Well I'll start by saying that I'm sorry, both to myself and whoever reads this, that I haven't been keeping up with posting. Work has kept me swamped with programming goals lately. Requirements have changed (constantly) as well the the defined database structure (which is by far the largest task that I still have in front of me). The company still only has a vague idea of what they want in terms of deliverables and their behaviour, so I find myself inventing a lot of it as I go along. Some of the time I produce something that isn't what they want, and then I need to go back and re-write it all. To be fair though, I was warned that this would be the case in my interview for the position. I'm just letting the world know of the nature of my absence :-)

In other news I'm working at becoming a pillar of the community for an online game that I play. Player managed, hosted, and run events are essentially non-existent and I'm trying to change that by hosting such events. It is hard, as the game is played worldwide and I only live in one time zone, so attendance isn't always as good as it could be. Being a community manager (as a job) for something like this would actually be pretty cool, I think. Carving out a player-managed community from the game is fun, and challenging. I'm learning how to publicize events and organizations, which is challenging in an online gaming context.

The Winter conditions here in Calgary have raged on, and are only now beginning to subside. Most day's it is pretty manageable, but on the days when it's not I find myself trapped at home. Being trapped at home isn't all that bad as long as the internet connection stays consistent (which it has). It gives me more time to continue my quest for better compensation for my work as well, which feels like fishing from a dry lakebed. I send out applications and try to get in touch with companies, but my lack of success brings serious doubts about my worthiness in the working world. Self doubt leads to more self doubt, and this Ouroboros of self doubt eventually leads to depression (which, in case you were wondering, is NOT a good time). The feeling comes and goes like a tide though, it always has, and I'll come out on the other side of it soon enough.

In summary, I AM still alive and well. I'm sorry that I haven't made the time to keep this blog updated but there really isn't anything exciting going on in my life right now. Watching an episode of Seinfeld would keep you more entertained than this blog. Life marches on, but at variable speeds so I'm not sure when the next installment of this blog will be. Until it does happen, however, I bid you adieu for now.