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EDIT 04-08-16: For the sake of history, this is post #1000 in this journal 🙂
Thanks to schnookiemuffin for pointing out the post count.
Why haven’t I seen Andrei on line…
Last month I travelled to S.F. for the World Wide Developer’s Conference. At the airport on the way home I clamored, tiredly out of the cab. I missed the fact that my cell phone didn’t clamor with me.
Fortunately, aryel_moffet read my frantic posting from the airport. She called my cell phone and the driver discovered it. The phone was live long enough for her to get his name and cell number.
From there the driver wanted me to pick the phone up from him directly. The driver had a lot of difficulty combining the concept of me going to the airport with the concept that I wasn’t from S.F. For a week I tried to locate someone who could coordinate with the cabbie. Most of the people I know don’t actually live _in_ S.F.
Eventually, I called T-Mobile. (Who I was very ticked at since they told me the day of the loss that I did not have phone insurance and would be glad to replace the phone at full cost.) T-Mobile told me to instruct the driver to bring the phone to a T-Mobile store and they would see to it that it was returned to me. (Charging my account their shipping costs). I explained that this driver didn’t speak English very well. (What a f*#&ing surprise!) They asked me what his native language was. I have to admit… As many accents as I have taught, imitated, and analyzed… I had no clue.
They gave me their main number and told me that they had translators on call on request. He should call them and ask for a translator. Several hours pass. I get a call from the cabbie from a T-Mobile store. The tell me they have the phone and will call me back with the shipping information.
A week passes.
Yesterday, I call the cabbie once again who gives me the name and number of the woman where the phone was left. I call the number, it rings 8-9 times and then I get a fax or a modem tone. *sigh*. I call information for another number for the company. The number they give me is for another store with the same name. It apparently isn’t a T-Mobile store. I of course was foolish to believe that the guy actually could follow instructions. But then again I was the moron who couldn’t hold onto a cell phone in a cab. They tell me that the woman in question is on vacation. They also tell me I’ve called the wrong store and that I want Geneva. The person I’m talking to on the phone is (to be honest) not very bright and getting out of her the information about the other store is very difficult. She gives me the store number… it’s the same number. I explain the fax issue. She does not understand this at all. She tells me to keep calling it, I should reach someone.
I call again… fax tone. I write a fax describing the situation. I print it and try phoning again. I reach a man at the store. (who eventually explains that they have no modem or fax… {At a cell phone store they don’t have a fax?!?!?}) Oh, yes. My phone’s there. It’s just been waiting for someone to take it to the post office (for a week?!?!). I ask if it can be over-nighted COD. He says he’ll call UPS and call me right back. (4:45pm)
That was yesterday. I have now been without my cell for almost a month. Many people have kidded me about how I’m surviving without the drugs. To be honest it’s a damned annoyance. I don’t really use this as a cell phone. The thing about the sidekick which puts it above just about everything else out there is that it has AIM built into the phone. I haven’t found another product that has AIM built into a cell phone and until I do I’m stuck with T-Mobile. (Love Danger’s Hiptop… despise T-Mobile)
So, this morning I will take another shot at getting the phone back…
Thus… Outside work.. been too busy to sit down and log on… Inside work.. been too busy to have conversations.
*sigh*
Busy busy busy.
Warning: This is Political Cartoonist Mark Fiore of the Village Voice.
This warning is to anyone who may feel the need to rebuke the attempt at humour based on the fact that it’s issued from a liberal mindset 😉
Tom Ridge – Minister of Fear
Requires Flash
7/26 Democratic Convention: 4,300 delegates. 15,000 media
Security: $60(M) Million dollars.
7/22-25 Comic Con: over 45,000 attendees from all sectors of the Entertainment Industry.
Security: Well, there was the kindly guy name Al, who didn’t actually ask to see my badge.
Boy, don’t I feel like my tax dollars are going to protect me 😛
I got to hear a panel with a series of respected members of the voice-over industry. Among them were: Joe Alaskey, Gregg Berger, Neil Ross, Tom Kenny and of course Billy West.
On an unrelated note, I got to see a tribute to voice GODDESS June Foray, later that afternoon.
West (besides ranting viciously on the influx of ‘celebrities’ into the world of voice-work) talked about getting the job for voicing Popeye. He was listening to recordings and realized that there were two parts to Popeye’s voice. These two parts were offset by an octave. He was further amazed when at a concert demonstrating Tuvan throat singing, he’d come to the realization that Popeye’s voice worked the same way.
After a great deal of time and practice, he’d managed to get the octave buzzing in his throat, each vocal chord hitting a different octave. This gave the voice that high voice with a lower octave buzz.
Needless to say, the last thing I was expecting was to hear a lecture on Tuvan meditation from the guy who voiced Stimpy the Cat and Fry from Futurama.
I have only ever seen one other entertainer do this. There was a ventriloquist… who’s name I will never remember. He did a routine with 2 dummies. A Mortermer Snerd style and a prissy female. At one point he swaps their voices. Towards the end of the routine he sings, “Wherever we go, we’re gonna go thru it together.” He does it as a trio, singing one voice at a time. At one point he sings (in his own voice,) “Wherever…” the two dummies follow him in chorus, “Together…” With one voice the deep silly bass and the other falsetto. At the time I thought it had to be looped… But the Sound is unmistakable.
I wish I could remember the name of the ventriloquist, because the performance was stunning.
Just random notes while procrastinating on a sunday evening.