Fear the Crab

These customers were all leaving either tomorrow or the day after, so they decided to do all their shopping while they still had a chance. It kept me occupied enough that I didn’t get bored.

Maile told me her brother got some paternity papers from the state. It seems the woman he’s involved with has a long history of child neglect, abuse, and outright uncool stuff. It seems the woman has borne a plethora of kids, and all of them have been taken away. The state wants Keoni to take a paternity test to see if the child is really his (because neither he nor the woman are really that sure), and if so, whether he will take the baby or give it up to foster care. If the child does turn out to be his, I don’t really see him being able to take care of it, so it’s likely that kid will go to the state.

Maile also told me that Keoni knew about the woman’s history with kids, and even told a social worker to “check on her” because of her record. Perhaps he did it out of spite, but it’s possible that he did it out of actual concern for the child. I guess every person has their moment, and I’d really like to think that Keoni still retains some decency. It’s not healthy for me to continue thinking of him in ill-respect, if that makes sense. I’d rather consider (and treat) him as a human being, not some worthless fubar wasting precious air.

Today was Janet’s last day at Sports Authority, and I’m happy for her. It seems she’s having some trouble with her unemployment, though, as there are a few requirements of her that make no sense to the rest of us. She wants to collect partial unemployment, but the office is telling her that she needs to look for another full-time job.

Hopefully Janet’s situation can be resolved before her trip abroad. I asked her if she could buy me a bottle of Armani Gio and Johnnie Walker Blue Label. I’d give her the money, of course.

Tomorrow I go down to Toyota City and talk the talk with Bob. I hope to get a good deal on the truck I want. Armed with the MSRP as well as the actual invoice price, that knowledge may provide me with a bit of leverage when determining the final tally.

Work was pleasant enough, though I was in the duty free section by myself. Thankfully George was also working, so it meant I had someone to converse with. Work itself was slow, with few people wandering about the section. Duty Paid saw a little more action, especially with that Fuller convention still on the premises. I think I sold things to maybe four customers total for my entire shift.

I made an “appointment” to see a sales manager at Toyota City for Wednesday. My intent is to get a price list of the Tacoma and all the options I want, and see if it jives with what I’ve gotten from the web site. I also intend to ask if Toyota City offers services like tinting and alarms, because I may as well get it done through them (factory-installed, as it would be) rather than wait until a third party can do it. This way, too, I shouldn’t have as big a headache if it turns out to be illegal (ie tinting).

The only problem, though, is that it seems Toyota City has only the regular cab Tacomas on hand. This information has not been confirmed, but it is enough to indicate that I may have to wait longer to get the truck I want. I don’t know if they’d have to ship it from another dealer on the mainland, or order it from the factory. Whichever is the case, I may as well go for the 2003 model.

It was boring at work. There was nobody to talk to and I actually had to help customers. To top it all off, the big group that’s staying at the hotel are from Puerto Rico and Mexico, and they only speak Spanish. I think the group guides can speak English, but that’s a ratio of maybe one to one hundred. I’m actually looking forward to going to school on Tuesday.

Not much else went on today. I did finally decide on which truck I wanted to get, and that is the Tacoma. Both the Frontier and Tacoma had strong points and some weak points, but overall it seems the Tacoma is better suited for what I want to do. Sure, the Frontier is supposed to handle better on the highway, but the interior is said to be uncomfortable. However, what ultimately was the deciding factor was which car certain other people really liked. Now it is simply a matter of heading down to Toyota City and talking with the staff. Of course, there could be all sorts of problems that may occur while I’m down there, but at least the decision-making process is done, and now I can get down to other serious business.

Today was a busy day for the store. There were a lot of customers, and a lot of purchases, making the night quite a productive one. Add in the fact that Mondays are run nights and it’s easy to imagine how busy everybody was. The rush didn’t die down until 2200, so I took that opportunity to take a break.

Spoke with a few people about my interest in the Tacoma, and so far everyone agrees that it’s a worthwhile purchase. It’s making me feel better about my choice.

Maile is having a few problems in submitting her assignment online. It seems there aren’t any step-by-step instructions on how to do it, and there’s no way of knowing (so far as we can tell) whether or not the assignment was received. It’s not due until the 11th, so Maile has a lot of time to email the professor and ask for instructions. Perhaps there’s a page we’ve missed, or something that helps describe the submission process, but if it’s hard to find, then that’s merely more evidence to our request that it be easy to understand. There’s nothing worse than completing the assignment and turning it in, only to find out the professor never got it.

