Lived and learned from fools and from sages..

Let's see. Oh! The issue with Best Buy. Well, I called my bank, as I think I mentioned this morning. They told me to go to Best Buy. Well, I called in late to work, and went to see about this. I spoke with the M.O.D.*, and he showed me their transaction logs. As loathe as I am to admit it, Best Buy really is clean on this. So, I called my bank again when I got to work. When I explained what I saw at Best Buy, she said that, since it wasn't Best Buy, it was the company that my bank uses to process debit cards. See, we're just a credit union. Not a powerful one like Memphis Area Teachers Credit Union (those in Memphis know how prolific this CU is..), but a smaller one, with only one real branch. So, they hooked up with NBC to handle a debit card.

Well, apparently this has happened before, and a letter has to be written to THAT company about it, after which my account will be credited in 2-3 weeks. Yeah, this sucks, but it will get resolved, and I'll have my money back. And honestly, I won't miss it, since I just transferred money from savings to cover the hole. (When I get my money back, I will put it back in my savings. No muss, no fuss.) I will go in on Monday to handle this.

At work, I began my day in Guest Care. I was working hard, because the vice president of the division was coming in. The day progressed quite well. I think that was because my manager spent almost all of her time on the front end, helping out and making sure that things ran smoothly. And smooth they did run. I never got really stressed out. Oh, I was annoyed/worried when I was watching the camera footage from yesterday, in an effort to figure out what happened to the money in my till. For some odd reason, I came up over $100 short. That is especially odd, since I am NEVER, NEVER, NEVER short like that. I never found anything that indicated anything happening while the register was being run. Oh well, $70 came back "mysteriously" in the office tonight, so I'm not going to worry about it.

I came home, and watched Superman II. I learned something while watching Superman II. Lois Lane is a selfish bitch. She *LET* Superman abandon his powers for her. Not once did you hear her say, "No, Superman, don't do that! The world needs you!" Then, when Zod announces on TV for Superman to come forth, and Kal-el realizes he must go back and try to get his powers, she's telling him it's not his fault, in a way that tells me she was trying to talk him out of doing what's right.

I also realized that Margot Kidder is not particularly charismatic, either. (Read: she ain't too pretty.) I'm shallow, yes, but couldn't they have found someone who could at least make a pretty smile?!

Finally, after the movie, I made the dire mistake of browsing my iTunes library, and clicking the little arrows to see if there was anything from Artist "X" on iTunes. Well, I found a bunch of Lana Lane (progressive/symphonic rock), two Nightwish singles (Nemo and Wish I had an Angel), Sonata Arctica (Reckoning Night - their latest), and Darkwell's newest album -- Metatron -- which came out only last month. For the first time ever, I downloaded from iTunes without benefit of a Pepsi cap. (I've been hoarding those things like no one's business. I literally have downloaded 10-20 songs with those codes. I'm happier to see a code than I am to find a free Pepsi or something else. Music is amazing, ya know?)

Anyway, I'm off tomorrow, and I think that I'm going to read some of my books (Wicked by Gregory Maguire, Requiem for the Sun by Elizabeth Haydon, The Mysteries by Lisa Tuttle, and Not Exactly the Three Musketeers by Joel Rosenberg), or work on my D&D game. Sunday is the last session until the 20th, since it's Brad's daughter's birthday next weekend, and his folks are going to be in from out of town for her birthday. Speaking of D&D games, I believe that I am finally ready to begin chronicling the adventures of my RPG group again. I am once again, back in the DM's seat, so it just seems appropriate. I wish we could recapture the feel of the game from back in 2002-2003, when I ran Silver Marches. There was just something about that game that was fun as heck to play/run.

Anyway, I know some of you could care less if I start posting those session logs, but I'm sure (more than?) a few of you wouldn't mind reading about my current group of "heroes". I use that term loosely, and for a reason. No, they're not evil, but they sure as hell ain't "good" either. :) There will be a post forthcoming about the current group, as well as ex-party members and other folks who've been seen in Eberron.

Now, I must get some sleep, for I wish to have time to do at least part of what I just listed tomorrow. :)

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* - I can't tell you how amusing it is for me to say that. I, being a heavy metal child of the 80s, know that M.O.D. actually stands for "Method of Destruction", a band that came about from the S.O.D. sessions. It does NOT mean "Manager on Duty", no matter WHAT others me tell you. I *own* cassettes from M.O.D. Rude? Yeah. Crass? Sure. Politically Incorrect? Certainly. Racist? Quite possibly. They WERE, though, funny.

Sky Captain & the World of Tomorrow

I never caught it in the theater, but I didn't think that it would be something I'd really like. I heard it came out on DVD, and I actually caught a TV commercial for it. I decided that it might just be worth watching. So, the other night, I picked this up. I'd almost gotten it several other times, but I followed through this time.

I'm glad I did.

This has got to be one of the best movies I've seen in the last year. It exudes the feel of the pulp genre from which it was inspired. I found myself glued to the screen, barely blinking, thinking of how much fun and how awesome this movie was. Jude Law played Joe "Sky Captain" Sullivan, a pilot who is the man the world calls when it has troubles it can't handle. Gwyneth Paltrow played Polly Perkins, a newspaper reporter who will do anything to get her story. The two were once lovers, and can barely tolerate each other at the start of the movie.

The action never lets up. Don't misunderstand me. There *is* a story, and it's told very well. The effects were nicely done. That reminds me: The movie is inspired by the pulp genre, and it shows. The movie has a "look" to it that just immerses you into the world, that I can only describe as a "pulp" kind of feel.

I know that some people didn't care for this movie; it's IMDB rating of 6.5 shows that. However, I think that some people need to learn how to enjoy a movie again. :) This was a fun movie, with a good story, great effects, and awesome on-screen chemistry between Law and Paltrow. Out of 10, I have to give it a 9. You could do a LOT worse than seeing this movie.

P.S. I don't know if anyone else found them, since I had heard almost nothing about the movie before I watched it, but *I* found two Star Wars references in it. Since I guess it could techincally qualify as such, I will place them behind ( an LJ cut tag, to save you from SPOILERS. )