you could say that yeah, I'm about ready to scream.

To paraphrase Ultra Magnus: I can't deal with this now.

--Weasel "Yeah, life sucks. What else is new?"

The Dairycon Update Part 2

When we last left off yesterday, it was almost time for the "Name that Transformer" contest. By the time I got back to the convention room, we were about five minutes from starting. "Name that Transformer" is a 20-questions-type game; we (the convention goers) have to ask the emcee yes-or-no questions in order to get clues. Guessing correctly won you a Dairycon program guide, which contained raffle tickets. Prime was on a tear yesterday and won three times. Pretty darned awesome. ("Fat lotta good it did", Prime sez.)

After that, we had the Jumpstarter Rally. Prime and I were in the same heat.... and I won! I went on to the semi-finals, but didn't make it to the finals. Oh well. Crow was the over-all winner after the most epic finals I've ever seen. (The final heat had to be run three times; the Jumpstarters kept leaping over the end of the table.)

After a short break and more wheeling & dealing, the "Assemble Your Own Transformer" event got under way. Only this year, instead of assembling a TF, the contestants had to identify parts. That was evil Fred, very, very evil! Prime didn't win; it went to Joe.

More wheeling. more dealing and even more fun ensued. Prime made a few more purchases and we managed to sell a few more things from our table. But Dairycon was beginning to wind down.

This year, we actually had an organiser's panel of sorts where questions were asked and sometimes answered. Afterwards, we had the annual spinning of the big wheel. Prime actually won an exclusive...cowbell. ("Shee-eeesh.") Not long after, the raffle and auction were held; we didn't win anything during the raffle and the auction, as usual, came down to Prime and Bill of JRS Toyworld, who brought it up to $285 for A.S.S.-09, ToiletBot, Pretender Motormaster, and various-and-sundry other items before Prime let his semblance of common sense take over (he could've gone higher, but had reasons beyond not wanting to spend that much). Maybe next year, if we're lucky. Bill and Prime both do it because they know a fair amount of money gets spent to put the event on every year, and not all of it gets made back. It's entertaining, too, to watch the back-and-forth bidding, and Prime knows it.

So eventually, the process of packing up began and then everybody who wished to do so headed out to the local Old Country Buffet for the annual "Eating by the Geeks". But something totally awesome happened to me and Prime as we were driving away from the hotel.

As we started down the street, I noticed a car that was trying to parallel park just a little bit down the street. As I looked at its back end, I couldn't help but think it looked weirdly familiar. Then we passed it. I nearly freaked out when I realised what it was.

A red Camaro. A red 2010 Camaro. As in, pretty damn close to movie Cliffjumper. Oh yeah, there was much freaking out. (Thank Primus it wasn't yellow.)

Prime circled the block for me and I was able to get a bit of video of it. (I'll try and post it later.) After that, we were on our way.

We ate, drank and were merry. I haven't had such a great time in weeks. Seriously, I really needed this. After a few hours, our party went about its separate ways. But I had a great time, a really great time. I can barely wait until next year.

Dairycon Update

At the Ramada (again!) and enjoying Dairycon 2009.

We got here about 20 minutes later than we expected; seems we have a bit of a windshield issue that we're dealing with. Why does that sound oddly familiar? Thankfully, our table was set-up in advance, so no harm, no foul.

Already been doing some wheeling and dealing; we've sold a few of our BotCon exclusives and Prime's made a few purchases. But we missed out on a blue-eyed BW Cheetor so Prime's not real happy. (You see, I was hoping to use Alexa-One to post this but I'm kinda hiding out downstairs for a little bit. When Prime's upset, forget trying to cheer him up.) But I'm having fun right now, at least.

That's all for right now. If I'm lucky, I'll try and post another update later today. Right now, it's back to the 'Con!

(edit: Weasel = jerkmunkie) Signed, Prime. Nyah.

Live from Wisconsin!

It's Dairycon 2009!

I'm actually at the Ramada as I type this; they have a 24 hour business center with net access. Been having a pretty good time-- today was the tour, where we got to tour a classic car collector's garage. Man oh man, did he ever have some really nice cars. Saw a GTO that my dad would have flipped for and at least two Corvettes that one of my friends in NC would have salivated over. I've got some video of the place; I may try and post it later.

After our tour, we headed back to our meeting point (the Ramada) and the early dealer room set-up began. Prime and I pretty much have our tables set up for tomorrow, which takes a load off of our minds. Right now there's some gaming going on; since I suck so hard at games (video or otherwise), I decided to sneak out for a few minutes and make a quick post.

