gonzai: (Snarl)
A change in year is not helping things at all. This has been one of the worst weeks ever.

Some of it is universal; I may not be the biggest Harry Potter fan, but I did adore Alan Rickman. By Grabthar's Hammer, this sucked. And Bowie. We got cable the same month MTV debuted, so I got my fill of Ashes to Ashes, Fashion, etc., loved the 80s version of Bowie, then went back & discovered that Ziggy Stardust is one of the best records, ever, full stop. Today just heard about Ted Marchibroda, the first ever coach of the Baltimore Ravens. Enough with the death already.

On a more personal level, I hurt my heel in the car accident & it's been getting worse every day. Last week we started using a new software system at work without training or practice, & the data supplied by our client conflicted with the previous set they sent us. I wound up standing at my supervisor's computer for hours at a time while we compared databases looking for the (many errors) sent by our client. That hurt my foot even more. It took us all day Monday to finish fixing the database & printing documents. When I got home, my paycheck was in the mailbox; I usually take it to work in my pocketbook & then to the bank at lunchtime. This will be important later. Monday night, CJ flipped out around 1am, and stayed that way, barking for hours. I finally got up, and after another hour figured out the problem - battery ran low on the smoke alarm. Meanwhile I was freezing & couldn't get back to sleep. Great.

Tuesday, I arrived at work to find out that all the documents we'd printed Friday & Monday - over 2500 of them - were wrong. We had to delete some data that we didn't want on the documents; turned out the new software decided to helpfully put it back when we printed. We had to reprint every one of them. Forget going to the bank - I didn't get lunch & almost didn't get a chance to go potty all day. Meanwhile my supervisor & the third member of our office were at each other's throats all day, & it became pretty clear I was not going home at 4 for the second day in a row. After 4, I kept working on documents while my supervisor went to ask the boss some questions. When he came back, he came back with the boss, the office manager & boxes. And started packing his stuff into them. I thought he had quit. Seems there was another issue altogether I didn't know about, & combined with software issues, there was blow up & he was fired. I'm a temp, who was brought on specifically to be his assistant, so I had to ask the office manager if I should come in on Wednesday. Meanwhile, We were still printing the documents, and as a result of the firing, all of the documents needed the supervisor's name crossed out and signed by someone else. Some other workers stayed late, but the whole mess wasn't finished until after 7:30, & I didn't get home until almost 8. (I called the neighbor & asked here to feed/out the dogs.) When I got home, it was 40 degrees in my bedroom - the wind was blowing straight in & the heater couldn't keep up. So I 'slept' Tuesday night on the couch. Didn't actually sleep much & was one hurting puppy in the morning.

So Wednesday was a continuing adventure in frantically trying to print documents & deliver them to various courts, which included broken hand carts, heavy boxes, metal detectors, nosy clerks & my own failure to poker face (the clerk correctly guessed from my body language & refusal to answer questions that things were a mess, & since we'd just filed over a 1000 documents with the name crossed out...well, we handed over a lot of evidence.) Managed to eat lunch but still no time for the bank. On my way home, I discovered that the keyfob to my new car wasn't working.

Thursday was worse; the third person in our office was now the boss, as it were, & she was pissy, surly & wanted someone to yell at. Guess who. Anyway, never stopped working the entire day, no food, no bank, barely made it to the potty & then only when I snuck out when she was smoking. I nearly quit Thursday. & I got in trouble with the higher ups, because my contract with the temp agency requires that I inform them of any 'change in status' so I called them Wednesday & told them what was going on. Between the temp agency & the loose-lipped clerk, a lot of people knew about the firing, & I started to think I was going to get fired because of that.

Friday wasn't quite as bad as Thursday, but not much better. It was worse for the 'new' boss, she almost quit yesterday. And again, no lunch & no chance to go to the bank. Every bit of me hurts like heck.

