On Tuesday before I left work I employed the "hovering" tactic on my boss before I left, which entails just kind of hanging out until she tells me what I want to hear. In this case it was, "You might as well just take tomorrow off."
So far, with both this boss and my former boss, I believe the "hovering" approach has had a 100% success rate in either getting me what I want, whether it's permission to leave early or to not come in to work on the day before a holiday.
So, having Wednesday off, and knowing that, while it would still be bad - the zombie hordes already began descending on any and all retail outlets last weekend - going out into the world would be less bothersome on Wednesday than it would be on Saturday, I went out to do my grocery and comic shopping.
At the comic shop one of the customers asked about Black Friday deals, and the guy working there told him that the shop would be e-mailing special Friday offers to customers that evening.
When it came time for me to pay for my stack, he said, "We have your e-mail on file, right?" I said, "Probably, but it doesn't matter - I don't go anywhere on Black Friday."
In the alternative, I considered saying, "E...mail?" and looking completely bewildered.
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While I don't - and didn't - go anywhere on Black Friday, I did look at some of the online deals. For the most part I wasn't impressed.
I did, however, very briefly toy with the notion of buying the Acer Iconia from the Microsoft Store, which was selling it at a steep - $400 off - discount.
I have to admit that I was tempted, not because I really need it, or even want it all that much, but simply because, well, as a concept, at least, it's pretty cool.
Mostly it reminds me of the late, lamented Courier concept that Microsoft so cruelly and unwisely killed before it even got out of the gate. Seriously, Microsoft, I would have thrown money at you if you'd actually made the thing:
Anyway, I soon decided against buying it, despite the coolness, because, as mentioned, I don't have any particular need for it, it's far too bulky, its battery life is pathetic, and it doesn't have an active digitizer, which means that I wouldn't be able to use it like a portable Cintiq, which is the main thing I want in a tablet.
My current Tablet PC can, in theory, behave in that fashion, but in practice, setting aside the fact that the N-Trig digitizer seldom works at all, it never offered pressure-sensitivity (even it claims to do so).
At some point in the new year, I will most likely pick up a Samsung Series 7 Slate, which has a Wacom digitizer (same company that makes the Cintiq), and Samsung has stated that they intend to make it upgradeable to Windows 8. In fact, it's been used as the reference machine for the Developer Preview of the next version of Windows.
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I probably really ought to be working on my novel if I want to achieve my goal of actually finishing the thing - as opposed to simply achieving the 50,000 word challenge, which I've already done - before NaNoWriMo draws to a close, but...ehh.
I also ought to be finishing up the Heroic Portraits order that my boss placed (it's essentially done; I'm making some decisions about whether or not I want to make some additions before sending her the proof), or working on the standing, "no rush, just in time for one of the holidays" order I have from someone else.
And today I just got a challenging request from my friend Jamie which I should probably start on, but...again, ehh.
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