RandyB

Updating my site.

2009-06-17T09:12:58Z

I hadn't realized, until I went to post a new game to my site yesterday, that It'd been almost five months since I'd done the last one.
A friend of mine moved away and, with him gone, my friends and I have found more real world excuses to keep from getting around the game table.
I have to admit that quite a bit of it, on my part, has been dealing with turning 39. Its a bit of a heavy load to take in, though I do know lots of folks have it worse that I do.
It gets hard, sometimes, to keep from just coming home and going to sleep. Just sleep, eat and work and get through another week, says a voice in my head. I've listened to it far more than I'd realized in the past fifteen years or so.
So, how to turn over a new leaf? I realized that I avoid the social aspects of life that are available to me. I work nights, says the voice, so I don't have the oppurtunity to meet people.
But this is crap. When I play an MMO and I purposefully turn down requests to join groups, or when I get a multiplayer game for the XBOX and refuse to actually try out that option, I realize that, in a lot of little ways, I'm slamming doors on oppurtunities to meet people and make connections.
So, I am trying to make conscious decisions when these chances pop up. Starting small is the way for now, I think.

Sexual Harrasment and doubts

2007-07-11T15:07:57Z

A former member of the crew I work with stopped by the store last night to talk with his girlfriend, the woman who does the floors.
He tells me that he is currently suspended because a female co-worker at his new job filed sexual harassment charges. He claims his innocence and I really want to believe him.
The problem is, this is the same reason he was fired from Wal-Mart about three years ago. So, I have to ask myself, if its happened twice, should I still believe him when he says there's nothing to it?
At the end of the day, its none of my business really, and I shouldn't care but I do feel bad for the goofball.

Writer's Block: Random Acts of Kindness

2007-07-10T15:13:28Z

What is one of the nicest things you've ever done for another person?
Seems kind of silly in retrospect. I mean, I've done the little things most folks do, letting folks with smaller orders go first in line at the market, give a buck or two to someone on the street. Its hard to think of a nicest.
Does nicest constitute biggest?
I think the 'nicest' thing I can recall has to do with the crane game at work. Its a simple way to waste a minute or two during our breaks and I've spent many a dollar to get some stuffed animal I wanted that I thought was particularly cute or just neat. I had about a dozen sitting on my backseat of my car at any given time. When they built up too much, I'd donate them to goodwill or the library for the kids area.
One morning, after having gotten out late and ready to get the hell home, I looked across the street and saw an older gentleman out with his granddaughter doing some early morning shopping.
She was an adorable moppet with blond hair and a bleary expression. It was clear she wasn't all too keen on being out this early.
I walked over and asked the older man if he minded if I gave her a stuffed animal. His smile was very warm and gracious when he said yes.
That look on that kids face when I gave her the little stuffed rocking horse..
Well, it kept me warm all day long.

Mythos Dream

2007-07-07T17:53:20Z

I've been having vivid dreams lately. This is nothing new, they cycle and my ability to recall the details flares off and on.
The more vivid the dream depends upon when I actually sleep. If its just extra sleep, a nap when I'm rested, that's when it happens. Almost like a movie.
This one started out with something I've kind of wished for: I'm a member of an active gaming community. A gaming society at a college building/rec center with many different RPGs going on. I interacted with a few different groups, folks I 'knew' in this dream. And I was teaching this woman the ins and outs of this one game and showing her around the center.
In the back, in this one room there were many windows showing a very green landscape, green to the air even, and a door.
I explained it was a virtual reality game area you could go into.
We went into it and I explained it was a world where the great old ones had come back.
I pointed up and then looked up. There he was, great Cthulhu himself, hundreds of feet tall, green body like the trunk of the biggest redwood you could imagine, his head lost to shadows, his tentacles just visible, his arm outspread and unmoving.
I explained that the reason he couldn't move was because of the Green. This stuff that humans created, a bio-agent that halted his advance but destroyed most technology and mutated humans.
When I said this a huge grasshopper landed on my hand.
We ran across some mutants and then made our way out. As we were leaving there were many folks going in and out. This bothered me for some reason.
As we left the rec-center, the world shuddered and Cthulhu was walking in the 'real' world.
We ran back into the rec center. I'm not sure if we were looking for a place to hide or what. I half woke at this point and rolled back into the dream, still in the Rec center, this time directing folks out. Then it occured to me that maybe the folks that went into the Green were cultists and had somehow 'let' the big guy out.
I got a bar from somewhere and went into the Green to try and disrupt whatever ritual they were performing to let a virtual old one out.
The dream faded before I could find out what happened.
Being the Mythos, though, I imagine I either died, went insane, or got trapped in the virtual stopping the ritual. :P

Good or bad thing?

