Tired...

Hello again faithfull readers! Sorry for my lack of updates, I have been really busy with work. But as if that statement didn't give it away I have finally started work. Last Tuesday was my frist day, and I worked all week until Sunday when I had a day off, I also worked today. So far I am really enjoying working at Sharks. The hours are much longer then I expected (read that as twelve hour days instead of eight) but so far I am ok with that. We are pretty busy most of the day so the time goes by quickly, plus since I am a manager there is always something for me to do. There are a few little things that I don't like (mostly people) but they are few and not that big of a deal. Also there are a couple of girls there that are pretty cute, except of course that I can't date any of them since I am a manager...oh well. So as I said before so far so good.

My A/C finally got fixed last week, Wednesday I think. (big thanks to Eric for coming over and staying while the A/C guy was here so I could get to work on time) It is so nice to be able to sleep confortably at home again. Also the landlord said he would help with the hotel bill which is great since I really didn't have that money to spend on that.

In case anyone doesn't know Dragon Con is in only three days! I am finally starting to get excited. I am a bit nurvous about money but that is pretty normal for me right before a con. Since I don't really plan on buying anything it shouldn't really cost me that much. I am aware that I don't have to plan on buying things to end up buying shit, but at least I am not planning on buying a new two hundred dollar kilt like the last three years.

I know it is a bit late but I did go see a new movie last week.

Superbad: Let me just say, it was really funny. I think it will really speak to any one who wasn't one of the "cool kids" in high school in the last two decades or so. The two main stars of the flick gave great performances along with a decent supporting cast. The only guys who were a bit of a let down, and it is a small one, were the guys who play the cops. They wern't as funny as I expected them to be. But all in all it was very funny. A-

Well kidos that is all for now. I will try to update again before I leave for Dragon Con but if not...Oh well! But at least you can expect a decent sized one when I get back since I am sure I will have lots of good stories from the con.

Oh one last thing, I finally got around to finishing my all metal Boba Fett Pre-pro2 flamethrower to replace my resin one that broke on me. It will be with me at Dragon Con so check it out there!

I am melting...

AHHHH so hot! Ok so here is the deal, my god damn airconditioning has broken by little to no fault of my own (so says the repair guy). It is almost ninty degrees in here and I can't sleep. Yesterday I had to go stay at a hotel just so I could get some sleep. I am thinking about doing the same tonight since I start work tomorrow and I really need to get a full nights sleep before hand. It looks like at the earliest it won't be fixed until fucking Wednesday, and that is just nuts. I can't really afford to spend at least two more nights in a hotel. I wonder if I could get my landlord to pay for the hotel since my condo is pretty much unlivable... I think I am going to ask him, worst he can say is no.

Well I am too tired to continue typeing and I am going to the hotel.

Work....

Hello again folks. I am back. Miss me? I am sure you did. Well today was my first day of "work" at Sea World. I had orientation all day. Like most places this ment several hours going over company mission statements, policys, and what not. And like most places this had one of my favorite things that man has ever created...the sexual harrassment video. I am sure if you have had a job in the last decade you have seen one of these fantastic short films, hell you probally have seen one of the ones that I have since I believe there are only about five of them out there. Now I am sure you are saying "Now Mark, that is just crazy talk! First how could there only be five of these videos? Next the last one I saw looked like it was made in the seventys, how could you like it?" Well kids it's not crazy talk, unless a company makes their own in house videos on sexual harrassment, then they go to an outside company to get one. Well I doubt there is a lot of competition in the sexual harrassment video world, so that is how there is only five or so of these gems out there. To answer your next question, I love these films because they are so totally, outragessly aweful, and dated. I guess it's sort of like a car wreak, it's aweful but you just can't help but look. Well for me it has actually gone one step beyond, not only do I look but I actaully enjoy them! Well Sea World had one that I had actually never seen before, it was designed espically for theme parks (read that as the guy talking was sitting in a non-descript theme park and the situations were also in a theme park, but it really didn't matter). This of course excited me, since I hadn't seen this one before it was all new and exciting for me. This one also had one of the few diamonds in the rough that you don't see often...the woman sexually harrassing a man! Well now that I have shared my love for crappy videos I can go on about the rest of the day. I got to meet some new people, including one cute girl who is working in a gift shop in the park (thou no one seems t0 know where this store actually is) and she seemed at least mildly interested in me. She said she is going to come visit me at work often, which if it actually happens would be great, because she is cute. In the afternoon we got to go behind the scenes to talk to one of the zoological people which while I noticed most people seemed bored with I found actually interesting. He showed us a hand full of holding tanks in the back with some manatees in them, and two others with a bunch of dolphins in them. He then took us into the park and to where guests can feed the dolphins up close, and we got to feed and pet them with out paying for the food, or fighting with large non-english speaking tourists to do so. I really enjoyed that. Several people got splashed, which I also found amusing (yes I am one of those people who delights in the misery of others, get over it.) But the highlight of the day, was lunch. We ate in the main employee gril thing, where the food was very inexpensive, and actually not bad. It isn't as good as the Universal grill, but is was good none the less. But, and here is why this was the highlight, they have free soda, all day every day, and they have.....wait for it.....MT. DEW!!!!! I am excited, now I can drink as much of that yellow-green nectar of the gods as I want for FREE! The entire park is a Pepsi park, so that means Dew everywhere. I have to go back on Sunday for my orientation with the F&B people and then I guess I will get my real schedule then.

