Bobbis.net

They dropped the price on my Apple Cinema Display by $200 . I believe the Apple Store has a 30 day price refund guarantee. I'll have to look into that. If anything it might just send me back to spend more money at the store. Grr.

Also, they double charged me on one of the gifts I purchased through amazon.com/borders. They said they cleared it up on the phone and yesterday on the email. If I don't see the charge back in my account by tomorrow I will call them again.

How is it that I have problems with people taking my money all the time?

EDIT: I love how within 30 minutes of macminute posting about the price cuts I already have two people consoling me about the recent price drop. News spreads really fast on the Internet.

My .Mac account has finally expired. For those who used jrearick2 at the mac domain, which I don't think anyone has, your mail will get bounced. My MSN name will stay for a while until I decide to change it. I'll let those on my list know when I do. For all email to me please use my Iowa State address. I suppose I will setup postfix on bobbis.net so that I can use bobbis.net emails properly.

Welcome to the new year. I can't believe the year 2000 was 5 years ago. Where are the flying cars already?

Anyway, I got my dad all set up, finally, with OS X. Dad had to be hovering over my shoulder most of the time I was working on rebuilding his computer. He would always ask me questions that were difficult to answer in a way that didn't confuse him after about 20 minutes of explaining. A task that would normally take me 10 minutes to complete took 1 hour to explain what I was doing. He still needs to learn a lot, but now that I have his new Palm Pilot syncing with Address Book and iCal and Mail.app he is really impressed. Now I have to set up my mom and teach her how to do it.

Speaking of new technology, Colin and I went down to the Apple Store briefly New Year's Eve so that he could pick up an iTrip and an iSkin for his iPod and I could exchange the 17" ADC display for a 20" Apple Cinema Display. I had to invest about $500 of my own money to do it, but man, it is so cool :-D. I also got an iSkin for my iPod while I was down there.

After spending maybe 15 or 20 minutes taking care of business at the Apple Store, Colin and I headed over the the New Year's party Meri invited us to. It was nice to talk with Colin, Walter, and Meridith a bit. I didn't get to really know our hosts Stephanie and Austin too much. I got back home around 1:30 or 2:00 in the morning.

Today, I broke out my new Cinema Display and finally assembled the office chair that I got for my birthday. You can see my new office setup in my photo gallery now.

Anyway, I should be getting to bed here pretty soon. Tomorrow I plan on cleaning the basement. My parent's came down today to find a bunch of records for the turntable and discovered the mess I made from assembling the chair, unpacking from the trip, and parts of the mess that they created when taking up the bookcase.

Happy New Year!

I mentioned somewhere in the depths of my last post that I would be summing up the gifts given and received from and by me. Here's what was exchanged

Givings
To: Gaila - Wireless laptop mouse
To: Becca - Large hot chocolate mix
To: Jan - Dozen dark chocolates from Temptations
To: Jason - America (the book)
To: Mom & Dad - Turn table

Receivings
From: Gaila - Oceans 11
From: Mom & Dad

Leather Jacket
Assortment of sweaters
Over-featured laptop backpack (very similar to the one I returned last year, something like a bag for my laptop is a very sensitive purchase for me and it takes lots of consideration and research to find the perfect one)
The Shawshank Redemption
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
Apple 17" Studio Display - to be exchanged for 20" Apple Cinema Display

From: Jason - Hero
From: Amaris - The Big Lebowski
From: Amaris' Step Mom and Dad - Hawaiian T-shirt
From: Amaris' Grandparents - Scented candle
From: Amaris' Mom - Socks, giant hersey kiss, assorted candies, orange
From: Amaris' brother (Jeremy?) - Small box of chocolates.

Thank you everyone. It was a little strange to be receiving gifts from people I don't know and who don't know me. I felt a little guilty I didn't get them anything. My parents really loved the turntable. It was almost like I gave them a new computer or something. They immediately had to open the box assemble it and run downstairs to grab some old records to play.

Tonight I have to rebuild my parents' iMac with OS X. Last night it decided not to respond to mouse clicks, plus it will work better with dad's new Palm Pilot. Borders/Amazon double charged me for my brother's gift, so I have to call some people to straighten that out. Tomorrow I am really looking forward to sleeping in. I'll be going down to Des Moines to exchange my display at the Apple Store then head off to Meri's party in State Center.

Have a Happy New Year.

I miss you Gaila!

A Summary of my Vacation

This has been quite the eventful week. I guess I'll sum up my week on a day to day basis.

Wednesday 12-22-04
I wake up, have breakfast with Gaila, and start packing. I drive to the airport with Gaila to send me off and return my car back home. On the way down I talk to Chris about some things that needed to be done for the MySQL server to move. My flight was supposed to leave at 4:05 PM but got delayed because there was no flight crew. Finally got in the air about 5:15 or so. Talked to an interesting woman on the plain who claimed to be an information systems consultant. She was kind of strange as she was constantly on the phone while waiting at the gate in Des Moines. She told me stories about running CICIS COBOL systems back in the day. She even liked the movie Office Space. She was still crazy though.

