(warning: particularly old content) I don't ask for it to make sense 
(sniffle) I chose... poorly. After a few days of feeling just fine, I thought that maybe I'd be okay to start sorting through house pictures in preparation for catching the Residences section of zoggins up to date. I started getting a bit choked up when I stumbled across some pictures of Jim and me from a 2002 party at Max's, but I was basically doing okay until I hit the pictures I took late last spring, full of sunlight and Jim and Lars and Liam. I'm not sure I can finish working on it today, after all. Most wonderful but unwonderful find: Lars, in his favorite perch. Whenever he was upstairs and heard me coming up, he'd run and jump up to greet me.
I miss last year intensely.
Finished. Maybe now I'll stop dreading looking through all those pictures of the house Jim and I shared, as I should no longer have any desire to sort them...
Yep. The Core was a pretty dreadful movie. Good thing I was in the mood to fuck around with site stuff anyway. Usability study has been set underway... I just need to think about my frigging presentation on Wednesday.
I just almost typed "that's finals week for you," and then realized that it was to be quite possibly the last time ever that I would type in something along those lines. It freaking boggles the mind. I've been in college for eight years straight! I can't not have a finals week coming up after this quarter! It's been a staple of my life for nearly a decade!
Wow.
I went to go see Revenge of the Sith last night, marking the first time of the three Star Wars prequels that I did not bother to go on opening day. I liked it, better than I like Return of the Jedi, but would have liked it oh so very much more if they'd actually included some, you know, actors. I'm not dissing in this complaint on the actors and actresses in the film, because really, look at Mark Hamill. No, I am dissing on the CG. Would it have killed them to hire some fucking extras and put costumes on them? I thought I would scream every time any clone soldier was on screen (particularly the one that had an actor's head grafted on to a CG body).
That said, the single best lightsaber duel in all six movies (Anakin vs. Obi-Wan at the end) made my fucking night.
I'll admit it, I cried at the end. Something about the scene in A New Hope where Luke stands looking out at the moons has always struck me (I had a puzzle of it as a child, and was completely obsessed with it), and to have Episode 3 end with an echo of that scene seemed in some way to nail a part of my childhood closed. Sniffle.
Well, fuck me. I just heard one of my very favorite Type O Negative songs on the radio. I've never heard Type O Negative on the radio. Ever. Today might just rock.
(radiant smile)
I had such a good day at work today I can't believe it. I was there a long time, and several parts of it were temporarily frustrating. But it was still awesome. And I loved it. I fixed several problems, helped my lead in multiple ways, got to spend lots of time with the three people besides my lead who are rapidly becoming my favorite people, and ate some delicious rhubarb pie and drink a delicious beer partway through the afternoon. There was other good stuff, but those four are what really stand out.
Yay not being in a bad mood!
"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear FOOOLLLLLL, happy birthday to you!" You've figured your shit out, and I'm only 25. I'm so beyond proud of you.
I need to stop getting home at like 11 pm and falling into bed. I think that means I need to have less to do. Two weeks until I have my nice shiny Master's degree and can just do the work thing for a while. The work-research-school triumvirate is killing my head a bit at the moment.
2:30 am and long past time for me to be asleep. But I've got more stuff done now than I did at 9:30 pm when I finally got home, and hey, I'll take what I can get.
And oh, how amusing that as I lie in bed exhausted but too keyed up to sleep, the music should seep into my ears...
(humming)
My mind is racing, filled with lists
of things to do and things I've done
Another sleepless night's begun
Work went fine, I was able to go and I did useful stuff and all that. But finding out that Brandon won't be able to lend me any of his time to talk until at least Thursday has me down beyond down; he's the only person I could possibly really talk to about what's on my mind, with the possible slight exception of Jeff... who's also busy (John, I could talk to you, but I'm not sure I'd be very coherent over email). I got Outlook set up at work today; I suspect that's what tipped me over the edge... I'll be glad when it's next week and I'm not period-depressing like mad.
