iWork

Hey.

So I had my first day today, which went well. The job isn't exactly what I expected, but that's not totally bad. It's less people and more hands-on work, but that's fine at my stage in things.

It's pretty hectic, but considering what I'm used to that's not even a small concern. My office will be near my responsibilities, meaning my office is underground in the parkade, but that will be O.K. After all, between the fluorescent lights and the lack of windows, my old cube may as well have been underground anyway. The dust will take getting used to, but I will get an air filter or something.

More important is that it looks like the work will be interesting, and I like the people I'm going to be working with. I got to meet my boss today (previously had only spoken over the phone) and he seems to be a really good guy. I met my area manager in my interview, and today was paired up with one of my peers, the parking manager for a different building. All of these people are easy to talk to, accepting, and patient. I'm looking forward to my time with them.

All in all I'm still getting used to everything and it will be a learning curve, but it's going to work out fine. By the time I have an apartment down here I will be an old hat at this.

That's it for now, I'm exhausted and need a nap.

-iRob

Hope

So at this particular moment, in addition to being between jobs, I'm also of 'no fixed address'. Woke up early at Dr. Haggis & Veritate's, and have 2 hours 43 min before I'm due to start a job that I have no experience in.

I'm pretty nervous - If for *any* reason this job doesn't work out I'm hooped, but I guess I just have to make sure it works out. I'm usually fairly good at most things I try to do, and I'm going to give this one all I've got.

Wish me luck.

-iRob

"As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain; and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality."
-Albert Einstein

Unemployed

Hi team,

So for anyone left unaware, I'm currently between jobs. Not in a worrisome way, as I have a new job in Calgary that I start on Monday, but since my last day at Dell was yesterday, it's a bit unnerving.

There is something surreal about leaving a job you've been at for a couple years. People crawl out of the woodwork to tell you how much you will be missed and how enjoyable you were to work with. I'm still getting used to the idea that I'm not going to see most of those people again. Oh - I'll try to keep in touch, but everyone always does. I will be very busy with my new job/apartment/life fairly soon, and it will be weirder and harder to email my old work friends. I know that and so do they. The people I see outside of work are different, and that will be much easier.

So since our apartment is ready in June and my new job starts tomorrow, I'm relying on the charity of many good friends, Dr.Haggis and Veritate, sith@heart and A., Petranef, Laughing Magpie and Dr. Smith, Kr and Sa, Chris, and J's mom, and many others who have all given me extremely generous offers for places to be while I wait and work. Without all of your support this would be a great deal more difficult and expensive.

It will be hard enough with living out of a suitcase and being away from J for these 8.5 weeks. The longest we've been apart was the 3 months when she first came to Edmonton. The idea was that I would stay in Calgary and work, but I (very fortunately) was laid off and came to be with her in Edmonton. She will join me in June when her job starts in Calgary and the apartment is ready.

So I guess I should consider myself fortunate at this point to be between jobs. After all, the new job is very exciting and a great deal more challenging. Besides, after tomorrow I will be of 'no fixed address' (Gah!)

-iRob

"When men are pure, laws are useless; when men are corrupt, laws are broken."
Benjamin Disraeli

And the winner is:

Dr. Haggis!

The answer to yesterday's post is....

Zest (r) Tangerine Mango Twist (tm) scent Moisturizing Body Wash, with Energizing Refreshment.

-iRob

"Lather up a clean, fresh feeling."
-Zest moisturizing body wash

Worlds scariest ingredients

Hey,

Let's play a game. What is this?:

Ingredients: Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Fragrance, Sodium Lauroamphoacetate, Citric Acid, Sodium Benzoate, Polyquaternium-10, Disodium EDTA, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Orange #4.

I don't really know what's scarier: The eleven sylable monstrosity 'Methylchloroisothiazolinone' or the simple-yet-ominous 'Orange #4'.

-iRob

"If this is coffee, please bring me some tea; but if this is tea, please bring me some coffee."
-Abraham Lincoln

Neologism

Have you noticed how many new words are present these days? Specifically I refer to taking two words and combining them in interesting or unusual ways. I submit the following examples

Man + Panties = Manties (NSFW)
Giant + Enormous = Ginormous
Web + Log = Blog
Idiot + Democracy = Idiocracy

These word combinations are called neologisms. Pulled from the Wiki entry: "...is a word, term, or phrase which has been recently created ("coined") — often to apply to new concepts, to synthesize pre-existing concepts, or to make older terminology sound more contemporary."

