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Apparently I didn’t feel like a post last night. That’s okay though I can live with missing a day here and there. Although I don’t really feel like posting tonight either.

Today I had a rather horrible phone interview. I don’t know why the hell happened, I guess I just wasn’t quite in the right state of mind or something. It was like watching an accident in slow motion and not being able to do anything about it. I twas awful. To put it mildly I didn’t get it.

Tomorrow is another interview though, this time in person. I’m hoping I do a lot better.

I also received my new phone and phone plan today. That’s what I spent most of the time screwing with since I got it at 4:00 or whatever time today from UPS. Namely it’s the Droid Incredible. Ya, I know, not exactly rational to have an expensive phone plan right now. Maybe I’ll get lucky and actually get one of these jobs I interview for.  I mean how long can I go on like this?  Interview after interview with no acceptance? I mean sooner later by accident or whatever just blind luck I have to get one of them. Right? Does that make sense? I really, really want it to make sense!!

So far I am really enjoying the phone. It’s obviously going to take me some time to learn all the ins-and-outs of it. Not to mention I need to buy some accessories like an extra batter, possibly some screen protectors and a protective shell of a case.  Until then I don’t know if I even want to take it much of any place.

I wasn’t able to transfer my number. I don’t know if I just missed a step or what happened. But I think it’s actually okay because this way at least I have a back up phone if I need one for some reason. Google voice will still go to the old number just fine. I’m going to go through yet another carrier who has a $10 for 100 minutes (or 150 minutes? I don’t remember) a month. So that will keep the legacy number alive with a voice mail asking callers to use my new google voice number instead.

Last night I apparently didn’t get enough sleep. This seems to be a recurring theme for me. Or I should say I did actually get enough sleep since instead of getting up at 5:20am or whatever as planned I just went back to sleep for another probably two hours. Or until 7am anyway. I can do this ya see, I’m a volunteer.

So I decided I’m going to drive down to volunteer thing for no particular reason this time since it is technically a little quicker than the light rail with or without the 3/4 mile hike from the station to the work place.

Unbeknownst to me we were going to be spending most of day at a different site anyway so it actually worked out pretty well. Or it would have if my co-worker who seems to be for good or for ill the “one in charge” when it comes to this sort of stuff. We had to leave the site at one point and instead of each of us taking separate cars back to the home base we took one. That’s where the trouble started…for me. So then we came back to where my car was and at some point had to drive back again to home base, this time me with my car. Then it was back to the off site. And for some reason I didn’t take my car, we took this other truck. So when we went to go home for the day I was the odd man out who had to drive the truck back to home base and drop it off to get my car, whilst my co-worker got to go straight home. So why didn’t I just take my car back to the site so we could have both left from there directly? I have no idea. It seems some how cruel and mean or something. I mean you know if I have to pull the volunteer card I’ll pull the volunteer card. But seriously, what the hell?

Obviously I should just learn to fight back a little. As in screw that I’m taking my car back or I’m leaving now. And let whomever be unhappy about it. I mean it’s my own time is it not? Why am I the one holding the bag or truck in this case? I don’t technically work there. Well not in a paid capacity. I guess I am starting to be a part of the team now. In fact I took the opportunity of dropping off the keys with the boss guy  to mention that I would except an offer were it made. And he said he’d hire me without an interview or whatever. But he didn’t have the budget for it but would try and make the case. I asked him to make sure and tell me if I could help make a case. Something to that effect. Whatever.

Okay maybe I was complaining over nothing. It just seemed like the guy who was assisting his friend was made to make the extra trip without any regard for how that made me apparently feel or look. I really have to start pushing back here or I have a feeling this is really going to get worse. The trip was only about ten or fifteen minutes between sites, not that much of a thing.

Okay I think this was long enough.

The most significant part of today was entertaining the toddler, by which I mean my niece. I had bought some water balloons for her probably two months ago but it was never warm enough or an opportunity to use them up until yesterday and today.

