#couple guys came in right after us for an online order pickup and waited over an HOUR and still didnt have their food when we left

[climbdraws]

went out for woodfired pizza downtown last night & it was good but i felt bad cause there was only 1 person running the kitchen

[krinsbez]

Work Stories

Three from this week (different days, thank G-D). Here’s the first.

-This guy comes in and wants to place a sizable order. But, also he tells me his sister is going to being placing an order on the phone. He wants them on the same name, and plans to take them both, but packed separately. I take his order, tel him it will take about 15-20 minutes.

-Things immediately go completely insane; phones ringing off the hook, an online order every five seconds until we closed them, even a couple walk-ins. We are now looking at wait times of least forty minutes.

-He comes back, says he wants me to throw in some extra sauces. I change the ticket.

-His brother-in-law calls, makes an order, includes extra sauces. I tell him it’s gonna take considerably longer than anticipated

-Guy comes back. I am on the phone, and have four people on hold, one of whom is our phone-service person who answers calls when I can’t. He wants me to add his brother-in-law’s sauces to that order. When I have chance I tell him I’ve already got them. He declares that no, I don’t understand; he didn’t mean the sauces I added to his order, he means the ones his brother-in-law wanted. I tell him, that yes, that’s what I was talking about. He repeats himself. I have to explain that this has been taken care of three times before he gets it. He decides to add some other stuff to his order.

-When the order was originally supposed to be ready, the guy shows up. I am on the phone again with a different customers, have four different people on hold. I have four guys behind me all working on preparing orders. There are three delivery guys waiting to take orders. He demands his order. In between trying to deal with all the calls, I explain that owing to all of this, wait times are longer. He is outraged that the food is not ready by the time I initially gave him, and complains about it EVERY. FIVE. SECONDS.

-Meanwhile, while I’m trying to explain to people on the phone that the wait time is estimated at forty minutes and no, I cannot make an exception in their case, then pick up the next line and say the same to the next person, etc. Plus of course, taking orders from people who decide they’re OK with this (or who say they’re OK with it, but then change their minds after placing the order when I give them a time). Needless to say, this guy’s harping makes this much harder.

-In order to make the guy shut up and leave me alone, I offer to give him a gift card. It works.

-The rest of the day, and part of the next, my co-workers berate me for giving the guy a gift card.

Here’s the second:

-It was supposed to be my day off. But we’d had a big group order scheduled, and the assistant manager couldn’t come in, and we couldn’t afford to have both of us out, so I came in anyways, half-an-hour early, even.

-The procedure is as follows; a week before, on social media, and several local group chats, it was announced that on *Day* we would be delivering orders to a single location in that area. People were to place their orders by a certain time on the day via e-mailing my boss, he’d send them to me via WhatsApp, I’d make a ticket, and then we’d call them to confirm, take payment, and brief them on the details. Two of these were placed over the previous week. Another eleven were placed on the day itself. All of them were sizable, several of them had modifications to specific items or ambiguous language that took extra time to deal with. Despite coming in half an hour earlier than I usually do (which is 45 minutes before official opening), and spending the entire time working on this (my usual pre-opening tasks were either done by my boss or not done at all), I didn’t get finished until an hour and a half after official opening. Granted, that’s partially because the morning was completely insane with tons of orders starting fifteen minutes before official opening. Still, things calmed down in time for me to grab a quick lunch before we had to start working on the big order.

-Please note that we’ve done a bunch of these by now, and we’ve got it down to a science. Online orders are closed. Delivery services are paused. We inform all callers and walk-ins that we will not be able take any orders until this is done, which we expected to be two hours. Still, there’s always at least one customer who refuses to accept this, but we are used to dealing with them by now.

-Now, before I go on, I must explain that we have a lunch special, which is smaller versions of certain items on our menu for a smaller price with certain free or reduced price sides. We don’t take them after a certain time, for pickup no later than half an hour after that; in special cases, an hour, but it always causes problems in the kitchen when we do that. Said time happens to be five minutes after we shut everything down.

-The customary customer who insists on placing an order anyway calls.  After much ranting, he finally accepts that I cannot be bullied into letting him place an order for until after the big order is done. So, he accepts my offer to let him place an order for after. But, he insists on it being a lunch order, despite the deadline to place them being in five minutes (well, five minutes after we started the call; by now it’s several minutes after) and the the deadline to pick them up being an hour before we allow pickups. Another fight ensues. My boss, who is helping with the big order, tells me to tell him we’ll let him do a lunch order, because we don’t have time to waste on arguing with him, and also because he can see I’m reaching the end of my rope from hearing my end of the conversation.

-He then spent the remainder of the day repeatedly telling me that I was a trouper for keeping my cool with the guy, commenting on what an asshole the guy was, googling him so he can not only ban the guy from our restaurant going forward, but also calling the owners of other restaurants in town to get him banned from them as well, asking the kitchen to make sure that his lunch order was as small as we can get away with, and when I realized that we might’ve made a mistake in said order, told us not to worry about it, cuz fuck that guy.

