There may be follow up story, but I think I remember you mentioning him. Something about a baguette, if you know what I'm saying.
Nothing about baguette but....

Late November I was shopping down town on my own. Just grabbing some things and enjoying the sights, you know?

Well, I went to the comic book shop then decided to hit the used book store. I'm in the used book store, holding a copy of The Once and Future King when someone stands next to be. I don't look up until he says "Your hair...it is like the embers of fire." He had this thick frnech accent but, not being an expert, I couldn't really tell if it was Quebec French, St. Pierre French or honest to goodness Parisian.

I was a little stunned at actually being spoken too so I just thanked him. He didn't go away. Instead the next thing I heard was "You read."

I don't know what crawled up my ass at that moment but I smiled and said, "Most people do."

He GRINNED like a god damn mad man at that. We continued like this, him making observations and me just being caustic. It was out of character for me to be like that with a stranger but he didn't seem to mind and he was getting a laugh out of it. I wish him a good life or whatever, buy my shit and decide that I'm heading up to the bakery for a hot chocolate and bagel before heading home.

I'm standing in line. It's crowded inside. Then I hear, "Allo~" sang at me. There he is again, standing behind me. I'm a little weirded out but I try to stay as friendly as I had been up to that point.

I get my order and sit down..he gets his..and he sits with me. Uninvited.

Finally, he gets to what he wanted to say. "You are wearing a ring. Are you married."

I told him it wasn't just for fashion.

"Y'know..." He leaned across the table, "...that ring? It really means nothing."

I laughed at him. I laughed LOUD. It was just too much. I felt BAD for him. I'm not used to getting hit on. I'm, like, 250 pounds...no one wants me! Yet I felt bad for HIM.

He just grinned. We chatted more. He made more passes. I finished up and he asked my name. I did not want to give this guy my fucking name. So I said "Sin."

His last response before we parted? "Ah...I think you mean Virtue."

Damn. I'm laughing typing this. Sad part? If I wasn't married I could see myself DATING this dude. He kept up well enough and he was interesting when ot being a creep.
 

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Staff member
It almost sounds like you were hit on by a stereotype. Did he have a stripey shirt and a beret?
 
It almost sounds like you were hit on by a stereotype. Did he have a stripey shirt and a beret?
Nope. He was just...a guy. Dark hair and winter coat.

It was actually kinda average looking.[DOUBLEPOST=1357759079][/DOUBLEPOST]
Was he a cartoon skunk?
I was thinking about that while talking with him. I felt bad cuz I thought I might be stereotyping.

I tihnk he may have stereotyped himself, though.
 
About a year ago my credit union upgraded their online banking software so that it now attempts to track expenditures and income the way that Mint.com does. It's been fairly reliable so far, with one exception. I live near a city called Renton, and whenever I make a purchase at any store in Renton, the banking software categorizes the purchase as a rent payment. It's especially moronic because it's not like this is some bank that's headquartered in NY or Atlanta, it's a local credit union headquartered about 70 miles away, in the state capitol.
 
About a year ago my credit union upgraded their online banking software so that it now attempts to track expenditures and income the way that Mint.com does. It's been fairly reliable so far, with one exception. I live near a city called Renton, and whenever I make a purchase at any store in Renton, the banking software categorizes the purchase as a rent payment. It's especially moronic because it's not like this is some bank that's headquartered in NY or Atlanta, it's a local credit union headquartered about 70 miles away, in the state capitol.
Is it using Yodlee as its engine?
 
I've owned my phone number for the past 7 years, across two major cell networks. Why have so many old people that I don't know suddenly started calling me?! I am neither Julia nor Jerry.
 
I've owned my phone number for the past 7 years, across two major cell networks. Why have so many old people that I don't know suddenly started calling me?! I am neither Julia nor Jerry.
Ugh, for the last 8 months or so I've been getting calls for "Donald" (and one for Martina...). I am not Donald. I don't know Donald. It sounds like Donald knows some interesting folks. Including at least one in jail. And they call at the worst hours. Two AM? You need Donald at two in the freaking morning?! I am beginning to suspect Donald sells things not available at your local 7/11.

