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

Queensland won the goalball grand prix on Saturday! :) I was playing pretty well, which is a nice change. Unfortunately, I sucked again at training on Tuesday night. Bleh. Oh well.

I have a job interview nex week for the Python developer job I mentioned last week! It sounds a bit scarey, though. I have to answer some questions at home 48-24 hours before the interview and the interview itself will be around three hours. Wo! They give me dinner, which is some consolation. :) This is my first ever job interview, which makes it even scarier. I should be ok, though. I hope ...

Meanwhile, I was supposed to go to an aural studies class this evening and had arranged for someone to pick me up from Indooroopilly station just prior. Unfortunately, I am so used to going to U.Q. at 6 p.m. (choir starts at 6) that I thought the class started at 6. It was only 15 minutes before I was about to leave (to arrive at 6) that I realised it actually started at 5. Arrrg! Idiot! I've made several mistakes relating to travel times in the last few weeks and it is really starting to irritate me. The ones before today were even more stupid because I mixed up my arrival and departure times when thinking about what time I needed to leave. Ug!

posted at: 18:00 | keywords: Life, Goalball, Work, Rants | permanent link to this entry

Yesterday morning, Jen and I rose at 6 and were completely on time to arrive at her school by 7. This meant I was able to catch the 7:03 Shorncliffe train, which meant I would be able to make the bus from Sandgate Station to the shopping centre near home. (It only comes once an hour, so catching the 7:33 train results in my having to wait half an hour for the bus.) Unfortunately, QR decided to terminate my train at Northgate, after which I had to wait 10 minutes for another train to Sandgate. The bus leaves 4 minutes after the train is supposed to arrive, and thus, I missed the bus. There was no way I was going to wait over 40 minutes for the bus, so I caught a cab. Arrrg! I hate Brisbane public transport!

In other, non-ranty news, I applied for my first job today! Amazing, isn't it? Being somewhat disappointed by a lot of the jobs i have found on job networks, I decided to Google for a Python job on a whim, and found a position for a Python developer in Milton, which would be fantastic. The work looks quite diverse and I think I satisfy pretty much all of the requirements, both essential and desirable. I can't believe I've actually been positively motivated to apply for a job! :) Now I just have to a) hope that I get it and b) hope that the money is ok (they don't specify, so that remains to be seen).

posted at: 23:55 | keywords: Life, Rants, Work | permanent link to this entry

Here we go again. <waits for the global groans of dread to abate and, failing that, continues the rant anyway> That's right. I can't sleep again. What's new?

Although I am slowly recovering, I'm still sick, so my body needs the sleep more than ever. I am thus trying to oblige it by ensuring, with almost fundamentalist religious observance, that I go to bed early and allow for as much sleep as possible. On Saturday night, I slept for a total of about 13 hours, despite a one hour period between 4 and 5AM within which I could not get back to sleep. I was greatly relieved, knowing that I was definitely on the mend and that my body was using all the sleep it could get. Tonight (technically, last night), I went to bed early with high hopes of another great sleep. As usual, it was far too much to hope. I've laid in bed now for over five hours. I've possibly dozed briefly in that time, but I don't think I've properly slept yet. My brain, in its infamous, infinitely lacking wisdom, has decided (the following precipitating thick, venemous cynicism), "Ooo! I'm too good for sleep! Now, I'm going to spin around thinking about all sorts of random, unnecessary crap (such as this blog entry, although I'll do that around 3:30AM when I'm thoroughly sick of myself). Meanwhile, body, you can lie there feeling exhausted, uncomfortable and sick, but you shall not bother to override me and force Jamie into sleep. We do need sleep - it's very important right now if Jamie wants to get well - but feh, we won't bother to sleep anyway, will we? Nooo! Look at me! I'm so accursedly stupid! Everyone have a laugh!"

I am sooo amazingly, unbelievably, utterly, absolutely, incredibly, godforsakenly, sublimely (ok, you can tell I used a thesaurus for that last one; it doesn't really make sense here at all) sick of this! Arhrhrhrhrhrhrhrhrhrhrhrhrhrhrhrg! Last time, I accused sleep of being the evil, conniving wretch that would not grace me with its services. This time, I won't do anything so creative. I officially hate my body!

Those of you who've been following this godforsaken blog will be aware that I have been prescribed some sleeping medication. Unfortunately, i haven't been to a chemist yet to pick it up. Also, i figured that deep, restful (r.e.m.) sleep would be extremely important while my body is recovering, so taking it would probably not be a good idea. I took some cold and flu 'night' tablets last night, which make some people sleepy, but ... not me! I wonder if I would sleep if someone hit me over the head with a hammer? Probably not. I'd just end up with brain damage for my trouble and still be awake, wondering what happened, always hearing a taunting, gleeful, sniggering little voice somewhere in the back of my now disfunctional mind saying, "Ha ha! You never got any sleep, even though you caused yourself brain damage trying! Nair nair ne nair nair! <sounds of bouncing up and down and incessant, insane cackling>"

posted at: 04:31 | keywords: Life, Rants | permanent link to this entry