You know what I don’t enjoy? When people ask me how’s work. Why? Because my usual response is “It’s alright.” However, that doesn’t seem to be a good enough answer for them. They want to hear more (and I want a pony), but there isn’t any more. Work is alright. I don’t get excited about going to work everyday, or any day for that matter (I don’t really get excited about a lot of things lately, but that’s a story for another day). It’s hard to concentrate for 2 4-hour blocks a day, especially with the existence of an unblocked Reddit. When I was a grad student, I was working more than 50 hours a week, but at least I got to choose when to work. Some days, I don’t really feel like working at all; I’d rather just stay at home and play TF2, and I’m sure that’s true for most jobs. There will be at least one time that you’d rather be doing something else other than working.
It may sound like I’m not too happy with my job. Do I hate my job? Not at all. I get paid quite a bit to get my code on. The company I work for doesn’t really suck. There is lovely scenery here, if you know I mean (you probably don’t). It funds other things I enjoy, like the large TV in my living room and my awesome compy which TF2 is played on. In fact, when someone asked me what I liked most about my job, I said it was the paycheck. And really, shouldn’t that be the best part about any job? If you hate your job, then clearly getting paid is the best part; you wouldn’t be working at that job if it wasn’t. If you love your job, then you should love the fact that you’re actually getting paid to do whatever it is that you do. If you didn’t get paid to do it, then you very well might be doing something else that you hate for a living, or you’d be a hobo.
So work is alright. It’s not the best thing in the world, but it’s not horrible. It varies between nice and somewhat boring. When it’s boring, at least there’s the internet. And yes, I did write this from my computer at work.
André//12:16 PM//I'm surprised 8 people left commentsIan and Amanda came to Kansas City; I assume they came for the Backyard Burgers. They live in St. Louis, and there is no Backyard Burger there. Now for those who don’t know, Backyard Burgers is pretty much one of the best places to get a burger in existence. How good are the burgers? Think about the happiest you’ve ever been. Double that happiness and you’ve got the feeling you get when you chomp down on a Backyard Burger (capitalized for respect). It is pretty much a party in your mouth, without all the drunks throwing up. So Ian, Amanda, and Massive (oh yes, he was summoned) went to Backyard Burgers (eventually) and Massive and I showed them the light. The existence of Backyard Burger in the Kansas City area is reason enough to say KC > STL. After consuming tasty burgers, I insulted emo kids and we saw Inglourious Basterds. However, I’ve seen other movies lately, and I want to talk about them first.
I was told Primer is the thinking man’s sci-fi movie, and they’re probably right. You’ve never heard of it? That’s understandable. Just go watch it. Will you understand everything the first time? No chance. Anybody who claims they understood everything that happened in the movie perfectly on their first viewing is a filthy liar who lies in their filth. It’s not for everyone, but you’ll enjoy it if it’s for you. Now that I think about it, that statement is true for every movie in existence. District 9 was not at all what I was expecting, but it was so enjoyable. It’s like a story about apartheid, except people explode good. Why can’t we all get along? Why can’t more people explode? Maybe we would all get along better if more people exploded. There is so much truth in that statement. However, these movies are only okay movies in comparison with Quentin Tarintino’s latest masterpiece. “Masterpiece?”, you might ask. Indeed, I would go as far as to call that movie a masterpiece. Brad Pitt (who is far awesomer than Johnny Depp) kills Nazis like a champ (or a boss?). The best part about the movie is its historical accuracy. They should show this in history class, because all events shown in the movie actually happened. People, including myself, clapped at the end of the movie. It was that awesome. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, then why are you still here? Go watch it now.
André//1:15 PM//I'm surprised 2 people left commentsSo as I’ve repeatedly told people, I’ve graduated. I’m done with school. I’m a master of all things. I promised myself that when I defended my thesis successfully, I’d buy myself a new guitar. I’ve had my current guitar for about almost 8 years, and it cost $200 when I got it. It’s an okay guitar, especially a broke college student, but I am not a broke college student any more. I’ve acquired new basses over the years, so it’s about time to get a new guitar. So when I finished my thesis, I started looking at guitars and started playing my guitar more. There seems to be a lot to consider when buying a guitar beyond my need for 24 frets and my desire for a tremelo bar and a matte finish (glossy is kinda lame). It was around this time that I was reminded of something: I suck. Sure, I haven’t been playing music a lot (two words, not one) that year, but suck is suck. I still suck! So I’ve recently come to this conclusion: I should suck less before I buy a new guitar. And so, I’m now working towards that goal. I don’t need to be awesome, I just need to be okay.
