Current Mood: removed from the bubble
Another semester finished (around the first week of May) at Purdue, which means I am down to just 2 semesters. One more school year. My "senior" year, for real. One last summer break (during which I am happy to be busy with my internship!), one last set of holidays, one last winter break, one last spring break - the familiar school routine I've had since grade school. Only 2 more sets of finals!
I learned a ton of new stuff. I'm really glad I took my extra 490 classes - I gained some unique experience doing hangar maintenance, as well as some confidence doing hands-on work in my field. My fuels class really let me gain a rapport with one of my professors, and I learned some things about the industry that are outside the books, stuff they don't test you on but I feel like helps me understand the big picture. I even managed to get my best grade in electronics yet, which has always been a struggle for me.
My senior year will be somewhat front loaded, with something like 18 credit hours in the fall and probably about 13 in the spring - I wanted to try and take Air Traffic Control classes, but my schedule would not allow it. This includes senior design (both semesters), which I've heard horror stories of in terms of time commitment. I'd like to balance that out a little, but hopefully this way I can spend more time (especially in the spring) on job searching (and A&P prep)! That's right, honest to goodness, college graduate, real world, time to be an adult and look for gainful employment job searching. I can't wait!
After 8 years of Purdue (with one more to go), it's time for me to fly. I have to trust that just like retiring from the Ship of Fools, this is the right move. There's definitely part of me that's somewhat institutionalized - I love Purdue, and I love knowing exactly where everything is, where to go and who to talk to for anything I need or want, knowing where the best food is, the quickest routes, stuff like that. Feeling like a king around campus, because I have insider knowledge and my finger on the pulse of what's important. I have family and friends close by, we have an awesome apartment filled with all of my favorite things - why would I go anyplace else?
Of course, if I go someplace new, I'm sure I can recapture those feelings - it just takes time and effort. And let's be realistic, when I finally graduate, more than likely we will be moving. Most of the jobs in my field are in Washington, California, Texas (ugh), Florida, DC, places like that. As awful as it would be for J to leave her school that she loves and fought so hard to get, the reality is that she'll have an easier time finding a school near my job than vice versa. I'm not opposed to staying here - if I could find something, or somebody would pay for my grad school, sure, I'm just not sure how plausible that scenario is.
That all said, I'm feeling surprisingly optimistic about the job search (ask me again in a year, haha). I'm doing very well with my new major, especially grades wise. My cumulative grades (including that debacle half decade in engineering) have finally been pulled, kicking and screaming, to the floor of acceptable. My major GPA is rockin'. My professors like me and know me (one of my professors asked me in March if I had anything lined up for the summer, and when I told him my internship was pending, he told me if it didn't work out he'd "find something for me"). I see my professors in the hall and they say hi to me, and they know my name, which is a great feeling. Something I didn't even consider when I switched to this smaller program, but definitely something I like.
Some of my classmates have gotten internships at some places I'd love to work (Lockheed, Rolls Royce, Gulfstream, etc.). So it can definitely be done! I just have to buckle down, put my head down and power through. One more year of classes, books, and exams. One last year to do all the Purdue stuff I've put off (not that much), and then graduate. Oh, and take my A&P test *shudder*. Plus, I have got to stop paying for school and start paying down loans. That's...that's all I'm going to talk about that subject for now.
This May has been so weird. Seniors in my major are leaving, and I had just started to feel like I was getting to know them. Now I'm going to be those seniors. Another group of people (all majors, lots from the improv club and Ship of Fools, little siblings of people I started college with) graduating, some of which started schools years after I did, and now I've watched the grow up and now it's time to say goodbye. I'm extremely proud of them and happy for them, but there's a tiny bit that stings. Something about seeing them come and go, instead of being the one leaving. Seeing Facebook blow up with statuses and pictures of caps and gowns and sappy goodbyes. I have plenty of great stuff to take from my time at Purdue already, and I'm sure I will look back on my time here fondly, but right now I see a lot of frustration, wasted time and opportunity, and spinning wheels on my part. Never, never thought I'd be one of those old guy students who spent more than 4 (even 5) years to finish his undergrad degree.
UGH. Gotta push those stupid feelings away and get down to business.
Showing posts with label rants. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rants. Show all posts
5.27.2012
5.26.2012
which is worse - messing with Texas or the Sasquatch?
Current Mood: frankly, a bit confused
With the caveat that I haven't really gone off the main roads (from the northwest corner to Dallas/Ft. Worth, Austin, then San Antonio), here are some thoughts about Texas so far:
-In my experience, everything isn't bigger in Texas. I've seen smart cars, green fueling stations, and eco-houses. Buildings are normal sizes, portion sizes are the same, and the roads are large in big cities, just like anywhere else.
-The state, however, is enormous. Things are far apart in Texas, because you could fit most of the Midwest in here.
-After Hispanic, I think the most populous minority I've seen here is Czechoslovakian. Did not see that one coming. Props to the Czechs out there with billboards like "Check in at the Czech Inn" and "Czech and Loan".
-I wonder how the Dallas Zoo stacks up to, say, a world class zoo like Cincy's.
-Warm. Hot, actually, to me, but I've been told by reputable sources that I ain't seen nothin' yet (dun dunnn, b-b-baby I ain't seen nothin' yet). Probably less humid than Indiana, but it's no Colorado. Also the weather has been messing with my sinuses something fierce. I've been told I'll get used to it, but I forsee an uphill battle with that one. I'm allowed to wear shorts to work, thank god.
-I saw a billboard advertising a show by Clint Black. Couldn't tell you what he sounds like, but I know he was in Maverick.
-I cannot get used to an area that lives in perpetual summer. Some of the rest stops here are open air bathrooms, like at a campground. The roads - oh, the roads - there's stuff on all of them, little raised bumps and reflectors and knobs that would get destroyed by a snowplow, plus the drainage slopes and runoff drains are way different [I took a road design course at school, okay? cut me some slack].
-This Dallas building ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infomart ) was based on this building ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Crystal_Palace ). They may look the same, but boy does the original sound a whole lot classier.
-I saw a hotel proudly advertising an "indoor heated swimming pool". WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE??
-Thankfully, my fears that everybody would be speaking with a deep southern accent and I wouldn't be able to understand them have not come true.
-Texarkana is both a region AND a city, much to my chagrin.
-Colorado has King Soopers, Texas has Tom Thumb. Strange, strange world.
-I returned my car to DFW airport and got seriously lost. Not a pleasant experience, and it may take some time before I'm comfortable driving there again.
-Texas roads have these tiny little exit ramps on the left side of the road. Normally, this would not be a problem, as we have left side exits in Ohio sometimes. It becomes a problem when I don't know where I'm going, so I drive a normal speed like 70 mph, and to avoid upsetting people going 90, I drive in the right hand lane. Then my GPS says "keep left", which I always assumed to mean "ahead, there will be a choice, and you want to take the one that is not on the right" but apparently is code for "go left right now, seriously, do it". Now I'm forced to either ignore my directions and get lost, or force my way into a much faster and aggressive stream of traffic just to immediately dive off the road and screech to a halt, because the tiny exit is completely full of cars.
-Very glad I did not try to drive down here in a car without A/C.
-New burgers!
Jack in the Box: okay, a little too big
In and Out Burger: delicious, would eat again
Whataburger: TBD
I remember as a kid driving to Florida on a family vacation. When we reached the state line, I was extremely disappointed to learn that it looked a lot like the highways of Alabama, that is to say a divided freeway with a grass median and deciduous trees on either side. I was expecting a literal line of sand, palm trees, perhaps a hammock with a crab wearing sunglasses and holding a Corona. Or maybe orange juice.