-Be aware; I cannot understate how pissed off he had to be to inspire such a reaction, because my boss is one of the nicest, friendliest, most easy-going guys I know, and usually he eats, sleeps, lives, and breathes making customers happy.

Here’s the third:

-We’re having a bit of a rush, and I’m taking an order over the phone, with another on hold and two customers in the store waiting to place orders, and the ticket for another (much later) order not put up yet because I haven’t had the chance. Order is just about done, I’m about to ask whether he would prefer to pay over the phone now or when he comes into the store...and he asks me which he should do. I tell him that, right at this minute, given all the other customers waiting for me to be finished taking this order so I can take theirs, it’d be easier for us if he’d pay when he picks up. His response: “OK, I’ll pay over the phone now“.

[gregoryjdillerblr]

2020: Pandemic, Murder Hornets, Riots and Protests, Monoliths, and the Rise of TikTok and OnlyFans.

2020 sure has been a strange and difficult year. Like everybody else, I was really looking forward to enter the new decade, the 2020s. My goal was to get on my own two feet and seek out a publisher to publish my books, something I have been wanting to do for many years now but kept pushing off because I was taking a hiatus and stuck in daydreaming of it happening instead of actually trying. Of course I’m doing it now, re-editing my novels while writing a new project, as well as seeking publishers to publish short stories with. But I’m here talking about 2020, since it’s near the end of an odd year

I remember back in December, riding the bus to the mall, where one crazy passenger was telling the bus driver that there was a virus wiping out China, that they were dropping like flies, and that Bill Gates was behind it all. My first thought was that this guy was fucking crazy; even the bus driver seemed to be annoyed by him. The man kept repeating himself all throughout the bus ride, and I couldn’t tell you how many times he said that this was Bill Gates doing, and that China was being wiped out.

A few months went by, and the Coronavirus found its way to the Untitled States. I am a movie goer, and I remember watching The Hunt in theaters just when the virus was hitting the US, me posting my movie ticket on my social media accounts that I wasn’t going to let the virus stop me watching the movie. Little did I know The Hunt was going to be the last movie I ever saw in theaters, and that Regal Cinemas would be closing theaters for good in the following months. I live near downtown Ithaca, NY, and the movie theater that was nearby in the Commons was Cinemapolis, who play a lot of more independent films than mainstream films. It was in this theater I watched films like Climax, Color Out of Space, The Lighthouse. Of course, the theater was forced to shut down. It’s still in the air whether the place has closed down for good or wait to reopen. Now I pass it and see the inside of it (the entire front is glass), noticing they had torn floorboards up and remodeling the place. 

I streamed films, paying the rent from as low as $6 to $20. I like to review, to talk about the films (and books I’ve read) I’ve watched recently. It’s the nerd in me that wants to talk about art and storytelling. It was cool seeing the films that were supposed to be in theaters at home. But knowing that these films were supposed to be in theaters, I couldn’t help but feel that I was missing that experience, to go to a theater, to pick out a seat (it’s usually in the middle for me), hoping to see new movie trailers I haven’t seen before, and experience the film in surround sound and on the big screen (I’m not a popcorn guy, I don’t buy it). 

Some films have been pushed back while others were streamed. I’m still waiting films like the wendigo horror flick Antlers, Godzilla Vs. Kong, The Conjuring 3, Tenet. HBO Max has announced it will stream three of the four films. Antlers was my biggest anticipated horror film of the year, and I still hope to God they would eventually stream the film rather than push it back. 

I work in retail. I was a department manager until about half way into the year, and when the whole pandemic started, there was a high demand to keep up with the flow of the almost endless flow of customers. When businesses were forced to shut down, people began to shop out of boredom. The store I work at saw an increase flow of customers. One of my good buddies and coworker told me that he helped a college girl who told him this was her very first time shopping, and she didn’t know how prices of meat work. Our store then laid down stickers to try to control customer flow, which aisle they are allowed to enter and which aisle they didn’t. Half the customers listened to the signs, and the other half didn’t. For those that didn’t, I pinpointed the signs out, and the main response I got was, “Oh, I didn’t see that there.” Eventually it got so common I stopped trying to pinpoint it out. I was a department manager, but I couldn’t enforce it like the upper management, but even they stopped trying, because there wasn’t really anything we could do to enforce it. 

Some customers got mad at other customers who weren’t wearing masks. Some of them argued. Some of them shouted at employees when customer hosts ask if they could give them a mask if they came in without one. It got so bad to the point that the store had to hire a third party security to help enforce the mask rules. But as of right now, there really isn’t much anybody to do to enforce it unless it’s enforced by state law. 

Because customers fear of going inside, online shopping saw a huge increase in sales. It got to the point that we department managers were called to help the online pickup crew. The lead manager over online pickup approved overtime, and a few of us were allowed to go in two hours ahead of our shift and help them out, just trying to fulfill orders the best we can. 

