Today was another of those freaky days where I vacillate between angry, frustrated, manic, funny, desperate, and beaten.
I feel better now (maybe because we are going to a pub for some post-Xmas drinks.
I am sure that tomorrow will be another roller coaster ride.
Tonight, I will do an hour's worth of work and then I am going to sit down and really lavish some attention on poor, old WWYG?!
JT has requested some commentary on last night's episodes of Lost and Alias. So maybe I'll do that . . . or maybe talk about my spasmodic cough, or maybe talk about my kids.
Over twenty-one (!?!) years of obviousness and nonsense.
Thursday, January 13, 2005
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Working at home
I sometimes really try to get work done at home . . . really I do.
It's just so hard, you know? You spend one-third of your day in a place trying to get something accomplished. Then you stop, start up the rest of your life, and somehow try to find time to get a bit of work squeezed in there as well? Too hard.
And some days of the week are better than others for extra-curricular work. Mondays is usually a good day to try, and I did accomplish a little bit last night. (Another problem I have is that I very often set too large a goal when I take stuff home.)
Tuesdays are not good. We have a weekly Bible study get together with old church friends and by the time we get home it is late and I am too tired.
Wednesdays is TV night: Lost, Alias, Smallville. I mean, come on, you can't work when that is going on!
Thursdays is a possible night for some work. I am a pretty faithful CSI viewer, so that makes it difficult.
Fridays is the one night of the week when you shouldn't at all feel guilty about not even considering work.
And all of these brief thoughts don't even take into consideration the kids, dinner, etc. By the time we get home, make dinner, eat dinner, and clean up after dinner, it is almost 7 pm. Then it is usually get the kids washed up, in pajamas, and a little bit of play time before we have to get them to bed. Ruth is down by approximately 7:30, but Ariel lingers until we can leave her in her room at about 8:30--after brushing teeth, reading stories, saying prayers, etc.
So, by the time all the parental duties are completed, it is about 8:30, or close to 9 pm. And good luck having energy and mental sharpness to do anything effective and meaningful at that point.
Weekends of course is another time to work, and we sometimes do. But Ariel doesn't take afternoon naps anymore, so there is no time when both kids are asleep and you can be sufficiently alone to concentrate. (Unless you let Ariel watch a movie or something.)
But, I try to find a little time during the week and weekend to do a bit of work. It makes me feel that I am giving extra effort to make the project get finished.
I don't want to work at home. It's not good for me or for my family. But sometimes I try.
It's just so hard, you know? You spend one-third of your day in a place trying to get something accomplished. Then you stop, start up the rest of your life, and somehow try to find time to get a bit of work squeezed in there as well? Too hard.
And some days of the week are better than others for extra-curricular work. Mondays is usually a good day to try, and I did accomplish a little bit last night. (Another problem I have is that I very often set too large a goal when I take stuff home.)
Tuesdays are not good. We have a weekly Bible study get together with old church friends and by the time we get home it is late and I am too tired.
Wednesdays is TV night: Lost, Alias, Smallville. I mean, come on, you can't work when that is going on!
Thursdays is a possible night for some work. I am a pretty faithful CSI viewer, so that makes it difficult.
Fridays is the one night of the week when you shouldn't at all feel guilty about not even considering work.
And all of these brief thoughts don't even take into consideration the kids, dinner, etc. By the time we get home, make dinner, eat dinner, and clean up after dinner, it is almost 7 pm. Then it is usually get the kids washed up, in pajamas, and a little bit of play time before we have to get them to bed. Ruth is down by approximately 7:30, but Ariel lingers until we can leave her in her room at about 8:30--after brushing teeth, reading stories, saying prayers, etc.
So, by the time all the parental duties are completed, it is about 8:30, or close to 9 pm. And good luck having energy and mental sharpness to do anything effective and meaningful at that point.
Weekends of course is another time to work, and we sometimes do. But Ariel doesn't take afternoon naps anymore, so there is no time when both kids are asleep and you can be sufficiently alone to concentrate. (Unless you let Ariel watch a movie or something.)
But, I try to find a little time during the week and weekend to do a bit of work. It makes me feel that I am giving extra effort to make the project get finished.
I don't want to work at home. It's not good for me or for my family. But sometimes I try.
Friday, January 07, 2005
Ariel a.k.a. Tigerlily
Work be damned! This story deserves a few moments of typing, reflection, and fatherly gushing.
Tegan was in Austin, TX the last day and a half for a work conference. So, I had the kids the last two nights. They were nearly perfect for me, so much so that I feel guilty that they aren't this way for T. when we are together. But, whatta ya gonna do?
Anyway, last night, as Tegan was traveling through Atlanta and then home, I got Ruth to bed and Ariel and I watched Peter Pan. We went to the library after I picked them up at the daycare and looked for the Disney animated version, but the library was out of those copies. But, I did find a A&E broadcast of a stage version starring Cathy Rigby. It is more true to Barrie's story than the Disney version, so I was a bit worried that it would be too real-world for her tender sensibilities. But I watched it with her.
We made popcorn and drank some Sunkist. It was cool. She especially liked Tigerlily, the Indian princess, who (in this play version) does some nifty dance/ballet moves in her short Native American outfit.
The funny part was when we stopped halfway to get her to sleep. We went upstairs, got on her pajamas, and "played" the parts for a few minutes before saying prayers and going to sleep. Her rendition of Tigerlily's dancing was adorable/hysterical.
