A rather busy day at work today, made moreso because when people tell me to order lots of stuff, that tends to be exactly what happens. Ed talked to me yesterday about increasing our orders over the next week or so, because with the G 20 coming to town, nobody really knows who will and will not be delivering goods, compliments of the security perimeter that will be in place. I already know that both Pepsi and Coke will not deliver that week, instead opting to double the orders the week before. Not sure how Sledd (our grocery provider) will be approaching the delivery quandry, seeing as how they usually deliver 3 times a week. They may opt to try and send stuff early the week of, in which case I might not have a big problem with them, but if they decide to take the entire week off, then I have to make sure we have enough in stock to cover a week of no deliveries.
Today was a little busier than normal because of that very reason. I ordered over 40 totes full of groceries, plus we had a Arizona Tea delivery (70 cases) and as a added bonus, I was sent to the the other stores downtown to stock coolers. I basically ran my ass off most of the day, so much so that I didn't get out of work until an hour and a half after I was supposed to leave. Part of the problem had to do with my crew, which consisted today of just Curtis, whose uselessness is not only wearing on me, but is to the point that no one else wants him either. Usually, because of the responsibilities I carry at the store, if something needs done at one of our other stores, they will send someone else and leave me do my things. But because Curtis is so unliked, they opted for me instead. That was until the grocery order arrived and they saw the job Curtis was doing checking it in, then it was a phone call urging me to come back to make sure things were done correctly.
This isn't the first time this sort of thing has happened. As a matter of fact, I yelled at him just last week for his lack of speed. Friday we had three orders coming in, a Pepsi order, a Coke order and a grocery order. Plus we were having a guy come by to take away some of the junk that is cluttering up the basement. All in all, it looked to be a busy day on its face. The thing is, we never know ahead of time when the deliveries will arrive, some times they will be spaced out, other times they will be right on top of each other. As luck would have it, Pepsi was the first to show up, and it was the largest Pepsi order I have had to handle at this point, 195 cases. So Curtis is at the top of the shoot, dropping the cases down to me to catch. Except he isn't dropping cases, he is ogling women and talking and nothing is coming down the shoot. Meanwhile I am thinking, if the next delivery shows up and I am stuck with 195 cases under my feet, I am going to be pissed. Luckily, the second delivery didn't show up right away, but still he was so slow that when we finally had all of the cases in house, rather than have him help me put it away, I sent him away and did it myself.
Because of my additional responsibilities, I went ahead and did a cigarette order for upstairs, then did an inventory for when we placed our next order later that day. Around that time Rob (t) (don't make me do the descriptions again) had showed up, though he was scheduled both to help me and to work register. As luck would have it shortly after his arrival, the junk guy came to haul rubbish. We loaded his truck down with old racks and other junk that really was just in the way more than serving any suitable purpose. Of course while we were doing this was exactly when the grocery order arrived, so I sent him away to start checking it is and Curtis and I loaded up the truck, which basically meant things went way slower than need be. By the time we got the truck loaded to haul away the first of two junk runs, I came upstairs and Rob had been pulled to the register, so I started putting away the stuff he did get checked in, and started checking in other stuff. I still hadn't got to the grocery order I had to place, but it is hard to place an order without knowing what you do and don't have, so until we could get the current order done, there was no way for me to start the next one. As I was just making progress on the order, the junk guy showed up again and it was back to the basement to load up the next truckload of trash. To make matters even better, this was the time that the Coke delivery decided to show up. Better still, he managed to spill our order through the back of his truck, so it took longer for him to unload, and he was pressed for time, as his employer wasn't going to pay him for overtime and he probably had a good hour drive ahead of him that he had to get done in less than an hour's time. And again Curtis is sending the order down the chute and again things are at a standstill till finally I couldn't take it any more and just yelled at him. Understand something, when it comes to work, I really don't give a flying fuck if you like me or not, it isn't a popularity contest, I just want to get shit done, and keeping me from doing that, or making me redo your work, are probably the two biggest ways to piss me off I can think of. Curtis's lack of speed, and knowing I still had now two orders to put away, another order yet to place and a load of junk to get rid of, and I had plenty on my plate without someone making the tortoise look like a speed demon in the 40 yard dash.
