For Great Justice!

I saw Ghost Rider last night. I was a fan of the comic when i was a kid, and liked the move. I wanted more out of it, but I think its a good start. I hope to see more of it in the future.

The Ghost Rider has a power called the 'Penance Stare'. He looks into your soul and sees all the pain you've ever inflicted on the innocent and makes you experience it all at once. I always liked that power. Vengeful Justice that gives you what you completely deserve.

I'm at work today, and dealing with something freakin stupid. I don't want to go into details because I don't want to bad mouth clients of the company ;) But during one of my bouts of swearing at the screen it occurred to me. Man we need some kinda Ghost Rider power for the stupid. Just like the Penance Stare only instead of the pain they inflicted to the innocent... its the pain their stupidity has inflicted on others around them. I would pay good money for that kinda power.

I wouldn't use it wisely either. I'd use it all the time. Drive Thru, Waiting in line at the post office, the bank, the movies.... No one would be safe. This power should only be used on the chronically stupid, but I would not discriminate. But considering my luck, I'd catch myself in the mirror one day and end up zapping myself. I've had my share of stupid moments. And zapping myself with a power that makes you experience the pain that others feel for your stupidity is pretty stupid in itself. And that would give me pain... which inflicts more pain ...and more pain .. it would cause some kinda stupid feedback loop and i'd probably explode in some stupidity overload.

But then if i as stupid enough to zap myself I'd deserve it. :P

Fun Times at the Movies

I wanted to see Transformers this week. I've been pretty excited about having a new Transformers movie being a fan of the 80's cartoon. I was also really happy to see the Voice of Optimus Prime is the same voice actor as the original.

So monday evening I'm hanging out with some friends online, and talking about how they saw it and it rocked. So I check moviephone.com and see that the late show at a local theatre is 10:40pm. Ok its late, but I'll do it. So I head out and get to the theatre all psyched about finally seeing the Transformers! I get there and all the lights are off. Wha?? Apparently, the 10:40 didn't apply to monday or something cause they were closed.

Bah, I'll see it another night. I grab something to eat on the way home and play some Lord of the Rings Online with my friends till all hours and show up late to work the next day. Good times.

I figured the next day i'd try again, this time shooting for the 7:30 show. I got out of work around 7pm (Yea well I have to make up for all that lateness somehow) and head to the movies. I get there and its packed. Who knew Tuesday was such a popular movie night? I actually got there at 7:30, and I figured I could grab a ticket and get right in. Nope. Im in line 20 minutes and luckily there's an 8pm show. So I'm right on time for that one. Score, Im in!

Regal theaters has a promotional card thing, and sometimes you get free popcorn. This night I got a free small popcorn. I usually don't spend any money on food in the theatre because they gouge you worse then ball parks. But I felt like I should at least take advantage of me 'free' small popcorn. So I head to the snack bar.

I hand my ticket to some old lady, who probably owns the place. I'm thinking this because of the way she's bossing those little high schoolers around. Either that or she's just some bitter librarian or something. Anyway, she sees my ticket and takes it from me asking 'Would you like to upgrade to a medium popcorn for just 50 cents?'. I stammer at the bargain, and say yes. Please give me more popcorn I can possibly eat for 50 cents. And thinking of all that salty buttery goodness, I'm in need of a drink. So I ask for a medium coke, not realizing that their medium is about the size of a 2 liter coke. Whatever. As she hands me this monstrosity of a coke she says 'You get free refills too'. Holy crap. As If I could even drink all of this you're saying I can fill it up again if I wanted? I guess that can justify the gouging. But it gets better. She then rings me up, and I hand her my card. Pay and head to the theatre.

Here's the thing though. I paid $9.50 for my "free" popcorn and soda. She forgot about my free small popcorn, and I like the sheep that I am just paid and walked away without a word. I'm not one to go back and demand money back when I screwed up. I had my chance when she told me how much it was and I PAID it. Geez I freakin paid it. Anyway, I'm looking for a seat and I usually like to sit right in the center. But there's lots of kids and stuff so I go off to the side near one of those handicapped spaces so I can stretch out and relax. It's kinda nice not having anyone in front of you.

I setup camp, and relax to watch some previews or whatever the heck is gonna be shown before the movie actually starts. I like sitting alone so I can totally hog the arm rests. A few minutes later people start trickling in more and more. The theatre is still really empty so there's room to sit everywhere. For some reason 2 old ladies decide the 2 seats to my left are perfect. And have a seat. Crap! There goes my left arm rest. I still have my claim staked, As long as I don't jab her with my elbow its all good. So I lean a little to my right and settle in again.

The movie is just about to start, lights going dim etc when this group of high schoolers wanders in and looks at the row I'm in. The whole theatre is pretty empty except for a cluster in the middle, which is a few rows up and far right of me. They figure This is the row they want to sit in , and start heading in. We do the whole 'scuse me, pardon me' routine and there's about 6 of them. A whole row of no less then 20 seats to my right and they sit in the 6 right next to me. WTF? Now I'm elbows in and kinda pissed. At least the girl next to me was small so I intimidated my way into dominating those armrests. But still, a whole theatre of empty seats and everyone has gotta sit near me. pfft.

