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September 10th, 2006
12:31 pm - Look out, Utica!
Some of you may have already seen this, but I think it's worth posting anyway.
Rochester, A City of Quality is a two-part film touting the city's urban renewal efforts, unstoppable industrial power, and population of "clean" people in 1963. I found it to be an extremely amusing yet bittersweet look at a time in the city's past when the idea of the American Dream still seemed to be riding high.
[part1] http://www.archive.org/details/Rocheste1963
[part2] http://www.archive.org/details/Rocheste1963_2
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August 31st, 2006
11:11 pm - Reflections and livejournalicious angst
So, it's been almost two weeks since my surgery, and I'm healing up nicely.
At the behest of my parents, I'm home on Long Island until Sunday. Since the last time I've been home, roughly nine months have gone by. For six of those nine months, I've been on co-op in Rochester with Thomson West, and I actually rather like it. I've also moved into a nice apartment in Rochester's South Wedge neighborhood. The neighborhood itself is socially and economically diverse (really! I swear it's not a euphemism for "black and poor"!) with lots of architecturally interesting old houses and restaurants and coffee shops that are so indy, it burns.
I'll most likely have a job available at Thomson when I graduate, and while I do enjoy working there, the sheer inertia of all this is beginning to worry me. While I'm enamored by the prospect of both food AND shelter for the foreseeable future, this isn't something I want to coast into, only remembering to look back fifteen years later and evaluate it all in much the same way I am now. The reason I'm looking back now, is I see that I'm beginning to acquiesce to a life in Rochester.
I moved out of the suburbs and into the city expecting to find something, and while I do not for an instant regret the decision, what I was looking for is not there. The instant I stepped off the train and into Penn Station today, I suddenly began mulling over everything I have expressed here, and I figured out what it is I so love about the city: noise. Maybe it's just due to my introverted nature, and my tendency to observe and absorb any stimuli I can get ahold of, but disappearing into a crowd of frantic commuters is absolutely intoxicating. Maybe this is what normal people feel in a bar with the music turned up way too loud, but for me that just feels too contrived. Those situations demand a certain level of participation from me; the crowd in the train station or on the sidewalk merely asks that I don't get in anybody's way. I'm not so sure I want to give this up.
On another note, OMG OMG Season 3 of Arrested Development is out on DVD! Maybe I'll pick up a copy and watch it before I head back up to school.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/ibrad/bigwink.gif) contemplative
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August 24th, 2006
02:51 pm - Day 7
Couscous, Jell-O, codeine and Arrested Development are my friends.
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August 19th, 2006
10:12 am - Day Two
I know it's been a whie (quite a while, really) since I've posted anything in here, but this seems worthwhile for both my future, reflectant self, and others who may be contemplating undergoing the procedure I am going to describe.
I am talking about a tonsillectomy. Yesterday, after almost a year of suffering with chronic tonsillitis, I put a stop to it once and for all. This vacant, windswept livejournal seems like as good of a place as any to give regular updates. I'm not fishing for sympathy or anything like that, but I'm sure there are people out there who are interested in what they may be in for.
Before beginning, the single aspect I was most nervous about was getting an IV, since I know I do not do well with bloodwork. Fortunately, this aspect was nowhere near as unpleasant as I thought it might be. In fact, room temperature fluid flowing through ones circulatory systems creates an almost pleasant, cool feeling. I was then given some relaxant through the tube, and was taken on a fantastic journey through the hallway to the operating room. I can't honestly say I remember anything past that point.
In seemingly no time at all, I awoke in a recovery room. Contrary to the nurse's concern, I felt very little pain at this point. This was thanks to a numbing medication given where my tonsils once proudly sat. The worst part of it all is a sensation of drowning on my own fluids, since I was unable to swallow. This would soon yield to rather intense pain and nausea. Further aggravating the situation were the ongoing requests from my parents and the staff to drink some water, which was an incredibly unpleasant undertaking at that point. Interestingly, this frustration could actually be measured by the rapid beeping of the heart monitor, but I'm not sure anyone else noticed or cared. After all, they were right. I don't want to get dehydrated, but the pain at that point was several times worse than any sore throat I had experienced before in my life.
