yesterday, I get those beer bottles returned, and the propane gas bottle exchanged, before sittin' down to a frozen pizza, some beers and a lot of football.!

today, slept in 'til about 11:30am, to a little dog licking my face (room mate's girlfriend's dog), bringing me right back to those good ol' sneezes Rosie used to wake me with. we take a smallish walk, then I finally get the oil in my truck changed. I also had them remove the power steering stop leak molasses, and add ATF fluid to make my steering unit quieter during really cold starts. then I hit arby's for a chicken bacon thinger/ onion ring combo (mmmmmmms!). once home, I have me a couple beers and restart (having lost my past game saves) one of my favorite PS3 games; Bullet Storm. after a couple 3 beers, I get a text from Mark (work bud) telling me to meet him at the Chinese buffet. dammit! I can't go anywhere. I've had beerses. so I write him back, letting him know...

what else? nothin'. one more beer, then back to more Bullet Storm!

as I'm brushing off the ice and snow from my shrimpy bat-mobile, the cool hippy lady (Brian's mom) came out and said stop in after your done, I've got snicker doodles for ya. I leave 'em on the counter and tell Brian, he says "yeah, she makes those honey dew-dickle cookies....". honey dew dickle? like everything else, he slaughters words badly! he was watching 'Gun smoke' the other day and makes a comment about fetus. "ummmm...don't you mean FeStus?" yeah whatever. hah! fetus! he's got the weirdest nicknames for everything too. he calls his girlfriend: 'lulu', Squab': 'choobah', and his girlfriends dog: 'Mookah man', and Rosie used to be called 'Chompers'. it's funny. I'd like to live in his head for 10 minutes. along with his warped reasoning and his horrible, yet not too shy to sing out loud, tin ear; it'd be fascinating. having said all this, I'm far from perfect myself, but how does one get 'honey dew dickles' from snicker doodles? he's currently saturating the filter from his humidor on the kitchen table. I've never seen him smoke a cigar...ever! he places his snowboards and expensive sporting equipment along the living room wall (next to his fancy mountain bike), never to be used, but always on display. he's a quirky one, but as long as he keeps payin' the rent, it's all groovy. I'm not sure why I'm going on about this guy...oh yeah, because the last thing I heard before sitting down to type was the word 'honey dew dickles'

yesterday, as I'm heading out to the driveway, to get ready to take off for work, I see Jay (across the way, Jay) struggling, trying to get his ford ranger dislodged from the snow in his drive...I help him rock it out, then he helps me rock mine out. if he's like me, I'm still in denial that winter is here yet. the snow shovel should only rear its ugly head (officially) in January. or, like me, he's just lazy(?)

Bambi (see entry called "mittens") leaves more texts about her boyfriends affair. I say nothing in return. she finally asks if I'd check on a phone number for her. she wants to have me do a reverse number look up to find out what her boyfriends new girlfriends name is. again, I don't respond. I'd be happy to help in the past, but then get all emotionally tied up in her garbage. it ain't happenin' again. I think I'll be a ghost this time. I know I'll run into her at work, maybe then I can explain why I don't wanna get involved...

I hit the road earlier today, to replace an empty propane bottle, return some empties (Squab' drinks a lot of beer), and get the oil changed in my truck, but got none of that done. instead, I hit Long John Silvers for lunch, then get lazy and go home. I got a long weekend ahead, I don't wanna do too much in one day

...speakin' of which, it's time for one of those groove-chicken power-naps!

I don't know if you remember (or have read far enough back) Bambi (aka 'Mittens') in entries from about 5 years ago? she was a girl I'd follow around like a puppy dog around the boat factory (of which we both worked). it was a very one sided foolish love sick thing. I'd be there for her every time she had a fall (and she had many!), yet she didn't see me as anything more than just a friend. boyfriend after boyfriend came and went, some abusive, others alcoholics. me, being that shoulder she could lean on when each relationship crashed. she met this cowboy that took her for a financial ride, then dumped her like a rock, sending her home into foreclosure, when the economy took a dump. we both lost our jobs. she went thru a black time involving calling me, saying she was sitting in her (almost foreclosed on) barn with a gun, crying. I have to say, that was the scariest moment...anyway, long story; longer, she found yet another man who seemed to be working out fine for the longest time. I've since dropped the whole love sick puppy dog thing and moved on. then coincidentally, I'd run into her at the stalag. she'd come in every other Tuesday to water the plants. we'd sit and chat for a half an hour (mostly about her, as always). again, everything seemingly fine with her and her man, then (finally getting to the damn point) I get a text yesterday saying: "well, there's another mistake in my life. the lying cheating bastard's been cheating on me for 3 months. he just admitted to it." I haven't heard from her (phonically) in a long time, so I didn't recognize who sent it, but once realizing who it was, I was thinkin' nope! I can't be that guy again. I'd fall right back into trying to fix everything wrong, just to get stepped on when she meets the next Mr Wrong (again!). so I leave a quick "shit...sorry to hear that!" and let her rant on about the details. whew! that was long winded. I'm sure this won't be the end. I'll either have to stop her in the middle and explain why I can't be that guy (again), or get thrown right back into her misery, trying (for the 190th time) to fix her [news at 11]