2005-04-29T21:52:38Z

I was on my way home this morning, driving down a lightly traveled highway when I see an alligator snapping turtle crossing the road.
I braked and pulled off because I saw the traffic was starting to pick up. I put on my hazard lights, climbed out of the car and went and picked up the turtle.
With an alligator snapper, you have to grab them by the tail, because they WILL reach around to bite you. The neck is that damned long.
I carted him to the side of the road and set him by the edge of the ditch/canal. I use the split because its always full of water.
Now, I felt like I was doing a good thing, but he was halfway across and I took him back to the side he started from.
I wonder if he was as pissed as he sounded.
:)

Post Birthday blues

2005-04-19T11:30:25Z

So, yesterday was my 35th birthday. Due to some car woes I didn't get to go out of town like I wanted to so I was just driving around a bit after noon, looking for someplace to eat.
I spotted a Hooters. I've never been to one before so I decided to try it.
Wow, lots of pretty girls. The waitress offered to have the girls sing happy birthday to me. I politely declined, telling her I'd be too embarassed.
Am I weird, is there something wrong with me? I mean, its what the place is about but I was just ridiculously uncomfortable there.
Sigh.

Me loves da Pawn Shop!

2004-12-29T16:01:34Z

I just happened to stop by on the way home, looking for a TV for the family room when what did I find? Firefly and Star Trek Season one. The prices? 24 bucks and fifty nine respectively.
It is a happy holiday! :)

Merry Christmas and a Strange Coincidence.

2004-12-25T15:21:10Z

Happy Holiday to you all, guys.
Last night I was watching A Christmas Story on TBS and, for the first time something very odd hit me.
My name is Randy Ralph Billings.
The two brothers in the movie? Their names are Randy and Ralph.
GHAAAAAAAAA!!! :)
Aside from this odd and possibly disturbing coincidence, Merry Christmas to everyone and I hope you have a great day with those you care for.

Bad Dreams

2004-12-18T18:31:48Z

You know, its been over two years since I've seen the Ring. Lately I've been having very lucid dreams. I don't remember them very well but they're normally pretty good. The reason I mentioned the Ring is because this morning it was just horrible. I was dreaming that I was in my room, in my bed, half awake as that creepy little girl was crawling across the floor towards me.
I tried closing my eyes, I was terrified because I KNEW, just knew it was a dream but I couldn't shut it off.
Just pretty creepy. Like I said, most of my dreams tell a story and don't seem all that creepy. The odd thing is that lately I'm not really a direct participant in my dreams. More like I'm watching a movie or TV show.

Almost a year?

2004-09-23T15:11:45Z

Good God almighty! I can't believe its almost been a year since I've updated this thing. Granted, a lot of stuff hasn't changed for me but I feel kinda bad for ignoring this thing.
Will definitley add this to my daily to do list. :)

A Nice Surprise

2003-11-10T15:44:53Z

At Dragoncon SOE had cute girls in tank tops and short shorts handing out CDs with Planetside and Everquest on 'em and a free seven day trial.
I haven't played Everquest in two years. I stopped because I couldn't find anyone to group with and I'd pretty much hit a cap where I stopped having fun.
Well, I was bored and I installed it. I had a bit of fun playing for that week so I decided to subscribe. After putting in my CC info I decided, on a lark, to see what would happen if I tried logging in with my old account.
It worked. My characters were still there. I had no freakin' idea that SOE kept your accounts on file for this long unpaid.
A nice little suprise for a Monday.

And now for a real twist...

2003-11-08T14:16:09Z

The jerkwad boss who blocked my transfer and made my job hell? Now that he's gone they want me to take his job. Mo' Money! Mo' Money! Mo' Money!!

The wheels of justice grind slow but fine.

2003-11-08T03:15:57Z

So, I go to work today to get my check. I like my job but the last year its become almost unbearable because of my boss. He's an immature jerkwad that has been doing his level best to push my buttons and piss me off. One of his favorite habits was always checking my reciepts to make sure I'd paid for what I had in a bag.
Well, I've been off the past two days. When I left wednesday morning, we were over an hour and a half late getting out of there. As we're leaving we pass Michelle, the Drug/GM manager. My boss is off somewhere else so its just her, Craig and myself. Craig likes to start shit, to remind you of things that piss you off.
Michelle asked about a bagged buggy-load of groceries in the back room. I told her I was sure those were my boss's. Craig chirps in reminding me about the reciept checking he used to pull on me.
I then joked. "Someone should check his reciept." Michelle laughed and said, "Yeah, they should". We all laughed.
She checked my boss for a reciept when he went to leave.
He didn't have one, for any of it. He was trying to steal a buggyload of groceries.
He was fired.
And I couldn't stop laughing throughout the rest of today. I still smile a bit.

bazorkin @ 2003-10-29T17:02:00

2003-10-29T22:04:23Z

Drama!! :) No reason.

A taste of my childhood.

2003-10-16T19:54:16Z

Last night at work I was planning what to do for dinner today, it being my day off. Then, I remembered Zippo's thread from last week about Popeye's Chicken. I realized with a shock that it had been YEARS since I'd had any and resolved to get some.
The nearest location is only about ten minutes from my house.
Just driving around behind the building to the drive thru box I got a blast of that smell and was taken back. Growing up in Mississippi and Louisiana, the Fried Chicken Heirarchy went as follows: Popeye's. Church's, and KFC a distant third.
I'm sinking my teeth right now into their incredible biscuits and munching on a spicy drumstick.
Tastes like home.

