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...or, this has been one very active week.
It started on Monday with some good news. Thanks to one of my instructors informing me of a new position and putting a good word in with the company,I went 1 1/2 hours away to one of the wireless internet provider's company's headquarters for a job interview for a position that's only ~5 miles away from where I live. I got the job!
I'll be working part-time under a 2-year contract, in charge of overseeing a community center that will have internet access for the public. I'm really excited about the job, in that I'll be working with another technician in setting up the whole building with computers, a printer, and a projector. Then, my duties are pretty basic - make sure the computers aren't stolen or damaged and watch the users for inappropriate/illegal material.
I will have total freedom over what I want to do with the center, however. For example, with the projector, I could teach basic classes on computer usage. Also, depending on how I do, there is further advancement within the company. It's nice having this job so close to home, and with this job, my tutoring work-study position, and the occasional extra work at my previous employer, I'd finally be able to make some headway on all our bills - or at least I thought so...
Then, the bad news started. First, it was my car - it made it there and back with no problems. I got changed for my Monday class, and started the drive out there. In the middle of the trip, the car stalled out. I got it pulled over and restarted, and it seemed to be fine. Going further, the temperature started climbing, it wanted to stall out on every stop, and finally it started knocking pretty badly.
I got it pulled over and towed back to a repair shop while my wife dropped me off at the college and picked me up after my class. The next day, we got the news - the engine was no good, and it would cost more to fix than the car was worth. I wasn't looking forward to trying to find something dependable, and then getting a loan.
During all of this, the next blow was from my former employer who I occasionally got work with. The company just signed a contract with a competing wireless internet provider, so I e-mailed out to my contact at my new job asking if I could still work for the former employer. They said yes, but I couldn't present or sell the competing internet service.
I e-mailed the former job informing them this, and I got back a response basically saying that I should meet with him and 'we can discuss the situation' - I knew nothing good can come from that. As expected, I was released from that job - I handed in my keys this Saturday. Not a big loss, in that I hadn't been called in for awhile, but the extra cash did help out.
I got some good news to finish out the week. First, I got a refund from my college grant, so the plans I had to take certification testing over the summer can go forward. Next involved my parents - I had been keeping them informed about all that was happening, and my mom called me yesterday. They are giving us one of their spare vehicles, a small all-wheel drive crew cab truck.
We just have to get a couple of issues fixed, but nothing that impacts the drivability of it for right now, and finally we'll have something to get down our road when winter weather comes (our road's usually one of the last to be plowed).
So ends my busy week? Not exactly - I'm finishing up my research paper for my ethical hacking class, starting reviewing for finals the second week of June, and then getting ready for my securing systems class. Seems some people made an issue of how the class was instructed, so now instead of the final for the class being a multiple choice/true-false test, it's a research paper. We have 3 operating systems to research. On the last class, we get randomly chosen one of those OS's, and have to write a 1-2 page paper on how to secure it.
Did I mention how much I hate writing?
I think I'll just write all three papers before the last class. Fun times...
It started on Monday with some good news. Thanks to one of my instructors informing me of a new position and putting a good word in with the company,I went 1 1/2 hours away to one of the wireless internet provider's company's headquarters for a job interview for a position that's only ~5 miles away from where I live. I got the job!
I'll be working part-time under a 2-year contract, in charge of overseeing a community center that will have internet access for the public. I'm really excited about the job, in that I'll be working with another technician in setting up the whole building with computers, a printer, and a projector. Then, my duties are pretty basic - make sure the computers aren't stolen or damaged and watch the users for inappropriate/illegal material.
I will have total freedom over what I want to do with the center, however. For example, with the projector, I could teach basic classes on computer usage. Also, depending on how I do, there is further advancement within the company. It's nice having this job so close to home, and with this job, my tutoring work-study position, and the occasional extra work at my previous employer, I'd finally be able to make some headway on all our bills - or at least I thought so...
Then, the bad news started. First, it was my car - it made it there and back with no problems. I got changed for my Monday class, and started the drive out there. In the middle of the trip, the car stalled out. I got it pulled over and restarted, and it seemed to be fine. Going further, the temperature started climbing, it wanted to stall out on every stop, and finally it started knocking pretty badly.
I got it pulled over and towed back to a repair shop while my wife dropped me off at the college and picked me up after my class. The next day, we got the news - the engine was no good, and it would cost more to fix than the car was worth. I wasn't looking forward to trying to find something dependable, and then getting a loan.
During all of this, the next blow was from my former employer who I occasionally got work with. The company just signed a contract with a competing wireless internet provider, so I e-mailed out to my contact at my new job asking if I could still work for the former employer. They said yes, but I couldn't present or sell the competing internet service.
I e-mailed the former job informing them this, and I got back a response basically saying that I should meet with him and 'we can discuss the situation' - I knew nothing good can come from that. As expected, I was released from that job - I handed in my keys this Saturday. Not a big loss, in that I hadn't been called in for awhile, but the extra cash did help out.
I got some good news to finish out the week. First, I got a refund from my college grant, so the plans I had to take certification testing over the summer can go forward. Next involved my parents - I had been keeping them informed about all that was happening, and my mom called me yesterday. They are giving us one of their spare vehicles, a small all-wheel drive crew cab truck.
We just have to get a couple of issues fixed, but nothing that impacts the drivability of it for right now, and finally we'll have something to get down our road when winter weather comes (our road's usually one of the last to be plowed).So ends my busy week? Not exactly - I'm finishing up my research paper for my ethical hacking class, starting reviewing for finals the second week of June, and then getting ready for my securing systems class. Seems some people made an issue of how the class was instructed, so now instead of the final for the class being a multiple choice/true-false test, it's a research paper. We have 3 operating systems to research. On the last class, we get randomly chosen one of those OS's, and have to write a 1-2 page paper on how to secure it.
Did I mention how much I hate writing?
I think I'll just write all three papers before the last class. Fun times...