Forgive me Blogger for I have sinned, it's been a week since my last post...
Now that I'm going to burn in hell for mocking confession (it might not count though since I'm not catholic) I can begin my story.
I now know why the transportation industry is having so many problems. THEY'RE COMPLETE MORONS!!! Let's see, I want to take a plane to Rochester from Philly, that'll be $600+ for a 7 hr flight and a layover in ORLANDO! Does this make sense to anyone else? Now obviously that was just an extreme (although real) example. It really is crazy though. Bus, plane, train... it's all that bad. Amtrak's routes in PA only go east and west, nothing north. I can either go west and take a train out to Pittsburgh then Cincinnati then Buffalo then Rochester, or I can go east via Philly, Trenton, NYC, Albany, Syracuse, Rochester. Either way it would mean traveling through 3 states in a circular pattern just to go directly north (more or less) of my present location. How about Greyhound? They use roads and therefore would be more direct right? Wrong. I'm looking at 13 hrs by bus give or take 2 hrs depending on route. I'd really rather not waste 2 entire days traveling.
So let's recap my options so far:
Bus - >$100 but ridiculously long trip
Train - >$150, not quite as long a trip (about half the time of a bus) but incredibly round-about route
Plane - $200 - $300 (avg), get there much faster but very few direct flights (I'd have to travel out of the way to get to an airport and then most likely I'd have to have someone pick me up in Syracuse or Buffalo)
Those aren't looking all the great. There is still the slimmest hope that I might be able to convince my parents to let me drive up there but that's not looking too good (even though it would be the cheapest/easiest solution). I'll have to check out AAA and see if they have any bus trips going upstate to see if I could use for a ride or something. It could work but you never know.
One last thing while I'm on the topic...
Why in the world are the online system of these places so screwed up? Greyhound listed a 12hr bus to Buffalo that actually stops in Rochester before it goes on to Buffalo, yet when I looked at the buses to Rochester that one wasn't an option. Planes were the same way. There was one from Harrisburg to Philly to Rochester but they didn't list anything when I checked for Philly to Rochester. Is it really that tough to make this crap work right and make sense?
I've come to the conclusion that personal transporters are the only easy way to get from point A to point B, since they don't exist yet we'll just have to suffer through more and more stupidity as we wait it out.
Mark my words though, I WILL set foot on Rochesterian soil (I'm sure one of the many of you will correct me if this is not the correct term for "your people").
Eric
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Sunday, May 22, 2005
It was fun while it lasted
I'm not quite sure how to say this to you. You've been good to me. But I just don't feel like I'm treating you right. I just don't feel like my heart's in it anymore. You deserve better than that. You're meant to be admired. And I'm just not able to get you the attention you deserve. It's not you, it's me. I just need some time to figure things out. I'll come back to you once I've had a chance to clear my head. Don't get me wrong, you're great. I just need to get some things straightened out before we can be together. Once I get this all worked out I should finally be able to treat you right. Can we still be friends? I hope so. I still want to see you from time to time. This doesn't mean it's over, it's just a break to make sure this is really right before things turn long term. Trust me, this is as hard for you as it is for me. I want you to know that I still care about you. If it's meant to be then I'll be back to you. I just have one more thing I need you to know... Blog, I will miss you.
Ok, now to the serious part. I'm writing to let everyone know (all 3 of you that read this) that I'm no longer going to be doing the whole daily update thing. I realized that the only people that read it are ones I talk to regularly anyway. So it just seems like wasted effort. Even the couple of you that normally read it don't even seem to be able to keep up sometimes so I think it should just back it off a notch. I'm still going to write from time to time when I get the urge, just not every day.
If there were actually those of you that enjoyed having something new to read daily then be sure to let me know. Otherwise I'll assume that no one really cares. I'll probably start updating daily again once I get back to Pitt.
Stay classy San Diego and thanks for stopping by,
Eric
Ok, now to the serious part. I'm writing to let everyone know (all 3 of you that read this) that I'm no longer going to be doing the whole daily update thing. I realized that the only people that read it are ones I talk to regularly anyway. So it just seems like wasted effort. Even the couple of you that normally read it don't even seem to be able to keep up sometimes so I think it should just back it off a notch. I'm still going to write from time to time when I get the urge, just not every day.
If there were actually those of you that enjoyed having something new to read daily then be sure to let me know. Otherwise I'll assume that no one really cares. I'll probably start updating daily again once I get back to Pitt.
Stay classy San Diego and thanks for stopping by,
Eric
Friday, May 20, 2005
Can't keep me down, I'm a fighter
JD Web tried to keep me from accessing the internets (the "s" is an inside joke) but I'm back. I really do hate them. If you ever hear their name run in the other direction. They are scum. Pure and simple. It's nothing new to try to connect to the internet and they deny you for absolutely no reason. Then if you call it's mysteriously your fault (even when I know they've been having server issues and nothing on your computer would cause the error it's giving).
Let's summarize: I hate JD Web. Any questions? Good.
My job still sucks. At least the other guys are agreeing so it definitely isn't just me. Rather than go on and on about it I'm just going to let it go and spare any of you that might actually take the time to read this.
Why is it that I always have planned out all sorts of stuff that I want to say but then when it comes time to sit down and actually say it that I draw a blank? I seem to be doing that a lot lately. Maybe it's a result of stress or something like that. Who knows. Maybe I'll remember at some point.
I saw something really disturbing tonight. My mom and brother were watching the muppet wizard of oz tonight so I sat there and watched it too. Now I remember watching the muppets as a kid. However what I don't remember was them making sexual jokes and using innuendo. For instance Toto (who was a giant prawn rather than a dog) walks up to the "TIN Thing" (Gonzo) and proceeds to say "What do these do?" and then reaches over to Gonzo's chest. Gonzo replies, "Nothing, those are my nipples." I could not believe what I just heard. A muppet use the word "nipple"!?!? Unheard of in my day. I can't remember any of the other blatant examples even though I know I had come up with a few more. Although at the end I know Miss Piggy grabs Kermit's ass. My how the times have changed...
I can't remember all the other good stuff that I had to say so I guess it's just going to be saved for later.
Ladies, gentlemen, and ambiguously gendered penguins,
Good night!
Eric
Let's summarize: I hate JD Web. Any questions? Good.
My job still sucks. At least the other guys are agreeing so it definitely isn't just me. Rather than go on and on about it I'm just going to let it go and spare any of you that might actually take the time to read this.
Why is it that I always have planned out all sorts of stuff that I want to say but then when it comes time to sit down and actually say it that I draw a blank? I seem to be doing that a lot lately. Maybe it's a result of stress or something like that. Who knows. Maybe I'll remember at some point.
I saw something really disturbing tonight. My mom and brother were watching the muppet wizard of oz tonight so I sat there and watched it too. Now I remember watching the muppets as a kid. However what I don't remember was them making sexual jokes and using innuendo. For instance Toto (who was a giant prawn rather than a dog) walks up to the "TIN Thing" (Gonzo) and proceeds to say "What do these do?" and then reaches over to Gonzo's chest. Gonzo replies, "Nothing, those are my nipples." I could not believe what I just heard. A muppet use the word "nipple"!?!? Unheard of in my day. I can't remember any of the other blatant examples even though I know I had come up with a few more. Although at the end I know Miss Piggy grabs Kermit's ass. My how the times have changed...
I can't remember all the other good stuff that I had to say so I guess it's just going to be saved for later.
Ladies, gentlemen, and ambiguously gendered penguins,
Good night!
Eric
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
I guess I should be flattered
It happened again, someone wanted me fixed up with their daughter. I know this doesn't happen often but it's happened on a number of occasions. Usually it's my mom trying to fix me up with someone or trying to convince me that I should go for some girl even though I know for a fact that the aren't interested in me. Like I said, I'm used to that. For whatever reason she seems to be really over-eager for me to find someone and decides she should try to help rather than leave me to my own devices. I'm convinced that I'll come home for break sometime and she'll be letting me know when my wedding is (I'll of course have to ask her permission to meet my bride first).
So anyway back to people trying to fix me up with their daughters... Like I said, it isn't the first time it's happened. For whatever reason a lot of people's parents seem to decide that they really like me and think that I'm the type of guy they want their daughters to be with. Normally either the daughters have other opinions (unfortunately) or the simple fact that their parents like me and encourage them to give me a chance is enough to make them think otherwise.
Here's how it went down.
We took my mom out for a late birthday dinner. After dinner since we were in Selinsgrove already my dad wanted to go to the wal mart down there to try to find a battery for the lawn tractor. On the way in to the store I see some guy in a truck that was about to pull out of the parking lot waving at us to stop. It was a friend of my mom and his daughter. So he pulled off to the side and got out. Turns out he had needed to call her about something and figured this was just as good. So as they're talking he says something to me about how his daughter had decided not to go to Pitt for grad school and was going to Gannon (towards Erie) and told me to go ask her about getting lost when she was out in Pittsburgh. I went over and we talked for a few minutes. It had been a long time since I had seen her and wasn't even sure that she'd remember me. She did. After they leave my mom commented that "I don't think she's seeing anyone right now." Typical. Like I said, she's always trying to fix me up. I started to tell her to CTFO (if you aren't familiar with the concept you should ask Mendick about that one). She then informs me that it was the dad's idea. WTF!?! She said that he had hoped she'd pick Pitt for grad school because I was out there and I could "look after her". This is even more surprising because he's a hardcore Penn State fan (I think he bleeds blue and white) and therefore has always given me crap about how I'm wasting my time at a place like Pitt. So yeah, to want his baby to go to a rival school because of a guy is kinda major. Now obviously this was his idea, not her's. She's certainly an attractive girl as far as that goes but still... The idea of fixed marriages and such just don't really seem to suit me. I guess it's a compliment to me that he trusts me like that or thinks that much of me. Whatever though. Not like I did anything special. Maybe I just have that effect on some people?
I'm definitely gonna continue my own pursuits. I really don't think I need parents (mine or someone else's) to help me out. I think I can do just fine on my own (or with the occasional help of a friend or 2). All is certainly not lost just because I'm still currently single. That'll change, I know that for sure.
The first night I had the pager it went off. Was there any doubt? 2:30am and I get the little beep beep beep telling me there's a problem. It was blackboard (yes they use it too). But of course that's one of the systems that you aren't supposed to do anything about till 6. 3 minutes after receiving the first page I got a second saying the server was back online. It turns out that I was never supposed to get the notification in the first place. I wasn't pleased. Last night it didn't go off. It waited till this morning to go off and it was my.bucknell.edu that was down (yes they have the web portal too). I called my boss and it was scheduled but the notification system didn't know it.
Lunch break is just about over so I'm finished for now. I might post tonight like normal.
That is all,
Eric
So anyway back to people trying to fix me up with their daughters... Like I said, it isn't the first time it's happened. For whatever reason a lot of people's parents seem to decide that they really like me and think that I'm the type of guy they want their daughters to be with. Normally either the daughters have other opinions (unfortunately) or the simple fact that their parents like me and encourage them to give me a chance is enough to make them think otherwise.
