the mac the man gave me

so three years ago i started law school. i was excited to start law school because it gave me a reason to buy a laptop.  i had never owned a laptop and it was an exciting event for me.  everyone in law school has a laptop.  without one it would be impossible to gchat and surf the internet during class, which arguably are not necessary, but its pretty much what everyone does with their computers during class.  some take notes, but thats only occasionally when they are waiting for a web page to load.  anyways, i was excited to buy a new laptop, but particularly an imac or the current apple laptop.  why a mac?  because they are better and cooler.  why are they better?  i dont know.  but the commercials tell me they are and everyone that has one tells me that they are better.  you know, you can edit photos and movies and make music and do all sorts of creative and visual arts stuff that i know nothing about.  why are they cooler?  because they just are.  

so i wanted a mac, but unfortunately, the software program that one has to use for law school exams only runs on pc's or the windows operating system.  i suppose that i could have bought a mac anyways and just borrowed someone's pc for my exams, but i figured it easier to just submit to the man and buy myself a toshiba satellite.  it was a fine computer.  whatever.  i was bummed i had to buy it.  i fittingly titled it 'the mac the man made me buy.'  i did however get the 3 year warranty with the computer.  it was a little extra, but i was buying the computer specifically for law school and so i figured i might as well make sure it was under warranty for the three years. 

anyways, at the beginning of last month, april, i had one more month of law school left and my computer totally crashed.  i took it into best buy and they said that it needed a new motherboard.  they would ship it out and have it back to me in about a week.  no big deal.  they took it and gave it back just a few days later.  when they gave it back however, the wireless no longer worked and the volume button was stuck.  i took it back and they said that somehow in the process of fixing the motherboard they must had somehow disabled the wireless.  they said they would need to send it back and so they took it and gave it back 10 days later.  this time when i got my computer it looked a little different.  there were different scratches on it and it just didnt seem like my computer.  i took it home and put in my recovery cd to restore some of the programs and the cd said that it was the wrong computer.  the cd that came with my computer was for the satellite m50 or something that and it said that this was a satellite a40 or something like that.  so i took it back in to best buy and told them that they gave me the wrong computer.  at this point i was really upset. not only because it was getting ridiculous but now i was coming up on finals and i needed a computer.  i argued with the manager and he agreed to give me a loaner computer so that i could have something to take my finals, and because the last two times they messed up my computer.  it wasnt anything i did.  they messed up the wireless and put in the wrong operating system.  so they gave me a loaner and took my computer again.  i was going to blog and rip into best buy and vent about how lame stores like that are and discuss the geek squad and how lame they are because they act all high and mighty even though i know that in reality they know about an ounce more about computers than i do but they act like they know a ton.  but i refrained. instead i just secretly hoped that they would mess it up again because according to my warranty, if there was a problem and they couldnt fix the problem after 4 tries, then i would receive a new computer.  but that was just according to the warranty.  i didnt actually expect them to go through with it or for that clause to be interpreted literally.  but they did take the computer and finally called me after my finals and told me my computer was ready.  i went back in, dropped of my loaner, picked up my toshiba and went home.  i then turned it on and nothing happened.  absolutely nothing.  the computer wouldnt even turn on.  i was amazed.  

so the next day i went back to best buy and went back to the geek squad to talk to another spikey haired twenty year old with either some dirty facial hair or multiple ear piercing.  i showed them the warranty, fully expecting them to tell me that it doesnt apply to me or that when it says 4 they mean, they have to send it in 4 times and then after the 5th time they will consider it and have one more opportunity to fix it and if they cant, then the 9th time i get a new computer and by new they mean one that is from their warehouse that someone else already returned.  the guy said that i was entitled to a new computer, but they would have to send it in and the 'people at the warehouse,' whomever and wherever they are would have to 'approve' it and they would call me.  again, i had my many doubts that i would ever receive this phone call or surely they would say that they fixed the computer so i wouldnt get a new one or something like that.  well, just last sunday, i got a message on my phone saying that they had checked out my computer, it qualified and i could take my receipt to best buy and get a new computer for the same or lesser price as my last one.  i couldnt believe it.  i went to best buy, showed them my receipt, still thought they wouldnt let me get a new computer, that it would have to be a used toshiba or a pc or something.  they said i could get anything that was the price of my old computer or lesser in value.  'anything?'  i asked.  'yes.  anything.'  so i ran and picked up the mac that the man wouldnt let me buy three years ago and took it to the counter.  they accepted the exchange and told me i could go.  i couldnt believe it.  i grabbed it and sprinted to my car and drove away before they could catch me.  my warranty was 5 months from expiring and they gave me a new computer. amazing.  i still have to take the bar, which requires the windows operating system, but apple has the macbook which allows you to run the apple or windows operating system on their laptops.  better.  plus, the man gave me this computer after keeping me down and preventing me from doing so 3 years ago.  definitely cooler.   

