9.30.2002
Viva Lost Wages -
OK, so all in all another fine trip to Sin City. Gambling was kept to a minimum this time out for several reasons, one of which was an afternoon spent at the Belz Outlet Mall to pay a visit to Emporium Limani. You would probably not be surprised to find out that they specialize in Italian clothing and shoes for men. Being a man, this works out well for me. Picked up 2 new pairs of kicks, a sweet pair of ankle boots made out of lambskin leather, and a hip pair of square toed oxfords with a very strange dimpling on the front part of the upper. I highly reccomend that you find the time to check them out if you are ever in the area.
I also experienced the "Brazilian Steakhouse" phenomenon. The Samba restaurant at the Mirage, came highly reccomended by Ro and DPC who dined there the last time I was in Vegas. Imagine if you will, a variety of meats, marinated, skewerd, broiled, and then presented to you at your table hot of the gril, and carved to your liking. Sausage, chicken, turkey, flank steak, sirloin tips, pork ribs, pork roast, pineapple, it is a meat lover's paradise. Oh, they do serve sides, but aside from a few fried plantaines and some succulant pineapple, I stuck with the meat.
We stayed at the Treasure Island Hotel, my first time there, as well as a night in the Stardust (which will probably be my last in that one). Here are some random thoughts based on my weekend:
It is not wise to play Dance Dance Revolution with a pack of cigarettes in your front shirt pocket - unless you remember to look for the cigarettes as soon as you are done playing. I did not. lost almost half a pack that way.
Do not smartmouth blackjack dealers when they inform you of table ettiquete. Some vulgarian at my table did that and sure enough there was a pit boss hanging around for quite some time afterwards, which really cramped my style. Totally felt like I was under scrutiny as well. I should have just stood up and left, but all the tables had gone to $10 a hand, and when you play blackjack like I do, you really appreciate the bargain of a $5 table.
When wearing brand new italian ankle boots, you may want to scuff the soles a bit to increase traction, lest you go ass over teacups.
If you hit the Veneiian Hotel and Casino, and try out the Grand Lux Cafe, try the Chicken Parmesean. I'm pretty sure they give you a whole chicken. even if you can't eat it all, it is quite a sight to behold.
Don't try and use Las Vegas Blvd. (aka "The Strip") as part of your getaway route. I saw what must have been one very sad man sitting on the median of LVB cuffed next to his car - apprehended by Bicycle Police officers. There is a very small window of the day where you can get down this street at a normal vehicular pace.
Do wear a suit (ladies go classy not trashy, you might be open minded enough to go to a strip club, but that does not mean that you have to dress like the employees), even if you have no particular reason to. Too many people treat Vegas like they do a public park, which is they show up dressed to play frisbee. Now if you are heading out to the pool, or down to the spa, obviously casual is the way to go. But nothing is quite as pathetic looking as a shabby cutoff shorts and t-shirt wearing schmoe at a dollar progressive machine. I know that it might not be out of their means to play a dollar slot machine, but for the sake of all, dress like it matters - because it does! if you insist on wearing jeans, please take the time to make sure there are no holes in them, and go ahead and try a shirt with buttons, you'll be glad you did!
go and tell me all about it
OK, so all in all another fine trip to Sin City. Gambling was kept to a minimum this time out for several reasons, one of which was an afternoon spent at the Belz Outlet Mall to pay a visit to Emporium Limani. You would probably not be surprised to find out that they specialize in Italian clothing and shoes for men. Being a man, this works out well for me. Picked up 2 new pairs of kicks, a sweet pair of ankle boots made out of lambskin leather, and a hip pair of square toed oxfords with a very strange dimpling on the front part of the upper. I highly reccomend that you find the time to check them out if you are ever in the area.
I also experienced the "Brazilian Steakhouse" phenomenon. The Samba restaurant at the Mirage, came highly reccomended by Ro and DPC who dined there the last time I was in Vegas. Imagine if you will, a variety of meats, marinated, skewerd, broiled, and then presented to you at your table hot of the gril, and carved to your liking. Sausage, chicken, turkey, flank steak, sirloin tips, pork ribs, pork roast, pineapple, it is a meat lover's paradise. Oh, they do serve sides, but aside from a few fried plantaines and some succulant pineapple, I stuck with the meat.
