My Amazon Reviews: Styx "Icon II"

A Solid, if Unnecessary, Release
3 Out Of 5 Stars

As far as Band for the Buck is concerned, this 2 CD set of Styx songs from the A&M years is worth its price. It loads you up with 24 songs and gives it to you at a superb, budget price. It even brings back the original, top ten version of "Lady" from 1974, replacing the Tommy Shaw "Lady 95" from the greatest hits collection. It covers mainly the superstar years from "Equinox" to the Dennis DeYoung centric "End of The Century," with nothing after that album.

However, the packaging is minimal. The sole photo of the band is the back cover, from what looks like an alternate shot from "The Grand Illusion." The inner-sleeve is a listing of the songs and writing credits, production credits, but with no listing of dates or albums. I must add the the remastering sounds terrific and makes me wish for some deluxe versions of the original albums! If you don't already have "Styx: Gold" (2 discs and 35 songs) or the 1995 single disc Greatest Hits, this will suit you well. But this is likely best for the casual Styx fan.

   

Job Searching Fun and Dissapointment

Hit the six month unemployed marker this week. It's not something I am
at all pleased with. Despite countless applications, I've had exactly
two interviews since January. One was to sell cars at the local Ford
Dealership. They never even bothered to call back afterwards. The second
was last week, for a Security Company that specializes in - to be kind -
rent-a-cops.

The Phone Interview went well enough, as did the in person one. Next up was the Pee test; passed that. Then I had to submit all sorts of info for a background check. While all this was going on, we discussed a potential full-time position, between $11/13 per hour, but three 12 hour shifts. Not thrilling, but got the usual lines about potential for advancement, benefits, etc. Then comes the acceptance call. Can you show up for orientation? Sure, but what are the specifics for the job?

Well, we can offer you weekends, part time, two twelve hour shifts at $10 an hour.

As you can see, nothing remotely similar to the original discussion other than the hideous 12 hour shifts. I asked them why the offer was so radically different from the earlier version, and was told that the part-time was all that was available. I kindly declined the offer but asked them to call should a full-time position open up.

So it's back to the drawing board. As well as counting down to Delta.