indiana jones meets national treasure meets the mummy meets russians that cant shoot well

so we saw a midnight showing of this on wednesday night/thursday morning. and it was only ok. and i dont just think it was ok because there was so much hype and time between this one and the last one that no movie could have lived up to the hype. it was ok because it was just an alright movie. which was sort of a bummer because it had a lot of potential. like when he first meets up with shiloah lebuff. i thought they were great together and there was an exciting scene with them. but, there were just a few random scenes here and there that i thought really hurt the movie. we know indiana is going to live and we know that he is going to do pretty crazy stuff in the meantime, but i felt they just went a little too far at some points. too much shooting and missing and too many times where a green screen was used which just makes it harder to fear that he wont survive because there is the added element of 'this is already fake as it is.' anyways, im not a movie critic and id discuss other things that were disappointing in the movie, but i dont want to give anything away, or destroy it for others.


one other unrelated thought. i was thinking the other day about the phrase, 'it is what it is.' ive used it many times. whenever nellie says it she attributes it to me as though its 'my phrase.' which it isnt, i just used it at interesting moment so she likes to bring it up. but i hear it all the time from everyone so i know im not the only one. first, is it a 'new' or newer phrase. i feel like it is. second, regardless of it being new, it has to be the worst way to describe something or just the dumbest phrase ever. i dont know where it started, but i know that i first started hearing it in reference to a baseball player, manny ramirez. people would say, 'thats just manny being manny.' he is such an odd person that there was no way for people to describe his behavior or make and sense or rhyme or reason to some of the stuff that he would do, so the best they could come up with is, thats just manny ramirez being who he is. you cant explain him or try and figure him out, so why bother. but the phrase is out of control and it bugs me a bit because its just a scapegoat. its an easy and cheap way to avoid having to use your brain and try and be creative and come up with an adjective to describe something. it usually occurs after a certain event and someone will say, 'well, it is what it is.' thanks genius. i know that. i lived through it too. are you wanting to describe it or liken it to something in your life and somehow contribute something meaningful to the conversation? or just remind us that i.e. a huntington beach party is what a huntington beach party is. have you ever thought about it? its a worthless statement in my opinion.

you: man, i hate driving in rush hour traffic, its such a pain.

me: yep. well, it is what it is.

or

yep, well, driving in l.a. traffic is what driving in l.a. traffic is.


i realize that its a way of agreeing with someone and the phrase usually follows when someone has just described something and the person is then remarking that thats just how something is, but i still think its a cheap way of adding to the conversation. you think l.a. traffic is a pain. i agree but telling you that thats just what comes with l.a. traffic, pain. instead of contributing to what i think of l.a. traffic at that moment. anyways, im no grammar person nor is this phrase a pet peeve of mine. i use it from time to time. i just noticed that its use is steadily growing with the masses and i just thought about it and realized that while there are many times when the phrase really fits (which is probably how it got started because it had limited situations where it was of good use), there are also many times where its just being overused and contributing nothing. i say this as though everything i say is a worthwhile contribution to a conversation, its not. i say lame stuff all the time that has no meaning. i cant help it. we all cant help it from time to time. you know, it is what it is.

