inventions
the greatest invention in the world is the game of basketball. but this post isn't really about that. within the span of the past 3 days, i have compiled a relatively short list of the top 10 inventions found in the office. well, at the moment, i can only think of 2 off the top of my head, but i'm sure i can come up with the rest of the list soon enough, so let's continue, shall we?

10. magnetic nameplates
these things just make you feel all official. and did i mention they're magnetic? now who doesn't like magnets?


9. laptops
i pretty much sit in front of my work laptop all day. thanks to weili, i recently discovered the beauty of meebo.com. i can't even imagine what work would be like without this thing.


8. highlighters
highlighters brighten my day and make me feel artistic. sad, huh?


7. red pencils
so at kpmg, the hierarchy system is determined by what color pencil you use to write on all the official documents and whatnot. and i am an intern, so i use the lowly red pencil. don't tell anyone, but i think the red pencil's the best anyways.


6. electric pencil sharpeners
i've loved these things ever since elementary school. they're loud, exciting, and they eat pencils -- what's not to love?


5. big calculators
every so often, i get to use a humongo old-school-looking calculator to do my work. i'm not sure why i like it except for the fact that it makes me feel like a real accountant.


4. paper shredder
i know it sounds shady having a paper shredder be my #4 greatest invention after the whole enron/arthuranderson thing, but have you guys ever tried one of these things? they're amazing! multi-purpose too. like if you needed, say, uh.. streamers.. or really long confetti.. thin slices of paper.. you know the list goes on and on.


3. those little colored flag things
ya'll know what i'm talking about here? they're the little flag things you put in binders and whatnot to mark your place? you know? except mine has like 25 colors on it. it's amazing. i wish i could find a picture of these things, but this is what popped up in google when i typed in "colored flag" =

2. stamps
no, not the snail-mail stamps, these are the cool ink stamps that were so popular back in the day. yes, granted the stamp i use isn't that glamorous or spectacular (all it says is "PREPARED BY CLIENT"), any stamp is an upgrade over zero stamps.


1. electric 3-hole punch
this is literally the machine that motivates me to go to work. all day long i sit here just wondering when my next chance to use it will be. basically you stick some papers into it (it says max 20 sheets, but i like to push it to the limit) and press a button. then it makes this sound that kinda sounds like a paper shredder, and 1 second later, wala! the papers have all been hole-punched. it's amazing, just take my word for it.



so there it is. and just a quick plug, you should watch "the office." it's eerie how realistic that show can be.

sunny with a high of 35
i am experiencing a "light snow shower," according to weather.com. i must admit i'm kinda disappointed that it snows the one week i'm not in austin (i mean seriously, what are the odds?), but i won't blame it all on global warming like peter does and just accept the fact that i am over here in monroe, where it is 31 degrees outside, just like austin, but "feels like" 24. i wonder who is in charge of measuring that whole "feels like" thing anyways. it's probably just some random person who wakes up earlier than everyone else and goes outside and updates the website with some arbitrary temperature.

don't get me wrong, i'm not complaining that i still have to work. being out of town and all, i want to work all that i can. you know, cash in on those overtime rates. i'm scheduled to work 55 hours this week, so i'll take that. i mean, what am i going to do if i get out of work early? not that monroe isn't a great place -- it's actually a lot bigger and a lot more lively than i anticipated.

oh and just to clarify, i am working as an audit intern with kpmg in the austin office. they have me on an assignment here in louisiana for the 1st 3 weeks (but i return to austin on weekends) and then i'm back in austin for the last 5 weeks of my internship.

and and peter, i took your gap jacket with me. i hope you don't mind.. not like it's freezing over there or anything.

kpmg-unit
i know, i know, i've been slacking, i know. but there's always tomorrow.

today i slept at midnight. okay i'm lying, it was 12:45. but still early.

and i slept for a good while until 3:45am. i woke up, and peter went to sleep. we take shifts like that. why did i get up? to pray while it was still dark. like Jesus.

except i also took a shower and packed to catch my 5:40 flight.

ophelia graciously took me to airport at 4:45, and i tried to rush through airport security. except my bag went through the x-ray machine, and then the lady opened it up and jacked my toothpaste. she said she would allow 4 ounces or something, but mine was 6, i think.

come on, what harm am i going to do with toothpaste? the lady said she was going to trash my crest, but i should have followed her. she probably stashed it away in her back pocket when nobody was looking.

slept through the first flight to houston, then got off the plane and realized i had 10 minutes before i had to board my next flight. i get to the gate and the door's closed, so i figure hey, i got time for some bfast real fast. so i stand in line eyeing the menu, only to hear on the loudspeaker a few minutes later:

PASSENGER MOK, PLEASE COME BOARD THE AIRPLANE.

so long story short, i'm now in monroe, louisiana working at the centurytel client site as a part of an 8-person engagement team, none of which are from the austin office. kind of a strange situation, but so far so good. more updates later.