Just in case you were wondering...

I worked about 95 hours last week.

Take that Samuel Koogart.

Working the 30 hour shift

Most people work 40 hour work weeks.

I have to do a 30 hour shift at one time. And then, I have to work some more.

This is bullshit.

The Road

Here we are again. It feels like a weird time in life. I don't know what it is but I feel lost. I don't know where to go from here.

It is not an easy time in my life. I'm still trying to adjust to a profession I really don't know would be truly fulfilling to me. There are many aspects of it I like but others I really detest.

I don't have a goal any more. Perhaps this is why I feel a bit lost. My ambitions are gone. I really don't want or need any more than what I have now. Actually, I think I could live with a little less.

What can I do?

X & S & E Series Walkman®

Sony is dead. Everyone knows this. Who the fuck buys Sony these days? (Well, I actually bought a tv recently but that was because it was super cheap. If i had more money, i would have purchased the sammy). Anyway, sony is coming out with the X & S & E series walkman. What a fucking joke. Does this company ever learn? What is the advantage of purchasing this thing? It supports the same crappy proprietary-locked-down formats that inconvenience the user. Other players do the same thing, I know. My question is then, why would I buy this piece of shit over the other cheaper one? And why don't I just purchase the ipod touch?

It just doesn't make sense. I have a super awesome business solution. Sony should just say fuck it to copy protection bullshit for their electronics right now. Let the Sony Music/Movie division deal with their own crap. The electronic division needs to take back control from the lawyers and assholes. They need to create a simple, slick video/mp3 player that supports all the popular pirated video formats/mp3/flac/etc. They can still put the premium price on it but at that point, it would be worth purchasing because the freedom it would give the user. Hell, I would buy it and become a sony user all over again.

But that is not going to happen and Apple, Samsung, and other chinese companies will continue to eat away shares of the electronic market and push sony electronic out of the picture.

Money

The one positive? aspect of working all the time is that you can't spend any money...oh wait, is that really a good thing? What the hell am I working for?

* Sent via BlackBerry *

Working till dawn

Welp, it's another day and another 30 hour call. i've already worked 12 hours but i have 18 more to go. What an amazing life. I live to serve I suppose.

I write this in the basement of my work. I get no cellphone coverage so I can't really txt message anyone. I can't call long distance either.

There is only one wireless device that works down here.

It's the fucking pager.

I really hate this thing. I really hate it hard.

Tired

I find that when I'm dead tired, things become clearer. All the little stupid shit that I worried about when idle gets pushed to the background and I come to focus on the absolute necessities to survive my life. For example, during my less busier month, I thought about all of the restaurants and eateries I wanted to visit around this town. Now, all I care about is getting comfort food down my throat as fast as I can. When I was not busy, I found myself wanting to watch more TV, movies, and participate in activities. Now, I don't care. I want to visit family and friends even if it's just for a short while and sit on the couch and do nothing.

And that brings up a good point. The best decision I made is to come back to where I grew up. In this busy stressful profession, you need stability more than anything. Anything includes prestige, money, fame, etc. Location, location, location is the most important for me. Others have other goals but for me it's always been comfort. and comfort can only be brought about by being near people I know. Next year will bring another change in my life when i have to change locations. However, I will be closer to where I want to be so I'm happy about that. I think that will help tremendously.

Sleep deprivation does many things to your psyche. There is a laundry list of things that are bad that come about from lack of sleep. There is one good thing though. And that is apathy toward people's perception of you. You just don't care what other people think. You need to get your work done and go home. That is all I care about right now.

I often think about whether I have made the right choice in going into this profession. People keep telling me "it'll get better". I don't know what that really means. My expectations of "better" may be different from all others.

I am on my 8th day of my 12 day work week. I'm ready to crash. My team is annoying the shit out of me. One guy is a weirdo prick. Other is the same. I'm tired of both of them. I am trying my best to minimize my interaction with them.

