Sayonara y Buon Giorno!

Now I've done it. Uh Huh. I've up and switched jobs. Not an easy decision, but a good one, I think. But, before I go any further, allow me to apologize in advance, as this post will be somewhat deliberately vague. Although I've been known to throw out a few nuggets about my former workplace, and occasionally bitch about it from time to time, I've never mentioned either the name of the institution or anyone in it. If you read through previous posts, you'll be able to figure out that I do - er, did - computer work for a school that teaches lots of Japanese women (and that alone provides a huge clue - if you have too much free time and wanted to do some investigative work, I'm sure you could figure it out.) Anyway, Friday was my last day there after having worked there for four years and two months - pretty much the longest I've ever worked anywhere.

And, I really liked working there. It was hugely convenient, I learne... You know what? Why don't I just do what I do best? Create a list. How did I lo - I mean, really like thee? Let me count the ways.

1. The ten minute drive to and from work.
2. The low stress environment (on most days)
3. The wild turkeys who jump out of trees onto the heads of unsuspecting passersby (no, I'm not kidding)
   
4. Other area wildlife (turkeys aside - they're a nuisance and peck at people's cars. I don't like them) such as coyote's and hawks - all in the middle of a city environment.
5. The fact that I learned a ton while I was there - from both a technical standpoint and about working with other people.
6. Being able to leave for somewhat extended lunch breaks (shhhhh... don't tell anyone. I didn't abuse it. Really.)
7. Having fun on the walkie-talkies with people who took themselves too seriously (I hated carrying the thing, thinking of it as more of an electronic dog leash, and would occasionally utter random shit into it. For example, about six months ago I decided to quote an old 80's rap song and yelled into it, "The ROOF! The ROOF! The roof is on FIIII-REEEE!!! The woman covering the front desk was pissed.)
8. Making up excuses to some of the students as to why I couldn't fix their computers, knowing they probably wouldn't understand me anyway.
9. The atmosphere of an academic environment. It's a completely different animal from the corporate world, and to try to explain the difference between the two would be a futile exercise in... well, futility. But I liked the world of academia. It's full of smart people.
10. Being able to work with a fantastic group of people - and no, I'm not just saying that. The people there made it a pleasure to come to work each day.

That's ten reasons. There are plenty more, but I don't feel like listing them all. Suffice it to say, that I accepted a job with another company and will soon join the growing numbers of working folk in Metro-West. My new employer butters their bread in the medical science industry, and I'll be doing lots of application support and back end database work - which is a bit of a switch for me. There will be lots of new and challenging things to learn, but the position is largely one of training and learning for the first year, and for that I am quite excited. It's a great move from a career growth perspective, and that's the main reason I decided to take it.

Hopefully, things here won't change all that much. It's hard to imagine being any busier than I've been the past two weeks simply wrapping things up, so maybe I'll even be able to squeak in a few more posts than usual (although you don't expect me to make any guarantees, do you? Heh. You know me too well.) This week, however, I'm lucky enough to be on vacation. Things get into high gear tonight with the Patriots v. Colts game (I actually get to go to this game. I still can't believe it. I am a lucky lucky man) and then another trip down to NOLA on Wednesday to see Ms. Goofus and embark on a Southern road trip (we're attending a wedding in Memphis.) Three cheers for real grits and fried pickles! I'll update as time permits. Ciao for now, jazzcats.