Two quick things before I go to bed.
1. Several weeks ago, Madison broke the record for seasonal snowfall. This weekend we apparently made it over 100 inches of snow this season. I definitely don't think that record is going to get shattered any time soon.
2. Johnny Depp is in Wisconsin!!!!! He and Christian Bale (!!!) are filming a movie in Columbus, and will potentially film in Oshkosh. I so want to take some time to stake out the set and see if I can get a glimpse of a movie star here in my home state. I did happen to stop at a random gas station in Columbus last night on my way back here from home, but I didn't see either star. Not that I expected to at some random gas station. But that would have made a fantastic story.
That's all for now. I'm too tired to write much more. Night!
Monday, March 24, 2008
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Sad Day for Green Bay Packer Fans
I know I'm a little late in blogging about this. I can't help it that by the time I get home I really don't want to spend a lot more time in front of a computer.
Anyway, the news broke on Tuesday that Brett Favre is retiring. It is quite sad, but yet, like my mom said, it's better that he's walking off the field than being hauled off on a stretcher. Plus, it's his decision, and I can't blame him for hanging up his helmet now. He's given us many, many great seasons of football.
Now two questions remain. First, what will become of the Packers now? I think Aaron Rodgers can prove himself, but I fear that this may be another rebuilding season for the team.
Second, what will Brett do with his time? I'm hoping that he doesn't become a talking head on one of the varied pre-game shows. I'm actually thinking that he'll take up coaching. I can't see him completely separating himself from the game. He enjoys it way too much.
So now we wait. It'll only be a few more months before football starts really getting into gear, and we'll be able to see what happens post-Favre.
Anyway, the news broke on Tuesday that Brett Favre is retiring. It is quite sad, but yet, like my mom said, it's better that he's walking off the field than being hauled off on a stretcher. Plus, it's his decision, and I can't blame him for hanging up his helmet now. He's given us many, many great seasons of football.
Now two questions remain. First, what will become of the Packers now? I think Aaron Rodgers can prove himself, but I fear that this may be another rebuilding season for the team.
Second, what will Brett do with his time? I'm hoping that he doesn't become a talking head on one of the varied pre-game shows. I'm actually thinking that he'll take up coaching. I can't see him completely separating himself from the game. He enjoys it way too much.
So now we wait. It'll only be a few more months before football starts really getting into gear, and we'll be able to see what happens post-Favre.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Politics, anniversaries, and other random stuff....
So, as many of you know, the Wisconsin primary was on Tuesday (which was yesterday... huh, this has been an incredibly long day). I got up early to vote before work, because I wasn't exactly sure where the polling place was, and usually after work, I don't feel like making any unnecessary stops. Not that voting isn't necessary. It's just not something I'd want to do right after work.
Anyway, I was very happy to learn that Wisconsin is still using paper ballots with the same traditions as the last time I voted in Wisconsin. To make your vote, you connect the arrow head to the arrow tail to indicate who you're voting for. Really easy, really quick, and no having to worry about pregnant, hanging, or other chads. I was pretty surprised to see the number of people that turned out that early. When I stuck my ballot in the machine, I was number 303. Granted, there were four districts voting at my polling place, so that number is slightly artificially high. On average, within an hour and fifteen minutes of voting, about 75 people per district came in. That's not bad. I don't know if the rates kept up that high, though.
Needless to say, I'm pretty happy with the results. Honestly, I wouldn't have minded if Clinton won either, but Obama winning makes me just a tiny bit happier.
I was looking at some of the exit polls and the results by primary courtesy of cnn.com (the only source I use for news). I was shocked that 80% of the people that voted voted for the Democratic Primary. I guess Madison really is a liberal town. The exit polls were kind of fascinating, though. They broke down voters by age group, and only the group that was aged 60 or higher had the majority vote for Clinton. I'm not entirely surprised by this, since my mom told me that my grandpa was concerned about a black man being President. I think some of the older people probably (likely?) are still very prejudiced. I think analyzing the exit polls would be a fascinating sociological study.
Next up, anniversaries. I'm shocked to say that I've been working at my job for six months now. Actually 6.5 months at this point. My six month anniversary was on February 6. Time flies when you're busier than a one-legged man in a cow-kicking contest. But, it's also been a lot of fun and a lot of learning. I really do enjoy my job. I think I found the perfect fit for me. I still find it funny that after going to grad school for years studying meteorology and I end up working for a medical software company. Life takes some strange twists and turns.
I have my six month review on Friday. I'm not terribly worried about it. I think I'm doing a good job. At least I'm starting to feel comfortable with what software testing is, and what my application does. I still, by no means, know everything. But I do know a lot. And I actually feel like I know a lot, which is very unlike grad school, where I was learning lots of stuff but felt dumber by the minute.
Speaking of my job, I got an email at work that I'm slated for another trip! I'm going to the great state of Ohio in early May. Yes, this is the second go-live that I'm heading to Ohio for. I mean, I'm thrilled that I actually get to go on a trip again, but Ohio? I've been through that state so many times that it's pretty much lost any luster it had. I'm hoping that one of these times I can get a trip that goes somewhere I haven't been yet. I think there are some hospitals going live with our software in Oregon in the summer, which sounds fabulous. I'd love to go to the Pacific Northwest. But, beggars can't be choosers. Here's hoping that the trip I'm slated for actually lasts. I'd been signed up for others that have fallen through because they didn't need the support.
And now for the random stuff. Sunday was a wild weather day for us here in Madison. We got an inch of rain and then six inches of snow. Nasty, nasty weather. Luckily I didn't have to go out in it. Unfortunately, Madison doesn't seem to believe in taking care of roads in a timely manner, so there is still ice on the roads, even today. Granted, it's been way too cold for road salt to have any effect on the ice. But still. Madison does a sucky job at keeping their roads clean.
That weather, unfortunately, caused my patio door to develop a leak. So now I have an industrial dehumidifier and fan in my living room to try and dry out my carpeting. At least none of the water affected any of my furniture or other stuff. I was pretty lucky for that. It still sucks, though, because these machines are large, noisy, and pump out a lot of heat. I'd like them to magically disappear one day while I'm at work. No such luck yet.
The interesting thing is that this equipment is from Servpro. Whenever I look at them, I'm reminded of the Weather Channel ads. "Servpro. Like it never even happened." Heh.
And on that odd note, this entry comes to a close, mainly because I'm starting to fall asleep, and I don't want the end of my entry to be a bunch of gobbledygook because my head slammed on the keyboard.
Anyway, I was very happy to learn that Wisconsin is still using paper ballots with the same traditions as the last time I voted in Wisconsin. To make your vote, you connect the arrow head to the arrow tail to indicate who you're voting for. Really easy, really quick, and no having to worry about pregnant, hanging, or other chads. I was pretty surprised to see the number of people that turned out that early. When I stuck my ballot in the machine, I was number 303. Granted, there were four districts voting at my polling place, so that number is slightly artificially high. On average, within an hour and fifteen minutes of voting, about 75 people per district came in. That's not bad. I don't know if the rates kept up that high, though.
Needless to say, I'm pretty happy with the results. Honestly, I wouldn't have minded if Clinton won either, but Obama winning makes me just a tiny bit happier.
I was looking at some of the exit polls and the results by primary courtesy of cnn.com (the only source I use for news). I was shocked that 80% of the people that voted voted for the Democratic Primary. I guess Madison really is a liberal town. The exit polls were kind of fascinating, though. They broke down voters by age group, and only the group that was aged 60 or higher had the majority vote for Clinton. I'm not entirely surprised by this, since my mom told me that my grandpa was concerned about a black man being President. I think some of the older people probably (likely?) are still very prejudiced. I think analyzing the exit polls would be a fascinating sociological study.
Next up, anniversaries. I'm shocked to say that I've been working at my job for six months now. Actually 6.5 months at this point. My six month anniversary was on February 6. Time flies when you're busier than a one-legged man in a cow-kicking contest. But, it's also been a lot of fun and a lot of learning. I really do enjoy my job. I think I found the perfect fit for me. I still find it funny that after going to grad school for years studying meteorology and I end up working for a medical software company. Life takes some strange twists and turns.
I have my six month review on Friday. I'm not terribly worried about it. I think I'm doing a good job. At least I'm starting to feel comfortable with what software testing is, and what my application does. I still, by no means, know everything. But I do know a lot. And I actually feel like I know a lot, which is very unlike grad school, where I was learning lots of stuff but felt dumber by the minute.
Speaking of my job, I got an email at work that I'm slated for another trip! I'm going to the great state of Ohio in early May. Yes, this is the second go-live that I'm heading to Ohio for. I mean, I'm thrilled that I actually get to go on a trip again, but Ohio? I've been through that state so many times that it's pretty much lost any luster it had. I'm hoping that one of these times I can get a trip that goes somewhere I haven't been yet. I think there are some hospitals going live with our software in Oregon in the summer, which sounds fabulous. I'd love to go to the Pacific Northwest. But, beggars can't be choosers. Here's hoping that the trip I'm slated for actually lasts. I'd been signed up for others that have fallen through because they didn't need the support.
