I’ve been seeing a lot of “sponsored posts” on personal sites lately. What I haven’t figured out yet is if the site owner writes the post themselves or if they’re just c/p-ing a canned post into their blog. Either way, they tend to be pure shite. I go to blogs to find something entertaining to read, not for a product pitch. If I wanted that, I could just go talk to one of the many LDS mercenaries missionaries wandering around the city…

The HR person at Wal-Mart called the other day wanting me to come in for orientation tomorrow from 8-4, but I have class from 9-2. So I call back and tell her this and she says she’ll talk to her supervisor about having one next Tuesday or Thursday. She calls back today and says that they’ll be having one Friday from 8-4 (classes from 10-2). Lovely. Looks like I’ll have to miss after all. At least it’s Friday (almost no one shows up anyway) before a holiday (meaning even less people will be there). I also have a shift at Lakeshore from 5-9 Friday. Assuming I still have a job because I no-showed the mandatory Sunday meeting (sleep-deprived + sick+ no voice + late starting Sunday buses=no chance in hell of going halfway across town on a Sunday morning for half of a two hour meeting).

I’m going to make brownies again tonight, but once done, they are going to be hidden (from roommates!). Maybe I’ll get more than one little piece this time….

On our way downtown this evening, Daniel and I were almost hit by a police car that ran the red light. It turns out he was heading to this. Some psycho walked into Trolley Square (local historic area/upscale mall) this evening and started randomly shooting people, killing five and wounding several others. This hit close to home…literally. Trolley Square is just a few blocks away from my house and is somewhere I go to on a pretty regular basis (but not so often since it got really cold in December).

Heard the BBC report on the way home from the Roasting Company. Apparently they’re already making connections to Columbine. The long tan jacket that was originally reported had turned into a black trenchcoat by midnight. I expect that they’ll find Marilyn Manson and/or Eminem on his iPod/CD player within the next few days… The true motives will probably never be known as the gunman is dead. I heard from somebody at the coffee shop that the guy was a customer of one of the restaurants in the mall and had been poorly treated by a waiter. Bad service enough to cause a murderous rampage? I seriously doubt it.

So apparently Legend of Dragoon is going to be a movie. *fan gyrl moment* A student film, but a film nonetheless. This is wicked awesome methinks. Or maybe that’s just because I’m a bit of a dork.

Anyways, Legend of Dragoon is an RPG created by Sony ~1999 to compete with the PSX Final Fantasies (VII-IX). Unfortunately it rips a bit from those games, but is still good enough to stand on its own as a decent game. Doesn’t hurt that it has the most awesome female game character *ever*: Rose. How many female characters in RPGs (or other games for that matter, with the exception of FF12) get to wield swords? Most of the time they get stuck with staffs and rods that do minimal damage. As in single digits damage. Of course she’s still a bit weaker than the males, but equipped correctly she can be their equal in hit points and other stats. Through most of the game my Rose does more damage with a regular attack than the hero (Dart) does with his limit.

The copy I have originally belonged to my cousin. He showed it to me once when we were hanging out and I wasn’t impressed. I finally agreed to take it (temporarily) in exchange for my Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 game. This was back in the original Playstation days obviously. After several months, we had beaten each other’s game and decided to trade back. He brought THPS2 over and I had LOD in its case. At the last minute we decided not to trade just yet. That was several years ago so I guess the exchange is permanent. It kind of sucks because I really liked THPS2 (much more than the Tony Hawk Underground 2 I currently own and never play), but Dragoon is cool in its own ways. The only thing I haven’t done is beaten Faust (Insanely hard optional boss), but not for lack of trying.

Back at Lakeshore today for the first time in over a week. Didn’t realize it was going to be quite so hectic. Today was the Valentine’s day celebration. There were several crafts for kids to do (making valentines, gift bags, and shapes with a dough stamper), free face painting, and even hopscotch with a twist (they had to hold a ball while doing it, then bounce the ball while hopping back). The store was packed. It has never been that busy. Ever. Did I mention I’m not a very big fan of a lot of people anywhere in a tiny space? Constant stream of people buying lots of stuff.
Was on my way out to the bus stop and got approached by this really creepy guy. First he wanted change, then my number, then my work number and finally to come see me at work and get to know me better and take me out to lunch sometime. (He didn’t get any of those things) I hate situations like this because I can never figure out how to turn the person down outright without offending them. Offended can equal angry and I don’t think I can deal with crazy angry men.

Later in the evening I went downtown in search of a Cajun restaurant this guy from the temp agency told me about. I didn’t find it. -.- I was on bike and it was starting to rain so I ended up at Carl’s Jr. When I went to the Trax stop to come home, there was this guy there who was yelling threats and naughty words at some guys at the other end of the platform. He turns and sees me and starts apologizing for his language. Then he turns back and starts yelling at them again! Train finally comes and I made it home without further incident. I’ve watched bits of Forrest Gump and the third episode of Firefly (Bushwhacked) since I’ve been home.

There’s a mandatory staff meeting at Lakeshore in the morning at 9am. There’s only one problem, buses and trains don’t start running until 9am on Sundays. Can’t get a ride out there, so either I show up late or not at all. Neither choice is very good.

Think for a moment back to kindergarten. There were games, recess, and coloring books. It was fun. First grade had recess and games too, but not so much. By the time you got to fourth grade all that was left was recess and instead of games and coloring books there were workbooks and tests. The kind of test that if you didn’t pass, you didn’t get to go to junior high with the rest of your friends. By the time you’re in junior high, recess is gone, instead you get two breaks that total about twenty minutes. School isn’t so fun anymore. There are no games to be found. And even worse, it doesn’t end with the final bell. There is always a backpack of homework. Meaning not much time for fun at home. (more…)