Apparently my notions of US geography and climate are entirely founded on a very simple puzzle I worked ad nauseum at my grandmother's house. Y'know the one, where Idaho's entire identity is a giant potato, and Maine is a lobster, and I'm pretty sure both Dakotas are Mt. Rushmore.
Another example - when I went to Seattle, and it didn't rain, I was pissed. That's like... the Seattle thing. It didn't feel right until we got soaked.
What the hell does this all have to do with Texas? Well, when we got to the state line of Texas I expected sprawling ranches of cowboys driving longhorn steer around. I expected giant cities full of gleaming neon signs of boots with spurs. I expected every gal to have giant blonde hair and say "y'all" (I actually have met a few of them, actually, but not enough to fit my world view) and every man to look like Clint Eastwood. I expected everything to be a brown desert, with cacti and tumbleweeds and saloons.
I know it's not football season, but I would have thought that after a week here, I would've seen more than ONE Cowboys jersey (thank you, mail room guy).
Am I missing something? Do I need to go to like, Amarillo? Lubbock? Odessa? A movie set? I am craving the Texas experience, and so far, this place looks like Dayton, OH.*
So far, Texas, I am disappoint.
*not really a compliment
With the caveat that I haven't really gone off the main roads (from the northwest corner to Dallas/Ft. Worth, Austin, then San Antonio), here are some thoughts about Texas so far:
-In my experience, everything isn't bigger in Texas. I've seen smart cars, green fueling stations, and eco-houses. Buildings are normal sizes, portion sizes are the same, and the roads are large in big cities, just like anywhere else.
-The state, however, is enormous. Things are far apart in Texas, because you could fit most of the Midwest in here.
-After Hispanic, I think the most populous minority I've seen here is Czechoslovakian. Did not see that one coming. Props to the Czechs out there with billboards like "Check in at the Czech Inn" and "Czech and Loan".
-I wonder how the Dallas Zoo stacks up to, say, a world class zoo like Cincy's.
-Warm. Hot, actually, to me, but I've been told by reputable sources that I ain't seen nothin' yet (dun dunnn, b-b-baby I ain't seen nothin' yet). Probably less humid than Indiana, but it's no Colorado. Also the weather has been messing with my sinuses something fierce. I've been told I'll get used to it, but I forsee an uphill battle with that one. I'm allowed to wear shorts to work, thank god.
-I saw a billboard advertising a show by Clint Black. Couldn't tell you what he sounds like, but I know he was in Maverick.
-I cannot get used to an area that lives in perpetual summer. Some of the rest stops here are open air bathrooms, like at a campground. The roads - oh, the roads - there's stuff on all of them, little raised bumps and reflectors and knobs that would get destroyed by a snowplow, plus the drainage slopes and runoff drains are way different [I took a road design course at school, okay? cut me some slack].
-This Dallas building ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infomart ) was based on this building ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Crystal_Palace ). They may look the same, but boy does the original sound a whole lot classier.
-I saw a hotel proudly advertising an "indoor heated swimming pool". WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE??
-Thankfully, my fears that everybody would be speaking with a deep southern accent and I wouldn't be able to understand them have not come true.
-Texarkana is both a region AND a city, much to my chagrin.
-Colorado has King Soopers, Texas has Tom Thumb. Strange, strange world.
-I returned my car to DFW airport and got seriously lost. Not a pleasant experience, and it may take some time before I'm comfortable driving there again.
-Texas roads have these tiny little exit ramps on the left side of the road. Normally, this would not be a problem, as we have left side exits in Ohio sometimes. It becomes a problem when I don't know where I'm going, so I drive a normal speed like 70 mph, and to avoid upsetting people going 90, I drive in the right hand lane. Then my GPS says "keep left", which I always assumed to mean "ahead, there will be a choice, and you want to take the one that is not on the right" but apparently is code for "go left right now, seriously, do it". Now I'm forced to either ignore my directions and get lost, or force my way into a much faster and aggressive stream of traffic just to immediately dive off the road and screech to a halt, because the tiny exit is completely full of cars.
-Very glad I did not try to drive down here in a car without A/C.
-New burgers!
Jack in the Box: okay, a little too big
In and Out Burger: delicious, would eat again
Whataburger: TBD
I remember as a kid driving to Florida on a family vacation. When we reached the state line, I was extremely disappointed to learn that it looked a lot like the highways of Alabama, that is to say a divided freeway with a grass median and deciduous trees on either side. I was expecting a literal line of sand, palm trees, perhaps a hammock with a crab wearing sunglasses and holding a Corona. Or maybe orange juice.
Apparently my notions of US geography and climate are entirely founded on a very simple puzzle I worked ad nauseum at my grandmother's house. Y'know the one, where Idaho's entire identity is a giant potato, and Maine is a lobster, and I'm pretty sure both Dakotas are Mt. Rushmore.
Another example - when I went to Seattle, and it didn't rain, I was pissed. That's like... the Seattle thing. It didn't feel right until we got soaked.
What the hell does this all have to do with Texas? Well, when we got to the state line of Texas I expected sprawling ranches of cowboys driving longhorn steer around. I expected giant cities full of gleaming neon signs of boots with spurs. I expected every gal to have giant blonde hair and say "y'all" (I actually have met a few of them, actually, but not enough to fit my world view) and every man to look like Clint Eastwood. I expected everything to be a brown desert, with cacti and tumbleweeds and saloons.
I know it's not football season, but I would have thought that after a week here, I would've seen more than ONE Cowboys jersey (thank you, mail room guy).
Am I missing something? Do I need to go to like, Amarillo? Lubbock? Odessa? A movie set? I am craving the Texas experience, and so far, this place looks like Dayton, OH.*
So far, Texas, I am disappoint.
*not really a compliment
1.06.2011
in which some of my choices are beginning to bear fruit
Current Mood: it is snowing outside. WHY WAS I NOT INFORMED?
GRAH. New year, filled with the same optimism, promises, and hopes of an arbitrary day we celebrate. Anyway, I know I've been slacking when it comes to updating here but I still cling to the hope that it's something meaningful. Even though lately I've been wondering the wisdom of spending too much time cataloging and analyzing and dissecting and listing and reposting everything, especially the minutiae and mundane things that make up most of, let's face it, mine and most other's lives. That's not to say that self reflection isn't useful (far from it), but I have to think that parroting back somebody else's work (art, music, film, whatever) is not in and of itself the same as creating your own work - good bad or awful, there is some value to the process, the struggle, the desire and effort to form a thing that was not there previously, combining and synthesizing colors and patterns, sounds, movements, shapes, concepts WHATEVER into something unique and previously nonexistent.
So my brain is filled with plenty of random chaotic thoughts, neuroses, just like everybody else. Right now I'm having trouble sleeping despite trying harder than ever to stick to a routine - go to bed around 11, get up around 7 (admittedly I've been much better this break than I ever have, but still, it's getting worse with school starting back again on Monday).
I hesitated to really bring this up back when it was a nascent idea, but also on Monday I start a new job. That's right! Not long ago I wrote this huge post about my work history and how I wish it was different, and lo and behold last semester I was kicking ass in a class - in part because I've switched to an easier major, in part because I'm not an alcohol fueled freshman dumbass, in part because I actually bother to try.
