o tempora, o mores! | what the fuck, people?

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Frozen

I tumble out of bed, stumble to the bathroom, and fumble for the faucet to brush my teeth.

No water. A faint hiss, but no water.
The bill is up to date as far as I know. Broken watermain? Maybe. Frozen pipes? Fuck.

I’m not used to being in a place with shitty pipes/insulation. Awesome.
I sent our room-mate a text (he’s at work) to see if he knew anything. He seems to think they’re frozen, too. He evidently leaves the water trickling at night (which I -never- knew, and I’ve been here four months now) and didn’t last night. He complained of not being able to bathe this morning.
Upon discovering that, wouldn’t one typically try to turn the water on to a trickle to coax it out of its frozen state? I mean, I would, knowing that my room-mates would have to work later and stuff, you know, be considerate. I’m not upset that he forgot whatever last night, but upon discovering it this morning and not even saying anything is kinda fucked.

I have to work in two-and-a-half hours and have no way to wash my hair, which cannot go a day-and-a-half without being washed, unfortunately. (Effing oil production, effing scalp…eff.) I mean, I’ve got some bottled water, but that’ll be difficult if there’s anything it’ll be. I was half-considering hitting up a hair place since I’m due for a cut anyway, but…meh.

This situation, too, is…fucked.

iPod #2, </3

I’ve barely had my adorable 16GB iPod Nano (in vivid wonderful emerald greeeen!) a month.

I hate it.

1) I cannot seem to be able to load it up/sync it/etc with Winamp. This is an issue.
- Winamp cannot recognize it no matter what witchcraft I perform.
2) iTunes seems to not really like the iPod, either. It is not the cable(s) or port(s)…
- My computer usually sees it but iTunes says, “Piss off, you.”
3) Random disconnection from all THREE separate cables and docking station.
- Um…defect, or does it just suck?

Honestly, I’ve had more of a headache over this thing in less than a month than I had over my precious 30GB 5th Gen. Video in THREE YEARS, even with its spastic battery. I’ll be returning the blasted thing tomorrow when I head to work and probably just ordering a replacement battery for the old one when the refund clears. I’m out like $20 in accessories I bought–cases, screen protectors, etc–because I tossed the packaging. I’ll probably sell them to a friend or eBay them.

My old, faithful iPod still works with all the above connectors. It is able to be used in both Winamp and in iTunes without issue, although I no longer have iTunes installed.

My iPod might be older and not as shiny as your new one, but hey…mine works.
Love is over, teeny iPod. You were attractive, but you’re full of fail.

Holy Snow!

I’m sitting here on a day I should be at work because I’m snowed in.
Snowed in?

Sure, this is Pittsburgh and snow isn’t uncommon, but this is crazy! It started snowing around 1PM yesterday but didn’t start sticking until around 5PM. Since then, we’ve accumulated at least 20 inches. So our car is stuck where it is parked. Several people have been stuck on the nearby roads and stuff. Lots of spinning tires. They haven’t effectively plowed the roads…Lots of crazy people are out driving right now, and their tire marks are enough that you can barely see the lines on the road…still, no thanks.

I’m reluctant to lose hours, but my safety is vastly more important than selling someone a computer. I didn’t hear anything about Best Buy being closed for the day, but they’re mad to have opened at all. Surely people weren’t able to work. Not many will be out shopping with conditions as they are. It’ll be a huge revenue loss. But whatever, that’s their business, I guess.

We ordered pizza last night because I got hungry at a weird hour. Bless the delivery guy; I tipped him handsomely because, y’know, fucked roads were fucked, and you’ve got to be mad for being willing to deliver in those conditions. I’m glad I ordered a ton because I’m hungry now and we don’t have a stocked pantry. Cold pizza leftovers ftw…

I’m not used to a ton of snow, really. Where I’m from [50 miles south of Washington, DC to give an idea] we never got loads and loads. Last ‘big’ snow we got was the winter of ‘95-’96, but really when we’d get a ‘fair’ amount it was no more than 4 inches, if that, just enough to sled for a day or two. This year, my parents have been getting raped with snow. Week or two before Christmas they got a couple feet or so. Week or two ago they got several inches. Between yesterday and today they’ve gotten 30. Thirty! WTF. That’s ridiculous!
As such [not being used to 'real' winter] I’m not really equipped for it. I’ve got a coat, of course, because cold is cold regardless of snow. But I don’t have, for example, snowboots, nor do I have pants that WON’T sop of a ton of frigid water [I pretty much have...jeans jeans jeans and more jeans, some khakis, uhh...] so I’m not relishing having to go outside for oh, just about anything.

