John’s Musings

Epiphany #2

February 11, 2008 – 11:07 pm
It's been about 8 months since I've posted last. I've missed this outlet but never could decide on what new level I should take my rantings to. I do plan to stop bitching and whining so much and would like to begin posting in a way that will hopefully benefit my ~5 faithful readers. I also plan on changing domain names soon. I'll be sure to inform you as to what the latest and greatest name and domain will be once I work it out. Anyhow, a brief update is due. I got a decent job last April at a local home-construction firm. I got so tired of the futile and stressful environment I was dealing with at the supermarket that I started looking around for a different job. While volunteering with Habitat for Humanity a number of months earlier, I had made the acquaintance of a foreman ...

Posted in My Life, Ramblings | 3 Comments »

Dream Theater — Live

May 6, 2007 – 6:32 pm
I am thrilled. Yesterday I got a text message informing me that Dream Theater tickets at a venue near me were about to go on sale. I rushed to my computer to check it out. Much to my dismay, the cheaper tickets would place me several sections back from the stage. Upon further research, I discovered that I would have to buy a VIP pass to be within the first 10 rows. I debated it overnight, and decided to buy a gold VIP pass. I went to Ticketmaster.com and searched for a gold VIP ticket. The seating arrangement found for me couldn't be any better. It placed me in row D (fourth from the front) of the first section, which was located stage left. That couldn't have been any better, as the seat would be right in front of where John Petrucci plays. From a musical perspective, I idolize the man ...

Posted in Music, My Life | 5 Comments »

In Need of Legal Counsel

April 28, 2007 – 10:55 pm
I'm having trouble with Washington Mutual. Again. About a month ago I called WaMu and told them I'd like for them to close my account and cut me a check for my current balance. They informed me that I would have to bring my account balance to $0.00 before they could close it. No problem. I whipped out my debit card and debited the remaining balance from my account. I then called Washington Mutual and asked them to close my account. They informed me that they would do so. I then assumed that they would be true to their word. However, I would find out that that would not be the case. Washington Mutual owed me $0.03 interest, and since I was closing my account, they deposited the interest into my checking account. Since my account was then at $0.03, WaMu decided that they couldn't close it. They did not inform me ...

Posted in Everything else | 1 Comment »

Public Access

April 28, 2007 – 1:43 pm
One of the commonly-seen aspects of basic cable is the presence of one or even several public-access channels. Due to the 1984 Cable Franchise Policy and Communications Act, US cable companies are required to fund local organizations to provide training and access to media technology and cable distribution on the local cable systems. Many times these channels provide an important service to citizens. These channels provide local governments with a medium that allows them to broadcast local meetings and other similar functions. These meetings are about as popular with the under-90 crowd as CSPAN-2 is, but they do serve their purpose. However, some of the content that appears on public-access could be considered some of the worst possible content that the human mind can conjure. Point in case. I was watching television until the wee hours of the morning. Due to my rather drowsy state, I would land on a channel ...

Posted in Current Events, Ramblings | 6 Comments »

Disturbia

April 22, 2007 – 2:23 am
I believe I've previously established the following unfortunate fact: Modern society has generally lowered its standards when it comes to art. I personally see film making as a form of art; therefore I hold the films I watch up to high standards. However, most of the movies that I end up seeing are barely to be even considered as art, at least in my opinion. Point in case: The movie entitled "Disturbia". Most of my peers believe this movie to be a very fine movie. I have acquaintances who have described this movie as an awesome movie that they would see again. It even received a thumbs up from Roeper. However, I failed to see the reason behind the rave reviews. Essentially, this movie is mainly Disney fluff full of product placements. The idea behind the story is good. However, that's where the movie falls flat. The movie starts out with ...

Posted in Everything else | 1 Comment »

One Month In Review

April 22, 2007 – 1:56 am
It's been a month since I've posted. Quite a bit has happened during this past month. I started looking for work about three weeks ago. One day I grabbed an application from Cheddar's, a local restaurant. On my way home, a random idea struck me. The idea was to apply again at a local homebuilding company. I had applied there last May, yet failed to get a job. I drove out of the way so I could swing by this business and pick up an application. I knew it was a long shot, but thought it would be worth a try. I walked in, introduced myself, and asked for an application. I was then told to wait for a moment. The Service Department manager then walked out and interviewed me on the spot. Apparently they had just lost a worker, and needed a replacement. Ultimately, I got the job. It's a great ...

Posted in My Life, Work | 1 Comment »

Aimless Wanderings

March 20, 2007 – 11:30 pm
I'm clueless right now. I'm lacking direction. I have not an idea as to what I'm going to do with my life. About a week ago I went to my school's student services department and presented them with my predicament. I told them that CIS was not a field that I was interested in. I was earning B's and C's in my classes and completely lacked enthusiasm. I then asked the student advisor as to what I should do. Upon looking up my file, she informed me that I was officially no longer a student of Ivy Tech, as I neglected to pay. This was not intentional, as I had set up a student loan account and had filed the paperwork for a loan with a local bank. However, no one called me and I quickly forgot all about it, thus missing the deadline. I can describe my feeling at that ...

Posted in My Life | 3 Comments »

Washington Mutual

March 14, 2007 – 3:16 am
Several months ago I was watching prime-time television. While flipping through channels I saw a commercial for a bank called Washington Mutual, or otherwise known as WaMu. This bank advertised itself as being better, non-typical, and unlike any other bank that's out there. Being the easily influenced individual that I am, I signed up with WaMu. I should have first noticed that WaMu doesn't have much of a presence east of the Mississippi. Essentially, I would only have online access to my accounts, with no bank that I could make a deposit or withdrawal at. However, the promise of a 5% savings account and unlimited checks (which I had no need for) lured me in. At first, WaMu seemed like a great bank. They had good customer service and had a few tools, although their selection was rather limited, as they don't support BillPay and other amenities that most banks offer. However, after ...

Posted in Complaints, Ramblings | 2 Comments »

Farewell, Retail

March 11, 2007 – 3:34 am
I was working in accounting yesterday. At around 5 PM Jess, the girl in customer service, frantically called me over. Apparently she ran a customer's lottery playslips through the lotto machine and then proceeded to rip them up and throw them out. Being relatively new to customer service, she was not aware that standard procedure is to hand the playslips back to the customer. Essentially, this was a minor inconvenience for the customer. However, it is easy to make a new playslip by looking at the ticket and copying the information. However, the customer was beside himself, and he went on a verbal rampage. "Why the fuck is that stupid girl in customer service? Get that girl out of the office! She doesn't know what she is doing!" This tirade was quite loud and was made in the presence of other customers. Jess, in utter shock and devastation, quickly retreated to the accounting office, ...

Posted in Everything else | 2 Comments »

Epiphany

March 4, 2007 – 3:25 am
A thought passed through my mind today while I was working my usual 3-11:30 PM accounting shift. What the hell am I doing here? I started to do some thinking. Last week's paycheck was $210.07. That was for 40+ hours of work. During that period of time I have had to deal with high levels of stress. I had to deal with managers talking to me in a condescending and disrespectful manner. I had to listen to customers yell at me. I had to listen to customers and managers order me around as if I were a dog. I had to deal with co-workers giving me a hell of a time. I had to pick up the slack when co-workers were lazy. I then thought about what happened this Friday. I leisurely finished a project for a customer that I found on Elance. The project that I completed probably took me 3 hours to complete. ...

Posted in My Life, Ramblings, Work | 1 Comment »