Alaskan Kelt

Obligo means belly button in spanish. There’s a pointless story behind that, but I won’t elaborate.

So the whole job thing was quite a fiasco. I decided not to update until I was sure of the outcome, as it provided me with ample stress and there were some things that were requested to remain private. However, those requests have become outdated.

Last I mentioned I was off to Statewide to be a web programmer for the students ASAP… ie June 6th or so. That was dispite a tantalizing counter offer from ASF. As it were, my boss’s boss asked me to stay a couple months to finalize what I was working on at a notable salary increase. That catered to both my sense of responsibility and my financial savvy.

All was well until statewide decided to reply to my mention that I’d be starting two months later. Bullshit they called. And I was thinking welp… you can wait for me or not… either way I’m happy with it. 1. if you’ve already waited the four plus months that you have, you can wait a couple more and 2. Logically I’m your best bet. The top boss knows I’m a damn good worker from experience, my credits are the best of the bunch, and my interview was the best of the bunch 3. all your reasonable alternatives have dropped out of the running.

Regardless, I didn’t get to meet with them before my supervisor, Britton, stopped by to let me know that he’d be leaving ASF in the near future. He was to follow his girlfriend to Indiana for her expansion of knowledge and his expansion in either knowledge or fortune.

Huh…

The job I wanted to begin with was just about to open… ponder…

The next day I stopped by Britton’s boss’s office. Don Atwood. My boss’s boss. First I told him that Statewide wasn’t happy with my decision to stick with ASF a couple more months before heading their way. And then I mentioned Britton’s decision to leave which only he and I knew about at the time. He said that he could appoint me to the job. Thats a 12 percent raise as opposed to statewide’s 9.5 or so. Plus it was the job I originally wanted. Leadership. At long last.

The decision was easy.

I’m still apprehensive about my first responsibilities as a leader. I’ve got to hire my replacement. Interviews have never been appealing to me… being on the other side of the table is even less appealing. Nonetheless, learning and new experience eagerly await me.

I am excited.

-Patrick

Welp, I decided to go with the new job instead of sticking with ASF. It was one of the hardest decisions I’ve made in a long time. Rates up there with deciding to let Melodi have primary custody of Isaac when school starts.

How to make Patrick Denny stop dead in his tracks: present him with a decision.

My brain will shift into gear and start revving the engine, but then it pops out of gear and the engine just races without going anywhere. Apparently this is a trait I’ve inheritted from my father… I know my brother, Jim, shares this inheritance with me.

I’ve got to write it down while I’m still in gear, and why not share it with all of you and any stranger that might happen through. Anyhoo, on to the meat of the matter.

So I spent a lot of time stressing/pondering whether or not I should leave ASF. I’ve built up a broad working knowledge of the place. I’ve become somebody they know they can go to to get shit done. I enjoy working here and I enjoy the people I work with… though I’d say I’ve entered a comfort zone; ie I’ve quit learning new stuff.

The job at Statewide that I got the offer for takes care of that stagnation. Writing web software/pages using new and bleeding edge technologies. A real exciting opportunity. Plus I know that I’d be part of a team that creates a product that tens of thousands of people (students, faculty, and staff of the entire University of Alaska system) will be using. And they’ll be using it all the time. That is wicked.

But what really made me consider leaving ASF?

Failing to acquire the second of the management positions I applied for here. Until now it looked like ASF could not provide me with any real hope of getting the experience they felt that I needed to get a job in leadership. The new job doesn’t really provide me with leadership experience aside from the opportunity to be on committees deciding what to do and where to go.

You’re probably wondering why I started the second sentence of that last paragraph with ‘Until now’…

It is stunning how fast the rumor mill works here at ASF. I told somebody at 11:00am today, and by 1:00pm Jeremy stopped by to talk to me about it. Jeremy is my ex-supervisor, and is now the Engineering Center manager. He has come to be the person at ASF that I most respect. A humble leader, a role model, and a counsilor. He leads the way I would like to be able to lead. So Jeremy came to talk to me about staying. I got the feeling that he was hurt that I hadn’t come to him before I accepted this Statewide position. But we talked about what might keep me here.

This is what he offered me. A position as a Software Engineer (which is what I am currently) with the caveat that I will be an on & off project leader on the … damn popped out of gear … latest Engineering project which is basically replacing our antiquated infrastructure with a new improved one. Still out of gear; engine’s racing, I’m going nowhere… Okay he also offered me a slightly better pay raise than what statewide did.

