Job

So this new job is working out well. I started on Monday, and right now I'm working my 2nd shift. It's graveyard time so I'm working midnight to 8:00am but I'm pretty much already adjusted. I've had to be so flexible during my adventures so it's not that big of a deal and I'm just accepting it for what it is.

I work in the NOC (network operations center, pronounced knock) monitoring hundreds of servers both on site and remote sites for some cool companies such as the video game developer BioWare who makes all the cool star wars games, and a ton of radio stations as well as a lot of other smaller companies that are lesser known. There is a ton of proprietary software to learn and master which has been fun. I'm set up with a sweet quad-screen display so that you can have a ton of windows open at once which is necessary. We are set up well here in the NOC, and let's be honest: saying you work in the NOC sounds cool.

The people here are great, Allan has been training me in graveyard style. He's been here about 9 months and has his stuff together. He's a former Army Ranger from Bangor Maine and has a great attitude and work ethic. Apparently the other guy they hired here has some issues and might not work out. Two guys recently got fired because they sucked, which is why they were hiring. I guess one of the guys would just leave for hours in the night and stuff like that. Other than that guy everyone here is very cool - a lot of nerds that talk about video games, techie stuff, and are well versed in 1337 speak. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's super nerdy internet jargon so don't worry about it. The midnight shift is actually pretty uneventful but someone needs to be manning the NOC 24x7 in case something happens. We've had a couple servers on the east coast go down due to flooding and rain/power outages so I'm learning how to handle it all. The night shift guys are kind of on an island because nobody else is around and everyone else is home sleeping or whatever so there is a level of responsibility and decision making involved that I enjoy. By the end of the week, I'm going to be tasked with running the show solo.
I'm having to recall my old cisco networking skills from high school which are greatly valued here, and OuterNet even pays for the employees to get cisco certifications (pays for your books and test fees). I'll be taking advantage of that. I'll go for my CCNA (cisco certified network assistant) first off and try to move up from there. I know I can master these tests as they are far easier than EE curriculum, but it's still going to take a little work. I'll get a pay bump and be better marketable if I can land some of these certifications, so I might as well!

The campus up here is super awesome. Yes I said "super awesome" because it is super awesome. there is a free gym on site, a open air basketball court on the roof, and companies like cray supercomputers in our building which is building #4 out of 5.

The new apt is working out great, and I'll be scouring craigslist to see if I can't pick up some free furniture so I'll actually have a place to sit down. I'll post some more videos as soon as I get my internet at the apartment hooked up.

Peace out from Austin!