"Last Chance:Ask Jet Q&A"

Okay, May's 24 hours away, I got some questions for my Q&A, but I would like some more...FIRE5's up first, then ac...Summer's next (She's great for asking the Most questions so far...), and then KimmyK's simple request...

4 Sets of answers...c'mon, I know there's more of ya'll out there! (tap, tap, tap...)

Last chance ya'll...first answers come Wednesday...

Peace!!

"Bjork rocks Coachella!!!!"

Her first stop on her tour in the USA, Bjork opened up the steamy, mosh pit charged, 3 day festival of Coachella Valley this past friday!

Never to shy away from fashion, the singer sported a multi-colored headdress and a long cape...

Sorta looks like Strawberry Shortcake!

Yahoo covered the story if you like to read about her performance, as well as others that were there...Click Here to read the article...

"Whoa, Nelly!"

Nelly Furtado's coming to MSG on Thursday June 7th!

I know I was gonna cut down on the concerts this summer, but who could resist this?

This'll be the last one I go to, I promise...unless of course MOBY or THE ROOTS pop up somewhere...

I'm gonna go listen to "Trynna Find A Way" from the first album, now...

"The Red Wire?, or The Blue?"

It is a tradition that predates blogs, online journals or even The Internet itself.

That age old question that comes to us once every generation.

For an opportunity so rare to present itself, it is an honor and a privilege to act upon this ultimate gesture of self-expression and self-reward...

"What to BLOW my first full PAYCHECK on!!!!!!....WHOOHOO!!!!"

I get paid on Monday, and all my bills are taken care of...come the 15th, they're be the rent, the credit cards, and all that, BUT this rare window of opportunity is in front of me and I'm gonna take it!, Yowza!!!!

I have SO many ideas...alright 4 or 5...

1) Two Words: PLAYSTATION THREE!!!
2) A BETTER PC!!!!
3) A Digital Camcorder
4) A lil Somethin' Somethin' courtesy of Craigslist

Those are the main choices, I also may wanna get some new shoes, clothes, a spring jacket, etc, etc...

I'm a little hesitant about the PS3 because there's only about 40 games out there for it right now, but JOE keeps talking crap how you can download PS2 and PS1 games on to the PS3's hard drive and play them WITHOUT any disks, the PS3 also links up with the PSP to do some cool things even makes a PSP a wireless controller FOR your PS3 (That sounds like Bullshit, I gotta look it up...) there are a lot of online capabilities, supposedly...and lets not forget the whole "Blue-Ray Disc" thing.

I just heard thou, that the X-Box 360 plays HD-DVD's (Time Warner's ANSWER to SONY's Blue-Ray) which is interesting, but the though of gaming with Microsoft and being one of those "Halo" people...ewwww, makes my skin crawl...

Then, there's the BETTER PC...This eMachines clunker is on it's LAST leg. 40GB jus don't do it for me anymore, I need something that's gonna allow me to RULE THE WORLD, a computer worthy of my GREATNESS...

I wish I could think of something else I could spoil myself with...this'll probably be the last time before I start being responsible, pay all my back debts (State and Federal Taxes and other BS...) and start saving for a possible return to freedom...

Come monday...a choice will have to be made.

"Whose yer Daddy?"

I've been so emotional lately. Tonight's episode of LOST actually broke me down to tears.

Sun finding out the father of the baby...it just strikes a cord with me and my situation.

I've yet to explain my thing about this subject on the blog, I recently revealed it to my good friend IRENE which took a lot to do.

The long and the short of it is...

My biological father is a married man who lives out in queens somewhere. He has a wife and two daughters that don't know about me. When I was born, I originally had my mother's maiden name as my last name. When I was 3 years old, MOM met another gentleman, they got married and a year later, my sister was born. There's a caption on my Birth Certificate that states it was "amended" in 1980. Unknown to me for the longest, my last name was CHANGED to match his and my newborn baby sister. For over 20 years we shared our family named despite how different we were and even though things went sour with MOM, I had always respected the man I once called "DADDY" and thought I was his son.

Then, in 2001, when I moved out on my own...Mom told me the truth, 3 months shy of my 26th Birthday.

The truth, that my whole life had been a LIE.

A lie that continues on today.

Me and my sister, Half Siblings, with different fathers.

The fact that the last name I was born with is "SMITH" like my Grandfather.

And that somewhere, out there, a 60-something year old man named William Rutherford lives with the dark secret of his infidelity...and wonders if it ever come back to haunt him.

MOM claims to have no picture of him, ironically enough, my sister figured out the truth long ago and has even SEEN my real father on 2 occasions. There's a relative of his that still lives around our neighborhood.

Since I'm a splitting image of my mother, I like to think I have none of HIS traits, yet I wonder...Is he White or Mixed?, how did it happen and why?, he knows about me, and I know he has a family, but does he think of me?

