SERIOUSLY, San Diego Comic Con. FINALIZE YOUR GODDAMNED FILM SCHEDULE ALREADY. If “Snow Day” DOES get in, at this point, it will cost us almost $400 to fly down there. And we can't NOT go if we get in. So if we're in, PLEASE tell us soon so that we don't break our banks on a weekend trip. Thanks.
is that better than
I have officially resigned myself to putting in my notice. July 5th is the day. I have yet to decide how MUCH notice I'm putting in. It will be between the standard, Sandra Bollock-approved two weeks and the karmically sound end of July. It really all depends on how much shit I have to put up with before the day of reckoning. If July 5th is anything like today, I will be wanting to get out of there as soon as humanly possible. What is it about crying in the middle of the day that gives you a hangover? Who needs a drink? I'll tell you. I do.
Congrats to Roxy for getting into that program (specifically WHAT program, I still don't know) that will allow her to train for two years in L.A. and eventually become a bonafied Production Manager. She has worked on every Gadzook project, pretty much since the beginning and Meep and I have been fortunate enough to have had her on Snow Day. She will be sorely missed for being both fun and extremely talented. And don't think we won't try and steal her back from L.A. when the program is over. If we can afford her, that is.
Who wants to play hooky with me sometime in the next three weeks? I have some vacation days that are burning a hole in my pocket!
Confidence is back
Well, fuckety do.
This afternoon the PTB send an email to the Seattle office which I will paraphrase below:
Dear Seattle Office,
I am not a fan of micromanaging but when severe abuse is occurring, I need to step in. This is why I am implementing a policy on personal internet usage effective immediately. Personal internet use shall be limited only to breaks. Each employee who works 8 hours is entitled to one one-hour lunch break and two ten minute breaks per day. These breaks may not be split up. (e.g. four five-minute breaks and two thirty-minute breaks). When you take a break you must let someone else in the office know. At the first sign of infraction of this policy, a verbal warning will be given. After that, the penalty will be assessed. This policy has been implemented to prevent animosity amongst employees and to prevent the dropping of morale.
-The Powers That Be
So, let's forget the fact that the true intended recipient of this email was very thinly disguised. While this “new policy” is, in theory, better than what my immediate boss had originally come up with (no personal internet at all ever), putting this policy in place means one, very debilitating thing: My computer will be watched like a goddamned hawk. Dom mentioned that IT people have a way of downloading internet traffic from computers on the network so that despite my impeccable daily deletion of history and cookies, they can still see exactly what I'm doing at all times. That is probably what has been happening. Every day, the brown-nosing spy has been reporting my comings and goings and no doubt having a blast trouble shooting ways to keep me in line. I recently caught wind of a little gossip that this guy was going to quit but then got a raise. So now he is probably kissing ass so as to keep the raises coming. No longer is he part of the underpaid proletariat. He is working his way up in the world by selling out his former equals. Now, more than ever, I want no part of this. But I talked it over with Dom and he suggested that I stick it out till the end of the month. That will put me at the end of our quarter so I can (provided they aren't COMPLETE bastards) collect my quarter-end bonus (which is contingent on whether or not I complete x, y and z throughout the quarter. And I always do. Because I'm a GOOD GODDAMNED WORKER). Then, in early July, I put in my notice. Whether or not I have anything lined up, I'm going to leave because I just can't fucking take it anymore. I have said this before but this time I REALLY REALLY mean it. I'm on the verge of becoming a really angry, joyless, bitter person (as opposed to a delightfully snarky person) as a result of working here and I that is something that I definitely don't want.
In the meantime, my work day is officially joyless. Tomorrow, I'm going to check out how hard it is to get on a computer at the library.
He clean go inclusive launder
With all my email fun taken away at work, I had to make my own fun so I decided to google the new interns I hired. Turns out the one that I got the major gaydar from is a member of the Willamette Republicans. Hmmm. I’m not discounting my gaydar though. I was disappointed to find nothing on the other one. And that’s the end of THAT timewaster.
