Burn!

Remember that scene in X-Men 3, where towards the end of the movie Jean Grey - now Phoenix - lets her power run amok and destroys houses, trees, cars, buildings, people, in wonderful CGI effects? Yeah, I was feeling that last night and this morning. Here's the short version:

Yesterday afternoon, as my cold was getting worse, I dropped my guitar off at a recommended music store to get "set up." The idea was that if it had a little more TLC, it would play better, and I would become a better guitarist. They charge $35 for the service, and promised to have it back today.

On the way home, I got a call from the music store. "The neck is warped," they said. "Probably they used wood that was too green or wasn't cured properly. Anyway, you're best bet is to return it and get another one. We can try and patch it up as bets we can, but it'll cost $75."

So I go home and try to find all the warranty stuff, packing stuff, invoice stuff. Think I still have all that, after a month? I had some, but certainly not all. So I get on the phone with Musician's Friend, and try to see what we can do. They're policy is that there's a 45 day window, and that you can get an even exhange or refund, so long as everything is pristine and in perfect condition. Since I got the guitar as part of a combo pack with an amp, strap, etc. that means that I needed to pack and ship everything.

But of course now the combo pack is a discontinued line, so they offered me a deal - if I sent everything back (and it met their standards) I could pay a little extra and get an inferior combo pack. Needless to say, I'm not happy. Still, I requested that they send me a return label via email. As of this moment, it has not arrived.

I called the music store to get them to do the repair, and they gave me one other option. Call Gibson / Epiphone and see about getting the neck completely replaced. Well, I just got the response from Gibson. 1) they don't work on Epiphones and 2) necks start at $1850. Now I'm waiting for the store to open (at 11:00 - musicians apparently sleep late!) so I can order the repair.

Now, if all that mess wasn't enough, one of the dogs ate my cell phone again!!!!

There was trouble getting my time sheet submitted!!!!

My patients are getting on my nerves!!!!!

Netflix took back the movie that they had sent me and marked it "returned"!!!!!

And my cold is getting worse!!!!!

Okay, I'm done venting. Thanks for listening. I'm going home in about 30 minutes and going to bed.

Read more!

I'm a Geeeeeeeeeek!

I'm a Weirdo! (to the tune, of course, of Creep by Radiohead)

Yeah, I admit it. As much as I always wanted to be one of the cool kids when I was young - you know, play guitar in a garage band, be the bad boy that got all the girls, etc. - I have and probably always will be a geek, a weirdo, even, perhaps, a nerd. But never a spaz! Death first! : )

I've been feeling a tad nostalgic lately, probably because I've been getting friend requests from people I knew in High School (nothing like Facebook to make you feel old!) and following people's lives from the vantage point of cyberspace. You learn things you never knew (and sometimes never wanted to know!). Like the time a couple of weeks ago when I found out that an ex-girlfriend started playing Dungeons and Dragons a year or two after we broke up. Never would have thought that she would get into that, given what I recall of her personality and interests.

I, of course, loved D&D back in the day. Being a rather wimpy lad with my head perpetually buried in a book, I immediately took to the idea of being able to become a hero of fantastic proportions. And being a bibliophile, I also loved that I had to buy dozens of books to learn everything I needed to know about the game. Actually, I had to buy those books several times, because my mother was often convinced that D&D and heavy metal were going to send my immortal soul straight to hell. If she only knew how much her actions fed into the publishers' profit margins!

I don't play role playing games anymore. The manager at the bookstore where I worked a couple of years ago wanted me to join his game, but I declined. Sometimes you can't go back. You want to, but you can't. Plus the guy was a chain smoker and I figured I'd choke to death long before any character I'd invented did anything interesting!

So now I play the games on my PlayStation, whenever I feel the urge to get involved in a Tolkien-esque world. Right now I'm having a blast playing Final Fantasy XII. Good Lord, I had Final Fantasy I for the Nintendo. Now I really feel old! I also have Champions of Norrath for the PS2, which was fun. But I'm refusing to play World of Warcraft or any of the online games. I've seen too many people lose their social lives (if not their bank accounts!) to those things.

I still like to read about the games, though. Keep up with what's going on in the industry and what's out there on the fringe. Just don't expect to see me at any conventions or gaming stores anytime soon!

As an aside, I suppose I should ask if there are any other former and active rpg geeks out there who read this page. Anyone? Anyone? Or did I just out myself for no apparent reason? Sigh : )

Oh, well. In honor of my passing (or continuing) geek-dom, I've put up some more links to the right. Enjoy.

Read more!

More Updates on Updates

My meeting with the head of Chaplain Services yesterday went well. The short version is that there will be a position opening (probably) in June, as soon as a chaplain retires. He wants me to put in for it. If everything goes as planned, I should be a pretty competitive candidate, assuming that we don't have a disabled war vet with equal experience show up (which is what happened last time). Since then, though, I've learned a few tricks that should help - please start Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap by AC/DC at this time!