And as for "DADDY", he did his best, he took on a son that wasn't his and gave him his name...I respect him for that. I always used to look to him as the vindication factor that I was truly "Black", he was my proof...that no matter how light I was, he was my father (Dark as the night itself) and that made me black, how foolish I was back then.

The reality is my life is FULL of unanswered mysteries and secrets that will probably never be resolved in my lifetime.

Whatever happens, I WILL one day RECTIFY the mistake that is my identity. I will hold my name that was given to me till my "Father"'s passing...then resurface the original documentation and bare the name that I was born with again...

I will be whole once again.

"I'm ready to go in, Coach. Just give me a chance...all psychological!!...Got to stay in a positive frame of mind!!"

Been on this job for about two weeks, now...

And I can tell, I don't like it.

I came there to SCAN, I am a SCANNER, damnit! I am a SCANNING MAN, a SCANNING MAN, MAN!!! The weekend and Day Shift have plenty of scanners, backup scanners and people that KNOW how to scan there but do other things elsewhere.

And what am I doing? Rubber-Banding Scanned documents and searching spreadsheets all damn day!

It's like I'm this exclusive Restaurant Chef and all I'm doing is cutting lemons in the kitchen!

I'm sitting on the bench picking splinters outta my ass!!!!

I know, maybe I'm just being impatient..."you gotta crawl before you can walk" and all that bullshit...

But people are coming and going in this outfit it's freaking crazy!

Everyone talks about quitting and getting out...

It's like I'm in the TV Show "Prison Break" or some shit!

Getting up at 4am, working weekends, this is some bull...

It it weren't for the Stupid Amount of Money I'm making, I'd jump ship and find something else. They're so Production Oriented and Deadline Driven, sometimes it's a madhouse!

"Mailbox Number 13014 has a 10am Deadline, get those batches to the mailroom, NOW!"

"Oh-FourTeen!!!...Oh-FourTeen, people!!!, HUSTLE!!!"

And these IDIOT mail extractors, batch up the work and give it to the scanners, THEN something goes wrong and they have to take it back!

"This batch had the wrong materials for the check, we need it back!"

Or...

"This batch is missing a check and it wasn't scanned, where is it?!?!"

People gotta drop everything and search HUNDREDS of batches to find ONE DAMN check!

Everything is Color Coded and has special terms (That reminds me, I need to check the "The free dictionary, Wikipedia" and look up "Truncated" that word is EVERYWHERE)

They even have a pet name for the work they inherited from my old job at the Bank of New York, they associated it with people from there, too..."BONY"...I'm BONY.

I was like "Boney?!?!...I've never been THAT skinny in my life, and I'm sure as hell not Boney, now!"...then they show me the stamp that says "B.O.N.Y." for BANK OF NEW YORK and I'm like "Ohhhhh..." cute.

This is crazy...People tell me to be vocal...speak up. If you wanna scan you tell them you wanna scan and eventually some people go on vacation or move around or whatever...

The weekend has a better chance of me scanning, but they keep blending shifts in...

People from the night shift stay a few more damn hours...lines of who does what get blurred, it's chaos. MONDAY's are the worst days of the week, I get so happy when Tuesday finally arrives, but then Saturday, I wanna jus wanna die...working 12 hours back to back, I miss my saturday morning cartoons and the simpsons on sunday nights...

I'll see how I feel in 3 months, make some quick serious cash and re-examine my life at the moment.

Meanwhile, support from the family is WAY outta question...


ALTERNATE TITLES FOR THIS POST:
"Take that Badge, and Shove it up your Ass"

"This is Funny..."

As the "Month of Misery" comes to a close, I'm trying to cheer up a bit. I found this while surfing around youtube...I think B.I.G would be proud...


"Wanderlust!"

It's 5am, and I gotta get outta here to go to work...

Saw the tape of last night's SNL with Bjork and that chick from "The Island"...

The first song, "Earth Intruders" was kinda weird, but usually her first singles take awhile to grow on me (aka "Hidden Place", "Where is the Line", etc...), but I did like the second song which is also gonna be on the album (I thought she was doing a song with The Sugarcubes?), "Wanderlust"...kinda feels like a song about exploring the unknown, jus wandering around...

Anyhoo...

Jus got an email, my ticket if FINALLY on the way (WHEW, they sure cut it close, don't they? The concert is two weeks from Wednesday, I am PSYCHED!!!!

Peace

"And the award goes to..."

Best Sex Scene on a Staircase in a movie...

Viggo Mortensen and Maria Bello in "A History of Violence".

Damn, this movie was off the chain! Friggin' Aragon was more invincible than Mel Gibson in "Payback"! And apparently Maria Bello is not a natural blond!

I gotta stop renting movies from the library!!!

I saw "Alexander" the other day, Rosario Dawson has some nice boobs, but the movie was too flashbacky and they went with the "poisoning theory" about his death, when most believed he died of Malaria (Going thru all them damn jungles, that's most likely...)