And now for the random stuff. Sunday was a wild weather day for us here in Madison. We got an inch of rain and then six inches of snow. Nasty, nasty weather. Luckily I didn't have to go out in it. Unfortunately, Madison doesn't seem to believe in taking care of roads in a timely manner, so there is still ice on the roads, even today. Granted, it's been way too cold for road salt to have any effect on the ice. But still. Madison does a sucky job at keeping their roads clean.
That weather, unfortunately, caused my patio door to develop a leak. So now I have an industrial dehumidifier and fan in my living room to try and dry out my carpeting. At least none of the water affected any of my furniture or other stuff. I was pretty lucky for that. It still sucks, though, because these machines are large, noisy, and pump out a lot of heat. I'd like them to magically disappear one day while I'm at work. No such luck yet.
The interesting thing is that this equipment is from Servpro. Whenever I look at them, I'm reminded of the Weather Channel ads. "Servpro. Like it never even happened." Heh.
And on that odd note, this entry comes to a close, mainly because I'm starting to fall asleep, and I don't want the end of my entry to be a bunch of gobbledygook because my head slammed on the keyboard.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
My First Deadline
I've successfully made it through my first release at work. Yay me! I actually feel like I'm finding my groove in my job, and I feel worthwhile and wanted and all the crap that I didn't feel when I was in grad school. I think that's what I love about my job the most. People actually value the work that I'm doing, and I don't constantly get told to redo something because my boss decided to change his mind at the last minute. I really like that about my job. Plus, I get paid a hell of a lot more than I did as a grad student. And I don't have to study as much for classes or anything. In fact, I pretty much just have to go in and do the work. It's kind of nice.
The only thing I miss about grad school and Penn State is the people. I have a hard time meeting people and getting to know them, so starting my life over in a new city is difficult. However, I think I'm doing pretty well. I mean, I don't exactly hang out with anyone except one person and her friends to watch Supernatural. I'm just kind of a loner by nature. I think once it gets nicer out, I'll explore Madison a bit and try to find some places to meet new people. I just don't know where those places are. Or where to meet decent, quality people. I have very high standards when it comes to people I hang out with.
Time will tell, I guess.
Boy, this post made a significant tangent off its original topic. Huh. The mind works in mysterious ways.
Anyway, congrats to me for making it through my first deadline without going completely insane. Tomorrow my team and the development team for my application are going to get bagels to celebrate the end of the release. Yum! It should be good times. I'm looking forward to not being under quite the amount of pressure that I currently am. Perhaps that will lessen the tension headaches I've been getting.
On a completely random note, I'd like to welcome a new reader of my blog. I think that bring the number of people that read this up to two. Woohoo! I'm expanding!
And on that rather odd note, I'm off to bed. Good night!
The only thing I miss about grad school and Penn State is the people. I have a hard time meeting people and getting to know them, so starting my life over in a new city is difficult. However, I think I'm doing pretty well. I mean, I don't exactly hang out with anyone except one person and her friends to watch Supernatural. I'm just kind of a loner by nature. I think once it gets nicer out, I'll explore Madison a bit and try to find some places to meet new people. I just don't know where those places are. Or where to meet decent, quality people. I have very high standards when it comes to people I hang out with.
Time will tell, I guess.
Boy, this post made a significant tangent off its original topic. Huh. The mind works in mysterious ways.
Anyway, congrats to me for making it through my first deadline without going completely insane. Tomorrow my team and the development team for my application are going to get bagels to celebrate the end of the release. Yum! It should be good times. I'm looking forward to not being under quite the amount of pressure that I currently am. Perhaps that will lessen the tension headaches I've been getting.
On a completely random note, I'd like to welcome a new reader of my blog. I think that bring the number of people that read this up to two. Woohoo! I'm expanding!
And on that rather odd note, I'm off to bed. Good night!
Monday, January 21, 2008
Now who do I root for?
Alas, the Packers have not made it to the Super Bowl this year because the Giants were just a little bit luckier than them. I won't say better, because this game basically came down to luck. Well, that and the fact that the Packers gave the Giants a touchdown with four penalties. Yikes.
So, now I don't know who to root for. Part of me wants to root for the Giants because it would be interesting to see a team that's been perfect for the entire season completely lose it for the Super Bowl. But that's just because I'm a big old grump. However, since the Patriots have been perfect for the whole season, they might as well make it a clean sweep.
Perhaps I'll just root for no one and watch for the commercials, like I usually do.
Who are the rest of you rooting for? Just seeing what the pulse is out there in the blogosphere. :)
So, now I don't know who to root for. Part of me wants to root for the Giants because it would be interesting to see a team that's been perfect for the entire season completely lose it for the Super Bowl. But that's just because I'm a big old grump. However, since the Patriots have been perfect for the whole season, they might as well make it a clean sweep.
Perhaps I'll just root for no one and watch for the commercials, like I usually do.
Who are the rest of you rooting for? Just seeing what the pulse is out there in the blogosphere. :)
Saturday, January 05, 2008
Big news!
Two pieces of news to report to anyone that is still reading this and hasn't given up even though I post maybe once every two months lately.
First is about me. I've discovered I have sleep apnea. I'm now on a CPAP that forces air into my passageways to keep them from getting blocked when I sleep. I still don't know if it's helping. I actually feel like I'm sleeping worse than I did before I was on the CPAP, but I guess I need to give it time to work for me.
And let me tell you, the mask I have to wear on my face while I sleep is really attractive. Except not.
The second piece of big news is that my sister got engaged! I'm so happy for her. She's found a guy that treats her well and that she loves and that isn't an enormous dick like some of her exes were. I'm very excited for her. She's even letting me walk her down the aisle. I'm getting teary just thinking about it.
The wedding is being planned for summer 2009. I'll have to clear my calendar for it. And start losing weight so I look good in whatever I wear to walk her down the aisle.
Other than that, not much new from Wisconsin. I'm having a blast at my job, even though I'm not liking the getting up early to go to work thing. My new car is still running, which is good. And I can't believe that it's already 2008. Happy New Year, everyone!!
First is about me. I've discovered I have sleep apnea. I'm now on a CPAP that forces air into my passageways to keep them from getting blocked when I sleep. I still don't know if it's helping. I actually feel like I'm sleeping worse than I did before I was on the CPAP, but I guess I need to give it time to work for me.
And let me tell you, the mask I have to wear on my face while I sleep is really attractive. Except not.
The second piece of big news is that my sister got engaged! I'm so happy for her. She's found a guy that treats her well and that she loves and that isn't an enormous dick like some of her exes were. I'm very excited for her. She's even letting me walk her down the aisle. I'm getting teary just thinking about it.
The wedding is being planned for summer 2009. I'll have to clear my calendar for it. And start losing weight so I look good in whatever I wear to walk her down the aisle.
Other than that, not much new from Wisconsin. I'm having a blast at my job, even though I'm not liking the getting up early to go to work thing. My new car is still running, which is good. And I can't believe that it's already 2008. Happy New Year, everyone!!
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
My new car
This post is mainly for Karen, since she won't believe that I have a new car until she sees pictures of it. Now, I don't have a digital camera at all, and I don't think my camera phone would take a decent picture of it, so I had to troll online to find this picture.
I stole this picture off of Wikipedia. My car is a slightly lighter shade of blue, and doesn't have what looks to be a PA license plate on it. But this is my car, pretty much. I'm very happy with it. It's so much nicer than my old car, probably because it runs without sounding like I'm strangling a cat.
So, there, Karen. This is all for you. And anyone else that might be interested in seeing what my car looks like. :)
I stole this picture off of Wikipedia. My car is a slightly lighter shade of blue, and doesn't have what looks to be a PA license plate on it. But this is my car, pretty much. I'm very happy with it. It's so much nicer than my old car, probably because it runs without sounding like I'm strangling a cat.So, there, Karen. This is all for you. And anyone else that might be interested in seeing what my car looks like. :)
Monday, October 15, 2007
It's been a long while...
Yup, I'm finally updating my blog. What can I say? My life has been busy of late, with starting a new job, finding a new place to live, getting used to a brand new city. Lots of changes in a very short time.
I really don't have a whole lot to say. I love my new job. I love living in Madison. I don't love the fact that my car has decided that it wants to die one of these days. I told it (because, yes, I do talk to inanimate objects - luckily they don't talk back) that it could die once I got a decent paying job. I just didn't expect it to take me quite so seriously.
So, I've been doing a bit of car shopping recently, and I'm hoping that some of my friends may have some input on cars for me. I'm looking at a couple different makes, namely Nissan, Hyundai, Kia, and Saturn. If any of you out there have any opinions, experience, or things you've heard about any of these models, feel free to pass it along. I can use all the help I can get. Other than that, not a whole lot else is new, except for the job. But considering that it's getting quite late, I don't feel like I have the time to go into great detail. I'll just say that it's been great, and I can't believe I've been at this job for 2.5 months already. Time flies when you actually enjoy your job.
Anyway, any comments from friends, or even random strangers, about cars would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance! :)
I really don't have a whole lot to say. I love my new job. I love living in Madison. I don't love the fact that my car has decided that it wants to die one of these days. I told it (because, yes, I do talk to inanimate objects - luckily they don't talk back) that it could die once I got a decent paying job. I just didn't expect it to take me quite so seriously.
