Who do I still think I am??

This one's about villains and freakishness.

MOB-RELATED ACTIVITY:

Good evening folks...another day's in the past, and I had every intent of waking up this morning with a better attitude and a positive outlook. Follow along as we see how stupid things happen to somewhat intelligent people.

But first, a word from...nope, never mind. I'm pretty sure Brother Nature 's face will be turning up on milk cartons pretty soon. Do they still do that? Putting profiles of the missing on milk cartons? Does milk even come in cartons anymore? I haven't a clue. I can't drink the stuff so I hardly ever buy it. Anyway, it's good to see that Andre The Blog Monkey may have been located, perhaps somewhere in New Zealand (although I can't speak with any certainty that he's actually made it there yet). At least we have more of an idea where a fictional monkey is; the same can't be said for his human creator. If you see Joel, tell him The Mob is lookin' for him. You don't have to say why, and he has nothing to explain. Maybe we should be putting out a ransom for him instead of the monkey.

BCF PROMPT: "Who is your favorite villain?"

Good question, "Blogging Circle of Friends " . Off the top of my head, I'm not sure...in books, movies, or television? Does it matter? After all, it's my blog and my home court advantage, right? Ok, I'm stalling.

It's hard to like villains. Stereotypically speaking, they're evil, rotten, scandalous, cowardly in the face of superior efforts of resistance, and probably smell funny too. And usually we can figure out how a story's gonna end, as one of the basic plots in anything is "Good Versus Evil", and while the "good guys" themselves may not always win in the end, certainly their spirit triumphs over all.

When looking at it that way, it feels like picking a favorite villain is akin to picking a disease you'd prefer to die from. And I don't wanna die, or hafta make that choice, fictionally or otherwise. It almost seems easier to spout off the ones I hate the most, in order from real-life soul-robbers to comical, bumbling bad guys. Yet that isn't gonna make this prompt any easier in that context, and yes, I'm still stalling (with the hope that one will magically come to mind...and it's not working).

I don't even have a personal arch-rival. Man, if I did this prompt would be hella easier right now. Of all the times I could've foiled someone's plans to take over the world, this moment would be ideal from a blogging standpoint. In fact, I don't think I was ever popular enough at any point in my life for a long enough duration that another person felt like they had to take me out in order to gain some kind of personal, emotional or spiritual victory. Sure, I've been sabotaged before, but over dumb shit and trivial matters. Not the kind of power-transferring idealism like a coup d'ètat or anything...probably something more like being put in my place for a good reason, if anything.

Yup, still stalling.

And I'm glad I did, because drawing attention to a potentially dangerous situation may be saving a life, praise Jeebus and the internets. I have live-action animated footage of what appears to be the onset of a hostage situation involving Lyn's a Witchy Woman and the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS"  Blog Mob bOSS (with an uncapital B), Brother Nature . It seems as though they were playing a friendly video game together when Joel made a crack about Team Canada winning the Olympic gold medal in hockey (pick a gender) and Lyn might have reacted a little on the unfavorable side...until a door popped open (it's still unknown if that door was on Canadian or US soil). Details are still unfolding, but as writers we're taught somewhere (I don't know exactly where) that there should be an antagonist for every protagonist, or something, and someone in this situation is clearly a villain to someone else's innocent victim. There's also, in this instance, a random bystander who just so happened to be present at the scene. Is this...a Blog Mob cliffhanger? Cue up "whodunnit" music...dun-dun-dunnnn.

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MUSICAL BREAK!!

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Today's song for "The Soundtrack of Your Life"  is "Freakish" (album: Stay What You Are {link:http://www.amazon.com/Stay-What-You-Are-Saves/dp/B00005M977/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393466896&sr=8-1&keywords=saves+the+day+stay+what+you+are}; lyrics: http://songmeanings.com/songs/view/32587/) by Saves The Day, and yes, I'm fully aware that this song shows off my emo sensitivities. It's totally a "poor sad boy hearts a girl who fails to acknowledge his existence" and blah blah blah. And it's a load of crap until you've been there (and remember, the first step is admitting it ).

"Freakish" was my introduction to Saves The Day, fueled in part by many a drunken night at 542 when DMFM would hop on my laptop (or worse, my roommate's desktop) and start downloading things off the top of his head or buying boatloads of cds cheap from http://www.half.ebay.com/. Somehow I ended up with this cd, and I couldn't stop listening to it. That feeling of having unrequited love for someone who doesn't even know you exist (yet you know too much about ) can play out like a common theme to many people (men and women alike), but there aren't many songs that make it sound so beautiful and almost uplifting. The chorus is practically a shoegazer anthem of sorts, "Well here I am, don't know how to say this...only thing I know is awkward silence" which cuts in between lyrics that are equal parts longing and wishful thinking, punctuated at the end by "Don't count me out"...almost assuring the singer he'll give himself a chance to win someone's affection before allowing them the opportunity to continue ignoring him.

