Ice, Gym, Free Quickbooks Pro

By On December 22, 2008 · 27 Comments · In Family, Misc, Uncling

(I’m playing with my nieces a lot. My brother’s next kid will hopefully have an aircraft carrier as opposed to a dollhouse.

This elicited a swift “No, BRIAN! Spidey does NOT take a bath!”)

Chicago is weird, because sometimes when I’m here, it seems like I fall down.

This is because of ice on the ground, which I don’t encounter in Los Angeles.

Take this morning, for example – I was walking, and then I walked on ice, and then I fell down.

As I fell, I made an audible sound that went, “Whoaaaa!!” At the moment of impact, I made another sound – this one went, “Ooooof!!”

Anyway, after that, I went into the gym, where two things happened worth mentioning.

First, this one guy was there. I’ve seen him there every morning since I got here, and every morning, he says a variation on, “Man, they should give us a prize for being here this early!”

Normally I’m just like, “Yeah, I know,” even though the fact that we’re both there at 5am every single day should mean that going to the gym that early isn’t weird, odd, or difficult in any way for either one of us, right?

So this morning, I did some actoring on him, pulling him aside and whispering, “Do you realize how many prizes we could have if we find a way to get them to start doing this? We’d get prizes every day.”

Then I looked around real suspicious-like, and said, “Let’s talk tomorrow – keep the lines open,” and walked away.

These are the things I do to amuse myself here, although sometimes I don’t even have to try. As such:

A little later, I was washing my hands, and this guy – he was maybe 45-50 – comes up to the sink next to me, and starts washing his stomach.

At the sink. In like little circles, like he was happy with a big meal he just ate.

I tried so hard not to notice this, but you couldn’t help it, and I just started laughing. I have no idea what he did next, because I scurried away, giggling like a little girl.

Big day at Staples today – they’re giving away Quickbooks Pro. Not sure what the scam is, but if you like doing finance-related math, this is a real boon for you. (It’s a $200 program.)

 
  • Boney

    Quickbooks Pro – $40 instant rebate, $159 mail in rebate…

    the mail in is where they get you. Like AT&T they whore you with this whole “here’s a visa gift card thing so you are forced to spend your entire rebate rather than depositing it” douchiness.

    I prefer to keep my cash in my bank account rather than hope Quickbooks/Intuit cuts the check for the $159 for software I never use

    When I don’t ever want to use software, I request a copy of it from The Cavalier.

  • Boney

    Quickbooks Pro – $40 instant rebate, $159 mail in rebate…

    the mail in is where they get you. Like AT&T they whore you with this whole “here’s a visa gift card thing so you are forced to spend your entire rebate rather than depositing it” douchiness.

    I prefer to keep my cash in my bank account rather than hope Quickbooks/Intuit cuts the check for the $159 for software I never use

    When I don’t ever want to use software, I request a copy of it from The Cavalier.

  • admin

    Those are those cards that reduce in value if you don’t use them, right?

  • admin

    Those are those cards that reduce in value if you don’t use them, right?

  • Boney

    I don’t know if they reduce in value, I have always sold mine for $10 less than the actual value so I could feel the cold hard cash in my hands.

  • Boney

    I don’t know if they reduce in value, I have always sold mine for $10 less than the actual value so I could feel the cold hard cash in my hands.

  • http://www.hotdogsarecool.com Wish

    My fiancee dealt with a lot of things like this when we bought our house since we were buying a lot of new stuff like paint/furniture/etc.. I guess the ‘scam’ is that they hope/figure most people won’t turn in the rebate because there is a form you have to fill out, you have to return the receipt and sometimes you have to go to the customer service desk at the store to have them sign it. It can be time consuming/frustrating.

    When she would get the payment in the mail it would always be in the form of a check. She must have rec’d at least 20 of them and we never saw a Visa Card instead of a check. These came from stores such as Staples, Lowe’s, Menards, etc. I bet we saved $500-$1000 doing this.

    Personally, I don’t think people should be scared of the Visa gift cards because you can use them anywhere, whereas gift cards to like Best Buy have to be used in that particular store and after a year they start to take money off the card for ‘maintenance fees’.

  • http://www.hotdogsarecool.com Wish

    My fiancee dealt with a lot of things like this when we bought our house since we were buying a lot of new stuff like paint/furniture/etc.. I guess the ‘scam’ is that they hope/figure most people won’t turn in the rebate because there is a form you have to fill out, you have to return the receipt and sometimes you have to go to the customer service desk at the store to have them sign it. It can be time consuming/frustrating.