I must not have done a lot of water balloon tying as a youth because it certainly took me a while to get the hang of it and even then I didn’t seem to be doing it that perfectly or consistently. And of course the near-three-year-old wanted the balloons as fast as I could fill and tie them. Or I finally would some how get four or five of them tied off at once and then she’d going through them all quick and then be like again! again! so I’d have to just sit there and do up some more.

There are of course worse ways to spend several hours on 90+ degree day. I think was pretty well soaked but this time I was wise enough I wore some swim trunks over and so I was drying off relatively quick. Although I apparently didn’t think to skip the socks so I was still a bit soggy for a while.

Actually last night I was with the toddler as well up on this artificial sod football field/quarter mile track. She decided to do a lot of running down on the track. I was keeping up with her but only barely. As has been said before toddlers have incredible energy that’s all I can say.

Actually I should probably go back several days here: I did actually finish The Shining by Stephen King. To put it mildly it’s not really anything like the Kubrick movie of 30 years ago. Well it has most of the major points but really the two are nothing like in “overall vision” or whatever you want to call it. No heeeeeeeeeeere’s johnny!! or that repeated typing of “no beer and no tv makes jack a dull boy” or whatever it said in the movie. I haven’t actually seen the movie in a really long time and the book makes me want to go back and watch it now.

Not really any ties to the dark tower series like so many of his other books. Mostly just there’s 19 stairs and the discussion of a certain bad room takes place in chapter 19. That’s about it really. It wasn’t even a slow degradation, at least not the same variety, like the The Stand or what I understand is in (since I only saw the movie) The Mist.  Perhaps that is the next King book I should read. Or possibly the dome or whatever that latest one of his is.

Well remember all that stuff I said in my entry about how it would be irrational to order a new phone and phone service so closely together? (Okay I realize all you have to do is scroll down slightly but whatever.)

Well apparently I couldn’t stand it any longer so I did it anyway, I ordered the new phone with phone service. More specifically I ordered an HTC Incredible with 2-year verizon plan. I mean my two year old black berry is probably degrading and not slowly and since it’s my only phone I figured I should have some kind of new phone. As for the $50 versus $80 thing I decided really it won’t be that much of a difference in the long run. Well it will be a bit of a difference but with the $50 thing there’s not really a way to replace a lost/dropped/stolen phone. Right? So that would blow my whole theory to hell right there. All it would take is the one careless loss of grip whilst standing over a hard surfaced floor and that would be that. So in addition to the new phone I got chose the really fancy replacement plan. This way at least I can get it back if I needed to. Right?

Okay maybe I could have waited a little longer. At least until after the Droid X came out if no other reason than because surely the price will drop on the Incredible. But then after that price drop I’m sure there’d be some other phone or some other reason to wait for the next price drop. And that could go one infinitum, right? Anyway that was my final rationalization.

Today on the other hand I haven’t done much more than watch a few videos. That and I laid down and was pretty instantly unconscious, which felt good actually. I did play a couple of games I bought during the steam-super-sale like Thief: Dark Shadows and GTAIV. That last one was like $5 so I could hardly resist. I also bought that star wars-based RTS that I can’t remember the exact name of at the moment.  I tried it but only finished the first tutorial. Some how I thought it would look a little better. I mean it’s not that old I don’t think. I haven’t seen the space battles yet though. Maybe that’s cooler. Or maybe I just missed a details slider or something I don’t know. I’m off now to have a semi-good 4th of July.

Today was largely uneventful I think, I just did the volunteer thing and left around 4:00 only to get stuck in some traffic. I had the air going and the podcast aplayin so I wasn’t really all that unhappy just wished I had been able to leave half hour earlier.

When I got home I started to look at new phones again for some reason. What really tempted me was seeing that a Moto Droid was free with a two year contract of course. But the point is free. Then I started calculating again: free but at least $80 a month for guaranteed two years… so is it cheap? Is it really?

So a $530 Nexus One unlocked with my current unknown brand mobile carrier at $50 a month over two year is STILL cheaper than the $80 a month for two years.

Of course with the two year dealie I’m fairly certain the carrier will still be around in two years and I can add things like super-fantastic-great replacement insurance if I want. And actually get a discount through my employer or “sort of employer”.

