Redwolf's Journal (continued)

So I had lunch with my dad today. He and my stepmom recently celebrated their anniversary at the Grand Canyon. They had a couple unexpectedly (and undesirably) interesting days. Camped out at the North Rim, they decided to head off and visit some of the lookout points even more off the beaten path. Something like 12 miles off the paved roads, the truck started pulling left. Sure enough, they had a flat tire. After some variation of the 'fix-a-flat' can that gooped up the damage okay, but didn't inflate the tire sufficiently to drive on it, my dad started the process of putting on the spare. Like so many people, he'd never had to do that in his current vehicle, and the jack provided was probably best described as "wimpy." It took about two hours, but he managed to get the spare on and start back. After covering about half the distance back to pavement, the truck started pulling right. Yep, two flat tires in the space of six miles. After considering options,...

I just wrote up two pages of setting information for a D&D game, including coming up with a slight variant on prestige classes. Of course, I'd rather be putting more thought into the Midnight game I'll be running tomorrow rather than defining stuff for a campaign idea I bounced around a while back as "maybe a neat idea to run sometime." Go figure.

Yay. So after waiting a couple weeks and nagging through the "chain of command," it looks like I may see some results. I've been told the general manager spoke with the HR director today and agreed on a pay increase for me that amounts to about 20%. That doesn't make me one of the highest paid network techs or anything, but it's better. Most importantly, it's *consideration*. So, assuming that information is correct, I'm happy.

Saw the movie yesterday. I wouldn't call it great, but I would call it good. And after the last couple movies, I'd be happy with any Star Wars that doesn't suck. ;) Some specific thoughts: - Overall issue: My main complaint about the movie is that it feels like those behind it were trying too hard. Too much effort to make Anakin's conflict and choices (which should have been internal) open to view. Too many overt comments by Palpatine when he should be more subtle. Too many short scenes dropped into make obvious that which could have been inferred. Too much effort to fill every gap left open to Episode IV (did we really need to cut to another super-brief scene to see ownership of the droids passed on?). - Order 66: Wow. This is fanfic/extended universe bait if ever I've seen it. You just *know* there will be stories/comics/games that involve ARC Troopers/Commandos that muster the will to disobey the order and stand by the Jedi. - Mace Windu, not-so badass:...

It's been a while since I've written, but that's not what this is about. No, this is about work. As many readers (do I have "many" readers?) may know, my biggest point of annoyance with my job is feeling underpaid. Oh, I'll complain about long hours and hectic days. I'll bitch about computer failures and moving everything for changes to the office. But the one thing that underlies any problem I have with the workplace is looking at my paycheck and thinking "Is this what I'm worth for being on-call to fix just about anything that goes wrong? Is this all nearly eleven years of service with the same company is worth?" Well, just yesterday I had a conversation with someone in another department. I heard a tale of how she had gone to one manager expressing concern that another employee was getting paid notably below peers simply because she'd been there longer. I heard how the manager came back saying, "Whoa, you're right," t...

Got back from our Tucson trip last night. Very nice little getaway, all told. The trip down was a long 12 hours with a trailer. The trip back was under 10 without. Little bit of a difference, eh? I think it covered just about everything a good vacation should. Visit with a friend who's no longer around here? Check. Visit to malls/comic shop? Check. Touristy side trip? Check (the desert museum in this case). Wonderful views? Check (perhaps odd, but I was most impressed with the view from April's apartment). Relaxation? Check. Hot tub time? Check. Minor injury? Check (I put sunburn in this category, but this time something went snap/pop in my side when it really shouldn't have). We even got in a trip to a carnival (Spring Fling). I think I can safely say fun was had by all. I was a bit disappointed with the shopping trips, but I think that's more because my own interests have narrowed some and I feel I can get most 'common' things online for cheaper than off...

Actually, I'm not sure it even warrants that. The dust is settling at work. There were, predictably, a number of problems along the way. Some ordered furniture pieces didn't arrive. Some pieces didn't fit. People wanted to change things at the last moment. Old network cables were removed prematurely. Schedules were completely fouled up. But for all that, things have gone pretty well. No problem has proven unsolvable and I've even managed to get sleep between work shifts. Still, I'd be lying if I said it hasn't taken a lot out of me. For most of the past week, I've been going to bed 2-4 hours early. That's better than passing out while working, at least. Of course, I think I'm a bit nuts to be following this all with a trip to Tucson come Thursday. It'll be nice to get away from work and all, but after all this and a long drive... well, I hate to disappoint, but I suspect my aspirations will be little more than *resting*. This new furnitur...