Here's how it went down.
We took my mom out for a late birthday dinner. After dinner since we were in Selinsgrove already my dad wanted to go to the wal mart down there to try to find a battery for the lawn tractor. On the way in to the store I see some guy in a truck that was about to pull out of the parking lot waving at us to stop. It was a friend of my mom and his daughter. So he pulled off to the side and got out. Turns out he had needed to call her about something and figured this was just as good. So as they're talking he says something to me about how his daughter had decided not to go to Pitt for grad school and was going to Gannon (towards Erie) and told me to go ask her about getting lost when she was out in Pittsburgh. I went over and we talked for a few minutes. It had been a long time since I had seen her and wasn't even sure that she'd remember me. She did. After they leave my mom commented that "I don't think she's seeing anyone right now." Typical. Like I said, she's always trying to fix me up. I started to tell her to CTFO (if you aren't familiar with the concept you should ask Mendick about that one). She then informs me that it was the dad's idea. WTF!?! She said that he had hoped she'd pick Pitt for grad school because I was out there and I could "look after her". This is even more surprising because he's a hardcore Penn State fan (I think he bleeds blue and white) and therefore has always given me crap about how I'm wasting my time at a place like Pitt. So yeah, to want his baby to go to a rival school because of a guy is kinda major. Now obviously this was his idea, not her's. She's certainly an attractive girl as far as that goes but still... The idea of fixed marriages and such just don't really seem to suit me. I guess it's a compliment to me that he trusts me like that or thinks that much of me. Whatever though. Not like I did anything special. Maybe I just have that effect on some people?
I'm definitely gonna continue my own pursuits. I really don't think I need parents (mine or someone else's) to help me out. I think I can do just fine on my own (or with the occasional help of a friend or 2). All is certainly not lost just because I'm still currently single. That'll change, I know that for sure.
The first night I had the pager it went off. Was there any doubt? 2:30am and I get the little beep beep beep telling me there's a problem. It was blackboard (yes they use it too). But of course that's one of the systems that you aren't supposed to do anything about till 6. 3 minutes after receiving the first page I got a second saying the server was back online. It turns out that I was never supposed to get the notification in the first place. I wasn't pleased. Last night it didn't go off. It waited till this morning to go off and it was my.bucknell.edu that was down (yes they have the web portal too). I called my boss and it was scheduled but the notification system didn't know it.
Lunch break is just about over so I'm finished for now. I might post tonight like normal.
That is all,
Eric
Monday, May 16, 2005
I feel like Mr. Popular today
My cell phone never rings this much in one day. It's actually kinda fun. You know, feeling wanted and all. In addition to the phone calls I now have a pager for work. The number is... Do you really think I'd be dumb enough to tell you my work pager number? You know it's going to be right next to my head at all hours of the night so I can be awake if it goes off. I know someone would decide to be an asshole and page me at like 4 am just for fun.
It's not too bad from the sound of it. They said things don't go down all that often. So basically I'm being paid an extra $70 a check to wear this every other week. Not too shabby. It makes me feel like I have some power/responsibility or something. No, I'm not on a power trip. I can't stop playing with this stupid thing. And I keep checking it for no reason whatsoever. Well, maybe there is a reason after all... It's there.
I decided that I'm going to buy a wireless adapter for the TiVo I soon plan on purchasing. I know, I keep finding new things to buy or that I want to buy. It happens. I can't help it. At least the wireless serves a practical purpose. It allows me to have the channel guide on the TiVo without having to run wires all over the place. See, now that's useful. I figure as long as I can justify a purchase and will be able to use it whether I'm at home or at school then I should be good as long as I have the money and can afford it. Sounds reasonable enough to me. So I'll probably be buying most if not all of my list this summer... (I can justify anything).
Two of the new guys started today. They don't seem too bad. Hopefully they'll make for a better work environment, especially if we're all stuck doing stuff we didn't think we were signing on for. The guy that's supposed to be carrying the pager this week never showed up for our meeting so I got it this week even though I wasn't supposed to take a shift till next week. Who knows what happened to that guy. I can't do everything I'm supposed to yet because I don't have a computer account at Bucknell yet (I was lucky enough to talk to the right person about getting the WEP key so I could get on the wireless).
I need to make a note to remember to call the eye doctor to schedule an appointment to get my contacts looked at again so they'll let me order more of this new prescription. I keep forgetting about it. I guess I should take the number to work with me and call over my lunch break and schedule something for sometime after work this week so that can be out of the way. I haven't been wearing my contacts since I've been home because they are almost to the point of needing replaced so I'm rationing them so as not to have cloudy contacts when I go in to have them checked out.
Got my tax return today. My dad had made it sound like I wasn't going to be getting much of anything back. I consider $45 getting more than just a couple of bucks back. That's only because they didn't listen to me when I told them not to take out taxes in the first place. I don't see the sense in letting the government hold your money for you without giving you any interest just so you can get it all back at tax time. So instead I tell them not to take any taxes out and that way I either get a little back or I only have to pay in a couple of dollars. It's nice to have my money when I get paid rather than to wait till may to get a refund check.
Guess I need to go to bed a few min early so I can be up a few min early to check on Bucknell's system.
Hope the pager doesn't go off tonight,
Eric
It's not too bad from the sound of it. They said things don't go down all that often. So basically I'm being paid an extra $70 a check to wear this every other week. Not too shabby. It makes me feel like I have some power/responsibility or something. No, I'm not on a power trip. I can't stop playing with this stupid thing. And I keep checking it for no reason whatsoever. Well, maybe there is a reason after all... It's there.
I decided that I'm going to buy a wireless adapter for the TiVo I soon plan on purchasing. I know, I keep finding new things to buy or that I want to buy. It happens. I can't help it. At least the wireless serves a practical purpose. It allows me to have the channel guide on the TiVo without having to run wires all over the place. See, now that's useful. I figure as long as I can justify a purchase and will be able to use it whether I'm at home or at school then I should be good as long as I have the money and can afford it. Sounds reasonable enough to me. So I'll probably be buying most if not all of my list this summer... (I can justify anything).
Two of the new guys started today. They don't seem too bad. Hopefully they'll make for a better work environment, especially if we're all stuck doing stuff we didn't think we were signing on for. The guy that's supposed to be carrying the pager this week never showed up for our meeting so I got it this week even though I wasn't supposed to take a shift till next week. Who knows what happened to that guy. I can't do everything I'm supposed to yet because I don't have a computer account at Bucknell yet (I was lucky enough to talk to the right person about getting the WEP key so I could get on the wireless).
I need to make a note to remember to call the eye doctor to schedule an appointment to get my contacts looked at again so they'll let me order more of this new prescription. I keep forgetting about it. I guess I should take the number to work with me and call over my lunch break and schedule something for sometime after work this week so that can be out of the way. I haven't been wearing my contacts since I've been home because they are almost to the point of needing replaced so I'm rationing them so as not to have cloudy contacts when I go in to have them checked out.
Got my tax return today. My dad had made it sound like I wasn't going to be getting much of anything back. I consider $45 getting more than just a couple of bucks back. That's only because they didn't listen to me when I told them not to take out taxes in the first place. I don't see the sense in letting the government hold your money for you without giving you any interest just so you can get it all back at tax time. So instead I tell them not to take any taxes out and that way I either get a little back or I only have to pay in a couple of dollars. It's nice to have my money when I get paid rather than to wait till may to get a refund check.
Guess I need to go to bed a few min early so I can be up a few min early to check on Bucknell's system.
Hope the pager doesn't go off tonight,
Eric
Sunday, May 15, 2005
Tech Junkie: Fun but expensive
It's true, we all know that I'm a tech junkie. I see something cool and have to have it. I can't help myself. I need to buy nice toys. So right now I'm looking at buying a TiVo for next year. Then I also found that I might really like to have an airport express. Then there's also the new DVD burner I want. We're only talking like $500 total... Yeah I know. It is a lot. The TiVo and the DVD burner have obvious uses, but the airport express is just cool right? Wrong. Picture this... I'm sitting in the living room listening to music on the stereo. The music is being streamed to the stereo from my computer. My computer is being controlled by my palm. Now that's a setup! I could also use it to share my internet connection wirelessly which would be nice. Probably wouldn't use it as a print server but I could. See, everything has a purpose aside from just being cool. Wow, the more I think about this stuff the more I want it. I'm like a kid only with more refined tastes (that also happen to be a lot more expensive than the typical $10 action figure).
Like I said before, today was my mom's b-day. It was pretty laid back. It pretty much consisted of making Speedie's for lunch (it's a sandwich made of marinated meat cubes, chicken or beef or whatever, on a steak bun). It's a Binghamton, NY thing and that's the only place you can get the right sauce from (good thing they have mail order). Making pancakes for dinner. And the rest of the day before and after dinner my mom was on eBay watching an auction for a ring she wanted that was her birthstone. Again, very laid back day.
I called that women she knows from school about fixing her computer but I guess I waited too long and she wasn't home today. I tried a few times but never got a hold of her. Oh well, I left a message so if she still wants me to than I guess she'll call, if not I guess that means less work for me.
Two new guys start tomorrow. I hope I get along with them and they aren't total morons. It would really make things go a lot smoother with this lousy job if I could at least like the people I'm working with. I got my meeting for SI Triage (my on call server monitoring position) moved up to 12pm. I hope I can take a late lunch because of that or if not maybe I could just leave an hour early or something. Maybe if I'm really lucky he'll order us pizza or something. That would be acceptable.
Peace out homies (since I'm now black according to Mendick),
Eric
Like I said before, today was my mom's b-day. It was pretty laid back. It pretty much consisted of making Speedie's for lunch (it's a sandwich made of marinated meat cubes, chicken or beef or whatever, on a steak bun). It's a Binghamton, NY thing and that's the only place you can get the right sauce from (good thing they have mail order). Making pancakes for dinner. And the rest of the day before and after dinner my mom was on eBay watching an auction for a ring she wanted that was her birthstone. Again, very laid back day.
I called that women she knows from school about fixing her computer but I guess I waited too long and she wasn't home today. I tried a few times but never got a hold of her. Oh well, I left a message so if she still wants me to than I guess she'll call, if not I guess that means less work for me.
Two new guys start tomorrow. I hope I get along with them and they aren't total morons. It would really make things go a lot smoother with this lousy job if I could at least like the people I'm working with. I got my meeting for SI Triage (my on call server monitoring position) moved up to 12pm. I hope I can take a late lunch because of that or if not maybe I could just leave an hour early or something. Maybe if I'm really lucky he'll order us pizza or something. That would be acceptable.
Peace out homies (since I'm now black according to Mendick),
Eric
Never a dull moment
I almost forgot to update this tonight. It's a good thing I remembered because to skip an update would have been a travesty... Or not.
