ODDREE.COM

Back To The Books

I have not missed studying for exams at all. It's been weeks since I took my last one, and I decided then that I was taking a nice long break. Today marks the first week in several weeks that I am not teaching, so it was back to studying for me. My boss flags me down every time I see her. She always smiles real big and then says, "so when do you think you will take your last test". I actually have two exams left, and I explain this every time. Then I tell her something like "hopefully soon".

The truth is, I don't think I should have to study at home. When I study at home, I spend that time ignoring my family, and making myself miserable. Why should I do all that in my free time? If I am not teaching, I have no problem studying. After all, they are paying for this time. So I will use it to their advantage. But if I am going to spend my personal time studying, I should personally be granted something for it. Like ... A RAISE?

I had a conversation with another instructor last week. He just passed an exam that makes him an instructor for two different Microsoft development tracks. Basically, it increases his value as an instructor tenfold. He complained to me that he spent $22 on some lousy exam "dumps" and then spent hours memorizing about 150 questions. I found it amusing. I wondered what his secret to passing all those exams were. He's been buying the questions. Now I don't feel so guilty for the "study guides" that I often pass the test with. Not that any of this studying matters. None of us are gaining anything financially for it. Oh ... but ... GO TEAM!! Let's do it for the TEAM!

Presidential Madness

I have enjoyed all the comments in my Blog. It's fun to partake in political debates with you all. It seems I am not the only one paying attention this election. I am not really political at all, but I have really been surprised at the world around me. There are some things that need changing, and I don't know that a new president is what we need (although I am willing to try). One example: Gay Marriage. If you ask me, it's none of my business what people do. If they want to be openly gay and marry someone of the same sex, how do we have the right to tell them no?

I found it rather disturbing that so many folks in congress rushed to BAN gay marriages before it could be voted upon. Knowing some gay couples myself, it's pretty sad. We seem to be living in an age where we can put our differences aside and give people the personal freedom they seek. So who is it that is so opposed to gay marriage? My wife and I were watching a show a few nights ago where an interviewer asked a room full of college students, "do you believe in gay marriage?". Every one of them raised their hands. Young people seem to be a little more open minded than those who are making the laws for us. All the more reason for young people to get out and vote.

The Blockbuster Deal

To fulfill my end of the free ipod deal I signed up for Blockbuster Online. I was instantly granted my two free "in store" rentals. You get two every month. The coupons arrived by mail, so I printed them out and my wife and I went to Blockbuster yesterday with them in hand. The cashier googled over them like he had never seen such a thing. After reading the entire text on both coupons (it was the same text on both) he finally pulled out the magic laser-wand and scanned them. Duh. I happily paid my extremely overdue $9 late fee, knowing that this would be the last time I ever had a late fee with my online membership. Then he tells me, "your rewards membership expired, would you like to renew it?". Well ... I don't need it. So, "No thanks". Then he tells me, "but you won't get any more free offers like this". Obviously he needed some clues.

I explained that I get the free coupons from the online deal, not from the store. Then I got asked, "would like like your movie for a week or for two days?". Gee. There's a tough question. Normally I pay more to get it for more days. But ... it's fucking free. Why would I say anything other than a week? So I got my movie for a week. Duh.

Anyhow, it's nice to know that I will get those free in store rentals every month, as well as my 'rotating deal' where I can have any three movies by mail from here to eternity. Oh, but there is bad news.

My buddy Rob also signed up for the free ipod deal under me, and he too wanted the Blockbuster offer. But oddly enough, he can't sign up for it. It seems that because I chose that offer, he can't. Or something like that. I went through the free ipod's FAQ and all I could find was some vague explanation that "not all offers are visible to all people, all the time". Wierd. At any rate, if any of you have had that kind of experience, post a comment. I'm curious to see if you others had the same problem.

Oh, and if you STILL haven't signed up for the free iPod, now is the time. ;-) One more note ... if you sign up (or have signed up) chose the HP over the Apple (if you get the 20GB). The HP model has a one year warranty, and the Apple only has a 90 day. Also, the HP has been shipping much faster, since they have a large quantity of them and the Apple's are backordered.