Out with the Old

Wow.  September.  I think that’s a new record for me for an OD hiatus, though not unwarranted.  Unavoidable, really.  I don’t start new chapters in my diary very often, but enough has changed over the last six months that I think it’s deserving of a fresh start.  Not to mention, the air is crisp and clean, new buds are forming on our flowers and trees, Chuck and I are getting ready to plant our first vegetable garden…  Out with old, in with the new!

I suppose the biggest change in my life over the last six months has been my work situation.  As many of you know, I’m a software engineer for a military intelligence program.  In October, I was asked to fly up to our Hampton office for several weeks to support a government test of the next upcoming version release of our software.  This was a particularly major release that encompassed a complete user interface redesign, and I headed up the project.  Little did I know, however, that there were ulterior motives for asking me to travel.  I was offered a promotion, and I accepted!

Come to find out, there was a complete reorganization occurirng within my program, and I was offered the position of Lead Technical Engineer for my entire division.  Along with a hefty pay raise, I’ve been given my own team of developers and pretty much all design proposals for our software go though me first.  I’ve been inundated with new responsibilities — endless meetings, approving software modifications, tasking my employees and resolving disputes with others.  I’ve never been in a management position like this, so admittedly, it took a few weeks for me to grasp my role, but I think I am coming into it quite nicely now.

At first, I let this new role consume me.  I worked countless overtime hours.  Since I work from home, I had a hard time drawing the line between my work day and my evenings.  Plus, several months ago, Delaney was playing in my office chair, spinning round and round, and somehow caught the edge of my desk with her leg — ouch!  She kicked it so hard that it broke the whole side of my desk out.  I still haven’t figured out how she managed to do that, but nonetheless, the desk was irreparable.  I set up shop at the dining room table for a couple of months, which routinely discouraged me from cooking dinner since there was nowhere to eat it.  Focusing all of my attention on work ultimately caused some conflict between Chuck and me, and I’ve worked hard the last month to distinctly separate my career from my home life.  I even broke down and spent several hundred dollars on new office furniture.  My desk is three times the size of my old one, and just sitting at it makes me feel more productive.  Note to self:  I need to post some before and after pics!

Over the last six months, I have gotten to travel a bit for fun, as well.  During one of my lengthy trips to Hampton last fall, I took a weekend off to drive to DC to spend Halloween with my brother and Becky.  Rob had purchased all-night tickets to a new speakeasy that had just opened, so we all got dressed up and took advantage of the all-you-can-drink free booze.  For Thanksgiving, Chuck and I drove up to Texarkana to visit my dad and Debbie.  Then just after Christmas, we drove the 15-hour haul to Georgia to see mom and John.  I hadn’t had the opportunity to visit either of my parents in two years, and both trips were awesome.  I think both my parents are planning trips to Texas to see us this summer.

My ten year reunion was also in October.  Aside from getting to hang out with Alsie for a couple of days, that trip was a waste.  Of the fifty-something people I graduated with, about five showed up.  Oh, and get this.  The reunion was held at the Smackover High School homecoming football game.  Chuck and I lasted about five minutes before bailing to get a drink.

Aside from work and travel, Chuck and I have just been living the best we can.  We still take on too many projects around the house.  Since I last wrote, we’ve tiled both our bathroom floors, planted five new trees, tons of new shrubs and flowers, and as I mentioned earlier, we’re getting ready to build raised beds for our first garden.  We still drive down to partake in Austin nightlife as often as possible.  We still follow around Blaggards like some sort of obsessed groupies, we hit up a Killswitch Engage concert last week, and we’ve got tickets to a Drop Kick Murphys concert for tomorrow.  Today is Chuck’s birthday, and the latter was my gift to him.  Chuck has been getting lots of new ink, finishing his long overdue sleeve, and my hair is now black and purple.

Yes, life is good.

I sincerely hope all of you are doing well and are enjoying life to the fullest.  Cheers!