The Adventures of Cowboy Hazel

I think I’m going to re-evaluate this whole blog thing. I’ll probably keep the blog here at this address, but I’m going to write my own code for it instead of using this auto-generated WordPress thing. I hate the way it forces you into their whole conception of what a blog should be.

Anyway, I just finished watching the movie The Ten. It started off really bad — so bad, in fact, that I quit watching and wasn’t planning on finishing it. But, my wrist was cramping up so severely that I couldn’t do any more work on the computer and I didn’t feel like reading, so I decided to finish it up. It actually got better. I appreciate the fact that it was so different from the typical movie format. Still, the comedy was really cheap in parts and there wasn’t really any point. I guess that was the point (that there is no point). But, then what is the point of watching? Anyway, I’ll give the movie 2 1/2 stars on my Blockbuster Queue, which is a significant improvement over the 1 star I was planning on when I first turned off the television.

It’s strange that the movie is what I mentioned first. There was something so much bigger that happened today. Irina texted me to say that Andres got fired. Charles freaked out about a stolen sale like two weeks ago and started trying to get Andres angry. I think something snapped inside of Charles; he was seriously acting crazy. Anyway, he kept provoking Andres — throwing ties on the ground in his shop, threatening “I know where you live”, etc. until Andres yelled at him and told him to get the fuck away. It was at this point that I saw what was happening and made Andres go outside with me so he could have a cigarette and calm down. I thought I had diffused the situation, a situation which I saw as potentially escalating into something detrimental to my friend’s job. I found out today, though, that I didn’t act soon enough. The simple argument that they had on the floor (with no accompanying physical violence) was enough reason for Saks to fire both of them today.

I call bullshit. You have two guys who have been working in your store for a combined six years, both of whom sell over $1 million a year and you terminate them because of one argument? People lose their cool sometimes. People make mistakes. You don’t fucking fire someone because they yell at someone once. Sure, if it’s a repeated problem, you should get rid of them. But once? What happened to the strike system? Why not write them up? I really don’t understand what Saks was thinking, but I think that they just made a big mistake. In this environment, on that floor, they are going to find it impossible to replace the people they fired today with anyone who can do the job as well as they could. I don’t know whether it was a move to show that the new H.R. guy has power, or if there was some hidden agenda, or what. Whatever the reason, they made a mistake.

Double line break signals a new drink. This was a trademark of my journals. I’m going to incorporate it into my blog.

I’ve been doing a ton of work on my Network lately. I think I’m going to call in sick to work tomorrow so I can do some more. I just have this feeling like I need to get this done before February because I know I’ll be sick of coding because I’ll be doing it so much for other people and won’t want to do it for my own projects. I’m trying to come up with a good name for my new directory. I’m expanding my links page into a directory, I’ve decided.

You know, sometimes I wish I was ten years older than I am. I have a feeling that I would have made a hell of a lot of money. I feel like I’m showing up to the party too late. All the cute girls are taken and all that’s left is the fat chick who drank too much punch. I mean, seriously, Facebook, YouTube, Hot or Not (even though they seemed to have recently tanked), eBay, etc. — none of these were complex concepts. I feel like all the good ideas have been taken. What’s left for me? Coolness quizzes and video poker? Is that really going to pay my bills?

I’m rambling. Sorry about that. Or, not, if you like the whole point-of-consciousness thing. But, this isn’t really there. It’s still too structured.

I saw Miss America yesterday morning. She is beautiful. I mean, I know that she’s Miss America and everything and when you see pictures or see her on TV you think, “Wow she’s hot,” but in real life she’s beyond words. I was sitting in the front row of the taping of Regis and Kelly yesterday with Kimberly when Miss America came on as a guest. Kimberly said to me, “If my boyfriend saw her, he’d pass out.” The thing is, she had some serious competition there too. There was this singer, Sara Bareilles, who was completely gorgeous (and maybe even more so than Miss America) in her own way. And then, there was Kelly Ripa, who I’ve always had a big crush on and who is the reason that I agreed to go to the show. She’s skinnier than I thought and has a tattoo, but she is absolutely amazing. So, I guess what I’m getting at here is that all that crap about celebrities not really being beautiful and that it’s all makeup and everything is crap. They are really hot.

Oh, and Regis doesn’t know what Jil Sander is. He came up to me during one of the commercial breaks and started chatting. I was wearing a suit because I had to go to work later, but everyone else (hicks from the midwest) was in t-shirts and jeans and so I stood out a little. He asked what I did for a living. I told him that I work at Saks. “The one on fortieth and fifth?” “Yeah, fiftieth and fifth.” “What do you do there?” “I’m the Jil Sander men’s specialist.” “What?” “I sell clothes.” Then, he did that thing with his jacket, opening it up, like David Letterman always does, to show the label and said, “What do you think of this, Mr. Saks?” I just laughed, along with everyone else, and he went back to get ready for the next segment. He came back during the next commercial break and did the same thing, to which I replied, “Looks snazzy.” Snazzy? Who says that? Carlton? Snazzy? Snazzy? Playoffs? Playoffs?

God, I love those Coors Light commercials. If your an American man, you understood that. And, you’ll probably also understand why I want to get a tattoo of a bald eagle on my back. I want to show support for my country in this time of economic peril. Although I don’t agree with many of the decisions that have been made by our government lately, I will never be unproud to be an American. I think that many people of my generation are letting political beliefs interfere with their national pride. No matter who’s in office or what party is making policy, we should always be proud to be Americans. I feel like a lot of people have forgotten that. I want a reminder to myself and to everyone else (who sees me with my shirt off) that America is still our home, our pride no matter what happens.

Wow, I’m getting off topic here. I should probably go to sleep. It’s getting late and I have to wake up early tomorrow to call in sick to work.