posted 2006/12/31 at 21:51
First of all, since I believe in reciprocating these things, for Don ... go Jets.
Anyway, I only left myself a couple of hours to go, but I did finish Final Fantasy XII before the end of the year, just a few minutes ago. I don't know if I even want to mention how many hours a day I've been spending here working on the game and getting it finished up. Then again, the way I see it, once I get a job here, I'll probably never have the opportunity to sink just that much time into an RPG like that ever again. I could do that when I was younger, but I just don't see myself doing that any more. (Not that I'm going to stop playing RPGs, but I can't devote huge amounts of time to them like that anymore.)
I may give a fuller review later when I've had some time to distance myself from the game (and more time to write), but for now I have to say that while the game is gorgeous and the story is great, I have a couple of small problems with the game. First of all, although the story is very well-written, I didn't really feel myself getting involved and caring about the characters like I do in some of the other Final Fantasy games. (I'm not talking like Final Fantasy VIII where I actively loathed most of the cast, but at the same time I couldn't plug into the game like I can with IV and VII just to name two.) Secondly, and perhaps this is to be expected given that Uematsu Nobuo only contributed one song to the game, but the music, for the most part, failed to grab me as well. The music is good, but it just kind of fades into the background and doesn't stand out like Uematsu's best efforts do.
It was a tremendous playing experience and sixty bucks well spent to be sure, and I'll probably play it again at some point (albeit in much smaller doses than I've been playing these past couple of weeks), but I don't think I can put the game in that same rarified air that I put Final Fantasy IV and VII.
Anyway, I'm off to ring in 2007 or something like that. More on the new year later.
posted 2006/12/29 at 23:48
Still no word on the job hunt. I can't say that I'm not getting seriously concerned at this point, but at the same time it's not like it's totally unexpected that responses might take some time given the time of the seasona and all.
I've been using the downtime here to plow through Final Fantasy XII, and expect a fuller review of it once I get it finished. (At least the main story finished; I don't think you could pay me enough money to try to go after that final boss.) For now, while my opinion of the game continues to get better, at the same time I have a hard time placing it in that super-high echelon I place my favourite Final Fantasy titles like IV and VII.
posted 2006/12/25 at 17:28
So what did you all get for the holidays, huh?
One thing we haven't gotten up here is snow. It's so odd, we had those freak flurries way early in October, then after that we've had maybe two significant snowfalls, but neither of those even blanketed the ground and were gone in less than 24 hours. I caught a story on CNN about how even the Alps are lacking snow even with their artifical snow generators going. Good grief.
Here's the thing, though. This has all been going on while I haven't had that much traveling to do. Once I get a teaching job here locally -- and do I ever hope to hear back on that soon -- my commute is going to be a heck of a lot longer than the ride to and from UT. How much do you want to bet that once I get that job, then all of a sudden we get a few blizzards here and there along with the iciest roads in Northwest Ohio history? Murphy's Law, people, Murphy's Law.
Better that than not getting a teaching job at all, though. :/
posted 2006/12/23 at 23:50
Thank you to everyone for the advice on how to handle the job hunt here. I've found another couple of positions to apply to here, but of course I'm still a bit uneasy about the whole job thing while I don't have any current employment. I'm hoping that once the holidays are over I'll hear back from the places I've applied to for this coming term, but of course there are no guarantees.
In the meantime, I've used my vacation here to push ahead on Final Fantasy XII as best I can. I'll have more to say about the game later, but for now just let me say that while I've grown accustomed to the new battle system and see its strengths, the storyline just isn't hooking me like the better Final Fantasy titles do. I like it a lot, but this isn't a game I see myself replaying anytime soon. As a matter of fact, after I finish Final Fantasy XII I'll probably go back to my older 8-bit and 16-bit RPGs for a while.
posted 2006/12/20 at 19:54
Question: How long should you wait after sending in a job application before calling the place you sent the application to and asking whether or not they received the application at all?
I ask because at least one of my job applications is over a week old now, and I have yet to receive any replies at all. I realize that I should give some time for the colleges I applied to to respond, given that I've sent in my application materials during finals/graduation/final grading time, and that the people who will be making the decision about whether or not to hire me are probably busy with their own students right now.
