Week 1, Day 2

Greetings,

2nd day of the first week. It was interesting in class. We spoke briefly about the construction of our own blogs, which led to the making of my first. Titled Murphy's Blog 3 (to be renamed at the end of term), it is meant to be a direct line of communication between my colleauges.

We also were asked to visit Salary.com to research the earning potential in a chosen field. I found one of particular interest that sounds very promising. The title was User Liason. What was intriguing was the level of interaction between the liason and other personnel, ensuring that the customer's needs were being met. That has been what I'd been envisoning I'd be doing for some time.

Now mind you, the site states typically people are looking for at least a bachelor's degree, but I would like to think I've been around computers long enough outside of school to know what I'm doing. Experience weighs more than training, as they equate to muscle and fat. And typical annual salaries started in the $50,000 range, and ended just shy of $70,000. Now that's a dream worth chasing!

Anyhow, I look back and think..."why wasn't I taking this bit seriously?" Perhaps I should make it a point to kick myself in the shins if I catch myself slacking in tomorrow's class. Until then, team.



- Madrak

(image at top: courtesy of salary.com, composited by the author)

First Run

Greetings! Just so you know, I prefer to use my old handle. So, Madrak Aetrus Arakeen, Duke of Dragonspire, at your service!

The real me, I'm a recovering hardcore gamer. I've been gaming since the days of the Atari 2600, and have a broad level of experience in several platforms. Presently, I own a PC, a PS2, and a GameCube with close to 70 titles so far. I also participate in Live-Action Role-Play as the head of the local chapter of Amtgard, a LARP society dedicated to bringing new life to the fantasy genre. It's there that my handle originated, and it stuck with me for 10 years.

I am a Computer User Support major at LCC, and have extensive knowledge of the technical end of the computing spectrum. But there is still more to learn, which is why I'm in college after all. I hope to graduate soon. Taking 3 years to learn what others take 2 to do is staggeringly slow.

I suppose that's because I am a family man. I have a wife and a lovely daughter. I also hold a part time job as a janitor at Courtsports in Springfield. So as you can see, I have quite a lot going on, and personally I'm suprised that I haven't become burnt out yet! It's tough, but that which I want, I must make time for.

Now for the name and persona behind the handle. Madrak Aetrus Arakeen began as a Palladium RPG character, Andrew Madrak. But it was too close to my real name, so I dropped the first name when I first joined Amtgard. Then I started to read Frank Herbert's Dune, and enjoyed it very much. Suddenly, it occured to me that I should add the last name in, after the desert planet featured in the book, Arakis.

A few years passed, and I left Amtgard in it's throes of scandal, taking more to online life, and joining the Draconian Empire, a combination gaming guild and roleplay society. Madrak Arakeen was later accepted into the house of Aetrus, and thus became who he is now. This is of course the short version, which doesn't even get into the nitty-gritty of the character's history and the events surrounding each event.

Thus my introduction complete, I shall withdraw and allow you to come to your own conclusions. Let us hope for Fate's good fortune as we continue into our term.

Your new colleague,

Madrak Aetrus Arakeen
Ranger of Night
Duke of Dragonspire, Draconian Empire

AKA Andrew
CUS Major
Lane Community College