Plans Shot

Well.

This week I was supposed to be playing tour guide to a visiting friend from Missouri. That plan quickly went down the pipe when she missed her flight here.

How did she miss her flight?

She overslept after partying too hard.

Some of you might believe that reasonable, but consider this.

Her flight took off at 1800hrs, and when she woke it, it was 1900hrs. This happened despite the fact that I've been calling her all day long(and I realize now why she never picked up the phone.)

My faith in the female gender has taken a new hit. Punctuality indeed.

In other news:

Spring has come again! And with that, green grass and spring showers! Am currently saving money to purchase a 1911, even though I know .45ACP costs are going to kick my ass. I've been eying the Springfield Operators, but may end up with another brand. It'll be a graduation/birthday gift to myself.

Quiet Thoughts on the Future

My, how quickly time flies.

I've had a lot of thoughts running through my head these past few days, mostly about what I'm going to do after I'm done with school. To appease my parents(just my mother, really), I will need to attend grad school, but business schools do not usually accept students right out of college, so it will be a couple years. But what am I to do with myself in the meantime?

The question is somewhat rhetorical, as I know what I want to do, but those are all leisure activities. I should focus more on my career and establishing my foundation on which I will build and survive on for the rest of my life. As I am now, I feel like I am floating around aimlessly, without a future figured out(though I'm pretty sure that the family business will figure something for me).

I need an anchor of some kind. Something for me to push off of. What, though?

Soul searching has yielded little, but I feel like it's going to be one of those things that will sort itself out, or won't really matter practically speaking.

As I stand now, I have but one long term objective, that must be reached and maintained at any cost: that me and mine will live peaceful, happy lives.

In other news:

Obamacare passed. To the one idiot on my Facebook wall who actually cheered its passage: You liberal-media fed ignoramus. Go read the goddamn bill and stop cheering the danger you don't even understand. Then go read on all the constitutional processes and procedures it ignored and/or perverted to get passed. Go read all the bribery and backroom deals(with our money, might I add) the Democrats had to cut to get this passed. If the current Democratic Congress continues to use these procedures to pass legislation, we may as well hack off an arm to go with the two legs their bullshit has already cost us. You cheer for a bigger government, when we can't afford the one we have now.

Fiscal responsibility, transparency, bipartisanship...I would laugh, if it weren't so serious how screwed we are.


But not all hope is lost. We can still repeal, and a multi-state lawsuit is being filed against it, arguing it unconstitutional.

New Ride + Photo Summary 03 Weekend Edition

So lots of things have happened since Friday.

First of all, I got a new truck, a new Toyota Tacoma regular cab in "Magnetic(?) Gray Metallic." It was literally the cheapest Tacoma I could get that wasn't a stick.

 Looks like this, haven't named her yet.

I was driving with dear ol' Dad down the 10 Freeway when we went passed by the Longo Toyota sign. I said to him:

Me: I oughta get a truck.
Dad: You should. We need one.
Me: I oughta pull over right now and get one.
Dad: Why not?
Me: ....Okay then. *exits freeway*

We walked in and literally told the salesman to give us the cheapest automatic transmission Tacoma they had, and chose a color. Then we tried to figure out how we were going to pay for the thing. Scraping together all the cash we had on hand, we realized we could put down about half without having to run to the bank to get more(we didn't bring checkbooks). Then Dad asked about financing, and realized that

Dad: Hey, son. You don't have any credit.
Me: No sh*t. You realize I never got a credit card.
Dad: Why not?
Me: *blank stare*
Dad: Oh. Right. Well, you should apply for one now. But I'll cosign on the truck.
Me: Gee. Thanks Dad.

You see, I was raised never to spend any money that I didn't have. But because I didn't have a credit card, I didn't have a credit history, and that means I didn't have any credit. Not bad credit. NO credit.

And if I wanted to finance the truck by myself, I'd have to pay interest at about 20%. *uck that sh*t. I'd rather just pay in full then and there, but apparently, having the truck financed would help me build up a credit history on my non-existent credit, so Dad was adamant on my financing the thing.

Ugh.

So we cosigned on the truck and went home, where I promptly got online and applied for a credit card.

But my weekend consisted of much more than that!

Attended a birthday celebration! 

