... from work, that is!
Despite the fact that he started 2 weeks before I did, I seem to have gotten the royal treatment compared to him. Take my first day, for instance:
I arrived at my new cubicle and found not one, but TWO computers: a Windows machine and a Linux machine. Allan has only one. Okay, that was probably justified because my group needs to do development on both machines, so it's a given that everyone has 2 machines. But still, this bit of geekish "competition" was amusing ;-)
Not only that, but on my desk were also some basic office supplies, including more "luxurious" items like a nice leather binder, and gel wristpad for the keyboard and mousepad. Allan just got the basic office supplies. No fancy gel wrist rests. And no leather binder.
(to add insult to injury, I actually had TWO mousepads on my desk. And yes, I decided to be nice (for once!) and gave the extra one to Allan)
We all get magnetic key cards so we can enter the building through the side entrance. Allan's card didn't work until a few days after he started. Mine worked instantly. Well, I didn't get a chance to check until my 2nd day, but it worked when I arrived that morning :-D
Then, today-- the real kicker! We passed by the mailboxes section on the way to the kitchen for a snack, and we inspected it to see if our names had been added yet. Sure enough, there was a slot with my name on it. As you can imagine, there was nothing for Allan.
Well, at least Allan has one thing going in his favor: the printer next to his desk does duplex printing. The one near mine does not. I guess he had to catch a break eventually, eh!
(originally posted at: http://www.myspace.com/hellykwee/blog/353232018)
La Maison des Tortues: One third of the "heckled trio" writes...
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
New Beginnings, cont'd
Is it Friday yet? It sure feels like it. It seems surreal that we haven't even reached the middle of the week. For the first time in my life I've got a taste for what it's like to juggle full-time work (for both of us) with parenthood.
Allan dropped Todd off at his first day of his new preschool/day care yesterday. Though I was confident that the drop-off would pose no problems (since Todd is used to going to school every day, he no longer has separation anxiety over it), I had trepidations about what would go on IN school. Like his slow eating. Or his shyness at asking for help (i.e. going to the bathroom, asking for a drink). Or his tendency to let his eyes and mind wander and not pay attention, esp in new surroundings. I was also concerned about how the kids would occupy their time after school (which only runs till lunchtime).
Sure enough, when I went to pick him up, Todd was playing in a freezing cold room where a harried teacher was busy minding a half dozen other rambunctious (some shrieking and wailing) kids. His jacket was barely staying on, as it wasn't zipped up. His hands were freezing. Worse yet, he was wet, because he had been too timid to get up from his nap cot to ask for a trip to the bathroom. Lord only knows how long he was wet in that cold room. Then I opened his backpack-- except for the empty juice bottle, the food was more or less intact. He'd eaten nothing for lunch. Off we went towards home, where I quickly gave him a hot shower and stuffed him full of good food. All the while, I repeatedly instructed him on what to do the next day, like asking for help zipping up his jacket, and making sure to go to the bathroom, and eating all his lunch!
It must have helped, for today he ate most of his lunch (at the expense of not drinking, though :-P Well, we'll get there). He was dry. And his jacket was zipped up and the playroom wasn't freezing like yesterday. Small steps. Now we just have to figure out how to get him to give us more than an "I don't know" when we ask him what he did at school today :-P
As for me, my first day was about as busy as can be expected, mostly with admin stuff. Then today I "met" with my team lead, who actually lives in Kentucky and works remotely. So, lots of phone calls, and keeping mindful of the 3-hour time difference. Still, it's great that the company values him enough to allow him to move across the country (due to personal reasons) and still work for them. Our project manager is a British expat who commiserated about the recent record-breaking spate of rain we had. After all, he'd left England to get away from precisely this kind of dreary weather! ;-) And of course, because the company is based in Santa Barbara, it recruits heavily from my alma mater, UCSB, and I've already run into a ton of familiar names and faces just roaming the halls. Quite an eclectic mix, all around!