Anyway I’m back to where I started from a month or so ago: do I jump to another carrier? Do I stick with my presumably deteriorating two year old blackberry and the $50 deal? I mean really, really want a new phone.

Of course lets look at this at least half rationally here: I already paid the full $90+ to ATT for June and then I paid $50 plus the $13 for the sim for the new carrier. In essence I paid for the same month of phone service twice to two different carriers. Do I really want to pay a third time to a third carrier for a portion of the same time period? Really?

Okay then, rationally I should wait at least a couple more weeks before doing much of anything…

I did just watch a movie which my mom rented for some reason. It was called The Crazies with Oliphan or whatever his name is. It did actually do some things right but it also did some things wrong.

I think it just left a lot of questions unanswered. I did actually managed to work some answers into the plot quite admirably but other questions I guess just weren’t meant to be answered I guess.

It was sort of like a zombie movie, and apparently Romero…well his name was some where on it I don’t know on what level exactly. They weren’t so much zombies as simply…well crazy.  Some them stabbed people with pitch forks, other hunted humans and kept the bodies in a freezer like so many deer carcasses. One thing I think I do appreciate that not all movies set in a small town setting manage was the lack of apologizing for what the small town was. I totally bought that it was a small town and that Oliphant was in fact the Sheriff. No judgments on small town values or whatever in other words. Some movies do that.

Anyway I would actually love to see a second movie cover the same series of events but from the perspective of the military/president/plane pilot. I think a lot could be done for that. The ending kind of implied a second movie could easily come and there was at least one rather emphasized plot point that was never fully resolved…well sort of I guess… Anyway there could definitely be a second movie based on that ending and I think I would see it. I don’t know if Oliphan’s role would even be necessary. I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t actually.

I think I better stop writing since my typing seems to be getting worse and worse.

Today I finished my two day job. There was almost word of a third day but they retracted that idea quickly. Then for some reason kept one of the five of us to come in tomorrow. I don’t what made him so special exactly he seemed to be one of the worst from what I could tell. But okay whatever. Well I got paid a good chunk of change for an insanely small amount of work so I’m not complaining.

I finished that around probably 4:00 at which time I call the recruiter as expected. He said he would be sending me some documents to fill out and fax back. While I was talking to me someone else called me. Apparently some other recruiter about another job, actually. This one is another hospital and she also sent me a bunch of documents for me to fill out and fax to her. Although I had more questions about those so I haven’t faxed yet.

On that subject my “multi-function printer” has continued it’s apparent freak out unfortunately. Every time I tried to put the six pages I wanted to fax on the document feeder the LCD would say to clear a paper jam or some such thing like that. It was really, really annoying. Some how I finally got it to work and it says it faxed anyway.

I also found out I won’t be working at no ski resort in the near future. It took a while and some prodding apparently to finally get a reply that they had in fact chosen a different candidate. I wasn’t really that excited about moving up to the mountains and buying a truck anyway.

Today was a much more eventful day I think. I was down volunteering as usual and I got a call from a recruiter I haven’t really heard from in like six months. Well he replied to my emails initially but then even that stopped. Anyway he calls me out of the blue and says such-and-such company needs lots of people like immediately but the job likely wouldn’t last one or two weeks and possibly it will start today or tomorrow.

Well I wasn’t expecting it to start today. Who would do that? Besides I’ve already had bad experiences accepting jobs with no interview the people I would actually be working for. But then he calls me back again and says they want me to start at 1:00 today. Which I of course accept because after all volunteer is unpaid as the name implies so why not right? I mean really.

So I walk back to the light rail station, ride that for 40 or whatever minutes, then drive down to where the job is and find the building. Luckily I found it at like 11:40 or so…then I went to have lunch at a local sandwich show so I wouldn’t be hunger whilst doing whatever I was doing. But I finished by 12:20 or so. So I went drove back to the building and sat in my car for a little while before finally going in. I waited in the lobby for maybe five minutes and the guy I was supposed to mean came out and got me to bring me in.

Okay so first thing I notice a familiar face: one of the guys there is a guy I worked with in 2006 or so. So that was fun kind of catching up with him. But apparently they brought us in too early because they didn’t have anything ready. No PCs, no details, not much of anything. Keep in mind I didn’t actually have any form of job description up to this point.

