this is my blog

work is still really low key. a lot of people are still out on break and that gives me lots of time to settle in and learn about the faculty, students, and labs i will be supporting.

i had lunch with a friend who has been in town visiting family. i have not seen him in a few months. i’ve enjoyed hanging out with him in the past couple of weeks.

i didn’t die on the way home. i take a street route on the way home. even though i leave work at 6 the streets are pretty busy with the after work crowd. the streets are pretty dicey but taking the same route home i take to work is not feasible. i won’t bother explaining that. in the warm months i’ll be able to take the trail for about 90% of my ride to and from work.

this evening i have nothing to do but eat supper (which is likely going to be a bacon cheeseburger and sweet potato fries) and watch my netflix. life is good.

the holiday season is over for the year. thanksgiving and christmas were bearable. thanksgiving was sort of sucky because the pies and side dishes i prepared did not turn out well. seriously the worst food i’ve made in some time. luckily, i only had myself to disappoint. christmas morning i planned to attend a bike ride. the ride ended up being really short. the roads and trails are not clear enough to have a long, moderately paced ride. three people wiped out on the ride. we rode to a place called “the bagel.” the conversation at breakfast was pretty much the people who knew each other having a discussion. i got back home and had a pity party for about an hour and then snapped out of it. every since then i have been feeling pretty lucky to be alive, have a job, and roof over my head.

most of the appreciation for what i have here in chicago comes from the knowledge that i have worked for what i have. but another influence has presented itself, my brother. i heard from him again on the 24th. a quick five sentence email apologizing for not writing. he has been busy dealing with an insurance company about time off from work. i guess he has some sort of injury. i replied back wishing him a happy holiday and inquiring about his situation. he has not replied and i assume it’ll be at least a few weeks before he does. the little window into his life (that his few emails to me have created) has made me realize that maybe my life has not been so bad. i always thought he had it good because marcy very obviously favored him over me. he got a mother that consistently showed him she loved him. he also got aunts, uncles, cousins and the like. so as kids i think he may have gotten the better deal but as adults maybe we are switching places. this is all speculation of course because what do you really know about a person from a few emails.

i have started the job at roosevelt. things are going pretty well. finally had a meeting with central it to figure out my role. there is concern that if i have access to all of the systems that the communications department wants me to have that i will do damage. part of the issue is that my skill set was not explained to the it folks so they just assumed the worst. i did not know the purpose of the meeting was to actually draft a service agreement between comm and it. that threw me off a bit. the meeting ended on a good note but we will see how the service actually gets worded.

i just came from a community strategy meeting. i have been working with the chicago community policing strategy department. i have gone to a couple of meetings and am disgruntled with how inefficient they are. i have stuck my arm up and gotten involved. my enthusiasm has been welcomed and i have been put to work. the strategy meeting was an opportunity to speak freely away from the officers and decide what we as a small group of now 6 want to achieve. community involvement has never been a reality for me and i am glad things have worked out (jobless and looking to do something) for me to be involved. tonight the owner of minibar hosted our strategy meeting and treated us to a four course meal while we talked. woot woot!

other than the above i have been experiencing some escalating medical problems over the last 6 weeks. i was glad to get the benefits paperwork today at work. my medical kicks in january 1 so hopefully the first week of january i can get checked out.

i didn’t get as much done today as i would have liked. i did make it to two thrift stores but both were unfruitful. i got a reasonable amount of house work done but still need to vacuum.

my new plan for today is to complete my latest assignment from sierra club green home. they are adding a solar center to the site and have new articles for me to post. with that off of my plate and more rest under my belt tonight i’ll hopefully be raring to go tomorrow.

the roosevelt staff party went pretty well. about 25 people attended. the people i met were either super excited i was coming on board or had no idea the department had a media lab. there were two guys who seemed to be my age but everyone else had at least 10-30 years on me. at first impression these folks seem to be a ragtag group of intellectual misfits. works for me.

some of my interesting moments at the store included:

• ringing up customers on a pocket pc (windows-based technology)
• i had a woman approach me right when the store opened one day eager to buy “some apples.” she was referring to ipods.
• explaining at least 200 times, to people who speak english as a second language, that you cannot purchase the iphone without a service contract.
• selling a macbook to man in the middle of a sex change process (to a woman, unconvincingly). she bought the macbook because she accidentally spilled a martini on her macbook air and was too impatient to let it dry out to see if it still worked.
• one of our, many, close-talking customers accidentally spit on my face. the spit landed about 1/4 inch from my eyeball.
• experiencing black friday not as a customer 

i learned a lot about the new macbook/pros and the iphone. i met some cool people. glad it’s over. i’m still interested in getting the mac certifications you get as a genius but i’m just gonna have to take classes in my spare time as money allows.

in other news, i talked to my new boss at roosevelt today. we decided i would start at 10 am on monday. right as we said our goodbyes and were hanging up she caught my attention. she then invited me to their office holiday party tomorrow. i was grateful for the invitation. i am anxious about going but it will be a good opportunity to meet people. i think am anxious because i planned to have the weekend to transition to the roosevelt job. i know it’s just a party but this will be the first impression i have on folks. it’s important that i come across pleasant and knowledgeable. tomorrow is also going to be a good opportunity to test out my work bike route. it’s supposed but assuming it’s not storming i’ll likely ride in. i have not ridden in almost 7 days! i feel like a fatty.

this weekend i will do some shopping. my wardrobe has been reduced to oversized jeans and apple t-shirts. i will be thrift store shopping for clothes and hitting several shoe stores. i am in search for winter boots too. i discovered there is an aldo sale shop on north milwaukee so i may go check it out. other than a friend suggested hanig’s slipper box. i went once before and they do have great shoes, no sales, but good quality shoes. other than shopping it’s the typical weekend domestic duties. i will also start reading up on the technology roosevelt has in their labs.

i gave notice on friday. my direct report manager was not working so i told the on duty manager. the response was positive the typical sorry to lose you, happy for your success. i felt a bit bad that i would not be completing a two weeks notice but offered to work weekends and christmas eve if that helped out. at the end of my shift a manager asked me if i had a few minutes to talk. we took the elevator one floor down to the basement. on the way down he told me he had a question for me and that we would talk in the managers office. he opened the door to the managers office and inside was another manager and the general manager. there was some light hearted acknowledgment of me leaving. one of the managers then said in a beat-around-the-bush sort of way that i did not have to complete my two weeks notice and that i would still be in good standing with apple. i understood him saying that i should complete a two week notice (believe me at the end of an 8 hour shift at the apple store your mind is mush). so i began to explain why i needed to start at roosevelt so soon. another manager clarified that it was the opposite problem. the cannot meet all shift requests right now and they need hours to give out. so they were fine if the shift i just ended was my last. i said i needed to work next week but after that should be up for grabs (i’m waiting for a formal offer letter from roosevelt after they check references). i was told i had control of the shifts i wanted to work and just to let them know as soon as possible (i clarified the next morning that they could give away anything after the 13th). this was a very bizarre experience for me. i did not understand why i was speaking with three managers about giving up my hours. so far it seems i still have my hours for next week. i was scheduled through christmas eve so hopefully being able to give up two weeks of hours will allow me to keep my hours next week. 

i met up with a friend from bloomington last night after work and we had supper. it was good to catch up. we ate at this little italian place called angelina’s in my neighborhood that i have heard lots of good things about. i have wanted to dine there for some time now but it is on the pricey side. i decided that a celebration was in order since i finally have a full-time job after four months of searching. the restaurant has a quaint and cozy environment. i had a delicious glass of wine at the bar while we were waiting for a table. the wine was a shiraz by coppola (my new mission is to see where i can buy this by the bottle). for my meal i ordered truffle gnocci in parmesan sauce. it is the most delicious meal i’ve had in chicago. the bread they served pre-meal was okay but the basil infused olive oil they had for dipping was so good i wanted to drink it from the bottle. we were too full to get to dessert but i’m assuming it’s delicious.

today i will rest but try to get some housework done. there is a friend of a friend in town so i may have supper with her. but it’s 16 degrees right now so i may not even venture out doors.

