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Dhsu

By Dhsu,
in General Discussion

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DarkeSword Community Regular

DarkeSword

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Yes well, as some people may have noticed, I've shown up again in the Judges' Decisions forum.

Many of you probably don't know this, but I didn't leave the panel at the beginning of the year for entirely the same reasons I quit being a moderator.

At the beginning of last year, 2006, I graduated from college with a BS in Electronics Engineering. I did a job hunt for a while and eventually ended up taking a job as an instrument and controls technician at a nuclear power plant that summer. The job ended up being a big disconnect from the different kinds of things I'd done in school and was eating up a lot of my time in terms of commute and shift work (I did 12 hour night-shifts 7 days a week for the entire month of October). That, coupled with some personal issues with some very important people in my life, was putting a lot of stress on me, and causing a great deal of frustration, both personally and professionally.

I'd been "out of it" for a while, and I'd felt like the quality of my judging was taking a hit. That wasn't fair to the artists being judged; if I wasn't confident in my own decisions, was I qualified to make them?

When the proverbial shit hit the fan in January, I'd had just about enough of all the bullshit I'd had to put up with as a mod; the last thing I needed in my life was more stress. OCR was supposed to be something I enjoyed, not something to get pissed off over. So when I quit being a mod, I'd decided it was a good opportunity to make a complete break from the site.

Things have been getting better. I recently changed jobs; I work as an engineer at a laser diode company, which is very rewarding and exciting. Personal stuff has taken a turn for the better as well.

Larry asked me a few nights ago on IRC if I'd be interested in helping out a bit, as there's a big backlog in the queue. I said I'd think about it; last night I let him know that I'd be willing to hop back on to help out.

Being "away" from the site has been very beneficial. When you're a judge and a mod, you tend to view everything in a much more critical light. Taking a long break from that helps to refocus a little.

As far as things stand now, my time on the panel is temporary, but for an indefinite amount of time; I don't know if I want to make OCR into a big priority for me again. But for the time being, it's good to be back.

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