Lump is the name of the webkinz I was forced to buy by my co-workers and I must say...it is as if the sims had sex with a beanie baby and out came a webkinz. I was forced at gun point (ok, it was actually at card point...paper cuts hurt like a bitch) to buy this thing by more than one co-worker. Apparently if you work at Hallmark you must own a webkinz or you don't get a paycheck or respect from those you work with on a day to day basis. I broke down and got the polar bear because it looks kinda goofy and one of it's legs is lopsided so I felt good "adopting" a retarded webkinz. I haven't checked out the mini-games, shops or any of the other crap that I can supposedly do with Lump...I just kind of made him walk around for a while and then logged out. That was more than enough action for me for the day, all that polar bear walking around. Honestly though I don't feel so bad owning the thing even if 12 year olds would kill their own family for one, it might be embrassing to actually have it but I have a damn good excuse...I LIKE MY FACE NOT SHREDDED BY SHOEBOX CARDS.
I got to work with a woman named Mary Jo today, who is the assistant manager at another Hallmark store. This woman is the most twisted mother fucker I have ever met in the best way possible, she is just brutally honest and horribly funny. I felt like I was going to hell after I got off from work today for just being around her. She almost made me vomit mentioning certain things, they were that vile yet funny. I can't really go into detail but needless to say, Mary Jo actually made me want to stick around Hallmark.
Ok, enough about Hallmark...I am probably boring you to tears. I attended part of Zach's 21st birthday extravaganza and I wish I had stayed for the whole thing. I left to go back to TCNJ to hang out with some people, which was fun and everything but I have a feeling that Zach's party was a fucking blast. I met someone in my major at TCNJ whom I had never even realized exsisted, even though she sat behind me in one of my classes. It's true, I really suck at placing names and faces or even knowing people in my classes in general. How do you not know someone who is in your class, major and you took a course with? Especially at a school like TCNJ! I give the award for suckiest face to name ratio to myself, for completely not knowing who the hell it was who greeted me by mentioning what class we were in. Zach had a nice mix of Hunterdon kids, FDU kids and just random people who showed up and didn't know anyone. I have a feeling if I had a few more drinks, I would have made some pretty quick friends. That whole driving thing got in the way though, so I had to hold myself back a bit. I have a feeling I will make up for it in Baltimore for the super rachel turns 21 bash. THAT will be a fun time.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Monday, June 18, 2007
Webkins Ate My Soul
I awoke this morning to two things, the first being "C'mon, C'mon" by the Von Bondies blasting from my phone as Kathleen Meo texted me. Granted, it was 10 am and I should have been awake but I had foolishly stayed up till about 4:30 am the previous night. This of course makes me a fucking idiot who really needs to work on sleeping. I digress. Katie texted me and we had a nice text chat (man that sounds pathetic...) which I only remembered half of when I woke up again 2 hours later. I awoke the second time to a message from Alison Mandara, the red headed relay beast herself, saying that she somewhat caught up on my life by reading my blog. This fact alone completely validates these writings because I am awful at keeping in touch and it is nice to know someone actually wants to keep up on my life.
So I bought an X-Box 360 the other day and I must say, it was a wonderful investment. I normally don't buy video games or systems because I am an old school gamer...all about the super nintendo and NES. Three things compelled me to buy the x-box 360 though: NHL 07, Guitar Hero 2 and DVD capabilities. NHL 07 is basically crack laced coffee for me, if I don't get my fix I probably would freak out and try to rip my freckles off. That was the primary reason for the system, I had to continue my Rangers dynasty. The next reason I recently discovered thanks to Erica's Boyfriend Doug, who is a guitar hero beast. The man would go into best buy and just play the demo over and over and I finally gave it a go. IT IS UNREAL. This is one of the most fun games ever created, they should prescribe this for those who are depressed. You could be burning my hockey jersey's in front of my face but if I am shredding to "Monkey Wrench" by the Foo Fighters I will not give a damn. The final reason is one I initially didn't think of but is a nice perk. I bought a dvd player when I bought the x-box, which saves me from going out and buying a new one since my old one is garbage. It is easy to navigate and also incredibly reliable, I am basically sold on the dvd player functions. While I did hurt my bank account buying the damn thing I don't feel so bad, I don't buy shit for myself and this is something I kinda wanted for a while. So fuck logic and eating, I have a new game system.
