RosemaryLong.com

When I was a kid, no matter where I was, home/family friend’s house/car/etc, I’d be asleep at 8pm. On the dot. My parents or caregiver would have to collect me up from where I had slowly and sleepily churned my way into slumber and transport me to my bed if I already wasn’t there.

As an adult, since completing my Computer Science degree (read: sleep deprivation galore), that magic number has changed to 10:30pm.

But it’s 12:26, and I just can’t get to sleep. And it has nothing to do with the heat.

I’ve spent quite a bit of time thinking about my goodbyes to individuals at Critical Mass before my nighttime ablutions. Some light hearted and thinking of funny and inappropriate moments, some of them more worded to be a solemn thank you. It’s finally sinking in that I’ll be moving on. Of the Five Stages of Rosemary, I’ve finally reached the last and final stage: sorrow. Let me explain.

Over a year ago, I had been at Critical Mass for over two years, which is a hell of a lot of time to build memorable friendships worth keeping. Of course, being part of a large company means that even 10% turnover for a 500+ employee count means a potential of losing five friends. It was hard for me to say goodbye to people moving on, and after a while I noticed a pattern. Five dominant emotions had to be cycled through in order to come to terms with the change.

1. Happiness. Why not be happy? After all, a friend is moving on to a new opportunity!
2. Sharing. Let’s relive the great memories we’ve had together. Let’s share this great news with other people so that they can also experience happiness.
3. Denial. But they can’t possibly be leaving. Why would they have to leave to be happy?
4. Anger. No! Why is this happening?
5. Sorrow. The delayed realization that day-to-day joys can no longer be shared with this individual face-to-face. Sigh.

Since it was my decision to leave, I don’t get step #4. Instead I’ve plummeted straight from Denial to Sorrow, as I know that just on the other side of sleep I have to pack up my things and do my exit interview. There are so many people I will miss. Even with all the ways to connect online, I still prefer hearing laughter.

It’s 12:40 , which means it’s Thursday. It’s eggs benny day at CM, it’s the day Dan Savage rolls out a new article, and it’s the day of the week dedicated to honor Thor. It also means that technically tomorrow, Friday, is my last day at Critical Mass.

I hate to see what that day will be like.

Now that I have a proper website again, without php errors (Torin should be happy), I decided to generate a two-dimensional barcode for it that can be read by a mobile device, taking the user automatically to a new site (Cory should be happy). I noticed that this bar code from Kaywa it has weird squares in the corners, something that ScanLife barcodes don’t. It should be interesting to see if there will be a universal standard for these barcodes so that you won’t need different readers for your cell phone.

So, it hasn’t even been 24 hours since I took rosemarylong.com, but already this blog has enough infrastructure for me to keep it going.  I <3 how easy it is to set up a blog/quasi-CMS system like WordPress and all of its fun widget/plugin friends.  Now, if it was this easy to set up a website, why did it take me so long to regain a desire to have a true online presence.  Well, in setting up Experience Matters, I’ve learned that in order for a blog to be truly successful, it needs a clear purpose and message.  A good blog has a theme or a cohesive set of topics that can make it a good go-to site for experts.  Well, I just said “F that S, I’m starting a blog anyway” and here it is.  I don’t intend this to be a reference for anything except for a case study for psychologists peering into the tangled thoughts of a strange person.  I do, however, promise honesty and truth, and I hope that somewhere along the way I can pick up a reader or two.

It always seems that whenever I get a new job I set up a new blog. Maybe it’s because I feel there’s finally something interesting enough to blog about, or it’s my way of reaffirming myself as a web developer. Let’s see how long this lasts, especially now with Facebook and Twitter also vying for my attention.