Needless to say, this week was one catastrophy followed by another at work. Laptops fell apart, servers crashed with hardware errors, users frantic with misbehaving programs, and a slew of other issues decided to unleash themselves on our poor under-staffed IT dept.

Not to mention the fact that my USB memory stick has disappeared, yet AGAIN. This time not necessarily through my fault, as we had a Dell/Unisys repair tech out at our site at the time of disappearance. Although I'm not pointing fingers just yet, the circumstantial evidence and corraborated eye-witness accounts are highly suspicious. The situation is further complicated by the fact that CT and Unisys just started a partnership, and I really do not want to be the person to start off the partnership on the wrong foot. I've tried conveying this fact to our CEO, and he was concerned enough to authorize CT to replace my memory stick if I'm unable to locate it in the next couple of days, since it was lost in the line of duty. It was never my intention to trouble CT (they've been really good to me) about this, but technically speaking, it seems to be the correct course of action. I'll just have to make it up to the CEO somehow for granting me this favor. Like fix his home computers some more or something. . . :P

Meanwhile, my revised MCSE plans have been approved by Bill at the end of Friday, so it looks like I've written off my social life for the next ten months. :P But I guess that's okay. . . since YanYan's not here, I'm not really inclined to go do anything anyways. I've drifted further apart from the ACM group over the past several months than I would like, and at this point I have even less time to repair that breach. Probably the only thing I'll have time for is my hockey games on Thurs nights. . . and the plan to start Tae Kwon Do at Jason's (VP of Professional Services) dojo is now effectively delayed until I complete my MCSE. . .

Its going to be an interesting ten months. . . but if it works out. . . I'll be in a much stronger position professionally speaking.

Meanwhile, after a decent performance review at work (and an unrelated issuance of an award for Outstanding Service from the VP of Professional Services), I'm prepping my training schedule for attaining the coveted MCSE. Its still awaiting management approval, but I think its a pretty aggressive plan, with very little room for errors. The idea is I will pursue the core objectives and attain the basic MCSE by May, but diversify and secure the MCSE:Messaging (for Exchange) certification by June, and finish off with MCSE:Security by July. At the same time I would've accomplished the MCSA/M/S levels as well as the Security+ certification. I will accomplish in six months what I have been trying to do for the past two years.

Its a bold plan. . . a aggressive plan. . . and dammit. . . it is going to go forward as planned. Although I had planned to start next Monday, it may be pushed back to the Monday after that due to management approval. Minor setback, surely, but one I intend to make up.

So I've resigned myself to stay up for the next several hours (maybe with a nap or two) and then board the flight, and then spend about half a day at work before heading home and recoup.

A quick recount on the trip. . .

On Wedensday we managed to skirt through Texas and get past Little Rock, Ark. before calling it a night. The original plan was to get to Memphis before doing so, but we left about an hour later than I had hoped. Thursday we trekked through Tennenesse and up through Virginia, stopping at Roanoke as I had hoped. By this time my annoying allergies had deteriorated to a flu. Finally on Friday we rolled through West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and at last, New York. We got to Albany at about 2000 or so, spent about sixty minutes getting into a minor arguement with each other (we were both pretty tired and worn at the edges by this point), spent another sixty minutes looking for a place to stay, and finally ate dinner at about 2300. We wouldn't have made it without tag teaming on the drive part. . . I would've been dead tired if I was driving by myself.

Saturday found us exploring Troy trying to find a apartment that YanYan could move into immediately. It was pretty bleak until we happened across this place next to Renesselar Polytechnic Institute (RPI) which was owned by a friendly Dock Master down at the Empire State Plaza. The place looked old, and have obviously had work done on it over the years, but it was better than all the other places we looked at that day, and at least the price was agreeable. We got her moved in and settled by that night, and at least my flu stablized. Unfortunately we weren't able to find a car for her at all, although one looked very promising, the price was a tad bit higher than she anticipated. If nothing else comes up by end of Monday, she'll probably end up getting it anyways.

So as I sit here in Newark Airport's Gate 91, and watching the snow blowing outside, I find myself quite. . . alone. Its going to take a while before I'm used to not having YanYan next to me. . . close by enough for a hug or a tickle fight. Nobody to snuggle up to at nights. *sigh*. . .

I'm still mapping out the exact route we're going to take, and trying decided if risking the snowy mountain paths is worth saving the extra four hours if I went on the safer path. Cliff will be bringing some maps in tomorrow from the times he made his trip from NY down to Austin, so that should provide some helpful insight. 2000+ miles in 2.5-3 days worth of driving time. It'll be tough, but I think we can pull through.

Speaking of which. . . I should look at getting a power inverter so we can plug our laptops in the U-Haul and so the passenger can watch DVDs or do something while on the road and help pass the time. I'm not advocating (nor will I attempt to) watch DVDs while driving, but having the noise should prevent me from falling asleep. Hmm. . . *maniacal laughter ensues*. . .

*sigh*. . . while I'm happy that she found something. . . I'm also very aware that the coming months will be very critical for both of us. I only hope that both of us can withstand the test of time (and distance). . .

Its a matter that both of us have been discussing for the past couple of weeks. . . and while I'm trying to be strong and advocate the advantages this will offer her career, the sadness in her eyes constantly challenge my will to help her achieve her full potential. . .

Operation Unification thus hinges at a critical juncture. . . of the best laid plans of mice and men, the meandering river of reality easily washes it all away. . .