First off … why is free stuff call swag? Who decided to call it that? Where did they come up with that word?

Anyways … I got some swag today. If you read this regularly (is there anyone who does … LOL), you know I talked about that seminar that I went to last week in Minneapolis. Well, we got our swag from it today. We got a “cool” tshirt. They actually called it “cool” on the site with the info on the seminar. The shirt has a seminar “tour schedule”. The funny thing … Minneapolis isn’t on it … LOL. There were also 2 nifty (my word … ) temporary tattoos. Okay … I think they’re silly. They say “Microsoft .Net Connected” on ‘em.

We also got CD with SQL Server 2005 Beta 2 Developer Edition on it. There is also a Resource DVD and Hands-On Lab DVD on it, but I don’t have a DVD drive on my computer. I’ll have to check it out when I go to Ma and Pa’s next time. I don’t know if I’m going to try installing the Beta on my computer or not. I might just so I can play around with it for when we go to that at work. I’m not sure if my computer could handle it … LOL. I just looked at the CD. It has “Trial Software 547 Day Limit on Use” on it. 547 day limit … where did they come up with that? Why not just say a year and a half (okay … I opened up the calculator to figure that one out … ).

We also got Visual C#.net Standard (version 2003). I think that’s cool. Too bad I don’t know C#. I suppose I could install it and play around with it and learn (they’d probably love it at work if I did). It does say something about limited functionality if you install it on XP Home Edition … and that’s what I’ve got. I might install it. It wouldn’t hurt. And I pick things up quickly … I mean, when I started this job about 8 months ago or so, I knew nothing about MSSQL (only MySQL), and not I’m crankin’ out stored procedures and stuff on a daily basis. I could probably pick up C#, at least the basics, by playing around with the software. I’ll have to see.

Mood: dorky

I love my camera. I still need to learn about some of the settings and stuff, but that’s more of a photography lesson that I need to take than in learning how to work the camera. I’m used to a point-and-shoot camera. This one has lots of manual settings that I need to learn how to best utilize.

Anyways … when I take pics at the bar of Avalanche, when I got them on my computer, I always thought they looked dark, and I lightened them up. Now that I have my lovely new monitor, I’m starting to think it wasn’t the camera but the monitor. When I look at the pictures that I had lightened, they look too bright. When I look at the originals from the camera, they look fine. Here I’ve been lightening them up all this time when I’m not sure I needed to.

Why don’t you let me know? Check out the pics in the photo gallery. Do they look abnormally lightened or bright to you on your monitor? Maybe it’s just that this new monitor is so bright, I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking. I have 2 sets of pics yet that I need to process (I should have done them last weekend, but I got lazy. I’ll do that this weekend … I PROMISE!!). If I don’t need to lighten them up, I’m not going to.

Mood: lazy

The more I play with my new cell phone, the more I love it. It’s got a speaker phone, and, from what I read online, it’s supposed to be a good one. Well, I tried it out on my way home from work tonite. I called Mom (since I figured she’d be bowling after 9pm) and turned on the speaker. I could have set the phone on the passenger seat and talked … that’s how good the speaker phone is on it. Who needs to fork over the how every many dollars to get the hands-free kit for it. All I have to do is turn on the speaker and set the phone on the seat next to me. Awesome!!

Mood: blah

I could get myself in trouble with this new phone. I’ve been checking out the Verizon “Get it Now” website to see what kinds of stuff I can get for my phone. Uh oh. LOL I think I’m gonna have to install one of the applications in order to get customized wallpapers. I was thinking of the Yahoo one since I already have a Yahoo id and photo albums set up. I figure I could download all of the pics I might want on my phone and then only use the app for 1 month. There’s a $2.99 monthly subscription charge. It would be nice if I could somehow get the pics to my phone for free, but not in this capitalistic society …

And I checked out the games too. THAT’S where I could get in trouble. In the puzzle category alone!! They’ve got Snood, Collapse, Bejeweled just to name a few. And they’ve got Pyramid Solitare too. I haven’t looked at the other categories yet. I should stop while I’m ahead. And of course, you’ve got to pay for the games. Most of them are around $4.99 or $5.99 to get, then you can play unlimited. There’s no way I’d get the ones where you have to pay airtime or subscription charges. I’m too cheap for that. We’ll see if I decide to do any of the games. I’ll do the wallpapers for sure. I want to customize my phone. I think I can even add pics to the contacts and they’ll show up when they call. Not sure about that yet. There’s a spot for a graphic … I’m assuming it shows up when the person calls. I’ll have to check the manual for sure.

And that manual … not very helpful. Sure … it tells you what the buttons and stuff are, but it doesn’t go into detail on how to add things or customize the phone. I wish it did. I didn’t find much online either. And the CD-ROM that came with the manual wasn’t much more helpful. Oh well.

