me (kenickie) and rob (danny) in my version of greased lightning

the landmark theatre is a beautiful building. that was the first thing i noticed when i walked in.

the second thing i noticed was that the cheap seats were sold out and it would cost me $44.75 to see this traveling broadway-ripoff of "grease". and having been looking forward to seeing the show for a month and nearly missing it cuz i was running behind (me, behind? nooo) i had to plunk down the plastic and bite the weenie.* in that respect, i guess it's good that both of my potential female companions couldn't make it, cuz DAMN, it woulda been expensive. (so uhh, yeah, i was there by myself, i hate to admit.) i'm actually not a fan of the storyline of grease, since sandra d. has to change her image to that of a cigarette-smoking skank in order to get the man of her dreams. if i hadn't been in grease while at suny morrisville, i wouldn't have bothered coming, but i do make it a point to see grease whenever and wherever possible just for that reason. and me being the car nut, i do have to size up the sorry excuses people come up with for "greased lightning"--it's always nice to know the greased lightning car i built TOTALLY KICKED ASS compared to anything anyone else has made.

i wasn't too late, actually--vince fontaine was just warming up the crowd as i sat down. the show was really good, and their version of greased lightning wasn't too bad--a scaled down, stylized, chopped version of a '57 chevy. not bad... but not too creative, either. mine had magnetic removable lightning bolts and two distinct sides for different scenes--and these guys used flames, not lightning bolts--FLAMES?? it's greased LIGHTNING, not flaming grease...or greased flamer... oh well, whatever.

above and beyond that, it was a good show, highlighted by the appearance of Frankie Avalon. i couldn't believe the response from the crowd--especially from the busloads of highschoolers in attendance. the way they were acting you woulda thought we were at the landmark's Godsmack concert last week.

as i was sitting there, i realized that i really haven't ever done much stuff like this since i've been in syracuse, and hopefully i won't be here much longer if things go according to plan, so i feel like i have squandered my time here. sure, i've been to crunch games, armory square, dance clubs, and stuff, but i haven't taken advantage of the cultural goodies (and yes, mark, syracuse does have some culture.) maybe if i just had someone to do stuff with... *sniff sniff*

after the show, i grudgingly went to benchwarmers, the bar i DJ at:

yup, i'm that "live" dj... as opposed to a dead or faux one. for once, my name in print!! well, not exactly!

i say "grudgingly" cuz i was tired, i had to work in the morning, and i shoulda been getting some sleep. but it was, afterall, karaoke night, and i could hang out at the bar instead of camp out in the dj booth since i wasn't working. plus, the hottest of the bartenders was working and i told her i'd be there. it was a good time. sang a couple songs. didn't feel embarrassed at all since everyone else's singing was delightfully crappy.

after staying there too long, i came home to find my desk crawling with ants. this ant situation is getting silly. i can't set down a bottle of soda without these damn ants carrying it away before my next sip. the complex has a serious ant problem, and i think my living room is the freaking epicenter. the spraying they did before did nothing. it's whack. ants ants ants. and oh yeah, i've got pigeons roosting on my air conditioner. and i don't have the heart to toss the egg-filled nest off my 3rd floor balcony, so now i guess i've got roommates. they'd better be gone by A/C season or the eggs are gonna cook in the shells from the heat it gives off, and that's not a problem i want. ugh--stanky eggs. to the eggs: hurry up and hatch, please, and then get the hell outta here.

i also rented schindler's list on DVD this week--very good movie. haven't seen it since i went to the theater with my 10th grade history class 10 years ago. (man, that makes me feel old.) it hit me a little harder this time than when i was a high schooler--it's a stark reminder of how awful people can be to each other, and how horrible life can be. i felt pretty sheepish sitting there in my apartment, stuffing my fat american face with food, fretting over my trivial aquarium, watching blissful 1950's musicals, and clogging my mind with other stupid american issues on a daily basis, while ethnic cleansing still happens every day, right now, in the 21st century. it's disgusting. i get upset when a $5 fish dies--i can't imagine being a jew in nazi germany, or even an ordinary citizen in iraq, where human life means so little.

and then yesterday, i had more trivial american bullshit to worry about when i tried to return schindler's list to freaking blockbuster. talk about a bunch of bastards--i was not in a good mood to begin with since i'd only gotten 4 hours of sleep the night before cuz of DJing. as you know, they want you to return movies in the drop slot outside the building and then come in and rent another one. except this time, i was returning it late and wanted to pay the late fee now, rather than wait til next time. every time i do this it's a complete pain in the ass because they don't like doing it that way. there's a computer and a counter by the entrance door, but NO ONE ever comes over there, so i had to loudly clear my throat and tap the DVD case on the counter to get the attention of the clearly bored and freewheeling clerks.
"may i help you?"
"yes, i'd like to know what the late fee on this is."
"ok, just a moment."
then i waited again while she dicked around and finally scanned the movie. she finally said, "this was actually a two-day rental, not a one-week, but i'll take that charge off. the fee is $8.56." huh? $8.56? wtf? i don't care what the computer tells you--quit pressing the "dumb" button, fool! the charge should be 4.27. we went back and forth and then the dipsy manager got into it too. for starters, this was rented to me as a ONE WEEK rental, and i know this cuz when i rented it THE CASHIER TOLD ME SO, and it SAID SO on the receipt, and it SAID SO on the DVD box, so damn right you're taking that extra charge off. and about this double late fee? i had the movie for 10 days. on the 7th day, i was charged the normal late fee of 4.27. AND THEN it was re-rented to me for another 4.27? what the hell is up with that? it's never been done like that before. by that rationale, i coulda returned it on time, had them spend labor checking it in and restocking it, and then i (or another customer) could rent it again for another week and the company would make 4.27 less. but because i kept it, i was charged double and they didn't have to do anything AT ALL. i coulda bought the movie for the amount they wanted to charge me originally, but i bitched them down from nearly 20 bucks to $4.27, which is what it was SUPPOSED to freaking be.

am i happy now? NO. cuz the bullshit policy is still in place and they'll keep on screwing people like that. this is the kind of business policy that makes me really hope video rental places die a slow, money-bleeding death, as cable/satellite technology reaches the point where we can rent any movie we want off the tv. blockbuster? dead in 10 years! i will put money on that. eat death, blockbuster. i will bring balloons, cake, and a pony to your funeral.

until then, save all of your blockbuster receipts and fight for your rights!

anyway, that's the way i felt with a lack of sleep. i'm much better now. i promise. but i still hate blockbuster and if there was a hollywood video around, i'd go there instead, but they probably do the same thing anyway.

quote of the day: "get ready for a mouth whuppin'" ~burger king ad
check out www.subservientchicken.com for more burger king propaganda. try it! try it!

i've had enough. i'm bitchblarft out. leave comments.

*for those of you who don't have it memorized, that's a grease quote.