Settling~

The final stages of transitioning from the old to the new are under way. All that's left to do is to clean the old place and turn in the keys and I shall forever be done with Brittany Manor. The place was a hell-hole. I believe only 3 people knew where I lived at for the last 6 months. Everyone else was left in the dark. Even my own family didn't know where I lived. Once March begins, I will no longer be embarrassed to show people what I call "home." There are many plans for the new place. I've been scoping out a bunch of funiture (or accent furniture) to enhance the contemporary look I'm aiming for. Once I get that awesome-o futon from Target, a nice TV stand, and a portal to my slumber-sanctuary, it'll start to look pretty schway. All that follows is a nice coffee table, some bar stools, a 40" HDTV, and a next-gen system (preferably a PS3 since it'll double as a blu-ray player), I plan on throwing a long-overdue house-warming party. How long, you may ask? About 6 years overdue~

With moving and other purchases that had to be made, I'm sad to see my savings disappear. After receiving my tax returns, I was quite happy to see that I was able to get it at the desired minimum. The car-fund was finally under way. I was intent on not touching that savings for a good while. But due to the holiday that came about this month, not to mention Restaurant Week (Rodizio's is the SHIT by the way), and a replacement PS2 for the lady (her dad intends on paying me back), my credit card has taken a turn for the worse. So, with that said, "Goodbye, savings account" as it found its way into paying off the credit card. Rent's coming up in a few days and I get paid tomorrow. That means the majority of my paycheck will go into the new residence and my savings will have to be placed in the back seat. This will not derail me from making my promise of getting a car this year. I've promised myself that it WILL happen. I made getting this new apartment happen (and many know how I long I wanted this place and how much it seemed like an impossiblity), I can make getting a car happen. It can...It will~

Once I'm all moved in, I will definitely have to find a new job. Sure, many people are concerned about the economy/job market and the wise thing to do is to try and keep the current job a person has. I believe that to be all good and whatever but last weekend, I ran into a possible robbery and I'm not too thrilled to be employed as a financial saint (or devil if you prefer). The story goes as follows:

On Friday night towards closing, one of our main branches was robbed at gunpoint. The following morning, 3 centers (not necessarily CN2C but other similar services) were hit by the same people all before 12PM. Hearing of this news, I jotted down any information from 18008 and watched for anything suspicious out my window. I needed to make a bank run. Upon returning from my errand, I made 1 or 2 passes around the parking lot to make sure I didn't see anything that might resemble anything from the description given to me. As I pull into a parking spot, this SUV pulls right in front of the store and waits idle as a guy comes out of the passenger seat (as if on a mission) and heads for the main door. I'm sitting in the truck as I'm watching this guy try to forcibly enter the center. After several attempts, he angrily gets inside the SUV and they drive off~

Now, I know some of you may be thinking "What if it was just a customer that needed to take out a loan?" I thought that too but if it were really a customer, they would know that a transaction isn't exactly in-and-out so there would be no reason for any car to be running idle. Secondly, if at first, the door is locked, there's no reason for the customer to repeatedly try to force the door open with all his strength. Not to mention, the culprits matched the description of the individuals who were conducting the robberies across the area. I don't know about the general public, but I'm not really too thrilled about getting held at gun-point while on the job. Unless I'm in the armed forces, law enforcement, or fighting space aliens, there is no reason at all to be anywhere near a firearm let alone have one pointed at me. I need out of there and fast~

As always (I believe it'll remain a forever constant much like the pythagorean theorum), anything's better than the bookstore. If you get the chance, go to http://www.mscd.edu/~themet/ and look for the article entitled "Sales Staff Shocked By Firings."

Currently: not looking forward to cleaning the old place~

Replenish~

Times have been a bit easier lately, however, I'm still in this paradoxial situation. As much as I hate my current place of employment (probably more than my former...and that's saying a lot), I'm making quite an increase in terms of income. On average, I'd say 10-20 hours of overtime. Indeed, that sounds fantastic. Unfortunately, my apartment situation requests that I make less. If I make too much, I no longer qualify for this desired place of residence. Odd...you'd think that the more money you make, the easier it would be to pay rent (my case, it'd be $633). But with an income restriction of $25k, that might hinder things a bit. It seems like the place wants me to put all my money into rent. I need some spend for myself, you know. After consulting a new leasing manager at the new place, she believes that I do qualify (even with my overtime). I'm glad that she's done her math wrong because I want this place. If I don't get it, then I'm a bit screwed in terms of finding a home. It'd be damn near impossible to find a new place in 2 weeks. A month, I can do. Half that? Yeah....If I were Bill Gates~

