Previously, in Trip's Life...
31 January 2009 - Saturday
Gaming: I seem to have volunteered to create a bunch of
4th ed characters. But, thanks to Bryant, I am using kiznit's
4th Edition D&D Character Sheet instead of the grotty one from WotC.
Also, text-only cheat sheets are your friend.
Food: Yay chicken korma! (Ken cannot cook much with
his currently-limited array of tentacles, so Ayse is threatening two
weeks of "whole chicken in a pot with stuff". Hee hee.)
Silly Computer Games: Yep.
Cats:
Twelve fluffy paws!
Writing: FAIL.
Make a comment!
30 January 2009 - Friday
Work: The Portland company has pronounced my code
acceptable despite its obvious flaws and now wants to have me talk to a
person in a non-technical way. If this person doesn't think I'm an axe
murderer, then they'll want me to go to Portland to interview in person,
and then they'll decide whether to give me money.
Aieeeeeee.
Gaming: Apparently there might be D&D4 on Monday
because Harold needs more fun. This seems reasonable to me.
Silly Computer Games: Yep.
Cats:
Twelve paws!
Writing: FAIL.
everything is tradeoffs by Graydon (Mon Feb 2 13:01:17 2009)
Because I am a rabid, frothing optimist, I figure that in the current economic times everybody is doing well to get one real job offer in a given year.
Spatial dislocation, concern for having to have your exoskeleton hard waxed to keep out the incessant precipitation, and sensible caution with respect to how long it takes cats to forgive being moved, all notwithstanding, I'd say that if it is a real job you might as well take it.
Re: everything is tradeoffs by Trip (Tue Feb 3 15:15:07 2009)
I think I could do better than that, especially since I'm in a dense cluster of people who need people to do things to their computers, but on the other hand, I don't have enough savings to fund the experiment.
There is a Clever Plan for the core group of people I associate with to all move to Portland, but this requires three jobs, which have to be obtained in the correct alignment to the gestation and birth of an as-yet-unscheduled larva. If I move up to work for this company, then perhaps everyone else will move too, and there will be happiness and Powell's for everyone... or perhaps I will be trapped a thousand kilometers away from all my friends for next several years.
Make a comment!
29 January 2009 - Thursday
Work: FAIL.
Visual Entertainments: Yay disc 3 of Mythical
Detective Loki Ragnarok! I have only had it since the 15th of
last month, but now I can watch it!
Silly Computer Games: Blargh.
Cats:
Twelve paws!
Writing: FAIL.
Make a comment!
28 January 2009 - Wednesday
HAPPY HAPPY EARL-DAY!!
Work: I didn't actually send out my resume, but I
made contact with someone I know from the old days at Taos who now works
for a different yet apparently similar company.
Visual Entertainments: No xxxHolic,
because Ken has a broken arm and everyone else is full of germs.
However, GreenCine has finally sent me disc 2 of Mythical
Detective Loki Ragnarok, so I watched it. Tomorrow, I can watch
disc 3, which I have had for like a month and a half, and then maybe
move on to something else.
It is still Maho Shounen with Norse mythology, whee!
Food: No birthday cake with Earl!
Silly Computer Games: Yep.
Cats:
Twelve paws!
Writing: Tiny writing, which is like fail.
Make a comment!
27 January 2009 - Tuesday
Work: FAIL. However, I learned that unemployment
pays twice what I thought it did (the previous check was only for one
week, not two).
Visual Entertainments:
- Rose of Versailles 21: Fiendish!
- Black Lagoon 1-2: Every pirate crew needs an idea rat!
- Kaleido Star II 5: Still most obnoxious antagonist ever.
- Gurren Lagann 26-27: That was quite a finale! But fitting!
Silly Computer Games: Blargh.
Cats:
Twelve scampery paws!
Writing: FAIL.
Make a comment!
26 January 2009 - Monday
Work: Just barely not fail, and perhaps only on a
technicality.
Visual Entertainments: Fifth disc of
Ultramaniac. Episode 17 made me want to slap Love Interest
Boy #2 upside the head with a space penguin, but I know that I would not
have dealt any better when I was that age, and probably not even as
well.
Silly Computer Games: Blargh.
Cats:
Marmalade is so adorable when he comes to snuggle me to sleep!
Writing: FAIL.
Make a comment!
25 January 2009 - Sunday
Gaming: Thrace! The entire session was pretty much one
big fight, partly because we did it the hard way by splitting the party,
putting all the healing in one group and none in the other, and sending the
cleric and paladin to fight the villains with resistance to radiant damage;
partly because the space penguins secretly swapped out our d20s for d12s at
crucial moments; and partly because we kept stopping to look up rules/argue
over tactics/tell other people how to play their characters (this is
because I suck).