I am sure most of you know by now, but incase you didn't in less then two weeks one of the years greatest events happens. Dragon Con in Atlanta! This is the one convention I look forward to all year, don't get me wrong Mega-Con and FX show are ok, hell FX is getting better every year, but they have nothing on Dragon Con. See shows like Mega-Con and FX are basically just dealers rooms filled with nerds. Mega-Con espically has moved more and more away from my interests (they are getting more and more anime shit, and I hate anime), FX holds my interest but it is just a place to buy stuff. But then there is Dragon Con, D*C (as it is often abbrievated) of course has a couple of dealers rooms, and the usual assortment of anime nerds, and the smelly gaming freaks like all cons, but D*C has some stuff that no other con can match. For one most cons end around five or six, I know people who don't think Dragon starts until seven or eight at night. At D*C there is something going on twenty four hours a day for four days. See most cons are held in convention centers, where as Dragon is held in three hotels (it's that big) so the party doesn't have to stop just because it is getting dark. That means you can get drunk as all hell, and just stumble back to your hotel room vs. driving somewhere. Also Dragon has a much more diverse group of people then most other cons, at Mega you will find mostly anime nerds, FX: toy collectors, but Dragon you get everything! Pirates, anime nerds, Star Wars, Star Trek, Aliens, Predators, Lord of the rings, chicks in coresets, you name it! And as I mentioned before, the real action doesn't start until the sun sets. Once it is dark everyone finds their way to the Hyatt's lobby bar area. This is where the party happens. Also at night people bring out their more risque "costumes" (read that as underware or duct tape being called a costume) and this of course is fantastic. The booze flows, and people get really, really drunk. Last year, while searching for "the whore bag" at four thrity in the AM I found a rave that was going on, and going strong. And normally I am not a rave sort of guy, but let me tell you, I saw things in there that have made me decide that this year I will be going to the rave! Also a huge draw for me is that lots of people come from all over the place to go to Dragon. That means that I get to see friends that I might only get to see once a year but talk to online a lot. This year is espically important because my friend Scott is going to be there, and right after the con he is being shipped off to Iraq. And last but certainly not least is that at Dragon Con there is a Droid Hunt! (actually the first Droid Hunt was held at D*C and I have played in every single one of them since) Of couse we have nearly our entire team from CIV (except the amazing Stewart and his wife Miko), and we have several years of D*C hunts under our belts, and we want to add a fourth title to our list. I am really looking forward to this hunt, and of course winning it! So if you don't know anything about Dragon, and reading the above hasn't convinced you go check out www.dragoncon.org to see more!

I have a short rant for you cats and kittens today, and it is actually about my damn kitten! As some of you know I have a sizeable Sideshow Toys colleciton of the Friday the Thirteenth twelve inch Jason figures. Well since Jason is mainly known for using a machate several of them hold one. Well one in paticular (the part six Jason) has a severed human arm holding a machate that Jason holds. Now this severed arm doesn't have a tight grip on the machate so it comes out very easily. Well I guess my dumb ass cat has figured this out, and now she gets on my damn desk, and seeks out this stupid thing! Every day I come home and that arm is missing the machete, and I find it across the house. Well a day or so ago I got tired of trying to find it so I super glued it in place. You think that stopped the cat?? Nope. I get up to find it in the kitchen sans arm. Meaning she broke the glue and got away with it. Now it wouldn't be a big deal if she wasn't chewing on the damn thing and leaving little tooth marks in it. Also I worry that she will take it, and put it under the stove or refridgerator and I will never see it again. I alreday know that there are parts to some random other figure under the stove. So today's plan is that I took some hot sauce (Tobasco brand Chipotle sauce) and rubbed it all over the blade of the thing. Hopefully the smell, and resulting taste will teach the cat not to play with it. I think I am also going to try to glue it again, that way she really has to bite it (thus tasting the sauce more) to get it off. DAMN CAT!

