Cross-posted from the Vanilla forums, just in case.
So, it’s been about a year (looking at the last time I posted) since I’ve been around. Since I know you’re all dying to find out what’s been going on with me this past year, let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up.
So, last I was here, I’d just taken a six-month contract working as an HR Analyst for a global relocation firm. About two months into the contract, just before our Thanksgiving, they offered the position to me full-time. There was much rejoicing. I’m still here, and boy, do I have some warstories. Overall it’s been good, though. The people are great and I’ve learned some new skills (I can finally do SQL queries!). I also completed my Technical Writing certificate through one of the local colleges, and I’m finding it’s really coming in useful here, as I’m being asked to document a lot of what I do since I’m the only one who knows how to do it.
Non-work wise, I haven’t been doing much writing lately. I’m hoping to get back to it seriously (or seriously hoping to get back to it, as the case may be) but so far no dice. I do have a new hobby/business - The Button Brigade. I have a logo and everything! I make and sell 2.25 inch pinback buttons with wise, witty, and geeky sayings on them (sometimes all on the same button). I’ve done several conventions so far, and am booked through November with more, and people seem to really like them. (@Guido, if you’re anywhere near Guelph the first weekend in October, I have a table at GenreCon.) I’m not looking to make a ton of money; so far I’m happy that it’s paying for me to go to these conventions essentially for free. And I got George Takei to sign one of my buttons, so go me! Seriously, though, I’m having a ball doing the conventions - I get to talk to a lot of people and watch them laugh and have a good time reading the buttons.
Anyway, that’s what’s been going on for me in a nutshell. I’m going to try to be around more, and get caught up on all the threads I’ve missed. $Deity, I missed you guys!
Thread necromancy, but it was the closest I could find to the topic.
I may have spotted FTPMonster on another site. I can’t imagine anyone else using the name, since most of the tweens on that site have never heard of FTP.
The (ish) because, let’s be honest, I tend to be pretty busy anymore and so probably won’t exactly be an active participant.
I honestly don’t recall when exactly I was last active, so, um, it’s hard to catch folks up. Depending on when I was last in touch, I’ve gone through 1-3 jobs, and 1-3 partners. I’ve had some ups and downs, but right now I’ve got a really great job and I’m with a really great partner, and I hope to stay with both for the foreseeable future.
A little over a year ago, I moved from a house which I shared to an apartment that’s all my own; I’m still getting rid of crap - I had a lot of things that it made sense to hang on to when I assumed I’d just be moving into progressively larger digs until buying a house of my own, but which are just taking up space. Sometimes, it feels like napalm is the only appropriate solution (well, okay, I’m pretty sure napalm is a suspension).
Outside of work, I’ve been making a little money on the side by making leather items to sell at an adult store. I’m kind of appalled at the poor quality stuff some people make.
Sadly, I just haven’t had time to write as much as I used to. Currently I’m trying to find some resources on Akkaddian and Sumerian poetic structures, for a little project I hope to get done before the end of the month.
And in case anyone is wondering, the chant is what brought me back - out of idle curiosity I did a vanity search a couple of days ago and that showed up.
Well, I suppose this is as good a place as any to say hello again! I’m not sure how long its been since I last posted regularly (likely since before the migration to Vanilla), but I find myself drifting back to the forum after starting a new job as a sysadmin.
I was working at an Internet provider for about five years - worked up from a phone monkey to one of the more senior network/phone server/email technicians. The management couldn’t figure out how to pay me a reasonable rate, so this summer I packed up and found a job at a local software company as a sysadmin. The 35% pay raise isn’t so much reflective of the high value they place on people at this job (though they do), so much as how badly I was being underpaid where I was at. I’m just about at the end of the three-month initial probation and absolutely adore the situation here - good management, good benefits, paid lunch every Friday for the whole company, regular morale-boosting events (bowling, movies, etc. on company time), and a boss who actually is happy to listen to my experience and teach me as we go along.
I dropped out of divinity school last year and it was the best decision I’ve made in a long time. On the side I’m still running my church’s youth group and that’s been fantastic and rewarding in so many ways. Most importantly, I’m still happily married and without children (for the near future anyway).
So… what’s new with you guys? I’m looking forward to catching up on all the threads in this fancy new forum.
tl;dr - my avatar used to be an orange cat petting a green fish, but the gif is severely broken on vanilla for some reason, so I had to change it. Hi!
