A friend of mine is hoping for a shot at an internship with a travel country. She asked me to stir up some interest. Apparently she hopes for good ratings on her video resume. I think she's overqualified already, also overly accomplished. But I do what I can to help.

I'm linking to the video because, well, it just doesn't jive with my content. You know, my ramblings about nothing.
 But check it out.

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Apparently a big deal tonight. Playoff game between Manchester United and Int. Milan. I can't be bothered to remember the start of the name. Round of 16.

Ended 0-0.

How is that a playoff game? Aren't playoffs supposed to have winners? How did that help anything? I understand it's a two-game series, but this can't be the best way to decide it.

And, to think, I almost went to watch that game. Glad I missed it.

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For the first time, I wanted to give up today.

It's sad, but true. It started on Saturday, when we went up to the mountains south of town. Did not ski. I was disappointed. No one else wanted to, and I didn't want to be the entitled, rich American. Anyway, it was still fun. But on the way back, we stopped at a roadside restaurant. Probably not the best idea.

Woke up at 4 a.m. the next morning with intestinal issues. I didn't move more than 50 feet from a toilet the rest of the day. I was supposed to run five miles, but, since I had barely slept and barely ate anything, I passed on that--first day I had missed the schedule.

Feeling a little better on Monday, I picked it back up. I didn't want to run too far, so I spent an hour on an eliptical instead. I figured it made up for it, because, at any pace faster than walking, I can make five miles in an hour. I didn't hit as high of a heart rate, but I was three times as bored, so I thought it was all the same.

My 3.5-mile run this morning let me know differently. My calfs burned every step of the way, and, when I was done, I could barely walk.

It's why I felt like quitting. 3.5 miles is still 9.6 less than the half-marathon.

Fortunately, I'm not, yet. I waste at least a half an hour a day. I can spend it running instead.

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So pens around here aren't that easy to come by. Well, they are, there's a paper guy five minutes from my house. But I don't have a ton of them. I bought a bunch of pens on discount from the Wal-mart-ish store here.

These pens stink. They are the worst pens in the world. They look like crystal-clear Bic pens. They aren't.

The first two I tried didn't work. The next one did, and I stocked up a few of them in my bag.

A few weeks later, down to my last pen, I shoved another one in the pocket of my jacket. My 2007-era Reebok Kansas City Chiefs dual-jacket, with a fleece interior. (I love this coat. 80 percent off. Works for a heavy and light coat. It's great.)

An hour later, the pen was out of ink. It had broken in my pocket.

Yeah. All the ink had pooled up at the bottom of my coat, leaving a huge spot on the coat.

10 minutes later, that spot had transferred to my khaki pants.

Two washing-machine cycles later, both spots had stayed in exactly the same place.

So a 15-cent pen took out those items. Lesson learned. I'm going for true-Bic crystal clear next time.

*Also, apparently with my new haircut (thanks for noticing, Bekah), I can pull off the gangsta look better. I was walking down the street in said jacket, wearing sunglasses to block sun only. It was a long walk, so I turned on my ipod (Zune).

Then a bunch of kids walking by started yelling at me, waving their hands in some kind of dance move (I guess). They asked me to call out a yo-yo for them.

I think the states, I'd still pass off as a dweeb. Here, maybe they don't understand the dweeb look and go with hip-hop.

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Skype got back to me, they were just alarmed at a credit card being used here. They unblocked everything. I'm appreciative, and I while I understand the concern, I wish it didn't take eight days to fix.

Still, a good service.

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So I'm trying to be friendly with the neighbors. You can't last long in this country without finding a sense of community, and they are my best bet. I help the oldest son with English a couple of times a week, though he needs more practice than I give him.

One night, he told me that they were going to a nearby ski resort, and he wondered if he could borrow my camera. Saying no really isn't the culturally appropriate thing to do, though, as a foreigner, I have a little extra leeway. But I have two cameras, and I figure I can spare the point and shoot for a few days.

Nearly a week later, he brings the camera back to me. At first glance, it looks fine. At first glance with the power on, it's not fine. The LCD screen is pure white, except for a few cracks and black patches.

He had no explanation for how it ended up that way. (My guess: The camera was the mouth on the snowman. But that's just a guess. But it'd be cool to have a snowman, and when you look at the mouth, it takes a picture. Right? No? Well, I hope the answer wasn't snow-soccer. That'd be lame. We have that. It's called hockey.)

Thing is, the camera still works fine. You just can't see anything. So I smile and nod and take it back.

The next day, he gave the memory card to me and asked me to put the pictures on a DVD for him. I figured that was a small enough task, I could do that. As soon as the memory card hits my card reader, my antivirus flagged it. And the longer it stayed in, the more the antivirus complains.