I could barely sleep last night.
Today, the pain has eased to the point where I have had several glasses of water and some yuppie chai protein drink, but it is still fairly bad. Looking inside my mouth in the mirror, the whole back looks like it has been stretched out to fill a wide screen (and that includes the uvula). I was given antibiotics that taste like candy, and two forms of pain medication. These didn't seem to do much until I realized I could take two pills of the less potent medication at once, so now I have been happily floating about, enjoying my controlled-substance-induced high. Brigitte was awesome enough to get me the first two seasons of Arrested Development on DVD, so that should hopefully keep me occupied for a while.
More updates in a bit...
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November 19th, 2005
10:51 pm
I'm home for a week. If I get too consumed by boredom, I might make a big long entry about the past few months.
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September 25th, 2005
10:13 pm - bandwidth!
I decided to go for a 1 year Flickr Pro account after quickly running afoul of the bandwidth restriction on the normal account today. I was downtown today with Brigitte, who was taking panoramas of Manhattan Square Park, which is one of the more interesting abominations 1970s urban renewal has left Rochester. Of course there are pictures.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/ibrad/googlyeyes.gif) bouncy
Current Music: Plaid - kortisin
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September 15th, 2005
03:09 pm - excellus'd?
So it's come to this. It looks like I may have finally left the library for good, which is really kind of bittersweet. Since they chose not to give the part-time position to a student, I had to face the fact that a Level 5 position (and pay) was as far as I was going to go there. I managed to get a part-time job back at Excellus, and this time it looks like I'll be doing work on something that's actually in production. I was supposed to start this morning, but I'm still waiting on HR to process everything.
It turns out that of five people in a team for one of my classes, three of us work at the library. I'm going to miss the instant camaraderie and mindset of my co-workers. I'm thinking about keeping one or two desk hours, or just keeping myself available to cover shifts so I don't have to leave entirely, although most of my shifts lately have been with people hired nearly two years after me, and I don't relate quite so well to them. The summer crew was much better, probably because most people who would stay around here for the summer are working to support themselves, not just for spending money.
I'll miss it, but it's time to move on. And hey, if this doesn't go well, I'm sure I can go running back for my old job. The library, it seems, will always be there, and it always wants me back.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/ibrad/bigsmile.gif) hopeful
Current Music: whatever's playing in Java's
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August 27th, 2005
09:58 pm - back on LI
From now until Friday or so I'll be on Long Island. It's funny how the more time I've spent away from here, the more I realize how much I don't like it. I think initially the reason I liked coming back here from RIT was the proximity to NYC, and my familiarity with the area.
I spent the entire day on Amtrak, and I have to say it was worth the extra time it took. After a day of traveling, I'm not at all tired. The train followed the Erie Canal to Albany, then the Hudson down to NY. I took a few pictures out the window, but I'm not sure how well they came out.
Plans for the week: let digital cable be my salvation from total boredom. If anyone has any better ideas, let me know.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/ibrad/nerd.gif) blah
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August 19th, 2005
10:01 pm - Suburban warfare
The frustration with my noisy college neighbors has come of age and blossomed into a full-fledged distrust and contempt for those who surround my living space.
Recently, my roommate has been experiencing an allergic reaction within the apartment. I have also recently noticed a distinctly canine yipping sound, followed by a distinctly human shushing sound emanating from the apartment next door. These neighbors are the same people who seem to claim an exclusive right to use the building's washing machine. So, I am now deeply embroiled in a fierce battle (by which I mean the office has been called). According to the lease, possessing contraband creatures in a pet-free building are a 50% increase in rent (!) so I might have my washing machine back yet.
Ok, enough spite and contempt for my fellow man. Last night, I went ahead and applied for a part-time position at the library. It's more or less the same thing I'm doing now, but it's a full staff position, the pay is considerably higher, and I'd work mostly nights and weekends. I have no idea what kind of a shot I have at getting the job, but it has been given to students in the past, so I figured what the hell. I kinda desperately need more money in the fall. Also, I've found myself joking about dropping SE to go to library school so many times, it almost seems like it might be a good idea. Libraries are the only places I've ever really enjoyed working, so I'm curious as to where advancing in my position might lead.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/ibrad/biggrin.gif) mischievous
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August 13th, 2005
07:09 pm - My apartment smells like basil
Today at the market they were selling these ungodly large quantities of basil for $1, so i really couldn't resist. It really does lend quite a pleasant quality to the air in the apartment.