I just finished watching Super Troopers. Funny movie. It was one of the bagillion movies I have on my computer (well the external hard drive to be precise) that I've never watched. I was sitting here talking to people and figured why not. So that's what I did. While watching the movie somehow my ex asked me if priests and nuns were allowed to masturbate. How about that for a random conversation. I would assume they probably could. I mean you'd think the catholic church would encourage it if it keeps a little boy from being molested. You never know with them though. After that we started debating the breast vs penis and which holds more power. I obviously won because there's no way that we have that much power. Women have us by the balls as they say.
Apparently I was informed that I'm going to die and burn in hell if I don't make a trip up to Rochester this summer. Then I was told that the trip could be my ticket out of the eternal fires of damnation and into purgatory. I'm probably too far down to get quite that far. I'm sure they've created special circles of hell just to allow us to keep descending (right Royce?). I definitely want to get up to Ra cha cha though. I just doubt I'll die if I don't. Lose my mind maybe, death unlikely. Wouldn't it be crazy if you really could die just because you weren't able to go someplace? There'd be a lot of dead people.
We had our first big summer thunderstorm tonight. Now I realize it isn't summer yet but it was in the 70's today so I'm gonna count it. Of course since it was the first one I had to go outside and check it out as the storm was rolling in. I loving being outside during storms. It's especially cool right before the rain starts. It's all dark out, the wind starts to pick up, the air is starting to get heavy signaling the approach of rain. Good stuff. Then after it started really getting bad my mom decides to send me out in the storm to go get hamburger buns for dinner. Right as she was about to hand me some money we lost power for a minute. So after it came back on I had to run down the hill to get buns and skim milk. Now obviously I didn't actually run down the hill. It would have been kinda silly to go out in a raging storm and run a mile and a half both ways just to get buns and a half gallon of skim milk. When I got to the gas station I walked over to the milk. The one one the end was dated like 3 weeks ago (April 2x something) so I saw that the next one said May 15 and took it figuring it was current. It wasn't till I got it home that I realized the 15th was tomorrow (now today). So much for that.
I ordered my overly expensive sunglasses today. I found them $30 less online than they were at the Sunglass Hut. Mendick even said it was a "good deal" and gave them his stamp of approval so you know they must be good right? Well see. But for the price they better be.
It's my mom's 50th b-day today. Don't know what/if we have anything planned for her. She threatened us with bodily harm if anyone tried to do anything special like a surprise party or anything like that. So other than taking her out for dinner I doubt much is gonna happen. I think I'm supposed to go see if I can fix a computer for one of the women she works with tomorrow. Haven't talked to the lady yet so I don't know if that's gonna happen or not. If it does maybe I'll be lucky and it'll be a quick fix. Very glad I didn't have to get up and do that program this morning. Definitely would have been a waste of time in my opinion. I would have been beat. Oh wait... I am.
Don't let the door knob hit ya where the good lord split ya,
Eric
I just finished watching Super Troopers. Funny movie. It was one of the bagillion movies I have on my computer (well the external hard drive to be precise) that I've never watched. I was sitting here talking to people and figured why not. So that's what I did. While watching the movie somehow my ex asked me if priests and nuns were allowed to masturbate. How about that for a random conversation. I would assume they probably could. I mean you'd think the catholic church would encourage it if it keeps a little boy from being molested. You never know with them though. After that we started debating the breast vs penis and which holds more power. I obviously won because there's no way that we have that much power. Women have us by the balls as they say.
Apparently I was informed that I'm going to die and burn in hell if I don't make a trip up to Rochester this summer. Then I was told that the trip could be my ticket out of the eternal fires of damnation and into purgatory. I'm probably too far down to get quite that far. I'm sure they've created special circles of hell just to allow us to keep descending (right Royce?). I definitely want to get up to Ra cha cha though. I just doubt I'll die if I don't. Lose my mind maybe, death unlikely. Wouldn't it be crazy if you really could die just because you weren't able to go someplace? There'd be a lot of dead people.
We had our first big summer thunderstorm tonight. Now I realize it isn't summer yet but it was in the 70's today so I'm gonna count it. Of course since it was the first one I had to go outside and check it out as the storm was rolling in. I loving being outside during storms. It's especially cool right before the rain starts. It's all dark out, the wind starts to pick up, the air is starting to get heavy signaling the approach of rain. Good stuff. Then after it started really getting bad my mom decides to send me out in the storm to go get hamburger buns for dinner. Right as she was about to hand me some money we lost power for a minute. So after it came back on I had to run down the hill to get buns and skim milk. Now obviously I didn't actually run down the hill. It would have been kinda silly to go out in a raging storm and run a mile and a half both ways just to get buns and a half gallon of skim milk. When I got to the gas station I walked over to the milk. The one one the end was dated like 3 weeks ago (April 2x something) so I saw that the next one said May 15 and took it figuring it was current. It wasn't till I got it home that I realized the 15th was tomorrow (now today). So much for that.
I ordered my overly expensive sunglasses today. I found them $30 less online than they were at the Sunglass Hut. Mendick even said it was a "good deal" and gave them his stamp of approval so you know they must be good right? Well see. But for the price they better be.
It's my mom's 50th b-day today. Don't know what/if we have anything planned for her. She threatened us with bodily harm if anyone tried to do anything special like a surprise party or anything like that. So other than taking her out for dinner I doubt much is gonna happen. I think I'm supposed to go see if I can fix a computer for one of the women she works with tomorrow. Haven't talked to the lady yet so I don't know if that's gonna happen or not. If it does maybe I'll be lucky and it'll be a quick fix. Very glad I didn't have to get up and do that program this morning. Definitely would have been a waste of time in my opinion. I would have been beat. Oh wait... I am.
Don't let the door knob hit ya where the good lord split ya,
Eric
Friday, May 13, 2005
I am a wind-up monkey
I'm really sick of jobs where I have no rights. I'm just like one of those wind up monkeys, you point it in the right direction and expect it to do it's thing and that's that. I got explained to today that the donuts in the break room weren't for me because I was a "student". Newsflash, I don't go to Bucknell!!! Therefore I am not a BU student. I get all the crappy jobs that people want done so they don't have to do it. That's why I've spent the past 3 days moving and stacking and unpacking and unpackaging, and barcode scanning those 200 access points. It sucks. I shouldn't hate my job this much after only 1 week.
I finally got my internet access. I took my laptop to work and asked if I could get the WEP key. My supervisor said I'd probably have to go to the Lib and get them to do it for me if I was allowed to be on it. No thanks. So I asked her boss about it. He picks up a pen and hands it to me. It was that easy. Then my supervisor comes in and informs me that I won't be able to have my laptop there and use it at all once some of the other guys start Monday because she didn't want to have to deal with people fighting over my laptop. Is it just me or does that sound like it has a pretty easy solution? Oooooh oooooh, I know I know!!! (raises hand) I use MY laptop and they can deal with it. Problem solved.
I skipped lunch today and took my laptop over to the Lib and curled up in a bean bag. I almost passed out. That would have been bad. I skipped lunch because right after work we were going to meet some of the family who had come in for dinner. They took us to Hoss's and told us to get whatever we wanted. I got a nice big steak. Very tasty.
So today was Friday the 13th. I never even thought about that. Go figure. Years ago that would have been pretty cool. Guess I must have grown out of that phase or something. Happens to most of us at some point in our lives.
I really hope I can convince my mom that I don't have to go with her tomorrow morning. She agreed to go do a presentation at a program they're having at this one school and wants me to go. I just found out about it tonight and would really rather not. Besides, I'd have to get up early and go there for 2 hours only to come right home. No thanks.
Wish me luck,
Eric
I finally got my internet access. I took my laptop to work and asked if I could get the WEP key. My supervisor said I'd probably have to go to the Lib and get them to do it for me if I was allowed to be on it. No thanks. So I asked her boss about it. He picks up a pen and hands it to me. It was that easy. Then my supervisor comes in and informs me that I won't be able to have my laptop there and use it at all once some of the other guys start Monday because she didn't want to have to deal with people fighting over my laptop. Is it just me or does that sound like it has a pretty easy solution? Oooooh oooooh, I know I know!!! (raises hand) I use MY laptop and they can deal with it. Problem solved.
I skipped lunch today and took my laptop over to the Lib and curled up in a bean bag. I almost passed out. That would have been bad. I skipped lunch because right after work we were going to meet some of the family who had come in for dinner. They took us to Hoss's and told us to get whatever we wanted. I got a nice big steak. Very tasty.
So today was Friday the 13th. I never even thought about that. Go figure. Years ago that would have been pretty cool. Guess I must have grown out of that phase or something. Happens to most of us at some point in our lives.
I really hope I can convince my mom that I don't have to go with her tomorrow morning. She agreed to go do a presentation at a program they're having at this one school and wants me to go. I just found out about it tonight and would really rather not. Besides, I'd have to get up early and go there for 2 hours only to come right home. No thanks.
Wish me luck,
Eric
Thursday, May 12, 2005
NOW WITH PICTURES!!!
Let me start off by saying that I was a total moron today. Have you ever locked your keys in the car? I haven't either. But I did manage to lock my set of Bucknell's master keys in a room not once but twice today. I had never put them down and walked out before. I was so proud of myself. Guess I got cocky and that was my punishment. You'd think I would have learned after the first time I did it. But no, not even an hour later I locked them in yet another room. I'm an idiot.
I really don't like feeling/looking like a contractor. I'm definitely not cut out for it. Today I had to go around using CLK (caulk) and fireproof putty to fill in around conduits in the wiring closets. So that really sucked. It was messy and I didn't do a very good job. Definitely felt like I was in a different profession.
Apparently there's a rule at Bucknell that says "If any female is going to wear a polo shirt the collar must be popped." I don't think I've seen a polo shirt wearing girl yet that didn't have a popped collar. It definitely worked for them.
It was requested that I take pictures of the 200 wireless access points that I had to unpack yesterday. So I did. I'm now going to boldly go where no one has gone before and add pictures to my blog. (I know it's been done before, but not by any of my friends who have blogs so I'm the first).
That's them. If you can't tell there's a bunch more piled in that back corner too. Yup, it sucked.
After work I was walking out of the building and ran into a friend of mine who was at Bucknell to go garbage picking since it was move out day. I had my truck (suv but close enough) so I went with. I found a nice futon and it was in good condition so I took it. Don't know if I'll be able to get it to Pitt or not but it was worth a try. I had to take back roads home so as to avoid driving down Rt. 15 with the back open and a futon hanging out. Got it home alright so it's cool with me.
Tonight was my bro's band concert. Kinda odd being there, nostalgic and at the same time I was kinda glad I was done. I enjoyed when I was in the band though. Afterwards so friends of mine invited me out to Perkin's with them so since I hadn't eaten dinner yet I took them up on that. It was fun.
Work bright and early tomorrow morning.
