Fake First Fridays and False Foamys

Okay, it looks like an hour until the hockey game starts on Yahoo, so I have time to work on the blog I guess. Excuse me if I nosh in front of the computer while I type, but the radio station didn't feed me today, so I am making up for lost calories.
I have mentioned before that the radio station does a thing called First Friday. For the ill informed, basically what it is is on the first Friday of every month, provided there is no company wide event on the calendar, the radio station will do a lunch for everyone who works there. The menu varies, sometimes it will just be pizza and soda, other times they will go out and do crazy stuff like stuffed chicken breast and steamed veggies, just depending on who is organizing it and what kind of deal they can cut with whomever is supplying the food. One of the things about radio, we can trade airtime or offer it at a lower rate in exchange for goods and services. Anyway, last month the calendar got in the way, as we celebrated Orthodox Radio Christmas, meaning that First Friday was called off, but today is Friday and it is the 1st of the month, so let the feeding begin, or so I thought. I even put off some production work until today so that I could take advantage of said festivities. Well, the festivities were cancelled. An email was sent out saying that it would be pushed back to a quarterly event, more than likely just another cost cutting venture in the empire that is radio. I say that because a couple of weeks ago, I was doing my normal show prep, which means I visit a number of web sites and anything that we might be able to use on the show, I print out. It can turn into quite a decent stack of paper because I usually start with the Pittsburgh Tribune Review, then go to the Philadelphia Inquirer, then it is off to the Washington Post, followed by Radar Online, Us Magazine and finishing with Fark. Occasionally I will sneak in a trip to the San Francisco Chronicle, or Christopher Hitchens page, or Opinion Journal, but those are only if I have time. I don't grab every single thing on those sites mind you, but if I think we will need it for the show, then I will grab it. Anyway, I am doing my show prep the other day and the business manager complained that I was using too much paper. Yes kids, we are so fucking cheap that paper is an issue. Needless to say, I now buy my own paper just so they can shut the hell up about it. So when an email gets sent out saying that we will be cutting the First Fridays from ten or so a year to 4, then call it what you will, I call it business as usual.
The cancelling of First Friday, while bad for my tummy, was really about the only bad thing that happened this week, save for the weather, which was awful. Starting with Monday, I stopped by the part time job and picked up my first check since vacation, let me tell you, having those two weeks off was good for the body, but bad for the wallet, going only with one job's paychecks for 4 weeks. So naturally I did what I sometimes do, I went to the bar and had a couple of beers. Even in my drinking I am cheap however, I go in the afternoon when the beer is cheaper and the crowd much, much smaller. The bar I hang out at has a few poker machines, called Cherry Masters. Basically they are like video slot machines, if I have some extra money I might throw some in, the standing rule being, don't bet the rent. Well, since I had just gotten paid, I figured what the hell, and I started playing one of the machines. I was losing money, not overly fast, but fast enough when the mojo just decided to take over. I ended up dropping $50 into the machine, but pulled out $90, which is a trade I will make most any day. To celebrate, I had another beer and was b.s.ing with the bartender talking about whatever it is was on TV. Usually if Danny is working (he was) rather than just sports fare, in the afternoons he will have on The History Channel, or Discovery or some other cool not usually seen in a bar programming. Anyway, he and I jabbered for a while then he started putting away the beer order, so while finishing off my beer, I opted to part with another $5 in another of the machines. Bing, that's $70 for me and I have officially turned the Cherry Master into my own personal ATM, but I figured I had better abscond with my winnings rather than spend them.
Tuesday was the first of two straight days of working both jobs. It wasn't too bad, the part time job was kinda slow so probably the hardest part was unloading the truck that came in. On the bright side, I did get to make myself some pierogis, first I deep fried them, then I fried some butter and onions and a pinch of garlic in a skillet then added the deep fried potato wonders and they were so yummy. I try not to flash too many cooking skills at work for fear that they will want me to cook rather than dishwash, and I have no desire to cook in a restaurant. Been there, done that. As a result I usually keep the creations rather simple, though I have been known to make chimichangas, even though they aren't on the menu, or the chicken broccoli ranch pizza (also not on the menu), but usually I will just stick with a burger or something that doesn't require all that much attentiveness while making. After work I stopped by Rite Aid in one of my late night shopping splurges and I bought a couple of things that were on sale and got a recharge card for my prepaid Visa. I am anal about buying stuff on the web, so I keep a prepaid card for such purposes. If anyone should steal either the card or the info from the internet they usually don't get all that much cash, I just keep enough on it to maintain my Pogo payments and if I want to buy one or two items, I will add the money as needed. Since I was still enjoying my Cherry Master winnings, I opted to put $50 on my card and when I got home I logged onto Ill Will Press and ordered a Foamy T-Shirt and then tried to sleep, though I only snagged about an hour or so before I was back up again and off to the radio station.