In other news, I have a new couch. It was refurbished with new fabric by the previous owner, so it's a nice charcoal gray, but it has the squarish sixties "modern" shape to it. I like it.
Last night I went to Tandoor, which was amazing. Indian food is so rich and creamy, and yet so delicate and subtle. It was a nice change of pace to be taken somewhere I'm completely unfamiliar with, since I really haven't done that since I was home a few years ago. Now that I've had Indian food, I feel inclined to keep expanding my repertoire.... Vietnamese is the new frontier. Anybody interested in a trip to Le Lemongrass?
The more time I spend here, the more I find myself genuinely liking it. RIT is really horribly mismatched with Rochester in a lot of ways, since so many people here claim Rochester has nothing to do. To that I ask: what city does have things to do? Have any of these people who complain been to the Public Market, or walked down Park Avenue, or seen High Falls? Even the Wegmans in Pittsford is unique and awesome, in its own way. Plus, the city is an urban explorer's dream. Initially I found myself very frustrated with the city since equivalents of what I enjoyed in the NYC area didn't readily present themselves, but I've managed to find everything I want.
I have the iBook back, and the battery is dying, so I'm going to end it here.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/ibrad/smile.gif) happy
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August 9th, 2005
06:04 pm - my iBook is like an abusive partner
My iBook broke again today, and deep down I know I should move on and get a nice stable PC, but the iBook is so very sleek and attractive, and ever so enthralling to play with. Ok, enough of that. This is the third time I find myself with a sad Mac in need of a new logic board, and that means I can probably get a new one if I go into the Apple store and yell loudly enough. That said, if I find myself with a new-in-box iBook, I might consider selling it for roughly its student discount price (~$950) and getting something else, but I don't know what yet.
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July 25th, 2005
05:43 pm - Nostalgia for something I can't remember
Today at work, I found a book with pictures of downtown from the late 1800s up through the present. It was an interesting read, but anyone who's been downtown today will also find it quite saddening. If you look hard enough, there are still a lot of interesting places to be found downtown, and plenty of people, but they all hide. There was something glorious about the old photos, and that same character is still there, albeit in small pockets.
On a similar note, I've put off a subway expedition for far too long. Also, I really want to take some pictures around the city at night, but carrying photo equipment around there... doesn't seem like a good idea. The cameraphone is a poor substitute, although it's already proving to be a good use of money, since I have it on hand when my good camera is safely tucked away in my bag or at home, and I can upload the photos directly to flickr.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/ibrad/confused.gif) nostalgic
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July 5th, 2005
09:09 pm - fireworks!
I went downtown last night to see the fireworks, some of the better photos I took are up on flickr. Overall, the show wasn't bad, although I wish we had a better viewing point. Initially, we stood in the double-helix exit ramp of the South Avenue garage (where I parked during my Excellus co-op), but right before the show started we were told to move.
I also brought my tripod, so I got in some nice long-exposures of downtown.
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June 29th, 2005
06:54 pm - Did you know
that there are 2.38 miles of books on the 3rd floor of the RIT library? Well, I do now.
Current Mood: accomplished
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12:23 am - employment update
So, it's been two weeks since I left Indaro, and so far I'm still very happy with the decision. I was only unemployed for a day, which was about how I expected this to work out. Maybe this sets a dangerous precedent, but now I know - if I don't like a job, I can leave.
I don't think I realized how much I enjoyed working at the library until I'd been gone for a while. Sure, the pay isn't great, but the work fairly challenging, and even enjoyable. The project I currently working on is a space assessment - counting the total number of inches of free space on the third floor so we can move books around. It sounds incredibly tedious, and it is, but the whole time I'm doing it, I know I'm making progress toward an actual goal, and I'm almost done. On top of that, I got to take over some suping hours at the circ desk. It's been over six months since I done this, but I actually remembered most of the procedures and policies. It's surprisingly nice to work with other people, and not be confined to a cubicle.
