Last Saturday, I was finally able to go out with Geli, on our own(Sophie free!). That is way more difficult to do than it should be. It can't be spontaneous, ever, that's for sure. We have to pick a date and time, let the babysitter know, hope she can babysit at that date and time, and hope she doesn't cancel after she has agreed to(has happened). That kid can drain the life out of you...sure she is cute, and fun to play with, but she is also a 2 year old, and like such will drive you to insanity. So a break from her is very needed, and so is a date with your wife. It seems like a strange concept, especially since we are always together(minus the time I am at work), but it is always in a setting where we have to be constantly paying attention to Sophia, doing chores, going to the market, etc. So after a few failed attempts, we were finally able to do that again. And we were planning on going to see the new Tarantino movie, but the movie times did not agree with the time we were able to get the baby sitter and the day that we picked. So we looked for an alternative. We decided to just go to a coffee shop, play some cards, talk, then go see what we could find on our telescope(its hard!). We played conquian for a while at the coffee shop, and drank some Coffee(and matcha tea for Geli). Then we headed out to our "spot" for looking at celestial objects(trying to). There had been a rather bright "star" I had been meaning to look at for a while. And on the night we pick for our date, there is no moon lol It wasnt gonna rise until midnight, and so I tried to locate this "star" and I was able to find it on the telescope!!!!! It looked awesome! We knew at that point it was a planet, but we weren't sure which one. Geli found out today though, and this is almost exactly what we saw:
And finally, almost when we were gonna leave, the moon came up! And while every time we use the telescope we get to see it, it always amazes me....looks like this, even more close up with the second slightly more powerful lense(we have 2)
I was especially excited about seeing the planet. And now, knowing it was Jupiter and its moons. I get this sense of wonder and awe. I mean, we hear about planets and stars, but I actually found one, and was able to see it! I am not very good at explaining, but it is a powerful feeling. I mean sure, its just a speck in the night sky. But looking at it yourself, confirming what you have been told all along. And I mean, it is JUPITER! The giant in our solar system...its a big big place we are in. And we are just a speck in it as well.
Now, shortly after seeing the moon, we went to go get sophie and headed home. Geli thought it was a problem that we were walking around with a telescope, I didn't really care. I don't know anyone at all lol, and plus, I got to see Jupiter :) and hang out with Geli!
I have recently taken the additional responsibility of being on-call every Sunday night from 5pm to 5am. Its an extra $60 for each Sunday. Small bonus since it comes out to $4/hr lol but it is supposed to be slow on Sunday nights, so u are not working most of the time. I also get to work from home on those nights. And it makes for an extra $240-$300 every month, so its not bad when you look at it that way. This weekend was crazy though. I worked Sunday night, and I also signed up to work Labor Day(Monday, 8am-5pm, an extra $250 for working the holiday), and Labor Day on call(Monday night 5pm-5am, an extra $100 for holiday night on-call). I did this because it was supposed to be slow. Holidays usually are! But Sunday night, one of the database servers(only one for this application) for our largest client went down at 2am and I was bombarded with calls and had to wake up a systems engineer and a database administrator to work on the issue. Monday during the day wasn't too bad, since there was 8 of us, and Monday night wasn't too bad either(only 3 easy calls between 10pm and 5 am). I just need to make it through today now and I get to not work tonight lol. So all in all I will have worked 5pm on Sunday to 5pm on Tuesday almost non-stop(on-call at least). At least I should have an extra $410 on the next check to show for this weekend! lol
Well, today is my 1st day in my new job role. I was recently promoted here at VCPI. I am now a Financial Technical Analyst. Which specializes in providing support for Financial applications(payroll, billing, medicare, insurance, etc.), and in resolving tickets that tech 1s were not able to. A lot has happened since I started working here. I have gotten my CompTIA A+(Remote Support Technician) and CompTIA Network+ Certifications , and I am currently working on getting my MCP(Microsoft Certified Professional). I managed the system downs for the desk from May until this promotion. That was fun, since I got to work with Systems, Application, and Network Engineers, as well as with the Database Administrators, and some vendors in order to resolve the issues promptly. My work commute has increased significantly(12 miles compared to 2 previously). But its a necessary to move in order to climb ranks in the IT world! The new building is smaller, compared to the corporate office, but it has all the servers for all our clients, kinda crazy to see SOOO many servers!