All in all, it's been pretty fun. I can hardly wait until tomorrow when the real fun begins.

--Weasel, "Must buy.... multiple Bumblebees..."

Life is Awesome Again

(For once that title is not sarcastic, either.)

At around 11:35 am, the phone rang. I didn't think much of it, believing that it was probably Prime. But I checked the caller ID on the TV just to be certain.

It came up "Brian Savage".
I nearly broke a leg running upstairs.

It seems that someone had cancelled on the Thursday tour and a spot was open. Since I had been placed on a waiting list (that'll learn me not to do my registration forms late), they wanted to know if I was interested. I immediately said yes.

I'm going on a tour of Hollywood! Can this get any more awesome? (Only if I meet somebody mega-famous or get discovered!)

--Weasel, "Like that will ever happen."

Time Off

It's a wonderful thing.
And Dairycon is coming up in a few days. Even more awesomeness. XD

"What Do You Want Me To Do About It?"

Since dinner is cooking, I decided to steal a few moments and make a quick post. I just had to.

Today, cashier Jenni told me about a little incident that happened last night. It seems a customer found a virtual shitload of stuff left behind in a cart. Everything was paid for; according to Jenni it was all in bags. So the customer told an associate from lawn and garden about it. Rather than taking the bags up to customer service, the associate simply said, "Just take it. You can have it." Jenni thought that maybe she should let a head or a member of management know about this, since the customer who originally forgot the items might come back for them. I told her that it was probably a very good idea.

About ten minutes later, Jenni told me that she let a head know about it. The head in question was Mary. Mary's reply to Jenni's story was simple: "What do you want me to do about it?"

Uh, how about your damn job? You know, like letting management know about this so they can talk to the moron in L&G so it won't happen again? You know, actually doing some fucking work for once in your pathetic life? But that would require you to actually get up off your lazy ass and do something, now wouldn't it?

I swear to Primus, I work with idiots. And they get fucking stupider each and every damn day.

--Weasel, "I'm so earning that vacation, really, I am...."

(Insert Scream Here)

Honestly, I can only take so much stupid in just one week....

A few days ago I was on the GM self-checks: It was towards the end of my shift, so I was expecting my replacement to show up at any time. Or so I thought.

It took 10 minutes for him to finally show up. Seven of those minutes were spent looking for a damned head cashier. When I finally clocked out for the night, I was a grand total of 13 minutes over. It's not a helluva lot, but it's just enough overtime to get my ass in trouble.

And now we come to tonight. I was on the grocery self-checks tonight and yet again, it was only a few minutes towards the end of my shift. And yet again I was awaiting my replacement. And yet again, my replacement didn't come. Only this time, I actually asked a head if someone was going to come and take my place. According to Mary, someone was on the way and would be there soon.

"Soon" apparently meant ten minutes later. Again, I clocked out late.

This is bullshit. Serious bullshit. My job is at fucking risk every time the damn heads pull this idiocy. The one who loses in this equation is me, not them. I'm thinking that the next time this happens and I'm on self-check, I should just shut the fuckers down and walk the fuck away. I refuse to get fired because of someone else's incompetence.

As I've said many times before, I'm really earning this trip to BotCon.

--Weasel, "Is it May yet?"

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

I'm still here; I've just been too blasted wiped to actually post.

It's mostly been work that's been wearing at me, but life in general hasn't helped either. Even the small things seem to irritate me. Prime's done shit that would normally tease a chuckle out of me and all I'll do is roll my eyes. (Sorry 'bout that, big guy.)

But I'm getting better. I'll get to that in a minute. First, I have to vent a little:

* The people who did data entry for my previous store were morons. 'Nuff said.

* We've had yet another spate of firings in the last couple of weeks. At least four people, and possibly more than that, were let go. I knew three of them, the fourth I'm not sure since I never got a name. The reasons vary, but the result is the exact same-- I'm paranoid as hell and trying not to say anything that may piss anyone off.

* The new front end manager is expecting us to "sell" customers on our store credit card. I refuse. Why? Way too damn many people have had their credit frozen. Why in the hell would they even want to try getting another credit card?! In this economy, I seriously doubt anyone would even want another piece of plastic.

* Whoever has been doing the schedule has been sucking a bit less, but they still suck. Although I've been getting two days off in a row more and more, my hours are all over the place. I'll work 8:30 to 5:30 one day and 11 to 8 the next. It's tiring, to say the least.

