Well, I think I've neglected this enough, don't you?

Yeah, almost two weeks without an update isn't cool.

And as much as I'd love to blame it on work and whatnot, it's not entirely due to that.

Although I did lose a day off due to remerchandising the store according to the new Source by Circuit City plans. While I lost a day, Mark had to work three 12 hour days in a row to get the store to the halfway-complete stage it is now. So I'm not horribly bad off.

It's just another reason I don't want to jump up to the ranks of tSbCC Manager. While the money's a bit greener, the workload isn't. At least I get overtime for my AM overages.

And our store's looking good. Damn well better, after all the work we've been putting into it.

So, where were we?

* Kow did the Party in the Park for the World Masters Games at the end of July. While other people have written quite thorough posts about it, I'd just like to say even with all the shit we had to put through that night due to lack of organization, I still enjoyed myself a lot.

And, hey. Free beer. And I'll be the first to admit I started LONG before Dev's second act startup. As soon as it was put on the Ryder truck, I was the first to grab one.

* Kow also applied for this year's Northern Harmony. Fifth (sixth?) time's the charm. We got our application in, and I'm sure we'll be a shoe-in for it once again. Hell, we're NoHarm ironmen, all things considered.

And if we get the same kind of publicity we garnered last year due to it? All the better.

* Dev, Canton and I dove into 24, Season 3, on DVD recently. Because we're bitches, we crack wise during some parts of any show we watch.

In the first ep, someone mentioned they had only hours to find a terrorist's bio-weapon.

Me: (pretending to be a character) "TWENTY FOUR hours, actually!"

Dev: "And that's REAL TIME!"

Me: "Hey, baby, did I mention you're one TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX?"

Dev boos. Canton throws pillows.

We finished the first two discs. The first third is complete.

* Nathan Fillion, Edmonton-born Hollywood actor (you might remember him from this, this, this, or maybe even this), ripped on our juggernaut comics store, Warp One. Too much has been said on this, so I'll just let you see the whole story (and a sheer crapload of speculation and insults) from various sources.

I'll just say that while this is pretty typical (from stories from friends and acquaintances) from the way that Mr. Minty treats people, and that Warp One's pricing can be high, I'm still willing to pay the price they offer their comics for.

Also, since the shop's only two blocks away from my house, I tend to frequent it. Although there IS Wizard's on 109th, and I've heard good things about Happy Harbor on 124th and Jasper.

For the meantime, nothing's changing with my buying habits at Warp.

*And now, a story from work:

Let it be said, that while it can be a pretty assholish thing to say, nothing gives me more joy at the Source by Circuit City than kicking kids out of my store. Once, after a particularly bad day, it was shocking that throwing some truants out didn't actually improve my mood.

Usually it does.

A few days ago, there were two ten- or twelve-year olds (max) screwing around with the electric guitar. Figuring that the fifteen minutes they spent in my store was MORE than enough, I approached them with my usual "polite" story (so I actually sound like I have a reason, instead of being a complete prick).

Me: Hey, guys. Where are your parents?

Kid: (not even looking at me) At home.

Me: Oh. Well, I'm sorry, but I don't let kids in my store without their parents. If your parents aren't around, then you'll have to leave.

Kid: We're not kids.

Me: Oh? Well, you can leave now, regardless of if you're kids or not.

And I kicked them out. And of course, that's where my wit started, and I was thinking of all those things I should have said to make me sound like I'm Oscar Wilde on my blog here.

Like, "If you're younger than me, you're a kid. (Turn to my manager, Mark) Sorry, man, that means you, too." Or, "If you're not a kid, then can I see your driver's license, please?"

Stuff like that. As it was, that was a definite "my mood got a lot better" occasion.

Nothing much else happening. I'm reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I'm halfway through, and am certain I will finish it before the weekend.

* Oh, I loved the new "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," which I saw with a few of my friends. Having only seen the Gene Wilder '70s version once, I didn't have childhood nostalgia ruining this Tim Burton version.

It's a lot truer to the book, and I loved everything about this one. At times, pictures from the book seemed to have inspired certain scenes and shots. And I teared up when Charlie shared his birthday chocolate bar with his family, and everyone would nibble it slightly to keep the bar longer.

It's no real secret that Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was one of my absolute favourite books when I was growing up. I must have read that one about fifty times, along with the Great Glass Elevator.

So this movie hit me on all the right notes.

* I've been playing a lot of Warcraft recently, now that Morg and Marauder have started playing. Fun stuff.

* I'm looking forward to my vacation coming up just in time for Fringe. Kow shows, seeing a lot of theatre, improv stuff, and seeing old friends is a good way to spend a week and a bit. And also not working. Wheee!

So that's about all for now. I'll be speeding up my updates now. Won't get as distracted. Must post and not procrastinate!