Also saw the "The Departed", Jack Nicholson was the friggin MAN, but I couldn't take LEO, MATT and even Marky MARK with all those boston accents.

I got two more from the library to see and 2 from Blockbuster..."Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy", "Serenity", "The Black Dhaila" and "Jackass Number Two".

No other big things happening, mom's planning her trip to Jacksonville, Psycho-Sis has been goin' Ape-Shit cuz she lost both her cell phones.

And despite work, life still sucks from yours truly...

I'm browsing craigslist for some "entertainment" again...

Damn, I miss LOVELY...

pray for me...

"Bjork to be on SNL this weekend!!!"

In her second appearance in SNL history, Bjork returns as the musical guest! She'll sing a song from the upcoming album and then a tune with her old band The Sugarcubes who she reunited with last year.

I'll have to tape the show since I'll need to be sleeping cuz I work over the weekend now...

Still, this is SO cool!

"The Dream..."

I keep having this recurring dream. It’s usually triggered by movies like “The One”, a few episodes of “Justice League” or when I think of that ol’ tv show “Sliders”.

I’m standing in a room, and there are 4 or 5 other people with me. They’re all different, but they’re really…ME.

I walk to the first one and I ask, “Who are you?”

And he says…

“I’m YOU, only instead of dying in a car accident, Deidre was paralyzed from the waist down…”

Then I see mechanical wheelchair in the distance, as he continues…

“We still got married, and I went to school, finished and acquired a job working for a software company. Mom, sis and Granddaddy live together, and I still visit them. When I’m not working, I spend all my time with Deidre. Taking care of her, feeding her, dressing her...”

“We try to be happy, but she feels like a prisoner in her own body...”

“We don’t...make love or...anything.”

His voice trails off,

“I have everything I could possibly want, and yet...we’re so miserable.”

"SOMEtimes, I..I...Almost wish...."

I walk away before he finishes the unspeakable thought...

Then I walk to another, who as I approach him, a hospital bed materializes...

"For me, Deidre lies in a coma..." He starts...

I sit and watch him woefully guard over a faceless woman lying in front of us.

"...everyone has given up on her but me. I never went to college, never learned any fancy computer skills...I've put my entire life on hold, just for her...in hopes for the day she'll wake up..."

"...But then I wonder, what's gonna happen when she does, and I can't function in the real world anymore?"

He lowers his head in a sigh and I move on...

I then walk to the next man and ask, “And who are YOU?”

He grins back at me, “I’m YOU, bro...only Deidre didn’t take that ride on that fateful night because I MADE sure she didn’t!"

I suddenly see a shaken faceless woman standing in a corner a few step away from him. Her head down in a defeated stance.

“See, “ He continues “I’m not used to hearing the word “NO”, So when things get out of hand, SHE sees the back of MY hand...”

I then notice a black eye and bruises on her arms...and I flinch in disgust.

“She does everything I say. We’ve been married 10 years and have 2 young boys. Sometimes I gotta get a lil something-something on the side when they get on my nerves, but I’m still raising my boys right…”

He Chuckles, “…so they grow up to be a player, jus like their daddy.”

At that point, I go berserk with rage...

I grab the punk and start berating him with blows...

“I...WOULD NEVER...HIT...A WOMAN!!!!” I scream.

I just start smacking the shit of this fake-ass copy of me...

“IS THIS how you HIT HER?!?...LIKE THIS? *WHACK!!!*...OR THIS?!?!...*SMACK!!!*...OR THIS?!?!?

The other versions all pull me off of him as I rant...

“I’M...NOTHING...LIKE YOU!!!! LIKE ANY of YOU!!!! You have no idea how lucky you all are, how unappreciative can you bastards be?!?

And they all reply the same message...

“You don’t know...You didn’t experience it OUR way...”

And then I realize what they’re saying...

Our path is made out of our the events in our lives.

All the other versions of me, in different scenarios, all missing something while gaining another, who's to say I wouldn't turn out like them if things changed?...

Then I turn to another lonely stranger with my face...He’s soft spoken and contempt and showing very little emotion...

“And YOU...” I start...

“What’s YOUR relationship with her?” I ask

He never even turns to look at me, all I see is a profile…

“I watch her everyday from afar..."

...”She’s miserable, heartbroken and spends everyday in grief...Sound Familiar?”

And then I ask “Why?”...”What did you do to her...?”

And then he finally turns and I see the full distorted carcass that is my body…

An twisted ironic smile forms from his lips...

“I got in that car...I took that ride home...and I never made it...”

I look in horror and gasp at the realization...as he confirms it...

“She alone...and...”

his final words are never heard as his mouth moves.

I know what they are, I know what he says...I just can force my mind to accept it.

And after so many years, I don’t think I ever will.

Alternate realities is something outta science-fiction, there's a good chance this type of stuff does not exist, but then again...What If it does?

"...Jus a Vacancy...Love don't Live HERE anymore!!!"

