Tomorrow should prove to be the longest day at work in some time. In addition to a grueling shift I am desperately working on catching up on paperwork so that I can go on my vacation in peace. I'm sure that every little thing is just going to annoy the sit out of me but once I clock out it should be glorious.

Each time I turn around our Jersey trip keeps getting longer and longer. I'm not sure I've mentioned it yet but my buddy Tom is going along with my wife and I. While I was out of the room the other night it seems my wife and Tom must have chatted. I come back into the room and I was informed that they agreed that we should leave 1 day earlier and stop in State College to see my family. Personally I would of shot down that idea but I guess I got out voted on this one. We are going to see the sights and check out a few places back home before crashing at a hotel for the night. My wife wanted to avoid staying with my folks as much as I wanted to avoid seeing my family.

It sure is tough to find someone to watch our cats while we are gone. I was going to ask our neighbors but Lindsey seems freaked out by my devil cat and if she should happen to dart out of the apartment I wouldn't want to think about what Lindsey would have to do in order to coax Willow back into the apartment. My wife's friend volunteered to watch them but wanted to stay over here while we were gone. She is fairly harmless so I was going to leave that up to my wife. I was going to password protect the boot-up of my PC if she did stay since she's a internet junkie and I don't trust anyone else with my computer. My wife was almost ready to seal the deal when this girl asked if she could have a guy over while we were gone. Sure she was up front and asked us instead of just having him over without us knowing but we figured we would play it safe and find someone else entirely.

I ran the Jersey idea by my wife and then she took over the computer for hours. She calculated direction, distances and lodging. It seems the trip is a go. The only ever-so-minor problem is the showing of Clerks has been moved. It was supposed to be shown in the empty lot across from the store.



The event has now been moved to a park in Red Bank, NJ which makes less sense but should work out better. From the first time I heard about the original location I was amazed that they were going to show Clerks in a residential neighborhood. The city council moved it because of the language in the movie and I don't blame them one bit since it would be like having a neighbor with tourettes syndrome and a bullhorn. The change has actually convinced people on various message boards to skip the event. That's great news to me cause that will make getting a seat much easier. It should also make seeing the store much easier since the event won't be right outside the thing. The event is supposed to attract 2,000 people and it would be tons of fun to try and get some ample time in the store with that crowd. I'm going to do my best to each most of my meals from the Quick Stop. I just hope the same angry man isn't there that we ran into last time. I took a few pictures last time but this time I am hoping to borrow a camcorder for the trip from my folks or my in-laws.

Seeing the movie, the Quick Stop and The Stash again will be great but meeting Kevin is the real reason for the trip. I still have no idea what I'll have signed. I believe that normally you can have 2 items signed and one of them has to be bought at the store. That seems to be the way they work. Since my wife is going to be there with us that would automatically double the stuff I can have signed. Yay!! I think I want my Clerks X DVD signed in that crazy silver pen. I know I'm going to buy my Chasing Amy figures at the store but since I open them it's totally pointless to have them signed. If they have the Kevin Smith figure I might have him sign that. If they are cheap I can get two so that one can be opened.



I'd like to think of something creative but I'll probably end up being like every other nerd.

This is just wishful thinking but I've heard of some very kick ass things in the past few minutes. Kevin Smith just updated his blog and it blew my mind. On August 8th Netflix is having an event in front of the Quik Stop where they will be showing Clerks and then having a Q&A session afterward with Smith. Then the very next day Smith will be at Jay & Silent Bob's Secret Stash signing things brought to him by fans. Since the end of Clerks 2 I've have a huge interest in going back to Red Bank, NJ. It seems that for the signing they will also be selling the Chasing Amy Inaction Figures before anybody else has them. It takes 6 hours to drive to the Secret Stash

Will my love for these movies win out over my hate for mankind and large groups of people? Can my mid cope with a 6 hour, one way, car ride? It's unlikely but it suer would be a fucking good time, wouldn't it?

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To fight off boredom today I made my movie run midday. With the huge crowd at the store it's a safe bet I'll stick to my midnight movie runs from here on out. I managed to pick up:
Chappelle's Show - The Lost Episodes
Final Destination 3
Reno 911! - The Complete Third Season
Trapped In Paradise
The Phantom

I stepped into work after the fire and my boss said she was hurt I didn't call and check on them when I heard the news. Since I had heard the real story on a co-worker's blog I figured that if the fire wasn't in the kitchen there was little I could do. I did tell my boss that for as hurt as she was I was equally pissed about not being called when I thought it was a kitchen fire. I told her that she could read my blog to get a feel for my mood. I wonder how many people post shit on their blogs they hope people never see. Personally I find it easier to bitch on my site and direct someone here rather than confront them since my people skills lack a great deal. It's better they read it than be subjected to my sarcasm and tauntings.