But things are getting better. We have DairyCon coming in a little over a week. We've also got a couple of nice tax returns coming which will help with BotCon. And of course, we have BotCon coming in May.

Things can only get better.

I Could Really Use a Mental Health Day.... Or 12

It's been a while; my job has been stupid and they're splitting my days off. To say I'm exhausted is putting it mildly. I'm also a bit on the burned-out side.

I could really use a break. A break from people, a break from stupid, a break from work, a break from everything. Primus only knows if it'll come.

Last night was so stuffed full of stupid it wasn't even funny. I'll spare the details but suffice it to say I'm sick of people stealing/throwing away my stuff. It's pissing me off. So fucking stop it already.

I need a vacation. Badly.

90

It's been an interesting few days: I didn't get my last break at work on Monday, I had to play monitor duty on Tuesday and Wednesday and Prime got his pre-reg done.

Thursday was a bitch. The recession hit home. I don't want to elaborate (I can do that later; I'm still pretty freaked out) but we're okay. I'll just say that we dodged one helluva bullet.

I honestly don't know if I can hold out until May anymore. The shit just keeps piling up and my sanity just seems to fray under the strain. I really don't know if I can make it.

--Weasel, "Urge to freak.... rising..."

No Words. Seriously.

Found this little gem via Shakesville and I have to be honest, I can't do it justice. You really need to read this train wreck for yourself.

But this is what pisses me off the fucking most:

3) The fact that her parents talk about "having to do this now," as if a delusional nine-year-old cannot be told no;
(Emphasis mine)

Excuse me? But did you just call a dying girl delusional? A dying child? Delusional?! Where the fuck do you get off?! Trust me asshat, if this were your kid you'd give her whatever the flying fuck she would want. You sure as shit wouldn't call her dying wishes delusional. Yes, she wanted a fricking wedding, but so fucking what? Jesus Christ, I can't believe the amount of arrogance and idiocy I've just read.
Or to put it a better way:

Awesome, we're now concern trolling the dying wishes of a 9 year old.

Yeah, awesome job. Way to look like a total douche.

If this is "true Feminism" then fuck it. I officially jump ship.

92

It begins in earnest: the forms are up!

I just emailed Prime all the necessary info but it was a bit of a sticky situation at first. The desktop computer decided to start running slowly just as Fun Publications updated everything. Great timing there, Delta. :slams head into wall: I'm hoping everything got there on time.

Man, I've never yelled at a computer so loudly in my life.

--Weasel, "Now if my heart rate will just come down..."

95

I was bounced around from register to register today, which was annoying as hell. At first I didn't think much about it, until I took over on register 4. Cathy said that I would only be on there for a minute, then led the previous cashier away. Fifteen minutes later, the cashier came back and opened up on lane one. He didn't look too happy.

When I came back from lunch, I overheard a rather interesting conversation between the other head cashiers. "She's been pulling people in the cash office and reaming them out for no reason," said one.

"That's no way to make friends," said another.

That's when I put two and two together: Cathy's been yanking cashiers aside simply to bitch them out. It has nothing to do with their job performances; it's just Cathy being in a pissy mood.

So not only is she incompetent, she's a rampaging bitch.

I have no idea what the hell her problem is, but it's getting worse. I'm thinking I'm going to be walking on eggshells around the dumb bitch until I go on vacation. If I can make it until May with my sanity in tact, it will be a miracle.

--Weasel, "Maybe I should spike her coffee with some fucking Midol. It could only help."

96

Work is getting worse.

It seems Sean, one of my co-workers, asked for extra change today. So he pulls some cash out of his drawer and waits for the head cashier to come over. He gets his change from Cathy, who then turns around and leaves without taking what Sean owes her. As he put it, she was literally walking away as he turned around with the money in his hands.

To make matters worse, Sean spent the next few hours trying to track Cathy down and had no luck. Out of frustration, he finally flagged down another head cashier. Sean was finally able to pay off what he owed, but the other head told him that if he hadn't, he could have gotten a coaching or worse, been fired.

Sean would have been fired for Cathy's fucking idiocy.

I'm going to be completely and totally blunt here: Cathy is an utterly inept moron who lacks the basic common sense to tie her fucking shoes, let alone handle management responsibilities. She never should have been trained as a head. Hell, she could barely make it as a cashier; she'd snap under the stress. She needs to be fired or transferred to another store immediately. It scares the hell out of me that we have her trying to handle the front end because she either doesn't know what the hell she's doing or she's too busy fucking panicking over stupid bullshit.