Well I am pretty much out of shit to talk about. Tomorrow I am going to Dave's house agian. I don't really have anything to do over there but I like going so who cares. I do think I will take my Jango bucket with me, as I need to sand off the blue paint on it. (I am repainting it with more accurate colors, and when I did the light blue reacted badly and bubbled up all over the place and needs to be sanded down). Dave has one of those nifty random orbital sanders, and I don't, and that thing will make short work of that paint. So until next time...eat more pie

Sequels...

Wow it has been like a full week since I posted last. Sorry. Well lots of stuff has happened. Were to begin, I guess I can fill in from where I left off last week. I tracked down my paycheck with little to no problem, got that cashed and promptly blew threw it. I got Randy's helmet painted with only minor problems. Basically with that, when I painted the red coat it ran like it stole something. The paint went on very very thin and I was putting it on too thick and it just ran all over the place. So after it dried I took it home and sanded out all the runs, the next night I adjusted the gun's spray pattern and the amount of paint it sprayed and recoated the helmet with out any problems. The next night it was time for the clear coat! Well I mixed up a batch of that stuff and went to town on it (once again playing with the adjustments on the gun to try to avoid the runs). It turned out really great, excpet for the massive run right on the face of the damn thing. Well the clear apparently takes much longer then all the other paints to dry so I left it at Eric's place overnight and went home. I came back the next day and sanded out the runs and re-coated it again. This time I had no problems and the clear coat looked GREAT! Up to this point I didn't really see what all the big deal was with the stupid automotive paints, it just seemed like a ton of extra work for little to no benifit over spray paints. Well the clear coat is where it's at! That makes all the difference in the world. Once it was dry it was glass smooth, and looks like the paint is still wet. I couldn't believe how great it came out. This weekend I took it over to Dave's house so he could install a visor in it, and Randy was coming to pick it up from Dave on Sunday. Well Dave and Garry both thought it looked fantastic and I talked to Randy today and he liked it too. I am so glad it came out well and was worth all that work. Hopefully in the future things will go smoother but even if not it was worth the effort.

Also on a painting note, since Garry was coming up to Orlando I had to finish his two beehive clone helmets for him. I wasn't really excited to do that, but I got them done and was pretty happy with how they came out. Garry picked them up on Saturday at Dave's and he seemed pretty happy with them as well, which was good because I really didn't want to repaint those damn things again. (I had painted one of them once alreday and it didn't come out well) While I was at Dave's Garry dropped off his son's clone trooper armor with me to paint. I have started working on it, but man I really don't want to work on it at all. I don't know why, probally because I hate clone armor now, but I hate this stuff so much I am actually working on it quickly just to get it out of my sight! I don't know if that is a bad thing or not but it seems to be getting the job done. I of course ran out of paint so that has slowed me down quite a bit...

Oh I forgot to mention, I ended up and got the job at Sea World. I am pretty happy about that as well. The pay kind of sucks, and I am sure it will be lots of hours but at least I might enjoy doing it. Plus I get two free cases of beer a month! Not that Budwiser makes any beer that I like but at least I will be the life of the party when I go to friend's houses. I start on this Friday with orientation.

Now you might be wondering about the title of this post: Sequels. Well that is because after I got my paycheck I went and saw a movie. Then on Friday I went and saw another one. Both movies were the third movie in a trilogy. I saw...

The Bourne Ultamatitum: Well I have really enjoyed the Bourne series so far, the second one wasn't quite as good as the first (but then again when are they??) so I had pretty high hopes for this one. Well it is pretty much more of the same that the last two have set you up for. Bourne still can't remember shit, people still want to mess with him, and he wants to beat them up for it. The action in this one is very good, like the last two, but like most new movies they try to out-do themselves. They succed in this aspect, the action in this one is..um..more actiony? I don't know how to describe it, the fight sequences are great, the car chases were good, and they blew something up. I could do without the shakey hand held camera durning the fight scenes but that seams to be the style latley I guess it makes you feel like you are in the fight too, personally I hate it I would prefer to be able to see what is going on but hey, that's just me. I won't ruin anything for anyone, but lets just say if you liked the last two go see this one. Oh I will mention that you should probally watch the second one right before you go see this one, as this one starts right at the end of the last one (at least I think it did) and it took me a few minutes to figure out what the hell was going on. (I hadn't seen the second one in a while) All in all: A

