Straight-Acting?

For the second day in a row I was mistaken as a heterosexual man. Not that I have a problem with that, but I never thought I was fooling anyone. I don't broadcast the fact that I am gay, I just always felt that it was kind of obvious. But for the second day in a row I was put in an uncomfortable position.

Yesterday, I was class trying to prevent my heart from exploding cause by my impending oral presentation. This guy in my program -- someone I have know for almost 2 years but still can't manage to remember his name -- starting talking and started to go on about this girl's butt he saw just minutes prior. He told me the story about him spotting a cute girl and then seeing her fine posterior which made him do a double take. I feigned interested, for obvious reasons, but I think he was looking for a response from me. The only response I was able to muster was nervous laughter. I was kind of disappointed that he was straight because I alway thought there was a glimmer of hope he wasn't. So I wonder if he might suspect. But it doesn't matter because yesterday was the last day of class and I will never see him again.

Today I was asked about my relationship status by proxy at work by this woman I have helped on numberous occasions. Our first meeting she shook my hand and was marveled how soft it was (Thanks Fragrance-Free Curel Lotion!). How do you respond to that and not sound gay? So I said nothing and just joked that they were soft because I've never worked a hard day in my life. Well it turns out she asked this new IT guy that was shadowing me if I was available. He did, and I laughed for a bit and told him that I was taken. But, am I really? The new guy joked that I only said I was taken because I knew the person who was asking about me. Which is partly true but -- again for obvious reasons -- I wouldn't be interested in this person. So if she corners me and start asking questions I am just going to let her know why I am not interested. But probably just come up with some lame excuse why I am not interested. I think it is just safe to say I am seeing someone, even if it is not true.

I guess I will decide how to handle this situation at some point.

Final Week

This is my finaly week of classes and I am furiously working on projects that should have been completed at least 2 weeks ago. I don't know why I wait until the last minute to do projects. I once wrote a 22 page paper the day before it was due and still managed to get an 'A-'. I figure if I can get good grades and still procrastinate -- there is nothing wrong with it. But I found that it started a pattern of behavior were I am late for everything. I hate being late for things...but it usually my own fault so I don't really have a right to complain.

...back to work.

The Home Stretch

There are only two more weeks until my last semster as a student ends, and I am in good standing to finish all my projects ahead of time. The research for my masters' project is trickling in and should be complete by this coming Monday. The final paper, minus the research, will complete this weekend and all that will be left is to meet with my advisor so we can discuss the research. This is the linchpin to graduating in May -- eventhough my my application for degree was lost by school records department. So I will walk the stage in May, but won't actually receive my degree until September. I don't mind, as long as I get it.

The only other project I have is my research paper and presentation on Wireless Technologies for my Health Informatics course. The paper is 90% completed and all I have to do is clean it up by fixing the formatting, proofread, and add a couple of diagrams. The presentation is my biggest worry because I have a phobia when it comes to speaking in public. There are only 10 people in the class but I still may freak out and start stuttering. I have about 10 days to prepare so it should all go well.

Your Vote Counts (UPDATE)

Apparently, UB Link wasn't one of my choices for the UB "Name Your Bus" Contest -- eventhough I was told it was by the person who was organized the contest. There was a provision that if more than one person submitted the same name the grand prize winner or top 5 nomination would be chosen at random. So ... I didn't win nor did I come in the top 5.

No prize for me. :(

Hit and Run

This morning started off on a bad note. I woke up early so I could be in the office bright and early so I can get some work done. With my shower taken, body dressed, and breakfast eaten -- I headed out of my apartment. Stepping out of my building it was a dreary day, nevertheless I was in a good mood. I headed toward my car and I noticed these black marks on my rear bumper. When I got closer it was apparent that my car was stuck sometime within the 12 hours it was parked.

Not sure what to do, I looked at the damaged more closely to notice white paint flakes and black streaks. It wasn't until about five minutes later that I went back inside of my apartment to call my insurance company. The claims representative was nice, but that didn't help the fact there was nothing she could do. So the next step was the call our campus police ... 10 minutes later they showed up. I guess they thought my call wasn't important because I had an office show up -- on a bike. You know, when I call the police (even campus police) I expect to see a proper policeperson in full uniform in a police vehicle. Not someone on a 10-speed wearing spandex. Is that too much to ask?

