in conclusion

I was conned.  Maria said she was going to buy me clothes at the Citadel.  What she actually wanted was to shop at a warehouse style Halloween store by the Citadel.  She bought an Alice in Wonderland outfit.  We did go to the Citadel as an aside.  I bought some dress slacks, dress shirt, a tie and dress socks.  I want to look professional for my new position.  Yes, I am excited about it.  If you are reading this before my previous entry, I should explain that I am leaving Gelsons #22 to become an assistant manager elsewhere.  Though I felt my previous duties where pertinent to the store.  I wanted to become more involved in customer service.  As it is now I get a tremendous amount of satisfaction from making someone's grocery shopping experience easy and pleasant.  I have been around a while and felt that my experience would make me a natural at assistant manager duties.  In essence I want to immerse myself deeper into what I do for a living.  When did this happen?  Erick wants to be challenged?  Let's see how it goes.  I would really like to thank all of you who have either questioned my choice, given my your support, told me you know I'll be good at it, or asked me where I will end up at.  Whatever your reaction, I know you cared and I truly love you guys for that!

Back to Halloween.  Is it my fancy but do only children and women enjoy Halloween?  Okay, kids get to dress up and eat candy.  That's fun.  But why do women engage the holiday (?) so wholeheartedly?  There were tons of women at the Halloween store looking for the perfect costume.  And all these 'perfect costumes'  consist  low cut blouses, mini skirts with knee high stockings and provocative make up.  What's up with that??

How does a man enjoy Halloween?  Well he draws up a spreadsheet with the names of all the characters he expects to see at his door trick or treating.  He creates a pool to see how many of these characters will show up.  My money is on that kid from the Grudge.  But I am not good at tapping into the minds of any generation.    

Well, I bought some sneakers at the outlet mall.  I am afraid I'll  never really shake the impulse to Peter Pan.  I am going to break in my sneakers this fine Saturday afternoon.

take care.

personal announcement

Sorry I missed a post last week!  Got real sick, was literarily handicapped.

I have taken a small step towards becoming a grown-up.  I put in for an assistant manager position with Gelsons.  I have been given an assistant manager position with Gelsons.  Everyone there thinks I am crazy, that is everyone but the supervisers who approved my promotion.  Hey! I look good on paper, college educated and more importantly I haven't broken any major laws in a very long time :)  I am giving up a lot though.  For the last 8 years I have enjoyed a set schedule with weekends off.  That is something special in the supermarket industry.  Also, I am being ripped away from Gelsons Store #22 in Silverlake.  I am going to miss that place a lot!  It is where I was hired.  I have seen myself grow as much as I have seen the area change.  In a way I see myself as Silverlake's evil twin. 

Damn, really wanted to develop that thought but Maria is bugging me to get ready.  She is going to buy me new clothes at The Citadel.  How am I going to be a good manager when I can't even tell my girlfriend to SHUT UP!  (I am kidding)

Gotta go, so ... to be continued...

the world sure is changing

  Well I told you so, didn't I?  The Palm Trees no longer cast a shadow on the tower in this picture.  The sun's light is coming at us from the south now.  Did you know that the Earth doesn't actually tilt like a weeble-wobble?  For years I thought that the seasons were caused by the tilting of the Earth.  But they are caused by a permanent tilt in the Earth and its relation to the orbital plane around the sun.  Wikipedia has a real good diagram of it check it out.  Enough of that.

I had a kick-but Saturday.  I was on a quasi-quest, in search of a book.  Last Sunday I lost the work of fiction I was reading, Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut.  I have been trying to find it all week to no avail.  I was ten pages from completing it so I didn't want to purchase another copy.  Yesterday I finnally decided to check it out at the library.  After about 15 years I renewed my library card.  Actually I got a new one at the Glendale Branch.  I was excited.  Can you beleive they now rent out DVDs for $1 a week?  Anyway,  I was amazed at how fast I found the fiction section and found the section with the author.  Later I further amazed myself  by finding a computer book I wanted to look at.  I am still capable of using the Dewey Decimal System used to classify and sort books.  I have to say I felt a little bit like Burgess Merideth in that classic Twilight Zone episode before he breaks his glasses.  Re-discovering the Library has opened up a brand new resource of knowledge and entertainment that has been unduly overlooked for far to long.  There was a period in my childhood where every Saturday was spent at the Laffayette Park Library down by the Wilshire District. 