It's official. Just call me Aniston...

I've finally come to terms that things are dead between me and Leeloo...

Crashed before taking off...the relationship was doomed from the first broken date.

And now, in the midst of a stormy nor'easter promising torrential rains...

I find myself listening real hard to the Hip Hop Soul songs of a broken heart...

Aside from working this past weekend I've been making on a new 1gb Memory Card of music the last few days...

Ladies Night:
Mary J. Blige, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Faith, Mya, Blu Cantrell, Alicia Keys, Joss Stone, Nelly Furtado

All their popular songs from all their albums...hearing ballads of heartbreak and pain...

Mary singing "I'm goin Down", Badu singing "Next Lifetime", Blu Cantrell singing "Unhappy"

I thing the one song that has been standing out so far is Mya's "Taste This"

The song opens with a thunderstorm intro...(Very Fitting)

"Taste This"

*Intro* (Mya Sobbing)
I'm tired of this shit
I'm tired of these silly ass games
I can't even look at you no more
And I don't think you'll ever understand
Until you get a dose of your own
It's your turn now

*Song Begins*
Crazy how I never use to say a single word
I just held in all the hurt, all this hurt
And I was so afraid you might flip out
And leave me in the cold
Then my mind ran out of space
So many stories untold

How would you feel
If I put my girls before the one I love
How would it feel
If every time you wanna talk
I turn the TV on
How would you feel
If when we're making love
I don't go down no more
So you know how I feel
Get ready cause a 3-6-0's about to go down

Taste this
And let's see if you can handle it
Just one sip
You probably choke on your own medicine
Taste that
Once you swallow then I got you trapped

No more running
No more hiding
And if you try
I'm still gon find ya
And get you back
Get you back

Listenin' to my conversations
On the other phone
Got somebody followin' me
When I leave out our home
And I am so appalled
You take it there
When you're the one who messed up
It's like I'm sleepin' with the enemy

How would you like it
If your girlfriend started playin' F.B.I
And she was the one
You forgave when she messed up
And spread her thighs
Plays with his brain
Started foolin' with ya money
Your house
Your Bens
Your friends
Your work
Let's see how you like it
And take a little taste
Taste of your own dirt

Taste this
And let's see if you can handle it
Just one sip
You probably choke on your own medicine
Taste that
Once you swallow then I got you trapped

No more running
No more hiding (No)
And if ya try
I'm still gon find ya (Find ya)
And get you back (And get ya back)
Get you back (I'mma get you back)

I've got to find a remedy
I'm sleeping with the enemy (Yeah)
He doesn't know just what's in store
For they call me a silent storm
And soon he'll feel all my of pain
I'll come for sun after the rain (Oh)
Aint nothin' sweeter than revenge
To put this bullshit to an end
Let's see what happens when I come in late
Mmm mmm mmm mmm
Lets see what happens if I quit my job
Oh
Let's see how you feel when I don't call back
You can't take it

No more running
No more hiding
Cause my crazy ass
Will find you
And get you back
Get you back

Taste this
You not a man
If I gotta tell you how to treat me (Oh)
And I'm not a woman
If I don't stand up in what I believe in
Taste that
50/50's it's suppose to be
But less than 25 is what you gave me

No more running
No more hiding (Yep)
And if ya try
I'm still gon find ya (See, I'mma find you)
And get you back
Get you back

Oh
You hurt me so bad
Yeah
You hurt me
You hurt me so bad
Why'd you do it
I'm still gon get your ass
Now the next mans gonna pay
For all your games
Why, why, no
It's such a shame
No, no, no, no, no

Yeah, I'll be listening to this song on REPEAT for awhile...

Oh, well, when you put your public affairs out in the open, like a celebrity...they're bound to be Highlights and LOWlights...

I know next time, not to even mention anything till I know it's real...

Oh, well...Live and Learn.

(PS I finally yielded to those BASTARDS at google and switched over my blog, due to the fact that I couldn't so pics in a post anymore...BITCHES...I'm really in a bad mood, now...)

"I LUV this JOB....Hoo-RAH..."

When they first told me I'd be getting paid on the 15th and 30th of every month I didn't think they'd be able to calculate for my first 40 hour week BEFORE it was actually completed (Remember, I've only done 18 hours officially so far, with my other 22 to be done this weekend...)

However, I was WRONG.

Called my bank this morning...there was an extra chunk of cheddar added up by the ol' automated computer voice.

Top it off with my last half of paycheck from Bank of New York (only did 1 week)...

at 5:07am my eyes lit up into dollar signs...

JPMorganChase had hooked a brotha UP!

And if that's only HALF of what I usually get every two weeks, when the 30th come by...WHOO-HOO-HOO!!!! YOWZA!...I am GETTIN' PAID again!

All I need is 3 months...my bills will be history...

Another 3 months I'll have some breathing room...

And another 3...my fingers tremble as I type this...I can start looking for a new place to move...I'll be free again...

