My New Job so far

With two days down, I'm really starting to like my new job. I'm learning tons (Except the 100 pin numbers and passwords I have), and the people are very friendly. My department deals with support for 3 major education applications which are used in school districts in 12 states. We've just got word that 3 new states may be added, which means tons of work for me. Very cool!

My new job also gave me a new IBM Thinkpad laptop computer. This is my only computer for work. Basically, I have to take it home with me too, so it kind of "lives" with me now. It has built-in wireless, so I am able to log into my wireless network at home. They aparently give all employees in our division a laptop because so many of the employees are sales reps and service reps, and that means they are required to do a lot of traveling. Makes sense, I guess.

The commute for the job is longer. I now commute about 50 minutes one way to work. It doesn't really seem as long as my previous commute, which was 25 minutes one way. I guess because my previous commute forces me to hit every stop sign and light on my route, where my new job is pretty much all highway. The killer is the mileage. Old Job = 10 miles. New Job= 32 miles. Total Miles per week for old job = 100 miles total miles per week for new job = 320...yikes!!! The good news is that they are putting an office in Lancaster here, so I will be able to work out of that office a day or two a week, when I eventually get accustomed to my new position. The Lancaster office is only 2 miles from my house...nice!

Life updated

...so I end up getting this watch on ebay for one cent. I figure, "hey, its a good deal either way, right?" WRONG. First of all, I'm an idiot for thinking that a 16 dollar shipping charge is normal for a watch I paid one cent for. What's even better is when the watch comes wrapped in bubble wrap inside a standard first class letter envelope. The watch? Well, the 3 chrono dials for date, month, and seconds don't work, and the watch feels like its been made from tin foil and twisty ties. Nevertheless, I've learned my lesson about bidding on ebay items after midnight and without reading other buyer comments first (which were mostly negative).

Tomorrow is my last day of work as a programmer for The Hightower Group. It's been a very growing experience for me there. I've learned so much about how little I know about computer programming over the past year. I will miss the casual, laid-back atmosphere and friendly faces. But boats do sail, and this one's a castin' off again...:-)

Nothing can give you more perspective on just how tiny your 8 month old daughter is until you fold her laundry. Nothing can give you more perspective on just how big your responsibilities are until you hold your 8 month old daughter in your arms and see her give you her famous "Four-toothed grin". And nothing can make you smile wider than when you hear her laugh as you bounce her on your knee.

I went to the doctors the other day to find out that I had an ear infection. Not good. I've probably had more ear infections as a child than China has people. Luckily, I've been stocked up with antibiotics and decongestant medicine that tastes like the inside of a marathon runner's shoes. The good news is that the infection is supposedly minor, and the medicine should do the trick. Let's hope so. I can't afford to lose any more hearing.

A New Beginning

Yesterday was the start of a new beginning for my family and I. After a few months of searching, God has given me the opportunity to move elsewhere with my career as a Visual Basic programmer. I am now officially hired as a Visual Basic programmer for a company called Weidenhammer Systems Corporation (www.hammer.net). They are a company that develops IT solutions for businesses and other organizations. Now the question may follow, "Did you not like your old job?" The answer is, Yes, I did like my old job". The reasoning behind the new job is more of a financial stability thing that involves more personal detail than I care to go into on a weblog.

The biggest issues facing me now are the commute and learning the new position. It is an easy commute, but yet lengthy. 34 miles one way, to be exact. The job is located just outside of Reading, PA. in a town called Wyomissing. The position will probably start me out as a maintenance programmer. My job will be to fix bugs and provide support programming for a Reporting Module that is part of a larger educational software package for School Districts in 12 different States throughout the East Coast. I'm very excited about the new position, because it will expose me to working in a more team-oriented environment where I will have room to grow and elevate my experience to other levels.

The good news is that the company is putting an office in downtown Lancaster soon, and there is probability that I might be able to work a couple days a week out of that office. This would put me less than 4 miles away from home. So this is the latest news for now. If you are reading this in surprise, feel free to give me a call and I'll tell you more.

My Belated Post for 4-6-05

Okay, so I'm a little late with this post. The truth is that I've been busy doing....Okay, maybe not that busy. But work has been keeping me on my toes. Recently, I've been working on developing an in-house program in visual basic that we are intending to eventually sell on the market. Its been an interesting experience for me to make the switch back to Visual Studio from Microsoft Access. I started my job using Visual Basic and then moved to ASP programming, then got put on months of Microsoft Access VBA programming for which I did several applications. Now here I am again with Visual Basic. Go figure. Good thing these languages are all so closely related.

I found a really neat remote access tool that allows you to control computers remotely. The tool is called "Log Me In", and it allows you to set up a connection on any computer, and then log into your account to control that machine. The service is free for basic remote control access. You have to pay like 13 dollars for the beefed-up service. But for what I need, the free service works really well. You can check it out at www.logmein.com

One of the happiest moments of my life recently was when I discovered that I could actually get my portable Cd player to work in the Chevy Malibu. This made the trip to New Castle and Cleveland a more enjoyable one. I love listening to music when I drive. Sometimes I wonder if I get excited about the trip because of the idea of driving to music. OK, I'm a little weird. Speaking of which, you can check out some of the pictures from our trip up to New Castle and Cleveland where we visited my family. We visited my mom, brothers, father, and their significant others and relatives. As you will see on our website, where the pictures are posted, Audrey stole the show. But that's how we wanted it anyway. :-)