Eric
I really don't like feeling/looking like a contractor. I'm definitely not cut out for it. Today I had to go around using CLK (caulk) and fireproof putty to fill in around conduits in the wiring closets. So that really sucked. It was messy and I didn't do a very good job. Definitely felt like I was in a different profession.
Apparently there's a rule at Bucknell that says "If any female is going to wear a polo shirt the collar must be popped." I don't think I've seen a polo shirt wearing girl yet that didn't have a popped collar. It definitely worked for them.
It was requested that I take pictures of the 200 wireless access points that I had to unpack yesterday. So I did. I'm now going to boldly go where no one has gone before and add pictures to my blog. (I know it's been done before, but not by any of my friends who have blogs so I'm the first).
That's them. If you can't tell there's a bunch more piled in that back corner too. Yup, it sucked.
After work I was walking out of the building and ran into a friend of mine who was at Bucknell to go garbage picking since it was move out day. I had my truck (suv but close enough) so I went with. I found a nice futon and it was in good condition so I took it. Don't know if I'll be able to get it to Pitt or not but it was worth a try. I had to take back roads home so as to avoid driving down Rt. 15 with the back open and a futon hanging out. Got it home alright so it's cool with me.
Tonight was my bro's band concert. Kinda odd being there, nostalgic and at the same time I was kinda glad I was done. I enjoyed when I was in the band though. Afterwards so friends of mine invited me out to Perkin's with them so since I hadn't eaten dinner yet I took them up on that. It was fun.
Work bright and early tomorrow morning.
Eric
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Time to hit you with a hybrid
I'm dubing this a "hybrid" because I'm going to mix 2 posts into 1. Obviously I never updated after work to talk about the stuff I had wanted to last night but was too tired to do so I'm just going to mix it with today's stuff.
Let me start of by acknowledging how incredibly beautiful that last 2 days have been. It's been great. Today it almost hit 90... A little hot for me but definitely not complaining about the sun. There are also certain "advantages" to being on a college campus when it's that warm... ANYWAY I'm starting to get a little bit of color already even though I've been working inside all week. Watch out, if I'm lucky I'll come back to school tan and buff. Or not, but it's fun to dream. I've been trying to partially compensate for my lack of working out (due to my job) by cutting back on my portion size. Like today at lunch I only got the 6 inch sub instead of the 12. Maybe it'll help me keep from getting fat till I can make it back to the gym regularly. (Yes, I know that I'm not fat)
I wasn't feeling so good this morning. It happens every year as soon as it gets hot again. I have this thing about starting to get dehydrated. A gatorade and a powerade later I'm feeling better. In the summer I get compulsive about drinking. I drink water and gatorade constantly to stay well hydrated.
This morning sucked. I had to unpack 200 wireless access points. If I remember to take my camera tomorrow I'm going to take a picture of all the boxes, it's insane. I never want to look at another one of those again, but that won't happen since I'm part of the crew that's going to be installing them. Yesterday when the UPS guys delivered them he called the back of his truck the "red sea" because they came in red boxes. My legs and arms were definitely sore last night from unloading all those.
Aside from all the APs in the last 2 days I've ripped out several hundred feet of wiring from various buildings on campus (mainly the chem/bio building and marts hall). They re-wired the phone system so I get to go in and tear out all the old stuff. It's kinda fun in one of those destructive senses to walk into a wiring closet and just start cutting wires and ripping boxes off the wall. But after doing it all day it gets really old.
Yesterday I decided to check out Peking Garden for lunch. Trust me, for all you locals you need to check it out. I had only ever been there for dinner. It wasn't very busy at all. The owner was waiting on people. I no sooner walked in and he had me take a seat and was bringing me soup and a pot of tea. It's a pretty good deal if you ask me, bowl of soup, pot of tea, entree, rice, fried noodles (those crunchy cracker tasting things) with duck sauce, and a fortune cookie for $5.25. The service was good since it was the owner. He no sooner heard the clink of ice in your glass and was back with a refill. Because it wasn't crowed you got your food right away. I was there for 15min and already had my meal (that was including having time to eat the soup and munch on the fried noodles). The food was really good too. The General Tso's was tender and crispy with just enough spice and they gave you a couple big pieces of fresh steamed broccoli with it. Very tasty. I was pleased so I left him a nice tip.
I really need to learn to eat slower. I'm required to take an hour for lunch. I've been going out and still having time to eat without rushing and get back with 20-30 min of my break left. So I've been walking around campus with the extra time. Admiring the scenery as they say, walking around on the back part of campus with all the trees and such, watching the animals run around, etc. It's relaxing.
Today at work my iPod was definitely proving it's worth. I had it on all day. My day consisted of Straylight Run and Fall Out Boy. Suprisingly enough those 2 groups took the whole day to get all the way through. I didn't think I had that much of their stuff but I guess I do. FYI, you should all go out and listen to "Your Name Here (Sunrise Highway)" by Straylight Run. It's been stuck in my head so maybe if I'm lucky it'll get stuck in someone else's and leave me alone (good song though).
After work I got a call about going to see a movie. I hadn't eaten dinner yet and they had so I said if I was back from getting pizza before they left I'd go with them. Well I got back just as they left so I wasn't able to go. Although I didn't really feel like seeing Miss Congeniality anyway so I guess I saved myself some money. I guess in a sense I'm glad I wasn't going with them cause not only did I avoid a movie I didn't feel like watching but I also got to watch Lost, that and I also feel very scummy from work today and wouldn't have been able to shower.
I asked yesterday if I could get access to a computer for when I have to kill time at work. They said no... Even though they spend all day on e-bay... They said it would be too much of a time waster. Let me just say though that I had to sit there for 45 min yesterday morning waiting for my supervisor to get there. She's late for everything. Late in the morning. Late after lunch. (And with my luck she's gonna google me and find this blog and then fire me after reading it. Oh well, free speech.) So today I went to the library (where they have the tech support desk) and asked about getting a temporary student account. Silly me thinking it was only fair for me to have access to the wireless network I'm helping to install. I mean seriously, why would a computer guy have any reason to use a computer?!?
Steve told me last night that he is getting a grill from his bro so now I don't need to buy one for the apartment next year. Time to move on to the next item on my list. I'm still definitely thinking about that TiVo. It was pretty nice having access to TiVo's this past year. I'm also still looking at that new DVD burner... And then there's the airport express, that looked pretty nice although I'm not completely sure if we'd use it enough to justify the price. Have to do more research. Maybe I should just start out by buying my sunglasses. I know I definitely NEED those. (I don't need that specific pair but I need a pair to wear with my contacts.)
Congratulations, I think you should all be caught up with my life now!
Ciao,
Eric
Let me start of by acknowledging how incredibly beautiful that last 2 days have been. It's been great. Today it almost hit 90... A little hot for me but definitely not complaining about the sun. There are also certain "advantages" to being on a college campus when it's that warm... ANYWAY I'm starting to get a little bit of color already even though I've been working inside all week. Watch out, if I'm lucky I'll come back to school tan and buff. Or not, but it's fun to dream. I've been trying to partially compensate for my lack of working out (due to my job) by cutting back on my portion size. Like today at lunch I only got the 6 inch sub instead of the 12. Maybe it'll help me keep from getting fat till I can make it back to the gym regularly. (Yes, I know that I'm not fat)
I wasn't feeling so good this morning. It happens every year as soon as it gets hot again. I have this thing about starting to get dehydrated. A gatorade and a powerade later I'm feeling better. In the summer I get compulsive about drinking. I drink water and gatorade constantly to stay well hydrated.
This morning sucked. I had to unpack 200 wireless access points. If I remember to take my camera tomorrow I'm going to take a picture of all the boxes, it's insane. I never want to look at another one of those again, but that won't happen since I'm part of the crew that's going to be installing them. Yesterday when the UPS guys delivered them he called the back of his truck the "red sea" because they came in red boxes. My legs and arms were definitely sore last night from unloading all those.
Aside from all the APs in the last 2 days I've ripped out several hundred feet of wiring from various buildings on campus (mainly the chem/bio building and marts hall). They re-wired the phone system so I get to go in and tear out all the old stuff. It's kinda fun in one of those destructive senses to walk into a wiring closet and just start cutting wires and ripping boxes off the wall. But after doing it all day it gets really old.
Yesterday I decided to check out Peking Garden for lunch. Trust me, for all you locals you need to check it out. I had only ever been there for dinner. It wasn't very busy at all. The owner was waiting on people. I no sooner walked in and he had me take a seat and was bringing me soup and a pot of tea. It's a pretty good deal if you ask me, bowl of soup, pot of tea, entree, rice, fried noodles (those crunchy cracker tasting things) with duck sauce, and a fortune cookie for $5.25. The service was good since it was the owner. He no sooner heard the clink of ice in your glass and was back with a refill. Because it wasn't crowed you got your food right away. I was there for 15min and already had my meal (that was including having time to eat the soup and munch on the fried noodles). The food was really good too. The General Tso's was tender and crispy with just enough spice and they gave you a couple big pieces of fresh steamed broccoli with it. Very tasty. I was pleased so I left him a nice tip.
I really need to learn to eat slower. I'm required to take an hour for lunch. I've been going out and still having time to eat without rushing and get back with 20-30 min of my break left. So I've been walking around campus with the extra time. Admiring the scenery as they say, walking around on the back part of campus with all the trees and such, watching the animals run around, etc. It's relaxing.
Today at work my iPod was definitely proving it's worth. I had it on all day. My day consisted of Straylight Run and Fall Out Boy. Suprisingly enough those 2 groups took the whole day to get all the way through. I didn't think I had that much of their stuff but I guess I do. FYI, you should all go out and listen to "Your Name Here (Sunrise Highway)" by Straylight Run. It's been stuck in my head so maybe if I'm lucky it'll get stuck in someone else's and leave me alone (good song though).
After work I got a call about going to see a movie. I hadn't eaten dinner yet and they had so I said if I was back from getting pizza before they left I'd go with them. Well I got back just as they left so I wasn't able to go. Although I didn't really feel like seeing Miss Congeniality anyway so I guess I saved myself some money. I guess in a sense I'm glad I wasn't going with them cause not only did I avoid a movie I didn't feel like watching but I also got to watch Lost, that and I also feel very scummy from work today and wouldn't have been able to shower.
I asked yesterday if I could get access to a computer for when I have to kill time at work. They said no... Even though they spend all day on e-bay... They said it would be too much of a time waster. Let me just say though that I had to sit there for 45 min yesterday morning waiting for my supervisor to get there. She's late for everything. Late in the morning. Late after lunch. (And with my luck she's gonna google me and find this blog and then fire me after reading it. Oh well, free speech.) So today I went to the library (where they have the tech support desk) and asked about getting a temporary student account. Silly me thinking it was only fair for me to have access to the wireless network I'm helping to install. I mean seriously, why would a computer guy have any reason to use a computer?!?