Wednesday I managed to make it through the radio shift and when I got home I decided a nap was in order before getting up in about three hours and once again running off to the part time job. I was just about asleep when someone came knocking on my door. I thought about answering it, I really did, but decided my bed was too comfy, so I stayed put. After a couple hours of sleep I get up and get dressed and just as I am heading out the door to go to work I see a note from UPS. Sorry we missed you, blah blah blah, we will be back tomorrow between 2pm-5pm. I walk to work wondering what UPS could have brought me that I missed. Then I remember the T-Shirt. But it couldn't get here that fast could it? I didn't put a rush order on it, so from the time I ordered until the guy showed up at my place was at most 13 hours or so. Hell, when I managed a pizza shop, I had drivers that were incompetent enough not to move that fast. Still, what else could it be? So I get to work and unlike Tuesday, Wednesday was an ass kicker. We usually do half off food from 9pm-12am, so evenings can be quite busy, but because Pitt was playing a basketball game at home, I didn't have a couple of hours to get geared up for business, when I walked through the door at 5:30pm, the place was already packed. I swear I washed every plate we have and some that may not exist multiple times through the course of the evening. Needless to say, when I got home, which wasn't until about 1:30 am I was just beat. Till I ate and checked my email it was after 2am and sure enough it was back up for work at 4am for Thursday at the radio station, with my mind flittering about a Foamy T shirt being within hours of being in my grasp.
I caught my first bus away fro the radio station after the show at 12:30pm and with my connecting bus, I was back in my neighborhood around 1:15, still plenty of time for the T shirt to arrive, so I stopped by the bar for a quick beer and I put another $10 in the Cherry Master. Bing, $40 to me, the mojo rocks baby!!!!
Anyway, since me and a certain T shirt had a pressing engagement, I wasn't in the bar long enough to waste my winnings, I came scurrying in the door and played some Pogo while I waited for my newest prized possession. Sure enough, there was a knock, knock, knock on my door and I bounded up with breathless anticipation of owning something Foamy, rather than just posting the cartoons in my blog from time to time. At the door, was the UPS guy and in his hand he had a rectangular box. An odd way to pack a T shirt I thought, but then, I have never mailed clothes so what the hell do I know anyway. The box was even kind of heavy, not unbearably so, but odd for a T shirt in a box. I say to myself as soon as I get this box open, I am going to get dressed and go out in my new shirt, knowing the shirt will confound the elderly people of Pittsburgh who haven't come to grasp yet with the internets and all they have to offer. I cut open the box and reach in and pull out.............a bottle of mouthwash. It was like an episode of Let's Make a Deal and I just got the shit prize.
There was a note with my newest possession that I can not wear. It was not Ill Will Press but rather My Survey sending me a bottle of a new mouthwash they are test marketing and in two weeks there will be a survey online for me to fill out about said product. Oh well, that is what I get for signing up with them, I am the proud owner of a 32 oz bottle of Alcohol Free Crest ProHealth Mouthwash w/ Whitening.
That being said, I still had to run out and do some shopping, I needed more paper for work (see above) as well as a few other items. While out I also grabbed some sliced turkey so I could make some turkey and muenster sandwiches when I got home. Plus the bus ride allowed for me to get into my book on Willie Brown. I like it, but I can see where he would be off putting to a lot of people.
That brings us to today and the lack of a First Friday. To drown my misery after I got home from work, I stopped for another cheap beer or three and again put money in the Cherry Master, $15 this time and out pops $60. You can't stop me, you can only hope to contain me. That led to me ordering in this evening, actually I ordered enough for two days, getting a burger and fries and wings (which I will save for Sunday and then reheat) and a two liter Pepsi and since my order was over $15, I opted for the free item special and got bread sticks as well. I love breadsticks with garlic sauce. I would offer some, but I double dip in the garlic sauce and I saw the study this week in the New York Times about the germs that go with double dipping and you don't want any of my cooties.
Anyway, I did finish the Pogo badges for the week, the pinochle practice helped since I hadn't played in a while, Makeover Madness they could throw away and I would never miss it and for my personal I opted for World Class Solitaire (win 400 or more tokens in 10 games) plus I got the level 10 badge in Keno Pop, so it has been a 4 badge week so far.
Another 5 cents pulls the change meter up to $33.84. Thankfully January is over, because it was a bad month for the change meter, hopefully Feb. will be better. At least i managed to find some Coke caps to add to my rewards total. I wish I would have started this earlier, but I already have 90 points in a very short amount of time hunting for those things. The Pepsi stuff contest started today, I already have enough point saved up for like 3 MP3 downloads if I want them, I haven't decided if I will cash them in or save for the bigger prizes.
Well, I am getting sleepy, maybe I will hop back in here tomorrow if I get all of my errands done.