Speaking of the move, I'm slacking in terms of preparation. I've packed two boxes so far and they consist of books and cds. My apartment still looks pretty cluttered. It just looks slightly cleaner. I have a lot of work ahead of me in a week. The expected move-in date is Feb 18 (next wednesday, folks~). It's time to drop it into overdrive and get to husslin'~

With the absense of an instructor, motivation for training has yet again slowed. With news of The Wave receiving his instruments of defense, I'm going to have to order myself a pair to get to partners training. The instruments I have for solo training would decimate his. Besides, I'm gonna have to tone up a bit. I need to look sexy (for myself and for the lady)~

The desire to play Rock Band has increased since BHG's outing at Best Buy. Playing on Hard is so much more different than Medium. So much more fun. That stupid little key keeps throwing me off but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it. And thanks to Rock Band, the soundings of Paramore starts to grow on me. Not bad, not bad~

As for final words of this entry, to my comrades~
"The last dinner was amazing. That crab and ice cream was a dream. We will definitely have to have another outing come the reunion in 2 months~"

Currently: Waiting for my direct deposit tax returns~

The Return of the Gangstah~

It feels like an eternity since I've touched a computer for leisurely purposes. This is actually the first time I've been on xanga for....shit, I dunno. But what has happened since then~?

It will be approaching 2 months since I've started working at desperarte people's Goddess of Mercy (that being a loan place). I've been making many runs to banks, spending plenty of hours at work (almost 10 Hours a day) for roughly 6 days a week (so far, my only days off are sundays and holidays). As for the bad news: my mentor, Amber, was fired yesterday afternoon almost immediately after I returned from one of my many bank runs. Reason being is because she was unable to get our center to close on certain guidelines. This has me worried because now, I'm the only one left to run the center. So now, the only days off I'll ever get are Sundays (until the DM decides to hire someone new). I can either look at this two different ways: A) I'll hopefully become promoted to center manager or B) I need to look for a new job ASAP. I look forward to potentially becoming manager after only 2 months. However, I fear that if my manager was unable to get our numbers up, what hope do I, her trainee, have of accomplishing what she couldn't? Indeed, the days/nights have been stressful~

The weekends have been filled with movie rentals. I strongly recommend NOT renting "Internet Dating" starring Katt Williams and Master P. Screenplay is by Romeo. It really looks like someone had done the whole recording off a camcorder. Sound is terrible. Special effects...think Pop-Up Video. As for acting....I could shit better acting than that movie~

Christmas was a quiet one. I received Kingdom Hearts: RE: Chain of Memories. It's hard, I dunno how I feel about it. However, I've decided I'm going to finish it. The next game I wanna get is B-Boy. Jonathan had just purchased the Japanese Version of Dissidia. It's quite intense. I eagerly await the US release. New Years was quite an experience. Headed to Downtown to watch fireworks. Tried to have dinner but that was kind of a failure. Also, with nothing to eat that entire day, one cup of blue moon was enough to get me feeling a little dizzy. Shameful, indeed~

My persistence for a certain desired living quarter rises ever so greatly with each passing day. The desire is that much more stronger since I'll have to give my 30-days for my current residence soon. I hope that I'll get it in the near future though. I want to actually have a place where I'm not embarrassed to show. As I recall, I don't think any of my family members have seen my current residence. That's a damn shame~

"If it wasn't for text messages, I would've thought you've fallen off the face of the earth." -Jonathan

"Gee...Thanks...." -Me

Currently Reading: The Count of Monte Cristo~
Currently Desiring: time off from work~

Chameleon~

You know what I hate? I'm sure it was mentioned previously but I hate having to cover up something that doesn't need to be covered up. It's draining trying to act like things don't matter when they really do. It's even more draining to try and meet everyone's needs/expectations. It's almost impossible for me to be me without having to hear some kind of accusation or trying to clear up any misinterpretation. It's a wonder how things have been going because if I were any other normal person, I probably would've cracked a long time ago. I suppose it's that basic instict of mine to try and put others before myself. However, in the processs, I could potentially hurt others as well as put myself in a position to be barraged for unneccesary things. It is what it is and I am who I am. Deal with it~

I must say, I'm not much of a fan of my current position as a CSR. I still make the same amount of money as I did at ABC but I get full-time hours. However, I do 3-4 times the work. Also, I do a LOT of driving. Just yesterday, I've probably totaled about 20 miles just from running from bank to bank. Somehow, I get reimbursed for it but I still don't think it's worth it. I am especially not a fan of hearing so many peoples' sob stories and how they need help. This is really not the job for me. But, I'm in no position to complain because, for now, it's paying the bills~