Steve told me last night that he is getting a grill from his bro so now I don't need to buy one for the apartment next year. Time to move on to the next item on my list. I'm still definitely thinking about that TiVo. It was pretty nice having access to TiVo's this past year. I'm also still looking at that new DVD burner... And then there's the airport express, that looked pretty nice although I'm not completely sure if we'd use it enough to justify the price. Have to do more research. Maybe I should just start out by buying my sunglasses. I know I definitely NEED those. (I don't need that specific pair but I need a pair to wear with my contacts.)
Congratulations, I think you should all be caught up with my life now!
Ciao,
Eric
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
This is a token post
I waited too long to update this tonight. I have a ton of stuff I'd like to say but I'm really tired and need to go to bed. I might update with the stuff from today sometime after I'm done with work tomorrow. I'm just so beat right now that it wouldn't be a good one anyway. I just wanted to put something up so I didn't break my stride or else I might forget more often till it gets to the point where I just don't bother anymore. Not good. Anyway that's all for now. Look for an update sometime tomorrow.
Eric
Eric
Monday, May 09, 2005
Bucknell is not Pitt
I started work at Bucknell today. Very different from Pitt. For starters there are more squirrels than people. I kid you not. There's millions of the little buggers frolicking all over the place. I might be afraid if they weren't so darn cute. I saw one trying to climb up a building as if it were a tree. He didn't make it. Stupid squirrel.
They also have grass and trees everywhere. There even a little stream thing! WTF!?! An on campus stream? Crazy I tell ya! It was dead. (Campus that is, not the stream.) I couldn't believe the lack of people. It got a little busier on campus as the day went on (and people awoke from their alcohol induced comas) but nothing like good ole' U of P. I like having people around. Trees and squirrels are nice but activity and people are much more interesting. They also lack something that we have a lot of. Culture/diversity. Bucknell is all rich white kids. Ok, so not ALL of them are rich, a couple of them were lucky enough to get big scholarships. But back to my job.
I got there in plenty of time. Found a nice place to park in front of the union. I had looked at a map to see just where I was going. For starters I must not have read the map very well cause I ended up taking a 15 min walking tour of most of the campus. I finally find the building right as the clock ticks 8. I walk in and introduce myself. I'm asked if I have a parking pass. No. Shit! I forgot my vehicle registration! 10 minute hike back across campus to my truck. Got the registration. Went back. It was now starting to get warm. Walk back in to the office. I'm told to go register my vehicle. Walk to the public safety building... it's closed. Walk back to the office. Time to try to get my paperwork filled out. I asked if I was to go to the human resources building. They say yes. I go to the HR building and guess what... wrong building. I need to go to payroll. Walk to the top of the hill and find the right building. Walk all over it. Can't find the offices. End up in the mailroom and ask for directions. Wrong floor. Finally find payroll. They want a cancelled check to set up direct deposit. That's nice but I've never written a check for my PNC account. That's what they make check cards for. Luckily I had my little card from them with my routing number and the account number so they could get the info they needed. On to the W-4 form. I fill it out as I always have and turn it in. The woman tells me I can't claim no dependents and also be exempt. WTF?!? I meet the criteria for both so why don't I write them down. I mean they are separate questions on the form. After going back and forth with this woman she finally tell me what I wanted to know (i.e. what I CAN put down). Get that done and have to go find the registrar's office to get a photo ID made. It was just a few doors down so that was easy to find. Get that made. Have to trek all the way back to the office. Now to try to register my car again. It's all good. Then she asks for my Bucknell ID#... I don't have one. Yes you do she says. I kept trying to explain that I wasn't a Bucknell student and therefore didn't have one. Finally I find out that they'll assign me one through payroll so I just need my boss to email it to her. Get my parking permit and go back to the office once more. It's now 9am...
That was my first hour (or so) on the job. I definitely wasn't too optimistic after all that hassle. Then they give me my first assignment. I get to sit in a dirty wiring closet and physically follow wires from the switch to the patch panel. It was a mess in there. 5 switches needed done and each switch has 24 ports. Oh yeah, it sucked. Till I finished it was lunch time. I got home and didn't have much time left before I needed to be back so it looks like going home for lunch isn't gonna be very good option. I got back and Gene took me out and showed me how to install the wireless access points. He was asking me all sorts of questions about what I knew and telling me all sorts of things about why things were they way they were. I'll probably learn more from him in a week than I learned in telecomm and internet construction all year. He was kind of annoyed that I hadn't made perfect right angles with the wires... That's pretty darn anal if you ask me. After that they showed me how to do some various other jobs for the remainder of the day.
I found out something that kinda left a bad taste in my mouth. The rest of my crew starts over the course of the next 2 weeks. They brought me in a week early because none of the other guys have any experience. It sounds like I'm pretty much going to have to be a supervisor and that they want me to train these guys. I'll be making the same amount of money as them (very little). Also 2 of them are still in high school and 3 of the 4 are the sons of Bucknell employees. That means they may not even want to be there, they may have just gotten the job because of their parents pulling some strings so they'd have a job this summer. That would really suck so let's hope that isn't the case.
Hopefully this job gets better. It's not looking real good right now but maybe that'll change. It would certainly be nice if it did. I definitely need to bring my iPod tomorrow or else I might lose my mind if I get stuck in a wiring closet again.
After work I convinced the rents to go to Wendy's for dinner. A taco salad and a frosty really hit the spot. Good stuff.
This is really long and I need to be up early.
Hugs and hand-pounds everybody,
Eric
They also have grass and trees everywhere. There even a little stream thing! WTF!?! An on campus stream? Crazy I tell ya! It was dead. (Campus that is, not the stream.) I couldn't believe the lack of people. It got a little busier on campus as the day went on (and people awoke from their alcohol induced comas) but nothing like good ole' U of P. I like having people around. Trees and squirrels are nice but activity and people are much more interesting. They also lack something that we have a lot of. Culture/diversity. Bucknell is all rich white kids. Ok, so not ALL of them are rich, a couple of them were lucky enough to get big scholarships. But back to my job.
I got there in plenty of time. Found a nice place to park in front of the union. I had looked at a map to see just where I was going. For starters I must not have read the map very well cause I ended up taking a 15 min walking tour of most of the campus. I finally find the building right as the clock ticks 8. I walk in and introduce myself. I'm asked if I have a parking pass. No. Shit! I forgot my vehicle registration! 10 minute hike back across campus to my truck. Got the registration. Went back. It was now starting to get warm. Walk back in to the office. I'm told to go register my vehicle. Walk to the public safety building... it's closed. Walk back to the office. Time to try to get my paperwork filled out. I asked if I was to go to the human resources building. They say yes. I go to the HR building and guess what... wrong building. I need to go to payroll. Walk to the top of the hill and find the right building. Walk all over it. Can't find the offices. End up in the mailroom and ask for directions. Wrong floor. Finally find payroll. They want a cancelled check to set up direct deposit. That's nice but I've never written a check for my PNC account. That's what they make check cards for. Luckily I had my little card from them with my routing number and the account number so they could get the info they needed. On to the W-4 form. I fill it out as I always have and turn it in. The woman tells me I can't claim no dependents and also be exempt. WTF?!? I meet the criteria for both so why don't I write them down. I mean they are separate questions on the form. After going back and forth with this woman she finally tell me what I wanted to know (i.e. what I CAN put down). Get that done and have to go find the registrar's office to get a photo ID made. It was just a few doors down so that was easy to find. Get that made. Have to trek all the way back to the office. Now to try to register my car again. It's all good. Then she asks for my Bucknell ID#... I don't have one. Yes you do she says. I kept trying to explain that I wasn't a Bucknell student and therefore didn't have one. Finally I find out that they'll assign me one through payroll so I just need my boss to email it to her. Get my parking permit and go back to the office once more. It's now 9am...
That was my first hour (or so) on the job. I definitely wasn't too optimistic after all that hassle. Then they give me my first assignment. I get to sit in a dirty wiring closet and physically follow wires from the switch to the patch panel. It was a mess in there. 5 switches needed done and each switch has 24 ports. Oh yeah, it sucked. Till I finished it was lunch time. I got home and didn't have much time left before I needed to be back so it looks like going home for lunch isn't gonna be very good option. I got back and Gene took me out and showed me how to install the wireless access points. He was asking me all sorts of questions about what I knew and telling me all sorts of things about why things were they way they were. I'll probably learn more from him in a week than I learned in telecomm and internet construction all year. He was kind of annoyed that I hadn't made perfect right angles with the wires... That's pretty darn anal if you ask me. After that they showed me how to do some various other jobs for the remainder of the day.
I found out something that kinda left a bad taste in my mouth. The rest of my crew starts over the course of the next 2 weeks. They brought me in a week early because none of the other guys have any experience. It sounds like I'm pretty much going to have to be a supervisor and that they want me to train these guys. I'll be making the same amount of money as them (very little). Also 2 of them are still in high school and 3 of the 4 are the sons of Bucknell employees. That means they may not even want to be there, they may have just gotten the job because of their parents pulling some strings so they'd have a job this summer. That would really suck so let's hope that isn't the case.
Hopefully this job gets better. It's not looking real good right now but maybe that'll change. It would certainly be nice if it did. I definitely need to bring my iPod tomorrow or else I might lose my mind if I get stuck in a wiring closet again.
After work I convinced the rents to go to Wendy's for dinner. A taco salad and a frosty really hit the spot. Good stuff.
This is really long and I need to be up early.
Hugs and hand-pounds everybody,
Eric
Sunday, May 08, 2005
Mum's the word
It is if your in England that is. Here it's just Mom. So anyway it was up early to get over to Catawissa for lunch with the extended family. It was pretty good. On the way there we saw a bald eagle fishing in the river. That was pretty darn cool to see in person.
It was a really nice day today. So nice in fact that I wore sandals, yes sandals. I never wear sandals. I guess I just decided to do something different today. I thought about broadening my horizons and trying the popped collar but my mom quickly hit me and snapped me back into reality. Sometimes I do it just because I know it annoys her. But today was mother's day so I thought it was my duty to put it back down. Although had I actually tried the pop it would have worked well because I was wearing a new shirt that had yet to develop the collar crease... Oh well.
We stopped at the Super Wal-Mart on the way home to pick up a few things. I definitely yet another reason to avoid the local strip club like the plague. There was chubby, middle-aged woman walking around in a half length t-shirt with the "Mustang Sally's" logo on it. Good thing I had some time in between then and eating because it made me sick and I had to walk by her extra quick so I wouldn't have to see any more. I guess it was kinda like the girl last night at Dunkin' Donuts with the teeth that stuck out a mile. That was kinda freaky too.
Earlier we had swung by the cemetery to put some flowers on my grandparents' grave. It was the first time I had been there since my grandmother had died (since I had to be back to school before we had the funeral). It was really windy and was blowing everyone's flowers around. They still haven't come to carve the date on her stone, guess they're waiting till it gets warm and stays that way.