Speaking of awesome, did you know The Dethalbum II is coming out September 29th? You didn’t? Now you do. I’m shall bring speakers to my office and blare the Dethklok; my office shall be most brutal. Also, did you know Dethklok and Mastodon are going on tour? Together? Can you believe that awesomeness? I can’t. They’re coming to Kansas City, and I think I’ll go to my first concert (finally). I shall avoid pits like the plague and stay up late. Sure, I have work the next day, but who cares? Take that, responsibility. I’m sure good things will happen there, like my face getting rocked off. My face shall be a skull. Chicks dig skulls. Right?
André//9:14 PM//Someone felt like leaving a commentI went to Rolla a couple of days ago, and returned with 4 bound copies of my thesis. I can easily say that it is the best thesis that has ever been written in the history of man. Knowing the thesis is done is one thing. Holding it in my hand is an entirely different matter. I don’t think I’ll ever do anything as awesome as writing a thesis. If someone disputes my mastery of computer science, I have a large, black book to smack them with. This book also doubles as proof of my mastery, adding the psychological damage of being incredibly wrong to the physical damage of being smacked with a fairly blunt object. So I thought I was all “victoried” out for the month, then I turned on my DS this morning to once again tackle the Elite Four. My problem most RPGs I play is that I’m usually underlevelled. If people are typically level 40 when beating a game, then I’m fighting the boss with level 30 characters. I normally achieve the V (victory for those who don’t know) using superior tactics; however, superior tactics have their limits. Pokémon Pearl showed me that I can’t take out the Elite Four using level 45 and lower Pokémon, so I had to grind. I hate grinding, but I wanted the V, and victory was mine this morning. After 52 hours of gameplay, I laid waste to the Elite Four and their stupid champion. My DS is currently smoking from the beatdown I placed on them. No, I do not have a fondness for hyperbole. Now I think I shall go finally start and beat Halo 3. It will give me something to do until Batman: Arkham Asylum comes out. Do you have and XBox 360, PS3, or a decent computer? There’s a demo out. Play it and be amazed. You’ll be all “Wow, this is a Batman game that doesn’t suck! In fact, it does quite the opposite!” You’ll also be pleased by the voices of Batman and the Joker. If you are not, you sicken me. I think I’ll go look at my bank account and smile until I realize that I haven’t paid $850 to the government because I have student loans to pay off . Victory is mine, but my money isn’t.
André//11:15 AM//I'm surprised 4 people left commentsI have received word from my advisor that my theses (plural for thesis) have come back from the bindery (is that what you call a place that binds things?). Within a week, I’ll have 4 copies of my thesis. The only downside is I have to go back to Rolla to retrieve them and give my advisor stuff. What’s even worse is Rolla is at least 3.5 hours away from where I am. Driving there and back in one day is a 7 hour drive! Weak? Very much so. I could get a hotel room in Rolla, but that’s weak. I could drive back to St. Louis and stay at my Dad’s for the night, but that’s adding 2 hours to my trip. Must things be so inconvenient? At least this makes me feel better. Oh snap? Is that my paper? Yeah buddy! I’m published! I can be cited! I’m somebody! That makes me feel special. I need to put that on my resume, because my resume is far awesomer than it was previously. However, that requires effort. I’ve been quite lazy since I’ve started working. Is that suppose to happen? I haven’t felt like being productive in the ways I want to be productive. I’ve yet to record anything on my new computer. I’ve yet to look into miking my amps (although Ian is always suggesting some mic I always forget). I still have boxes sitting in my living room of stuff I’ve yet to unpack. Forget this post, I think I’ll go be productive…after some TF2.
André//7:37 PM//Someone felt like leaving a comment