So I bought an X-Box 360 the other day and I must say, it was a wonderful investment. I normally don't buy video games or systems because I am an old school gamer...all about the super nintendo and NES. Three things compelled me to buy the x-box 360 though: NHL 07, Guitar Hero 2 and DVD capabilities. NHL 07 is basically crack laced coffee for me, if I don't get my fix I probably would freak out and try to rip my freckles off. That was the primary reason for the system, I had to continue my Rangers dynasty. The next reason I recently discovered thanks to Erica's Boyfriend Doug, who is a guitar hero beast. The man would go into best buy and just play the demo over and over and I finally gave it a go. IT IS UNREAL. This is one of the most fun games ever created, they should prescribe this for those who are depressed. You could be burning my hockey jersey's in front of my face but if I am shredding to "Monkey Wrench" by the Foo Fighters I will not give a damn. The final reason is one I initially didn't think of but is a nice perk. I bought a dvd player when I bought the x-box, which saves me from going out and buying a new one since my old one is garbage. It is easy to navigate and also incredibly reliable, I am basically sold on the dvd player functions. While I did hurt my bank account buying the damn thing I don't feel so bad, I don't buy shit for myself and this is something I kinda wanted for a while. So fuck logic and eating, I have a new game system.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Themes and Frames
I am reading articles on framing right now, which is what a majority of my research is in this summer. Framing is actually kind of interesting in a nerdy com major sort of way, anyone else would just wonder what the hell is the point of this research. It is analyzing any form of media, in my case newspaper articles, and breaking down the coverage into one main topic, a couple of subtopics and then down to the frames of the article. For example, my main topic is AIDS in Africa, a few subtopics would be Money, Access to Care, Social Education and the Stigma of AIDS. We still need to discuss the frames but for example if a certain statistic or paragraph keeps popping up in each article, the author may be trying to frame the article in a certain direction by using that paragraph or statistic. It is a little abstract and I am almost certain you have fallen asleep by the time I finish this sentence. You have haven't you? Well wake up. No? SEXY FEZ WEARING MONKEY! Didn't work did it...I'll give you five bucks to wake up, I promise not to talk about framing anymore. There we go, welcome back.
So to pay my bills and rent I have picked up a job at Hallmark greeting cards, which has the most insane personality test I have ever taken. I don't know if psychos have a history of applying at hallmark but this test was absurd. 180 questions on your personality, including about 50 on if you steal all the time or get high at work. One question actually asked if you had ever lied in your entire life...OF COURSE I FUCKING HAVE. I have already lied 4 times on this test before that question! I actually didn't though...it was the first personality test I took where I was honest the whole time and I still came out with flying colors. It is amazing some people actually fail this test and are barred from working at Hallmark. They get high at work so often or steal all the time to the point where it prevents them from putting away cards and asking cusotmers for their gold crown card.
The job isn't bad though, it is your basic retail job. Stocking, inventory and working the register. I am still trying to get returns down but to be honest, they are a little more tricky than just pressing the amount and giving people their change. I was trained in about 20 minutes and have needed very little training since, except for figuring out how to do gift cards. Just a note people, don't get gift cards at any hallmark I work at or I will be forced to punch you in the face and/or crotch. I hate doing them that much.