The days so far seem long, but the hours have been very productive, so the time flies by very quickly. Having a commute under 10 minutes is a welcome change from the near-hour commutes I used to make to Amgen. And nothing beats having my very own personal slave-- ahem, I mean, loving source of help, both technical and physical, just downstairs :-)
I'm actually looking forward to another busy day tomorrow. No more meetings to interrupt me, but I've got a nice long laundry list of things to do, endless sources of help when the need arises (and I know it will, a lot) and interesting projects to jump headfirst into. And, with a little luck, Todd will settle down in his new school and actually start paying attention and learning stuff!
(originally posted at: http://www.myspace.com/hellykwee/blog/352963416)
Allan dropped Todd off at his first day of his new preschool/day care yesterday. Though I was confident that the drop-off would pose no problems (since Todd is used to going to school every day, he no longer has separation anxiety over it), I had trepidations about what would go on IN school. Like his slow eating. Or his shyness at asking for help (i.e. going to the bathroom, asking for a drink). Or his tendency to let his eyes and mind wander and not pay attention, esp in new surroundings. I was also concerned about how the kids would occupy their time after school (which only runs till lunchtime).
Sure enough, when I went to pick him up, Todd was playing in a freezing cold room where a harried teacher was busy minding a half dozen other rambunctious (some shrieking and wailing) kids. His jacket was barely staying on, as it wasn't zipped up. His hands were freezing. Worse yet, he was wet, because he had been too timid to get up from his nap cot to ask for a trip to the bathroom. Lord only knows how long he was wet in that cold room. Then I opened his backpack-- except for the empty juice bottle, the food was more or less intact. He'd eaten nothing for lunch. Off we went towards home, where I quickly gave him a hot shower and stuffed him full of good food. All the while, I repeatedly instructed him on what to do the next day, like asking for help zipping up his jacket, and making sure to go to the bathroom, and eating all his lunch!
It must have helped, for today he ate most of his lunch (at the expense of not drinking, though :-P Well, we'll get there). He was dry. And his jacket was zipped up and the playroom wasn't freezing like yesterday. Small steps. Now we just have to figure out how to get him to give us more than an "I don't know" when we ask him what he did at school today :-P
As for me, my first day was about as busy as can be expected, mostly with admin stuff. Then today I "met" with my team lead, who actually lives in Kentucky and works remotely. So, lots of phone calls, and keeping mindful of the 3-hour time difference. Still, it's great that the company values him enough to allow him to move across the country (due to personal reasons) and still work for them. Our project manager is a British expat who commiserated about the recent record-breaking spate of rain we had. After all, he'd left England to get away from precisely this kind of dreary weather! ;-) And of course, because the company is based in Santa Barbara, it recruits heavily from my alma mater, UCSB, and I've already run into a ton of familiar names and faces just roaming the halls. Quite an eclectic mix, all around!
The days so far seem long, but the hours have been very productive, so the time flies by very quickly. Having a commute under 10 minutes is a welcome change from the near-hour commutes I used to make to Amgen. And nothing beats having my very own personal slave-- ahem, I mean, loving source of help, both technical and physical, just downstairs :-)
I'm actually looking forward to another busy day tomorrow. No more meetings to interrupt me, but I've got a nice long laundry list of things to do, endless sources of help when the need arises (and I know it will, a lot) and interesting projects to jump headfirst into. And, with a little luck, Todd will settle down in his new school and actually start paying attention and learning stuff!
(originally posted at: http://www.myspace.com/hellykwee/blog/352963416)
Sunday, January 27, 2008
New Beginnings All Around
It's been raining so much this past couple weeks that the ants have sought refuge indoors. Fortunately I only saw about a half dozen in the bathtub, let's hope that's all there is, and not just the advanced party conducting a recon mission. Kinda ironic, isn't it? Wasn't that long ago that I was complaining about the warm, windy, skin-parchingly dry weather, longing for rain instead, and wham! I sure got my wish, didn't I? And I didn't even have to move up north for it!
I let myself get a haircut before the weekend. Turned out a wee bit shorter than I anticipated, but it's been really nice not having all that unruly hair to mess with in the morning, and the nights I wash my hair are definitely more pleasant. I use up far less shampoo, there's less hair clogging the drain (don't worry, I do use a hair-catching net) and my hair dries a lot faster! Allan, whose job it is to clean the floors, likes that there aren't as many notorious "Helly hairs" to clean up anymore-- I typically shed worse than a dog or cat.
