Re: The Official Insomniac Thread

by **S7 Epic** Fri Apr 22, 2011 11:00 am

11 is not within the guidelines...

by **S7 Vision67** Sat Apr 23, 2011 1:48 am

Not exactly late night but...

So some of you may remember that I work retail. specifically SE A RS in the electronics department.

I was told today that I have two months to pick up my numbers, or they'll be handing me my last paycheck.

Now you may know that big screen TVs and home theaters are luxuries that not everyone wants or even cares about when they are still tight on credit, mortgages, jobs, etc.

Well, straight out, the volume of customers has barely started to get better, but the electronics department is still negative. Five out of the ten of us that work in electronics are facing the same situation that I'm in: We need to do better, or they will find someone who will.

That's the background. Tonight, I'm feeling pretty okay. For the past year, I haven't liked the management changes they've made in response to decreasing numbers which are really nobodies fault except the corporate execs that stretched their margins too thin, and now are paying the price to fallen household incomes. Everyone in my department is doing their absolute best to crank out the numbers that corporate wants, but honestly, when there are no customers, it's literally impossible; the ones that are making the cut are doing so only barely.

It's nice to know that this job, which I loved so much because I got to help people find exactly what they wanted in a rapidly changing field, is finally telling me that I need to move on with my life.

When I first started this job, an uncle told me to not lose sight of school, and the bigger goal, and don't be distracted by the money I would be making working commissioned sales. I brushed it off but he was right, and I let the big paychecks I was pulling in blind me, and I quit school for two years. Now, I'm making checks that are literally, one-tenth of what I was making when I first started when the economy was great.

What I'm taking away from this: It was a good experience. I experienced what it was like to make money and feel like I could do stuff with it. I enjoyed traveling to San Francisco, to Boston University, MIT, Harvard, and Yale, to Las Vegas to meet the S7 Crew (Wooo!), to San Diego to go to an MLG tournament, and I even went to Dallas, TX. I'm happy with what I did when I felt like things would be great always because I was young, I had a job, and I could do things that my family could never do together, but I could because I lived under their roof with my own money.

I'm confident I'll look back at this and say yep, I was foolish, I made mistakes, and I worked a dead end job but it was good times and good memories.

I'm happy that this change is being forced upon me, because it's giving me the balls to do what I should have done a long time ago. I wanted you guys to know not just because you're a place where a bunch of old farts have seen me grow for more than 7 years since I first joined BBF-X in November 2003, but because you guys have been as big a part of my experience growing into the man I am as my own family, even if I have ducked out and caught the WoW Bug every time I tried to come back (Sorry OC, I'm ashamed for disappearing on you).

Tonight, I'm going to sit back, study for econ, and have a beer. Tomorrow, I'm going to go to work, and put in my two weeks notice. I don't know what my next adventure is, but I already have another job lined up, and for sure, I'll keep my eyes on school so I can be like Klown and Miller and sit back in my old age and smoke cigars and drink my whiskey.

By the way, I tried Southern Comfort when I was in Texas. I didn't much care for it, too sugary I thought. I'll take my Jack and coke.

by **S7 Wiggles1778** Sat Apr 23, 2011 1:54 am

S7 Vision67 wrote:By the way, I tried Southern Comfort when I was in Texas. I didn't much care for it, too sugary I thought.

It's official... I can no longer be friends with you Vision... Evil or Very Mad

by **S7 KnightOwl** Sat Apr 23, 2011 1:59 am

some of the best advise I have ever recieved was when I was thinking of dropping out of school and my dad looked at me and said "dont just drop out of school because you got a job, stay in school so you can have a career". I should have listened.

by **S7 Vision67** Sat Apr 23, 2011 2:05 am

S7 Wiggles78 wrote:
S7 Vision67 wrote:By the way, I tried Southern Comfort when I was in Texas. I didn't much care for it, too sugary I thought.

It's official... I can no longer be friends with you Vision...

I'll drink it if you're buying.

Or better yet, next time I make it to an S7 gathering, I'll buy the bottle, and you and I can give it a second opinion. Sound good?

by **S7 KnightOwl** Sat Apr 23, 2011 2:19 am

S7 Vision67 wrote:By the way, I tried Southern Comfort when I was in Texas. I didn't much care for it, too sugary I thought. I'll take my Jack and coke.

