the back 40

Just a quick post to indulge my geekiness.

Went shopping with Ben to purchase some items that I could use to reorganize my desk so I could make room for my new server. I've got most things set up--except for the new UPS, but it's going to be a lengthy process to unplug everything and plug it back in.

Just to show how srsly geeky I am, here's a list of all the electronics on/in/around my desk:

• Two desktop systems (the new one and my Linux box)
  
• Two laptops (mine and the one from work)
  
• A four-system KVM switch
• 20" flat-panel monitor
  
• 500 GB external drive
• External CD/DVD drive (for my laptop)
  
• Multi-function printer/fax/copier
• Two DSL modems
• Two network switches (one load-balancing)
• A four-port ethernet hub
• A four-port USB hub
• Boston Acoustics speaker system (one sub-woofer, two satellites)
• Cell phone w/charger
• iPod w/charger
• A desk lamp
• A lava lamp
• A cordless phone
• Keyboard (corded)
• Mouse (cordless)
• Tablet input device (corded) and pen (cordless)
  
• An eight-outlet UPS
• Two surge-protecting power strips

It is at this point I realize that it's probably a good thing I don't want to have kids, because I'm probably sterile after sitting here for an hour. Maybe after I get the UPS set up, I'll take a picture to show you.

Of course, to any thieves who have perked up at the sheer immenseness of the tech list, I'd like to point out that most of the equipment is elderly and never was top-of-the-line to begin with. It isn't worth the gasoline you'd burn driving out here to lift the stuff. Plus, it'd make me very pissed off. (I will find you.)

war and peace, the last ten years

Srsly (which is my new catchphrase), I've not been posty for a long time. I have been busy adjusting to functioning like a normal person again--getting up in the morning, wearing shoes, leaving the house for several hours a day.... you know. Here's a week-by-week recap (in short form) of what's been upping with me.

Thanksgiving, Cedar Rapids, IA
Had Turkey Day at my brother's with his family and my folks. We've got it refined into a high art of labor distribution for cooking. My jobs are the ones that require thickening agents: pies and gravy. Made two pumpkin and two banana cream pies. They turned out pretty good, even though my youngest niece had to "help" me make them. Well, no one complained as we were snarfing them down.

Dave left on Friday to go hunting with his brother, so my folks brought me home. I plugged in my iPod and, being my father's daughter, we had plenty of oldies to sing along with.

All in all, had a very nice time.

First week of work, Rochester, MN
Started the new job on the Monday after Thanksgiving. I am now officially cubed. Actually, it's not that bad as far as cubes go, and I'm at the end, so I have a real wall on one side (and a coat rack, for some reason). I sit with a group of IT programmers. Their managers are across the hall from me, and they've been very helpful in making me feel welcome and answering my stupid questions.

The fluorescent lights in that room are quite terrible, so the programmer next to me had disabled the lights above us some time ago. I had my cube lights on, but they hurt my eyes so bad that I was actually wearing my glasses to work. So, I bought a lamp at Target and brought it in--much to the amusement of all. (Wait 'til they see the desk lamp and the fan.)

On my first day, a couple of classmates and a former teammate of mine stopped by to say hi. I also learned that two of the technical writers are guys I worked with at IBM. (And, I later found out that the office manager is married to a guy I used to work with, so it's a small world.) I got my company-issued laptop, an HP Compaq 6710b running Windows XP. I've been trying to get used to using a touchpad instead of a trackpoint. And, since I've been using Vista for the last six months, getting used to XP again.

Got my first problem report (PR) on Wednesday. Apparently, the help desk people weren't supposed to be assigning them to me yet because I'm new, but this one (and several others since) slipped through. It's been frustrating not to know what to do to help someone, but on the other hand, it really got me in the deep end of the pool with SharePoint.

I spent most of the week filling out paperwork, getting my system set up, and trying to figure out what's going on. The worst part has been the fact that there's no one to train me in--my predecessor left about a month before I got there, so I've had to figure out a lot of stuff on my own.

As a bit of perspective, I was able to print on the second day. When I started at IBM, it took three months.

