Cleaning my Keyboard: A Photo Journey

There comes a time in every computer-superuser's life when he just gets so overly frustrated and disgusted by the mess that exists underneath his keys. All of those black hairs and crumbs from god knows what sitting under there every time i press a key. all that filth. it made me sick sometimes. i just wanted that feeling of unclogging a drain, or cleaning an artery, or picking your nose. so, lo and behold, here is my photo adventure:

I started out taking each key off. My computer has a cool onscreen keyboard that has the exact same layout as the piece of shit i use so it made putting it back together a lot easier. Here are some shots of taking the keys off. You can see here how dirty and disgusting it was.


After a little preliminary cleaning i got it to look like this:


I used a variety of techniques. Cotton balls and Q-tips covered with proactiv revitalizing toner worked the best. Also, baby wipes to get some of the bulk was good too. It was a disgusting project, filled with hair, dust, crumbs and an assortment of crusty and crunchy oddities stuck somehow to the bottom of the keypad. Heres a few final shots of the thing:


Final thoughts: It definitely was not worth it. Most of my keys have small chips and are bent in weird spots from where the screwdriver pryed them off. Also, the spacebar, arrow keys and backspace keys dont work nearly as good as they used to for some reason. I used to be able to hold the backspace key down and have it delete text pretty quickly, now it does it so slow that its more efficient to press the key a hundred times. same thing goes for the arrow keys and page scrolling. The spacebar however doesnt work every time i press it. its like loose in certain areas and doesnt work unless i sorta hit it harder then usual. overall it was a big waste of time, but at least its clean.

Rich chocalaty ovaltine please

It's week 4 into my summer job search. I still have no job offer but a few promising leads. JPMorgan Chase called me today and set up a phone interview for next tuesday. I still have yet to hear the final decision for Ernst & Young and IBM and I have an on-campus interview for Accenture next wednesday. Theres still no guarantee ill be working though which is very unsettling.

Even though I dont have a job yet there are a few things Ive gained throughout this whole process:

1. A new suit and new work clothes that I can wear to formal and business functions
2. A working knowledge of the interview process
1. I can walk into an interview without being nervous
2. I can answer any behavioral question you could come up with on the spot, within seconds, and better than 90% of anyone else
3. An all expenses paid trip to New York City at the Hilton Times Square
4. 5 free expensive meals at very nice restuarants
5. A full arsenal of BS questions to ask people in my line of work
1. I can keep a nonsense conversation going for upwards of 15 minutes
6. Poor grades in Math 231 - Probability and Statistics, so bad that I need to drop the class
7. No time to study and slipping grades in my 5 other classes
8. A constant feeling of nervousness about getting a job this summer
9. A constant feeling of low self worth and a hurt ego after each and every rejection letter, phone call, or email
10. A newfound discovery and hatred of people who hide behind the company they work for as a means of inflating their superiority of everyone they encounter

Other than that its been ok these past couple weeks but Ive been constantly on the edge of my seat waiting to hear back from companies, waiting to go interviews with people, having to force conversation and interest with companies, researching the companies and jobs im interviewing for and everything related to that. Its been an incredibly stressful couple of weeks and if i dont get a job I will end myself.

Spring break has been nice, I visited Quinn last night. Here's Bucknell in a nutshell: A B+ university placed retardedly in the middle of rural western Pennsylvania. Theres nothing withing an 80 mile vicinity worth going to except the mighty Susquehana to drown yourself or a fraternity party on "Frat Row" to get nuts at. Everything from the dorms to the frats to the library to the gym to the academic buildings is red brick and seemingly designed by the same architect. The types of students Bucknell houses are those kids in high school that got decent grades, didnt really do much activity-wise, didnt get into their top choice, and dont care that theyre at a college sitting in the middle of a 60 million acre farm field. Everyone there seems extremely friendly and easy to talk to, and theres no prevalent type of person. They're very normal. Lehigh isnt like that at all with the cookie-cutter retards that study there. Their classes seem unnecessarily difficult, their class buildings arent anything to write home about, but their quad seems like it must light up with activity during the warmer months. overall I would say its a great place to go to school at. I had a great time kev.

I'll be at madison's for the next couple of days loving the wireless internet access all over their house. the house with floors that always get my socks damp for some reason, with no rooms to really hang out in, with nothing to do except watch tv or go online, and with more screaming and unnecessary bickering than you thought possible. I love it though.

Im going back home for my moms birthday at the end of the week. Hopefully Ill finish my homework. I still need to get a birthday present for her and I have no idea what to get. Im really not looking forward to getting back into hunting for a job at all and Im dreading school even more. This whole thing is like pledging with no clear sight at the end of the road and more making an ass out of myself and less self esteem.

Hopefully my next post here will be about a job offer.