Don’t Touch Another Man’s Coffee

Welcome back, have a seat if you aren’t already sitting, and let’s begin. Monday’s shift started with me being trained on a different station, but it didn’t last long, as someone went home and I had to go back to the only station I can run. Not sure when I will get trained again, but it wasn’t this week. I also learned a valuable lesson: don’t touch another man’s coffee. Not that I did, but someone did, and the man was not happy. Tuesday would have been an ordinary shift if I hadn’t put my foot in my mouth so badly I could barely walk again. I didn’t say anything too bad, I think — it was just awkward. I will blame the whole thing on the latte and ginger shot drink I had after going to Aldi before work. Wednesday was a standard day, nothing to report. On Thursday’s shift we were told overtime was cancelled for the day, and then the factory made it known that this was a bad move. Friday’s shift saw the factory still misbehaving, but the weekend was coming, so I just kept my head down and kept working. I think at this point most people have given up on any New Year’s resolutions. I didn’t make one this year; to be honest, I don’t think I ever have. I really don’t believe in the whole “new year, new you.” Before Christmas I was trying to limit how many crisps and how much chocolate I was eating, but that went out the window once I knew Santa was coming. I’m still eating junk food now, but it’s January — I’ll be healthy in February, when I’m reminded how old I am when my birthday presents itself. I ordered some more plain black T-shirts and a Meowth one from BoohooMan, because as much as I like wearing my Hot Wheels and As December Falls T-shirts, no one has ever said they like them. I did make a suggestion to a member of the fairness committee that on the last Friday of the month we could wear any T-shirt we want, as long as it’s not offensive. I hope it gets approved, but time will tell. Someone once told me I’m not paid to think, which I always thought was a little harsh. If it were framed a little better, it would have made more sense. I’ve found that thinking gets in the way of working — well, for me it does. I’m just trying to do my job, and my brain keeps bringing things up and presenting ideas to me when I don’t have the time to listen. So if my brain is quiet, I try my best not to provoke it. Last week I mentioned I was going to watch the new season of Fallout. I did, and I loved it. I’ll be watching the latest episode today at some point. I also watched the second season of Gen V, and as much as I enjoyed it, I was a little confused by the whole thing. From the start I was confused about how much time had passed in the show between Season 1 and Season 2 — nothing was spelled out at all. I only know it was around two years by Googling, but that’s a lot of stories they could have told. One of the first characters we’re introduced to is Stacey Ferrara, aka Queen Bee, and she makes a point of not touching her stinger because it would kill them both. The show never shows this in action, which I thought was weird for how gory the show likes to be. I think Asa Germann did a fantastic job portraying Sam Riordan throughout the season. I just wasn’t a fan of the brief screen time where he’s told to “feel nothing” by Cate — I expected Click-style autopilot, present but not really there. Instead, he becomes more expressive and cruel, which feels like the opposite. Lizze Broadway was also fantastic as Emma Meyer. To me, she’s meant to be the heart of the show, but when they actually had a chance to really show this… well, they don’t. The show spends some time introducing the barista girl, showing how she’s bullied and harassed by supes. Emma helps her, she opens up about what’s going on and how she isn’t coping well, and then we never see her again. Instead, they move on to Harper, the chameleon girl who can copy powers for 60 seconds — just enough to be useful, but oddly specific. The main villain was absolutely fantastic. Hamish Linklater was brilliant throughout. It was only when Ethan Slater took on the role of Cypher that it all fell apart. I mean, he had already won, but he kept playing and ultimately lost his head. Don’t even get me started on that god-awful Marvel-inspired last scene. I’ll leave you with the words of wisdom my daughter screams when she comes into my room: “Alexa, play fart noises.” (edited)