I do have a boatload of scarves though, mreer! :D

Customers, II

(After going through the pitch with a nice Print/Scan/Copy/Fax that weighs about as much as I do and retrieving it from the top level on a not-so-sturdy ladder, lugging it to the front of the store…upon asking if she needed a USB cable for it…) “But that doesn’t fit in my computer.” “Yes it does, I sold you your computer…it is this one, here. It goes here.” “No it doesn’t, it doesn’t fit.” (Demonstrating its fitting) “…Oh, THAT end goes in the computer? I had it backwards. I don’t need this printer, then.” (Facepalming, walking away to restock the printer, silently, she follows me…) “Well I’m SORRY. I just spent so much time going back and forth with it, I thought…” “You should have spent more time in preschool learning your shapes.”
“My monitor gave me a virus!”
“What do you mean I got a virus? I have Norton/McAfee!”
“You know the computer from the ad?” “Uh…we have like twelve. Can you be more specific?”
“There are all these people standing around!” “They are cashiers. They don’t have anyone to ring out…nor do they have any knowledge or experience to help you with what you need…”
“Do you have the iPad yet?”
(After passing the sign that clearly states, “No Animals EXCEPT Service Animals Permitted, Thank You,”) “Why am I getting all these dirty looks? It’s JUST a dog. Sheesh! What, do you people hate animals? What’s your problem?” “No one here hates animals, however we have a clearly stated policy; some employees and customers have animal allergies…and just because you think he is a fashion accessory does not mean he should be around MILLIONS of dollars of electronics.”
“I need a cable to take my laptop to my TV.” “Sure, what connectors does your TV have?” “What?” (Sweatdrop) “What type of inputs are in the back of your TV?/How old is it/What brand is it?” “Don’t know/Newer/Don’t know.” “Newer to me and newer to you are probably two VERY different time frames.” “Three years?” “Old. But I need to know those things first…” (Irritated that I don’t have ESP for electronics and don’t just know, he continues to argue) “I didn’t know there were different connectors, that’s stupid.” “Sir…Even not knowing, it isn’t stupid. Technology changes. That’s like saying the fact that Ford has a Taurus now in contrast to a Model T is ridiculous….”
“You’re gonna give me a good deal, right?” “Everything is priced as marked.” “But YOU’re gonna give me a deal, right?” “I have no power over the prices. I can and will not change them. I’m not commissioned, so I don’t get any more or less if you buy this or not.” “…I don’t believe you.” “That’s fine; it doesn’t change my paycheck. Think what you like, I won’t bend backwards to change your mind.”

Now, don’t get me wrong. I do enjoy a pleasant interaction. It is nice to see people happily leaving my store with the things they need to get up and running, not feeling as if they have been pressured and/or mislead. I like to see/hear return customers ask for me by name. I can say that I have never lied to a customer to get them to buy something…after all, I am not commissioned. The only thing I get out of my job aside from my hourly wage is a POSSIBLE bonus if my entire store hits over 103% profit margin…so yes, I want us to be profitable, but not badly enough to mislead people. On that same note, I’m not bothered if people think I’m full of shit when I lay out our non-commissioned statement because, I mean, why get mad over it? Their mind is made up, it isn’t like I could change it, and even if I could, it isn’t like it would do anything for me.
Going non-commissioned is something a handful of people think was a mistake for Best Buy because of the fact that many of their salespeople are like, “Fuck it, I don’t get anything out of this, so why bother?” In my opinion, that’s a bad attitude, because you do get a paycheck. My thoughts are that since Best Buy decided to remove the commissioned part of their sales is that they should have raised the average hourly rate…but of course that’s asking too much.

Oh, and I might be a supervisor of my department, soon. Hah.

dying moto q

my phone is dying;
i wish to remain on sprint
–i want the hero.

I have a Moto Q 9c that a friend very generously has loaned to me. [I say very generously because he pays the bill. Which is very generous, although he'd have been doing it even if the phone wasn't in use--oh, contracts...] The contract is up in April, so after about a year of having totally free cell phone service [thanks again, Jon] I’ve got to go back for paying for my line and such. That isn’t a problem; Jeremy and I make enough for each of us to have our own plan, although it would be more cost-effective to have one plan with two lines. We have yet to determine how we want to work that, and that’s fine.

