On Saturdays, my mother and I usually spend the morning and afternoon spending big bucks at the flea market and yard sales. Sometimes we are adventurous enough to go check out the sale items at Joann's and Micheal's. This particular Saturday was the day before my birthday and my brothers have a tradition where they tell my mother to find something for me and they will pay her back later (that is a whole different story for another day). So after our flea market and yard sale deals, we hit a few shops to find something they could “gift” to me. We stopped at a used clothing store that “pays you for your gentle used brand name items”. After browsing around and trying a few tops on, I set out to locate my mother. She was trying to find someone help her reach a jacket. We could see the price tag, but it did not list the size and we didn’t want to take down the half mannequin by ourselves, as we know this causes problems at some stores (liability and such). After one person decided to drag themselves away from the latest Jonas Brother song, we finally got some assistance.
Me: There is someone, ask her what size it is.
Mother: Excuse me ma’am, what size is this jacket?
Salesperson(SP): Sorry, that isn’t for sale.
Me: The jacket…is not for sale?
SP: No. See, we just got done changing the displays and mannequins, so we don’t want to change them out so soon. But if you give me your name and number, I can call you when we do decide to change up the displays in a few weeks.
Me: *in shock with an incredulous look on her face*
Mother: No, that’s okay…..I just wanted to know what size it is.
SP: Well, it is from XXX store, so it is probably a medium. *walks away*
Me: How does that make sense? Does that store only sell mediums?!
Mother: I guess it doesn’t matter since it is not for sale. Hope the shirt you want is!
Does the following conversation make sense to anyone else? The item has a price tag on it, but it not for sale. The only reason the item is not for sale is because if my mother did decide to buy the jacket, the employees would have to look around the story and find a new jacket for the display. The reason this situation is so funny is that my mother and I have worked at shops like this before, where all the merchandise was gently used clothing. We would always put the best items on display because those clothes on the mannequins always sold the fastest. People would constantly come up to us and ask if we could get something down or out of the window for them. That is the reason we put them in such visible spots, SO THEY WOULD SELL! Yes, that meant we had to change the displays a lot and redress mannequins, but the purpose of the business was to SELL CLOTHES! Not to mention the jacket in question was a black/grey number. It would not have been so difficult to put a similar one up there to complete the display. I was shocked at the sheer laziness of this employee and how she thought her answer was acceptable to a customer.
This incident reminded me of another no, the merchandise is not for sale moment that happened to me. My husband and I were married in the year 2006. My engagement ring is the shape of a heart, we had hearts at the wedding, and I did the wedding scrapbook with hearts. So imagine how excited I was when Hallmark’s “our first wedding” ornament that year was in a shape of a heart! It was perfect and meant for me! Normally, I wait until after Christmas to buy Hallmark ornaments, as it is a little hard to justify 15 bucks for one ornament (especially when you want to buy more than one or three..or five…). So I waited a little while in case I could find a coupon to use. This particular store decided to discount their ornaments a little after December 1st. I ended up going back to that store during the first week of December. :O But there were no more of my ornament!!!
After picking myself off the ground, I noticed the display ornament was still left so I was once again in high spirits. I asked for assistance and when the SP came over, I asked them for the display ornament. BAM! I was hit for that is not for sale. She explained how they were not allowed to sell the displace ornaments until December 23rd/24th, but she could take my name down. She said that this particular ornament was selling out at all the locations and even if she took my name down, I would be number 3 on the waiting list. I mumbled thank you anyway and zombie myself to the exit. What just happened there?! This store is OUT of this ornament and is not going to ever get anymore in. Other stores are running out of them. Why do they need to keep on display an item they are out of?! Is it to say, sorry, this is an item you could have had and oh, even if you want THIS particular one, you can’t since there are people on a waiting list? And it was a DATED ornament!!! It had 2006 on the tiny heart hanging down from it! Why would someone want to wait until the day before Christmas to put it on their tree!!!! You buy a dated ornament to put it on the tree THAT year and enjoy it THAT year. What good does it do me to not appreciate it most of the time my tree is up?! I am sure it made sense to some executive, to make sure all ornaments were visible until the very last moment, but why mandate such a rule with a product that essentially has an expiration date? Perhaps I am just being overly silly about this situation, wanting to pay a business for a product!
