Sadly, no, but that's what I was thinking when I saw that the subject header of my latest e-mail was "DONATION...". Here's the fulltext of the message: (more...)

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...)