Plans

Ok, so I've just officially passed Uni, only getting under an HD in one subject throughout the last 3 years (missed by one single solitary percent in 2nd year computer systems. Oh how it mocks me), admittedly putting not much effort into most subjects or even attending more than about 10hrs per week, so now I figure it's time to put some of this knowledge of the last three or so years to good use.
Starting with this summer - I have to do an internship at SAAB systems (army stuff, not car stuff) for the next 3 months. While the coding is boring, the 1-hr commute twice a day is a pain, and being stuck 30mins from anywhere for 40hrs a week is inconvenient, it's ok - the ppl are nice (mostly, even if my supervisor doesn't thinks I'm a bit of a slow worker :S), there's free diet coke, and the work is pretty easy so no pressure. I guess it's something for the resume, if little else.
It's just weird, having so much stuff I want to do, but never enough time to do it. Things on the the to-do list for next year (in no particular order):
  1. Recording Asturias on my 12-string neck of the new guitar. It sounds awesome on 6 strings, but twice-as-fast on 12-string could be magnificent if played correctly. Much practice to do on that first though.
  2. More composition, either writing new songs or improving (and, hopefully recording) the ones I currently have written. Might need to organise a band at some point...
  3. Finishing reading the Dark Tower series. This is a great epic tale, which I have 2.5 books left to finish, so it could take a while but shall be worth it.
  4. Come up with a music search engine algorithm. There isn't a good one yet, and there should be. Unfortunately, this is more the level of 3 years PhD study rather than 3 months working 'for fun' at night, but I'm sure it's doable, just with time...
  5. Keep up designing / reviewing for TopCoder. This weekend I've had one design, two reviews, and one design-related project, so while the pay is good, it leaves very little time for anything else. Might have to slow down on this front :(
  6. Go out more. Pretty self-explanatory really.
  7. Upgrade some of the websites I've written. One in particular I have many ideas that will fix many design flaws and make it much more usable, though there's a lot of implementation behind it required.
  8. Oh, and of course, do honours. Looks like something in Category Theory, though not really sure what yet, I'll find out next year.
So that's what's on my mind currently. I have this bad habit of doing waaay to much, and hoping my abilities can help me get it done well and quickly, and being disappointed if I don't get something done (because, I mean, I can, and some things not everyone can, so I'm letting myself or others down if I don't at least give it a shot....right? I believe that's my reasoning). Maybe I should try to fix that, or stress/work levels will build too high.
Looking at the list above, my guesses at what will happen is:
  1. I'll try a bit but won't practice enough to get good, though hopefully will at least get it you-tube-able.
  2. Nothing will happen on this front, as usual :(. Maybe a bit during pre-exam procrastination, but that's about it.
  3. Definitely will happen, once uni goes back and I take buses
  4. In line to get dropped first. It'd be awesome, I have many ideas, but the time commitment is just waaaay too big :(.
  5. Might do some stuff for tournaments. Every time I think I've earned enough to take a break, another tournament comes up, so I might sit the next one out, although usually some good reason not to also comes up (this time they're inviting 12 rather than 8 people, the time after that is my last collegiate one, and could be my 5th onsite in a row...). Plus might need some more money for other reasons, see below
  6. Hopefully this happens. Not too much, of course, I'm not a party person, but at least more than currently. If I plan on moving away from SA at the end of 2008, I want to enjoy my last year here.
  7. It'd be cool if this happens sooner rather than later - I'm hoping to free some time up over the Xmas break and during the slower times at work for this, but it does require a lot of coding, so maybe will be pushed until honours starts, if at all.
  8. This is definite, can't wait - as above, I'm really hoping I can find something new and useful to prove, as otherwise I'd kinda feel I could've been spending my time doing something else more useful.
The other news that affects a number of the things above is I might be moving out into a rental place with my sister early next year. Just figuring out the financials, logistics etc... but being able to have ppl over, not having parents who complain when I return after midnight, and being closer to uni & work would all be nice. So I'm still thinking about it, I should have decided by Xmas...
Other than that, current mood is contemplative and content :) Pat out.

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