For the record, I did find the heart ornament at a different Hallmark in a less popular shopping center. I paid full price for it out of fear I may not get it at all.
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Shugo Chara Episode 51
This episode actually had to do with the main plot and there was a REAL BATTLE SCENE! I must have died and gone to heaven! I realize this post is really late considering when this episode air…Well, it isn’t my fault and I can’t make the subs come out faster. Anyway, the episode starts off with Amu dreaming of Dia (SO CUTE) and asking her what her true wish is. Later Amu out shopping, still thinking about her true wish and thinking of several possibilities. She runs into Nikaidou and Sanjo who are NOT on a date and they tell Amu they were given information that the Embryo is going to appear tonight. Then there is a very useless scene with Ikuto meeting with the head of the EASTER organization (turns out it isn’t Kazuomi). They talk about the same old thing, about getting the Embryo, they fail, they suck, ect. The Guardians decide to have a party celebrating the Embryo, because that is what I do before I actually succeed at something. They all talk excitedly what they are going to wish for when they get the Embryo. Amu receives a text message and leaves, thinking it was from Ikuto. It is really a trap, but due to EASTER only hiring morons, Ikuto tracks her down and frees her. Meanwhile, the idiotic scientists have actually got their UFO X egg machines up and running, but soon they break down and turn into an attacking rotating X. Everyone transforms and fights the X-UFOs and Amu heals them all. The Embryo appears and both Amu and Ikuto try to go after it, but the idiotic scientists accidentally send a rocket their way OPPIES. Tadase and Kukai save the pair from being cement cakes and off Ikuto goes. This sorta RUINS the party and everyone is all OH NO we lost the Embyro again. The last scene is of everyone living their normal lives and the First King talking about how everyone and their journey are connected. Amu muses she still doesn’t know what her true wish is, but her Charas tell her it is okay, it gives the producers an excuse to make Season Two.
This episode was pretty great. It had an actual fight scene, some cute Ikuto and Amu moments, all of her friends supporting each other and eating big chunks of meat, the EASTER organization, and a real focus on one’s true wish or who one wants to be. Of course, my favorite part of the entire episode was the 30 whole seconds with Dia. :( I hope she is born soon in the second season; she is the best one out of all of the Charas.
I have to state for the record I am not a crazy fan girl who wishes for Tadase’s death and that Amu and Ikuto are the best couple in the whole wide world and other…whatever things crazy fan girls rant about. With that said, the episodes with Ikuto in them seem to be much better. Perhaps when he is in the episode, the actual plot happens or we see more of Amu’s real self. Whatever it may be, Ikuto does make the show much more enjoyable to watch.
This episode was a great way to end the series and fuse with the second. The last scene showed all the major players in the show so no one is forgotten in the transition. The only one not shown was Nadeshiko/Nagihiko and Amu mentioned her/him. The love rivals had their little pissing contest. Even though Kukai and Kairi are not longer attending the school, they still got a little screen time. I especially enjoyed the frantic way Ikuto tried to get the Embryo. I hope that Amu starts questioning him more and this leads to more answers about his intent. All and all I am pretty satisfied with this episode. Hopefully I will remember this feeling, as I have read the first two episodes of the next season are almost completely recaps. :( Woe are Shugo Chara fans.
To Aru Majutsu No Index Episode 2
Kamijo and barcode man start a pissing contest with Kamijo talking about justice and how even mages should know the difference between right and wrong. Barcode man starts giving Kamijo information about himself and Index's true purpose. The 103 thousand volumes of magic books are inside her head, as she has the ability to memorize anything instantly. Barcode man aka Steel Magnis (or Faltis 931) refers to Index as it. Faltis 931 starts attacking Kamijo with fire magic and a fire entity called Inocentius when Index "wakes up". The “awake” Index says that she is the holy item number zero from the England temple, a walking library. So apparently the little girl Index in episode 1 is the human personality to this walking knowledge machine. Faltis 931 steps on her so she will be quiet and continues to fry Kamijo who is trying his best to use his right hand to nullify the magic. The fire keeps regenerating itself, so he is forced to flee at the moment. Using the knowledge that Index gave him early, Kamijo trips the fire alarm and the sprinklers destroy the ink on the runes summoning the fire beast. Kamijo then beats Faltis 931 and takes Index away before the fire department shows up. A girl knowing Misaka (or I think it was Misaka) shows up, claiming to be Judgment on the student in charge of the fire. Kid Index wakes up and explains that if a person has psychic powers, like Kamijo's right hand, they are unable to use magic powers. She says that telling him healing spells would be useless since he cannot use them. Kamijo then drags Index to his teacher's house (Komoe Tsukuyomi), since she has no powers. Robot Index wakes up and tells her that her life is slowing draining away and Kamijo needs to leave the premises, so the magic can work. Kamijo runs off and in the distance, we see a girl who clearly has been attacked by a dog that ate most of her clothes. She looks sort of angry, like her spiky hair poked her or something :O
The first thing I thought after viewing this episode was....so where are all the students running and leaving the building? My second thought was WOW good thing I don't live there, as it would take forever for the fire department to come and save me! Third, cute teachers who appear to be 8 should not be heavy chain smokers!
