Renaissance Geek
To say that I wear many technological hats is an understatement. I’ve always known that to succeed in a company, you have to be willing to do anything that comes along. As I’ve been with my current employer more and more, I’ve come to inherit more hats than anyone else (other than, maybe, my boss.)
Last week (and continuing into this week) I’ve performed tasks that should be performed by:
- a software engineer (which is my title)
- a software architect
- a Linux system administrator/engineer
- a network engineer
- a web developer
- a multi-media artist
- a database administrator
- Windows technical support
- Linux technical support
- a technical writer
I’m not doing this because I’m the only person to do the job. There are plenty of other people on my team. However, I am most often the best choice for the job. I do it better than anyone else on my team. It takes me less time to do the actions, and they are (often) done right on the first attempt. There are even times when I am the only person that knows how to do the job, so I do it. When I realize that I’m the only person that knows how to do the job, I try to educate other members of my team, but their eyes glaze over when I get to step 3 of 22. They can’t grasp the level of technical detail necessary to do my job. They also don’t care enough about it to learn it, even if they had the capabilities.
Am I upset that I am the “go to guy” for all of these various and sundry activities? Nope. It’s job security. I know that if my company falls on economic hard times that I will probably be one of the people labeled as “indisposable”, and I’ll keep my job. I also offer much more expertise to my company than what they are paying me for. My boss is aware of this, and appreciates it. So long as he’s kept around, I’m sure to have a job.
Now, in the past, I’ve made myself indisposable, and it’s bitten me in the ass. It’s meant that I could not get promotions to other departments, transfers to other sections, and I’ve pretty much dug myself in a hole at a job. I won’t mind if that’s the case here. I really love what I’m doing. I like the people that I work with, and, above all else, I really love working for my boss. He’s a great guy! He knows how to do my job, and he understands when things go wrong and take a little longer than they might originally. I just have to up-front and honest with him when things go wrong, and I tell him how I’m going to correct the problem. He’s also very open, friendly, and personable. One of the best bosses that I’ve ever had. If he ever leaves the company, I’m not sure what I’ll do. Maybe stalk him until he hires me at his new job?
I know that a “Renaissance Man” is supposed to be equally versed in art and science, and that computers are mostly science. If you’ve ever worked for extensive periods in the technology business, you’ll understand that there is an art to the way things are done if they are done properly.
Vacation Stories
I’ve got quite a bit to talk about for my recent vacation. I’m going to work on some decent posts tonight, and I’ll start posting them tomorrow. Until then, you’ll just have to wait until I get some time to write.
BTW: Not checking your email for a week leads to TONS of work. I’ve just been doing email all day long. Over 3000 work emails and almost 500 personal emails. Gnah!
Vacation
I’m heading out of town tomorrow morning, and I’ll be gone for over a week. I’m not sure if I’ll be posting during the week. I may try to post from time-to-time, but no guarantees on the matter. My plans are to leave tomorrow around 9:30ish for Stinnett, TX where my great aunt and uncle live. My other great aunt and uncle live near Houston, TX, and they are going to be in Stinnett for a family get-together. It’s just good timing that I’ll be in town. Both great uncles are my grandfather’s brothers. I see the family in Stinnett every year or two as I pass through, but I’ve not seen the relatives from Houston since my grandfather’s funeral in 2002. It’s been 5 years, which is way too long. I’m really looking forward to seeing them, but I’m only going to be there for Saturday afternoon through Sunday morning. I wish I could stay longer, but that just won’t happen.
I have to get on the road Sunday morning to head from Stinnett to Von Ormy, TX to see my mother and step-father. They just got back off of vacation, so they won’t be able to take any time off while I’m in town, but that’s ok. I’ll still get to visit with them for a few days during the mornings and evenings. Things will be good, and I’m going to enjoy my time with them.
On Wednesday, I’ll be leaving Von Ormy late morning to head to Midland, TX, which is my hometown. While there I’ll be seeing my grandmother, father, step-mother, two little brothers, my nieces, and a a handful of friends. I’m really looking forward to seeing everyone. On Saturday, there is an SCA event that I’m going to be attending. It’s been forever since I’ve done anything in the SCA, and I hope that my skills aren’t too rusty when it comes to fighting. Everyone else has been training, fighting in tournaments, and honing their skills while I’ve been sitting on my ass doing nothing. I’m sure that I’m going to get thumped, but I’m still going to enjoy it.
