So it’s been quite awhile since I’ve gotten around to posting anything here, which I blame partly on graduating and all the fun and change that happens with it.  Luckily, I’m able to keep this site and maintain it for the foreseeable future despite no longer attending Stony Brook as a student, not a bad deal =).

So What’s Up?

In December I graduated with my MS in Computer Science.  Both my BS and MS was no easy chore (often I felt that getting my BS was “BS”) but definitely a rewarding experience for me.  It’s been about 6 months since then and I can only hope that the lessons I’ve learned and the friends and acquaintances I’ve made stay with me as long as the memories will.

After graduation I accepted a full-time job with IBM, a company I couldn’t be more excited to work for, as a Product Engineer for the z Systems mainframe.  I had been interning in this area before, and was excited to be taking a more direct role in the day-to-day challenges and rewards of supporting such integral machines around the world.

Being in the “real world” has been both thrilling and terrifying, much like I thought it would be.  While I had been “responsible” for my finances for years, the game changed when the government was no longer helping me pay rent, and scholarships weren’t footing the dinner bill.  So while I’m slowly learning the ins and outs of organizing expenses, living within my means, and even doing a little bit of saving, I also enjoy the freedom of being able to make purchases and investments that weren’t possible until now.  Certainly not least among these is a new car (sadly a necessary purchase after my faithful 2000 Camry 5-speed took an early retirement) and fun little gadgets such as my Chromebook, new tablet (for work of course…), and some equipment I intend to tinker with to make a fun (and awesome) home entertainment setup.

So long story short, I’m onto the next phase, and loving *almost* every minute of it, but still enjoying fooling around with technology, trying new things, and hopefully continuing to learn each and every day.  Until next time…