No Shit!

I've a new opinion about the engineering profession (hardware, software, mechanical, electrical, civil, etc.). The engineering profession as a whole sucks ass. As an engineer, you typically undergo rigorous schooling with classes that most people consider difficult. Then you graduate and get a job that pays good, but not great, and requires either long hours and self sacrifice, or induces boredom and indifference. Since the pay is good, these conditions are tolerable at first, but the job becomes a trap, with the salary and all the trappings associated with it the jailer. The pay rarely becomes great, except for those lucky enough to win the politics, manager, company lottery that's part of being an engineer. Mind you, I think I won the lottery, but I was still unhappy as an engineer. Tomorrow, I have a marketing all hands meeting. The agenda: presentation, snacks, beer, volleyball. What was I ever thinking? Some say marketing is run by morons, but isn't that better then suffering alongside the socially stunted intellectuals?

Wheee...

So we're throwing a party, which is somewhat thrilling and somewhat scary. What if no one comes? What if we run out of beer? What if it sucks? These are all the thrilling/scary thoughts that go into throwing a party. We've never had a "real" party before, but I think it's good to try and get exposed to more people. Better to try and fail and all those other platitudes.

The invite had a "Dukes of Hazzard" theme. All of my foreign friends thought I was Luke Duke and were wondering who the other guy was (perhaps he was my life partner). "Educational for them and a good story for me", that's what I say. A bastion of fine culture I am.

My birthday is coming up, and ironically it's my last day as a software engineer. I will celebrate indeed. I smell a Playstation 2 coming soon. I don't know what this says about me, but I'm living the life I dreamed about when I was sixteen (sans the whole job thing). Is it time to set my sights higher? Ehhhh, we'll see.

I want to go to the Caribbean for vacation, but it's been slow going in the planning department. U.S. Virgin Islands for Thanksgiving sounds yummy.

Finally

I think I may have a new boss who doesn't suck. My old boss was okay; he treated me well professionally but wasn't the best at getting things done or interacting socially. The new boss actually laughs at my jokes, which reassures me that I'm in the room. Far too many times I've been in a room where I told a joke and received dead silence (and no, it's not because my jokes suck, and even then there's typically a reaction).

Anyway, like most new jobs, there's a period of initial infatuation that I'm in right now. The work is different and more exciting, the boss, and her boss, is smart and cool. All I have to do is wrap up the last few days of my old job and discard it like the larvae shell it is.

September 11th

This is a sad day.

It's also my wedding anniversary.

Such a strange dichotomy, these two events. I'm going out to eat at a nice restaurant tonight; by that point I'll have attended two moments of silence. One at the Home Depot and one at work.

My "diversity tolerance" is very low today. Sometimes, I want to enjoy the unambiguous feelings of patriotic pride and nationalism. It makes my life seem simpler, although I'll concede it's not the best way to go about life. I'll stay in my cube and leave early.

This is not the greatest website in the world, it's just a tribute

This killed many hours of productivity: Acts of Gord