At any rate, I was doing well in my composite materials class. The first exam, the professor had an open challenge: anybody who could get a perfect score he would treat to lunch. Depending on when you asked me, I would say I either managed to get most of them correctly because I studied and the rest I guessed correctly, or I managed to make that professor pay for that slice of hubris. At any rate, the scary House-ian professor made good on his deal and took me to Pizza Hut and we had a lovely sit down. I told him of my numerous years of struggle in AAE and some about my time at Purdue. He tried to tell me that was normal - after all, his top grad student spent two whole years in AAE. His jaw hit the floor when I told him it took me almost 5 years to switch. But he seemed encouraged and told me to keep up the good work, that he might have an opportunity for me at some point in the future.
I was stoked, but tried to be realistic and not get my hopes up. After all, I was the same student in AAE, just as motivated and personable, and those classes kicked my ass and those professors barely knew my name.
Fast forward to the end of last semester-
side bar, Jenny says I still have a lot of insecurity and fear left over from AAE and I'm inclined to believe... it's now January 6th, spring classes start in 4 days, grades have been out for about 2 weeks and I'm still terrified to look at them even though all indications are that I did very well in my classes
- and my prof (let's call him Prof. S) pulls me aside at the end of lab and tells me he would like to offer me a job. ! I met him with the next week for the details:
*I will be working in the Aerospace Composites Lab at Purdue under Professor S.
*I will be a Research Assistant, working on his various projects that deal with aerospace composite structures.
*His primary project is a special repair gel for Marine Corps helicopters that cures in UV light, which negates many of the expensive/time consuming/tricky requirements of standard repairs. His assistants are helping him test this material to see if it is as strong as conventional repairs.
*I will be making some pretty solid money, 20/hrs a week. The position is for spring and fall, for now.
What else to say. Like I said, I start next week. There is a good chance Prof. S has a spot for a summer internship for me, but we'll have to see how that will mesh with my summer plans for getting married. For now, I'm just happy there's a chance. This is a real Aero Job.
Of course I can't just be happy about something, or proud, or confident, and this is no exception. Prof. S and his Main Grad Student both are kind of intimidating to me. Make that very intimidating. And I did well in the class sometimes because I have already taken two classes on a computer program we used, or lab TAs helping us in lab used my part as an example, etc. Professor thinks I'm some sort of engineering math whiz, which I don't think that I am. So we'll see what sort of work I actually am asked to do.
Not to mention I hate working and schooling at the same time. I've done it before (res. hall main office) and it really sucks sometimes. And that was more like 10 hours/week in a cushy office where I could usually do homework. So here's hoping my 6 more credit hours this semester plus 20 work hours any other thing I might do don't pull down what might be my excellent grades from last semester?
So here's to next week... with cautious, footnote laden optimism?
GRAH. New year, filled with the same optimism, promises, and hopes of an arbitrary day we celebrate. Anyway, I know I've been slacking when it comes to updating here but I still cling to the hope that it's something meaningful. Even though lately I've been wondering the wisdom of spending too much time cataloging and analyzing and dissecting and listing and reposting everything, especially the minutiae and mundane things that make up most of, let's face it, mine and most other's lives. That's not to say that self reflection isn't useful (far from it), but I have to think that parroting back somebody else's work (art, music, film, whatever) is not in and of itself the same as creating your own work - good bad or awful, there is some value to the process, the struggle, the desire and effort to form a thing that was not there previously, combining and synthesizing colors and patterns, sounds, movements, shapes, concepts WHATEVER into something unique and previously nonexistent.
So my brain is filled with plenty of random chaotic thoughts, neuroses, just like everybody else. Right now I'm having trouble sleeping despite trying harder than ever to stick to a routine - go to bed around 11, get up around 7 (admittedly I've been much better this break than I ever have, but still, it's getting worse with school starting back again on Monday).
I hesitated to really bring this up back when it was a nascent idea, but also on Monday I start a new job. That's right! Not long ago I wrote this huge post about my work history and how I wish it was different, and lo and behold last semester I was kicking ass in a class - in part because I've switched to an easier major, in part because I'm not an alcohol fueled freshman dumbass, in part because I actually bother to try.
At any rate, I was doing well in my composite materials class. The first exam, the professor had an open challenge: anybody who could get a perfect score he would treat to lunch. Depending on when you asked me, I would say I either managed to get most of them correctly because I studied and the rest I guessed correctly, or I managed to make that professor pay for that slice of hubris. At any rate, the scary House-ian professor made good on his deal and took me to Pizza Hut and we had a lovely sit down. I told him of my numerous years of struggle in AAE and some about my time at Purdue. He tried to tell me that was normal - after all, his top grad student spent two whole years in AAE. His jaw hit the floor when I told him it took me almost 5 years to switch. But he seemed encouraged and told me to keep up the good work, that he might have an opportunity for me at some point in the future.
I was stoked, but tried to be realistic and not get my hopes up. After all, I was the same student in AAE, just as motivated and personable, and those classes kicked my ass and those professors barely knew my name.
Fast forward to the end of last semester-
side bar, Jenny says I still have a lot of insecurity and fear left over from AAE and I'm inclined to believe... it's now January 6th, spring classes start in 4 days, grades have been out for about 2 weeks and I'm still terrified to look at them even though all indications are that I did very well in my classes
- and my prof (let's call him Prof. S) pulls me aside at the end of lab and tells me he would like to offer me a job. ! I met him with the next week for the details:
*I will be working in the Aerospace Composites Lab at Purdue under Professor S.
*I will be a Research Assistant, working on his various projects that deal with aerospace composite structures.
*His primary project is a special repair gel for Marine Corps helicopters that cures in UV light, which negates many of the expensive/time consuming/tricky requirements of standard repairs. His assistants are helping him test this material to see if it is as strong as conventional repairs.
*I will be making some pretty solid money, 20/hrs a week. The position is for spring and fall, for now.
What else to say. Like I said, I start next week. There is a good chance Prof. S has a spot for a summer internship for me, but we'll have to see how that will mesh with my summer plans for getting married. For now, I'm just happy there's a chance. This is a real Aero Job.
Of course I can't just be happy about something, or proud, or confident, and this is no exception. Prof. S and his Main Grad Student both are kind of intimidating to me. Make that very intimidating. And I did well in the class sometimes because I have already taken two classes on a computer program we used, or lab TAs helping us in lab used my part as an example, etc. Professor thinks I'm some sort of engineering math whiz, which I don't think that I am. So we'll see what sort of work I actually am asked to do.
Not to mention I hate working and schooling at the same time. I've done it before (res. hall main office) and it really sucks sometimes. And that was more like 10 hours/week in a cushy office where I could usually do homework. So here's hoping my 6 more credit hours this semester plus 20 work hours any other thing I might do don't pull down what might be my excellent grades from last semester?
So here's to next week... with cautious, footnote laden optimism?
7.18.2010
work
Current Mood: kinda bored, actually
I think I read somewhere that the average adult has seven jobs in the course of their lifetime. If that's the case, then I think I'm stuck on number two.
Growing up I definitely did house work and yard work for family and neighbors to make a few bucks, mostly cutting grass. I also did stuff like edit reports and design word art brochures for my dad's home business, which netted a few bucks here and there.