I arrived at work an hour later than I planned. I was a bit down about the whole situation but as I thought more about it I realized that it was just a car. I am not happy that my property was damaged but it could have a lot worse. There is a tiny chip taken out of my bumper so I would like to get that fixed before it starts to rust and cause more damage. The black marks can be buffed out by a professional or myself with some elbow grease. I would like to find the person who did this; for you know, REVENGE! -- but more thank likely they will not be found.

[sigh] I guess I haveto get over it.

Sick Day

Unfortunately, today I had to take a sick day. I hate taking sick days! During the 4 years at my last job, I only took 4 days sick days off. I like going to work and when I am gone I feel that things aren't being taken care of properly. Maybe it's the control freak within me.

But I will be back at the office tomorrow -- hopefully. So hopefully they (my co-workers) didn't screw things up. :)

Your Vote Counts

Yesterday if found out that my name was chosen for the Univesity at Buffalo "Name the Bus" Contest. I wasn't even aware of this because I was not notified of the results. My choice is in the top 5, but I would like to win 1st place because I honestly think my name is the best out of the available options.

I chose UB Link or the "The Link" for short. I thought this name would be suitable because the bussing system will "link" the riders between our campuses. Also each bus line crosses paths like "links" in a chain. Ergo, my selection.

So if you are 1 of the 4 people who reads this regularly, or if you happen to stumble accross this post -- you can help me out.

Vote for the "UB Link or 'The Link'" at:

https://www.vpsa.buffalo.edu/.../Votetonamebus.htm

Thanks!

My Absence

Sorry for the long gap in between post, but it has been a busy couple of weeks. This past week has been very interesting at work.

The Good:

With all the goings on with the impending opening of our new building, things have been pretty busy. And on top of that I have sort of been designated leader of our small team. It is something that just happened unknowingly and I have started to get the attention of the higher ups. I was invited to attend a conference call with our headquarters, which only the supervisors attend.

The Bad:

With all this added attention I feel like I started to receiving some ire from the rest of the crew. The conference call was only meant myself and our 'phone guy', but I mistakenly thought we were all requested to attend. So I have been telling everyone not to forget the meeting. So when the 'phone guy' mentioned that the meeting was only meant for me and him, it wasn't a good feeling. I still wanted everyone to attend so it didn't seem that we were divided. There is someone with more experience than me and I am starting to feel like he is beginning to resent me. He has been flippant to me on several occasions and has some made some comments about being left 'out of the loop'. I don't out of my way to leave him out of things, but he has the type of demeanor that rubs people the wrong way.

And the Ugly:

The person with more experience yelled and cursed at me yesterday. This all started when I pointed out some incorrect information involving some printers. This past Wednesday we were configuring our printers and we came to an agreement on how we were going to set the up. He decided that he wanted to enter this information into the server. This whole process took him about an hours, when it only should have taken 5 minutes. But I said nothing and worked on my tasks for the day. The following day (yesterday) I was testing some security settings on the printers and I noticed that the information he entered in was incorrect. I let him know about it and he got a bit gruff with me, but I did say anything. In a completely unrelated conversation with my other co-worker I thought I figured out how to secure a printer. He spun around in his chair and yelled [paraphasing] "If you are going do the damn thing let me know, and I won't bother doing it!"

I was so mad that my heart started to beat really fast, but I did not explode. I calmly turned and asked why he was being so hostile. I don't ever remember what I said because I was boiling on the inside. I haven't yelled at anyone since 1997 -- seriously. The person, unfortunately, was my older brother. I was being confronted about something I had no part in and I was already stressed because I was participating inthe qualifying round of the Empire State Games the next day -- and the same week I was diagnosed with high blood pressure. I remember screaming so loud that that I hit this wierd vocal range where I was using all strength to yell but my volume low with a high frequency. It was the strangest thing...but I digress.

After I said what I had to say, I went back to work. About 5 minutes later he asked my opinion on a project he was doing. I was still not happy, but I offered my advice which he used. Not sure whether or not he used my advice to offer a truce. Just in the one week, he had a shouting match with 3 of the 6 people in the building. I wonder how long he will last there if he doesn't change his demeanor.

So that was my week at work. How was your week?