 Got these awesome strawberry donuts from Donut Man in Glendora(googlemaps)

Found hidden scenic point over Puddingstone Lake, brought SuburbanDweller and Phamtom

Swung on a rope, as SuburbanDweller demonstrates

All in all, a satisfyingly eventful weekend.

In other news:

Command & Conquer 4: I've been playing this RTS series for as long as I remember. It was the first computer game I ever bought, at the tender age of 7. And how it has fallen.

In short, C&C4 sucks. Hard. In a misguided attempt to leave basebuilding behind and rush straight into the action, C&C has lost something. Something crucial to making the game fun. Instead, we have to lug our bases around with us, and boy, it is clumsy as all get out. It makes the game sluggish and slow, and definitely not Command & Conquer. Oh, and the constant online server connection thing? I thought that would be the thing I hate most about the game, but it has since been relegated to a mere annoyance.

Photo Summary 002

Here's a summary of what I've done (other than work) these past few days.

My friends and I decided to have a impromptu BBQ. Here's Phamtom washing the grill we looted from my work just that morning.

I helped someone with their English essays, most certainly not out of the (non-existent) goodness of my heart, though I'm not sure what will come out of it. Probably more essays, as the trend is going.

Here's some ducks in the school fountain. They've been there for a couple days now. Wonder what they've been eating? (probably sandwich bread the students feed them)

Saw this girl (isn't that the cutest petulant face you ever saw) break a door key at the local GameStop. It got stuck between the safe door, we had to wait 10 minutes overtime for the safe lockout. And the key came out broken, so it was a wasted 10 minutes.

Took some pictures of this girl with her gun. BTW, that gun is the black-framed SKB 600 I compared Petra to (see post: Beauty in...). You can see me in the mirror. Look at that smile! Haven't had a girl smile so widely around me in quite some time.

In other news:

I'm tired of hearing about Toyota(because I'd rather hear about when GM is going to pay back our money), because every time I hear about some "uncontrollable acceleration" issue, I react in my mind exactly like this man. It's common sense, people. And not the "common sense" from "common sense gun control," but the real one.

Also, the Dems actually did it. They're pulling reconciliation on 1/6th of the US economy. Wonderful news, isn't it?

That's a lie. It's terrible news. I'm going to Costa Rica if(actually, it's getting scarily close to when) it passes.

Oh, and you know how mothers have long memories? Well, fanatics do too.

Too many...or too few?

So a bunch of the blogs I follow have picked up on this story. For realsies.

WTF is the Department of Education going to do with only 27 shotguns(note: the model shotgun they want is actually the exact one I have, with the same modifications I made. The only difference is the ones they want have a 4.5in shorter barrel and a permanent choke.). 

Either this is a test batch and have a follow up order for several thousand shotguns, or they shouldn't have them at all. However, I doubt they're going to used for the purpose I envision, and this is just some kind of typical bureaucratic screw up. What are twenty-seven short-barreled boomsticks going to do anyway?

In other news:

Final Fantasy XIII. I've only played 3/13 chapters, but I will say this:

Awesome as expected. Words cannot describe how beautiful it is, and I truly believe it pushes the PS3 graphics hardware to the max. The battle system is nowhere near as annoying as XII was, and the music is appropriately well matched and a pleasure to listen to.

HOWEVER, the characters suck. Really. And for many reasons. First of all, the world is well written, so far as I've seen, and the plot seems alright, for the moment. But the characters are illogical and irrational, almost seeming schizophrenic at times with the speed at which they shift moods. And do I ever wish they had Japanese voiceover included in the PS3 versions, seeing as they could have fit the game in twice over within the available space on a Blu-Ray disc.

Not to say that the English dubbing is bad. It's certainly better than I expected, except for Vanille. Her Queen's English accent and high pitched voice kills the good thoughts I might have had for all the other voice actors. And Hope's interactions with her seem awkward and disjointed, with long pauses and weird movements. I'm sure timings wouldn't be as bad with Japanese dub, but apparently, they modified facial and lip movements in the US version to follow the English dub, so the Japanese dub wasn't included "because it might look weird."

More to come on this later as I move forward in the game.

Room on "Safe"

To those that know me well, or even those who have simply known me long enough, my room is, if not comfortable, at least acceptable in their eyes. However, to those who know neither me nor the intricacies of my domicile, my room is, and I quote, "a deathtrap."

