Rob's blog of posts

Okay, okay, I’ve got a silly web-quiz result. Now this is officially a “blog.”

Where Did Your Soul Originate?
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I’ve been on this introspective kick the last few days, since I’m sick and spend most of my time lying in bed and rooting around in my cluttered toybox of a mind. Today, a name popped up in my head and wouldn’t go away, so I had to do a little legwork to put it to rest.

Long story short – I had a friend in Florida whom I met back in my AOL days, early 90s maybe. She was great, and our relationship kept threatening to progress to another level. But the fact that we lived 1000 miles apart, the fact that she was as old as I am now and I was still a goofy teenager, and the fact that my entire life suddenly fell into a huge pit due to a few factors including my own bankruptcy, we lost touch.

This was, of course, a couple of years before everyone and their mother were falling for each other over the Internet and travelling all over the place to meet up.

Anyway, I suddenly had the urge to put her name into Google. Lo and behold, she’s got an amazingly successful life going on, the kind she had been hoping for. I feel really good about that. She deserves every bit of it. She helped make one of the lousier points of my life brighter, and I anonymously wish her all the best.

My belief that the world tends to be a nicer place to those who truly deserve it is reaffirmed!

Mood – Content
Music – Illegal music! Give it a listen!

Here’s a true story that happened to me years ago.

When in public, I usually get mistaken for an employee no matter where I am. I’m constantly approached as an employee in stores and facilities of all types. Maybe I just look generic. Maybe it’s my aura of helpfulness and goodwill. Maybe I’m such a good social engineer that I even do it when not trying. Or maybe I just have that overworked, broken-spirit look that most of the world’s workforce exhibits while on duty. But sometimes it’s just inexcusable.

About eight or nine years ago, I was shopping in my local Pathmark grocery store. I was dressed in a big puffy blue and green winter coat, and pushing a shopping cart full of groceries, looking a lot like a customer and nothing like an employee. But sure enough, a customer came up to me. He didn’t ask whether I worked there, he wasn’t at all polite, he just snapped “Where do you keep the pesticides?”

Just for fun, I replied “Under my sink,” and smiled brightly.

“No, idiot,” – yes, he called me idiot! – “I mean here in the store!”

“Well, fool-ass, check aisle seven!” I smiled even more brightly.

He turned several shades of red. “I’m going to speak to your manager!”

“I’m going to speak to your manager!” I reply.

He storms off, and I laugh and forget about it.

Later, I’m approaching the checkout, and I pass the manager’s booth. I suddenly realize that I’m passing behind that angry guy, who’s venting his spleen at the poor manager lady over some employee she doesn’t have. I try very hard not to laugh out loud as I proceed to the checkout, leaving a scene of angry customer chaos behind me.

Any day in which you can leave some sort of chaos behind you is a good day, I think.

Mood – Waxy
Music – Tool

Okay, this is getting stupid. I went to the doctor, and all I’ve learned is whatever’s wrong with me, it’s not strep. Also, I’ve got a pair of ear infections, and am on antibiotics for a week. But the doctor had nothing to say about the constant stabbing headache I have behind my right eye, my throat, sinuses, or anything else. And that cost me 75 bucks. I should have at least asked for a note for my boss, but i wasn’t thinking straight. Still not.

I’m putting myself off the nyquil, though. I’m against drinking alcohol as it is, and that stuff’s 20 proof. I had to drink like a quart of juice to get the taste out of my mouth after every dose as is. I’ll have to deal some other way.

I can’t stare at this screen all that long, so I’m cutting this short. If anyone calls me and I don’t answer, it’s either because my voice went out again, or I chucked the phone across the room again.

I’m still freaking sick, and not getting any better. My voice is now stuck somewhere between Bonnie Tyler and Demi Moore. Call me Bonnie Tyler-Moore.

When I was younger, I had a pattern of always being sick on either Thanksgiving or Christmas. It looks like I’ll be taking up the habit again.

I got an MST3k dvd on the way home, since I don’t think I’ll be going to work tomorrow, and I’ll need something to watch.

Dayquil and Nyquil no longer do anything for me. I wonder if there’s such a thing as Interdimensional-state-of-non-being-quil.

Music – Rhythmic head pounding
Mood – Taking comfort in smelly cats and Final Fantasy 9.

Allergies suck. I’m partially deaf in my left ear at the moment because of mine. On the bright side, I only have to listen to half as many idiotic questions from people at work.

I’m constantly fielding emails and IMs from people who think Grey and/or Fina are sexy. In order to cut down on that somewhat, let me just state that Fina is both below legal age and under the protection of an insane big brother who looks and smells a lot like me, and Grey is secure enough in her Greyness that she doesn’t need my forwards constantly reminding her of the fact. I think Grey’s got much more than her share of stalkers, and she manages quite well without me sending her more.

But, this being the Internet and all, here are a couple of gratuitous pictures of pretty girls.

And now, to counteract the prettiness, here’s me with waxworks of the Spice Girls at Madame Tussaud’s.

My musical experiments are slowly getting better, but not to where I’d want anyone listening to them yet.

Music – This here!
Mood – Ready to sleep on planet Nyquil

Comment by Grey – November 25th, 2002 – 9:35 AM

Fina is sexy and that guy with the Spice Chicks is cute too. Can you hook me up with one of them?

