Today I woke up about 10 and went for my morning run. My knee is
hurting, but in a different way than before. I really should go to the
doctor to get it looked at………after all, it has been hurting since
about November…………….and I’m not exaggerating about that.

     This is the last few days of my employment
with AAA. Today was an absolute blast. I was able to wear jeans, which
is good. I spent most of the day just talking with everybody and
generally having a good time. If work was really like this, it would be
tons of fun. It really is like the last few days of school, you know,
after you are done with finals but have just a couple of days left.
After a while, we started playing cards again. We played speed. Uno.
And Sandi tought us a game called finagle (I hope I’m spelling it
right………..I have used that word, but never had to write or type
it) which is sorta like rummy, but a lot more complex. It was fun, but
you really have to pay attention to it. On my second lunch (although,
lets be honest here, the whole damn day is one big fucking
lunch………..not that I’m complaining, it actually kicks ass!). We
went to Barnelli’s. Jason was wearing my hard hat that a co-worker gave
to me. He looked goofy with it on, but it was pretty funny. We went
back to work, and he did not like the soup he got (Italian Wedding
soup……….I wonder if they have a Jewish edding soup, or a Greek
wedding) so he gave the rest of it to me. It was pretty tasty, it had a
nice spicy Italian sausage in it. The last day of work is
Wednesday………..we only have to work 4 hours but will get paid for
8. I will work 11AM-3PM, and after that, its off to the Foundry, which
is a bar in Aurora and we will all have a great time and finally be
able to tell each other what we really think of each other!

Here is another anti-Bush site. Its actually a Bush video game. Its
pretty cool. Very elaborate with lots of facts. And it has Hulk Hogan,
Mr T, and Fat-Ass He-Man.

http://www.emogame.com/bushgame.html

I can’t get the Stonecutters song stuck out of my head.

Ok, so we had 2 tournaments last night. The first one was a $10 buy in,
with $40 to the winner, $10 to 2nd place. We started about 6:30ish, and
ordered crappy Pizza Hut. Man, I forgot just how bad Pizza Hut is,
especially compared to all the great Chicago pizzas. Anwyho, long story
short, I actually took 2nd place in the tournament, losing to a guy
that finished 2nd last time (I finished 3rd last time). We started the
2nd tournament at about 10:30PM. We had 7 people, with $50 to the
winner, and $20 to 2nd place. This time, people were not getting out
early. As a matter of fact, it was probably about 2 hours before the
first people got out, and it was 2 of them in the same hand. So, that
means, I could do no worse than 5th place. Nice. I was not thinking
about winning, since I had finished 2nd in the first one of the night,
meaning that no matter what, I would at least break even. It was funny,
because I had my anti-Bush shirt on, and had heard just a couple of
comments about it. The shirt actually worked to my advantage in one
hand, as one of the Bush lovers was heckeling one of the other ones
saying things like “are you gonna let a democrat push you around like
that? are you gonna let a demoocrat beat you?”. As the night went on, I
was doing good. When the first 2 people went out, I had to spend a lot
to match them, since they went all in. The guy that one that pot, had
won the earlier tournament, and he had a sizeable lead on everybody
else. At this point, things weren’t looking so good, but I know I at
least had a decent shot at 2nd place and still an outside shot of
first. I just needed to play smart. And I did. A few hands later,
somebody else went all in and I matched them. They won. It put me in a
bad spot, but a couple of hands later, I had to go all in. And I won. I
had to go all in several times, with things looking bleak, and each
time, I won. Next thing I know, there are only 3 people left. The guy
that one before (Jeff) and another guy (Pat) that looks like Giovanni
Ribbsi. Jeff had lost quite a bit of his money, and eventually had to
go all in. He lost. Pat won that hand and had a sizeable lead on me. I
knew I had some work to do, especially with the antes going up. It was
funny, because about 3 or 4 times throughout the night, Pat and I had
actually had the exact same hands and therefore pushed. Now, he was
betting scared. I would bet the ante, and he would fold. I would raise
after the ante, and he would fold. Each time he folded, I got the ante.
And that is how money changed hands. I could tell he was getting tired,
and needed to get home to his wife. I was not tired, did not have any
wife to get home to, and was not sick of playing. I could still be
playing if I needed to. Things went back and forth, and I could tell he
wanted to get out, but wasn’t going to give up. I knew the others
wanted us to be done, but I was not going to waiver or go all in until
I had a good enough hand. Finally it hit. I had a pair of Jacks on the
flop. Good deal. If I could get another Jack or another pair, I would
go all in, knowing that he probably still had more money than me. Here
comes the river. Its a Jack. I’m all in. We counted our money. I
actually had more than him, but he went all in anyway. We flipped our
cards. I want to say he had an Ace/6. With one last card to play. The
last card was something like a 5 and that meant that I actually won a
motherfucking poker tournament!!!!!!!

Well, tonight was the big poker tournament. I would get into detail, but I am wiped out now and should sleep.