    When she would get the payment in the mail it would always be in the form of a check. She must have rec’d at least 20 of them and we never saw a Visa Card instead of a check. These came from stores such as Staples, Lowe’s, Menards, etc. I bet we saved $500-$1000 doing this.

    Personally, I don’t think people should be scared of the Visa gift cards because you can use them anywhere, whereas gift cards to like Best Buy have to be used in that particular store and after a year they start to take money off the card for ‘maintenance fees’.

  • http://preludetoapretentiousreview.blogspot.com/ Kingsley Le Corbusier

    People, please, a man was washing his stomach and you’re debating the real-world value of rebates? I’m going to waste time staring at my fantasy roster as it prepares for a consolation game in week 17, and when I get back, I expect comments about this strange, strange man whom I hope to never meet.

  • Tom

    People, please, a man was washing his stomach and you’re debating the real-world value of rebates? I’m going to waste time staring at my fantasy roster as it prepares for a consolation game in week 17, and when I get back, I expect comments about this strange, strange man whom I hope to never meet.

  • admin

    I like to think in his mind he was going “daddy’s getting thinner!”

  • admin

    I like to think in his mind he was going “daddy’s getting thinner!”

  • http://preludetoapretentiousreview.blogspot.com/ Kingsley Le Corbusier

    And Leon is getting laaaaarrrrrger.

  • Tom

    And Leon is getting laaaaarrrrrger.

  • http://robgokee.com Rob Gokee

    I use Quicken Home & Business to manage money stuffs, and I got a free copy of TurboTax in the mail. I think the whole “free” ploy is a scam to get you hooked, like crack, so that you’re forced to buy updates every year.

    Which reminds me, I have an update to buy.

  • http://filmcomposeratlarge.com Rob Gokee

    I use Quicken Home & Business to manage money stuffs, and I got a free copy of TurboTax in the mail. I think the whole “free” ploy is a scam to get you hooked, like crack, so that you’re forced to buy updates every year.

    Which reminds me, I have an update to buy.

  • Mr. Rogers

    I like Spidey’s body language in the picture.

    “Why is no water coming out? WHY? WHYYYYYY???”

    Also, is that a toy plunger next to the toilet? They’ve taken dollhouse realism to a whole notha level.

    “Oh Barbie, you clogged the toilet!”

  • Mr. Rogers

    I like Spidey’s body language in the picture.

    “Why is no water coming out? WHY? WHYYYYYY???”

    Also, is that a toy plunger next to the toilet? They’ve taken dollhouse realism to a whole notha level.

    “Oh Barbie, you clogged the toilet!”

  • http://preludetoapretentiousreview.blogspot.com/ Kingsley Le Corbusier

    Not a very sensibly designed bathroom – who puts their shower at a 45 degree angle in the middle of the room?

  • Tom

    Not a very sensibly designed bathroom – who puts their shower at a 45 degree angle in the middle of the room?

  • Boney

    Where are all the pictures of the Star Wars dolls and the miscellaneous office supply canisters full of tootsie roll pops?

  • Boney

    Where are all the pictures of the Star Wars dolls and the miscellaneous office supply canisters full of tootsie roll pops?

  • TVBrain

    Tell your fellow prize winner that your body clock is on Pacific Time. You may just blow. his. mind.

  • TVBrain

    Tell your fellow prize winner that your body clock is on Pacific Time. You may just blow. his. mind.

  • http://twitter.com/milquetoast7 [redacted]

    Oh, dang, now I REALLY want a bathtub that's at a 45 degree angle. Yes, I'm still in the time machine. Much like your gym buddy, a work buddy comes by my cubicle every single day at like 5:02 pm which means she's ALSO leaving at that time and is all, “Why are you still here. It's time to go home. What are you still doing here. You know you can leave right.” I need some major help in what to say to her–I am not talented at the actoring.

  • http://brian23.com Brian

    I can't possibly remember what my mindset was back in December, but I'd say your best answer to this scenario is something like, “Hey, did you see the Hangover yet – people say it's really a good movie. Call me sometime!”

  • http://brian23.com Brian

    I can't possibly remember what my mindset was back in December, but I'd say your best answer to this scenario is something like, “Hey, did you see the Hangover yet – people say it's really a good movie. Call me sometime!”