I've had this number for 6 years. Grargh.
 
The site was supposed to review my book overnight turned from a book review and story blog site into a Christian fundamentalist site.

I'd like to think it's my fault. It's the romantic in me.
 
The site was supposed to review my book overnight turned from a book review and story blog site into a Christian fundamentalist site.

I'd like to think it's my fault. It's the romantic in me.
Think of the blurb you can put on your book jacket now! "The book so powerful, it can turn men to the light of GOD."
 
Think of the blurb you can put on your book jacket now! "The book so powerful, it can turn men to the light of GOD."
I think the events have a more negative connotation. The guy was already Christian, which isn't an issue, but now he's abandoned his other hobby interests and declared war on atheism. Something happened.

Incidentally, I now need to go through the awkwardness of seeking people willing to review the book.
 
I've recently come to the conclusion that, as a civilization, we pay way too much money for convenience's sake. At the store last night I needed to buy mayo, and found that I could either pay $3.99 for a 15.5oz squeeze bottle with an easy-empty capability (namely, the lid of the bottle is on the bottom), or $2.99 for a non-squeeze jar of the same brand that had 30oz of mayo. Similarly, I could pay $0.99 for a 1lb bag of carrots, or $0.69 for a pound of carrots where the only difference was that I had to put them in a bag myself.
 
buy the squeeze bottle once, and refill the bastage. then buy a good knife and make your own mini-carrots.
These weren't even mini-carrots, just a plain old one pound bag of normal sized carrots. Literally the only difference was 30 cents for having them pre-packaged.
 
I hate those easy-squeeze bottles of stuff... you can't get everything out of them, so you're easily losing 1-2 onz unless your heating up the bottle.

My crap for today? My college decided to tell me they won't ship my books to me because I live in the same county as the college. Never mind that I don't have a car, it's a 30 minute drive (and easily 4 times that by bus), and that I'm fucking paying them to ship them to me. So now I need to re-order my books and figure out a way to get down to campus by Monday, which is when my online courses start.
 
I used to get calls from people speaking Spanish all the time. It stopped after a year or so, but man it was annoying.
For almost a decade after I got my current phone number, I used to get calls in Hindi all the time for the people who used to have the phone number.

Thirteen years after I got my current phone number, one of my in-person tech support customers ended up being the family who used to have my phone number (they have a very distinctive family name). I let them know that lots of people were looking for them and apparently hadn't gotten the message.

They looked uncomfortable.

--Patrick
 
How is it food packages are allowed to say "no preservatives" when "salt" is listed as an ingredient?
Salt is primarily used a flavour enhancer, not a food preservative. Such as in butter. Salt is the only thing that can be legally added to butter and the product can still be labelled butter. In this instance salt is added primarily for taste purposes and not as a preservative.
 
From each according to his ability, to each according to his need. For everything else there's Mastercard.

A bank in the former East Germany asked customers what new option they’d like to see for their credit cards, and a bust of Karl Marx won out, Reuters reports, noting, too, that a 2008 survey showed 43% of residents in the former East Germany wanting a return to socialism. Angela Merkel, hardly the socialist, hails from the region.

Here’s some Karl Marx for thought:

"Talk about centralisation! The credit system, which has its focus in the so-called national banks and the big money-lenders and usurers surrounding them, constitutes enormous centralisation, and gives to this class of parasites the fabulous power, not only to periodically despoil industrial capitalists, but also to interfere in actual production in a most dangerous manner — and this gang knows nothing about production and has nothing to do with it."
 
I'm generally to shy to even talk on the phone (you can ask figmentPez about this..), so nope, did not call back! But, I'm super excited to tell people I have international friends. :)
I just sorta met you, and it might seem a little crazy, but I can give you my skype account and you could call me maybe?

:awesome:

Might be a good intro to eventually get you and Fig on our occasional podcast. :)
 
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