Because....

... you know you always wanted a pocket sized ninja.

Internet privacy

There are a number of oxymorons that I could make jokes about - military intelligence, honest politician, and so on - but by far my favorite is internet privacy. Someone once told me that unless you wouldn't mind seeing anything you put up on the internet on a billboard on the road entering the town in which you live, you shouldn't put it up. I have taken this to heart, and while there may be things that I would prefer not to be put up, there's nothing that would be in any way titillating or otherwise. Some may call this boring. I call it prudent.

One of the perks of my job is the unique variety of things people buy and the information one gets by seeing someone's purchase history. I believe I already mentioned the GCs sent to dominatrices. The men buying these would probably be horrified to know of someone knowing about this. There have also been sex toys, various explicit books and videos, and a truly strange little item called a "Keinohrhase" or "Rabbit with no ears." It's a relationship tool.

Anyway, this was all sparked by one of the orders I came across today. The customer's Yahoo! profile was a picture of his junk. One of my colleagues has gotten a picture of testicles before, but this was a first for me.

All I have to say is this: WHY would you ever post a picture of yourself - especially if you aren't precisely impressive - on the internet for ANYONE to see?

I need an iPod

I'm getting really bored at work. I check the news every few minutes. I answer email. I write on my blog. It's not as though there's not work. It's just that the work there is is rather mind-numbing and one needs these little mental breaks to keep from going stark raving mad. I think I might go make myself some hot apple cider shortly.

All of my colleagues either have an mp3 player or they smoke. I don't intend to take up smoking, so I guess I need an mp3 player. Maybe this will help with the need to make sure that my brain doesn't turn to a giant pile of applesauce inside my skull.

On another note, I watched Batman and Robin: The Movie last night, and it was hilarious. Very dry humor, absolutely obnoxious dialogue, and great tights. "Holy Polaris, Batman!" - very funny. It's very much in the 60's science/technology show mentality, though - I think Star Trek and Batman have more in common than I thought.

Funny orders

One of the most fun parts of my job is viewing the orders made by people. Sometimes, the mix is just WRONG, as is the case frequently. Once I wanted to cancel an order of 80's music, hot pink dolls, and relationship book based purely on bad taste. But we're not allowed to do that.

My favorite orders by far are the gift cards purchased for dominatrices. Some of these women are making bank! The gift cards are typically between 100-500euro, and there are generally multiple payments. The best are when you can see the progression of various dominas on a particular account - one man's average was about three months with each one, then he'd move on to the next. Today, I have an order for a 150euro GC and a vacuum cleaner and accessories to be mailed to Lady L. (not writing the full name here). I'm really curious if the postman knows who Lady L is, since there's no last names allowed.

It's the little things in life that make things fun. :)

Purchasing

I have always thought purchasing was so much more of a prepossessing word than buying. Buying has a certain crass connotation to it; whereas purchasing sounds very professional and high in the in-step. This, of course, gives it a certain comic quality as well.

Tomorrow is payday, and it's my payday after working a 52.5hour week and a 54 hour week, so I am looking forward to it. I have already spent every bit of it, though, which is unfortunate, but it's exciting to consider my purchases.

The first is this camera, a Canon EOS 30D for my brother. He is an aspiring photographer, and he currently only has a powershot. Powershot does NOT equal aspiring photographer. So, he's getting a new camera.

The second is for me, I'm getting a bamboo silverware tray and a brushed stainless steel spice carousel. I have been living in my new apartment for going on three months, and haven't yet purchased a silverware tray. Since I hate plastic with a passion, I ended up choosing bamboo and steel, which are, after all, much more attractive anyway. Probably more durable too, since it seems anything made of plastic has shoddy construction.

And thus ends the purchases, because I have to pay rent and pay my mom back for being so generous when my pay didn't quite stretch. But it's certainly been fun shopping!

Hat Week!! Day 5 - Round brim hat

And thus, it ends - this is the last day of hat week. I'm thinking this is a good indication that I need to go shopping for new hats. :)


I bought this hat when I went to Chicago for my cousin Martha's wedding in 2003. My cousin Christina bought the leopard print version - I, being more boring, bought black. I like this hat second best after my beret. It has the benefit of making even very bad hair days good.