For those of you wondering, I did make it out to Baltimore today (got back less than an hour ago) and decided to go ahead and attend Otakon, an activity that I'm still half-wishing I could go back in time to prevent myself from doing. Not that I didn't enjoy myself at the con -- I caught up with Wuken and met Kyu, among others, for the first time -- but for the most part I was hanging out with them and not doing "con" things, so the $40 almost seems like a waste. I say almost, because I did get to see L'arc en Ciel live in concert, and thanks to Wuken and his connections (thanks, dude!) we were seated in the VIP section. Very cool. (more...)

Know what I hate? Customers who think they're hot shit. Yesterday a woman came in and expressed surprise to find one of our stores, since apparently she's from South Carolina and wasn't aware that the chain extended outside of the state. She then remarked that her husband used to work in one of the bookstores there, adding, "But he's got a real job now." And then she proudly announced that now he works for THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. After she went on about that for a bit, I asked if she needed any help finding anything, to which she replied, "Please! My husband works for THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS! I think I know my way around a bookstore!" I hate these people. (more...)

Yesterday a grubby old man wearing tight clean blue jeans and a scowl purchased a magazine called "Inches". He was rude, barked at me when I offered him a discount card, and, at the end of the transaction, snatched the magazine and stomped out of the store without a word in reply to my enthusiastic, "Have a great day!"

Upon learning what "Inches" was about, I remarked, "No wonder that guy was such a dick." (more...)

1. The other day, I was ringing up a woman's purchase while her friend stood back and watched. The woman decided to go ahead and get a discount card, which requires her name, phone number, etc., so following the prompts on the register I first asked for her last name. She told me -- it was "Arnold" -- and suddenly her friend burst into laughter so hysterical she had to lean against the adjacent counter as she tried desperately to catch her breath, only to break out into peals of laughter just as it seemed that she was about to stop. I thought this was rather strange, so I looked over at her with a raised eyebrow as the customer inquired as to what was so funny. Quoth the laughing woman, "Your name... that always makes me think of Benedict."

Then they both broke out in a maniacal fit of laughter. If they ever stopped, it wasn't until after they left the store. (more...)

After waffling around a bit concerning the topic of the next Scary-Crayon article, I decided to forego the usual suspects for something spur of the moment and timely, since it's related to a flick opening this weekend. Like the Pan piece, I drew up a handful of quick illustrations to go with it, so when I get off work around 6 tomorrow I'll scan and color those and actually write up the piece -- if all goes smoothly, I should have it up around midnight, though if I finish it earlier I'll sneak it up whenever. It's still counting as Saturday's update, though. 😛 But stay tuned -- I think you'll like this one. If nothing else, the drawings are hilarious. At least I think so. But then, I'm a psycho. You may find them disturbing.

Oh, and I finally bought The Phantom Tollbooth yesterday. Dunno when I'll get around to reading it, but it's here.

And Mickey! Thanks for the video, chica. 😀

I think I'll grab some tortilla chips and watch a quick half-hour show before heading to bed. Ja.