I'm thinking more and more that I should find the above disconcerting. I've joked with many a library worker that everyone who works at a library either leaves after two weeks, or not at all. I'm still not positive why this is, but having had non-library experience, I have some ideas. The environment is quiet and pleasant, you are respected by most of the people you encounter, and there is a sense of purpose about it. I also think this universal "draw" to work there is self-perpetuating, since it means I working with others who share my enthusiasm. It's amazing how circ workers will congregate in large masses as the circ desk, whether they are working or not, and often find themselves doing enough out of sheer compulsion to justify clocking in. This, compared with staring at the clock at a "real" job makes me possibly consider wanting to maybe give some thought to reconsidering my choice of career. Maybe.
Current Mood: content
Current Music: Cinemaroma 3
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June 15th, 2005
03:58 pm - two weeks and three days ago
I started my job at Indaro. Today, I quit. Why would I quit a job at a web startup?
For starters, the pay was low. Not just low, LOW (the uppercase letters make it lower). The kind of situation where they're ripping you off, except you're also getting paid in experience, so it's all good. Except here, there was no experience. Secondly, to be completely accurate, it really isn't a startup, it's a "virtual company". In plain language, it means I'm talking to some guy that just graduated, them going home to code. I could stay at the office, except it's empty after 9AM. So I'm really tangentially related to a web startup, not working with one. The biggest thing, though, was the project. For you programmers, it consisted almost entirely of writing spaghetti code and implementing a never-ending series of kluges to try to get pre-made, undocumented commercial software programs to talk to each other. For you non-programmers, imagine spending all day, every day, finding needles in haystacks. It's excruciating, and it's a bad way to do things. By the time this is done, it's going to have so many little errors that crept in, that I don't want to be anywhere near it when a client tries to use it. This is the complete opposite of what I'm learning to do as a software engineer. So, the pay sucks, and the work is nightmarish and pointless, and if you realize after a week that you're miserable at work, is there any chance of it getting better?
So all is well, I just have to find a new job before the money I made at Excellus runs out.
However, this whole ordeal raises a few troubling problems. Of all the jobs I've had so far, the only ones where I've really been happy and fit in were at libraries. I should've known better than to leave, nobody leaves. Granted, Excellus was a big company, and I didn't have much direction. The environment wasn't bad, in retrospect. I might try to get more work there for the summer, since it might be fun if I'm on a strategic project. My boss was pretty awesome, I just didn't see him often. And at Indaro, I was working exclusively with an entrepreneur who is just starting out, so that combines two definite sources of potential trouble. I've enjoyed my recent SE classes, but I haven't enjoyed the work as much. I think since I like the classes, I'll stop worrying about this until I get a more interesting co-op.
The other thing that's bothering me is the co-op office. The more I see, the more I realize RIT is striving to create docile workers who won't cause a fuss at big corporations. The co-op orientation told us everything about working for large companies, and nobody has ever mentioned the possibility of starting a company. Then, when I went to speak with my advisor about this co-op, she called the co-op office to ask for advice, and about the implications of staying or leaving. They didn't respond until after I had left, and when they did it was basically to criticize my decision. They were condescending, like all offices on campus, and sounded genuinely shocked when I explained that I spent a great deal of time talking this over with my boss and made a point of it to leave on good terms, without dragging any negativity into it. Still, the seemed to insist that I stay with a job, no matter how bad of a deal it is for me, when it seems that allowing oneself to do bitchwork for scarcely more than minimum wage sets a dangerous precedent for later on. I want to know that if I dislike or am greatly undervalued at a job, I can leave and bounce back, and now seems like a good time to try that out since I'm still young and allowed to be stupid.