They say that the cream of the crop floats to the top. Guess what? Shit floats as well.

--Weasel, counting the days until BotCon and sweet, sweet sanity...

99

On a whim, I went ahead and started picking through my suitcase this morning, checking to see if I had taken care of the clothes I had worn to last year's 'Con. Honestly, I couldn't remember if I had taken them out and washed them or if I had just decided I could wait until later to take care of everything. To my surprise, everything's clean and I'm actually in pretty good shape: The only thing I lack are decent shoes (which I'll get later) and socks.

I'm practically ready right now. A little bit of packing and I'm done. I could almost grab my suitcase and leave right now.

Too bad I can't.

--Weasel, "I'm California Dreamin' even as we speak."

Sending Best Wishes...

(Along with healing thoughts!) To the Culture Ghost. Be merciless and beat the living hell outta this thing.

For Prime

A musical dedication, for Prime.

Prime, you've been the light of my life and the pain in my ass for a long time. And I've loved every moment I've spent with you.

Even More Random Thoughts

It's been a while since I last updated and a lot of things have happened. So now we're doing another obligatory installment of:

Random Thoughts

* It seems that something big has happened at work; the store manager called meetings on Monday and told everybody to come. From what I understand a bunch of the job titles were changed and its going to affect some of the department managers. As to how, I really don't know. And as far as I know, it won't really affect my job but we'll see.

* Our new manager for the front end is a woman named Sammy. Here's hoping she'll be much more competent than Tom. (It wouldn't take much, believe me.)

* Saturday was a very strange day. I was on GM self-checks. I had one woman try to outright steal from us (she would only scan one item and put three in the bag) then we had someone threaten to kill himself. Yeah, it was nuts. I can't help but wonder if it was a full moon that night.

* Our weather has improved lately. We hit the 50s in places yesterday. I wish this would last.

* God, how I wish I could go to Chicago today. This is why. (I'm trying not to throw a fit over here.)

* I was able to catch the teaser trailer for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen during the Super Bowl. Another trailer will appear before Friday the Thirteenth. I'll have to wait until it hits the net; I'm not paying full ticket price just to see a trailer.

* In 106 days I'll be at BotCon. I just hope I can hold out until then.

* There's been a pre-order bonus announced for Pokémon Platinum: a Giratina figurine. Supposedly you can get this from Target and Best Buy, but Serebii fails at English so badly it isn't even funny. I'll just have to keep my eyes peeled, I guess.

* My store has no new Transformers. It fails on multiple levels.

* Prime's been using my laptop for a few projects, so I've been using the desktop. I've discovered that I don't like the desktop; it's way too fucking slow. God, how I love my little Alexa.

* We took advantage of Circuit City's going out of business sale on Friday. Prime grabbed quite a bit of slag, whereas I got rechargeable batteries for my camera and a lock for Alexa-One. The sad thing? I think that was the first time I had ever gone to that store.

And that does for this week! Tune in next time when I write a bunch of crap that no one really cares about. Until then, this has been...

--The Weasel, "Signing off."

Some Good News

Tom is out the door, as of the 14th of this month. He'll be heading to Green Bay. And believe me, they can have him.

--Weasel, "I hope the door hits him where Primus done split him."

How To Win Friends and Influence People... Or Not

Got a bit of a headache going right now; it wasn't the greatest day at work. One of the heads has been on the rag and that's putting it mildly. Cathy's been snapping at almost everybody lately and usually for very minor things.

She's been doing it more and more often, almost always when Tom is at the front end. We're thinking she's doing this slag to try and impress Tom.

Rumor has it that Cathy is working this position to gain management experience. If she's planning on taking a managerial position somewhere, I weep for her employees. She doesn't have the temperament to be a manager at all.

These past few weeks have more than proved it.

--Weasel, "I don't think I can take much more of this horseshit. I'm losing my mind as it is."

An Update

Was feeling better, now feel like slag. And now Prime has it.
More details later; I'm going to crash out. Again.

--Weasel, "Maybe I'll be over this shit by May. I can only hope."

I'm Alive

More or less.