Other then that it was pretty uneventful. There was only one time when the little people to my right were making out which was cool because it meant she was leaning away from me. good times.

The movie rocked, and you should all go see it. I'm not gonna review it or anything, I'd rather you get your own impressions from it. All in all I was NOT happy with my 2 liter of coke that I could never refill and popcorn I could never finish for $9.50. But the movie was great :)

I Love the Drive-Thru

You know why those Wendy's hot sauce packets are made of golden foil? I do. Its because they treat them like GOLD. They don't just hand them out to everybody. You gotta beg! Seriously, there's a Wendy's I go to that must think those hot sauce packets cost $10 each or something. Here's what happens...

I order 2 large Chilis through the Drive thru. I ask for hot sauce when ordering. Get to the window, pay, and get my stuff. Then I look in the bag as the person at the window gives me that look. You know that look, the one that says "I gave you all your gonna get now get the hell outa here". Yea that look. And I actually move everything around to be absolutely certain that little packet isn't tucked under the fries, or behind the chili. No hot sauce. Ok it happens, so I look at the window until whomever is there decides to open it and take my request. I now know how Dorothy feels at the Emerald Castle. "What? NOBODY Gets to see the Wizard!", only it was more like "What? Nobody gets to see the hot sauce!". Thats what the look on her face told me anyway. Then plainly ask, "Can I have some hot sauce please for my chili". Without a word she goes in and grabs me a single packet of hot sauce. And as she's giving it to me with this look of utter distain I ask for a second packet. She then rolls her eyes, grumbles something I'm kinda glad I can't hear and gets me a second packet. Slaps it into my hand and slams that little window thing shut.

Now, this wouldn't be so terrible really if it happened once in a while. Everyone has a bad day etc. But this happens every time I go to that Wendy's. And what's really impressive, it happens with every drive-thru employee. It's like there's some sort of Hot Sauce Quota that they can't exceed or they get fined.

This sort of thing isn't just limited to Wendy's. Plenty of other places do the same thing they just don't have those golden packets. For example there's a McDonald's I go to that when you order a Large Coke, you get a Small Coke's worth of soda, and nothing but Ice. WTF? I asked for no ice once, only once. And I swear they packed more Ice in there to spite me. There's another McDonald's that appears to believe that French Fries must be rationed very carefully. All orders of fries have a minimum amount of fries in them. Every order of Large Fries has a Small fries amount of fries. And the small fries is like a half eaten kids meal or something. I guess if there are more then one fry it still counts as an order of 'fries'.

What ever happened to the days when a large fries was an overflowing cardboard thingy with so many fries you lost half of them just getting them in the bag. I miss those days. I will say this though, Taco Bell is the COMPLETE opposite. If I ask for some Mild sauce for my tacos, I get a few pounds of packets. Thats pretty awesome. Not only am I set for this trip, but I i forget to ask next time I have more then enough for me and a party of 15 of my friends. Its just nice to know they care enough to load me down with sauce. Thank you Taco Bell :)

In some cases I just go to a different McDonald's, or Wendy's. But in other cases there isn't anther fast food place for 30 miles, of ANY kind. Let alone another one of the same kind. So you're stuck.

There's a McDonalds that has cold food 100% of the time. I don't understand it. Its like it goes from the fridge to your plate. I can't see how the fries get fried if they're that cold. And the Wendy's place that ALWAYS has burnt chili. Ok, the 2 or 3 Wendy's places. I only know one Wendy's that doesnt burnt the hell out of the chili and it tastes awesome. I just don't understand. They want to make money but don't want to read the instructions on how to cook the food?

Oh man, speaking of instructions, doesn't Taco Bell have pictures for all their dishes? So that any 4 year old can make a soft taco or something? I've seen them, I know they are there. Yet only 1 out of 5 taco bell places in the area can put together a 'Southwest Steak Bowl'. And 3 out of those 5 actually realize its supposed to have steak on it. Ok, so your not making six figures. Fine, i get it. But can you at least give me what im asking for? It's really not all that difficult. I guess all that sauce is handed out because they feel guilty about screwing up your food? At least you really cant screw up a taco, oh wait, nvm. I've actually gotten tacos with no meat before. That was an interesting experiance. Lettuce sandwich yay!

And what is it with the owners of these places anyway? I know business is good, because I'm stuck in line with all the other displeased customers that keep coming back. So why is it that they feel so in need to cut corners that badly?? WTF? just give me my food in the proper portions please? Can't I just 'Have it my way'? It's bad enough that some places can't even understand I only want Ketchup on my cheeseburger. If I say 'Ketchup Only' my cheese disapears. Its like the owners are trying to find any way to save every little fraction of a cent. "Hey! that guy said ketchup only on his cheeseburger, dont give him any cheese! I've saved $0.001!!!". Come on man, just give me good food and I'll give you my good money. But then I guess thats the problem isn't it? Good service or bad we all still go and get screwed at the drive-thru. Yay for us.