When Sunday morning rolls around, I’ll be back on the road to head back home. It’s going to be a long day of driving to get back home, but I’ve done it before. I’ll be able to do it again.
I’ll have my laptop with me, so I’ll be doing some writing while I’m on the road. If I don’t post while I’m on vacation, you’ll have a long post from me on May 7th when I return.
SUV/Truck Rental
I’m planning a trip back home to Texas next week, and I wanted to rent an SUV or truck for the trip. The reason I wanted this type of vehicle is that I planned on renting a U-Haul trailer while in Texas to bring back from furniture that my grandmother wants me to have. I called every car rental place that I could think of (6 total) to ask about towing a trailer.
All but one told me that I could not do that. One place told me “not legally.” I found the “not legally” answer to be quite amusing. I’m not going to risk a very large lawsuit or traffic ticket by renting a vehicle and using it in a “not legal” manner.
We’ve been lining up the purchase of a ’93 Chevy Suburban, and I called the guy about it Friday to see if I can get my hands on it early this week. If I do manage to get the vehicle, I still need to get insurance, the title transfered, and tags for the Suburban. I hope to get that done this week, but we’ll see how it goes.
If all of my plans fall through, then I guess the furniture will have to wait until some other time when I can fly down for a long weekend, rent a U-Haul truck, and get the furniture back home.
White Night
I finished reading White Night, which is the latest book in the Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher. I borrowed it from Craing a week or so ago, and it took me about 5 days to go through it. It’s not his best book, but after watching The Dresden Files on the SciFi Channel, it was quite refreshing. I got to see the real Harry, Murphy, Bob, and host of other characters. It was great!
Craing had an advantage over me in that he could read in very long stretches, and I could not. I had to get in a few pages here and there when I had a chance. Since all of the Dresden Files books are mysteries (usually murder mysteries) it really helps to be able to sit and read as much as you can in one sitting. I’m certain that this is why Craing enjoys the books much more than I do. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy the books, but it’s very obvious to me that it’s not as much as Craing does.
I’m not going to give away any of the secrets of the book for those of you out there that are still working your way through it, or are still waiting to buy it. If you enjoy Harry Dresden, then you will enjoy this book. Like I’ve already said, it’s not the best, but it’s still good enough to pick up and spend a day or five reading.
PS: I love Thomas’ new profession! It’s perfect.
Last Few Days
I worked a half day on Tuesday because of the first appointment with the baby doctor. I also worked half a day on Wednesday because of a dentist appointment for getting some serious dental work done. This meant that I was behind Thursday, so I busted ass until we left early because of the snow. I got home, and I was burned out from the constant grind of the past few days, so I kicked back and finished reading White Night by Jim Butcher. I got up this morning to tons of snow, so I’m working from home today. I could have probably gotten out to work, but if it snowed any more, then getting back in was going to be tricky. We decided to play it safe, and stay at home.
The baby doctor went well. We asked quite a few questions, and got some good answers. Like I’ve already said, I like the doctor.
The dentist appointment took longer than I thought it was going to. I originally went in for a root canal and a crown. I’m getting reading to do some implants, so I needed x-rays for those. Turns out that I needed two root canals and three crowns to really get my teeth back in shape. All three crowns are next to each other, so it was lots of work all in the same area. It took 4 hours to get it all done, but in the end, I’ll have stronger and healthier teeth. I just have to wait two weeks for the permanent crowns to come in, so that I can have them put in. My gums are a little bruised and sore where they did the work. It really hurts to brush my teeth, and any sudden change in altitude (like going from lying down to standing up) really hurts me. That really sucks because I was up and down all night last night because I was on call for work. I got called four times total, and my longest stretch of sleep was from around 4:45 until 10:00 this morning. The rest of my “sleep cycles” were anywhere from an hour and a half to two hours long. Each time I was in pain because I had to get out of bed to answer the damn phone. I wasn’t a happy camper last night.
