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Finally feeling comfortable

Well, I’ve been here for two weeks now and I feel as though I’m really starting to get settled in. I’m becoming more and more comfortable with both my situation and my surroundings. I’ve managed to keep in good touch with many from back home and my friends have been gracious enough to listen to me ramble and babble when I call them (I spend so much time alone that I sort of pounce when I get the opportunity to talk to a friend). Work is going well and my responsibilities are growing by the day. Today, my co-worker, whom I’m sort of shadowing and working alongside on a project, gave me the ok to pursue a project that I think will really benefit our program. Originally, the “project” was his idea, but he was going to implement it on a much smaller scale. As we discussed it, we realized it would probably be wise to invest more time up front to make it more universal and robust a ways down the road. So, I’ve been given ownership of this task and I think it will allow me to impress my superiors… and impressing the bosses means good reviews and possibly a nice raise next year.

The pile of papers, receipts, instruction manuals and miscellaneous stuff on my counter is slowly disappearing. Mostly, it’s disappearing because I’m able to consolidate things or throw stuff away or I’m mailing of envelopes stuffed with some of the receipts and UPC symbols for rebates. This weekend, I’ll probably start working on tearing down the box-fort I’ve built in my “dining” room. I’m really starting to get annoyed with everything being in such disarray, but there’s not much I can do until I get my furniture and the claim has gone through for my busted computer desk, so I can replace it. I’ve been learning patience for a while now and this is another situation that is affording me the chance to hone my patience skills.

Metroid Prime

I went to Best Buy last night and exchanged an ethernet (10/100)-to-USB adapter for the GameCube game Metroid Prime. When I was a kid, I really enjoyed the metroid games and I was glad to hear that they’d made one from GameCube. I was prepared to buy it because of the purely nostalgic draw it had for me, but once I read some reviews on it, I decided I had to buy it for sure. So far, it’s a very fun and involved game. I’m impressed with how similar it is to the other metroid games, even though it’s been “upgraded” for GameCube. Although it’s in 3D, it feels and plays very much like its predecessors. Anyway, I’m enjoying it and I’m glad to have something to kill some time.

Netflix back online

I subscribed to Netflix a while ago, but I put it on hold for the past month or so as I moved from Florida out to Texas. Now that I’m here and settled, I’ve reopened the dam and the movies are already flooding in. Soon, I hope to get back to watching “old” stuff (I’m pretty sure I left off in 1942 with Casablanca), so I can continue my education on the history of movies.

I’m going to try to get some sleep now… I hate feeling so tired for the first four hours of work every day.

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Plano: Day 14

Things are starting to slow down and my daily expenditures are becoming more reasonable by the day. I just wish my furniture wasn’t 3 weeks away, but I’ll take whatever stability I can get at this point.

TiVo up and running

After “borrowing” an ethernet (10/100) to USB adapter from Best Buy this weekend, I’ve gotten TiVo to download the drivers needed to use the wireless USB adapter I bought for it. Sow now, it downloads the daily updates over my DSL connection instead of requiring a phone line (which I don’t have). It sounds trivial, but having it up and running leaves one less thing to worry about and it’s nice that I did it wirelessly since that leaves my entertainment center essentially independent of anything else.

Back to workin’ out

I took about five weeks off from workouts before last week, but I kept last weeks workouts pretty easy, so I wouldn’t strain anything. Today’s workout was a full one and it went well. I felt good–no soreness or unusual pain–and I’m looking forward to getting back into a routine. I haven’t really thought much about my goals, but right now I’m focused on getting back to where I was a couple months ago. I figure I’ll be there in about four more weeks.

Dining in

I’ve eaten only a handful of meals outside my apartment since I got here, and I’m liking it very much. Not only am I saving money (lots of it), but it’s nice to completely control what and when I eat. Of course, most of my meals are already pseudo-prepared–for instance, I ate a Skillet Sensations tonight–but at least I’m choosing exactly what I want and putting something on the stove or whatever. That’s a big step for me.

Letterman

I’m watching a rerun and the last guest was some kid who wrote his own fantasy book that’s been published. I can’t help but wonder if 1) the kid was homeschooled and 2) if he has any friends. I think even Dave was uncomfortable interviewing him. In his spare time, he paints, does are and makes his own knives, swords and chainmail. Apparently, he’s made his own forge, which he uses for making these useful things.

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Plano: Day 12

I did a whole lot of nothing today. I went to Best Buy this morning to get an ethernet to USB adapter, so I could put TiVo on my network until it downloads the drivers it needs to use the wireless adapter I bought. While I was at Best Buy, one of the employees said, “Man, we need to get you a special discount or something… you’re in here all the time!” I replied, “I just moved here from Florida and it seems like I need something else every day: a cable, an adapter, a GameCube, whatever.” Anyway, I realized I’m in there entirely too much if employees are starting to recognize me. But, I’ll have to be in there again in a few day anyway to take back the little ethernet to USB adapter, so I guess they’ll be seein’ a little more of me.

Emotional Transition

I’m not sure what’s up, but this transition hasn’t been as difficult as I’d expected. The first couple days were rough, but not even as rough as I thought they’d be. Then, I guess I just got so busy I didn’t really have time to think about transitions and who I missed and what was going on in Florida. Anyway, I’m expecting it to hit me pretty soon, so my weblog will probably become bogged down with flowery rhetoric and depressing psychobabble. Fortunately, I’ve got enough stuff to do to keep me busy for a while.

Bedtime

I woke up at 8:30 this morning, even though I went to sleep at about 4 last night. So, I took a nap this afternoon, but I’m still tired. I think it was that I had caffeine with dinner, but I’m not sure. Anyway, I figure since I’m tired already, I might as well go ahead and get to sleep, so I don’t have another ridiculously late night. I think one of the most difficult things about my transition so far is adjusting my sleeping patterns. I have the hardest time getting up at 7 am, but I can’t seem to go to sleep before midnight (usually closer to 12:30). Something’s gotta’ give.