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Just landed at O'Hare. Slept most of way home. Have a grueling social schedule that I think I'm going to blow off and spend a quiet evening getting ready to leave tomorrow. I have a strong craving for paella tonight.

Sent from my iPhone

Just landed in Charlotte

This CRJ900 is new but the seats are terribly uncomfortable. I also think I left my headphones in the rental car.

Sent from my iPhone

Update: my headphones were packed in my luggage and not in my backpack as usual.

18 hours with the iPhone

(ILM, Wilmington, NC) — I'm waiting for my outbound flight to Charlotte, where I will connect to Chicago. Nice small airport this ILM is. I count 7 gates, but only 4 appear to be used.

You know how you only notice the flaws in a product. The iPhone completely rocks! It does just what I got it for, but it's not the end all be all. I'll be interested in seeing what revisions come down the line.

The Google Maps app isn't anywhere near as good as the one on my old Windows Mobile device. When using app for directions, you can't zoom out to get a better perspective (handy in unfamiliar territory). You also can't search for businesses near a location. I used that feature all the time. I guess I'll be using the web-based Google Maps for that.

My Jawbone keeps trying to steal my calls. If I want to make a call on the iPhone itself, it prompts me where to receieve the call. Even though, I select iPhone, a few seconds later, the call will transfer to the Jawbone. I'll tranfer it back and half a minute later, it transfers to the Jawbone again. It seems to take after the third time, but now I just turn the Jawbone off when I'm not using it.

The iPhone also thinks my Call Forwarding is on. Every time I make a call I have to dismiss the Call Forwarding warning. It settings, Call Forwarding is clearly turned off.

The only other nitpick is that my Shure headset doesn't fit the iPhone plug, but I never intended to replace my iPod anyway. My music collection is already tipping the scales at 8GB. It won't fit in the phone.

Travel getting out of control

(Courtyard Marriott, Greenville, NC) — I used to SMS my parents and sisters every time I touched down in a new city, but the iPhone doesn't seem to be multi-receipient-TXT-friendly. So expect more updates on the blog so my family knows where I am.

It looks like I'll be home rarely in July. I already have a go-live that keeps me put in Greenville for one weekend. Now, I've been sourced by another customer in San Jose who needs my help on the 12th. That will probably go through most of the weekend, maybe allowing me to get home on the night of the 15th to change clothes, heading back out on the 16th. But, I'm already hearig murmuring from people in Palo Alto who've heard of me but never met me that they want to have dinner on the night of the 15th. I'd probably hop the red eye after dinner from Palo Alto to Raleigh on th 15th to show up in Greenville again on the 16th.

All this is speculation since I haven't booked anything yet.

iPhone enabled

(Courtyard Marriott, Greenville, NC) — Here was the plan. I was going to leave work at noon yesterday and head to Wilmington, NC. Pick up an iPhone there at 6p and hop a flight to Chicago from the Wilmington airport at 8p.

Why Wilmington? It was the closest airport I could find to Greenville, with the latest service to Chicago (albeit, connecting through Philly). I needed a late flight to be able to pick up an iPhone at 6.

Here's what I didn't know. First, Wilmington to closer to than Raleigh to Greenville, but harder to get to. In fact, it's nearly an hour further away by travel time. Second, Wilmington is a hotbed of tech activity. There's a Corning facility there with a ton of freshly minted, well-paid engineers. When I called the Wilmington AT&T store shortly after noon, there were already 30 people in line.

Here's what did happen. I started to drive to Wilmington anyway. There was a good chance I would get an iPhone, but I had to catch my flight there anyway. I surfed by the local AT&T store on my way out of town. Looked like there were 12 to 15 people in line at that store. Decisions decisions. After an unsuccessful search for "bag chair", a change to workout gear in the car, and a stop at McAllister's (in the same strip mall with AT&T) for a terrific to-go grilled chicken salad (must get again) for lunch, I got in line at number 17 at roughly 2p. I called my travel agent from the line to push my flight back to Saturday.

4.5 hours later, I had an iPhone. 8GB, thank you very much. It's every bit as good as they say it is. So far.

Maybe I won't get an iPhone after all

(office, Greenville, NC) — From David Pogue's iPhone Q&A:

Do To Do items show up on the iPhone? Do memos in the iPhone’s Notes program show up on the computer? No.

Then again, my Windows Mobile phone doesn't sync anything anymore with my Mac.

I fly a lot

(BFF's apartment, Peoria, IL) — I'm on track to have 58 flights with United by the end June. At that pace, I'll get just over 100 by year-end. That's 1K, baby!

Oh no!

(home, Chicago, IL) — Someone fucked up and shipped me an XBOX 360. I don't think I'm going to make it to Peoria today.

