Moving On

Since 2002 sometime, I've been going to the meetings of the comics and animation club at UVa (CAINE), despite not being a UVa student.  I've been fairly involved in one way or another pretty much every year since then.  But, as with all interest-based things such as this, there comes a time to say goodbye, and that's exactly what time it is.

There's a few reasons, but they're all pretty simple.

First: I turn 35 this fall.  I've already been feeling kind of creepy hanging out with people close to half my age, might as well stop now.  That age gap is only going to get bigger as time goes on.

Second: Despite what CAINE says in its promotional materials, Western comics and animation are rarely touched upon, in favor of anime and manga from glorious Nippon.  I've had significantly less interest in watching anime and reading manga over the past few years.  You may have noticed that the MyAnimeList signature image that's currently at the top of this blog hasn't been updated in forever, my lack of interest would be why.  For the record, I basically had no interest in Western comics and animation to begin with.  The only remaining interest I have that's aligned with CAINE is tangential, though related: video games.

Last but certainly not least: I need a job, and I need to move out of my parents' house for the second (and hopefully final) time.  While CAINE wasn't really holding me back in that regard, I feel like having my schedule clear of all obstructions is most conducive to getting a job, earning an income, and moving out For Real This Time™.

So to anyone in CAINE who's stumbled across this blog and was wondering why I've disappeared, the above reasons would be why.  If you wonder why I deleted my forum account, that's also related, and technically a fourth point.  Yay, post organization.

Point the fourth: I've had a hand in managing CAINE's website for a very long time, and my interest in doing that has also waned over the years.  People don't use it anyway, so really, what's the point?  Just to have yet another page on the internet for UVa to find, declare to be in their jurisdiction despite not being hosted on their servers, and forced to add text to every page saying UVa has no control over our actions, despite the fact that if we don't add said notice, they can get rid of our club status, thereby indicating that on some level, they have control over our actions?  Nope.  I wasn't the only admin, so since the other admin happens to own the domain, it's entirely under his control now.  I don't care anymore.

I might show up at a meeting if it's absolutely necessary for me to be there, but I can't fathom why my presence would be needed at this point.

RIP My Computer 2004-2016

So my old dinosaur of a computer started randomly rebooting a few days ago.  At first I thought it was something software-related, because it took 15 minutes or so to happen.  But then it started happening even from the BIOS setup menu, and now if I turn it on it just reboots continuously.  This means there's something fucked up in the hardware and there ain't shit I can do about it.

I guess solving my unemployment issue just got a bit more important.  Luckily, I won't actually lose any data since the hard drives are totally fine.  I just need to pull them out, put them in my 3.5" drive enclosure, and pull whatever I need off of them.

I'm posting from a laptop we acquired from my granddad a while back when getting old finally got severe enough that he couldn't really use a computer anymore.  I don't remember if I've mentioned this laptop on this blog before, but the sad thing is that it's better than my old desktop.  I mean, it still has the vast majority of the HP crapware on it, but I cleaned up the most severe offenders that were bogging the thing down and the only bits that remain are just installed programs that never get run.  I'm about this close to reformatting it and putting Ubuntu on it, to be honest.

So, why does Blogger in Chrome do double spaces as <space><non-breaking space>?  In Firefox it does <non-breaking space><space>, which is the correct way to do it so that blog posts won't end up with weird word wrapping issues.  I have to copy and paste every post I write into Notepad++ and do a find/replace to swap them, and it's super annoying.

Wrestling hopefully over

So I mentioned in the spaghetti-dumping post that I'd been wrestling with healthcare.gov for my 2015 health insurance.

Basically the issue was that I'd made a new application for 2015 to see if I could get a plan with a lower premium/deductible/etc., since my income situation is very different from what it was before.

The site gleefully allowed me to fill out the application.  No problem there.  However, I got to the "review and sign" step, reviewed and signed, and clicked the button to go on to "identity verification".  I'd already been through that headache signing up for the 2014 plan, so I thought it would go quickly.  But no, it just unceremoniously dumped me out at my profile page, where it said "Identity Verified" under my name, and there was no button to continue going forward to the step where I actually get to select an insurance plan.  The application still showed as being "in progress", rather than "submitted" or "completed", and I couldn't go any further.

So basically, even though I'd filled out a 2015 application to the fullest extent of my ability, before the December 15 deadline, it wasn't enough and my 2014 plan got renewed for 2015.  So instead of being able to pay a nice low premium, I was still stuck paying over $200.

My dad and I wrestled with the website off and on during January, and then February rolled around.  February 15th is the absolute deadline for 2015 coverage.  You don't get it done by then, you don't get a Marketplace plan.  Simple as that.

Finally, we just had to bite the bullet and do everything over the phone, since the website wasn't getting us anywhere.  I now have a much cheaper plan that still covers just as much as what I had before.  It kinda hinges on me getting a job, so basically that's the next thing that I have to focus on.  It's been a high-stress first couple of months of 2015 so far, and the stress won't go away until I have a job.  Fun fact: your income can be "too low" for the Marketplace, and they shovel you off to Medicaid.