Second week of work, Chicago, IL
Got up at 3:30 AM on Monday to catch the 6 AM flight to Chicago. Took my suitcase on the L (plus side, no one could sit next to me), lugged it up two flights of stairs to the street level ("L" does not stand for "elevated"), and dragged it three blocks to the Sears Tower, where SPSS headquarters is located. Fortunately, one of the managers across the hall was on the same flight, so he helped me figure out how to get in--and it wasn't easy. I think the security plan there is to just confuse the would-be bombers into giving up. It didn't seem too secure to me, but hey, we're safe if we go through the motions.

I got set up in an empty cube on the 12th floor, and my teammate (yeah, there's just the two of us so far) Lizzie came up to meet me and show me some of the applications we support. A few hours later, my boss, Rich, got in from Boston, so I got to meet him for the first time too. Both of them are very cool, smart, and fun--I like them a lot! We had a meeting most of the afternoon, and they showed me around and introduced me to some people I'll be working with. Then, we went out to eat at Boston Blackie's, and I had an awesome mushroom burger and a Guinness (it restores!).

Lizzie escorted me to Union Station to catch my train for the burbs (I think she was afraid I'd get lost, which was a real probability), where my Upgrading SharePoint class was being held. Unfortunately, the line was so long for buying tickets that I missed the train (by like a minute), so I had to wait an hour for the next one. (I guess I could have hopped the train and paid the conductor, but that was WAY too complicated for this farm girl.) It was kind of nice to just sit and do nothing after such a busy day.

It was about 10:30 PM by the time I got to the hotel--and then they turned out to not have a reservation for me. The clerk keeped looking up things in the system, until finally I just asked her to give me a room and I'd get it straightened out later. I left off several adjectives that I said in my head--many of which started with "f." ("Can you just <pause> give me a <pause> room and I can <pause> get it <pause> straightened out <pause> later?")

Spent the next three days in class. It was okay, but it could have been better--we went over a lot of "duh" stuff. The best part was meeting the other students. They were all nice, normal people, and they made me feel less insecure about SharePoint. It was kind of a we're-all-in-this-together sort of thing. One was a guy who grew up in St. Paul and is now living in Chicago. We had a fun BSing session about Minnesota over lunch one day.

On Thursday after class was over, I shared a cab to O'Hare with a guy who works at Wells Fargo in Des Moines. We had a nice chat, which made the ride seem much shorter. When we got there, I went to the self-service check-in, and as I retrieved my boarding pass from the machine, my eye caught several instances of "AM," where there should have been PMs instead. A closer examination showed that my flight had been cancelled. (There was a storm coming in, and apparently, the Rochester airport shut down.)

I whipped out my handy-dandy laptop and my oldy-goldy credit card, connected to the non-free wireless network, and booked a hotel room. I don't know anything about hotels around O'Hare, so I picked one within five miles that was under $100 a night. It wasn't in a great part of town, but it wasn't that bad either. I ordered a real Chicago deep-dish pizza delivered from Lou Malnati's Pizzeria. (I highly recommend partaking if you get the chance.)

I was just about to go to bed around 10:30 PM, when someone started pounding loudly on my door, and a woman's voice bellered, "Jack, open the door!" I froze for a moment, wondering what to do. Then, I put on my pants, while the pounding continued, and went to the door. I couldn't see much through the peep hole--I could tell there was someone there, but I couldn't see her. So, I opened the door a few inches and looked out. I'm guessing I couldn't see her because of the glare--the woman was apparently going for new heights of "bling" in her fashion statement. When she saw me, she kinda freaked out and almost went running down the hall. I said, politely, "Uh, I think you've got the wrong room." She just backpedaled away. After I closed the door and refastened the security accoutrements, it occurred to me that I may have just had a run-in with a genuine Lady of the Night. While the entire episode was rather unsettling, it did make me like less of a rube.

Got up, packed up, and went down to the lobby at 4 AM to catch the shuttle back to O'Hare. Two couples were also waiting. Turned out they were both going to Cancun. It made me feel real positive about going back to Minnesota.