So, Index is probably a robot or at the very least, something that is not exactly human. Can't say I am not surprised, but if I was going to store the world's greatest secrets in something, I would make it look a little more menacing and sturdy. Do we make machines or whatever Index is more human like so we can be more compelled to protect them? In this day in age, a computer system with all the books in it is not enough? Whatever the case may be, I feel bad for Index. I am sure she is well aware of what she is and that is a heavy burden to bear. Being some lab experiment is not cool!
Flatis 931 or whoever he is reminds me a little bit of Gojyo from Saiyuki, but he was more of a one trick pony. I am not sure what side he is on, as he claims he did not cause Index's wounds, but he was a jerk referring to her as an object and acting like he was going to take out the trash. And given that Robot Index gave Kamijo the information to beat him, it appears she does not like him either. In any case, he seems really weak as Kamijo was able to punch him and disable him so easily.
Overall, the episode was pretty good. Kamijo came up with that fire alarm thing pretty fast, at least he is smart. I enjoy it when bad guys give out their secrets thinking the good guy is about to die. I was hoping that Index would be a cute REAL little girl, but I sorta expected this robot/non human element. Kamijo was a little over the top with his speech to Flatis 931, but overall he is a good guy. Looks like he is not going to get a break anytime soon, as he is destined to be the reluctant hero. Time to get in shape Kamijo and get ready for more battles!
Tales of the Abyss Episode 3
This week’s episode introduced us to even more characters and information. Thankfully my brain is resilient to explosions. Luke and Tear are interrogated by Jade. It turns out Jade is trying to make a peace treaty with the other nation and has decided he will use Luke’s linage to make his travel a little safer. Ion explains that within the Church, there is a separate faction and THAT head person wants to start a war, thus he had to leave quickly. Suddenly, it starts raining monsters and bad guys and the craft they are traveling with is under attack. The main person who initiates the attack, Largo, is killed as well as some red shirt nobodies. Suddenly the other red haired individual Asch appears and disables their little escape plan. After Tear and Luke wake up, Jade breaks them out of their cell and after a brief battle with Major Legretta and Arietta outside, Guy appears and they tell all the opposing people to go back inside the ship. Luke’s group leaves to go meet up with Anise (who got herself thrown off the ship earlier). On route, the group is attacked by more Oracle Knights and Tear is injured protecting Luke.
Jade is referred to as “Jade the Necromancer” in this episode which made me go 0_0. Tear seemed shocked and Largo explained that Jade goes around to battlefields scavenging bodies. Nothing much was explained at that point, just the GASPS you are that person?! There was a lot of that this episode, as Tear is running into more of her buddies from the Oracle Knights, notably Legretta and her guns and Arietta and her big puppy dog of massive teethness. That part of the show is annoying me. The Church has two different factions and Tear defending the leader of the other faction by saying he just wants to future of the score to happen (or course…that could be war…). However, Tear is running around killing people from that church faction…so she is basically killing her own people? I think that fact was more annoying that Guy making it to their location in under two days, despite the huge distance Luke and Tear flew.
It made me incredibly sad when they mentioned the fact that Ion should not be made to run or it would shorten his life span. :( Does that mean he is going to die soon? Why do the cute kids with massive amounts of talent or access to loads of information sacrifice their life span for it?! WHY?! HE IS TOO CUTE TO DIE!!! Let’s sacrifice Anise instead! I am sure she will love to die for her cute Ion-sama.
