Should-be-more-often-than-monthly-but-hasn't-been Update
Take 2 on a somewhat haphazard update on what's going on in my life these days; I've not posted in too long again, and it's been even longer since I made a public post.
* While I'm still officially a full-time salaried employee of Virginia Tech (and therefore the state of VA), I'm effectively working two half-time jobs. Nominally, 10 AM - 2 PM I'm now the sysadmin for CGIT (Center for Geospatial Information Technology), and 3 PM - 7 PM I'm still the sysadmin for CWT (Center for Wireless Telecommunications). This has led to rearranging my sleep and eating schedules considerably, and I'm not really completely adjusted yet.
CWT is basically between grants this summer, and operating on a reduced staff and very few grad students. CGIT, on the other hand, is growing fast, and while it has funding on a number of interesting projects and quite a few grad students it is crammed into a small space with limited staff. At least they have decent computers.
Basically, I've got not quite twice the work, more than twice the stress, all for the same pay I wasn't happy with to start with. Beats not being paid, though; I have to keep telling myself that.
* This spring has been quite bad for allergies, and working half my time on the top floor of an antique building with no air conditioning is *not* helping.
* I've gotten quite heavily involved with FF-XI (Final Fantasy, the MMORPG). I'm online for an hour or so most nights, and most of the evening a few nights a week. This has basically replaced all my computer (Civ3, ToME, etc.) and console (GTA, .HACK, Gauntlet, etc.) gaming. Despite the monthly fee, by not being tempted to buy other computer games or go see movies I think I'm actually spending less to keep myself entertained.
* I still play in and run the "old school" roleplaying campaigns that have been running for a while, two nights a week.
* Despite getting a lot more exercise at work these days, the fact I'm eating worse is more than compensating. I have two newish kitchen gadgets that I hope will help: a crock pot and a shaved-ice maker.
The intent on the crock pot is to chop and prepare the night before, throw into pot and program on my way out in the morning, and have dinner ready when I come home. I haven't actually gotten that far yet, but I did pick up one of the new Banquet Crock-Pot Classics all in one bag meals, chicken w/ potatoes & veggies, and make it Sunday; I was quite pleased with the results.
The idea with the snow cone maker is to replace much of my ice cream habit with snow cones. Ice is of course fat and calorie free, and you can get syrup mixes that are sugar-free. I'm also thinking that you could get store-brand sugar-free flavored gelatin and make it thinned down for a syrup, which would be much cheaper. This is sort of working, but the extra hassle and noise means it's not an ideal replacement for late-night snacking.
* Although I had been expecting to spend some vacation visiting family this summer, this is turning out to be both more important and more complicated than hoped. My remaining grandma isn't doing well, and travel plans elsewhere in my family have been rearranged, among other things. The gas prices these days don't help, either.
I'm sure there should be more, but this is what bubbles to the top that I can talk about.
* While I'm still officially a full-time salaried employee of Virginia Tech (and therefore the state of VA), I'm effectively working two half-time jobs. Nominally, 10 AM - 2 PM I'm now the sysadmin for CGIT (Center for Geospatial Information Technology), and 3 PM - 7 PM I'm still the sysadmin for CWT (Center for Wireless Telecommunications). This has led to rearranging my sleep and eating schedules considerably, and I'm not really completely adjusted yet.
CWT is basically between grants this summer, and operating on a reduced staff and very few grad students. CGIT, on the other hand, is growing fast, and while it has funding on a number of interesting projects and quite a few grad students it is crammed into a small space with limited staff. At least they have decent computers.
Basically, I've got not quite twice the work, more than twice the stress, all for the same pay I wasn't happy with to start with. Beats not being paid, though; I have to keep telling myself that.
* This spring has been quite bad for allergies, and working half my time on the top floor of an antique building with no air conditioning is *not* helping.
* I've gotten quite heavily involved with FF-XI (Final Fantasy, the MMORPG). I'm online for an hour or so most nights, and most of the evening a few nights a week. This has basically replaced all my computer (Civ3, ToME, etc.) and console (GTA, .HACK, Gauntlet, etc.) gaming. Despite the monthly fee, by not being tempted to buy other computer games or go see movies I think I'm actually spending less to keep myself entertained.
* I still play in and run the "old school" roleplaying campaigns that have been running for a while, two nights a week.
* Despite getting a lot more exercise at work these days, the fact I'm eating worse is more than compensating. I have two newish kitchen gadgets that I hope will help: a crock pot and a shaved-ice maker.
The intent on the crock pot is to chop and prepare the night before, throw into pot and program on my way out in the morning, and have dinner ready when I come home. I haven't actually gotten that far yet, but I did pick up one of the new Banquet Crock-Pot Classics all in one bag meals, chicken w/ potatoes & veggies, and make it Sunday; I was quite pleased with the results.
The idea with the snow cone maker is to replace much of my ice cream habit with snow cones. Ice is of course fat and calorie free, and you can get syrup mixes that are sugar-free. I'm also thinking that you could get store-brand sugar-free flavored gelatin and make it thinned down for a syrup, which would be much cheaper. This is sort of working, but the extra hassle and noise means it's not an ideal replacement for late-night snacking.
* Although I had been expecting to spend some vacation visiting family this summer, this is turning out to be both more important and more complicated than hoped. My remaining grandma isn't doing well, and travel plans elsewhere in my family have been rearranged, among other things. The gas prices these days don't help, either.
I'm sure there should be more, but this is what bubbles to the top that I can talk about.