B365V2.154 - I'm back

      Not sure why I haven't blogged recently.  I could argue that I just didn't have the mental energy for it.  Then again, maybe it is because I haven't wandered over to the park in a few weeks, that could be it as well, but for whatever the reason I haven't found the requisite gumption to put cursor to keystroke and grind something out.

      Life has exactly ground to a halt here either.  I picked up a couple of books the other day when I went to the movies to see the new Steve Jobs flick (yes even my social life is boring, Steve Jobs?  Really?)  One of those books is over on the bookshelf to the right, Wonderland which is one of the Spenser novels in the Robert Parker series.  The problem being that Parker is dead, the Parker estate tabbed Ace Atkins to pick up the mantle in his place and honestly the book reads like Parker wrote it, so that's a good thing.  I was iffy about buying it because I thought it might not feel the same, but it was in the cheapie bin at Barnes and Noble, so I made the half hearted investment of $7, nothing ventured nothing gained after all.  Of course the opposite is also true, nothing ventured, nothing lost which is probably more along my ways of thinking.  After all, I do train my new employees on the Mattism "Expect nothing and you will never be disappointed."

     The biggest thing to happen since the last time I blogged is I won something.  I was over on the Camel website, requesting my monthly coupons.  (I can redeem them at work for cash on my cigarette purchases, one of the perks of my job.) there was some photo contest going on over there.  Actually two contests, one in which you could submit photos and one where you pick a random photo and if there is a prize underneath it.  The requested photo this week was a framing photo, I opted to send them this.  Not sure it will win me anything, but I am not much of a photographer to begin with...

Having submitted that, I went head and did their daily contest as well, I picked a photo and this was under it....

I haven't seen the tracking email yet, hell I don't even know what I won, there was no description given.  I am just supposed to sit tight I guess.  I am curious though.  I won a all in one tool thing on the Marlboro website the other day, but me and tools are like drinking and driving, two things that don't go together at all.  If I can't fix it with duct tape, I don't want to be bothered.

I did do my nice guy thing the other day.  I know, I have to quit being a nice guy, because we all know they finish last, but que sera sera.  We had an employee a while back, Kat, and while I will not go into the reasons why she is no longer with us, I have stayed in touch with her intermittently on Facebook. She stops by the store every now and again to say hi, quite a few of us that work there know her.  She has that single mom thing going, trying to raise a son by herself.  Not the most enviable position to be in, but then I find it hard raising myself.  I thought I would do something nice and throw together a Halloween treat thing for her son.  not much really, just a trick or treat bucket with some candy tossed in.  I figure she will eat more of the candy than he does.  Of course as luck would have it, I don't see Kat again until this Monday, long after Halloween, but I kept the present for her son in my desk, so I ran down to get it when she showed up.  I think it went over okay, based on the picture Kat sent me.

Yes, the handle on the bucket does light up, it seemed like a cool feature to have if he was taking it trick or treating, which obviously didn't happen.

And that dear kids is what I have been up to recently. I rather boring life I lead, no?