White Night was a pretty good book. I’ll probably save my comments on it for another blog posting…
I’m starting to get a little cabin fever already today. I’m not really trapped in my house, but I like getting out. I may go to a movie this evening just to get out of the house, but only if there is something good showing. I haven’t looked at the list today, so I’m not sure what is showing that may catch my eye.
Dentist
I went to the dentist today for some pretty major work. I’m going to wait until tomorrow to post the details, so that I can see how much I need to cuss him out for inflicting (or maybe not) pain on me.
You’ll just have to wait until tomorrow to get the details.
First Doctor Appointment
I met the doctor that will be delivering my baby today. He’s a nice guy that is very confident in his mannerisms. I always love that in a health professional. We often only go to doctors when something is wrong, and when they present an air of confidence, knowledge, and surety. then they tend to put us (or, at least, me) at ease.
Kiara had told me that he has big, strong hands. She wasn’t kidding! I could feel the strength in his grip when he shook my hand, but he seemed to know that he was strong and didn’t exert his full power into the grip. I like that in a man. A handshake should be firm, but not bone-crushing.
Just before that handshake, however, my first impression of him was that he looked quite a bit like George Hamilton. He has the same complexion, and almost the same face. The doctor was quite a bit bigger (mostly muscle, you could tell) and several decades younger.
We asked him all sorts of questions about how to proceed with the pregnancy, and when I should come to appointments and such. He was very clear in his answers and very honest with us. That was also appreciated.
There is a history of Downs Syndrome (1 cousin) on Kiara’s side, so that is a concern for us. We’re going to get an ultrasound done next Wednesday to get a firm date on how far along Kiara is. This will allow the doctor to schedule an ultrasound between the 12th and 13th week to check for signs of Downs Syndrome. It has something to do with some measurements in the spacing between the neck bones and the folds of skin on the neck. There are also some blood tests that go along with it. The results of the ultrasound and the blood work are plugged into a computer, and it spits out a probability of Downs Syndrome being a possibility. If the probability is low, then we continue on normally. If it’s high, then we may do an amniocentesis to do further testing. Even if the tests tell us that our child will have Downs Syndrome, we’ll have the baby. It just means more challenges after the birth.
Enough doom and gloom. I’m getting down a little just typing this out. I’m sure that everything will work out in the end.
I was also there during the “woman exam,” and, no, I didn’t watch! I don’t think I want to be there for another one. Poor Kiara squirmed and grimaced the whole time. It hurt me to watch her in pain. I could barely stand it. Kiara has told me that this doctor is the gentlest and best that she’s ever been to. I couldn’t image the pain and suffering that a careless doctor can cause if this guy is one of the best!
Of course, when it comes time for labor, I hope that I handle it better than I did the exam. We’ll have to wait until November to find out.
Smoke Away
I started a new round of Smoke Away Monday night. This is day 2 of me not smoking. One thing that is making it easier this time around is the fact that I threw away all of my smokes. I didn’t do that last time “just in case I needed one.” Well, I’ve needed a few here and there, but since I have nothing to smoke, it’s much easier to not smoke.
I know that I’ll always want a smoke from time-to-time, but I can’t wait until the urges to smoke come every few weeks instead of every few hours. I think it’s going to be a rough time for a while, but I can manage.
Big Red
We’ve been planning on buying a 1993 Chevy Suburban from one of Kiara’s coworkers. It’s big. It’s red. It’s name is Big Red. Makes sense, eh? We had it checked out by the Chevy dealership, and there are a few minor things that need to be repaired. Now that we have our tax money back (we got it last night), we have the money for Big Red and the repairs.
I also want to put a new stereo into Big Red because it just has AM/FM/Tape. No CD player, and our tape collection is, of course, tiny, outdated, and the tapes probably aren’t much good anymore. I’d like to add a stereo that can interface with an external mp3 player through an alternate audio input. I’ve found one that has the features that I like, but we’re looking at another $250 to $300 after installations and parts and stuff like that. I guess I should talk to Kiara about doing this.
I’m not sure when we’re going to be getting Big Red, but it’ll probably be in the next week or two.