The arrival of a comrade shall be the laughter that we all need. As the gathering'll happen at the end of next month, I hope that I'll be in a better position to let loose without worries of reprocussions. What this means is more down time for da boyz and quite possibly, a new place of lodgings. I'm not a fan of where I'm living now. It smells terrible, the nights have been late due to some whack-job who decides to play some shitty song on repeat at 2AM, and I might actually have space to do things like work on my drafting table or bust out my total gym. I need to look nicely for the reunion~

I thought I had more to say but I keep brain-farting. Meh, I can always come back and record my thoughts. That's what these things are here for, afterall~

Currently Watching: Planet B-Boy DVD~

Charade~

Someone once told me that being angry takes too much work. Oddly enough, I think the opposite. Due to being in a string of ill-tempered moods, I find it easier to be in a bad mood rather than trying to pretend everything's okay. Sure, there are times when I'm genuinely happy or in a pleasant mood. But there are those days when everything pisses you off. Everyone has them. Today, especially, happens to be one of them. Who would've thought that a normal salutation with a minor discrepancy would warrant suspicion of questionable interaction? I also was unaware that following suit in traffic ahead of me would make a person angry enough to take it out on me from the University Exit down towards Park Meadows-ish. When is it okay to poke fun at strong dislikes when an unpleasant outcome is almost obvious? I was also misinformed when the desire to depart from problematic episode meant returning to it and pursuing it further. Last I checked, "Just drop it" meant just that. I didn't know the definition changed to "Let's keep talking about it." Wanting to go to sleep to staying up longer totally deviates from my original intent. Seriously, it would be nice to up to date with all these changes. It would save me a lot of stress, headaches, and sore throats~

It's been a week since I started working. It's weird how a 9-hour shift here goes a lot faster than a 5-hour shift at ABC. So far, all I've been doing is busy work (dealing with training packets and organizing currency/checks in alphabetical, numerical, and date order). I won't complain...for now. It pays so no complaints there. As I stated previously, I would prefer something else but this'll do. Once word of a cruise-ship pops up, I'm off the raft~

It's been quite some time since I've actually had a real Thanksgiving. The last one I recall was either in 2002 when I visited family in Hawaii or MAYBE sometime when I was still living in Concordia. I don't remember. However, I'm supposed to attend an actual Thanksgiving tomorrow. It'll be with white people so the traditional Thanksgiving is almost guaranteed. I suppose it depends on my mood. Will I still be a grumpy guss? Will my mind change and will I decide to stay in the oh-so-enjoyable COSprings? When I go back to my Denver studio, will I even be in th mood anymore? Either way, it's a lot better than the standard chinese buffet or golden corral. Buffets are good and all for every special occasion, it gets old really fast~

I hate being trapped in a corner. Doing so enabled a former comrade acquire my phone number. Quite honestly, it was a person I would prefer to never have my number. Unfortunately, I was [more or less] forced to leak the information. This lead to me being the recipient of an unwanted text message from an unwanted number. The sauce is definitely in the weak category~

This is mostly for a rant. Unfortunately, I was interupted so my train of thought has plowed into a brick wall. "Thanks....very much"~

Currently Watching: Infernal Affairs Series~
Currently Reading: A Wild Sheep Chase -Haruki Murakami

Gamma Ray: Attack of the -Ay~

I find it incredibly strange that, after 3 long years of job-hunting, I manage to land a job after a week from turning in the application. It's incredibly frustrating that it happened that easily. At the same time, I'm relieved seeing how my final day at ABC was on 11-14-08. No, I wasn't able to back out w/ my middle fingers in the air while "YEAH!" played on a ghetto-blaster. However, the thought of doing it anyway while humming the tune DID cross my mind. The day consisted of absolutely nothing. Myself and my trusty sidekick patrolled the parameters as we talked about nothing. I had once again combined the CU Bear and 4 CU Buffaloes to create Teddy-VOLTRON. On my last day at the AHEC Book Center, I dressed in a way I never really thought I'd find an occassion to. However, the day was slow and boring. So...the stylish black tie with BSB Shirt went almost unrecognized. Still, I looked good, dammit, and that's all that matters. But I digress. As for the job, it'll be a CSR position at a teller place. It's starting me at my final pay at ABC. Not exactly ideal but it's better than less (or nothing). Although opportunity for advancement is supposedly high, if I hear back from DishNetwork/Echostar, I'm totally jumping ship and headed that direction. If I hear from the radio station job, I'll be doing that also. Hell...full benefits sounds very appetizing in my opinion. In the meantime, my first day is this Thursday. That should give me some time to purchase some business-casual attire~