It wasn't until high school that I had my first legit have-a-paycheck kind of Job. With a capital J. I had an interview, I learned my social security number, that sort of thing. That was when I worked in the kitchen at Mt. Washington Care Center, washing dishes and serving elderly folks. It was satisfying, in a way, for a few different reasons - it was physical and I got stronger, I ate well for free, helped me pay for my car, it was a good break from my tough AP courses, and I got a lot of satisfaction proving to everybody there that this 15 year old kid could do anything they could, and usually faster. Not to mention it was good to have some spending money, and I felt like it was the right thing to do in high school before college - I really bought into the whole Honor Society/Working Teen/Academic All Star kinda mentality hoping it would help me get into a good school. And I did, so I'm not complaining. It just seems odd to me now that I worried so much about certain things then, and now it's a totally different set of values and headaches.
That job was part time. I was mainly in school, so I worked a few weeknights and usually one weekend night. I usually ran the dinner shift, which was about 4pm to close (around 9pm). Still, I made pretty good money!
Probably the best motivation for MWCC was that that job let me afford flight lessons. I didn't finish - I got my solo and then had to stop - but boy I had a lot of fun with that. Can't wait to get back to doing that someday. Y'know, when I don't have gazillions of dollars in student loans to pay back.
My second Job was when I got to Purdue. Towards the end of my freshman year I started working at the front desk of one of the residence halls. It was pretty easy stuff - answering phones, sorting mail, alphabetizing files and putting stickers on packets. The kind of gruntwork that makes the machine that is college turn, y'know? I got some cool stuff out of it, like free magazines.
I didn't make a ton, in part because I got paid less and I was still working very much part time. It got hard to balance school and work- I could sometimes do homework while I was there, but especially when I moved out of the building the travel time got to be a pain in the butt. Most of my big expenses like books and tuition were from loans (I couldn't make that much even if I worked double full time), so my money was mostly fun money. I usually ended up working all weekend, which kinda sucked. I listened to a lot of Purdue football games on the radio.
Summer conferences could be considered my third Job, but it shares so much in common with Student Office Staff (Job 2) - same employer, mostly same locations, same bosses, that if anything it's like Job 2.5.
At any rate, I've been spending my summers working for University Residences since (...got to school fall 04, first summer home, then...) 2006. At first I was an Operations Assistant (OA) for several years, living in the buildings on my own floor mostly by myself. I went on rounds, worked the check ins and check outs like a hotel, helping the groups coming and going through our halls have a good stay. I got to know a lot of people like Purdue administrators but also some of my good friends. The pay is pretty great, plus I get food and housing on top of it all, which is probably the main reason I keep coming back. It's also pretty easy - it's considered a "part time" job, but most of the hours are just being on call, so I can hang out in my air conditioned room and play video games and get paid to do it.
Then last summer I got promoted midway through the summer to be Senior Assistant (SA) Staffing. My SA left to take a job elsewhere, and I got moved up to take her spot. I was in charge of schedules, mostly, since a lot of the work had already been done by Lisa. I was now The Guy who Took Care of Things when they Went Wrong. Still, I mostly cruised to the end of the summer and thought I'd do that again this year.
Instead, I got brought back, but as an SA Billing. This was a bit of a change of pace for me. For ones, it's definitely a full time 40 hour position. My boss is pretty good about letting me fix my hours as long as I get my work done, which is great, since I don't sleep well. I usually come in around lunchtime and stay to the end of the day, and then I have occasional weekends where I have to come in (like right now). Working for conferences for so long really gives me a step up as a Biller, since I know what's going on.
I have an office. I go there and sit at a computer and play with names and numbers. Before every conference I have to get the roster and contract details into special software (CP5). Once the group is in house I track the meals they eat from reports we get. Then the conference leaves and I get a report of all the nights they stayed, any damages or charges, and I put together a giant bill. It gets audited internally then by the conference, then I send it to some office on campus so the University gets paid (and I do mean get paid, these contracts are usually at least several thousand dollars).
I'm making a lot more now (which is SUPER nice). Enough that I can actually pay for some things like rent and loan payments. I'm One of The Guys that gets called when there is a Problem. I work (mostly) M-F 9-5, instead of 3 or 4 days a week from noon-2 then 7pm in the building until 7am with rounds at 9 and 11 or somesuch. I handle important data and get in trouble when it's not right. I don't get to manipulate my schedule to take a week and a half off like I did as an OA. It's very different.
Admittedly, it's nice not living and breathing conferences like I was as an OA, because that really got tiresome after a while. And if I'm really good and stay on top of things, I don't get in trouble or called in after hours. More money is very nice. I wish I had a car, but don't want to pay for gas, repairs, insurance, or even a car payment. For now I learn to use the bus and plan my schedule around Jenny's work, which is for now very fortunately close and conveniently located.
All of the Purdue stuff has taken me pretty much all across the residential half of campus. By the time I'm done here I probably will have worked in just about every building we have. I've been here so long that the guys I used to make fun of for being the old guys like Kyle and Scott are now asking me when I'm about to graduate, yay.
Blah blah blah old news. What about the future?
It feels like my whole life, but especially my entire school career has been aimed towards ending up in some sort of aerospace field. I was on track until like, my third year of college when everything kind of fell apart.
One summer I almost had Job 3. I got a position for a research fellowship in the Aerospace Engineering department working for a really cool professor on a UAV project. Unfortunately, I a lot of trouble with the whole balancing-work-and-school department (sensing a pattern?) and had to drop out.
That was probably the closest I've gotten to working in the field I want to be working in. Sure, I've got some kind of employment right now, which is more than some people have right now, so I'm trying not to complain. But the fact that I've switched majors and struggled a lot in school means I haven't even gotten close to getting a "career" off the ground (heh, NPI).
I didn't have a 4.0 my freshman year, so I don't have an internship or Co-Op position to get my foot in any doors. It is only recently, with my mom's new husband Scott that I even have a remote tie to the aerospace field. I just feel like a dumb college student on the outside, looking in. Somebody who hasn't graduated yet and is watching his more intelligent peers move onto grad school or get jobs doing super cool stuff. Or worse, watching somebody younger do those things (*through gritted teeth* congratulations, guys, I'm so happy for you).
It's my fault, I guess. I don't want to blame the world for the fact I'm working at Purdue this summer and probably will next summer, instead of being on some Tiger Team at NASA staying up late trying to build an air filter from socks and a flight manual to save some astronauts.
I guess I'm just feeling a little discouraged lately. I hope I can get my new major on track this fall and start steering it away from summer conferences, towards something - anything - related to airplanes and rockets. Something I can label Job 3 and be proud it's the start of my adult career, not just some thing that works because I'm still at/in school. Something that pays the bills and loans, something that starts putting together a plan for insurance, for retirement, for a car and wedding and a house and maybe even a family.
I think I read somewhere that the average adult has seven jobs in the course of their lifetime. If that's the case, then I think I'm stuck on number two.
Growing up I definitely did house work and yard work for family and neighbors to make a few bucks, mostly cutting grass. I also did stuff like edit reports and design word art brochures for my dad's home business, which netted a few bucks here and there.
It wasn't until high school that I had my first legit have-a-paycheck kind of Job. With a capital J. I had an interview, I learned my social security number, that sort of thing. That was when I worked in the kitchen at Mt. Washington Care Center, washing dishes and serving elderly folks. It was satisfying, in a way, for a few different reasons - it was physical and I got stronger, I ate well for free, helped me pay for my car, it was a good break from my tough AP courses, and I got a lot of satisfaction proving to everybody there that this 15 year old kid could do anything they could, and usually faster. Not to mention it was good to have some spending money, and I felt like it was the right thing to do in high school before college - I really bought into the whole Honor Society/Working Teen/Academic All Star kinda mentality hoping it would help me get into a good school. And I did, so I'm not complaining. It just seems odd to me now that I worried so much about certain things then, and now it's a totally different set of values and headaches.