Back to my Saturday.  I was looking for Breakfast of Champions which is not a sport's story.  It was not with the other Vonnegut books so I went to the library's computers to see if it was available at that branch.  The library has two copies, both checked out.  The one due back the earliest is due on 10/11.  So I went to the Help Desk to ask if it was possible to reserve the book once it was returned (I am a super-duper geek!).  The librarian was very helpful and went the extra step to see if it was available at any other branch.  I was commuting on a bike so I didn't feel inclined to go to another library for the book.  But sometimes when someone is going out of their way to help you, out of courtesy, you accept the help.  Also, you never know when someone is going to be so helpful again so stock up on kindness from strangers when you can.  The Grandview Branch located near the Glendale/Burbank border had a copy in-house.  He reserved it for me and I rode my bike four miles first to the Grandview Art/Music library where I was redirected back down the hill (if you don't know the area, I apologize.  I hate when writters assume you know what they are talking about) to the Grandview "book" Library.  I got my book, end of quest.

Tower Records is going out of business, see story here  I am saddened by this cause it is just another indicator of how the world is changing.  I am not saying I was a loyal patron of the institution.  I remember it as one of the first destinations for my friends and I when we arrived at a driving age.  Tower Records on Sunset then Carney's down the street for a burger, fries and that orange soda they had there which really kicked-but.  I remember the transition from LP to CD.  Now people download their songs, no need for a store to specialize in Albums anymore cause you can always pick it up at Target.  That is of course if you are looking forward to the latest by a certain artist.  In tribute to music stores everywhere I purchased two albums yesterday during my quest for the book.  I bought  "Sam's Town" by the Killers and "Under the Iron Sea" by Keane.  I was looking forward to the Killers new release.  It is good but not as catchy as their first album.  It will probably take a few listen-throughs before I really start liking it.  I like the fact that it holds itself together as an album though.   Keane's album is really, really good.  Okay, I admit I am a closet Electric Light Orchestra fan and this album reminds me of that group.  But I ask you, who would you be now had you never heard ELO's "Turn to Stone"?

Have a great week.  Oh yeah, how surreal is it to watch "Back to the Future" twenty years after it came out? 

I didn't win CA Superlotto

Every Saturday morning the first thing I do is check my lotto numbers.  I get real mad when I don't win.  For some reason I feel that I deserve to win, that I should win. How hard is it to match 6 numbers?  It is such an illogical line of thought, one that many people seem to suffer from.  Otherwise, there'd be no such organization as Gambler's Anonymous.  Fortunately, Lotto is the only form of gambling I participate in.  I don't even play the mega-millions because the odds are so much higher.  I like mega-millions commercials though; the father who makes it snow for his children in San Diego, the son who has a family reunion on a major league stadium.  I have an idea for one such commercial: 

A pretty average looking guy in very casual attire is driven around town in a limousine.  He stops at a swanky restaurant to meet with a gorgeous ex girlfriend in a very sexy formal dress.  He gets to the table, grabs a dinner roll before even taking a seat. 

She says in a sultry voice, "Hello- insert fictional name here (I am not good at naming characters, I seem to gravitate towards rennaissance like Italian nomenclature like Benvolio or Mercutio)- glad you could make it." 

With bread still in his mouth he says, "yeah, I can't stay long but it is nice to see you."  He grabs a glass of water, drinks.  He looks at her,smiles cause she is beautiful. "Listen I got another appointment, order whatever you want."  He drops several Franklins on the table.  "Call my assistant and we can schedule a better time."

She looks disappointed and meekly nods,"yes."

He finishes goodbye and finds the limo parked in front of the restaurant.  "Next on the list?" he asks the driver.

"Cindi at Chez Nous (fictional French Bistro)" is the reply.

They drive off into a clear Los Angeles night.  Lotto Announcer's voice over,"For $1 you can make her wish she never left you."

Now, isn't that the kind of thing you would do if you won?

Okay, in, how do you say, conclusion.  I love the high I get before finding out my numbers didn't match.  I think of the things I will do.  Some would be selfish... yes it's true.  Some would be altruistic.  Believe it or not I would love to drive an ice-cream truck for a while and just give away my merchandise.  That would be cool! making kids happy with no motiveof self-interest.  When I got tired of that I would give the truck away and travel.  I would keep a journal and when all the money was gone I would submit a book, What I Did After I Won The Lotto.  The book would hopefully establish me as a writer.  I would secure a modest living that way and live out the rest of my days in a quiet place.