it IS kind of funny (see comments on entry below) how one takes for granted ones accomplishments in the virtual world (game saves) until it all gets erased by an infamous plant bomber. the funny part is, I could prob'ly accomplish real life goals, if I didn't spend so much time playing video games (unt drinking beerses). oh well. I'll get a clue in my next life...which, fittingly, is the title of the next video game that I'm purchasing *fart!*

snow! here we go! winter has shown it's snarly face. Brian (room mate/plant bomber) is outside digging 2 layers below the driveway surface, being as OCD as he is, then applying a huge layer of salt, taking hours to prepare. this, after I had already snow blown it yesterday. the guy needs to relax and drink a beer...oh whoops. the guys at his AA meeting might not approve. never-mind. enough about that guy. what else is goin' down? nothin' really. relaxin' on me day off. maybe I'll take a power-nap *plan*

I complain to my boss after 2 hours of hustling around (production handling at the stalag, taking over for Mark, whilst he has the day off) getting everything filled to where it should have been when I walked in. she then tells me we'll need to keep inventory of screws and components down due to an inventory count coming up. WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU TELL ME BEFORE I FILLED EVERYTHING UP?!?! (now, someone's gonna be pissed that their counting individual screws instead of simply writing down the quantities from sealed boxes) stupid backwards ass place. I can't stand it, but I was able to skate out early (Friday), so let the smallish Criss miss break begin!

Brian (room mate/plant bomber) finally confronts me with the total amount of my new used PS3, and January's rent, sounding a bit shaken and apologetic. he explains he knew nothing about pS3's and made a mistake at what he thought was a "fair" price. he then asks if I'm still kickin' him out? what else could I say, standing there with a huge amount of cash in my hand, but "not anymore". I guess everybody has a price, right? I wasn't prepared for him to actually make it right. surprise, surprise I don't have the place to myself this spring, but I did win the PS3 round, so we're square, until the next thing he wants to break and not make right straight away *fart*

speakin' of the PS3, I am able to re-download all my games that had been lost (from the infamous plant bomb) but have lost all the 'saves' within those games, so if I had spent 60 hours getting weapon upgrades and what-not (for example) on a certain game, it's all been washed clean. I must start over on everything. damn it! oh well. I got time (when I'm not spending a jillion hours at the stalag.

oh, and speaking of which, I get asked by the day shift boss; "if we dismantle second shift from our line, would you be willing to go to 3th, or would you wanna stick around on a 2rd and work another line?". I told him I'd rather stick to this line and move to 3nd shift. so, looks like I may be going to 3nt [maybe]. I ask him with that weary look if we're heading back into 12 hour shifts. he says no, in fact, we'd prob'ly go back to a 40 hour week *crosses fingers*

weather outside: ice storm-ish.

I give Brian (room mate/plant bomber) an ultimatum (this, after many notes back and forth with nothing getting resolved), and like a poorly played hand of Texas Hold'em, he chooses 'moving out' and not paying anything, over (what I consider) a fair price of a PS3 vs his fair price being $60 cheaper. then he writes "your move", challenging me, as if to say he has a winning hand. I already win! I'd get my house back! I don't mind having a room mate, but not having one seems even better at this point. so I call his bluff, by writing:

"I'm not 'splitting' (splitting the $60 difference) ANYTHING! I gave you an ultimatum involving a fair price vs moving out...looks like you choose 'moving out'. ya know what? fuck it! I'll buy it! happy house hunting. this is way too much work than it needs to be. it's like squeezing blood from a god damned turnip to try and get you to do the right thing. make it right! that's all I ask. too late"