Last night was an eventful night for the cats in the Zookster household. Marilyn usually sleeps with us at night, but for some reason last night she was out wandering so Tobe took the opportunity and mustered the courage to move in. In the wee hours, Marilyn came back from patrol and was PISSED to find Tobe sleeping in her spot. She kept trying to jump up on the bed and attack him but he didn’t budge. She gave up for a little while and then, as punishment to me for letting Tobe sleep there, she vomited on my pile of clothes. (I guess it serves me right for being a slob). Then she started attacking Tobe again about 30 minutes before our alarm was set to go off. (A pet peeve of mine is being woken up FOR ANY REASON that close to alarm time). Marilyn really knows how to be a brat. When I finally got up, Tobe came with me. Probably because he knows that he’s mine and Marilyn is Dom’s. I never thought Tobe would have the courage to try and sleep with us so I’m interested to see how this is going to play out in the future. But it better not interfere with my goddamned sleep!
On the job front, I must say I’m VERY tempted to just put in my notice and charge full speed ahead on the job search front. Andrew still thinks he might be able to get me into a temping situation at Amazon and let me tell you, that sounds more and more appealing every day. I need to time it perfectly though. I wants to stay here till the end of the month so that I can get my quarter-end bonus but leave before the crappy all-day seminar that they want to make me attend in July. Tricky.
operationaly Acetaminophen-Mag Salicylatel
I'm sure this work drama is getting boring so I will change the subject. Dom's laser disc player arrived today so that means that sometime in the future, we will have a party (or three) to celebrate the fact that we can watch Star Wars as god intended.
Also, there are MANY highly anticipated (by geeks, anyway) movies being released soon including Batman Begins (tomorrow), Land of the Dead (the 18th) and The Devil's Rejects (the 22nd). If time permits after R2R this weekend, does anyone wanna see Batman Begins at Pacific Place? And who's on for seeing the other two on their respective opening nights?
Deeeeeeal of the week
So I was not blacked out of email at work today. But I am DEFINITELY still under close scrutiny. And whatever the little spy did to keep me in line was backfiring like crazy today. The internet just kept going out and I'd have to email him to get it back on line so it was making it hard for me to do my real job! When I asked him why it was doing that, he said “well, did you just dump your temporary internet files? Cos that would reset the security that I've put on there”. Of course, that's what I do every day before I leave the office (to no avail, apparently) but I hadn't done it yet so I could honestly say “Nope. That's not the problem”. Still, after that I was so paranoid about what he had done to my computer that I waited until he left at 2:30 to try and log into my email. I was still able to get in but I know for DAMNED sure now that it may not last long. So I will probably be fairly incommunicato, only checking my email once or twice and after 2:30 for a while. At least I can still look for another job while I'm there. So far I've only gotten one call back and it turns out that the company was in Shoreline, even though their ad said Seattle. So I had to say no to that one. I am NOT busing to Shoreline every day. I have applied to quite a few jobs at this point so SOMEBODY has to be calling me back, right? Damnit, I'm a fucking PRIZE! Get me out of here!
look through the email – longer longer longer
Things are very very fucked at work. I logged on to my computer this morning and immediately noticed some more sneakiness afoot. I opened internet explorer and a PASSWORD WINDOW came up. So I emailed the I.T. guy and was all “Why do I need a password to get on to the internet now?”. He replied with a highly suspect story about it being a function of transferring data to the new server. (Highly suspect because no one else complained about internet issues. Usually when there is an internet problem, everyone is the office calls me at the same time to tell me to get the I.T. guy on the phone). He promptly “fixed” the problem but I watched him do it and saw him access a few dubiously labeled folders like “restricted” and “limited”. Later, he emailed me to request that I tell him when I leave for lunch because he has to “do something on my computer”. He leaves at 2:30 (because he arrives at 6:30 am to fiddle with people's stations before they get in) and I didn't get a chance to take lunch before he left, but my theory is that when I arrive to work tomorrow, I will find that I am blacked out of any sites that would allow me decent human contact. It's a wonderful feeling to be so loved. At least all this Big Brother shit has got me so nervous at work that have very little desire to eat lunch, let alone succumb to the office munchies. I just may lose those “vanity pounds” this way. Thanks, Big Brother!
