Gearing Up For Toy Fair is Tough Work!

Status

Let’s see now… I’m sort of taking today off because I’m making a new, longer list of Toy Fair 2015 meetings for this weekend and I have a pre-show event to pop into this afternoon to check out a few items. I’d initially promised myself I wouldn’t do any more pre-show events because under certain circumstances it gets to be SO busy running around that I end up too pooped when the show actually starts. However, I made two exceptions this year because of the folks who reached out that didn’t forget they reached out and didn’t suddenly get back to me to say their events were overbooked.

I get invited to a load of events and respond as soon as I see the invite. Once in a while, the PR person who contacted me and took my reservation will get back to me a few days after I confirm or too often, right around the day the event takes place to say something like “oops, we overbooked!” without letting me know what I can do about seeing the product they were gushing about so fervently in that invite. The latest example of this was a big deal film screening/press junket I was SUPPOSED to attend this week, only to be told last minute that they ran out of room AND to hold out for a new screening date (which didn’t happen). Gee, thanks. So much for promoting your film or whatever else you were looking for from me, big megacorp deluxe who’s burned me one too many times. I got yer Throwback Thursday right here, Foo. Anyway, let me get back to my regularly scheduled day.

Back in a bit, maybe with a quick followup post if I make it back before the library closes.

Random Art: Things Fall Apart In Some Awfully Productive Ways, Don’t They?

Posted on February 8, 2015 by geelw

Ha. Well, so much for a much more productive Sunday. Actually, I ended up doing too much research on an article for another site to the point that the short humor piece I started out with is now bigger than it probably should be. Oops. That’s what happens when you take your game history more seriously than the rest of the internet does. Oh well. I’m pooped, but still need to dig up a bunch of images, clean up the text a bit and roll it into something readable starting early Monday morning. Three shorter articles I’ve started need to be completed and then I get to… do some more writing for my site before Toy Fair rolls into town this weekend. I think breathing is in the mix at some point, as is sleeping and maybe eating. But we’ll see where that goes.

Anyway, some terrible “artwork” to share above. Noting but some mucking around with a random paint program I found on a disc. Ooh, I just remembered The Walking Dead AND Better Call Saul are on AMC tonight. Well, what I’ll be doing for the rest of this Sunday night has just been decided. Provided I remember to stop working and sit down in front of the TV. At least it’s on now as background noise. Looney Tunes, F. T. W., kids.

Random Art: Shhhhh, Quiet Zone!

Posted on February 3, 2015 by geelw

I’m back. Well, not really “back” back… but let’s pretend. Anyway, yikes, a lot of people want to see me at Toy Fair, it seems. That’s a good thing, as I like seeing fun stuff and passing info along to anyone interested. Anyway, I had to download some files and event tickets for the show earlier and while waiting, whipped up the above. MS Paint, a mouse and some patience as usual. Hokay, let me get back to it, then. “It” being reading some stuff I needed to read, tinkering on a fun new feature column for later this week (you’ll see) and maybe thinking about what’s for dinner. Not necessarily in that order, by the way…

Kitchen Nightmares, Part Whatever: Everything AND The Kitchen Sink?

Posted on January 5, 2015 by geelw

Wait, what? Hold on a minute. When last we left the nightmare, the inspector was here and mumbled something at the end of a long bit of other information about the ancient, sturdy and fairly indestructible sink (that’s been in the apartment since the complex was built back in 1939-40) needing to “come out.” My eyebrow went up, but nothing further was said about it and no one from the office called and told us to be prepared to maybe move stuff from the drawers and cabinet next to the sink, as it’s a big deal removal job. Guess what happened this morning?

Yep, a bunch of guys roll in here (as in everyone that SHOULD have in the first place), and some start banging away at the old wooden counter top next to the sink and another guy gets under that sink and start in on the pipes. Of course, I’m happy to see people working in that kitchen who seem to know what they’re doing. However… it would have been nice to know I should have l should have moved everything that’s not covered in plaster dust, tiny bits of wood, well-aged insect egg sacs and who knows what else. Wonderful, and unless there’s a new sink in and working by the end of the day, stuff will need to get gently dumped into the bathtub to be cleaned.