The return home was rather uneventful. However, I slept like total crap the whole time I was in Chicago, so I sacked out pretty much the whole weekend.

Third week of work, Rochester, MN
At some point during this last week, I became mostly adjusted to the new job. It's easier to get up in the morning, and for the first time in I-don't-know-how-long, I actually don't dread going in to work. The days go by pretty quickly. My cube gets VERY warm in the afternoon, so there's been a few times where it's been touch and go, but then I just get up and go get coffee or something. (We get free soda and coffee, so there is never any shortage of caffeine. The soda fridge is just on the other side of my wall. The coffee is in the reception area, so that's a longer walk.)

When I get home in the evening, I'm tired, but I don't feel like my soul was sucked dry during the course of the day. And, I don't feel guilty about watching TV or reading a book. I actually enjoy my evenings instead of trying to muster up the ambition to work some more.

After several PRs--and a few of them doozies--I feel a lot more comfortable with SharePoint and my job duties. So, I think I'm getting the hang of it.

Got my Christmas present from Dave already. It's a new server! (Yeah, we have a geeky marriage.) So, I've been spending today getting it set up. I have a MSDN license, which means free software from Microsoft, so I loaded Windows Server 2003 on it and am getting it ready for installing SharePoint 2003. I decided to load SQL Server first, and I've been typing this while waiting for Service Pack 4 to download so I can burn it to CD and install it.


So, that's the short story. Hope you're all caught up now.

making words towards you

Gosh, I'm all bloggy today!

I wanted to tell you about a conversation I had with my friend Brain. (A little background: Early into our relationship, Brain and I noticed that we tend to say the same things at the same time and find the same things funny--so, we decided that we're the same person. I recently asked Dave and Ben if they're ever thought about WHY Brain and I are the same person. Maybe we have the same kind of brain damage? (No pun intended.))

Brain is also a former Nodakian and recovering English major, and we often talk about language. Recently, he wondered if there was a word for "becoming something you never wanted to become." He mentioned this to a girl in his class, and she posted about it in her blog. So, I asked Brain if there was a word for "a person who tries to get mentioned in other people's blogs so they can then post about it." Take a look at Brain's suggestion and see what you think!

yet another hobby

On our way back from Minneapolis last night, Dave and I stopped by our favorite book store. I found a couple of drawing instruction books on the clearance rack. They were super cheap and looked pretty decent, so I bought them. Dave didn't say a thing, even though we both know that it won't likely stick.

My most recent previous hobby was sculpting, but I'm at an impasse there. I really need instruction to get comfortable with the material, but I can't find lessons anywhere here in Rochester. Maybe in the Spring I can find something in the Cities that I can drive up for once a week.

The nice thing about drawing is that it's pretty cheap to take up. And, if it sticks, there are all kinds of places here that offer lessons. Anyway, it'd be a nice break from the computer.

outputs and inputs

So, Friday, I went in for my drug test. (I'm supposed to find out if I passed or not today or tomorrow.) Naturally, I woke up with a full bladder and figured there was going to be no way I'd be able to hold it, so I went. On the way to the testing facility, I slammed a couple of Diet Cokes, thinking that the fluid and caffeine (a diuretic) would work in my favor.

The lady gave me a cup and made a mark about 3/4" from the bottom. "We need this much." Okay. So, I go into the little bathroom and proceed to furnish them with a sample. I do what I can, and I check the cup. I've only got about 1/2" of fluid in the cup. Damn. So, I try again. Nothing. I'm like the Mojave Desert inside. Now, my usual trick when this happens is to run water--but I've been expressly prohibited from doing this because I might somehow use it to tamper with the sample.

I keep trying, futilely, until the lady knocks on the door and asks me if I'm done. I abashedly present her with my under-achievement. She looks and, to my relief, says, "Oh, that's probably enough." It was enough to get a temperature reading and to fill the vial to be sent off to the lab. Phew!

Naturally, when I got home, I went for what felt like a gallon.

Yesterday, we had lunch at Olive Garden with Ben and Brain to celebrate his birthday and my jobishness. It was good to see them, and we had a fun waiter. Then, we drove up to Minneapolis to go to our friend Ross's annual dessert party.