The wife has started to compile things to do on our vacation. So far it's a pretty good list considering all the events take place outside. Thank goodness I'll have the jacuzzi to come back to in the hotel room. I was hoping to load up on some new DVD porn to make the most of the trip but it looks like I'll be so active during the day I might not be able to be as active as I had hoped at night.

So while I was off yesterday the kitchen I normally work in caught on fire. I have no idea how bad it was or what happened because nobody who was working bothered to let me know. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that from what I heard from outside sources it wasn't a bad fire but I do know they had to close. I would hope that if it was any real problem they would of called me since I've been running the kitchen for over 5 years now. And to think people claim that I lack common courtesy? I guess maybe they wouldn't want to bother me on the first real weekend days off I've had in a row but there are certain you really should let people know about no matter what the conditions.

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More pictures came out for the Lost action figures the other night. Things have been so busy I had forgotten to post them. First I'll post what I posted on the Spawn.com forums after I saw the pictures.

I'm really torn with these figures. I already have mine pre-ordered but I have mixed reactions after these new pictures.

Jack - I like the pose and setting but not 100% sold on the likeness. The hair, as mentioned above, looks a little off.
Kate - I know in this scene she is shook up and freaking out but those eyes are way over the top.
Locke - Wow. No complaints on this one at all.
Hurley - The likeness is good but the figure just seems basic and too simple compared to the rest of the figure.
Charlie - Solid looking figure with a great pose. It was my favorite until I saw the Locke figure.
Shannon - Can't say I like/liked her character but I have to say I strongly dislike her figure. I get the fact that she is a rich spoiled girl but do we really need a figure in such a lame pose?

I really hope the cardboard backdrops see some vast improvement. I don't care for these backgrounds, Agent Smith Vs. Neo is an eyesore, but if they have to do them they need to improve them.

The boxed set looks pretty nice considering the scale and size.

Now for the pictures:

I just got back from Clerks 2. I was kinda worried for the first part of the movie. Some scenes really clicked but other jokes seemed to miss the mark, dialog didn't seem up to par at first and I was unsure about the new cast. As much as I love Clerks even I was unsure about the idea of a sequel up until the lights dimmed in the theater. Eventually I found myself enjoying the cast and remembering what a small budget film can really do. By the end of the film I was 100% into the films and honestly chocked up during a few little spots. I can't even understand why Joel Siegel walked out when he did but if he had stayed for the punchline to the joke that offended him it is likely he would of suffered a massive stroke and died in the theater. It was a touching film if you can wait until the S&M Inter-Species Erotica scene is over. Once you've made it past that you are home free. I really have a great urge to go back to Jersey and visit the Quik Stop again after the final bit of the film.

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GBro and I had met up with the guy, Carlton, we work with to see the movie today. He's the only black employee is our winter wonderland of a store so make all kinds of racial jabs at each other and over lunch we chatted about the humorous racial insults in the movie. We parted ways and Carlton headed home while GBro and I swung over to Best Buy. After coming out with nothing bought we headed home. A bit down the road GBro spots two cop cars with someone pulled over. We get close enough for me to see the incident and you can see the gentleman standing with the cops is black. GBro, noticing the same thing, blurts out that it's Carlton. Before I have enough to laugh I am close enough to see that it really IS Carlton. Right after that GBro realizes the joke me made is now a truthful statement which is a sick way makes up laugh harder. I feel bad for him, I really do but I fell worse that no matter how hard I would work to explain this story the two of us will always come out looking like racists.

Even if you don't like Kevin Smith this is a hell of a read:

A Dick in a Mustache is Still Just a Dick

For those with ADD this is the Cliff Notes version:

Clerks 2 was screened for the critics

Joel Siegel, Good Morning America movie critic, caused a scene and walked out of the film which is something he says he has NEVER done before

Smith is OK with the fact that Siegel doesn't like the movie but is upset he disrupted the movie

I don't listen to any critics because I like some very odd movies. I could give a shit that he doesn't care for the film. I certainly can see what Smith has a problem with. The guys is paid to watch movies and let people know what he thinks in print and on TV. The guy was way out of line when he let loose while storming out of the film. At the bottom of the post they have the MP3 of the Opie and Anthony Show where they get Siegel on the phone with Smith. It's something that I'm sure only Smith fans would care about but the argument that Smith makes is certainly something any movie lover can get behind.