So, I've been doing a bit of car shopping recently, and I'm hoping that some of my friends may have some input on cars for me. I'm looking at a couple different makes, namely Nissan, Hyundai, Kia, and Saturn. If any of you out there have any opinions, experience, or things you've heard about any of these models, feel free to pass it along. I can use all the help I can get. Other than that, not a whole lot else is new, except for the job. But considering that it's getting quite late, I don't feel like I have the time to go into great detail. I'll just say that it's been great, and I can't believe I've been at this job for 2.5 months already. Time flies when you actually enjoy your job.
Anyway, any comments from friends, or even random strangers, about cars would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance! :)
Monday, May 07, 2007
Long Time, No Post
Man, it's been a very long time since I've actually updated this thing. I'm bored at work right now, and I can't think of anything else to do since I'm waiting for my boss to tell me what he thinks on something I just made, so I figured I have enough news to post a new entry.
First of all, I think I'm going to discontinue my other Blogger blog on TV shows since the one on tvguide.com gets many, many more hits than the one here. Of course, if anyone has a reason why I should not discontinue it, feel free to let me know. I'll leave it open for a couple more weeks, just to see if I get any comments there.
Second, I'm going home next weekend! Unfortunately it's not for the best of circumstances. My mom is having surgery on her back to fix some bulging discs and hoping relieve a pinched nerve. Amazingly, it's only an outpatient procedure, but I still feel like I should be home to help her recovery. I'm only planning on being gone a week, but I'm being very flexible in when I actually come back.
Of course, if I had my way, I'd probably never come back. I'm so very tired of my job at the moment. I feel no fulfillment from it, and I basically feel like I'm killing time here until I get to leave for a different job.
It doesn't help that I'm not getting any good feedback from any of the teaching jobs I applied to. No one wants to hire me as a math instructor because the Midwest has very strict requirements for their math instructors. So, now I've put my resume on Monster and CareerBuilder, and will be looking at the job posting there in the near future, just so I can send out my resumes all over the place.
In fact, I'm so sick of my current job that I'm looking at any and every job that sounds even remotely interesting. Management, administrative assistant, teacher, researcher, whatever. The only things I'm ruling out are menial retail work (cashier, stockperson, etc.) and anything related to food service. Otherwise it's all fair game.
Beyond that, nothing is new with me. My life is pretty boring, I must say. But, that's ok for right now. I'd rather be able to do nothing than be so busy that I have no free time whatsoever.
First of all, I think I'm going to discontinue my other Blogger blog on TV shows since the one on tvguide.com gets many, many more hits than the one here. Of course, if anyone has a reason why I should not discontinue it, feel free to let me know. I'll leave it open for a couple more weeks, just to see if I get any comments there.
Second, I'm going home next weekend! Unfortunately it's not for the best of circumstances. My mom is having surgery on her back to fix some bulging discs and hoping relieve a pinched nerve. Amazingly, it's only an outpatient procedure, but I still feel like I should be home to help her recovery. I'm only planning on being gone a week, but I'm being very flexible in when I actually come back.
Of course, if I had my way, I'd probably never come back. I'm so very tired of my job at the moment. I feel no fulfillment from it, and I basically feel like I'm killing time here until I get to leave for a different job.
It doesn't help that I'm not getting any good feedback from any of the teaching jobs I applied to. No one wants to hire me as a math instructor because the Midwest has very strict requirements for their math instructors. So, now I've put my resume on Monster and CareerBuilder, and will be looking at the job posting there in the near future, just so I can send out my resumes all over the place.
In fact, I'm so sick of my current job that I'm looking at any and every job that sounds even remotely interesting. Management, administrative assistant, teacher, researcher, whatever. The only things I'm ruling out are menial retail work (cashier, stockperson, etc.) and anything related to food service. Otherwise it's all fair game.
Beyond that, nothing is new with me. My life is pretty boring, I must say. But, that's ok for right now. I'd rather be able to do nothing than be so busy that I have no free time whatsoever.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Random Update
Well, it's been over a month since I last posted, so I figured it was time to update this blog. I don't know why I'm so bad at updating this thing lately. I guess nothing of much importance has been happening in my life. Well, that and I blog nearly every day on TVGuide.com, so that takes up a lot of my writing time.
The only reason I'm updating right now is that I don't feel like doing work at the moment. Yeah, I know that's very shocking. ;)
I did hear back from two jobs I'd applied for. One called to make sure I was still interesting in the job and told me they'd be calling back in the middle of March (which is soon!) to possibly set up an interview. The other emailed me to tell me that I didn't make the interview cut. That one saddens me a little, but not too much, because that school was on the low end of places I wanted to live. It was in far western Minnesota, right on the MN/ND border, near Fargo. So, yeah, a bit too far away from home for me, but I needed to send my resume out to all sorts of places.
So, now I'm waiting to hear back about that other job, as well as to hear anything from any of the other schools. At this point, I really don't care what I hear (although if everyone rejects me, I'll be devastated), I just want to hear from them. I'm tired of playing the waiting game.
I guess that's it from me. Like I said, my life is pretty boring, so I really have nothing new to report. Hopefully I will soon, though. No promises or anything!
The only reason I'm updating right now is that I don't feel like doing work at the moment. Yeah, I know that's very shocking. ;)
I did hear back from two jobs I'd applied for. One called to make sure I was still interesting in the job and told me they'd be calling back in the middle of March (which is soon!) to possibly set up an interview. The other emailed me to tell me that I didn't make the interview cut. That one saddens me a little, but not too much, because that school was on the low end of places I wanted to live. It was in far western Minnesota, right on the MN/ND border, near Fargo. So, yeah, a bit too far away from home for me, but I needed to send my resume out to all sorts of places.
So, now I'm waiting to hear back about that other job, as well as to hear anything from any of the other schools. At this point, I really don't care what I hear (although if everyone rejects me, I'll be devastated), I just want to hear from them. I'm tired of playing the waiting game.
I guess that's it from me. Like I said, my life is pretty boring, so I really have nothing new to report. Hopefully I will soon, though. No promises or anything!
Monday, February 12, 2007
I Hate Valentine's Day and Other Musings
I've been a slacker again with this blog. I never feel as if I have anything of importance to say anymore. Plus, I've been writing a lot on my other blog and my TVGuide.com blog, so writing here hasn't been as important. But, I guess it's time, yet again, to put some sort of update in this blog. Besides, I actually have the time to do it.
Apparently we're supposed to be getting a major winter storm here tomorrow into Wednesday. All I can say is it's about damn time. I'm looking forward to a good amount of snow. I've heard predictions up to a foot, which is pretty exciting. It reminds me of my first year here, where there were two snowstorms that each dumped about a foot of snow within a couple weeks. I think that may have been the only pleasurable part of my first year here. (First year of grad school totally sucks.)
Anyway, I'm hoping to see lots of snow, although that means digging my car out will be a pain. That also means I should drive it in to campus either Wednesday or Thursday so that when the plow comes through, my car isn't buried under more snow. We'll see what happens.
The one bad thing about a large amount of snow is that it's going to be a real bitch getting to the bus stop in the morning. Plus, I don't have good shoes for being out in the snow. I really should have thought about that before now, but we had such a mild and dry winter up until now that I put the thought of getting boots out of my mind. My shoes should be good enough, though, provided I don't have to walk in snow too much. If I need to, I'll just lean them up against a heater while I'm at home to dry them out.
In other news, the job search continues on. I think I've sent out about 15 resumes for teaching jobs in WI, IL, IN, and MN. I'm hoping at least one of them sticks. I just want a real job where I feel like a useful member of wherever I'm working. I don't feel that now, and I don't really like it. I just feel like the time I spend at work is wasted. Nor do I feel very useful or necessary to my job. I don't know. I just want things to be different. I'm definitely ready for a change, whatever that may be. As long as I don't have to get a crappy retail job, I'll be relatively happy.
Let's see. What else? Oh, yeah. I hate Valentine's Day. I know I've written about this before, but I have to say it again. I don't like how it's this day where couples are celebrated and singles aren't. It makes absolutely no sense to me. The only reason I see for it is for Hallmark to have yet another holiday where they make money. Maybe I'm just bitter because I don't have a relationship, or any sort of dating life whatsoever. Of course the first half of February sucks already because I'm reminded of my father, whose birthday was last week. (For those that don't know, my father is a selfish jackass that only wants a relationship with me now that he and Mom are divorced. It's a long, sordid story, which would probably make a good novel, and I don't want to get into it right now.) So, it's just hit after hit for the first couple weeks of February.
I've added yet another new thing to my plate. Not only am I blogging on TVGuide.com, I'm also writing a recap for a soap on soapcentral.com. I recap Wednesday's One Life to Live. It's a volunteer position, so I don't get paid, but it's kind of fun to do. Plus, I figure if I get my writing out there enough, maybe someone will notice me and hire me to do some writing. That's actually what I'd like to do with my life. I have this desire in me to create something. I don't know what that something is at the moment, but I figure writing is a good way to release some energy. So, we'll see if anything comes from that. It would be exciting if something would, but I'm not going to get my hopes up. It just would be fun to write for a living. At least that's what I think now. If I actually did it I might have a different opinion.
