that’s a hint, since we’ve had to sign a hefty NDA on this one. the big & happy picture is that we’ve automated something that used to take four lovely women four hours a day to do on a computer, and that’s four hours of mindbendingly repetitive and Willy Loman-y type of work. now the ladies are free to grill steaks for the company (using a messload of Lowry’s seasoned salt) and explore the neighborhood, which consists of coffee the size of small children,

and supposedly the cheapest gas in LA County from a place called Petro Bras Gas.

the fun part of all this is taking the metro. so far the trains have been trouble free, although the other day there was a hubbub about the train stopping way off of where it was supposed to stop so they brought in the team. from what i could tell, the light blue shirted guy has the largest gut and the largest paycheck.

on board there are crazy subway people, but the weird thing is that there’s only one representative for each crazy person stereotype. only one homeless person using a water bottle as a bath sponge, screaming “i’m not taking any crap from an Arab!” only one mute in a 3-piece suit placing notes on everyone’s knees, only one person blasting Anvil on an amplified device. i think the MTA actually hired crazy people to ride the subways in order to make the experience more authentic and increase their outreach.

part of this outreach is that the stations are not monitored in terms of making sure everyone buys a ticket. they want to be all inviting and loosey goosey, but some of the folks who choose not to pay don’t realize that they don’t have to hop the turnstile, they can walk through the green lanes like the rest of us. it’s that easy. maybe it’s just not as exciting if you don’t jump.