As long as I can go to work tomorrow, I think I'm A-OK. Today was lovely, spent at the Streetfair with Brandon and Craig, followed by productive paper writing, dinner with Craig, and then meeting back up with Brandon for beer at the Ale House. It's been rainy and sunny and gorgeous all day, I got sunburnt, and I have four new pairs of earrings... not to mention that I was able to spend all yesterday programming in pajamas, and spent my Thursday and Friday shopping for random things (mostly clothes). I think I'm in a good mood. As long as I can go to work tomorrow...
On day three of my enforced four day weekend. I'm restless; it's one thing to relax when I want to relax, but this is quite different. I suppose it means I'll have ample time to work on my paper and the like that are due this week. I just had to rip myself away from Kitten War because it was making me want a cat too badly—I started looking through shelter Web sites before I forced myself to remember that there's no way I can look for cats until after I move. Holding pattern: that's the story of my life at the moment.
Not sure what else to do with myself this morning, I've been reading my latest blog find: Technical Careers @ Microsoft, written by one of MS's recruiters. I've learned all sorts of interesting things, but most of all, hot damn, no wonder I never got any pings back at all from applying to jobs through microsoft.com/careers/... Apparently the "careers" job site is only for people who are a year or more out of college. I was apparently "supposed" to be trying to go through the College Recruiting team. Who knew? I don't think I ever saw that explained anywhere on /careers/, so, well... poo. Ah well, knowledge gained for the next time...
I was going to start out the entry for today with this: (glee). And then I would have said something like this:
Hee! I did actual UA localization work today, for four different languages! I was only at work for a couple hours and still felt awesomely productive! Carla complimented me and made me so happy! I can't wait to go to work tomorrow and finish up the last language and get to do something else cool and go to lunch with people and (glee) (glee) (glee)!
Now, a few hours later, things have changed, and I'm not sure whether I'm angry or just annoyed or upset or freaked out or what. To summarize in OK to tell Teh Internet wording, there has been a cockup of just barely non-royal enough proportions so that I will still have a job. Emphasis on the future tense, for I do not technically have a job at the moment, through no fault of my own, nor will I likely have one for the next two days.
I'm trying to tell myself that this means that I've got nearly two full free days and I can go shopping and get some studying done and... and... it's not working.
Blah.
Well, given that I've got at least a half hour to kill, I figure I might as well do some talkin' (I was going to do some PHP stuff, but found I don't have the most recent version of some certain things on Takako, and became annoyed). I was mobbed with questions yesterday about how my first day of work went; I guess I forgot to explain that for the next few weeks, I'm on super-part-time schedule action, and in fact only worked 9-noon on Monday. Pretty much exactly enough time to figure out where stuff was, be philosophical and then annoyed and then philosophical again about not having network access, do a couple file checks (actual work, o_O), and then skim intranet stuff on someone else's account for an hour.
Today we were hoping to have lots to do (even with me sans network access), but vendors are sucking and so I've been here for two hours twiddling my thumbs. My lead (who I quite like) has been in a meeting since 10 am, my office mate and fellow contract worker (who I don't think I quite like) has been looking up insurance benefits for the half hour since she finished telling me what they did yesterday. Excitement R Us. I'm here until 3:30 pm today and suspect that I won't get a lot more done than I did yesterday. And me without programmy stuff to do, bother.
Something I thought about as I drove over this morning: it's fashionable, among my people, to hate Microsoft for its irritating products and its corporate nature and all manner of other sins, and I've been no exception at many various times. Yet I'm still indescribably proud to have been hired here, even through a contracting agency. I've woken up every morning for a few weeks now thinking "holy shit, I'm working for Microsoft," and it still gives me a thrill every damn time.
Today went fine. I'm exhausted. Sleep now. More tomorrow.
Oh, wouldn't you just know it. Night before I have to get up at 6:30 am to get my ass showered and across the lake by 9 am, and I'm finally getting to sleep around 2 am. I'd blame the paper and class presentation I've been working on this evening if I didn't know it's completely attributable to jitters about work starting tomorrow. I have to try to get some sleep and now.