Of course I haven't been the only one to make these observations, which is why I was called away today to the other store instead of him, and then his lack of competence was why I was called back before I was completely done.
So tonight I am going to glog the Pittsburgh-Tennessee game. A little pregame stuff, the Pittsburgh Steelers are coming off of a Super Bowl win last year and are the defending NFL Champions, while Tennessee is the last team that defeated the Steelers, en route to a 13-3 season last year. As a little added motivation, while defeating the Steelers last year, Tennessee running back LenDale White took it upon himself to trample on a Terrible Towel, which is almost of religious icon status around these parts. I don't take my football quite that seriously, but many around here do, so for them it is a huge insult. Oh well, to each there own I guess.
Since the game isn't underway just yet, I went ahead and started another adventure on Dungeons and Dragons. I am on my second run through of the game, this time as a half elf paladin. I haven't been as determined on this trip as the last one, just haven't had the time to tinker with it. Still, I am a level 6, and it ends at level 11 before you have to restart, so I guess I am better than halfway done.
Well, I might as well continue with the stories from work today. The grocery order ended up taking longer than it should have, mostly because I was working short handed until Rob (t) arrived, and at 3pm, when Wayne and Chris also showed up. Between the four of us, Wayne stuck with stocking the coolers, Rob (t), Chris and I managed to bang out the order in a much quicker fashion than with Curtis being around. Not only that, but unlike Curtis, we were able to talk and do it at the same time. So we joked around and still managed to get shit done, which is always a plus. I even broke into a Family Guy joke that I am sure only I got when I said “The totes, they are everywhere. They are even in my raccoon wounds.” (If somebody gets that, I may just have to award a prize or something.) Then began the philosophical discussion of tampons (How can a tampon be a “super” if there is a “super +”. Doesn't that make the “super” ones, just like, slightly better than average or something..) Yes, the mind jarring discussions that take place are indeed a sight to behold, or be heard as the case may be.
For those that were wondering if they could be part of such palaver, why yes, yes you can, as we are currently hiring. But think about what you are signing on for before filling out the application.
Once again I have managed three pages and said nothing. A skill set I am sure you all are envious of by this point. And it will only get worse once the game starts.
Speaking of which, it is 8pm so I guess it is time to click over to the pregame coverage. Usually the NFL season opener is replete with pregame festivities, and right now they are showing some of the Black Eyed Peas concert that I passed on attending earlier this evening. Just another reason not to go, I can sit and watch it from the front of my TV.
Wow, I completely ignored my D & D game, and as a result I am almost a quarter of the way through my adventure. I might want to work on my multi tasking skills, lest I end up dead, in a not so pleasant way.
Okay, I am watching a second Black Eyed Peas song and I need to make a disclaimer here. If you voice is so electronically enhanced that you sound like Tweakie from Buck Rogers, then news flash bulletin, you aren't fucking singing.
I need to take a moment before the game starts to use that word that I added to the English language a blog or so back, sucktitude. The reason why I need to use it, is that if you should look it up in the dictionary, there really needs to be a picture of the Pittsburgh Pirates next to it, who this week established the record for consecutive losing seasons by a North American professional sports franchise with 17 consecutive years. What that means is that if you gave birth to a kid here in 2002 and someone came along and gave you odds on whether your kid would first be legally allowed to drive or the baseball team would have their next winning season, you had better put your money on your kid, because he would have grown up never knowing what a winning baseball team actually was. It is important to put it in a perspective like that for the local apologists who still buy the company line that they are building for the future.
I am getting stuff done during this pregame. As well as my D & D stuff, I just added to the neverending thread, because I just finished reading “The Big Sort” by Bill Bishop. A good read, though I don't think he went quite far enough. Basically he makes the argument that Americans are opting more and more to live and socialize amongst people of their own ilk, and what that means for civilized discourse and the like. Fascinating for those that don't mind sifting through lots of footnotes and statistical data and what not. Basically the conclusion he comes to is that while people tend to cluster with those of like minds, it also tends to radicalize those groups and makes them less accepting of ideas and viewpoints for which they do not concur. The leaders of these groups tend to be the more radical ones, with people following them for fear of being left out. It often turns out that people will change their beliefs in order to fit in, rather than express a different point of view. So when people are surveyed individually, they tend to be more moderate, but as they are clustered together, those more moderate views tend to get pushed to the side. I will not get into more details, the game is about to start, but I will say that I don't think the internet helps in this regard. No matter how kooky the belief, you are a mere Google search or two away from finding a like minded jackass with which to find companionship. Really, how much benefit is there to knowing that, as well as vast amounts of porn, the internet offers idiots that buy into such nonsense such as the “9/11 Truthers”, or the “Birthers” a place to commiserate and compare like minded idiotic thoughts. The funny thing is, neither of these groups will look in the mirror to actually see how stupid they look, but they will be sure to mock each other. A pox on both their houses I say.