That job was part time. I was mainly in school, so I worked a few weeknights and usually one weekend night. I usually ran the dinner shift, which was about 4pm to close (around 9pm). Still, I made pretty good money!
Probably the best motivation for MWCC was that that job let me afford flight lessons. I didn't finish - I got my solo and then had to stop - but boy I had a lot of fun with that. Can't wait to get back to doing that someday. Y'know, when I don't have gazillions of dollars in student loans to pay back.
My second Job was when I got to Purdue. Towards the end of my freshman year I started working at the front desk of one of the residence halls. It was pretty easy stuff - answering phones, sorting mail, alphabetizing files and putting stickers on packets. The kind of gruntwork that makes the machine that is college turn, y'know? I got some cool stuff out of it, like free magazines.
I didn't make a ton, in part because I got paid less and I was still working very much part time. It got hard to balance school and work- I could sometimes do homework while I was there, but especially when I moved out of the building the travel time got to be a pain in the butt. Most of my big expenses like books and tuition were from loans (I couldn't make that much even if I worked double full time), so my money was mostly fun money. I usually ended up working all weekend, which kinda sucked. I listened to a lot of Purdue football games on the radio.
Summer conferences could be considered my third Job, but it shares so much in common with Student Office Staff (Job 2) - same employer, mostly same locations, same bosses, that if anything it's like Job 2.5.
At any rate, I've been spending my summers working for University Residences since (...got to school fall 04, first summer home, then...) 2006. At first I was an Operations Assistant (OA) for several years, living in the buildings on my own floor mostly by myself. I went on rounds, worked the check ins and check outs like a hotel, helping the groups coming and going through our halls have a good stay. I got to know a lot of people like Purdue administrators but also some of my good friends. The pay is pretty great, plus I get food and housing on top of it all, which is probably the main reason I keep coming back. It's also pretty easy - it's considered a "part time" job, but most of the hours are just being on call, so I can hang out in my air conditioned room and play video games and get paid to do it.
Then last summer I got promoted midway through the summer to be Senior Assistant (SA) Staffing. My SA left to take a job elsewhere, and I got moved up to take her spot. I was in charge of schedules, mostly, since a lot of the work had already been done by Lisa. I was now The Guy who Took Care of Things when they Went Wrong. Still, I mostly cruised to the end of the summer and thought I'd do that again this year.
Instead, I got brought back, but as an SA Billing. This was a bit of a change of pace for me. For ones, it's definitely a full time 40 hour position. My boss is pretty good about letting me fix my hours as long as I get my work done, which is great, since I don't sleep well. I usually come in around lunchtime and stay to the end of the day, and then I have occasional weekends where I have to come in (like right now). Working for conferences for so long really gives me a step up as a Biller, since I know what's going on.
I have an office. I go there and sit at a computer and play with names and numbers. Before every conference I have to get the roster and contract details into special software (CP5). Once the group is in house I track the meals they eat from reports we get. Then the conference leaves and I get a report of all the nights they stayed, any damages or charges, and I put together a giant bill. It gets audited internally then by the conference, then I send it to some office on campus so the University gets paid (and I do mean get paid, these contracts are usually at least several thousand dollars).
I'm making a lot more now (which is SUPER nice). Enough that I can actually pay for some things like rent and loan payments. I'm One of The Guys that gets called when there is a Problem. I work (mostly) M-F 9-5, instead of 3 or 4 days a week from noon-2 then 7pm in the building until 7am with rounds at 9 and 11 or somesuch. I handle important data and get in trouble when it's not right. I don't get to manipulate my schedule to take a week and a half off like I did as an OA. It's very different.
Admittedly, it's nice not living and breathing conferences like I was as an OA, because that really got tiresome after a while. And if I'm really good and stay on top of things, I don't get in trouble or called in after hours. More money is very nice. I wish I had a car, but don't want to pay for gas, repairs, insurance, or even a car payment. For now I learn to use the bus and plan my schedule around Jenny's work, which is for now very fortunately close and conveniently located.
All of the Purdue stuff has taken me pretty much all across the residential half of campus. By the time I'm done here I probably will have worked in just about every building we have. I've been here so long that the guys I used to make fun of for being the old guys like Kyle and Scott are now asking me when I'm about to graduate, yay.
Blah blah blah old news. What about the future?
It feels like my whole life, but especially my entire school career has been aimed towards ending up in some sort of aerospace field. I was on track until like, my third year of college when everything kind of fell apart.
One summer I almost had Job 3. I got a position for a research fellowship in the Aerospace Engineering department working for a really cool professor on a UAV project. Unfortunately, I a lot of trouble with the whole balancing-work-and-school department (sensing a pattern?) and had to drop out.
That was probably the closest I've gotten to working in the field I want to be working in. Sure, I've got some kind of employment right now, which is more than some people have right now, so I'm trying not to complain. But the fact that I've switched majors and struggled a lot in school means I haven't even gotten close to getting a "career" off the ground (heh, NPI).
I didn't have a 4.0 my freshman year, so I don't have an internship or Co-Op position to get my foot in any doors. It is only recently, with my mom's new husband Scott that I even have a remote tie to the aerospace field. I just feel like a dumb college student on the outside, looking in. Somebody who hasn't graduated yet and is watching his more intelligent peers move onto grad school or get jobs doing super cool stuff. Or worse, watching somebody younger do those things (*through gritted teeth* congratulations, guys, I'm so happy for you).
It's my fault, I guess. I don't want to blame the world for the fact I'm working at Purdue this summer and probably will next summer, instead of being on some Tiger Team at NASA staying up late trying to build an air filter from socks and a flight manual to save some astronauts.
I guess I'm just feeling a little discouraged lately. I hope I can get my new major on track this fall and start steering it away from summer conferences, towards something - anything - related to airplanes and rockets. Something I can label Job 3 and be proud it's the start of my adult career, not just some thing that works because I'm still at/in school. Something that pays the bills and loans, something that starts putting together a plan for insurance, for retirement, for a car and wedding and a house and maybe even a family.
12.20.2007
crazy sevens
Current Mood: funky
I think NaNoWriMo completely burned me out on writing, seriously. I haven't updated my NNWM story since a few days before the end of November (and I feel kinda bad, because quite a few people bothered to read it, and I'm guessing they're sick of checking for non-existent updates).
Worse, things on my writing front aren't going to improve anytime soon. About the only thing I write about in *this* blog with any regularity is football, and fantasy football ends this week, college bowls by the first week of January, and this is the penultimate week of regular season football. I am sad for that.
I'm leaving to go home in a few hours, and I'll be back to Purdue probably around the end of the year. I'm not addicted to the internet like Current Roommates Alex and John, so I won't take my computer home (that's a pain in the ass anyway, though I really do need to break down the 'ol compy and dust 'er off). Basically, I won't be updating much for a while at home.
On top of all that, this upcoming semester (starting January 7th) is probably one of the most important of my collegiate career. I need to seriously buckle down and overcome some academic roadblocks I've been struggling with for quite some time.
My rough attempt at a plan involves not working (already quit my job), scaling back my role at the improv club (read: less worrying over details/let new guys step up), and take out more student loans to worry less about money. The last one is almost paradoxical, but from last semester I think it is worth a try. There are some other things, but I don't want to list them here.