Methinks I’d like the HTC Hero (US Sprint version here). I’ve been playing with a [working] demo during downtime at work and have been toting around a dummy to get used to size/feel. I don’t have much experience with Android, but from what I can tell it is a pretty big hit. Simply put, I’ve heard vastly more good than bad. I’m not concerned with the learning curve or anything…but after having a smart-phone [yeah, yeah, Windows Mobile.. smart.. right.. shh], I don’t think I could go back to having a regular cellular. Being able to tether and have full web access alone are incredible.

I won’t be purchasing it until April, so I hope by then there will be an available upgrade to Android 2.0 or 2.1 for the Hero devices. Honestly, I’d probably get it even if not…but…yeah!

Any thoughts?

new nano!

So… I have a 5th gen iPod (first Video one), a 30GB. I got it for my fifteenth birthday. It has served me well…I didn’t really use the video function on it all that much–I mean, I did, just not often because focusing on teeny screens is difficult for me, plus the lighting wasn’t über. Its battery no longer holds a charge for more than five minutes.

Since I work at a big-box electronics retailer, I get access to discounts on stuff. Now, I wouldn’t on a regular new-in-box iPod because the markup on them is virtually nonexistant. However…if Auntie Susan got her niece an iPod nano and this niece did not like the color [and it had never been turned on, no defects, no scratches...headphones and USB cable still bound], it would be returned to us. If the box was opened [which it was] that means they have to take 15% off the price to resell it as open box even though the device itself had never been touched.

I saw it.
I wanted it.
But I behaved and didn’t do anything until Jer got me from work that day. We were looking at getting a new case for my computer…well, I don’t really need one. The one I have works just fine; I’ll get a new case eventually…when it comes down in price. So he consented, and we agreed that it would be my Valentine’s gift since I’d been wanting a replacement for a bit [so if I've got to take the bus to work, you know, I've got something to do on the ride there].

I didn’t have to ask him, of course, I’d just received my pay for the previous period that morning [and there was a bonus on it!] but I don’t like to just go out and randomly do stuff like that. It detracts from the concept that the money that he and I earn from our work pools together to be “our” money not just, “his money,” or, “my money.” We got it for approximately $150 + tax. wewt.

Anyway, it’s a 16GB nano. I don’t need to bring my whole collection with me…I mean, there are times when parts of my collection go unlistened to for months. I had forgotten it had a built-in video camera and FM tuner. It’s got a pedometer, too [which I don't think I'll use]. Oh, and did I mention that it is the most beautiful shade of emerald green ever to bestow anything, much less an electronic?

Apple, while I adore your mp3 playing device…you aren’t any closer to winning me over than you were three years ago.

Customers

This is just a list of some of the things I encounter. I’m not even going to comment on them because I don’t have to.

“How do I turn this on?”

“I thought computer viruses were biological, like other ones.”

“+Points to a computer (just the tower).+ I need to buy this internet.”

(From someone claiming to have their CCNA) “Will a Kodak printer work with an HP computer?”

“What do you mean these don’t have built-in floppy disc drives? That’s ridiculous. What about all my programs?”

“I need memory for a computer.” “What kind?” “…what? Memory.” “Yeah…um, do you know the model number of your PC?” “It’s just memory, it’s all the same, isn’t it?”

“+Approaches with MagicJack+ This gets me internet wherever I want, right?”

“Why won’t this laptop fit?” “That’s a 17.3″ laptop…?” “Yep.” “…that’s a 15.6″ bag.”

“I bought this netbook and it won’t play Eve Online…”

“You guys got printer ink?” “Yep, what kind do you need?” “I don’t know.” “What kind of printer do you have?” “I don’t know.”

(Over the phone) “I need prices on hard drives.” “What size?” “I dunno, decent sized.” “500GB for $X, we have 640 for $Y…” “That cheap? I thought I’d be out 600 for that big thing.” “Hard drives are fairly small, sir, do you mean the whole computer?” “Yeah, the hard drive!”

“Which one of these cameras has zoom?”

“I want a really fast laptop with a lot of storage and a 17″ display…for under $500.” (Yeah, don’t we all?)

“I want this.” “I’m sorry, we’re sold out. We’ll get more; I can try another store.” “Why don’t you have it?” “It is a very popular product and we recently sold out, I’m sorry about that.” “But it’s in the ad.” “Yes ma’am, I understand…and we sold out.” “But it was in the ad, you should have it. This is bullshit.” “Ma’am, our ad comes out on Sunday…it is now Thursday; many people in this area saw and we sold out. We can give you a rain-check or hold one for you when it comes in.” “BUT YOU SHOULD HAVE IT CUZ THE AD SAYS.”