Danel took me shopping at Old Navy today. We were looking for jeans,
and maybe a couple of shirts. I found some jeans and shirts and tried
them on. I hate buying clothes. Like I even know whats good or bad.
Anywho, we were informed that they had some stuff the bag promotion,
where you put as much shit into the bag and get 20% off, but had to pay
for it with your Old Navy credit card. I signed up for one. While I was
waiting to get approved, I was hitting Danel in the head with this Old
Navy promo flag thingy. It was fun, until she decided to start hitting
back. Anywho, as I was paying for the goods, I was talking to the
cashier girl about the fact that they have to wear headsets to keep in
contact with co-workers. I think its pretty nuts, but I guess it works.
Anywho, in this little bin, they had these gay looking sunglasses with
one lense missing. So, I put them on and Danel took a picture.
After Old Navy, we went to the mall. The parking lot was packed due to
a carinval being held in the parking lot. We went to Spencer’s and I
saw a shirt I just had to have. It had a picture of George Bush and it
said “BUSHIT” with two little L’s above and between the U and S. I’m
going to wear it at the poker tournament tonight, since there will be
quite a few Republicans there. Should be fun. After Spencer’s, we went
to Sears to buy socks. I like ankle cut socks, but always have a hard
time finding ones that fit, and today was no exception. How can they
fit shoe sizes 6-12? It was the only size they had. I looked at every
package, and none of them were different. It doesn’t make sense. I
bought them, but I know they are going to be big, just like the others
I own. Am I forever destined to wear socks that don’t fit? Anywho, we
stopped off at Champs on the way out of the mall. I guess, the instyle
now is to wear these really large T-shirts. They were so big, I could
actually wear just the shirt with no shorts and be fine. Danel in fact
offered me $25 to walk around the mall with just the shirt and my
boxers on. Long story short, I’m due in the Will County Courthouse
Monday at 9AM.

For the 2nd night in a row, I was awoken by loud ass storms. It
storming again. I think this is a new late night trend. It took me at
least an hour to fall back to sleep. It sucked!

Got to work. Danel was very quiet for some reason. Usually, she is very
peppy and excited to see me. Her desk was completely clean, which was
weird to see because she has a ton of shit on it. I cleaned my desk and
got very sad about the whole impending closing. I’m really gonna miss
this place, the money, and the people. Among other things.
I…………..it just really sucks. Anywho, Danel and I had to put a
recording on her phone……….its classic, of a call taker arguing
with a drunken member. I will put it on my computer someday and people
can hear it. We also had free pizza today. Damn, that shit was so
good…………….I love their pepperoni. I don’t know what they do
to it to make it so tasty. Maybe they marinate it. Or sneeze on it.
Roll it around on the floor……….whatever it is, its good.
After a while, I started playing speed and cards and shit with John and
Cara. I got my ass kicked, again. Oh well, only 2 1/2 more days of ass
kickings.
Mark had mentioned going to a bar to see a friend of his sing and play.
Mark gave me directions to the bar, which was in Lemont and called
“Stonecutters”. We both thought of the episode of the Simpsons with the
Stonecutters. After I hung up the phone, I tore off another day of my
Simpsons Triva Calender, and there was a question about the Stonecuters
episode……….how ironic.
I left work and drove to Lemont. It was actually easy to find. The guy
playing was older, like 51! He played mostly classic rock and blues. He
had a decent voice and was a very good guitar player. We had a good
time, but it wasn’t like when we used to watch Dae play. This guy
didn’t take requests, and he played an electric guitar. He looked a
little like Pete Townshend from the Who. We stood until about midnight,
when I left and came home. 94.7, the Zone is playing 24 hours of
Metallica!!! KICK ASS!!!

Very early this morning, like at about 5 in the AM, I was awoken by the loud ass storm we were having. Did anybody else wake up?

Anywho, I got out of bed (I did fall back to sleep after the storm)
about 10ish and went for my run, knowing when I got back, I would have
to call that place and let them know if I would be accepting the job. I
have to say, as I was running, I was still unsure as to what I would
do. I got home and placed the call. Got her voice mail. I did not want
to leave a message with my decision, so I waited a while and called
back. She picked up. I accepted the job. She told me that she did not
know just yet when I would start. Ughhhh, I hope I’m not making a
mistake. It really is not enough for me to be living on. It will be
enough to get me through the rest of the year, and hopefully then, I
will be able to find a new job. I will continue to look for a job in
the meantime, it will just be tough to go on interviews. After I got
home from work tonight, she had left a message asking me to start on
Sept 14. That gives me almost 2 weeks in between jobs, which is nice. I
will still try to find something else in the meantime.
They are giving us less and less to do at work. Tonight, they took away
the program we used to take emergency road service calls, which means,
I have nothing to do now for the entire day, as opposed to only half of
the day. From now on, we are allowed to wear jeans at work. I just need
to purchase some. We played Speed and Uno again, and I re-learned (is
that even a word) how to play Spades, which I have played only a few
times in my life and not in the last say, at least 5 years. I got my
ass kicked. Oh well.
Cubs continue to win!!!!

Today at work, the supervisor in the call center was sick, so I had to
fill in there. Doesn’t really matter, I still didn’t have much to do.
Spent most of the day following the Cubs game online, reading the
paper, talking to co-workers and playing cards.
Ever play the game speed? Holy crap, turns out I suck at it. The game
goes so fast, and you have to quickly decide which card to put down. My
problem is that I’m a thinker and I like to analyze things. Its not to
say I’m not quick on my feet, because I am, but when it comes to this
game, I’m just a half second too late. Oh well.
When I got home today, I had a message from the place I went to
yesterday. I need to give them a decision. Tomorrow I will call them
and give them an answer. It just sucks, its not nearly enough money.
Everytime I think I’m gonna take it, I think I should pass it up. Then,
I think I should take it. Ohhhhh, I hate all this uncertainty. If I
take it, I will still need to find another job, which is going to be
tough if I have to go there everyday. On the other hand, if I pass it
up, I might not get another chance at a job for a while. Taking it
means MUCH less money, and things will be a struggle for me. On the
other hand, passing it up means no money (well, there is unemployment,
but thats next to nothing.). In the time it took to write this
paragraph, I have flip-flopped 2 or 3 times…………..jeez, I’m
worse than John Kerry.
Cubs win again! Hot Damn! But, I’m not thrilled that Hawkins blew it in
the 9th. It just continues to prove my point: they need a closer.

This is pretty cool. Turns out I’m nothing…………..but, I have always suspected as much.

http://robertandtim.topcities.com/quiz/christ/christquiz.html