06/04/2003 - 8:52 p.m. | lame louses just lose to my leverage

A vague, sort of half-theme unintentionally evolved in today�s CD selection. Points if you can figure it out. I barely can, so good luck with that.

Hours: 8 (10-6)
$$$: $80.94
CDs:
-�Crash� � Dave Matthews Band
-�A2G� � Blackalicious
-�OK Computer� and �Amnesiac� B-sides � Radiohead
-�Transmissions from the Satellite Heart� � The Flaming Lips
-�God Shuffled His Feet� � Crash Test Dummies

I was looking around for my library card this morning and instead found a Pez dispenser. With Pez still in it. Shit. So, suddenly, I needed some Pez like a fix, so I hopped in the car about an hour early and headed off towards work, checking every place along the way for a supplier. Especially lemon Pez (I seem to be on bit of a lemon kick right now � in the right pocket of my jacket, I have lemon gum, lemon Pez, and Lemonheads� guess I�m craving citric acid). The other flavors are good, but they all have ass aftertaste. Not my boy lemon, though. No, not him. Uhhh� Anyway, I checked every conceivable place along the way, and no one had any freaking Pez! So, finally, in desperation (and with only minutes to spare before I was actually supposed to be at work) I drove way out of my way to Walgreens, and they had some there thankfully. As a mini-reward to myself (yes, I give rewards for wasting copious amounts of time), I got a Starbucks Doubleshot because, as I mentioned, I apparently don�t hate coffee anymore (hatred still holds for mushrooms, however). And I can always use more energy, right!?

Coffee makes me personable, I guess. I was chattin� it up with Snake King today, telling anecdotes and being all boisterous and enthusiastic about tomato pens (WTF). Then, Travo came, and just to show him what�s it like to not be passive-aggressive, I was all loud and like, �Dude, I�m so sorry the pallet I made yesterday was shitty! I just didn�t know, man! But I think I�ve got it now! Next time just tell me when I screw up, though, OK? I�ll fix it or at least help you out!!� It was the most anyone has ever spoken to him at the factory; I think he was horrified. Friendliness is a powerful weapon.

Same old, same old, workwise. Wound in the morning, welded in the afternoon. I�ve heard people say that when you have a boring job to do, you should make a game out of it so the time goes by faster. Well, they�ve got it about 1/6 right. Besides welding as fast as I can (faster than anyone there now, I believe � the irony) and thinking about whatever it is I think about and usually mumbling the lyrics to whatever CD I am listening to, I also invent about 5 or 6 little games I can play while I�m working. For instance, today while I welded, I also transferred wire from one materials rack to another (just so one would be empty) and then back to the first again, lunged sideways (the lower the better) whenever I needed to move (making me look like some sort of insane monkey crab), twirled the crosspiece wires I had in my hand (if it was 3 wires or less; I�ve learned from experience that twirling four or more tends to send metal flying towards the eyes), and invented a rule that I had to eat at least one Pez each time the welder did a rotation (Is it possible to eat Pez, weld, and not look like a disgusting monster? No, it is not). While I practiced holding my breath. This just about staved off boredom. How the hell do the other guys at work not go insane? Maybe I have ADD. Or maybe I have so much attention that I have to focus it on a bunch of things at once! Yeah, that.

While I was switching CDs today, Travo came over and asked what I liked to listen to. I always have difficulty answering this question, so I gave a general, �Oh, lots of stuff.� To this he posed the question, �Do you like Tool?� Pause. �Well, I�ve heard a lot of their stuff.� That�s almost an answer. Then he asked if he could look through my CDs. *giggle* So much for any chance of gaining his respect. �Paula Cole?! What the hell?� I ran away, and since I figured I was on a roll, told Snake King that I�ll be gone next week and ran out more less right after. �Well, Tom�s gonna be out for three days next week too!� �That�s too bad.� *flee*

Work ended, and I drove home (brief stop at Wal-mart in an effort to quickly get my prescription filled� psh, like that was gonna happen; heading back tomorrow, I guess). OK, the strangest thing. Every day for the past week at least, on this one station, right when I leave work, they play this Weird Al parody of Eminem�s �Lose Yourself.� It�s about watching too much TV. Every day. I don�t understand. Why are they doing this? I�ve listened to the station both before and after the song, and no one ever makes any mention of it at all. I probably wouldn�t want to acknowledge it either, but it�s still very strange. I guess there is only one explanation. Communism is on the way, and Weird Al is at the forefront. Damn you. Reds.

Home now. Burgers and sitcoms. How American. My parents are watching Far From Heaven, but I didn�t want to see anything more than the bonzai lunatic font for the title. Wonderbread!!