fall....The final frontier
So it has been quite some time since I've last posted in this journal, but as I approach the fall, and my return to school, I feel i should start posting more regularly, as an exercise in writing and to get my creative juices flowing.
To infinity and beyond:
So I was inspired by NASA when they decided to start their "return to the moon" mission, and as a result I decided to embark on my own mission. to return to school. Mediocrity has never been my strong suit, and being underemployed has been driving my bananas. like donkey kong size bananas. Wait, more like King Kong size bananas. So This fall I have enrolled at HVCC for an evening class in psychology. This will eliminate one of the degree requirements for my MS in Information Science that has slipped through the cracks over the years. I also only wanted to take one class this fall to help me get back into the swing of things. Being away from the collegiate environment for as long as I have been, it is just a smarter move to approach the whole endeavor cautiously at first, than dive right in for the Sprint 2010 semester at SUNY Albany.
The program I have enrolled in is a M.S. in Information Science. with a logarithmically accelerated track designed just for me. the fall is one basic class, the spring is a full semester of basic undergrad courses,
and once the fall of 2010 starts ill be taking mostly grad courses. so im going to have to get on the ball and fast to keep up. on the upside, however, this course material seems loads more interesting than anything i have done to date. so i am looking forward to it. :-)
millions of apples, apples for free, millions of apples, apples for me!:
So thats not really how the presidents of the united states said it in their infamously annoying song, but i felt like i could use my creative license, and alter it a bit to fit the subject. and no I'm not talking about delicious New York Macintosh apples. I was thinking more of the Mac computer variety. So i did a very nice thing this month, and when i heard my mothers windows desktop finally shit the bed, i mad an executive decision and told her to get a mac mini. She agreed to it so the deal with the devil was done! I purchased the mini from the mac store up here at Crossgates mall. Brought it home, and configured it using the new mac keyboard and mighty mouse i got from BBY and the 22" HiDef Acer monitor i had laying around. Let me start off by saying that the mini looked amazing on my 22" monitor, so good in-fact that i decided to give that to my mother as well. they worked so good together it would have been a shame not to. So i got everything configured, her email, got her windows office 2009 set up, and her adobe software. after that i packed it all back up and UPSd it to her. good deed #1 done!
the second good deed is i got my father an olympus stylus tough 8000 camera. this thing is just badass. i mean you can go diving with it without any additional cases up to 33' and you can drop it from 10' onto concrete. oh and its crush proof up to 250 lbs. so i think it can survive anything my dad can throw at it.
Finally, i did a good deed to myself. In preparation for the new schooling I'm about to put myself through, i got myself a macbook pro 13.3'. This thing is amazing, and I have been wondering how i got off for so long without one. It has made my life a million times easier, so now i can attack anything school wise and not have to worry about stupid windows blowing up with the BSOD! On this note, this friday is the release of Snow Leopard of max OS 10.6. I cant wait to see how it makes a great computer even greater. very excited.
Personal Health and Goals:
Well when i started this whole lose weight and get healthy kick 21 months ago, I never could have guessed how far i would have come. When i started I was 235 pounds. and at 6'2" that put me in a 38" waist. Not obese, but certainly heavier than i was comfortable with. I mean what can you expect, whilst in college, my eating habits and choices were poor and downright disgusting. At present, I'm 179 pounds. that's 56 pounds of BLAH just gone. so from a 38' waist to a 31' waist. I mean my transformation was nothing short of epic. None of the clothes from that era fit me, so I've had to get all new clothes, and in steps to boot so I've gone through a lot of clothing in the past 15 months or so. I guess if you have read the past posts in this long forgotten journal of mine, you would know that the initial reason for me wanting to get into shape was for the state police. Well im still waiting on that phone call, but at this point it is irrelevant. Im soo much happier at this size, and much more active. I go to the gym every day now, and I couldn't be happier. It has been a life style change, and one i would recommend to anyone. I will say this, however, that if i had stayed in school, i do not think it would have been possible, with all the stress and lack of free time that is soo common while in school. Now that i have gotten to this level, i feel that to maintain it while going to school will be much easier.
The student has become the Master:
So I am very under-employed. It has become quite apparent to me, my co-workers and my clients. I hear it 5 times a day, why are you still with BBY, or why haven't you left yet, or why don't you get a real job. So to them i retort; that in this economy and job market, and with my financial situation it is the smartest choice to stay at a job where i make more than enough money to support myself and and life style to which i have become accustomed to, as well as have enough to stash money in my savings every month. Once i get rolling on my masters, however, i feel that in a year or so I will seek out new employment opportunities so i can put my new found knowledge to the test and earn some real world experience.
So I am now considered a GSI Master, ESS, HEA for BBY district which means im in charge of my area, I'm an elite services specialist, and a Home entertainment advisor. Basically that means that I don't do any physical work or manual labor. I am 1 of 3 ISF calibrators for BBY in NY, so all i do are calibrations and consultations. Its kinda a sweet deal. They gave me a GeekSquad bug and a laptop and complete autonomy. I wake up, download my jobs from my apartment, then leave to go to my jobs. I don't even need to go to the store! So in the short term, this is what i have to do to survive in todays economy. But I have taken everything this job has to offer, so once im edumicated, Ima gonna get outta here!
