I haven’t written here in a while, and heck, I probably shouldn’t even be doing so now, but I need a break from staring at code for a while so what the heck, a little procrastination never hurt anybody. (I’m sure that’s a false statement, but oh well.)
As for me, life’s been going pretty well. I’m in love with a fantastic, adorable, amazing woman, I get my degree in May (provided I survive that long…), I’m healthy, I’ve got great friends and family; what more could I ask for?
I think the biggest thing right now would be a job… I’ve got a few prospects, but nothing certain. There’s a position at WPI as a Ruby on Rails/Javascript programmer that would be awesome: close to home, doing what I want to be doing, good pay/benefits. Haven’t heard anything yet though. So we wait.
Also have an interview in a week or so for a co-op in Buffalo, but I really don’t want to be stuck there for the summer. As in, I can’t tell you how much that would suck. Part of me is tempted to cancel, but I need a co-op to graduate, and it’s just an interview, not a ball-and-chain, so unless I hear something between now and then, I guess I’ll look into it.
The classes I’m taking now are pretty interesting.
- 536 - Client-side (Javascript) Programming - An easy A; prereq for the others
- Arts of Expression: Computer Games - A look at computer games as a field of cultural study. Pretty laid-back course for the most part. Lots of reading and writing though. Needed 4 credits, sounded interesting, and Wines/Foods/Beers of the World were all full… =/
- 590 - iPhone Web App Development - Possibly the fun class of the bunch, although I usually end up half-asleep in it. Too bad I don’t drink coffee…
- 546 - Client/Server Programming - The “capstone” course of the Web development track, wrapping up everything we’ve learned so far into a single 10-week project-driven course. This one is a sweet class, and I love the professor (who also teaches 536). He’s a no-nonsense, focused guy, who may be a little intimidating at times and expect a lot, but those teachers are the best kind. Dan Bogaard, you’re the man. =D
Overall, things are good, and though I grow restless in anticipation for May, and the self-diagnosis of a mild case of Senioritis (likely due in part to the ever-nicer weather…), I am happy. Which is a good thing, because with an iPhone project, a 5-page essay, a JS project, and the beginning stages of my 546 project all due within a week, it’s gonna be a long weekend…
Posted on 3 April '09 by Lee McKusick, under Life. No Comments.
I’ve come to a realization: I clean when I’m frustrated.
I think it’s my way of trying to make my surroundings representative of what I want my head to be: organized, neat, a place for everything and everything in its place. A dirty house is the product of a dirty mind (no, not like that).
It probably doesn’t help that I’m a bit of a perfectionist and get annoyed when things aren’t done to my specifications. I suppose if you want something done right…
On the other hand, the manual labor involved in the process is amazing in terms of working through the frustration and cleaning up the mind. A clean house is the mark of a contented and well-arranged mind.
In other, completely unrelated news, my apartment is now spotless.
And I feel pretty damn good.
Posted on 16 February '09 by Lee McKusick, under Life. 3 Comments.
The Lighthouse’s Tale - Nickel Creek
I am a lighthouse,
Worn by the weather and the waves.
I keep my lamp lit,
To warn the sailors on their way.
I’ll tell a story,
Paint you a picture from my past.
I was so happy
For joy in this lifestyle long lasts.
I had a keeper.
He helped me warn the ships at sea.
We had grown closer,
Till his joy meant everything to me.
And he was to marry
A girl who shone with beauty and light,
And they loved each other,
And with me watched the sunsets into nights.
And the waves crashing around me,
The sand slips out to sea,
And the winds that blow remind me
Of what has been
And what can ever be.
She’d had to leave us.
My keeper, he prayed for her safe return.
But when the night came,
The weather to a raging storm had turned.
He watched her ship fight
But in vain against the well and terrible wind.
In me so helpless,
As dashed against the rocks she met her end.
And the waves crashing around me,
The sand slips out to sea,
And the winds that blow remind me,
Of what has been
And what can ever be.
Then on the next day,
My keeper found her washed up on the shore.
He kissed her cold face,
That they’d be together soon he swore.
I saw him crying,
Watched as he buried her in the sand.
And then he climbed my tower,
And off the edge of me he ran
And the waves crashing around me,
The sand slips out to sea,
And the winds that blow remind me,
Of what has been
And what can ever be.
I am a lighthouse,
Worn by the weather and the waves.
And though I’m empty,
I still warn the sailors on their way.
Posted on 10 February '09 by Lee McKusick, under Music. No Comments.
Looking for 3 more people to live in Perkins 197B next year.