Tomorrow both Todd and I begin something new. I start at my new job and Todd starts at his new preschool. I was a bit sad to take him out of his old one in LA, as he'd made friends and was learning some really good stuff. Now, the stuff they covered there was already pretty advanced, but as it turns out, his new school in SB is even more advanced, covering things normally taught in kindergarten, even first grade! After taking the tour on Friday and hearing about where the pre-K kids were in the curriculum, I realized Todd was actually a bit behind. So, I don't have to worry that he'll be understimulated in the class, at least!
Time to get ready to head out and meet some old school friends for brunch. Many have graduated and scattered to the four corners of the earth, and a lot of them are in town for the film festival this weekend, so it will be a great opportunity to catch up with folks I haven't seen in months, even years! Let's hope we don't drown on the way from the apartment to the car! ;-P
I let myself get a haircut before the weekend. Turned out a wee bit shorter than I anticipated, but it's been really nice not having all that unruly hair to mess with in the morning, and the nights I wash my hair are definitely more pleasant. I use up far less shampoo, there's less hair clogging the drain (don't worry, I do use a hair-catching net) and my hair dries a lot faster! Allan, whose job it is to clean the floors, likes that there aren't as many notorious "Helly hairs" to clean up anymore-- I typically shed worse than a dog or cat.
Tomorrow both Todd and I begin something new. I start at my new job and Todd starts at his new preschool. I was a bit sad to take him out of his old one in LA, as he'd made friends and was learning some really good stuff. Now, the stuff they covered there was already pretty advanced, but as it turns out, his new school in SB is even more advanced, covering things normally taught in kindergarten, even first grade! After taking the tour on Friday and hearing about where the pre-K kids were in the curriculum, I realized Todd was actually a bit behind. So, I don't have to worry that he'll be understimulated in the class, at least!
Time to get ready to head out and meet some old school friends for brunch. Many have graduated and scattered to the four corners of the earth, and a lot of them are in town for the film festival this weekend, so it will be a great opportunity to catch up with folks I haven't seen in months, even years! Let's hope we don't drown on the way from the apartment to the car! ;-P
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Good News
I got a call from the recruiter at Citrix yesterday, giving me the official job offer. Now I just have to wait on the paperwork and stuff. But I should be starting a new job in a little over a week! Allan's already there-- he started Monday. Should be fun to have lunches together :-)
More randomosity:
Mom's started chemotherapy this week, too. It's really taking its toll. Not too badly, but not that great, either. She can get by on her own but doesn't have enough strength or energy to look after a rambunctious and difficult Toddler. Which means that next week will be Todd's last week of preschool. Such a shame-- I really liked his school, they teach all kinds of good stuff there! They've already started learning basic addition and how to tell time, and most of the kids are only 3-4 years old! But since my mom won't be able to care for him during the day, and since I'll be starting to work again, I have to take him to a preschool/day care in Santa Barbara. I've found one that's reasonably close by, and they seem to have a good program, so fingers crossed that things work out with getting Todd placed there.
Our brief respite of warm weather is over. It's been replaced by cold Santa Anas again, which really sucks. There is nothing I hate worse than cold, dry winds. I'll take constant rain over skin-parching 50mph winds anyday!
Jenna's citrus peel soap gift has really turned me on to aromatherapy. I really needed some yesterday, but I'm down to a tiny sliver. So I'll have to be on the lookout for more next time I'm near one of the Lush stores in LA. In the meantime, I treated myself to a fruity-smelling bath gel from the "bath and body" section of Target :-9
I'm addicted to El Pollo Loco's $1 Loco Nachos. The cheese sauce is incredibly delicious. I blame my husband for this new unhealthful addiction :-P Fortunately, their $1 salads are sinfully tasty as well, and provide a nice, healthy balance ;-)
The little man and I had fun making silly-looking headwear out of towels yesterday. I decided to take some snapshots for posterity, what a giggle!
http://toddsdiary.blogspot.com/2008/01/towel-hat-silliness.html
Time to go brave the winds and do a bit of last-minute shopping before I pick up Todd!
