dk might be enjoying going back to school, but i feel like i'm walking around like arnold schwarzenegger in t2 when they're in that crazy molten iron building saying "i need a vacation". i made the mistake of taking an intense mini-semester class over christmas break, so i've been going full steam since last january (that whole gmat thing). between my new duties at work and my professors that teach with a cat o' nine tails ("you didn't amortize for this year's depreciation!" *smack!* "no weekend for you!"), as that lady said in airplane 2, the pilot's turned to jelly.

so, my only break from the land of numbers and economic concepts has been a few head-clearing minutes here and there with super mario sunshine. that's right, mario. i traded in my ps2 for a gamecube, and the half hour i spent at gamestop while they checked everything out was one of my most bizarre shopping experiences ever. kevin smith should do a sequel to clerks, and instead of the two protagonists working in convenience and video stores, they should work at a video game store. the socially inept critters that dwell in these places boggle the mind.

por ejemplo:
-i've been in this particular store twice, both times there was this one guy trying to chat it up with the guys behind the counter. this last time, he sees that i'm going to be there a while and starts chatting with me. he is dressed in full army gear for absolutely no reason. he owns no video game consoles but spends half his time hanging out in this store. dude, you're in new york, there's stuff to do!!
-then, some random teenager comes in off the street:
kid: "did you get any new xbox games in?"
counter guy: "yeah, just (blah blah blah)"
kid: "how is it? have you read the reviews?"
counter guy: no response
kid: "i hear you don't identify with the characters and the tasks become menial and repetitive" (okay, wtf?)
counter guy: no response
kid: "oh... ok, thanks" he then, literally, walks out the door backwards, trying to get some ackowledgement from counter guy.
-3 middle aged women came into the store to buy games for themselves. who knew?

motto: stay away from these stores like the plague!