Evening TV

President's speech (8): Tolerable. Didn't make a fool of himself, though I'm not sure he made his case. Seemed to be saying "I don't want war!" with an undercurrent of "We're going to war!"
CSI (9): Not on when it was supposed to be.
Friends (9): Best thing on. Pretty funny.
CSI (10): Hadn't seen the original in a while, mostly CSI: Miami. Good, but entirely unresolved at the end. Disappointing--I expect a pleasant resolution in an hour!
Without a Trace (11): Never seen before. Good show, but ended with an innocent man slandered, killed in most unfortunate circumstances, and slandered some more. Depressing.

Too much depressing! I'd stay up to see Dr. Phil and Beck on Letterman, but I have "work" in the morning. Opening procedures, I'm sure, then redo customer service training. (Note that I was never confronted about my "poor customer service" report, repercussions never explained, never given a chance to present my case. This sucks.. first thing that's sucked about the job, really.)

In other news

My dad's spent several full evenings (until midnight) installing Win2K on his desktop; his machine just doesn't like it. Needs all new drivers, BIOS is unhappy, and the machine keeps getting slower.. he may end up back in 98.

I picked up my new muffler, but it was 40 and intermittently raining today. Supposed to get warmer tomorrow and the weekend, so I should be able to get replace the exhaust parts by the weekend. Should also check out the warranty info--I think the muffler is a Walker, meaning lifetime replacement warranty if properly registered. Came without package, so I may have to visit the store again.

There was a mention on the news earlier of, "Will sub-freezing temperatures cause icy patches on the roads?" Yeeeah.

Added minutes to my Tracfone prepaid cell, as the current time (and thus phone number) was about to expire.. paid for 30min, got 60 due to some promo I hadn't known about. :) (I've used all of 24 minutes of phone time in the last two months or so.)

HBtY!

Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday dear seester
Happy birthday to you!


Alternately, Happy Shaunamas!

Work, weapon, weather

Worked 7-1. Complained about conditions of mystery shopper/loss of work/retraining crap to Ross (manager), who sympathized. Later, he walked up to me, crossed me Christian-style, and said, "you are now retrained" or something equally irreverent/amusing. :) One customer brought in his bearded dragon, which was cute. Another pair of customers bought about $500 of 75-gallon tank and oak stand/canopy--too bad I don't get a commission! :) And, the koi pond is being set up in the store, which I've never seen before.

Shauna got a ver' nice Damascus steel Royal Dagger from Chris, courtesy of Museum Replicas. She's quite pleased. :)

Deposited a paycheck, returned some exhaust-mounting parts I didn't need, didn't do truck work because although it's clear and sunny out, it still in the 30s.

Tonight at 7, dinner at Carmello's to celebrate Shaunamas--err, idoru's birthday. :)

---

Friday Five
1. What was the last song you heard?
Blink 182 - Adam's Song, on the radio. Haven't played any mp3s since getting my computer back from Shauna, though Andrea Priora - Pa Xi Loung was the last track I played last night.

2. What were the last two movies you watched?
Amélie with Shauna a couple nights ago, and My Big Fat Greek Wedding at Misty's a week ago.

3. What were the last three things you purchased?
Three things for Shauna, which I can't yet divulge. :)
Before those, a muffler, tailpipe, pipe clamp (and flange gasket) for my truck.

4. What four things do you need to do this weekend?
Need to do? Nothing. What will I try to do? Replace the above parts of my truck's exhaust system, hopefully take my motorcycle out if weather permits, work on motorcycle (fix the tach, change the oil), and lots of LJ as usual.

5. Who are the last five people you talked to?
Mom, Shauna, Ross, other assorted Petsmart employees.

(no subject)

From azurelight:

Language Play

John, where James had had 'had', had had 'had had'. 'Had had' had had the teachers approval.

( Can you parse that without help? )

Deener for seester

Mom/Dad/Shauna/Steph/Matt/Brendan/I went to Carmello's/Little Portugal in Old Town Manassas for Shauna's bday (Shaunamas!) dinner. A bit pricey ($16-$26+/entree), but well worth it. Excellent food, great atmosphere, wonderful service.. one of those places where you expect to spend 2 hours at dinner. :)

Bread: Olive bread and rolls and multigrain bread with seasoned butter and oil/pepper.
Drinks: Dad/I each had a Moretti Dark (Italian beer) and later a Sanges (I think) (Portuguese lager)
Appetizers: Fantastic New England clam chowder, decent stuffed mushrooms.
Salad: Tasty. Had chick peas/garbonzo beans instead of croutons!
Dinner: I had a filet mignon in espresso/port sauce. Sooo good.
Dessert: Ha! We were full. However, Shauna got a free slice of a delectable chocolate/mousse cake topped with chocolate shavings.
More drinks: Mom/Dad/I each got a coffee with Frangelico, Baileys, and Kahlua. Damn tasty.
Gifts: Somewhere in there, Shauna opened most of her gifts, including various bath/body products, a nice girly black shirt, and (woohoo!) the itinerary for her week-long trip to Hawaii to see Chris in June, which I edited/formatted/laid out with Hawaii-style clipart for mom to deliver. =)

Then home, where we had the cake Mom bought the other day, featuring streamers and Hawaiian flowers. When Shauna got into the room, Scrat was considering eating her cake--that is, the squirrel/rat from Ice Age, that I picked up for her from Blockbusters a few weeks ago. Then, she got the PlayDoh + Fun Factory I picked up for her earlier. She's so easy to please! ;)

In the morning (by which I mean ungodly early, flight at 0630, leave Manassas at 0430), Dad is driving Steph/Matt/Brendan to the airport, as they're flying out to Cali to spend a week with Matt's grandparents. Meanwhile, I get to take care of their dogs and fish. Woo!