I think we need a talking stick (real or virtual), and a piece of paper on
which to record rulings to look up after the game. And, of
course, the will to use them, which is probably what we lack most.
In conclusion, remember: HARD KORNR IZ HARD.
Silly Computer Games: Blargh.
Cats:
Twelve very cute paws!
Writing: FAIL.
Make a comment!
24 January 2009 - Saturday
Work: FAIL.
Visual Entertainments: Finished the first disc of
School Rumble. It just took a while to get going.
Silly Computer Games: Yep.
Cats:
Twelve paws!
Writing: FAIL.
Make a comment!
23 January 2009 - Friday
Work: Phone/VNC interview with Rentrak (in
Portland). They wanted me to write a program to accomplish a small task
within 45 minutes. I almost succeeded, but if I had just made the damn
things two-element arrays instead of trying to be clever, I would have
triumphed utterly. Bah!
Food: Ayse, Ken, Carl, and Marith lured me to Chef
Liu's for dinner. The fiends!
Visual Entertainments: First episode of the
School Rumble anime. So far it's not grabbing me as much as
the manga did. Pacing, I think.
Silly Computer Games: Yep.
Cats:
I think I grievously offended Ghirardelli by not letting him help with
my coding interview. I am a terrible cat-dad!
Writing: Sorta kinda but not really.
Make a comment!
22 January 2009 - Thursday
Work: Applied for one job, inquired about another,
died in a pit.
Visual Entertainments: 4th disc of
Ultramaniacs. Still enh. I feel sorry for antagonist girl,
though.
Silly Computer Games: Yep.
Cats:
Twelve paws!
Writing: Kinda but not really.
Make a comment!
21 January 2009 - Wednesday
Work: Tried to use LinkedIn to make contact with
someone in a company who knows Ambar.
Gaming: The racist suckweasel elves who run the city
my Earthdawn character started riots in have concluded that she must be
an Evil Mastermind because a) she's the only elf among the people
they've decided must be guilty, and b) she rolled a 19 on First
Impression (the only time I rolled up the entire night). So far she has
managed to parley this into at least two ball gowns, training to level
up, and not being executed. Plus, because they're racist suckweasels,
she won't feel bad when she takes all the bribes and goes about doing
what she was doing anyway.
Food: Huh, people make potato soup that has chunks
of potato in, rather than being puree. It's good, but unprecedented in
my experience!
Silly Computer Games: Yep.
Cats:
Twelve paws!
Writing: Check.
Make a comment!
20 January 2009 - Tuesday
Work: None of the other jobs at Stanford seem suited
to whatever skills I may have. Also, I finally heard back from the
people I phone screamed with on Friday, and they think I'm teh suxx0r.
Visual Entertainments:
- Rose of Versailles 20: If humans reproduced by budding,
this show would be a lot shorter.
- Kaleido Star II 3-4: (after skipping two full episodes
of recap) Last season Sora overcame one snotty prima donna, so this
season she's faced with two!
- Gurren Lagann 25: Intended moral of this episode:
"Fighting spirit can overcome impossible odds". Actual moral of this
episode: "Never kiss Yoko".
- Simoun 25-26: That was pretty ending-like, although
being wretched Americans we would like more answers.
Silly Computer Games: Yep.
Cats:
Twelve paws!
Writing: Kinda not really.
tsk! by marith (Wed Jan 21 19:44:47 2009)
Yoko would say you have a very bad habit, and shake her finger at you! Perhaps you should edit those words before they cast ripples. :)
Make a comment!
19 January 2009 - Monday
Work: Jeremy passed my resume to someone he used to
work with along with a recommendation.
Food: Marith suggested that I go to Chef Chu's and
eat cream corn soup for my sore throat, and it was the right thing to
do.
Silly Computer Games: Blargh.
Cats:
Twelve paws!
Writing: Not really.
Make a comment!
18 January 2009 - Sunday
Work: Jeremy gave me some hints on searching for
jobs on Stanford's website. I shall have to give them a try.
Gaming: I didn't expect the fight against orcish
pirates to take the entire afternoon, but it did. I think we need power
cards. Also, players are easily terrified by monsters that open with
their big attacks or have any healing at all.
The second-string characters leveled to 3rd, which made everyone
happy, because picking new powers is fun. Next session, the first-string
characters will probably level to 4th, which is not as much fun but will
make them noticeably tougher (feat, even-numbered level, and two stat
points).
Silly Computer Games: Yep.
