Merry Freaking Xmas!!!!! 

I shouldn't have to explain this. 

Ok as I sit here at 1:36 AM on Tuesday morning, it looks like the Mets will pick up Pedro Martinez from the Red Sox. It appears to be a guaranteed4 years 50+ million dollar deal. The deal is rumored to allow Martinez to skip a MRI on his pitching arm, which is rumored to have a 90% torn labrum. If the shoulder goes, you are looking at a 2-3 month layoff. Plus the guy only completed one game last year and averaged 6.58 innings per start. With a shaky relief staff, the Mets are paying an awful lot. The big problem will also be his ego. He has been known to whine when he doesn't get his way with the front office and NY has a way exacerbating these problems. Anyone remember Bobby Bonilla? I'd love to be proven wrong and have Martinez show up with his A game and cement the starting rotation, but I've been a Met fan my entire life and skepticism wears blue and orange.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
While it's too early to call a winner in the Weekly Shitbag/Idiot contest, my co-worker Chris (aka Beavis or Chippy) has an early lead. He decided yesterday that he needed tonight off supposedly to attend to insurance issues relating to his recent accident. He took his name off the schedule and added 4 hours to my shift without telling me. But somehow he managed to find time to come in for a pay out. Hmmm. I am pretty sure his business could have been taken care of by 6pm, at which time he could have come in and finished his shift. "But I told Al." It wasn't Al's responsibility to tell me. Thank goodness I didn't have plans after work tonight. This is the 2nd time in as many shifts that he's pulled this shit.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE: Wed 905pm: Ok so the Mets went and signed Martinez. Now all we need is a real first baseman and a closing relief staff. Dear Santa.........
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shitbag/Idiot news: Chris still holds the lead but a new face has entered the race. In case you don't realize it was a slow news week in the NY area but the eviction of two hawks off a 5th Ave building took center stage. Apparently a over zealous bird lover, laid in wait and was arrested for harassing the 7 year old son of the building co-op's chairman.

Dude? It's a bird. I realize you love birds and are upset about the hawks being evicted, but....Dude, it's a bird. Harassing a 7 year old? C'mon. Dude? It's a bird.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Under the category of "Now I can sleep better": There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar. Show up at my store as ask for all 293 and I won't stop Dograt...really go ahead and try. I double dog-dare you.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update: 19 Dec 8:37 pm: It's over!!!!! We have a winner. Chris was right in the lead coming around the final turn when he was overtaken by that piece of shit that murdered another pregnant woman and CUT the fetus out of her recently dead (we can only hope) body. Lisa Montgomery was charged after being arrested after parading the one day old child to other people in her town. The police speculate that Montgomery faked her own pregnancy, fooling even her own husband. The police have not charged the husband. Either this is guy is a complete mo or he's involved. How do you not know your wife is pregnant or isn't?

So there goes the first weekly winner. No fear Chris, I imagine you'll be in it again.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Back to bed kiddies. Saturday is Christmas, and remember Santa doesn't like you, he'd rather tie up reindeer in leather straps. Now you know why Mrs. Claus bakes so much.

Well I have finished my first week back at the gas station and so far so good. All the usual idiot customers are there, but I have decided to have a weekly moron-of-the-week award. Don't worry Dograt isn't in the running, although the idiots I replaced were awfully tempting. One of these jackasses accosted a customer because the customer had thrown money at them. As Dograt put it they were lucky the customer wasn't like...ummm.....Me. So starting at the end of this week, I will be announcing a weekly winner. Each winner will win a lifetime supply of degradation and humility....at least from Dograt and I.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Right now I am in the middle of a pretty decent depression. It happens. The situation that takes up most of my time is this situation surrounding my friend who was accused of child rape and endangerment. He pled guilty for a myriad of reasons. My patience with him is at a breaking point. He was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome and there has always been something "off" about him but I am having a hard time dealing with his refusal to accept any responsibility in the matter. I realize he has problems but it's beyond me how he can spend all his time blaming the court, the police, or the people who falsely accused him, when he actually did do something, even if it was only one of the most minor charges. Yeah he was accused of things we know he didn't do and that the police are potentially in trouble for coercing witnesses, but that still doesn't excuse the fact the he very likely touched a child. So what if it wasn't malisicious, it was wrong.

I promised his parents I would be here until he goes away, but after that I don't know. I took the gas station job because I needed something that wasn't in anyway tied to Ben or this situation.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm wiped. Later.

Guns and kiddies. Not usually a good mix. I am a gun owner a few times over, and before you get all amped up, Teddy Kennedy's car has killed more people than my guns. I agree with the mandatory background check. I think gun control will generally only affect law-abiding owners. You average criminal is not going to suddenly turn in his stolen (or otherwise ill-gotten) weapon just because you stiffen the laws. He stole a weapon or lied about his background. How concerned about being lawful do you expect him to be? I also believe that being a gun-owner means you willfully open yourself to a higher level of responsibility and scrutiny. If you have kids or are in an environment where there's even a remote chance of a child being present, lock the weapon and secure it as much as humanly possible. You don't get to rationalize someone else finding the gun unsecured. You want the right to exercise the 2nd Amendment, well than show the appropriate understanding of the responsibility that right entails. I have verbally "bitchslapped" adults for pointing even toy guns at each other. You will do what you practice, especially when you don't have time to think (or fail to think first). Fingers dont go on the trigger unless you are going to commit to pulling the trigger. Period. Remember no-one has ever been accidently shot with a loaded weapon. It is always a weapon they thought was unloaded that they play with.

Now the real point of all this setup. I was in a farmer's market recently and happened to see a small toy pellet gun that ther box advertised as being "perfect for the kids". Wow!!! How do you rationalize that labelling? I can only assume this merchant wouldn't actually sell this to a 6 year old, but you never can tell. I guess if that might be useful information if you are a responsible parent who is going to introduce a child to firearms without actually using a real firearm.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I will be returning to work at the gas station that got me started on my blog-writing course. Yes that means that I will be sharing a close proximity to that bundle of human compassion...Dograt. So you can expect my posts to become more frequent and acerbic. I have been out of the daily rat-race for too long. Be afraid. For the record, it's all Dograts fault.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Eagles won today over the Packers. 47-17. It was 35-0 before halftime. ANyone who hands out that kind of beating ought to be arressted. Oh yeah, and my Giants got slapped around...AGAIN.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------