True Friendship

Are you tired of those sissy-ass "friendship" poems that always sound good, but never actually come close to reality? Well, here is a series of promises that actually speak of true friendship:

1. When you are sad -- I will help you get drunk and plot revenge against the sorry bastard who made you sad.

2. When you are blue -- I will try to dislodge whatever is choking you.

3. When you smile -- I will know you finally got laid.

4. When you are scared -- I will try to calm your nerves, unless it is something silly then I will rag on you about it every chance I get.

5. When you are worried -- I will tell you horrible stories about how much worse it could be until you quit whining.

6. When you are confused I will use little words.

7. When you are sick -- Stay the hell away from me until you are well again. I don't want whatever you have.

8. When you fall -- I will point and laugh at your clumsy ass, but then I will help you get up.

9. This is my oath..... I pledge it to the end. "Why? " you may ask; "because you are my friend".

I think this says it all!

How Open Minded Are You?

You Are 52% Open Minded

You are a very open minded person, but you're also well grounded.Tolerant and flexible, you appreciate most lifestyles and viewpoints.But you also know where you stand firm, and you can draw that line.You're open to considering every possibility - but in the end, you stand true to yourself.

How Open Minded Are You?

I find this terribly accurate! I wouldn't be surprised though if homophobic narrow-minded person disagrees with this statement.

But Your Honor...

For those of you that don't know by now, I am a HUGE movie and television buff. I have my favorite movies and shows...not to mention actors & actresses. A favorite cable television show of mine recently ended. One of the main actors from the show is now about to star in a new television series on FOX.

Of course, now they are really pushing this new show on his popularity. You see when he began on the cable series, he was virtually unknown. He had done a few plays and independent films, but nothing mainstream. He gained considerable amount of popularity (as did the show itself) as the cable series continued. By the time the show ended (five years later), people have taken considerable noticed of him.

It's really a testament to his talent. From virtual unknown to series star in 5 years is quite and accomplishment. However, now that this new series is about to start, these "new fans" have emerged. But, I am selfish. I don't want to share him with a new fandom. And several of my fellow fans from his cable show series feel the same way.

I need to find something else to obsess over. Cause you know when you start thinking like that, you know all obsessed and possessive, next thing you know you are following the actor/actress around, breaking into their residence and then standing up in court explaining to the judge how they belong with you and that you are NOT insane.

Decayed rebirth says, "That's not insane. It's just being a professional extreme fan." Either way, I don't want to be in jail next to Madonna's or Letterman's "professional extreme fan."

Da Hook Up

I bought an Ipod today. It was purchased through DA HOOK UP. You see I had been casually eyeing a few Ipods for a while now. Well, today I was approached by a co-worker that happened to ask me if I knew anyone interested in buying a game boy or an Ipod. She had DA HOOK UP. She explained that she bought a $600 camcorder from this same "connection" for only $300. It works great. She also bought a couple of game boys from them for her children. She had been really pleased.

The whole situation was surreal to me. I told my co-worker that all she needed was a long trench coat or the trunk of her car open. "Pssst...yo...I got game boys...Ipods...camcorders. Tell me what'cha want and I can get it for ya'."

Now I have never bought from DA HOOK UP before. I didn't know all the rules. Luckily I am a fast learner. First of all, the less information you have the better. I mean you can ask about the quality of the product. But asking how, what, where the product came from...BIG NO-NO.

Secondly, cash is the expected form of payment. No questioning of checking funds or possible credit card mishaps. Plus the main advantage...no paper trail. I of course very rarely carry cash on me.

Third, no names are ever exchanged. And the more removed you are from the supplier, the better. I have no idea what is, where is, who is the connection from DA HOOK UP. So I cannot lie nor incriminate myself if ever questioned.

So after I found out how much they wanted, I chose a make and color. I promised to have my money the following day. Well, about 20 minutes later the Ipod appeared on my desk. Joe (a.k.a. gay boyfriend) came in and seemed interested in getting one himself. However, he is saving his money for his property taxes. So since his birthday is next Friday (June 30th) I decided to get him one for his birthday.