there are quite a few things i find interesting about this job, the first being that this job came to me. the day after i got my offer call from apple, i got a call from roosevelt. one of the assistant deans of the school, who is also an instructor in the communications department, called me. he came across my resume at the chicago photography center (cpc). he is on the hiring committee for a position i applied for at cpc. he said he talked to the committee and they were fine that he contacted me about the lab manager position. this was a way to let me know i was likely not one of the strongest candidates for the cpc job while providing me an opportunity i was 100% qualified for. i applied for the lab job and was interviewed the week of thanksgiving. they offered me the job on monday and i’ve been in a salary negotiation until today. they were not able to offer me what i wanted but the job is still enticing to me.

this job offers me the opportunity to have my fingers in quite a few pies. i am able to do application support which i really enjoy but i am also the primary system administrator for the two labs i will manage. this is exciting to me both personally and professionally. the communications department has recently upgraded their labs with mac pros and cinema displays. one lab was also outfitted with fiber optic cable and an xsan (woot woot!). the other lab is a dual boot lab (the only way i ever want to work with windows). i will be able to learn a lot through the job and have the opportunity to solve more complex problems than what previous jobs have allowed. they also have an equipment check out system for students so i will also be working with still and video cameras. 

i also get to stick my finger in a teaching pie. at roosevelt, the full-time professional staff have an opportunity to teach one class per semester. it is likely that i will be teaching a new media or graphic design class this summer. i am surprised by this opportunity. by academic standards i am not qualified to teach. i feel comfortable teaching a class in either of these categories will be diligent to provide a quality education for my students. i have no doubt i will learn a lot about my subject matter and about the role and responsibilities of being an instructor. i will likely teach for my first year. once i achieve in-state status i will enroll in a program at roosevelt. the education benefit is wonderful. they pay for 6 hours of classes per semester. not sure what i would pursue but i certainly do not want all of that free education to be wasted. they have master and phd programs too so we will see. 

so what are the downsides? roosevelt has two campuses. one campus is across from millennium park (awesome and bike-able) but the other one is in schaumburg, il. the communications lab manager manages a lab on each campus. i will commute to schaumburg at least twice a week. the commute for me is a three legged journey that will be an hour and a half each way. the retirement program does not kick in for a year and you are gradually vested over six years or when you turn 40. um, i’ll be 40 in less than six years, thanks for the reminder roosevelt retirement plan. the minimum medical plan requires almost $50 a month out-of-pocket. i’ve already mentioned the salary. i will be working at 25% less than what i was making for the same job at iu. the opportunities and downsides seem to be related to the size of the university. the enrollment this semester is about 7,000 students which is a significant increase over previous years.

i am excited about working at roosevelt. the university has a great history and is providing me a lot to chew on personally and professionally. truth be told is that if i stayed at apple for about a year and a half i would be making more money and receiving better benefits than at roosevelt. what i have learned in my short time at apple retail is that i hate retail. nothing is ever good enough in retail. even if the store makes, or surpasses, its targets the focus is always on how to do more. i think people who enjoy working retail have a competitive nature. i do not. all i care about at the store is having a quality interaction with the customer. i could careless if i actually sell anything my entire shift.

i will give notice at apple when i go in to work tomorrow. i am hoping they do not cut my hours between now and when i start at roosevelt which is likely the 15th.

What wakes you: wxrt

Your initial look in the mirror reveals: bedhead

You usually first put on: glasses

Your closet: empty

Your mood before 11am: chill

The first thing you look at online after email: chainlink

Something you tend to snack on: nuts

What you see out your front door: walls

Your takeout menus: pizza

Number of boxes of tissue out in your home right now: one

The way you sneeze would read: “hAAAAAAAAAcho…ugh”

Number of times a day you probably brush your hair: questionable

The most predominant thing in your pantry: spices

A smell commonly coming from your kitchen: onion

How you sort your books: height

The way you keep your place in a book: memory

Something you hide when people come over: unmentionables

Number of people normally at your table during dinner: one

Something you put on your nightstand before bed: hair clip

How high you pull the covers when you go to sleep: overhead