The days of our week may have been constructed by man, but I feel each one has developed a unique identity since. My sense is impossible to measure by direct means—weather patterns, dew levels, and even work loads vary for each of the seven – which is why I attribute the distinguishing process on the little things. Some workers may associate a particular day-of-the-week with a good restaurant deal (for DailyMe—Mexican Mondays, Pizza Tuesdays, Sushi/Thai Wednesdays), and others will just go by the TV programs that colleagues are recapping (we keep it real with Age of Love analysis). At DM, one could probably gauge the passage of time by the increasing dirtiness of my sole pair of khakis. It’s a really good system for me.

Friday may have more identity stereotypes than any of its brothers, and this is in part because the day is so versatile. This day/night has it all, but many argue that a firm’s productivity pays the price. The visible-light-at-the-end-of-tunnel aura often infects the workday, placing professionals in frivolously light spirits. “TGIF” manifests itself in several noticeable ways: Casual Friday dress (and any themed variation), starting the day late, ending the day early, et al. I encourage you to respond with other elements of that set the day apart from others in your office.

-John the Intern

Going into work when you’re sick: admirable, or inconsiderate? We all remember that girl from seventh grade who came into school with a stomach virus JUST to show her scholarly tenacity; you know, the same one who started the head lice plague four years earlier (motto: “if it aint’ airborne, it aint’ gonna stop me”). I never really understood her, though, because I’ve always valued the amount of work that can be done from home. As of today, I can express my pleasure in interning for a like-minded company.

In my last post, I mentioned that DailyMe favored the desktop computer over its portable younger brother. Don’t let this fool you—my employers have no qualms about taking their work home with them. Thanks to gifts like home internet, email networks, webcams, iPhones, Blackberries, and boysenberries, we can simulate nearly every element of interacting with co-workers (besides smell) from the comfort of our kitchens. I came down with mild illness today, so the opportunity to experience pajama work seemed ripe.

So far, I’d give the experience two thumbs up. I’m comfortable, focused, and recuperating. The only downer is that I’m slightly--how would one say--incommunicado. Despite the technology at our finger tips, discourse with the boss seems a bit emptier via e-mail and IMs. There’s certain roundness to direct human interaction, and I think that is what’s missing. The trend of our dialogue has been increasingly concise, and I found it comical by noon. It’s as if we want to maximize the efficiency of online communication, and will use any abbreviation to achieve that. My last e-mail from Mrs. Boss didn’t even have a message inside—she squeezed it into the subject line (her nickname around the office is “20 words or less”).

Until the next e-mail comes in, though, I’m going to take either a nap or an ibuprofen capsule. Bad day to be sick, as the cleaning lady is here. I can’t hear any of my soaps above her…soaping, I guess.

Peace, Love, and Personalized Media.

-John the Intern

As a young man, I always considered myself fairly portable. That is--my music coursed through an iPod, most meals reeked of the packaging they were served in, and my car became a second home. The last characteristic was convenient enough—only a car can function as beach house by day and street-level urban studio by dusk—but parking meters make for deadline-oriented landlords. I don’t think my on-the-go lifestyle would have been the same, however, without one or two trusty laptops at my service. The world may or may not have realized that a hot computer’s radiation on the quad muscle is undesirable, but the name has stuck to the device that consumers like me will never forget.

I can’t tell if it was my new job at DailyMe or the natural ebbing of youth that forced me to become more stationary (Side note: the word “stationary” also denotes the material used to write letters. Ironic, for the mailing process inherently does NOT take place in one location). Either way: I’ve been a ‘tweener for the first few weeks, alternating between my IBM ThinkPad and a desktop monitor that the company provided. It wouldn’t have taken long to assimilate exclusively to the suggested machine on the first day, but a broken mouse made for easy regression. I soon sought comfort in the ole’ laptop, and utilized the desktop only for printing and remote applications. The first phrase that comes to mind is love triangle, but the three of us were doing just fine.

Until my conscientious co-workers replaced the broken desktop mouse. A great gesture, but one that brought my double cyber-existence to an abrupt halt. I was not prepared to take this step because I had haphazardly saved files (in no particular arrangement) on both computers. Further, I knew a purely desktoppy experience would promote good posture…and I HATE good posture.

I don’t think DailyMe would have any issues with a transitional period for consolidating my files, but I feel guilty when not using the brand new desktop mouse. Reverting to my laptop click-pad too often would be like playing with old toys after your birthday party. And it begs a significant question: now that DailyMe has invested technology in me, am I in over my head? As for the problem at hand, though, the best compromise may be to marry the new and the old. With a simple pull, shuffle, and plug, I will simply attach the new mouse to my laptop. I’ll be happy, and company money will have been put to good use.

A laptop with a desktop mouse…I guess opposites attract, after all.

Peace, Love, and Personalized Media.

-John the Intern

Looks like I was experiencing some major technical difficulties in posting my last blog, Friday afternoon.

Apologies to those of you who emailed me and left comments re: the disappearance of my entry - we are back in business thankfully.

Enjoy your Sunday - more DailyMe fun during the work week...

-John the Intern

I bragged in an earlier post about “breaking bread with the CEO of DailyMe” over lunch, but my choice of words was, in hindsight, wrong. Now, I believe the phrase “breaking bread” should only characterize dinner. The difference is that our first two meals are “No B.S.” activities, and simply function as means to an end. Complimentary bread (to break) would just slow the process down. The office usually eats lunch together–and our individual breakfasts are at least simultaneous–but we’d never had an occasion to eat supper as one. By that definition, I guess you could say this writer had never broken bread with his co-workers…until this past Wednesday.

The opportunity to unite for din-din presented itself as a small celebration for our imminent site launch—a pre-launch party, if you will– as well as a chance to inject some fun into mid-week. We all agreed that the significance of the occasion justified a change of scenery, and thus got a reservation in far-south Coral Gables (no relation to Clark), a DailyMe favorite restaurant named Cacao. I knew this would mean a lengthy commute home after dinner, but that was no biggie: ever since I switched from Premium to Regular gas, I’ve been willing to widen my carbon footprint a bit.

The meal itself found our group in excellent spirits, and this was sustained as we dug into Latin American cuisine/Nouveau. I managed to hold my own at the table with five well-mannered adults, but regret that my role in the boss’s toast was cumbersome. It turns out a number of laws and social taboos forbid drinking wine before the age of 21, so I was forced to clink a platter of lamb chops with red wine sauce against their glasses.

The food was otherwise excellent, and so was the service from our waiters and the attention we received from the wine steward. Seriously, this guy found a perfect wine for each and every portion of our meal—even dessert. The lesson learned: milk isn’t the only dessert beverage out there, these days. Between courses, we reminisced about old times (10 months of memories!) and marveled at what the future may hold. It was a classic Kodak moment, to say the least.

All in all, the celebration lasted 5 hours before we received the gi-normous bill close to midnight. A delicious way to celebrate a delicious milestone, indeed.

Peace, Love, and Personalized Media.

-John the Intern