Still, not knowing what my employment status is going to be in a couple of weeks' time is starting to make me weary. I had planned on taking this holiday time as a "vacation" for myself, but I'm not finding enjoyment in anything right now because of all the job-related stress I'm experiencing.
If I don't hear back from someone soon, I may need to abandon the teaching plans for the coming semester and try to find employment elsewhere. I just hope I can find decent employment, given that English degrees -- even graduate ones -- don't seem to be too terribly valued on the job market.
posted 2006/12/17 at 21:08
I guess for about the past forty-eight hours or so I've been dealing with nausea and muscle weakness. I'm fairly certain this is all due to graduation issues, as it is so odd, after five and a half years at the University of Toledo, to think that I'm no longer a student there. I think I said my goodbyes there as best as I could, but I really don't think the full reality of me finishing my career there has set in yet. At least now I'm in a spot where I can allow myself time to deal with these emotions and thoughts.
I haven't heard back about any jobs yet, though, and that may be another part of the reason why I'm feeling a bit queasy now. I know I shouldn't expect colleges to get back to me in a hurry right in the middle of/after finals week, but if I don't hear something soon then I'm going to have to start going to backup plans for gaining employment, which I'm not looking forward to at all. All I want for the holidays is knowledge that I'll be gainfully employed at the start of the new year ...
... and some other stuff, too. Here's my Amazon.com wishlist, in case you haven't bought me anything off of it yet. Come on, I have to start paying off college loans here soon ...
posted 2006/12/16 at 15:47
I is graduated.
More to come once I've had a chance to process it all.
posted 2006/12/12 at 17:02
I just got out of my last counseling session here on campus. I may not miss some things about UT, but I will miss my counselor dearly, since she really helped me out with all of the problems I've had to deal with these past few years. I can only hope to find another counselor as good as she is wherever I may wind up here.
That session was my last "obligation" here at UT, so now I'm pretty much just here as a guest. As long as I'm still here in Toledo I'm pretty sure that I'll still come to campus every once in a while if only to walk around looking at the trees and buildings and stuff, but it's a different experience for me now that I'm no longer a student here. (Well, technically I'm still a student through the end of the week, but I have no further obligations to take care of.) Now that I don't have those obligations to concern me, I hope that I'll be able to enjoy UT more when I'm here.
I hope that I'm still able to log on to the computers here after I graduate, though, because for some reason my computer at home can't access some Websites. (I think it's a firewall issue.) I probably won't be able to, but then again hopefully it won't be long before I have similar Internet access from work.
Speaking of work, I got a call about a job opening at an insurance company here in town earlier today. I'm still hoping to get a teaching job, but I'll probably go do an interview just so I have something to fall back on in case I can't get a teaching job right away.
posted 2006/12/10 at 17:01
While I won't be leaving the nest right away once I get my degree -- I'll probably be in Toledo at least through the middle of summer if not later -- nonetheless, now that my degree is secure and I'll be entering the work world soon, I have to start preparing myself, if only mentally, for life on my own. With that in mind, those of you who are out on your own, I would be much in your debt if you could answer a couple of questions for me.
First of all, keeping in mind that my student loans will start coming due soon, I could use some advice on personal financial software. The first computer I bought back when I was still working for my father had Microsoft Money on it, and for the time it served my needs well, but that was a long time ago and my software needs have likely changed a lot since then (and will change a whole lot more once I have my own place). Should I go with Money, Quicken, or what?
Secondly, although I tend to be a very organized person, I have some worries that when I finally move out there on my own I'll fail to take into account one thing or another and wind up getting foreclosed on or something of that nature. Is there a good book or Website any of you can recommend that deals with all the little things someone like me needs to take into account when preparing to live on one's own for the first time?
posted 2006/12/09 at 21:08
Yesterday after I got word about my paper I had to go grocery shopping, so while I was out I dropped off the books I'd borrowed to make the revisions to my paper back at UT's library. That wasn't my last trip to UT -- I have one last appointment on Tuesday, I'll have to hit the campus bookstore for my cap and gown, and of course I have graduation a week from today -- but I did kind of catch myself saying some goodbyes to some of the places where I used to hang out. I'm sure the goodbyes will continue into this coming week as well.