The Doom Buggy continues to have issues. The poor thing is 9 years old, and I've driven the hell out of it, but so far it's held up pretty well. I think the clutch is developing a problem again. If it could hold together until August, when the other position is announced, I'd be very happy. If not, well, I'm going to have to somehow make a car payment fit into our financial situation.

Oh, there's a new link over on the right hand side of the page. It's Ray Keim's Paper Model Purgatory. Some of you may recall that I have an as yet still unfinished paper model of the Haunted Mansion (Walt Disney World version). Well, Ray is the guy who created it, along with several other structures. All are related to the horror genre, and most are theme park attractions like the Haunted Mansions. Even if you're not a paper modeler, it's still a neat page to check out. I do have a completed model of the Conservatory Coffin, which was a lot of fun to build and display.

Well, time to return to pretending to work. I'm still fighting this head / chest cold thing, so I'd much rather be crashed out watching bad movies at home. Saw Starship Troopers last night. I don't know, there's something about being ill that makes me want to watch movies where I don't have to think at all. Must be my sinuses putting pressure on my brain!

On second thought, maybe I won't pretend to work. There's a few more links I want to put up. So more later.

Peace.

Read more!

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

It seems (and how many times did my creative writing professor in college tell me never to start anything with the word "It!") that title is on the minds of quite a few people around here. One of my colleagues who gave me a ton of help when I first started in addiction medicine has decided to take a job down in Florida. And now this morning Drink Man informed me that he is indeed leaving here for better pastures (probably Charleston, SC). Of course, he's made this statement and recanted several times, which is why his ring tone on my phone is the aforementioned song by The Clash.

So today, after sitting through the chaos that is interdepartmental squabbling and dealing with patients who try my patience, I am having a conversation with the head chaplain here regarding my applying for an opening in their department. Not sure if that's the best path for me in the long term, but I do know that it's always good to have a plan B. I also don't trust the powers that be to give me a fair chance at the therapist job, so maybe I'll do better here.

So that meeting is taking place in about 40 minutes. I'll post the results when I get the chance. In other news, I had a good guitar lesson last night. I need to have some work done on my electric, though, but I kinda figured it was coming. Nothing major, just need to have it "set up" as those in the know say - I don't say it, only "those in the know" are allowed to say it, and apparently I'm not in the know, so I don't say it. Unfortunately, the place where I take my lessons ships the guitar off to have the set ups done, and it could take a week or more to do. So now I'm shopping around for other places to get the work done. More on that later.

The good news is that I'm making progress on "Don't Come Around Here No More" and barre chords. Even better, I gave my instructor a CD that had songs that I would like to learn. Among them are "Building a Mystery" by Sarah McLachlan, "Just Like Heaven" by The Cure, and "Stranglehold" by Ted Nugent (just in case you were thinking I was growing soft in my old age!). I still have to work on my current project, but knowing where I am going is nice.

Okay, I'm going to pretend to work now. 30 minutes until my meeting, and I need to get some stuff done.

Peace.

Read more!

Oh, Crud. Hell IS Freezing Over!

Pat Robertson, televangelist, former presidential candidate, and all around nutjob has taken a swing at someone on his own team - Rush Limbaugh. Yes, the man who prayed away hurricanes, blamed 9/11 on homosexuals, and predicted Jesus' return in 2000, is now saying that President Obama is a good guy, and that he disagrees with Limbaugh's "I hope he fails!" comment.

You can read the write-up here.

Just when I thought that man couldn't surprise me any more ...

Read more!

It is Done!

Today I finished my application and handed it over to the evil forces of Human Resources.

Yes, that rhymes. No, I'm not apologizing.

Now I just have to wait until - get this - AUGUST until they get around to deciding whether or not they want me to fill one of the three openings. The position is open now, they need the people now, but everyone will have to wait until August before HR gets all their ducks in a row. I'm just glad I have something that pays the mortgage between now and then.

In other work news, I got word that the head chaplain of this place will have an opening in his team when one of his guys retires in June. He wants me to take a crack at getting the job. It's better pay, but it would probably restart my existential angst that everyone has just suffered through, so I'm not sure I want to do that. Still, more money means more fun stuff in life ...

One hour to go, then it's home and on to guitar lessons. Barre chords still suck, and I suck at playing them. Hopefully that will not be the case for long.

Now if I could just get rid of this sinus/cold thing that's been bugging me for the last couple of days ... Grrrr. Must not get sick!

Read more!

For One Ring and Other Potter Fans ...

She doesn't get my latest source of mirth - The Order of the Stick - but that's okay. Perhaps she'll like this jab at one of her guilty pleasures:



















I'm working on my resume for work. I hope to be finished by tomorrow. At any rate, I'll try to post more later.

Peace.

Read more!