Ruminations

I'm long overdue for an update, so this will be a long one, or so I hope. Let's talk about what's cracking in Kerryville, population me:

1. I've been working my ass off at Verizon in hopes of making big $. Programming can be an interesting enterprise at times, but at others exruciatingly dull. One of my supervisors has been reassigned, so that I now have less oversight, for better or for worse (time will tell on that one). I'm given a relatively long leash, which gives me great opportunity to pursue personal interests, such as software design practices, learning new languages, and other points of personal interest. In short, I am always learning, and to be able to get paid (well, might I add) for learning is a great blessing indeed. I'm also happy to report that I can now wear shorts to work, which shaves a good 5-10 minutes off my dressing up for work each day - another benefit.

2. I'm taking a lab class, which pretty much sucks. It's every week, which means that I have to work through my lunches at Verizon, eating 4oz. sandwiches out of a vending machine with perhaps a small bag of popcorn to tide me through the 8.5 hour day. I guess I should be thankful for the meager portions in that it aids someone who's on a diet (me). So about the lab, the TA's pretty horrible. Her explanations are crude at best, she does a poor job of troubleshooting problems with our equipment, her grading procedures are poorly outlined, and she doesn't value her time, nor does she have any sense of practicality whatsoever. Case in point: our most recent lab (monday the 27th). I'm sicker than a dog, and our equipment keeps crapping out of us. The lab is supposed to take no more than three hours, but we are there for four, and we are not the only group that stayed late. In all my time, I have never had a lab go more than its alotted time, and this lab looked easy from the lab notes. Because of her ineptitutde, and refusal to simply let us get data from another group, we had to repeat each step of the lab an average of 5 times. Imagine if we'd gotten everything right on the first try. Of course, that would never be possible given her marvelously craptacular explanations. So all told, 4 hours in the lab, I felt like crap physically, then I found $5 and was prompty kicked in the face by a master in jiu-jitsu (maybe the last part is fictional).

3. Health problems seem to be compiling. My allergies are worse than ever, and my ulnar nerve is being pinched, resulting in my being in pain whenever I use computers or do virtually anything of consequence. I've taken steps to rememdy these two ails, and I have a neurology appointment tomorrow, so hopefully that will rectify things. I've also been feeling pretty sick (body aches and the like) lately.

4. I went skydiving on Saturday, which was far and away the most amazing feeling I've had in my life. The experience was pain-free, with the exception of some minor chafing, and it's definitely something I will do again in the future.

5. Joshie Turns 21 Today! (this should really be #1 on the list).

Today's Music
Mike Doughty - Tremendous Brunettes