I have a lot in my head at the moment, but can't seem to find the motivation to write it all down well. Yesterday was my last day working for the organization that had employed me for five years, seven months, and five days (not counting the six months I took away in Japan), and I'm feeling more than a bit down. I had a lovely last day, barring feeling so sniffly around lunchtime that I could barely talk; I got several last tasks done, mostly cleaned out my desk, and was treated to nearly everyone at the higher levels of the group coming by for cake and cupcakes.
The crowning piece to my day, however, was going out after work. Ben, Bryce, Jonah, Craig, Patrick, Brandon, and best of all, my manager David, left work early with me to go to Finn's for beer and good times. I've only seen David socially a very few times in the time I've worked with him, and really, never in the two years he's been my manager (this is overlooking the fact that work is essentially social—I've had more than enough good times with him just at work), so it was beyond a treat to have him come out and get drunk with us and give me a huge hug when we parted.
(sniffle) I'm so going to miss my people.
You smiled at me today, and went to brunch with me, and walked around Greenlake with me while I talked about research programming stuff, and read a book while I did laundry, and helped me make one of my most favorite dinners from the last five years.
Thanks, because I needed it.
Stuff has been signed. Tomorrow is my last day of work, to be followed by starting new job on Monday. Class goes on. My eyes, they spin.
I've started to turn my head to my goodbye email at work. I've been working here for over five years, watched every single person currently in the organization either get promoted or hired, and find myself unable to mentally untangle me from the community I've been so entrenched in and fond of for so long. I'm more than a little afraid that I'll outright start bawling on Friday. Hah.
Our group's presentation today went well, I got to have lunch downtown, went to class and did the smart girl thing, got more Leaving Soon stuff done at work, made it all the wy through the localization certificate class tonight without falling asleep, and spent a lovely lovely night at the Ale House with Brandon and Craig, eating chicken strips and drinking beer and being regaled with magic tricks by an old gentleman in a bowtie and tuxedo. Today has been, regardless of a few minor bumps, loverly. And now, with the sleeping.
No conference for me today—I had things to get done at work. There was only one localization-related thingie going on today, anyway, so I didn't miss much (yesterday, I went to a session on working abroad, the international technical communication special interest session, and a session on a image management database for multilingual document projects... that one was particularly sweet). But tomorrow morning at x_x early is my group's presentation about using wikis for collaborative work, followed by Beth's group talking about cross-cultural appeal in digital games, so I'm looking a little anxiously at the clock and it's being-past-1-am-ness.
I started cleaning out my desk today. I wanted to cry a little bit as I oscillated wildly about being sad to be going and being sad because I worry that no one will miss me and my work. A little ridiculous, but still. Anyway. Bedtime. I have so much to do this week that it makes my eyes cross, so I better try to advance the clock a little as I sleep.
First day of the conference kicked my ass. I'm exhausted. I'm going to bed.
How unexpected. I managed to get myself into a full sobbing fit tonight, based entirely on wanting some of my life with Jim back so badly I couldn't stand it. I've felt so adrift, the last week in particular, but the last five months in general, and so few of my comforting rituals of life are things that hadn't totally entwined with my five years with him. I miss him, to be certain, but what I missed so badly tonight was not him but rather a kitchen with a stereo, a cat on a chair and another winding around my ankles, eating Kraft mac and cheese and artichokes, talking about how much we looked forward to seeing a movie coming out the next week.
I spent the evening weeding the side flower beds. It's that lovely time of year when it's still daylight bright at 6pm, which is when I spilled out the door and began yanking at everything that had choked up the side. Bags of weeds and two hours later, I felt accomplished but exhausted and shoulder-sore... most likely, that tiredness is what allowed the crying to come out. Sigh.
Before that, I spent all day on the couch in sweatpants and a tshirt, PowerBook on my lap, programming research stuff. This was after spending most yesterday evening doing the same, and dreaming solutions to two problems as I slept. When the bug hits... I had no idea that I'd spent eight hours working on code until it was 5:30 pm out of nowhere. Obviously, I should have been a programmer. Oh wait! At least the recruiter that called me last week wanting me as a "PHP developer" thinks I already am! It boggles the mind.
