10:00. I just woke up from another nap. During it, I slumbered so deeply and so peacefully that I didn't notice my dad at all. Thank the Goddess for that. He had put away all the food he had been trying to stuff into me. I looked around the kitchen long enough to know. If I were to go any further, he would tell me (without my asking) that it is in the fridge, and then try to start getting it back out for me. So I walked back to the computer before he could even see me. He is washing his dishes right now. I'm so glad I slept for a little while.

It's after 10am now, so Best Buy should be opening. If I have anything I need to return to Best Buy, soon would be a good time. Before the store gets busy. I have already concluded that there is no need to return anything to the first Best Buy I visted yesterday. Though the Gloria Estefan DVD seemed to have some glitches last night, it worked when I tried it again this morning. I'm happy with it.

Now, back to cataloging. Next receipt on the pile, whose total has already been entered into my gnucash accounting software (before I went to bed last night):

Best Buy. Broomfield, CO. Across from the Flatirons Crossing Mall. (Entering items in the order they are found on the receipt, not in the order they were picked up in the store. I had only wanted 1 thing when I came in the store, but as the friendly sales dude tried to help me search in vain, my will broke down, and I saw other things I wanted. Badly.) PAUSE FOR LYRIC BEFORE WE BEGIN.

Wanting to HEAR the song in my HEADPHONES too, frantically searching google to find the artist, allofmp3.com to see if they can give me an ogg. Since they don't seem to have what I want I'm resorting to limeware p2p using the gnutella protocol. I'll get on and off quickly.

While it searches...

I don't know where I heard it, or who the artist is. But the song is in my head, and I can't get it out. Suddenly, I begin again to believe the words of the man in Nemo's video. But that was over a year ago. Or was it less than a year? Something close to that, I think. I can check this rambling for accuracy later, if I so desire.

The Limewire/gnutella network is pretty clogged up, but I think I can probably get it if I persist for a little while. The longer I'm on, the greater the risk of a lawsuit. (Or I could just turn off sharing for my files, but that would be wrong and unfair. To take from the community without offering anything in return. So as long as I'm on, my files are available. And I'll just take a little of what I want from others who offer.)

[The one host that has what I want, and is letting me download is coming in at 3K/s. Slow, but steady. Hopefully, it will be there long enough for me to get the entire file. And hopefully, the file will be the song that matches the one I wanted.]

Meanwhile, we begin the process again. Argo multitasks, and I switch contexts faster than any human brain was designed to. (IF our brains were "designed" rather than evolving constantly. But let's save the Evolution vs Creation debate for another time.)

Now, after trying to tell me again that there are peaches and bananas to eat if I want them, my dad has left the apartment to exercise. He is getting stronger. Yes, I believe he will beat his cancer. It's just so hard to be around him sometimes. Moving on... (The file still downloads, and nobody has tried to download anything from my music library. Yet.)

• Duracell Ultra Batteries. 8-pack. AA size. For when I end up stranded and alone next to my car, without any electricity to power my devices. So I think. Price on Receipt: $8.49. (I seem to remember it being marked as cheaper in the store, but maybe that was the price it would be after a rebate or something. Not sure. Oh well. I think they're good batteries. Let's not worry too much about a rebate of a couple bucks that might take hours to figure out.)
• "AG 8 + 2 BONUS TRAY PACK -- ENER" Having trouble figuring out what this one is referring to. Oh YES! The other set of batteries. Energizer 10-pack. Well, actually, it's the price of an 8-pack, but the label says "2 FREE". Indeed, there are 8 batteries + 2 free = 10 batteries in the box. WOW, what a deal! $5.99. The price on the receipt matches what was in my head for these. Also, the dimensions and weight of the package are nearly identical to the Duracell box, including the area to hold the batteries themselves. Spacing is everything. Wow, that GREAT marketing. (I had stayed out of stores so long, my mind had not evolved, and was being outpaced by the latest psychological research.)

• DVD - House of Sand and Fog. Starring Jennifer Connelly (why it caught my eye) and Ben Kingsley. Looks like a classy movie. Price tag says: $14.99. (Covering another slightly obscured price tage which used to say $19.99.) I wanted it soooo badly, even though I had only heard of the movie through vague second-hand references. Only $15. I surrendered.

  Now, for the test. ogle. Dreamworks logo comes up. Crystal clear. followed by a deep bass, and an enticing menu. That's all I want. This one will stay with me for a while, even if I do go on the road. Even if I have to get a crappy temp job, I'll work off the debt somehow.