Just a random thought: I am listening to "Come On Eileen" by Dexy's Midnight Runners and after discovering the lead singer became a transexual techo singer later in his life I realize that I like the song just as much. It is a lot like Gary Glitter being a huge pedophile but stadiums still blasting the Hey! Song all the time anyways. Does the way a musician conduct himself in public or how radically they change their image effect their previous work? I tend to think not for a few reasons, the first being the role of the listener. With any artform people tend to make certain songs, movies or paintings and link them to personal feelings, moments or even day dreams. When we hear a song we link, we link to a time, place and feeling, and no matter how ridiculous the artist may be after that time period we still hold the song above the artist. The song is not a reflection of the artists whole life, just a time and place. You can enjoy a song even if it was done by a psycho, bathroom camera lovin chuck berry or tortured elliott smith. My second point is that music tends to last longer than those that created the music. Look at the man who epitomizes classical music: Beethoven. Beethoven was an asshole who was downright mean to many people, only went after married women and contemplated suicide constantly because of his deafness. Regardless of this reputation though he is held as a musical genuis whose work has been constantly imitated, played, revered and loved for hundreds of years. The fact that his personality and demeanor was absolutely vile had no effect on his musical work. Long after he was dead his music was re-discovered generation after generation, there was no longer any memory of beethoven's life, just his musical legacy. The music eventually overcomes the way a person lived their life and that facinates me. The music lives on even as the creator is slowly forgotten.
That's it for today folks, later.
So to pay my bills and rent I have picked up a job at Hallmark greeting cards, which has the most insane personality test I have ever taken. I don't know if psychos have a history of applying at hallmark but this test was absurd. 180 questions on your personality, including about 50 on if you steal all the time or get high at work. One question actually asked if you had ever lied in your entire life...OF COURSE I FUCKING HAVE. I have already lied 4 times on this test before that question! I actually didn't though...it was the first personality test I took where I was honest the whole time and I still came out with flying colors. It is amazing some people actually fail this test and are barred from working at Hallmark. They get high at work so often or steal all the time to the point where it prevents them from putting away cards and asking cusotmers for their gold crown card.
The job isn't bad though, it is your basic retail job. Stocking, inventory and working the register. I am still trying to get returns down but to be honest, they are a little more tricky than just pressing the amount and giving people their change. I was trained in about 20 minutes and have needed very little training since, except for figuring out how to do gift cards. Just a note people, don't get gift cards at any hallmark I work at or I will be forced to punch you in the face and/or crotch. I hate doing them that much.
Just a random thought: I am listening to "Come On Eileen" by Dexy's Midnight Runners and after discovering the lead singer became a transexual techo singer later in his life I realize that I like the song just as much. It is a lot like Gary Glitter being a huge pedophile but stadiums still blasting the Hey! Song all the time anyways. Does the way a musician conduct himself in public or how radically they change their image effect their previous work? I tend to think not for a few reasons, the first being the role of the listener. With any artform people tend to make certain songs, movies or paintings and link them to personal feelings, moments or even day dreams. When we hear a song we link, we link to a time, place and feeling, and no matter how ridiculous the artist may be after that time period we still hold the song above the artist. The song is not a reflection of the artists whole life, just a time and place. You can enjoy a song even if it was done by a psycho, bathroom camera lovin chuck berry or tortured elliott smith. My second point is that music tends to last longer than those that created the music. Look at the man who epitomizes classical music: Beethoven. Beethoven was an asshole who was downright mean to many people, only went after married women and contemplated suicide constantly because of his deafness. Regardless of this reputation though he is held as a musical genuis whose work has been constantly imitated, played, revered and loved for hundreds of years. The fact that his personality and demeanor was absolutely vile had no effect on his musical work. Long after he was dead his music was re-discovered generation after generation, there was no longer any memory of beethoven's life, just his musical legacy. The music eventually overcomes the way a person lived their life and that facinates me. The music lives on even as the creator is slowly forgotten.
That's it for today folks, later.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Look What I Found
I never thought I would be writing in a blog again but here I am, opening up a new one after a year away from the online bitchfest that is blogging. I was looking through my old blogs out of curiosity and found that the tone I was presenting was not what I had originally intended. I was vague, very moody and I just couldn't stop bitching about things that couldn't have possibly been important. I found that my second, private blog was a little better put together and had a tone that I really enjoyed.
