Long time no see...
I know, I haven't been around much lately...I've been busy. And by busy I suppose I mean just...reading, working, and schooling. But lets get a little more specific, shall we?
Work's been going both better, and worse. You might be wondering how that's possible. Well, it's because I've managed to impress pretty much everyone there lately with my coding skills, and yet we're still behind the deadline, so I'm still getting a lot of pressure from all around. I suppose I could take it as a compliment, them assuming that I'm the only one who can make sure this project gets done on time, but I'm not. It's unfair of them to expect me to put in tons of extra hours, while the rest of my team works normal hours (or less). Still, I think things are going to improve, even if I'm going to get busier and busier trying to get this project in on time. But that's ok. I'm sure the pay will compensate for the insanity sure to come from working even more...
As nightmarish as it is, dealing with my various bosses, and the program we're writing, and the tools we're writing it with...i'm actually enjoying my job a little more than I did before. It's impossible to describe the intensity of the boredom that one experiences at a job where you're specifically instructed to do nothing. I mean, at home if you're "doing nothing" then you're usually still doing something. You get up, walk around, maybe read a book or catch something on TV...anything to take your mind off of things, or to just pass the time. Well, at work without work...there is nothing to pass the time. There's just the time. And being conscious of every single second that ticks off between 8 am and 5 pm...It's a special kind of torture.
So that's a roundabout way of saying that my new job is driving me insane, but at least it's the good kind of insane. At least I'm busy, and learning, and doing. Better that kind of insane than to be experiencing a waking coma...
School, on the other hand, has been a bit more of a bother, lately. I'm actually going to have to devote all of today to finishing (and starting) this one silly project. I'm sure I can get it banged out in one day...it's just a question of why. Sadly, I don't think I've learned a single thing in this class - not from the professor, anyway. And yeah, I've had this happen plenty of times before, but I'm just continually amazed by the fact that I'm paying money to be bored out of my mind, followed by a healthy dose of what can only be described as busy work. I mean, at least I was paid to be bored at work, right?
I need to get on the ball and get my major changed and whatnot. And finish up that incomplete. I hate having that stupid thing looming over my head. I just need to get to the point where I hate it so much that it's better to waste a weekend doing the project. I figure that'll come sometime in January...especially if I'm jobless as of January 1st.
Did I mention that? I'm probably going to be out of work as soon as I'm done with this contract. I have a feeling that they're going to be much less willing to pay me to do nothing what with this recession on and everything. So yeah, I actually ought to be job hunting right now. I just need to update my resume, put it out there, and see if anything bites.
Other than that, there are only a couple mildly interesting tidbits to share:
I went on a date. The date didn't go very well. I wasn't really feeling it, and towards th end of the date she wouldn't let me get a word in edgewise.
The plus side of that date being that I got my car cleaned beforehand. And I mean clean. There's no trash in the car. It's been washed, waxed, shampooed, vacuumed, and armor-alled. I tell you it's like looking at a whole different car. I'm fairly impressed, even if it cost so much money that I'm never going to do it again...
I read a book in under 24 hours. It's from the Codex Alera series. I recommend picking it up. Not very many books are about a main character who's actually remarkable because he (unlike everyone else) doesn't have special powers. And the universe it takes place in is actually rather interesting.
I'm also currently reading K. J. Parker's book called Shadow, and I'm really enjoying it. I got halfway through it yesterday, and really wish I could finish it today...but I've got a project to work on. That one's about...memory, gods, and men...I suppose. Very interesting. I can't wait to see how it ends. I need to see if I can pick up the other two books of the series before I finish this one.
And last but not least, my PS3 has been shipped out to be repaired (at the hefty sum of $150). It should be returning to me at the end of this week, or perhaps the beginning of next. I got Fallout 3 for the PC, but it's just not the same to me, for some reason. I suppose it's because it's so much like Oblivion - better on console because it's easier to get really absorbed into the game. There's something about hunching over a keyboard and mouse that just takes away from that feeling. Still, trying to play as an evil character on the PC has been interesting. I'm having a hard time doing it, actually. There's so many things I want, and just stealing them requires a level of sneak and lockpicking that I couldn't reach until 10th level or so...So I kind have to complete the quests the old-fashioned way. And I really don't wanna blow up Megaton until I've completed the quests I want out of it. So in the meantime I'm homeless...oh well. I probably won't be playing it much over the next week, anyway. I've got books to read, projects to do, work to work on, and...flying purple people eaters.
