In which I ponder the current state of my live and its possible future directions

This blog has fallen into a state of disrepair but apparently I have a fan. A rather insistent fan, actually. She is demanding that I update this blog.

Keeping a written journal has never been something that I have really liked doing. I have done it from time to time, but usually it’s only when I have something that is inside of me that I can’t get out any other way. And that’s rare. I much prefer to talk about things directly with people and let the thoughts in my head escape in an interactive manner where other people’s feedback helps me clarify and distill my thoughts. But she is insisting that I update so here I sit, writing this instead of playing The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures. I am not sure why it is so important to her. I am not sure why I am doing it even though the blog is not important to me. And I am pretty sure that I shouldn’t think about the answers to those questions too much.

Anyway…

Two years.

Two years ago I was just settling down in Wausau after moving up from Milwaukee. My life was very different. My father was alive (although the cancer was having a visible effect on him). I had all four of my grandparents. I was in love with a woman who was perfect for me. I was in debt to many creditors. I was starting a new job as a database administrator for DataWave.

I had a plan. It’s interesting to see, two years later, how things turned out. Most things happened about how I thought they would, but there were a few surprises.

My father passed away about five months after I moved. My main reason for moving was to be closer to him during that time. I am very grateful for that opportunity. In the next four months or so, I lost three of my grandparents. It was a hard winter, a winter that I wouldn’t wish on anyone. But spring came.

As for the woman who was perfect for me, well, I wasn’t perfect for her.

I managed to shed all of my debt through a combination of luck and planning. I am financially well-off. I have managed to build up some nice savings while also acquiring some items that I have wanted for awhile. It’s a different feeling to be in front of of that 8-ball instead of behind it, but it’s a feeling that I could get used to.

DataWave was bought out by WCTC. It’s the fourth time that an ISP has been bought out while I was working for it. I have gone from being the “database guy” in a department of five people to being the head sysadmin (for the DataWave entity) in a department of two people. I have had to learn a wide variety of things very quickly. It’s been a challenge but it’s been satisfying.

I have been putting on some weight but I just managed to get my dad’s bicycle in ridable shape this spring. I hope to be doing a lot of riding this summer and shed a few of these pounds.

Now what?

Wausau was always supposed to be a temporary stop for me. I was planning on getting to about this point and then running off with that aforementioned woman. Now I am ready to go but I don’t have a destination. So I have been thinking a lot about “now what?”.

I am not happy with my job. The main concern is that I am being phased out. Slowly the old DataWave systems are being converted into systems that I have no access to and no control over. My input is ignored. And I am not alone. WCTC is slowly digesting the old DataWave and discarding people as it goes. I don’t really want to sit around until WCTC discards me. It also doesn’t help that I am drastically underpaid, overworked, on call 24/7, and doing things other than what I am really good at.

Wausau is nice, I suppose. It’s a little too small for me though. I miss Milwaukee. (Although what I really miss is just the feel of a larger city, or at least one a little less in the middle of nowhere.)

So I think that I want to get a job doing database or network administration somewhere with access to a larger city.

I have obtained some study materials to help me become a Cisco Certified Network Associate. It’s the first step on the Cisco Career Certification paths. The nice thing is that I already have a good grasp on the concepts and much of the knowledge. Even before any studying I was scoring about 50% on the practice tests (and that’s without any guessing). It shouldn’t take too long before I can easily score the 75.5% needed to pass the exam. The letters “CCNA” on my resume should make me much more attractive in the job market.

Once I have my CCNA, I have a big decision. I need to decide if I am going back to school or if I am staying in the job market. I have no debt, no family of my own, no reason to be in a particular place, etc. It’s an opportune time to go back to school. I need to ask some schools just how much time and money it would take to get my degree. If I can do it in a year or so, it would probably be worth it. If it would take longer than that, I probably am better off following the certification path instead.

The other question is where should I live? I know that I don’t want to stay in Wausau. In the absence of having a “significant other” in my life, I would like to stay in the Wisconsin area. (I don’t think I would do well completely on my own in a strange state.) So, unless I go back to school at Stevens Point, I think I will be searching for jobs in Milwaukee and Madison. I like both cities, I know people in both cities, and they both offer me the things I am looking for in a city. Right now I am favoring Milwaukee but I intend to go looking in both locations.

So that’s my life, June 18, 2004. Or at least the broad brushstrokes of it. Now I need to get ready for my trip to Door County this weekend with my mother, brother, and his girlfriend. I am doing something unheard of and taking a Friday off. (It helps that if I don’t use some vacation by June 30th, I will lose it.)