“I hate this brand of computer, so I don’t want one?” “Bad experience with them?” “They’re just bad.” (“I know nothing about computers and that isn’t a name I remember because I’m senile.”)

(Over the phone) “How many gigabytes do the cameras have?”

“How do I make my dial-up do wireless?

“I want one of those little notebooks.” (I take them to a 14.1 inch notebook/laptop.) “No no, one of the tiny things. Not a laptop.” “They mean the same thing. Netbooks are the little ones, here.” “That’s what I said, ‘notebook.’”

(Thirty feet from the HUGE sign that says, “Car Electronics,” instead, near digital cameras.) “Where are your GPS systems?” “…Is that a car electronic?” “Yes..?” “+Points.+”

“I need a replacement cord (power supply!) for my laptop. +Sees cost.+ Why are they so expensive?” “You aren’t just buying a computer when you buy a laptop…”

“Where are your Kindles located?”

“I need an adapter for my iPod.” “Okay, here you go.” “That’s what they gave me last time and it didn’t fit.” “Which iPod do you have?” “+Points to a Sony Walkman mp3 player.+”

“I bought this here PC the other day…where do my speakers plug in?” “The mint-green 3.5mm port on the back.” “My (USB) mouse is plugged in there.” “It is not.”

“I can’t put multiple discs in one drive at once? Oops.”

“My phone line (RJ11) sits in the Ethernet (RJ45) port but I can’t get online.”

“How can LG make monitors? They don’t make computers, right?”

…sigh.

kalends ian. auc. 2764

Skipped the rave idea. The roads were shitty from wintry precipitation and so driving wasn’t safe. We stayed in with our liquid pal, Grey Goose, along with our friend Shannon. It was uneventful, and I wasn’t in a great sort because I had a migraine that had carried over from the night before.

I was appalled to find people shopping early in the morning today, this first of January… Er, half of them were out and about still intoxicated, and others were nursing hangovers. Weird environment to sell electronics in, surely.

We still need a car. It is very difficult to purchase one… He’s young, doesn’t have bad credit, just not a very looong credit history. Therefore, every place wants a cosigner. I’m no help because I’m younger. His dad’s no help because his credit is a catastrophe. His boss is willing, but that will only be viable if we get a car under $10,000 because the people will say he’s overextended or something [his boss has like 2-3 cars he's paying for]. Jeremy and I make enough money between us to cover it without any concerns, but…the credit stuff is silly.
I’ve been trying to get a low-limit starter n00b card to build mine so we have less of a problem down the line, but it is still so difficult to get approved without an established history. I have a bank account in my name that is in good standing, but ugh. Congress [and then Obama] passed a set of credit laws which…well, some are useful and try to make it more difficult for people to sink themselves in credit card debt and makes it more difficult for creditors to rape their cardholders…but on the other hand, it changes the law here so that you can’t get credit cards until you’re 21 UNLESS you already have cards OR you’re 18, sign a waiver, and have a cosigner. So that means I have until February 22 to try to obtain something. So far:
Victoria’s Secret [unable to approve].
Best Buy–where I effin’ work! [unable to approve].
Wal*Mart [...no response? wtf].
Next I will try some other retailers, maybe a jewelry place…I’m not big on jewelry, and it wouldn’t be to get shiny things but just to establish my effin credit. My phone isn’t in my name yet but it will be soon, which will also help. Meh.

I’m beginning to hate fried food. It’s so bad for you!
I need an oven… +Cries.+

Been trying to play Counter-Strike:Source with Jer… It’s fun but I’m not that great. I have a pretty steady hand, so while my K:D ratio is crap, my K:HS ratio is lovely. :] I’m still learning. It’s fun, but I can only do small doses because I. Get. Raged. I feel like a little fucking kid having a tantrum sometimes, haha…but at least I can laugh at myself about it. I’m interested in seeing the FFXIV beta when it’s all set… I need a game to play. Meh.

Alive, Albeit Cold

I haven’t posted since my first week here in Pennsylvania. Oops. Thirteen and a half weeks in to living here, things are peachy. I’m glad our local laundromat has a Mega-Touch machine. I hate waiting for things to dry… I look forward to having my own washer and dryer again, as well as a functioning oven. Especially the functioning oven. Since it is difficult to cook, here, we’ve been eating a lot of not-so-healthy food. Ugh. Body is sad with me right now. Can’t complain, really, at least we have food and clean clothes!