I arrive in Minneapolis about 6:30. Check the board and my connecting flight is "On Time". I call home to update my 'rents and grab a bite to eat. Ready to wait for my flight, I check the board again and find that my flight had been cancelled. They did not announce over the general PA system so I did not hear it when they announced at the terminal, so I found myself near the end of the line for rebookings :-( . I wait in line for the the courtesy phones to reschedule a flight. The first flight out of there for Syracuse would be late on the 24th. That wasn't going to work, so I change to go to Rochester the next day at 6:50 PM. Once I got a seat number and ticket I had to wait in line again to get some accommodations for the night. In line for getting hotel and meal vouchers I talk with a few girls who were in the same line. I find out that the flight was canceled because there was no flight attendant. No freaking flight attendant. :Rolleyes: So, I get into my own room around 10 PM. Give the 'rents, brother, Ben R, and Gaila a call to update them on the situation. I called Ben earlier to see if he could put me up for the night instead of waiting for an hour to get a hotel voucher. Unfortunately he was on his way back to Iowa when he called. After all the phone calls I made Wednesday, I'm glad that I was lazy and put my cell phone charger in my carry on. Though I really should have put a change of clothes in there :-(.

Thursday 12-23-04
The hotel room was really cold. I had to stay bundled under the covers and not move much as the sheets around me would be cold. I also developed a chapped lip that I am still suffering from today :-(. I should probably do something about that. At least I had a nice hot shower the felt really good.

I picked up the shuttle back to the airport around 3:40, about 40 minutes late. There was an accident on the interstate. I got to see the Mall of America on my way there, but didn't get to go inside. I heard there is a store made entirely out of Legos in there. Anyway, I get to the airport, go through security and grab a bite to eat before I go wait at the gate. I have to say, the Minneapolis airport is huge. The tram they have there is a real time saver too. Though, as reported by Meridith the last time she was there, I couldn't get the wireless Internet to work right, so I just played a puzzle game until it was close to boarding time.

On the flight I met this Freshman in high school from New Jersey going out to visit his grandparents on his way back from a ski trip in Aspen. Freaking rich spoiled brat was my impression. He said he liked to read books for fun which made me think he would be good for intelligent conversation. Though I find out that he doesn't know where Iowa is, they grow potatoes, and that cell phones work by satellites.

Anyway, I get into Rochester around 10 PM or so. Jason was just a few minutes away from the airport when I arrived. Though We didn't leave until around 11:00. My luggage got lost. Arg! So we put in a claim at the luggage office and head to Auburn, grab a bite to eat and go to sleep.

Friday 12-24-04
Got up, went to breakfast with Amaris (Jason's girlfriend) and her friends. We then headed out for a 2 hour drive to Amaris' grandparents' place and had Christmas Eve there. Quite a bit of fun, I even got presents. I will sum up my giftings later on in this post. After that we headed over to Amaris' mother's place another 1.5 to 2 hours away from there. We set up the hide-a-bed and went to sleep.

Saturday 12-25-04
Merry Christmas

We got up sometime in the AM hours and hung out making snacks and breakfast. Opened stockings and prepared for dinner around 2:00. Then opened presents. I got a few blurry pictures of some of that here. Some friends of their family show up and hang out for a while. We have some apple pie and ice cream before Jason and I leave.

We arrive back in Auburn around 11 PM or so and find ourselves stopping off at the bar so Jason can take me out drinking as he missed my 21st birthday. I had 3 beers (Yingling, Geness, and Killian) and 3 shots (Yagger, Jamensten, and Jose Peravo Tequila). Yeah, I really killed the spelling on those. I admit that I was pretty inebriated (just enough that I knew I wouldn't be driving). I remember what happened and I was able to walk on my own.

We get back to the apartment and find my luggage setting at the door and the heater had broken. I had to sleep in another room at 45 degrees. Thank God for electric heating blankets :D.

Sunday 12-26-04
Jason had to work most of the day so I stayed behind and watched all the West Wing, Enterprise, and Stargate that I had to catch up on. Jason got back and we went to Applebee's for dinner. Came back and opened the presents that were in the suitcase. Watched Hero on DVD and went to bed.

Monday 12-27-04
Jason had to work again, he also had to take on two extra assignments that came up. We were planning on going to Syracuse that day, but that didn't work out. I ended up watching a few random episodes of South Park and The Big Lebowski. At the end of the day we went out to a bar to eat and have a few drinks. This time was Sam Adams and Bass for me. We later met up with Amaris then got to bed early so we could make my 9:00 AM flight out of Syracuse.

Tuesday 12-28-04
Get up at 6 AM, get ready to go and pack. Leave for Syracuse for my 9 AM flight. We eat breakfast at the airport, I get past security and find my flight to be delayed for 30 minutes because the flight crew had a mandatory rest period. Good enough, as long as they are sober and I don't miss my connecting flight.

