Job

Well, it's official - I am leaving Signal, and heading to ReLogic. I sent the acceptance letter over this afternoon. Signal's unable to offer me a position in the long term, and in the end I have to have a job - I can't just go on day after day, wondering if it's my last day. I start next Thursday - I already spoke with Sara about lead time she'd need after she gets back from her vacation and we agreed on Tuesday and Wednesday for debriefing time. So, now that the weight of wondering about my job is gone, I'm looking forward to my new job. Checking out some of the cutting edge stuff with ASP.Net AJAX (previously known as Atlas), as well as how to do browser-based Web UI testing (which is something we never worried about at Signal, but I want to be familiar with in case ReLogic wants to do that, since I'll be the front-end guy). This job will be a great challenge, and I think it'll engage me more than the Signal job could from a programming perspective. (Not that I wouldn't consider other jobs - you have to keep your eyes and ears open!)

Bifocals

Well, for those of you won don't wear bifocals, I've got news for you: It's like having permanent smudges on your glasses. My brain is constantly telling me to clean my glasses as they're smudged. I am getting used to it, but there's still this blurly line, just under where I normally look at things. The new prescription, though, is better than my old one. I just have to keep tilting my head different ways to look at things right. On the job front, things are up in the air, but I should have something figured out by the end of the day. Rather pissed off at the whole situation. Will report more later. It's snowing, again, here in Denver. As if we didn't get enough before. Luckily the car has new tires, it's oil change, and it's happy. We've got food, and with New Year's we've got a nice 3 day holiday after today, so I've got some time to clean things up in the house, maybe go through some stuff in the garage. Got us some ice cream (which I just had), some food (which I'm about to go get). Wait. just (yes, as I was typing this) came in and told me that Chipotle is doing another snow day half off sale. So, guess where we're getting lunch from? Especially since this snow ISN'T as bad as that blizzard was. And if they're offering this, then SOMEONE has to be there! Well, I'm off to Chipotle.

So, my car got snowed in. Last night, my brother Matt helped me get it out, twice. It got stuck again getting it to the Big O to get the oil and tires changed. The oil really needs changed anyways, and 3 of the tires are too worn down to keep (will probably keep the 4th, which is in fair condition, for an emergency spare). I'm also going to look at snow chains - they're not as expensive as I thought they were! Well, I'm off to the Big O to have the work done (didn't get there until well after they'd closed last night).

Ugh, my car is now stuck in the snow. Luckily, I was able to get it parked on the side of the road, but it's gonna be stuck for awhile now. And, discovered that I need new tires, as the ones up front are getting pretty shallow... There is ZERO chance that I can get into work tomorrow, as RTD is stopping bus service until they can get through themselves. So, more work from home, luckily the providers have the same problem we do, so there's no email in the staff email box to handle. Well, I really should go clean up in the living room, the kitchen, and the office. And if I still have time, I should spend time with , or study my Hebrew books. *sigh* Never enough time in the day.

Well, and I just finished buying the last colored mini lights for trees left in Colorado. We searched all over and now have 300+ lights for the tree. That should be enough to make happy, I hope. Now we're at Atlanta Bread, then we'll hop over to the mall and probably see . got me a nice חנוכה (Chanukah) present - Empire by Orson Scott Card. I hope to start reading that soon. Well, bug is getting fussy, so we'll head on out.

Christmas list

My Christmas list: * Transflash / MicroSD card (NOT MiniSD!!), for my phone's MP3 feature * USB Hub - 4 or more ports, USB 2, for my laptop's desk * BlueTooth USB Nub, for my laptop <-> phone connection * Circular saw, for cutting wood so that I can build book cabinets, etc. * Gift cards (Lowes, Borders, Home Depot, Target, Visa/MC, CompUSA, etc.) * 6' bookshelf (yes, we have lots of books)

Interview

Well, just got done with the interview (well, and lunch). Sounds like a very interesting company, sounds like I've got realistic expectations of salary/hours/work/benefits. Hopefully they'll call back in the next couple of days and offer me the job. :) I would actually get to work with other geeks! I haven't really done that except maybe for a short time once or twice. It would be a lot of hard work, but I think I could fit in well, and I definitely think that I could get a passion for it. It's been so long (4.5 years) since I've worked in a software shop (well, close enough). Signal just hasn't been challenging for me, and I think this is a place where I'd have to quickly adapt (adding C#, Atlas/ASP.Net AJAX, and MySQL, all of which I've played with or worked with a little). They're really flexible on dress code and even working conditions. I could be working by Wednesday at this place. I hope I'm not trying to bite off more than I can chew, but it's a great opportunity. Now we'll also see if that other job interview schedules itself. Well, back to the old job for the last day (in theory, revised).

Today and tomorrow

Well, today was OK. Went out to Babies'R'Us, the inlaws' house, the library (we saw there!), and the mall (got to see ). Had lunch late, tried some of Sonic's cheesecake treats. They were good, but filling. Got a "First 1000 words in Hebrew" thanks to my wonderful wfe . And now is playing with yarn and making poo in his diaper - oh the fun of being daddy. I get to put together a website tomorrow for an interview on Monday (as my previous work is an internal/associates only site), and try to demonstrate that I have a clue with ASP.Net and VB.Net. I also get to finish up the stuff for Signal on Monday (or Tuesday at the latest). We get to take our holiday pictures tomorrow (to print up and send with the cards we got today at the mall), go to Target to get glue to fix the recently broken lint filter on the dryer, drop off my brother's card at my family's house, and eat at various points in the day. Oh, and it'd be nice to have some time to work on , but I won't have time for that, I'm sure. EDIT: Oh, and I want to go to the community Chanukah celebration tomorrow. Not sure when we're going to fit that one in...

A funny for DBAs (overheard at my work):

nvarchar(60). I feel dirty just typing it.