So in addition to work, school and home life, I’ve also been spending some time in the Open Source community in the last few months. I’m quite happy to say that I haven’t had Windows on my personal computer since last September, and while there were a few bumps along the way, I’m very happy with my shiny Kubuntu 6.10 Linux operating system and all free software applications. I’ve been doing all of my school work using free software, and submitting all my assignments in Microsoft compatible document formats for months and haven’t had a problem with it from any instructors.

On the school side, I’m holding straight A’s so far, and have almost reached the half-way mark towards my associates degree. Unless I take an extended leave in the next year, I should be graduating with my first degree in June of 2008. It’s a good amount of work to keep up with, but I feel I’m learning quite a bit. It’s also changed my attitudes and behaviors a bit. It was during my second class that I wrote a paper on open source software, which piqued my interest so much that I decided to try it out myself. I also find myself reading local, national, and international news on a daily basis, and participating a lot more in government by writing letters and actually voting for the second time since high school.

I certainly didn’t expect this from school – I started this just to get the paper on the wall to open up career options. Turns out this education stuff is actually useful. Who would have thunk it?