a buddy of mine at work was throwing away a bunch of computer parts/gadgets that he no longer wanted and before he gave away the WHOLE BOX on craigslist (i yelled at him for not showing me this treasure chest of SWEET TOYS! before offering it up to creepy people on the internet ), i told him i wanted the set of cameras he had.

i am now the proud new owner of 3 (maybe 4, i can’t remember) mini security cameras. they’re kind of like these but not exactly.

i recently reformatted my web server with centOS and am getting it set up just the way i want it. and now i’m going to install the video capture card he gave me, get some serious extension cables for the cameras, and mount the cameras all over my apartment.

i found this program called ZoneMinder that i’m going to try. it works with Linux AND the capture card which means… VOILA!! streaming home surveillance system. now i can watch loki and thor while i’m at work.

since i forgot i didn’t have to work on friday, this will give a fun little project once i get bored of the pool. i will let everyone know how it works out.

i can’t believe i forgot to mention this. i booked my plane tickets for las vegas last week. since last semester, i had been planning on doing this trip with AITP, but i found out a whole mess of people from work are going. i can’t wait.

is anyone else going?

i feel like i’ve have been on a constant roller coaster the last month and a half. maybe getting out of the carolinas for a 4-day weekend will be a good thing. this will be my birthday present to myself. well, late birthday present.

since living on my own, weird things keep happening. maybe weird isn’t the correct word. scary and/or life-threatening and/or WTF-worthy would be more like it. here is a short re-cap of the past month’s accidents.

• found and killed poisonous snake outside my front door (i mentioned that earlier)
• accidentally ingested adhesive that made me feel drunk (consequently numbed half my face/entire tongue and called poison control)
• burnt my inner thigh on/in my own oven (it left a big, red rectangle… that was awkward )
• almost died by microwave explosion to the face (it happened like 10 minutes ago and i’m already posting this but it was like 10″ from my face when flames filled the entire microwave with ferocious, lightsaber-like zapping noises)

before anyone makes fun of my microwave incident, i am stating my disclaimer: there was NO metal in the microwave! all i put in there was a stupid cookie for 10 stupid seconds! pillsbury, you owe me a microwave.

if anything else entertaining happens, i will surely post it. i wish i had all these incidents on video for your viewing pleasure but i never seem to anticipate these ridiculous shenanigans happening to me.

i was at one of the ALUG LAN parties over 2 years ago when i decided to make a bunch of shirts and stickers and crap on cafe press. i never actually bought any of them. until last week.

unfortunately, ALUG (appalachian linux users group) ceased to exist over a year ago and has since been taken over by OSUM (open source university meet up) and has an almost 100% new membership. most of the guys from ALUG have graduated and work at red hat now or have started careers elsewhere. either way, ALUG events and, more importantly, the people within ALUG were the source of (and still are the source of) some of the fondest memories i ever had in college.

SO… i gave in and bought a t-shirt, a sticker (for ze laptop), and a magnet (for ze fridge). this way, whether i’m wearing the shirt, or i’m on my laptop, or i’m pigging out in my kitchen, i will always think of the ridiculousness that is/was the ALUG guys and the entertaining (and frequently awkward) conversations that came from them.

even though i put it on there (mostly for laughs), i sincerely hope no one ever purchases the thong available on that website. ever.

i finally broke away from my mom’s cell phone plan. i am a brand spanking new iPhone owner, and i love it. this is the first apple product i’ve ever owned and i could not be happier with my purchase.

first of all, i bought the 3G because it dropped $99 in price. i was able to get it for $99 flat by making my contract a family plan. this means i have 2 phone numbers, 550 anytime minutes on each line, and unlimited data/text messaging on my main line for $110.00/month. because i got the family plan, i got $400 off of the iPhone because technically i added it to the second line. except my second line will just sit in my room and never be touched unless i somehow go over my 550 anytime minutes. since i can’t use my phone at work or even have it turned on, this leaves me with a 4 hour window to screw that up. if i go over 550 minutes (20 hours per week, 4 weeks per month), it means i have somehow mastered time travel and i must be a freaking magician.

i don’t think i’ve put the damn thing down since buying it. which is a good and a bad thing. on the good side, i’m never bored. on the bad side, i have a hard time paying attention to anything or anyone else and i get nothing done.

i took screenshots of the apps i got so far. if i’m missing anything, someone inform me. they’re like crack.

i finally took pictures of my apartment. click here to view them.

i made a little extra money today and decided to buy myself an early birthday present. i haven’t bought a new camera in over 3 and a half years and the 2 cameras i own have seen better days. much better.

a buddy from work and i went to wal-mart tonight and i bought this cute little thing. keyword = WATERPROOF. i’m going to tidy up the apartment tomorrow after work and take some pictures of the new place. my family hasn’t even seen it since i’ve gotten “fully” moved in. i say fully because there are still 3 boxes of crap i don’t know what to do with. i’m getting there.

after wal-mart, we ate dinner at on the border and he took this picture of me sitting at the table. here i am in awe of my new toy. i really do look 15.