He wanted the exact same one I got. I approached my co-worker and asked for another one from DA HOOK UP. Another 20 minutes went by and I had my second Ipod. I ended up writing my co-worker a check and she was going to pay the "connection" in cash her self.

So now I am enjoying my Ipod, as is Joe. But while I was setting up the software on my PC and registering my Ipod, my computer system seemed to take awhile. I was afraid there for a second that the police were being contacted. I started peeking out my blinds looking for the cops. Yeah, I may be paranoid, but I have never done anything like this before.

So I got my 400+ songs added to my Ipod. And I really enjoyed what little I got to use of it today. Damn job always getting in the way!

Anyway, I told Joe, if we are ever questioned about our Ipods, we have no idea where they were purchased cause they were a gift. Hell, I got a good deal on these Ipods and I refuse to fuck up DA HOOK UP. You never know when I may need to use it again!

What Drug Is Your Personality Like?

Your Personality Is Like Cocaine

You're dynamic, brilliant, and alluring to those who don't know you. Hyper and full of energy, you're usually the last one to leave a party. Sometimes your sharp mind gets the better of you... you're a bit paranoid!

What Drug Is Your Personality Like?

The really sad thing is that this TOTALLY sounds like me! However I have NEVER done illegal drugs. The only ones I have abused are strictly legal...alcohol (although rarely), caffeine, sweets, fast foods... Now personally I feel Little Debbie Snacks should be illegal. That bitch has some deadly snacks! They are just too addictive not to be illegal.

Dilbert Lost His Fucking Mind

Dilbert lost his fucking mind today. He has been acting like a total ass the past couple of weeks but he got way out of hand today. The incident was bad enough for me to file a grievance with our union. Here is what I submitted (of course the real names have been changed):

On Monday, June 12, 2006 I was scheduled to attend a 10 AM crew meeting. About 15 minutes before the meeting was to begin, Dilbert left his desk turning over a stackline to Ms. S. About 5 minutes before 10 AM, Ms. S was looking for someone to monitor the bridge while she left her desk for a few minutes. She tried to turn the stackline over to me, but realized I was to attend this 10 o’clock meeting. She gave it over to another co-worker instead. I received a call from the ACD line and proceeded to handle the call. A different co-worker informed me that it was time to attend the meeting. She realized I was tied up on the phone, so she left me behind. At the same time, the co-worker that was monitoring the bridge, sent me a ‘q’ message asking me what the stackline was for. Ms. S failed to explain to her why she was monitoring the stackline. A few minutes later, while I was still on the phone and answering my co-worker’s question on the ‘q’, Dilbert came yelling down the aisle stating that 10 o’clock meant 10 o’clock and we needed to attend the meeting NOW. He was very unprofessional and rude. It turned out another co-worker scheduled to attend the meeting was also tied up on a call as well. Taking offense to his behavior, I responded that I was on the phone and he never starts his meetings on time. He responded that it did not matter and I needed to be in there NOW. When he walked away, several individuals in my crew commented on his behavior and stated that he had no right to speak to me or my co-worker that way. When I finally made it into the meeting, Dilbert never apologized for his behavior and had began the meeting without me.

Incidents like this make for a very hostile work environment. Our crew is constantly reminded of disciplinary actions to be taken if we do not thoroughly and correctly handle the job tasks assigned. Dilbert reminds us that we are a high profile crew and we cannot afford to make unnecessary mistakes. Being yelled at while I am trying to do my job is not a help to prevent such mistakes from occuring.

And they wonder why so many people are going out on stress? We have let entirely too much go by with regards to Dilbert's behavior and business practices. Enough is enough.

I sent an email to his boss requesting a meeting with him for our entire crew. He has yet to respond. Just another thing to add to the list of ridiculous within my job!