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May 28th, 2005
08:52 pm - new apartment and other things
So, I've moved out of Perkins and into Rustic Village. It's truly amazing what a free market economy does for quality, especially when considering RIT housing's motto: "Fuck you, you have nowhere else to go". The day I left, while I was cleaning out the kitchen, the tap water started turning black, which makes me feel good about my decision to leave. I also set up a spiffy flickr account, so I can have a photo album without apathetix whirring away in my closet, running up the electric bill. Check out what little I've done so far here
Also, I got the Indaro co-op, which looks like a lot of fun. I still have to choose a personal project, it's been hard to think about during the process of moving. Anyway, it looks like people will be around this summer, and also co-oping, which I'm looking forward to. Aside from the occasional fun of gloating over not having homework, being on co-op while everyone else is taking classes doesn't work very well.
Current Mood: excited
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May 10th, 2005
10:25 pm - It's days like this
that make me glad I left my air conditioner in the window over the winter. Even if several moths came out when I first turned it on, it beats having to install it when I really want to be using it.
I have three days left at Excellus, and an interview for a summer co-op tomorrow. The interview is with the president of the company, so I'm inclined to think it's fairly small, and I've always wanted to work for a small company. Plus, from the job description, I get time to work on an approved personal project (reminds me of Google), I can work from home if I like, and I don't have to wear a suit. Of course if I don't get this job, it's back to circ at the library, which wouldn't entirely be a bad thing. I miss the daily interactions with non-corporate, non-IT people, and as pathetic as this sounds, I miss just being able to walk around throughout the day.
In two weeks, I move into Rustic Village. It's amazing how co-op makes me feel so old. Going to bed at 10:30 every night just doesn't work in college housing, and I want to be able to cook without worrying about paying $200 for setting off the smoke detector. Plus the inability to get a straight answer about anything from housing makes me want to leave all the more. If anybody is interested in buying a 5000BTU air conditioner, or a fairly new computer desk, let me know, I mainly want to get rid of them without throwing them out. With that, I conclude my semi-monthly lavishing of attention onto my online journal.
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March 29th, 2005
06:19 pm - CDs!!
My two Amon Tobin CDs arrived today, and I'm quite impressed. For anyone into drum&bass, or more abstract electronica like Aphex Twin or Squarepusher, Amon Tobin is similar, but with sort of a '40s noir sound. There only seem to be 4 albums, and now I've heard all of them, so I need to find something else.
In another act of rampant consumerism, I picked up an iPod shuffle yesterday. They were out of the Mini at the bookstore (except pink, but I'm not secure enough in my masculinity to carry one around.) I feel like I'm buying into a fad, but the thing is small and cheap. I should probably get new earbuds for it, as white earphones + other people + time = theft. So now I have an iBook, and airport express, and an ipod. The customer loyalty really sneaks up on you - damn vertical monopolies!
Current Mood: excited
Current Music: Amon Tobin - The New York Editor
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March 23rd, 2005
05:07 pm - best pizza so far in Rochester
Today at lunch, a co-worker and myself decided that all of the cafeteria offerings were either subpar or questionable, so we decided to walk to a pizza place downtown. Apparently there are a few hole-in-the-wall type pizzerias in the city, but they're hard to find. Located happily between the adult book store and the Cigars & Guns store, padded on each side by an abandoned storefront, is Pizza Stop. And it's surprisingly good - ultra thin crust, tasty cheese, and you have to fold it in half to eat it. Plus, the 15 minute walk each way breaks up the day in the cubicle nicely.
I ordered two Amon Tobin CDs last night, along with another Dining Rooms CD. It's been a while since I've ordered any music, and I ordered all of these on a whim without listening to any tracks first. The try-before-you-buy aspect of P2P is nice, but there is something to be said for buying a brand new CD and listening to it for the first time in all of its noncompressed glory.
I applied for a co-op at Bose today. It entails writing software to test amplifiers, so it's related to embedded systems. The rest of the description and qualifications were a bit sketchy, so I'll see what happens. If I get this, it'll make a nice round year of work, and getting back into taking classes will be damn near impossible. Plus, I'd have to move to Boston for 6 months, but I wouldn't really mind that. This is all of course IF I get the job, which is doubtful - I have no endorsement from the SE dept, and it's a nationwide posting. Can't hurt to try, right?
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misplacedyuppie's journal