also, i absolutely love my job.

in the last month, i have graduated from college, moved 5 hours away from an apartment in the “high country” with a view of the blue ridge mountains to an apartment in the “low country” where i can drive to the beach in 10 minutes and see the sun rising over ships every morning, and started a new career.

graduating was fun. scary, but fun. moving was nothing short of stressful. the new job is great so far, but i think it will get better when i see my first paycheck. in all honesty, being on my own like this scares the shit out of me. my dad says i’m doing ok, though. until he says otherwise, i am confident that i haven’t screwed up too much.

until now, i have never had bills. i am finally figuring out what it’s like to be an “adult”. i don’t feel like i will ever have the mindset of an adult, but evidently you still get the responsibilities of one no matter what.

i got my first cable bill in the mail. i purchased a washer and dryer and bedroom set. i purchased renter’s insurance. i actually got excited about buying a new vacuum the other day. i had never even thought about auto insurance until last week, and certainly never thought about my 401K.

last night i got into bed at 10 PM for probably the first time in over years (except for when i was sick) so i could wake up at 5 AM, shower, and drive to work in business casual (which, by the way, is not complete without an eyebrow ring ) while the sun was still coming up.

the scariest part was the first week of living here when i was getting ready to go to wal-mart. i caught myself walking around the apartment making sure the windows were locked, blinds were shut, candles were blown out, A/C was off, lights were off, and that everything that could be unplugged was unplugged. the little voice in the back of my mind kept saying, “the more you turn off, the lower your electric bill will be!”

it finally hit me when i walked into the kitchen and unplugged the can opener. i have officially turned into my mother.

since living in charleston, i have had more run-ins with the local wildlife than i ever expected. so far the list includes:

• 1 deer - loki saw it and went NUTS.
• 1 otter
• about 47328 frogs/toads
• 1 red and black striped snake i killed it. i don’t want loki getting bit.
• 1 giant dead crab - no idea where that came from…
• 1 turtle - there are ponds all over my apartment complex.
• 3 ducks - see “turtle”.
• a ridiculous amount of spiders - thor and loki like to take turns eating these…

i guess that’s what happens when you live next to the woods. also, something got into my garbage last night and decided to eat the deviled eggs i threw away (i ruined them). deviled eggs don’t smell too good when they’re cooked on concrete in the south carolina sunshine.

i’ve also been having trouble keeping thor in line. i need to get him neutered but i have to wait until i get a paycheck to do that. there is a veterinary hospital about 1/2 a mile from my apartment and my neighbor said she takes her cat there and they are awesome, so that’s good news. but until then i have to make sure thor doesn’t get out. he has escaped 2 times and luckily has returned the next afternoon. i just don’t want him to get hurt out in the woods. especially not after seeing that snake.

in happier news, i start work tomorrow morning bright and early at 7AM!!!! i’m definitely wearing a suit the first day. that’s also the only option i have right now… heh. business casual and i don’t get along so well. business formal just looks so much better. i can’t pull of slacks like i can pull off a suit.

i’m pretty excited about starting work. everyone keeps asking if i’m nervous and i’m not, actually. not yet, anyway. i can’t wait to get into a routine and i can’t wait to meet everyone. i think that will be the most fun part of the experience–the new friends/co-workers.

anyway, i’m going to finish up working on a website. i want to get things wrapped up before i start working. wish me luck tomorrow!

my apartment looks like a home now. i wish my camera wasn’t broken so i could take pictures. i’ll borrow someone’s until i buy a new one. my bedroom is my new favorite room. i must say, i made a hell of a choice on a mattress. it might be too comfortable because i never want to get out of it.

i have officially spent too much money on picture frames. in my defense, they are being used to frame prints i got made of my scandinavia trip. i picked some of my favorite photos and they look really nice.

i went to wal-mart and bought a cheap computer desk the day before yesterday. i picked the perfect day to do it (it was pouring down rain) and the desk weighed more than i do. i hope no one was watching me put it in my cart in the store. i’d finally muster up the strength to get the box off the ground and when i’d lunge to get it into the cart, the cart would roll away. same deal with trying to get it out of the cart and into my car-an even more ridiculous sight.

the best part was the stupid woman waiting for my parking spot. it seriously took me almost 15 minutes to get my cart unloaded and my car packed up. i went to put the cart in the cart return and she HONKS at me. what the hell? was that even necessary? it’s pouring. i’m clearly struggling. so i took my sweet time taking my cart back. people are unbelievable.

OH! and my big news. wednesday i took my security+ certification exam at ECPI in north charleston. I PASSED! hooray! so now security+ = salary+ and i am no longer stressed out.

this is what i’ve been doing with my time since it’s rained for all but 3 of the days i’ve lived here so far. i’m hoping for good beach weather this weekend since 3 of my buddies are coming down today. 2 others came down last night and we hung out at my friends’ apartment in mount pleasant. their pool is so much nicer than the one at my apartment (mine is really nice. theirs just has palm trees and hammocks and all sorts of stuff). so nice that i decided was forced to go for a swim with my clothes on.