Oliver...The Great Bird Hunter

Earlier tonight I let Oliver out onto the patio. He likes to roam the streets and terrorize the neighborhood every night. Fine by me as long as he comes home in one piece. Besides he is cooped up all day in this tiny apartment so he needs a little room to breathe.

Anyway, I let Oliver out and decided to watch one of the movies I rented from Netflix. I only have the DVD player working in my bedroom right now since I have not figured out how to hook up the DVD player with the new cable box.

So I settled on the bed to begin watching Secondhand Lions. About five minutes into the movie I see Oliver pass by the patio window with something hanging out of his mouth. When I figured out what it could possibly be, I ran out onto the patio to investigate. Afterwards I came in and instant messaged Joe (a.k.a. gay boyfriend) about what had happened.

Camlaw: OH SHIT!
JOE: What?
Camlaw: Ollie just came home with a bird in his mouth
Camlaw: BIRD FLU!
JOE: yuk
JOE: lol
JOE: he a hunter
Camlaw: I just went outside and it is still alive....Ollie dropped it out of his mouth, it tried to escape & Ollie attacked it again....
JOE: thats your bounty....he brings that home to please you
Camlaw: I finally chased him away from the birdie so it can escape and then, chased Ollie into the house with the broom
JOE: he hunts for the family and you are part of his family
Camlaw: I tried to find the birdie to let him escape....but I think he already found an escape hole through the shitty porch fence.
Camlaw: I then came in the house to yell at Ollie but he took off back outside looking for the birdie again
Camlaw: I just went to look at him and I guess he gave up. He is just laying there. I let him in & asked him why he did that to the birdie? That birdie did nothing to him. Now if the bird shit on my car, he's fair game though.

And I mean it too. Them fucking birds have been using my car as a potty for too long. And you know it is just fucking up the paint on my car.

We never saw the little birdie again. He was a baby bird. Well, I guess more of a teenager bird really. I hope he escaped unharmed and lives to tell all his little friends about me saving his life and not to shit on my car in appreciation. That would be awesome!

FUCK Target Visa!

Once upon a time I had a Target Store credit card. I used to shop a lot at Target cause it was so close to my job. It started out with a meager limit, but it was enough to buy the few things I always purchased there. A couple of years later, I received a Target Visa card in the mail. This replaced my Target Store card and allowed me to use the card at any store...not just Target. At the time I thought Target Visas were replacing all the Target Store cards. I didn't realize that I was just automatically upgraded to a visa card.

Anyway, as time passed, my limit was increased and I used my card with no qualms or concerns. I was actually planning on keeping it when I paid off all my other credit cards. However a couple of months back, everything changed.

I was making payments every paycheck (i.e. every two weeks) on all my credit card bills. Basically, just trying to eliminate most of my debt as soon as possible. I haven't given up on the idea of buying my own house some day. So, I'm making sure my credit is as good as it can be before I finally take the plunge.

Anyway, when I bought the Honda in February, I ended up skipping one paycheck payment to Target Visa. I figured I could afford to since I had been making such big payments and had made a payment just 2 weeks before. Well, the next statement had a late fee assessed on it. I immediately called them up to questioned what the fuck the fee was for.

They said that although I did technically pay them for the month of February, it showed up on the 5th of the month which is also the day they print the new statements. So it was processed as a 3rd payment in January instead of any payment in February. I was livid! I then asked about all those previously over-payments I had made in the past several months. Didn't those count towards future payments? I mean if the minimum payment is $20 and I am paying $100 a paycheck (roughly $200 a month) doesn't that cover any possible missed payments? NOPE!

It seems no matter what you paid the month the before, you still have to pay the minimum $20 monthly payment if you have an outstanding balance with them. So in my case, the past few months I had roughly paid them $1800, but that didn't matter since I still had an outstanding balance of like $500. I have never had a credit card that didn't apply over-payments towards future monthly payments.

They took the late fee off my bill stating it was a one time only deal and they normally never remove their late fees. WHATEVER! I decided right then and there to get rid of that card. I knew within a couple of paychecks I would have the damn thing completely paid off. Then I could close the bitch.

