I spent some time thinking about it in the car this morning. If I count the time I spent working through the co-op system, I can say that I’ve been working in the tech industry for about eight years. Kind of crazy. I’ve been fortunate enough to work with companies that have a great workflow. I have a sense of how a great software development workflow should probably go. So, as I’m going along if I see something that’s so obviously off-the-rails shouldn’t I speak up? I mean, I’m not saying that I’m perfect in my procedures, but when things are getting into train wreck territory something has to be done.
Monthly Archive: August 2011
Duck pizza
There are moments when I wish I could just eat pizza as freely.
How not to ask for advice
Yeah…upon asking for help, don’t ignore my advice and insult me on my knowledge after the fact. Rather rude.
Functioning socially
I have to make a small admission here. Yesterday’s wedding was the first one I’ve been to as an adult. Seems like some people are always going to weddings every other weekend during the summer. It’s just not the case for me. Most of my friends are unmarried. Some got married at some far-flung destination. Hmm…or maybe I’m just not that popular. Heh. No matter. I was more than happy to have been invited yesterday. As you read yesterday, I arrived a bit late. When I arrived at the venue I had to run around the basement looking for the room in question. The place is known for weddings because it’s so beautiful, and at the time there were two other ceremonies going on. By chance I ran into the bride. I was glad to see her! So beautiful. I realized that things had already started. I was about to rush in, but was stopped. That’s when I realized…DUH. I waited for the bride to enter, and that’s when I was let in. Can you imagine that faux pas? Geez. The ceremony was beautiful. I could feel the presence of a lot of warmth and love in the room. I was on the verge of having an emo breakdown; I had to keep myself in check.
When it ended we all filed out. I was looking at the crowd and immediately my introverted instincts started kicking in. I decided to duck right out and head for the hotel. From there, I had about an hour to myself to prep for the reception. I had to make a decision. The couple had chartered a double decker bus as a shuttle from the hotel to the reception venue. If I took it, I would be “trapped” at the venue until about midnight. If I drove in, I’d be able to leave at will, but wouldn’t be able to enjoy the open bar. In the end I took the shuttle to prove to myself that I’m capable of being social. When we arrived at the venue, wow, I was awed at how beautiful the place was. I was able to link up with one other person that I went to university with. From him, I was able to meet some of his and the groom’s soccer teammates and their wives. Conversation flowed easily. I know very well that I’m a social animal. I just need to get over my fear of not being accepted. Over dinner I sat with some other people and again my friendly nature made conversing easy. Although…honestly…I’m sure the alcohol helped make things a little easier. I drank a fair number of gin and tonics. There wasn’t any point where I felt out of place. Compare and contrast that with my experience at my graduation ball. It could be an effect of my maturing. It might also be the case that at the wedding we all had a common interest in celebrating the new couple. Whatever the case, despite worrying about it I was able to function awesomely. Progress, this is!
Technology and good planning
Prior to heading to Niagara-on-the-Lake I checked the directions on Google Maps. It said the journey would take only 2 hours or so. Fine, right? I gave myself about half an hour of buffer time just in case. When I got to my car I plugged my destination into Google Navigation on my phone. Accounting for traffic it told me that it would take 2 and a half hours. Lucky thing that I gave myself that buffer time. Around the Burlington area traffic slowed down to a crawl. I noticed that the estimate on my phone started creeping up. Instead of an ETA of 2:51 p.m. it increased to 3:12. I did manage to catch up a little bit once things cleared up, but still. Goes to show that technology is great but you still need to have some good planning in place.
Will provide some thoughts on the wedding tomorrow.
Liking the commute
I kind of like my commute home. Yes, it’s kind of long, though 25 minutes one way is rather average for Toronto according to this study. It’s certainly not as long as the commute others make to get from the city to a far-flung suburb. I don’t know how people put up with 1-2 hour commutes. My mom used to make that journey to a mid-town hospital from our suburban home day after day. I’ve accompanied her on that trip a few times. They were long, but since she went ridiculously early it wasn’t too stressful. Still, that’s a lost hour multiplied by 2. Nasty.
Back when I worked downtown, I took a subway and a streetcar in. Door to door took me about 50 minutes. Again, that’s about average for a trip via transit according to the article. How did I manage? Well, I slept a lot. My time on the train allowed me to take naps leaving me somewhat refreshed. Still, there were a few times where some train incidents caused some major headaches. Hard to not feel angry when you’re at the mercy of the system, right? At least with driving I have a bit more control over what route I can take.
Ah, so that brings me to today. The route I usually take is straightforward but slow. It may be be slow, but it’s also predictable. Yesterday I was slowed down a bit with construction blocking one lane causing everyone to have to squeeze together. Bad. So, today before I got to the construction zone I thought I’d take the Don Valley Parkway down. The DVP is notorious for bad traffic, but I figured that most traffic would be heading out of the city whereas I’d be heading in. Against the flow of traffic, right? Well, as soon as I got on it became apparent that it wasn’t the case. No matter how you cut it, rush hour is nasty on that route. It was stop and go most of the way home. My 25 minute commute ballooned to 50 minutes. I was going to go crazy. So, yeah, 25 minutes is not bad at all. I’m thankful I don’t have to go much farther. My time is valuable, and if I’m going to waste it I’m going to do so on my terms.
Bit of wanderlust
I’ve been out of school for a long time; it’s been five years now as a matter of fact. All the same, I think that I’m sort of experiencing the same kind of summer lull that I would have experienced way back when. There’s a bit of laziness and a desire for inertia that’s battling the parts of me that wants to stay busy. And those of you that know me well know that the busy part of me has a rather strong voice. That voice is why I occupy myself with many activities and why I work hard to excel in each one (success is a different matter). So the whole fatigue thing must be pretty strong if I’m feeling it acutely.
I wonder, how much of the desire is due to burn out? How much of it is due to the season? I characteristically prefer fall and winter over these hot months, but lately I’ve rather enjoyed seeing the sun and feeling the heat on my skin. I almost want to just take a day off and head for the Toronto Islands just to lounge around. It’s odd! I want to just get away for a while. I want to take a road trip–even if it’s just a day trip. Wanderlust? Is that what this is? I’m not necessarily wanting to go far away…I think I just need new stimuli. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy routine, and I like having that bit of stability. Still, there’s a need that’s not being addressed.
I’ll figure this all out. Just need some time…away…preferably…
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