Fear the Crab

I was back at the U of Puget Sound, in the basement of the Student Union Building. I was in some office, for reasons which I do not know, and I was actually not supposed to be there. I was sneaking into this office as a favor to someone else, who required a paper or file from the back rooms. I felt highly paranoid as I conducted my business, but I was able to leave without being stopped.

As I left the building, a professor came up to me and said I needed to come with him to the Fiscal Office. The reason was because he had forgotten to tell them that I was now living in a special house-dorm with a few of my friends, and we needed to correct it if I wanted to remain there. As we were walking to the office, I noticed that the professor was accompanied by a few other faculty members, and I came to realize that they were all sycophants and hung around him merely to leech off his fame. I could overhear their whispers, and they said amongst themselves that I was the teacher’s pet, though I had no recollection of even taking that professor’s classes.

On the way to the office, I received a phone call from Jumi. We engaged in idle talk, and then she made mention that she was still working at the sheriff’s department. That conversation seemed to twist the dream into a “daydream” within the dream, because I was then thinking about a fictional time when I worked at a television station, helping their broadcasts by positioning lights, and I even began to think about the fictional time that I had to apply make-up to these actors and actresses.

My dream returned to “normal,” and we made it to the fiscal office, which turned out to be a mock-up of the Customer Service Counter at DFS. The line was long because the person working the counter was slow and did not do things in a timely manner. I realized that after we had all approached the counter, we would have another wait for the fiscal office cashier’s window, and I began to worry that I wouldn’t have time to get my next class. Yet I couldn’t leave, because I needed the professor’s help in telling the office where I was living and why I was living there (I think he had to vouch for me and sign some papers). I remember thinking that maybe if I at least made it past the CR counter, I could skip out and go to my next class. A foolish thought, but it was the last one I had before I woke up.

Not much happened today. I did some desc work on CheesyMUD and made a few mobiles, but that’s about it. Some would say I’m barely doing enough to warrant my immortal position, but I would disagree. Later.

At work it was a slow day. Nothing exciting occured, and the only notable thing worth mentioning was that Irene claims to not snore when she sleeps. I asked her how she can say that when she’s asleep and likely can’t hear herself snore. She says it’s because Tolkien never said anything. I think he’s being polite.

I’m trying to figure out why my desktop is so slow. By slow I do not mean machine speed, but rather the annoying fact that if it’s left on for a while, it will actually “act” slower. It’s as though something is chewing up all the processor time and it’s clogging up the pipes like a garlic chili dinner down the toilet. Among the clues that tell me this is the fact that my system clock gets slower and slower, to the point that it could be midnight in reality, but the computer will think it’s 2230 hours. The processor sounds like it’s regurgitating leftover spiced ham, and as it’s doing that the mouse is ill-responsive like a needle skipping over a broken record. I’ve removed some programs I no longer needed, one of which being ProgressQuest, a “hands-free” type of game that runs on its own. My suspicions fall greatly upon that cheeky monkey. I removed it, and after a reboot and disk cleanup/scandisk/degfrag I’m going to let it “sit” for a while and see if that fixes the problem. A deep gurgling in my stomach tells me that’s not the end of the problem, however. We shall see.

Today’s Invader Zim episode(s):
Megadoomer
Lice
Germs
Dark Harvest

This morning I woke up with a very sore stomach, the kind that makes you double over into a fetal position and not want to move, except you have to move because if you stay still the pain takes over your lower eyelids and makes you scream like a baby. Well, maybe it wasn’t THAT bad, but it was horrible. I almost used it as an excuse to call in sick to work. In the end it turned out for the better, because I did absolutely nothing at work. If I had stayed home, I would have done the same thing; I just wouldn’t have gotten paid for it.

The only thing that happened at work was the realization that sometimes, when you’ve grown up and matured into a true adult, suddenly the people you used to know are still thinking like little kids, and as a result are not as pleasant to know anymore.

I watched Animal Precinct tonight, and every time I see that show I am amazed and appalled at the ignorance and stupidity people have in this world. It is horrifying what these so-called “pet owners” do to their charges. Tonight’s episode there was a case where owners tied up 13 newborn puppies into garbage bags and threw them into the trash for the garbagemen to pick up. If a neighbor hadn’t heard the crying from inside the can, all of the puppies would likely have been lost. In the end, however, only 2 of the 13 survived. The owners were, naturally, arrested. There was also a case of a dog being muzzled with what looked like a coffee can, and even a dog that had its throat cut wide open with a knife. The show is not for the faint-of-heart, but at least those stinky ignorant dirt-people get what they deserve.