I've had the cold from hell for the past freakin' week; it started up last Sunday and hasn't let go. I had to call in to work last Tuesday because I felt so damn bad. It isn't just the usual chest/head congestion either: I've had the worst sore throat of my life, which has hung on for the past week. Eating has been almost impossible and talking hasn't been fun to say the least. The only thing that's been keeping me together has been liberal doses of Tylenol cold medication and sleeping in on my days off. (I'm dead sick of sleeping until dark!) So yeah, I haven't been on the 'net worth a damn.

I'm feeling a bit better now so I'm hoping the worst of it is over. I figure if I deal with this shit now, I won't have to deal with it later in the year..... like oh say, around BotCon.

--Weasel, "Pass the Tylenol, dammit. Seems I need another hit."

Merry Christmas

And a happy go to hell.

We're clearing out all of our Cashmas crap, so people are snapping the slag up like there's no tomorrow. And I've been dealing with the usual after season sale bullshit-- wrong prices, missing UPCs, cranky idiots, you name it. But nothing could top the bullshit I dealt with today.

The woman wanted to buy two pre-lit Cashmas trees; one was already in her cart while the other was still in Lawn and Garden. She wanted someone to bring it up. "It's a white tree," she insisted. So I called back to Lawn and Garden, asking them to find a white tree.

They couldn't find it. There were no white trees back there.

When we told her, she replied, "Oh the tree is green, but the lights are white."

It was all I could do not to go House on her. Seriously.
We've had fake Cashmas trees in more colors I could count: Red, blue, black, purple, pink, green and yes, even white. And we're not talking light bulbs, we're talking foliage.

See the problem here?

I would scream, but I'm not too keen on pissing off my throat.

--Weasel, "Is it May yet?"

Like It Can't Get Any Damn Stupider....

I didn't think much of what I saw; one of the heads was wiping down our dry erase board at the podium just as I arrived. It wasn't until later that things got serious. It seems the note on the board read that all cashiers were required to smile. If we didn't we could get coached. Or worse.

We could get fired. For not smiling on the job.

It was either someone's idea of a joke or they were deadly serious about it. And I'm thinking it wasn't a joke.

The news spread like wildfire. No one was happy. Which is probably why the damn thing was erased.

This whole thing leads me to ask: Could management get fired for being stupid as fuck? Cause they seriously need it.

--Weasel, "And I was hoping to use my 'psycho' smile..."

Hotel Hopping, Mark Two

So Fun Pub announced the hotel details for BotCon on New Year's Eve.

The Wednesday through Monday block filled within two hours. We're looking at doing the hotel shuffle. Again. It's shades of 2007.

Small price to pay. Whatever it takes to get to the 'Con, I'll do it.

--Weasel "Now the wait until May.... that'll be a pain in the ass."

Best. Christmas. Ever.

Yesterday, I got one of the best Christmas presents ever: BotCon 2009's date and location. I'm heading to Pasadena, California on May 28. But Prime won't be my only companion on this trip. I'll be taking my brand new laptop.

Yes, you read that right: I have a laptop. Just got her today. She was a gift from Prime, his mother and her husband.

I've yet to pick a name for her (I'm leaning towards Alexa) but she'll be coming with us when we hit the skies next year.

This has been the most awesome Xmas ever. Seriously.

--Weasel, "And it'll be the most awesome BotCon ever, to be sure."

Best Cashmas Gift Ever

This past Saturday was the busiest shopping day of the season. We were crammed to the gills with customers, most of them pretty cranky. I was bracing myself for what would be a horrible day when one of my former co-workers spotted me. We said hello and chitchatted for a bit. Then she dropped a bit of news from the old workfront:

S got fired. The bitch that made my life a living hell finally got fired.

I went through the day with a huge smile on my face. It couldn't have happened to a more deserving person.

Boot to the Head

Got saddled on lane 15, which is never a pleasant thing for me. But things took a turn for the worse when I saw the customer who was walking towards me. I knew her instantly; she was the customer who screwed us out of twenty dollars. Only instead of a shopping cart, she had a dog with her. Then, she asked The Question.

"Do you have some paper towels and a plastic bag I could use?"

Her dog had shit on the floor. And other customers knew about it. And complained. Loudly.
So management kicked her and her untrained dog out of the store.

I had a smile on my face for the entire day. I just hope to Primus the stupid twit gets the message and doesn't come back.

--Weasel, "That would be the bestest Cashmas gift ever!"

Read. Just Read.

There are no words to describe how this makes me feel. But it seriously pisses me off. Not only do these morons have the wrong damned house, not only do they shoot this woman's dog, but this takes the cake:

After the shooting, police wrote Viilo a $122 ticket for letting Bubba run loose.