Last night at Finn's was amusing, even if I called it an early evening: Ben seemed to get somewhere, for the first time, with the waitress, and any time at all that I can spend with The Fool is bonus and a half. The day was productively spent getting lots and lots of work stuff wrapped up... but I completely and utterly forgot, until about 9pm, that I was supposed to go meet my usability class partner at 1pm. I'm a little confused that she didn't email me going "WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU OMG," and more than a little stressed about losing the time, as I managed to also forget until about that time that I'm supposed to be spending a good portion of the beginning of next week at the 52nd Annual STC Conference. How I'm supposed to be at the conference and get to classes and work on usability project and do more work-wrap-up and do readings, not to mention everything else that I can't think of at the moment, isn't exactly clear at the moment. Obviously the solution is to not sleep.
I went out for a drink and nachos with fellow TJ student Rob on Thursday night. He's shifting slowly but surely into the political science department, which is where he should have gone in the first place, so I'm happy for him. We gossiped and I gave him boy advice and generally had a good evening... he reminded me that I should look up Mark and Carl, o TJ drinking buddies of yore. I wonder if I can dig up their emails.
Wednesday, the only person I seriously respect in my certificate class solicited my resume. I consider that a win. Class made me want to alternately rejoice that I nabbed a job out of the whole thing and despair, for I think budgets and schedules are so completely not my strong points as to be ludicrous.
Tuesday, I got my official job offer and made my offical acceptance and gave my official notice. That day was beyond surreal. That I'll be working at Microsoft, barring extreme weirdness, starting in just over a week, blows my head. I may dislike it beyond belief (Jim's whole last year weighs heavily on my mind), but that's the beauty of it being a short term contract position, and as much as my friends would and do turn their noses up, having worked as a Localization PM at Microsoft will give me a huge boost when I try to move my career forward in the localization industry. I may even come running back to the cozy embrace of the UW, when my contract is up, who knows? Or I may love it. I suppose I'll know more about that in the upcoming weeks. So yes, to clarify for people who have been confused (and there have been a few), I accepted a contract job at Microsoft starting basically omgnow, am quitting both my jobs at the UW, will work part time until I graduate in June, and then shift to full time for the remainder of my contract.
Heh. Brandon and Greg were trying to convince Karalee yesterday that a different manager should fire me every day next week (Greg accused me of being flippant in an excess of senioritis. I never!). I think if they do that, I'm going to unscrew the walls of my cubicle, Office Space style, and watch music videos loudly all day next Friday.
Life is spastically busy, what with the notice being given and the like. I promise to myself to actually settle down and say something in the next day or two. For now, though, I'm going to take my precious time and use it to sleep. I'm ridiculously tired lately. Boo.
(hyperventilate) OMG!
Hi Jen,
I've just emailed Randall to let him know we are able to work with the dates you've proposed below! Randall should be in touch with further details.
Looking forward to having you on board!
Thanks
Marguerite
Microsoft is offering me the contract position!
(racing around madly in circles)
I am in something approximating a good mood, and so I shall savor that, and never mind the rest of things. I got over a thousand songs rated, confirmed that I love my new iPod case, got to have dinner with Brandon, and am weirdly calm about the future for the first time in a couple days. Who knows how long that will last...
I'll get back to updating more about my life soon enough here... once things calm down a little bit. For now, some people have been wondering who I interviewed with last week, so here's the scoop: Microsoft and Worldlink Technologies. I know nothing more, and I'm off to try to get to sleep at a reasonable hour.
Today was for craps. Totally. Entirely. Even the bath and the nap in the sun in the grass and the Indian food (not in that order) have failed to really make me feel better. Finally deciding to throw in the towel and crawl in bed being followed immediately by finding that I managed to get dirt all over my sheets at some point really just put the whipped cream and cherry on the whole stupid stupid day. Boo.