We stayed at the Treasure Island Hotel, my first time there, as well as a night in the Stardust (which will probably be my last in that one). Here are some random thoughts based on my weekend:
It is not wise to play Dance Dance Revolution with a pack of cigarettes in your front shirt pocket - unless you remember to look for the cigarettes as soon as you are done playing. I did not. lost almost half a pack that way.
Do not smartmouth blackjack dealers when they inform you of table ettiquete. Some vulgarian at my table did that and sure enough there was a pit boss hanging around for quite some time afterwards, which really cramped my style. Totally felt like I was under scrutiny as well. I should have just stood up and left, but all the tables had gone to $10 a hand, and when you play blackjack like I do, you really appreciate the bargain of a $5 table.
When wearing brand new italian ankle boots, you may want to scuff the soles a bit to increase traction, lest you go ass over teacups.
If you hit the Veneiian Hotel and Casino, and try out the Grand Lux Cafe, try the Chicken Parmesean. I'm pretty sure they give you a whole chicken. even if you can't eat it all, it is quite a sight to behold.
Don't try and use Las Vegas Blvd. (aka "The Strip") as part of your getaway route. I saw what must have been one very sad man sitting on the median of LVB cuffed next to his car - apprehended by Bicycle Police officers. There is a very small window of the day where you can get down this street at a normal vehicular pace.
Do wear a suit (ladies go classy not trashy, you might be open minded enough to go to a strip club, but that does not mean that you have to dress like the employees), even if you have no particular reason to. Too many people treat Vegas like they do a public park, which is they show up dressed to play frisbee. Now if you are heading out to the pool, or down to the spa, obviously casual is the way to go. But nothing is quite as pathetic looking as a shabby cutoff shorts and t-shirt wearing schmoe at a dollar progressive machine. I know that it might not be out of their means to play a dollar slot machine, but for the sake of all, dress like it matters - because it does! if you insist on wearing jeans, please take the time to make sure there are no holes in them, and go ahead and try a shirt with buttons, you'll be glad you did!
go and tell me all about it
9.26.2002
ROAD TRIP -
Well I'll hit the road to Vegas soon. Did you know that there is a Las Vegas New Mexico? Well fortunately that is not the Vegas I'm heading for. I'll be in Sin City for a couple o days, and aside from losing some funds at the blackjack tables, I will almost certainly pick up some new kicks. You just can't find good Italian shoes in Gallup, I'm sad to say. Looking forward to being around noise, lights, and people again. I'll never be a small town guy, no matter how long I live in one. In honor of this latest road trip, I'll higlight some of the more memorable ones of my past.
Spring Break 1992 (or was it 1991?) - There are rules to live by, and then there are rules to live by. Very high on my suggestions list would be "Never go on spring break with a recently ex-girlfriend, and her newly out of the closet (at least to her) Gay friend. We went Pittsburgh, to Boston, to D.C., back to Pittsburgh. Emotionally I was a pill, but there were some cool memories - Seeing a quicktime movie for the first time (At the Electronic Frontiere Foundation no less), seeing the messiest apartment in history (and no it was not my own), and seeing a very rotund Transexual hitting on our gay traveling companion. Ah memories.
N.Y.C.1994 - Went to visit Kirk, who was interning for a Heavy Metal Indie lable, and staying at the dorms of NYU. Got my first speeding ticket, and almost had my car towed by a very masculine meter maid, but Kirk ran down 3 flights of stairs, and down half a block and talked her out of it. I got insulted by an extremely funny and vulgar street performer, and had some random rastafarian tray and sell us acid. It was hott as hell in the city, and the subways were twice that. A great time that was punctuated by way too much Fruitopia.
PGH - Baltimore - PGH - 2000? This was certainly the weirdest trip. The purpose was simply to drive to baltimore, pick up a u-haul, and drive back to Pittsburgh - in one day. We ate at some strange little diner, great decor and food - and laughed a hell of a lot as i recall. This was also where the adoption of the "All Smoke" took place. 5 people in a car smoking cigarettes! Makes me proud to be free.
Indiana 1995 - So I had been dating Ann for like 3 months, and she invites Me, E, and Just Todd out to the Hoosier state. Who new I was meeting my future In-Laws? I'm still convinced that My father-in-law, who gets along just fine with your truly, liked Todd and E better. Of course they weren't dating his youngest daughter. Argued intensly about wether or not you could buy rolling papers at a record store. Turns out that in Indiana at least for a time, you could.
go and tell me all about it
Well I'll hit the road to Vegas soon. Did you know that there is a Las Vegas New Mexico? Well fortunately that is not the Vegas I'm heading for. I'll be in Sin City for a couple o days, and aside from losing some funds at the blackjack tables, I will almost certainly pick up some new kicks. You just can't find good Italian shoes in Gallup, I'm sad to say. Looking forward to being around noise, lights, and people again. I'll never be a small town guy, no matter how long I live in one. In honor of this latest road trip, I'll higlight some of the more memorable ones of my past.