• DVD -- Little Princess. Shirley Temple. $5.99. Preserving and remembering the classics. A fair price. In ogle: The FBI warning comes up, followed by the menu. Even if they can't catch me when I copy a disc for a friend, I think I'd better heed the warning if I want these restored works to keep pouring out of the treasure house. Keep.

• Wording on Receipt: "FRIENDS 2ND SEASON (BEST OF)" I wasn't that big a fan of the show, especially as it got older. But I used to watch and enjoy it sometimes. I still remember the names (and actor names) of all 6 main characters. I don't need or want to buy entire seasons of it (which are available, or at least they were). But from time to time, it might be fun to take a moment to enjoy that part of my past. $5.99. Snap case. 141 minutes. Follows all the standard logos. Marked Region 1.

  ogle has no complaints. WB Home Video. Plays like a charm. Clearer than it ever appeared on broadcast back then. Interlaced. Looks like I won't be going back to return items to as many stores as I thought I would, if trends continue.

• Gia (starring Angelina Jolie) - Unrated version. I had been hoping they would release an uncensored version of this for YEARS. Literally. At one point, I gave up and bought the censored version for cheap just so I could see it at all. It's about a fashion model who... well... gets fucked up really bad, shall we say. $9.99. Couldn't resist. Ogle likes it. Good. That's all I need. (Company: HBO FILMS, ISBN: 0-7831-1480-X. thank you)
• [omitted: what I had come in to look for, asked 2 sales people about, they searched frantically, both in the store's database (which he admitted didn't always match what was in the store), and the shelves. The most info I was able to get was to clarify that yes, the movie was on file, it was released by Artisan and Lions Gate in 1998, and a dvd copy of it probably does exist SOMEWHERE, but not in Best Buy, and the db was too clogged to allow him to search other Best Buy chain stores in the area. I came in because I wanted a movie that had come out in theatres in the mid to late 90s. (I remembered mid-90s, but it was late 90s. I saw it in a theatre in BOULDER, COLORADO. It was entitled Kama Sutra (with some subheading I don't remember.) All I wanted was to see this movie, made less than 10 years ago, and released not too long ago on DVD, again. I would have been willing to pay premium price for this. But they could not find it anywhere in the store, even though it was from a fairly well known brand. So I left with the goodies that I could find, and headed in the direction of Boulder again.]

Total on this receipt: $55.58. Half as much as I had spent at the last Best Buy today. My will was getting better, and my selection abilities stronger. The casino and I were bonding. Now my song is in off Limewire. I shall play it, and enjoy it while it lasts. My head will explode if I don't. Other people are downloading obscure tracks from me now, so I'm going to wait before taking this p2p client off the network.

Artist: Corina
Track: Temptation
Original Release: Sometime in the 80's
Length: 4 minutes exactly.

The one I got is some kind of remastered remix, but it's sweet anyway. The essence of the original is still there. Wait, maybe it is the original, and others were remixes. Restart. (I have to dissect and understand the forces that control me if I am ever to have any hope of becoming free. Now I lose myself again, but first, I tell limewire to disconnect after this person is done downloading Crystal Method, and not to allow any new downloads to begin.)

Spoken: Baby, there's something I think you should know. I don't think I'll be needing you anymore. It's just one of those things. I'm sure you'll understand.

[Any women who say that the only brutes in the world are men are deluding themselves. Feminists, before you denounce men as the only wrong in the world, LISTEN to what is in these words. Please, I beg you.]

Now, some funky semi-subliminal stuff.... ... And more beats, syths, and currents... Then back to the chorus, with a vocal overlay between the soundwaves.

Packed into the span of 4 minutes, this is what we Amaricans refer to as a "pop song". Despite what some may say, it is nothing less than a feat of social engineering unrivaled anywhere else in the world. This particular piece, most likely targeted squarely at female consumers when it was originally released (or so they would have us believe), says more than I could ever comment on all day. It is the reason that good, decent men such as myself (yes, I'm full of my own ego) never get laid, and always find ourselves abandonded. Yet still, I love the song, and am transfixed by its beauty.

With that in mind, my shopping spree continued, as I headed toward Boulder. Still hadn't found what I was looking for. Kama Sutra. 1998. Artisan/Lion's Gate. Circuit City. AND THAT WILL DO IT!