2+ Weeks and PC Finally Unpacked; Managed DirectX

You know, trying to efficiently and cheaply handle a move is harder than a 15-year-old Amish kid at a strip club. We've had our stuff in our new apartment since the evening of February 3, and I barely got my home PC set up last night. Last night. Of course, the batteries for my wireless keyboard and mouse died, so I can't use it yet...and the desk that we brought (which was my wife's) is 3 inches too short for me to sit at comfortably...

I think that part of the reason for the delay is that I haven't had the drive to unpack when I've been getting home. I've been putting my all into my job here at Ritual, trying to prove that I can do more than my job title. I participated in a company-wide gamejam this last weekend as a developer, I've passed on lessons learned from major internationalization FUBAR's made in the past...heck, I've even acted as a bullet point for interviewees. ("Yes, he use to work for Microsoft." "Oooooh." "And over here, we have free pop." "Oooooh.")

Even my wife has noticed that when I get home at night, I'm much more "mellow" than I used to be. Personally, I think that's a good thing. When I'm here, I don't have to restrain myself. If I want to E-mail around pictures of Margaret Thatcher on a cold day, I can. If I want to tell a joke that these recent female teacher/male student sex scandals are further proof that women shouldn't be allowed into the Catholic priesthood because they're expressing interest in 12-year-old boys and the priesthood doesn't like the competition, I can. The core tenet here is "be yourself and be successful." Because I can let loose at work, when I get home, I'm much more balanced. Working here is the legal equivalent of smoking pot. When I get home, I feel relaxed and I've got a bad case of the munchies.

Fact of the matter is that coming to Ritual is the best thing that ever happened to me. While it may reduce my involvement with computing outside of work to playing a game here or there, I feel that the contributions that I can make to this company and the industry will far outweigh any consequences.

Later this week, I'm hoping to share some of my experiences in writing games using Managed DirectX.