Cats:
Marmalade's caption: TALKATIV KITTEH HAZ LOTZ 2 SAI
Aspen's caption: BYUTIFUL KITTEH SEZ: KEEP UR PAWZ 2 URSELF
Ghirardelli's caption: TEH FLUFF HAZ LITE SIDE & DARK SIDE &
BINDZ UNIVERS 2GETHER
Writing: Writing is hard, let's die in a pit.
Make a comment!
17 January 2009 - Saturday
Work: I looked at Stanford jobs, but didn't see much
that was suitable for parasitization.
Visual Entertainments: Finished the
Witchblade anime. Okay, that was a reasonable ending, even
though certain important issues were left unresolved.
Silly Computer Games: I made it to level 24 in Maze
Stopper 2 and then stalled out. Bah.
Cats:
Aspen seems to have thoroughly claimed the spot under the coffee table
that used to be Ghirardelli's!
Writing: Check, kinda.
Make a comment!
16 January 2009 - Friday
Work: Talked to the recruiter guy about last night's
phone scream. He will let me know when he gets feedback from the
interviewer.
Silly Computer Games: I won NPPAngband as a
half-troll warrior. Yay me.
Cats:
Twelve very cute paws!
Writing: Fail.
Make a comment!
15 January 2009 - Thursday
Work: I have a phone interview tonight with a
company that needs what sounds pretty much like my skill set and is
located only a few blocks from here.
(later)
I think that went well, or at least not too badly. I had answers for
most of his questions, and hardly any of them were "Duh....". Hopefully
tomorrow I'll get some sort of clue as to what the interview looked like
from the other side.
Visual Entertainments: First part of the 6th disc of
the Witchblade anime. Things look pretty bad. I wonder if
they will pull out a happy ending anyway.
Silly Computer Games: I reached the #3 position on the
TWIBIK daily score chart
with 80 542 points!
Cats:
Twelve adorable paws!
Writing: Kinda.
phone interview by Jeremy (Thu Jan 15 17:19:10 2009)
Yay!
Have you looked at Stanford jobs? Seems they're always hiring programmers for something or other. Good place to work, and easy public transportation.
Make a comment!
14 January 2009 - Wednesday
Work: Applied for one job. Felt lame for not
applying more.
Visual Entertainments: Yay xxxHolic!
Silly Computer Games: Yep.
Cats:
My cats still have twelve paws. Maddie is still beautiful and still
doesn't love me.
Writing: Why yes, I do suck and should
die in a pit. (It's not anyone's fault, I just do.)
Make a comment!
13 January 2009 - Tuesday
Work: Bought "business casual" clothes for
interviewing. Poked at LinkedIn a bit. No spoons.
Food: I like clementines a lot, because they are
like oranges except I can peel them without numerous tools and a large
non-absorbant work surface.
Visual Entertainments: Yay! Neil is back! And he's
not dead! (I guess if he were dead, he wouldn't be likely to show up at
anime, though, so those are not really two independent observations.)
- Rose of Versailles 19: Oh the interlocking circles of doom!
Oh the lack of self-awareness on the part of villains that makes them
villains!
- Kashimashi 12-13: They tried to make everyone happy with
the ending, but they failed to please me. Hmph!
- Simoun 24: More wrapping up (with some unwrapping).
- Gurren Lagann 23-24: "Impenetrable shields were
strengthened, irresistable weapons made fiercer."
Silly Computer Games: I tried all the TONYPA games, but hardly
any of them were my thing. Other people might feel differently, so I
recommend checking them out.
Cats:
Twelve very fuzzy paws!
Writing: Tried to reread old work because I sort of
thought of a hook for a sequel, but it is so awful I can't finish it.
Why did I ever think this was something that should have been written,
let alone be shown to other people?
Make a comment!
12 January 2009 - Monday
Work: I went to talk to another recruiting agency,
who sound promising. They may have motivated me to get actual grownup
clothes, though.
Visual Entertainments: First disk of Darker
Than Black. It is interesting, and at least gives the impression
that it might explain some of the mysteries. Kind of violent, though.
Silly Computer Games: Yep.
Cats:
Twelve paws!
Writing: FAIL.
Make a comment!
11 January 2009 - Sunday
Work: Today, I did nothing. On the other hand, it
was Sunday.
Gaming: After too many fortnights of germs and
travelling and travelling germs and
people dying, we played Thrace again! This session, our "heroes" fought
skeletons, more skeletons, a really big skeleton, and some kind of
horrible howling ghost thing. We won, though, and none of us even went
to 0 hit points (although some of us got darn close).
Food: Ken made soup with cabbage, turkey, onion, and
some other stuff. It was good!
Silly Computer Games: Miserable scores on Twibik, but I think I'm
starting to get the hang of it.