Well, perhaps the other red headed person is not his other soul like I thought….as he tried to kill Luke. The voice talking to Luke seems to want Luke to do something and that might be a problem if Luke is dead. However, there are tons of not bright moments in this show, as Luke’s group locks up the bad guys in their vessel…and RUN! Call me crazy, but I would you know…kick them out and get my machine up and running again. Bleh, at any rate, we are left with another cliffhanger as Tear is bleeding her sparkly blood after trying to save Luke.
Skip Beat Episode 2
This episode was pure crack from start to finish. The Darumya store owners have taken Kyoko in, thinking she is out looking for a job (not sure where her other job went to...). Kyoko has been spending her days trying to get discovered outside agencies, but her demon persona and wild imagination might have scared people away. Kyoko goes to LME agency, as it is the only one that is equal to the agency Sho is at. She demands to see the president, but instead is interviewed by the talent manager Mr. Sawara. After finding out that Kyoko has no talents to speak of, Mr. Sawara assumes she is only at the agency to meet Ren and both Ren and Mr. Sawara throw her out. Kyoko does not give up, waiting all day outside the studio and stalking Mr. Sawara home. She spends several days harassing Mr. Sawara until he gives her a chance to audition. Ren meets her in the hall and tells her she will never make it in, putting Ren on her hate list too. The day of the audition finally arrives and the room is full of beautiful women and one harpy girl who is annoying as hell. The president showgirls his way to the judges table and the auditions begin. Mr. Sawara begins to worry and has good reason to, as Kyoko steps on the stage with a knife and a vegetable as her talent.
Every single minute of this show was comedy; I don't think there was a single moment of seriousness. Kyoko has gone in deep with her delusional imagination, what with the demon Sho cackling at her and her own demons tormenting Mr. Sawara. I could have taken many more screenies, as there were tons of moments that made me laugh. Revenge that is done this funny is much more interesting than revenge done with blood and guts.
Ren is a jerk too. :O I thought for sure he would be the one to take Kyoko under his wing and show her the path to stardom. But he turned out to be a rude "jerk" too. Perhaps he is a little jaded over all the fan girls on him all the time, but one would think they would be a little nicer to fans and potential leakers to gossip magazines. So instead of lifting Kyoko up, she sees him as another obstacle to reaching her dream.
Kyoko is slightly clueless on how the show business works. She barges in and wants to see the person in charge. She is then given the chance to showcase her talents to Mr. Sawara, yet she has done?! If she can't sing, dance, act, or anything else that people would want to watch, how does she expect to enter a talent agency and beat Sho?! Were they just going to give her a job because she the funniest delusional person in the world? :O Oh snap, I just figured it out, she was going to audition to be Paris Hilton, OH THE HUMANITY! Mr. Sawara is destined to be tortured and I am okay with that. I think he could use a little bit more fun in his life.
The question for next week: What is a talent that involves a vegetable and knife?!
Vampire Knight Guilty 2
This episode was very similar to the manga version. Yuki runs into a small child can’t find his mother. After following the child to a rundown building, the child kisses her and she passes out. She is taken inside by the oh so “mysterious” Kaname-sama and tells her to stay put. Well, of course she doesn’t. Yuki finds out that a huge vampire party is going on. Zero is on patrol while all the nobles are trying to pawn off their daughters on Kaname. One of the new scenes that is totally anime based was Ichiru shows up at the party. He and Zero have a staring match, but Ichiru leaves with Grandfather Ichijou, as he now works for him and the council. Kaname catches Yuki at the party and goes upstairs to talk to her. He proceeds to play with Yuki and offers to make her a vampire. She cries and says yes and Kaname acts like he is going to bite her, but he says he has punished her enough. Yuki finally makes it home and is left with confusing thoughts the next time she sees Kaname.
I was pleasantly surprised to see a flashback scene. Granted it was not much of a clue (unless you have had the whole series spoiled by some asshole on a forum) but it reminded the viewer not to forget about Yuki’s forgotten passed.
I was unsurprisingly disappointed at Yuki being a total stupid. She had decided that Zero is just SO CONFUSED about almost being a vampire that he nearly kissed her. HELLO he has known from some time he is going to turn into a vampire. As for Shizuka’s death, I fail to see how that would confuse him enough to kiss Yuki. That should have made him more emo than confused. Can she really be that blind to his feelings? And does someone that blind DESERVE his feelings?