I am still actively seeking employment elsewhere. PLEASE GOD let me find something soon.
Is wait as expound
WEEKEND RECAP
Friday
After a particularly trying workweek for me and Meep, we decided to have a relaxing and quiet-ish evening at the Canterbury. We started out just the two of us and whiled away the time by outlining our new web series “America's Next Judge Reinhold”. I'll just let that sink in.
After a while, Sherwood showed up and later Borgia and Dom. Sherwood was already drunk and ended up leaving early. Around 11:00, we tired of the Canterbury and decided to try our luck with an adventure elsewhere (sans Dom who had to get up at 5am the next morning for a shoot). We paid our bill, leaving one of my remaining New Kids on the Block trading cards along with the tip. (I bought a pack at Archie McPhee's and have been leaving them all over town. The response is surprisingly positive). Anywho, once outside, we were at a loss for where to go. Nowhere on the Hill seemed to temp us. Finally, I remembered one of the places Faye and I have always wanted to go: 13 Coins. How can one NOT be seduced by a dodgy sign on the side of a major road with an arrow pointing to seemingly nowhere that boasts “24 hour dining and lounge”. So we hopped in Borgia's car and headed down there. When we finally turned down the right street and feasted our eyes on the green awning for the first time, we had mixed feelings. We couldn't really see inside and so whatever was on the other side of the door was going to be a surprise. To our shock, it was POSH inside. We went into the lounge which looked like Gentlemen's Club (but with ladies inside and no one wearing robes). We took a gander at the menu and found everything to be overpriced. Not what we expected at all. (And kind of not what I'd hoped. It was no Great American Dive Bar). But with 13 coins shellacked into the table, a mosaic ship lamp in the corner, and menthol cigarettes on the menu, everything checked out. We had one beer and called it a night. My curiosity is now sated and I can check 13 Coins off the list.
Saturday
I went to the noon yoga class and was happy to discover that the slow-talker wasn't teaching. When I got home, I felt pretty good. I had way more energy that I usually have after the 4:00 Sunday class. I think I will start trying to go to Saturday noon more often. SOOOOOO, after a shower and a small lunch, I met Faye to go to Value Village. We were costume shopping for “Retard to Retard” which we are shooting next weekend, right before the Earth opens up and swallows us. After that, we relaxed for a little while and met BennDunn for dinner at the Red Line. After having an orgasmic sandwich there a couple of months ago, I have been bugging Faye to go back there with me. (Actually, I've been bugging everybody, but she was the first one I could talk into going). The sandwich actually wasn't as orgasmic as the last time but it was still good. And a cool crisp beer is just what I needed to wash it down. Then we headed down to the Crocodile for the comedy stylings of Eugene Mirman. (If you visit his website, make sure you are on a computer with speakers). The opening act was the most ADORABLE cross between Chuck Barris and Cat Stevens. His name is Langhorn Slim and he's a 23 year old bluegrass prodigy. He plays guitar like the devil is after him. He dances around and sings songs about heartbreak like only a literate 23-year-old prodigy can. I think Faye and I were utterly smitten after about the second song. It's funny. I went in there all jaded and skeptical, ready to hate whatever he was about to play. I have been so displeased with new music lately. But when he started playing, I could actually feel my cold, dead heart melt and turn into ice cream and puppies. Buy his album. You won't regret it.
After Chucky Baby played, it was Ron Lynch from Home Movies. When Faye and I first got tickets, Brendon Small was on the bill. But according to his website, he done got busy. So we got Ron Lynch instead. It turned out great because my face hurt from laughing long before Eugene even hit the stage. Holy crap. The man is funny. I especially enjoyed his character bit in which he is a comedian who's suffered a nail gun injury. He stands on stage with a bandage on his head and just stares straight ahead. Meanwhile, on his lap top, his bit is played through a Stephen-Hawking-style voice generator. Effed up. And awesome.
