Radio Shack: Steve Vents...

Can someone please tell me why the hell Radio Shack needs to know every bit of personal information about you when you buy something?

What the hell?

I got this new camera right? And I am down in San Diego and I took a photo of something and I really needed to send it out tonight. Well... So I get back to my room and my card reader stopped reading my camera card. So I looked up Radio Shack and punched the address into my Streets and Trips thing and BAM!! There was one right over the hill.

So I zoom in there with my rental car, the... Pontiac Grand Prix... woo hoo, Good Times... And I ran into the store.

At the register is a assistant manager, a regular worker and some customer reading the warranty of some open box iPod thing. I found what I was looking for and took it to the register.

I put the item down and present my credit card.

"Name," the assistant manager says.

"Uh... Steve..." I say.

"Last name, " he says.

"Um... Dude, you like totally have my credit card... I am sure it is the same."

"LOOK!!!" he says, "I just need your name in case you lose your receipt and need to return this item."

What a bullshit excuse I am thinking as I tell him my explosive last name.

"Address?" he says.

"Um... Dude? What are you doing? I don't even live here... I live like 600 miles away... If I break the thing, I'll come back and buy another one... It's 10 bucks!! The picture I need is worth $100's more to me..."

He interrupts, "We need this data from our customers to send them special offers and..."

So I interrupt, " Okay... look! I just got off work, I tried to load my camera into my computer and it failed. My first instinct was to find Radio Shack on Google near my hotel. As soon as I found this location, I hopped into that 3-day old, puke grey Pontiac outside and drove straight here. I could have easily have run up to Fry's Electronics on the next block but their customer service is way more screwed up than yours."

"Credit or debit," He says.

"Credit, " I say, knowing that he's getting screwed out of 3% of the sale from VISA by me saying credit and not debit.

"Can I see your ID?" He says...

Then a revelation hit me. I could have said I was Tony Masselli from Brooklyn but now living as a house keeper in Connecticut because he'd never look at my card and see that my name was different so what the hell could he have done?

I give up... Those bastards!

I Actually Updated My Photo Blog

Elijah after a walk

Visit my photo blog and see what my new camera can do. Elijah at the grocery store.

Omnipotent Me

Hey Guys,

My friend Phil is writing his own comic strip. He's got a unique sense of humor and is quite meticulous with his drawings. He's doing two strips a week over at his site. Cool stuff. This guy's characters look just like real people.

He is also a talented drummer and we were in a band together back in the day, begging Sacramento's bars to let us play. A whole other time in my life, let me tell you...

Anyhow, link up and visit. It's cool shit.

This is Spinal Tap!!!

Okay... so this is how it went down.

I went down to the doctor with my mommy in tow. I went in at about 8:30 AM. I had to "disrobe" and slam my ass up on the gurney. I laid there and the doctor came in. Basically I had to get into a fetal position with my knees at my chest.

The first step was to jam Novocaine into my spine. That was okay. Little pinch. Then he jammed another one up there... Didn't feel it. Then finally he jammed another much larger need in there. It was like a flash of green light and I disappeared This time he drew fluid. We sat and chatted about how crazy my mom was for 10 minutes and then he was done.

Then he drew blood and it hurt like a bitch. More than the tap. It was funny how he bitched and complained at the nurse for giving him two small of a needle for getting the blood. I might get this massive bruise on my back... We'll see.

So it's 2 1/2 hours later. I feel like I have been drinking for a couple of days at this point. So I am a little dizzy and "burned". Massive headache setting in. But it is all good. Supposedly my spinal fluid will leak out my spine for couple of days and I'll want to lay down a lot.

So it'll take like 10 days to find if I have MS or not. I told the doctor though it would be best if the authorities would leave it unsolved. Anyone figure out what a green glaubial is?

My God!! What Have I Done!!

Since manini mentioned my sidebar profile I thought I'd post the song to give an explanation.

I think we all go through life feeling each one of these things David Byrne talks about, how we question ourselves at each stage and then expressing our guilt over it. This song may be a little old for the lawryde clan with their Nirvaners and their Rages against the Machiners or what ever you people listen too. (You people...lol) I wanna get an over-sized suit and 3 friends and go as the Talking Heads for Halloween with me being David Byrne of course. Then once everyone discovers how cool we are... we'll break up and leave the party!! Anyone see them at the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame? Almost as gripping as Pink Floyd at Live 8. (Waters looked pissed off)

Anyhow for the rest, I am sick... again... for the 4th time in 6 weeks. So it goes stomach flu, then bronchitis then to a mild stomach flu and finally the big case of bronchitis. I think have like 7 active prescriptions. I am like an old woman... sans the hormone pills. But it's all good. I am happy.

D-Day is Thursday. More on that in hopefully graphic detail on Thursday morning!! Let's just say it involves a 6 inch needle and my spine!!!