steve kwan user experience designer

The Life and Times of Steve Kwan

(May 12th, 2004)

So I've been thinking (and as you all know, that's a recipe for disaster)...is my life what I want it to be? Now, there's no question in my mind that I'm doing exactly what I've always wanted to be doing with my life. I'm a computer programmer and I'm continuing my education at BCIT. This is the way I'd always envisioned I would live my professional life. But now that I'm living it, I'm no longer sure that it's what I want. The combined stresses of work and school are getting so intense that I'm having to rethink the way I live my life.

As of this moment, it's almost 6:30AM and I'm sitting at my work desk. Yes, this is a bit early to be at work, but Christopher is demo'ing our software to prospective clients at Harvard University, and this is such an important opportunity that I offered to get in to work early (this way, Christopher can call me in the case of an emergency). Now, it's worth mentioning that Christopher didn't ask me to come in this early - it was completely voluntary - but this is a perfect example of my work life. I have a high stress, high demand workload, and quite frankly, I'm not paid enough to live like this.

Additionally, it seems that a large portion of my paycheck is going back to BCIT. I'm currently taking two courses at BCIT, and the combined cost of those two (including textbooks) came to around $1,300! While the courses aren't a ton of work, they're enough to keep me busy during most of my so-called "free time." The hardest thing about taking classes while working, in my opinion, is the division of attention. Even if the courseloads aren't intense, the act of having to divide your attention between school and work makes life much more difficult.

The other day, I snapped at my roommate in a manner that I don't think is befitting of my attitude. Granted, as you've all seen, he's a nutjob...but I still think that the stresses of work and school are getting to me. Maybe I need to come up with a new plan, or a better structure for my life.