Cats:
Twelve paws!
Writing: Nope.
Make a comment!
10 January 2009 - Saturday
Work: Today, I did nothing.
Gaming: My D&D4 players have some weird idea about
getting input into the setting. On the one tentacle, having other people do
my work for me is convenient, and having to accomodate someone else's
creative vision can only build character, but on the
another, this might get my DM license pulled.
Visual Entertainments: Fifth disc of
Witchblade anime. Took them long enough to get around to
that, sheesh. But the consequences were darn cute.
Silly Computer Games: Floribular (it's
Marith's fault). I made it to a little over 4000 points once. I think
they may be triffids.
Cats:
I petted Aspen and she didn't flee! In fact, she dangled one paw over
the edge of the cat tree, which is not even like being ready to flee!
I'm sure this was just a temporary abberation, though.
Writing: Almost.
Make a comment!
9 January 2009 - Friday
Work: I trundled down to SJ to meet with the Insight
Global people for about ten minutes. Apparently my cunning disguise
fooled them, and they did not seem offended by my rejection of the job
that would eat fifteen hours per day on seven days out of fourteen.
Whether they'll actually contact me if they find something else in my
line, or just write me off as Not a Team Player, who knows?
Also, first unemployment insurance check. It's not actually a
ridiculously small amount of money, it just looks that way compared to
my rent.
Visual Entertainments: Finished the disc of
Witchblade anime I started days and days ago. Hey look,
it's the beach episode!
Food: Celebratory eating out, bad parasite! But it
was tasty and made me less hungry.
Silly Computer Games: Yep.
Cats:
Twelve fluffy paws!
Writing: Check. How did that happen?
Make a comment!
8 January 2009 - Thursday
Work: Woo, recruiters are calling me! One wants to
offer me a job in SF right away, although I am wibbling because of the
strange schedule and long commute. They want to talk to me in San Jose
tomorrow anyway.
Silly Computer Games: Not too much!
Cats:
Ghirardelli's tummyfur is very cute, but it picks up dust bunnies like
you wouldn't believe, and then tries to encyst them like an oyster with
a sand grain only not so shiny.
Writing: A little bit.
Make a comment!
7 January 2009 - Wednesday
Work: Resumes sent out: 1. Doinking around with
LinkedIn: lots.
Gaming: Yay Earthdawn! The city was not actually
destroyed by the riots we precipitated, Beatrice and Tom made contact
with people who have connections to books, Isidari got some hot elven
action and access to a library, and Kamekane and Tharkas got...
not arrested! Then the secret police (including Isidari's chick) kicked
in the door to arrest everyone for being running-dog lackeys of the
Dwarven Menace. Since there was an actual Throallian agent in the room
at the time, things look bad.
Silly Computer Games: Over 2 000 000 on
DropSum!
No new messages, though.
I tried playing
Ice Breaker, but
although it was fun, scrolling around the play area was so broken that I
had to give up after five or six levels. Maybe it was just spore being
old and slow.
Cats:
Twelve paws!
Writing: Hardly at all.
Make a comment!
6 January 2009 - Tuesday
Work: Resumes sent out: 1. LinkedIn profiles filled
out: 0.7. Not my most shining day of job search, but not a complete
waste.
Visual Entertainments: Still no Neil, who has been
abducted by his secret corporate masters, but anime nonetheless.
- Rose of Versailles 18: Oh the romantic French doom!
- Kashimashi 10-11: Apparently going in a different
direction than the manga! Perhaps this means the resolution will be
better.
- Gurren Lagann 22: Even for this show, that was over
the top.
- Simoun 22-23: It looks like emotional subplots are
starting to get wrapped up, which is good since there are only three
episodes left.
Food: I let Marith choose the form of our pizza doom
at anime, but it wasn't as good as when I choose. (This is because I
always choose Hawaiian, which I know I like, and at once a week or less
I don't get tired of it. Boring, but successful; I guess my strategy is
the microorganism of pizza ordering.)
Silly Computer Games: Yep.
Cats:
I finally got to see Marmalade emerge from his Linen Closet of Solitude!
So cute!
Writing: A teensy bit.
Make a comment!
5 January 2009 - Monday
Images: Frozen bubbles.
(via uriel@too)
Work: Resumes sent out: 3. Monster.com profiles set
up: 1. LinkedIn accounts created: 1.
It looks like setting up a LinkedIn profile involves rehashing my
resume, so I'm putting it off until tomorrow.
Random Encounters: Some guy at the coffeehouse where
I went to oppress Marith, who apparently she knows.
Visual Entertainments: Couple episodes of
Witchblade anime. Oh the familial doom!