"Of course not. You lack vision, but I see a place where people get on and off the freeway. On and off, off and on all day, all night. Soon, where Toon Town once stood will be a string of gas stations, inexpensive motels, restaurants that serve rapidly prepared food. Tire salons, automobile dealerships and wonderful, wonderful billboards reaching as far as the eye can see....My God, it'll be beautiful."

(I love speech By Christopher Lloyd in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit"...the way he says those last 5 words.)

"My God, it'll be beautiful."

"It's just news...unless it's someone you know..."



Damn.

There's been a local news story going on since last saturday when a Highway worker found a duffel bag under a small overpass bridge on the Henry Hudson Parkway. The bag had a body of an unidentified woman who was strangled to death.

Over the last few days there had been sketches made and articles of clothing shown to the public in hopes someone who knew her could come forward and identify her.

This morning, Psycho-Sis called mom and asked her to buy a copy of the Daily News, one of her friends said that the sister of a friend Sis knew from the First Grade was in the newspaper on page 10.

Me and MOM tried to buy a copy to see...MOM got a late edition from Jersey and it was too late for me to find one...

We looked on the internet to finally get the details.

Christie Neely, 36, of Bayonne, N.J., once lived in the heights with 5 other brothers and sisters, one of brothers, Christopher...knew my sister from PS 132. MOM remembers the family too even thou I'm drawing a blank.

Details of the story can be found

Here

Here

and Here

The police are looking for her boyfriend "just for questioning" at the moment...

It's spooky, man...when the news hits close to home...just plain spooky.



In unrelated news, I took This IQ Test and found out I have an IQ of 122...Pretty Keen, eh?

P.S. I'm still playing the waiting game with Leeloo, but I'm bitting my nails trying not to crack!

"Rappin' with J-E-T"

Second day, the plot thickens.

A few people may remember my Spin-Off Blog in which I posted my early days at the Bank of New York...

Back then I mentioned that "There's always one in every office..."

Some dickhead who goes out of his way stand out, thinks he can tell everyone what to do, how to do it...the Terell Owens, Keshawn Johnson...the Superstar of the Group. He wasn't there on my first day, but today...I encountered "Calvin".

I could go on and on recalling why such a jerk-off has rubbed me the wrong way already but I will in possible future posts (I'm posting too much as it is for a so-called sabbatical...) but I rather rant on the inane task I had to do ALL day...

With Calvin back, him and John worked the scanners, when John's started to give him trouble. Scanners...prone to technical problems 65 times outta 100. But it didn't matter...I wasn't tailing John everywhere like a shadow...I was sitting at a desk..."Wrappin".

Such a technical term...

After everything is scanned, batches are broken down by Document Makers (Multi-colored of course) and the documentation is sorted in various boxes to be prepared to be shipped back from the mail room via various deliver methods. This is usually done by IBML (That's the fancy name for the scanning department...) associate Nadja or Nargia, I'm so bad with names...a pettite hindu-indian lady with glasses who looks like the little girl in the movie "Bend it Like Beckam".

I'm helping her all morning, rubber-banding 4-40 sheets every 2 minutes and chucking them in Mailing Buckets.

I HATE rubber bands...I have a fear of them! They snap your fingers, they can put out an eye...every chance you stretch one to a limit, you taking a chance with your life!

So I'm steady away, doing my thing, when Calvin approaches me to inform me that some colors have more precedence than others...

Everything here in this office so far has been based on productivity statistics and deadlines!

They have daily meetings discussing how well each day was and patting each other on the back to those who (I guess) deserved some recognition. It's almost phony in a way...BUT I KEEP TELLING MYSELF...It's only for those two days...Maybe things are different on the weekend.

They damn near better be.

I expect to actually SCAN this weekend, and if they have more than one extra scanner along side with me, there might be a discrepancy up in here!

Well, Day Two is in the record books, I have 3 days to myself before the REAL test to see if I can deal with this 4 days in a row, it can only get more interesting...

NOW it's time for Topic Shift...

I've been off Yahoo IM since friday, haven't had any contact with Leeloo...

This game of chicken I'm playing is some dangerous shit. I HAVE to hold out in hopes of her making contact first, I have to see if she actually misses me...

I've been so tempted to blink...

Her BIRTHDAY is coming up, damnit!

What should I do?

I'm so torn...but then I keep hearing Sandra Bullock's voice from the movie "The Lake House"...

"Just Wait...Wait....Wait...."

(It's a very good movie...)

"The First Cut is the Deepest"

There is nothing more attractive than the unknown. That's why man charted oceans, challenging nature exploring land. We've been to the moon and one day, Mars, it is our nature, to be curious and take step...not knowing where it may lead.

Today, I've taken my timid, soft-spoken, shy, gentle giant-like spirit to a new adventure in the quest for the steady, reliable drama-free job. This time, I have landed it yet another bank (Man, how many banks have I worked for? Chase, before the merger...then Deutsche Bank for awhile, the Bank of New York after that, and now BACK to JPMorganChase...) in Downtown Brooklyn.

