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My drive home tonight was nothing short of serene. Well, as serene as Northern Virginia traffic can allow. I got to leave work two hours early because I worked through my “break” after teaching Apple Camp. So, I rolled out around 7:30. Dropped the top, flipped up the lights, and broke out the iPod on Route 50.
The shuffle on my iPod was picking all the right music for the drive home, so I took the “long way” and avoided Waxpool, taking Claiborne instead and letting all the impatient ricers and minivan moms pass me by as I stuck to 5-over-the-limit …

I finally have a day off. I have worked 8 of the 9 days that the iPhone 3G has been on the market. Of those 8 days, today was the first day with no phones. The store was still slammed though. I’m off tomorrow and even though I’m still getting up early to take the Escape for service, at least I’m not going back to work. Gotta have time off here and there.

My pay period just changed over yesterday. In the past two weeks, I worked 79.22 hours. Past 80 is considered …

a roommate. I found a guy on the JMU boards and emailed him, but I have no idea if the email went through. He’s got a phone number, so I may call him tomorrow. I should. It’s sooo awkward though. “Hey, kid-who’s-name-I-don’t-know, I saw your post online saying you need a room. Still need a place to live?” Gahhhhh. Oh well.
Aside from that, I’m lovin’ life right now. I guess I could use another paycheck (thanks to my iPhone 3G mess) but that’s coming soon… and with all the hours that Apple has been throwing at us, I’ll probably have …

Wow. That’s all I can say about that. The iPhone 3G launch was:

a ton of hours
a ton of fun
crazy exciting
horrendous
all of the above

I came in at 9 PM on Thursday to help close and set up “the curtain” which consisted of some metal bases/poles, dowel rods, and velvet. The setup instructions were all pictorial, and the base/pole company was not the same as the dowel rod company, which was different from the velvet company. Le sigh. Anyway, Kevin and Matt and I got it set up after an hour of futzing around. Then the real fun began…
Planos. Runs to the …

…Ready, Steady, Go!

This is gonna be fun – a 15 hour shift!! I’m working from 10 PM Thursday to 12 Noon on Friday. Gotta help prep the store for iPhone 3Jigga, then actually help open. Us Concierge are doing various cool things. Beth and I will be working phones, helping customers get approval if there is trouble.

I sort of feel bad for the specialists. They have to use EasyPay. Can’t say more than that because the rest is not public yet, but Windows CE + Easy Pay (which is all Java based and pulls each screen from the server as-needed) …

I had this guy come in today, and he bought a One to One. Woo, go me – $50 towards our Concierge competition. Anyway, I pulled out my EasyPay and started ringing out the membership. Swiped his card, all was well. I then asked if he would like his receipt printed out or emailed.He chuckled and said, “printed out, definitely. Those things just aren’t secure. You can hack into ‘em from four kilometers away.”Really? So my swiping your credit card on a wireless payment device doesn’t bother you, but sending you an email does?!…

I think Apple needs to put out big billboards about their stores and how they work, because a ton of people aren’t in the know about the Genius Bar or any of that stuff. Also, some customers are too self-deserving or otherwise pompous for their own good.
Example:
Some guy comes in today and chats with me about the iPhone 3G release next Friday. That’s cool – lots of people are excited and want more information. I’m happy to provide said information, provided I have an answer to what you’re asking. In his case, he was asking if we were opening early …

…how I love thee: