I'm tired.

And it's so hard to be cheerful when you feel anything but.

I need a long vacation with no worries.

GenCon is over… And I had a wonderful time.

Some highlights:

• Getting to meet Phil and Kaja Foglio, getting hooked on Girl Genius via a signed copy of the TPB covering the first 3 comics, and getting my Myth Adventures game signed!
  
  
• The to-scale battlemap, dice, beholder, and troll in the RPGA room (see my web photo album)
  
  
• Shopping in the dealer’s room, and getting deals on gaming books like "Buy One, Get 3 Free", "50% Off", and "Everything in this booth $5.00".
  
  
• Costumes, costumes, costumes! (see my web photo album)
  
  
• Surprise D&D 4th Edition announcement (okay, some mixed feelings about this, but it was cool to say that I 'was there')
  
  
• Paint-And-Take: I painted my first mini! And it doesn’t look that bad!
  

All in all, I just had a great time. I attended a few games, but mostly I was enjoying just wandering and hanging out – the slower, more laid-back schedule worked well with me this year, I think. :)

This happened last week, and my co-worker just reminded me of it...

As an administrative assistant, I occasionally cover the front desk while the receptionist is on break. This means I get to answer phones/greet guests! Yay! *sigh*


Me = Guess who!
A = Our Receptionist
WG = Weird Guy

Phone = *ring*
Me = *standard greeting, which includes company name*
WG = “Yeah, where is this? What do you do?”
Me = “This is *company name*? We provide corporate real estate, development, and property management services.”
WG = “My name is WG, someone just called me from there?”
Me = “I’m sorry, we have 30 employees in the office, do you happen to know what they may have called regarding?”
WG = “No… I guess I should just listen to the voicemail that they left.”
Me = *blink* “Umm… that might be a good idea, sir?”
WG = “I’ll do that then. Thank you!” :D
Phone = *beep, dial tone*
Me = 0.0
A = *seeing me all 0.0* “What’s up?”
Me = *explains*
A = “Oh, yeah, that happens at least every other day. I don’t know why they don’t just listen to their voicemail first.”
Me = *wanders off back to my cubicle weeping for humanity*

He was really nice throughout the whole thing… it was just like WTF? Why?!?! And it happens all the time?!?!

X-posted to customers_suck

This one was actually really accurate...

( Meme )

Here's the breakdown:

Stability results were low which suggests you are very worrying, insecure, emotional, and anxious.

Orderliness results were medium which suggests you are moderately organized, hard working, and reliable while still remaining flexible, efficient, and fun.

Extraversion results were moderately low which suggests you are reclusive, quiet, unassertive, and secretive.

Trait snapshot:
introverted, irritable, feels invisible, observer, depressed, does not enjoy leadership, reveals little about self, dislikes large parties, feels undesirable, does not like to stand out, submissive, suspicious, emotionally sensitive, not a thrill seeker, solitude loving, likes silence, fragile, second guesses self, negative, unadventurous, fearful, weird, focuses on people's hidden motives, paranoid, phobic, dependent, cautious, avoidant, semi intellectual

So... you guys know me, what do you think?

Got my SUV back this morning, finally... total of $5453.51 for the repairs. It looks good, except that they moved some stuff around in the front seat (notable, since it was out of the way on the passenger side, and they shouldn't have had to touch it at all - someone could sit comfortably without touching it, and all the repairs were to the rear of the vehicle so there was no reason to move stuff up front.) Also, the built-in digital clock no longer works. So, I have to figure out if it is as simple as an off/on switch, or if I have to take it back. I hit every button I could think of, none of them turned the clock on, so I have to look further.

And, more seriously, there was a shooting not too far from my house last night - just down the block. See full IndyStar article. Apparently, the crime followed us... this is a decent neighborhood, and the first time something like that has happened here. *sigh* This is why I always lock the doors at night or even when I am home.

Joe L. also thinks that these guys came into the gas station after the shooting... they were acting weird and looking around, and took off when they saw him.

Hopefully, the cops catch them soon...

Well, it looks like they aren't done with the SUV yet... seems that I will have the rental for a few more days. *sigh*

I left a message yesterday - no call back.

Called this morning - he said that it was scheduled to be done today, but he didn't think that they would make that deadline. His exact words: "Let me check on that and call you back in a few minutes."

Called back 2.5 hours later. Was told he was on the phone with another customer. Held for a while. Was told that he'd have to call me back. Gave her my info, explained that all I needed was a "Yes, your car will be ready for pickup tomorrow" or "No, it won't be ready tomorrow morning." That's all I needed to know, so I could extend the rental agreement if it was needed.