Then Eugene came on and was even better than the first time we saw him with Stella so long ago. The best part was when he played a real recorded phone conversation between him and a Christian phone company that tries to get you to switch to their service by telling you that other phone companies support gay marriage. He totally takes the piss and they have NO IDEA. It's AMAZING to me how few Christians seem to have a sense of irony. Particularly the ones who say “ya'll”. Buy HIS album too.
After the gig, we drank some more and played a new game we made up wherein we decide which filmmakers, actors and films should be awarded “hacks”. As an example, Eli Roth gets 5 hacks. Were “Cabin Fever” not so over-hyped as being so extremely edgy and violent (which it isn't), we may have been less harsh. Kevin Smith gets 4 hacks. The only reason he doesn't get 5 is because of “Mallrats” which is entertaining enough. “Ferris Bueler's Day Off” gets 5 hacks because it turns out the character of Ferris Bueler is not endearing but rather a mooching, manipulative arsehole. Now you play!
Faye and I started craving some nachos from Shorty's so we popped over there for a Nacho Nightcap. BennDunn snapped some very compromising photos of Faye and I deep-throating a veggie dog. Hopefully they will never see the light of day. Ordinarily, we're all for amusingly inappropriate photos, but these didn't turn out that way. I can't explain why but they really do look disgusting and wrong. Horribly horribly wrong.
Sunday
I really DO love not having the pressure of 4:00 yoga hanging over me. It was very liberating. I went to the grocery store, tidied up a bit and watched a TON of tv. Delightful. I also happened to catch the end of “Pretty in Pink” on TV. And once again I realised that a film I found enjoyable as a kid is actually a huge load of crap. So at the end, the beloved Ducky, who is in love with Andie, “lets her go” be with Andrew McCarthy because he's such a nice guy. Aw. Poor Ducky. I bet this is going to be awful for him. Unrequited love is horrible. But wait a second…who's that young thing making eyes at him from across the dance floor? I don't know but she's hot! Andie who? And with that, all of the reason for us to care about him goes out the window. If they had only played it out a little bit different. Maybe if Ducky had flopped his sad ass down in a chair and the cute girl came over to find out what was wrong. She sits down and starts talking to him. He's still sad, but there is a hint that this young chicklet might help him get over it soon. But no, they had to go for the instantaneous erasing of any open-endedness. NO ONE CAN BE SAD. This is John Hughes' world. No one is allowed to have more than three emotions and CERTAINLY no one can go into the fade-to-black with unresolved issues. John Hughes, I give you 5 hacks.
Later, Faye and I went to the Mercury which, once a month, hosts a neat little shindig that's open to everybody. They have video games, music, drinks and legos! On this particular night, they were showing our movie so we went to introduce it. It was a great crowd and despite the fact that the sound and picture were AWFUL on their system, the audience was really receptive. Our movie didn't go on until 11 so we didn't get home until after midnight but it was worth it, I think.
the human head weigth 8 poundthhhhhhhh!
Dear God! This brings a little sunshine to my day. Jonathan Lipnicki (Woops. I mean “Jonny”) is a super stud!
Also, check it out! It's Sledgehammer and that guy from Happy Gilmore! That's a film event not to be missed!
enhance your anatomy
Everything is so fucked up right now. I'm so glad it's Friday. I need beer now. And maybe a good cry later. I won't go into it…now.
I will say that last night Dom helped me revamp my website (not Tangent…the stupid personal one I was forced to make at the Art Institute). I decided that I no longer needed a website for “editing” because I will never get a job as an editor (I'm already outclassed by all those slick kids with after effects skills). But since I like my jbax email (easy to remember), I'm keeping the site. It's now about me and how dumb I am. Yay.
Beer. Beer. Beer.
Effed by the Wind 