PixlBit

Sick Boy: It's certainly a phenomenon in all walks of life.
Mark "Rent-boy" Renton: What do you mean?
Sick Boy: Well, at one time, you've got it, and then you lose it, and it's gone forever. All walks of life: George Best, for example. Had it, lost it. Or David Bowie, or Lou Reed...
Mark "Rent-boy" Renton: Some of his solo stuff's not bad.
Sick Boy: No, it's not bad, but it's not great either. And in your heart you kind of know that although it sounds all right, it's actually just shite.
Mark "Rent-boy" Renton: So who else?
Sick Boy: Charlie Nicholas, David Niven, Malcolm McLaren, Elvis Presley...
Mark "Rent-boy" Renton: OK, OK, so what's the point you're trying to make?
Sick Boy: All I'm trying to do is help you understand that The Name of The Rose is merely a blip on an otherwise uninterrupted downward trajectory.
Mark "Rent-boy" Renton: What about The Untouchables?
Sick Boy: I don't rate that at all.
Mark "Rent-boy" Renton: Despite the Academy Award?
Sick Boy: That means fuck all. Its a sympathy vote.
Mark "Rent-boy" Renton: Right. So we all get old and then we can't hack it anymore. Is that it?
Sick Boy: Yeah.
Mark "Rent-boy" Renton: That's your theory? 
Sick Boy: Yeah. Beautifully fucking illustrated.
- Trainspotting

I turned 34 this past Saturday and while the Thursday before it and the Sunday afterwards were bookended with longer-than-usual bouts of work, the Friday before and the actual birthday were as pleasant, enjoyable and lazy as can be. Its definitely notable for being the first birthday in over 7 years where it didn't fall on a work day/night. I don't know how that happened but I was grateful. Every Friday from here until November (fingers crossed, there's always the chance that the school hosts district tournaments) will be dominated by a home football game.

The first 3 weeks of school so far has been so rough on me and a lot of it had to do with the fact that I spent all of it still cleaning the 5/6th grade building in addition to all of my athletic buildings. That building took 4 hours to clean every night on average, so I was always going into my primary areas with a lot of my energy already depleted. In order to do a passable job, I needed to spend an average of an hour in every location so every night was extended to 9-10 hours. I'd come home with only the desire to sleep and do nothing else. When I woke up, it would 2 or 3 p.m. and I had no time to do anything else but clean up, dress up and head out the door. Not all the time, but sometimes. I didn't want to be in that building any more than was necessary and my boss shared the same opinion. He had been so busy coordinating crews at another district so hiring a new person was put on the backburner.

On some nights, doing just the barest essentials for those later buildings wouldn't always cut it. Things became more complicated when on Labor Day weekend, the athletic director passed away due to terminal cancer. One of his dying wishes was for his memorial service to be held at the main gym. The school's booster club set it upon themselves to decorate and do some cleaning in the bleacher and lobby areas. Needless to say, my boss and I were embarrased and when I got back from visiting my parents for that holiday weekend, I went straight to work to further clean and prepare the gym for the service. Little things like that just sent my confidence dropping. It's not as though anyone could've predicted when the man would die but the service's location was just as easy to predict. I was caught dead to rights with no good excuse but at that point, only the basketball crews were using the gym. In the coming months, hopefully a replacement for the 5/6 building would be found I would be able to devote more time the gym, especially when we got closer to basketball season. 

So it was nothing but a sigh of relief when my boss told me Thursday night that he'd be starting a new hire in that building starting Monday of this week. It's what we both wanted. I've been training this guy since he's started and he's a quick leaner; on time, eager to work and thorough. Some rookie mistakes, to be sure but nothing serious. He'll develop a routine and those kinks can be ironed out. I'm praying, crossing my fingers, hoping that this guy lasts for as long as we can get him. I've been in this business long enough to see so many new hires come and go. I hope this guy is serious and committed. One day he'll move on (as we all do) but I need someone like him to take that burden off my shoulders. So far, its working. 

So, the birthday: spending Labor Day weekend with my parents and younger sister was where some of my celebrating occurred. Lots of good meals, watching Star Trek film marathons on tv, shooting a hunting bow with my father (and enjoying it) and of course, we all dined on a Dairy Queen ice cream cake (nothing better than that tradition). This past weekend, my brother invited me to his house to celebrate there. His wife was off at a wedding so we had the place to ourselves and my brother's houndog, Barlow. He grilled hamburgers and brautwursts (beer-soaked links from Kansas City) and we ate those and an ice cream pie (didn't know those things existed) while watching college football (Oklahome vs. Texas, I think) and ending the night with a viewing of my birthday present for him (earlier this year): his blu-ray copy of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. I don't care about naysayers, this series of films holds up and I can't wait for The Battle of the Five Armies when it comes out in December. Neither can my brother. 

As for Destiny, I picked it up for PS4 and on the limited time I've spent on it, it's been a blast from what I've played so far. Playing it with friends is the best way to go. The fact that I work nights just kills me because I know I'm missing out. There's been a lot of complaints regarding the plot and lack of variety on missions and while those have validity I'm not bothered by them. Diablo III: UEE is one of my favorite games of the year but its plot isn't that stellar either. I'm not interested in the story there; I care about killing monsters to get loot to buy shit that'll enable me to kill them more efficiently and get more shit. What both games have in common is a very utilitarian story; a basic setup that gets things moving but nothing remarkable. It's a solid enough foundation so the gameplay can take center stage: shooting aliens to get loot to buy shit and kill things more efficiently to get more shit. That's the game that was marketed to me, that's what I wanted wanted and what I got.

If the story gets better in expansion packs, great. If it doesn't, not the end of the world. Bungie made 4 Halo games in which the plot made little sense and wasn't all that important to me. The lore has its fans but all they needed to do was make the gameplay fun and that's what's happened here. I do think that Destiny hints at a more wondorous and optimistic look at the universe despite the impending threat. The world travel screen reminds me of the time portal map from Time Bandits (see that film if you haven't). I need to play more obviously (I'm a level 12 Warlock) but I think this was a good investment.

Okay, this was long enough. Right now, I'm listening to Steppenwolf and getting sleepy. Have a good week, everyone!