Last week I looked online at the remaining balance. It was low enough for me to go ahead and pay it off. I immediately wrote out the check and dropped it in the mail the next morning. That night I sat here and cut the card up into tiny little pieces. It looked like plastic confetti. I felt so liberated.

Well, today was payday for me. I have direct deposit so I looked at my bank account online to make sure my check was deposited. I then looked at all my cleared transactions and saw my Target Visa payment had cleared. I was so excited! I called them up to close out my account. Upon entering all my damn information into the automated system, it told me I had a balance of $5.06. I then pressed the necessary numbers to get to a person to close my account.

The guy offered to lower my limit (that was never a problem) to keep my card. He never mentioned lowering my interest though, not that it would have mattered. He tried to bribe me by offereing to give me the remaining 500 points I needed to get 10% off an entire purchase made at Target. NOT INTERESTED!

Finally he went ahead and closed my account. I asked him about the $5.06 balance remaining. He said it was accrued interest from the 5th of June and refused to remove it. I was beyond livid. I informed him this was just another reason why I was closing my fucking account.

So I wrote out another damn check to Target Visa for $5.06. If I wasn't trying so desperately to raise my credit score, I would have blown it off. Joe (a.k.a. gay boyfriend) said they got me coming and going. He asked me to just imagine how many other people they do shit like this too. Just one million people would equal $5 million. I was just sick.

So I am on here to warn others. STAY AWAY FROM TARGET VISA! They are sneaky and conniving and don't give a fuck about their customers. FUCK Target Visa!

Thin Skinned Co-Workers

For those of you that don't know, I work for a very large telephone corporation. The department I work in is a high profile one. My crew's job functions are heavily scrutinized by several upper level managers in various other departments. Things we do can determine whether or not we are fined by the government. My job can be very stressful at times...especially when mistakes are made and management is looking to discipline employees for those mistakes.

Several of us in the crew try to look out for one another. We feel it is better that we catch any errors or missed items and correct them before management does. If the manager finds missed items or mistakes he is more likely going to add it to your performance review which can ultimately get you fired.

Now we have this company only instant message program that is for "company use" only. Of course, a lot of us chat on there about non-company related things to one another in various departments. The messages are "monitored" so you have to be careful with what you do or say. It's pretty much that way with any corporation these days where computer related activities are concerned.

The company instant messenger pretty much works like any other instant messenger program. For instance, we have the capability to be in a group chat room to talk with a group of people at once instead of having various private chats going on continuously throughout the day. It works great for wanting to tell everyone at once a piece of information or to ask a question that anyone can answer. My crew has a group chat room we go into daily where we talk to one another about various daily issues.

For instance, if I page someone and then need to leave my desk for a few minutes before they call back, I can type in the group chat room that, "I paged so and so for information regarding such and such." If so and so finally returns my page and I'm either away from my desk or tied up on the other line, one of my co-workers can handle the call for me. It also works to ask who was handling an item, who paged a manager, how do we handle a certain situation, etc. We had to implement this group chat room feature because too many people in other crews complained about us shouting across the room to one another.

So anyway, today I was handling an issue and in the process stumbled across some thing that needed to be handled. I went to our group chat room and said (Due to the sensitivity of my job, I have removed the names of the various work items mentioned):

Camlaw(09:55:41): Need someone to update %&*^ #@* report for ??? ><+=.