Tomorrow morning is gonna be kinda rough since I have to be up at an ungodly hour to go to work. Hopefully I can find where I'm going. I'm thinking tomorrow will be a whole lot of me getting my bearings and finding out what the summer is gonna have in store for me. Hopefully it'll be cool.
Guess I'll keep it short tonight.
Eric
It was a really nice day today. So nice in fact that I wore sandals, yes sandals. I never wear sandals. I guess I just decided to do something different today. I thought about broadening my horizons and trying the popped collar but my mom quickly hit me and snapped me back into reality. Sometimes I do it just because I know it annoys her. But today was mother's day so I thought it was my duty to put it back down. Although had I actually tried the pop it would have worked well because I was wearing a new shirt that had yet to develop the collar crease... Oh well.
We stopped at the Super Wal-Mart on the way home to pick up a few things. I definitely yet another reason to avoid the local strip club like the plague. There was chubby, middle-aged woman walking around in a half length t-shirt with the "Mustang Sally's" logo on it. Good thing I had some time in between then and eating because it made me sick and I had to walk by her extra quick so I wouldn't have to see any more. I guess it was kinda like the girl last night at Dunkin' Donuts with the teeth that stuck out a mile. That was kinda freaky too.
Earlier we had swung by the cemetery to put some flowers on my grandparents' grave. It was the first time I had been there since my grandmother had died (since I had to be back to school before we had the funeral). It was really windy and was blowing everyone's flowers around. They still haven't come to carve the date on her stone, guess they're waiting till it gets warm and stays that way.
Tomorrow morning is gonna be kinda rough since I have to be up at an ungodly hour to go to work. Hopefully I can find where I'm going. I'm thinking tomorrow will be a whole lot of me getting my bearings and finding out what the summer is gonna have in store for me. Hopefully it'll be cool.
Guess I'll keep it short tonight.
Eric
Saturday, May 07, 2005
Order carefully, there's a big difference between French vanilla and vanilla bean
I thought I was ordering a vanilla bean coolata. Much to my chagrin I got a French vanilla coffee collata instead. Now I'm hopped up on caffeine and I'll never be able to sleep. And of course I have to be up early tomorrow morning so we can go all the way to Catawissa (I know you guys probably don't know the area, all you need to know is that it's a bit of a drive to get there) for our Mother's Day meal.
So like I said in my last post, my brother's band banquet was tonight and of course I had to be there. I realized that I really don't know many of them anymore. There are also a lot less people in the band when I was still in it than there are now. Back in my day we had the entire church auditorium filled with tables and chairs because there were so many people. This time only half was completely filled. We used to have to use 2 rows of tables to fit all the food that people brought, this year a single row was enough to suffice. My how things change. As expected it was long and boring. I managed to use my napkin to wear down all the teeth on my plastic nice to the point where it was perfectly smooth. I was that bored. I even attempted some origami with my napkin... It was quite something.
Afterwards I took a friend of mine (who's now a senior in high school) to Dunkin' Donuts. We were meeting up with a friend of mine from high school who was home. He told me we had to go pick her up so we went all the way to her house only to have her mother tell us she had already left. I'm not letting Jay take care of logistics ever again due to the fact that her house was in the complete opposite direction from where we were headed.
As we walked up to the door I saw one of my best friends from high school sitting at the table with the girl we were meeting. Definitely a nice surprise. I hadn't expected to see him any time soon since he was going to be staying at Shippensburg this summer. He was home for his sister's graduation. It was a lot of fun as always, telling stories and catching up. Can't go wrong with that. One thing's for sure, I have some good new stories for the next story time. I also hope the coffee stains come out of this shirt. (Thanks Jay) It would really suck if they didn't cause I like this one.
I know I know, Dunkin' Donuts isn't much of a coffee shop, it's close though and close counts in my book (in addition to horse shoes and hand grenades). I was happy to get some coffee shop time in with some of my friends. It was definitely nice to do that from time to time at Pitt this past year so I'm glad I was able to somewhat continue it.
Maybe I should leave my cellphone on more often. I've been shutting it off at night because I figured no one would ever call me. I was wrong. I turned it on this morning to find that I had missed out on a lunch offer. I definitely would have gone with you guys if I had gotten the call. It happens I guess.
tomorrow is gonna be rough trying to wake up after all this caffeine (if I ever get to sleep that is).
So long farewell, auf weidersehen good-bye,
Eric
So like I said in my last post, my brother's band banquet was tonight and of course I had to be there. I realized that I really don't know many of them anymore. There are also a lot less people in the band when I was still in it than there are now. Back in my day we had the entire church auditorium filled with tables and chairs because there were so many people. This time only half was completely filled. We used to have to use 2 rows of tables to fit all the food that people brought, this year a single row was enough to suffice. My how things change. As expected it was long and boring. I managed to use my napkin to wear down all the teeth on my plastic nice to the point where it was perfectly smooth. I was that bored. I even attempted some origami with my napkin... It was quite something.
Afterwards I took a friend of mine (who's now a senior in high school) to Dunkin' Donuts. We were meeting up with a friend of mine from high school who was home. He told me we had to go pick her up so we went all the way to her house only to have her mother tell us she had already left. I'm not letting Jay take care of logistics ever again due to the fact that her house was in the complete opposite direction from where we were headed.
As we walked up to the door I saw one of my best friends from high school sitting at the table with the girl we were meeting. Definitely a nice surprise. I hadn't expected to see him any time soon since he was going to be staying at Shippensburg this summer. He was home for his sister's graduation. It was a lot of fun as always, telling stories and catching up. Can't go wrong with that. One thing's for sure, I have some good new stories for the next story time. I also hope the coffee stains come out of this shirt. (Thanks Jay) It would really suck if they didn't cause I like this one.
I know I know, Dunkin' Donuts isn't much of a coffee shop, it's close though and close counts in my book (in addition to horse shoes and hand grenades). I was happy to get some coffee shop time in with some of my friends. It was definitely nice to do that from time to time at Pitt this past year so I'm glad I was able to somewhat continue it.
Maybe I should leave my cellphone on more often. I've been shutting it off at night because I figured no one would ever call me. I was wrong. I turned it on this morning to find that I had missed out on a lunch offer. I definitely would have gone with you guys if I had gotten the call. It happens I guess.
tomorrow is gonna be rough trying to wake up after all this caffeine (if I ever get to sleep that is).
So long farewell, auf weidersehen good-bye,
Eric
I have found the scum of the Earth and "dial up" be thy name
I hate dial up. I REALLY hate JD Web (my provider). They're great if you like frequent disconnects whenever you try to do something online, random outages, and lousy support. If only we had a better option...
I would have posted last night but we had no internet access from just before 10pm till now. That's ridiculous. I'm very pissed about that. I tried repeatedly last night to get back on. Finally around 4am I said screw it and went to bed. I had a pretty good entry all planned out but now I have to try my best to remember what I was going to say.
I've definitely had my Taco Bell craving satisfied for a little while. Yesterday I went for lunch and had a chicken grilled stuft burrito. It was good. Then for dinner my mom, my brother, and I went to another one. That's where my bro wanted to go for dinner and didn't know that I had already been there. But I didn't mind. I'm a big fan of Taco Bell and since Ken-Taco Hut closed I can no longer get my fix while at school. Two steak gorditas, a steak soft taco, and a regular crunchy taco later I was satisfied. Now I won't have to go there for a while.
While I was out yesterday we went to Ollie's Discount Warehouse. I normally hate that place. It usually stinks and they hardly have anything that I'm interested in looking for. But yesterday was different. They gave me a great idea. When we get back to school we're going to do a themed cookout. They had these little mini tiki torches for .99 each. I could pass it up. Not sure how the cops are going to react to seeing our patio ringed with mini tiki torches but I think it'll be fun. Besides, if they tell us to put them out we will, no biggie. But think about it, tiki torches, Hawaiian shirts, maybe a string of tiki lights over the door? I see fun. Of course I'll have to check with the other guys first but Steve thought it sounded like a good idea too.
Having been to 3 malls in 2 days I'm starting to notice a very disturbing trend. Most of the girls I'm seeing are either obese or they're 13. I also figured out a fun game to play. This one's for the guys to try: If you're walking around in a store and there's a young couple near you (we're talking somewhere around 15 or 16 year olds) pretend to be checking out the girl and then look over at her boyfriend, I bet you just about any money that the first thing he does is reach over and put his arm around her and then make her give him a kiss. It happens the same way almost every time. They must feel pretty insecure. Definitely makes you miss the real women at college. Everyone back here just seems so young in general. To be 20 years old and to feel old is not a good thing. I found out that half my team at Bucknell is going to be high school kids. Hopefully I don't end up babysitting cause they definitely aren't paying me enough for that. Maybe if I'm lucky I'll be working with some other college age people as well and they'll be cool. If not this could be an even longer summer. I guess it seems that I'm going to be starting work earlier than most people. A lot of them aren't even out of school yet. So I'm thinking it's probably good to get started and get the money coming in sooner than later since I'm not going to be making all that much.
Got the old hair cut before going back to work for the summer. It was nice to have my normal person do it rather than let Supercuts screw it up again like they did last time.
On the way home from Taco Bell they had our road closed. We stopped and asked the fireman who was directing traffic if we could get to our house and he knew us and let us through. We found out later that there had been a head on collision within sight of our house around dinner time, guess it's good we were out. Lifeflight came in and everything. It was pretty bad from the sound of it. There seem to be a lot of accidents out here by our house lately. I don't remember it ever being this bad. Speaking of accidents, it's good my mom and I went the back way to Bloomsburg to get our hair cuts. There was a deadly accident on the highway about an hour before we would have gone through that section. We probably would have been held up waiting for them to clear the scene. People should really learn to be more careful on the road. I know accidents can't always be prevented but they're often the result of carelessness.
This post isn't very chronological. I noticed that I've been skipping around a lot. I must just not be awake enough yet to think clearly. That's about all I've got right now. I'll post again tonight like normal to let everyone know how much "fun" I had at my bro's and banquet... Ugh.
Until next time,
Eric
I would have posted last night but we had no internet access from just before 10pm till now. That's ridiculous. I'm very pissed about that. I tried repeatedly last night to get back on. Finally around 4am I said screw it and went to bed. I had a pretty good entry all planned out but now I have to try my best to remember what I was going to say.
I've definitely had my Taco Bell craving satisfied for a little while. Yesterday I went for lunch and had a chicken grilled stuft burrito. It was good. Then for dinner my mom, my brother, and I went to another one. That's where my bro wanted to go for dinner and didn't know that I had already been there. But I didn't mind. I'm a big fan of Taco Bell and since Ken-Taco Hut closed I can no longer get my fix while at school. Two steak gorditas, a steak soft taco, and a regular crunchy taco later I was satisfied. Now I won't have to go there for a while.
