contemplativeIt has been a remarkable year for me. I got past a lot of my fears. My Linux/Unix skills got to the point that I got a job offer because of them. My programming skills may be at that level too, but I need to have something to show off to prove they are at that level. On Monday
brad asked me if I wanted a job. That wasn't an offer, but encouragement to apply. Last year at about this time I was working on a program. I think I had it was very close to working, if it wasn't already working when I abandoned it. I picked up working on it recently, and to my surprise it has been fun. I think a lot of things are more enjoyable to me than they used to be. I think that perhaps the most important thing I have learned in the last year is that I have difficulty letting myself have fun. That if I am having fun, I either don't deserve it, or it means I am slacking off, and need to work harder. I even had some fun collecting electronics from my stash to donate to Free Geek. Something that would have been painful not long ago. Back to that little program I started working on again. I am in the process of cleaning it up. I didn't understand what would be needed to make it work when I started, and changed it only as much as I needed to to get the next critical component in. Overall I think it is a good design, but it would be hard for another programmer to follow how it works. I think a little more work, and I can distribute it, and use it in my resume.
Besides
brad, I also met lisa, and daveman692 at the damnportlanders LJ meetup. I found out about it via IRC from someone working with them on OpenID. There are pictures http://community.livejournal.com/damnportlanders/7129856.html#cutid1They all seem to be pretty cool in person, as did the damnportlanders crowd. I was I think the odd man out, neither one of regular LJ meetup, nor a member of the LiveJournal staff. I talked to Brad, and Lisa more than anyone else. I learned quite a bit. I found out that Lisa is into roller derby, and when I mentioned that I had a local LJ pal that I had never met in person who was into roller derby she asked what their skating name was, and I said "fire crotch". Turns out that
lisa knows her IRL, and says she is totally cool. She seemed surprised when I got her autograph for the LJ poster I am giving to my girlfriend snarble. I don't have any birthday plans. I hope this doesn't turn into a sad lonely birthday. Four people have told me that they would like to do stuff on Saturday with me, but none of them because of my birthday. At least one of them is for fun. I don't know what I am going to end up doing Saturday.
Oh one more thing. Two actually. I got a post card informing me of my upcoming highschool reunion, and I'm worried about if I will seem like a success, or a failure to the people I used to go to school with.
I think I should revise my info page. I'm not quite the same person I was when I wrote it.