Hmmm. I guess that's about it from me. I have one other thing on my mind at the moment, but that seems like something for its own separate blog entry. So, perhaps another post will be coming in the next few days. Don't count on it, but it could happen. Anyway, I'm getting sleepy, so I'm going to go relax for a bit and wait for the snow to come!!
Apparently we're supposed to be getting a major winter storm here tomorrow into Wednesday. All I can say is it's about damn time. I'm looking forward to a good amount of snow. I've heard predictions up to a foot, which is pretty exciting. It reminds me of my first year here, where there were two snowstorms that each dumped about a foot of snow within a couple weeks. I think that may have been the only pleasurable part of my first year here. (First year of grad school totally sucks.)
Anyway, I'm hoping to see lots of snow, although that means digging my car out will be a pain. That also means I should drive it in to campus either Wednesday or Thursday so that when the plow comes through, my car isn't buried under more snow. We'll see what happens.
The one bad thing about a large amount of snow is that it's going to be a real bitch getting to the bus stop in the morning. Plus, I don't have good shoes for being out in the snow. I really should have thought about that before now, but we had such a mild and dry winter up until now that I put the thought of getting boots out of my mind. My shoes should be good enough, though, provided I don't have to walk in snow too much. If I need to, I'll just lean them up against a heater while I'm at home to dry them out.
In other news, the job search continues on. I think I've sent out about 15 resumes for teaching jobs in WI, IL, IN, and MN. I'm hoping at least one of them sticks. I just want a real job where I feel like a useful member of wherever I'm working. I don't feel that now, and I don't really like it. I just feel like the time I spend at work is wasted. Nor do I feel very useful or necessary to my job. I don't know. I just want things to be different. I'm definitely ready for a change, whatever that may be. As long as I don't have to get a crappy retail job, I'll be relatively happy.
Let's see. What else? Oh, yeah. I hate Valentine's Day. I know I've written about this before, but I have to say it again. I don't like how it's this day where couples are celebrated and singles aren't. It makes absolutely no sense to me. The only reason I see for it is for Hallmark to have yet another holiday where they make money. Maybe I'm just bitter because I don't have a relationship, or any sort of dating life whatsoever. Of course the first half of February sucks already because I'm reminded of my father, whose birthday was last week. (For those that don't know, my father is a selfish jackass that only wants a relationship with me now that he and Mom are divorced. It's a long, sordid story, which would probably make a good novel, and I don't want to get into it right now.) So, it's just hit after hit for the first couple weeks of February.
I've added yet another new thing to my plate. Not only am I blogging on TVGuide.com, I'm also writing a recap for a soap on soapcentral.com. I recap Wednesday's One Life to Live. It's a volunteer position, so I don't get paid, but it's kind of fun to do. Plus, I figure if I get my writing out there enough, maybe someone will notice me and hire me to do some writing. That's actually what I'd like to do with my life. I have this desire in me to create something. I don't know what that something is at the moment, but I figure writing is a good way to release some energy. So, we'll see if anything comes from that. It would be exciting if something would, but I'm not going to get my hopes up. It just would be fun to write for a living. At least that's what I think now. If I actually did it I might have a different opinion.
Hmmm. I guess that's about it from me. I have one other thing on my mind at the moment, but that seems like something for its own separate blog entry. So, perhaps another post will be coming in the next few days. Don't count on it, but it could happen. Anyway, I'm getting sleepy, so I'm going to go relax for a bit and wait for the snow to come!!
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Cold Snap and Other News
It's finally feeling like winter here in PA. Not so much in the having snow on the ground, but more in the being pretty chilly outside. I have a feeling that this is just the beginning. We've been pretty spoiled this winter so far, so I'm expecting there to be a major storm sometime before April. Talk about hedging my bets, huh? This is why I'm not going to be a forecaster.
No news on the job front yet. I haven't exactly been trying all that hard, either. I still don't know what I want to do with my life. I have decided, though, that I'm going to expand my search quite a bit. I'm no longer limiting myself to just jobs using my math or meteorology degree. I'm going to look for jobs in any field that sounds at least moderately interesting to me. Plus, I figure, a master's degree has to carry some weight no matter what job I get, right? I mean, the only place that I think it would probably overqualify me for a job is in fast food.
One other interesting item of note to report to you all. I've started a TV commentary blog on TVGuide.com similar to my other blog here on blogger. My second real post (I have three, one introduction and two actual posts) became a featured post today! I was quite surprised and happy to see that. Apparently someone thought what I wrote was worthwhile. So, feel free to go check it out either at tvguide.com or the same text in my blogger entry here.
Other than that, not much is new with me. I stayed in my apartment to work from home today. Work is being used in a very loose sense. I did do some actual work, but not as much as I would have liked. But, since I had therapy today, I felt that actually taking the bus to work and having to interrupt my flow in the middle of the day would be counter-productive. I may have been wrong, but I'm not terribly upset about it. I've been working hard all week so far, so no guilt here.
Well, for not having much new with me, that last paragraph was pretty long, so I'll stop writing for now until the mood strikes to write again.
No news on the job front yet. I haven't exactly been trying all that hard, either. I still don't know what I want to do with my life. I have decided, though, that I'm going to expand my search quite a bit. I'm no longer limiting myself to just jobs using my math or meteorology degree. I'm going to look for jobs in any field that sounds at least moderately interesting to me. Plus, I figure, a master's degree has to carry some weight no matter what job I get, right? I mean, the only place that I think it would probably overqualify me for a job is in fast food.
One other interesting item of note to report to you all. I've started a TV commentary blog on TVGuide.com similar to my other blog here on blogger. My second real post (I have three, one introduction and two actual posts) became a featured post today! I was quite surprised and happy to see that. Apparently someone thought what I wrote was worthwhile. So, feel free to go check it out either at tvguide.com or the same text in my blogger entry here.
Other than that, not much is new with me. I stayed in my apartment to work from home today. Work is being used in a very loose sense. I did do some actual work, but not as much as I would have liked. But, since I had therapy today, I felt that actually taking the bus to work and having to interrupt my flow in the middle of the day would be counter-productive. I may have been wrong, but I'm not terribly upset about it. I've been working hard all week so far, so no guilt here.
Well, for not having much new with me, that last paragraph was pretty long, so I'll stop writing for now until the mood strikes to write again.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Time to start posting again
I've seriously been neglecting this blog, so I'm hoping that in the near future I will post more regularly instead of once a month like I've been doing the past few months. I think today will be more random thoughts, since I don't have anything of any real length to make a decent post.
- First off, I finally found out this week from my advisor that he can fund me through July now. That makes me happy, for the purely practical reason that I won't have to sublet my apartment anytime in the near future. However, I'm so disappointed with what I'm doing at work that I'm not sure that spending that much more time here is going to be good for me. I don't really feel passionate about the work I'm doing, which makes it incredibly hard to actually go to campus to do it. It also doesn't help that I have no idea what kind of job I want to look for. I really don't know what I want to do, which is kind of sad, in my opinion, especially having gone through all this schooling. I mean, I'm 27 and I feel exactly like I did when I was coming out of high school. I guess my next task is just to broaden my job search to just about anything that sounds interesting for me to do. If anyone out there has any suggestions, feel free to leave comments.
- The holidays were great. I loved being at home and not having anything to really worry about. It was just nice overall. I got to spend time with my sister and my mom. The only weird thing about the holidays was that there was no snow on the ground at all when I was home. The only snow I saw was the little bit that fell from the sky as I was driving up I-43 towards home. It just didn't quite feel like Christmas in that regard, although having weather in the 40s isn't anything to complain about.
- I was very happy about what I got for Christmas, too. My sister got me Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and my mom got me a bunch of sweatshirts, a pair of glittens (borrowing the word from Karen for a mitten/glove hybrid), a Pocket Dragon, and a piece of Fenton glassware. Not a lot, but much more than I expected to get. And a nice combination of useful and fun gifts. I also got a new carry-on from my grandparents. Not that I plan on flying much anymore, but having a nice piece of luggage is always good.
- Completely random thought, but still slightly on topic. I love the feel of brand new sweatshirts. I just really like how soft and fuzzy the inside of sweatshirts are before they've been washed several times over.
- On my drive back here after the holidays, I was listening to a news station through Chicago to keep track of the traffic, and there was a blurb about Pat Robertson. I seriously think this guy is delusional. Apparently God has been talking to him and He told him that there would be a major terrorist attack late this year. Am I the only one that thinks he's completely insane. Don't get me wrong, I believe in a higher power. What I don't believe is that God actually talks to all these religious zealots. Maybe it's just me, but I think Pat Robertson should just stay out of the news.
- On a related note, Bush's strategy in Iraq is finally changing! I don't know how because I didn't listen to him talk last night. I make it a point to not listen to him talk. He just irritates the hell out of me. It's about time that something gets changed there, though. I think something should have changed a couple years ago when it was clear that nothing productive was happening. But, hey, that's just my opinion.