As Paul Harvey might intone “Page 4”.
Really, page 4 and the game hasn't even started yet. This is going to be a long night.
Okay, got the game tracker window open on Sportsline, I guess it is just about time to get this underway. Pittsburgh won the toss and will receive the opening kickoff. Stefan Logan receives the kick at his own 3 and in his first kick return as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers returns it 39 yards, out to the 42 yard line.
First two plays, a 5 yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger to Hines Ward and a 3 yard loss on a run by Willie Parker brings up 3rd down and 8. One incomplete pass later and we have the game's first punt, and it is a beauty, pinning the Titans back on their own 3 yard line to start their first possession.
Two plays net the Titans a total of 3 yards, Tennessee is looking at a 3rd down and 7 here, and the play goes for what looks to be a loss of two yards and two drives in, we may be looking at a defensive struggle, with teams playing more for field position than anything else.
Tennessee punts, and after a return of 11 yards, Pittsburgh will take over in Tennessee territory, starting at the Titans 43 yard line.
You guys bored yet? Hey I am just happy I haven't got stuck with some lame ass NBC promo for the upcoming fall TV season.
Pittsburgh registers the game's first first down, a quick screen pass from Roethlisberger to Santonio Holmes nets 9 yards on a second and 8.
There is new wrinkle, on 2nd down and 11, Pittsburgh runs a tight end screen pass, I can't remember the last time a Pittsburgh team ran that play. Not that it mattered, on 3rd and 3 or 4, Tennessee records a sack, for a loss of 19 yards. Not only does that hurt in that it ends the drive, but the sack pushes Pittsburgh back out of field goal range and forces Pittsburgh to punt again. Maybe it is just me, but I thought that rather than take a sack in such a situation, a quarterback was supposed to throw the ball away. Bad decision on the part of Roethlisberger there, and it may have cost the Steelers 3 points.
Tennessee will start with slightly better field position, they get the ball at their own 11 this time.
First play and Chris Johnson rips off a 32 yard gain, and Troy Polamalu gets flagged for a late hit out of bounds for an additional 15 yards. One play later and its a pass to Bo Scaife the tight end, again Polamalu in coverage and again a Tennessee first down is the result.
The Tennessee drive falters and Rob Bironas is on to try a 37 yard field goal, but the kick is no good and the game remains scoreless. With Pittsburgh unable to take advantage of field position and Tennessee unable to score after a big Chris Johnson run.
Managed to update my D & D adventure during the break. Good thing to, Rashard Mendedhall gets his first carry of the season and runs smack into the guy handing him the ball. Oops!!!!
Two plays, 3 yards and on third down and an all out blitz by Tennessee gets their second sack of the game and Pittsburgh will be punting again. This could be a long night, longer than I first expected.
Pittsburgh's MVP to this point would be Daniel Sepulveda, who hits a 53 yard punt to push Tennessee back again, just when the field position battle was swinging the Titans way.
First down and Kerry Collins again finds Bo Scaife with a pass and again it is a first down for Tennessee.
After a 5 yard penalty makes it 1st and 15 and Bo Scaife has his third catch already tonight, good enough for 39 yards in all.
Tennessee again with a first down, a short pass from Collins to Justin Gage, and right now Tennessee is the better looking of the two teams, at least from an offensive standpoint, Pittsburgh hasn't mustered much with the ball. Just as I type that, Collins looks deep down field and has the pass intercepted by Troy Polamalu, who just seems to be in on almost every play for the Pittsburgh defense, both good and bad, to this point. This would be of the good variety, at least from a Pittsburgh perspective.
