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Friday, 10 July 2009

  • Chores Can Be Sexy Apparently

    I spent the first half of my day today avoiding my To Do List but I finally succumbed to the inevitable. I had the day off from work and I needed to do a lot of stupid little chores that have built up. It started out easy enough - wiping down the bathroom sink and a couple other places that needed some attention, paying bills, hand-washing and bleaching a pair of muddy white shoes, dropping off a weird hodge-podge of laundry at the laundromat - that sort of stuff.

    Then I had to return a text book through the mail that I'd borrowed from Chegg. I had to go to the University to print off the shipping label since I'm out of ink. I taped up the box, then looked at the label. Then I looked at the old labels on the side of the box. Oops. I'd forgotten to cover those up. I figured I'd ask the postmaster if s/he had something I could use to fix that. I wasn't entirely sure where to affix the new label, so I figured I'd ask that, too. I went to the post office and when I got to the postmaster, she helped me cover up the old labels and put on the new one. "It's UPS, which is another service, so we can't mail it here unless you want to pay a fee." she said.

    Oh. I guess I thought mail was mail. I mean, I knew there was UPS, FedEx and DHL but I'd never really thought about the fact that you'd have to go somewhere else for those services. I guess it makes sense when you think about it.

    "There's a drop-off just around the corner. You can walk there from here," she said. Okee dokee. Fine by me. I walked around the corner and saw a UPS drop box. I looked suspiciously at it. I'd never used such a thing. You can really just drop a package in it? I opened it - yep, looked that way. I shoved the box in and summarily jammed the drop box. I wiggled it around, shoved it back and forth, tried pushing it down, tried pulling it back up. It was stuck. I looked around. No one was really paying any attention to me. I looked back at the box. I figured it must happen all the time and the pickup guys probably know how to fix it. I nonchalantly walked back to my car and drove back to the laundromat to toss the laundry in a dryer.

    My bad.

    While my laundry was drying I went to Crazy Prices to see how much a new DVD/VHS player would be. Not bad, but I decided to hold off getting it for now. As I was leaving the store I saw a bunch of luggage. With a shrug I meandered over to have a look. After my last Europe trip my luggage was destroyed. I still use it, but it drops pieces as it goes. Kinda pathetic, really. I saw a decent looking two-setter that was made specifically to asorb the impact shocks that killed my poor purple suitcase. $120 marked down to $40.

    I have new luggage, now.

    When I finished all those errands I went back to my apartment and changed clothes, filled a bucket with soapy water, charged up my iPod and went back out to wash my car by hand since I'm too cheap to go through a carwash right now.

    Guys are funny about some things.

    I wasn't really paying attention to anyone or anything other than my music and my car but I happened to look up just as some dude was trying to swivel his head like a demon in the Exorcist as he was turning down a side road. I guess my pale winter legs and tone-less thighs were overshadowed by "chick washing car." He got a chuckle out of me. I wonder if he saw my awesome panther biker tattoo (it'll probably wash off any day now).



    Well, that's all I've got for now. Nothing too exciting is going on. I'd put up a picture of my tattoo, but Xanga Photos is down. So's audio, and I was going to put up a fun little song that had nothing to do with this post whatsoever. Oh well. Maybe later.

    Update: I got the picture up! Woohoo! Screw audio, I'll do it some other time.

Tuesday, 07 July 2009

  • Xanga Meetup Fun Times!!!

    Holy cow, yesterday was so much fun! There was a Xanga Meet-up at Cedar Point which consisted of myself and four other guys who already knew each other, but we had a blast and a half! I met One_Eared_Batman, Simbathe2nd and I don't remember Aaron or Gary's screen names, but they were all cool.

    Have I ever told you guys how much I love roller coasters? I have seriously (cross my heart) fantasized about them during classes before. I LOVE riding roller coasters! And boy did we ride them yesterday! We didn't have time to go on ALL of them, but we certainly hit most of the main biggies.

    I thought my legs were going to fall off after Mantis (it's one of those ones where you stand up for the ride), but I consider myself lucky for being a girl. The poor guys were a little bow-legged after that one. The Maverick caught me by surprise. I hadn't seen the track, even while we were waiting forever in line - I wasn't paying attention. Then suddenly we were on the ride and it was NUTS! I'm glad Simba, who was sitting next to me, couldn't hear me because that means the little kid behind him couldn't either. Hopefully.


    Mantis


    Maverick

    There was one indoor ride that was completely in the dark. That was insane, too! There was no way to tell which way you were going to turn! Then there was the Millennium, which was FUN! (see below)


    Millennium - notice they're going DOWN on the left, not up. You can hardly see the track - all you see is the ground! I refused to hold on for the entirety of this ride. My hands were up in the air the whole way through!

    We went on the Power Tower, which was actually rather relaxing. You can shoot up real fast or you can climb relatively slowly and then drop. The drop was a little scarier because they make you sit up at the top for an indeterminable amount of time before it suddenly lets go and you freefall. The first split second is scary as all get out, but after that it's, as I said, relaxing.


