From 12/15/2001
Dec. 25th, 2001 10:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
johnpalmerAgain: a journal entry intended to be posted from home "once I had internet access". It finally got posted from work becausae I'm starting to wonder if I'm going to have internet access at home
Well, staying up late is looking to be good for my journal writing.
Tomorrow is my first day of work in the data center, so I have to be up really late tonight to be able to stay up until 6 am Monday (and then Tuesday and Wednesday as well). I'm trying not to be worried about the quality of the job; I understand that the Seattle DC has the intelligence to buy pre-made cables, so I won't be expected to make dozens of Cat5 cables ("Category 5", able to handle 100 megahertz signalling. It's a pain to make by hand. It's simple to do, but it's hard to get it right because the last part is sliding 8 individual wires down into 8 individual channels, and those wires tend to shift, because until you strip and unravel them, they've all been twisted together), and I doubt Seattle is the one data center to have scheduled maintenances on Sundays instead of Tuesdays and Thursdays.
It's still a bit nerve wracking. Heck, the fact that I'm out here is a bit nerve wracking right now. Everything seems different.
I guess that's normal. Today I went to the supermarket, and found a cheese counter. There were cheeses I've never heard of, and some that I had in forms I'd never seen before. (I'd never seen mozzerella packed in water - or whey? - before, for example.) They had several displays of bean coffee, and more tea than I'd ever seen in a supermarket. And then, the layout was just so different... I don't know. I think that supermarkets probably start following similar patterns regionally, and it would make sense. A supermarket manager used to shop at the supermarket just down the street, so the new supermarket gets set up similarly. Oh, not "the same", sure... cereal might be aisle 5, not aisle 3, but pop tarts are near the cereals, not near "baked goods" or "cookies" (unless those are near the cereals).
This one just felt different. (I almost said 'wrong', and there's something about it that I can't put my finger on, but I don't want to make it sound like I'm just complaining that it's not what I'm used to. There was something about the layout that I really didn't like, and that felt like it was, or should be, objective... at least, to a degree.)
Ah well.
I'm going to have to take some time to get used to Washington drivers. I've developed a useful habit: if I want to get over, and someone is in my blind spot, I slow down. Usually, it's only when you really need to get over quickly that the person in your blind spot manages to match your deceleration exactly (note: so that they *STAY* in your blind spot). Usually, they drive past you.
Twice now, the only two times I've tried it, Washington drivers (at least, "people driving cars with WA license plates) have managed to stay in my blind spot. Once, I came to a dead stop in frustration, and damn if that person didn't start to make a dead stop too... maybe I was broadcasting a mental "don't you dare; I've got nowhere to go, and nothing better to do than sit in the middle of the road longer than you're willing to", because that person finally got the hint, and started to resume normal speed.
More funny things that surprised me: my water heater is actually outside of the main building, in the attached storage shed (I guess it's not really a shed if it's attached, maybe?). I was worried for a bit... we couldn't get decent amounts of hot water in here at all. However, the thermostat was set to 120 degrees. Now, I'm still worried about the capacity, but at least the initial temperature isn't too bad.
But still... having it outside is strange. Then I realized something else... three (or more?) thermostats. Why is that? Oh, of course... baseboard heating. There is no central heating unit, and I presume it's not really needed. That would explain why it's possible to have a hot water heater outside. (It is relatively modern, too, so the odds are it's really well insulated. Then I realized something that makes me really nervous. "No central heating... and no central air."
I'll try to relax for now. Chris and I can afford a window mounted air conditioner, and we have a good air corridor we could use to get most of the apartment comfortable cool from just one or two air conditioners. Still, not having it really bothers me. Chris might need it for health reasons, and I... well, I don't *NEED* it, but I sweat like a pig with overactive sweat glands when it gets hot, so I really *WANT* it. I really hope it's not needed. (Or, that the apartment complex has no problems with window unit air conditioners. I find myself suddenly panicked that I signed away my right to have window mounted air conditioners while signing the lease two days ago. (Well, "Friday". It *IS* Sunday, but only by a couple hours.)
Final notes: Chris and Chuck (my older brother) *STILL* haven't heard from the movers about an estimate (or a moving date!) yet. I can't lie and say that this is "starting" to piss me off, because it's well past "starting". However, there's not much to do now except wait until 5 am local time Monday morning, and making angry phone calls.