I know, it sounds harsh, but he's had time to make it right, now he just wants to be that cheap-ass dutch guy (vs this cheap-ass dutch guy)

we'll see if he folds, or gets a chance to play the river card (more like 'up the river without a paddle' card) [news at 11]

amazon.com has a 500 gb GTA V bundle (used) for $239. I snap up the last one. now, about Brian. I've decided to not reply to any of his notes, and by doing so, his latest notes admit to half guilt by now wanting to pay for half (again, the whole note thing is because we don't see each other for an entire week, him being on first, and me being on second shift). he suggests CD exchange as having them for $100 to $110 used, but he's prob'ly looking at the 12 gig machines. I wanted to go one higher than the Kid got me, that one being a 320 gig...thanks Kid, it's been an excellent machine up until some hammerhead wanted to plant bomb it. I've logged in a bizillion hours on the damn thing, and now have to wait 'til the 18rd for delivery on this new used one. meanwhile, I'll keep Brian in the dark and hit him for half when this newest unit comes in. he'll prob'ly shit his pants being as cheap a weasel as he is...

alright, so four days have past, and I haven't heard anything from Brian (room mate/hanging planter bomber) about whether or not he'll be replacing my PS3 that he focked up (and I'm jone-zing harder than one can imagine from having no games and zero Netflix...I used that system EVERY DAY!!), so on his little dry erase board, that he usually leaves me dumb messages on about how God loves me...I write: "does God foresee a new PS3 in my life soon, 'cause I miss my gaming, and my netflix", of which he replies: "a NEW ps3-HAHA! they sell used ones at CD exchange- I spoke (to) a lot of techs-at the best buy/geek squad-CD exchange and they said the same thing- a little bit of dirt and maybe wet dirt on (the) unit would not make it do what it is doing-I was there, it was not submerged in water-but if you (and?) I should honestly replace it, then I will get you a used one. there was more dirt on the TV and it still works- look at the dirt outline under (the)TV- ya see that was not the cause- I am not trying to get out of it- I was there when it happened and saw the damage [ends note with a smiley face emoticon]"

to which I reply (of which he hasn't read yet): "listen up weasel, how can any tech in their right mind say any amount of dirt and or wet dirt inside a computer can't cause it to malfunction? it's not a coincidence that my machine happened to die on its own the very same day a plant bomb exploded in front of it. I'm thinkin' that if I hadn't have come home early that day, you'd have cleaned it all up and not admitted to a damn thing. make it right with me, or you have 3 months to pack up and leave! it was a present from my son, so it's a brand new 320 gb machine that I'll be waiting for....your move."

I know, it's a bit harsh, but I'm gettin' tired of him anyway. I hope he takes the weasel way out and moves. I remember after he broke my lawnmower, all I ever got was "my bad"...I didn't even get that this time, so here we go. *puts flack jacket and helmet on, then goes back to bed*

then again (after re-reading this), maybe I'll just buy me a new one and charge him what CD exchange would charge for a used one, which is what I think I read into his unapologetic message, then if he doesn't comply, I'll do the whole 3 months and your out thing. what do you think?

whatever happens, I at least got him thinking that he's not off the hook, I've said "accidents happen" and what not in earlier posts, but dammit! I shouldn't have to pay for his unapologetic accidents that he claims has virtually nothing to do with my PS3...I'm gonna let him know, after this gets resolved, that if he had been apologetic from the start and more cooperative, I'd have prob'ly let him off the hook all together, but I'll make sure and tell him that after he pays me (or decides to move).

banked: Tuesday the 3nd, worked a half day Saturday, had all day off on Sunday, and worked almost 5 hours yesterday...trying to think back at how much time I've had off recently. the "bank" was my sick day, the rest was due to running out of components. going from bust ass every single day mentality to having a lot of time off is way cool! we had our Criss-miss party last night. it was cooler than the past years, due to a mix up by HR not getting us "entertainment" (people singing criss-miss carols poorly). it was a yummy meal. bbq Brisket, tator's unt corn with your choice of pop (mmmmmm!), but again, right afterwards, there was a meeting asking who wants to go home...I grabbed me a sixer of beer and prepared myself to watch the Bears eat the cowboys on the animal planet (what? no. NFL).

Sunday was one of the coolest days in sports. even though the Lion's lost to the Eagle's (animal planet? no. NFL!), the game itself was most entertaining, due to a snow storm that blasted 'em. and afterward watching the final holes being played during the NW Mutual World challenge, where Zach Johnson and Tiger go into sudden death (animal planet? no. PGA). awesome game! along with more football unt more beer *belch!*

now, I gotta get ready to go back to the stalag and wonder if there's any work for us today?