Or work this week.

decisions decisions

(home, Chicago, IL) — I'm visiting my BFF in Peoria today. I'm supposed to be on the road already but I owed a couple of people CDs that I had to make this morning and I want to charge my iPoodle (thanks, divine) for the trip.

The decision I have to make is whether to take the MINI or the Triumph. I'm trying to keep the mileage down on the MINI ahead of it's imminent sale, but it a nice ride. The Triumph is uncomfortable over distance but f'in' cool.

The Greenville Courtyard Marriott steps up

(Courtyard Marriott, Greenville, NC) — I don't know if it's been there all week, but I just noticed the Courtyard I live in in Greenville gives you free lotion. Free lotion is the hallmark of a decent hotel. I've never been in a Courtyard that gives you little bottles of lotion. It's Davies Gate brand. Never heard of it. Smells good though.

I haven't used Yahoo! Maps in ages

(office, Greenville, NC) — First MapQuest. Then Yahoo! Maps. Now Google Maps. Seems like there was a Microsoft product in the evolution somewhere.

Where was I going?

(office, Greenville, NC) — cleaning out the HD.

Getting my priorities straight

(office, Greenville, NC) — I've just booked my flights next week around the iPhone release. I'll be flying in and out of an airport 2 hours away and won't get home until close to midnight next Friday.

2 glasses of wine in

(Courtyard Marriott, Greenville, NC) — I can apparently handle my Shiraz, but not so much my Chianti. The first thing I did when I got back to the hotel after dinner was watch Reba.

Couple of TV- and wine-fueled observations:

• Reba is kind of MILFy. It's gotta be the red hair. And the wine.
  
• Jami Gertz is also pretty damn MILFy, but I'm not in the mood for another white-person-rescues-all-the-negros movie.
  
• Why is poker a sport? Why do I watch it?
  
• I want to like Stargate because my BFF does. But, I don't.
  
• Despite critical acclaim, I can't stand Kyra Sedgwick in The Closer.
  
• Women in pigtails are very sexy until they're nekkid. Then they're creepy.
  
• I think I've found a sure-fire source for the iPhone on the 29th, but I'm not telling you.
  
• Just found out the iPhone will be released at 6p next Friday and I will be in the air, unless I delay my departure from Greenville until Saturday morning.

Dragonslayer rule #1

(office, Greenville, NC) — If you get breast implants, you have to get ass implants too.

Few things are sadder than a set of double-Ds and a flat ass.

Waiting at O'Hare

(Red Carpet Lounge, C-concourse, ORD, Chicago, IL) — I've been waiting in the airport for 2.5 hours for United to fix the plane I was scheduled to fly out on to Charlotte where I would connect to my flight to Greenville.

As of right now, there is no way I'm catching my flight to Greenville.

I need United to cancel this flight, so I can rebook for tomorrow and go home and have drinks and ice cream out on the deck.

The flight is late

(PGV, Greenville, NC) — Got our answer. US Air just made an announcement that there was a ground stop in Charlotte resulting in our plane being 30 minutes late.

If there was a ground stop leaving, there could definitely be a ground stop going back....

Where the flight?

(PGV, Greenville, NC) — I'm sitting in the lobby at PGV, an airport so small that it only has one gate and part-time TSA agents. But it does have wi-fi. My colleague has been checking the inbound flight on flightaware.com and finding out that it hasn't left CLT yet, which would make it 1 hour late if it took off right now. I doubt that's true. In the meantime, I've been checking the inbound flight status with Google SMS and they've been indicating that the flight is on time. In ~15 minutes, we will discover which service is more accurate.

I've got a hard departure time of 6p. If I'm delayed longer than that, I miss the last United to Chicago. There may be a later US Air flight, but I'd almost rather take a flight to D.C. and then to Chicago getting in close to midnight. Anything to avoid U.S. Air.

It's official

(office, Greenville, NC) — I've been extended in Greenville until the end of July. Woe is me.

In other news, driven by coverage in USA Today and rave reviews from another blogger, I've joined Yelp.

ICE ICE baby

(office, Greenville, NC) — Do you know about ICE?

I'd read an online discussion about it somewhere on the internet a couple of months ago. After reading the thread, I'd concluded that it wasn't widespread enough to warrant paying attention. I recognized the need to make entries in my cell phone book that someone providing aid (or even just finding my cell) can use to contact someone I know. 'Home' (what I look for in other people's cell when I find them) doesn't do any good. My cell is my home number and even if I had a home phone, no one would be there since I live by myself. I thought about 'Mom', 'Dad', 'Parents', etc. You know, an easily identifiable contact.

I was reminded of this about a month ago when I found a phone in a cab. It had so many foreign numbers in it it was hard to decipher who to call. I ended up calling all the Chicago-based numbers until I found someone who recognized the incoming number and picked up. We arranged an exchanged and the phone caught up with its owner somewhere in Europe.