I'm not a big fan of viruses. But apparently here, they LOVE them. Every computer has one. It's not an exaggeration.

I gave him the card back and told him he was on his own. A couple minutes later, he returned, saying he'd formatted the card.

I stuck it in. Virus alert.

So I expected to never see my camera again. This was still a step up. And I got to see what an SD card looks like when you crack the outer shell. It's pretty interesting.

I can't say whether I'll loan anything else out yet. That was valuable relationship building, after all.

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With all due respect to Stephen Colbert, it’s time for my own tip of my hat, wag of my finger.

Tip of My Hat: Microsoft Zune

The Zune has gotten a bad rap since its introduction for several reasons. No.1: It’s software was incredibly buggy, it is a huge device, and it’s unique features turned out to be crippled. No. 2: It’s not an iPod.

That’s one of the reasons I was able to pick up one on Ebay for a hundie last November. Yes, I probably still paid too much.

But Microsoft has done a lot right since then. With free firmware updates and an overhaul of the software, they turned the device into a middle-of-the-road mp3 player, a huge improvement.
But two things have impressed me in the last week.

I subscribed to Microsoft’s Zune Pass, an all-you-can-download service. Splitting the tab with my brother in KC has helped. I had some credit card problems after the initial payment, and my account got suspended at the end of January. A phone call to customer service fixed nothing, but I did get to speak to a real person.

But after clicking on a few other options, I changed one setting online. Within five minutes, my account was unblocked. Pretty fast clearance there. And for my trouble, they gave me a free month. Even though the problem was all mine.

Now I’m training for this half-marathon thing. And I took the Zune with me to go jogging. I’d discovered a channel I could download automatically that gave me around 20 songs to keep a specific heart beat. Sure enough, that music helped me keep a good pace, making the run a lot easier than I expected. With the pass, Zune will download a new set next week, keeping the music fresh for running. Overall, a pretty good setup.

There could be a few things improved. Microsoft, I don’t want any more Christmas music. Stop recommending it.

Wag of My Finger: Skype

Skype has been a wonderful service. It’s turned what used to be a huge expense, calling internationally, into a breeze. Unlimited in and out calling costs only $4 a month.
But the human element is a bit lacking in customer service. For some reason ( I still don’t know why), Skype blocked my account this month. In spite of the subscription, which I don’t abuse, and in spite of more than $9 of unused credit, Skype banned me.

I submitted a support ticked on Sunday. They sent an email saying they’d get back with me within 48 hours. The forum said if you haven’t heard in four working days, send a private message. I did. The moderator wrote and said he’d pass it on to Skype. I still haven’t heard anything.

It’s not a huge deal, but, when it’s the link home, and when you’re paying for the service, it’d be nice for it to work. Or for there to be an explanation. Or for a human person to be available within a week. It’s probably a credit card glitch similar to the problem with Microsoft.

I’m going to buy credit on Yahoo tomorrow just to do what Skype once did. I don’t know how long it will take Skype to get it fixed.

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As the two readers already know, I'm planning on running a half-marathon sometime this year. I don't really know if I'll make it, bu tI'm ok with trying. But I don't think I'll ever do anything quite like this

Seven marathons on seven continents in less than seven days. Wow.

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So the live blog didn't quite happen. I didn't watch on my internet, and the game turned out to be pretty good. Couple of quick-hit thoughts.

*Santonio Holmes proved he's a baller. I didn't think of him as any more than a Dante Hall-esque third receiver. But, forced to step up in the absence of Hines Ward, he came through. He even shook off that dropped pass in the end zone to snag the game-winning touchdown.

*Can't ask more of Kurt Warner than what he gave tonight. 377 yards and three touchdowns should be enough to win most games. Well, maybe one pass more. If James Harrison doesn't pick off that pass at the end of the half, this game *might* go Arizona's way. Still, that performance should seal his Hall of Fame credentials. And he didn't look like someone ready to call it a career. Lots of life left in those legs.

*Ben Roethlisberger beat pressure time and time again tonight. It didn't matter what type of defense Arizona threw at the Steelers, he shrugged it off to find his receiver.

*Larry Fitzgerald showed up. It took him around a half, but when he showed up, he really showed up.

*Edgerin James has some life in those legs. And Darnell Dockett made a name for himself.

*Warner has played in three Super Bowls. In all three, he's led his team on a scoring drive in the final minutes to either take the lead or tie the game. In all three, the opposing team has had enough time to mount a scoring opportunity of its own. I don't know what it means, but it's an interesting detail. Warner's Super Bowl record is now 1-2.

*Oh, and the ads? Hated 'em. The Doritos crystal ball ad was the consensus favorite with my crew, followed by the Bud Light budget meeting. And I was impressed with the Star Trek trailer. Otherwise, one of the lamest efforts in years.

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