Toilet paper, paper towels, cleaning wipes, hand soap and sanitizers, rubbing alcohol, and Clorox and Lysol cleaners were wiped out. We saw many shelves emptied, naked to their metal frames where product was supposed to be. The company limited to a certain number of selected items so it was fare for all customers to buy, but the getting the supplies became difficult. Warehouses were getting low, and some even ran out of products that till this very day they are still out of. I was in charge of the frozen food section in my store, and I began to see a trend of what items were being wiped clean. Can fruits and vegetables were hit hard in the grocery department. The frozen fruits and vegetables were next. Everyday I had pull and breakdown a lot of emptied display boxes, and praying that the products would be coming soon. 

Things have slowed down, when businesses were up and running again, but to this day we are still having difficulties in getting some supplies in, or keep on the shelves. Toilet paper and paper towels slowed down, as well as hand sanitizers and soap, but good luck trying to get cleaning wipes and air sprays. Those are still gold.

With a pandemic comes the consequences of unease. When George Floyd was killed while a police officer was kneeing on him, suffocating him, the United States blew up with riots and protests. Major cities saw riots, businesses burning down. Police were shooting rubber bullets into crowds, including journalists. We saw much more police brutality in the videos that have gone viral. Police pushing elderly folks, cracking one’s head open in Buffalo, a city that’s just about three hours away where I live. In Rochester, a city that’s two hours away from me, saw some riot damage but nothing compared to those in other cities. In Ithaca, we only saw protests, nothing breaking out into riots, however, police did arrest a few protesters one night, after some of them blocked their way when the police were trying to rush to a crime scene. 

Some rioters took advantaged. They targeted business owners and killed them on the spot. Some injured police officers, and some protesters managed to block them before rioters got the chance to kill them. A retired police chief was killed while responding to a jewelry and pawn shop being robbed. Young 17 year old Kyle Rittenhouse killed two people and injured a third while trying to act as a mercenary for the police.  

Coronavirus cases spiked from large gathering of crowds, as America seemed to be on the heels of an apocalypse, torn apart by civil unrest. Protests were not only happening in the United States but in other countries as well, each trying trying to fight what is right. Videos have gone viral showing how police use their power in position, though some of them prove that some officers do what is right. I won’t go into much details about the riots and the protests. I do believe some police officers shouldn’t be police officers. I do know a few in my personal life, some of them more strict than others, but they are nevertheless good people; we just need a better system to separate the bad from the good.

Before George Floyd was killed, Asian Murder Hornets found their way across the ocean. In Washington State, a beekeeper noticed his hive was killed, their heads chopped off. He then collected the predator. It was confirmed to be an Asian Giant Hornet. There was then the fear that I saw online that these hornets were already their way across America, and a couple of my Facebook friends have had claimed they saw them in New York State. Because of George Floyd being killed wrongfully, the murder hornets became old school news. However, in October, there was the first confirmed case of a murder nest in Washington. It is believed the hornets have arrived on ships, since they cannot cross the ocean just by simply flying. 

During all of this, the US Government have confirmed that UFOs exist, providing us declassified footage. But we became forgotten about it, haven’t we?  Because deep down we already knew UFOs existed. 

As if 2020 couldn’t get weirder by the end of it, a silver monolith was found in Utah. It became instant news, as many people claim it was aliens that have planted the monolith there. Once it was all over the media, the monolith disappeared, but soon after there was one that had suddenly “popped” up in Europe. When that got viral, that monolith disappeared and another one came up in California. I figured it was a group of underground people on the internet discussing their plans to make 2020 weirder than it already was, and recently an Instagram post confirmed this, as the artist of the monolith in Utah is now trying to sell it. Sorry, guys, not really an X-File case. 

There were also the California wildfires that burned 4,359,517 acres of land, from 9,279 fires. California seemed to be suffocating with black smoke as fires rage. The smoke eventually reached across the nation. New York City was seen in a fog like state. Viral videos showed mountains of fire, as many forests were perished. Many were forced to evocate their homes, which many were left to burn. Homes and lives destroyed. As if things weren’t apocalyptic enough in 2020.

TikTok saw an increase. People began to make viral videos and challenges on the popular app. We see people making comedy videos. We see people make music videos. We see stupid challenge videos, trying to make a challenge go viral. We see people try to get though the day, no matter how difficult it was for them. Social media is a powerful tool these days, and the TikTok app seems to be one of the more recent ones that can make you instant internet famous, despite that countries are trying to ban it because the app was created by the Chinese. I do plan on getting TikTok shortly, if they don’t ban it (which I honestly think they won’t, but we’ll see). 

Another increase in popularity is the much more controversial website OnlyFans. Since many were forced to go jobless when businesses were shut down, many turned towards online to make money. OnlyFans was growing, but 2020 bloomed the website. Popular celebrities began to turn toward it, rather to release behind the scenes of photoshoots, songs, exercise tips, etc. Of course, OnlyFans is known for its popularity in the ever increasing of nudes or pornographic like content. Famous adult entertainers to maybe the girl next door use OnlyFans to earn money as they sell sexual content on the site. Because this is being 2020, and people are stuck in homes or single and the difficulties of dating someone, OnlyFans is a way to release that sexual tension, and those that are releasing content to make money. However you want to view it, OnlyFans is popping up everywhere on social media, and it’s a site that isn’t going away anytime soon.