I’m gonna be here in the fall only, so there would be another opening to fill in winter/spring.
If you’re looking for a place next year, and you’re not a tool (=P), then let me know.
Since I’m graduating this spring now, this is unnecessary.
Posted on 28 January '09 by Lee McKusick, under RIT. 1 Comment.
I’m going home for break tomorrow. I almost couldn’t.
Tuesday of week 1, I lost my wallet. I’m 95% sure it was in a classroom, locked overnight, so I couldn’t get at it, but when I went back the next morning, it wasn’t there. My theory, such as it is, is that the FMS cleaning person who found it never turned it in, conveniently for him. Leaving me without my driver’s license, debit/credit cards, some cash, and a few gift certificates. Thank you, sir.
After going through the ringer with Public Safety/FMS and having no luck, I cancelled my cards, and was told it’d be 7-10 business days before new ones would arrive. Fine, I still had my student ID, so I could use Tigerbucks to get by.
Week 2 brings sickness. A wonderful onslaught of what is now identified as bronchitis.
Fast forward to week 3. Every day this week, I’ve cursed the mailman as he brought me nothing. I’ve watched my stress levels go through the roof as my health continues to be poor, my pockets continue to be empty (along with my gas tank), and my plans for going home remain uncertain.
Last night, I talk to DCU, the credit union I belong to and the ones sending the cards, and they tell me that I can go to a credit union building a mile away and withdraw cash.
WHAT?!
So I’ve been ripping my hair out the past two and a half weeks, living off of pasta and pizza, not going anywhere because of gas conservation, and the whole time I could have walked down the street, and gotten as much money as I needed to get by?
Why the hell didn’t anyone tell me this before I had to put my life on hold?!
Whatever, past is past. I’m just glad I can get home.
Posted on 20 December '08 by Lee McKusick, under Life. 1 Comment.
1:53 PM - Ahh, the final day. The day of packing, of last minute sunbathing, and of making sure you don’t leave anything (clothes, jewelry, small children) behind.
Spent most of the day so far poolside. Enjoyed a line dance “class” in the center of the pool area (was the only guy, among like 20 women… 
), and some pool volleyball. Guests vs. Crew, we got owned. So did the other 3 guest teams though, hehe.
Soccer @ 3.
6:01 - Got beat at soccer, 3-4. Did better than the other teams though.
8:51 - At the farewell show, starts at 9. Did a salsa class at 8 in the Latin lounge, Boleros. At the end of the class, all the people came up two at a time for their “15 seconds of fame.” There were a few single girls there (where were they before?! =P ), so the instructor had me go in 3 times. =D
I. Love. To. Dance.
I especially like to show off what I know at times. Applause is always a welcome sound… =D
12:46 AM - Great night. Show was really good. The juggler from the first night came back. Didn’t do any comedy/speaking but damn was the routine cool. After him was another comedian, Louis Johnson, I think was his name. He was a lot funnier than the other guy.
After, I went back to Boleros for some more dancing. Had a blast! Even had some older Irish woman buy me a drink. I’m so glad that particular skillset comes in handy. =D
I feel bad though, I told some woman I’d dance the next salsa with her, but noticed it was 12:30, which is when I told myself I’d stop and retire for the night (had to get up early next morning). She’d walked off though, so I don’t know where she’d gone.
I need to find a Latin club in Rochester…
Going to bed for the last time on the Liberty of the Seas. Goodnight all, and farewell!
Overall, this vacation has been a great time, and I’m exceptionally glad I went. I would totally do it again, although there are some things I would recommend for anyone considering taking a cruise, but it’s a great experience.
Posted on 6 December '08 by Lee McKusick, under Uncategorized. 2 Comments.
7:55 - OMG, I SWAM WITH DOLPHINS!!!
Pulled into port around 10:30. Headed to Chankanaab Park for our dolphin Royal Swim.
They bring you out in a small group (ours had 7; around 10 was the normal size), and you get to pet them, dance with them…
…kiss them…
…let them tow you with their dorsal fins, and my favorite, push you through the water standing on their noses. I ended up coming completely out of the water. It was amazing!
We then hung out on the beach for a while. The water was crystal clear, and there were some really cool fish swimming around. I’m pretty sure I even touched one as it was swimming away.
Grand Cayman and Cozumel were both astounding. They certainly saved the best for last.
9:37 - The show tonight was really cool. It was a Cirque du Soliel-like performance; certainly not quite as impressive as the real thing, but very cool nonetheless.