Then today, I was finally going to take the check to the bank. And...it's gone. Missing. I searched everywhere, but the check isn't in my pocketbook & it isn't anywhere else either. The only place I haven't been able to look is the drawer at work where I keep my pocketbook. I'm hoping beyond hope the check fell out of the pocketbook & into the drawer at some point during the week, but if it didn't, then I'm out a paycheck indefinitely. Haven't gotten this week's check either, so the money thing is is not good. Oh yeah, the keyfob is damaged & can't be fixed without an appointment at the car dealership. Joy.

2016, you are sucking.
gonzai: (Dexter)
My string of minor successes last week (finished watching Charlie Cox's entire filmography, trivia team won both the final game of the session and the entire session, had two promising possible jobs on Friday) has come to a crashing halt, it would seem. I tried to play trivia last night, an all Game of Thrones night for extra seeding points, but the restaurant had cancelled all Sunday games for the rest of the year (football). However, the trivia company never took it down from their web site, never told the hosts the theme nights were off, and when I called the restaurant to confirm, the woman who answered said yes, they're having trivia tonight. So I skipped part of the Ravens game and drove an hour plus tolls, only to discover nope, no trivia. And got to watch the Ravens implode. Yay.

Then there was the temp-to-hire job I was to start today. It lasted less than 4 hours. I went home for lunch and while there got a call from the temp agency that they didn't want me to come back. Work-wise, it seemed okay, I hit it off with my trainer (who turned out to be a neighbor) and it was something I certainly could do, but I'd already realized I could not, in good conscience, work there. And while I hadn't said so, they must have figured that out. The main business of the law firm was finding legal loopholes for their clients to get around firearms background checks, CCW regulations, and generally selling weapons. Their one client this morning was crowing about the new silencer they'd helped him buy. Sorry, but no. Guns may be legal, but that doesn't mean I have to help people get them.

I will be calling the other job in a few minutes to see if, hopefully, that one works out better.
gonzai: (Checking In)
Home and trying to catch up on the DVR now.

Got to meet Giancarlo Esposito and talk H:LotS with him; talked board games with Felicia Day and hockey with Lee Arenberg; and Bonita Friedercy & John Billingsley were hysterical. I want film of their panels, I will PAY for those films. I was part of the fun on Saturday, when my attempts to get Bonita's opinion of Timothy Olyphant's backside turned into John attempting to instigate a Ravens/Steelers brawl. They are SO funny.

Meanwhile, I learned to play the card game 'Poo' from jslinder and returned the favor by teaching him, another gamer and a complete stranger to play Castles of Burgundy. Panels didn't go quite so well, problem wasn't the panels but that once again the con put children's programming in the next room and once again the kids were allowed, if not encouraged to run wild. Noise, noise & more noise, drowning out our attempts at discussion. Similar problem with the inaugural Geek Speed-dating - we were all crammed into a small room and we couldn't hear each other. I had almost no voice left afterwards. And only one guy professed interest in me. Plenty of visiting with folks I know, unusually good eating for a con, etc. Generally a good weekend.
gonzai: (say what?)
Game on! (And live blog on!)

Mom couldn't stand Alicia Keys. Wait'll Beyonce gets out there.

Wow. That was all very efficient. One break (the illegal formation penalty) and otherwise perfect execution. 7-0 Ravens.

One fumble/turnover, one touchdown. 14-3 Ravens.

One interception/turnover and whole lotta chippiness. These guys are gonna brawl. Scoring remains to be seen. Still 14-3.

Look, guys? I appreciate the trick plays and all that. But this is the Superbowl. Take the easy field goal and quit goofing around and don't chance the kicker getting hurt, OK?

What a move by Jacoby Jones. I forgot if your knees don't touch the ground and the opposition doesn't touch you, you can keep going. 21-3 Ravens.

Speaking of Jacoby...We have just seen history. The first 109-yard kickoff return in NFL history, not just the Superbowl. I didn't even think he should try to run it and I know darn well Jones can do it. He's my playoff MVP. Over Flacco, even.

Not saying the Ravens are hot or anything, but the SuperDome has apparently blown one heckuva fuse. Looks like half of the Dome is running on backup lights. This could be a problem.