- I have to comment on the Rosie-Donald feud going on. I feel that Miss America should have had her crown taken away after being caught underage drinking. She's supposed to be a role model for the youth of America and be working toward the greater good. At least I thought winners of pageants had platforms that spoke of things they want to accomplish that will help the world. So, I think Rosie was completely correct in calling out Donald about it. Of course, I didn't think this little fight would last for so long, nor that it would get so ugly. But still, both sides should just drop it. No good will come from it continuing, but if it must, I firmly stand on Rosie's side.
Well, I thought I had other things to say, but my mind is drawing a complete blank, so I'm going to end this post for now. As always I welcome comments, and if you do read this, feel free to stop by my other blog. That one will hopefully be updated more often as well. Leave comments there, too, if you'd like. OK, now I'll definitely stop because I'm feeling a bit shameless begging for comments here.
- First off, I finally found out this week from my advisor that he can fund me through July now. That makes me happy, for the purely practical reason that I won't have to sublet my apartment anytime in the near future. However, I'm so disappointed with what I'm doing at work that I'm not sure that spending that much more time here is going to be good for me. I don't really feel passionate about the work I'm doing, which makes it incredibly hard to actually go to campus to do it. It also doesn't help that I have no idea what kind of job I want to look for. I really don't know what I want to do, which is kind of sad, in my opinion, especially having gone through all this schooling. I mean, I'm 27 and I feel exactly like I did when I was coming out of high school. I guess my next task is just to broaden my job search to just about anything that sounds interesting for me to do. If anyone out there has any suggestions, feel free to leave comments.
- The holidays were great. I loved being at home and not having anything to really worry about. It was just nice overall. I got to spend time with my sister and my mom. The only weird thing about the holidays was that there was no snow on the ground at all when I was home. The only snow I saw was the little bit that fell from the sky as I was driving up I-43 towards home. It just didn't quite feel like Christmas in that regard, although having weather in the 40s isn't anything to complain about.
- I was very happy about what I got for Christmas, too. My sister got me Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and my mom got me a bunch of sweatshirts, a pair of glittens (borrowing the word from Karen for a mitten/glove hybrid), a Pocket Dragon, and a piece of Fenton glassware. Not a lot, but much more than I expected to get. And a nice combination of useful and fun gifts. I also got a new carry-on from my grandparents. Not that I plan on flying much anymore, but having a nice piece of luggage is always good.
- Completely random thought, but still slightly on topic. I love the feel of brand new sweatshirts. I just really like how soft and fuzzy the inside of sweatshirts are before they've been washed several times over.
- On my drive back here after the holidays, I was listening to a news station through Chicago to keep track of the traffic, and there was a blurb about Pat Robertson. I seriously think this guy is delusional. Apparently God has been talking to him and He told him that there would be a major terrorist attack late this year. Am I the only one that thinks he's completely insane. Don't get me wrong, I believe in a higher power. What I don't believe is that God actually talks to all these religious zealots. Maybe it's just me, but I think Pat Robertson should just stay out of the news.
- On a related note, Bush's strategy in Iraq is finally changing! I don't know how because I didn't listen to him talk last night. I make it a point to not listen to him talk. He just irritates the hell out of me. It's about time that something gets changed there, though. I think something should have changed a couple years ago when it was clear that nothing productive was happening. But, hey, that's just my opinion.
- I have to comment on the Rosie-Donald feud going on. I feel that Miss America should have had her crown taken away after being caught underage drinking. She's supposed to be a role model for the youth of America and be working toward the greater good. At least I thought winners of pageants had platforms that spoke of things they want to accomplish that will help the world. So, I think Rosie was completely correct in calling out Donald about it. Of course, I didn't think this little fight would last for so long, nor that it would get so ugly. But still, both sides should just drop it. No good will come from it continuing, but if it must, I firmly stand on Rosie's side.
Well, I thought I had other things to say, but my mind is drawing a complete blank, so I'm going to end this post for now. As always I welcome comments, and if you do read this, feel free to stop by my other blog. That one will hopefully be updated more often as well. Leave comments there, too, if you'd like. OK, now I'll definitely stop because I'm feeling a bit shameless begging for comments here.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Requisite Before-The-Holidays Post
Well, this is my last post before the holidays, so first off I'd like to wish any readers I have a happy whatever-it-is-you-celebrate! And now some random musings:
- It totally does not feel anything like Christmas to me. It's too warm and there's no snow. Of course, it doesn't help that the year is going so quickly for me that I can't believe that in just under two weeks it's going to be 2007. Plus, not being a student anymore is throwing off my sense of time. I've been a student for so long that I'm used to having a well-defined break for the holidays, but now I just keep working (ahem, "working") and don't have a specified few weeks off. So, it's just weird. But don't get me wrong, I don't miss being a student whatsoever.
- Karen has gotten me addicted to weffriddles. I like them because they can be quite tough unless you think about them a certain way. I'm now on Level 47.
- I've been applying for more jobs recently. I just applied to two government jobs, one for the Department of Labor and one for the Census Bureau. Both of these are statistician jobs, which works for me, since I have a B.S. in math. Plus, they both are based in Chicago, which is ideal for me. One, it's a large city. Two, it's really close to home. That is, it's three hours from home, which might sound far for some people, but that's a hell of a lot closer than I am now.
- The reason I'm applying for the jobs mentioned above is that I'm almost certain that I want a job that isn't specifically in this field. Unless, of course, it's one of the teaching jobs I applied for. I've just been getting more and more disenchanted with meteorology, or really, atmospheric science. I don't feel a passion for it, which means that I probably shouldn't get a job in it.
- The sad thing is that I'm still not sure what I want to do with my life. I had this grand notion that after I was finished with grad school, I'd be able to get a great job in the field and really like what I was doing. I'm not saying that this couldn't happen yet. I'm just thinking that it probably won't because of the mentioned lack of passion. But, as my therapist has told me, it's not like I have to get a job using my master's degree. Having it just makes me a more interesting person. Or at least, it will to other people. I don't think I'm that interesting myself, but other people might.
- So, yeah, no job yet, but I'm applying, which is at least hopeful. If nothing else, come next spring or summer, depending on how long the funding lasts, I'll just move back home if I don't have a job.
- I'm still sad about my bunny. It's weird how much I miss her even though a lot of the time she annoyed the crap out of me. I've even had dreams that she's still alive. But, I'm bringing her home and am going to bury her there once the ground thaws.
- I'm surprised by the lack of Christmas cards I've received. I wasn't expecting a lot to begin with, but I've only gotten two this year so far. Well, technically one card and one family photo. I guess it isn't just me that isn't entirely in the Christmas spirit.
- I am, however, really looking forward to being at home for a while. I need a vacation again. It seems like not that long ago I was home for Thanksgiving. This time, though, I'll be home a bit longer. I'm home for about a week and a half, mainly because my sister's birthday is New Year's Eve and she's turning 21, so it should be lots of fun.
Well, I guess that's about it from me. This is probably my last post before the holidays, so again, have a wonderful celebration (I'm trying to be too P.C., aren't I?) and probably a happy new year too, since I won't be around the internet too much while I'm at home. Cheers!
- It totally does not feel anything like Christmas to me. It's too warm and there's no snow. Of course, it doesn't help that the year is going so quickly for me that I can't believe that in just under two weeks it's going to be 2007. Plus, not being a student anymore is throwing off my sense of time. I've been a student for so long that I'm used to having a well-defined break for the holidays, but now I just keep working (ahem, "working") and don't have a specified few weeks off. So, it's just weird. But don't get me wrong, I don't miss being a student whatsoever.
- Karen has gotten me addicted to weffriddles. I like them because they can be quite tough unless you think about them a certain way. I'm now on Level 47.
- I've been applying for more jobs recently. I just applied to two government jobs, one for the Department of Labor and one for the Census Bureau. Both of these are statistician jobs, which works for me, since I have a B.S. in math. Plus, they both are based in Chicago, which is ideal for me. One, it's a large city. Two, it's really close to home. That is, it's three hours from home, which might sound far for some people, but that's a hell of a lot closer than I am now.
- The reason I'm applying for the jobs mentioned above is that I'm almost certain that I want a job that isn't specifically in this field. Unless, of course, it's one of the teaching jobs I applied for. I've just been getting more and more disenchanted with meteorology, or really, atmospheric science. I don't feel a passion for it, which means that I probably shouldn't get a job in it.
- The sad thing is that I'm still not sure what I want to do with my life. I had this grand notion that after I was finished with grad school, I'd be able to get a great job in the field and really like what I was doing. I'm not saying that this couldn't happen yet. I'm just thinking that it probably won't because of the mentioned lack of passion. But, as my therapist has told me, it's not like I have to get a job using my master's degree. Having it just makes me a more interesting person. Or at least, it will to other people. I don't think I'm that interesting myself, but other people might.
- So, yeah, no job yet, but I'm applying, which is at least hopeful. If nothing else, come next spring or summer, depending on how long the funding lasts, I'll just move back home if I don't have a job.
- I'm still sad about my bunny. It's weird how much I miss her even though a lot of the time she annoyed the crap out of me. I've even had dreams that she's still alive. But, I'm bringing her home and am going to bury her there once the ground thaws.