Mood: silly

Well, I’m off to a good start on my New Year’s resolution. I generally don’t spend money on things unless I really need them. Every now and then I’ll buy a CD or DVD, but not very often. But, in following with my resolution, I’m changing that. Now … I’m not going crazy or anything, but I’m getting things for myself that I normally wouldn’t. First thing I did was get myself a new winter coat. The one I had was 3 or 4 years old (I can’t remember anymore when I got it), and I had gotten it at Fleet Farm. I got a new one on 31 Dec … a Columbia jacket. I’ve been wanting one forever. Most of the stores I went to actually had them on sale … couldn’t believe it. But I couldn’t find one I liked or that fit well. I wanted one with a removable inner liner. I managed to find one at Herberger’s. And it was 50% off. Can’t beat that. I got a $225 coat for about $120 with tax. But the only reason I actually spent the money on it was because I had my Christmas bonus money yet.

And the day before yesterday, I ordered the Mary Kay Satin Hands Pampered Hands set thingy. I went to a party with Robin a few weeks ago … a friend of hers is just starting out with Mary Kay. I got a couple samples of the Santin Hands Hand Cream and loved it. We also got to try out the Pampered Hands stuff at the party. I liked it. So I decided to get the entire set instead of just the hand cream. And I’m one who will buy the Equate brand lotions at Wally-world … I’m a cheapskate … LOL. I picked it up last nite and love it. I’m using the set in the mornings and in the evenings and the hand cream itself whenever I feel the need. I may end up getting a 2nd bottle to take to work and leave there if it works well. My hands are so dry … they need it.

And tonite I got a new cell phone. Okay … I didn’t really buy it. My provider is Verizon … and I was eligible for the “new every 2″ thing. I got the LG VX4500. I read some good reviews online last nite about it. I didn’t like any of the ‘regular’ phones they had, and most of the flip phones were camera phones. I didn’t want a camera phone. I’ve got a digital camera if I want to take digital pics. I’ve played around with it a little bit so far. I need to read the book to find out some of the other stuff. It doesn’t have the fortune teller thing like my old phone had, but oh well. I only played with that at the bar … LOL. I need to read up to see how I can get different pics on it for the wallpaper. I’m hoping I can just email it to my phone somehow. I don’t plan to go online with it even though it has the capability. About the only thing I would do is to download ringers. But I’ll hopefully be able to browse online with my computer to find what I want before I try with the phone. I don’t wanna waste my minutes.

Well … I need to go read the book. And I think I need to make supper too. We had pizza at work during our “fun hour” (it didn’t get there ’til about 10 min to 5pm though). Wasn’t hungry when I got home from the mall. I’m starting to get hungry now. There’s a pic of my phone in the extended entry. Not the best pic … I didn’t try very hard … LOL. But it’s a pic nonetheless.

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Mood: amused

Next week my current cell phone contract will be up, and I can renew it and get a new phone. My carrier is Verizon, and they’ve got their “New Every 2″ thingy. Basically, I can get a new phone for free … up to $100 … when I renew my contract for another 2 years. Pretty good deal. I was planning on sticking with Verizon anyways. They’ve got the best coverage of this area in my opinion. Unless Cellular One has improved.

Can anyone who is reading this who lives in the ND/SD/MN area give me any input on the other cell companies that service up here (Cellular One, Sprint, Nextel, Unicel)?

If I do stick with Verizon, this is my choice in phones (if you’re prompted for a zip code, enter 58102).

I was thinking about getting a flip phone, but a friend said that they don’t pick up as good a signal as the regular phones and they’re not as durable. I’m not really sure. I’m hoping someone out there reading this can give me their opinion on their phone … flip or regular. What brands are good? I currently have a Kyocera 2235. I don’t care if you’re exact phone isn’t available in my area, I’d still like to know what you think … maybe it’ll help me narrow things down.

I need to have a durable phone that is reliable. My cell phone is my ONLY phone. I don’t talk on the phone all that much … but I still need to have something that’ll be there and working for me in case of emergency or whatever. I don’t need a camera phone (and quite frankly don’t want one … I’ve got a digital camera). I do want something that can send text messages (but I think they all do that now anyways). I don’t care much about accessing the internet. If it costs me extra, then I probably won’t get it. I don’t need to check my email on my phone. It would be nice to check the weather though if I wasn’t near my computer.

So … if you have any opinions on the topic of cell phones (the phones themselves, the companies, the coverage, the plans, etc. ), please leave a comment. I’d really appreciate it. Thanks in advance for anyone who leaves a comment.

Mood: lazy