Just finished playing some more Rock Band. Fact: I love to sing!
Checking out the Majority Rules game show; then a scavenger hunt later. Should be a fun night, now that I’ve given up trying to go against the flow…
10:17 - Majority Rules was fun; sat with a cool group of people. Good times were had by all. Gonna go see if there’s any new pictures in the Photo Gallery (pictures are fricking expensive!), to kill some time before the Quest.
11:59 - Wow. That about sums up the Quest.
Ok, so a little explanation is in order. As I mentioned, the Quest was a scavenger hunt. Basically, the arena was divided up into 10 teams, all with 2 team captains, one male and one female. For each quest, one of the captains had to find, from their section, a particular item, with bonus points to the quickest team. And about every fourth one or so, it was a group activity where people would come down and make some form of scene.
I ended up being a team captain.
We started off with some simple ones, like “an empty purse”, and “a business card”, then we had a group scene of 10 people playing Twister.
After that it got a little harder, with “a sock with a hole in it” (one lady was trying to chew through a sock!), and “an iPhone.” The next group activity was making human pyramids, whihc was pretty fun.
There were some clever ones in there, like 4 fake hands, i.e. two watches.
Then it started getting a little ridiculous, hilarious, or both, depending on how you looked at it, and probably how many Thursday Thriller’s you had.Things such as “4 men’s shirts (not being worn)”, “4 men’s pants (also not being worn; we didn’t get that one)”, “4 bras” (almost had that one, but one lady couldn’t get hers off), and the guy captain wearing lipstick…
Yeah…
So for the very last thingall the guy captains had to be wearing ladies’ shoes, shirtless, wearing a bra, wearing lipstick, and carrying a purse…
…and no, I don’t have any pictures. Sorry, ladies.
So yeah, I now have a fill for the slot of most embarassing memory. (Sometimes I regret being a blogger…) I’ll tell you though, being a team captain, in and of itself, and getting everyone fired up and into it all, was rather fun.
Drink of the Day: Thursday Thriller - Mango Rum, Pineapple Juice, Triple Sec, and Grand Marnier (I think)
Probably the best DotD so far; you could barely even taste the alcohol, which is both a good thing for it’s smoothness, and potentially a very bad thing, hehe.
Shot of the Day: Mudslide - Bailey’s, Kahlua
It was good, but it seemed like deja vu. They must have been overstocked on Bailey’s or something, cause every single shot this week has been Bailey’s.
Posted on 6 December '08 by Lee McKusick, under Uncategorized. No Comments.
2:26 pm - Swimming with Stingrays was cancelled because the cove was too choppy. =(
Instead, we did some shopping, got a tour of the island, visited the Tortuga Rum Cake factory, went to the Turtle farrm…
…went to Hell…
Welcome to Hell.
…then headed back.
5:18 - Just left Grand Cayman. Awesome place. Best island out of the three so far. Dad wants to move down here…
Interesting thing is, they’re very strict about who they let in; you have to be married to a Caymanian, there on a work permit, or rich enough to prove that you’ll never ask for a cent of government assistance, otherwise, they deport you. Because of this, there’s virtually no crime.
8:43 - Waiting for the show to start in about 15 minutes. Just got done with a Rock Band competition. Only lasted a half-hour, and only played one song, but it was fun. We should totally have more Rock Band parties…Hmm…Small group after-event! Speaking of which, I wonder what the latest is on that…no! Must not think about anything responsibility-related!
Ship’s rocking again. Odd, because when we left, the sea was pretty calm. As long as I get to swim with dolphins in Cozumel tomorrow, I’ll be happy. I definitely want to check that off my list.
Anyway, show’s about to start…
10:04 - Show was cool. It was a fairy tale-themed performance, with a lot of modern songs built in (i.e. “You’re So Vain” for Snow White’s Queen [random thought: did Disney create the name Maleficent for her or was it preexisting?])
Pizza time, then probably gonna go back and read for a bit, then sleep. Throat’s a little rough, so I’ve taken massive amounts of vitamin C, and am probably gonna call it a night. I am NOT getting sick. Not for the next two days, anyway.
Posted on 3 December '08 by Lee McKusick, under Fun, Life. No Comments.
11:00am - Rain.
On the plus side, I probably won’t be getting sunburned further today.
Probably gonna get off, just to say I’ve been to Jamaica, but likely won’t stay long.
12:54pm - So, Jamaica wasn’t overly impressive in my book. I mean, it was cloudy and ouring rain while we were off the boat, but once we got wet, we didn’t really care about that anymore. We checked out the Jamaican Bobsled Cafe, Margaritaville, and did some souvenir shopping, but beyond that, I can’t say that I liked it, or would go back.