And since that was titled "final notes", I'll take that as my cue to tie this journal entry up. Here's hoping I manage to stay awake for another hour or so before drifting off to sleep for my first day of data center tech work tomorrow.
Well, staying up late is looking to be good for my journal writing.
Tomorrow is my first day of work in the data center, so I have to be up really late tonight to be able to stay up until 6 am Monday (and then Tuesday and Wednesday as well). I'm trying not to be worried about the quality of the job; I understand that the Seattle DC has the intelligence to buy pre-made cables, so I won't be expected to make dozens of Cat5 cables ("Category 5", able to handle 100 megahertz signalling. It's a pain to make by hand. It's simple to do, but it's hard to get it right because the last part is sliding 8 individual wires down into 8 individual channels, and those wires tend to shift, because until you strip and unravel them, they've all been twisted together), and I doubt Seattle is the one data center to have scheduled maintenances on Sundays instead of Tuesdays and Thursdays.
It's still a bit nerve wracking. Heck, the fact that I'm out here is a bit nerve wracking right now. Everything seems different.
I guess that's normal. Today I went to the supermarket, and found a cheese counter. There were cheeses I've never heard of, and some that I had in forms I'd never seen before. (I'd never seen mozzerella packed in water - or whey? - before, for example.) They had several displays of bean coffee, and more tea than I'd ever seen in a supermarket. And then, the layout was just so different... I don't know. I think that supermarkets probably start following similar patterns regionally, and it would make sense. A supermarket manager used to shop at the supermarket just down the street, so the new supermarket gets set up similarly. Oh, not "the same", sure... cereal might be aisle 5, not aisle 3, but pop tarts are near the cereals, not near "baked goods" or "cookies" (unless those are near the cereals).
This one just felt different. (I almost said 'wrong', and there's something about it that I can't put my finger on, but I don't want to make it sound like I'm just complaining that it's not what I'm used to. There was something about the layout that I really didn't like, and that felt like it was, or should be, objective... at least, to a degree.)
Ah well.
I'm going to have to take some time to get used to Washington drivers. I've developed a useful habit: if I want to get over, and someone is in my blind spot, I slow down. Usually, it's only when you really need to get over quickly that the person in your blind spot manages to match your deceleration exactly (note: so that they *STAY* in your blind spot). Usually, they drive past you.
Twice now, the only two times I've tried it, Washington drivers (at least, "people driving cars with WA license plates) have managed to stay in my blind spot. Once, I came to a dead stop in frustration, and damn if that person didn't start to make a dead stop too... maybe I was broadcasting a mental "don't you dare; I've got nowhere to go, and nothing better to do than sit in the middle of the road longer than you're willing to", because that person finally got the hint, and started to resume normal speed.
More funny things that surprised me: my water heater is actually outside of the main building, in the attached storage shed (I guess it's not really a shed if it's attached, maybe?). I was worried for a bit... we couldn't get decent amounts of hot water in here at all. However, the thermostat was set to 120 degrees. Now, I'm still worried about the capacity, but at least the initial temperature isn't too bad.
But still... having it outside is strange. Then I realized something else... three (or more?) thermostats. Why is that? Oh, of course... baseboard heating. There is no central heating unit, and I presume it's not really needed. That would explain why it's possible to have a hot water heater outside. (It is relatively modern, too, so the odds are it's really well insulated. Then I realized something that makes me really nervous. "No central heating... and no central air."
I'll try to relax for now. Chris and I can afford a window mounted air conditioner, and we have a good air corridor we could use to get most of the apartment comfortable cool from just one or two air conditioners. Still, not having it really bothers me. Chris might need it for health reasons, and I... well, I don't *NEED* it, but I sweat like a pig with overactive sweat glands when it gets hot, so I really *WANT* it. I really hope it's not needed. (Or, that the apartment complex has no problems with window unit air conditioners. I find myself suddenly panicked that I signed away my right to have window mounted air conditioners while signing the lease two days ago. (Well, "Friday". It *IS* Sunday, but only by a couple hours.)
Final notes: Chris and Chuck (my older brother) *STILL* haven't heard from the movers about an estimate (or a moving date!) yet. I can't lie and say that this is "starting" to piss me off, because it's well past "starting". However, there's not much to do now except wait until 5 am local time Monday morning, and making angry phone calls.
And since that was titled "final notes", I'll take that as my cue to tie this journal entry up. Here's hoping I manage to stay awake for another hour or so before drifting off to sleep for my first day of data center tech work tomorrow.