I suppose that was an overreaction, but I will agree that it is somewhat intimidating, what with all types of "dangerous" and purposefully lethal objects lying around. In the past, this did not bother me so much, as my friends were alright with it, and those so easily intimidated, I probably would not have stayed friends with them for very long.

In fact, more than once have I used my room for the very purpose of scaring someone off. In the past, I've had several girls(as opposed to the more mentally mature women) who believed that I was "the one" for them, to lead them to a bright land of easy living and constant vacations(The family is anything but poor, and I do very little to hide that fact).

I'd take her back home, let the pops grill her for a while, then show the toasty remains to my room. They're happy enough to leave my be after that. At times, this has backfired on me, as I would sometimes "lose contact" with someone who I actually liked after they encounter my living quarters, but over all, the system has worked quite well.

No longer.

The situation has changed. I am almost done with school, and after seeing what the dating pool is like outside of college(FYI: terrible to non-existent), I find myself in somewhat of a rush to build connections and networks that may hopefully lead to some good opportunities.



All the obviously dangerous things are no longer in open view. Most are behind lock and key. I'm quickly bringing the condition of the room towards what I believe to be majority normality for someone of my age and status. Hopefully, this will, if not make me more appealing, at least make me less intimidating.

I won't be left picking at the scraps.

In other news:

Reafferimation of one reason why I'm not religious. Who wants to be involved in that kind of thing?

And The Hurt Locker beat out Avatar for Best Picture, and pretty much everything else. Awesome, especially since the directors of the two movies are exes. Rivalry?

Beauty in...

Today, I had a pick-up.

Meet Petra, a 12 gauge SKB Model 600, made more than 40 years ago.

 

Beautiful

Plate Silver, Engraved

Full choke on top, Modified choke on the bottom.

What could be more beautiful?

Except maybe her three sisters?

Meet Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail!

Matching engravings.

These four came as a set, apparently, the family that had them on consignment had a grandfather who presented one of these guns to each of his sons on every birthday from ages 12-16, in gauges .410, 28, 20, and 12. Well, some how or another, the guns ended up at Ivory Beads, where I found them about forty years later.

And for the record.

Petra: 12ga

Cottontail: 20ga

Mopsy: 28ga

Flopsy: .410ga

Oh, and again for the record:

This is what a recent year SKB 600 looks like next to a 40 year old one.

  

Looks about the same, actually.

In other news:

So it is finally confirmed that an asteroid did kill off the dinosaurs. Coincidentally, a friend of mine posted this webcomic on Facebook yesterday.

Also, I want to watch Alice in Wonderland, but in 3D. I'll likely have to go on a weekday afternoon, seeing as most of my friends will have watched it tonight, in 2D, in very front row seats. I would have joined them, until I realized that A) there's a 3D version, and B) the up-front seats give me headaches.

Speaking of headaches, I found the chance to start and finish Uncharted 2: Among Thieves the other evening. That, too, gave me a headache. Maybe it's just me getting old?

Use Your Friends

People who know me well often hear me say:

"What good are friends if you don't use them?"

Some choose to interpret this statement literally, but that is not always the case. You're using your friends even when you're just hanging out with them, seeking companionship, so to speak.

Today, I used my friends.

For hard labor.

I love you guys! *teehee*(figuratively)

Related: I got that gun safe.

 

BTW, that's not me on the ground. That's SuburbanDweller, collapsed from overexertion of his not inconsiderable strength.

In other news:

The Brady Campaign is still pushing Starbucks to ban (legal) guns on their premises. Why the Bradys see it fit to force their way into Starbucks business and make them decide on ticking off a portion of their customers is beyond me. It's causing trouble where there was none. Fortunately, Starbucks ain't having none of that shit and telling the Brady's to fuck off, and that they'll sell their coffee to whomever they damn well please. 'Least that's how I'm reading it.

I'm also never eating at a CPK or a Peet's ever again. Not that I'm against their usage of their right to ban guns on their property, but that they caved to Brady's scare tactics.

Also, I hear that vintners are kegging wine. And that sounds awesome. I don't know how many half-finished bottles of wine I've seen poured out, but it's a disgustingly large number.