Let me tell you, the roads? Nuts. For one, they drive on the left, which would throw me for a loop. For another, the streets are total zoos! It’ll be hard for me to complain about New England drivers once I get back. I’ll still do it, of course, but at least it’ll be tougher…
The boat’s got a pretty good sway to it, and has since we left port. So far, we’ve had pretty calm seas and smooth sailing, but now the movement is definitely noticeable, which made the “Dancing Like The Stars” event an interesting time…
It was great though; they had the ship’s band playing Big Band music, and a quick swing class and everything. Tons of fun. After that was the “Dancing Under The Stars”, which was supposed to be on deck, but ended up being mroe of an “under the ceiling” affair. The wind outside is insane, especially on the top decks.
Ended up being a hero though (at least in my own mind). We were doing the Electric Slide, and the ship must have hit a good wave or something, cause it came down hard on one side, and this older lady toppled, but I caught her. She was fine. Where’s my medal?! =P
The Lava Flow (like a strawberry-banana pina colada) was delicious. I like being inebriated enough to complement and unlock parts of my personality that don’t usually come out, but not enough to affect my motor skills or thought processes. In other words, I’m glad I’m a silly drunk.
Drink of the Day: Terrific Tuesday (Bacardi rum, sweet & sour mix, grenadine) - SImple, tasty, but didn’t go well with the superb lamb we had for dinner.
Shot of the Day
- 1/2 Butterscotch Schnapps
- 1/2 Bailey’s
Irish creme is my favorite liqueor, and I love butterscotch, so this was great.
Posted on 18 November '08 by Lee McKusick, under Fun, Life. No Comments.
7:39 PM - Ow, ouch, OOH! @&%#! Sunburn!
Today, I laid on a Haitian beach and did nothing. It was fantastic…
So today we arrived in Labadee, Haiti, a portion of the island that is owned by Royal Caribbean. That being the case, you didn’t see quite the natural culture found in other parts of the island, but it was still really cool to set foot on foreign soil (and sorry to Canada, or U.S. North, but you don’t really count…).
So yeah, Labadee involved a lot of sunbathing, some swimming, some shopping, some eating, some cooking (of my own flesh), and was generally a relaxing time. The Haitian Flea Market they had was interesting. For one all the guys would be like “Sir, let me show you something.” For another, they all had the same stuff. They all had the same wood-carved jewelry box (basically all of it was wood-carved) that said Haiti on it, the same tribal masks, etc. I eventually ended up getting a necklace that I don’t think was made in Haiti, but was still cool.
8:58 - OK, so I’ve come to a conclusion: cruises are a horrible idea for single nightowls. As I said before, days are great and sailing the Caribbean is awesome. But unless you have a companion, you’re shit out of luck for a dance partner, or anyone to share any sort of romantic moments with. In short, nights fricking suck. There’s only so much stargazing a guy can do alone.
9:26 - Great. Now I get kicked off the deck at the front ’cause they’re closing the heli deck. It’s not even windy… Wonderful.
9:31 - As I’ve said before elsewhere, it’s not easy to make me angry. In fact, I’m an extremely patient person. But right now, I’m fuming.
…
…
I’m not even sure what I’m mad at.
I think deep down I’m pissed at everyone who’s having a good time. Sure, I’m happy for them and all, but everytime I see a couple dancing, or holding hands, or laughing or something, I can’t help but flare up with a tinge of…jealousy, I suppose.
I think I’m going to go hang out in the coffee shop and read for a while. I’ve heard the coconut coffee is really good.
11:49 - So the coffee was really good. The night’s gotten better to. They had a big “Dancing in the Streets” dance party out on the Royal Promenade, which, although disco isn’t really my scene, was fun. Now I’m sitting in the theatre waiting for the late-night comedy show to start. Hopefully will be funny; the guy’s been on the Tonight Show 11 times. Could use a good laugh…
1:33 - Yeah, he was funny. Not the best by any means, but got a few chuckles and guffaws.
Good night!
We’re in Montego Bay, Jamaica tomorrow. Got nothing planned, so I think we’ll be checking out the town.
Drink of the Day: Marvelous Monday (Sex on the Beach)
Shot of the Day: Italian Stallion
1/2 Frangelica
1/2 Bailey’s Irish Creme
Posted on 17 November '08 by Lee McKusick, under Fun, Life. 1 Comment.