It was still dark when I woke up at 5am this morning. Getting up in the morning was going to take some getting used to. After an awaking shower, I checked the weather on the news and picked out a simple dress outfit for my first day, nothing too fancy, but not subtle either. MOM was still asleep when I left at a little before 6am and I made my way to the train station.

I emerged far, far away from home at 6:42...Brooklyn is still like OZ (That fantasy land NOT the prison) for me so I kinda ended up taking the LONG way to the Metrotech Building that I would be working in. I finally made it at 6:55am...The first day of work, due at 7 in the morning!

IN a sign that things may or may not go so well, I was given a hard time at the security desk. They couldn't find me in their system and they had to call HR for verification. Another woman was also having a hard time, she was trying to go to the same department I was and after working for an entire WEEK her ID Badge still wasn't working. So, we waited for awhile and learned each other's name and talked 'bout things (My first friend?), then at 7:30 I was finally led up.

I would be starting in a Lockbox department (again!), affectionately known as "R1" (I forgot what the "R" stands for, It'll come to me...), I got acquainted with some supervisors and team leaders then surveyed the floor. When I interviewed there on St. Patrick's Day, there was a skeleton crew...Now, the regular day shift totaled over 40 people! It's a regular College Classroom in there. After a few more formalities, I was placed in my domain, a nice, enclosed, central aired room with 2 check encoding machines and 3 very big document scanners.

Similar to my previous position, I'm scanning invoices and documentation into a computer for database purposes. I'm not scanning checks this time, just the paperwork related to each transaction. The machines they use are REAL fast and very easy to use. BUT there's something about the work...

The batches I'm dealing with are very small, and usually have to be bunched together to make one big set to shove into the machine and scan at once. But the work being light is not the thing that bothers me, I can deal with the light load...

The thing that might irk me is HOW we get the work.

In every scanning job I've done, the work is always GIVEN to us in one way or another. Coming from file cabinets, boxes, crates, or if prepped by other brought to me by supervisors in trays or whatever.

But in this looney operation...I have to fetch the work on my own!

Outside my little icebox, all around the rest of the floor, extractors and batch assemblers are preparing the work waiting be scanned, so when I'm done scanning, I have to go out and make the rounds (like a damn garbage collector!!!) and pick up anything that's ready. WHA the HELL is THAT?!?!? Like I'm some sorta Ball Boy working the US Open, picking up tennis balls the minute they hit the net and shit!

With two scanners working the machines, there isn't enough workflow to keep me constantly at my machine workstation all the time...I have constantly roam around looking for work EVERY 15-20 FRIKKIN MINUTES! And me being a big guy, I can't be easing behind people that siting tightly together, side by side and back to back! There are around 7 different areas I have to go to pick up whatever I can. The floor is so wide it feels like one side's the WEST side and one side's EAST.

I was led around today by a tall Larry Bird-looking White guy named "John" (Another JOHN! Geez, everywhere I work, there's a JOHN!) Looking around, most the paper-pushers and extractors are naturally women (A very exotic number of chickadees in the ol' Hen House!), a few data entry people and some that probably double check the scanned images doing OCR Cleanup.

At 12, I look my Lunch Hour (WOW a WHOLE hour for once, geez!), I was told the cafeteria was on the 2nd floor, I arrived and found paradise! Now, granted, the place was no United Nations...but it was impressive. Microwave ovens, vending machines, a kitchen full of chefs making almost anything...and Pizza! I was in Heaven!...They have ATMs, pay-phones...a huge eating area, and get this...a GAME ROOM! I couldn't believe my eyes as I saw a couple of guys playing Ping Pong...PING PONG, there were tables decorated with Checker and Backgammon Boards, it was incredible.

While going back and forward I was trying to remember all the ladies I was working with, but it's impossible, they're too many! The office is very multi-ethnic, too...Asians, White, Black, Hispanic, Caribbean Folk...almost everybody I've known working at Chase in the past was Guyanese...They had a tendency to hate on a light-skin brother thinking he ain't from the Motherland. I hope I don't have to deal with self-loathing black on black haters like that again...

Sometimes, running around getting the work makes the time go by...being on my feet prevents any chance of me getting sleepy staring at monitor, typing gibberish on a keyboard. Maybe it's just a weekday thing, maybe the weekend flow is a bit better, we'll see...

I asked around about dress code and paydays...I think I can get away with some comfortable black sneakers and apparently we get paid on the 15th and 30th of every month regardless of what day it falls on (unless it's the weekend, of course.)

5 O'clock finally rolls by and I learn how to do my timecard and daily production report (These people are BIG on numbers!)...then say my good-byes and head on home.

4 days a week doing this?...Not a bad deal...it's permanent, it pays well...we'll see how long it lasts.

