Freeoun! It's been ages since I've posted in this thing, although I managed far worse with my old blog. The fact that I started my job two Mondays ago (9 Oct) has a lot to do with that. I'm quite enjoying my work, though sitting in one spot for ages in front of my computer coding and researching gets a little tedious at times, especially when I can't spin around on my chair, pace, lie on my bed randomly, sing, play keyboard (the musical variety), sloth, etc. Still, the work is challenging and interesting. I continue to research and learn, which is essential for me lest I become extremely bored. For those who don't know, my job is a little difficult to explain simply. Basically, I work as a software developer for a small company called NetBox Blue which develops an all-in-one internet access, security, monitoring and server appliance called the NetBox. It provides many services, including firewall, email virus and spam protection, content filtering and email hosting, to list only a few. Aside from the hardware and software, services include technical support via phone and email, automatic updates and replacement warranty. Anyway, my job involves developing software and solutions to improve and enhance the functionality of the NetBox. Given the wide array of services provided, my work is quite varied, which is one of the reasons I like it. :) I code primarily in Python.

By the way, Michael and I recorded the vocals for Never Be the Same on 7 Oct and they are sounding great. We are hoping to record the guitar parts this Saturday, assuming nothing goes amiss. If all goes well, I should be able to mix and master the damned thing over the next few weeks and get it out before mid November, though I refuse to make promises on such dates, given the invariable tendency for unexpected delays where N^th Degree is concerned. Actually, I really should post an update to the N^th Degree news section. :)

I always try to think of some amusing happenings while writing entries such as this one. Perhaps the funniest occurred on Thursday.

I was staying at Jen's on Wednesday night, so she gave me some frozen pasta (or not, but more on that later) to take to work for lunch on Thursday. So, lunch time came. I removed my lunch from the fridge and microwaved it. I should note at this point that I love having access to a fridge and microwave, among other things, at work. :) I took it back to my desk and began to eat, but something just wasn't quite right. I have eaten this pasta dish before at Jen's and quite enjoyed it, but this just wasn't quite hitting the spot. Perhaps something was missing? ... It also seemed to have way too much halloumi in it, which is a type of cheese for those that don't know. I thought that perhaps this particular dish just didn't taste that good after being frozen, as I know that some dishes don't, and suggested as much to Jen that evening.

The truth was nothing so uninteresting. To Jen's horror, upon opening the freezer next morning, she discovered that the container she had given me was the one in which she had placed extra sauce ... with no pasta. Yup. I had eaten pasta sauce with no pasta on Thursday ... and hadn't figured out that there was no pasta! I almost wish she hadn't told me. How ridiculously stupid! I knew something was wrong, but surely I should have been able to realise that I wasn't eating any pasta. In my defence, this pasta sauce is quite chunky with a lot of vegetables and pieces of halloumi and the pasta used was shells or the like (not spirals, spaghetti or fettuccini which are very obvious), but I'm still an utter twit. How embarrassing! To make things worse, I wonder what my colleagues at work thought? "Oh my god, this guy is so weird ... he's eating pasta sauce with no pasta!" To add to the embarrassment and amusement, the container is transparent and Jen had also completely failed to realise when giving it to me. Eeeeek! Oh well. At least we got a hell of a laugh out of it.

I've been meaning to post this link for a while, but haven't, so here it is: Amazon Unbox to customers. I am very much against DRM, but this is just utterly disgusting. This is worth a read if you care about the whole DRM thing.

posted at: 21:36 | keywords: Life, Work, NthDegree, Music, Rants, Humour | permanent link to this entry

Well, it looks like there are going to be quite a lot of significant changes in my life over the next few months. First of all, I accepted the job and will be starting some time in the next few weeks. So, I'm going from no constant work to full time work. Eeek! I'm looking forward to it in many ways, though it will be a big change and I'm a bit concerned as to how I will fit everything in. Anyway, I'm currently in the process of organising blindy stuff for that. I have o&m (orientation and mobility) training tomorrow to get from Milton train station to work (only a few minutes walk) and am 'going into work' (wo, sounds weird!) with an employment officer from the Royal Blind Foundation for a workplace modifications assessment on Friday. Then I get to go into Centrelink on Monday for a 'job capacity assessment' so that they can tell me that I am capable of working and how many hours I am able to work. (It is all actually utter nonsense, as the fact that I am quite capable of working in a full time job such as this should be obvious, but bureaucracy insists nevertheless.) Arrrg! Unfortunately, all of this is going to screw quite nastily with N^th Degree for the next while, at least until we determine the physical logistics of arranging recording sessions given my new day job.

Second, I'll be moving out with Jen by March next year. This will be fantastic for many reasons, but it will also present many difficult challenges, especially as this is my first experience of truly independent living. I have a hell of a lot to learn!

Speaking of change, Jen and I just returned from a short holiday (Sunday to today) at Bellthorpe Cottage in ... well, Bellthorpe, which is about 25 minutes from Maleny 'in the middle of nowhere'. As always, it was fantastic. Being that far from civilisation forced us to truly step back, relax and simply enjoy each other's company. It was a very peaceful place surrounded by many of the best things nature has to offer, including some waterfalls only a few minutes walk away. (Anyone who knows me well knows how much I love the water!)

