Adapting to Full-Time

Starting with the new year, I've been working full-time (and more!) at a real job (not graduate school). It's truly a great place to work, I consider myself quite lucky to be there. While I'm supposed to be there for a 10am meeting, I can pretty much come in whenever I want and leave whenever as well. As long as the work gets done, the particular hours don't matter. Which is awesome. And the people are all very easy to work with, smart, and helpful. And there's a ping-pong table (and surprisingly many people who want to play). It's a great atmosphere. The work is great too, even if it does make me wish I'd taken useful classes sometime in the past 5 years. I've got a whole lot to learn, and it's things I'm excited to learn, which is great (even if I could easily totter into overwhelmed).

During the first week, I felt like I couldn't quite make it all work out. "It all" being work, sleep, running, reading, side projects, keeping the cats not too unhappy with me. Of course, I wasn't exactly expecting to. I think progress was made this past week, though. A big step was sorting out (to first approximation) running to and from work. I can get my miles in, and not feel bad about driving to work (it seems so silly to drive the 3 miles back and forth). I've also done a little bit to organize my online reading... buzzing through headlines and starring items to save for the weekend (Saturday morning with coffee and feed reading... fantastic), since I no longer have office hours for students to not show up for when I could get some quality reading in. I reorganized some of my folders, too, separating out some silly comic feeds, which I could maybe read when I'm pretty tired at the end of the day, from actual potential read-me articles. There's still some organization that could happen there (and some programming projects... :)), but that'll always be the case. Get something started and iterate, right? I'm trying.

I think a next thing to think more about is foodstuffs. Not just eating less (I seem to eat all day - still trying to get my running miles up enough to feel like it's warranted), but being better organized about grocery shopping and when to spend time cooking. I think I can get some lunch-preparing done on weekends (make a big batch of...), and try to have easy (quick, little cooking) food for dinner (sandwich, cereal) so that I still have some time/energy in the evening to work on side projects or read. I'm open to suggestions here (and elsewhere, of course). It also seems like running as my commute will help me trim down the number of grocery store trips I make - there's a grocery store right along the way on my usual drive, so it's easy to just stop in for milk, or cereal, but I ended up going a couple times each week. So if I drive to work once a week, I can use that to transport things I don't want to run with (clothes, non-perishable foods), and then also stop at the grocery store in that trip, that'll be good and efficient. Hopefully. We'll see how it goes.

I'm trying to avoid setting up a rigorous schedule for myself. I don't want to say "I'll drive to work on Mondays, and Tuesday I'll work on side project A, Wednesday will be project B, etc". I think that'll just get me frustrated when some particular day I'm really tired and don't get to a project (reading counts). I want to learn better to adapt and be flexible and still get things done when things don't go according to plan. Add it to the huge list of things to learn.

Anyway, that's me. Off to see about getting something done. Which, of course, almost never happens. So few things actually get to "done". I've got heaps of unfinished floating around. So I'll just shoot for making progress. Iterate.

Well, In My Defense...

I gave my Ph.D. thesis defense the other day. It's sort of an odd thing to call it a defense, for a math paper. You argue in the humanities (I think, I haven't spent much time there). In math, you're just presenting facts, it's (sorta) the nice thing about math. Well, that's the ideal, I guess. There were certainly some weak joints in my work, but, as expected, people didn't have enough time to really stress about them. Which is nice.

When the thesis committee told me they were allowed to torture me with questions after everybody left, I told them, "knock yourselves out." Got a little chuckle. One professor asked what the hardest part was. I had wondered if somebody would. The hardest part was convincing myself it was worth doing --- was more worth doing than the other things I wanted to be doing. Luckily, he extended his question a little before I got to it (besides a grin), and I ended up just telling him about what math took the longest to piece together. The same professor asked if I was going to do anything with this later, that it would require some re-writing. I told him I had no intent of doing much with it, but that it would be freely available online, and he could do with it as he liked. He also said they could send me some changes that I should make. I guess when I said "whatever flips your switch", he realized I didn't care much to do them, and he, appropriately, didn't care enough to send the suggested changes to me. I didn't make any comments about how they were still allowed to make me jump through hoops, which is a little too bad.