- I'm surprised by the lack of Christmas cards I've received. I wasn't expecting a lot to begin with, but I've only gotten two this year so far. Well, technically one card and one family photo. I guess it isn't just me that isn't entirely in the Christmas spirit.
- I am, however, really looking forward to being at home for a while. I need a vacation again. It seems like not that long ago I was home for Thanksgiving. This time, though, I'll be home a bit longer. I'm home for about a week and a half, mainly because my sister's birthday is New Year's Eve and she's turning 21, so it should be lots of fun.
Well, I guess that's about it from me. This is probably my last post before the holidays, so again, have a wonderful celebration (I'm trying to be too P.C., aren't I?) and probably a happy new year too, since I won't be around the internet too much while I'm at home. Cheers!
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Short Update
Just a few quick updates to my blog:
1.) I've created a new blog dedicated to TV show commentary here. It's a work in progress, but hopefully something that other people will enjoy. I'll keep posting on it unless I don't get any readers, so anyone that reads this blog is welcome to head on over there and check it out, and if you like it tell some friends. I like having an audience.
2.) In making the blog mentioned above, I noticed some new templates available for Blogger. Thus, visitors to this blog will notice a new background. I love lighthouses, so I decided that this background is perfect for me. If you have any comments about it, preferably good (but I'll deal with bad ones as well), let me know.
That is all for now. What can I say? My title said it would be a short update.
1.) I've created a new blog dedicated to TV show commentary here. It's a work in progress, but hopefully something that other people will enjoy. I'll keep posting on it unless I don't get any readers, so anyone that reads this blog is welcome to head on over there and check it out, and if you like it tell some friends. I like having an audience.
2.) In making the blog mentioned above, I noticed some new templates available for Blogger. Thus, visitors to this blog will notice a new background. I love lighthouses, so I decided that this background is perfect for me. If you have any comments about it, preferably good (but I'll deal with bad ones as well), let me know.
That is all for now. What can I say? My title said it would be a short update.
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
RIP Anya
Today while I was at work, my rabbit died. I've been worried about her for about a week now, mainly since I've gotten back from Thanksgiving at home. I'm not sure what happened, really. She was a bit off when I got home, but I attributed that to the stress of the ride home. She seemed to get better, though.On the trip back, though, she seemed to get worse. Well, not really worse, but she had been acting strangely. First she wasn't eating as much as she normally does, but again, I just thought that she needed to calm down from the stress of the trip home. But, I got more and more worried as the days went on because she was lethargic. Unfortunately, I didn't have the money to take her to a vet, so I just did whatever I could, which wasn't much since I don't know a whole lot about rabbits.
Over the last couple days she'd been acting really weird, though. A lot of the time, I found her with her two front paws in her water dish, just standing there. I didn't know what to make of that, so I just let her be, and petted her when I could. Yesterday she was very slow moving, so I held her a bit and tried to comfort her. I think on some level I knew she wasn't doing too well. Especially this morning. She really looked to be on her last legs, and I was worried that I'd come home to find her not living anymore. That turned out to be the case. She had died sometime while I was at work.
At this point, I'm wondering if there was more I could have done. I realize that there probably wasn't, or at least there wasn't anything I could have done that wouldn't have been terribly expensive. Reading that over, it sounds really bad, and I don't mean to sound incredibly cheap, but that's the way it is.
Anyway, I just really hope that she wasn't in too much pain when she died. I'll never be certain because I don't know what was wrong with her, but at least she's not in pain anymore. I'll miss you, Anya.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Ramblings from Thanksgiving
I really need to learn how to update this a bit more often. I guess I just have nothing interesting to say lately. However, I did go home for Thanksgiving, so I now have things to say, in no particular order.
- I've been sick for the past couple weeks. Well, not really sick, so much as having a hacking cough. So, once Mom heard it, she decided that I should go see a doctor. It turns out that I had bronchitis. I was put on antibiotics and some cough syrup, and I'm starting to get better. I still have a little bit of cough, but overall, I'm feeling much better.
- Thanksgiving itself was fun. We went down to my aunt and uncle's house in Kenosha and had a huge dinner, and then just chatted and played games, and overall had a good time. It's always nice to have a little downtime. Unfortunately on the way back home it was incredibly foggy. There were times where I could hardly see the side of the road from the back seat of the car. It was kind of scary. We made it home safely, luckily. It was just quite freaky.
- Mom and I actually did the Black Friday thing, except we weren't crazy enough to get up before the crack of dawn to fight the mobs. We decided to go later on that night, around 5pm. It was really nice. Most of the people in Green Bay had done all their shopping already, so we didn't have to fight crowds, and the sales staff didn't work that morning, so they were fresh and happy as opposed to bitter and cranky, so it was actually pleasant. Mom also offered to buy me things, so I have a new pair of slippers and a new sweatshirt.
- Since I was at home and sick, I decided that I would sleep in most days. (Of course, if I was healthy I would have done the same thing, because I like sleep.) Friday I slept until after noon, because my body apparently needed it. I rarely sleep that long, so I was pretty surprised. It helped my body, but I also think that it was also partially the codeine in the cough syrup I was prescribed.
- My hometown now has its first Starbucks. It even has a drive-thru. The store is conveniently located near the highway, so those people that drink coffee can grab a cup to go and head out of town. I won't be frequenting the store often because I'm not a coffee drinker, but I'm sure it will make good money anyway.
- I kept seeing commercials and signs telling people in my county to shop in the county. In most places that wouldn't be a problem, but my county doesn't have a lot to offer. Yes, there are plenty of grocery stores, and a Wal-Mart, but if you want any type of gift store or a Target or Kohl's, you have to go out of town. But the thing that really bothered me was that the sign on one of the grocery stores said "Shop Local." That is just grammatically incorrect. It should be "locally." I know grammar isn't a high priority to most people, but it bugs me when it's wrong in print. When people are speaking, I don't typically have a problem (except with the way central Pennsylvanians never use a form of "to be" when something needs to be done), but in writing it just grates my nerves. I don't know why, it just does.
Well, I guess that's about it from me for now. I keep saying that I'll update this more often, and I hope to, but to the few readers I have out there, don't count on it. But, keep checking. You never know when a new entry will be posted.
- I've been sick for the past couple weeks. Well, not really sick, so much as having a hacking cough. So, once Mom heard it, she decided that I should go see a doctor. It turns out that I had bronchitis. I was put on antibiotics and some cough syrup, and I'm starting to get better. I still have a little bit of cough, but overall, I'm feeling much better.
- Thanksgiving itself was fun. We went down to my aunt and uncle's house in Kenosha and had a huge dinner, and then just chatted and played games, and overall had a good time. It's always nice to have a little downtime. Unfortunately on the way back home it was incredibly foggy. There were times where I could hardly see the side of the road from the back seat of the car. It was kind of scary. We made it home safely, luckily. It was just quite freaky.
- Mom and I actually did the Black Friday thing, except we weren't crazy enough to get up before the crack of dawn to fight the mobs. We decided to go later on that night, around 5pm. It was really nice. Most of the people in Green Bay had done all their shopping already, so we didn't have to fight crowds, and the sales staff didn't work that morning, so they were fresh and happy as opposed to bitter and cranky, so it was actually pleasant. Mom also offered to buy me things, so I have a new pair of slippers and a new sweatshirt.
- Since I was at home and sick, I decided that I would sleep in most days. (Of course, if I was healthy I would have done the same thing, because I like sleep.) Friday I slept until after noon, because my body apparently needed it. I rarely sleep that long, so I was pretty surprised. It helped my body, but I also think that it was also partially the codeine in the cough syrup I was prescribed.
- My hometown now has its first Starbucks. It even has a drive-thru. The store is conveniently located near the highway, so those people that drink coffee can grab a cup to go and head out of town. I won't be frequenting the store often because I'm not a coffee drinker, but I'm sure it will make good money anyway.
- I kept seeing commercials and signs telling people in my county to shop in the county. In most places that wouldn't be a problem, but my county doesn't have a lot to offer. Yes, there are plenty of grocery stores, and a Wal-Mart, but if you want any type of gift store or a Target or Kohl's, you have to go out of town. But the thing that really bothered me was that the sign on one of the grocery stores said "Shop Local." That is just grammatically incorrect. It should be "locally." I know grammar isn't a high priority to most people, but it bugs me when it's wrong in print. When people are speaking, I don't typically have a problem (except with the way central Pennsylvanians never use a form of "to be" when something needs to be done), but in writing it just grates my nerves. I don't know why, it just does.
Well, I guess that's about it from me for now. I keep saying that I'll update this more often, and I hope to, but to the few readers I have out there, don't count on it. But, keep checking. You never know when a new entry will be posted.
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Professional Identity Crisis
In therapy today I talked a lot about how I really don't know what I want to do with my life at the moment. I had always thought that when you go to grad school, you start to develop some sort of professional identity and will find a job in that field afterwards. It never occurred to me that I wouldn't want to stick in this field when I finished grad school.