I thought that only the Chinese government pulled that sort of bullshit. Looks like I was wrong.

--Weasel, thinking that the Milwaukee PD should be spayed/neutered for public health and safety.

I Work With Idiots Redux

Was on GM self-check for most of the day. Normally nothing major happens on that side of the store.

Well, something happened today.

It seems somebody brought in a shitload of empty Wal-Mart bags, filled them with 17 unpaid toys and walked out with them. He went straight through the self checks and walked past two greeters. Nobody stopped him.

This happened during my first break. So I'm getting "talked to" about something I didn't know about and couldn't prevent.

Yeah, I'm not really happy. Not with the cashier who filled in for me during break, not with the greeters who couldn't be bothered to do their damn jobs, not the thieving asshole, not with anyone or anything.

Can we skip the rest of this month? Please? I seriously can't deal with this shit anymore.

Merry Fucking Blitz-mas, Assholes

Welcome to my nightmare.
Seriously, is this bullshit worth a goddamned $200 flat screen TV? I don't fucking think so. What the hell is wrong with you fucking morons?!

Keep it up, guys. My faith in humanity is dropping below zero now.

--Weasel, "Fuck it. I want off this miserable forsaken rock. NOW."

I Work With Idiots

But then again, what else is new?

Nearly tore out my hair on Thursday: Someone brought up a shower head with a clearance sticker on it. The sticker said $9.00 but it was meant for toys (Dept 7) and the shower head in question came up $27.88. So I called Hardware and asked them about it. The guy working back there said that it was not a clearance item and the 27.88 price was correct. I tell the customer this. She demands a head cashier. I explain everything. He takes off. When he comes back he says that I have to override it, per Tom.

You remember Tom, right? The fucking idiot dickhead? Yeah, not only is he a lousy manager but he just cost our fucking store damn near twenty bucks. And there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it. It seems as long as the items is marked with a clearance tag I have to sell it at clearance price no matter what.

Fast forward to last night. Seems the person working in stationary was redoing an endcap and didn't change the sign. So I sold four (or was it six?) Crayola Light Writers for $1.88. They actually retail for $19.97. If management pisses about it, too fucking bad. I saw the sign myself and considering the night before, why fucking try to do the right thing?

I'd scream, but I can't do it loud enough and I'd just ruin my voice anyway. There's no damn point.

It Begins

Doing laundry right now. Prime's upstairs watching Stargate SG-1. Thankfully, I had a relatively short shift today; I don't think I could have been able to stand a full one.

Work's getting busier. A lot busier. I think our business has doubled this year as compared to last year. I'm already about to tear my hair out as it is; I dread to even think about Black Friday.

This is not going to be a pleasant Cashmas season. I just know it.

News Flash

I fucking hate people.
That is all.

--Weasel, trying to repress the urge to kill someone who really needs/deserves it.

Coping Mechanisms

Cashmas is now in full swing at my store; we lit up our trees a couple of days ago.

I'm not looking forward to this. At all. But I'm finding ways to cope.

I've been telling myself as of late that one day worked is one day closer to BotCon. And it's worked, to a degree. Work is a little less unbearable.

Now if only there was a way to shut one of my co-workers up permanently, I'd be in heaven. (He'll be bitching mightily because Obama won. According to him, I'll be in a burqa by next year. Whatthefuckever.)

--Weasel, "2009 can't come quick enough."

Doctor!

David Tennant is leaving Doctor Who.

The Tenth Doctor is the one who got me completely and utterly hooked on the series. Because of his somewhat smart-ass personality, I fell for him almost immediately. So it goes without saying that I am a bit upset hearing this.

I'll miss you, Mr. Tennant, and thank you. You will always be my Doctor.

Tarzan Boy

It was noon. I was standing at the grocery self-check podium, carefully watching "my guys". From out of nowhere came the rhythmic thumping of sneakers on concrete. Two boys, maybe high school juniors, were running straight toward me. Curious, I watched as they sped from the general merchandise side of the store towards the grocery side. Then I noticed two other boys, running in front of the registers. It was then that I couldn't help but do a double take.

Three of the boys were dressed normally. The fourth was only wearing his briefs and had what appeared to be an animal skin tied around his head like a cape. He looked as though he were trying to mimic Tarzan or George of the Jungle.

The entire front end fell silent and watched the spectacle, too stunned to turn away. I admit my mouth was hanging open in shock for a fair portion of the episode.