While I was out yesterday we went to Ollie's Discount Warehouse. I normally hate that place. It usually stinks and they hardly have anything that I'm interested in looking for. But yesterday was different. They gave me a great idea. When we get back to school we're going to do a themed cookout. They had these little mini tiki torches for .99 each. I could pass it up. Not sure how the cops are going to react to seeing our patio ringed with mini tiki torches but I think it'll be fun. Besides, if they tell us to put them out we will, no biggie. But think about it, tiki torches, Hawaiian shirts, maybe a string of tiki lights over the door? I see fun. Of course I'll have to check with the other guys first but Steve thought it sounded like a good idea too.
Having been to 3 malls in 2 days I'm starting to notice a very disturbing trend. Most of the girls I'm seeing are either obese or they're 13. I also figured out a fun game to play. This one's for the guys to try: If you're walking around in a store and there's a young couple near you (we're talking somewhere around 15 or 16 year olds) pretend to be checking out the girl and then look over at her boyfriend, I bet you just about any money that the first thing he does is reach over and put his arm around her and then make her give him a kiss. It happens the same way almost every time. They must feel pretty insecure. Definitely makes you miss the real women at college. Everyone back here just seems so young in general. To be 20 years old and to feel old is not a good thing. I found out that half my team at Bucknell is going to be high school kids. Hopefully I don't end up babysitting cause they definitely aren't paying me enough for that. Maybe if I'm lucky I'll be working with some other college age people as well and they'll be cool. If not this could be an even longer summer. I guess it seems that I'm going to be starting work earlier than most people. A lot of them aren't even out of school yet. So I'm thinking it's probably good to get started and get the money coming in sooner than later since I'm not going to be making all that much.
Got the old hair cut before going back to work for the summer. It was nice to have my normal person do it rather than let Supercuts screw it up again like they did last time.
On the way home from Taco Bell they had our road closed. We stopped and asked the fireman who was directing traffic if we could get to our house and he knew us and let us through. We found out later that there had been a head on collision within sight of our house around dinner time, guess it's good we were out. Lifeflight came in and everything. It was pretty bad from the sound of it. There seem to be a lot of accidents out here by our house lately. I don't remember it ever being this bad. Speaking of accidents, it's good my mom and I went the back way to Bloomsburg to get our hair cuts. There was a deadly accident on the highway about an hour before we would have gone through that section. We probably would have been held up waiting for them to clear the scene. People should really learn to be more careful on the road. I know accidents can't always be prevented but they're often the result of carelessness.
This post isn't very chronological. I noticed that I've been skipping around a lot. I must just not be awake enough yet to think clearly. That's about all I've got right now. I'll post again tonight like normal to let everyone know how much "fun" I had at my bro's and banquet... Ugh.
Until next time,
Eric
Thursday, May 05, 2005
Hi, my name is Eric
... And I have an addiction. It's been going on for a while now. People are starting to notice. It's getting expensive. I can't help myself. I just need more and more...
So what's the addiction?
Is it sex?
No.
Drugs?
No.
It's rock and roll. I can't stop getting music. When I'm home I buy CD's like crazy. (Today I went to Circuit City and bought 5 new CD's and got a free one.) While I'm at school I download it. It's getting ridiculous. I'm running out of room to put CD's and free space on my hard drive to store more songs. All I have to do is look and I always see something I want. I needed a new iPod just because I couldn't fit all of my music on it. Is it wrong to love music? Is there something wrong with me? Maybe there's a good 12 step program for that. Maybe I should just find a woman to spend all my money on... But then again I could still download it. I guess it's a hopeless cause. Good for the RIAA I guess. Anyway...
Before I forget I just looked at the Warped Tour site "http://www.warpedtour.com/pre05/index.html" OMG!!! I need to go! Let me know if anyone else would be interested in either Pittsburgh or Scranton. It would be great.
Ok, enough talking about music.
I got a shirt today. Big deal right? Get over it. My blog, my content. It's kinda sad though. As I was looking around I'd pick something up and be like "Nah, Matt has one like that" or "I think Rob has that one." I guess that means I have well dressed friends. I thought guys were supposed to just be able to pickup any old t-shirt and jeans and it was cool? Guess not, maybe that's why women buy so many clothes. Maybe they buy something and then realize after they've already worn it (and therefore can't take it back) that one of their friends has the same outfit so they have to buy something new. That's just silly, I should stop trying to rationalize the behavior of women... (j/k gals)
Grades came out today. I guess 3.0 isn't anything to be upset about. Still didn't bring my cumulative average up as high as I had hoped. Guess I'll just have to wait 1 more semester to make sure before applying to SIS (School of Information Science). Need to talk to Prof. Chessler at some point about my econ grade. I just need to get it from a "minus" to just an even c so it'll count. He seems like a good guy so I might be able to work something out with him. Don't know whether I should just email him or go see him in person once I get back to campus in August.
Gotta gets the hairs cut tomorrow. Who knows what after that. Guess I just have to wing it.
Eric
So what's the addiction?
Is it sex?
No.
Drugs?
No.
It's rock and roll. I can't stop getting music. When I'm home I buy CD's like crazy. (Today I went to Circuit City and bought 5 new CD's and got a free one.) While I'm at school I download it. It's getting ridiculous. I'm running out of room to put CD's and free space on my hard drive to store more songs. All I have to do is look and I always see something I want. I needed a new iPod just because I couldn't fit all of my music on it. Is it wrong to love music? Is there something wrong with me? Maybe there's a good 12 step program for that. Maybe I should just find a woman to spend all my money on... But then again I could still download it. I guess it's a hopeless cause. Good for the RIAA I guess. Anyway...
Before I forget I just looked at the Warped Tour site "http://www.warpedtour.com/pre05/index.html" OMG!!! I need to go! Let me know if anyone else would be interested in either Pittsburgh or Scranton. It would be great.
Ok, enough talking about music.
I got a shirt today. Big deal right? Get over it. My blog, my content. It's kinda sad though. As I was looking around I'd pick something up and be like "Nah, Matt has one like that" or "I think Rob has that one." I guess that means I have well dressed friends. I thought guys were supposed to just be able to pickup any old t-shirt and jeans and it was cool? Guess not, maybe that's why women buy so many clothes. Maybe they buy something and then realize after they've already worn it (and therefore can't take it back) that one of their friends has the same outfit so they have to buy something new. That's just silly, I should stop trying to rationalize the behavior of women... (j/k gals)
Grades came out today. I guess 3.0 isn't anything to be upset about. Still didn't bring my cumulative average up as high as I had hoped. Guess I'll just have to wait 1 more semester to make sure before applying to SIS (School of Information Science). Need to talk to Prof. Chessler at some point about my econ grade. I just need to get it from a "minus" to just an even c so it'll count. He seems like a good guy so I might be able to work something out with him. Don't know whether I should just email him or go see him in person once I get back to campus in August.
Gotta gets the hairs cut tomorrow. Who knows what after that. Guess I just have to wing it.
Eric
Thinking is bad for you
Ok, so thinking is actually a good thing. Sometimes, however, it's kind of a downer. Maybe that isn't thinking that's to blame, maybe it's being realistic that's at fault.
Here are some examples:
I was looking at new plans for my cellphone and realized just how many features I'm going to lose once my plan expires in August and I have to switch to a new plan.
I was talking to a friend of mine today and realized just how many of my friends aren't coming home this summer.
I was thinking about the new job I took this summer at Bucknell and realized just how overqualified I am for it and how underpaid I'm going to be.
I was looking at sunglasses but the ones I liked were over $150 so I looked at another pair and they were $180.
See what I mean? I guess you just need to learn to be realistic without letting it be a downer. There's always a brightside right?
Wow I'm sore from working out today. Maybe tomorrow I can convince my dad to take his car to work so I can have the truck and actually go do something (even if it's just the mall). That would be nice since I start work on Monday.
OH OH OH!!! Stanley (my IS 1066 prof) posted our grades today... I got a B-, could have been better but I'm not complaining. It was crazy, the midterm and final were both so hard that the averages on both were below 50%. So there was a pretty nice curve. I'm happy. Tomorrow I get to find out how I did on the rest. Hopefully everything turns out as well as it's starting.
As a great man once said... err on second thought it was only Mendick,
"Peace out homies!"
Eric
Here are some examples:
I was looking at new plans for my cellphone and realized just how many features I'm going to lose once my plan expires in August and I have to switch to a new plan.
I was talking to a friend of mine today and realized just how many of my friends aren't coming home this summer.
I was thinking about the new job I took this summer at Bucknell and realized just how overqualified I am for it and how underpaid I'm going to be.
I was looking at sunglasses but the ones I liked were over $150 so I looked at another pair and they were $180.
See what I mean? I guess you just need to learn to be realistic without letting it be a downer. There's always a brightside right?
Wow I'm sore from working out today. Maybe tomorrow I can convince my dad to take his car to work so I can have the truck and actually go do something (even if it's just the mall). That would be nice since I start work on Monday.
OH OH OH!!! Stanley (my IS 1066 prof) posted our grades today... I got a B-, could have been better but I'm not complaining. It was crazy, the midterm and final were both so hard that the averages on both were below 50%. So there was a pretty nice curve. I'm happy. Tomorrow I get to find out how I did on the rest. Hopefully everything turns out as well as it's starting.
As a great man once said... err on second thought it was only Mendick,
"Peace out homies!"
Eric
Tuesday, May 03, 2005
Just another day
Things seem much less eventful when I'm home. At school I can always come up with something to write about for that day. I'm finding that tougher now. I can turn nothing into something. I mean if Seinfeld can do it why can't I?
I really didn't do much of anything today. I was quite lazy. You'll have this I guess. Got up about 1:30 or so. No biggie. My dog tried to get me up at 7:30. He came up and sat next to my bed as sweetly as he possibly could and put the tip of his nose on my elbow. Let me tell you, a person wakes up pretty darn quick when your dog pulls something like that. Not cool. So I had a hard time getting back to sleep, but I finally did. Had some real good dreams after that, but of course as fate would have it my dad decided to wake me up just as the one was just getting to the best part. Figures.
Went for pizza tonight like we normally do. If anyone watched Real World: Las Vegas, Frank's dad is the one that owns the place. He's a friend of the family. Anyway... Must have been someone new making the pizza tonight because it was a lot sloppier than normal. After that we hit up Wally world. No not the amusement park from the movie summer vacation but wal mart. I was looking at grills for the apartment next year. Think I found a good one. Might have to go pick that up sometime soon before they sell it. Thinking of the grill got me thinking about "the list" of all the stuff we need/want for next year. So I sent out an email. Within minutes Dennis had replied and then Steve replied to his 5 min after that. I was impressed. It's already looking like we'll have quite the setup next year. Can anyone say party? I definitely need to buy a "4square ball" or as some of us call it a "playground ball" (Mendick corrected me on that already).