On the other hand, with the PA out, there's only one thing you can hear in the Dome. The Ravens fans chanting our unofficial anthem, 'Seven Nation Army'. We are LOUD.

OK, I'm from Baltimore. I have the standard Baltimore inferiority complex, combined with a healthy dose of skeptism/suspicion as regards the NFL and Baltimore football. But still...the moment the Ravens completely take control of the game and threaten to turn it into a laugher, the power goes out. The NFL refuses to comment about it. And the power stays out just long enough for the Ravens to lose momentum and San Francisco to try and get it back. I don't think it's a coincidence. At best, the NFL wanted to stop the blowout. Yes, I'm paranoid. I will shut up now.

Ho. Ly. Crap. We won the Superbowl.

WE WON THE FREAKIN' SUPERBOWL!!!!!!!

There's purple & white confetti everywhere and Chykie Brown is swimming in it. I don't know whether to cry, join the people setting off fireworks or just text everyone I know.

OMG.

gonzai: (Big Ray)
I just ate a purple cupcake.

What?
gonzai: (Ravens)
The supervisor and I were kinda planning to 'sneak' out the door, hop the light rail and go downtown for the Ravens rally and sendoff to NOLA. Then we got up this morning and everything was iced over. So much for that idea. We're fans, not insane people. But a fair number of insane people did go downtown to see off the team - and the team was insane enough to be there and half-freeze - and we watched it online. And off the team went to NOLA.

The Big Game in the Big Easy. This is gonna be something.
gonzai: (Big Ray)
I hope Jack & Jackie Harbaugh have good blood pressure medications!

I thought my team would make it competitive. I didn't think they'd trot off with it in the second half. Heck, I was so convinced the Ravens wouldn't win, it's not sinking in on me yet. Wowsers.

Watching the Puppy Bowl AND the SuperBowl this year!
gonzai: (Ravens)
The company with the building projections has changed to a 'Go Ravens!' with logo.

The Baltimore County Police have parked a squad car in front of their headquarters, covered in Ravens stickers and purple spotlights on it.

Every store is overflowing with Ravens gear.

A downtown hotel is projecting a laser show of Ray Lewis on their wall.

A nearby shopping center has changed their spotlights to purple, which kinda makes it look like a UFO landed there.

I think this town might actually be nuttier for football this year than the last few, which I didn't think was possible.
gonzai: (Big Ray)
...may as well use it, right?

An office building not far from where I work (just off the JFX northbound, city/county line) faces the JFX and is about 70 x 90 feet on that side. In recent years, they figured they had the wall and the audience, might as well use it. Most of the time, starting around Christmas or so, they project a Ravens logo onto the side of the building. When Ray Lewis announced he was retiring, they projected a giant '52' on it. And after Saturday's game...well, now it says, simply,

OMG

I'll bet that's a cool place to work.
gonzai: (Ray Rice)
Ya know, I might say that was the best football game I've ever seen. Might not say so if the Ravens hadn't pulled a rabbit out of the hat, but dang that was a game. One of the longest in NFL history, never uncompetitive, balanced scoring, great plays, dumb plays, you name it. After some discussion at gaming today, I'm ready to give Corey Graham game MVP. Corey who? Seriously. But two of the best timed interceptions that could ever be made, he made them both in the same game. Thank you, dude!

Now, for a replay of last season's conference championships...yikes.
gonzai: (Big Ray)
And the game is tied. Much better for the Ray-vens than I was afraid it might be. And with that TD that Torrey Smith just scored, Mom says she has found religion ;) Should be quite a second half; I just hope the Ravens have enough oxygen.

One thing though - that field is crap. After the disaster that was Fedex Field Sunday, how could the NFL possibly let Denver call that a field and let the teams play on it?
gonzai: (Ravens)
...and then there are fans...

