Dee-Rob

I’m awake in a hotel room. I never know what to do with myself in hotel rooms. Especially if it’s for work, for which, on this case, this isolated room in wine country is occupied right now. By me.

I drank some Napa wine. I did some Wii exercising. I did some whirlpooling in the bathtub. Then, I stayed up too late. Only it’s no later than I usually do. It’s just I can’t guage time in the hotel vortex.

I know how to handle free time alone at home. I cherish free time alone at home.

But, in hotel land, I don’t know what to do with myself. I thinks it’s because I have to use a different remote.

But, you could argue that it’s work related. I work in a rather globally focused workaday world. So, staying up late to watch Babel makes sense, right? You dig, we all be globally inter-related and everyone is kind of the same.

I got to see that up close and personal in Uganda. Happily, unlike in the moving pictures, no one was shot or even dehydrated.

Meanwhile, speaking of my toil — Conceivably, the only reason I got my job at all was because I mentioned in the interview that I own a Mac. (Remember I did interview at this somewhat reputable, somewhat high-class gig at the same time as the ultimate in international marketing presence, the L’Occitane store at the mall. I mean, hell, they’re from Provence. That’s in France.)

Anyway, I got this job instead. The person under whom I toil, loves herself a Mac. Only problem is the MacBook Pro is hella heavy. That’s why I myself picked up the $400 wonder that is the Asus EEE PC.
Two pounds, tiny and snug, and the puppy works. I even pimped it out with Windows XP, so I could hook up to the work force. You really don’t want to sling a MacBook Pro over your shoulder if you’re logging any one of the seven continents on a pretty regular basis.

The answer, of course, if you’re a Mac fanatic of means would be the MacBook Air.

As any Mac freak as myself would tell you, you don’t go buying the latest in the Apple world the week of their World-Wide Developers’ conference until AFTER Steve gives his keynote. Your thing could be the now cliched “one more thing.”

So, tomorrow, among my other stresses and tasks and things they make me do for the ability to pay my bills, I have to keep an eye on the web reports. Poor me. Hard work that.

Now instead of being surreptitious about my web ways at work, I have to report back in about web surfing. (Amusingly related, some one half asked at a real meeting in SF if I might want to do some consulting on web stuff, spreading info through weblogs particularly. Something might come of it. Who knows.)

While I’m checking in on the keynote, I, of course, will be wondering on the big rumor of Apple rumors of du jour, the new generation iPhone. I wonder what I might be dialing later this month, if I was to call you. After all, that fucktard GWB gave me a couple of bucks to stimulate the economy. It’s chilling unglamorously and unspent in my savings account earning interest. But, I gather that’s un-American or something. I think I’m supposed to be buying gas.

By the way, I heard on the radio the rest of the country is now averaging over $4/gallon. Wimps, California has been rocking that level for a while.

After a week (or a tad less) back at work, and some much needed sleep, we’re almost back into our routine (i.e. boring) lives. Thank god.

The fun thing back at work was due to a leave that meant I hadn’t seen my boss since before Christmas, and left on vacation right before we would see each other again, a few official things were a tad delayed in our office. Among them was the official word on annual salaries. Right when I came back, voila, letter about my salary. It was good news all around and a bit surprising. (Well, not that surprising, since for a full year there’s been convos about how the work I was doing didn’t quite match the cash, since the position I was hired to had once been filled by someone half my age with no prior experience.)

Of course, because of past experiences with my so-called real jobs, I’m in a bit of neurotic zone. If past performance is an indicator of future success, then I have a couple more years of impressing the powers that be and taking on more responsibility so my value and earnings increase. Then, I will flame out in an amazing blaze of glory. I wonder how it will be this time.

On the political front, now that I am back in the U.S. of A., I’m in awe of how truly fucked up the Bill and Hill show has become. They were the ones with the campaign chops, the machine, the ultimate strategies. Now it’s a bit sad. Like a prize fighter staying in the ring that one last fight past his prime. Or some other hackneyed metaphor.

Once Obama seemed like the unlikely young also ran, now it seems like his game to lose. My feminist side does weep that Hillary was the best we could do at this historic moment.

Meanwhile, is anyone fucking surprised that McCain is cozy with lobbyists. I don’t believe the grumpy, old man nailed Vicki Iseman, mostly because she doesn’t look the sort who wants to wake up and wash the old man smell off herself.

What amazes me is the McCain hubris. Other politicians according to his world run the risk of being tainted with their associations with fundraisers, corporations, lobbyists and whatnot. But, not John, nope he’s impervious Apparently, all other pols are weak-willed and susceptible, but he has integrity.

I mean obviously, anyone who learned such a lesson in corruption by helping to fuck up the savings and loan industry would now be a pillar among men, right? Someone like that would never again associate with questionable characters and appear to peddle his influence. Oh wait, he would, but he’d no better and his new lobbying friends are the good guys.

Other than that, same old, same old, and I’m happy to be back in it. I also have photos up here: http://gallery.mac.com/dee_rob and here: http://dee-rob.com/zenphoto for different viewing experiences (and so as not to direct co-workers who asked for pics to this particular site of web ignominy).

M. particularly likes these shots.

I can’t believe that his aunt asked if I wanted “black jelly,” and I said yes.