Looking back at 2020 now, it has been a fast and surreal year. Liker everybody, I hope this pandemic goes away soon, despite that it’s looking like it may end next summer, the way they are predicting. I hope whoever is having difficulty that 2021 would be much more positive, that things will work out together. My message overall is this: please be kind to one another. Times are tough right now. Be positive, smile under your mask, and things will work out in the end. Cheers. 

[isa-ly]

THE ELEPHANT’S STAKE

TW: mental health, therapy, repression

Did you know that my go-to party trick is drawing an elephant with just one line? I know, pretty lame. Now you know why I never go to parties.

Okay, so, what’s with the random elephant theme, you may ask? Well, funny you should mention it. (I say, as if we were having and actual conversation and it wasn’t just me pretending to talk to someone in order to feel less awkward. The irony here is that writing this blog is supposed to help me to do exactly that. I never said my brain’s logic made any sense.)

Anyway, I asked myself that exact question too a few months ago, when my lovely therapist Kerstin asked me whether or not she could read me a story about an elephant. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love animals and those big-boned, long-tusked, gentle-calm giants definitely have a soft spot in my heart. However, I never really expected them to come up in a conversation with a trained psychotherapist. But hey, what the fuck do I know about cognitive behavioural therapy. Not enough to be aware that it includes elephants, apparently.

Since I didn’t want to be rude and was actually kind of intrigued, I asked my therapist to yes, please, read me the story about the elephant. I actually found the story online (pft, Kerstin, where’s your originality), so I shall copy and paste it here for you to read it too, in case you want to:

“When I was small, I used to love circuses, and what I liked best about them were the animals. The elephant in particular caught my attention, and as I later found out, other children liked the elephant too. During the performance, this enormous beast would nobly display its tremendous weight, size, and strength. But after its performance, and until just before it went out on stage, the elephant was always tied down with a chain to a little stake in the ground that held one of its feet. The stake however was just a minuscule piece of wood, hardly a couple of centimeters long. And although it was a strong thick chain, it seemed obvious to me that an animal capable of tearing a tree from its roots, could easily free itself from that stake and flee. This mystery continued to puzzle me. What held it there? Why didn't it escape? 

When I was 5 or 6, I still trusted the explanations given by grownups. So, I asked my teacher, my father, and my uncle about the mystery of the elephant. One of them explained that the elephant didn't escape because it had been mastered. So, I asked the obvious question: “If it's been mastered, why do they keep it in chains?”

I don't remember having received a coherent answer. With time, I forgot about the mystery of the elephant, I only remembered when I found others who had asked themselves the same question at some time. Years later, I discovered that, to my luck, someone had been sufficiently wise to come up with the answer.

The circus elephant does not escape because it has been attached to a stake just like this one since it was very, very small. I closed my eyes and imagined a defenseless baby elephant fastened to the stake. I am sure that in that moment, the little guy pushed and pulled and tired himself out trying to get himself free. And, regardless of his efforts, he couldn't do it, because the stake was too strong for him. I imagined him tuckering himself out and falling asleep and the next day trying again, and the next day, and the next. Until one day, a terrible day in his history, the animal accepted its futility and resigned itself to its fate.

That enormous powerful elephant that you see in the circus does not escape because, unfortunate thing, he thinks he can't. He has that memory etched into his mind: the futility that he felt shortly after he was born. And the worst part is that he has never returned to seriously question that memory. Never again did he return to test his own strength.

The first thing I said to my therapist after she had read me the story and was waiting for my reaction was: “Am I the elephant?” To no one’s surprise, she had nodded and then asked me how I had gotten to that conclusion. And well, that’s what I want to talk about today.

It’s a little hard for me to find a beginning to this, so I’ll just start with what came to my head first: My childhood. Oof, what a bummer. A few minutes into her second post and she’s ready to whack out the big guns. Okay, back to being serious. Somewhat.

Don’t get me wrong, I had a lovely childhood. Really, I was an only child, born to two very lovely parents who really cared for and loved me, and I have tons of wonderful memories of growing up. Oh, what’s that? Can you hear it? Sounds like a big “BUT...” that’s about to smash through the glass wall of my positive nostalgia. Look, let’s just say it as it is: While my time as a kid and teenager were truly lovely, fun and filled with good people and better friends, there were undeniable issues and traumas in it as well, and it would be simply wrong not to acknowledge those.

And one of those not-so-great things was that growing up, there were a lot of ‘can’t do’s’ in my life. Especially when it came to emotions. I’m not gonna give you the full rundown of every single issue in the relationship with my parents or my own self, but I’ll say this much: My feelings, especially ones of anger, sadness and hurt, were often brushed over, my arguments ignored and my attempts of standing my ground nipped in the bud. Discussions, fights and quarrels, especially with my mum, made one thing very clear: I had to stay as quiet and small as possible to avoid being yelled at even more. If I spoke up, even when I thought I was in the right, things would escalate and get even worse. Ergo, if I showed and displayed my real emotions and thoughts, I would suffer the consequences – which were never good.