alright, it appears he's gonna use the "maybe it just broke the exact same time the plant had fallen" approach. I reply by saying "that'd be most coincidental, but I suppose it could happen...". so I don't expect him to pay a dime, but again, that's fine. it was an accident. I'll simply hang out for awhile without a PS3 and be cool with that. meanwhile, coincidentally, my MC card expired within the month of November, making both of our Netflix and Hulu.com accounts expire (both, of which, he took advantage of with his smart TV). I won't be using my replacement card to re-up these until I get something I can play them on, so how cool is fate, after all? take that! buy your own damn netflix and hulu mister! *fart*

good news; we get to leave early (from der stalag) on a Saturday night. better news; we don't have to work on Sunday (due to running out of rails, which track 3 makes for us). now the bad news; I come home to find out that the plant that Brian (room mate/fart knocker) had hung above my TV/playstation had broken free of its hanging thinger and now my playstation is about as worthless as a turd wearing a bunch bowl (yet another mixed metaphor). I let him know, and he tries to help me fix things, but to no avail...I'm afraid she's dead, but I'll check it out in the morning when there be sunlight to see what's going on. meanwhile, I can be half way reassured that a new used one won't be too expensive being playstation 4 had just come out. I'm already jone-sing. I wanted to play my newly downloaded 'Grid2' (free download for playstation network peeps). oh well. let's see what's on the TV and drink some more beerses *belch!* but again, if that's the only thing that bit the dust, I'm doin' ok. there was a plasma TV along with a laptop, and some wi-fi equipment that could have become toast, but that all seems fine (so far), so all is not lost, and I'm careful to not sound accusing...it was an accident. accidents happen. if he feels the need (once determined whether the system is fried) to reimburse, I'll let him come to me with it. if he doesn't, I'll throw his smart phone in the toilet (heh! just kidding, of course). nah, it wasn't deliberate, and I had the chance to move it (which, hello hindsight, I guess I should have) so all is good...they make more PlayStations.

....oh yeah, and this would have been my 27rd wedding anniversary today, had I still been married. a day that will live in infamy indeed *fart*

alright, I told you of a work friend's computer that got tagged with an official looking FBI page virus/trojan on his computer, who ultimately paid the ransom they required to reset his browser ($300!!), thinking it was the real FBI, and not wanting to be put on some sex offender list (a little naive, but hey?). it was just a matter of time before I myself would run into it, being I frequent some seedy sites from time to time (what? yeah, you do too, admit it!). once that FBI lock screen popped up, I had to laugh; "...you ain't gettin' $300 from me!". I took it on as a challenge, but it was embarrassingly simple to fix. I shut the computer down, and rebooted it, thinking I'd get the same lock screen. nope. I hit my Firefox browser and there it was. a quick 'control, alt, delete' and an 'end task' got me back to the desktop. I then used a different browser wondering if that too had been locked...nope. so I quickly uninstalled Firefox (the browser that appears locked), and reinstalled it, then did a full security scan on my computer and a quick clean. bonk! within 15 minutes, I was back to surfing Firefox...I mean if you're gonna ransom me, it better be harder to get rid of than that. now, having said all that, watch it have some sort of timer on it that goes off at a later date that completely fries my 'puter. ya never know?

drama at the stalag these past days, makes me take another sick day today. I can't stand how this place is run! too many new peeps leaving allegedly due to being harassed by a guy from first shift (who works 4 hours OT on our shift). I've heard him do it in the past, pushing peeps around, but now we got peeps leaving...it's not cool, and of course, I open my big mouth and get involved by saying "this ain't the army, stop intimidating people!", of which he then went on and on about saying what I told him was offensive. whatever. play the victim, you backwards dumbass. everything about this place is backwards. the other day a we were short a few peeps, so 2 of the day shifters hungover for 4 hours. by the time there 4 hours were up, there wasn't anyone to replace them, so the line came to a sudden halt. instead of maybe taking just one of us experienced peeps off, the boss (now back from maternity leave) takes 3 of us, replacing us 3 with people from other lines who have never ran ours before. it was a night mare. and yes, the 3 of us were busy putting out fires (more alarms going off due to new peeps not knowing what to do). anyway, long story longer, we got about an hour and a half's worth of work done within the last 4 hours. it wasn't pretty. I've said it before, I gotta get out of that place!

straight time, plus time and a half for Thanks-turkey Friday, time and a half for Saturday, and double time for Sunday makes for a huge money making event for the long weekend. then you take away about half for taxes and it comes out to a normal weekend's pay *fart*. oh well, we gotta pay those poor politicians who work even harder at doing nothing, so they can have their fancy cars, nice suits, and beach front homes, right? whatever. it all makes me want to move to Kuala Lumpur, and take up wind surfing, beach combing, and what ever else one does there...

a couple 3 beers, some Texas hold'm, and an episode of 'Dexter' kills off (pun intended) this evening. now for a good nap to get rested up for tomorrow's stint at the stalag [yay!!]