I get to Detroit and have to find where my next flight is taking off. Turns out that my plane landed at gate A75 and my other flight takes off at gate C23. To get from one gate to the other took a good 15 minute fast walk. There was no tram to carry people down the terminals. So I had to walk down the entire A concourse, walk under some tarmac to the C concourse and walk all the way down to the 23rd gate on that. I have to say, I really like those conveyers for people spread out around the airport.

My flight to Des Moines leaves pretty much on time. They had to check my backpack of all things for plan-side pick-up. Oh well, I didn't really need my laptop on the flight. I get back in Des Moines early for a change. Wow. My luggage was there as well :D. Dad picked me up and I went home.

When I got home I found an older ADC model 17" Apple LCD Display setting next to the tree. My Powerbook as DVI, so I'm going to have to think about what to do about that.

I gave my parents a turntable. They were so impressed and excited about it as I would be with a new computer or something. They had to immediately hook it up and start playing records.

I finally got around to checking my email and found 160 error messages from the scholarship system came in, starting on the 22nd. Turns out that the sit hasn't been working the entire time I have been gone on break. Great. At least I only got one physical person emailing me about the problem. I had to fix that problme really quick and let people know that there was a problem and that I fiexed it even before I had to come back to work. Oh well.

After I fixed that stuff, I ended up going to Adrienne's with Colin to eat some pizza and watch Dodge Ball. I got back home and went to bed.

So that has been my week. I miss Gaila so much. She's planning on calling sometime this evening when she has time so we can catch up. I still don't know what's going on around here for New Years, I suppose it will be in State Center with Meri, Colin, and her friend Stephanie and her husband, and whoever else from Ames is going. I'm so tired.

To tack on to this entry, Nick recently posted his OS. I decided that I should take it again. Last time I was Windows 98. This time, Apple Dos.

Which OS are You?

I hope everyone had a good holiday. My apologies for such a long entry.

Next time I go to the bathroom at work, I have to remember to wear my coat. Yesterday and today it has been really cold. The heat in building has been turned down to conserve energy while people aren't around during break. It doesn't really effect our office since we have the AC blasting year-round. The thermostat in the bathroom was set to 70 degrees, but the temperature reading was only 48. It sucks too when I had to leave a crap (ladies I sympathize having to sit down on the cold seats across the hall). Then the water heater is off so the water temperature is as cold as it is from getting outside.

Burr.

Ahhh. As soon as I finished my paper and handed it in, I called Gaila to let her know that I was coming. We ended up spending the entire weekend together relaxing, putting up Christmas lights, hanging out, seeing her father in Boone. It was the best weekend I have had in a very long time. :-)

I still haven't started my Christmas shopping. I barely have any ideas for what to get people. With finals and spending time with Gaila and leaving on Wednesday, the holiday shopping has been and will be a challenge.

At work, I'm finally getting around to playing with Tiger. I also have to clean up my desk as I have been neglecting it for several weeks now. I also have a bunch of books from writing my paper that I should take back to the library. Grades are due out while I'm in the air. Perhaps I can check them while I'm in layover in Minnesota.

Oh yeah, in case I didn't mention it earlier, I'm going out to see my brother Auburn, NY. Here is my itinerary:

Out Trip 12-22-04:

Leave Des Moines 4:05 PM
Arrive Minnesota 5:10 PM
Leave Minnesota 6:52 PM
Arrive Syracuse 10:12 PM

Return Trip 12-28-04:

Leave Syracuse 9:30 AM
Arrive Detroit 10:40 AM
Leave Detroit 12:10 PM
Arrive Des Moines 1:02 PM

I hope everyone has had a good weekend and are enjoying their break.

Finally, my paper is finished and handed in. Now begins Winter break and a lot of relaxing. I am so very happy that this semester is over. :dance:

It's rumored that Coke machines are being replaced by Pepsi machines on campus. This past week the machines have been running sold out for several days in a row in several buildings. There have even been reports of Coke machines moving onto trucks heading off campus. :dance:

Reference

Okay, now that I got that out of my system, back to the paper.

I have a spare minute here between finals. As of now, I have the worst of my tests done and over with. TransLog was a lot easier than I expected. It only took me 20 minutes. Accounting was a challenge, but I feel I did my average on it.

Last night I went to bed around 11:00. I planned on getting up at 5, but ended up at 6. The idea for getting up so early was so that I could study for my Histroy final at 9:45. I feel I did ok on it, but hand and neck are really cramped.

I still have Psychology (unit test) and Econ (extra credit AP test and a shorter final :)) left for tests. I still don't have that History paper done yet. I plan on going to the library after my Psych test to grab a bunch of resources, research tonight and most of Wednesday and write the paper Thursday afternoon when I have time at work.

Friday night I hung out at Adrienne's place for game night. I went to church Sunday and went to Applebees with people afterwards. Everything else since Friday has been school related.

Thursday night I get to see Gaila! Since Friday night we haven't talked much. I have been really busy, and I miss her.

I hope everyone is doing well. Back to studying and perhaps some lunch.