Whoa! Yesterday was my first day of work at VCPI here in Milwaukee, and it was insane! The day started horribly. I had everything planned out, and worked out. We had arranged with the daycare center for them to pick Sophie up at our apartment at 7:30 am since last week, when we enrolled her. We filled out their transportation forms and everything. Then I called to double check Friday afternoon,. and they confirmed it. So I had planned to take the bus to work, since it was supposed to rain, which would get me to work in about ten minutes. I was supposed to be at work at 8:30am yesterday, so them picking her up at 7:30, would have given me ample time to eat breakfast, finish getting ready, and get to work. This was far form the actual turnout of events. The daycare center decided not to show up at 7:30am, I called them, no answer, left voice mail. Waited till 7:45, then decided to take her myself, its not too far, although it was raining, and I had to take her in the bike, so I got drenched on the way there. When I get to the daycare center around 8:00 am, there is no one there, it was completely closed!!! They're supposed to be open 24/7!!! And I still have Sophie and need to get to work in 30 minutes...so I am at a loss as to what to do. I wait, and wait, what seemed to be an eternity(in the rain), and at 8:10 I decided to call Geli and ask her to please come get Sophie and stay with her so I can go to work since it is my first day, and she agreed. Five minutes later though, they show up at the daycare center, so I tell Geli to cancel that, since they're here. I had no time to argue with them, I simply brought Sophie in(who did not get wet, since she was in the little bike carriage), told them we'd be picking her up, and got on my way to work around 8:15. On the way to work, I went much faster than I usually would on the bike in an effort to get there on time, since now, I was about 3 miles away, instead of only 2, from the house, and away from the bus route I had planned to take. This fast riding, in the rain, led to me falling off the bike at a turn of course. I was okay, and surprisingly, it had no effect on the level of wetness since already I was drenched. I finally get to work at 8:33, not bad considering all that has happened, but not a great way to make a good first impression. Not to mention I was also dripping water. Its as if I had decided to shower with my clothes on that morning, and went to work. Despite all this, everything went very well at work. I eventually dried up, mostly. I really like it, and I'm sure I'll be fine there. My boss took me and the other trainee out to lunch to a diner a block from our building. I have my own desk, my own work extension, work email, and access to the applications we need already. Now I just need to learn how to use them! lol Despite everyone being dressed up, and in a downtown setting, it seems very relaxed there. It doesn't feel tense or hectic, and unlike every other job I've had before, the people don't seem to hate being there. All in all, it was a great first day. Very eventful, and I'm glad that despite the rough start, it ended well. I missed Sophie, and wondered how she was throughout the day, but i guess that's something I'll need to get used to. I was glad to be home at the end of the day with Geli and Sophie Off to another day of work today, assuming the daycare people show up today....
These last 10 months or so that we have been in Milwaukee I have been staying home with Sophie, and working on my degree. I am finally close to finishing my degree, I'll be graduating this December with a Bachelor of Science in Information Communication Technology. I actually found a great job here in Downtown Milwaukee, that pays well, and I start this Monday(10/20/08). They just require that I finish my degree and get an A+ certification within 6 months, which should be no problem. While this is all very exciting and great news for me, I am also very sad to have to put Sophie in daycare...This last year I've been with her at home has been great, and now I can't imagine not being there when she wakes up, or giving her breakfast, and playing with her throughout the day. I don't know, I never expected to feel this way, after all I did go to school all these years to be able to work a good job, and now that I can, I feel sad to. I never understood just how much a child can change you, until now. I hope this lessens over time, because even though I feel comfortable with the daycare center we chose, and I have no doubt that she'll be okay, I still feel sad about it.
Well, where to start? My life has changed more than I could have ever imagined in the last couple of years. I am now living 1200 miles from El Paso, in Milwaukee, WI with my amazing wife and baby daughter. While it was very difficult to decide to leave my brother, sister, parents, family, friends, the band, and many other things behind, I knew that it was necessary. I miss everyone very much and look forward to visiting again. It has been very difficult to be apart from my brother, who was closer to me than anyone else, we literally grew up together and did everything together, I miss you man. Despite all this, we have done rather well over here. I have stayed home with the baby and to work on school, and Geli has done well at work. We had a hard time finding an apartment, but we were lucky to find one in the center of everything here in Milwaukee, although its a bit old and run down ha ha. We have sold the car, and have turned to biking and walking everywhere, which is fun, and it workds because everything is really close to our apt. We like Milwaukee, and hope to have everyone visit! Its a whole different world from El Paso.
And finally, almost when we were gonna leave, the moon came up! And while every time we use the telescope we get to see it, it always amazes me....looks like this, even more close up with the second slightly more powerful lense(we have 2)
I was especially excited about seeing the planet. And now, knowing it was Jupiter and its moons. I get this sense of wonder and awe. I mean, we hear about planets and stars, but I actually found one, and was able to see it! I am not very good at explaining, but it is a powerful feeling. I mean sure, its just a speck in the night sky. But looking at it yourself, confirming what you have been told all along. And I mean, it is JUPITER! The giant in our solar system...its a big big place we are in. And we are just a speck in it as well.