Well, that's not entirely true. It's not that I don't want to stay in this field particularly. It's just that I'm tending to be fairly choosy about what projects I'd like to work on. I'm still stuck on the question of how/why anoxia develops on the ocean floor in some areas, which was going to be the heart of my dissertation, had I still been able to go on for my PhD. (Yes, I'm still slightly bitter about this.) So, I'd really like to find a job that involves studying this problem. Granted, it's not a widely studied problem yet, even though I think it should be. I am slightly biased, though, so you may want to take my opinion with a grain of salt.
Of course, this whole identity crisis I'm having also sort of stems from the fact that I finally heard from Rutgers, and I didn't have the job. They were nice enough to say that I was ranked highly in the applicant pool, but they ultimately decided to go with someone with more experience doing the types of things the job required. I kind of figured that I wouldn't get the job, because of my lack of experience, but it's still disappointing.
That makes me go back to the time when I was looking for a part-time job when I was in high school. I had applied all over the place (grocery stores, department stores, restaurants) and most of those places wanted people with experience in whatever job I had applied for. I never really understood that. How is one supposed to get experience in a certain job if no place of business hires someone with no experience? I just can't get a good grasp of that. Eventually I did get a job as a busperson at Perkins, which was not ideal, but it helped me pay for my trip to France my senior year, so I can't complain too much.
Anyway, now I'm back to searching for jobs, not really knowing what kind of job I want to do. I have found a few teaching jobs in the midwest (Madison, WI and Springfield, IL) that I'm applying for. I think those would be the most ideal, because I actually like teaching, and they're much closer to home. I'm hoping those will pan out well for me, but I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much.
I've also been thinking of just moving home for a while and getting a crap job in retail or something while I figure out what I want to do with my life. It would be nice to have a roof over my head that I wouldn't have to directly pay for. Sure, I'd help out with groceries and such, but it would be nice to live somewhere rent free for a while.
I'm also playing around with the idea of not doing anything related to meteorology or oceanography. The main idea floating through my head at the moment is being a writer. Not in the novel sense, but more like writing reviews of TV shows and the like. I mean, I watch entirely too much TV, and I have lots of thoughts about the various shows I watch (especially Lost), so I think I'd be pretty good at it. Granted, I don't have a journalism degree, but who says you need one of those to be a writer? Again, it's just an idea right now. In fact, I'm seriously considering launching a second blog and try my hand at writing about the TV shows I watch. If I do that, I'll post another entry on here linking to that blog.
Anyway, my main point in this entry is that I have no idea what I want to do with my life. I feel like I'm in this quarter-life crisis I've heard about. At this point, I just want a full-time job that pays relatively well so I can not have to live paycheck to paycheck.
In other news, I finally converted my driver license to Pennsylvania. I was actually surprised at how efficient the DMV is here. It took me less than an hour to go through the line, fill out the paperwork and get the license printed. It probably helped that I went relatively early in the day, but still, I was impressed.
And to end this post, I got a Halloween card from my mom earlier this week that I keep chuckling about. On the front there are three ghosts, and they're all yelling "OOB!" Underneath, the text says, "Dyslexic ghosts," and inside it says, "Halloween Happy." I got a kick out of it, because it's from my mom, and sometimes she talks somewhat dyslexicly (if that's a word). In writing this, I realize it's probably not funny to anyone else, but I don't care. It's funny to me, and that's all that matters.
Well, that's not entirely true. It's not that I don't want to stay in this field particularly. It's just that I'm tending to be fairly choosy about what projects I'd like to work on. I'm still stuck on the question of how/why anoxia develops on the ocean floor in some areas, which was going to be the heart of my dissertation, had I still been able to go on for my PhD. (Yes, I'm still slightly bitter about this.) So, I'd really like to find a job that involves studying this problem. Granted, it's not a widely studied problem yet, even though I think it should be. I am slightly biased, though, so you may want to take my opinion with a grain of salt.
Of course, this whole identity crisis I'm having also sort of stems from the fact that I finally heard from Rutgers, and I didn't have the job. They were nice enough to say that I was ranked highly in the applicant pool, but they ultimately decided to go with someone with more experience doing the types of things the job required. I kind of figured that I wouldn't get the job, because of my lack of experience, but it's still disappointing.
That makes me go back to the time when I was looking for a part-time job when I was in high school. I had applied all over the place (grocery stores, department stores, restaurants) and most of those places wanted people with experience in whatever job I had applied for. I never really understood that. How is one supposed to get experience in a certain job if no place of business hires someone with no experience? I just can't get a good grasp of that. Eventually I did get a job as a busperson at Perkins, which was not ideal, but it helped me pay for my trip to France my senior year, so I can't complain too much.
Anyway, now I'm back to searching for jobs, not really knowing what kind of job I want to do. I have found a few teaching jobs in the midwest (Madison, WI and Springfield, IL) that I'm applying for. I think those would be the most ideal, because I actually like teaching, and they're much closer to home. I'm hoping those will pan out well for me, but I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much.
I've also been thinking of just moving home for a while and getting a crap job in retail or something while I figure out what I want to do with my life. It would be nice to have a roof over my head that I wouldn't have to directly pay for. Sure, I'd help out with groceries and such, but it would be nice to live somewhere rent free for a while.
I'm also playing around with the idea of not doing anything related to meteorology or oceanography. The main idea floating through my head at the moment is being a writer. Not in the novel sense, but more like writing reviews of TV shows and the like. I mean, I watch entirely too much TV, and I have lots of thoughts about the various shows I watch (especially Lost), so I think I'd be pretty good at it. Granted, I don't have a journalism degree, but who says you need one of those to be a writer? Again, it's just an idea right now. In fact, I'm seriously considering launching a second blog and try my hand at writing about the TV shows I watch. If I do that, I'll post another entry on here linking to that blog.
Anyway, my main point in this entry is that I have no idea what I want to do with my life. I feel like I'm in this quarter-life crisis I've heard about. At this point, I just want a full-time job that pays relatively well so I can not have to live paycheck to paycheck.
In other news, I finally converted my driver license to Pennsylvania. I was actually surprised at how efficient the DMV is here. It took me less than an hour to go through the line, fill out the paperwork and get the license printed. It probably helped that I went relatively early in the day, but still, I was impressed.
And to end this post, I got a Halloween card from my mom earlier this week that I keep chuckling about. On the front there are three ghosts, and they're all yelling "OOB!" Underneath, the text says, "Dyslexic ghosts," and inside it says, "Halloween Happy." I got a kick out of it, because it's from my mom, and sometimes she talks somewhat dyslexicly (if that's a word). In writing this, I realize it's probably not funny to anyone else, but I don't care. It's funny to me, and that's all that matters.
Thursday, October 26, 2006
A Card Hallmark Doesn't Make
Tomorrow is my grandparents' anniversary, and I've spent the better part of this month trying to find a card for them. Granted, it's difficult anyway because my grandma isn't the world's easiest person to shop for, even when just looking for a card. Anyway, I've spent several hours of time in various Hallmarks trying to find anniversary cards specifically for grandparents. You wouldn't think that would be difficult, would you? Well, apparently it's become passe to actually send grandparents an anniversary card. In most Hallmarks I was lucky if I could find one card for grandparents, and usually that was in the section labeled "Cards for Unique Needs." So, it's unique to want to send your grandparents an anniversary card?! What, do they just assume that grandparents don't stay together? I know the divorce rate is 50%, but this is slightly ridiculous.
I ended up just getting a non-special (or non-unique) anniversary card for them, because I didn't have much choice in the matter. I just find it odd that something that special, like my grandparents' anniversary, doesn't have a variety of cards devoted to it while other so-called holidays (Sweetest Day, Bosses Day, etc.) have entire racks of cards for them. Am I the only one bothered by this? Probably, but I needed to vent a bit...
In other news, no word yet on the Rutgers job. I'm not sure how to feel about that. They said I should know by last week. I'm guessing that I may still be in the running only because they didn't say that I didn't have the job right away. But, I'm also guessing that I'm not their first choice, and they're waiting for whoever was their first choice to make a decision. So, we'll see. Hopefully I'll find out soon. In either case, though, I may as well start putting in my application elsewhere. Of course, once I start doing that, I'll end up hearing from them, because that's just the way it works for me.
I definitely need to get a job soon. I just got my first bill to start repaying my student loans, and that's an extra bill I wasn't planning on getting quite yet. So, we'll see what happens. It's definitely a good thing I have some money put away in savings, though. I'd be totally screwed without that cushion.
Other than that, not much else is new. Tonight is big TV night. Ugly Betty and two repeats of Grey's Anatomy, which I'll watch anyway because that show is freakin' awesome. I could watch it over and over again and not get tired of it. OK, that may be a slight exaggeration, but not by much. So, I'm off to go hunker down in front of the TV.
I ended up just getting a non-special (or non-unique) anniversary card for them, because I didn't have much choice in the matter. I just find it odd that something that special, like my grandparents' anniversary, doesn't have a variety of cards devoted to it while other so-called holidays (Sweetest Day, Bosses Day, etc.) have entire racks of cards for them. Am I the only one bothered by this? Probably, but I needed to vent a bit...