So, I learned not to. I learned to stay quiet. To revert back into myself and zone out, go some place else in my mind and just wait for the storm to blow over. Instead of getting angry, I fell silent. Instead of getting sad, I went numb. As my therapist always says: Instead of feeling, I would simply not feel. Because at the time, it was what kept me safe. It was what kept me loved. And all a child wants is to be loved.

In many ways, this was my stake. This was what kept me standing in one spot. Whenever I tried to pull it out, I would fail, struggling and thrashing to escape, to make my emotions clear and feel them freely. Every time I tried, it would only leave me even more exhausted, would leave me feeling like a fool for thinking that maybe if I tried just one more time, pushed just a little harder, the stake would yield. But it never did. And at some point, I just gave up.

This all might sound very sad and tragic. I’m aware that I’m by far not the only teenager that fought a lot with their parents. And probably also not the only one who just kind of gave in after a while. However, I can’t deny the fact that this has shaped me in ways I am only now recognizing years later, while sitting in therapy and having elephant stories read to me because for some reason, for some fucking reason, I cannot access, feel or share my emotions.

For some fucking reason, I am chained to that stupid stake. 

My therapist read me the story because she knows that I’m aware what it’s about. It’s about me, as a kid and teen, trying to escape from the emotional boundaries that were set by my parents and eventually by myself, and failing time and time again. As I grew up and got older, those boundaries grew with me in my head. And yet in real life, they were nothing but a tiny stake of wood that, having grown a lot stronger, I could have completely overpowered and ripped out of the ground by now. But because they have been with me my entire life and because I hold all those memories of never being able to shake them, I never thought I could.

I always looked at them like the elephant looked at the stake. As something that couldn’t be moved, that couldn’t be changed.

“Until one day, a terrible day in his history, the animal accepted its futility and resigned itself to its fate.“

Hits different now, huh.

So, what’s the moral of that story and brief delve into my emotionally compromising childhood? Fuck the circus, I guess. 

In all seriousness though: I wanted to write this post because that therapy session actually helped me a lot and I find myself coming back to this story whenever I slip into the darker place of my mind. So, I wanted to put it on this blog as a reminder. A reminder to myself and anyone else who needs it, that even though it might seem virtually impossible to change something, be that your own thought patterns, behaviours or personality traits, it never is. 

You know that cheesy saying that change is the only constant in life? Well, as cheesy as it is, it’s true. And I think by realizing that, by hearing that silly story of the elephant in the circus, it opened up some new possibilities. One of those being that whenever something feels like it’s unyielding and not doable, maybe you just need to take a step back and look at it again. And maybe you’ll see that it’s actually just a small, wooden stake and you’re a whole ass elephant that could take down a tree, if it wanted to.

The exact opposite might be true too, and the stake might still be too big. And in that case, that’s perfectly okay too. Remember what I said one post ago about picking your battles according to your own strengths? Yeah, that’s still valid too. But it also doesn’t mean that you have to despair. Because there is always room for growth and the chance of becoming stronger. Emotionally, mentally, and in every other way.

I hope this doesn’t sound too much like a self-help book from some self-proclaimed lifestyle guru who’s also a part-time pickup artist and sells questionable detox teas on the side (not sure where I’m going with that one). Metaphors can sound super lame but in my case, they’ve always been helpful as my brain really loves translating lessons and conclusions into images. Essentially, I’m just the kid that was always into Arts And Crafts and I need to ~visualize~ everything in order to process it. I know, I annoy myself too.

But hey, my therapist made a good call by telling me this metaphorical story because it made me realize a thing or two about how I’ve set myself all of these boundaries I could just as easily (or should I say isa-ly, HAH) kick again if I tried. That stake I chained myself to might have provided a sense of safety all those years back when I was a child and teenager, being yelled at and not listened to by my parents. But it is no longer providing that security. If all, it’s holding me back in realizing all of my newly found strengths. 

So, maybe it’s about damn time I ripped it out of the ground and got the hell out of that circus.

[oldnintendonerd]

Introducing my NES Collection

This was the first video game console I owned. It was bought for me by my parents, as most NES systems were for us thirty somethings. The box and all of that is unfortunately long gone. Currently, this dude is not working. It gets the flashing red light of death on every cart I put in, even after cleaning the cart with alcohol/windex and a cotton swab.

 I did clean all of the pins inside the unit just as a quick try at fixing it, but I think it needs a thorough cleaning and some pin bending. This one is not in the greatest of shape, it does have some yellowing, and I’m not entirely thrilled with its condition. But it is sentimental, as it is the one I have had since day one, when the infatuation began.

A friend had one first, of course, since that is how most of us got into almost anything, “a friend was doing it”. I was hooked the second I ran Mario to the right and stomped my first Goomba.

The NES was released on October 18th, 1985. I don’t think my friend had one immediately, it was probably not until 1986 that I was introduced to it. I did not get one until probably a year or so later as a Christmas present. Possibly even over a year, I do remember there was quite a bit of asking that had to be done. So it could have been Christmas of 1986 or even as late as Christmas of 1987 before I actually got my own NES. From then on I got a game for Christmas or my birthday, or both, almost every year.

