Ceramics

I have found my way back into a ceramics class. A coworker of mine told me about a local community arts center that has various craft related classes. I immediately enrolled in a Thursday class that runs 10 weeks and cost $170. I have been having a ball making bowls and cups that I intend on giving away to my loved ones.
I have also convinced my mother to take the class with me and she is really getting into it. She has been watching plenty of youtube videos and studying some of my books on ceramics. She wants to be a pro already and gets frustrated but is doing remarkably well Here is a picture of some of my work and three of her pieces in the background. my work is the eight closest pieces that are upside down and her stuff is the small round bowl, square bowl, and the platter in front of the stacks of bowls.

Last Saturday I went in for a bonus class (for $5) and tried porcelain for the first time in years, and had fairly good results.

I am enjoying this return to the studio immensely, and am already trying to figure out how to fit the next class into my schedule. I am also eyeing the jewelry making class that they offer for some projects that I have in mind.

Scheduling

Wow, its been a while. I have been getting used to my Novia's way of scheduling things, which means 4+ weeks in advance and multiple things to do every day. We have had tons of fun doing amazing things, just a few of which are: Cirque du Soleil Iris, Getty Villa, and 4th of July fireworks. I have also started taking a weekly ceramics class. I don't know where to find time to blog anymore but life has been good and things are going well.

FTE

This past Tuesday I became a full time employee instead of a freelancer. I am now really part of the team. It has been a challenging four months to get to this point. Between being very green at my job and having a difficult boss, I had some trouble adjusting to the new position. The last few weeks have been a large change. I have had a chance to learn some things, change the way i do some things, and prove myself and my boss has realigned his attitude. Now things are good. I don't feel apprehensive about going in to work and I no longer feel like I am on the precipice of being fired. I can focus on more than just survival now. I can look forward to fun and amazing things in the future.

Networking

I just finished my final for the first in a series of four classes that I am taking to earn a Cisco Certified Network Administrator (CCNA) certification. After many days of browsing the web during class, I came out with a 94% in the class. Now I have a couple of weeks before the next class begins. I hope that this will all be worth it because the next class is on Friday nights and Saturday afternoons.

Vacation

After a stressful couple of months at my new job, I am headed to New York on vacation. I have never been to New York. I am excited to go to museums and wander around the city with Novia and her friend from Canada. We plan on staying in a hostel and they already have the museums picked out. If I get ambitious I will tell you all about it when we get back but more likely I will copy/paste her account of the trip.

Work continued

It has been a few weeks now since I started my new job. It has not been a smooth ride.
My boss and I do not see eye to eye and that has been a bit of a problem. We don't use the same words, phrases or descriptions. We don't live our lives similarly and we don't relate to other people in the same way. It has been difficult to adjust myself to his expectations.
He is typically in the office at least a half hour early and tolerates NO tardiness I had gotten used to an amount of leeway in normal operations, and now I need to be there early for fear of being late. I was 2 minutes late yesterday and that was not good enough. Today I was 10 minutes early. I am allowed NO personal computer use at work. I was looking into how to root my phone and he called me on it (way after the fact). I was tracking a package and he asked me if it was work related (it was). I am the new guy and even though the other guys get there at +/- 5 minutes and check personal email, I am held to a different standard. So be it. At least he doesn't expect me to eat my lunch at my desk while working like he does.
I am friends with his boss (lets call him Dubbs) and I have found out through him that he is the only reason I haven't already been fired. I was close to being fired for these transgressions before I even knew that they were problems. My boss was ready to cut me loose after two weeks. This company puts a serious focus on interrelations and personal growth so much that they have documents outlining how to properly guide the growth of new employees by developing goals and setting 90 day growth plans. These documents are available to anyone in the company and I dare not even suggest to my boss that he read them.  I started by trying to pattern my behavior after those around me but that wasn't good enough. Now I have been given more guidance and I am trying to conform. I am worried every day that I will lose this job. I have at least 90 days as a freelancer before I have any sort of pretense to stability, but the point of no return is actually February 20 when I have to decide if I am going to drop my classes (and thus abandon my schedule for getting a Bachelor's degree) for this job.
Its like walking on eggshells every day. I like the work other than that, I get to walk around and meet the other people who are almost all nice and I am learning a great deal about computers. The atmosphere is generally positive and the amenities are generous. My team is full of competent intelligent people. I know a bunch of people that work with the company and really think that I can form good friendships there. The only problem is my immediate supervisor. I just need to apply myself and struggle through this.

New Job

I got a new job on Monday. I was called in for an interview for a desktop support position in an IT department that a friend of mine manages. I spoke to my friend, and he had me come in for an informal interview with the person who would become my boss. It went well and he was able to offer me the position. It wasn't a total hookup; my friend was given my resume by HR after I applied for a different position at the same company, and he ran it by my supervisor to get the OK from him. I have a 90 day freelance period to prove that I can handle this job, and I am determined not to let myself, my girlfriend and my friend down.
My first day was Tuesday and I have tried to soak up as much knowledge as I can. The IT team knows that I don't have all the knowledge to do the job, and they are prepared to train me up on how things are done. I am eager to learn whatever I can and to prove myself. I am excited and nervous at the opportunity and the challenge. On one hand I know that I can learn this but on the other hand, I know that my success in this position hangs on a thread. If I don't perform, or if the company decides that they don't need me or if my boss doesn't like me, then I am out.
So far it has been a wonderful experience. The company is a very good one and the people are very kind and welcoming. My team is very smart and capable, and they are all willing to take time to teach me the things that I need to know. I really want to keep this job and will have to work hard to do it. I need to step up my game and learn more about computers than I ever thought I would need to know, but I am up to the task.