I keep erasing everything here. It's all sort of pointless. Between injuring my back and being pushes to my limits at work....it's all pointless.

I have to step up. It's not about what I want anymore. Of course, it never really has been about me. Ever. Casual summer employment turns into a raging 38 hours and a single Thursday off. I can't complain, this is real life.

The next two weeks will test my limits. At least until the new people show up and I can take a week off. Maybe go to Whistler as tradition states or get lost in Seattle for a while with Staci and whoever she brings for deflection. My money is on Josh. Best to keep your friends close and your enemies even closer. At least in headbutt range if you have to drop him quickly.

You know, I invited her for a quick bite to eat after work last week and she ended up "inviting" Ashley and Britany along. It wasn't as bad as I thought...but Staci was expecting an ambush of sorts and she responded properly by bringing backup. I swear I wasn't planning an ambush. I just don't like Greek by myself.

Staci is on the island for a few days. This is another week of getting used to not working with her until she gets another job... 

I haven't had time for 40k and if I did, sitting in a hunched over position for more than 10 minutes is difficult at best. Mark has gotten his 40k fix whenever he can, whether that's practical models or the Dawn of War game. Which he described as pretty epic. The Guard are present during a fair number of the battles, but they'll turn tail in an instant unless a Commissar is present.  

I've used my Blood Money to buy a few movies...

Collateral:

Hate Tom Cruise, love this movie. Of course I do blame this film for making me think "Miami Vice" could be worth something. Also, it was reference in one of my script writing texts.

Blade Trinity:

Yes, I used to hate it. The more I watch it, the more I enjoy it as I get to pick up all those awesome Canadian bits....Ryan Reynold, Parker Posey and even Callum Keith Rennie. Ok, Parker Posey isn't Canadian, but she is the Indie Queen.

Serendipity:

Kate Beckinsale + John Cussak= Awesome. Awwww. Still not the best Christmas based romantic comedy(Love Actually FTW) but it comes close.

Guns of Navarone

I've seen most of it on the history channel, but it's about time I owned a solid Gregory Peck WWII movie. I just need "The Eagle has Landed" to round out my collection.

Saint is contacting me through the facebook IM interface. Everything has pretty much gone back to the way it was before. We're all a little crazy.

Done? Done...I have to work later...and Wednesday.

-Cleric 

I'll get ready for work in a little bit, meaning I have time to smash out something. Actually, at work now I have to come in street clothes and change into my work clothes just so I can force a psychological disconnect between me and my job. It stops me from bringing work problems home and bringing my own problems to work.

Of course, they're all slowly becoming one problem.

Remember my last inventory? I volunteered to pull a 11-7 Monday shift which lead into my midnight to eight inventory. This time, it's no longer my choice. Of course I'll do it, no questions asked. I'm a good solider and that's what a good solider does.

At least I get the Wednesday off...but really, that's a given after a Tuesday Inventory.  I really can't complain that much about the inventory. It's another eight paid hours to hang out with Staci.

But I'll get through it. I always do.

Thanks to the wonderful people in the Nicole deBoer Facebook group I have discovered she will appear in SEVERAL season five episodes of Stargate Atlantis as a "Cute and bookish" scientist. Meaning I'll get to see Joe Flanigan and Nicole deBoer in one show...Yay for me. That was actually the topic of a hypothetical "best TV Pairings" ever talk I had a work a while ago. So I win!

Season four comes out on DVD July 8th.

My back still isn't at 100%, but it'll have to be to pull off the inventory. With enough Advil, coffee and willpower I can do most anything.  I sort of miss percocet...those rocked! The ride home from the hospital was the most fun I've had in weeks!

Done? Done... I have to get showered up and ready for work. Really, this is a day off for me...a simply five hour shift.

-Cleric.  

Happy Birthday Natalie Portman! So maybe today won't be as bad as it seems on paper.

11:30-7-Midnight-8 Inventory.