Before I end this, on a side, note...I wanna thank the few Questions I've been getting on the Q&A...and say "It's Okay"...to KimmyK for not asking (You know you still the ONLY one who understands me!) Fire5, Summer...I will provide answers when I come back in May...It's still not Too Late, ya'll...ASK SOMETHING WILL YA'S!?!?!?!

"God of Work 3:Jetos Awakening"



I've been playing "God of War" like Fire5's playing Halo. It's very addictive. Good story, Mature Themes, occasional topless greek babes and best of all over 50 ways to Smash Enemies! Been using my Gameshark to Cheat like crazy and the game still frustrates me with its puzzle/problem solving strategy. Whether it's having 60 seconds to climb my way up to a platform to save a dangling damsel in distress, or roaming around a sandstormed desert LISTENING for the song of sirens, this game makes you think more than a pop quiz in high school.

As I play this game more, I can't help relating to the game's Anti-Hero, Kratos.

For 10 years he's been roaming the seas, port to port, running away from his previous life as a Head General for the Spartan Army. Still plagued by nightmares he calls to Athena, one of the gods at Olympus (Hope you studied your Greek Mythology!), SHE in turn enlists his help, for her brother ARES (the God of War, get the title, now?) has gone rogue and destroying Athens and with the help of the rest of the gods, Kratos, the chosen one, yadda, yadda, yadda...can do the impossible, can KILL A GOD!

So, a tormented soul, called beyond the line of duty to do what no one else can do...yeah, that sounds like me alright.

Tomorrow is "Level 1" of a new game (Hmmm, I hope there's a mini-game on the Second Level that allows me to Tap that Ass of two nekkid chicks, just like in the Video Game!) and I turn my face to the unknown...but maybe the end result will be identical to the game's (See movie above...) as after all my hard work, I will only find peace on the highest peak of Mt. Olympus.

Ya' know...Hollywood should make a movie outta this game...with either The Rock or Vin Diesel painted blue and shaved bald...

"Heavier Sigh"

I think Tea Leoni said it best in "Bad Boys"...

"It's been a Shitty Week."

The weather is trying to be nice and sunny, but the winds are still keeping shit brisk as a motherf*cker. I've been roaming the neighborhood all week, going stir crazy in that fucking house. I go to the library, check out like 6 DVD's and watch them all in about 2 days and go back to get more.

I've seen so many depressing movies my wrist's have been attracting razor blades like if I was "Magneto" in X-Men...."The Family Stone", "Running With Scissors", "The Royal Tannenbaum's", "The Weather Man", "Dark Water", "The Lake House".

Mostly dark comedies or "Day in the Life" Drama of depressing losers...My god did you see "The Weather Man"?...I had to explain the whole "Camel Toe" thing to MOM who didn't get the term, how embarrassing is that!?!? (Thankfully, I had a good example to show...courtesy of FIRE5...)

I can't remember the last date with "Leeloo". It's like since the "Batcave Disaster" we've barely spoken. She keeps saying she sick with stomach problems and the runs (I didn't wanna use The "D" Word). At one point, frustration got the best of me with some of her "IM Manner" (The way she carries an IM Conversation) and things may have soured between us. I tried to patch it up by now and I think we're cool, but something tells me this is not going to end with a fairy tale ending.

I've resorted to laying low, as a test to see if she'll miss me, if I don't hear from her within a week, I'll take that as a sign of disinterest.

...

When one relives a tragic memory around it's anniversary, they may be prone to odd habits that somehow connect with the person that may or may not have been lost or changed that fateful day. Knitting a sweater or blanket for a child that miscarried for example...

I braid Lanyard, or what other people may call Gimp or Boondoogle, the french also call it Scoubidou.

Every year I make dozens of bands in all different colors. One year I made over a hundred. I put them on keychain rings, I save them and put them away every year. I give some to Baby Girl, but sometimes she keeps them on her after I'm done and when I see them any other time of the year it just breaks me down.

Diedre loved making them.

I don't know where the fascination came from. Before meeting her I remember doing Lanyard in the 5th grade, I always thought it was a chick thing to do. Maybe because all I could do back then was "The Box". Everyone would do all the cool designs...
The Chinese Staircase (Is that PC to say now?, I wonder if they call it The Asian Staircase instead?), The Cobra, The Spiral, the Triangle, The Butterfly...but all I could do was The Boring Ol' Box.

"Don't you wanna learn anything else?" she would ask me...

and I'd be like "Nah, I like The Box, it's simple, it's even, it's frim, neat, cut and dry...Just like Me."

Yeah, a box...plain, ordinary, run of the mill, nothing special...it was the ultimate definition of who I am and what I'll be for the rest of my life.

Recently, I finally taught myself how to do the others, thanks to This Website which shows you step by step how to do any braid (Complete with pictures.) I found it around 5 years ago while I was working in Yonkers. I usually get the plastic string I use in bunches rather than spools because I only do this in April to remember her. I have various colors and glow in the dark types, even some with sparkles (Sorta like LA Gear Shoelaces!)