Scared of my Sketchbook

2003-09-24T23:11:10Z

I haven't drawn anything in months. No real reason, just haven't felt like it. So, the other night, wihile wandering Wal Mart in the wee small hours of the morning, I passed the Arts and Crafts section.
There it was. A fancy, shiny new sketchbook with a thick plastic front and back cover. It was a bit steep, but I was inspired and I bought it.
Now we flash forward to now, nearly five days after I bought it. I havent't drawn a damned thing. Am I afraid of it? Yeah, a bit. I'm worried that I'll suck, that I can't put the images in my head onto the paper and be happy with the results in any way shape or fashion.
So, it sits here atop my computer desk, pencil in the binding, calling me, challenging me.
*whimper*

My favorite TV show

2003-09-22T10:41:13Z

Well, this season, its Scrubs, but the show I've enjoyed the most in the past three years is Titus.
My best friend's marriage had just broke up, he was living with me, and we watched this show together, dying in laughter every week. A few days ago, we were talkin' on the phone and I remembered this show. Well, I, erm, went looking and found tons of the episodes that I could download. If they ever release this show on DvD I will be first in line.
I'd missed alot of the last season, so its been great catching up. My family was screwed up. Not as screwed up as this one, but pretty close.

Damn me for falling on the bandwagon

2003-07-11T11:17:04Z

I stayed up all night to finish HP-5: Order of The Phoenix. Its a bit like Buffy. Not the book, mind you, but my attitude towards it from the outside. I used to sneer at folks who were fans of Harry Potter, much as I turned my nose up at Buffy fans. THEY obviously had no taste. THEY were obviously just following what was popular.
So, here I am after having read the books and watched the show, respectively, and now I'm a junkie. The book was fabulous. I've never had a book that big go by that fast before. I sighed when I was done, sad that it might be years before I'd see the next book. Also a bit sad when I figgered that Daniel Radcliffe and the other kids will most likely have been replaced with younger actors by the time the movie version of this book is made. Rarely have I been as satisfied by casting of book to film adaptations.

Old songs and memories

2003-07-10T09:21:14Z

About seven or eight years ago, maybe more, I was reduced to biking to and from work. It was a long ride, over thirteen miles each way. My primary distraction was music. Yes, I know it was dangerous but I was young, well youngER, and foolish and very bored by the scenery.
I didn't own alot of cassettes but two I treasured were double length ones that would last the whole trip: David Bowie; Greatest Hits, and Queen; Greatest Hits.
The Queen one was my favorite because it was the british hits. A lot of songs I hadn't heard before. Well, I would visualize little stories in my head set to the songs. More like videos, I guess. Not staring the band but telling action stories that would probably only work with animation.
My favorite two were "Don't Stop Me Now" and "Good Old Fashioned Loverboy".
They were superhero stories, the first an action/adventure and the other a romantic one, both featuring the same characters.
I'm not sure if this is the kinda thing to post in a journal, but tonight, when I heard those songs again, I remembered all of this.
And a bit surprised I'd forgotten it.

A Strange Dream

2003-06-16T08:49:34Z

I have vivid dreams, its not often, its normally after I've been asleep once during a day, and then, when I go back to bed later that same day, is when the good dream happens.
Tonight's was really kewl. It was a forties movie. I was a plainclothes policeman in LA and I was investigating a murder, beating the woods and bushes along the coastal highway. In a big field, I found a great clue: it was a clear plastic bag, inside were some earplugs and a gold ten-sided die. I read the manufacturer's info off the die and told the Lieutenant about my find. And my theory. "He didn't plan to kill her this way. He had a number of ways he could do it and he diced for it. The earplugs were if he'd had to shoot her."
The LT dismissed this idea as wacky, but I wouldn't let it go and consulted a friend of mine, a genius called Dr. Masters, played by a young Vincent Price. He liked my theory and told me some info about games in general and some of the big names in the industry. We made an appointment to talk to one of the bigwigs. Like everybody in LA, the bigwig really wanted to be an actor and was an extra on a set. We went to go see him.
That's when the dream sidetracked into a modern day casting call. Lets just say there was Dean Cain, a midget Jimmy Walker, and Antonio Vargas and move on.
I half woke up and, in the semi-lucid state, the dream got back on track. I had a break through talking to Masters.
"Wait, maybe we're looking at this all wrong."
"How so, Detective?"
"Maybe the killer wasn't just playing a game with his victim, what if he thinks he's actually IN a game. A big game that includes the whole city, maybe even the whole world?"
"Such a man would have to be both mad and a genius, Detective..."
At that point, I realized my killer could very likely be Dr. Masters. The Game Master Murderer..
Unfortunately, I woke up. Well, that's how it goes, always at the best parts. This is my first Journal Entry, my name is Randy. :)