There's some good news coming out of my work lately. This week it was determined that the company would pay in full for me to go to a two-week MCSE bootcamp in North Carolina next month. I've wanted to get my MCSE for a long time, and to be able to get it without having to spend my own money is exciting. The news that goes along with this is that it seems as though I'll also get a change in title to become the company's Network Administrator instead of just being a specialist. I'm bummed about having to be away from home to 15 days, but it will definitely be worth it.
Also at work, the workload is continuing to be extreme. I'm having to do the jobs of two people, neither of which I'm fully prepared for. So far I've managed to hold on, and hopefully I'll get some releif soon when we hire someone out in Chicago to take care of handling all the users out there. Supposedly, once I move to a administrative role, we'll also hire a lower level support person in Reno, and I'll be the supervisor of both of them. That's a bit scary because I've never been responsible for other people before. I guess I had to start at some point though.
Life's been stressful lately. Watching the kids is part of it, but the bulk of the stress has been coming from work. My boss quit last week, which means I've taken on a lot more work until they replace him. We're in the middle of a big migration, and now we're a man down, so that doesn't help things either. I worked almost 60 hours last week just to keep up with all the stuff that needs to get done. This week is looking like it might be a little bit easier to get through, but I still have a feeling I'll be working some overtime. Hopefully I can get a day or two off when all this is over to compensate me for all the extra hours.
On the plus side, our family grew by one more last week. We have now added the 12th gun to our collection. Kirstin's dad gave us his hunting shotgun. It's a Remmington model 11-87 semi-auto 12-gauge, and it's in great condition. I haven't had a chance to try it out yet, but from what I've read it will be a great shooter. Thanks Keith!
For the next week and a half Kirstin and I are once again watching our friends' kids. Last year we watched them while they went with a group to Germany. This year, they're at a retreat in Virginia. The kids are always pretty good and easy to manage. For the most part they do what they're told and know what their chores are. There's the occasional scuffle over the remote control or a video game, but they really aren't much trouble at all. At least this year there's only 2 dogs to go along with the 3 kids. The dogs tend to be pretty good too. The kids take care of feeding and cleaning up after them. All we pretty much to do is make sure the kids do their part and then make sure the dogs stay in the yard or in their pen in the kitchen. I guess the hardest part is just being away from our own home for 10 days. We're not that far away, but it's still nice to be able to sit on your own couches, watch your own TV, and sleep in your own bed.
The new job is going well. My boss' last day is actually today. That kind of sucks because it means I now don't really have anyone to report to or to ask for help with the systems I haven't quite learned yet. On the upside, it's a great opportunity for me to take on some new responsibility and to potentially get some training paid for. My boss' boss is talking about sending me to MCSE training which would be awesome. Let's all hope for that one to happen.
Just a couple quick notes about some changes to the site. First, I've enabled an image verification code on the login page. This site gets over 200 bogus login attempts per day. These are attempts to break into the site and cause general havok. The image code verification on the login should curb most of these. Second, some content on the site is only available once you're logged in. So when you visit, make sure you login so that you can see everything that's new.
So I know it's been a while since I've posted anything. Sorry. My bad. The only really big thing happening with me lately is that I've changed jobs. I'm no longer working as a security camera / home theater installer. I didn't really like the work (honestly, i detested it) so when my boss unnecessarily started screaming obscenities at me one day I figured it was time to find something else. Thank God I did. I've now landed what I think will be the best job I've ever had. I'm back in the Information Technology world working as a server/desktop/telephone support technician. The pay is great, the benefits are great, and the people I'm working with are great too. I've been there for about two weeks now, and I couldn't be happier. I definitely see myself in this position for a long time.
Other things going on... Kirstin went to Milwaukee at the end of June for a conference about therapy for hard of hearing kids. She had a good time, learned a lot, and met some other therapists from all over the place. Surprisingly, seveal people she met were from Australia. She also working summer school again this year. It kinda sucks for her to not get her full summer off, but the extra money is always nice. She's only got a couple more weeks and then she gets a few weeks of break before the school year starts again. We're going to Seattle this coming weekend to celebrate my grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary. Most, if not all, of that side of my family will be there. That should be fun. It kind of sucks that we can only go for the weekend though since both of us have to be back to work on Monday morning.
I think that's about it. I'll try to blog more often. I promise.