In other news, no word yet on the Rutgers job. I'm not sure how to feel about that. They said I should know by last week. I'm guessing that I may still be in the running only because they didn't say that I didn't have the job right away. But, I'm also guessing that I'm not their first choice, and they're waiting for whoever was their first choice to make a decision. So, we'll see. Hopefully I'll find out soon. In either case, though, I may as well start putting in my application elsewhere. Of course, once I start doing that, I'll end up hearing from them, because that's just the way it works for me.
I definitely need to get a job soon. I just got my first bill to start repaying my student loans, and that's an extra bill I wasn't planning on getting quite yet. So, we'll see what happens. It's definitely a good thing I have some money put away in savings, though. I'd be totally screwed without that cushion.
Other than that, not much else is new. Tonight is big TV night. Ugly Betty and two repeats of Grey's Anatomy, which I'll watch anyway because that show is freakin' awesome. I could watch it over and over again and not get tired of it. OK, that may be a slight exaggeration, but not by much. So, I'm off to go hunker down in front of the TV.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Randomness from NJ and the rest of last week
I'm just really crappy at updating this thing lately, mainly because I don't have a very interesting life at the moment. However, since it has been a month since my last post, I feel that I should make some sort of entry, and this one is going to be just random thoughts, mainly from my trip to New Jersey.
- For those that don't know, I had an interview for a programming job at Rutgers last week. It was my first interview in a long time, and I think it went fairly well. I mean, it's probably not the best interview I had, but I don't feel completely ashamed by it. I'm really hoping to get the job, though. I'll find out sometime this week, hopefully.
- The drive to New Brunswick was fun. (Note the sarcasm.) I've been on Highway 22 pretty much throughout the state of PA, and I can say with certainty that for the most part, it sucks. The only good parts of 22 are when it's merged with an interstate. Then it isn't so bad. Construction was just horrible last Monday, though. I was at a standstill numerous times. Once right outside of State College when the road was down to just one lane for traffic in both directions, another time at a merge point in eastern PA. It's just really annoying dealing with construction. I didn't think there would be any work done last Monday because it was a holiday. But, hey, what do I know?
- Also on my way there, I was behind a vehicle that was smoking. Smoke was coming from somewhere near the front of the camper. It was trying to be nice to let me pass it by moving as far right as it could, but every time I would try to pass it (where it was legal.... PA doesn't seem to have very many large stretches of straight road), it would start to move back into the lane. I was so happy when I got to a part of the road that had two lanes for each direction of traffic.
- As is customary when I drive to a new place, I got lost in New Brunswick. I started off going in the correct direction once I got off the highway, but because the directions I got weren't clear about how long it would take to get to my next turn-off, I turned around. Then I had to turn around again, and finally I found the highway I was supposed to get on. Then when I got off that highway, I came to one of the smallest roundabouts I've ever seen, and I missed the point I was supposed to veer off of it toward the hotel, so I ended up taking a slight detour. Eventually, I made it to the hotel, and I was thrilled to be able to get out of the car.
- I hate that you can't pump your own gas in New Jersey.
- The night before my interview, I walked on campus a bit to get food. (I certainly didn't want to get back into my car again.) I must say that the campus center food I got there wasn't half bad. And I got a lot of food for a relatively cheap price. Especially French fries. I got so many I couldn't eat them all.
- The selection of TV channels in the hotel I stayed aren't wasn't great, but I did get to see Fashion House on what used to be UPN. It's basically an American telenovela, the equivalent of a nighttime soap. It was so wonderfully campy, I enjoyed it tremendously. There were catfights and high drama. And I must say that Morgan Fairchild plays an excellent bitch. Of course I knew that from her days on The City, but she's great on this show, too.
- I will admit that I thought I looked very nice for my interview. I got quite a bit of help deciding on what to wear from some friends in the meteo department. The only bad part about the outfit I wore was that it was mostly black, and it just happened to be in the mid-70s that day. However, I did look very nice, I think. That's saying something, too, because I rarely think I look good. Most of the time I have very low self-esteem, but dressing up seems to give me some confidence.
- Rutgers has a very beautiful campus. I think it's one of the prettiest campuses I've ever been on. Plus, the building I interviewed in was nice-looking. I don't think I've ever worked in a nice-looking building on a campus before. Usually I'm in the hideous eyesores.
- I was surprised to see one of the guys that was at the last team meeting I went to in an office right across the hall from the guy I interviewed with. It was a pleasant surprise. He's a very nice guy, and not bad to look at either. I even stopped back after walking around campus a bit to chat and say hi. Just another reason I wouldn't mind having a job there. (Yes, I have a shallow side, too....)
- Once I got back from Jersey, I had my work cut out for me because there was another team meeting this week. I didn't get to go, because Ray said it wouldn't be a good use of my time, which at the time, I agreed with. I'm only working part time anyway. However, this week I've been VERY unproductive. I think I may have burned myself out a little bit last week. I think both yesterday and today combined, I've worked about a half-hour. I'm slightly ashamed by that, but yet not really. I'm back to feeling like I'm just frittering my time away until I get a real job. Maybe I'll get back to having some motivation this week, but I'm not counting on it.
I guess that's about it for now. Hopefully my next entry won't be too far in the future. I'm also hoping I'll have good news to report. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high for this job, but I can't help but feel a little excited by it. Only time will tell, I guess....
- For those that don't know, I had an interview for a programming job at Rutgers last week. It was my first interview in a long time, and I think it went fairly well. I mean, it's probably not the best interview I had, but I don't feel completely ashamed by it. I'm really hoping to get the job, though. I'll find out sometime this week, hopefully.
- The drive to New Brunswick was fun. (Note the sarcasm.) I've been on Highway 22 pretty much throughout the state of PA, and I can say with certainty that for the most part, it sucks. The only good parts of 22 are when it's merged with an interstate. Then it isn't so bad. Construction was just horrible last Monday, though. I was at a standstill numerous times. Once right outside of State College when the road was down to just one lane for traffic in both directions, another time at a merge point in eastern PA. It's just really annoying dealing with construction. I didn't think there would be any work done last Monday because it was a holiday. But, hey, what do I know?
- Also on my way there, I was behind a vehicle that was smoking. Smoke was coming from somewhere near the front of the camper. It was trying to be nice to let me pass it by moving as far right as it could, but every time I would try to pass it (where it was legal.... PA doesn't seem to have very many large stretches of straight road), it would start to move back into the lane. I was so happy when I got to a part of the road that had two lanes for each direction of traffic.
- As is customary when I drive to a new place, I got lost in New Brunswick. I started off going in the correct direction once I got off the highway, but because the directions I got weren't clear about how long it would take to get to my next turn-off, I turned around. Then I had to turn around again, and finally I found the highway I was supposed to get on. Then when I got off that highway, I came to one of the smallest roundabouts I've ever seen, and I missed the point I was supposed to veer off of it toward the hotel, so I ended up taking a slight detour. Eventually, I made it to the hotel, and I was thrilled to be able to get out of the car.
- I hate that you can't pump your own gas in New Jersey.
- The night before my interview, I walked on campus a bit to get food. (I certainly didn't want to get back into my car again.) I must say that the campus center food I got there wasn't half bad. And I got a lot of food for a relatively cheap price. Especially French fries. I got so many I couldn't eat them all.
- The selection of TV channels in the hotel I stayed aren't wasn't great, but I did get to see Fashion House on what used to be UPN. It's basically an American telenovela, the equivalent of a nighttime soap. It was so wonderfully campy, I enjoyed it tremendously. There were catfights and high drama. And I must say that Morgan Fairchild plays an excellent bitch. Of course I knew that from her days on The City, but she's great on this show, too.
- I will admit that I thought I looked very nice for my interview. I got quite a bit of help deciding on what to wear from some friends in the meteo department. The only bad part about the outfit I wore was that it was mostly black, and it just happened to be in the mid-70s that day. However, I did look very nice, I think. That's saying something, too, because I rarely think I look good. Most of the time I have very low self-esteem, but dressing up seems to give me some confidence.
- Rutgers has a very beautiful campus. I think it's one of the prettiest campuses I've ever been on. Plus, the building I interviewed in was nice-looking. I don't think I've ever worked in a nice-looking building on a campus before. Usually I'm in the hideous eyesores.
- I was surprised to see one of the guys that was at the last team meeting I went to in an office right across the hall from the guy I interviewed with. It was a pleasant surprise. He's a very nice guy, and not bad to look at either. I even stopped back after walking around campus a bit to chat and say hi. Just another reason I wouldn't mind having a job there. (Yes, I have a shallow side, too....)
- Once I got back from Jersey, I had my work cut out for me because there was another team meeting this week. I didn't get to go, because Ray said it wouldn't be a good use of my time, which at the time, I agreed with. I'm only working part time anyway. However, this week I've been VERY unproductive. I think I may have burned myself out a little bit last week. I think both yesterday and today combined, I've worked about a half-hour. I'm slightly ashamed by that, but yet not really. I'm back to feeling like I'm just frittering my time away until I get a real job. Maybe I'll get back to having some motivation this week, but I'm not counting on it.
I guess that's about it for now. Hopefully my next entry won't be too far in the future. I'm also hoping I'll have good news to report. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high for this job, but I can't help but feel a little excited by it. Only time will tell, I guess....
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