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Once more unto the breach dear friends . . .

So, without realizing, it's been a year since I posted on this blog. I guess part of that is a factor of life - it happened. Rather than try to catch up on a year's worth of events and details of my life, I'm going forward regardless. Instead of the introspective and self-reflective blog I tried to make in 2006, I am going to write something that is truer to myself here in 2007. What will follow in the days and weeks to come will be my thoughts on video games, technology, tv, movies, and of course life as I live it.

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Today, I want to talk briefly about my newest purchase, which is plugged into my laptop as we speak. Yesterday, I purchased a 4gb Sandisk Cruzer Micro USB Key from Best Buy. Already owning several keys in differing sizes of storage capacity, I purchase this one based somewhat on size but mostly on price alone. There is a sale this week, and the 4gb model is selling for 50 bucks! The 2gb model retails for $75, so that right there should be an indicator of how good a deal this is.

I'm using this USB key mostly to try out a new feature in Windows Vista - Ready Boost. Having only just started using this feature, I cannot report fully on its uses and usefulness yet, but will talk more after I've had a chance to really test it out. In a nutshell, Ready Boost allows you to plug a memory device (USB Key, SD Card, etc.) into your Windows Vista PC and use the capacity of the device (up to 4gb) for what basically amounts to extra virtual memory for the system. Apparently, I can significantly speed up performance - I'll have to see how functional it is in real world terms.

I use my laptop all the time now, what with taking notes in class 5 days a week, and want it to be as versatile and useful as possible. I purchased a Toshiba Satellite P105-S6104 several months ago (just after classes started for the semester) and have since upgraded it. I installed additional RAM, bringing the system up to 1.5gb of memory; and, I installed a copy on Windows Vista, the newest operating system for the unit. I will talk in future posts about Vista and its benefits and drawbacks, but suffice it to say that I love a lot of what it does. In many ways, the operating system seems to complement many of the features of my laptop. In fact, my only complaint about my laptop at all is the battery life. Being a dual core PC, I didn't expect too much, but usually I get between 2 to 2&1/2 hours before needing to plug in. I am currently looking to purchase an extended battery for the PC, but am trying to weight all my options first. As it stands, I don't think I could get more than 3 hours out of even the extended battery, so I'm not sure of the point right now.

Anyway, that's it for today because it's almost 70 degrees and I'm going outside to enjoy it!

So this is my first blog entry from my new phone, and I have to say that this thing is pretty damn cool! My new phone is the LG "The V", and it is surprising in its multitude of capabilities. Obviously, there is the web browser, which is infinitely more useful with the benefit of the full size qwerty keypad. There is the requisite 1.3 megapixel camera, but that camera has a business card reader function! The camera takes a high-quality capture of the card, uses OCR software to parse out individual strings of text, and will auto insert the information into a phone contact. How sick is that?

Today was my first real shift as a server (earning tips and all), but I'm not going to talk about that now. Instead, I want to relay some thoughts I had over this past weekend at my brother's bar-mitzvah. As an aside, I had a great time, seeing my family and spending time with my siblings and cousins.

Every time I go back to my Dad's and/or go to family events, I find myself living in the shadow of who I used to be . By that, I mean that my family and my father's friends can't seem to separate their memories of me as a child/young adult from the man I am today. On some level, it's nice to be reminded of my past and to revisit fond memories with friends and loved ones. At the same time, I lost track of the number of times my conversations began with "I remember when you were only this big, this old, etc . . . " this weekend. There was a point where I seriously (albeit largely due to alcohol) wanted to shove a fork in one guy's eye. He wouldn't let me walk away from him until I assured him that I remembered a particular time when we had had some interaction when I was 'only as high as his knee'.

Great . . .

I am officially a server now. I passed my roleplay meal, and am cleared for the floor. When I get back from Chicago, I will finally start making tips and earning the money my roommates do. It feels good to have finally gotten over the hump of training, and it's funny how much things changed at work as soon as I did. Even though my training was only just complete, the trainees from the evening shift started looking to me for answers to their questions.

At first, it threw me a little, but soon I felt more comfortable with the role. It was fun, because it showed me that I knew more about the job than I had allowed myself to realize. I guess worrying about passing my roleplay kept me from seeing how ready I am to serve. It was a nice feeling, to be honest. And, it was very nice not being the newest guy at work anymore ;)

Snoooooooooooooooooow!!!!!!!!!!!!

Even though it is coming down hard outside, I am still getting ready to go in for my last training shift. I mean seriously, we are expecting over a foot of snow, there is no visibility, and the roads are covered, but Joe's is still open. The natick and braintree malls are both closed, but still Joe's is open. Oh well, at least I can't expect it to be too busy tonight. I'll blog more afterwards, and see if anyone even showed up . . .
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So, yeah - it was supah dead. The most guests of the day were the plow drivers who came in after 6pm. Everyone who came in (except for a handful of people) went straight into the bar/lounge, so my dining room training was a complete wash. In fact, the most exciting part of the day, was dealing with a gentlemen who appeared to be to drunk to leave on his own. He tried to drive away, and couldn't even get out of the parking lot! By the time the cab we called for him arrived, it took two of us to even get this guy into the cab - he was completely passed out. It turns out he forgot to take his blood pressure medication, and that was what made him that way; but, at the time it was damn funny! Anyway, I'm off to enjoy some Olympic coverage with my roommates . . .

I think the thing I miss the most about my old job was the respect and authority. I'm not saying I always have to be in charge (though it was nice), but that was probably the hardest thing to deal with after losing my job: not having anyone looking to me to make decisions. I didn't notice how much I missed it until I finally got into the swing of things at my job.

It started to get hectic in the kitchen when I was helping run food, and I wanted to step in and direct people when I saw them obviously losing focus, and needing direction. But, when I tried to step in, I realized I was the new guy, nobody was going to listen to me (assuming I even knew what I talking about), and I needed to step back and let those in charge sort it out themselves.

It was a weird feeling, both the realization that I wasn't in charge and the realization that I wasn't qualified or experienced enough for anyone to look to me either. I miss the money I was making as a manager. I also miss the familiarity of the job - being able to know what a week would be like, just by the normal tasks/duties of the day. The job was by no means easy, in fact far from it; but, having worked there for so long made it easier. The sheer amount of time I worked in that same store made my job that much easier. Now, starting over at a new job, in a new field, I realize just how much I took all that for granted. In fact, I think I miss that MORE than I miss the money I was making. I can always make more money, but experience - well, that is very hard to come by.

I know that if I want respect and authority at my new job I'll have to earn it, but I still resent the fact that I have to. I feel like I already spent a lot of time doing that, and now I just have to do it again. But, on some level I think this is my own fault. I always said I never wanted to end up working in retail as my career, and yet I stayed there for much longer than I had wanted. So, the fact that all of my experience is retail-based is of my own doing. In fact, I don't want to end up stuck in the restaurant business either. So maybe I should stop worrying so much, and just try to earn some money . . .