More randomosity:
Mom's started chemotherapy this week, too. It's really taking its toll. Not too badly, but not that great, either. She can get by on her own but doesn't have enough strength or energy to look after a rambunctious and difficult Toddler. Which means that next week will be Todd's last week of preschool. Such a shame-- I really liked his school, they teach all kinds of good stuff there! They've already started learning basic addition and how to tell time, and most of the kids are only 3-4 years old! But since my mom won't be able to care for him during the day, and since I'll be starting to work again, I have to take him to a preschool/day care in Santa Barbara. I've found one that's reasonably close by, and they seem to have a good program, so fingers crossed that things work out with getting Todd placed there.
Our brief respite of warm weather is over. It's been replaced by cold Santa Anas again, which really sucks. There is nothing I hate worse than cold, dry winds. I'll take constant rain over skin-parching 50mph winds anyday!
Jenna's citrus peel soap gift has really turned me on to aromatherapy. I really needed some yesterday, but I'm down to a tiny sliver. So I'll have to be on the lookout for more next time I'm near one of the Lush stores in LA. In the meantime, I treated myself to a fruity-smelling bath gel from the "bath and body" section of Target :-9
I'm addicted to El Pollo Loco's $1 Loco Nachos. The cheese sauce is incredibly delicious. I blame my husband for this new unhealthful addiction :-P Fortunately, their $1 salads are sinfully tasty as well, and provide a nice, healthy balance ;-)
The little man and I had fun making silly-looking headwear out of towels yesterday. I decided to take some snapshots for posterity, what a giggle!
http://toddsdiary.blogspot.com/2008/01/towel-hat-silliness.html
Time to go brave the winds and do a bit of last-minute shopping before I pick up Todd!
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Back With My Phone
As you probably gathered from my status, I'm back in LA for the next week and a half. And as some of you know, it means I've been reunited with my cell phone, which I left at my parents' house when we returned to SB after Christmas.
So I wanna know which one of my wiseacre friends left me a text message to say "your phone misses you!" ;-P
It gave me a good laugh when I got home on Tuesday and read it.
I played endless phone tag with the recruiter this week, and it didn't help matters that I had to use Allan's phone for part of it and she had my cell phone number on file, etc... so it's safe to say that *I* missed my phone this past couple weeks, too!
:-D
So I wanna know which one of my wiseacre friends left me a text message to say "your phone misses you!" ;-P
It gave me a good laugh when I got home on Tuesday and read it.
I played endless phone tag with the recruiter this week, and it didn't help matters that I had to use Allan's phone for part of it and she had my cell phone number on file, etc... so it's safe to say that *I* missed my phone this past couple weeks, too!
:-D
Monday, January 7, 2008
Jingle Bells with a Bonus
In April of last year I found a website that features online karaoke, and went crazy making my own recordings:
http://www.singshot.com/user.html?userId=9CszAnQKOps%3D
You can even tell at what point I stopped using my laptop's built-in mic and plugged in an external one (the sound of my computer's fan disappears). After blogging one of my songs on Grab, I promptly forgot all about the website.
Then, when Allan got his new laptop this past weekend, I rediscovered the karaoke sites, including one that lets you film yourself with your webcam as you sing. Since Allan's new computer comes with a built-in webcam, I waited until he put his new toy down before seizing it and exploring those features.
Here's a little sampling, a duet performed by Todd and me: "Jingle Bells". It's pretty ordinary and nothing to clamor about, but the entertaining part comes at the end of the song. I had forgotten to hit the "Stop" button when we finished singing, and though the mic shut off, the webcam continued to record. What follows is several (silent) minutes of Todd and me playing with SingSnap's various video settings and having fun observing our recorded selves onscreen. My new turtle, Pistachio, features prominently in this (don't laugh. Okay, laugh-- but not too hard :-P)
(originally posted at: http://www.myspace.com/hellykwee/blog/345402522)
http://www.singshot.com/user.html?userId=9CszAnQKOps%3D
You can even tell at what point I stopped using my laptop's built-in mic and plugged in an external one (the sound of my computer's fan disappears). After blogging one of my songs on Grab, I promptly forgot all about the website.