    Simba and I rode this one four times - twice in each direction. Aaron rode it twice with us.

    We rode a bunch more rides - the Raptor, the Twister, MaxAir, etc. before we ended with the Dragster and our last two Power Tower rides, which were particularly nice because the sun had just set, leaving an orange glow behind the roller coasters and a lighthouse in the distance. The view was incredible. Then, in the other direction, a full yellow moon was casting a glow on dark water. Gorgeous!

    Here's a picture of the Dragster -


    Doesn't look so bad? Here's a little info about it, straight from Cedar Point's website:

    "Keep Arms Down, Head Back, and Hold On!"

    Get ready for the ride of your life. This amazing speed machine is one of the tallest and fastest roller coasters on Earth. Climb aboard unique dragster-style trains and inch forward to the starting line. The engine revs. Your heart pumps. The tree lights count down to green and you're launched to speeds of 120 mph in less than 4 seconds.

    The ride's just getting started as you climb 420 feet into the air, crest a massive hill and spiral 270 degrees as you speed towards the finish line. The entire experience is over in 17 seconds.

    This is pretty much all you see:


    Sky going up



    Land coming down

    And a lot wind-swept, slightly dazed and histarically laughing passengers afterward! FUN!

    We left just before the closing light show so we could get to our cars. I, of course, had forgotten to pay any attention whatsoever to where I parked so I wandered a dark parking lot, following the invisible pull of my car until I happened across it in much less time than I had anticipated. I drove straight to a McDondald's for an emergency bathroom break and Happy Meal. Guess who I saw there? The same four Xangans I had just left behind at the Park! How crazy is that?!

    *sigh* What a fun, fun, FUN day! Now, as I nurse sore feet and legs and a couple odd spots that I had evidently missed with the sunscreen, I have to get ready for work. I'm opening today, which is a mixed blessing. In one way it's a pain in the patoot because I'm sore and tired and want more time to relax. But it's the shorter shift that goes by the fastest, so I guess it's okay.

    Maybe I'll go see Ice Age tonight if I don't die of exhaustion while I'm popping popcorn or something.



    Don't watch this if you get motion sickness.

Sunday, 05 July 2009

  • Ladders and Old Ladies

    I had to climb to very nearly the tippy top of a gigantizoid ladder this morning. First of all, this sucker was HEAVY and looooong. Another girl and I hauled (dragged) it from Theater One to Theater Four then had a real booger of a time extending it and opening it.

    At one point during the opening of the ladder process it was moving around and I found myself between the legs with it closing on me. I kept pushing at it, but when I could feel it on either side of my head I finally said, "This isn't good for me" (images of being decapitated by a ladder flashing through my mind). So the other girl held it steady while I slithered out and we tried again.

    FINALLY (and I mean, this took a while) we managed to get it extended and standing upright. Because the theater sloped, we tried making one end longer than the other. Of course, while standing the ladder up it maneuvered itself so that the long end was in the wrong direction and we had a lot of fun trying to turn it around.

    Then it turned out we couldn't reach the blasted light we needed to change that way, so we had to haul it back down (it was lying across a jillion theater seats) and fix it. We finally got it situated, straddling about four rows and the other girl climbed up, but she couldn't reach the burned out lightbulb. So I clambered on up.

    I glanced up. I knew I wouldn't be able to reach so I climbed one more rung. Whoo boy, deep breaths.

    I slowly reached up. Just barely short. I glanced down. There were still two or three rungs left - I wasn't going to look down long enough to count them. I climbed one more. Holy freaking cow I was high up.

    Now, I'm not afraid of heights, but the tops of ladders make me feel mildly distressed sometimes. I'm a big girl, though. I can handle it. Of course, the Harry Potter soundtrack for the Halfblood Prince was playing in the surround sound system and it was adventure music, which made my adreneline pump even more than it already was. I felt like I was in the middle of an action movie and the thought of any number of things that could happen to a person standing at the tippy top of a gigantizoid ladder in an action movie had my palms sweating.

    Sweaty palms made it tricky to work with a lightbulb. I was afraid of dropping the good bulb so I stuffed it down my shirt and focused on the burned out one. After a million and one years I managed to get it out and exchange bulbs in my shirt. Unfortunately the *#&#^ing socket was elusive and after another million and one years I had to call it a bad job and climb down while the ex-Air Force Reserves (girl) manager scrambled up and screwed it in in like five seconds. I felt like a real doofus.

    It was super hard tearing down the ladder, too, but we finally got it and dragged it back to Theater One, ignoring the people already in the theater, waiting for the movie to start and shoved it back in place. I was practically drenched in sweat. I'm still annoyed I couldn't screw the bulb in. Oh well.