Next thing I know, I receive this private instant message from Dilbert:

Dilbert(10:01:35): Camlaw,
Dilbert(10:02:56): let me know when something is not performed and I will handle...I do not want friction in the crew, but I will need to handle the situation...ok?
Camlaw(10:03:29): OK....are people getting offended cause I happen to mention stuff?
Camlaw(10:08:31): I was trying to figure out about that $#*&)% incident which end up being &^%$#@. As I was correcting my error, I stumbled upon items sitting in the work pool without the *&^$##@%^#. When I went to correct those, I found duplicate items. And then the >+=< with the (*&%^ on it, did not have a &^%$ on it. So I added the &^%$ and added it on the existing %&*^ #@* report. That is when I discovered NOTHING in the %&*^ #@* report notes. I added the initial information I could find.....then I put in the group chat room that the %&*^ #@* report needed to be addressed.
Dilbert(10:10:21): yeah...sometimes it is the way we say things or folks takes offense no matter who says it...but I need to make sure that they are doing their jobs
Camlaw(10:11:15): OK...then I guess every time I need to correct something I need to tattle to you about it?
Dilbert(10:11:38): I guess that is going to be the best...

I don't want to be a fucking tattle tale. Whoever was offended needed to talk to me about it. I was trying to be nice and say something before management does. Bunch of whiney ass mother fuckers! And I know someone was upset about my initial message. I heard Dilbert take a call at his desk and explain that is was me that typed that message in the group chat room before he instant messenged me. Hell, it is not like I went in there and said, "Looky here dumbass! You need to do your damn job and update this report!" If they were offended by that simple little message I did leave, then they are too thin skinned for our crew. Needless to say, I was pissed for the rest of the morning over this incident.

By lunch time, I had significantly calmed down. I had pretty much figured out who the whiner was and decided that their problem is that they're too lazy to do their job and they hate to be told that they need to do it. Unfortunately, my calmed state was only temporary.

When I returned to my desk after lunch, another co-worker told me that a manager from a different department called looking for my manager to complain about me not updating the %&*^ #@* report for ??? ><+=. Ms. S shows to be the manager I report to, but everyone in my crew reports to both Dilbert and Ms. S. Ms. S was on vacation today, so they called the main number to complain about me. Anyway, I told my co-worker to tell Dilbert about the call because that was the same item I addressed earlier in the group chat room and got in trouble over. Of course, I shouted this across the room loud enough for Dilbert to hear me.

And what really irritates me is that Dilbert said he wanted to know who was not doing their jobs. Well, I told him that the report had not been updated like it was supposed to be hours earlier. He did not bother to "handle" it then like he should have and hours later it became an issue. DUMB ASS!

So Dilbert eventually ended up calling the person responsible for keeping up with that report (the same person I suspect had complained about me) and I hope to hell he put that down on their performance review. Here I was trying to help them out, prevent something from becoming an issue and they turned it into one anyway....and even more so later when another department manager called to complain.

Now I am not one to want anyone to get in trouble, but I feel this idiot deserves it for not appreciating my help and trying to get me in trouble over it. It is days like this that really make me hate the people I work with.

Update: Overly Generous or Just Plain Stupid

Well, a miracle has finally occurred. The maintenance man paid me most of the money he still owed me on the Tracer. I say most because he did not pay me the $55 for renewing the plates. I am not gonna pitch a fit for the last $55. I am just glad I got the amount he still owed me for just the car itself.

He claims the reason for the payment delay is because the car is not working. The car supposedly died after he drove it for a week. Something about the first & fourth pistons being bad due to a bad repair on the timing belt. That the seals were missing or some such nonsense causing water to get into the pistons and messing them up. So he has been paying a mechanic to fix it. He has currently spent $700 towards the repairs. I was shocked! The car was fine when I had it.

Of course then I could not find the title to the car! So I called the Department of Transportation and they informed me that Ford still showed to have a lien against it. You see what Ford does is when you pay your car off, they give you the title with a notarized letter included stating that there is no longer a lien against the vehicle. Then you are responsible for going down and getting the title changed in to your name. Most people don't realize this and just put the title and letter in a drawer or something and forget all about it. So the clerk instructed me contact Ford Credit and have them send me another notarized letter. Luckily they happen to be down the street from me so I got the letter the other day.

Today I drove down to the Department of Transportation office after work. I filled out a form requesting a title copy. I took my little number and sat and waited. About 30 minutes later my number was called. I filled out a missing part on the form. Then 10 minutes later I paid $5.40 and walked out with a copy of the title in my hands. Now all that is left is me and the maintenance man going down there together to have the title transferred into his name. Then I will officially be done with this ongoing nightmare.