At some point this summer I might want to think about cleaning my room. I know I know... Maybe I'll just move some stuff around and pile it a little better to give the illusion of having cleaned. Yeah, that's the most likely prediction. I really don't want to clean. That just means I'll have to get rid of things. I'm really bad about that. I hold on to absolutely everything. I've become quite the packrat. I think I'm starting to get better about that though. We'll see.
Maybe I'll get up early and go work out tomorrow morning with my dad. That would definitely make sure I went to bed before 4 tonight. Even though I've often started the day on 6 hours or less of sleep a night. I'd just have to take a nap. That's very doable so I'm not gonna worry about it.
See what did I say? I knew I could turn nothing into a respectable blog entry. Just gotta have faith in me and my abilities.
And with that we must part ways
... For now.
Eric
I really didn't do much of anything today. I was quite lazy. You'll have this I guess. Got up about 1:30 or so. No biggie. My dog tried to get me up at 7:30. He came up and sat next to my bed as sweetly as he possibly could and put the tip of his nose on my elbow. Let me tell you, a person wakes up pretty darn quick when your dog pulls something like that. Not cool. So I had a hard time getting back to sleep, but I finally did. Had some real good dreams after that, but of course as fate would have it my dad decided to wake me up just as the one was just getting to the best part. Figures.
Went for pizza tonight like we normally do. If anyone watched Real World: Las Vegas, Frank's dad is the one that owns the place. He's a friend of the family. Anyway... Must have been someone new making the pizza tonight because it was a lot sloppier than normal. After that we hit up Wally world. No not the amusement park from the movie summer vacation but wal mart. I was looking at grills for the apartment next year. Think I found a good one. Might have to go pick that up sometime soon before they sell it. Thinking of the grill got me thinking about "the list" of all the stuff we need/want for next year. So I sent out an email. Within minutes Dennis had replied and then Steve replied to his 5 min after that. I was impressed. It's already looking like we'll have quite the setup next year. Can anyone say party? I definitely need to buy a "4square ball" or as some of us call it a "playground ball" (Mendick corrected me on that already).
At some point this summer I might want to think about cleaning my room. I know I know... Maybe I'll just move some stuff around and pile it a little better to give the illusion of having cleaned. Yeah, that's the most likely prediction. I really don't want to clean. That just means I'll have to get rid of things. I'm really bad about that. I hold on to absolutely everything. I've become quite the packrat. I think I'm starting to get better about that though. We'll see.
Maybe I'll get up early and go work out tomorrow morning with my dad. That would definitely make sure I went to bed before 4 tonight. Even though I've often started the day on 6 hours or less of sleep a night. I'd just have to take a nap. That's very doable so I'm not gonna worry about it.
See what did I say? I knew I could turn nothing into a respectable blog entry. Just gotta have faith in me and my abilities.
And with that we must part ways
... For now.
Eric
Monday, May 02, 2005
I was a witness!
I find stupid drivers hilarious as long as they don't come anywhere near me. I went for wings with my dad and some of his friends tonight in Sunbury. As we were sitting there I look outside and watch some genius try to use a parking space as a turn lane and got hit because the guy in the actual lanes was turning as well. This isn't the first time I've been sitting there and witnessed an accident. Kind of odd how that works out. I definitely think it was the guy turning from the parking space who was at fault. The guy in the focus was at the light first and definitely had his blinker on. The other guy came out of his blind spot and got turned into so I say that he's wrong. His mother was the one who got out of the car after it happened. He just kinda sat there and let her take care of it all. When we left I definitely think she was trying to convince the cop that it was the other guys fault even though it wasn't. I didn't want to get involved though so I kept walking.
It's always weird to walk outside at night when I come home. There are a ton of stars up there! Back in the 'Burgh you never get to see them. But out here in the middle of nowhere on top of the hill you can see billions of the little buggers. Some times I stand there looking up and start to get dizzy. Not cool, maybe I should sit down or something if I'm gonna do that. Eh, whatever.
My brother has discovered my PS2. I brought it home from school and he's been playing it since. He sat down yesterday and played completely through a game I had barely even had a chance to start yet. I guess I should also keep in mind that he has it on easy mode so it's gonna be a lot quicker to beat than how I play it. No biggie. I have plenty of time to play things when everyone goes to bed. I guess I'll have to stop that though once my job starts and I'll need to be up early.
Speaking of jobs, I had to turn on down today. They were offering more than twice what Bucknell is gonna pay me and they also give you gas money. Only problem was that it starts tomorrow, not to mention being only for 4 days and being just outside Harrisburg (an hour away). So maybe I'll take some time off from Bucknell here and there to work some of these jobs just to make some extra money. That could definitely work since they want me to take off at least 3 weeks anyway. We'll just have to see how things pan out.
Guess I should go to bed before 4 am tonight...
Eric
PS I hate typing on my mom's keyboard. Keys get stuck and I miss keys and it just doesn't feel right. I should stop being lazy and walk upstairs to my room and use mine.
It's always weird to walk outside at night when I come home. There are a ton of stars up there! Back in the 'Burgh you never get to see them. But out here in the middle of nowhere on top of the hill you can see billions of the little buggers. Some times I stand there looking up and start to get dizzy. Not cool, maybe I should sit down or something if I'm gonna do that. Eh, whatever.
My brother has discovered my PS2. I brought it home from school and he's been playing it since. He sat down yesterday and played completely through a game I had barely even had a chance to start yet. I guess I should also keep in mind that he has it on easy mode so it's gonna be a lot quicker to beat than how I play it. No biggie. I have plenty of time to play things when everyone goes to bed. I guess I'll have to stop that though once my job starts and I'll need to be up early.
Speaking of jobs, I had to turn on down today. They were offering more than twice what Bucknell is gonna pay me and they also give you gas money. Only problem was that it starts tomorrow, not to mention being only for 4 days and being just outside Harrisburg (an hour away). So maybe I'll take some time off from Bucknell here and there to work some of these jobs just to make some extra money. That could definitely work since they want me to take off at least 3 weeks anyway. We'll just have to see how things pan out.
Guess I should go to bed before 4 am tonight...
Eric
PS I hate typing on my mom's keyboard. Keys get stuck and I miss keys and it just doesn't feel right. I should stop being lazy and walk upstairs to my room and use mine.
Sunday, May 01, 2005
And it happens once more
Well I'm home and already not liking it. What else is new right? Summers kinda suck anymore. I remember when I was younger I couldn't wait until school got out for the summer. Now I'm in college and I dread summer more than any exam. This year may actually be worse in some respects. What's different? For starters people. A number of my friends back here won't be home this summer. They chose to stay at school (whatever that school may be). So pretty much the ones that are left are the few that commute to local schools. We also get out a lot sooner than a lot of colleges. So I sometimes have almost a month till others start to come home. I guess it's kind of a double edged sword though. Had I stayed in the 'burgh this summer it wouldn't have been much different than it is here (except for things like faster internet and lots of things to do a lot closer). Most of the people that helped to make this past year so much fun won't be there. I'd probably be lonely out there as well. Summer only seems to have 1 solution: Work. You have to get yourself as wrapped up in work as you can to occupy all your time. If all your time is devoted to work there won't be a lot left over to be bored. Also that lesser amount of free time makes it easier to make due with having less people around and not as much to do. Guess I'll see how that approach works for me. Maybe if I'm lucky I'll get the opportunity to take a road trip or 2 this summer. That would be nice. Who knows, just have to go with it I guess.
Alright, on to other important matters. I'm going to take a minute to do some complaining for a friend of mine, that way he doesn't have to post anything that might get him in trouble down the line (don't worry buddy, I got your back). Someone should really explain to me why women are so retarded. They almost always go for (and stay with) the jerk. Do they like being made to feel like crap? Is it a challenge to see if they can get him to change? I don't see the logic. More often than not they have another guy (who would definitely be worth the time I might add) waiting around for them to ditch the loser. But they don't. They might lead you to believe that it'll happen sooner than later and that it's been a long time coming... but guess what, it doesn't. Ladies, why is that? It happens all the time. I've been in the same position a few times myself but always the same result: Asshole gets girl in the end. There needs to be a scientific study done to prove my point. Yes, every so often you will come across a girl who actually has a b/f that cares about her and treats her properly but it seems rather rare anymore. I'd be willing to bet that for every one of those you found there'd be 10 of the lousy kind. The only ones winning are the assholes. The decent guys and the girls are both losing out. Seems like that would be a good enough reason for me. Let's do the math shall we? 1 unhappy girl + 1 nice guy finishing last = 2 unhappy people and a jerk that's probably getting everything he wants OR 1 nice guy + intelligent girl = happy couple and lonely loser undeserving of what he had. I don't know about you guys but I think the second one sounds like the winner to me. Everyone gets what they deserve. I've been told by quite a few girls that they all have a "bad boy phase" and just need to get hurt before they realize that they have better choices. I must be dumb because that doesn't seem like a very good plan. To make it worse, we usually still sit around and wait for that girl to come around and it just makes us even more unhappy. I can sympathize 100%. It sucks. I think they should teach a mandatory "asshole awareness" class to all women as soon as they hit puberty. Maybe then we could finally start to solve some of these problems.
How long will it take? Like they say in the Tootsie Pop commercials... "The world may never know."
Eric
Alright, on to other important matters. I'm going to take a minute to do some complaining for a friend of mine, that way he doesn't have to post anything that might get him in trouble down the line (don't worry buddy, I got your back). Someone should really explain to me why women are so retarded. They almost always go for (and stay with) the jerk. Do they like being made to feel like crap? Is it a challenge to see if they can get him to change? I don't see the logic. More often than not they have another guy (who would definitely be worth the time I might add) waiting around for them to ditch the loser. But they don't. They might lead you to believe that it'll happen sooner than later and that it's been a long time coming... but guess what, it doesn't. Ladies, why is that? It happens all the time. I've been in the same position a few times myself but always the same result: Asshole gets girl in the end. There needs to be a scientific study done to prove my point. Yes, every so often you will come across a girl who actually has a b/f that cares about her and treats her properly but it seems rather rare anymore. I'd be willing to bet that for every one of those you found there'd be 10 of the lousy kind. The only ones winning are the assholes. The decent guys and the girls are both losing out. Seems like that would be a good enough reason for me. Let's do the math shall we? 1 unhappy girl + 1 nice guy finishing last = 2 unhappy people and a jerk that's probably getting everything he wants OR 1 nice guy + intelligent girl = happy couple and lonely loser undeserving of what he had. I don't know about you guys but I think the second one sounds like the winner to me. Everyone gets what they deserve. I've been told by quite a few girls that they all have a "bad boy phase" and just need to get hurt before they realize that they have better choices. I must be dumb because that doesn't seem like a very good plan. To make it worse, we usually still sit around and wait for that girl to come around and it just makes us even more unhappy. I can sympathize 100%. It sucks. I think they should teach a mandatory "asshole awareness" class to all women as soon as they hit puberty. Maybe then we could finally start to solve some of these problems.
How long will it take? Like they say in the Tootsie Pop commercials... "The world may never know."
Eric
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