oh hell

I have been long absent. However, I feel that I haven't been missed terribly, so I can't say I'm deeply apologetic. Just thought I'd take another whack at this blog thing. I shan't be at school this semester, so it might be a good idea to do something to keep my ability to write coherently up to par.

I last started to post on the ninth of January. The text of that post (heretofore unposted) follows the body of this one, and I will not be finishing the thoughts left hanging there, not at this moment.
I've been working a lot lately, having a job and all, and although it's not my first experience having a regular bit of employment, it wears on me quite a bit. Moreso than basic physical labor would (I'm in retail now, and fancy retail at that) and that troubles me. Should I not be using the strength of my back now, when I am young, and only turn to the art of my hand, knowledge of my mind or wisdom of my experience once the former has failed me, or at least i have begun to stumble from my peak of physical prowess (and some poor prowess that)? I should like to have my physicality demanded upon, not my personality, not my vaguely-inate use of my tongue that can implore or lead.
I also feel somewhat dirty, as a salesman. There are certainly customers that I needn't sell to at all -- indeed, the only function I serve for them is to prevent them wasting their time searching the whole store to find that which they seek. However, even for customers that do not buy, I feel like I have influenced people to my own profit -- not that I don't believe in the quality of the product I sell, I do! And I suppose that is the nature of sales. But that is not something with which I shall ever be fully comfortable.

I must rise early, so this is all for tonight. Perhaps next time I will talk about some tattoo ideas. Perhaps not.

I leave you with this, from 1/9/10:
I didn't mean to not post at all over break. But I didn't.
And the really annoying thing is, one night I thought of something that made me really mad, and I was SO EXCITED about the prospect of writing about it here. No dice, though-I forgot about it.
So for the past week or two or more I've been hoping it'd come back to me.
John McClane is the best police character to grace the silver screen on multiple occasions, hands down. I mean, the plots of the Die Hard films are so ridiculous, but they are beautiful, straightforward action films where the bad guy gets destroyed with many accompanying awesome explosions.
Last time I blathered I mentioned I wanted to talk about rebranding. This is something that has long bothered me, primarily on account of my long-time obsessive knowledge-gathering about the automobile industry, particularly the products. I was recently sparked to think about this again when I noticed that Orbit gum is made by the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company. Yeah. The primary manufacturer of chewing gum of the previous decade-I mean, I think it has held that position for longer, but within my experience, that's all to which I can speak with any authority. When I was growing up, they were the only (major) game in town. But now, other brands seem to have shook up the market somewhat, and it would appear that the standard five-stick pack division of the Wrigley Co. is being phased out to some degree, while the Orbit division is being made the primary horse, as it were. Now, Orbit might have been a rival that was absorbed-this is entirely possible and is a different issue entirely, but let's assume that isn't the situation (I know I could find out, but I frankly don't care a bit). Anyway, this is an example of the type of rebranding that makes industrial progression possible, that keeps companies alive, that keeps consumers interested in your segment. Instead of changing the image of your product or resurrecting a dead line, you shift your primary focus onto another, which is supported by the same technology, and use it to continue moving forward. That's business done right, or at least it would seem so from my layman's position.
This is the exact opposite of what is done, has been done, by particularly the American auto industry, although the Korean brands marketed in the US are excellent examples, as are some lines in the Japanese marques.
This model is based on the idea that the American marketplace is full of idiots (I'm not arguing that). GM is the most egregious offender, so I'll focus on them.