So, walking around alone, braiding and watching sad movies have been the Highlights of my week.

It's been hard to bring myself to post anything (Not that I wanted to, remember? I'm supposedly taking a break.) but I made this post to say how disappointed by the "Ask Jet Q&A" turnout...

Before friday morning, there was no questions asked.

Times like this I keep wondering if anyone's reading at all...

Well, I'm starting this new job next week, God Help Me.

Going to bed at 10am, waking up at 5am, to leave the house by at least 6am, to get to work at 7am and work till 5pm! Dealing with damn school kids on the train again! Well at least it's only on Mondays and Tuesdays.

But if this week is ANY indication...Wednesday-Friday imma be going outta my mind with boredom.

"The Waiting Room..."

I first want to say....I AM HIV NEGATIVE!!!!!!!

Goddamn that feels good to say, WHEW!

No virus, nothing, nada, bubkis!

Jack jumped over the candlestick twice and his ass STILL ain't get BURNED!

Now that that's off my chest, back to reality...

On a whim, I finally decided to finally visit a Men's Clinic for HIV & STD testing.

For walk ins you can go Mondays 4-8pm or Fridays 8-12 & 1-5.

I arrived at 3:45pm and was given Ticket number 7 (Lucky number 7?). At 4pm, they finally started calling numbers, when they got to me, I was given a slew of paperwork to fill out.

Afterwards I waited for awhile and then got called to speak with a counselor for a bit, asking me why I'm getting the test, what do I know, blah, blah, blah...I then had to sign some waver claiming I won't do anything to someone else or myself if I come up Positive. Then I was sent back to the waiting room again, it was going on 6:30pm when I finally got called for give my "sample", then they did the HIV test which would give them the results right away (Wow!, I thought you had to wait, they can get the results right away!) which was just a fingertip prick and I was done.

I waited some more, and was called up to PAY 27 dollars for my visit (I thought all this shit was free?!?!?!) and told to wait some more for my results. I didn't get called till 7:30 (Having spent THREE HOURS in the same place!) when the doctor decided to give me a FULL physical on the spot.

This was WAY unexpected, they got me on the scale, takin my blood pressure and all that...and that's when the doctor breaks it down for me. I'm in general good shape, but I'm a bit big, this and that, yadda, yadda, yadda...it's something I gotta work on.

THEN it gets a bit personal...

She wants to examine the Family Jewels, and after further examination...there's something there that isn't right. It's like in "Goldmember" when Dr. Evil get hit in the nuts...

"All right, let me find my balls, for God's sakes. 1, 2... and 3, okay; I'm okay"

I had a...Three.

Not knowing the anatomy well, I jus thought it was a bone or something...

It's small and hard, like a marble.

It might be cyst.

In the WORST possible place EVER!

They wanna do a sonogram...geez.

I told them I'm in-between insurances right now and it would have to wait till I get on JPMorganChase's good side. But then what? They gonna haveta do SOMEthing...

Ewwwwww...

So with that scary news in my head, the doctor FINALLY tells me I'm HIV Negative and Protective Sex is the best way to stay like that. I get instructions to come back on the 20th for the rest of my results (Cholesterol, blood sugar level, more headaches!) and I was finally done at 8:15pm!

What a way to spend the damn afternoon!

Oh, well, at least I can assure "Leeloo" that I'm clean when we finally "Do that Dance", I may be a bit optimistic thou, who know?!?!?

"Finally, a chance to let YOU decide!"

Many of you may have thought I've given up on my TV Show I've been writing about my time working in the library. I'd admit, I'm going thru a bit of Writer's Block, but I haven't abandoned my dream. Jus looking for the right medium for exposure. Screenwriting Contests seemed to be good till all the legal mumbo-jumbo threw a monkey wrench in the works.

However, I've jus discovered a website that may help get my show on the road.

Simply Scripts is website database of fan-fiction writings of popular shows or new ideas for future projects.

If you're curious, have Microsoft Word, and have a good 30 minutes to read a 62 page Pilot..."Call Numbers" is now available in the "Unproduced" section...

http://www.simplyscripts.com/unpro.html

"Ask Jet" (Q&A)

I'd figured, while on my break this would be the perfect time to do this segment a lot bloggers have been doing lately.

I'm giving you readers out there (um, all 7 of you, LOL!) a chance to ask me anything! Anything that I probably didn't address on the blog yet, or at all! Nothing is taboo, you can ask me anything (Expect my Full Name or Where Exactly I live, no personal info!...LOL)

So, fill up the comments section with as many questions as you like (no more than 5 or 6, lets not go Barbara Walters, here...)

and I'll Answer them in future posts...

Please if your a dedicated reader or jus a lurker, pitch in! I wanna see how many people ACTUALLY check out this blog of mine!

Peace!