Head gasket on the car went out, so we’re in the market for a replacement. We’re looking at a new Nissan or Kia because they are inexpensive, reliable, and tend to be fuel efficient… In the meantime, we are borrowing one of his dad’s three vehicles. I don’t have my Pennsylvania permit yet, but I should be getting it after Christmas…so when the roads aren’t treacherous, I’ll [finally!] be learning to drive.

I managed to land a job at my local Best Buy in early-to-mid October. For those unaware, Best Buy is a big-box electronics store. I know they’re slowly opening stores in the UK and in China, as well as Canada and Mexico… I applied to be a tech [Geek Squad? Ergh.] but was told that they weren’t hiring anyone to fill that position at that time, so they put me on the sales floor [computers, of course...and cameras]. I had no experience selling, but I quickly moved to the third best [in terms of numbers] in my department due to sheer knowledge. Having Jeremy around to answer questions that pop into my brain so I can be better prepared to answer customers’ stuff is convenient. Hah.
The environment is very obnoxious and high school-y, but whatever. It’s a paycheck…and I was hired making more than some people who have been there a year as well as more than people hired after me. Not a huge paycheck because they only give me part-time [full time hours since it is the holiday season], but I can’t expect too much right now.

I am considering going to school to get a PharmD to be a pharmacist. That commits me to six years of school, though, which is why I have not yet leapt into college/uni because that’s a pretty huge decision that I am not sure I am equipped to make. Pondering, pondering. That would make me a doctor, though [hah], and would guarantee at least $70,000 annually right out of college. Compared to other medical professions of the same skill level, pharmacists have the least amount of debt [re: student loans] and it doesn’t require, you know, fucking with a bunch of bodily fluids, or cutting people open, etc.

Thanksgiving was disastrous at best because his step-mother is crazy and selfish. I’ll just leave it at that.

Christmas is in two days…after I get out of work this evening, we’re setting off to go to Virginia for a couple days to spend the holiday with my family. My little sister is on the verge of crucifying me because she misses me. I suck at gifts, though, and I’m pouting at Jeremy because he ruined the surprise of his. :| Boo.
I hope the holiday goes well. I do believe we’re looking forward to a rave on New Years’ after we return from VA…I’ll have to double-check my work schedule to make sure I don’t open the next day, though.

Week I

It’s been a relatively uneventful first week here near Pittsburgh. I mean, yeah, there was the whole G20 Summit thing less than thirty miles away which kinda fucked up the roads here, but we stayed in this weekend so we weren’t really affected. The first few days were really warm during the day, and even somewhat into the evening, but autumn is creeping in at a leisurely pace. It rained all day on Saturday, which ruined our plans to bust out a projector and watch anime out on the side of the house with some friends.

My angst lies in the fact that I cannot begin learning to drive until three weeks from now…I have to be a resident of this state for a month before I can acquire a learner’s permit here. I have a Virginia learner’s, but you can’t practice on that, here, unfortunately…nor can I simply transfer it like one could simply transfer a full license. I don ‘t know that I will actually be able to do so then because of the weather here…we sometimes get snow before Halloween! With the way the roads are (very many hills and awkward turns coupled with pavement that could use some TLC) I wouldn’t feel comfortable trying to drive on that mess before I could drive on it in fairer conditions. So…fingers crossed that the weather stays reasonable for some time so I can get some practice in before treacherous conditions hit.

I’m desperate to find work…we need more space than we’ve got, here, and we can’t move until I’ve got a job and all that. I’m also desperate to avoid retail (I’d rather wait tables again–really!) but I’ll take what I can get, because we need to bolster, and then solidify, our budget so that we can save up for a security deposit and for the other things the household needs to be comfortable. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not whining; I’m immensely happy I’m here, but this particular house we are in is lacking in very many ways–safety and sensibility being a couple of those ways. My parents back in VA are like, “Worry about school, first!” but I suppose they didn’t actually listen to the things I told them. With the school situation, I wouldn’t be starting until the spring semester at the earliest and in the meantime, we need to be saving money, damnit!

I don’t really know how I feel about the room-mate situation. I don’t think I care for it…at least, not in this case. Maybe it is his kid; it probably is. Or maybe it is just my absolute craving for genuine privacy…