And really, the way I put a day together it's simply a long Monday followed by Tuesday AND Wednesday off!

Thursday Close. Friday DlK(Yes, it is difficult to kill the Daylight these days, but we try) Saturday off...I haven't even checked Sunday yet. And really at this point I don't care. At all. I'm just excited that I can have a Saturday off. Yes, I did have last Saturday off as well(For the party...which in reality, sucked for me))...and sure, I had the Friday off the day before, but that wasn't my call. I just couldn't get out of bed literally.

The newbies are shipped back to us next week. So maybe I can take some time off and actually head to Seattle, see Avenue Q with Staci(and probably Ashley, Staci isn't stupid) and make my pilgrimage to the Pike Place Starbucks.

Man, all I can talk about is work. Well of course I can. It's all I've done for the past three weeks. What do you want from me?! Three weeks?! Fuck, I can't even remember how long I've been at 30+ hours for. I told The Sarge that he could, if needed, give me an extra shift here and there....but this...it's a bit much.

That's all I'm saying. I've worked too much and I no longer have anything interesting to say.

-Cleric-

 

You know, I'm going to take back the whole "Oh Inventories with Staci are awesome because I get to hang with her for eight hours and get paid" Idea. I Don't really get to hang with her and it sucks. Sure, she's in the same room(and we watched Sweeney Tood and The Producers back to back)...and yes, she's pretty funny when it's over and we're all sleep deprived crazy...but it's not worth the pain.

Still, I think I scanned in 4373 movies in eight hours. Woo for me. I shouldn't complain. I'm not as bad off as say...The New Guy...who's first shift in our store was the Inventory. Or even Staci, who had to work today. But hey, I had to work the Monday....which isn't as bad as the Sarge who worked 16 hours straight.

Last night Brother Mark and Co. did call me up and asked if I wanted to go see "Kung Fu Panda"...but I was still in bed(at 6pm) and didn't care. I think I got up again at 9...went back to bed at 2....So my entire sleep schedule which I had previously fixed has gone straight back to hell.

I did manage to see "Don't Mess with The Zohan" with Pyro today. It was alright. The trailer was better. I'm just impressed with the accurate IDF weapons choice including the trademark Uzi SMG, The IMI Jericho 941 handgun and the Gaili Rifle.

I tried going back to painting 40k after getting the latest issue of White Dwarf...but after about 10 minutes of sitting hunched over I just doubled over in pain. Still, the magazine has some interesting ideas and I do have plenty shades of green to play around with. Go layering and highlighting!

Still, WD's focus on Fantasy Warhammer and LotR way too much....

And saying "The Incredible Hulk" will be as good as "Iron Man" is a stretch. It's not because I don't have faith in Edward Norton and his vision of the Hulk, but I think Tony Stark is a much more interesting character....But since he'll have a cameo in "The Incredible Hulk"...it might have a change...but "As Good As"? Nope.

D Day + Five?...Off. D Day + Six? Work...D Day + Seven? Work...

But D Day + Eight Off!....Wooooooooo! 

Speaking of...something else...it's been fun...Yeah...that's it.

-Cleric  

Too bad I already know a movie called "Shattered" because that would be a pretty sweet title for the Canadian Indie Movie I'm currently working on based on what Staci decribed as my "Perfect Hell."

David Hewlett would be the lead and Nicole de Boer would play the demon. Callum Keith Rennie would have to be in it to truly make it a Canadian Indie Film....either as a Cop or the Badguy...another Badguy...

The soundtrack would have to be all Canadian artists like the Mahones, Damnhait Doyle, The BNL, Tegan and Sara and...Pepper Sands...if anyone remembers them.

It doesn't sound that bad. Really, it'll be an indie release....maybe I can get Rogue or Maple to release it, since hey, they'll release Anything....and it'll probably be one of those movies no one knows about until one movie geek tells another movie geek about it, then that movie geek starts telling customers about it when they ask for a good movie.  

I don't know, I have some scenes in mind and I've dug out my old screenwriters textbook.

This idea, by the way, come up over dinner after a Future Shop run a while ago. It was at the Surrey Place White Spot.

Only today I've thought about formally writing it. Since I got a call at around eight because Staci got to the customer order box of the recieving and my copy of Cube and Four Room came in.

I watched Four Rooms and the most iconic scene is the one of Tim Roth holding a dead hooker's leg, holding a needle in a flaming hotel room with Antonio Bandaras walking in, looking...well, like Antonio Bandaras.

I'll probably watch Cube before the week ends.

By the way, apparently without The Panda, they couldn't see Kung Fu Panda...so Mark, Staci and Lucas saw "Don't Mess with the Zohan" so I haven't missed out on Kung Fu Panda. That'll probably be next week.  Since all the new people have finalized their hours and I can stop doing 35-40 hour weeks with dual 8 eight hour shift inventories.

You know, when I dropped in to pick up my movies...Staci was busy doing something else and one of the new guys needed help with something...so I jumped behind the counter and helped, telling him "I never stop working, I just leave the building."  

 Done? Done. I thought I had a close with a ringer today, but I think it's with Brother Mark. Yay.

-Cleric 

Cleric stretches into a long yawn and double checks the time with his computer, his watch and his nearby phone.

"Yep, it's 6:30 on a Saturday morning." What makes this moment even odd Cleric has the day off and he hasn't slept since Thursday night.

Debrief Friday. Yes. We have four new people. Newbie, Probie, *insert random girls name* and...well, we haven't come up with a nickname for him yet, but it'll come. Since Staci couldn't decide on which TV term of derision to use, she decided to roll NCIS and Scrubs into three of the four people. Apparently John C. Mcgintly calls his nextdoor neighbor girls names in jest whenever they cross paths. It's interesting to note this nextdoor neighbor is John Cussak.

Yes, we have four NEW People. So really, we don't have anybody without one of them calling me over because they switched their till to back office or they have no idea how to process a console refund or one of the other countless things no one ever gets training in....

I've tried to teach them every single little trick I've picked up along the way, but I can only do so much in....8.5 hours.

Of course, really...I was there for about 14 hours with a little break in the middle as I volunteered to clean out the fridge "dexter" style. Wrap everything in plastic garbage bags and double layer your gloves. Of course, I was without the common cotton gardening gloves every professional needs. Yes, Leather gloves are cool and badass, but they are just as unique as your own fingertips. You try tracing a single pair of gardening gloves when you can buy them in bags of ten!

Volunteer Work. Please....Really, I don't want to do it...but I have to do it to keep the store from collapsing in on itself.  

...I really don't know where to start this one. I pretty much just worked 12 hours with a couple little breaks inbetween for little or no reason. Well, of course I had a reason. I always have a reason. It's more of a matter of not wanting to do it, yet somehow I do.

Tuesday was the She Wants Revenge + Others with The Lt. and Staci. I had a good time hanging out with two of my favourite people listening to a band I enjoy while discovering a new band. The British band Switches was one of the openers and they were fantastic. So much so I ended up buying their album. The second band, The Virgins was nothing to write home about. The Third band "Be Your Own Pet" should never be allowed to make music again because they made me throw up. I use the phrase with the most literal meaning. I actually vomitted up what remained of my 5 dollar Rockstar Drink and stomach acid in the most sudden burst of nausea I have ever experienced. Maybe it was the hard Rockstar, or the aspertine in the piece of pie I had in the morning or the terrible baseline of "Be Your Pet...." it could have been a combination of all three, but it was terrible. I spent the rest of the concert and the ride home throwing up in various plastic bags Staci had with her.

I still had a good time. Heck, I was just happy Staci had an event she could wear that Shirt Mark and I got her for her Birthday.

Wenesday was my day to mello out. I did a little 40k, finishing my Basilisk. Brother Mark will be pleased. He was recently handed a crushing defeat by Lucas and his mighty Dark Angels. I massive three way battle is planned for the future.

