Ah, it has been so long since I last blogged. I usually have a handy reason: I lead a boring life so there is nothing worth blogging about. On the other hand, I find that these days one can no longer publish whatever one likes on a blog. Say something that does not agree with the majority, one gets shamed to the extent that leaving the country is the best option. Rather than deciding what I should say or should not, sometimes its more convenient to just shut the hell up.
It has been almost six months since my last entry. On the contrary, my life hasn't really been boring. In the past six months, I have become busier with work, but more confident in the things I do, and being assigned more important work to be involved in.
Being a system administrator is actually kind of fun. I look at systems as a whole; how one application interacts with another application, how to monitor critical parts of systems and networks, and how to resolve them when they go down. I have to learn things that school has never taught before, and I have to pick them up fast. Unfortunately, being a system administrator also means that I always have to be on my toe; my working hours get really irregular sometimes, and I have to be able to respond fast to calls for help. I think I did okay so far.
Of course, since I now look at systems in its entirety, I no longer interact with just small teams of people who, for example, work only on one application. I now communicate, on a regular basis, with different colleagues working on different applications in different countries. I think I have typed more Chinese characters in the past couple of months than my past 25 years of life. Haha.
Another great incentive of being a system administrator is that I get to travel. During the past six months, I have went to Taiwan and the States on three occasions, all for work purposes, although I managed to squeeze time out in between for some little sightseeing. During these trips, I was finally alone for small portions of them. In Taipei, I took a bus up to 野柳地质公园, took a detour to 基隆 before heading back to Taipei at night. In the States, I took a bus from Kalamazoo to an airport hotel to Chicago on one trip home, and for the next trip back, I took the metro from the airport to Chicago Union Station, and switched to a train bringing me back to Kalamazoo. I am probably the last among my peers to enter this whole concept of solo travels, but nevertheless its significant to me.
I doubt this will be the last time I get to travel overseas for work purposes, and I look forward to more trips this year. Hopefully through these trips and through my work, I will continue to gain more confidence in myself.
2014 is yet another new year. Last year I simply wished for myself to be happy, and I think I have somewhat achieved it. This year, besides hoping that I continue to be happy, I also hope that I will continue to improve myself in the field of system administration.
If readers think my goals are not clear and concise enough, here are two that are: 1) get a driving license 2) improve my photography skills with my shiny new Olympus PEN E-P3!
To a great year ahead!