The “Sexy” Grey

Reply – November 25, 2002 – 5:36 PM
If I were you, I’d be happy beyond measure with just myself. I’d enjoy my own stimulating conversation for hours, and explore my own fascinating and wonderful mind.

I’d also put mirrors all over the place and never leave my house. But perhaps I’ve said too much. Remember this next time I’m within slapping range.

Sooooo, I’m playing Soul Reaver 2 on my new PS2. Well, not so much playing as listening to the music. Kurt Harland is the greatest! And I get to thinking, Kurt’s instrumental piece Ozar Midrashim (which he later used as the main Soul Reaver 1 theme) would make for a really creepy piece if done totally in vocals, Gregorian-chant style. The only thing missing would be words to chant, and I’d have to write something in Latin for the full effect.

I love languages, but my Latin is just this side of really lousy. Still, maybe I can fake it well enough….

November 29th is Buy Nothing Day. Do you dare to not purchase anything for a mere 24 hours? Here are some links with more info…
http://adbusters.org/campaigns/bnd/
http://www.ecoplan.org/ibnd/
http://www.buynothingchristmas.org/
http://www.buynothingday.co.uk/

Mood – Laughing at silly people
Music – Soul Reaver 2

I’ve got a luvverly bunch of gingivitis, tweedle dee dee…

I also have to get my wisdom teeth pulled at some point. The CIA is going to have to move their spy chip to a different tooth.

I’m just about to go to the dentist. I hope it’s over quickly. Not that I have a fear of dentists, it’s just that he has very hairy arms.

Vice City cheat codes!!!@#$%^ Check em out…

Comment by Enamon – November 14, 2002 – 8:19 PM
Looking at that page I see that the Infinite Ammo cheat was submitted by someone named Renamon. Renamon. I feel so violated.

I turned 25 yesterday. It was basically quiet, which is good. I don’t like having parties thrown for me, and I’m also not one of those people who goes around saying they don’t like having parties thrown for them but secretly hopes to have parties thrown for them, I really don’t like having parties thrown for me at all.

Grey came over for my birthday, and I helped her track down some Doritos since my local Doritos truckers are on strike or something…

Grey dropped me a happy birthday on the UPL board, and a bunch of my wacky Phone Loser pals chimed in and Happy Birthday’d me, making me feel all warm and fuzzy…

Scott hasn’t known me very long, but he knows a fellow geek well enough to realize just how far a Radio Shack gift card can go. I collected quite a few nifty components I’ve had my eye on…

Sergey and Leo Happy Birthday’d me over the phone, and Sergey sent me one of his patented emails, making me feel all warm and gooey…

Matt, Dave, and Scott chipped in on a totally unexpected gift which has caused me to wonder if perhaps they have all somehow mistaken me for Milla Jovovich and are trying really hard to get on my good side in exchange for some walk-on roles in the next “Resident Evil” movie…

About four years ago, Fina gave me a wallet for my birthday. It was a really neat black vinyl one with a belt chain, which I really loved and used for the past four years. I happened to mention to her how it was getting a little frayed at the edges, and she suddenly presented me with a new identical wallet she had bought for herself at the time but never used. So now I have a new wallet exactly like my old wallet! Neatness abounds!!!

In other Fina news, Fina spent Monday with me at work, since school was out for veteran’s day. She helps me to run the joint whenever she’s around. Fina has great techniques for dealing with bitchy people, I bow to her skillz.

My mom keeps wanting to take me out to dinner, but immediately after pushing a 12 hour shift and preparing for a morning shift the next day is not really the best time to ask me.

My family and friends are insane! I love you all!!

Music – Coldcut

Mood – Tired as hell, but thrilled to be surrounded by the people I am, online and off.

I just bought my mom her first optical mouse for my birthday.

In other news, my job sucks. If anyone out there wants to hire me for anything, let me know!

Actually, it didn’t suck too badly today. Fina was off school, so she went to work with me. I paid her in fast food, cookies, and beef jerky. She helped me deal with the stupid people who go to that mall. We also played catch with some of the prizes, which was neat.

Mood – Tired and old, but oddly content

Music – Miss Kittin and the Hacker – “Frank Sinatra”

To everyone who’s been asking, the background on this page is David Byrne of the Talking Heads, in the video for “Once in a Lifetime.”

I’m turning 25 soon. In lieu of gifts, prank call your local public schools for me.

Here’s a fun anecdote for the geeks – I was optimizing a friend’s Win98-based PC last week, getting rid of Windows’ really hidden cache as described in jaw-dropping detail here, and discovered I couldn’t use the DELTREE command. After poking around here and there, I discovered his WINDOWS\COMMAND folder was missing. As in, not there. Which means most of his DOS functionality was also not there. So I made him a self-extractor from my 98 install and tossed him a floppy. It’s better now. But he was running for who knows how many years, with no DOS commands.

Sergey (aka Enamon) (aka “Hey, you!) got me started on this really neat, if hideously unstable, music software called Buzz. It’s free, and worth every penny. Just remember to save often. I’m having fun with Information Society’s sound library and this gadget.

Mood – About to pass out and go to work, in that order.

Music – Jumbles of home-brewn crap with neat Insoc orchestra hits, and a hideous overuse of the “Pure Energy” sample.

Comment by Grey – November 11, 2002 – 11:32 AM
RTF, you are so uber cool! I am your biggest fan!!

Love,
Grey

Reply – November 11, 2002 – 6:15 PM
You’re the groovy one in our little merry band of cutthroat mercenaries, kiddo!