a lot going on

most of my blog titles are something like "it's been a while" or "overdue update", etc. i like to do my blogging in a batch style, as opposed to the more traditional (and effective) "little bit here and there" style. engage stream of consciousness:

the biggest news is probably that i resigned from CSC. having spent 4.5 years there, it was time to move on. the contract is coming up for recompete, which nobody feels to good about, and there are a lot of changes going on there which made my decision to look for something else easy. what made it even easier is that i got an email about my future job, applied, interviewed and was made an offer in the span of about 2 weeks. the company is Peopleclick, Inc, located in downtown Raleigh. they do online careers pages for a lot of companies out there. the position is Operations Engineer, which means for about a year i'll be learning how the applications work, troubleshooting, etc. eventually, i'll be productive and they'll give me a pager every now and then. with a full staff, which they have for the 1st time in a couple years, it will be every 2 months or something. not bad.

the job is really good. i'm excited for a lot of reasons.

1. i've been there for 3 weeks and have been busy all day, every day: very big change from CSC. i had to look for stuff to do there.
2. there seems to be upward mobility, or at least the potential for increased responsibility as i gain experience. also a big change from CSC, where i maxed out a while ago.
3. it's downtown so i can ride my bike! it's about a 6.5 mile round trip. it's just now getting cold, but i rode the entire 2nd week and enjoyed it greatly.
4. feeling that i'm really doing something, as opposed to trying to look like i'm doing something. i used to feel like i could skip a week of work and nobody would miss me. now, i have a few things i'm expected to do and if i slack off, they won't get done and it will be noticed right away.
5. i could go on and on.

my sister, Monica, has been with Peopleclick for a couple years now. maybe 3 or 4, i need to ask her. anyway, she kicks ass and has set a high bar for members of our family who work there, so i need to hold up my end of the bargain. so far, so good. i just need to really pay attention and take good notes so i don't need to be told things more than once (or twice).

as excited as i am about the new job, it is tempered against my sadness for leaving friends behind at the old job and my concern for their well being. i wish i could bring them all over to PC, but most of them live out in Durham/Wake Forest/Chapel Hill which isn't a desirable commute. probably at least an hour. so, if you're reading this and you know i'm talking about you, shoot me an email! i want to hear from you.

Andrea and i continue to settle into our life together. we both feel like we have so much catching up to do, in terms of just being married, but we need to be patient and just let it happen. that last comment pertains mainly to me since i've been the one to gripe about how we're not doing enough of this or that... we analyzed why that seemed to be the case and decided i came home from my old job everyday bored and unfulfilled and tried to get fulfillment from working around the house. now, i get home and i'm tired! so i've definitely slowed down a bit. but giving credit where it's due, it's a lot easier to slow down when you have a wife who picks up your slack every day. Andrea's been great about cooking every night and helping me clean up afterward, and just doing a little here and there, instead of both of us waiting until the place is a mess and needs a big cleaning. that is a huge deal to me b/c a lot of Saturdays i've felt the need to clean (FUN!!) and today, she's out doing errands and i built a fire in our new Chimnea and mowed the grass since the house is already clean!

my new hours are 9 - 6 and with the time change, it gets dark so early. last night Andrea had set up a little date night for us, but i'm always a baby about coming home and leaving right away. this is b/c i hate getting the dog all fired up that we're finally home and then leave him hanging. so, long story short, she called and asked if i wanted to meet her somewhere straight from work b/c she gets home a lot earlier than i and could take care of Krust for a while. that sounded good to me. she had me pick up a pizza and meet her at Fletcher park. when i got there, she had a little pick nick blanket set up with candles, beer and the dog!! it was a nice surprise. she totally knows how to make me happy. i need to try harder to do that kind of stuff for her. she deserves everything!