Spring Break 1992 (or was it 1991?) - There are rules to live by, and then there are rules to live by. Very high on my suggestions list would be "Never go on spring break with a recently ex-girlfriend, and her newly out of the closet (at least to her) Gay friend. We went Pittsburgh, to Boston, to D.C., back to Pittsburgh. Emotionally I was a pill, but there were some cool memories - Seeing a quicktime movie for the first time (At the Electronic Frontiere Foundation no less), seeing the messiest apartment in history (and no it was not my own), and seeing a very rotund Transexual hitting on our gay traveling companion. Ah memories.
N.Y.C.1994 - Went to visit Kirk, who was interning for a Heavy Metal Indie lable, and staying at the dorms of NYU. Got my first speeding ticket, and almost had my car towed by a very masculine meter maid, but Kirk ran down 3 flights of stairs, and down half a block and talked her out of it. I got insulted by an extremely funny and vulgar street performer, and had some random rastafarian tray and sell us acid. It was hott as hell in the city, and the subways were twice that. A great time that was punctuated by way too much Fruitopia.
PGH - Baltimore - PGH - 2000? This was certainly the weirdest trip. The purpose was simply to drive to baltimore, pick up a u-haul, and drive back to Pittsburgh - in one day. We ate at some strange little diner, great decor and food - and laughed a hell of a lot as i recall. This was also where the adoption of the "All Smoke" took place. 5 people in a car smoking cigarettes! Makes me proud to be free.
Indiana 1995 - So I had been dating Ann for like 3 months, and she invites Me, E, and Just Todd out to the Hoosier state. Who new I was meeting my future In-Laws? I'm still convinced that My father-in-law, who gets along just fine with your truly, liked Todd and E better. Of course they weren't dating his youngest daughter. Argued intensly about wether or not you could buy rolling papers at a record store. Turns out that in Indiana at least for a time, you could.
go and tell me all about it
9.24.2002
JOBS -
So I'm sitting here in my office - which is still a strange concept to me, a room, a door, a phone, a PC, and it's all mine. Don't get too impressed though, no windows in the office, so it's not like I'm at the top of the heap or anything. Still it's nice to know I'm in the middle somewhere. Got me to thinking about all the "Real" jobs I've had......
1. McDonald's - My first officail paying gig. Got hired almost the second I turned 16, something about wanting to drive motivated me to apply. I spent 2 1/2 years flipping burgers, making salads, biscuits, unloading trucks, and yes even waiting on customers at the counter and Drive-thru. The average time of employment at the time I was there was 3 months, I somehow lasted 10 times that long.
2. Burger King - From bad to worse, but seeing as how my stay at the Golden Arches ended abruptly (by my own choice), it's an easy job to get on short notice. This was in 1988, a year in which i held 6 different jobs. Worked there 3 1/2 months or so.
3. Cedar Point - "The Enslavement Park" as it was called not-so-lovingly by its employees. I lasted 2 weeks here, the hours sucked, the co-workers were either drunks, morons, or a combination of both, and the patrons were worse. I did not work on any of the rides, though I did have the extreme displeasure of being on the Pirate Ship Ride when it's brakes failed. It takes about 45 min. for a Pirate Ship Ride to slow down all by itself. 2 or 3 weeks is all I lasted, and i topped it all off by taking a greyhound bus back to pittsburgh.
4. Southland Cinema 9 - You guessed it, a multiplex, crappy hours, lots of downtime, no surprise I made it 4 days, but I had to quit so that I could jump into the next gig.
5. Giant Eagle Meat Wrapper - Yup as smelly and blood soaked as a butcher without any of the financial perks that went with it. Now Giant Eagle was a Union Shop, which meant I had to join and pay dues. In return I got to work numerous 40+ hour weeks with no overtime, and no benefits, because until you worked some arbitrary number of weeks at 40 hours or over, you were considered "part-time", needless to say, managers were quite good at making sure you always had a 38 hour week in there now and again. 3 months
6. Mellon Bank - I was a module processor - which means I opened other peoples mail, took out the checks and sent them in for deposit. Then I would get a stack of xeroxed copies of said checks, and put them back into the right envelope, maybe circle a few things, staple a few things, and send it all back to the client. I saw some Big checks there - lots of zeros. I hated that job. Lasted about a year maybe - I'm trying to forget it ever happened.