The talk itself was fun. I do enjoy giving math talks, especially when I understand what I'm talking about. Threw in a couple jokes, got a few chuckles, put at least one professor to sleep. All in a day. I've got some notes about the presentation itself on my other blog. Or you can poke around the thesis material at my homepage.

So that means I'm nearly done. Still some administrative nonsense to do. And still a few weeks of "teaching". But nearly there.

Choose Life. Choose a Job. Choose a Career.

This is my last semester as a graduate student, I'm moving on to a "real job." I may graduate. I may not. I basically don't care much either way, at this point. My job offer doesn't depend on my having a Ph.D., and I don't see a future for myself where a Ph.D. is required. Perhaps I'll get fired in short order and will have neither a Ph.D. nor experience/recommendation. I'll cross that bridge if I come to it. I'll feel bad if I don't get my advisor a thesis after all he's done, but hopefully if that happens he'll at least be closer to a paper.

This summer I did an internship as a software developer at Rosetta Stone, where I had a great time. I was on a team full of good people, all easy to work with (the impression I got was that such people were all over the place at Rosetta Stone). During this time I worked on an Adobe AIR application described by my boss at an executive-summary level as a "Fancy Tape Recorder." There was already some work done on it when I came in and, with my fellow intern, I think we got things to a pretty reasonable state by the end of the summer.

I enjoyed my time at Rosetta Stone, and the team I was on seemed to think I was doing good work. At the end of the summer, I submitted an application for full-time employment, and eventually an offer was extended to me. In the mean time, I had also applied to Telogis Research, in New Zealand. I would have gone in a heartbeat, but apparently didn't do well enough on my phone interview. Ah well. At least I had fun with their quiz. The third and final place I applied was CCRi, here in Charlottesville.

After a terribly uncertain week, with lots of lying in bed pondering and not being able to fall asleep, and some last minute craziness (apologies to all involved), I'm finally sorted. CCRi gave an offer I'm pretty excited about, and so I'm going to see what happens there.

I'm quite nervous about it, to be honest, and that's why I was leaning to Rosetta Stone for a while. At CCRi, I'll be a systems engineer. I don't even exactly know what that is. I don't remember the last class I was in that had much to do with applications. As they pointed out during my interview, they've got a lot they need me to learn. I hope I wasn't too far off in my claim that after all this time in school, as student and as teacher, I can learn quickly and effectively. If not, I'm potentially looking at that no job + no phd bridge in short order.

Additionally, I'll need to get a security clearance. Hopefully not much of an issue, but it will mean giving up being an Australian citizen, apparently. And I just got my passport :-(. Ah well. It's been pointed out to me that there are plenty of nice places in the States to live. And it's not like I couldn't go visit. And, since Telogis didn't take me, how likely was it I was heading that way soon anyway? Life was bound to get in the way sooner or later. Still, it's a bummer dude.

So I'm not sure what will happen with this blog. My math fork is already a bit neglected. I guess this has always just been a personal ranting blog anyway, so probably it'll stick around. As this is my last semester teaching, I probably won't have too much more to say about textbooks or institutionalized education (maybe just a little bit as the semester rolls on :)). I'll keep my eye on the space, and I do believe there will be interesting developments there in the next few years (they're happening already). But for now, it looks like I'm out. Off to other things.

Choose rottin' away at the end of it all...

Colorado Hiking

Just got back from a great hiking trip in Colorado. I got to go with my best friend, Peter, whose parents live near Boulder and were great to us (Thanks you two!). It even sounds like they might not mind if I go back next year! Sweet!

We arrived in Denver in the late evening on Friday, and I don't remember doing much before bedtime. All of the evenings were pretty relaxed, sitting around eating and drinking, wandering around whichever town we were in at the time. Combined with hiking and running, there probably aren't many better ways to spend your time (though, of course, some dawdling around online doesn't hurt).