Try the black label soco its not near as sugary and has a higher alcohol content.

by **S7 Wiggles1778** Sat Apr 23, 2011 2:58 am

The Black Label is good too...

i personally go with the normal stuff... but I also drink it with Coke Zero normally... So i dont notice the sugar kick as much... if I only have like Regular Coke... then its the Black Label

by **S7 Epic** Sat Apr 23, 2011 6:48 am

Over here, SoCo is drunken almost exclusively by women and homosexuals. Just sayin'...

by **S7 Wiggles1778** Sat Apr 23, 2011 8:01 am

if they drink it with cranberry juice that it...

by **S7 Epic** Sat Apr 23, 2011 9:45 am

They don't.

by **S7 mrmiller** Sat Apr 23, 2011 3:23 pm

Vision- that is how you learn brother, and from what I see you saying- you have learned. I always say I have no regrets of things I did in the past, as those choices and experiences have lead me to be the person I am, and to the life I live now. You have always had a good head on your shoulders, and it sounds like you are moving in the right direction. Best of luck to you.

~mrmiller

by **Atrum** Sat Apr 23, 2011 3:28 pm

Nice writeup Joe. MLG was definitely worth it. Hope you're next job is one you enjoy!

by **S7 Vision67** Sat Apr 23, 2011 4:26 pm

Actually, my next job is already lined up: I have a friend who is district manager for game stop here. I ran into her a few weeks ago at gamestop, and talked to her about my situation at sears wasn't good. She said to give her an application and she will put me somewhere.

It's not a dream job, for sure, and little better than Sears was, but at least it's something to do in the mean time while I finish school. Plus, I get discounts and increased trade-in credit on games, meaning I can come back and play the games with y'all WITHOUT breaking the bank! Hooah!

by **S7 Vision67** Mon Apr 25, 2011 2:46 pm

Sears has 4gb Memory stick Pro DUOs on clearance now for $10 while supplies last. I picked myself up 3. If you want one go check at your local store, since they went clearance for stock I think nation wide.

There is also a 10% off >= 40" TVs next sunday after 6pm. other things in the department will also be discounted.

(Clothes would also be 20% off, but clothes at sears are just... expensive in general unless they are clearance.)

by **S7 Hellogiraffe** Sat Apr 30, 2011 4:42 am

Greatest day ever!!!!!

I went to Knott's Berry Farm with my girlfriend today and ended up getting season passes since they were so d@mn cheap. Then I checked my phone and found out I got accepted to UC Berkeley (my dream school!), went on a ride, and right after I got an email saying I won my community college's main scholarship award for $10k. As if that wasn't great enough, when I got home I found out I got another $15k in scholarships from Berkeley with (probably) more to come!

Finally sleepy time Sleep

by **S7 Epic** Sat Apr 30, 2011 7:46 am

I made a chart about your life.

The Official Insomniac Thread - Page 15 Chart?cht=p3&chd=t:95,5&chs=400x150&chl=Real+OC|Other+OC

by **S7 Epic** Tue May 03, 2011 10:38 pm

3:37am - Polishing off my final project so I can send it to the binders by noon tomorrow. Kinda been distracted by Spanishiwa's SC2 stream. Amazing play style. Link: http://www.justin.tv/spanishiwa#/w/1159533808/2

by **S7 Epic** Fri May 27, 2011 11:39 pm

4:39 - Great night out, was a douche for the last 10 mins. Hope I can make up for it tomorrow.

by **S7 Vision67** Sun May 29, 2011 6:15 am

3:04

I've really gotten into playing League of Legends. Apparently, coupled with World of Tanks I've really been on a Free to Play game trip.

Celebrated my 1 year anniversary with the girlfriend this past week. I like how it feels to have a best friend and for lack of a better way of putting it: something like a co-op partner for life. It just... clicks with her.

Last night I was out late and got my beer on with some friends. Went to Wurstkucher. This place was AWESOME. It's a german sausage bar, with SO MUCH BEER on tap. I had a Rattlesnake/Rabbit/Jalepeno sausage and it was so good I had to get another. Cost $7.5 for the 'Exotic' sausages (like the rattlesnake one) but man, it was so worth it. The DJ was playing great music too.

So I finally quit my job at sears. It occurred to me tonight that I really need to put full effort into getting another job. This whole "FREEEDOOOM WOOOO!" phase isn't going to last very long -- it's going to last as long as my severance pay does. So I need to get something going quick. (Not to mention how the hell am I going to pay my WoW Subscription!?)

Yesterday I also went to this new chinese restaurant at a new plaza that opened up. I got a plate of Udon mixed with beef and it was HUGE, and so savory and only cost like $7. Compared to the Pad see-ew that I was getting at my regular joint, which costs about the same, it's a tough call if I'm going to stick at my old place or make this the new spot. Maybe I'll split it 50/50.

Summer Goals:
Learn String Theory
Pick up Ruby, code SOMETHING.
Get a new job.

by **S7 Vision67** Thu Jun 09, 2011 6:21 am

3:21

So, stuff has happened since last i posted here. Just to reiterate, I quit my job at sears.

Finals are over for me, and I know I got an A in my MicroEcon class, and still waiting on my Humanities grade. I hope I did well in that class, the Essays were such a major portion of the grade and they were always so... volatile. Japanese is easy peasy.