It was only when I had to try and convey a thought using song lyrics and vague language in my public blog that things got a little cliched and ridiculous. I look back and just kind of cringe at what I was trying to do, like watching a home video of yourself pretending to be a ninja at your 5th birthday party. You had the ninja clothing, the fake katanas and throwing stars but your little high pitched "YEEEAAAHHHHH's" and jerking arm movements weren't going to fool anyone. I was going for something which I assumed was serious but was really immature and kind of desperate. I might as well have been posting "LOOK AT ME, I HAVE FEELINGS" over and over for 2 years.
Still, I do not regret writing in the blog. It was a good way to release stress and try to vent my frustrations. It is unfortunate that my posts were almost always downers, as I felt no need to write about good things in my life. For a time in my life I really believed that expression meant being heartbroken and dejected, that art could really only be expressed in pain. I found that I was wrong, reeeeeal fucking wrong. I do not regret the things I wrote, only that they told half the story and that I can't recall so many good things that occured during that time period.
So that is why I am here, I am going to give this the old college try once again. I may not post all the time but if I have a free moment I will try to keep you guys updated on my life. Plus writing here gives me a narcassitic pleasure that all bloggers feel when people read about their lives, which is a nice bonus! (Please don't take that last statement seriously, I am an asshole but not an arrogant one).
Now that I have that out of the way let's catch up a bit:
I now live in an apartment with one Erica Sibley, who was away in Europe this past school year. She came back a little more British but otherwise still resembles Jordan from the TV show Scrubs...and I mean that in a good way. So far we haven't killed each other or eaten too much food that the other bought, which is fantastic. I kind of like our little apartment in Lawrenceville, it is safe and close to TCNJ plus it has a pool and tennis courts. This is especially good because I never play tennis and rarely swim, so I can do both in front of my neighbors as they point and laugh. Embarassment starts out incredibly bad but in time your most embarassing moments become your best stories, so I welcome them every so often.
I also finished up an internship at MSG Network which was one of the best experiences in my life. The things I saw and were able to take part in make me proud of my time there and because I am sure most of you have heard my MSG stories before I will do a condensed verion. I got to see Ranger games, work with producers, produce a segment, do graphics, travel around NYC, got on TV a few times, hung out in the locker rooms and of course got a toasted everything bagel with turkey bacon, one slice of cheddar cheese and 2 eggs for producer Paula McHale almost every gameday. I loved Paula, so I didn't mind. Oh, and Henrik Lundqvist smacked me in the face with his sweaty ass jersey after my first Rangers game...it wasn't as cool as you would think.
I now work as a research assistant at TCNJ, working with two highly regarded professors on a new methodology in studying African Newspaper Coverage of AIDS in Africa using the Community Structure Approach. This project is also known as "I wish I knew what these two genuises were talking about, I guess I will just read articles and hope for the best." Honestly though, I get most of what they are saying but the new methodology needs to have the kinks worked out. As of now we are kind of blindly reaching around trying to grasp at a concept that is very large and complicated. When we get it down though it should be an amazing new way to study newspaper coverage and will hopefully open up a totally new hybrid styling of research. Oh, if you were wondering about the name of my blog it comes from one of the professors I am working with who refers to his students as "Communication Commandos". That was the best I could come up with but I think it will do for now.
I also work at Hallmark...I'll talk about that a lot later. Retail is a beast and hell hath no fury like an 80 year old woman scorned by the wrong envelope for her greeting card. I also work with an ageless 88 year old woman named Dori who acts and seems younger than most people my age, I mean it when I say she is an inspiration. That and she has a wicked sense of humor that juxtaposes her small and frail frame, it creates amazing comedic moments.