Saturday we woke up and Peter took me for a run of a few miles, to start getting used to altitude. Peter always kicks my ass running, and makes it look easy. I'm just happy he'll humor me with a run occasionally. It was a fairly flat route (east of the "Front Range", everything is pretty flat), but I certainly remember one hill (which might not even qualify as such in Charlottesville) in particular, and trying to catch my breath for a while. After we got back, we (me, Peter, and his dad, Gary - the same combo for all the hikes) headed out to NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research) for a hike up Bear's Peak. Actually, we were going to do South Boulder Peak, but there was maybe some map mis-reading, and it was on the other side of what we were anticipating, I guess. Still, it was a fun hike. Scrambling up rocks, lots of nice views, and more getting used to altitude. It was a... 6ish, let's say, mile hike with something like 2000' elevation gain, ending up in the 9000s. Good times. This was also our only hike without rain.

Sunday we got up and headed out past Rollinsville along a 7 mile or so dirt road to the trailhead for a hike up to Heart Lake. I think this hike came in closer to 8 miles, started around 9k, and finished up around 11k ft or so. I could be mistaken. It was a much easier, technically, hike than Bear's Peak, and gorgeous. Maybe someday I'll be in shape and go back to run the road and also the trail. Someday. Around the time we got the top, it started to drizzle, and it just kept raining harder the whole way down. By the end it was pouring, and lightning was getting pretty close (2 one-thousand ish). I regretted not bringing more of a change of clothes (or leaving clothes in the car - my pack wasn't exactly waterproof), but once Peter sorted out the heat in the car, things were looking better. We stopped in Rollinsville looking for a cup of coffee, but didn't have much luck. We did, however, catch guys with pistols and shotguns standing around the parking lot (we're talking right outside the store) shooting at birds. I don't think I'd last long in Rollinsville on my own. We drove to Nederlands for coffee, and it seemed like a cool little place.

Monday we took it pretty easy. Another half hour run with Peter, and his dad this time, to start the day, then we headed out to Golden (where Coors is made, or so), Red Rocks, and some nearby dinosaur tracks. I think it was this day that I started noticing more how brown everything was. Not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just a change from Virginia (I guess that's sorta part of the point of travel, huh? the change?). Apparently at Red Rocks people like to exercise, among all the stairs. You can run back and forth along the rows of seats; apparently getting 4 miles in without hardly changing your geographical coordinates. Watching everybody, I got pretty tempted to just try bounding up the rows of the stadium. Eventually I decided on a 'next time' approach. After all, we were resting up for our big hike the next day, Long's Peak.

Monday night we went to bed early. It's what you gotta do when you're going to wake up at 1 in the morning. Out the door at 1:30, then a bit of a drive, and on the trail by 3am. This out and back hike is something like 15 miles with 5000' of elevation change, ending above 14000'. Long's Peak, I hear, is the only "14er" in the Rocky Mountain National Park. I also hear it's one of, if not the most, hiked 14er (at least, the Keyhole route that we took), but that only 3 in 10 who try it successfully summit.

So anyway, starting at 3am, there's not much to see for a while. Just hiking along with headlamps on, seeing the first 20 feet, or whatever, of trees on either side of the trail. When we popped out above the tree line, it was still dark. However, the moon was half-full (half-empty?), and I found that it provided plenty of light to see by. We had a gorgeous view of the stars, and even saw a few shooting stars. I was feeling a little dizzy, and couldn't decide if it was the altitude or possibly just something strange with walking with your main light source being a headlamp. I felt a little better when I turned of my headlamp, but the dizzy didn't entirely go away. Probably I just started focusing even more on walking and staying upright, and didn't have as much time to notice the dizzy.

The keyhole route has a handful of landmarks. After you get above the tree line (a bit further than that, even), you come to a Boulder Field, where people camp, and there's some toilets. There are also marmots - always handy to have around for a Lebowski reference. From here you can see the summit basically (though not the route you'll take to get there), and the Keyhole. After the Keyhole comes, if I remember correctly, the Ledge (across, scary), the Trough (up, scary), the Narrows (across, scary), and the Homestretch (up, scary). You'll notice a theme here. At several points I considered telling Peter and his dad I was just going to sit tight and wait for them on their way back down. I kept plodding along though, happy to tell anybody who asked that I was terrified. Peter was worried I was getting mad at him for "making" me do this, but I was far to scared for that. And also too scared to notice much trouble with the elevation. Sure, I got out of breath, but not too bad.