I've sung this song so many times in the shower, simultaneously kicking myself over chances I failed to take. I know, I know, it's my own fault and all, and the Wayne Gretzky quote goes "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" or something like that. For whatever combination of reasons, I have a hard time getting myself to take calculated risks, and I probably have spent too much time making awkward smiles at women and having pointless conversations hoping it'll lead to something else. I don't know which end of the 2x4 I need to be hit with sometimes...the one that reads "Take that chance!" or the other side that says "This woman will go out for coffee with you if you take your nuts outta your throat and just ask!!" Sounds like the same thing, but it's not. Anyway, listen to a gorgeous song while watching a video of pseudo-muppets in a bar, dancing, smoking cigarettes and having a few drinks while gettin' with the ladies.

THE DAILY BOX SCORE:

If you thought I was upset or angry yesterday, today's not much better. I woke up and called Social Services to straighten out my exempt/non-exempt status, of which I was able to get a reasonable and favorable explanation regarding. +1 for that. Then I went to my new orthopedic doctor's office...turns out it's basically the same practice that I went to last year, only they moved closer to my house and my doctor left and went out of state. No biggie. I got there early, filled out some paperwork, and waited. [Sidenote: the only person missing was the cute nurse I always had...the one I could never figure out if she was pregnant or just gaining weight until one appointment when yup, she's pregnant. Even the very beautiful secretary was the same, although, like me, must've put on a couple pounds (she definitely wears it nicer than I do).] Finally I get called up by a nurse and taken to a room, and she asks me the standards, including "Why are you here today?" So I take my opportunity and tick off everything that's wrong with me...my ankles, hurts to stand, hurts to walk, it bothers my hips and my lower back" and she's just looking at me like I'm high. Finally she's like "Well, the doctor can only address one issue at a time, so what's the most painful, or most important?" I pull out the paperwork I have from the program that's supposed to help me get back into school, and explain that my primary physician wants to have my ankle reexamined to make sure that's not causing the problems with my hips, and I give her the forms I need filled out. She's under the assumption that I'm there because of problems with my hips. I don't know what to tell her because, well, I'm not a doctor. So finally she leaves, and I wait...I sat in the exam room for thirty minutes (I was watching the clock because it was better than medical pictured of torn knee ligaments and bursitis in the shoulder). Finally the doctor walks in and says he can't see me. Something about a mix-up- not sure if it's on their end or my PCP's end, but I should call my primary and find out what the problem is and then make another appointment. I pulled out my letter stating I had been referred to this particular physician, but I guess nowadays that and lower-body pain aren't enough to guarantee you're gonna be seen at all when you've got an appointment. And of course, by the time I got home, my PCP's office was closed for the day. Which means more phone calls tomorrow. I'm so frustrated that all I can do is laugh at this point, because there ain't a whole lot of other options (within the limits of the law). I'll never learn that shit just doesn't work out the way it's supposed to, no matter how hard I try to do the right things. [Sidenote: And yeah, don't ask me how I know this, but the beautiful secretary (who was way super nice/flirty with me when I went back to get the gloves I'd left behind)...preggers. Confirmed. ]

Got a reply from my cellular provider regarding my debacle yesterday, and I don't even have the ambition for their bullshit this evening. "Thank you for your time, we value you, but you're doing it wrong" is all I see when I read and re-read their email. I'm sorry, but I shouldn't have to act like I'm trying to break into Fort Knox just to change my own fucking address, and now I'm gettin' all "up here" again when I need to be "down here" with this. What really bugs me about the response is that it's so impersonal...there's no contact person, no ownership, no "hey, we get that problem a lot, so we'll fix it". Nothing. It's basically a form letter, and the fun part is trying to figure out how their HTML code isn't being converted properly by Yahoo, because there's a few random question marks in their text. That's always a fun game. Ass-hats. I can't wait to be in a better position to drop this company altogether.

That's all for tonight everybody. Gonna try to read a little before I slip off into a medically-induced night's sleep. I keep tellin' myself I'll catch up on reading more blog entries in the morning, but that's not workin' out for me at all this week. Maybe tomorrow...maybe. 'Til then peace, don't shut me out, and GOODNIGHT NOW!!