There’s a long list of things going through my mind. Heh, wonder if I can finish spouting them all out in one breath (or one post in this instance). It’s strange how when people ask, how you’ve been or if anything is new, and all I can manage is that things are the usual, boring, bland ways they are. It’s just that I’ve always automatically accepted that no one would be keen to hear what I have to say, or maybe I’m just too indifferent to explain the nuisances of it all.

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I’ve been preoccupied with work. Lots of programming going on, and lately it’s extensively in VBA for Excel. Learning to program is very much like writing an essay. First you need to learn syntax, and you write clunky sentences to begin with and with each iteration of your self expression, you start to write slightly more elegant code. Then the next thing when you take off your training wheels, is to find a topic to express yourself in. I’ve needed to rework one of my work processes, so the whole idea was conceptualised from scratch and after 2 weeks, I have a program that at a push of a button, does something in under 30 seconds what used to take me about 5 minutes each day to perform.

Heh, besides the time saving, the program was built to be scalable so everytime I needed to add currencies or portfolios, it was just a matter of adding a line on a sheet in Excel, and no dabbling in code (or very little of it). This was one of the reasons I embarked on this project to improve on existing processes.

This is probably how I’ve operated for a while at work. I’d do something repetitive until I got sick and tired of it, and built my own spreadsheets and processes to address the issues. It’s been a couple of years now at work, and I feel I have made significant improvements in my programming skills. Heh, my programming style still has rough edges, but it’s becoming more useful now as I find it easier to navigate myself out of problems and make things work.

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All that programming has led me to take an interest in Linux again, and specifically, the Asus Eee PC. It is a subnotebook device, practically half the size of the laptop I’m typing this article on (which is a 12″ widescreen, to give you an idea). It is enticing in the reason that it’s reasonably affordable, and a full powered computer. It’s just as fast as the laptop I got in 2000, and with the write software (non Windows bloat), you can get things to run pretty snappily on older hardware.

I’ve more keen to find useful things to write programs for. The problem is that usually if there’s something you need done, someone has already written it, and it’s usually available as freeware to be used by anyone and everyone.

I am really tempted to plonk down $370 for an Eee PC, a memory module and an SD card for additional storage, just so I can play around with it. Heh, but I have plenty of computers as it is, and I need to find an alternative method of testing something new. The biggest reason that’s holding me back is the crappy resolution of the device. I’ve tried resizing my browser to fit those dimensions, and most stuff online isn’t really readable without scrolling left and right just to see the contents.

Heh, I know I’ve paid more for lesser things, but I think I’ll hold out for the next generation of this device, just like I’m holding out for a 3G iPhone. Yes, in most eyes, they are like expensive ‘toys’ but having the Internet at your fingertips whereever you are is really, really useful. So I’ll just wait and see, I have a couple of months left in the US to take advantage of the ‘cheaper’ prices. Australia, without the mass market of the US, ensure that items cost more, even with the superior currency exchange the Aussie dollar has.

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So speaking of my remaining 2 months, heh. I have managed to survive nearly a year on my own. I’ve met people and do have a few friends, including my colleagues, but life isn’t quite the same in some far off land where you are in a different time zone to your friends and family you have been so close to all these years. If I was a little stronger in my self belief, I might have taken more advantage of what NYC has to offer. I will definitely be experiencing as much of it as I can before I leave. I have picked up a different kind of culture here, and the energy the city gives a person. I have experienced the absurd weather at times, where flash floods have brought the subway system (which happens to celebrate its 100th year today, and everyone got to travel free for one day) to a halt as well as cause underground pipes to explode and heavy snowstorms as well.

It’s been a tough year, but as my stint overseas is drawing to an end, there’s more to look forward to once I return to Melbourne. I’m not too sure about work, but there will still be things I can contribute to when I’m back.

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So it’s just a tiny peek at my mind, wondering about different things. There’s still plenty going on but as usual, it’s always pass my proper bed time. Heh, back to slogging at work in another 7 hours or so.