I’m pretty sure there are other people in the class who are having similar problems. If enough students complain, perhaps the professor will upgrade the submission process.

I’m feeling awake right now. That is not good, since I have to be up in 4 hours to get ready for school.

Work was interesting, but only because of the conversations I was able to have. There was a little toddler boy who really really wanted a mini-recorder keychain, so badly in fact that he tried to break the glass door with his tiny fist when his mom finally dragged him out crying.

I got my first homework assignment for ICS 211. I had to make a web page, which will be the starting point for all those Java applets we are planning to make. The simplicity of this assignment is lulling me into a false sense of security; I’m trying to force myself to believe that it’s not going to be a cakewalk, just so I can take it seriously.

As far as ICS 241 goes, I finally managed to complete the first assignment. I don’t think it’s 100% correct, but at least I did what I could to the best of my understanding.

I helped Maile try and figure out why her printer isn’t displaying its status window. At first I thought it was because XP was installed over the printer drivers, but after I removed and reinstalled the drivers, that darn status window still didn’t show up. The printer still works, though.

Tonight’s UH football game:
Eastern Illinois – 36
Hawaii – 61

Not much to say about today. Work was the same, with nothing exciting happening nor was there anything worthwhile, significant, or contemplative enough to warrant an entry.

Talked to Maile on my break, and that made my day better. I told her that I was leaning towards the Toyota Tacoma as my new mode of transportation. I still have to do more research into the matter, but at least now I have a direction. Once I have acquired all the relevant information, I will then need to weed out the “fluff” that normally comes with advertising or self-promotion. However, it’s highly likely there’s a review web site out there that can give me objective information about the Tacoma.

Interestingly enough, Tacoma is where I went to college.

Tonight’s Invader Zim episode:
Bolognius Maximus

Today was another boring day. Same old same old at work, it being Monday and a run night. The duty free run was surprisingly light, but that only meant I had more time to be bored.

Maile thinks it odd that I think about her a lot. I say it’s probably the only thing that’s keeping me sanely quirky.

Work was blah, as usual. There was nobody to talk to, so it was quite a relief to be able to take a break and talk to Maile on the cell phone. During work, I busied myself not by helping customers or tidying up the store, but rather jotting down some notes for a new zone I was planning to build on CheesyMUD. It’s a step up from the areas I previously built, because it’s going to incorporate several aspects I’ve never tried before (like mini-quests). It sounds hunky-dory in theory, but the actual implementation of my ideas may or may not pan out.

It seemed that I was not the only one who had a blah day. Maile related her excruciating experience at the beach. One might think it strange that people from Hawaii have bad experiences with beaches, but rest assured it’s not all that it’s cracked up to be. It was hot, the food was late in preparation, and those foodstuffs that were ready were quickly gobbled up by inconsiderate clods that had all the manners of a grapefruit.

Maile and I are a bit apprehensive about our respective classes this fall. It’s a mixture of not knowing what to expect and whether or not we’re capable of handling the workload. In the end the only thing we can do is hope, and try our best.

Tonight’s Invader Zim episode(s):
Attack of the Saucer Morons
The Wettening

Maile came to visit me at work today, and that was a most pleasant surprise. She had just finished dinner with Lori at a restaurant called Buca de Beppo (sp?), an Italian place at the Ward Entertainment Center. I had paged Maile during their dinner, and since they were in the neighborhood, they both decided to drop in and see how I was doing. It made the rest of work more bearable, especially since I was able to meet Maile at Zippy’s for a quick bite to eat. Maile just had a chocolate shake, while I had a hot cake sandwich.

I told Maile that the next time she visits, she has to bring Titan. We both had a big laugh about that, because he’d probably freak out the whole of Waikiki. In any case, I can still see him when I drop by her house, so it’s no big loss for me.

Work surprisingly kept me busy. I suppose it’s not too abnormal, considering that Fridays are run nights and the night hours are generally the busiest. Still, it was a change from previous months of boredom. Thankfully I did not have to help that many customers, since I took it upon myself to put away most of the run. I did have to break down and sell things to people, though.

When school starts, I’ll be seeing less and less of Maile than I care to think about. We both have classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but mine start in the morning and finish around lunchtime, while hers start at lunchtime and finish in the late evening. Then she has to work the next day. Combine that with my working more nights, and it seems only Wednesdays and perhaps Saturdays are when I will get a chance to see her. That also means I won’t get to see Titan as often.

In the name of all dairy products, WHY?!

Tonight’s Invader Zim episode:
A Plague of Babies