Ravens lights
gonzai: (Checking In)
I will be the first to admit that I am chronically late/rushed in the morning. However, throwing a very recalcitrant dog (who woke me an hour early and refused to go upstairs at the appropriate time), a bunch of utility workers who apparently think our driveway is their parking lot, and an obnoxious sales call from an energy company who wouldn't take no, much less 'you cannot speak to my mother' as an answer, did not help me get out the door any faster. (BTW, I would love, love, LOVE some regulation on the bleepin' energy companies. Constant calls, deceptive practices, refusing to put things in writing...grrrr.)

The actual work day was passable, my PT is pleased with the progress of my knee (and he was on time for a change), and the line for a Ravens autograph was reasonable, however. Picked up a signed piccie from Dennis Pitta, who caught the winning TD for the Ravens Sunday. I told him to try not to freeze this weekend - it's supposed to be 15 degrees at gametime. I think I'll be cuddled under my blankies at home.
gonzai: (Kermit)
After the pleasantness that was seeing the Ray-vens game end in a most positive fashion, I am now undoing my good mood in service of one of my 'resolutions'. I've already seen over 2/3rds of the films that have appeared on the AFI's Greatest Films list, so I'm going to try to watch them all. Turned out the one I least wanted to see was on this weekend on a channel I didn't know existed. And that channel exists only in HD. Thus it is recorded, in HD, and taking up way too much of the DVR, and must be watched as soon as possible for the DVR's sake. I'll stick with it as much as I can since it's 'great' and certainly a pop culture touchstone, but I doubt I'll get far.

The film? 'A Clockwork Orange'. Already pretty sick.

Grrr

Dec. 2nd, 2012 09:48 pm
gonzai: (Angry Raven)
Don't even mention the game to me.
gonzai: (Kermit)
I don't know what it is about benefits for animal charities, but nobody buys my stuff. I barely made my expenses, and as it turned out, I need not have bothered with anything other than Ravens & Orioles. Nothing else drew interest at all. Still, I did better than two of my three 'roommates', one had a single sale and the other had none. (The fourth cleaned up. Go figure.) But I met lots of doggies, plus some rats, chinchillas, guinea pigs and bunnies. I had help from my buddies Jim and Jeff, so it was a easy and social occasion if naught else. Trying to decide if I should bother with another show, I need the money but do I need the aggravation?
gonzai: (Big Ray)
Is it over yet? *peeks* Phew. The game is finally over. Nothing like a four hour football game with full overtime and a ton of reviews - unless it's converting a 29 yard 4th down. On a running play. If there's a way to win, the Ravens will find it, and daggone if they didn't do it again.

55-20

Nov. 11th, 2012 09:10 pm
gonzai: (Big Ray)
So that happened. Um, wow? Holy Hannah, Batman? Save some for the Steelers?
gonzai: (Checking In)
Well, Friday was as good as Thursday was bad. I picked up an assortment of wins, including one in a Settlers tournament heat, and a bunch of seconds. At one point I was third in the wild card tournament. Saturday...was back to my usual form, a few seconds but several lasts and I lost the Settlers semi-final on a dumb mistake, failing to note what my opponent was up to. Then again, I did beat my friend Eugene, who is generally acknowledged as one of the best gamers in Maryland, in consecutive games of Stone Age and Settlers.  I treated myself to a new game, Castles of Burgundy, because the things I needed weren't available.Today was also pretty half-arsed, I didn't win a thing, not even a cooperative game. At least it only lasted half the day and I was able to come home and watch the Ravens win. Now I have a lot of internet and a stuffed DVR to contend with, before going back to work tomorrow.

Um. Ouch.

Oct. 21st, 2012 09:07 pm
gonzai: (say what?)
So 2 people backed out of coming and let me know ahead of time, but my neighbor no-showed and one of the other two people didn't make it until 5pm. On the other hand, she didn't have to watch the game. Mom, our one guest and I bailed on the game at halftime. The Ravens' defense - what's left of it - just crumpled, and the offense didn't give them a break or any support. Pretty horrific. We did get in a few games, and we have a lot of food left over.

Profile

gonzai: (Default)
gonzai

August 2017

S M T W T F S
  12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  

Syndicate

RSS Atom

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated May. 22nd, 2025 02:36 pm
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios