Band: The Mountain Goats
Song: Sax Rohmer #1 off the new album Heretic Pride
Why: I have 400+ songs in itunes by the Mountain Goats aka John Darnielle; I'm a little biased.

nooooo!!!!

NKOTB reuniting!?!?

My girlfriend recently asked what winter was like in Los Angeles.



“It rains,” I replied, “Then people drive real slow.”

“Then they drive real fast leading to crashes. Then back to slow.”
"A few days of that and we're back in the high sixties and sunny."

"I can't wait." She referred to an upcoming move to the Golden State from her ever creeping closer to the glaciers Michigan.


Well, she might have said "You suck." actually.

I think I made a special order

So I ordered some components from a very small and extremely unique business in Southern California for a promotion I'm working on. Granted these were not easy to find objects but they said via email that everything online was in stock at the store. Played it safe and ordered four from the site instead of the thirty I needed.

A few days pass and a very nice inquiry is sent electronically as to the status since my credit card had yet to be billed. I list the item number, description, my name, business (the ship to address) and the order number. I simply want to make sure they got my order.

Their first response is that there isn't a record of my order and then ask if I placed it at another store...Um they are the only store in the Western US, self proclaimed largest in the world shop that sells these type of items. I send them a short "Yes. Here is a PDF of my confirmation."

They respond:

We see the problem. You failed to provide the correct address. The address given on the original special order was:

[redacted bill to address of my CC]

Now that we have the correct information we can check our records. We don't understand why you would have expected to have received a tracking number on this special order already.

Your special order was not even placed until the evening of the 16th, so it arrived in our business office on the next business day, Thursday the 17th. Given that Saturdays and Sundays are non-business days, and that yesterday was a federal holiday, so also a non-business day, your special order is at this time only 2 business days old

We do not see a request for air shipping nor an authorization to bill you for rush handling fees so that we could process your order ahead of orders received before yours. So your non-rush, ground-shipped order was processed in turn, in the order it was received.

We see that you had a special order quantity of items. We have placed a special order with the manufacturer for your special order quantity. As soon as your special order quantity arrives we will send your special order right out.

Stupid passive aggressive fucker.*


*Yes I get that I'm bitching about it here, on a blog, in a similar manner. I need the stuff so I'm waiting to receive my order before I hit the BBB, yelp, picket sign out front direct approach.

new year's morning

With made up words and ones that sound nothing like they should I left the state of Michigan for the first time.

Small roads took me into Coldwater just four days prior and past the jerky stores and "EAT HERE" signs out front of roadside restaurants. I joked that one day I'd open a place across the street named "NO HERE" painted in illegally warm colors not called drab gray or drab white.

But this was the day I was heading to Detroit in once plowed snow away from her. I stared out over fallow cornfield blue rows only broken up by roads and red board barns. I smiled at her.

The shoulder piles turned gray as we drove closer.

This was the day that came too soon.

oh poor me

My new job is still kicking my ass...where they have me doing such things being in charge of "...a party boat through the Hudson and near the statue of liberty" to entertain clients for an upcoming trade show I'm going to.



I'll raise a silent blogsphere glass to you losers guys while tooting around Manhattan like the Skipper.

Did I mention how much I love this job?

Shopping for work in the Toy District

Click on pic for more information on the Toy District.

Mobile post sent by lorange using Utterz. Replies. mp3

Work is kicking my ass and since over half my job involves writing I find myself too tired when I get home to put together a post yet bursting with thoughts to put down.

So yeah give me a few days.

For now here's why this Californian boy braved a snow storm in Michigan.