The inventory for the store was today, so much of my time was spent in preparation. There wasn’t much for me to do since most of the back rooms were already accounted for. I just had to check the displays for any merchandise that we still sold. There was another job that had to be done, that of logging all the sunglasses in the drawers so that the inventory people wouldn’t have to count them. That job was supposed to go to Lynn, but she’s a putz, and not to be trusted with assignments of high detail and meticulousness. Seeing as how I am probably the most anal retentive employee in the company, that task fell to me.

I discovered today that the classes I wanted to take in the fall were closed. Those last few seats were snatched up like the last calzone at Boston’s. Of the two classes I want to take, one has another section offered at the same time on the same day (I assume it’s held in different rooms), so that I foresee no problems with. Unfortunately, the second class has another section at 0745 hours. That in itself would not be so bad, but I would have to kill 3 or 4 hours before the next class. That’s a lot of time to spend at an accredited university. I think it will only serve to heighten my quirky insanity to extremes beyond mortal comprehension.

Some good news, though; I bought doughnuts for breakfast.

Tonight’s Invader Zim episode:
A Room with a Moose

I seem to have broken my spec codes on CheesyMUD. Everytime I think I fix it, the same problem occurs. What happens? Well, first let me say that the code is supposed to prevent access into an area unless that person carries a ticket. If they don’t have a ticket, the code is supposed to tell them they can’t pass without one. Unfortunately, when I finished the code, anytime I tried a command I would be told I needed a ticket. In a nutshell, I had “frozen” myself and “locked” all my normal game commands (including the commands to try and fix the code). I’d hate to think what I would have done if there was no other immortal who could have helped me. I’d be stuck forever!

Work was actually busy today. There were lots of customers all wanting to buy things. After we closed the registers, I noticed a good-sized stack of traveler’s cheques and whole heap of long greens. That’s something the store hasn’t seen in a long time. Still, I’m very glad I don’t have to go to work tomorrow.

I found out today that I register for the fall semester on Aug 20, Tuesday at 1330. That’s the last day of registration. As of last week, there were only a few seats available. The pessimistic side of me is saying that now I won’t get a seat in the classes I want, and I’m going to have to spend the first week of school sitting in on classes and hoping someone will drop. The optimistic side of me is saying that the classes I want have certain prerequisites that need to be fulfilled, so my chances of getting a seat only depends on who else is pursuing the same field of computer science. I’ve already got the requirements needed to take the class, so if everyone who’s taking it with me already registered, odds are those open seats will remain open. I’ll just have to keep checking the class status every day to see any changes.

I think this will be a very stressful week for me.

This dream seemed to be a mix of images all blended together. It first started with me spending time in jail, and I was on a work crew. Except I had a pair of needle-nosed pliers. I had to sit in the bed of a pickup truck with a bunch of hardened cons. Then the dream switched to that of a man running down the street eating a package of uncooked spaghetti, or linguine.

There was an image of me playing a solitaire game with actual cards, and a scene of me standing.. somewhere.. to do.. something.

None of it made any sense, and already I find it hard to remember details.

Today started out weirdly. I almost threw up the omelette I had for breakfast. I had the night shift at 1830, so that meant I had to kill 9 hours before leaving for work. I’ve never been more bored in my life. What’s even more sad about that is the fact that just in my room there are hundreds of things I could have done to pass the time. Chalk it up to good ol’ laziness, I guess. I even tried to take a nap, but it was too hot, and I think I only managed to doze off for 10 minutes.

On CheesyMUD I tried to make a spec program, somewhat because I wanted to show I could contribute something, but primarily because I felt like it. The only problem was, a certain command was unavailable to me, so I couldn’t compile the code. That makes it tough to test. I felt like a prick for bugging all the higher-ups on the game to compile the code for me.

At work I tried out the new pair of boots I bought on Wednesday. A black pair of Bates-brand boots, they look like something someone in the military or law enforcement would wear. I think it even claimed so on the tag. What’s neat about them is they have a zipper on the side, so I can take my feet out while keeping the boots laced. The boots were comfortable at work, and after having them “blessed” by Irene I did a little dance in front of the jewelry stand.

Work itself was.. well, okay. That’s the best I could put it. It wasn’t dull or boring, but neither was it active enough to consider it a “busy” day. That’s what happens when our primary customers are those from overseas. Still, it felt like I got a lot of work done, so in the end I guess you could say it was worth it.

There’s not much to talk about regarding work, except to say that these days it seems the young Japanese girls are wearing less and less clothing. You can blame the pop stars for that. One day a pop star is going to promote corsets and those gigantic hoop dresses, and then all over Japan women will find it hard to ride the train.