Then, when Allan got his new laptop this past weekend, I rediscovered the karaoke sites, including one that lets you film yourself with your webcam as you sing. Since Allan's new computer comes with a built-in webcam, I waited until he put his new toy down before seizing it and exploring those features.
Here's a little sampling, a duet performed by Todd and me: "Jingle Bells". It's pretty ordinary and nothing to clamor about, but the entertaining part comes at the end of the song. I had forgotten to hit the "Stop" button when we finished singing, and though the mic shut off, the webcam continued to record. What follows is several (silent) minutes of Todd and me playing with SingSnap's various video settings and having fun observing our recorded selves onscreen. My new turtle, Pistachio, features prominently in this (don't laugh. Okay, laugh-- but not too hard :-P)
(originally posted at: http://www.myspace.com/hellykwee/blog/345402522)
Saturday, January 5, 2008
New Computer
I am typing this from Allan's new laptop, which arrived safe and sound last night, poor UPS man looking like a drowned rat. It's a pretty nice laptop, even if it IS a Mac ;-P The keyboard is a bit funky-- the keys are spaced out a bit more than they usually are, but I like it! It also comes built in with a webcam, here's a sample photo taken just minutes earlier:
I'm still miffed that there is only one mouse button. I don't think I'll ever take Macs that seriously until they start making laptops with TWO buttons. And yes, I know I can emulated right-clicks and middle-clicks but I prefer the convenience of actual, physical buttons :-P I also use the PgUp, PgDn, Home and End keys with more frequency than I realized, and the lack of such keys on a Mac laptop keyboard make it that much less user-friendly for me.
I enjoyed a nice, quiet day today, sans boys. Allan took Todd on an extended shopping trip south of town and I got to enjoy a nice, peaceful apartment in which to do whatever I pleased. So, I got a chance to catch up on lots of reading, yay! As much as I love my boys and love hanging out with them, it's always nice to have a "just me" day once in a while. Back to the grind now... starting with dinner! :-9
(originally posted at: http://www.myspace.com/hellykwee/blog/344737135)
I'm still miffed that there is only one mouse button. I don't think I'll ever take Macs that seriously until they start making laptops with TWO buttons. And yes, I know I can emulated right-clicks and middle-clicks but I prefer the convenience of actual, physical buttons :-P I also use the PgUp, PgDn, Home and End keys with more frequency than I realized, and the lack of such keys on a Mac laptop keyboard make it that much less user-friendly for me.
I enjoyed a nice, quiet day today, sans boys. Allan took Todd on an extended shopping trip south of town and I got to enjoy a nice, peaceful apartment in which to do whatever I pleased. So, I got a chance to catch up on lots of reading, yay! As much as I love my boys and love hanging out with them, it's always nice to have a "just me" day once in a while. Back to the grind now... starting with dinner! :-9
(originally posted at: http://www.myspace.com/hellykwee/blog/344737135)
Friday, January 4, 2008
It's Raining, It's Pouring
... the old man is snoring!
Feels like the storm of the century has hit. Gusty winds AND cold, pelting rain all day today. When I came back to the apartment this afternoon, I had to haul my umbrella and wet shoes INSIDE because even the covered parts of our front porch and back patio were getting soaked from rain blowing every which way. My pants were instantly tossed in the hamper due to all the dirt I splattered on it, just walking. We're supposed to get record amounts of rain this next couple days. I suppose, as dry as So Cal normally is, we do need it. Plus it makes for coziness indoors-- warm and listening to the pitter patter outside.
