Pr3++yG33kyTh1ng

I suppose I have an addictive personality. For me, the routine pretty quickly becomes the required.
A thirty-day free pass to Everquest quickly morphed into an EFT monthly subscription.
The staff at the nearest Starbucks to wherever I work quickly learns my drink order.
I gain a feeling of personal validation directly related to the number of page hits I get here.
Checking my email has been almost compulsive to me for years.
After drinking enough Diet Coke to earn a PlayStation 2, I further saved points enough for a free Sony game, a subscription to a magazine and I still have almost 50 points to spare. I added 3 this morning.
My newest addiction is particularly vexing.
I've been issued (against my will) a BlackBerry handheld device.
Now, my only experience with these things before was from years ago. I remember an asshat project manager constantly responding to emails on one. I mocked him.
When his job was eventually outsourced, I remember him standing in the lobby downstairs afterwards - still using his BlackBerry to approve or deny change requests even though he had no more authority. They eventually made him leave the building.
Flashing forward to this job, the BlackBerry is a lot cooler than the tiny email device it once was. Mine acts as a mobile phone as well as an email device. It also surfs the Internet.
This means that even though the Dungeons and Dragons web page is blocked by the corporate firewall (fascists), I can surf it frantically on my 2.5 inch screen as often as I like.
The project for today involves setting up the software to enable my team to connect to and administer servers through our BlackBerry devices. Rather than lug around our wireless laptops, we should be able to diagnose, repair or even power cycle problematic systems from anywhere with a cellular signal.
The downside is I've become that obnoxious guy on the elevator staring at his tiny screen, frantically scrolling and thumb-typing. The upside is my thumbs now house the strongest muscles in my body.