🏷️ work

I have this habit of being getting to be really good at something just as some other circumstance takes me elsewhere. It started when I was really good at Botany and got a scholarship to go to Germany. Before I ever got to become a botanist, I switched to German and got really good at German language. Up until the point when I needed money and there were no German jobs in Buffalo so I started at Canisius.

In order to move on up, I began to get really good at doing 3D modeling and a couple years went by. At that point, I was extreemly proficient n 3D modeling and texturing. Then as the jobs for 3D weren't happening in Buffalo and I needed money , I switched to back to web design. I spent about 12 hours a day for 2 years learning the just about everything about XML, Javascript, PHP, AJAX and MySQL. I even got a lot of job offers to continue my work in PHP based web development. But none of them were in Buffalo.

Then I got the job at Roswell and now I am back to beginning something new to make the apps in ASP and Jscript. I seems really lame in that this time I am switching to something new, but not really something different enough or better. The application I am developing now could have been done last week in PHP 5.

Luckily, I get paid enough to just deal with it. Oh and the food is still great. Today I had chicken florentine.

I have been working for about 12 hours now. I am really tired. I have no idea why I said yes to finsihing at Canisius and especially why I am here late right now.

Another exceptional day at work. I don't know how long this feeling will last but I really like my job and the coworkers.

Today I decided to ditch VbScript in favor of JScript. What an improvement! I like being able to write in the same language both server and client side, although, frankly, I think we are selling ourselves short by not using PHP 5.

I can now do everything I need to to begin making stuff. Tomorrow I will tackle the Blackberry.

I love my new job. By the end of the day I was writing production viable vbscript using classes to validate input like zip code with and without extensions and all the different flavors of phone numbers. I also got put in charge of crackberry and mobile development.

Best of all I got my schedule changed to 10 to 6:30 and I am able to write this walking home from my supermobile while listening to live streaming radio.

Fortunately, the schedule is variable. I will be developing mobile stuff for the crackberry.

Vbscript is ugly . It reminds me of programming the basic stamp. end if, lol

It has been years since I have seen 7am. It instantly brought me back to the feeling of waking up for high school.

I am excited to see what the day brings.

Today is my last day of work as the Mutlimedia Specialist at Canisius. It is bound to be a grueling day, as I think everyone will come to ask for help this last chance they get.

The server is getting better everyday. I appologize for this not being the most interesting topic but I promise it will be the coolest result. I have learned so much more about server admin this last week. Now I am really getting to be a pro at it. Well not exactly, but I am much more confident in being able to make it do whatever I want and I love CentOS.

One of the lastest upgrades now allows me to convert regular video to flash .flv video files using the command prompt - which means php can do it - making video accessible to more users via the flash player. That in addition to having extra space will allow us to incorporate a lot more video into the site.

I really want to go dancing to Darren Jay at opium lounge but instead right now I am backing up a terrabyte size system and installing a new graphics, card, moving a harddrive and installing CENT OS on the new (e:strip) server. That bites. I hope that @terry and @lilho get home soon and I can stop with this crap.

In place of the superocmputer, which is moving to artvoice land, we are getting a fancy flat iMac. I usually hate macs but seeing as we already have PC and Linux and I will no longer be working in MAC land at Canisius, I will need some sort of Macintosh in order to do web site testing for those pesking mac users.



Well we headed down to compusa to check out the flat panel imac and it is pretty nice. We are going to be getting the one with the remote control. It makes a pretty fancy schamncy media center and had a built in camera. I like it because upkeep is easy on those machines and I already have like three other machines to take care of. I thought a lot about getting the mac mini because I already have some monitors and it was way cheaper. unfortunately, 32MB of video ram is just too lame for me.

So I went for to fill out forms and paperwork at Roswell today. Maybe someday I can help make that process online too. Afterwards, I had to go in for a physical to test for hepatitis B, TB, and to give some blood. I found it weird that I never had to take my pants off for the physical. The woman even did the cough test through my pants by just touching my thigh. When did that start? It has been so long since I have been to a doctor.

I also went took the subway home. It takes about 20 minutes total, which is great. I can also eat on Allen Street. It's one block from work to the subway and a block and a half from the subway stop I live at back to the house. I suppose I will probably make that trip many thousands of times so it is nice that it is short.

The subway was packed but I was the only white person. I know it is different at 8:30am and 5PM when people are traveling to and from work. @terry said it is nice because they actually have a working public transportation system through their neighborhood. I wish we had something like it on elmwood. Like the trolley that used to be there. Anyways, I looked so out of place that a bunch of black teenagers commented on the front of the car saying, "white people to the back of the bus." I have to admit I thought it was quite funny myself.

[size=m]Quitting UB[/size]
The hardest thing to do was to quit my job working for Josephine at UB where I was working on programming and design for her 3D drama, the Trial The Trail . Josephine, has been so great to me and gave me that job when I really needed it,a lthough as a side not I have still not been paid for this semester do to some drama with a missing social security card. I wish I didn't have to leave but I really need to focus my energy on the new job. I had already put so much work into the project. I hope she doesn't hate me. Seriously, she is one of my favorte people, but I just can't be going in so many directions.

[size=m]Quitting Canisius[/size]
Quitting Canisius was so uplifting. I feel great other than I will miss the few students that really worked hard and made teaching worth it. I never realized how much that place brought me down. Today I was told that poor Canisius can't replace me because they are on a hiring freeze even though my position was budgeted throughout the year. You should see how many tears I shed about that.

I puts the whole full time position in spring/fall continuous lie in such great perspective. I wonder when they planned on telling me this if I hadn't quit. I can't believe a school that charges almost $30,000 for tuition can be so cheap. It is disgusting. I made $18,000/year this year with no benefits other than the privilege of being allowed to take one undergraduate class per semester. When I started in 2001 I made $16,000/year. They spend so much money on decorations and "the look" and not enough on the education or the staff. Without a commitment to improving staff and pay, they will never get qualified people to teach digital media arts.

But the worst part is that grade inflation here is beyond ridiculous. When I was talking with another professor today he said that he was reading over a students record and his grades were all c-,c-,c- and then at the bottom was my grade, an F. He said that it was great that I gave an honest grade and that as a part time teacher I didn't have to be afraid. What does that mean? The kid did no work, barely ever showed up and the work he did do was crap. Why should he get anything other than a F. Because it makes the school look bad? Because he would have to redo it? I am seriously being honest here and not saying this out of anger, but most of the students coming out of the Canisius DMA program are not even qualified for data entry. Enough said, let a new era begin.

Aftr writing this I got this email from @scud, it made it all seem a lot more worth it, thanks.

I just wanted to let you know that you did not totally waste your time at Canisius. I can honestly tell you that YOU inspired me to do more than I ever imagined! I try to accomplish so much more now because of the few classes I took with you. I don't know what you did, but you turned a switch on in my brain or something. Now instead of learning what something is, I want to know what it is, how it works, and how i can create one myself.