Category: Work

Halfsies!

It’s wild to think Zeke and Eli are already 3½ and 1½! Time really does fly by when you’re chasing toddlers. 😁

We are so blessed to have them both. They keep us on our toes, and they’re very good to each other–thick as thieves most days. Sometimes it feels like we’re just referees in their little world, but honestly, watching them grow side by side making memories is the best thing ever.

On the work front, it’s been just over a month since I started my new job. I’m still working in IT doing systems administration, but now in the construction field instead of healthcare. The change of scenery has been refreshing, and I really enjoy the people I work with and the work that I do. It’s a good reminder that sometimes the right move isn’t about reinventing yourself–it’s about finding a better fit for the skills you already have.

All in all, we’re grateful. Grateful for healthy kids, steady work, and the chance to keep building our little story in these tumultuous times. Life feels full, messy, and good–and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

Until next time,

Andrew

I is Smart

So I’ll start by saying I know post-secondary education (“college or university”) schooling is tough at most any level. It can be either because of a direct result of the degree pursued (a dr for example) or it can be for external forces causing strife (like life events or such). For context now, it was circa winter 2010 and I was about 3-4 years out of high school (wow!) and I was encouraged to go get a degree. Before this, when I was wrapping up high school, I had already applied to and been accepted into the music dept program at my local university, but I was not accepted to the school itself due to being just a few points shy on my SAT and ACT (dumb). So I put it off for a couple of years. Eventually, I did decide to go to the local tech college to get my Associate’s degree. I, among dozens of other students, were about halfway through our degrees when the tech school decided to “align with the university system” and changed everyone from a quarter-based system to a semester-based system. This made majority of our degrees that were typical 2-year into 3.5 or more year degrees. That coupled with me finally leaving my first ever retail job and getting my first ever “Corporate America” big boy job means that I paused college.

You know how they say (to some effect) that when you say you’ll go back a good percentage likely won’t ever go back or whatever? Well I did not get to nor choose to go back. Fast forward to 2019 and I’m feeling the the ceiling of my experience in technical support and knew I had to make a decision of some kind or be stuck in this kind of role for as far as I could foresee. I was able to talk to one of the local universities and was flabbergasted to find that after almost 10 years of being out of college that about 95% of my credits would transfer from my previous Associate’s degree program (obviously not classes on legacy stuff like Windows 7 or Server 2008, which made sense). I told the recruiter (or whatever) rep I was definitely willing to go back to “finish” my Associate’s; however, after a further review (matriculation I think they called it) of my official transcript, the rep told me that I would be able to get not only my Associate’s but also get a Bachelor’s because 100% of the courses in the Associate’s are in the Bachelor’s program + the Bachelor-only classes thereafter. After looking and talking it over at home, it made sense to shave off a whole year of transferred credits and get both an Associate’s and Bachelor’s degree a year early each. I’ve since been trucking along pursuing my degrees. I had not yet earned my Associate’s yet, but I do think it was one of many contributing factors in me finally getting out of technical support and into help desk. I absolutely love the role, the folks I work with, but above all that the freedom I now feel of not being bogged down like I was for 10 years to a headset and a tv callboard. I can think, plan, be flexible, contribute, and do all sorts of things previously impossible in my working life.

It’s been a realllllllllly long last couple of years as a result. Selling our first AZ house … buying land to build … Covid … selling said land b/c of covid and other factors … getting a new role at work… and of course school. But all of that aside, I can say that I officially triumphed and received my Associate’s degree in Information Technology in the mail yesterday! I am now smart! It was quite a bit surreal looking at a piece of paper that has taken so long to get, but it’s more than that.. it’s an accomplishment that I didn’t think I would ever get and at several points I felt “too old”, “not smart enough”, or had not met some indescribable quota in my mind to go back and get one. All excuses, of course, but nevertheless, it was pleasing to finally see my name on that (expensive) piece of paper and that I can now mark off that miniscule worry from the back of my mind. Getting my advanced education makes me feel great personally and professionally. Here’s to the same or a greater feeling after I get my Bachelor’s in a year or so.