Over time I accumulated quite a few games, even having not bought an NES game since the 90′s I still have over 40 games in my collection. Almost all accumulated when I was a kid or teenager. After I hit my 20′s I don’t think I bought another NES game at all. Here they are as it stands right now:

As you can see, it’s nothing to sneeze at, I have a lot of really good games including Battletoads, Blaster Master, both Zelda games, the Mario trilogy, Super C, Metroid, a couple Mega Mans, and of course, the classic Tetris. But, there are obvious holes in this collection, where is the rest of the Mega Man series? Either of the Double Dragons? Any of the Ninja Gaidens? How can I be missing any of these? Well, I was just a kid when I was actively collecting games for this system, and at the end of the 90′s, Nintendo had released the SNES and the N64 in that time, so there were other platforms on the table. Both of which I was also buying for during this time, and they were more expensive. Id go buy one new N64 game with my budget instead of picking up 3 or 4 used NES games.

Thats what makes this blog so much fun though. Even as a kid I would still hit yard sales, I remember very vividly haggling a guy down from $10 to $8 on Jackal, and paying for it with my own money. Probably in the neighborhood of 1988 or 1989. Great buy that game. Hours of fun.

I also managed to get an Intellivision and an Atari 2600, with about 10 games for each at a yard sale only a few houses down from where we lived. I was probably 12 or 13 years old and picked up the entire lot for $5. Both systems worked, and my brother and I played for hours with Triple Action, Astrosmash and Breakout. While the NES was in the living room like “Uh... hello!? Hellooooo!?”. This was probably 1992 or 1993, and the Atari 2600 was released in 1977. So those games, at the time I purchased them, were not even as old as the games and systems I am looking for now. 15 years? The GameCube is about 16 years old at this point. Mind blowing.

I look forward to doing a lot more of that here.

Another great buy was NES Open Tournament Golf. This was released a month after the SNES. We bought a copy brand new, I think it was a christmas present that very year. I did not have a SNES yet. Little did I know how much time I would spend with my dad playing that game. To this day it holds a place in both of our hearts. In fact just a couple weeks ago we sat down and played on the Wii virtual console about a half dozen rounds together. It’s something we try to do almost every time we get together, even if its only for a half an hour. Great memories.

Wait, why is there a sticker on it if you bought it new you ask? I’ll tell you. Somewhere in the mid 90′s my dad and I had a bit of a marathon when we discovered that it saves your money. We wanted to get to $1,000,000. A few times we got interrupted in playing and just left the console on to come back to, rather than saving play and turning it off. Well, we ended up leaving it on for over a week straight, something had gotten placed in front of the power LED so it was not noticed. I think we went on vacation or something. It was on a purple screen when we came back to it. It would then not boot, but other games worked. We figured we cooked the cartridge. So, we purchased another copy used, and as you can see it was rather expensive. Even used and a good few years after it was released. I am guessing this may be somewhere around 1994 or 1995. The 689 sticker was probably an inventory sticker or something from the place we got it, there’s no decimal point. There is a price on the back.

Even today with the high prices some of these games are fetching, $21.00 is expensive for NES Open. eBay seems to have it going around $10 shipped. Which makes it around a $7 or $8 game, tops. Bummer.

We discovered later that the original copy did still work, so when I moved out, dad kept one, and so did I. Clearly, I’ve got the used one. Come to think of it he still has quite a few of my old games. Hmmmmmm... might have to ask him about that stuff. See what he still has.

I still wish I had spent a little bit more money on the NES games as they were “going out of style” in the mid to late 90′s. You could find anything at Electronics Boutique, just bins and bins of used NES games, most under $5! Some for even a dollar or two. But you pass them up because the label doesn’t catch your eye and there is no internet to tell you what is good like today.

So now I am filling in the gaps of the collection more than two decades out of date. It just so happens that it is right when everyone else had the same idea. Story of my life. Here I am thinking I’m being original, dusting off 10 to 30+ year old video games, and I’m at least 2 years too late to the party. YouTube channels that are four plus years old about game hunting, the older videos getting absolute steals on stuff you would probably hardly have a chance to find today, let alone get for $1. Stacks of GameCube games for $1 each, GameCube systems with games and multiple controllers for $10. GameCube controllers alone are $15+ these days. SNES lots with a system, controllers and like 15 games for $20. Incredible deals.

Now the pickings are slimmer, one of the YouTube channels I follow posted a recent video where a woman would NOT part out a Genesis system and some games that went with it. It had to be sold as the package and she had it priced at $65 or something. She said something along the lines of “I looked it up online, that’s what they go for”.