Without saying a word, the boys raced out the door. Once they had departed, everyone roared with laughter, myself included.

We're still not sure why Tarzan Boy decided to drop by our store. If he was planning a Halloween prank, he missed the mark by a day. The entire incident (almost) makes me miss the days when I was that young and stupid.

--Weasel, "Never a dull moment where I work."

Sending Out Best Wishes

Today, as most of you already know, is Dan Gilvezan's birthday. I wish him nothing but the best. (And I hope he wouldn't mind swinging by BotCon in the near future. His adoring fans would love to see him again.)

Just A Few More Random Thoughts

It's a rather lovely fall day and I have nothing better to do, so it's time once again for:

Weasel's Random Thoughts

* It's been said that a woman begins to enjoy her vacation from the moment she begins to pack while a man enjoys his when he arrives there. If this is true then it will be a very long 8 months because I've already begun my BotCon packing. Yes, it's true: I have no life. (Stop snickering, Prime.)

* I want to go to Universal Studios Hollywood in 2011. It will be awesome. Here is why. Guess we know the location of a future BotCon...I hope I hope I hope I hope I hope...

* No one is exactly sure where BotCon will be held, but I'm getting ready for it as if we're flying. Ever since 2005, it seems that odd-numbered years have meant a couple of plane tickets while the even-numbered years are within driving distance. With this sort of pattern established, I'm pretty much expecting a jaunt in the sky to next year's con which I really don't want. I'm kinda hoping to be proven wrong. You have no idea just how much I hate flying....

* No matter how much laundry you do, you are never done. Seriously, it never ends. (Apologies to Simon Furman. Or curses. Reader's Choice.)

* I have been training my cat to sit. It seems to actually be working. Teaching Sammy to speak or roll over probably won't happen...frankly, he doesn't need any prompting to do either. Hey, he already knows how to say "hello".

* We have 14 days until the election. This will all be over soon, thank Primus. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same thing about football season. (After the crap with Favre, I wish I would never hear the word "football" uttered by anyone ever again.)

* Prime and I have been on a "Masters of the Universe" tear. We've been watching the DVDs of the 2002 series for the past couple of nights. Been kinda nice to see them, really. And I learned something new while watching: I had no idea that they had done morals at the end of most of the eps.

* People are already beginning to do their Cashmas shopping. And stores have already started putting out their Xmas displays. Yet another holiday shopping season arrives. I can hardly wait. /sarcasm

And that about does it. Be sure to tune in next time when I type out another pointless message on various and inane topics simply known as... Random Thoughts.

For High Speed Internet Only

I want this like you wouldn't believe. When I get a laptop, I will beg for this thing.

--Weasel, "Fastest thing on the 'net, baby."

Next Stop: Hell

Work has gone straight to hell. I don't even want to get into it but we're rapidly falling apart. With the way things are going, I don't know if I can make it until BotCon. My steady chant of "Next June" has been the only thing that has been keeping me sane.

I don't know how long that will last.

Where's My Damned Prozac?!

For the past couple of days, I've felt a little bit like House: I've had a limp and I don't really want to take people's crap. My right foot has been hurting like a bitch lately (it's better, thank Primus) but my attitude has gone straight to hell.

Tom is pissing everyone off. Including me.

A few days ago, Tom chewed me out. Why? Overtime. Where did that overtime come from? The idiots not getting out on time. But that wasn't what really pissed me off; it was his reply afterward. "This is strike two. Third strike you're out."

What.
The.
FUCK?!

Where the flying fuck was strike number one, asshole? Or did you just pull this shit out of your ass?! I had to have swung the bat a time before this, you jackass and I sure as hell don't remember swinging at jack shit. God fucking damn!

More and more cashiers are getting pissed off. There are head cashiers who are now stabbing people in the back. We're not allowed to do any pages over the PA system anymore. And we now have about a month before the Cashmas rush begins. I'm about ready to strangle an idiot. Any idiot will do.

I love my job. Really I do.


Pic from here.

"Not My Problem"

This is the new mantra I have at work now. All the bullshit that goes on in that building is no longer my problem. I'm only watching out for myself and my friends. The rest of the building can go straight to hell.

More on the bullshit later.

:Grumble:

I hate my job. I know, I know. What the hell else is new? But we've sunk to even lower depths of bullshit than ever before.