I stopped by the store today and grabbed some excellent after-Christmas deals, 75% off everything holiday-related. But my biggest amusement came in the form of a "sale" item-- sweaters originally marked at $25 apiece and that I saw priced at $10 last week. Today they were marked "Clearance!!"... and priced at $12. Yeah-- more like a clearance of shoppers' wallets :-P
My New Year's Eve was relatively uneventful. I had put Todd down for a long nap earlier that afternoon, figuring it would cause him to stay up till midnight and catch some fireworks on TV with us. At 11:30, however, he was yawning and actually saying "yes" to the notion of going to bed (something he rarely does), so I tucked him into bed and headed for the living room. We watched the ball drop on Times Square, toasted each other with sparkling blueberry juice, and then watched a bit of regular TV. At 12:30 I went to check in on Todd, who was still awake!! Ah well, 4th of July shall provide an opportunity for even more fireworks, AND a warmer environment in which to watch them.
Yesterday Todd surprised me by choosing the library over shopping (where he knew there was an ample selection of toys to browse). I told him I wanted to go shopping, but he chimed in with "I want to go to the library". So, off we went to the library instead, coming home with an armful of books-- a couple for me, and a dozen for Todd :-)
Then today I read him some of his books aloud, and I just wanna know-- why is it so tiring to read books out loud? I was absolutely bushed by the time I'd finished a round of stories. I mean, it's not like it's very physically taxing-- sitting comfortably on our futon, maybe a bit of strain on my vocal cords, but other than that... so why was I tired and sleepy at the end of it?
Time for dinner... Allan has been waiting home all day today for his new computer to arrive. I guess UPS is waiting till the absolute last minute to deliver it to our doorstep. In any case, it's made for some fun ribbing at Allan's expense, getting his dander up over the slight possibility that he might have to wait yet another day for his much-anticipated new toy ;-) Aren't women evil? ;-D
(originally posted at: http://www.myspace.com/hellykwee/blog/344422846)
Feels like the storm of the century has hit. Gusty winds AND cold, pelting rain all day today. When I came back to the apartment this afternoon, I had to haul my umbrella and wet shoes INSIDE because even the covered parts of our front porch and back patio were getting soaked from rain blowing every which way. My pants were instantly tossed in the hamper due to all the dirt I splattered on it, just walking. We're supposed to get record amounts of rain this next couple days. I suppose, as dry as So Cal normally is, we do need it. Plus it makes for coziness indoors-- warm and listening to the pitter patter outside.
I stopped by the store today and grabbed some excellent after-Christmas deals, 75% off everything holiday-related. But my biggest amusement came in the form of a "sale" item-- sweaters originally marked at $25 apiece and that I saw priced at $10 last week. Today they were marked "Clearance!!"... and priced at $12. Yeah-- more like a clearance of shoppers' wallets :-P
My New Year's Eve was relatively uneventful. I had put Todd down for a long nap earlier that afternoon, figuring it would cause him to stay up till midnight and catch some fireworks on TV with us. At 11:30, however, he was yawning and actually saying "yes" to the notion of going to bed (something he rarely does), so I tucked him into bed and headed for the living room. We watched the ball drop on Times Square, toasted each other with sparkling blueberry juice, and then watched a bit of regular TV. At 12:30 I went to check in on Todd, who was still awake!! Ah well, 4th of July shall provide an opportunity for even more fireworks, AND a warmer environment in which to watch them.
Yesterday Todd surprised me by choosing the library over shopping (where he knew there was an ample selection of toys to browse). I told him I wanted to go shopping, but he chimed in with "I want to go to the library". So, off we went to the library instead, coming home with an armful of books-- a couple for me, and a dozen for Todd :-)
Then today I read him some of his books aloud, and I just wanna know-- why is it so tiring to read books out loud? I was absolutely bushed by the time I'd finished a round of stories. I mean, it's not like it's very physically taxing-- sitting comfortably on our futon, maybe a bit of strain on my vocal cords, but other than that... so why was I tired and sleepy at the end of it?
Time for dinner... Allan has been waiting home all day today for his new computer to arrive. I guess UPS is waiting till the absolute last minute to deliver it to our doorstep. In any case, it's made for some fun ribbing at Allan's expense, getting his dander up over the slight possibility that he might have to wait yet another day for his much-anticipated new toy ;-) Aren't women evil? ;-D
(originally posted at: http://www.myspace.com/hellykwee/blog/344422846)
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