2/9/2003 – Robert

            Well, some of you haven’t heard from me in a little while.  A lot has changed in the past couple of weeks, maybe it’s too drastic, maybe it’s the kick in the ass that I needed, but it’s still too early to tell.

            A couple of weeks ago, I finally downgraded my car.  I’m pretty used to the new one now, which happens to be a 2000 Nissan Altima, but I was driving a 2001 Maxima around for 2 years.  I got spoiled and still miss driving that car. 

            Last Sunday, I moved to a new place.  It’s about 15 blocks further south than my old place, but it’s really decent.  I do sometimes miss the old place in Sugarhouse though…  I did live there for 3 years and I had very few complaints about the area.  The new roommate and I get along incredibly well, but I’m still a little unsure about her 3 year old kid.  I know, I tend to tune things out when he cries or whatever, but something still gets through.  I’ll probably get used to it, but this experience has solidified my feelings that I don’t want to reproduce for a long, long time.

            Last Monday, I started a new job.  I’m really glad I took the job… just a few days before, half of my team got the axe at my previous employer.  I’m pretty sure my head would have been on the chopping block too if I didn’t announce that I was leaving.  As I’ve said to some friends… it felt like I jumped out of the building just a split second before a huge explosion consumed it.  The new job does actually seem alright.  It scared the crap out of me for the first few days…  on my first day, my boss made some woman in accounting cry (I thought he was going to be fired or something)…  on my third day, there was a company-wide meeting.  I asked the network admin how often these things occurred.  He said it was the first time.  Well, the new Chief Operations Officer was introduced, and he started his speech with something like this “In times like these, the company has to change.”  Anybody who has been around the block a few times would assume it was the beginning of a layoff speech.  False alarm.

            It was last Friday before I finally got my internet access back up.  Work has a pretty strict internet usage policy, and I was far too lazy to configure things at home until the weekend hit.  I did end up feeling really lonely and disconnected…

            We’ll see how this next week goes.  I’m not being terribly optimistic, but who knows?  Some bug has been attacking my immune system the whole weekend, so this should be a great way to start the week.  This coming Friday is also valentine’s day, and I don’t have a girl to take out.  This is usually the case, although last year the cycle was pleasantly broken up. 

            Anyways, for anyone that actually read this entire rant, I apologize.  I didn’t really feel entirely coherent when I wrote it.  At least I stopped myself before I said anything terribly embarassing.