7. TRM Cycles - over 7 years of service baby both full and part time. That was a dream job, just without the dream salary. But I met a lot of fine folks there, including Ruddy Burke (see below), Char Char, and Tom who is without question the best employer I have ever worked for.
8. Goodwill Industries - Slow season for TRM, needed to supplement my meager income.I was a janitor. I had already graduated from college. I was not happy. The upside was, lots of quiet time, nobody giving me a hard time. 6 months.
9. OneVision, Inc. - I was supposed to do tech support for this German Software company, but between my boss being obsessed with our company website, and everyone coming up with lame excuses about why I shouldn't go on service calls, I never learned the software well enough to support it. As a result when the Big Boss from Germany (Who I call the egyptian magician) came to town, he waved his wand and POOF! there went my job. 7 months.
10. Nameless Software Co. - These guys were a bunch of shifty, shady, crackpots. I should have seen the writing on the wall when I showed up for the interview in a suit, and the guy interviewing me was wearing shorts and a t-shirt that looked like he found them under the couch that morning, and flip flops! Not sandals but cheap dimestore flip flops! If these guys are still in business it is proof that there is NO justice. 2 weeks
11. MCC - Hooked up with Ruddy Burke again, in fact I would have never found out about this gig were it not for him. Saved me from total financial ruination. I pushed papers, sent e-mail, printed stuff out, played with computers, and discoverd the joy that was Napster while I was here. 9 months.
12. UNM Gallup - After getting hitched, moved to New Mexico, and sat on my ass for about 8 months until I got a gig working in the IT department of the Branch Campus of UNM. Recently was given a promotion (hence my own office) and the title of Technology Development and Training Coordinator. That means I teach Teachers! yikes! been here about a year and a half so far....
go and tell me all about it
So I'm sitting here in my office - which is still a strange concept to me, a room, a door, a phone, a PC, and it's all mine. Don't get too impressed though, no windows in the office, so it's not like I'm at the top of the heap or anything. Still it's nice to know I'm in the middle somewhere. Got me to thinking about all the "Real" jobs I've had......
1. McDonald's - My first officail paying gig. Got hired almost the second I turned 16, something about wanting to drive motivated me to apply. I spent 2 1/2 years flipping burgers, making salads, biscuits, unloading trucks, and yes even waiting on customers at the counter and Drive-thru. The average time of employment at the time I was there was 3 months, I somehow lasted 10 times that long.
2. Burger King - From bad to worse, but seeing as how my stay at the Golden Arches ended abruptly (by my own choice), it's an easy job to get on short notice. This was in 1988, a year in which i held 6 different jobs. Worked there 3 1/2 months or so.
3. Cedar Point - "The Enslavement Park" as it was called not-so-lovingly by its employees. I lasted 2 weeks here, the hours sucked, the co-workers were either drunks, morons, or a combination of both, and the patrons were worse. I did not work on any of the rides, though I did have the extreme displeasure of being on the Pirate Ship Ride when it's brakes failed. It takes about 45 min. for a Pirate Ship Ride to slow down all by itself. 2 or 3 weeks is all I lasted, and i topped it all off by taking a greyhound bus back to pittsburgh.
4. Southland Cinema 9 - You guessed it, a multiplex, crappy hours, lots of downtime, no surprise I made it 4 days, but I had to quit so that I could jump into the next gig.
5. Giant Eagle Meat Wrapper - Yup as smelly and blood soaked as a butcher without any of the financial perks that went with it. Now Giant Eagle was a Union Shop, which meant I had to join and pay dues. In return I got to work numerous 40+ hour weeks with no overtime, and no benefits, because until you worked some arbitrary number of weeks at 40 hours or over, you were considered "part-time", needless to say, managers were quite good at making sure you always had a 38 hour week in there now and again. 3 months
6. Mellon Bank - I was a module processor - which means I opened other peoples mail, took out the checks and sent them in for deposit. Then I would get a stack of xeroxed copies of said checks, and put them back into the right envelope, maybe circle a few things, staple a few things, and send it all back to the client. I saw some Big checks there - lots of zeros. I hated that job. Lasted about a year maybe - I'm trying to forget it ever happened.