Thursday I recovered enough I realized the pair of Aldo shoes currently wear are getting worn out, so with Staci in tow, I headed down to Metro to purchase another pair. They are essentially the same shoe with some minor differences. Really, if you weren't me, you wouldn't know. The black casual loafer is a really easy style.

I even managed to pick up Pyro's grad gift which I've been meaning to get for a while.

Work is still soul sucking. Adjusting to a large amount of useless new people. Most of them will become less useless as time goes on, but some....I have a feeling won't. Of course, that's not my call to make. One of them just got strep throat AND Pink Eye. That's one of my worst nightmares so she's out of the picture for the foreable future. At least Brett has returned from his European trip...so we have four Old Soul employees...Four Newbies...and Spencer. When you only have one shift a week...it's hard to know where to put him in.

I was shocked when a customer asked if I was new. She claimed she had never seen me before, though I had seen her several times before. I feel a little insulted, but again I'm designed to leave no lasting trace...so I don't blame her that much.  

Staci and Mark are on their way out. They just have to find new jobs.

Staci and I are currently "colaberating" on the next great Canadian Script. We hashed it out over lunch on Thursday. I owed her lunch due to a work bet and she was rather pleased.

I still find her amazing and everynow and then when I'm not paying attention I drift off into fantasy. Reality, she'd be a terrible person to be in a relationship with. Of course, fantasy is nice.

There, Done. I work tomorrow, late...so I get most of Saturday to myself.

-Cleric 

Come to think of it, it's why Staci and I work so well together. She's a very dominate, take charge type of personality. I'm a submissive follower. You know when I mentioned that Friday I had a couple other thoughts throwing around certain letters including the letter S and the Letter M. Heck, even Staci in her leather clad goodness probably thought about it for a fraction of a second. I've never actually seen them in her room but she does own a corset, a riding crop(Not a horse to be found) and a Cat O Nine tails. Whatever that is...

Despite it not being my style, it's rather exciting. A lot of things about Staci are not my style...I just keep walking that fine line between love and hate...and lust....

The more I do my job, the more I hate it. Though I've found it makes it easier to drop the hard news on customers with collections. I feel much less guilty. Good luck buying a house or a car.

Yes, a mic stand for Rockband sounds pretty lame. Of course, for a person like myself who can sing and play the fake little plastic guitar, it's perfect. It beats getting a wireless headset which I didn't need anyway. It's makes pretending I'm cool that much cooler.

 I have a Sunday DlK, a Monday close with Tuesday and Wenesday off. Thursday is a standard morning shift with the Colonel visiting. The Sarge is throwing fits about that. I work a Friday shift of some sorts and I have Saturday off.

CoH Theme Songs? Yeah, it's come up. Freedom Franny recently had Damnhait Doyle's "Every Hit" because it sounded kinda country and the nature of Regeneration as a defensive set.

"I deserve every hit I take you keep throwing me down and I won't break. I deserve all the love you fake cause' I caused my share of heartache."

You know, in the beginning phases of planning for Freedom Franny she was going to be homosexual, which would have spat in the face in a righteous so called "Golden Age" Hero set up. Then I figured out the Aunt June timeline and having feelings for the Mason Major was actually more interesting than being gay....wow, that must be pretty interesting then....

I tried to play as "EnGen-X" today. It is a little sad when the character based on you is hard to play. I'm getting more play out of the character based on Saint. The character based on Staci never made it out of Test because Dual Blades/Dark Armor scrappers suck endurance like no one's business. There are some Staci elements within HsK: fiercely independent at time, smart as they come, etc(etc like they use the same model cellphone). Good thing I'm not thinking of a somewhat kinky teenage sidekick for Blizz...

 I got to log some rack time before work later today. I probably definitely get to "Definitely, Maybe" after work.

Done? Done.

-Cleric