Little rant here. This is the problem with game hunting now, and may be an issue as I try to rebuild my collection. Lots of people know what eBay is, check their stuff and for whatever reason, want that price. It may be a lack of understanding on how eBay works, most likely they’ve never sold on eBay before. They don’t realize that the Genesis on eBay is very clean and is listed “Tested and working”, with a 30 day return policy, and all of this plays on the price. You are not on eBay, you are selling this out of a box on the floor of your garage at a yard sale, you are not paying eBay fees to list, you are not paying PayPal fees to get payment, you are not shipping anything, and if this doesn’t work when I get home I can’t bring it back to you. $65 on eBay does not mean $65 at a yard sale. See where it says Free Shipping in the listing? Of course not, you just see the price number. The seller on eBay MIGHT walk away from the $65 sale with $40 - $45 or so after all fees and shipping are finished. A $40 bill for the same lot MIGHT get some attention at the same yard sale. I mean, people can charge whatever they want, I can’t tell people what to ask for their stuff, it is their stuff. But if you were really trying to sell it, it would be priced accordingly. $65 for a Genesis and a few games will still be sitting in that box when the yard sale is over. $25 or $30 for the same Genesis and games, now you have my attention.

Ok, rant over. It wasn’t so little. Sorry.

Despite all of the above rant, I am convinced there are still some good deals to be had out there. I like to think there are still some people willing to sell stuff at true yard sale prices, just to be rid of it, like the purpose of a yard sale. This is a tall order, but it can be done, and I’m going to try. It will all be laid out here for you to read about.

Next post - The SNES Collection, and maybe less ranting. Maybe.

No pickups yet, total stays at $83.09

2017.04.18

[zachthevagabond]

Portugal Recap

Thursday January 31, 2019 [better late than never!]

As promised, here is a recap of what I would say was the most enjoyable trip I’ve done this year in Europe. Portugal --just wow. It was one of the most beautiful countries I think I’ve ever visited, and I will definitely be returning some day soon. 

Thursday: goodbye Luxembourg, and hello sun and food 

Despite a delayed train that was moving slow enough to be going backwards, Taylor and I arrived in Luxembourg with more than enough time to hit up the city’s infamous Pizza Hut before heading to the airport. What’s on the menu? Nothing but the usual for us: cheesy breadsticks and a medium pepperoni lovers pizza with stuffed cheesy crust. Can you say 3,000 calories? After finishing dinner, we walked to the bus stop towards the airport. Do you think that burned off at least an eighth of a single breadstick? 

This was my first time in the Luxembourg City airport, and I wasn’t all too surprised to find it completely dead and bizarre (reminiscent of Luxembourg City itself on a weeknight in winter). It was all good and dandy until Taylor was pulled aside and groped after setting off the beeper while walking through the metal detector. We’re still not sure why it happened, but I had a good cackle while collecting my items and watching her get felt up by two Luxembourgish security guards with her hands in the air. Honestly, she’s probably the last person on EARTH I would think to pull aside to check. Between her wavy Jewish hair and blue eyes, I think she’s the least-threatening person I’ve ever seen in my life. 

What would be a two hour airport wait without a glass of wine and witnessing a middle-aged woman carry around a life-size toddler doll? You can’t make this up if you tried. This woman cradled this doll, walked with it, and even looked us in the f*$^#(@ eyes as she rubbed it’s neck. Probably one of the strangest things I’ve ever seen in an airport. With only five minutes to board, I ran to the bathroom to pee before getting back in the boarding line with Taylor. Am I the only traveler out there who still gets butterflies of excitement/anxiety whenever I board a plane?

Running back to the gate, Taylor and I awaited our boarding opportunity. She went up to the agent before I did, and breezily scanned directly through to the other side. My ticket, of course, was not “found in the system.” They pulled me aside, and a kind flight attendant explained that she had to manually enter in my passport number. Kind of strange for the person who booked the tickets, but OK. Just my luck.

As I finally boarded, I passed Taylor in row five of the plane as I fought my way back to row thirty-two. Again, why is the person who booked the tickets getting all of this good luck?! While initially I had a middle seat, a French couple asked if I could trade seats with them so that they could sit together. I happily agreed, and won myself an aisle seat. “The first win of the trip!” I thought to myself. For the remainder of the flight, I read and listened to music tranquilly while Taylor was up in row five between two very affectionate lesbians. Taylor quotes, “It was a flight of true love around me: completed with lesbian leg wrestling and woman-on-woman kissing fully and all over each other.” What we didn’t know at this time was that this wouldn’t be Taylor’s last lesbian experience in Portugal...

Upon arriving, we ordered an Uber that never came to our pickup location. Wonderful. Finally, we decided to abandon the app and call a taxi. It all worked out for the best, as the taxi was actually two euros cheaper than the uber would have costs us. As we arrived to our Air B&B, we found a bottle of dry red Portuguese wine left for us by Adrian and Adriana, our hosts. What a classy couple! We stayed in and enjoyed the wine before heading out to explore a bit and find dinner. 

Friday: sun and food and food and sun 

We woke up at around eleven hungry and ready to explore. Naturally, we were thinking Brunch; and found an online recommendation from our Air B&B hosts for a spot about fifteen minutes away from the apartment. We both ordered brunch pancakes, which were essentially buttermilk pancakes with bacon and a fried egg on top. YUM. Before finishing our meal, we were blessed with the presence of a Portuguese street juggler who announced to the outdoor patio that he “wasn’t interested in tips” but “just that we paid attention.” After everyone continued talking and eating in peace, he went on his way without trying to pass his hat. I could’t help but feel bad for the guy, but his “juggling” show consisted of him stroking an oversized marble while making extremely uncomfortable eye contact. I can’t say I wasn’t relieved when he [literally] packed his marbles and left. 

