Patrick Says

I’ve used Redbox for movie rentals. I wouldn’t say a lot, but frequently. And I’ve raved about the service. I think the idea is good. It’s simple and convenient. But the last two times I’ve rented, I’ve encountered a problem that is extremely frustrating and highly suspicious to me.

The boxes are full.

I rented ‘G-Force’ for the boys last week. Seemed fun enough for them. I took it home and they watched it. The next day, taking them to Grandma’s, I stop at the McDonald’s and try to return it. It says sorry, but the box is full. This is not the first time I’ve had this problem and in and of itself, it’s not surprising. So I try a second location near my work outside a Walgreens. Also full.

Now I’m downright pissed off. Seeing stars angry. I have to go to work. I work all day and after work, it’s already a new Redbox day and now I’ve been charged for another day rental on a movie that I wouldn’t actually pay $2 to OWN. And now I’m wondering if Redbox is stocking the boxes too full so you can’t return the DVD and they pick up a dollar or two more. Seems far-fetched, but what the hell, Redbox?

I know. I’m complaining about a buck. Not enough to buy much food, a gallon of gas or diamonds. But a buck is a buck still.

And now, a word from our sponsors…

But seriously, watches make a great gift. Be they cheap Walgreens no-name brand watches for kids or people you don’t really like very much or titanium watches from reputable dealers that will last for a very long time.

I was looking at watches on BlueDial.com and found some nice ones, albeit absolutely out of my price range. In watches, I’m simple. I like analog even though I seem to have a tough time every once in awhile figuring out the time. They are just more attractive-looking than digital ‘cheater’ watches. Anyway, looking at their selection, this one struck me as very nice.

Funny story about watches, okay, maybe not ‘ha-ha’ funny, but you know. The company I work for gives out gifts at your three-year, five-year, etc. Since the first one, I’ve always let Jen pick the gift. She has almost always picked the ladies watch. It’s a decent watch, but by the next time I get a gift, she needs another. So, if the HR department looks at the history of my gifts, it seems I like ladies watches.

But anyway, watches make a good gift. Did I say that already?

One more watch story: my mom bought me a low-priced Timex watch back in the mid-90s. I wore it for years. Eventually, it stopped working. I took it to a jeweler because I thought it was a battery issue. He said it was broken. I asked if he could fix it. A $20 watch from Target. He stared blankly at me and suggested I try somewhere else. Sorry, man, it was from my mom.

I said I’d be bigger and talk about grand ideas and not be so much schlock. Then I schlock’ed. That’s what the Internet calls a #fail. Maybe it’s in caps, like #FAIL. I don’t know. I guess the problem is that now that things are looking better for The Wife, I’m ready to write less thoughtful posts. And the other problem, which I’ve only started to accept recently, is that I think I’m way funnier than I actually am…

That’s not easy to take. Humor is kind of the only thing I thought I was good at. That and hawking links links for stuff like acne cream or Samsonite luggage. I always have that to fall back on.

Yep. #fail

Hey, Facebook application developers, could you please make these applications a little less processor-intensive? Pretty please. Stupid Cafe World shouldn’t bog down my processor so much that I can’t see the animations. The characters literally just jump around. It’s ridiculous. This laptop is less than four months old and it can barely run your stupid app. FIX IT! I shouldn’t have to buy a desktop and upgrade the video card just to run a Facebook game.

Thank you.