Also, on the proactive side of life, I need to start finding something to do this summer. I can easily go back to my old job as a summer conference assistant, but that's a step backwards and I'm getting sick of it. I want to do something engineering, something I am proud to put on my resume...but that's easier said than done with my gpa.
I tell myself to cut some slack because I'm stretching myself academically like whoa, but still...nobody to blame but yours truly. Get it together, Ryan.
Space is limited
In a haiku, so it's hard
To finish what you
-T.M
I think NaNoWriMo completely burned me out on writing, seriously. I haven't updated my NNWM story since a few days before the end of November (and I feel kinda bad, because quite a few people bothered to read it, and I'm guessing they're sick of checking for non-existent updates).
Worse, things on my writing front aren't going to improve anytime soon. About the only thing I write about in *this* blog with any regularity is football, and fantasy football ends this week, college bowls by the first week of January, and this is the penultimate week of regular season football. I am sad for that.
I'm leaving to go home in a few hours, and I'll be back to Purdue probably around the end of the year. I'm not addicted to the internet like Current Roommates Alex and John, so I won't take my computer home (that's a pain in the ass anyway, though I really do need to break down the 'ol compy and dust 'er off). Basically, I won't be updating much for a while at home.
On top of all that, this upcoming semester (starting January 7th) is probably one of the most important of my collegiate career. I need to seriously buckle down and overcome some academic roadblocks I've been struggling with for quite some time.
My rough attempt at a plan involves not working (already quit my job), scaling back my role at the improv club (read: less worrying over details/let new guys step up), and take out more student loans to worry less about money. The last one is almost paradoxical, but from last semester I think it is worth a try. There are some other things, but I don't want to list them here.
Also, on the proactive side of life, I need to start finding something to do this summer. I can easily go back to my old job as a summer conference assistant, but that's a step backwards and I'm getting sick of it. I want to do something engineering, something I am proud to put on my resume...but that's easier said than done with my gpa.
I tell myself to cut some slack because I'm stretching myself academically like whoa, but still...nobody to blame but yours truly. Get it together, Ryan.
Space is limited
In a haiku, so it's hard
To finish what you
-T.M
12.17.2007
animal magnetism
Current Mood: full
Quick! What is the most terrifying animal you can think of?
I suppose it's no big secret that I have a strong dislike of owls. Still, I know that's a personal thing, so I don't expect everybody to understand why I find them so frightening. I mean, you've got the whole silent flight thing, the giant glowing eyes, the rotating head bit, the horrifying screech as it swoops from the sky, but yeah, I guess there's some beauty or somesuch in there.
No, I'm here to discuss an even greater predator, one who I would argue is much more dangerous. More dangerous, and quite frankly, must be stopped before it's too late.
Sure, technically it's a "dolphin", and you may have seen them at your local themed waterpark performing some stupid pet tricks, but the Orcinus orca, better known a killer whale is working on becoming the most dangerous predator on the planet. Here's why:
1. They are built to destroy.
Look at this fucking thing. It's a living torpedo of death. They grow about 27 feet long, and weigh over six tons. That's six tons of muscle and teeth and just enough fat to insulate them from the frigid waters they prowl. They can swim 30 miles an hour and dive to 100 feet. Want to know how you'd stack up? An olympic swimmer can go 5 miles an hour and a champion diver about 55 feet, unaided. Also, orcas have no extraneous body parts. There is nothing on their bodies that serves any purpose other than survival. They eat an average of 500 pounds of food every day (and I mean real food, not strained krill).
2. They hunt in packs.
A killer whale by itself is an engine of destruction. Now imagine facing a pod of them, which could mean on average, six to forty of them. Sure, there are creatures in the ocean that could take on one orca and have a fighting chance (but not many). Forty? You're pretty much screwed.
3. They are everywhere.
Orcas swim wherever the hell they want, when they want to. Despite decades of "tracking" and "tagging" orcas, scientists really don't have any damn clue how they migrate because orcas know better than to be so predictable.
Think I'm kidding?
4. They're fucking smart.
The oldest known orca lived to be at least 89 years old, which means they've got a generous lifetime to learn some how to become better predators. We already know they're smart enough to learn complex song and dance routines. We also know dolphins can pass the mirror test - the first non primates to do so. Still, this pales in comparison to their hunting techniques:
* Orcas have been known to vomit onto ice flows to attract gulls. Once the birds land to check it out, the orca waiting nearby pops up and eats it. Captive orcas have shared this behavior by showing the other whales how to do it.
* Groups of orcas release coordinated bursts of bubbles from their blowholes to form a "cage" to trap fish, and then "slap" the water with their fins to stun the fish with water shockwaves. This is known as carousel feeding, and they take turns.
* Sometimes, orcas will attack sharks. Once they kill them, the often eat the nutrient-rich liver first, a Mortal-Kombat inspired finish. They know where the most valuable parts are, and they aren't afraid to get them.
* They've been known to take on blue whales - a creature about 120 feet long and 200 tons. That's a target roughly 4x as long and 33x bigger. Humans are fair game as well.
* They aren't afraid to resort to cannibalism, if they have to.
* When hunting larger prey, like seals, orcas are known to head-butt, tail slap, ram, or even breach (partially leap out of the water) and land on the things. Can you imagine the sight of a 30 foot whale leaping out of the water trying to body slam you? They've also been observed in pairs tossing baby seals in the air to each other before eating.
* You aren't safe on land, as mother orcas have been seen pushing their young onto the beach to grab prey, and pulling them back into the water by their tails if they stray too far.
*
If after all of that, you still aren't convinced, do me a favor. Imagine yourself underwater, in a diving suit. The water around you is so cold, it's possible you could die of hypothermia before you drowned. It's so deep and murky that you can barely see your hand in front of you. Now plug some headphones into your computer, turn up the volume, and close your eyes as you listen to the sounds of your approaching doom.
Fortunately for us, orcas are confined to the seas...for now. We've established they're physically superior in every way, have strength of numbers, and may even be smarter than we give them credit for. Still, that's no reason for us to get complacent. These are the ultimate apex predators of the sea, and if we're not careful, of the earth. I suggest we take a proactive approach and observe them, to make sure they never, ever get opposable thumbs.
Quick! What is the most terrifying animal you can think of?
I suppose it's no big secret that I have a strong dislike of owls. Still, I know that's a personal thing, so I don't expect everybody to understand why I find them so frightening. I mean, you've got the whole silent flight thing, the giant glowing eyes, the rotating head bit, the horrifying screech as it swoops from the sky, but yeah, I guess there's some beauty or somesuch in there.
No, I'm here to discuss an even greater predator, one who I would argue is much more dangerous. More dangerous, and quite frankly, must be stopped before it's too late.
Sure, technically it's a "dolphin", and you may have seen them at your local themed waterpark performing some stupid pet tricks, but the Orcinus orca, better known a killer whale is working on becoming the most dangerous predator on the planet. Here's why:
1. They are built to destroy.
Look at this fucking thing. It's a living torpedo of death. They grow about 27 feet long, and weigh over six tons. That's six tons of muscle and teeth and just enough fat to insulate them from the frigid waters they prowl. They can swim 30 miles an hour and dive to 100 feet. Want to know how you'd stack up? An olympic swimmer can go 5 miles an hour and a champion diver about 55 feet, unaided. Also, orcas have no extraneous body parts. There is nothing on their bodies that serves any purpose other than survival. They eat an average of 500 pounds of food every day (and I mean real food, not strained krill).