While we were away, Jen bought John Edward's book 'Crossing Over', which she has been reading to me. It is basically an autobiography of how he came to be what and where he is in the present day. I have very much enjoyed it and it has rekindled my interest in spirituality, as well as giving me a positive, refreshing perspective on life in general. I highly recommend it to anyone who has an interest in this spirituality/afterlife/reincarnation stuff. I often find that reading such material (if it is good) gives me this sense of revitalisation. The books by Brian Weiss had a similar effect and are also very much worth reading.

posted at: 22:00 | keywords: Life, Work, NthDegree, Spirituality, Books | permanent link to this entry

I was offered the Python developer job this afternoon! I had the interview last Thursday after spending a few hours answering two tricky networking questions prior to the interview. The questions actually did stump me for a while, but I got them in the end with a lot of help from Google. (I have no idea why I bothered to link that, but enjoy it anyway.) The interview itself was a bit scary, given that it was my first and that it was three hours long among other reasons. They asked me a mixture of general, character, technical and tricky "why should we give you this job" style questions. Overall, I felt pretty good about it, though I didn't expect to hear from them for a few weeks. I haven't accepted it yet, but will be doing so tomorrow.

Last Friday evening consisted primarily of two concerts: the Queensland Kodály Choir 'September Song' concert, in which I had to sing, and the Ben Folds concert. The QKC concert actually went much better than expected and most of us very much enjoyed it. I recorded it and the recording came out quite well (again, better than expected). There were a decent amount of screw ups :), but some of the performance was just beautiful.

... And then there was Ben Folds alongside the Queensland Orchestra. All I can say is that it rocked! Ben Folds is truly an amazing musician, performer and entertainer. Being able to hear a live orchestra was also incredible, an experience I have not enjoyed in a very long time. Combining Ben Folds's awesomeness with that experience just took the biscuit. I've heard/seen the Ben Folds WASO DVD, but I personally feel the Queensland Orchestra did a better job. Although the more formal 'sit down' atmosphere meant that one could not be as openly energetic and 'hyped' as one could in last year's performance at the Tivaly, it was still amazing. My obsession with orchestra not withstanding, I'm of the opinion that both performances were extremely enjoyable for different reasons and it's difficult to say which I enjoyed more.

We were supposed to record the guitar parts for Never Be the Same on Saturday, but that didn't end up happening. Bleh! More delays. This is sooo frustrating! :(

posted at: 22:18 | keywords: Life, Work, Music, NthDegree | permanent link to this entry

Ok. Time for a big update on the more interesting points of my life over the past few weeks, which hopefully won't get too boring.

The cold I posted about a few weeks ago turned out to be quite nasty indeed, including a light fever for a few days. I felt I was slowly recovering a bit over a week later, but just as I thought I might be almost back to normal, it started all over again. I began to lose my voice last Monday, which hasn't happened in ages! I think I'm finally on the mend now, but that still means I was sick for over three weeks! It seems to me that colds and related illnesses are hanging around much longer this year than they have in the past and several others have agreed.

I had to miss two weeks of goalball thanks to that stupid cold, as well as a choir performance. Arrrg! It also delayed work for N^th Degree. Anyway, when I've been able to make it to goalball, I've been playing pretty terribly. My defence has been ridiculous; I rarely ever play this badly! I just hope it has to do with sickness and related issues and that I'll be better for the Grand Prix next Saturday. Btw, if you're interested, come to watch some of the games. The Grand Prix will be held in the Sports Hall in A block at Southbank TAFE on Saturday, 2 September.

When I've been able, I have been working on the violin and cello parts for Never Be the Same, the new N^th Degree piece. I'm pleased to report that I finished recording those parts on Thursday night. Next on the agenda is the crazy orchestral stuff in what we call the 'Gladiator' section and the guitar parts. Meanwhile, check out N^th Degree on Triple J Unearthed! Cruel to be Kind has been submitted so far, so rate us highly and review us well! NOW! Please? :) I submitted Losing Touch as well, but it seems to have disappeared somewhere, so I need to chase that up in the coming week.

This weekend was somewhat crazy in terms of social events. On Friday night was Jen's mum's 50th, which was a lot of fun, plus there was good food and wine. Yummm! Saturday night was my uncle's partner's 50th, which was held downstairs at home (my uncle lives downstairs here). It was pretty good, although there was no wine. :) The comedy highlight of the evening for me was Ro's 10 week old mastiff puppy jumping up to steel a steak and chicken wing off my uncle's plate!

Today was my parents' anniversary. We went out to dinner at Kingsley's Crab and Steak house, a prospect which didn't greatly appeal to my taste buds and stomach given my dispassion towards crab and steak. (I don't dislike them, but just don't particularly like them. I'd definitely eat steak over crab, though, and it's certainly much cheaper. :) ) I didn't end up eating either crab or steak. It wasn't too bad, though I was a bit 'meh' about the place in general. It was good to spend some time with the family, though. Tomorrow is Daniel's birthday, although we're not doing anything major for that. So: happy birthdays to those mentioned and happy anniversary to my parents!

posted at: 23:57 | keywords: Life, Friends&Family, Humour, NthDegree, Music, Goalball | permanent link to this entry