I had been working from home full-time for six months. It surprises me that much time had passed; it doesn’t feel like we’ve been out here that long.

Now that I’m commuting again, I’ve gotten into the habit of packing my bag full of gadgets that I’ve collected over the years, just like I used to do for those dreadful bus rides from MD to DC and back that I endured for two and a half years.

Top left is the iPhone 3G. I can’t tell you how many times I curse this thing and want it to run Windows Mobile, but I’ll save that for another post. What the iPhone does very well is keep me in the loop with Gmail, Google Reader and Twitter when I’m at lunch or on break, since the company’s internet usage policy is very strict.

Top center is the Zune 30 Halo 3 Collector Edition. While I love this thing, I keep waiting for it to break so I can get a Zune 120 Gears of War 2 Special Edition. Since it is a tank, that isn’t going to happen anytime soon. I mostly use it for music, but I do have many podcasts and audiobooks (mostly Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series) on it.

Top right is the Flip MinoHD. This tiny video camera comes with very simple software that makes it very easy to take the video I shoot with it and upload it to YouTube or just store on my computer. Since I don’t have to fight with video codecs (a battle I often lose), I am more likely to take video now.

Bottom left is the Canon Powershot 850 IS. All of the pictures I take are with this camera (except for the above, obviously). I mostly take pictures of the cats and of Nadia when she isn’t looking. I have some very funny pictures of her that I’ll sell cheap.

Bottom right is the Western Digital 320GB My Passport Elite. What I like about this portable hard drive is that is it very small and is powered by the USB port, requiring no separate AC adapter (the USB port it is plugged into must be powered). It is also very quiet, but it vibrates like crazy. Not enough to hear it, but enough to numb my hand if I hold it too long.

In day-to-day use, only the iPhone and Zune get any real use. The other three are there just in case I need them. Now that I look at that picture, I find it strange that I don’t take my Nintendo DS with me. I always had it with me back in MD.

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that I got a new job.

The warehouse that I now work in is just under 30 minutes away. Once I get comfortable with the location of speed traps and where the cops like to hide, I’m sure I’ll get that time down to 15 minutes.

I expected to sit down at my new desk and begin writing code right away, but they’ve got different plans for me. I will likely not be allowed to touch their system for two months! Instead, I will be moving from department to department, learning how everyone else interacts with the system I’ll be maintaining. I’ll be trained in each one like I was a new hire for that group, starting with Receiving. This is similar to Virilion’s orientation program, except that Tech For Less will have me work in each department for a week and have me write a report at the end of each week.

I made several laps through the warehouse, and I felt like a kid in a candy store. So. Many. Toys. Everywhere!

I was let go early, so the sun was still out on the way home. I took this video of my favorite part of the drive, seeing the mountains that make me feel so insignificant (in a good way):

You may hear me making silly noises and stupid comments in the background. Please ignore them. This is Titus Blvd, the lone road that leads to the village we live in on post. It is also the only place you can hit 40 MPH.