The Finite

The time has come, for me again
To think of mobile computing
for blogging, writing, powerpoint
and GIMPing of new memes
But on what device they shall be wrought?
And how big a screen?

But wait a tick, you readers cry
If I recall your last
You purchased a Google Nexus
And were quite fond of that
Alas, though I like it, say I
Some things it sorely lacks

Android’s good, surely said
But what I chiefly need,
Is my goddamn cursor back,
Compatibility and speed
Because cool a tablet was to have
It’s not the same without keys

Then what of this tablet you rushed to buy
So quick when Bender died?
What use remains for that device?
Where will it be applied?
My white coat pocket, the perfect size
As reference, to be my guide

On rounds, the size lends itself
to be much easier to eye
I surely need to use it well
til I am less untried
Few things exist, without a doubt
That Medscape can’t provide

And so this laptop I now need
Which model will I buy?
Windows 7 or Windows 8?
(Ubuntu, I reply)
As long as it’s not a Celeron
Any specs I will abide

So I embark on this quest
Setting turkey, pie aside
At the Rolling Meadows Staples store
At 8 on Thursday night
And all this time will only think
“They better save me pie.”

Okay, the theme of the last week: the future.

It all starts at 9:30 on Wednesday, when I leave the hospital early to make the 110 mile drive from Fort Wayne to West Lafayette. My car is outfitted with all the trimmings to bling it out as my bedroom on wheels (in that it’s full of piles of clothes and no one goes in it but me.) The unfinished business I have back at Purdue? Breakfast burrito from Oasis, then, the annual pharmacy career fair.

The importance (enough for me to drive all that way) came down to a few key factors: bacon, pesto and scrambled eggs. When you put that all together in a toasted tortilla, it just really works. You get the crunch of the bacon, the soft fluffiness of the eggs, and the pesto’s nutty smoothness underlining the meat.

After that came the career fair, which meant getting suited up, and pulling on my hit list of companies to explore face-to-face after having stalked them online. I see some familiar faces, nab a couple dozen business cards and make sure to grab some paracord lanyards before the Navy health recruiter returns from lunch.

Had some time to kill afterwards so went to work on my rotation projects in a computer lab. I was “that guy” in the suit staring at the same Word document for 40 minutes.

Torturous.

Even more so as I have to worry about my suit staying clean. One of the booths I visited has asked if I was interested in an interview the following day. And of course, I can’t not be. So I went and stalked this place up online and then I went in there the next afternoon and babbled. Actually, I was early so they let me in ten minutes early. And kept me five minutes after. It was super awkward. But first dates always are, right?

So yeah. I talked about computer stuff, I wandered off topic, I made pop culture references. All in all, it was a pretty fair representation of what being around me is really like. You know, minus the lack of unrequited sexual tension.
If they wanted to know what they would get if they hired me, they got a representative sample.