Silly Computer Games:
Only 1212291 in timed mode on DropSum,
but with the brains of Deep Blue and the reaction time of a mother
hearing her baby's cry, I am a formidable force!
Cats:
Ghirardelli, you must take better care of your bum or I will continue to
oppress you with the cleansings!
Writing: Check, somehow.
job searching, that wretched activity... by Graydon (Wed Jan 7 06:42:42 2009)
These guys -- http://mployd.com/signup.php -- seem vaguely useful as well. (Or, at least, there are actual XSL jobs there, unlike most other places I have been looking. This might be a snare and a delusion, or it might not!)
Maternal reaction times by Jeremy (Wed Jan 7 10:44:54 2009)
Most moms roll their eyes, wait to see whether the noise stops on its own, and then wander over to see what's going on.
But maybe you have the reaction time of the other sort of mother! Seal moms can pick out their pup's cry from the hundreds in the creche, and make time over to it, knocking other pups arse over flippers as they charge through....
So, like, you've put your resume on monster.com and all that sort of thing, right?
Re: job searching by Trip (Wed Jan 7 11:30:12 2009)
The only way to find out if it's a snare and delusion is to spring the trap!
Thanks!
Re: Maternal reaction times by Trip (Wed Jan 7 11:31:33 2009)
I think the ambiguity is an essential part of the rating system's charm.
My resume is on Monster, but I hear all the cool kids hiring managers hang out on LinkedIn these days.
Job sites by Jeremy (Wed Jan 7 22:08:24 2009)
I dunno. I updated my monster resume, and promptly got two calls from recruiters. OTOH, they may have found me on Biospace or LinkedIn, where I updated just before the holidays.
Make a comment!
4 January 2009 - Sunday
Work: Resumes sent out: 1. Unemployment forms sent
out: 1.
Gaming: After the extra bonus D&D of Wednesday,
there was regularly scheduled D&D! Featured this session: a whole passle
of broad-jumping zombies, ettercap story-telling, and Johann saves the
day!
The PCs have now made it back to town and can argue over what to
spend their treasure on.
The zombie fight was theoretically about four levels above the party,
but was very little threat, possibly because the zombies didn't have
enough room to properly swarm the PCs. The harpy fight was only about
one level above the party, but would have been a wipe if I hadn't had
the NPC wizard give them PCs some extra saves. (It might still have been
a wipe if Johann hadn't critted with his daily.) I don't know if the
lesson is that terrain makes more than three levels worth of difference,
or that the XP values for monsters are bogus.
Visual Entertainments: Third disc of
Ultramaniacs. Enh. Maybe someday GreenCine will send me
something I like better.
Silly Computer Games: Somehow, I made it to 1547334
in the timed mode of DropSum.
I have the cunning of a cat as he waits for the mouse, but the reaction
time of a sliding door at the supermarket.
Cats:
Twelve paws!
Writing: A tiny bit.
Make a comment!
3 January 2009 - Saturday
Work: FAIL.
Gaming: I guess I could afflict them with this
monster, and maybe that monster. Muahahaha.
Silly Computer Games: I got up to about 450k in DropSum
(in basic mode). Whee!
Cats:
Twelve paws!
Writing: FAIL.
Make a comment!
2 January 2009 - Friday
Work: Blargh.
Gaming: There was almost Thrace, but Marith could not
endure the cat fur. Instead, the rest of us(ADKT) played Carcassonne: The
Discovery, a boardgame about square tiles and adventurous gnomes. Dave
crushed us all.
My Palo Alto players seem to have vague ideas for what they want to do
Sunday. I wonder if I can accomodate them.
Visual Entertainments: Finished the disc of
Ultramaniacs. Enh.
Food: On the ninth day of Christmas my good friends
gave to me A FEAST! There was brined turkey, leeks, mashed potatoes,
stuffing, roasted root vegetables, cheese, bread, more cheese, gravy,
and friendship!
Yay Ayse and Ken and Marith and Dave!
Silly Computer Games: I'm doing better at DropSum
now that I've learned not to think about it too much.
Cats:
When I got home, Aspen was all curled up on giant plush bee Melli-chan!
Aww!
Later, Marmalade flung a toy up in the air and all around and
attacked it fiercely, just as a cat should!
Writing: FAIL.
Make a comment!
1 January 2009 - Thursday
Work: Holiday.
Gaming: I guess I should create an adventure for
Sunday. I wonder what my players would like?
Silly Computer Games: I got 192k on my first game of DropSum,
and then couldn't break 100k for several games. Apparently, thinking is
bad.
Cats:
Twelve paws!
Writing: Meh.
Make a comment!
|