I’ve accepted the Statewide position. I could retract my acceptance, but I hate going back on my word. In fact I can’t think of a time I’ve actually done that (though I’m sure I have). It’s against my value system. It is my responsibility to do what I say.

But the statewide position is not right on track with my carreer development vision. I want to write video games. This job is all about databases and institutional interfaces. I’ll still be programming all day. I won’t be working with C++, the typical programming language of video games. I won’t feel like programming a homemade game after a day of work. I figure as a manager I’ll still have the programming gusto left in me at the end of the day. Why should I move on if the new job is not perfectly on track with my goals?

Okay I’m out of gas for now, and I’ve got a Rotaract meeting to attend. Leave comments!

Listening to some new tunes provided by Matthew Pecsok. Mostly Leo Kottke. If you haven’t listened to Leo, you must. A sample. Leo plays in Hawaii in November… I was thinking about doing Hawaii in November. What a bonus Leo would be!

Currently listening to Sliderman by Jim Volk. Nothing rocks my world like some slick slide guitar.

This Friday I will be motorcycling to Anchorage to visit the Boy and attend the Rotary District 5010 conference.

Motorcycles & slide guitar. That’s why I’m amped right now. Also going to salsa dancing in an hour fifteen.

I think I’ll be taking a new job over at Statewide. Web developer. New technologies. More money. New work environment. Do a little growing. Take part in something for the students. Hey, thats what universities are supposed to be about in the first place! Still pondering the decision, but I’m pretty sure it will be to migrate to statewide’s Butrovich building.

Okay, so I’ve upgraded from some beta version of wordpress to version 1.5.1… that should be good. Hopefully since this is a ’stable’ release, all upgrades from now on should be the definition of simplicity.

In other news I am in one of my uncommon moods. A meloncholy, happy, contemplative, primal mood. Weird eh? Currently watching the Matrix Reloaded. There is a scene where Morpheous give a speech, then all of Zion begins dancing. The city is a veritable sea of flesh while Neo and Trinity partake in their carnal desire. Techno music is blaring. The apex of entertainment.

Hmmm. Ultimately there was a point I was going to make, but currently it escapes me. How very disappointing.

I’d like to carry on, but I can’t right now… maybe later.

I guess people are just not used to me posting regularly, so they don’t check my page. Maybe my posts don’t beg for comments. But I often check my page for glorious comments of entertainment and feed back.

Anyhoo, Casey sent me an email saying ‘Jingle jingle, guess what I have’. I’m assuming she means that she found my keys, as I asked her if they were at her place. So assuming my assumption is true, then I’ve got my backup keys again. Yay!

The other thing I’d lost is my backpack. I have no idea what I would have done with it. Doesn’t seem like I’ve used the thing in ages, but it’s not where it typically is kept. So all my workout clothes are getting lugged about in my motorcylces starboard saddle bag in a big wad. I tend to drop stuff as I carry it to & from the gym.

Such fascinating posts I post!

I don’t know what is up with me lately. I lose everything I touch! I’ve lost both sets of my keys! My truck is now stagnant and probably will be until I hire a lock smith to make me a new key. Now I can’t get into my storage unit. I don’t have the key to Wyatt Enterprises to get to our Rotaract webserver. Fortunately I don’t lock my house, and even if I did I’ve got two more spare keys for that. I can’t get into work. Twenty plus bucks to replace that one.

Also I’ve misplaced my digital camera. A $500 sony p10 with a 256mb card in it! Yeesh. There have been so many times that I’ve wanted to go get my camera, and then I remembered that I don’t know where it is. Whatever shall I do?

Seems like I’m missing something else significant, but it doesn’t come to mind. Thats okay though, I got to complain anyway!

Ah yeah. Got up at 5:30 this morning. Rode the motorcycle in for this morning’s workout. Stopped by the truck (which I left up at work over the weekend) to pick up my workout shoes. Realized that I don’t have my keys. Figured I’d go workout in my socks. Got back on the bike and my back tire was flat. Yeesh. So I walked down to the gym and got about 1/2 a workout done and went to SmackDonalds for a McGriddle with Matthew.

Looking forward to calling George the BMW guy about how one of my new tires is flat. Also looking forward to finding one of my two lost sets of keys.

Yeesh.

Hey everybody, if you see a set of keys with a GI key and another key that says ‘Do not duplicate’ on it, plus a bunch of others and a mini pocket knife, let me know cause I’m really jonesin’ for those keys. Been gone for several weeks now.

Hi Mom. Love you.