We wandered down the winding and hilly streets of Lisbon to the water. We took a seat and looked out at the Atlantic while feeling the sun for the first time in months. It was one of those moments where you don’t even have to talk to your travel companion to explain what you’re feeling. “How f@#$%^& lucky are we that this is our life?!” was definitely at the forefront of both of our minds.

Wanting to stay in the sun but properly hydrate ourselves, we found ourself at the Museum of Beer of Lisbon. Finding a table on the patio, we both ordered small beers. “A small?! You don’t want a large? Smalls are for girls!” the waiter taunted me. “Yeah, no, a small please,” I replied, completely indifferent to his heckling. 

After our beers and a little sobremesa, we hailed a taxi to Belém. We saw the famous tower/castle thing of Belém as well as witnessed an Asian grandpa try to bust in the castle for free ---all while ripping ass three feet away from us. Again, you can’t make this Sh*^ up!

After touring the castle, we decided we needed yet another little something to recharge our tiring legs. We headed to the original home of pastéis, a Portuguese dessert specialty. It’s basically an egg custard that’s garnished with powdered sugar and cinnamon. It was delicious, and I could’ve eaten about fifteen of them in one single sitting. Before leaving, we noticed a small open motorcycle taxi (called a Tuk Tuk) sitting right in front of our table. Feeling like the driver, who we soon learned was named Ricardo, was put in front of our table by God himself, we decided that the “very special price” of 15 euros back to the apartment would be worth it. To this day, that ride home on the Atlantic in sunny Portugal was one of the most memorable things I’ve seen abroad.

After coming back to the apartment and having a two-hour siesta, we decided it was time for some dinner. We agreed on Lisbon’s famous Time Out Market. It’s a large outdoor eating venue with some of the best-rated restaurants in the entire city. Naturally, we settled on a burger joint that had the best burger and fries I’ve ever experienced on this side of the Atlantic. YUM. 

Shortly after finding a seat with our burger and fries in hand, Taylor and I noticed a couple across the table that looked MISERABLE. They weren’t speaking, looking at each other, or interested in anything else than their miserableness. After hearing them speak English, we broke the ice and asked them how their food was, where they’re originally from., etc. Fifteen minutes an countless travel stories later, the couple left grinning and holding hands. Taylor and I like to think that we saved their honeymoon. I think I definitely deserve to have their first son named Zachary in my honor.

After heading back home and finishing the bottle of red wine, Taylor and I hit the bars. Lisbon knows how to party, let’s leave it at that. [I’d give you more juicy information, but my grandma is reading this -love you Gram!!] 

If the party wasn’t already good enough, Taylor and I were approached by two Brazilians: Barb and Euginio. My Portuguese may have been better than their English, if that gives you an idea of how awkward this conversation was. After exchanging basic information about ourselves, we learned that they are masters students in law who are becoming judges??? I put the question marks because to this day, Taylor and I have no clue what they are studying and/or whether or not they are judges? Or being judged in their masters program? We will never quite know.

Shortly after meeting them, things got a little freaky. Barbara took a very special liking to Taylor, and asked her if she’d ever been with a woman. Not sure what to say, Taylor replied, “Ummm..yeah, no. It’s not my thing.” In retrospect, we decided she should have boldly said “Yeah, many times. I prefer men.” Regardless, Barbra was upset that Taylor had never tried anything with a woman, and proceeded to ask if she could kiss her on the cheek. This was one of those moments that you want to intervene to save your friend, but are choking on your own tongue trying to not laugh your ass off at what is happening before your eyes.

Frigid in fear, Taylor responded, “I mean, I guess” to find Barb lean over and kiss her on the cheek. “You’re so warm!” Barb said. “I mean, yeah, it’s the alcohol.” Minutes later, I very publicly reminded Taylor that we “had to be up super early” for our imaginary flight tomorrow morning. We ran out of that bar faster than Barb and Euginio could blink their browned Brazilian eyes. Taylor came here for a year of new adventure, and now she can say she’s officially had a Brazilian girlfriend. LOL!

Saturday & Sunday: Explore eat explore eat eat eat

Saturday morning, we woke up at around noon and headed out to brunch [yet again.] This time, we walked to a different part of the city. I met up with my old friend Charis, a German medical student that I met in Montpellier. She is now living in Lithuania studying medicine. How strange it is to see someone after two years and be able to continue your conversation like you’d just seen them last week! The joys of traveling. 

Following our brunch and catch-up with Charis, Taylor and I adventured around Lisbon before heading home for a mid-day siesta. After one last dinner at the burger joint and brunch the following morning, we found ourselves boarding a plan back home on Sunday in no time. “Back to the cold!” we thought. 

Portugal will always be remembered by Taylor and I as the mid-January 2019 trip of burgers, endless steps to climb around the hilly city, and of course, lessssssssbians.