Rock Band 2 vs. the Wisdom of Kidzookie

I sold all my Rock Band stuff on Sunday. Listed it on Craigslist, which is always just a pain in the ass. Spent all day getting dicked around by people who wanted to haggle the price down at the last minute. Sorry, there, chief... I've taken really good care of the stuff, and the price is very fair. No love.

Finally heard from a really nice family that wanted to pick the game up for their son. The kid was really excited about it when they came over to get it. He wanted to run off home and play it, but I made him play it here to make sure it worked before they left ("That's what I'd do if I were buying it"). He played drums a little, declared the game to be in proper working order, declined to play the guitar, and looked positively aghast at the prospect of singing in front of strangers.

Good times :)

Picked up Rock Band 2 yesterday after lunch. Primarily, I wanted the new drum set, which plays a little nicer than the old one. Well, and the new songs. The new guitar and drums turn out to be wireless, too, which is pretty nice.

The big improvement, though -- which I didn't know about ahead of time -- is that you can turn off failing songs, so that you can complete them no matter how you play. That's a fantastic feature. As soon as I discovered that feature, Kidzookie, Girlzookie, and I started a virtual band together and played all afternoon. My son did a passable job on drums. My daughter sang Christmas songs to every tune we played.

I manned the guitar, and it was this that led to my moment of zen for the day. I'd just fucked up the ending solo to Shooting Star (again), and muttered, "shit," under my breath, as is my wont. My son looked over and said, "You put it on hard, didn't you?"

"Yeah."

"Well, then, it's supposed to be hard to play, isn't it?"

Maybe it's karmic retribution for constantly giving my wife shit.

Wifezilla: Hang on, let me let the dog in.

Taco: Noooo!

Wifezilla: What's your problem?

Taco: Now I'll have to share you with him!

Wifezilla: But it's cold outside!

Taco: So? I don't see you letting my cat in!

Wifezilla: She's inside.

Taco: Yeah? Where?

Wifezilla: I'm looking!

Taco: Pffft!

Wifezilla: I'm sure she's inside!

Taco: It's cold outside and all you care about is your dog!

Wifezilla: I found her!

Taco: Yeah? Where?

Wifezilla: She's sleeping in [Kidzookie]'s bed!

Taco: What the hell's she doing there?

Wifezilla: What do you mean?

Taco: That's where Twinkie sleeps!

Wifezilla: ...

Taco: ...and now I'm sad.

Rotten days suck...

... and somehow, they seem to suck worse when your friends are having them.

Wish I could make it better for you guys. :/

Kitty Go Boom

Every morning, I get up, lumber downstairs, and fix a pot of coffee to get my heart started. The cat waits by the back door every day, and when I make my way past the door I stop and let her in. It's a good routine.

The first time I speak to the cat each day, she automatically arches her back and staggers to the right as if to rub against my leg in that catly way they do, even if I'm nowhere near her at the time.

Yesterday I realized that if I time it right, I can make her walk into things.

My powers are amazing. And stupid.

Those Wacky Trash Collectors

I really love those guys. Really.

I have problems with them all the damn time. If I screw up the tiniest little thing, they won't collect my garbage. They seem to particularly love the old "bin was within five feet of another bin" routine. I live at the end of a cul de sac. Our options are put it within five feet of another bin or put it in the middle of the driveway. We space the damn things out as far as we can. Give us a damn break.

Today is my favorite, though. Today, they collected the whole bin. The guy operating the big claw on the side of the truck that grabs the trash can and upends it into the top of the garbage truck must have been excited today, because he dumped my whole bin into the thing. One of the guys in the truck had to come up to the house to say, "Uh, sorry."

This shit only ever happens to me.