Holiday Etiquette

This year, unfortunately, was just like any other year as far as retail goes. It never fails, people will always exhibit the same behavior year after year when it comes to holiday shopping simply because they refuse to learn and adapt. Allow me to elaborate.

It's a few days before Christmas and your wife has gotten your daughter a Wii (or DS) and she has tasked you with going out to buy a game for her. You walk into your nearest game outlet (in this case lets just say Game Stop). You push your way through the tens of people in the store and you say "Hey, I need your help. What's a good game for the Wii (or DS)?" to which you, being the cynical retail employee, reply "I'll be right with you, sir". That simply won't do though because for one reason or another THIS guy is way more important than those tens of people he pushed through. So, you finish your transaction with the person in front of you and then hand the register over to a fellow retail soldier and you tend to your father in need. You ask him questions that any loving father should know like: "Is this a boy or girl? How old is the child? What does the child like to do? Do they watch TV and if so, what?" With any luck this father can answer maybe 2 of these questions. Depending on the age I always start with Dora and Diego and then gradually upgrade until I can get to Zelda or Metroid.

Next we have the slightly more patient customer. This one will actually wait in line and THEN have this conversation with you. People. it should be known that the closer we get to the holiday the less time you have to chat with retail employees. Why is that? Because we have lives and we want to go home to our families. I have no problem going about this with you say in early December or earlier than that but not on December 24th. That is asinine. There are other things but I'm going to let this sink in first before I go on another rant.

The Rule of "Ish" As It Applies to Time

I was discussing punctuality with my girlfriend the other day and we came across the term "ish". What I mean by ish is this: "Hey, lets meet around 7:30ish". Now, what does this mean? We discussed the possibilities and came up with this. The Rule of Ish is essentially a 30 minute window of time in which you can arrive at your destination. Therefore, if you have a lunch meeting for 12:30ish then you have a window from 12:15 to 12:45. Anything within this bracket of time falls within the ish however once you venture outside the window you start flirting with other times or even other ishs.

Now, if you choose to adopt this theory then you must make sure that the other party accepts it too. So if someone says 12:30ish and you show up at 12:43 and that person does not abide by the ish then they have grounds for getting upset and possibly leaving your late, hungry butt at the restaurant.

When applying the Rule of Ish make sure that the term "ish" is actually used. Even in a world where everyone utilizes the Rule, 12:30 is 12:30. 12:30 does not mean 12:35, 12:40, or 12:42. It can, however, mean 12:15, 12:24, or 12:29. This is only true if YOU, the early one, does not get upset when the other party arrives at 12:30. Being early is a habit that I believe in and I am able to amuse myself for the 10-15 minutes I will be waiting.

TRL?

A thought popped into my head today: how ridiculous was TRL?

Now for those who don't know, TRL (Total Request Live) was a show on MTV that consisted of Carson Daly counting down the top 10 requested videos in the span of an hour (or an hour and a half...its not really that important). The show took place in a building in Times Square. The studio held somewhere near 5o people, the camera crew, Carson Daly, and his ego. As the videos played, there would be a ticker on the bottom of the screen which showed messages from the people watching. At times there were also video interruptions of someone in the audience giving a "shout out" to someone watching. Now, that all sounds like a typical MTV show and I guess, for what its worth, it was. To me, TRL was on par with a modern day incarnation of American Bandstand...only worse. Nobody danced, the videos were shortened, and Daly was super awkward at times (not to mention they had their share of TV uh ohs's like Da Brat revealing her bare breast on live TV years before Janet Jackson did). Like I said before, TRL was similar to American Bandstand. Who wants to watch Dick Clark stand in front of a bunch of teens...talking...trying to be funny? Nobody. Well that can't be true because TRL ran for ten years. Daly was only there until 2002 but I never watched an episode without him in it.

Another crazy point about TRL was the juxtaposition of the comments and some of the songs featured on the show. Imagine a teenage girl interrupting Papa Roach's "Last Resort" to say hello to their grandmother back home. Is grandma really watching? Do we really need to hear you screaming with excitement about how awesome it is that you are on TRL? No. Let me listen to the mediocre song and get on with my life.

I know I didn't have to watch TRL but Carson Daly was just so damn cute.

I'm gettin' a desk!

So my roommate informed me today that he has a "NICE" desk that I can have/borrow for the time. This works perfectly because of what I discussed in my previous post. I are excite!

In other news, Christmas is right around the corner and, thus, so is my Birthday! I will be turning 24 and absolutely nothing will change. I guess I am done with milestones for the time being.

I am aware this is a short post but its because we are still moving and setting up.

New Place

I am currently sitting in the middle of an empty living room in front of a space heater writing this blog. It's funny, there is no heat, no furniture, and no TV yet we have internet (someone else's mind you). I never would have thought this time last week that I'd be moving out of a place I was just beginning to feel comfortable in into a whole new situation but I feel it was the right choice. I am going to be saving money and will hopefully get things back on the right track as far as my life goes.

Now, for some observations.

I feel that the reason I don't accomplish as much as I say I want to is simply because I don't have a desk. I have thought about this for a while now and it makes total sense. The only place I can sit with my laptop is on my bed or on a couch (well right now it would be the floor). While I am on my bed my elbows start to hurt if I am laying on my stomach or my back starts to hurt from sitting up with no support (much like it is right now). This limits the amount of time I can dedicate to any task involving my laptop and I can thus not devote much time to writing. It is a sad situation and one that I hope to remedy soon.

My new roommate is almost 4 years younger than me and he has friends younger than him which makes me feel kind of old. I like it in a sense because I feel like the adult and that, in a way, they look up to me; however, they are kids. I overhear conversations about high school, trouble with parents, underage drinking, etc. and I cringe a little. I know I had my share of these conversations back in the day (except for the underage drinking one. I didn't do that). I am hoping that I can influence these folks in a good way and perhaps show them there is more than throwing back shots and playing beer pong (although that can be fun on occasion).

Bill collectors are funny to me. They call and call and call and don't get the hint that I am not going to pick up. I don't have the money you're looking for (say that like Obi-Wan Kenobi). What's even worse is they feel like they're going to stick it to you by charging you fees for not paying. Yes, I can't pay so please charge me MORE than I owe. That will help everyone in the long run. Look, I am like most of the other folks in debt, I want to pay, I really really do, I just can't. Now I am sure there are people out there that run up a credit card bill with absolutely no intention of paying it back. The next step for them is to declare bankruptcy and then the debts are wiped clean (at least that is my understanding of the situation). Sure, their credit is ruined but who needs that? Cash is king...right?

Man, it feels good to rant.