Despite my concern, I put the whole idea on the backburner. Until last night.

I was listening to the Fitness Attack with Amy Mac podcast from 6/1 and she brought it up there. I thought about it again. It doesn't hurt to have the ICE entry. If someone looks for it and finds it, great. If not, no sweat.

So now I have an ICE entry (it's my parents). You should too. You never know when it might save precious time in an emergency.

American Airlines changes the AAdvantage program

(home, Chicago, IL) — I got this in an email last weekend.

New 18-Month AAdvantage® Mileage Retention Policy
Because we value your participation in the AAdvantage program, we want to let you know about an upcoming program change. AAdvantage members now must have mileage earning or redemption activity once every 18 months in order to remain active and retain their miles. Effective December 15, 2007, mileage balances will expire from AAdvantage accounts that have not had miles either earned or redeemed within the previous eighteen (18) month period. This change will not impact you as long as you remain active in the AAdvantage program.

No more Twitter

(home, Chicago, IL) — I deleted my Twitter account. Too much nonsense traffic. Without true friends or associates on there, it lacks meaning. Snatches of text from complete strangers are meaningless without context.

I deleted my girlfriend yesterday too.

I also deleted her the day before, but you know how you delete a file and it's not really gone, it's in the trashcan. I guess that's what happened. I woke up Friday and still had a girlfriend.

A comment by Puppie

(home, Chicago, IL)

Re: #1: there's an excellent book by Elizabeth Warren called "The Two-Income Trap". Elizabeth Warren is a national expert on bankruptcy. And in her book, she says that the #1 predictor of personal bankruptcy is having a child. Hand to god.

— Puppie, a commenter on Shasta MacNasty

Enjoy!

(home, Chicago, IL) — I love the fact that the last step on heating up a Lean Cuisine is Enjoy!

Seriously, I need a reminder sometimes.

Life is good

(home, Chicago, IL) — Standing in my living room, wirelessly connected to the intarweb, about to pay my mortgage wirelessly and contemplating what I want for breakfast.

Stop.

Think of all the incredible things that make that one moment possible.

I'm alive. I'm healthy enough to stand. I have internet access. I have electricity. I have wireless networking. I have a laptop. I have money to pay for a condo which is turning out to be my most expensive toy yet. I have a job. I have bank that allows me to make payment via the intarweb. I have money for food. I have food choices, good food choices.

"Thank the Maker" — C3PO, Star Wars IV, A New Hope

It never ends

(office, Greenville, NC) — extended until the end of July.

I haven't been this geeked in a while

(office, Greenville, NC) — iPhone Countdown

Quicken like a Phoenix from the ashes

(office, Greenville, NC) — After what has to be a 6-year hiatus, I'm going back to Quicken to help me get a handle on my finances. I didn't realize but a version came installed on my Macbook.

Done so far this morning

(Courtyard Marriott, Greenville, NC) — The early bird gets the worm.

• packed to leave. After 2.5 weeks here, I'm finally getting to go home.
  
• Added Diggers to my Netflix queue. Read the April 27th review in Gapers Block last month, but never got around to seeing it (being in Chicago more would help). It's number 293 in my queue. Which means I'll never see it.
  
• bought The Average American Male by Chad Kuitgen on Amazon. From the review:

  Other tasks he performs on a regular basis: fantasizing about women, watching porn, and playing video games

  Someone called it chick-lit for guys. Sold.
  
• figured out my next AmEx payment.
  
• cleaned out my wallet.

Storms Passing By

They're Heeeeere

They're Heeeeere
Originally uploaded by kookybites

I'm obsessed

No will yet

(Courtyard Marriott, Greenville, NC) — Someone asked to be kept in the loop on the whole will business. Well, I haven't had the will created yet. I haven't heard back from my lawyer. I'm guessing that there not much to do unti I get back to Chicago to have a sit down chat.

Heard on a Podcast

(Courtyard Marriott, Greenville, NC) — "when the going gets tough, the common person gets conservative"

— Henry Rollins, Episode 60, GQ Audio Podcast, 4/24/07

I should blog

(office, Greenville, NC) — I just booked my flights for the week after next and I'm waiting for the email confirmation. In the meantime, I'll blog a bit. I don't multitask very well.

Paypal appears to be down. Found that out via Twitter. Not that I use Paypal. I don't think I've used them since my ex broke into my account last summer and stole some cash from me. I promised I would help her out with some bills. It was guilt tax from fucking her over earlier that year. She sent me a Paypal bill. I didn't respond fast enough and forgot to change my password so she just logged into my account and paid her own bill.

What are you gonna do? I was guilty as charged. What goes around come around, right?

I'm in Greenville for the weekend. Work, as usual. I was here last weekend for work too, but the customer cancelled the work at the last minute. I was just too lazy to rebook my flights.

Oh look, my ticket has been issued.