The other movie I went to see is also the third in a series and it would be:
Rush Hour 3 : This one is being panned by critics every where. Let me just say, did you like the last two Rush Hour movies? No? Then you will hate this one. Yes? Then you will probally like this one too. It's that simple. Nothing is really new in this series. Chris Tucker is still a loud mouth moron, and Jackie Chan is his hard to understand Chinese buddy who kicks ass. Want to see complicated plot and well drawn characters? GO SEE SOMETHING ELSE! Want to see Chris Tucker play the most stereotypical black guy ever? Want to see Jackie Chan do what he does best? Go see this. It was fun, it had a few good jokes, and the action was decent. Again nothing new here, but then again the last two movies did really well for them, why change the formula? All in all: B-

I guess that is all for now, I am going to go watch a pirated copy of Harry Potter that someone gave me (I won't mention names just incase someone is reading this). Actually no, I just remembered I am watching The Italian Job for the twentyith time, then I might watch Harry Potter.

Finally...

Welcome back Romans... today has started on a good note, well actually it started on a crap note ( I didn't sleep well last night for some reason, and then Garry called me while I was sleeping) but it got better. Seaworld finally called me back, and to my supprise with good news. They have decided to move to the next step with me, and no we aren't going to third base. They want me to come in for an interview with the VP of HR. As long as that interview goes well then I get the job. So I am excited. Today also marks round two of the "Randy's helmet fiasco". Hopefully I will be able to get some good work done on it, and all of my equipment won't be destroyed in the process. The guy who had me paint his Jango armor recieved it the other day, and was very happy with it. He even posted on TDH and others think it looks good, which is great.

A bit of weekend news, while talking with Randy and Angie a few weeks ago they mentioned that they would be interested in playing the Star Wars RPG. Since I had bought the core rule book for it years ago and never used it this was exciting for me. I really enjoy playing RPGs with friends as it is usually a good time of laughing and what not. Well I called Dave and asked him if he and the wife would be interested in it and he said yes, and suggested we play on Saturday. So with that new found excitment I called R&A and got them to go to Dave's house and we all played. I had the duty of being the GM (DM for all you D&D nerds out there) and had to come up with a story for them to play. Well I had like three days notice that we were going to go, and I was going to GM, and needed to make a story up. Did I? No. I waited until the night before at about midnight, to start working on it. I worked until two thirty in the AM before I was too tired to keep going, but I got a bit of story worked out. We all went to Dave's around nine in the AM, I say around because both R&A and I were late. Really Dave and Christine were the only ones who were on time and that is because they lived there. But in the end we all had a good time, I managed to kill everyone's characters at least once, some of them twice... and that was good times. R&A left around three or four and I ended up staying until nine at night. We just sat around shooting the shit, and playing video games, which Dave has an uncanny ability to lose to me at (even though I had never played the game, and he owns it).

I can't remember if I mentioned it here or not and I am too lazy to go look back and see, but I managed to fix my paintball gun, with out spending any money at all! I was very excited about that. I just posted on the www.fixmyangel.com boards and asked the master techs what they thought my gun's problem was, they suggested something, I tried it, and it worked. I guess that is why they are the master techs and I am not. Of course I still can't afford to go play, and Eric is still to lazy to get his gun fixed but I am happy to know that I could go play if I wanted to.

And while I am talking about paintball, plans are in the works for a hand full of us to go to Ocala to play in the Wayne's World "Grand Finale" on the weekend of my birthday in December. Right now it looks like it will be, Greg, Eric, Dave and I all going. The game is a twenty four hour game with playing spread out over one afternoon, evening, night, and the next morning with breaks inbetween. I went once several years ago and had a blast, and I was basically playing alone (I went with a couple of guys I didn't know and never saw them on the field). As long as at least Greg goes I know it will be a good time.

I am sorry to those of you who were looking forward to a new movie review, I am just way too broke to go to the movies right now.

I do have a new DVD review though (got to love Netflix). It is of the new (2003) Battlestar Galictica TV series. I had heard people talking about this one (much like Firefly) and saying how good it was. So I finally decided to watch it. (a note to anyone who wants to rent it, make sure you rent the mini-series before you rent season one, as the mini-series happens before the season one ep.1, it took me forever to figure that one out) I am really getting into this series, I have never seen a single epsiode of the original series and I don't really care to, but this series is pretty damn good. It's no Firefly but at least this one has a couple of seasons before it gets canceled. For any of you sci-fi fans out there I deffintally recommend picking this one up and giving it a watch. I am only on to the third disk in the series but so far so good. All in all: A-

Well kids that's all for now. I need to call the stupid Sheraton and track down a paycheck for those three days I worked. I might make an update post about how the painting goes later today.