First day of vacation.

Well, I made it down to SF with no problems, but somehow I ended up driving 180 miles to get to a barbecue and back. So far, so good, though. I met a bunch of Apple people and they don’t seem much different than any other group of geeks I’ve met in the past. I heard some disparaging remarks about the google-ites who keep repeating “best and brightest” to prove something to themselves. I can’t say much because Megacorp is neither.

Tomorrow I’m supposed to get up early to hear Steve Jobs and his amazing keynote address. I’ve also heard that if you step on Steve’s shadow as an Apple employee, you get shown the door. Yeesh. Well, enough of that. Time for sleep.

Off to San Francisco.

I’m off to the Apple Worldwide Developer’s Conference where I’m going to pretend to be a developer for a week. It’s like a geek fantasy camp for me. I’m staying with my friend Megan, so I won’t be able to live the total geek life. She won’t let me. I’ll give it a good try, though.

Friday was another stellar day at Megacorp. My world-class manager told me twice that my bad attitude would no longer be tolerated. I asked (as anyone with a bad attitude would) how that compares to the guys with good attitudes who do nothing. Phooey. Fortunately, I got to play golf after work. I made a par on a par 3 but the next hole, a par 5, I got an 18 including penalties. Fortunately, I don’t care and it didn’t bother me that much. I’m in the sun, away from work, on a lawn I don’t have to mow, and I get to hit things. What could be better?

I really suck at golf.

I had nothing to say yesterday and I have nothing to say today except I suck at golf. I’ve only been playing a week, so it’s not a big surprise. Monday I played nine holes (and sucked). Wednesday I went to a driving range, practiced putting, driving, and my chip shot, and I sucked. Today I played 9 holes at an “executive course” and I sucked. Tomorrow I may suck at another nine holes of golf.

Enough about golf. I got a new cell phone because my mom needed an easy-to-use cell phone and I figured my Razr would be good. I got a different phone for myself and she got the Razr. I got my first two phone calls on the thing today (two days after I got it) and I didn’t recognize the ring. I was in the doctor’s waiting room wondering whose annoying phone was ringing and it was mine. Sheesh.

Mumble, mumble, sleepy, mumble.

Dave the trainer is off in NYC this week so I decided that a nap was more important than going to the gym. Yesterday I was tired but my co-workers convinced me to play 9-holes of golf. Today I was falling asleep while I was talking. The weird part of my nap was that I was dreaming about walking around a golf course, looking for my ball.

I stayed up too late yesterday reading the new Jack Reacher novel. I really ought to figure out how to force myself to go to sleep on time.

I’m burned and beat.

Friday ended up well because I left work a little early and played 18 holes at an “Executive-Par 3” golf course. Par 3 meant it wasn’t a death march like Heron Lakes. That’s not a place for a new golfer to go.

Saturday was the yearly Seaside ham radio convention, but we punted this year. I had to leave for Seattle for my golf class for beginners. It was a good deal to begin with: they give you golf clubs that are worth more than the tuition you pay. Now that I’ve taken the class I’d recommend the class as well. The instruction was great, the course I went to was beautiful, and I know I’ll probably never play golf there. The only way I know of getting to play there is to buy a $800+ weekend package at Salish Lodge. I think it works out to $250 in greens fees. We only used the driving range but we did drive around the course as they described different aspects of the golf course, and it looks like fun. Not $250 of fun, but I’m still a beginner.

In any case, there was six hours of driving to and from Snoqualmie, the golf school, and the stay at a Holiday Inn that all tired me out. Injudicious application of sunscreen means I’m sunburned in odd places (like my calves), my back hurts from my corrected stance, and my hands are sore from gripping the club. Time for sleep.

Circling the drain.

Well, today I received my fourth rejection email from an internal Megacorp transfer. I went home early right after that because, well, I haven’t had much to do lately. In fact, the choices are either to spend weeks learning British double-entry accounting procedures for a five-second test, or to spend all day looking online for cell phone deals. You can guess which one I picked.

My friends and my sister think I should just sit around and collect a paycheck for as long as I can. This sounds like a clear path to career suicide, but since I’ve proved I can’t legitimately get a job it’s probably not a big deal. I get bored, though, and I’ve put up with crap there much longer than I ever have in the past. I predict I will be out on the streets soon.