Both my Econ and Humanities teachers are noteworthy, actually. The Humanities was this old guy who was just so... awesome. I really can't explain it, but he was just so cool and connected well with the class without ever being a cheese.

My econ prof was a real hard ass, but when I saw him at the end of finals week he greeted me like an Old Friend. I asked him about a tutoring position at the college and him being Vice Chair of the Econ Dept, he's going to give me a paid gig as soon as he talks to the Chair and secures the funds. I'll be teaching two Econ sections hopefully starting the summer quarter. ^_^

I'm moving out of this house into a house closer to my best friend, my girlfriend, and school. And everything just went so smoothly with getting the lease on it, and the family renting us the property is really nice and apparently want to sell off the property in a couple years. Hopefully they sell it to us.

Not having a job kind of sucks, but i have that tutoring gig to look forward to, and I heard tell that you get something like 20 hours a week, and it pays $10/hr. Honestly? That is WAY more than I was making at sears, and I'll be doing something I LOVE doing: Teaching people.

If this works out well, I think I may have found my niche in life. I really love to teach, and for the past 4 years I've tutored math for the Academic Decathlon team at my old high school. Maybe I should teach?

Been cleaning all day, and further tired from girlfriend ( Wink

) and raid. Played a little starcraft today, and don't feel like a TOTAL noob anymore with toss, but I still need to be tighter. Managed to defeat an AI on hard, PvZ, but narrowly. Hydras vs Stalkers. I think the only reason I managed to win was because of my sentries shields and force fields to keep the lings at bay.

EDIT: 445am now. Played a couple games of League of Legends with a guildie. d@mn things took too long. time for bed.

by **S7 Vision67** Mon Jun 13, 2011 7:27 am

4:18

Not much to report. Been moving things into the new house over the weekend at a gradual pace. Still pretty d@mn tired because anything big -- including furniture and stupidly large boxes -- have been moved solely by myself and my brother.

Played a mappack I forgot I had but never played for Portal 1. It was the PC Portal remake of the Portal Flash Version game. Some of these puzzles are tricky. Well, as tricky as they could be to a smart kid at 4am.

As I was cleaning the room here, I found $50 best buy giftcards, $30 Barnes and Noble, and $25 for JC penny. Putting the Best Buy cards toward a new 360 I hope, buy myself probably the Discworld set with the B&N cards, and the girlfriend says that I better use the JCP card to buy something OTHER than a t-shirt and khaki pants (my usual attire). Razz

Only real reason I think I'm still up was because I only had one meal Sunday, and I when I thought about it I ate again at 1am, and I didn't want to sleep directly afterward, so I stayed up.

Going to sleep now I guess, genuinely tired.

I don't suppose anyone is coming to Blizzcon? I don't have tickets, but it'd be nice to see anyone from the old gang. Except maybe your brother, Josh. Mike has turned into a dick now that I've gone to another guild, and he's stuck as an officer in a dead guild. He talks sh1t about me I hear from an insider. I thought he and I were buds, guess not.

Edit: bonus thought before I sleep. So this is 2011... I originally joined BBF-X November 7th 2003. This year, I will have known some of you for 8 years. I am 22.

I've known some of you for more than a third of my life. Daaang.

Sup, Miller, Tico, Garret, EpicDodgeTheseNutsOnYoChin, and let's not forget PsychoExile, TheFIESTYGoat, Snarky, Vman, JesusDroveAnSUV, Midnightsun42, CoverOpsUSMC, ManchesterCA, Paige, the box boy PhoenixSun, and of course, everybody's favorite racist southerner, Henry Krinkle.

Atrum remember when TauntingBigMan said he carried us in Anaheim? LOLOLOLOL.

Okay, I'm just rambling at this point. Night.

by **S7 Epic** Mon Jun 13, 2011 10:41 am

Racist? His wife, Melody, was black.

Wonder if he's still around. Would be great to play with him again and i'm sure he'd have 'fun' with a few of the newer members....especially Chippy, the grown ass man.

by **S7 Vision67** Mon Jun 13, 2011 2:42 pm

S7 Epic wrote:Racist? His wife, Melody, was black.

I was called a spix more than once. It was funny, and I'm sure he wasn't actually racist, but yeah.

by **S7 Epic** Mon Jun 13, 2011 3:43 pm

I thought you were Asian...ish?

by **S7 Vision67** Tue Jun 14, 2011 5:44 am

2:45

I don't want to move anymore, it's tiring Sad

.

Going to bed a little earlier. Have a ton of things to do tomorrow, and less time in which to do it in. Including going to a concert downtown tonight with the girlfriend, and when I come back from that I go straight into my raid for WoW.

by Sponsored content