I don’t think Kaname is cryptic enough. Seriously, does everything have to be a giant secret and he is the only one that can know the full details of the master plan? No wonder Yuki is always having “complex” conversations in her head; you are confusing her with your words. Playing the good guy card, but really wanting to be your own person gets annoying sometimes. He demands that Yuki be honest and talk to him, yet he can’t do the same with her. But I bet the only thing people are going to remember about Kaname in this episode is the SENSUAL neck licking scene. Having a bit of mystery about you makes me want to learn more about you; being NOTHING but a mystery and pretending to have a clue what you are planning is bothersome. However, if I had that many people trying to throw their daughters at me (aka baby making machines), I would probably be careful what I said to people too….
On another note, how can Yuki possibly want to be a vampire? She doesn’t even know WHAT a vampire is! She had no idea what a level E was, she just thought they were all gorgeous individuals. She has not qualms about threatening the night class with guns and comments all the time she is in a different world than they are. She only wants to become a vampire to be with Kaname, but she doesn’t even feel like she is his equal. 0_o How does that work? Does she think becoming a vampire is going to make her more worthy of Kaname’s love? Poor confused Yuki, two hot guys want to suck blood from her neck and love her. Life is tough!
Clannad After Story Episode 3
This episode picks up where the last left off as Tomoya, Nagisa and Mei follow Youhei and Sanae on their “date”. After an unsuccessful lunch, boring arcade time, and deafening shopping experience, the group starts walking home. They happen upon a little girl getting picked on by some older boys. Everyone but Youhei wants to help the kid out; Mei was so disgusted with his behavior. The child’s brother shows up and Sanae helps them find their way home. Sanae promises to call Youhei the next day and he is thrilled. His sister Mei is less than delighted and makes up a lie that she is going to meet her boyfriend, yet Youhei could care less. Mei wants back the big brother that use to protect her from bullies on the playground. Youhei takes Mei out to cheer her up and through a misunderstanding, scares off Kyou, Kotomi, and Ryou. Youhei catches the two later and Tomoya lies and says he is the one dating Mei and walks off with her. Youhei is upset, but does not go after the two. Mei is sadden and decides the only way to bring back her old brother is to get him back on the soccer team.
The funniest moment of the entire show was when Kyou,Ryo, and Kotomi show up when the Big brother conversation is going on. Apparently everyone decided that this was somehow sexual and that Tomoya was being a perv. There were way too many awesome screenie moments and I was laughing at Tomoya’s pain as I think he deserves it.
While I found the toilet seat joke funny, Youhei overall was a jerk for the entire episode. I really do not understand where it came from either. He has always been the funny guy that was a little rough around the edges. Now he just seems like a big jerk. Granted, I never liked Youhei’s treatment over his younger sister, but this week was pretty bad. He just dumped his sister for a “girl” he just met. Then he is a jerk in front of the girl by not helping kids out. THEN he is pissed off when he thinks Tomoya is with his sister. You can’t be mad over situations you create. This episode just took his personality from one end of the spectrum to another so fast, it was sad. He needs to be careful, as these people are his only friends.
It is hard placing all the blame on Youhei as it is Tomoya’s lies that caused all the problems. Granted Youhei might be acting this annoying with ANY girl, Tomoya is the one allowing Youhei to date Nagisa’s mother. He also lied about dating Mei which pissed off Youhei. Tomoya lies so much; it is a wonder anyone believes anything that comes out of his mouth……
First dead kittens and now beaten up little girls?! This week has been one big x_X moment?! Couldn’t the child have fallen off the swing and we could have had a Mei/Youhei flashback? Next week we will have bullies beating people up with the bodies of dead kittens :(
Next week Mei plans on getting her brother “back” by somehow getting him back on the soccer team. He was kicked off the soccer team for not controlling his temper. He has been “okay” these past few years. He has not been out right rude until he got a girlfriend, so I do not see how getting him back on the soccer team fixes anything. Won’t he be a soccer playing with even less time on his hands? Regardless, maybe Tomoya can redeem his liar self and get Youhei a reality check. Oh, and more Kotomi next week please. :)
Thanks for reading!!