Until next time,

Andrew

Corona Quarantine: Day ~80, and Lots More

I had high hopes to post something every few days during quarantine, but that didn’t pan out. Well, here’s a chocked-full update on day 80 … at least I think it’s been 80 days already. Wow, what day is it?! I don’t think I can post updates every few days for what feels like a year already…

Anywho, a lot has happened in 2020. Sure, a lot happens every year, duh, but humor my point for a moment, this is the first year for majority of humanity that a worldwide pandemic (Corona) has ever occurred, but also the first time in a long time that something so egregiously unacceptable on the scale of “human disgust” (the murder/death of George Floyd) that makes me and most others want to get a refund on 2020 and go back a few years or skip on to 2021. Yes, I acknowledge many other Black men and women have been wrongfully killed (the ones that come to mind are Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Philando Castile, and Breonna Taylor). I also acknowledge that not only Black men and women are killed; lots of people are killed of all races, colors, shapes, and sizes by not only guns, knifes, and hands, but also not by just police, psychos, and terrorists. What I’m getting at is that we cannot err on an excuse along the lines of “Well, the world is a complex web and people die all the time for different reasons.” Sure, that’s true, but dang don’t diminish nor take the situation out hand or context. Anyone who knows me knows I love and support our military and our law enforcement … but I do not, under any circumstances, support the pieces of trash humans masquerading as law enforcement killing and hurting innocent people for whatever the heck reason is going through their minds. I love my fellow Black man and woman just as I do any other race, ethnicity, religion, or whatever attribute you think of. We are ALL humans and should treat each other with the same love and respect. No….this is not a plug for “all lives matter”, rather just a simple universal fact of humanity. Black lives NEED to be heard so that then truly all lives can matter vs what we have now with “some lives matter but we’ll put up a front that all lives matter”. Man I could go on and on and on with the errancy of humanity but I’ll move on. Just love thine neighbor, truly without reproach and judgement.

My office is still work from home right now and for the foreseeable future (not terribly happy, but it has its perks). I’m both an introvert and extrovert (just depends on situation), so I thrive working alone, but the job I do necessitates that face-to-face interaction with colleagues. That’s what’s getting grueling typing 10 billion messages each workday. AARGH!

Also, dumb humans who can’t wait to get their hair cut, nails done, or go to the latest beach party or rave are the brainless individuals stirring up “round 2” of Corona. Yeah, I know it may not be them, but they are definitely playing a part in it. The wife and I did go out to the hardware store, grocery store, and dinner (finally!) recently, but we stayed away from folks as directed or the best we could … there honestly really is a difference in us vs the idiots. At least I understand there is a set of universal do’s and don’t’s to abide by for your fellow humans, but some people can’t put their narcissistic nature and urges aside for a few weeks (or months) to let the rest of the world solve this crisis and heal. Sometimes you just can’t fix stupid.

Lastly, I’ll end with a happier note. It seems only like yesterday that we were moving from GA to AZ, and now here we go again (just local this time lol). Some of you may know already that we’ve been setting the groundwork to move in 2020. No, there’s nothing wrong with the house we live in nor the neighborhood, it just no longer fits our needs where we’re at in life. We’d like to downsize to a single-story with more land than to have a 2-story with less land. Plus other obligations and such help urge this along. Well, all the non-essential info aside, today marks the first day of an official journey: we had the realtor photographer come to take pictures. We had just finished this week with what I’ll say is about 98% of evvvvvvvvvvverything we’ve been working on for the better part of a year, plus or minus, and it is finally list worthy and ready. We’re excited to see the photos when we get them from our realtor next week and then we’ll begin the next phase to start listing soon. I’m not putting a date in here in case there are any unknown-to-me conflicts that could arise from doing so (maybe there aren’t any, but it doesn’t matter), but just stay tuned. Hopefully this will be our last “forever home” search (again).

Until next time,

Andrew