I can't wait until this weekend when I don't have to do anything. This weekend also marks the halfway point of this block. That's cause for celebration too.

Attack of the Girl Bands

What is the deal with the super girl groups consisting of 9 members? Do we really need 9 singers in one group? The answer to that, of course, is yes.

Girl's Generation


Morning Musume




Why did I make this blog post? Who knows. I saw the video on MTV and I thought it was shocking.

Vinturi Essential Wine Aerator - How I love thee...

Vinturi Wine Aerator is the shiznit. I can't believe it. I tried the same wine with and without the device and...damn, what a difference!!!

Guess what everyone is getting this Xmas...

Seriously, this is worth the investment. I've always been too lazy to use a decanter but now I can get AMAZING enhancement of flavor from all of the wine I drink using this.

I have come back from my blog hiatus to write about this because this thing is so awesome.

My Dinner - gross

My dinner

* Sent via BlackBerry *

Dead Tired

I am dead tired. 12 day work weeks suck donkey ballz. I really wish i could work 40 hour weeks. So tired...sleep....forever sleep.

Lakers!

We win! Woo!

Loud and Clear

Click this

The commercial is hilarious. I love the guy at the party. The device on the ear looks absolutely ridiculous.

New Beginnings

This blog had been neglected because the last month has been hectic. I moved, I graduated, and I started a new life and new job. It has been stressful because moving to a new place and starting a new job are not easy tasks. As I have mentioned in my previous post, everyone seems to be going through a transition phase.

One of my friends is still in China...and may remain there forever. I'm going to miss my cousin's wedding because of work. That same cousin is moving Midwest. Another cousin in starting school at USC. My mom is traveling outside the country. My sister is looking for a new job. Lakers may win another championship. This is crazy.

I realized this past month that I don't like change. I like routine. Granted, I love traveling and seeing new places and experiencing new things but I like those things to remain transitory. I want to be able to come "home" and get back to routine. In the past, I would tell my interviewer that I enjoy challenges. I don't any more. I want to push a button all day long.

Rethinking Public Transportation

I like the facial expression of the girl on the very right.
She's probably thinking, "ugh, I hate these coworkers and I hate the fucking bus"

I have been taking public transportation on and off for the past 5 years in Manhattan and in the other 5 boroughs and I have concluded that using PT is nether significantly better or worse than driving when analyzed within the context of my life.

There are positives and negatives to each method of people moving. However, for me, driving wins by a hair.

Time was a big factor in coming to this conclusion. It just takes too much fucking time to go from one place to another. Even within Manhattan, I think I could get to most places faster if I pulled the car out of the garage and drove there. It takes me 1.5 hours to go 30 blocks using public transportation whereas even in moderate traffic, I can be at the destination in 40 minutes. Of course, it'll cost more but if time is indeed priceless, then..well..there ya go.

I think people also forget that it takes time to walk to the station, transfer trains, walk to the building, etc. They see the time schedule on a train or a bus and think, "oh, it's a 35 minute train ride" or "it's on a 15 minute bus ride". They fail to realize that they need to be at the bus or train stop 5 minutes before it arrives, you may have to take another public transportation to get to said train stop, and you may have to even walk a few blocks before and after the train ride. Also, even if you get to the stops in time, the buses or trains may be late or they may be full so you have to wait for another one.

Take for example my morning public transportation commute the other day. I woke up at 6am to get ready and to catch the 7 o'clock bus ride to the train station. I have to leave at 6:45 to walk to the bus stop. It takes about 30 minutes (if you're lucky and you don't have handicapped riders) to get to the station. Then, I wait anywhere between 5-20 minutes for the train (depends on whether I catch the 7:40 or the 7:51 train. The train ride is only 35 minutes. Then I have to swtich to the subway, which takes 15 minutes to my actual destination. After that, it's a "short" 8 minute walk to my destination. From door to door, that was about 1 hour and 40 minutes.

When I drive to the same destination, it takes me 35 minutes total with light traffic and 1 hour and 10 minutes with traffic, door to door.

