Tonight was my first night on my actual shift at Bronson--2:45-11:15. I had orientation during the day on Monday and Tuesday. It was rather boring. I finished the week out on first shift, which was from 8:00-4:30pm. I really didn't have to answer the phone for tech calls because we're just back up for the Help Desk during that time. However tonight, the fun began. Honestly it was fun too. The two service calls that I went out for were actually quite ridiculous, but they were fun nevertheless.

One of the problems was a printer problem.
Of course there was absolutely nothing wrong with the printer. The problem was in the application that they were running. Neither of the yahoos could tell me how to bring up the print queue in the application... they told me that they never looked at it and that things just printed when they were supposed to. Of course, this is a hospital application... I have absolutely *NO* idea how to use it. (Although I don't feel so bad as the guys that are using it don't know how to either.)
This call was a real learning experience for me.
Number one, get all of the information before leaving the Data Center. See, the Data Center is in the old hospital, and all of the tech calls usually are in the New Hospital. Which means, I've got to take at least a half mile hike over to the new hospital... so, not having all of the information before heading out means, trekking back to the Data Center, looking up the extention of the Department, etc., etc.

Needlesstosay, I made a couple of these errors this evening, I think I got at least 4 miles in tonight. =)

The other thing I learned... how to use a Nextel phone. I don't personally have one... (yet... As I'm getting one, provided by Bronson. I hate Nextels!)
It's not rocket-science or anything, but as the thing chirped away at me, I hung up on my co-workers three times.
Of course, they were calling me to tell me not to bother going back to Radiology... the application had been reset by another tech, and the yahoos were getting their reports spewing out of their printer.

The second tech call that I made was exactly the kind of call my supervisor, Ray, said would the norm.
The nurses in the charge office had their floors cleaned so maintence removed everything had been unplugged and put back incorrectly, supposedly.
When I got there. The only thing that was keeping these computers from not operating properly was that they were not turned on.
*laughs*
I'm sure that I will eventually get some challenging calls, but if this is the norm... my job really is a cakewalk like Brian said.

In more fun news, I went the opening party for Dan's moped shop--1977 Mopeds. He showed me a catalog of performance parts which got me drooling.
My Vespa is going in on Tuesday for some upgrades. *yipppeee!!*

I thought this was America... free speech for everyone, right?

WRONG.

Setting: The Academy Awards.

Steve Martin can make sexist and slightly homo-phobic/erotic remarks and jokes... no one bats an eye. He's a the host, and a comedian so, he's allowed to take things to levels that some would find to be in bad taste. (I certainly did. Most of his banter was pathetic.)

The guys who won for best sound get to prattle on about how their wives really helped them through the hardships of sound effects for Lilo and Stitch.

Michael Moore, a man who's known for his mouth, his strong opinons, and by far a funnier man than Steve Martin anyday--gets boo-ed for not falling in line with Bush. For once, the Academy gets it right, and Hollywood, gets it all wrong.

So far, this week has been a big waste.
I've not really done anything of worth except for going to get my shots at Bronson.
"Getting my shots" makes me sound like a household pet, and honestly that's how I've been acting this week. Lying about. Barking at the neighbors. Listening to music. Reading. Watching television. Thinking about the impending, and now active war.

One thing, and one thing only on the war. Last night after our initial missle attacks Bush-baby came on the TV reiterating the hope that this will be a short war, that we have a coalition of forces, and that our aim is to oust the tyrannt. One thing that really caught my attention was the word "defense." I'm pretty sure I gave a resounding "bullshit!" response to the talking head. Now don't jump down my throat for not getting the exact quote, I'm sure I could jump over to NYTimes.com and get the exact text of the speech but I'm not going to. Defense. We're not defending ourselves. We're attacking... Attacking now to prevent some attack that may happen in the future. This is pre-emption. Not defense. Get your new fangled foreign policy straight, please.

I can still make this a worthwhile week.
Today I need to do some laundry, send out some e-mail, figure out what the hell I want to do for my birthday, and continue working on some wedding stuff.

Tunes: Talking Heads--Remain in Light/Fear of Music/More Songs About Buildings and Food,
Ted Leo & the Pharmacists--Hearts of Oak, Cursive--The Ugly Organ, 349 random iPod songs.

Read: This Must Be The Place (Talking Heads bio)

I am not a patient boy.
Sure, I'm good at killing time, but this waiting to hear from new job is killing me.
Whatever.

My last day at the News Agency is Sunday.
Miss it? Hardly. You all know.

I wrote this gigantic post on all of my hatred for customers, but I didn't post it...
It was pretty funny. Maybe I should reconstruct it.

I've let some of my favorite customers know that I'm leaving. None of them have expressed anything but happiness for me... which is, of course, what I expected. I think the majority of those that I've spoken with know what a pain it must be to work for Dean.

In killing time, I've watched the Ring, twice, I'd definately recommend this movie. SO GOOD!
Also the Rules of Attraction, (Ellis' books are so tedious while the films of said novels are so enjoyable.) as well as, Igby Goes Down, and the Omen.
I also finished up William Gibson's Pattern Recognition.

I was supposed to find out whether I got the job yesterday, but I didn't receive a phone call so I had prepared myself for the worst. Erin told me that I shouldn't worry about it and that I would probably get a call today... either way. What made me think that I didn't get the job was how implicitly clear my interviewer had made that they would call on Monday. So, I figured my phone call would be one of, "Thanks for interviewing, but we chose another candidate."
I was prepared.

Home phone rang at 8:15.
I was awake, but still pretty much still nestled and comfy in bed.
I wouldn't usually jump up to get the phone, so I didn't today either.
I should have. It was Halle from Bronson. She rattled off something that I really didn't catch, said she needed to talk to me, she had good news.
I was pretty reserved at first, but then just kept going "YEAH!" and pumping my fist.
My cell phone rang a few minutes later and I grabbed it up.
I talked with Halle for a few minutes. I'm supposed to get another call from her today.
Letting me know what my starting wage will be and when I'm going to start.
It will either be the 17th or the 24th. I'm geeked either way.

Now for the fun part.
Telling Dean I'm leaving the News Agency.
More on that later.

Oh, by the way, the job is in IT Administration.
I'm 2nd shift (3-11pm) Associate Tech for Data Operations.
Full benefits--medical, dental, optical as well as gym and spa usage.