Oh, and what’s this? They decided to remove the wooden counter ACROSS from the sink for some reason? Great. Now all my tableware and whatever else is in the cabinet below are covered in that crap as well. Which is doubly annoying because I cleaned out those drawers and washed everything about two or so weeks back. Yeah, it’s going to be a looooooong day, ladies and gents. On one hand, I shouldn’t be mad at all this because it’s all getting done. But the whole not being told what’s being done until it’s happening with no time to move stuff is kind of a pain in the ass.

Well, so much for a two day job. That and the place still needs a paint job. And the leak in the pipe in the back is back. And the bathroom needs to be done now that they’ve finally noticed the cracks in the wall that have been pointed out to them last year have gotten a bit longer. And so forth, and so on… Gyaaaaah.

Happy Merry Something or Other!

Status

Well, I’ve kind of been taking it “easy” these last few days, but not really. After a bunch of calls and back and forth and another inspection, the kitchen will (maybe) finally get somewhat completed around January 4th and 5th. Of course, while all that was going on, the old pipe behind the wall in the home office that was supposed to be fixed when they took the wall apart a few years back? Yeah, yeah… it sprung a leak again. That needs to be tackled, but it’s going to take a while thanks to the way things work around here (quite stupid in terms of getting the simplest repairs done which turn into major repairs by the time they’re attended to). Anyway, I was going to post some of the digital Holiday cards I’ve gotten here, but ha and double ha… the internet connection is sloooooooower than usual today. I guess if I believed in Santa, he’d have gotten me a better connection, huh? Well, I’m too old for that stuff, so I’ll stick to shaking my fist at reality and fighting harder so I can get all the crap I want without sticking my head in the fantasy jar…

Anyway, Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night! Zzzzzzz….

Random Art: Good. Buy Roux, Be Tuesday…

Posted on December 23, 2014 by geelw

Let’s see now. Went to sleep at 3, got up at 6am to do laundry. It’s dreary and rainy out now, but I need to try and get some work in on the site down at the library at some point including a massive game download that should take about 5 hours. However, I also kind of need to hang out here and wait for some packages, as I missed UPS last night by a few minutes (oops!) and I have a few other things coming in via regular mail as well.

Hmmm. Oh, and I need to do a bit of grocery shopping at some point, as there’s some chicken broth I made taking a snooze in the fridge and I’d like to turn that into a decent soup for the rest of the week. Or maybe I could make a really big pot of gravy? Nah. I’m not much of a gravy guy. Eh, let’s see where this all ends up. It’ll probably be just a few types of mushrooms and something green going in that pot before I toss in some rice noodles.

Okay. off to grab a cup of coffee and go through some files. Go have a tree or something. I did this MS Paint last night while taking a break from poring over a ton of ideas I’d written down. My brain seems to not like resting during the winter, so I have too many ideas that I sometimes write down and discard to make room for new ones. I think it’s the bad ideas that get tossed. Or at least I hope that’s the case…

Kitchen Nightmares VI: Wood Work and More Oddball Occurrences…

Posted on December 15, 2014 by geelw

So, they sent a carpenter today instead of a plasterer… but that was actually a good thing. It turns out that most of the fault lies in the overall incompetence, laziness and just not listening to what tenants are saying folks who answer the phones in the management office. According to the carpenter, they pretty much just sit around and talk about reality TV for the bulk of the day and those work orders they write up from half listening are often incorrect.

Which of course means workers showing up to do jobs with the wrong equipment or being thrown under the bus by the office because they have to deal with irate tenants who’ve been sitting around waiting for scheduled appointments that can’t be completed. There are also a bunch of newer maintenance guys and gals who aren’t very good at what they do because they’re still being trained, but there seems to be not enough of the old guard around to walk them through what they need to know. That’s how we get painted leaves and some sketchy plastering and painting jobs around here.

