Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Bummer in the Summer

As I write this, I'm still reeling from maybe the worst weekend I've ever had. It all started on Saturday morning; at the current radio station that I work it, I handle phones for a call-in nutritional/dietary advice talk show. It has nothing to do with traffic/billing or reception, it's just a little side money. There was an on-air contest for tickets to an air show in Wisconsin, with the 5th, 10th, and 12th callers each receiving prizes. Somewhere in receiving my instructions for the show, I forgot that the host wanted to speak with the winners live on-air. When the winners called in, I jotted down their contact info but I forgot to put them back on hold. The producer called the main studio to inform me of my mistake (the show is produced outside of the station), I had to backpedal and call back the three winners, but at that point there wasn't enough time left in the show to get them on-air. Two days later I was relieved of my duties as phone operator, partially because of my flub, but also because the producer wanted to experiment with an in-house phone guy, thus preventing any future miscommunication.

After work, I had to run some errands. I was driving home, going about 27 in a 25 MPH zone, when all of a sudden a little boy bolted across the street. A family had parked their van across the street from what appeared to be a relative's house. The parents were still standing beside the van with their daughter, and their eldest son was standing on the opposite side of the street. The younger son was running from the van towards his big brother. The little kid didn't look both ways and tried to gun it. Luckily for both of us, I hit the brakes just in time, the boy took two steps back, than waited to cross after I drove past the van. If I hit the brakes two seconds later, I likely would've committed vehicular manslaughter.

Of course, those two missteps don't compare to the bombshell I received Sunday afternoon. I was at Chicago Union Station after class at SC, and I had some time to kill, so decided to check my Facebook news feed with my cell phone. As I scanned down the status updates, I saw that my girlfriend from three years ago posted "I'm engaged to the most amazing man in the world!!!!!!!" Apparently, her current boyfriend popped the question on a cruise ship on Saturday night. Suffice to say, I was speechless. First off, she's only been with her new fiancee for about four months; we dated for seven. Secondly, who goes online on a cruise ship? Thirdly, why did I have to find out about this on fucking Facebook? Couldn't she have waited to break the news once she was back on American soil? (Don't worry folks, I'm about 95% sure she never reads this blog.) For the last two days, I've been venting to anyone that will listen. Without getting too personal, I really don't know how to react or what to say about the whole situation, and I'm having a hard time not thinking about it.

Other notes:

+ Looking at my Emmy predictions from three months ago, I'm surprised that the powers that be made more daring selections than I did. Of course, I also stuck with the old five-nominees per category rule (the maximum is now six, unless there's a tie for the final spot). For every force-of-habit, questionably deserving nomination like Tony Shalhoub, there's a pleasant surprise like "Flight of the Conchords" (who were on my 2008 ballot). My biggest gripe, obviously would be the selection of "Family Guy" for best comedy series. As I explained in the FG forum at TV.com, I find it mystifying that the committee chose an animated series that has broken little new ground and might very well be past its prime, yet "The Simpsons," the show that paved the way for TV-14 toons like FG, has never been nominated in this category.

+ For what seems like the sixth time in the past year, the title of World's Oldest Man has been passed to the next-oldest person. Boy, it must be jinxed or something. But seriously, this time around it's a 112-year-old resident of Montana, and according to an AP article he was born in 1896 and cast his first presidential ballot for Woodrow Wilson. (The legal voting age was 21 in 1916, so that's a nitpick.)

+ Finally- if anybody's looking for all my old blogs, they're archived at most of the other CNet sites (Gamespot, MovieTome, and the soon-to-be-vanquished mp3.com). Just so you know.

5 comments:

  1. Tough weekend...


    I also have no idea how the hell Family Guy could get the nomination, I honestly don't think it has been any good since the 5th Season. And I am just getting tired of Seth MacFarlane and how he managed to get three shows on Fox. If they got rid of The Cleveland Show [which hasn't aired yet but has already been renewed for season 2] Fox would not have to fire all of the actors for Futurama.

    I was dissapointed that 24 didn't get very many nominations because I thought Season 7 was one of the best they ever did, and I thought that it at least deserved a nomination for best Drama and I thought that Kiefer and Annie Wersching should have been nominated for their characters. And I think 30 Rock will win almost everything again.

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  2. A quick update- I spoke with my ex on the phone last week. I'm coming to terms with this, though the whole situation seems kinda fishy.

    As for "24," Kiefer was nominated... for Best Actor in a Miniseries or Movie. Apparently, "Redemption" counted as a standalone project. As for Wersching, I wasn't floored by her portrayal of Renee Walker. Sure, her character underwent a massive transition in Day 7, but the execution was lacking.

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  3. A lot of the people I know on another website are mad at how 24 only got the two nominations [Redemption and Cherry Jones]. I think you have seen me saying how much I enjoyed Day 7 on Facebook and that is part of why I want to see more of the cast members geting nominated. I thought it was one of their best seasons, and they deserve recognition for it.

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  4. Eh forget about her, Stu. Shake it off! She ain't worth it. And being engaged means nothing, I've known people who were engaged more than once in their lives. I had an idiot friend marry a needy chick after only knowing her for 6 weeks. I haven't talked to him since.

    I hope you rolled down your window and yelled your ass off at that shithead kid. God damn kids running in traffic. I almost got hit by a car when I was 10, stupid wind blew my hood over my face and I almost walked right into a moving car. My dad was there and he made sure I'd never forget that lesson. I always look both ways twice. That little shithead almost cost you a boatload of money.

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  5. I would have yelled at him too. My dad has a very short temper and he yells at people a lot when I am in the truck with him. My temper is a lot like his too.

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