7. TRM Cycles - over 7 years of service baby both full and part time. That was a dream job, just without the dream salary. But I met a lot of fine folks there, including Ruddy Burke (see below), Char Char, and Tom who is without question the best employer I have ever worked for.
8. Goodwill Industries - Slow season for TRM, needed to supplement my meager income.I was a janitor. I had already graduated from college. I was not happy. The upside was, lots of quiet time, nobody giving me a hard time. 6 months.
9. OneVision, Inc. - I was supposed to do tech support for this German Software company, but between my boss being obsessed with our company website, and everyone coming up with lame excuses about why I shouldn't go on service calls, I never learned the software well enough to support it. As a result when the Big Boss from Germany (Who I call the egyptian magician) came to town, he waved his wand and POOF! there went my job. 7 months.
10. Nameless Software Co. - These guys were a bunch of shifty, shady, crackpots. I should have seen the writing on the wall when I showed up for the interview in a suit, and the guy interviewing me was wearing shorts and a t-shirt that looked like he found them under the couch that morning, and flip flops! Not sandals but cheap dimestore flip flops! If these guys are still in business it is proof that there is NO justice. 2 weeks
11. MCC - Hooked up with Ruddy Burke again, in fact I would have never found out about this gig were it not for him. Saved me from total financial ruination. I pushed papers, sent e-mail, printed stuff out, played with computers, and discoverd the joy that was Napster while I was here. 9 months.
12. UNM Gallup - After getting hitched, moved to New Mexico, and sat on my ass for about 8 months until I got a gig working in the IT department of the Branch Campus of UNM. Recently was given a promotion (hence my own office) and the title of Technology Development and Training Coordinator. That means I teach Teachers! yikes! been here about a year and a half so far....
go and tell me all about it
9.23.2002
Ah another weekend,
Normally I'm online a whole bunch on the weekends. Unfortunately, after waiting over 3 months for MSN and Qwest to get their collective act together and move my DSL from my old duplex to the new house, I have successfully fried the modem they sent me. OK, fried is an overstatement. I like to think I gave it a severe head injury. The kind where cosmetically everything seems fine, except for the fact that it isn't. I'm waiting for a replacement and when it comes, My posts should pick up a bit, as I am going to try to not make this a diary of my days at work. SO hang in there - OK?
go and tell me all about it
Normally I'm online a whole bunch on the weekends. Unfortunately, after waiting over 3 months for MSN and Qwest to get their collective act together and move my DSL from my old duplex to the new house, I have successfully fried the modem they sent me. OK, fried is an overstatement. I like to think I gave it a severe head injury. The kind where cosmetically everything seems fine, except for the fact that it isn't. I'm waiting for a replacement and when it comes, My posts should pick up a bit, as I am going to try to not make this a diary of my days at work. SO hang in there - OK?
go and tell me all about it
9.20.2002
Still goofing around with what i can and cant do with this thing... template changing, assorted other stuff
go and tell me all about it
go and tell me all about it
Ok, so even with a masters in Multi-media design, I am already screwing up the whole process of Blogging - Double posted my first comment due to severe impatience. Ah well, content is coming just hang on a bit longer.
go and tell me all about it
go and tell me all about it
So Ruddy Burke suggests making a Blog. Truth is I've been toying with the idea for a while, but anyone who knows me well understands that intentions and actions are seldom aligned in my life. Still check out his blog too, it's spiffy.
Why Hairy Eyeball? Several reasons -
1. A great expression, that a former co-worker of mine was fond of saying at all the right moments. Particulary amusing was the way he would come back down to the shop after dealing with a customer and express his disdain for receiving the "Hairy Eyeball" from them when they questioned his knowledge or honesty.
2. A notion I had a while ago to put a website up scrutinizing everything from the audacious to the sublime. I guess this Blog is now officially a test run.
3. It beats the snot out of naming it after myself.
Stop back for more.
go and tell me all about it
Why Hairy Eyeball? Several reasons -
1. A great expression, that a former co-worker of mine was fond of saying at all the right moments. Particulary amusing was the way he would come back down to the shop after dealing with a customer and express his disdain for receiving the "Hairy Eyeball" from them when they questioned his knowledge or honesty.
2. A notion I had a while ago to put a website up scrutinizing everything from the audacious to the sublime. I guess this Blog is now officially a test run.
3. It beats the snot out of naming it after myself.
Stop back for more.
go and tell me all about it