--Well this hasn't been too bad for my first update. and im sure as i go on these will get more interesting and hopefully appear to be written by someone who actually knows what he is doing.
To infinity and beyond:
So I was inspired by NASA when they decided to start their "return to the moon" mission, and as a result I decided to embark on my own mission. to return to school. Mediocrity has never been my strong suit, and being underemployed has been driving my bananas. like donkey kong size bananas. Wait, more like King Kong size bananas. So This fall I have enrolled at HVCC for an evening class in psychology. This will eliminate one of the degree requirements for my MS in Information Science that has slipped through the cracks over the years. I also only wanted to take one class this fall to help me get back into the swing of things. Being away from the collegiate environment for as long as I have been, it is just a smarter move to approach the whole endeavor cautiously at first, than dive right in for the Sprint 2010 semester at SUNY Albany.
The program I have enrolled in is a M.S. in Information Science. with a logarithmically accelerated track designed just for me. the fall is one basic class, the spring is a full semester of basic undergrad courses,
and once the fall of 2010 starts ill be taking mostly grad courses. so im going to have to get on the ball and fast to keep up. on the upside, however, this course material seems loads more interesting than anything i have done to date. so i am looking forward to it. :-)
millions of apples, apples for free, millions of apples, apples for me!:
So thats not really how the presidents of the united states said it in their infamously annoying song, but i felt like i could use my creative license, and alter it a bit to fit the subject. and no I'm not talking about delicious New York Macintosh apples. I was thinking more of the Mac computer variety. So i did a very nice thing this month, and when i heard my mothers windows desktop finally shit the bed, i mad an executive decision and told her to get a mac mini. She agreed to it so the deal with the devil was done! I purchased the mini from the mac store up here at Crossgates mall. Brought it home, and configured it using the new mac keyboard and mighty mouse i got from BBY and the 22" HiDef Acer monitor i had laying around. Let me start off by saying that the mini looked amazing on my 22" monitor, so good in-fact that i decided to give that to my mother as well. they worked so good together it would have been a shame not to. So i got everything configured, her email, got her windows office 2009 set up, and her adobe software. after that i packed it all back up and UPSd it to her. good deed #1 done!
the second good deed is i got my father an olympus stylus tough 8000 camera. this thing is just badass. i mean you can go diving with it without any additional cases up to 33' and you can drop it from 10' onto concrete. oh and its crush proof up to 250 lbs. so i think it can survive anything my dad can throw at it.
Finally, i did a good deed to myself. In preparation for the new schooling I'm about to put myself through, i got myself a macbook pro 13.3'. This thing is amazing, and I have been wondering how i got off for so long without one. It has made my life a million times easier, so now i can attack anything school wise and not have to worry about stupid windows blowing up with the BSOD! On this note, this friday is the release of Snow Leopard of max OS 10.6. I cant wait to see how it makes a great computer even greater. very excited.
Personal Health and Goals:
Well when i started this whole lose weight and get healthy kick 21 months ago, I never could have guessed how far i would have come. When i started I was 235 pounds. and at 6'2" that put me in a 38" waist. Not obese, but certainly heavier than i was comfortable with. I mean what can you expect, whilst in college, my eating habits and choices were poor and downright disgusting. At present, I'm 179 pounds. that's 56 pounds of BLAH just gone. so from a 38' waist to a 31' waist. I mean my transformation was nothing short of epic. None of the clothes from that era fit me, so I've had to get all new clothes, and in steps to boot so I've gone through a lot of clothing in the past 15 months or so. I guess if you have read the past posts in this long forgotten journal of mine, you would know that the initial reason for me wanting to get into shape was for the state police. Well im still waiting on that phone call, but at this point it is irrelevant. Im soo much happier at this size, and much more active. I go to the gym every day now, and I couldn't be happier. It has been a life style change, and one i would recommend to anyone. I will say this, however, that if i had stayed in school, i do not think it would have been possible, with all the stress and lack of free time that is soo common while in school. Now that i have gotten to this level, i feel that to maintain it while going to school will be much easier.
The student has become the Master:
So I am very under-employed. It has become quite apparent to me, my co-workers and my clients. I hear it 5 times a day, why are you still with BBY, or why haven't you left yet, or why don't you get a real job. So to them i retort; that in this economy and job market, and with my financial situation it is the smartest choice to stay at a job where i make more than enough money to support myself and and life style to which i have become accustomed to, as well as have enough to stash money in my savings every month. Once i get rolling on my masters, however, i feel that in a year or so I will seek out new employment opportunities so i can put my new found knowledge to the test and earn some real world experience.
So I am now considered a GSI Master, ESS, HEA for BBY district which means im in charge of my area, I'm an elite services specialist, and a Home entertainment advisor. Basically that means that I don't do any physical work or manual labor. I am 1 of 3 ISF calibrators for BBY in NY, so all i do are calibrations and consultations. Its kinda a sweet deal. They gave me a GeekSquad bug and a laptop and complete autonomy. I wake up, download my jobs from my apartment, then leave to go to my jobs. I don't even need to go to the store! So in the short term, this is what i have to do to survive in todays economy. But I have taken everything this job has to offer, so once im edumicated, Ima gonna get outta here!
--Well this hasn't been too bad for my first update. and im sure as i go on these will get more interesting and hopefully appear to be written by someone who actually knows what he is doing.