Now, Dave and I are trying a low glycemic index (GI) diet, and dessert parties are definitely on the avoid list. However, we decided that after a month of dedicated service to the diet, we deserved a bit of a splurge (and, the plan we're following allows for the occasional indulgence).

It was a very excellent party--lots of fun people and the desserts were boss! There was a lovely flan with warm caramel sauce, baklava, brownies, and chocolate chip & walnut cookies. Karla brought a severely tasty banana cake, and Sue brought banana bread worthy of a grandmother. (I guess they went bananas for the party! Ba-dum bum.) Someone even brought lefse, which Sue buttered and dusted with brown sugar. John brought a fruit and cheese plate. I noticed that the kids were helping themselves to the fruit and had very little of the desserts. Weird kids.

Anyway, it was a nice time, and we got to see the bar that Ross built in the basement. Most of the non-breeders hung out down there. I spent most of my time upstairs, though, so I could sit down and not aggravate my arthritic ankle. It worked out fine because all the kids are really well behaved. I don't really mind kids when they aren't screaming.

Checked the scale this morning, and it seems no damage was done. Yay! We might make it through the holidays after all!

paperwork

Got the first pieces of paperwork for the new job today. I signed forms giving my projected employer permission to violate my privacy in any way they see fit. I'm supposed to be getting my employment packet soon, and then I get to go pee in a cup.

I suppose I should feel all up-in-arms about the whole thing, but I don't really care. It'd be nice to get some dirt on them in exchange, but I figure I'll be finding THAT out soon enough--I interpolate well. :-) It's the pee test that worries me--not because I've recently consumed any illicit chemicals, but because (as my paranoid Nodakian self) I'm afraid I'll get a false positive, and then I'll have a hassle on my hands. There's nothing a Nodakian hates as much as a hassle. (The state motto is "Peace, quiet, and beer," although probably not in that order.) I think it's been at least a month since I had a poppyseed muffin. Haven't had any cold medication.

i can has job?

Well, it's mostly official. I have a job! It's at SPSS here in Rochester. They make statistical analysis software, but I'll be working on internal projects. They're planning to set up a lot of collaboration sites with Microsoft SharePoint. (Interestingly, my husband Dave is a tech sales guy for IBM's competitive product, WebSphere Portal Server.)

Anyway, I really wanted this job. It's like geek with social skills, so I get to use both degrees. (Yay me!) I was somewhat surprised they'd take me considering I don't have any experience with Microsoft technologies. I start Monday, November 26th. So, anyway. That's it.

catchup (and ice cream)

In December 2006, I quit my job at IBM to go back to school full time and finish my Computer Science degree. I graduated in May 2007. After spending the summer and most of Fall half-heartedly looking for a job, I think I may have finally found what I was looking for. Early days yet, but I'll keep you "posted" (ba-dum bum). My husband, Dave, still works for IBM (he's in technical sales).

Dave and I have a lovely house on the Zumbro River, about 10 miles north of Rochester, MN. We've lived here since September 1998. We moved to the area from Fargo, ND, in July 1996.

We brought with us two cats, Scottie and Trouble. Scottie died in December 2000. We got another cat, Mem, in February 2001. In the summer of 2002, a scraggly, half-starved, young orange cat started hanging around the yard. We took him in and named him Toby. Everybody tells me our cats aren't normal--I already knew that. Trouble is convinced he's human, Mem is pretty much a big dumb dog, and Toby is a complete menace.

Anyway, here's a good picture of them. (The only reason they're that close together is because they think they're getting catnip).

Trouble (15), Toby (6), and Mem (7)

manifesto

Lately, I've been spending my mornings (read "early afternoons") perusing my friends' blogs to see what's going on with them. One of these bloggish friends pointed out that maybe these people would be interested in what's going on with me. I realized that I was, in fact, interested in finding out what's going on with me--because I'm never really sure myself. I figured if I could read a blog about me, I would then know what I'm doing. (If this doesn't make any sense to you in the context of me, then you apparently don't know me very well, do you?)

So, that's what this blog is about.