Beautiful Ones.

Mary J. Blige wrote that song a long time ago, but somehow, it makes me want to drive through NYC on a rainy night just having fun with friends. Maybe it's the thought of returning to school that's fueling all this nostalgia. Who knows.

Either way, my time at IBM is up. It was an interesting journey, more or less, simply because it helped to expose a stack of my weaknesses as a programmer. I have no worries in this regard anyway. One thing I've become particularly adept at is fixing mistakes I've made as soon as I've made them. It's something along the lines of "you can trick me once, but you won't trick me twice." I like to think of it as being acutely self-aware, and thus, I'm able to fix things as soon as I know there's something wrong.

In a lot of cases, I discover these problems after I've had to do something, and for instance, didn't know how. Sometimes, software is fast-paced, so you can't fix the problem right then and there (improvise), but you go back and arm yourself with the solution for the future. Software components are reusable and that includes the solutions to all the non-software problems you had.

I discovered, for instance, that I absolutely sucked with C. Yes, this was like a smack in the face to my productivity, but it's something I've been working to rectify. I got invited back to IBM for next summer, so it didn't have too much of an effect. But, it will never be an issue again. I guarantee this.

Know thyself and nothing can blind-side you. Really.

Obligatory Thought Maintenance.

I started the day off yesterday by getting all dressed up and going to work for about two hours in my mom's store since she was short on staff. That was pretty fun until I realized I probably had no business wearing the shoes I did...even if I did spend a pretty penny on them. Either way I was happy to have helped.

After that I came back to the house (not immediately), changed clothes, and then eventually laid down for a nap. After the nap, I started working on more stuff to finish up my internship, along with checking out my failed bid for a Citibank student loan.

Bastards. :D

Renewal and Leadership Schtuff...

So, I started reading Gerald Weinberg's Becoming a Technical Leader last night. Well, ok, I skipped through the leadership theory mamby-pamby with full intention of returning to it later--after tater tots and a night cleaning out the mall to be more precise. In section 7, Tools for Developing Self Awareness, Weinberg starts off with the challenge that spawned what you are reading right now: "Starting now, and continuing for three months, spend five minutes each day writing in a personal journal."

Blahhh...! That's not so bad; I keep a blog. But, wait, I sure as crap don't write in it everyday, so I can pretty much guarantee that this will be an intriguing endeavor...and maybe more importantly, an exercise in discipline. Furthermore, I just traipsed into the realm of going along with Weinberg's secondary request: "Pause now, get a piece of paper, and write down your initial reaction. This reaction is an important part of the test. Not only that, but what you wrote on that paper is your first journal entry." That doesn't necessarily apply here, but...SCORE!

I'm elated. Actually, okay, I cheated. I knew this portion was coming, so I fast-forwarded to it. Take me to People's Court for cryin' out loud!

More Ill Behavior

So, I've been drafting up ideas for the new HU portal I want to put in play when I get back to school, as well as implementation specifics for the HUES website. All I can say here is that I'm excited. Very excited. Technology should move in leaps and bounds, and if somebody can make that happen, I'd be quite pleased. Better yet, I'm going to make it happen. Everything is moving too slow.

Schizophrenic Megalomaster with the Ill Behavior.

Laaa-la-looo...da da daaaa. Do I even have anything really to post about besides my carpal tunnel syndrome? lol. Yeah, I don't have an official diagnosis, but when you're rolling around in your bed because your right hand (your mouse hand) feels like it's about to fall off at the wrist...you pretty much know what's going on. I've spent so much time in front of the computer in the last few weeks that it's wonder my hand didn't fall off earlier. Not that it has now. lol. But yes, I went to Walmart (ugh) tonight and bought two wrist braces.

Either way, I've got a long list of things to get to before I return to Howard. Pick me ups would be welcome.

Lo-mein-tenance. A joy to be with you. Dahahhhha.