I submit for your approval: Smacuracy. (Smack + Accuracy)

-iRob

"I pwned him with a high degree of smacuracy! w007."
-iRob

Glands

I'm pretty tired.

In fact, I'm always pretty tired. It seems that I never sleep well, that I get up groggy and am ready for bed early. I'm always the first one nodding off at a party, and I'm always the last one awake when camping or overnighting. And I've been this way for a very long time.

Apparently I have an excuse.

I went to the doctor on Wednesday to get checked out. He asked when the last time was that I had had a proper physical, and any answer that starts with "Ummm.. It would maybe have been... sometime in nineteen.." is the wrong answer. So I got all poked and prodded and checked out, etc.

He sent me for some tests, and checked off about 1/3 of the crazy sheet of 'what to test my blood' for. (Gave me the works, apparently.) They said that they would only call me if there was something abnormal and they needed to discuss it.

Then they called me. Apparently there was something abnormal and they needed to discuss it. (!)

I have a thyroid problem. What that problem is, they don't know, but apparently the way that they test for thyroid issues is by measuring how much thyroid activation hormone my pituitary gland is producing. Apparently the 'high' end of normal is '4.1'. I am at '6.66'. (The devil gland!) Don't ask what the numbers mean because I don't know myself.

What that means in general terms is that my brain is saying to my gland, 'More! No, really! MORE MORE MORE!', and usually it would do that because it's not receiving the hormone it is ordering. (And a side salad.)

The doctor gave me two possible explanations: One is that my immune system is bored, and is treating the gland itself like a disease. (as in: it is producing antibodies that are harming it now, and will eventually destroy it completely.) The other possibility is that there is something wrong with my thyroid gland. (A cyst, growth, cancer, etc.) That would be somewhat more serious, although I'm assured that it is a) Unlikely, and b) Treatable. (Still makes me nervous.)

Since it is overwhelmingly likely to be 'door number one', he prescribed me some medicine. I have an ultrasound in two weeks to be on the 'sure' side, but we're going to approach it as if it's an immune system issue.

So now I have a small bottle of pills. The advantages of this are 1. it's 99%+ effective, 2. The side effects are generally minimal, and 3. The drugs are very inexpensive. The downsides are 1. The directions as provided by the doctor and elaborated on by the pharmacist are, "Take one daily, for ever."

Blah.

But more 'blah' to be dopey and grumpy and not be able to concentrate. Doubly 'blah' to not know why. If this is something treatable I will be in a happy place, regardless of cost and inconvenience. It would be nice not to be exhausted after a normal day of work, especially considering the frequency I experience 'crazy, stupid, busy, stressful, annoying, 'kill me now' days at work.

It takes 4-6 weeks of this pill before I can expect to notice anything, and in 2.5 months I get checked again and have levels adjusted if needed. And then fairly infrequently for the rest of my life.

I'll let you know.

-iRob

"I got the bill for my surgery. Now I know what those doctors were wearing masks for,"
-James H. Boren

Brotherhood

I don't know who this is, but they rock.

It's a little hard to make it out from my hastily -snapped cameraphone picture, but back in December I managed to catch this outside the farmers' market a block from our apartment.

It's the Rebel Insignia, in the window of a blue Dodge truck. Most likely it's someone I know, and I would be willing to bet that they spend time on the boards, but in reality I don't know who it could possibly be. In fact, it's even possible it's one of the men in white. (And women. Yes, I can hear you, sith@heart.)

Seeing this on a random vehicle in a parking lot gave me an instant feeling of community with the stranger who drives this car. It's amazing how Fandom brings people together. This is someones little way of saying to the world - I'm a geek. I'm proud of it.

It's not Star Wars, but I really think I'm going to order that sticker I wanted for my hood. (in White) After all, it's my car, and I'm a geek, and I'm proud of it.

-iRob

"The dead might as well try to speak to the living as the old to the young."
-Willa Cather

iBought

iReplaced my iPod which iBroke because iDumb.

-iRob

"Everyone has a purpose in life. Perhaps yours is watching television."
-David Letterman

Quack!

Tourist - What the heck was that?! Something just ran past here in a blur!!
Farmer - Don't mind that. It was a duck with four legs. They're super fast.
Tourist - Why does it have four legs?
Farmer - We breed them like that so we can get extra drumsticks. It's much cheaper.
Tourist - Wow. So how do they taste?
Farmer - Don't really know, nobody can catch one.

-iRob

"Quack!"
-Stumpy the four legged duck.