Yay Saturday.

I was moving much better at work than I have been in quite some time.  It's like this lead weight was taken from my legs and my speed improved drastically.  It sort of reminds me of Rock Lee from Naruto when his weights are removed from his legs while fighting Gaara.

What a world of difference it makes

Hopefully, I'll get to a point of feeling even more amazing in the near future.  My body's still adjusting, but I know it will get used to the changes I've made in due time.  In the meantime, I've got some things I want to talk about today.

Admiring the Work So Far

My website is nearly 100% complete.  I just have to figure out how to use the podcast plugin, and I'll be good to go.  I'd like to start doing a weekly podcast that would start out at half an hour or so.

It doesn't need to be overly exciting.  It just needs to mention the stuff that will be normally covered.  I'm also trying to decide what to do for this year's first issue of the digital magazine.

Just one step at a time.

Social Networking Non-Woes

In a prior entry, I noted that I was blocked on Facebook.  My curiosity screaming to scratch the itch of knowledge, I did some research and discovered this nifty tidbit.  It mostly relies on old conversations via chat/messaging, but one can find out if a person simply deleted/deactivated their account or if they simply blocked them.

Speaking of conversations, I took it upon myself to delete some old ones.  It's in the past after all, and I might as well free up my inbox  a bit.  While I'm at it, I just might remove that Android Facebook Messenger App.  It's been a bit buggy.

For example, it doesn't always have the most up to date profile pictures of other Facebook users.  That can create an awkward situation when one decides to message another about that My Lil' Pony avatar when it might not be that person's latest profile pic.

Oh, the app apparently listed a person who I suspected had blocked me as "Facebook User" and being "online."  That was a big giant fail on Facebook's part.

And yes, I submitted a bug report.  I'm not the type of guy that would take advantage of such a bug, but others might.  Seeing as how the report was submitted several weeks ago, I'm going to make the dangerous assumption that the problem has been fixed by now.

Either way, I may just remove the app as the Facebook app itself has improved its messaging feature.  A standalone app just for chatting doesn't sound necessary at this point.

Conclusion

I get to look forward to the first paycheck of the year that doesn't involve paying rent.  I'll get to see how much it dwindles down to after the Social Security Tax has been brought back up.  I'm also going to find out how much I'll need to budget towards car insurance this year.

I should be finding out in a matter of days.

Even more good news.  I'm going to do the wisest thing with my tax return ever.  One of my expired credit cards is going to be paid off in full.  2013 is the year in which I will work towards eliminating personal debt.  I may not get it all this year, but I will make the best attempt that I ever have.

With that said, time for bed.  Have a wonderful day, everybody.

Sunday Send Off: Plans for the Week.

Tonight is my "Friday."  In other words, I have Monday and Tuesday nights off.  I'm really looking forward to 7 AM Monday morning.  As I sit here consuming the remainder of my Woodchucks and relaxing, I couldn't help but plan for the week.  Of course things are somewhat tentative, and might change depending on the situation, so I'll have to adjust accordingly.

 Needless to say, I'm thinking that this week is going to be interesting to say the least (and in a good way).


Laundry

I'll definitely need some clean clothes for when I go back to work Wednesday night.  I might do enough of a load to last me a couple of days or do enough to last the usual five depending on the situation.

Meet a Friend for Dinner

 It's been forever since I've had dinner with this friend.  She's one of the most sociable people I've ever met.  She also tends to get worried if she doesn't hear from her friends in a while (she wanted to know if I was mad at her).  It's been a while, so I might as well visit with her and another friend at the same time (haven't had an extended conversation with him in a while either).

Sell the ole' HP dv7 notebook

 I don't use it very much, the touch pad is a royal pain on OS'es other than Windows (right click doesn't work unless I want to do some major tweaking), and switchable graphics and the Linux kernel don't currently get along.  Somebody else is needing a computer to use, and $275 USD sounded good to him.

With that money coming this Thursday, I just might be able to swing...

A Samsung Galaxy S2

I currently have the Exhibit II 4G, which is decent, but the specs are a little low.  If too much stuff is loaded, Android practically has to reload itself after killing as many processes as possible.  For a regular, everyday consumer, it's a great phone.  For what I want to do, I need something a bit more powerful.

Pay Bills

I also get to pay some more bills, which is a part of life.

All in all, I'm looking forward to this week.  Now to get this published, eat some more food, finish off those Woodchucks, and head for bed.

Funny Phobias and a Change in Plans

Work was draining, but then again, it always is I suppose.  I still managed to find time to observe the interesting habits of people as they pay for their merchandise.  I was assigned the register that's known as the "smoke shop."  That register is the only place where one may purchase tobacco products.

Aside from those who don't like self check-out, some interesting people came and went.

Interesting Customer #1

 I never saw this customer, but I could hear them yelling, "I don't do self check!"  My supervisor offered to take care of them on a register with a full belt.  I was thankful I didn't have to deal with them.

Interesting Customer #2

Split transactions are common place in retail.  The lady handed me some cash, and when I tendered it, her new total was $6.66.  Out of fear, she grabbed a King Size Reece's just so she didn't have to have that total on her debit/credit card

I tried pointing out that it was a reference to a corrupt Roman Emperor to no avail.  She isn't the only customer who has cringed at such a number.  Such a phobia is one that I find amusing.

Interesting Customer #3

 At 15 minutes until six o'clock in the morning, a customer comes to my register with vodka.  I explained that he had to wait 15 minutes, because the register wouldn't let me ring it up otherwise.  Missouri State law limits the time in which alcohol can be sold at retail establishments.

• Monday through Sunday: 6:00 AM - 1:30 AM the next day.
• Sunday: 9:00 AM - Midnight Monday morning.

The gentleman had me hold onto his alcohol for him while he waited.  Another customer asks me what times we can sell alcohol.  He actually thought my place of work was exempt from the law and that it only applied to the bars.  It's very fascinating how many people are unaware of the law.

Changing my Phone Plan

 I'm currently with T-Mobile at the moment.  Unlike other suckers consumers, I'm on a no contract plan.*  Thanks to companies like Straight Talk, other providers have had to actually lower their prices in order to compete.

I was originally on the $50 USD plan, but I switched to the $60 USD plan.  I just got tired of getting throttled to 2G speeds after downloading a mere 100 MB of data.  Now that threshold will go up to 2 GB instead.

Soon, I will be able to watch YouTube while on lunch.

I was considering switching providers, but I really didn't want to go through the hassle of porting my number or getting a new one.  I figured I might want to be able to tether at some point anyway; though not at the moment, for I refuse to pay additional money for the privilege (hint to T-Mobile: stop charging extra just so people can tether... it's stupid, and only encourages people to run third party apps that will bypass your system).

All and all, it was an ok end to my day.  Now it's time to relax and go to bed.