Feel like an update on me will get lost in the shuffle once I start posting about what’s I’m currently dealing with and didn’t want to lose this for posterity and for people who haven’t gotten an update in a while.
After the 100 days off from MS, they brought me back as v- and as STE2, which is a bump from my first contract which was a- STE1. v- means I can work indefinitely where as a- means have to take 100 days off. There’s supposed to be a difference in how they work but in reality it’s mainly just an accounting difference. I need a hand full more years before I can go full time most likely, since most places say they want 3 to 5 years minimum experience and most managers don’t seem to think working at CyberEx counts. At the fiscal year the vendor I was going through was no longer on the preferred vendor list, so I had to find a new contracting company since they wanted to keep me but my old company wanted to try and get back on the list and then wanted a buy out of the old contract because they couldn’t get back on the list and I had a non-compete. It all worked out though and she ended up wanting a reasonable total and all was take care of in time so all the guys that worked for that company didn’t have to take any forced unpaid time off because paper work hadn’t processed in time. So far I’m happy with the new company and ended up with a little bump in pay to boot.
I bought a house about 6 months ago. It’s been nice having my own place, it’s the first time I haven’t lived under soemone elses roof actually. I went from living with my folks to renting a room from a buddy to owning a house, which is kind of weird route to get there but it worked for me. I bought at a good time market wise and I like my house, though I wish it had a garage but I don’t wish it still had it’s old garage because that is now a mother in law apartment (basically an apartment without a kitchen, has a bathroom, ‘living space’/den type open area and a bedroom). It was built in 1953 (or was it 1956, one or the other) but you can’t superly tell because it’s been updated and kept up pretty well. A couple weeks after I moved in, Erin moved in too. The relationship and living together have been going real well. We love each other and are a good fit the vast majority of the time and are pretty good about dealing with it constructively when we’re not. When I was back in IL recently had some people congratulate me for being engaged or ask how my fiance was or whatever, and I had to correct them that we moved in together but aren’t quite at that stage yet. Jeff goes, “Well, it’s pretty much not that far off! I mean he basically is.” and he’s not wrong. I feel like both of us are in it for the long haul but with the Shit that Adam went through with his ex-wife, I’m still gun shy from marriage itself and potential for having kids. No matter how much time is spent in a relationship and observing another person, you can’t tell what tomorrow will bring. You can make an educated guess, but given infinity, you can’t 100% guarantee an outcome… Trying to decide when I’ve got enough data to make the risk worth taking… That said, I’m risk averse as fuck (by nature) and gun shy as fuck (by circumstance), so this is not to reflect Erin directly, like there’s no signs of “hmm… I think it’s an extra possibility with her because of xyz”, it’s a possibility because it’s always a possibility with anyone ever pretty much. And then with kids there’s the whole, I’ve had cancer (twice) and that could come back. Then there’s the when you have chemo or radiation you’re statistically more likely to have other cancers later on, and I’ve had regular chemo twice, intense radiation and high dose chemo… So ya, I have to decide if I want t risk leaving kids behind if I end up with cancer again and then after I decide that, Erin has to decide if she’d be willing to be left behind with kids to take care of by herself (at least for a time). I haven’t broached that topic yet with her because I”m not sure how I feel about it yet…
The summers been pretty crazy busy but had been good. Bunch of people coming to visit and staying at my new house, first Erin’s brother’s family was here for a few days, then a week later my buddy Jeff was in town for a week, then a week after that my mom was in town looking for houses because my folks want to move out here, and then a week after she left I was in Chicago for a week… Well, it ended up being pushed to two and a half weeks… and that bring me to what I’ve been alluding to in the beginning of this and the previous post…. will try and get that post out tonight… I’m at work and probably shouldn’t open that can of worms while I’m here…