2. They hunt in packs.
A killer whale by itself is an engine of destruction. Now imagine facing a pod of them, which could mean on average, six to forty of them. Sure, there are creatures in the ocean that could take on one orca and have a fighting chance (but not many). Forty? You're pretty much screwed.
3. They are everywhere.
Orcas swim wherever the hell they want, when they want to. Despite decades of "tracking" and "tagging" orcas, scientists really don't have any damn clue how they migrate because orcas know better than to be so predictable.
Think I'm kidding?
4. They're fucking smart.
The oldest known orca lived to be at least 89 years old, which means they've got a generous lifetime to learn some how to become better predators. We already know they're smart enough to learn complex song and dance routines. We also know dolphins can pass the mirror test - the first non primates to do so. Still, this pales in comparison to their hunting techniques:
* Orcas have been known to vomit onto ice flows to attract gulls. Once the birds land to check it out, the orca waiting nearby pops up and eats it. Captive orcas have shared this behavior by showing the other whales how to do it.
* Groups of orcas release coordinated bursts of bubbles from their blowholes to form a "cage" to trap fish, and then "slap" the water with their fins to stun the fish with water shockwaves. This is known as carousel feeding, and they take turns.
* Sometimes, orcas will attack sharks. Once they kill them, the often eat the nutrient-rich liver first, a Mortal-Kombat inspired finish. They know where the most valuable parts are, and they aren't afraid to get them.
* They've been known to take on blue whales - a creature about 120 feet long and 200 tons. That's a target roughly 4x as long and 33x bigger. Humans are fair game as well.
* They aren't afraid to resort to cannibalism, if they have to.
* When hunting larger prey, like seals, orcas are known to head-butt, tail slap, ram, or even breach (partially leap out of the water) and land on the things. Can you imagine the sight of a 30 foot whale leaping out of the water trying to body slam you? They've also been observed in pairs tossing baby seals in the air to each other before eating.
* You aren't safe on land, as mother orcas have been seen pushing their young onto the beach to grab prey, and pulling them back into the water by their tails if they stray too far.
*
If after all of that, you still aren't convinced, do me a favor. Imagine yourself underwater, in a diving suit. The water around you is so cold, it's possible you could die of hypothermia before you drowned. It's so deep and murky that you can barely see your hand in front of you. Now plug some headphones into your computer, turn up the volume, and close your eyes as you listen to the sounds of your approaching doom.
Fortunately for us, orcas are confined to the seas...for now. We've established they're physically superior in every way, have strength of numbers, and may even be smarter than we give them credit for. Still, that's no reason for us to get complacent. These are the ultimate apex predators of the sea, and if we're not careful, of the earth. I suggest we take a proactive approach and observe them, to make sure they never, ever get opposable thumbs.
8.28.2007
the charm
Current Mood: accomplished
The last legitimate full price CD from a store that I remember buying was Bad For Good: The Best of the Scorpions, which was in 2002, I think. Since then, I've added to my music through the now defunct allofmp3, which was a Russian-based online music store similar to iTunes except that songs cost pennies, not dollars. This (apparently) legally gray area service allowed me to feel good about not illegally downloading, and also avoid what I feel to be outrageous store music prices. The site has since been closed due to various financial, legal, and licensing problems.
During this time, I avoided a huge digital ordeal at Purdue. A crappy short lived music service (Cdigix) was provided to Purdue students free of charge in a pathetic attempt to curb illegal downloading. Problems included: laughable selection, frequent maintenance and technical problems, temporary storage of songs, and non-transferable file rights. In short, terrible competition for free file sharing, evidence of which can be found here.
So, for the first time in quite a while, I find myself contemplating purchasing a legitimate album from a store. Unfortunately, most of my favorite artists/bands are dead or broken up. I haven't liked more than a handful of bands of the last couple of decades, so I've resigned myself to missing out on the joy of an album release of my favorite band. Those still touring or making music are usually former shells of their once glorious and decadent selves, now embarassing TV personalities, shameless sellouts or drugged out skeletons still performing (sometimes all three). Thus, I've compiled a short list of potential albums I'm watching with considerable apprehension, with some notes:
Humanity - Hour 1 by Scorpions
August 28th, 2007
Scorpions rock, straight up. I've heard the new single "Humanity" from H-H1, however, and while the rock is good, I'm not crazy about the lyrics. Here's hoping Germany's greatest export will not disappoint.
Avenged Sevenfold by Avenged Sevenfold
October 30th, 2007
Only a band like A7X could release an album specifically on Halloween without it seeming cheesy. As long as they keep their hard rock sound and harmony vocals, instead of reverting back to cookie monster vocals or falling into emo territory, this should actually be a pretty bad ass album.
TBA by AC/DC
January 2008
I thought the last good AC/DC album was Razors Edge, back in 1990. Haven't heard much about this new album, though.
Untitled Album by Queen + Paul Rodgers
late 2007-mid 2008
I'll admit I still haven't really gotten used to Q+PR. Yes, I love Bad Company, but Freddie cannot be replaced, John quietly bowed out, and now there's all sorts of weird shit going on like the We Will Rock You Musical. Yes, a few tours of Europe performing Queen and Bad Co.'s hits was interesting, but now there's a studio album coming out of this?! Please, guys. Don't fuck with me here.
Nostradamus by Judas Priest
early 2008
Judas Priest released Angel of Retribution in 2005 and I loved it. It's one of my favorite JP albums, to be honest. Beyond that, you're talking about the once-forefront band of the NWOBHM making a concept album about Nostradamus. If there was ever a band to tackle that subject, it would be them. I love concept albums (I'm looking at you, The Who), and this one might be a double album?
The last legitimate full price CD from a store that I remember buying was Bad For Good: The Best of the Scorpions, which was in 2002, I think. Since then, I've added to my music through the now defunct allofmp3, which was a Russian-based online music store similar to iTunes except that songs cost pennies, not dollars. This (apparently) legally gray area service allowed me to feel good about not illegally downloading, and also avoid what I feel to be outrageous store music prices. The site has since been closed due to various financial, legal, and licensing problems.
During this time, I avoided a huge digital ordeal at Purdue. A crappy short lived music service (Cdigix) was provided to Purdue students free of charge in a pathetic attempt to curb illegal downloading. Problems included: laughable selection, frequent maintenance and technical problems, temporary storage of songs, and non-transferable file rights. In short, terrible competition for free file sharing, evidence of which can be found here.
So, for the first time in quite a while, I find myself contemplating purchasing a legitimate album from a store. Unfortunately, most of my favorite artists/bands are dead or broken up. I haven't liked more than a handful of bands of the last couple of decades, so I've resigned myself to missing out on the joy of an album release of my favorite band. Those still touring or making music are usually former shells of their once glorious and decadent selves, now embarassing TV personalities, shameless sellouts or drugged out skeletons still performing (sometimes all three). Thus, I've compiled a short list of potential albums I'm watching with considerable apprehension, with some notes:
Humanity - Hour 1 by Scorpions
August 28th, 2007
Scorpions rock, straight up. I've heard the new single "Humanity" from H-H1, however, and while the rock is good, I'm not crazy about the lyrics. Here's hoping Germany's greatest export will not disappoint.
Avenged Sevenfold by Avenged Sevenfold
October 30th, 2007
Only a band like A7X could release an album specifically on Halloween without it seeming cheesy. As long as they keep their hard rock sound and harmony vocals, instead of reverting back to cookie monster vocals or falling into emo territory, this should actually be a pretty bad ass album.