Okay, I asked this question on Facebook the other day and since I just saw the commercial again for Wendy's Boneless Chicken Wings I have to ask, how is a boneless wing any different than a chicken nugget?
Not that Pittsburgh did much with the interception, save for Roethlisberger throwing one of his own. So far Roethlisberger hasn't looked that good, what with taking the bad sack earlier and then this pass, which was more bad throw than great defensive play. And that kids is the end of the first quarter, and the score remains as it did at the start, Pittsburgh 0 Tennessee 0.
Tennessee picks up where they left off last quarter, Chris Johnson on a toss sweep gets about 12 yards and another Tennessee first down.
3rd down and 12, Tennessee needs to throw here but James Farrior blitzes up the middle and sacks Collins bringing about 4th down and yet another punt in this game that is starting to make the Rockettes look like they got nothing on these teams, what with all of the kicking going on.
A commercial for GE, showing a bunch of the people who make their airplanes singing “I Don't Know Much, But I Know I Love You” and I am thinking if that is what they do at work, I will opt for train travel instead.
2nd and 2 and a run by Willie Parker gets nothing. To this point Pittsburgh has run the ball 7 times for 4 yards. That my friends is the epitome of sucktitude.
Roethlisberger finds Heath Miller on third down to continue the Steeler drive and pick up a first down.
2nd down and 16 yards to go after Pittsburgh is flagged for holding twice on two consecutive plays and Roethlisberger again to the air and finds Santonio Holmes for 18 yards and a first down.
I should note that this is the first NBC telecast since they got the Sunday Night football telecasts without John Madden in the booth and all I can say to that is “Praise be to Allah and all that jazz” About time that fat ass turducken eating bastard is off of my television.
By the way, if you are wondering why I had time to type that it is because the Pittsburgh drive sputtered out again and forced them to punt. Surprise, surprise, surprise. Didn't see that coming did you?
3rd down and 6 and Collins finds former Steeler Nate Washington for a first down. Washington was one of only two Steelers who didn't come back from last year's Super Bowl champions, Pittsburgh returned 20 of 22 starters from that squad onto this year's roster.
The Tennessee drive continues as a pass to Kenny Britt nets another first down for the Titans. 3rd down and 7 and under pressure Collins again finds Bo Scaife for a first down and again Polamalu is involved, this of the negative variety, another personal foul ona facemasking call and another 15 yards for Tennessee.
Third down and 6 to go and this time Collins can't complete the pass to Justin Gage in the end zone and Rob Bironas is back on to try a field goal and the the kick is blocked by Aaron Smith and the game is still scoreless. Only my dedication to this task is keeping me from firing up a game of baseball on the PS2 right now.
Pittsburgh takes over possession and after a completed pass to Holmes for a first down we find ourselves at the two minute warning of the first half.
During the commercial break my D & D adventure ended and it was a successful adventure for Farstrum (I have no idea why I picked that name) and I will call it a night for that Facebook application.
Pittsburgh in their two minute offense here, trying to put together a drive that will result in the games first points, and Roethlisberger completes his longest pass of the game, and the Steelers longest play, hooking up with Hines Ward for 29 yards and a first down.
Crikey, I forgot just how long these glogs can be, this is page 6 now. It is probably a good thing I don't do this every day otherwise nobody would read this page anymore.
One play after the pass to Ward and Roethlisberger finds Santonio Holmes deep over the middle for 34 yards and a touchdown and finally Pittsburgh's offense seems to have gotten on track as Pittsburgh takes a 7-0 lead.
Tennessee is looking to answer back here, Kerry Collins finds Kenny Britt on a 54 yard pass play and Tennessee is in business with 54 seconds left in the first half. Where was all of this offense earlier in the game? Wherever it was, it's here now as Collins finds Justin Gage one play later and we have went from 0-0 to 7-7 in the span of less than 40 seconds.
Pittsburgh gets the ball back after the kickoff and Roethlisberger seems to have found a bit of a passing rhythm, hooking up with Heath Miller twice and Hines Ward once on this drive. But the next two plays result in an incomplete pass and a sack by Tennessee and we are down to 7 seconds left in the first half. A five yard penalty brings up 3rd down and 23 yards and Pittsburgh is left with nothing in the playbook save for a Hail Mary pass, which is intercepted on the goal line by Cortland Finnegan and nearly brought back for a touchdown the other way before he is tackled after a 77 yard return. And with that, the first half is complete with the score Pittsburgh 7, Tennessee 7.
