Trent Polack's site for cats, games, game development, and undeniably powerful sociological insight all with a healthy dose of narcissism.
Moving, Finishing, Starting
Published on September 3, 2007 By mittens In Life Journals
So, I moved into my new apartment a couple of weeks ago off in a city about thirty-or-so miles from Ann Arbor. It's a one-bedroom apartment that is, quite frankly, about one bedroom larger than I really need, but at least that gives the cat some more room to wander and stalk invisible monsters. I'm in the middle of a huge furniture drought which proved a fairly daunting thing when I had my setup arranged in a logical state (bed in the bedroom, and I left my computer in the living room)... So I promptly redid things so that all my belongings were set in the living room to make the place feel a bit less barren. Now that I have things arranged to my liking, though, I absolutely love the place. It's quiet, I'm able to get eight-to-nine hours of sleep per night (which is taking some heavy adapting), and I don't have to consolidate my activities (programming, movies, sleeping, etc.) in blocks centered around other people not being present.

One of the odd things, though, is how much time I end up spending programming every night, though. I mean, I love doing it, that's never been a point of contention, but it's something I spend about 9-12 hours, five days a week doing at my job (which I am no longer an intern at but, rather, a real employee), so the fact that I not only enjoy doing graphics development in my spare time, but actively look forward to it is something that is tepidly mind-boggling to me. I suppose the fact that I'm doing this development in a different environment, while also solving issues that are of particular interest to me, and being able to switch tasks based on how I'm feeling while I'm working are all factors in the enjoyment, but it's still a smidgeon odd.

I think part of the reason for my new-found enjoyment of personal game development (I have a goal I'm working towards for this stuff, after all) is based on the fact that, for the first time, I'm actually looking to get settled in the "grander scheme" of things. I have one more class I have to finish up before I'm done being an acolyte of academia, and then, here I am, a single guy living "alone" for the most part in a new place. And, honestly, while I realize that I may not be doing much with my spare time outside of hanging around in my apartment reading, studying, working, gaming, and so forth, I'm actually kind of enjoying it. I'm truly embracing my inner-nerd (as of being a game developer and a habitual gamer didn't do that enough) and hermit, and it's been an incredibly relaxing experience thus far.

On a separate note, I realize what I felt to be a literary masterpiece of a review for Bioshock may not have been as well-received as readers were hoping. I don't think I'm going to be writing one but, rather, I will be doing one of them podcast things directly related to the game in the near future. More details about that when… Well, when I get them, I suppose.
Comments
on Sep 03, 2007

It's been my experience that moving,  even though it's usually wanted and almost always a change for the better,  is STILL an un-nerving event.

there's always the trying to decide where one wants things,  and then they get moved around again,  and there's the stumbling in the dark,  being used to a different layout..

Hope it works out for you and that you feel at home without too much homesickness or headaches!