A lot has been going on in my life in the past week.

My boyfriend quit his job so he could spend more time working on the transition from the closing of the store he and his partner are buying, to the opening of the new store. For those who don't know, they're going to be running the local gaming shop, selling RPG stuff, miniatures, tradeable card games, and the like. We're very enthused about the situation. I'm very envious that he has found his niche and is actually working toward occupying it successfully.

I took a second job. In fact, I found out I got the job the same day that Paul quit his. It would be painful to think about except for the fact that the job is solely for money to spend on clothing. Basically, I have shopped at Lane Bryant for 15 years, and love their stuff. I recently found out that employees get 40% discount at all times, and 15% on some weekends, along with a ton of freebies here and there. So, I applied for a part time seasonal job, for like 15-25 hrs per week (on top of my 40 hr a week job as an insurance underwriter). I start "training" tomorrow. I've been told to dress casually for the training, so I assume it'll be video-watching - how to safely lift items, how to prevent shoplifting, and stuff like that.

I finally got a car to replace the lemon I've been driving for the past year or so. I bought my Ford Taurus last year for around $2500, and since then have put almost as much into repairing the damned shitbox. She pisses me off on a daily basis. When she heard that I'd be selling her, she blew a headlight to spite me even further. Bitch. The car I just bought is a red 87 Chevy Nova. Boxy, but good. Novas are little troopers. They're small enough that you feel that you could lift them up and revv them backward a few times and place them on a flat surface and they'd zoom off. It has brake problems, but Paul thinks the repair will be cheap. The purchase price of the Nova was $950. Whee. Paul will be taking my POS to a lot to trade it in on a cheapmobile for himself.

I've been beta-testing The Sims Online. I'm liking it very much. If I get enough birthday money this week, I'll pre-purchase it, though God only knows when I'll find the time to actually play, what with the two jobs. Luckily, Paul will be just as busy, so we can either both feel guilty about not being around enough, or both feel fine about it. We'll probably both intend to feel fine and both end up feeling guilty. Oh well.

I think I've covered most of the updates. If you read all this and didn't care, remember that I warned you in the subject line.

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I am a delicate fucking flower. https://beacons.ai/jesskent

An '87 Chevy Nova is, mechanically, an '87 Toyota Corolla. Built in the same factory in California in a GM/Toyota joint venture. So it will probably run forever. Good luck!

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...Trot and Cap'n Bill were free from anxiety and care. Button-Bright never worried about anything. The Scarecrow, not being able to sleep, looked out of the window and tried to count the stars.

I think the Nova has different taillights.

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What others say about boorite!

Novas are cool cars. They sort of have their own pedigree, though, and I don't think they've been based on a Toyota frame.

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I wanted my half in the middle and I wound up on the edge.

Novas and Corollas

The guy has it slightly wrong. The '87 Nova's were built by NUMMI in California. NUMMI was a joint venture between Toyota and General Motors. They built Corollas and Novas on the same line. I think the idea was that Toyota could bypass import quota restrictions by building cars in the US, and GM got to see how Toyota built cars.

I think the big difference between the cars was that the Corolla was a sedan and the Nova was a hatchback.
The later generations of the same car were known as the Geo Prizm.

Don't ask my why I follow this shit. Just one of those things.

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...Trot and Cap'n Bill were free from anxiety and care. Button-Bright never worried about anything. The Scarecrow, not being able to sleep, looked out of the window and tried to count the stars.

I knew someone with an 80s Nova 4-dr sedan. You're right that they became Geo Prizms. Same car as a Corolla.

Bunner is speaking of the old body-on-frame Nova of the 60s and 70s, which was what you wanted if you couldn't decide between a Ford Maverick and a Ford Torino. Most of them were dowdy sedans, but with a 307 or 350, boy did they haul ass. There were some sportier ones, too. Solid as they were, they lost many a battle with trees and bridge abutments as America was discovering that Drugs Are Bad.

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I see.
Boo was correct in assuming that I was pretty much looking at the old school Novas. They were a pretty clunky lot with the small format 6 bangers, and that's true enough, but they did do a brief SS version of the car (as they did with the Camaro and the Chevelle) with a 350 or 427 SS option that had enough raw HP to relocate your eyeballs into the headrest when flooring it from a complete stop. Those where the muscle cars of yore and, frankly, those cars beat the shit out of any American production race car today short of the Viper. I personally loved the boxy 67 Chevy II's with the oblong tail lights that people had stuffed Rat motors into. 0-60 in about "oh, fuck" seconds.

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I wanted my half in the middle and I wound up on the edge.

Definitely cool cars.
Sorry for the gigantic pic.

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...Trot and Cap'n Bill were free from anxiety and care. Button-Bright never worried about anything. The Scarecrow, not being able to sleep, looked out of the window and tried to count the stars.

Poor thing. It wants to be a Camaro so badly. But it's just not.

