Off to Wellington

In about ten minutes I jump on a flight down to Wellington for a job interview. Spent the last couple of days on a case study optimising a ceramics factory for them. Wish me luck, will let everybody know how it went later in the day.

****

So the interveiw went well. Will be getting a call back next week. Also got to spend a couple of hours wandering aound wellington. Its a very pretty city, if a little cold.

What's in a name?

I've been asked a couple of times why the name BoredMormon.

The story starts a long time ago. Before the days of face book, when only computer nerds had usb sticks and dialup still made you cool. It happened pretty much where I'm sitting now, maybe even the same chair. I'd just started uni, and was very proud of my degree. I went by the screen name of biochemengine, very creative. This is his story.

 

****

biochemengine spent his time wandering around gaming sites, chatrooms and forums. Essentially anything that promised to kill some time. Google provided lots of interesting diversions. But googling 'mormon' is not for the faint hearted. Hundreds of websites exist solely to attack church doctrine and practice.

For a while biochemengine just listened to what was being said. Occasionally he would participate in discussions. Then someone started a new thread about the Mormon church. 'This is my chance,' he thought and jumped in feet first. There was lots of work to do, correcting misinterpretations, explaining church doctrine and exposing blatant lies. People were learning. He was being a missionary.

'Which ward and stake are you in?'

The question cut biochemengine to the core. What sort of missionary was he, hiding his identity to convert people? Ultimately it was dishonesty, and Mormons don't do dishonest. From that moment biochemengine disappeared. In his place came BoredMormon, vowing never again to hide his true identity. And the work to convert the internet continued.

***

Since then I've served a mission, and came back older and wiser. Now I realise I was wasting my time trying to convert strangers over the internet. But the name remains as a reminder never to hide who I am.

Waters of Sebus

Its been a long time since I've worked on any of my writing. Between university and Jade I've been kept pretty busy.

To help me get remotivated I've posted the beginning of Waters of Sebus. I hope you enjoy. Feel free to comment on it as well.

BM out

Uncle Dave

Uncle Dave passed away last night at about ten O'clock. The funeral is being planned for thursday. Family are all doing okay. It was expected, he has been battling cancer for some months now. When he went into hospital about a week ago they told his family he wasn't coming out. We weren't close, but I feel for his family.

Book of mormon for toddlers

One of the guys in our ward has written this set of books for children. We've got the first one for Jade. She loves them. Great for church.

Was going to be about acrobatics

Don't get me wrong, watching Mercurio and Aaron try and out do each other with back flips was awesome. Tranquilo gave me some good one-on-one training. Even picked up some good tips for balance and strength from the girls.


But on the way home I got a text from my wife asking if Poppa could come stay with us for a little while. We spent the night helping him to the bathroom and back. Listening to his breathing was scary.

Yesturday Mum took him in to hospital. Today we found out he has pneumonia in one of his lungs. He's still in hospital, but looks like he will be okay for now.

Unfortunately at ninety years old its just a matter of time.

Life on the cutting edge.

I originally decided to study science to be working on the cutting edge. To play with the latest gadgets and technology. To always be working with something new.

Today I'm living that dream.

My final project to complete my degree is the CRFC. I'm not going to bore you with the details of how it works. Lets just say its job is to purify proteins. My supervisors job is to sell the technology for lots of money. My job is to make it work. Easier said then done.

For the last six weeks I've been playing with various combinations of pumps, valves and flowmeters. First it was to high. Then to low. Then one of the pumps decided to run backwards. I've had so many leaks that the wet floor sign is a permanant fixture next to my chair.

Today I finally started looking at the CRFC itself. Its now been running for four hours. Last time I left it on its own it burst a hose. There is no eating in the lab, so I'm hungry. And there is still no protein.

Next time I'll choose a career that involves gadgets that work.