Coding leads to distractions

Sometimes when I write code I just need to step away and let what I am doing simmer for a bit. When I come back to it I am fresh and ready to keep plugging along. That is where I am right now. I am writing a bunch of scripts to automate hardening of systems at work. It is coming along, but, it is tedious and I just need to stop for a bit. The good thing is, I finally have an excuse to take a break for a few minutes and update my blog. You would think that I was shipped off to Pakistan after the meeting based on how I have been updating my blog lately.

I went to my new contractor's orientation on Monday and it was actually fairly interesting. They are a huge company with alot of opportunities. I even have some interest in staying on with them even if my current job moves to another contract. I have only been officially working for them for 2 weeks, but, I have interacted with them frequently ever since I got up here. They treat everyone very well and to boot... when I put in my salary requirements, they came back with a number above what I asked! That is a good way to make a happy employee. So, we will see. I am sure I will have to make a decision by the summer. But, I like my options at this point.

The weight loss is chugging along. When we started the contest I was at 267. My latest weighing at home has me at 241. So, I think it is working out so far. I am happy with the results, but, I still struggle with it at times. But, the longer I do it, the easier it is to keep up. Tomorrow we have a double date for Valentine's Day. That should be fun and a change. I just need to watch my food intake. Since we are doing Japanese Steakhouse, I plan to avoid the grill and just have Sashimi. It should be filling and delicious, so that should do the trick.

Class is plugging along. I gave them their second quiz on Wednesday. Just glancing at it, they seemed to do alright. Nobody aced it, but, I think I am being fair in my questions. I will see how it is once I have all of them graded. At that point I may need to change the scale a little bit. But, we will see. It is one of the advantages of doing a class for the first time. I can adjust as I go because I have nothing to base it on outside of what I am doing.

On the should be happy, but, is just plain frustrating front.... My wife and I have some major purchases that we need to make in the near future. I am trying to budget it all out, but, of course we just won't have enough money when it is all said and done. That is just the way it is. There are three items we need, I will list them in increasingly expensive order:
- New Washer and Dryer
- Decent personal laptop for me
- Pickup Truck

Needless-to-say, the washer and dryer are important because it makes our lives ALOT easier. We are just going to have to decide on whether to go with the front loading washer to cut down on water consumption, but, pay more.

The laptop isn't an absolute necessity, but, it is a pain borrowing my wife's Mac whenever I need to be on the road or something. I can't use my work laptop for really anything due to the nature of my job and the security on it. So, I need to break down and actually buy myself one. I have not done this in years, so I am not sure. I would be happy to get a MacBook Pro, but, they are waaaay to expensive to buy for myself. I think I am going to end up buying an HP or Similar with the 17" screen. I guess I will have to get Windows on it. But, I plan to blow that away as soon as I get it. After that it comes down to what flavor of Linux I want to put on it. We will see....

The truck is (of course) the big one. Sometimes I think, "eh, I will just get a small truck and save money." But, if I do that I fear that I will tire of it after a couple years and want to sell it and buy something else. I might as well buy what I really want. I started out wanting the F-250 so I could really haul stuff, but, after a while I have settled on the F-150. I want a SuperCrew and I want the longest bed I can get with it. After that, there is a long list of items I want, but, I would be flexible if it meant getting the price down. The deals right now are awesome, so I may be buying it sooner than I planned. The other thing that is pushing up my decision is that it looks like the interest off of the purchase would be deductible. This means I would WANT to finance it instead of saving up and paying with cash. I am going to keep looking and doing my homework, but, I plan to be ready to make the purchase as soon as the time is right and the situation makes sense. I was hesitant to make the purchase with an uncertain job outlook, but, now I feel that I am looking at steady employment here for the next few years I am more inclined to make the purchase.

Ok. Back to coding. They want me to do some work with an Avaya system. Ugh... friggin phones. :)