Aye, it's been awhile.

Things are finally getting back to normal 'round here, I think. I've been so busy. But over the next few days I'd like to try and catch up on what's new.

Work has been a challenge on a grand scale. Little did I know that when the powers-that-be hired me at this Canadian outpost of Software-Conglomerate, they would expect me to do, like, actual real, hard, long-hours, multiple-project, deadline-ridden work. Bastards. I've been here past 6pm more days than I like to count, and that's even though I'm in before 9am most of the time.

If getting laid off two years ago from a cushy job made me soft, then this place sure as hell has been putting the edge back on. There's still lots of rust on me, but it's wearing away slowly.

And if I've managed to survive this past 7 months – new job, new living-partner, maniacal ex-wife pounding me at every opportunity, a custody battle, deadlines up the arse, shaky financial straits, too many musical commitments, poor physical fitness, poor nutrition, and whatever other challenges I'm forgetting in my cerebrally atrophied state, then perhaps I can survive anything.

(Except maybe getting run over by a cement truck. I don't think I'd survive that. See, some dude met his end yesterday cycling home from work, which is also my current mode of transport for the daily commute. But I digress from that morbid topic.)

But basically, it's all good. I'm back with a team of people that I like, for the first time in a long time, and I have the best boss ever. (She organizes beer-outings for her department, brings cake in on our birthdays, helped me assemble a personal purchase in the office once to see if all the parts were there, *and* treats her employees with fairness and respect.)

Meanwhile, I guess I feel pretty fortunate to be in a stable spot when a lot of my former colleagues are flitting from startup to startup, or just not working at all. Then again, part of me envies them for sort of having a clear slate and being forced to perhaps pursue their true interest. (Like, say, for example, music… :-)

I'm also enjoying being a part of something -- not isolated like I was in my last job. I'm also very accountable for anything I do here, which is daunting and something I'm not used to, but is a good thing.

Heh, I also work right downtown, and being downtown during a Montreal summer is a pretty cool thing. Especially when I'm a twenty-five-minute bike-ride from home.

Now if can just steer clear of those cement trucks…

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