TBA by AC/DC
January 2008
I thought the last good AC/DC album was Razors Edge, back in 1990. Haven't heard much about this new album, though.
Untitled Album by Queen + Paul Rodgers
late 2007-mid 2008
I'll admit I still haven't really gotten used to Q+PR. Yes, I love Bad Company, but Freddie cannot be replaced, John quietly bowed out, and now there's all sorts of weird shit going on like the We Will Rock You Musical. Yes, a few tours of Europe performing Queen and Bad Co.'s hits was interesting, but now there's a studio album coming out of this?! Please, guys. Don't fuck with me here.
Nostradamus by Judas Priest
early 2008
Judas Priest released Angel of Retribution in 2005 and I loved it. It's one of my favorite JP albums, to be honest. Beyond that, you're talking about the once-forefront band of the NWOBHM making a concept album about Nostradamus. If there was ever a band to tackle that subject, it would be them. I love concept albums (I'm looking at you, The Who), and this one might be a double album?
8.08.2007
conflicted marketing
Current Mood: impatient
Current Music: "Animal (Fuck Like A Beast)" by W.A.S.P., appropriately enough
Please take a moment and watch at this ad for Trojan condoms.
This ad has apparently met with some resistance from the major television networks because using sex to sell cars and food is fine, but not for condoms? I really don't care about the controversy, but I do have a problem with the marketing. The tagline for this campaign is:
Current Music: "Animal (Fuck Like A Beast)" by W.A.S.P., appropriately enough
Please take a moment and watch at this ad for Trojan condoms.
This ad has apparently met with some resistance from the major television networks because using sex to sell cars and food is fine, but not for condoms? I really don't care about the controversy, but I do have a problem with the marketing. The tagline for this campaign is:
evolveNow, am I the only one that sees mixed messages here? That's basically saying:
use a condom every time
procreate so many times that random genetic mutations appearSomebody's probably going to mention that Trojan probably is also focusing on prevention/spread of STIs and such, and their point is that you shouldn't act like a sexually focused animal but instead "class it up" by using a condom for your random hookups. Still, they're telling you to attempt two mutually exclusive actions!
don't have babies
7.06.2007
an earful of elitism
Current Mood: uneasy
Current Music: "Die Hard The Hunter" by Def Leppard
As an engineer, I'm generally concerned with tradeoffs and compromises. For example, yes, we (engineers, builders, people) could build a building that could withstand a dozen airplanes flown into them. However, at what cost? Literally, it would cost much, much more than a normal building, and there's also other aspects that are perhaps not as easily quantified. Would people want to live and work in a fortress? Could those resources be spent better elsewhere?
For another example, we could redesign theme parks. Each year (I'm estimating) an average of about a dozen people are killed or seriously hurt at the world's major theme parks. Why not fix them all so that never happens? More overdesigned structures, slower speeds, gentler curves...that'd be safer. Economically viable? Possibly. Would it ruin the inherent element, the danger, the essence of thrill rides? Almost certainly. It is a matter of compromise.
Each design, be it an automobile, a building, or even something such as a social structure or law has elements that can be manipulated, and the key is to find the right combination that works best and satisfies the most, or in many cases, sucks the least and pisses off the fewest people. There are some things, no matter how tempting, that cannot be altered without ruining the concept itself.
Which is why I have a problem with this: The World's Quietest Rock Concert, as presented by rock drummer Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac. Now, I respect the Mac and recognize them as an influential (if not patchwork) best-selling band, as well as the importance of taking care of your ears. But the concept of a quiet rock concert is, well, it's not an oxymoron, but it's something close.
In short, the idea of the concert sponsored as part of Energizer's "It's Hip to Hear" program is that the band ("the Screaming Eagles of Death Metal") plays without amplifiers or speakers. That right there should be a red flag. Instead, the sound is transmitted via FM to the audience, who are all wearing protective earphones that receive the sound and gently coddle the ears of the audience. First, how does a band with a kickass name like that agree to something like that? Answer: they probably suck. Secondly,
What happened to explosions? Pyrotechnics? Outrageous stacks of amps taller than the stage itself? Taking it to 11? Later, The article encourages us to "turn up the volume on responsible listening".
...
What happened to the good 'ol days of stickin' it to the man? Fuck "responsible" listening. It's better to burn out than to fade away, right?. Rock music is rock music, practically synonymous with volume. Rock bands fight over who has the title of the loudest band in the world (one contender plays loud enough to make the audience members vomit). I say it comes with the territory. If the music's too loud, you're too old.
I think rock should include a generous helping of decibels, but in case anybody thinks I promote volume over talent, they should keep this in mind:
"Anyone can plug into a stack of amps and be loud, it takes a real man to rock it hard." - Spook Strickland
Current Music: "Die Hard The Hunter" by Def Leppard
As an engineer, I'm generally concerned with tradeoffs and compromises. For example, yes, we (engineers, builders, people) could build a building that could withstand a dozen airplanes flown into them. However, at what cost? Literally, it would cost much, much more than a normal building, and there's also other aspects that are perhaps not as easily quantified. Would people want to live and work in a fortress? Could those resources be spent better elsewhere?
For another example, we could redesign theme parks. Each year (I'm estimating) an average of about a dozen people are killed or seriously hurt at the world's major theme parks. Why not fix them all so that never happens? More overdesigned structures, slower speeds, gentler curves...that'd be safer. Economically viable? Possibly. Would it ruin the inherent element, the danger, the essence of thrill rides? Almost certainly. It is a matter of compromise.
Each design, be it an automobile, a building, or even something such as a social structure or law has elements that can be manipulated, and the key is to find the right combination that works best and satisfies the most, or in many cases, sucks the least and pisses off the fewest people. There are some things, no matter how tempting, that cannot be altered without ruining the concept itself.
Which is why I have a problem with this: The World's Quietest Rock Concert, as presented by rock drummer Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac. Now, I respect the Mac and recognize them as an influential (if not patchwork) best-selling band, as well as the importance of taking care of your ears. But the concept of a quiet rock concert is, well, it's not an oxymoron, but it's something close.
In short, the idea of the concert sponsored as part of Energizer's "It's Hip to Hear" program is that the band ("the Screaming Eagles of Death Metal") plays without amplifiers or speakers. That right there should be a red flag. Instead, the sound is transmitted via FM to the audience, who are all wearing protective earphones that receive the sound and gently coddle the ears of the audience. First, how does a band with a kickass name like that agree to something like that? Answer: they probably suck. Secondly,
“Instead of rocking out to standard 110-130 decibel levels, this concert will be so quiet, the applause will be the loudest part of what you’re hearing,” Fleetwood said.
What happened to explosions? Pyrotechnics? Outrageous stacks of amps taller than the stage itself? Taking it to 11? Later, The article encourages us to "turn up the volume on responsible listening".
...
What happened to the good 'ol days of stickin' it to the man? Fuck "responsible" listening. It's better to burn out than to fade away, right?. Rock music is rock music, practically synonymous with volume. Rock bands fight over who has the title of the loudest band in the world (one contender plays loud enough to make the audience members vomit). I say it comes with the territory. If the music's too loud, you're too old.
I think rock should include a generous helping of decibels, but in case anybody thinks I promote volume over talent, they should keep this in mind:
"Anyone can plug into a stack of amps and be loud, it takes a real man to rock it hard." - Spook Strickland
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