58 m.p.h.

so are bigger guys/people louder? they always are at the gym. well, not all the big guys there are loud, but it seems like whenever there is someone that is being loud, the person is usually a big guy. but why? its not like what they are doing is more difficult than what i am doing. just because they are doing military press with 110 lb dumbbells in each hand (like the guy today), doesnt mean that he is straining more than i am curling 40 pounds. his arms are 4 times the size of mine. yet he's screaming, 'come on! one more!' and huffing and puffing more than anyone else. but more weight doesnt equal harder. so it cant be that. maybe its confidence. perhaps being confident equals being louder. i dont know if that is an entirely accurate theory. some people are just louder by nature, but i know for example, that i tend to get louder on the soccer field, a place where i feel more confident than say, at the gym. perhaps that is because im not as intimidated on the field and so i dont fear talking or demanding the ball or something. if im playing with guys im better with and i demand the ball and i lose it, im upset i lost it, but i dont worry about what people will think or say to me because they couldnt do anything better with it. maybe its the same at the gym with the big guy, he knows he's one of, if not the strongest in the gym, what does he care if makes a scene? he wants to make a scene. he's in a gym and he's the strongest person in there, he's confident and wants people to notice him. i think we all do it to a degree when we are in a situation where we are confident.

two other things from the gym:
1. i saw a guy there that was using gardening gloves as his workout gloves. gotta love that. they were big and yellow and no mistaking that they are generally used for weeding. i respect it though. he probably went to buy gym gloves, noticed that they were a cool $20, or $22.50 if you pay for the 'cool' ones where they cut off the fingers for you. he probably, and rightfully so, thought that they were ridiculously overpriced and just picked up the $1.99 yellow ones that are stapled together with a cardboard piece of paper on them that says, 'yellow gloves.' the guy also was sporting a flat top. needs to be mentioned. im also pretty sure that the guy threw out his back doing lat pull downs. my back hurt just watching it. but, at least his hands were clean.

2. i respect the old guys (and young sometimes, but usually old) that wear tank tops and have more hair on their shoulders and back than they do on their head. its not a normal respect because its something i would never do, nor would i date a girl that was fine with a guy publicly sporting that much hair, but they are doing their own thing and wearing their coat of fur loud and proud and you have to respect that. plus, the guy is like 70 and he can still do a pull up.

finally, the other night we went to espn zone. they have a baseball throwing game where you get into a cage and throw a baseball into a screen and it tells you how hard you throw. anyways, i did three throws and topped out at 58 mph. 58. i was really bummed. major league players throw consistently at at least 30 mph faster than that and top out with their fastball over 35 mph faster. thats a lot. my shoulder killed the next day and im sure i threw out my arm and all i could do was 58. thats what 8th graders throw in little league. which was the last time i played organized baseball. that means i cant throw much harder than i could at the time of my retirement. i mean, it makes sense. these guys make millions so they better be much better than me, otherwise i could or any average person could be doing what they are doing and they shouldnt be making they money they make. but, at the same time, you dont, or i didnt think the gap between the players and i was so great. i know i cant throw a curve ball or a slider or throw 90 mph, but i figured i could at least top 60 and maybe even break 70. granted these people throw balls all day and have been for their whole life and i throw a ball once every month, maybe. but i should still be able to walk up there and throw a ball over 70 mph. just like i should be able to walk out onto a football field and outrun a cornerback in a nfl game and catch a touchdown. i mean, im fast, compared to no one, it just makes sense. well, i guess it doesnt. ill just have to sadly face reality that im not coming out of retirement any time soon.

already off

not that anyone really reads this blog, and even if they do, im not sure that anyone made it through my long post about movies, and even if they did, i doubt they really cared about what i thought or had to say about movies. but if they do, and did and do again, they probably shouldnt. well, i dont think im off on everything, but so far i am. i saw ironman last weekend and it was really good. i had a great time. i didnt think it would be that good. i thought it would be a flashy and action filled movie that didnt have much substance. and by substance i mean pretty hollow characters and a pretty weak storyline. granted, none of these superhero movies have intense or deep storylines where you really have to pay attention or youll lose what is going on, but ironman proved me wrong. robert downey was really good. he did a great job and his character was great. he really carried the film. and as a bonus, gweneth paltrow looks great in the film. she's looked ugly for years in my opinion but the makeup people did a number on her and she doesnt look rail thin, so she's a pleasant addition. anyways, i do recommend ironman. a really fun time at the movies and i think worth the money. not that my suggestions or recommendations have much credibility since im already changing them, not that i really recommended ironman, i just didnt have huge expectations and it was a nice surprise. i do still have massive expectations for batman. there was a preview before ironman. that show is going to be incredible.