The concert, and wrestling-ish news

So yesterday was the Matthew Good concert, which happened to also be a Rogers Q4 Christmas training session/bash.

I arrived to find a whole bunch of friends, and people I knew from the company. It's interesting how two of the people I barely tolerated in stints at KGM became managers of Rogers Wireless stores.

We started by seeing Matt Good's warmup (although at first, I thought, is he giving a concert specifically to Rogers guys? Interesting.). Free liquor and food was the theme of the night. After the obligatory training half hour, we went downstairs to socialize (drink) some more.

A friend and I went up to see the opening act warmup, and I was surprised to see it was the Ladies and Gentlemen, whose new single "Stay" is quickly becoming the song I want to hear on Sonic most often. So I was hooked into hitting the upstairs along with the rest of the riffraff who WEREN'T Rogers VIP guests to watch them perform.

I think I was one of, like, two of over a hundred Rogers guests who actually went to the concert, instead of sitting downstairs, eating and taking advantage of the free drink tickets. (Don't get me wrong, I was as well, but I was all about seeing the Ladies and Gentlemen.)

And, man, what an opener. Five guys dressed all in white. A drummer, two keyboardists with two keyboards and a sampling machine, the lead singer/bassist and a guitarist.

The sound was a mixture of straight-out indie rock, 80s new wave, and a bit of electronica. It was awesome, and they really seemed to enjoy themselves onstage. I had to buy the album and a t-shirt.

I like the album a lot, but it's a lot different than their stage show. Mostly because the album was the lead singer with a whole bunch of sampling, as opposed to the full-fledged band that came out on tour. The album's very Postal Service-y, which is a genre I'm into. (Yup. I'm turning emo. Please, somebody stop this from happening. I don't want to always be in black and write songs about how every relationship has failed me. Hell, it'd only be enough fodder for one song.)

I actually left during the Matt Good portion, just becuase it went on a lot later than I had planned, since I told Kaleb I'd be home to play some video games.

Still, free food and drink, and a free concert for which the first half hour was completely amazing? Everything's coming up Jago!

* * *

Do you know what else is coming up Jago? The New Alberta Pro Wrestling e-fed. Dev and I became the tag team champs last night. If you think you'd be interested in making a character and joining up, do so! It's a lot of fun!

Good lord! Is this what happens when I become manager?

So, yeah. It's been too long, but the whole "managing a store" thing is pretty time-consuming. And then there's the "Freaks and Geeks" I've been watching.

Last week was the third inventory I've done for the company in seven weeks. Huzzah!

This time, I didn't have much help. I mean, sure where's all my employess, but none of them has done an inventory before. And every manager I tried to round up to help me talked their way out of it.

When I asked EFB to help out, he said, "What did Marky say?"

Me: "Well, he's closing tonight, so he won't be able to help me out."

EFB: "Bull! It's just a matter of not taking 'No' for an answer. How often did you help him?"

Me: "Yeah? How much did I give him? I went in to inventory when I was hallucinating due to sickness! I couldn't even stand up properly, and there I was helping out Marky. No, wait a sec. That was you."

EFB: "Good luck. Gotta go."

So it took two days to count the store, which is super-long. And when I was going through the tilts, some of my employees weren't exactly helping. (More on this later.)

So I got it down to about 13% wrong, which isn't too bad, and a bit less than what I was expecting. Too bad there was a $6600 inventory loss attached to that. But when you've got digital cameras, a few top-end cell phones and some random stuff missing? That's what happens.

I swear, though. If I have to do another inventory in the next few months, I'm going to kill someone.

* * *

Unhelpful employees. Well, one of them that's really getting on my nerves, anyways. I'll call him LX.

LX has not been doing his share of work around the store the past while. Especially when we were doing inventory, and I was emphasising the fact that you have to be super-vigilant and not take the front box as proof as to what's actually there. I'm sure he cost me 3% by himself.

Apparently, he's been pretty angry these past few days. I couldn't tell you why, since I'm so involved in my own shit. All I know is if I have to tell him to do something five times in an hour, he should be ready when I yell at him about it.

"LX! Do NOT sit down on the job. How are the tilts going? Get back in the booth."

And repeat a few times.

I swear, I'm ready to let him go. Good thing I'm at West Ed come next week. Let the new manager deal with him.

* * *

Tonight, I'm going to see Matt Good for free! Thank you, Rogers Wireless!