Since Yahoo is offering live scoring this year for their fantasy football leagues, I will use the opportunity to go to the Fantasy Scoreboard and give you some updates.
Well, it turns out that neither me or my opponent has anyone playing in tonight's game, so a update on that game reads Argonauts 0 Alaska Mud Hens 0. And in the Yahoo Mayor's league, Pittsburgh's Luke Ravenstahl currently has a 8-0 in his contest, but his opponent has no one playing tonight either, whereas Mr. Ravenstahl has two players, Tennessee's Chris Johnson and Pittsburgh's Hines Ward playing in the Thursday night game.
There, I even managed to type some relative gibberish during the halftime break. And speaking of gibberish, since I did mention the Pirates and the Steelers so far in this blog, I should also mention the Pittsburgh Penguins, who were in Washington today to meet with President Obama and take the Stanley Cup to the White House.
The second half is underway, with Pittsburgh kicking to Tennessee. Of note, Troy Polamalu is not in to start the second half, he had a player roll up on his leg during the blocked field goal attempt in the first half and it is unknown whether he will return to tonight's contest.
Tennessee starts the second half with two running plays by Chris Johnson, good for 24 yards in total and another first down.
I just realized that I really don't want to read this, but at a quick glance, the number of typos I am spotting already means that a proof read will definitely be in order.
A pass from Kerry Collins to Bo Scaife and Scaife seems to have injured his knee on the tackle by James Harrison and worse for Tennessee, it looks like he fumbled the ball as well, with Keyaron Fox making the recovery, ending Tennessee's drive.
Pittsburgh starts their first possession of the second half and Willie Parker gets 7 yards on the carry and it is the longest run by Pittsburgh to this point in the game.. Yet the next two plays Parker is again given the ball and he only gets two yards total, so Pittsburgh will be forced to punt here. Cortland Finnegan to return the punt and he drops it but quickly recovers, leaving Tennessee in a deep hole, starting on their own 6 yard line.
Three plays for Tennessee lose one yard and on 4th and 11 Tennessee punts the ball back to Pittsburgh, and the Steelers will have good field position to start their second possession of this half, with the drive beginning on their own 47 yard line.
Pittsburgh gets their first first down of the second half, Roethlisberger finding Mewelde Moore on a swing pass on a 3rd and 6 play for 7 yards.
Not that it mattered much, as the drive quickly petered out, a phrase that might be better used in a montage of porn bloopers but is found here anyway, and Pittsburgh punts the ball away for the 8th time this game and the score remains tied 7-7. That's one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight ah, ah ah, punts, according to Sesame Street's Count.
Tennessee converts on third down, Kerry Collins finds Justin Gage on third down and 6 and and as the third quarter approaches 3 minutes remaining and we are back to how this game started, with little scoring and lots of defense. Three plays later and Tennessee is punting again, 56 yards by Craig Hentrich after Stefan Logan failed to field the kick and Pittsburgh will start back inside their own 20, 1st and ten from the 15.
Okay, NBC promo for good comedy, then they mention Saturday Night Live in primetime. Anyone remember when that show was actually funny? Anyone at all?
A three and out by Pittsburgh, and the Steelers will punt again to start the fourth quarter, as a short pass to Hines Ward is the last play of the third quarter and after 3 down and one to go it is still Pittsburgh 7 Tennessee 7.
While we wait for the start of the 4th quarter, a movie note. I bought “The Spirit” on DVD the other day, and if there were one good thing to say about the movie, I guess it would be at least my DVD still player works. After that amount of suckage, I am surprised it didn't slit its wrists in protest.
Back in the realm of football, two 15 yards passes by Kerry Collins, one to Kenny Britt and one to Justin Gage and Tennessee is back in business from an offensive standpoint. But on a 3rd and 6, Collins passes short to Alge Crumpler and it is not enough for a first down. Bironas on again to try a field goal, and it is good from 45 yards and Tennessee has the lead 10-7.