    Then later I was going around doing my job when a woman came out of a movie and told me the people behind her keep talking. She said she tried telling them a couple times to be quiet, but they won't stop. So far I had managed to avoid confronting anyone, but my time was up. So I followed her in to the front of the theater and she sat in her seat. I bent down to talk one of the people behind her. It was an old lady. I felt like SUCH an ass! She said in a hurt old lady voice, "I wasn't talking!" When I told someone I work with what happened she said not to feel bad because old people are really good liars. That made me feel a little better, but I might have hid when that movie eventually let out.

    I think I'm going to go back to watch Public Enemies tonight. Yay Johnny!

  • Fireworks and Things

    I went home a day earlier than planned since I happened to magically have that day off and made Dad go see Transformers with me. I could have watched it for free at my place of employment, but I guess I'd rather drive three hours and have Dad pay more than twice the price of a normal ticket ($2.25 for a matinee at MY theater!) and have a good movie-buddy. It was nice having some Daddy-daughter time. Plus the movie was tons of fun. All you losers who can't stay awake during it just need to go find something else to watch! (I love you all, even if you don't like a good summer movie!)

    I camped out in a tent in the "library" (aka the room with books from which the bedrooms and bathroom extend) with an air mattress and a lava lamp. It was fun. I felt like an Egyptian hippie princess.

    My grandma came up from Arkansas, so it was great to see her again. And Andrew flew into town, so it was great to see him, too!

    I've decided little dogs are spawns of Satan, no matter how cute they may seem, and that I have rotten luck when it comes to fulfilling an almost life-long dream. I have wanted to ride a motorcycle for AS LONG as I can remember. I was going to ride with my great-uncle on his Harley last time I went to Texas, but he had a flat tire, so I didn't get to. Then my dad invited one of his work-buddies (who is closer to my age) to the 3rd of July party and he rolled in on a Ducati. Ever since I've started reading the Stephanie Plum series where there is mention of a Ducati and google searching it, I've wanted to ride one. There was one parked in front of my parents' house!!! But he didn't have a second helmet, so I didn't get to ride. *wails pitifully*

    Anyway, the party was fun and I got to see people I hadn't seen in a while. I had to go to work the evening of the fourth, so I planned to leave that morning or afternoon. I had one of those terribly realistic dreams where I woke up, looked at the clock, saw that it was later than I thought, did some quick mental math and realized I'd have to SERIOUSLY BOOK IT to get to work on time. Then I woke up for real and was alright. Nearly had a cow. Of course, since I was on a bit of a time constraint as I drove to Ohio, I took a jillion wrong turns and gave my GPS a workout.

    I drove the toll road from Indiana to Ohio and stopped for lunch (and to get cash for trolls - I mean, tolls) at a service plaza. I got lunch from Burger King and settled down to eat my Whopper Junior (with cheese - it ain't real if it don't have cheese). Thanks to Transformers, BK is having a game where you peel the little game piece off your drink or fries or whatever and scratch off only ONE of two choices. Well, I scratched away and won an apple pie! Woohoo! I thought it'd be mighty fine to have that as dessert before I hit the road again so I went up to claim my pie. THAT Burger King doesn't give the prizes. I was told I'd have to go to another one. So I was pie-less. I have the winner piece on my kitchen table right now, mocking me. I hope I don't forget about it until the day after it expires. That'd be annoying.

    I went to work last night - talk about boring and slow. Seriously, who comes to watch a movie when there's fireworks? Apparently thirty-two weirdos do. I was taking out a huge mountain of trash all by my lonesome when the big burly security guard with tattoos up and down his arms caught me doing the trash dance - you know the one - when you have a bag leaking garbage juice and you dance away from it while trying to simultaneously toss it in a dumpster. He got a kick out of it and started talking *coughflirtingcough* with me. Apparently the manager got worried when it took me so long to come back and sent someone to look for me. I got teased a lot for that - especially when I mentioned that "Brent" (oooOOOooo *rolls eyes*) was going up on the roof to watch some fireworks. No, he did not invite me up on the roof with him. Jeez.

    I did get to see some of the fireworks when I got off work, though. So I drove my car to the proper end of the parking lot and sat on the roof to watch them. If I happened to scan the roof of the mall while I was sitting there, that's no one's business but my own.

    So there's an update on me for now. I need to get ready for work. Yay for pulling an early shift when I closed last night! Woohoo!

Sunday, 28 June 2009

  • Best Seat In Town

    There are two different spiels that employees can say when answering the phone at work. This is how they normally go (with my own name inserted):

    "Woodland Mall, Cinemark 5! This is Krysten, how can I help you?"

    or

    "Thank you for calling Cinemark, the best seat in town! This is Krysten, how can I help you?"

    I usually favor the first and only really say the second if I accidentally say "Thank you" when I first pick up the phone - then I just go with it. Today I was verbally dyslexic and said,

    Thank you for calling Cinemark! This is Krysten, the best seat in town!"

    I thought the manager standing next to me was going to die of laughter. OOPS!







    p.s. Dear Bricker, I will change my profile picture once I have a decent one that shows my face. I promise!