Just recently (perhaps 2-3 weeks ago), I received word of individuals I haven't heard from in almost 3 years. I suppose it's not very strange when you look at it in that sense. But seeing how I was friends with these people around the same time, lost contact with them around the same time, they sought me out around the same time (within a day apart, maybe), AND the fact that they don't even know each other, it strikes me as very peculiar. It had me wondering if it was that time of the year to search Brad out like it were some kind of scavenger hunt. Needless to say, it did cause some complications between myself and my partner in crime, things were eventually smoothed over and (hopefully) things are at peace for the time being. Could you say it would be the return of the Arima Complex? Not necessarily. However, I do feel like things are finally getting better~

Although it might not seem like much, it might be the time that things for me start falling into place. Granted, they are small steps but they still cover distance. "One must learn to walk before he can run" and, I assure you, I intend to be huffin' it on the last stretch of this marathon~

My birthday follows Thanksgiving. I don't intend on doing very much shopping just because there really isn't anything that I want to buy. Well, maybe a dvd or something but I don't feel it necessary to wake up earlier than what's required of me. What I do look forward to is all the food that Thanksgiving has to offer. Either an actual dinner at Jordan's or buffet with the parents. It makes no difference to me. I enjoy food. It'll be tasty just the same. If all else fails, I could just get me a large order of ham and potatoes from Boston Market or King Soopers~

"Shoes ain't nothin' but hard socks~" -Me

Currently Watching: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya & Gundam Seed~

Trial & Error~

This has become a hectic week. As hopes of a brighter future are dashed, I'm left to contemplate the course of action I must take in order to survive the following months. Last minute news or Last minute preparation is never a good thing. It's foolish to believe that things fall into place so perfectly (at least in my case). That kind of thinking hasn't gotten me very far. What it has gotten me was a wonderful kick from reality: you shouldn't put all your eggs in one basket~

I had an interview this past Tuesday. The job was a dispatch/routing position at Dish Network. I would settle in and work directly under a former ABC comrade. It started one day when she came to me and said, "You should work for me." to which I replied with a simple, "Okay." Apparently, she and the recruiter are pretty close. Last week, I received an application from her, filled it out and gave it to her the day after, and received a phonecall from her recruiter the following day. We set an appointment for Tuesday at 3pm. *Flash-Forward to Tuesday of this week* I feel the interview went amazingly well. I went all out. I even went as far as to have some recommendation letters prepared. There's a rule of thumb I was told that if the interview doesn't last any longer than 30 mins, then you're probably not going to get the job. My interview lasted a little over an hour. Following the interview was a tour of the building, the different departments, as well as policies, dress codes, etc. Immediately after the interview, I headed to a clinic to have a drug test. The sooner I peed into the cup, the sooner I can start work. About a half hour after I leave the clinic, I received a voicemail from the recruiter saying that after my interview with him, he had to speak with his upper management. They informed him that they put a stop to all hiring in the dispatch/routing department and was put in effect either before my interview or during. So I was unable to get the job. Total garbage if you ask me. I mean, he's the recruiter. You'd think he'd have a better handle on what's going on in his own department, especially if he's the guy to talk to about hiring. So, here I am again, stressing out about finding a job. Technically, my last day at ABC will be next Friday. I was hoping to be out before then. At least have something lined up. Unfortunately, that's not how the dice roll when I throw them~

Today, at work, I've received news from another former ABC colleague that a receptionist job at a local radio station has opened up. She, herself, went to the interview but couldn't take it because they didn't offer any part-time positions. The person she interviewed with said that if she knew anyone who needed a job, she should send them in that direction. Lucky for me, she stepped into the Bookstore and I told her my story. So, another job opportunity? I would like to think so. I am a bit weary, however. Last time I trusted a co-worker about a job, I was denied it due to a technical misunderstanding or miscommunication. Well, I don't really have much of a choice. I have to take what I can and just hope for the best~

The last few nights have been spent at Jon's apartment. I've been on his computer looking up jobs online. Bank jobs, entry-level management/trainer jobs, etc. Seriously, something has to happen. I've been doing this for almost 4 years and you mean to tell me I'm not qualified for anything? I really have terrible luck~

The re-emergence of a former relationship has surfaced after an eternity of silence. In an attempt to rekindle what was lost, it is taken into account that efforts must be quadrupled in order to assure success. Hopefully, there will be at least one aspect of my life that has a happy ending~

There have been a few conversations I've been involved in where I expressed a small outburst of poetic fluency from the top of the dome. I'm quite proud of myself~

"I lay here wrapped in my cloud sanctuary lost in the sea of contemplation only to be engulfed by the dark abyss of nothingness [*just laying in bed spacing out]~" --Me

Currently: upset at my job situation, my joke of a paycheck, and the fact that after 3 months, I haven't had my discount from my phonebill taken off yet~