That all being said, there are some things I'm not going to miss about UT, starting with their miserable IT department. Not only did I not hear about the revisions I needed to make to my paper for much longer than I should have because UT's e-mail system keeps blocking e-mails from the .org for some reason, but their online registration systems were what were causing the paperwork snafu that I became aware of last month. (It looks like that will be resolved, but not nearly to my satisfaction.) Especially this final semester, dealing with UT's computers has been a bigger pain in the neck than anyone should reasonably be expected to deal with. (Don't even get me started on how noisy the Student Union computer lab gets with conversations.)
Another thing I'm not going to miss are all the excrutiatingly bad puns on the "Rocket" nickname used to name seemingly everything on campus. When I first noticed a sign above the vending machine area in the Student Union labeling the place "Rocket Fuel," I thought it was cute. After about the hundredth different pun on rocket, though, I just wanted to scream. See, this is why I got along so well at Antioch: no sports team, no bad puns off the team's nickname.
posted 2006/12/08 at 16:43
MA paper: PASSED
Graduation is a week from tomorrow. Job applications go out Monday.
Work world, here I come.
posted 2006/12/07 at 23:47
After I dropped off my revised paper late last night (late ... like "nearly this morning" late), I came home and tried to decompress. Now, I know it's unreasonable to get a final opinion on a paper well over twenty pages long in a day, particularly given how busy my paper advisor is, but I didn't hear word one from her today and that has me worried that maybe she didn't get the paper.
I know I should expect to hear something about the paper tomorrow, but again, given all that I have riding on this paper, it's hard not to be worried. I really need to get out on the job market here soon, and I won't feel comfortable applying for jobs starting in the new year until I'm sure that I'll have that degree in my pocket.
posted 2006/12/06 at 15:37
The book I need to finish my paper is in.
Time to go to campus to finish this sucker up.
posted 2006/12/04 at 22:30
Happy 41st wedding anniversary to my folks.
Just as freaky as the snow flurries we had back in October, we went through all of November without any accumulation of snow. That changed today, though, as we got a decent dusting in the afternoon and now it's starting to fall again. The roads are apparently pretty bad for driving as well, although that won't be an issue for me until I get word that the book I'm waiting for has arrived at UT's library.
Waiting on that book is killing me, because once I get the book I'll be able to finish the revisions to the paper and finally begin applying for jobs in earnest. (I've gotten a few bites from the online resume Websites I've posted to, but nothing that's been offered me so far seems suited to my talents.) I'm still nervous about whether or not I can actually find a job, but finishing the paper has to come first. Until I can finish the paper, though, I don't have much else to do but worry because I'm dumb like that.
posted 2006/12/02 at 22:41
I have to admit that having to edit my paper here isn't exactly how I was hoping things would go. I was hoping that by this point I'd have some clarity and I could go out job hunting confident that I'd get that little sheet of paper at the end of the term. I'm pretty sure I'll pass at this point, but there's still a "what if" that I have to deal with, and worse yet until the book I need comes in via interlibrary loan, I can't finish the paper. Guh.
Anyway, it is that time of the year again, and no matter what holiday you celebrate, hopefully you will give in to the spirit of giving people stuff. Although I do have an Amazon.com wishlist you can buy from now (with everything from books to CDs to DVDs), again I remind you all that the .amazon link at the top of every page on the .org lets you buy what you want for who you want while giving me a tiny little kickback. Given that I'm going to have student loans to pay off here soon, I could use the cash.
For that matter, don't be surprised if you start seeing Google ads on the .org in the near future. I've deliberately avoided putting ads on my Website for over six years now, but the bottom line is that I need to kick myself out of debt as quickly as possible so I can get my own place, so every little bit of cash I can squeeze out wherever I can find it will help.
copyright © 2008 Sean Shannon