So basically, for me at least, the healthcare.gov Marketplace website is completely useless and I have to do everything over the phone.  I should remember that for next year, if the Affordable Care Act is still around.

By the way, the "identity verification" headache was due to the Marketplace's dependence on a credit report to confirm your identity.  I don't have a credit card, so I don't have a credit report.  Simple as that.  I have no need for a credit card and no desire for a credit card, so nothing's changing there, at least until I need a loan or something that actually requires a credit check.  After talking to customer service representatives for the Marketplace and Equifax, and going back and forth for what seemed like hours, the Marketplace finally, and seemingly begrudgingly, revealed that there was an alternate method of identity verification that was far simpler and less headache-inducing.  Simply make a photocopy of my drivers' license or other valid photo ID, and send it to some weird address in Kentucky.  Did that, verified, headache over.  So, if you're going through a similar headache, make sure to ask your Marketplace customer service representative about an alternate method of identity verification.

Finally, don't get irate at CSRs, they don't need your shit, and it won't help anything.  They're just doing their job and trying their best to help you.  You get farther if you present the problem in a calm, collected, and civil manner, and the call becomes an atmosphere of problem solving.  It's another human being on the other end of the call.

Why do I even bother?

So I went to a job fair today.  I always get my hopes up when going to one of these things.  "Oh, it's going to be great, I'll talk to some potential employers, they'll need someone with my skills, I might even get an interview on the spot!"

Then I go to it.

They're all the same really.  Cramped quarters, you're lucky if they have a sign (or even a printed handout) with their open positions listed, some tables always get swapped around so the map is incorrect, and even more aren't clearly labelled and it just looks like people are hanging out and talking.

I did talk to several potential employers and things did seem positive across the board, but there was a disturbing trend.

"Oh, apply online."

Doesn't that defeat the entire purpose of going to a job fair?  I might as well just have looked at the list of everyone who was going to be there, and gone to their websites to apply.  I put on uncomfortable semi-dress clothing, updated and then printed out fifteen copies of my resume, and drove all the way here to talk to you about working for you and "apply online" is all you can say?

Speaking of those fifteen copies of my resume I printed out, guess how many got asked for by the companies I talked to.  Go ahead, take a wild guess.

You ready for the number?

Zero.

What a waste of paper, printer ink, power, and time.

Also, about my skill set.  Apparently, even though I feel fairly well skilled, the only open positions in anything IT or otherwise computer or internet-related are senior staff positions that require a lot more intimate knowledge of approximately everything than I currently have.  Come on, you're coming to a job fair held right next door to the University of Virginia, and you don't have any entry or mid-level positions open?

At least I got three streetpasses.

Nothing posted in ages...

So, I got a job.  A real one this time.  It's sucking away all my free time.  Which means less time to play games and write blog posts.

Here's a quick rundown of what's happened recently:

• Guitar Hero 5: FCed Deadbolt by Thrice
• Rogue Galaxy: All my Dark Emperors are ACE and have all their stats except for health maxed.  Currently feeding them the item that boosts their health until they reach max health or stop gaining boosts from food, before entering Insectron S Rank.
• The Simpsons: Hit and Run: Still haven't started playing it.
• Project 'Bout Fuckin' Time: Still haven't started it.
• Food: I've been making yakisobapan for my lunches for work recently.  Might eventually formulate a recipe post.  It's really not a complex thing to make.
• Winter Anime Season: Finished Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai NEXT and Minami-ke Tadaima.  Haganai NEXT had its moments but wasn't quite as good as the first season, and Minami-ke Tadaima was actually pretty decent.  Initial D 5th Stage on hold, basically watching Central-Anime's DVD version.
• Spring Anime Season: Watching Haiyore! Nyaruko-san W, and To aru Kagaku no Railgun S.  Checking out Namiuchigiwa no Muromi-san and a couple others.
• Guild Wars: Retreated from GW2, for a variety of reasons I'll probably dedicate a post to in the near future.  Playing GW1 sporadically.
• Computer stuff: Learning XSLT and Windows PowerShell.
• CAINE: CAINE is attending Sakura Matsuri this weekend.  We wrapped up our scheduled showings recently and by far the best thing we watched this semester was Steins;Gate.  It was up against Now and Then, Here and There, Kino no Tabi, and Megas XLR.  Also, for whatever reason, we had a showing that consisted of both Nanoha movies.  I'm not really into magical girl stuff.

I Don't Fucking Know

So, on Wednesday of last week, as we were leaving work, my boss said he'd call me regarding coming in to work on Monday (today).  Since it's a small company, he wants to give another guy more hours so they can get the business side of things done and get us some customers.

Monday has come and is nearly gone and I have yet to receive a phone call.

The only thing I can assume from this is that I don't need to go in.

But at the same time, I keep thinking that he wants me to come in and forgot to call.