There’s a lot of other crap going on as well, but it all boils down to the folks who run this place wanting to keep making a profit even at the cost of current renters being given the shaft. There are also politics involved and a lot of it the usual dumb stuff that always results in the bad apples being rousted and roasted in public once their plans are foiled and the truth rises to the top. Noe of which I care much about because I just want my damn kitchen back to 100%. That carpenter made up a short list of stuff he saw that needed to be done as we chatted for about 20 minutes or so before leaving. Another call was placed to the office and they’re supposed to send what seems like the sole inspector they have in the complex here in a few days (Thursday) so he can take another look around. Yep, the notes I left are still up and will stay up so he can see what needs fixing. Hopefully this time stuff gets done right, but we’ll see. At this point, I’d be happy for at least an acknowledgement that the place is clearly in worse shape after what’s been going on, but again, we shall see…

Kitchen Nightmares V: Doing the Limbo for No Good Reason…

Posted on December 14, 2014 by geelw

Believe it or not, my kitchen STILL isn’t done and for the life of me I can’t figure out why. Well, other than the management here in Parkchester being incredibly insensitive and frankly, virtually shiftless in responding to the basic needs of renters. Being put on hold or hung up on after a time, then being put back in line for repairs that should have been done right the first time around is bad enough. But having to reschedule appointments because the workers didn’t even do the job they were contracted to to correctly is just insanity. What’s the definition of insanity, folks?

Yeah, you know the rest…

Based on the slapdash work done in the kitchen and other rooms here, it almost seems as if they’re telling the maintenance folks to do as little as possible and pass this off as actual quality work because it’s become a common thing over time and a few management transitions. Do they really want this nice three-bedroom top floor corner apartment that’s been in the family since oh, about 1976 or ’77 SO badly that they’re willing to make it look worse to the point the current tenants flee in frustration? It sure as hell seems like it. Hmmm, I guess Yelp can be trusted for fair reviews after all? If this is even the tiniest bit true about what’s taking place in this apartment, it’s wrong, inhumane and needs to stop before someone gets sued and loses somewhat badly in court.

Or at least the court of public opinion. With all the stories I have to tell about this apartment alone, I’d hate to be doing PR for a place that claims “comfort and convenience are the hallmarks of every 1, 2 and 3 bedroom Parkchester home”. Given that no one could drop by for Thanksgiving this year and this Christmas may be a bust for company as well thanks to this nonsense, my own “comfort and convenience” levels are fully drained to the point of glaring laser eyes at every maintenance guy or gal I see walking around this place smiling and laughing away… Continue reading →

Kitchen Nightmares IV: Now, I Need to Get Plastered!

Posted on December 9, 2014 by geelw

(Thanks, WilliamClaudeFields!)

So, between the driving rain outside driving me batty and the insanely awful job the plasterers did in the kitchen. Photos to come, but as a call was placed to bitch about the work, I’m holding out for a redo before I rant about the job here and elsewhere. In a nutshell, the trim around the kitchen ceiling was ripped out during the asbestos abatement, but the plasterers didn’t bother to fill in the gaps around about 3/4 of the kitchen, so there’s a noticeable gap AND some hideous exposed wood even a blind man could see. Not to mention assorted small holes that were missed, a LARGE chunk of the wall under the sink that was knocked out during phase one that no one bothered to fix and a small spot under a cabinet where there’s now a loose piece of plaster mice can pop into. It’s like a little doggie door in my damn wall! Yaaaaaaah.

All I ask for is people who know how to do a job and do it well. What do I get? More stress I really don’t need. Well, that won’t stand, folks. Back in a bit once I get something to eat and perhaps a nap or two. It’s been a loooooong day and I despise incompetence.

Tuesday Means Furniture Tetris and Other “Thrilling” Things…

Posted on December 2, 2014 by geelw

(Thanks, Cameron Lightfoot!)

Today was a nicely dull but annoying yet slightly productive one. My mood is shifting a bit restlessly with all this deconstruction and reconstruction going on. Moving some stuff around for the work to be done on Friday, vacuuming the kitchen again thanks to a busted Pyrex measuring cup (I didn’t do it, but I’ll miss that thing, as it was an old one that served me well over the many years I had it) and making a short list of gripes to discuss with the management here took up a lot of energy. In the midst of this, I completed Alphadia Genesis on the Wii U, unlocking what’s looking like a bonus chapter to the story in the process (nice!). That needs to be reviewed this week as well as a few other things, but we’ll see where I am tomorrow.

Okay, off to hunt for dinner – I just got some fun news in my inbox, but perhaps I’ll save it for tomorrow… we’ll see.