Of course now the obstacle is organizing a time when we both can go down there.

Interpreting Dreams

You ever try to interpret your dreams? Some people believe that dreams mean nothing while other dedicate their whole lives to defining their meanings. I have never really been into psychology believe it or not, but sometimes my dreams are so vivid and demanding that I have to figure out why I have them.

I have these dreams where I am SOOOOO angry. In this one repetitive dream, I gave up this great apartment to live with my mother and help her out. Then I become stuck. I no longer have the ability to live on my own. I think because of finances and stuff. I am just livid about my situation. And it appears that my mother does not appreciate my efforts.

Anger:
To dream that you are holding or expressing anger, symbolizes frustrations and disappointments in your Self. You tend to repress your negative emotions or project your anger onto others. You need to look within yourself.

Being angry in your dream may have been carried over from your waking life. Dreams can function as a safe outlet where you can express your strong and/or negative emotions. You have some suppressed anger and aggression that you have not consciously acknowledged.

Mother:
To dream that you are having a conversation with your mother, denotes a matter that has preoccupied your mind and you are not sure how to deal with it in your waking life. It indicates unresolved problems that still need to be worked out with your mother.

I also have these recurring "theme" dreams too. There is one where I am in high school and I hate it. I skip classes all the time and am failing. I thought maybe I was channeling my little sister, but now I am beginning to wonder.

School:
To dream that you are in school, signifies feelings of inadequacy and childhood insecurities that have never been resolved. It may relate to anxieties about performance and abilities. You may also be going through a "spiritual learning" experience. If you are still is school and dream about school, then it will naturally serve as a backdrop to your dream world. Alternatively, a dream that takes place in school may be a metaphor for lessons that you are learning from your waking life.

Today, I had a bad dream when I took my old man nap. In the dream, I was living with my mother and 3 other girls. One was my sister and the other 2 were these Asian girls I roomed with in college. My mother killed this guy trying to be her boyfriend. My sister and I disposed of his body for her. Then she started seeing this other guy and I could not stand him. I decided to go to the police and turn us all in. I wanted to move out, but I had no place to go.

I was at the apartment alone. I had begged this detective to come over and take my statement before my mother came home. They kept telling me they would come over tomorrow. Then my mother came home and was planning on stopping me by killing me. I ran away before she could do anything. I immediately woke up and had to find out what this dream meant.

Murder:
To dream that you have committed a murder, indicates that you are putting an end to an old habit and your former ways of thinking. This could also mean an end to an addiction. Alternatively, you may have some repressed aggression or rage at yourself or at others.

To dream that you witness a murder, indicates deep-seated anger towards somebody. Consider how the victim represents aspects of yourself that you want to destroy or eliminate. To dream that you are murdered, suggests that some important and significant relationship has been severed and you are trying to disconnect yourself from your emotions. It also represents your unused talents. Note also that dreams of murder occur frequently during periods of depression.

Crime:
To dream that you or someone commits a crime, represents feelings of guilt and shame. Your inner fears are hindering your growth and progress.

Argument:
To dream that you are arguing, suggests that you are trying to resolve some internal conflict or some unsettled issue in your waking life. Consider the symbolism of whom you are arguing with and what you are arguing about. How does he or she reflect some person or soma aspect of yourself in your waking life?

Frustration:
To dream that you feel frustrated, represents your difficulty in coping with a situation in your daily life. It may reflect your concerns that your life is not going in the direction you want.

Gee, seems to be a recurring theme here huh? Joe (a.k.a. gay boyfriend) says I have, "Issues issues issues ." That it "sounds like you got to deal with them." How the fuck do I do that? "Slow and steady," he replies. I probably need massive amounts of therapy. Like I can afford that right now! So this is going to have to be my therapy. It's cheap. Plus I don't have to make any appointments. It all revolves around me. Can't beat that.