I'd thank Monster Cable for the pen I won at their last training session, but it broke a week into using it. The hell?

* * *

I just got a call from the store about a guy who came in looking for a TV in the new flyer. Apparently, the flyer said there was a Panasonic LCD TV for $2500 or something, but the number they had in the flyer was for the more expensive $4000 model. So the guy was making a fuss, saying he'd better get that TV for that price.

I didn't talk to the customer on the phone, but I'm telling you there's a reason that the flyer says on the back that the Company's not responsible for printing errors and mistakes happen in our flyers. No way would I let an LCD TV go for less than cost due to a wrong stock number, that's for sure.

Idiot.

* * *

I bought a new keyboard for Kow rehearsals. This time, it actually has the USB connection, and it's pretty awesome how I can play computer arrangements through it and see a composition I play show up in Finale. Whooo!

* * *

Dev, D! and I are all part of this new e-wrestling federation. You create new wrestlers and have them interact before big matches. Dev and I had to tweak our usual PS2 characters so they'd be more than simple Chris Jericho and Undertaker ripoffs. So far, so good.

* * *

I found out today that my brother, Braden, just got engaged to his girlfriend of over a year, Marsha. Congrats! Now you can actually come up and visit me, so I can MEET this mystery fiancee.

* * *

That's about all I've got going on my my brain today. Now to get ready for Matt Good tonight.

You know, I THOUGHT that might be the case...

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Giving thanks with alcohol, and signs that confuse me.

While driving down 109th Ave on my way home from work, I saw that the Save-On Foods lit sign was having some problems.

It now reads "Save-On Foo s."

All I could think about was hiring Mr. T to be their spokesman: "I pity the Save-On Foo's!"

Also, before Thanksgiving, Zellers was promoting their restaurant's pumpkin pie. The fine print on the bottom of the poster said that their pie, which sells for $7.49 (so I'm assuming it's either an eight- or ten-inch pie) can serve 10-12 people.

10-12 people? Not the people I know of! If everyone had a sliver, maybe, but I'm the kind of guy who cuts a pie into sixths at the MOST.

* * *

My sister and cousins are lushes.

Now, I can say this because they read my journal, and they know I'm just making fun of them for the SHEER AMOUNT OF WINE they were drinking yesterday. When almost all the young generation Dokken females were there, polishing off about four bottles of wine at least, and then saying, "Kyle! Stay the night! Drink a lot!" you know it's an interesting Thanksgiving dinner.

My sister said, "I don't think I've ever seen you drunk."

I replied, "That's because I've never BEEN drunk."

At which point it was the girls' objective to make sure that I'd get drunk with them.

I resisted their demands, and it was still a fun night with the family.

* * *

My mom's birthday was on Saturday, which is yet ANOTHER eerie parallel to Dev's family.

Dev's dad and my mom share the same birthday. And they BOTH turned 55 that day.

Okay, strange coincidence. Here's another: The Bruce family has three boys named Devin, Brendan and Graeme. The Jago family had three boys in it named Graham, Devon and Braden. (Graham and Devon were my younger twin brothers who didn't survive a premature birth.)

Spooky? Me thinks so.

"But I'm not supposed to BE here!" and "Hey! That's not my dad!"

First off:

So you think you know my dad? Maybe you've seen him on choir tours, or when he's come up to see me. Maybe you only know him as Coach Jago, the pixellated wrestler/caddy/video game athlete. (God, I wish I had a screen capture of that. D!, let's get on that capture card!)

I've known him as Dad (for good reason) all my life. Within those twenty-eight years of knowing Dad, I've seen him without his trademark mustache twice.

The first time, it wasn't so much that he didn't have a mustache, as he decided to grow a beard.

After a few weeks of growing, my mom took one look at him and simply said, "Take it off."

The beard was gone the next day. (This must have been when I was about ten or eleven.)

Some undefined period later, he decided to shave the mustache off. Mom took one look at him and simply said, "Put it back on."

The mustache was back a few weeks later.

Other than those two periods, I have never seen Dad other than what everyone else has seen him like in the past thirty years. UNTIL NOW!

Dad has shaved his head/facial hair for charity. Looks a lot different, to the point of being a dead ringer for Grandma Jago's facial features. Kind of scary, actually...

* * *
I was planning on updating during a free moment, say like a day off.

Too bad that's looking less and less likely for me!