Public transportation frees you from the stresses of driving and you don't have to spend money on gas. However, taking PT is not without stresses of it's own.

It sucks when the bus or train is late. It sucks when you're trying to take those buses or trains during rush hour because you may not get a seat and you have to stand shoulder to shoulder or smelly body to smelly body with everyone for 35 to 40 minutes. It sucks when people are in your way taking up the entire walkway or staircase when you have a train or bus to catch. Not only that, the "convenience" of public transportation ends at watery border of Manhattan. Beyond that, you're on your own. All of these little things can piss you off.

Because of this hassle, many people take cabs in the city. But I don't know if they count as public transportation. With tips and tolls, I don't know how much you're saving in the end.

I have to start commuting to work next month. Let us see if I maintain this position. Before coming here, I was ready to give up driving forever and embrace the supposed greatness of public transportation. Now that I've experienced both, I'm leaning back toward driving myself to places.

Here is an interesting list

I agree with everything on that list

* Sent via BlackBerry *

Stop Signs

DMV needs to make their written test and driving test harder. They need to emphasize and reemphasize the 4 way stop sign, 2 stop sign, and yield rules much more than they are doing now. No one in this fucking area seems to know the rules of the road. Most remember to stop at a stop sign (thank goodness), but after that, they act like deer in headlights. They freeze and don't know what to do if there are any other cars around at the intersection. It's fucking ridiculous.

I HATE driving through an intersection with 4 stop signs, especially those with one lane for left turns and another lane for those going straight. That intersection is source of confusion for so many people every morning. I fear for my life when I have to deal with those fuckers.

DMV in new york offers discounts for those that take a "refresher" course on driving rules. I think this is a great opportunity to reemphasize the rules. I also believe that when you have to renew your driver's license, you should have to take a mini quiz and pass that fucking thing before you can get your new one. It should be a visual exam where you watch a video of cars approaching an intersection and you have to choose "who has the right of way".

Funny Movie?

I think I'm going to watch this movie. Looks interesting. Hopefully it'll have gratuitous violence and it will get a hard R rating (NC-17 movies are not played in many theaters so I'll take the R).

Trailer Here

Anti-QVC

The other day, on his blog, a friend posted about QVC and how he was seduced by the glittering jewels sold on that channel.

I don't watch QVC and I don't enjoy looking at jewelery in my free time. However, I did watch some other infomercials on tv that intrigued me.

One was the JawHorse. It looked like the perfect equipment for me. They addressed all of the problems I had when I was doing carpentry. I hate the fact that I don't have a sturdy surface and I hate using regular saw horses for projects. I may have to pick one up.

The other was DualSaw. DualSaw is sold by the "Pitchmen" and they argue that it will solve the problems of regular circular saws. One major problem of typical circular saws is the "kickback" issue. Because the DualSaw has...Dual Saws and these saws rotate in opposite directions, the "kickback" issue is apparently solved.

I would like to try these two products. If they work like advertised, I think carpentry would be easier.

Betrayed

In the next few days, Amazon will announce the new Kindle supposedly named Kindle DX. It is supposed to have 9.7 inch display. And, it supposedly supports PDF. Now, I imagine that a firmware upgrade on the kindle 2.0 may solve the pdf issue on this device as well but i'm pissed that they announced a new kindle so early. I thought at least I had a year before I needed to upgrade. Oh well, I'm pretty much sold on ereaders at this point so I may have to sell the kindle 2.0 so i can get kindle 2.5.

Hot Stuff

I cannot find salsa that is in the HOT flava anywhere. I don't know if they discontinued it but none of the grocery stores carry it. I went to the Super Stop and Shop as well as other stores like Dagostino, Costco, etc and they don't have it either. Wha' happen? Did everyone turn into pussies? Can they not take the heat?

I have to resort to chopping my own jalapenos and mixing it with the salsa to get it hotter. This is lame. I want my hot stuff back.