The Early Train

I actually made the early train for the first time in a while. It is more crowded than it used to be. I have plans with mike later, so I hope to cut out early. Not sure what crazy think he has us doing. I am hoping to cut out at around 4-5PM. We will see how busy things are.

Another interesting note about the early train is that it is one of the LIRR’s new trains. The seats are comfy, and the automated lady tells you clearly what stop is next. It feels like the london underground. Over their they have automated alerts, and all the bells and whistles we are just now installing.

What Do You Do For A Living?

So what do you do for a living? That is a question I get allot. Most people probably do when meeting new people. For some it is easy, and not so much for others. My brother in law, has it simple. He is a doctor (MD). My mom’s a teacher. Their are more complex answers to those questions, but you get the idea of what they do by that simple statement. Now I have a more difficult answer. I tell people I am a Network Engineer. Sounds good, sort of descriptive. Not really what I do anymore. I have found it is close enough for most purposes. If pressed for more information you have to figure out how much someone knows about computers and technology. For Mike, he is a doctor in emergency medicine. Still very descriptive. Technology jobs still have this stigma of oh, you do that. You must be a computer geek. Now I don’t deny the fact that I am into technology, but it is sort of a bad way to think.

These thoughts come to my mind now, since I am dating, or attempting to do so. That is one of the first topics of conversation. Now you don’t want to talk to a date about computers. Trust me you really don’t. But work is such a big part of someone’s life, especially mine. It is an interesting dilemma.

The next big question is “what does your company do”? Yet again, for me right now it is a difficult question to answer. I have not been able to give a one sentence answer to that question yet, that accurately explains what my company does. We just had a meeting last friday at our presidents house. We discussed that same problem. We got a laugh about it. It is just one of those things that can be difficult to answer, but be a really simple question.

Dinner With The Family

My family is meeting at my sisters tonight for dinner. As much as I want to go, I am not sure if I will get to them by the meeting time. I am also tired from working today. I do want to play with morgan. Thinking of her just now I can’t help but smiling:)

Update. So I wrote this when I was on the train. Turns out I didn’t go to dinner, since I was tired and it was late. I will catch them next time, when I am not traveling.

Shopping Called Off

My shopping plans with my dad got called off today. My parents had plans that started earlier than they originally planned. My dad didn’t even know about the change. He isn’t up on my family’s social calendar. He just goes where he is told. He was not too happy. He wants a new PDA. Also I was going to order him his new computer today. It worked out ok since I unexpected work stuff come up also.

Sort of funny good/bad new today my sister called. She said that morgan got scared from a game of peekaboo gone wrong with her dad, and the only thing that would calm her down was Blume the big pink elephant I got her when she was born. Got to love the plush toys!

Tired

Granted I went to bed really late last night (2AM today), but I woke up at noon and was still exhausted. I went back to bed till 2 and I still tired. Not sure what is up? Saturday is my day to lie around anyway, but I am getting nothing done today. I may go back for a nap later.

The weirdest thing is when I sleep flat on my back. I usually sleep to one side or another, but sometimes I fall asleep on my back. Sometimes when I do, I think I dream that I am awake but anytime I try to move I cannot, until I force myself to wake up. It is weird. Only happens when I am on my back. Very hard to describe. Sometimes it freaks me out, and other times it is very relaxing feeling.

Steaks

After much delay our telecom integration company, Gus, and I finally got together for steaks. We went to Keens chophouse in Manhattan. It was really good. The team we got finally has a clue and it was actually enjoyable to sit back and eat with these guys. I don’t think I have ever been that full after a meal. I had a hard time walking the 4 blocks to Penn Station. My paints feel tighter today!

We still have allot to do so the get together was also productive. We are looking at a bunch of other solutions they can provide assistance for.

Shopping

I just love shopping for Morgan. Well it is really not like shopping, that is the problem. I just ordered some Elmo related stuff from amazon and had it shipped to her. I wanted to get the chicken dance elmo. I thought that it was very cool. My sister didn’t like it, but said the limbo elmo was ok. I got that and a DVD. Kids like video’s for some reason. it is like a drug for them. Thankfully at 6 months old you can do almost anything and make a baby smile. It is rather funny.

Technology Scare’s Me Some Times

My dad wants to get a phone / PDA combo device. Now he has always been ahead of the game when it comes to gadgets. I get that from him. But he is also not the biggest computer genius. He has had a cell phone since the late 80’s. Has had a PDA or whatever they used to be called for longer than that. He now doesn’t want to carry a cell phone and a Palm. He uses his palm all the time at work, but only carry’s the cell phone in case of emergencies. He now likes the idea of combining the two. Lucky for him he has Sprint PCS. I don’t like them anymore, but at some point I did. That is why he has service with them. He actually doesn’t complain about the service so we keep him on it. My mom also likes her phone number. I say we are lucky is sprint looks like it has the biggest selection of PDA Phones. I showed him my Treo 270. He seemed to like it. Of course I showed him my original Treo over a year ago, but that is another story. I think he may be better off with one of 2 Samsung phones out there. The SPH-I300 or the SPH-I500. I like the I500, but it may be too much like a phone for my dad. He will use it as a palm more than a phone. He liked the Treo but I don’t know if the no memory expansion and the keyboard will cause him problems. He did play with the keyboard on my Treo for a half an hour today and then proclaimed we will go shopping next sunday.

Shopping with him is fun. We go for breakfast, drive out to Roosevelt Field mall area. Shop for maybe an hour and then go home. We are super fast shoppers. The only slow down we encounter is if we goto Best Buy. He can browse the DVD section for like 2 hours. That store is a black whole. Everyone I know sifts through those DVD racks forever.

Mission Accomplished

I have succeeded in my mission of doing pretty much nothing this vacation weekend. I mean I did stuff, but nothing to stressful. I slept Saturday to recover from the late work night Friday. Sunday I cleaned up my place. I organized things a bit and made room for the remaining furniture that will hopefully arrive in the next two weeks. I also think I fixed my 802.11g wifi point. I moved it away from the TV and reset it. it has been working since. I hope it stays working.

Unfortunately monday I awoke with a Migraine. This is not good for two reasons. One, have you ever woke up with a migraine. It is not a good thing. The other is I don’t normally wake up with them. This is the 2nd time in like a month or two that I woke up with them. Not a good trend. I took a bextra and I am feeling a bit better. I am aiming to goto dinner with the folks tonight. Then it is back to work Tuesday.

I did get a bunch of work done this weekend also, but it was nothing special. Just minor stuff that has been overlooked since I have been out of the office so much recently.

Enough writing for now. More later…

Good Customer Service At Best Buy

If you want to get good assistance at a Best Buy when buying something, follow these steps. Take a bunch of your friends with you. take pads and pens with you. Write down stuff while one of you looks at the back of TV’s and stuff. A training class of our Customer service reps went to the nearby bestbuy on a “field trip” today and did that. They had like 5 guys trying to help them. The supervisor who went said the guy was totally nervous about helping them. They think that they were mistaken for Best Buy corporate guys. Its worth a try if you are looking for some big ticket item and need help:)

The above steps will most likely work at any electronics retailer.