So we sat there, and sat there and sat there. Eventually some details about the assignment started to trickle in a little at a time. It involves searching lots and lots of PSTs for emails of a particular date. I guess they really needed it done fast enough they couldn’t have their IT staff do it. Or something.

Anyway we finally started to get to work around 4:00pm. So ya, that’s three hours of sitting and doing nothing. And I didn’t even bring in my bag so I couldn’t even study that whole time. Maybe I could have gone out and got it I don’t know. I thought they could start the working at any moment. I mean I shouldn’t complain about being idle for three hours since I was after all being paid for being there.

I think we got all the bugs worked out at least the task should go relatively quickly tomorrow. I’m assuming (perhaps unfortunately?) the task will be completed tomorrow with plenty of time to spare.

Other than that my less-then-six-month-old all-in-one printer/scanner seems to be having some difficulty. When I booted it up the software said something about a new cartridge being installed and asked me if I wanted to “align the heads”. Since it’s not a new cartridge I said no. But apparently the device itself was stuck on that. So this froze up the stupid scanner software. So I unplugged it and plugged it back in and it’s still stuck. So I don’t know what the hell is up. I kind of wish I had put more effort into filing that paper work for the extended warranty. Which I may need. Just saying. Okay I guess that’s it.

It wasn’t quite as hot today. Probably a mere 100 or so as opposed to 105. Still I some how didn’t sleep that well and I was more then adequately “out of it”.

By 5:00 I was way more than adequately out of steam as well and I left even though apparently people were still working. But I’m a volunteer and want to get home at a decent time so I left. Only I had to walk to the light rail and it was probably the hottest point in the whole day. Except not quite maybe because there were plenty of shadows. Anyway to put it mildly I was tired before I started walking and now I’m even more tired.

So as I tell myself every night I’m going to go to bed early tonight. Get lots of sleep.  Actually I’m pretty well on track for that now as I write my blog entry and have dinner done by 7:15. This must be incredibly dull to whatever imaginary people are reading this.

I did more PC installing and lots of PC moving today. It was exhausting and boring and I don’t know why I’m still doing it. I mean I am doing it for free after all. I guess I don’t technically have to do it. I think I might feel this way even if I was being paid for it.  Apparently my stamina is waning or something.

In the steam sale GTA IV was for sale for $5 so I couldn’t resist. Might be a while before it finishes downloading though. That’s okay since I can’t imagine being capable of playing before Saturday. Even Then I don’t know if I’ll be playing it or not. Just one of those games in my “to play” queue I guess. Behind apparently re-playing ME 1 and 2 thanks to my bad hard drive. After those two probably try out FO3 and another RPG that I apparently can’t remember in my current state. The latest bioware one. That I got for Christmas and then barely played… Oh and I always wanted to finish the first Baldur’s Gate…someday. Then, possibly at the bottom of the list along side Saint’s Row 2 is GTA IV. Oh and Guild Wars. I always wanted to at least finish the first campaign of GW. Ya…some day…some day.

Today it was around 105 degrees (American) where I was working. I mean I was only outside long enough to go to and from the car at lunch and whatever but it still managed to hit me like a ton of bricks. Also around 6:30 this evening when my car’s engine took an incredibly long time to warm up (ironically) such that the air conditioner would work it was incredibly hot. Like 100+. Times like these I kind of wished I did live way the hell up in the mountains or whatever. At least it would be cooler.

Whilst I was inside I replaced quite a few PCs with new PCs. In fact I’m pretty sure I did probably five or six today. I don’t know if that sounds like a lot but there were a lot of interruptions and difficulties with printer installs and slow copy speeds as I backed up and restored user data. Really it was a pretty productive day, at least for me. And that jamba juice with “energy boost” I had around 1:30 or whatever certainly hit the spot. I don’t know what’s in an energy boost but it certainly is fantastic. Also, jamba juice on a day when it’s 100+ out is rather wonderful.