It all started a few days ago. One of the other cashiers, Jenni, cam back from break. She was crying. It seems that she had run to the restroom before heading back to her register and one of the co-managers, Tom, wasn't too keen on this. He tore her a new one over it. Here's the problem: None, and I do mean none, of the head cashiers had a problem with her doing this. It was Tom who threw a massive shit fit over it. As she put it: "If it was such a problem, why wasn't I told a long time ago?"

But it gets better. We're no longer allowed to talk to any of our co-workers. Well, certain cashiers, it seems. If you kiss the right ass, you can talk for hours and not get into trouble. If you don't, you'll get yelled at. It's favoritism, plain and simple and it's pissing me and a shitload of other people off severely. I'm to the point where I'm ready to turn in some of the heads and their friends for chit-chatting excessively. And to hell with getting in trouble. I just don't care anymore.

I need a laptop. Like now. Then I could cobble a manuscript together, sell the fucker and get the hell outta Dodge. If I don't, I'll probably be dead of a stroke with 3 years.

--Weasel, "I just love my job. Really I do."

Life in the State of Stupidity

It seems the mayor of our fair city wants to do away with the goth teenagers who are "hanging out" at the city parks in the evenings. So now groups of 15 or more teens must have a permit to use the park and if they're under 18 they need a chaperone. Seems the neighbors have been freaking out about them since they (GASP!) dress in black and (HORRORS!) use foul language and some of them (DEAR HEAVENS!) smoke.

Call me crazy, but don't we have more important things to worry about? Unless they're pissing on my front lawn, I don't give a damn what they do. Why the hell does city hall have to legislate this?

--Weasel, "My fucking tax dollars at work here."

And Today in "Not Giving a Shit"....

On Sunday, Prime had to go in for a little bit of overtime. Me, I had to work. So Prime dropped by my store to say 'hi'.

So much for that idea. One of the heads, Mary said I couldn't ring up his order since I "knew" him. Prime was pissed (and that is putting ti very mildly) and so was I. But it gets better.

The next day I'm working on an express lane and someone found a prescription left in a cart. They brought it up to me, so I called a head. Mary, the same moron from the day before came up and said that I was supposed to hold on to it. About three seconds later, the customer who left it behind came back in and claimed it. But I was extremely pissed. Here's why:

Prescriptions are supposed to be taken back to the pharmacy immediately because they can be stolen. And guess who would have gotten in trouble if that prescription had been stolen? None other than yours truly. I have half a mind to turn her in to management for that bit of stupidity, but I doubt it would do any damned good.

Whoever said that the cream rises to the top forgot that crap floats, too. June cannot come soon enough.

--Weasel, "So... tired.... of the bullshit!"

Wake Me Up When September Ends

Ned Yost has been fired.
So this is what it feels like to be kicked in the gut. It's not a great feeling, I tell you.

--Weasel, now wondering if October will actually happen for the Brew Crew

Holy. Crap.

So for the helluva it, I decided to ask for a Mew over GTS last night. I sent out a male Yanma holding a Custap berry and asked for a Mew at level 10 or higher. After 15 minutes, I checked my progress. Nothing. I waited another 10 minutes and tried again.

A Pokéball falling from the sky greeted me. I had just received a Japanese Mew.

I checked its summary and the ID number caught me by surprise: 50716. The number looked familiar. But since Prime was on the PC, I couldn't check on it. So I did it today.

Looks like I got me a Hadou Mew. I got an event Pokémon.
This is gonna be one spoiled rotten Mew.

And Somehow, I Just Can't Care Anymore...

I saw Susie the other day. She's doing well, has another job and said flat out that yes it was a bullshit reason that was used to fire her. I'm just glad she could get another job, considering how fucked up the economy is right now. And I'm glad she's in a better position.

There are days I really hate my job. Monday was one of them.

It seems management doesn't want any of the cashiers to place perishable items into any of the soda coolers up front. Basically, we now have to call the departments and pray to Primus that somebody comes up to get their shit.

Yeah, that doesn't often happen. I've lost count of how many times Frozen Foods has never shown up to get their crap.

Why do I have the feeling I'm going to be defecting out a lot more shit? Oh well. Whatever. I can't even give a shit anymore.

--Weasel, "Can we fast-forward to next June? Please?!"

That Was Fast...

The vid's been yanked. I hate to break it to them, but it's too damn late. The info is already out on the net. Let the speculation begin!

Major Spoiler!

If you don't want to know, do not click.

All I can say is: Waiting until next June is going to be pure torture.