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(just getting into the obligatory car-related piss contest. I actually think Novas are boss.)

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What others say about boorite!

And the type of Nova Bunner was talking about...

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...Trot and Cap'n Bill were free from anxiety and care. Button-Bright never worried about anything. The Scarecrow, not being able to sleep, looked out of the window and tried to count the stars.

There was something else we were talking about... was it... oh, yes! LadyJ. Thanks for the update! I envy Paul, too. BTW, If you haven't seen the episode of "Everybody Loves Raymond" where Paul Reubens plays a comic store owner, you really need to.

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I don't know from cars, but I know this...

Small video-game and/or RPG-fantasy shops are a lot like ugly actresses in Hollywood: maybe they deserve to succeed, maybe they don't... but they never do. Much like indepenedent coffeeshops, you'll see one of those that's been open for more than a few years about as often as you'll see an honest CEO.

Good luck! Y'all'll need it.

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peddling the funny around since 09/24/2002

Most even smaller cities I've been in have seemed to support at least one or two shops like this, I don't think they are doomed to fail. Some of them seemed like they had to take on some other products / services they don't care that much about, like video tape / DVD rentals or paintball guns or something, but that at least last longer than independent coffee shops. Actually if you could sell coffee too do that and prove not_Scyess totally wrong.

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Vote Jeb Bush 2008

Diversify.
Coffee, soda, snacks,(requires food service license.... cheap) video rentals, costumes, find a tattoo or body mod artist who has INSURANCE and would like to work out of your location if there is room and facility, clothing, jewelery, etc....

Make it place that people like to be and they will go there. Be the first to offer them the stuff they want, and they will buy it from you.

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I wanted my half in the middle and I wound up on the edge.

My local game shop has been in business for as long as I've been alive. Sometimes we go in and the tables in the back are packed with people playing in a Magic or Warhammer tournament or some such. They do sell more than just gaming supplies: mostly some manga and other non-mainstream comics and magazines, anime, imported soundtracks, posters, and a few Hello Kitty-type toys for the younger set.

The idea of selling food, even if just from a vending machine, sounds like a good one if you want your store to become the kind of place where people come not just to buy but to hang out and play. An arcade game or two might be another idea.

J, I think it's pretty fucking cool that Paul will be running a shop like this. Good luck to you guys.

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The what mentioned above is total fiction. Please don't take it seriously!

There's a place around here that sells gaming and comic stuff called Passtimes (no website, unfortunately) that has been around longer than I have. They started out as just a music store with a couple of comic books on the side, but over the years have changed into more of a comic/role playing shop. They show no signs of going out of business any time soon... and remember that this isn't exactly a metropolitan kind of place, so it's not like you can explain its success like that.

Don't let people saying he has no chance to make it work get you guys down. You'd be quite surprised.

Around here, we have three game stores. One of them has been here since the 70s, another is just across the street from it and has been around a while, and one's only a year old, but has open game space, so there are people there all the time.

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"Only things I approve of should exist." -some guy on the internet

quote:

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Small video-game and/or RPG-fantasy shops are a lot like ugly actresses in Hollywood: maybe they deserve to succeed, maybe they don't... but they never do. Much like indepenedent coffeeshops, you'll see one of those that's been open for more than a few years about as often as you'll see an honest CEO.

Good luck! Y'all'll need it.

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Free sexual treats from Jessica...

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100 pounds of shit in a 25 pound sack.

You know, as far as Hobbytown USA goes, I'm sure they could have a little 'accident'. Or a big 'accident'. A big, fiery accident.

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100 pounds of shit in a 25 pound sack.

Free sexual treats from Jessica...

That's Platinum Membership, and it's the monthly perk right after the free geek hygiene kit.

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I am a delicate fucking flower. https://beacons.ai/jesskent

Of course a comic and game shop is a risky investment. And of course it can succeed, just like anything else. The thing is, it sounds like a labor of love. I mean you don't open a specialty shop just to make money. You can make more money doing other things. Look at the boss of your insurance agency, LadyJ-- he's probably richer than your average shopkeeper. But not everyone is cut out for that kind of work, and even if you make a million a year, a job you hate isn't worth the time.

I couldn't run my own business. I need structure and initiative from without. I don't kick myself about this anymore, and I hope that if Paul finds he's not an entrepreneur at heart, and just isn't enjoying the weekendless, vacationless life of running a business, that he'll feel good about it.

Another thing is that sometimes businesses simply fail. Often, in fact. Same thing with bands. When I started a band, I thought, I'll do this for X number of years, and in the extremely likely event that it goes nowhere, I'll be in the majority.

It'll be an adventure. I don't envy the unending work and the insecurity, but I do envy the adventure. You'll have memories, that's for sure. Have fun.

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My boyfriend roxxors!

This is what he got me for my birthday.

He's so getting some tonight.

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I am a delicate fucking flower. https://beacons.ai/jesskent