iLove, iHate, and well, iJust-Don't-Know

UPDATE: AT&T informed me at 4am that I was fully activated. It seems that the onslaught of folks activating phones in the PST timezone were to blame for the delays...

So far, so GREAT!

iLove: Just about everything; the iPhone definitely lives up to its hype! I particularly like the YouTube clarity and the email/SMS displays...

iHate: The Keyboard... or, I need to put my thumbs on a diet.

iJust-Don't-Know: Yeah, Safari is cool and all, but unless you are on the NYT webpage, it's hard to read... The camera is crap, but I wasn't expecting much... Video would have been nice.

One request: Anyone figured out yet how to import a ringtone from iTunes?

iWait, iWait...

It's 2:00 am.

In 3 hours, I will have been up for 24.

At 5am yesterday morning, I began my iPhone adventure.

Oh, I have an iPhone. In fact, I was, like, 10th in line at the Apple store near my home. Props to my line-mates, and the staff at the Apple store. Barbs to the mall rent-a-cops, however--you all really need to get a clue.

So, at 5:55pm, I became an iPhone owner. Due to previously scheduled travel plans, I had to board a plane at 8:30 this evening. When I finally arrived to my destination about three hours ago (and after showing the iPhone around to the folks), I finally hooked up the phone and my Mac. Yep, it's 2.5 hours later and I am still up... iWait, iWait...

First (and my fault, totally), I needed to upgrade my version of OS X (I already downloaded iTunes 7.3 this afternoon). But that was only 15 minutes. Then, I hooked up the iPhone, filled out the AT&T information, and waited for activation.

It said it would take "up to 3 minutes..."

Oh, I don't think so...

I just got off the phone with the GREAT (sincerely) staff at the AT&T call center located "somewhere on the OH-PA border." They've told me that activation times are now averaging 5 hours...

It seems to me that Apple had its act together, totally. AT&T, on the other hand, not so much. Well, at least I did not have to suffer on hold with them...

I Heart Keith Olbermann!

Not only is the Countdown "must-see-tee-vee" in our house, but look how KO well, KOs, HP #7!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19436954/

Bang a Gong, Get a Bong...

If I had to say one thing that is different from my life pre-clerkship and now, it would be that I am no longer surprised by Court decisions... Cases look a whole lot different when you have the entire legal file before you, and when you've mulled and debated the issues involved within chambers and/or with other clerks. Mainly, this is because of the intense scrutiny afforded to the entire legal file. IMO, once the J is satisfied with his/her conclusion, it seems like the rest of our time it spent justifying, nay, bolstering that opinion to make it as robust as possible. Not earthshattering, I know, but once debate ceases, justification ensues. Sometimes, "there is no debate." It's a nastly slide down from "what is the right decision?" to "we are right because..."

If I could visit this record more closely, I would ask how part of a sidewalk across the street from a public school is actually part of school grounds? Or, at what point a student, who is dismissed from formal school activities for a period of time, is far enough removed from the school building (or, in the alternative, the purpose of the dismissal is far enough removed from an educational purpose), to cause a disconnect between that student's actions and school-sponsored speech?

Starbucks Observation No. 1

Is it REALLY that hard, people, to say "excuse me" when reaching across to grab your sugar/milk/stirrer at the Starbucks condiments bar?! I love how the same people that will wait long enough for the "barista" to get their "double/double, skinny, mocha, half-caf, more-wet-than-dry" drink perfect can't extend simple, common courtesy when dumping, like, 5 Equals in it.

Ecclesiastes!!! You mean, the designer?!?!

To everything,
there is a season.

In clerkland, summer is the season of goodbye.

Your colleague clerk leaves for her "real" job.

She can't wait to send out her goodbye email (to who?, every J?, their staffs? -- some of these are people you've never met?!)
She has forwarded you drafts of said email for your review. ("Uh, it's okay, I guess...")

She's been asking you everyday, "So, did I tell you how much they're giving me for a clerkship bonus?"
Yes, you did.

Truth be known, I kind of don't want her to leave. In every job, there should be that one person who is sort of a slacker (last time I checked, Vogue.com was not a valid place to conduct hours of legal research) so that you can pretty much do the bare minimum and look like a rock star, comparatively. It's not like I have gained a tenable advantage from this situation, mind you, or tried to make said co-worker look like crap (unlike others in office), but I still can't help feeling that sad that the "office joke" is leaving. OJ (ha!) has dropped "hints" about what her goodbye gift should be... Hmm... and you would be deserving (and it would be appropriate) to give you the new iPhone, why?! (No, not joking...)

What is appropriate? A card, a nice lunch (J pays, of course), a cake at 4pm, no? And, heartfelt wishes for good luck, right?

Or, am I being too harsh?