Another GE commercial, this time it is people in their locomotive division singing “Take My Breath Away”. So much for train travel, I guess I will just walk.
Pittsburgh manages to notch what I believe to be just their second first down of this half, on a pass to Mike Wallace and a Willie Parker run. Injury timeout and I will head over to Scratchix to see if I can't win me something. Not so good, just won two tickets, far fewer than I scratched to this point.
Pittsburgh is starting to put a drive together here, from their own 29 down to the Tennessee 31 yard line so far. And just as I type that Tennessee records their fourth sack of the game, setting up a 3rd down and 12 for Pittsburgh, yet it is Roethlisberger and Holmes again hooking up for a first down and keeping the drive alive.
Third and 1 yard from the 11 yard line and for the second time this game, Pittsburgh fails to convert in a third and short situation, a problem they had last season as well. Now Jeff Reed is on to attempt a 32 yard field goal, and the kick is good, welcome back to the land of ties, it's 10-10.
Nothing new on the Scratchix front during the break. Just doesn't look like my night over there. At this rate I will probably scratch all of my tickets before the end of the game. Wait, a commercial, another chance to scratch away.
And nothing, blew through the rest of my tickets, managed to win only one. A bad night, even by Scratchix standards.
Back to the game, first down and Kerry Collins back to throw, finding Justin Gage and it is good for 11 yards and a first down.
Two incomplete passes and it is 3rd down and 10 for Tennessee. Collins looks again for Gage and the pass is incomplete and Tennessee will be forced to punt, but before that can happen, it is two minute warning time.
I know I was complaining about work earlier in the blog, actually complaining about Curtis at work earlier in the blog, but I did get some good news. It looks like starting next week I will be rid of those Sunday shifts I hate so much, as I will be moved to Monday through Friday, 7am-3pm. A schedule of the gods, if I do say so myself.
Craig Hentrich back to punt and he shanks it, good for only 28 yards. Pittsburgh's ball.
First down and Roethlisberger finds his favorite target tonight, Santonio Holmes, good for a first down. Two more completed passes, one to Hines Ward and one to Mewelde Moore and Pittsburgh is down to the Tennessee 34 yard line with just 1:03 remaining. Roethlisberger has completed his last 11 pass attempts. Roethlisberger finds Hines Ward and Ward is inside the 5 yard line but has the ball stripped and Tennesssee recovers the fumble, killing an all but certain field goal opportunity for Pittsburgh.
Tennessee takes over on their own 4 yard line and it looks like Tennessee will try to run out the clock and play for overtime. Pittsburgh is hoping that they can get the ball back, but it doesn't look like it will happen before overtime.
Hey, this is my first overtime NFL glog. Aren't you excited? I know I am thinking that I hope it doesn't go the full 15 minutes. That would be what, 4 more pages of nothing but blather? Pittsburgh wins the coin toss and they elect to receive to start the overtime period.
Holy shit, it's 11:30 already. And I know that the news will be on after this, so even if I were of the notion to watch Conan O'Brian, chances are he will not be on for at least another hour at this rate.
Good thing I stocked up on cigarettes at work today. We had these Camel specials, $2.50 off of two packs, which we were selling for $8.76 plus tax, but we were sent so many of them that the boss marked them down to $5.38. Two packs for that price, sign me up. I got four.
Pittsburgh gets the first overtime first down, Roethlisberger connects with Hines Ward for 11 yards. Ben Roethlisberger has now thrown for over 300 yards, he is at 322 to this point. Decent fantasy numbers, at least if your league doesn't penalize for interceptions, if it does, his two picks kind of cut into his value a bit. Good thing to, because Pittsburgh has got nothing from their running game tonight, just 36 yards on 23 carries.
Third and one and Pittsburgh opts to pass and there is Holmes catching his 9th pass of the game, good for a first down.
Roethlisberger throws deep over the middle and finds Mike Wallace for 22 yards and a first down at the Tennessee 15 yard line. Pittsburgh takes a time out and it looks like they will try a field goal right here to win it. And from 33 yards out Jeff Reed knocks it through and Pittsburgh wins in overtime 13-10. I will shut up now and do that proof read I am sure this needs and do the post thing I know you are looking forward to.
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