Last I posted, I was talking about feeling ill. Well, it turned into the cold that everyone had, complete with lightheadedness and vertigo. I couldn't think properly, which is not that good when I'm trying to help people at the store.

The EFB would hear me say "Look, man, I'm feeling really sick, so I'd appreciate it if I was able to take the day off, rest and recuperate just in time for the inventory we're about to have."

Of course, EFB said he really needed my assistance, even if I was nodding off at his desk when typing in stock numbers.

So I ended up working through my illness.

A funny little story that happened earlier than my cold:

My favourite radio station had a contest going on where an interesting prize was on the line. Competitors would battle it out to vie for the title of Sonic Newscaster.

Yes, that's right, the radio station's giving away a job as their newscaster for a contract of at least three months.

It got to the point that my MOM was saying, "Call in sick."

So when I asked EFB if I could come in late and make this audition, the answer was no.

Irony is, when I actually GOT sick, I had no voice, and was doing a 14 hour shift regardless.

Dang.

But, hey, check it out, my friend Randy is a finalist! Awesome!

* * *

I've taken over a store. Yes, I'm now a manager (temporarily).

The gist is, I want to see if I'm a match for my dad's kidney transplant. And if I am a match, I'll need three months to recover from major surgery. So there was really no point in becoming a manager if I was just going to leave for a quarter of a year.

"Hey, I'm your new manager! Well, see you in February! Here's your NEW new manager..."

But when a spot opened up very quickly (loss prevention issues), they told me I can do a month-long temporary manager position, so I can take my sick leave afterwards.

I was to start there today, after the old manager was to be fired. So I'd have a weekend off before starting a long haul in Clareview. And I could get my blood tested.

BUT! On Thursday, at Westmount, I was called up by the district manager.

"Hey, how quickly can you make it here?"

"Um, I've just got two new hires who can't be left alone. I'd have to wait until about 5:30 before I could get there. Why?"

"Um, we fired the old manager today."

"But my weekend?"

"Sorry."

"Blood test!"

"Sorry."

So on my way to choir that night, I made a oh-so-roundabout route to the store in order to close it for the night.

I found two girls waiting there for me.

"Hi," I said. "I'm your new manager. Sorry about all this. It's hard having a manager and assistant manager get fired on you, isn't it? So! Let's close up!"

Good plan, but when I don't know the old manager's password, and can't get into the system? Yipes. Good thing I knew someone who used to work under him, and they gave me the password.

Before I left, I told the two girls (K1 and K2) that I was to have a few days off.

"K1, you and the old AM were scheduled for tomorrow. Would it be cool if I came in for the morning, and then came back to close?"

K1 looked at me with wide eyes. "Today was my first day."

Me: "Ah. Right. Crap."

I turn to K2. "It's you, the old manager and S on Saturday. Would you be able to cope without me, and then I could close at night?"

"It's my fourth day."

"Oh. Jeez. Okay."

So, needless to say, it's been a fun journey. And by fun, I mean, I'm trying to keep sane. Luckily, I've been given permission to close at 6 on weekdays, instead of 9. Thank GOD!

* * *

Saw Serenity over the weekend. And I enjoyed it a lot, although I'm not going to post anything that people who HAVEN'T seen the movie will read beforehand.

I'll talk about that later. What I WILL talk about is the screening itself.

Because we're big geeks, a circle of my friends saw it opening night. There were nine of us, so we managed to find a row we could sit in. Unfortunately, there were so many groups, there weren't a lot of seats left to couples.

So my group scooched down a seat so we had enough room for a pair of people. My luck, it was a very hot woman. Who was obsessed with the Firefly story. And had dragged a guy friend down to see it with her.

So she's talking with her friend, and would keep on talking to me as well. I'm not so rude that I won't chat up a hottie, so we talked.

No, it wasn't "Hi." It was "Hey, who's your favourite character?" (Which, as we ALL know, means, "Let's ditch the movie, hit your car and make out.")

Me: (thinking madly to the year and a half prior I saw the DVD series) "Jain, I guess."

Apparently that was the right answer, since she started gushing about Jain.

It's not so much that Jain isn't my favourite, but more along the lines that I love the ensemble.

So, yeah, sitting next to a cute girl that had a bit strong vanilla perfume on. Still, I can handle scents like that. Good thing it wasn't Cheese Girl that she was sitting beside...