Breakfast time.
Work's been going both better, and worse. You might be wondering how that's possible. Well, it's because I've managed to impress pretty much everyone there lately with my coding skills, and yet we're still behind the deadline, so I'm still getting a lot of pressure from all around. I suppose I could take it as a compliment, them assuming that I'm the only one who can make sure this project gets done on time, but I'm not. It's unfair of them to expect me to put in tons of extra hours, while the rest of my team works normal hours (or less). Still, I think things are going to improve, even if I'm going to get busier and busier trying to get this project in on time. But that's ok. I'm sure the pay will compensate for the insanity sure to come from working even more...
As nightmarish as it is, dealing with my various bosses, and the program we're writing, and the tools we're writing it with...i'm actually enjoying my job a little more than I did before. It's impossible to describe the intensity of the boredom that one experiences at a job where you're specifically instructed to do nothing. I mean, at home if you're "doing nothing" then you're usually still doing something. You get up, walk around, maybe read a book or catch something on TV...anything to take your mind off of things, or to just pass the time. Well, at work without work...there is nothing to pass the time. There's just the time. And being conscious of every single second that ticks off between 8 am and 5 pm...It's a special kind of torture.
So that's a roundabout way of saying that my new job is driving me insane, but at least it's the good kind of insane. At least I'm busy, and learning, and doing. Better that kind of insane than to be experiencing a waking coma...
School, on the other hand, has been a bit more of a bother, lately. I'm actually going to have to devote all of today to finishing (and starting) this one silly project. I'm sure I can get it banged out in one day...it's just a question of why. Sadly, I don't think I've learned a single thing in this class - not from the professor, anyway. And yeah, I've had this happen plenty of times before, but I'm just continually amazed by the fact that I'm paying money to be bored out of my mind, followed by a healthy dose of what can only be described as busy work. I mean, at least I was paid to be bored at work, right?
I need to get on the ball and get my major changed and whatnot. And finish up that incomplete. I hate having that stupid thing looming over my head. I just need to get to the point where I hate it so much that it's better to waste a weekend doing the project. I figure that'll come sometime in January...especially if I'm jobless as of January 1st.
Did I mention that? I'm probably going to be out of work as soon as I'm done with this contract. I have a feeling that they're going to be much less willing to pay me to do nothing what with this recession on and everything. So yeah, I actually ought to be job hunting right now. I just need to update my resume, put it out there, and see if anything bites.
Other than that, there are only a couple mildly interesting tidbits to share:
I went on a date. The date didn't go very well. I wasn't really feeling it, and towards th end of the date she wouldn't let me get a word in edgewise.
The plus side of that date being that I got my car cleaned beforehand. And I mean clean. There's no trash in the car. It's been washed, waxed, shampooed, vacuumed, and armor-alled. I tell you it's like looking at a whole different car. I'm fairly impressed, even if it cost so much money that I'm never going to do it again...
I read a book in under 24 hours. It's from the Codex Alera series. I recommend picking it up. Not very many books are about a main character who's actually remarkable because he (unlike everyone else) doesn't have special powers. And the universe it takes place in is actually rather interesting.
I'm also currently reading K. J. Parker's book called Shadow, and I'm really enjoying it. I got halfway through it yesterday, and really wish I could finish it today...but I've got a project to work on. That one's about...memory, gods, and men...I suppose. Very interesting. I can't wait to see how it ends. I need to see if I can pick up the other two books of the series before I finish this one.
And last but not least, my PS3 has been shipped out to be repaired (at the hefty sum of $150). It should be returning to me at the end of this week, or perhaps the beginning of next. I got Fallout 3 for the PC, but it's just not the same to me, for some reason. I suppose it's because it's so much like Oblivion - better on console because it's easier to get really absorbed into the game. There's something about hunching over a keyboard and mouse that just takes away from that feeling. Still, trying to play as an evil character on the PC has been interesting. I'm having a hard time doing it, actually. There's so many things I want, and just stealing them requires a level of sneak and lockpicking that I couldn't reach until 10th level or so...So I kind have to complete the quests the old-fashioned way. And I really don't wanna blow up Megaton until I've completed the quests I want out of it. So in the meantime I'm homeless...oh well. I probably won't be playing it much over the next week, anyway. I've got books to read, projects to do, work to work on, and...flying purple people eaters.
Breakfast time.