I work as a computer programmer for CITES, a.k.a. Campus Information Technologies and Educational Services, at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. I do various and sundry web-related programming, mostly in Java and Perl these days, and web server management stuff. Some of the stuff is behind the scenes CITES management type programs (maintaining databases of various sorts, and their interfaces) and some of it the public actually sees (development and customization of various web-based tools, some for general internet happiness and some for more mundane and droll tasks such as doing homework on line).

When it comes right down to it, I go to a lot of meetings and convert caffeine into code in a cube farm.

My two main peeves about work are (1) most of the people I work with these days are in another building so I spend lots of time hiking/biking/busing around to said meetings constantly, and (2) the physical deficiencies of the building I work in. Namely, I have no windows. None. At all. No sun, no sense of passing time, no sense of weather, none. The building also lacks hot running water, which hurts the hands in winter (the bathroom - and it's often gross during the school year - is down the hall right next to the doors to the outside). While all of CITES will be moving into a single building in about a year and few months, which will solve peeve #1, and rumor has it that I'll have my own office at that point, there is no word yet on a window. I will have hot water. I gotta say, though, that I do like the location of this building, which is right across from the large bookstacks building with all the old magazines I love to read, only a block and a half from the main quadrangle, and close to coffee. I'll miss that aspect of things when the big move happens. I will definitely not miss sharing a building with the military and various sports camps. Shouting. Lots of shouting. Lots of marching. Loudly. Basketballs, thumping on the walls. Mmmm.

I do like the content of my work, quite a lot. I get paid for experimenting and doing things that I find interesting, and I get to learn things from cool people.