You're welcome to call me a wuss, I don't care. I was scared. Death was quite honestly a possibility (indeed, it has happened to many on this mountain). All it would have taken was one wrong step. I wondered if there was any way I'd be able to catch Peter's (or his dad's) arm if he fell. Lacking anything like upper-body strength, I knew it wouldn't go well. We're all glad it didn't come to that.

We made it to the top around 8:30am. I sat around telling Peter and his dad that there was no way off this rock besides a helicopter. And I wasn't sure they'd be able to make it that high. Eventually (9ish) they decided it was time to head down. "Just take it easy, slide down on your butt", I was told. Of course, everything I know (nothing) says that sliding is exactly what you don't want to do. Despite all of my fears, down was, quite honestly, easier. I'm not here to ponder why (and why would you listen to me anyway?), but it was. Still scary, of course, but manageable.

We were back in the Boulder Field around noon, but decided (mostly) to not stop for lunch because the clouds were clearly starting to form. We wondered a little how the rest of the hike would go for the lady who happily professed that she was "Too f*ing old for this s*" when we passed her on our way down and her way up. Or the couple with their infant (seriously). I hardly wanted to be up there when the clouds weren't there. Perhaps lacking the panoramic view of everything (the cliff a step away) makes it easier, but I doubt it.

As we descended, I was looking forward to getting pictures of the "Alpine fields" we had walked through in the dark, and the forest further down. But right behind us was a rapidly growing, and darkening, storm cloud. Our pace quickened. And paused so we could take pictures, or just gaze around, check our packs for... whatever. And then quickened some more as the lightning and thunder built up. We were still above the tree line (and 2.5ish miles from the parking lot). While I appreciated being tall and lanky during other parts of the hike (scrambling over boulders and trying to make my way up the mountain), I no longer appreciated being the tallest thing around. Peter was behind me on the trail, so slightly higher still, but that wasn't much help. As we were about getting to the tree line, the hail started. I wondered about tornadoes, but couldn't quite believe they'd occur "at elevation". The lightning was more worrying. Eventually I pulled off the trail underneath a tree and next to a rock. Even after Peter said that's not what you're supposed to do, we stayed for a few moments. People passed us, just ambling down the trail, so we decided to go as well.

Eventually the storm calmed down, and I could start feeling the tired in my legs and feet again. The white of the hail all over the ground made everything fairly pretty, even if it was a little hard to appreciate, being a bit cold and wet. We made it back to the parking area, and changed into dry clothes, by about 3pm - 12 hours, 15 miles, and 5000' of elevation gain after our start. Good times.

When we got back and settled and fed and warm, we all started looking around for articles or trip reports about hikes from the day. Apparently the day we hiked was the 50th anniversary of the first successful summit attempt along a particular route (and by a math Ph.D. no less!). I didn't see many other articles. Now, a few days later, Peter and his dad have found some articles about another hiker who's trip didn't go as well as ours. I hope he recovers quickly. And I hope that everybody else on the mountain that day (and others, of course), made it home safely.

Wednesday was another relaxed day, and the day of my flight home. It didn't seem like the end of my trip, though. The flight was scheduled for 6:10pm departure, with arrival in BWI around midnight. We left at least an hour and a half late, due to weather, and got to Baltimore around 1:30am. Then the drive to Peter's place, and I was probably in bed by around 3am. Back up at 5 for work today. I can't say today was my most productive day of programming :) But I did stay awake the whole time, so I consider it a success. And I made it home, and my cats even seem basically happy to see me. So I guess now my trip is done, even if I'm not unpacked.

My pictures are posted (Warmup Hikes and Long's Peak). My memories are written. And my last dose of caffeine is wearing off. So it's bed time.

Some trail wisdom, straight from Sir:

It's always raining somewhere.

Take it easy.

Update 20100807: Peter posted his pictures.
Update 20100808: Gary's pictures and trip report.