Called Enterprise 2 hours later and extended the rental until Friday, since I still hadn't heard from the body shop, and I'm guessing that I won't today. Enterprise told me that State Farm hasn't set up direct billing with them yet (which means that were I to return the car tomorrow morning, I'd be liable for the whole bill until State Farm could reimburse me. I don't have $175 upfront to pay them until the 31st, or it wouldn't be an issue.) In that light, I guess it was somewhat fortunate that I had to extend the rental.

Called State Farm and left a message for my adjuster to call me on the rental car coverage for that claim.

So... honestly, I haven't any clue what is going on with my car. I think that the rental payment confusion was partly my fault, since I got confused and confused the rental guy way back when I picked up the car. But still....

This whole deal has been a nightmare. I just want it over.

Edit 4:33pm: Just got a call back from State Farm - they went ahead and processed the direct bill to Enterprise and confirmed that the info got to them, so at least I only have to worry about paying my 20% co-pay when I drop off the rental. Allen at State Farm also confirmed that they will pay up to $1500 of rental fees per claim - since I'm only at $140 in charges now (and I pay 20% of that), I have quite a while before I reach the max that State Farm will cover on the rental. I was a little worried about that. :)

( Car Accident )

( Insurance Woes )

So, anyway, that’s where it stands. I was so upset this morning that I have a massive headache now and just want to go home from work, but I can’t. *sigh*

I ran across this editorial on my local newspaper's website, about the current debate of whether or not to alter Indiana's state constitution to make same-sex marriage illegal. The poster talks about how he hasn't heard any convincing reasons from the religious sect as to why to make it illegal, just that it should be so.

Of course, there were plenty of people responding to that. I loved the response of this individual (copied and pasted below)

http://blogs.indystar.com/expresso/archives/2006/10/between_consent.html#comments

Comment from Josh on October 27, 2006 2:56 PM
Daniel,

You identify yourself as someone who use's the Bible as a litmus test. While I do not personally follow the same path, I also try not to influence anyone into thinking the way I do. Most members of my family are devoutly religious (typically pretty mainstream Christian denominations), and I see that their belief does them a world of good, so I am even a supporter of the concept of the church.

What tends to get me into a discussion though, is when their own Bible contradicts itself/their church, and they just ignore the contradictory passages and still use the other passages to argue their point. Either a person believes the Bible is the Word of God, and therefore is a divine proclamation from God himself, or it is a collections of stories to be used as a general guide, open to interpretation and revision, but not to be followed word-for word. Most churches want to have it both ways -- that it is the Word of God when it supports their beliefs and just a guidebook when it does not.

Many churches will also diffferentiate between the Old Testament and the New Testament, as if we switched Gods at halftime, and the "New" God is more correct than the "Old" God. But, again, they go ahead and preach about the "One" God in the next breath.

Finally, most churches argue that the mortals who wrote the books of the Bible were inspired by the hand of God. Who chose which of those writers had actually been inspired and which were just infidels who wrote a fictional story (i.e. the recent Gospel according to Judah, that has already been discredited by most churches, as well as countless other known "gospels" that do not appear in the modern Bible)?

With those things in mind, please explain the infallability of the Bible's anti-homosexual stance in the light of the questions I have previously posted (which I have conveniently also posted below). While many of the "questions" are obviously written in jest, I cannot get someone to argue against same-sex marriage and for any of the proscribed ideas at the same time. If the two can be reconciled, I am willing to proclaim defeat.

Why is there no outrage over a 2nd marriage as it is defined by Jesus as adultery, and therefore a sin (Matthew 19:9) (same book that contains the oft-cited verses (4-5) to put down the outlandish notion of same-sex marriage)

Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not to Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?

I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness (Lev. 15:19-24). The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord (Lev. 1:9). The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states that he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it?

A friend of mine feels that, even though eating shellfish is an abomination (Lev. 11:10), it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this? Are there "degrees" of abomination?

Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle-room here?

Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How should they die?

I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev. 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread(cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them (Lev. 24:10-16)? Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair, like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws (Lev. 20:14)?

Dear Christians: You creep me out.

Although I might disagree with some points, overall the essay reflects a good portion of how I feel. Except... exchange all references to 'frighten' and/or being 'creeped out' to 'anger'. That sort of attitude angers me, it doesn't exactly frighten me.