And now, for something completely different…

Oh no, wait. Same old crap.

More strange events. I forgot to report my first day computer events. As expected I managed to get a call in to the help desk here in Horicon within 2 minutes of getting in the classroom. It took them 2 hours to fix the problem. Actually this wasn’t my fault (a phrase Doughty has heard me say many times at Ericsson). No really, it wasn’t. The simply hadn’t setup my ID to get into their local network. There was of course normal lockups and reboots throughout the class, but no external help was needed.

I found out why I need to bitch so much about the lack of signs around here. All their money goes to road maintenance. These roads are well kept, both structurally and aesthetically. Not much debris to be found and no potholes. Of course, limited traffic helps, but that also means limited tax-payer resources to draw from. So I guess it’s better to get lost on a smooth, clean road than a dirty road filled with potholes. I can accept that.

I have now taken a picture of the infamous ‘small mall’, though admittedly it will no turn out that good. Ugh. I will also be taking a picture of the hallway carpet. I want to see if this compares with the nasty carpet Chris endured in Vegas. From his description I think that was worse, but this isn’t too great either.

Of course the only thing cooler than regular Family Feud might be when Richard Dawson is on Match Game (that’s the one where he smokes Susan). Today’s episode also includes all the cool kids fav Betty White and of course Charles Reilly? Those old folks are pretty damn funny actually.

Another interesting tidbit was noticing the difference in safety around here. The place seems pretty safe. Raleigh itself isn’t that bad either of course. Now of course wherever I travel it’s guaranteed that someone will stop and ask me for directions. It’s like they want to rub in how directionally stupid I am. So this guy asks where the Deere store is. I explained to him I didn’t have clue but perhaps the gate guard could tell us. I wanted to know as well so we walked over. I knocked on the sliding glass door, to which she replied, "Come on in, I don’t bite" while laughing.

Now this was my first clue that I was basically in a much colder version of Mayberry (albeit with a different thick accented folk). I have never been expected to go in a guard house. There’s a reason they’re guarding something you know. But I was more surprised when she said, "Sure, around the corner in the alley there’s the store." Now, I don’t know where you come from, but everywhere I’ve been, if you’re buying something in an alley, it’s not legal (or safe). I did check it out of course. It was illegal. Or at last should’ve been, those prices were ridiculous!