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I already the Clerks II tickets bought for GBro and I so we are all prepped up for Friday. I thought about going to see the movie 2 times but that was only if they did the Podcast commentary track for the movie. For the second viewing I hoped to take my iPod and listen to the commentary for the movie. I guess Smith isn't releasing it for opening day. I'm guessing he'll record it in a few weeks and release it to help the films when it takes a dip at the box office.

I realize that MySpace.com is 50% helpful and 50% a "gift" from Satan but I still like to check it out now and then. Tonight I saw that there were new alumni from my high school so I searched my graduation year to see who had recently joined. I wasn't sick many days and we didn't have that big of a school so I I have to ask.......why do I remember hardly anyone? I just stare at these people and wonder if maybe there was some home-schooling situation involved and they just kinda showed up at the end of the year to toss on a gown and sit with us. I really took a backseat to things in high school and just kinda let things pass me by. I went to dances, football games because I had to for band and random band functions. I did enjoy what I did in school but I let so much just pass on by. I always chat it up with the kids who work for me and I hear them say how they skip certain school related events. I'm the last person you want to influence your teenager but I do try and encourage them to be more active than I was at their age. I have lots of memories from school but they really all seem to include less than a dozen people. Something tells me that before long I'll be hunting for my yearbook.

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It's been pretty hot the past few days and thankfully I work with a group of people who notice such things. Our kitchen is hot pretty much all the time. When you have half a dozen pieces of equipment all heated to about 400 degrees a piece it'll really make a place toasty. You factor in the summer heat and it feels like you are Satan's personal chef in hell. The other day it reached 130 degrees in front of the grill which is a new record. At that temperature you don't need to be told it's hot but yet everyone in the restaurant LOVES to walk into the kitchen and make a heat related comment. The people who work in my kitchen bitch about the heat far less than the people who are in the air conditioned areas. This weekend the one AC unit was acting up. The thing has 3 fans and only 2 were working. The one side of the dining room is a little toasty and suddenly everyone who has to brave slightly warmer than normal conditions thinks they are some kind of superhero. The heat may make me cranky but it's stupid fucking people who make me irate.

I'm convinced that all of my wife's friends are either crazy, worthless or a nice blend of both. They all lack most of the necessary skills to be a productive member of society. They only thing they do have is the ability to occasionally send my wife completely off the deep end. Then once they do this I often get the privilege of cleaning up the "mess" and calming her back down. It's a cycle we just keep repeating this process as if we are Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell during Groundhog Day. It's really fucking tiresome and I'm about to start telling all these people how truly worthless they are. I already don't speak to most of them but maybe I need to step up my game and work on ironing out the problem once and for all.

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My classic movie watching experiences have not been going as well as I hoped they would. Lately I've been using Netflix to catch up on some very popular older movies they I just never got around to seeing. A Clockwork Orange was the most recent film and I couldn't even finish it in one sitting. I rarely pause a movie I've never seen before and go to bed so spanning this film over two nights was a real change for me. As much as I get ragged on for loving Showgirls and the US remake of Godzilla I really think I need to stick to what I know I enjoy because it seems unlikely I will enjoy any movie that was made before I was born.

Last night I went to Wal-Mart looking for a video game and I went hoping that I could convince myself not to spend the money on it. I found the game just fine but I found something even better. The lady who works in electronics knows me pretty well by now and asked me if we had fired anyone recently where I work. I had fired someone a few weeks ago and sat in on a server being fired last week. It seems the dishwasher I let go now roams all over Wal-Mart at night. The lady said he just wanders around for hours stopping mainly to ask people for money. He pulled the same stuff when he "worked" for me. The guy had a handful of jobs and it seemed like none of them ever paid him anything. I'm guessing he was paid based of his performance and if that is so I can see why he's begging for change. I really don't want to mock him too badly because I'm convinced he just wasn't right in the head. His job was the same pretty much every day but he just never got the hang of it. I would jump back and forth from being angry with him to feeling sorry for him. Letting him go was certainly based on both those things. Sure he was pretty much useless but he was cheap labor and it was highly likely he would never get any kind of raise. He was cheap labor and that was kind of a reason it was nice having him around. In the end I really hoped that he would find something better and as much as I love Wal-Mart.......panhandling for change there is not a step up in the world.