I think that is about enough for now as far as the blog goes but I hope to be back sometime soon with some new stories and maybe even a few thoughts on general topics. Have a good one folks.
It was only when I had to try and convey a thought using song lyrics and vague language in my public blog that things got a little cliched and ridiculous. I look back and just kind of cringe at what I was trying to do, like watching a home video of yourself pretending to be a ninja at your 5th birthday party. You had the ninja clothing, the fake katanas and throwing stars but your little high pitched "YEEEAAAHHHHH's" and jerking arm movements weren't going to fool anyone. I was going for something which I assumed was serious but was really immature and kind of desperate. I might as well have been posting "LOOK AT ME, I HAVE FEELINGS" over and over for 2 years.
Still, I do not regret writing in the blog. It was a good way to release stress and try to vent my frustrations. It is unfortunate that my posts were almost always downers, as I felt no need to write about good things in my life. For a time in my life I really believed that expression meant being heartbroken and dejected, that art could really only be expressed in pain. I found that I was wrong, reeeeeal fucking wrong. I do not regret the things I wrote, only that they told half the story and that I can't recall so many good things that occured during that time period.
So that is why I am here, I am going to give this the old college try once again. I may not post all the time but if I have a free moment I will try to keep you guys updated on my life. Plus writing here gives me a narcassitic pleasure that all bloggers feel when people read about their lives, which is a nice bonus! (Please don't take that last statement seriously, I am an asshole but not an arrogant one).
Now that I have that out of the way let's catch up a bit:
I now live in an apartment with one Erica Sibley, who was away in Europe this past school year. She came back a little more British but otherwise still resembles Jordan from the TV show Scrubs...and I mean that in a good way. So far we haven't killed each other or eaten too much food that the other bought, which is fantastic. I kind of like our little apartment in Lawrenceville, it is safe and close to TCNJ plus it has a pool and tennis courts. This is especially good because I never play tennis and rarely swim, so I can do both in front of my neighbors as they point and laugh. Embarassment starts out incredibly bad but in time your most embarassing moments become your best stories, so I welcome them every so often.
I also finished up an internship at MSG Network which was one of the best experiences in my life. The things I saw and were able to take part in make me proud of my time there and because I am sure most of you have heard my MSG stories before I will do a condensed verion. I got to see Ranger games, work with producers, produce a segment, do graphics, travel around NYC, got on TV a few times, hung out in the locker rooms and of course got a toasted everything bagel with turkey bacon, one slice of cheddar cheese and 2 eggs for producer Paula McHale almost every gameday. I loved Paula, so I didn't mind. Oh, and Henrik Lundqvist smacked me in the face with his sweaty ass jersey after my first Rangers game...it wasn't as cool as you would think.
I now work as a research assistant at TCNJ, working with two highly regarded professors on a new methodology in studying African Newspaper Coverage of AIDS in Africa using the Community Structure Approach. This project is also known as "I wish I knew what these two genuises were talking about, I guess I will just read articles and hope for the best." Honestly though, I get most of what they are saying but the new methodology needs to have the kinks worked out. As of now we are kind of blindly reaching around trying to grasp at a concept that is very large and complicated. When we get it down though it should be an amazing new way to study newspaper coverage and will hopefully open up a totally new hybrid styling of research. Oh, if you were wondering about the name of my blog it comes from one of the professors I am working with who refers to his students as "Communication Commandos". That was the best I could come up with but I think it will do for now.
I also work at Hallmark...I'll talk about that a lot later. Retail is a beast and hell hath no fury like an 80 year old woman scorned by the wrong envelope for her greeting card. I also work with an ageless 88 year old woman named Dori who acts and seems younger than most people my age, I mean it when I say she is an inspiration. That and she has a wicked sense of humor that juxtaposes her small and frail frame, it creates amazing comedic moments.
I think that is about enough for now as far as the blog goes but I hope to be back sometime soon with some new stories and maybe even a few thoughts on general topics. Have a good one folks.
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