The only other thing of note I think is that I noted today (I happen to be a radio shack) that ATT has a new android-based phone out, by HTC no less. And it’s a mere $130 with the dreaded two-year contract. More like $440 or something like that just retail. I’ve decided I am going to keep my current cell carrier at least through July or August or something. Why you ask? Because my timing kind of sucked and I ended up paying both ATT and my new carrier for the same month. So it came out to $60 + $90.  It was $60 or so because I got the plan with the SIM card and then the $90 from ATT because that’s just what they were charging. So to feel like I actually saved money on this new carrier deal it seems like I would have to keep them at least 2 or 3 billing cycles, thus saving money over ATT.

On the other hand I’m not especially impressed with my new carrier for a couple reasons: when I try to set up an auto-pay for the following month the web site just gives me some error message. Also my blackberry can’t do email any more. Which is beyond annoying. I mean that was one of the biggest features of the stupid blackberry was getting my email any place. And now I can’t even use that feature? What?

So it is tempting to go crawling back to ATT anyway and get the cheap android with the two year thing except for that remote possibility of that ski resort wanting to hire me. I’m not sure there’s a signal up there in the mountains. Maybe on Verizon I don’t know. Some how I just want to wait until I find out before I got jumping this way and that. Also the prices of the various phones seem to drop some time after the new Apple product is released so there’s no reason to go jumping this way and that if the price is going to drop in a month or whatever. Right?

Okay I guess I’ll mention one more thing: I was over at my sister’s place the other night and I guess they had rented the Disney movie “The Tooth Farie” featuring The Rock for the toddler or whatever. It was just too slow and talk-heavy for her though. So the three of use finished watching it anyway.

It actually wasn’t that bad of a movie. I was quite surprised. There’s even a few cameos from people like Billy Cristal and some others I probably didn’t recognize or whatever.  Anyway for the 10-year-old or whatever crowd that would probably be a super great “family” kind of movie.

Okay one last thing: I went browsing through my comments all auto-classified as “spam” right now and wow, it seems like some of those are possibly legit. Then I looked at my stats page for the blog and it’s up past 400+ although that’s only in a given month. I think that’s good. Then I looked at the average time spent on a page and it was like 90% less than thirty seconds. So really how many visitors do a I have really? I mean seriously. So now I’m confused again.

This morning I woke up for some reason at 5:30 or 6. Apparently I only got about six hours of sleep. I couldn’t seem to go back to sleep for some reason. Just too bad I guess.

So I turned on my computer and eventually Border Lands finished downloading so I decided to try it as single player to see how it went. And actually it’s not that bad of a game. I mean I don’t think I have made it that far in or anything. I think I’m level 7 or something. I think it’s been said a number of times but it seems like of like a Diablo 2-like system but from first person. For instance ever time you damage an enemy a little damage number ticks up. Or if the enemy is on fire little 2s are constantly floating up  and then a little experience and number thing will float up when the enemy finally dies.

I have come across several of the famous randomly generated weapons the game was espousing when it first came out. None of them have been that special yet. The ones I think I was supposed to find have actually been pretty neat so far.

And I think I like the comedic element a lot as well. Like the first boss I had to fight was “Nine Toes” and the first time I got to him a small caption below his name read And he has three balls!. I don’t know I just thought it was kind of funny.

I picked a warrior or whatever type so I’ve used mostly hand guns, assault rifles, and shot guns. I did pick up a sniper rifle after the nine toes battle and that was kind of cool although a 3 bullet clip kind of sucks.

It actually took several iterations of dying at the hands of Nine Toes before I finally took him down. Those two hell hounds of his didn’t exactly help matters. Once I remembered I had the auto-turret to help me out it got a little easier. Also I through a lot of sticky bombs at him.

The steam sale is still going but I haven’t purchased anything else. For that matter I haven’t tried all the games I have purchased so far. For some reason I always want to get them while they’re cheap whether I really ever get to them or not. I almost purchased the Guild Wars trilogy yesterday but decided I should probably work on finishing the first game before I worry about the second two. Although if they hit for $5 or whatever on the steam sale I don’t know that I’ll be able to resist. But $20 or whatever? I don’t think so. I just don’t think I’ll be willing to put in the time to make it worth the purchase.