It's incredibly confusing to me as an employee when I don't even know when the hell I'm going in to work the next time.  Is a regular work schedule really too much to ask?  I'm at the point where I'm considering taking on a second job, basically so I can have a job at all.

I feel like I'm back at square one on the job hunt.  I kind of got stuck with this job before I even knew what was going on, and I don't really feel qualified for it, to be honest.  However, if I quit, then they'll have to find someone else to be their network admin/sysadmin.  Maybe I shouldn't care, but part of me will still care, no matter how small that part actually is.

I think I'll just start asking for job applications everywhere I go.  If places even still do paper applications.  I've never trusted the online ones because I've never heard back from anywhere I've ever submitted an online application to.  They can basically just disregard any applicant at any time without contact, because there's been no real-life contact.

A friend of mine is in a similar situation.  Maybe I should apply to the same places he's applied to, just because it'd be nice to have someone I know at a job, someone I don't have to feel awkward around.

In before I end up working fast food or something.

I Can't Do This

I know, anyone's first response to this post will be "you've only been doing this for a week and a half, you'll get used to it", but...  I won't.  I can tell that I won't.

A friend of mine is leaving his position as network admin/system admin at a small wireless ISP in rural Virginia, and is training me to be his replacement.  I signed on because hey, any income is better than no income, and lol I can work with internets.

Now, if you know me, you know I'm just not a morning person at all.  Unrestricted by employment hours or anything else, I go to sleep at around 4-7 AM and wake up sometime in the afternoon.  I've found that I begin to get my daily energy anytime between 2 and 4 PM.  This reaches its peak an hour or two before midnight at the earliest.

That last paragraph is relevant because I currently am having to get up at 8 AM to have enough time to shower, get dressed, and eat before having maybe 25-30 minutes of leisure time before having to drive 14 miles from my house to where the ISP is, by 10 AM.  It takes almost half an hour to get there, and I don't have a key to let myself in so I have to wait for someone else to arrive.  Lunch is at noon, or just after the boss leaves, whichever is later.

The part-time "quitting time" is 2 PM, but I usually stick around working on shit for at least another few hours, and leave no later than 6 PM.  The job is technically going to be part-time, since it's a rather small company and we're still deploying the wireless infrastructure necessary to be able to have customers in the future, which involves a ton of red tape as we try and get permission to put up antennas in various places.

Then I have that same 14 mile, almost-half-hour-long drive back home.

So, at this point, it's anywhere between 5 and 6:30 PM.  Have leisure time if it's before 6, then eat.  Now it's pretty much going to be 7 PM.  I now have 4-5 hours to try and fill with entertainment to the best of my ability before I have to go to sleep.  Which, if you read the third paragraph, you realize I'm pretty much right at my energy peak when I have to go to sleep.  Like right now, for instance.  Also, there's an extra level of crap for yesterday and today (contrary to popular belief, it becomes a new day at midnight, not when you go to sleep or wake up (I get into arguments with people about this (RRG))) because my parents are on their annual anniversary vacation and I have to take care of the dog, which means feeding her around 5 AM and 5 PM, and taking her out to use the yard a few times daily.

Now, I'm really only a self-described sleep schedule expert, but...  that can't be good for a person.  Going to sleep every day right when your body is at its energy peak, that is.  In the past, when I did summer internships where my dad works, which were full-time, I experienced a huge amount of stress that a weekend's worth of basically doing nothing could not relieve.  So basically, it's less of a physical "can't be good for a person" and more of a mental "can't be good for a person".

Now of course, if I can manage to remember my fucking login details during the drive home, I can always pick a day and VPN in to do stuff.  Then I can work on my own schedule.  The problem with this is, I don't think the boss would really like it if he hires me, I get my VPN credentials, and then he never sees me again.  He's pretty funny, but he's still the kind of guy that wants to see the people that work for him most of the time he's at work.

Hence, my problem.  Is there a job available anywhere (anywhere) that I can hold given that I want to get up in the late morning (10 AM) at the earliest, work until 5 or 6 PM, and then have my whole night to spend before going to sleep around 2 AM?  I think I could maintain that schedule without any kind of mental stress.  But I've been on this one for a week and a half and it's already driving me crazy.  When you look at that, I'm really only asking for a shift of two hours in work schedule, but those two hours would basically make all the difference to me.

The other issue is, I'm fairly certain that my friend thinks I can do a lot more of this shit than I feel I'm capable of.  I'm up to the challenge, which is why I'm staying on, but...  I can't shake this nagging feeling that everything's going to go to shit as soon as he leaves.  The boss kind of needs some parts of his job done for him at certain points and is rather insistent about some of the weirdest things, and I'm not nearly assertive enough to handle that.  Even worse, I don't think I could train anyone to replace me and have it go nearly as well as my training is going currently, because my friend knows his shit, and it's not his fault that portions of it aren't sticking in my brain at all.

So what do I do, /b/?  Dilemma, thy name is employment for a nocturnal man.