After getting a new job and carrying on after the QMS fiasco, I decided to come back home to New Hartford for the holiday and spend some time with the family. I also got a call from an employer saying they’d like me to cover someone’s vacation the week after christmas (no capitals again) back in Utica. I figure, it will hold me over until my next job so I take it. So on Saturday I pack up V2, some business clothes, the tree my mother gave me, a week’s worth of food and some clothes and my bed sheets that need washing. Take the drive home and unpack the box, start some laundry and call some folks to see what’s going on. I head over to Josh’s, we pass the time and yap quite a bit. Was a good time then I head home and pass out. It’s christmas eve now, time to hang out with dad. After Thanksgiving I think things between us are better. We talk, they cook, Dee Dee comes by and we continue the festivities. Then we get down to gift-giving. I take guesses as what is in each box and I got all but one gift exactly right. I got more clothes which are the holiday staple for my family to give me, $200 in cash and another gift that was two gifts but more like one. I open the box and inside it was a “Staples Easy Buttonâ€. I thought it was seriously funny but what I didn’t notice in the box was a cutout from a catalogue showing an executive leather chair. Apparently he had purchased it after hearing about me looking for a new chair in Best Buy after my failure to buy a Wii. But he didn’t have it yet, it was being delivered. Jumping out of chronological order here, he got the chair, but the wrong one, so he’s hoping to get the right one today (Friday). It was good stuff for me, certainly functional and useful. The money will probably be spent on upcoming bills and related expenses, such as gas to get back to my apartment with. Then I crash again.
Fast forward to christmas morning. I get up, clean up then head to my mother’s for another round of the same thing. What I got from her was certainly less functional, but I thought it was still rather interesting to boot. First up were some bathroom products (Body wash, Shampoo, Conditioner, etc.) which I quip back with the joke: “What? Do I smell that bad?†We all thought that was good. I get a usual assortment of Lotto tickets which I scratch off to reveal winnings of $0. Eh, I’m usually the biggest winner from them, but I guess I have to have a year where I don’t rock the house in winnings. She also gives me the usual assortment of socks and underwear, but she got them in a size that was way too big for me. She’s also heard of my tea addiction and got me a tea kettle (already have one, gave it back), a teapot and some tea for them. Another big gift that brought back memories was a Lego Star Wars Sandcrawler. I hadn’t put together something like that in a good long time. And it was winding down to the final gift. I open it and inside it is a used Microsoft Xbox from EB Games. I thought, hey! I can play DoA, Halo and so on because I wanted one for a while. I was planning on purchasing an Xbox 360 for VG4 though. I shrugged that thought off and decided maybe I should inspect the contents. I lift up the box again and notice the weight felt funny, like it was all to one side. I as Derrick for his knife, then I open the box and my face went red. I’d been had. Badly. Inside it was not an Xbox or anything related to it, but what I had got was…
A Nintendo Wii.
I was owned and at the same time I was like, how in hell did she get one? She told me the story but asked me not to retell it for the manager could get in a lot of trouble. But I can say this part: It was in the used Xbox box as a way to protect my mother from getting attacked because finding a Wii in Utica is still very hard and she could get hurt from lugging one around. Before all this I had purchased a copy of Twilight Princess so when I got a Wii I’d have a copy of the game because they sold like hotcakes when Wiis come in. The only trouble I have now is my one controller. I picked it up and the thing is tiny. I mean, it fits in my hands comfortably, but it’s smaller than I was expecting. I decided I’d wait until I get back to my apartment before I play with it, so I put it back in the box, then back in the Xbox box. I had dinner that night, my mother’s homemade lasagna which is always very tasty. I had so much of it my stomach probably would of burst. Then I go home and crash again.
Day after christmas. Work for everyone. Including me. So I head into my job, it was/is very boring because by the time they teach me everything that I need to know about the job I’d have to say goodbye. So they have me do menial tasks that I already have knowledge about doing. Example, clean and organize the office, test and repair a couple printers and move some stuff around. Not too big a deal and I’m getting paid for it, so who am I to complain. I went to dinner with my Mother on Tuesday, made dinner for my Father on Wednesday then hung out with Josh Thursday to see how badly we could destroy each other in Guitar Hero II. On Friday I went home to try and relax. Get into my own bed, my own hardware and try to be myself again. I think I start the new job with The Sutherland Group on Monday, but I have to figure out how to get them a Drug Test next week. I haven’t figured that part out yet, but I think I’m going to try to squeeze that in Monday morning then just hand them the result of the test that afternoon.
On an unrelated note, school is still pretty rocking. I’m pretty nasty with my programming skills and my database engineering techniques seriously impress my database teacher.
Because of how things have been going lately with my cash, I couldn’t get anybody anything at the time because I need to stretch what I have. However, I have solidified what I’m getting everyone and I know I won’t be getting people stuff they already have or stuff they got from the holiday. Since they may read my blog, I’m not going to say what they’re getting, but I’m sure they will like what they get.
After writing this whole thing I’ve realized I’ve had a lot to say lately. I really have to do this more often.