Sometimes I Love My Job

Today, I had one of those experiences that reminded me of how much I love my job.

My official job title is "Network Technician", although my business cards say "Unix Administrator". In reality, my job is to be one of the generalists in the office. I help maintain the "big picture" of our entire system and help others to see how everything fits together. If anyone has a question on how different components work, I'm the guy that they come to. I have taken the time to explain everything from the operations of a clustered database, to basic network protocols.

Today, I was passing through our NOC (Network Operations Center, for those of you not familiar with the term) when I noticed that Haleem, one of our phone support people, was reading up on the X Window System. Since that is one of the critical components of a Linux or Unix system, I took the time to sit down with him and see if I could help in some way. As we talked, he started asking questions about everything from how compilers work, to how an OS interacts with hardware. It was a wonderful opportunity to help him better understand how some of the systems that we support work.

More than anything, it reminded me of the time about 10 years ago, when I worked as a tutor for the Athletic Department at my college. I worked with several athletes in both math (mainly calculus) and physics, and managed to help each of them improve their understanding of the subjects. The best part about that sort of job is the look on their faces when they finally grasp a topic that they have been struggling with. It's like a light came on in their eyes, and the world was a much brighter place because of it.

Seeing that same look on Haleem's face today brought back all of those memories. While I'm not planning to quit my job to become a teacher (because I love the hands on parts of it, too), I do enjoy those teaching moments when they show up. Sometimes, they make all of the other stuff worthwhile.

Gilbert and Sullivan are Alive and Well

I was looking up some Gilbert and Sullivan related stuff, and found this.



Do I really need to say anything more about it?

Some Songs for the Women I Know

Today, I had the chance to have lunch with an old friend of mine from college. We've known each other for more than a decade now, and hadn't seen each other for probably about a year or so. As we were talking after lunch, he introduced me to a new singer that he had discovered online, Jonathan Coulton.

Well, on his website you can actually listen to and download all of his songs. You can download some of them for free or you can buy any or all of them from his music store. (Personally, I plan to buy the complete set once I can save up a little more money in my entertainment budget.) However, looking through his songs, I found several that made me think of several of the women that I know.

For example, here's one for my sister Mer. It's called Skullcrusher Mountain. She's always loved the evil geniuses.

And for my mother, who helped introduce me to the joys of astronomy: I'm Your Moon.

And for Amy, a very special love song I know you want to sing.

Another one for Mer, because of an obsession she has.

And for Rae, one that I am sure will make you laugh: Re Your Brains.

This one is really for all of you, since I know that all of you would appreciate it.

Enjoy them. I sure plan to.

Thoughts on B5

I know I've mentioned Babylon 5 in here before, but I've been rewatching the series for the past few months. Tonight, I have the opportunity to finish off the last three episodes of the series, and they are some of my favorites. (Spoiler warning for those who haven't seen the series.)

For those of you who aren't familiar with the series, it was originally planned as a 5-year "novel on TV", before they ever filmed a single episode. Almost everything was planned out, from the introductions in the first season, to the last scenes where they shut off the lights and decommission the station. J. Michael Straczynski planned out the history of the series, from 1 million years before it started, to 1 million years after it finished, and it really shows in the detail presented in every episode.

One of the things that I love the most about the series is how it ends. Rather than simply spending a single episode wrapping things up, like some series do, they spend about 4 episodes brining everything to a close. You see Londo Mollari become the Emperor of the Centauri Republic, sacrificing everything to protect his people. Dr. Franklin leaves for a new position on Earth. President Sheridan and his wife, Delenn, leave for the new permanent offices for the Interstellar Alliance on Minbar. Garibaldi gets married and returns with his wife to Mars. G'Kar and Lyta Alexander leave to go exploring, searching for healing and enlightenment.

Most importantly, it contains the message that life goes on. Each of the characters is moving forward with their lives, having learned and grown through the experiences shown in the series. G'Kar started as a rash and angry individual, always picking fights and aching for a fight. By the end, he talks of how representing his people requires someone to be both priest and warrior in equal parts, and he has become more priest than warrior. Londo started off as something of a joke, having received the position because no one else wanted it and everyone thought that he would wind up dead. He ends having gained everything he ever wanted (power, riches, glory), but having lost everything that really matters (freedom, friendship, loyalty).

One of my favorite quotes comes from one of these last episodes. G'Kar is talking with Lyta and says:

We are all the sum of our tears. Too little and the ground is not fertile, and nothing can grow there. Too much, the best of us is washed away. My rains have come and gone…for now. Yours are just beginning.

In a way, this sums up the entire point of the series. Without trials and opposition, we cannot grow any more than a plant can grow in the absence of enough water. When we face too many trials, we can be destroyed by them, like a plant drowned in a flood.

And yet, when we face the right mixture of challenges, we learn and grow to new heights. As we face our trials, it is important to remember that life does go on. One of the key scenes of the final episode has Delenn and Sheridan watching a sunrise, even as they know that his time is running out and he will be dead in a few days. Even in the darkest times, the sun will still come up and a new day will dawn.

And that, I think, is the greatest part of the series. It doesn't treat life as a short struggle followed by a "happily ever after". It is a snapshot of a period of time, but in the end it is simply a piece of a greater whole. It shows people drawing together in their times of need, and then moving on with their lives. It shows how life-long friendships can grow and endure even over long distances. In the end, it is a story about life itself. You live life with the cards you are dealt, and make the best of it, then move on to the next hand. It is the story of transitions, and a reminder that a transition isn't just an end, but also a new beginning.

As Sheridan is dying, he invites all of his friends together for one last party, a celebration of life. Even as Sheridan leaves to join the First Ones "beyond the Rim", the others each face new beginnings in their lives. Each one of them picks himself (or herself) up and moves forward with a renewed vigor.

And that, ultimately, is how I want to live my life. I face many transitions ahead, from a new job (still looking - let me know if you hear of anything) and a new place to live, to finding an eternal companion and building a family. There will be times of joy and times of sorrow, but there will always be another day ahead. I will water the soil of my life with tears, so that the ground remains fertile for me to grow.

Even as I contemplate the thought of moving forward, and all of the friends that I will leave behind in the DC area when I do ultimately move, I know that I will not lose those friends that I have. As G'Kar says before he leaves:

I believe that when we leave a place, part of it goes with us and part of us remains. Go anywhere in the station, when it is quiet, and just listen. After a while, you will hear the echoes of all our conversations, every thought and word we've exchanged. Long after we are gone .. our voices will linger in these walls for as long as this place remains. But I will admit .. that the part of me that is going .. will very much miss the part of you that is staying.