Imagine a four-year-old trying to emulate the precise, quick moves of jazz/ballet/modern stage dancing. It is something cuter than Elaine's dancing on Seinfeld but with a similar, odd, jerkiness to it. Rest assured, it was a wonderful sight to behold, especially when you combine her dancing with the look of excitement and happiness (a little half-smile) on her face as she dances--knowing that I am slightly laughing as her as she does it.
It was great. I hope she does it again, and I dearly wish that she holds onto this fearless/unself-conscious pleasure as she grows up.
Tegan was in Austin, TX the last day and a half for a work conference. So, I had the kids the last two nights. They were nearly perfect for me, so much so that I feel guilty that they aren't this way for T. when we are together. But, whatta ya gonna do?
Anyway, last night, as Tegan was traveling through Atlanta and then home, I got Ruth to bed and Ariel and I watched Peter Pan. We went to the library after I picked them up at the daycare and looked for the Disney animated version, but the library was out of those copies. But, I did find a A&E broadcast of a stage version starring Cathy Rigby. It is more true to Barrie's story than the Disney version, so I was a bit worried that it would be too real-world for her tender sensibilities. But I watched it with her.
We made popcorn and drank some Sunkist. It was cool. She especially liked Tigerlily, the Indian princess, who (in this play version) does some nifty dance/ballet moves in her short Native American outfit.
The funny part was when we stopped halfway to get her to sleep. We went upstairs, got on her pajamas, and "played" the parts for a few minutes before saying prayers and going to sleep. Her rendition of Tigerlily's dancing was adorable/hysterical.
Imagine a four-year-old trying to emulate the precise, quick moves of jazz/ballet/modern stage dancing. It is something cuter than Elaine's dancing on Seinfeld but with a similar, odd, jerkiness to it. Rest assured, it was a wonderful sight to behold, especially when you combine her dancing with the look of excitement and happiness (a little half-smile) on her face as she dances--knowing that I am slightly laughing as her as she does it.
It was great. I hope she does it again, and I dearly wish that she holds onto this fearless/unself-conscious pleasure as she grows up.
Thursday, January 06, 2005
My "ER"day
Do you remember ER? That show about emergency room doctors that were all earnest and deep and performed superhuman feats of medical derring-do while simultaneously looking really, really good?
Do you remember how that show captivated the nation, back in those days where Friends was still on (and still worth watching), back before CSI dominated the drama? Back before J.J. Abrams and Aaron Sorkin were household names?
Well, if you remember any of that, then you might know something about what I am going to tell you about the day that I had yesterday. I call it my ER day.
Back when ER was good, back before helicopter rotors maimed doctors, back before every episode was a must-see ER event, back before Noah Wiley grew that crappy beard and was still a young actor . . . back when the show was captivating, it did it with rapid camera moves, rapid medical dialogue, tense soundtrack, and a tense situation.
I didn't have all of those things in my own ER day, but if you put a soundtrack on me and filmed me with a jerky-cam, and made me jump over a gurney or something while I went from one thing to another, then you might see why I am calling yesterday me ER day.
Work was a crisis. Things were not working out (mainly due to poor planning and some mistakes that I had made previously). So, I had to dig a way out of the immediate crisis and find a solution--STAT! With the help of other team members and the indulgence of many friends who didn't tell me to shut up and get it over with, the basic crisis was averted. A fix-it solution was cobbled together and it looks like the basic mistake is fixed.
There are (as my fellow bloggers could attest) more systemic, procedural problems that have NOT been solved at work, but we don't (in my judgment) have the luxury of trying to fix those now. We must simply get stuff done by deadline--whatever that deadline is today.
(Of course, being so rushed that we can't see past our own noses is the root of the systemic problem . . . one that doesn't seem to be getting any better.) But still . . . that is a problem for another day. Hopefully, we won't have many more ER days before we get to a solution to THAT!
[On a personal note, I would like to thank my coworkers for putting up with my problems yesterday. I remember your words of encouragement, friendly support, and your avoidance of telling me to stop being a general nuisance.]
Do you remember how that show captivated the nation, back in those days where Friends was still on (and still worth watching), back before CSI dominated the drama? Back before J.J. Abrams and Aaron Sorkin were household names?
Well, if you remember any of that, then you might know something about what I am going to tell you about the day that I had yesterday. I call it my ER day.
Back when ER was good, back before helicopter rotors maimed doctors, back before every episode was a must-see ER event, back before Noah Wiley grew that crappy beard and was still a young actor . . . back when the show was captivating, it did it with rapid camera moves, rapid medical dialogue, tense soundtrack, and a tense situation.
I didn't have all of those things in my own ER day, but if you put a soundtrack on me and filmed me with a jerky-cam, and made me jump over a gurney or something while I went from one thing to another, then you might see why I am calling yesterday me ER day.
Work was a crisis. Things were not working out (mainly due to poor planning and some mistakes that I had made previously). So, I had to dig a way out of the immediate crisis and find a solution--STAT! With the help of other team members and the indulgence of many friends who didn't tell me to shut up and get it over with, the basic crisis was averted. A fix-it solution was cobbled together and it looks like the basic mistake is fixed.
There are (as my fellow bloggers could attest) more systemic, procedural problems that have NOT been solved at work, but we don't (in my judgment) have the luxury of trying to fix those now. We must simply get stuff done by deadline--whatever that deadline is today.
(Of course, being so rushed that we can't see past our own noses is the root of the systemic problem . . . one that doesn't seem to be getting any better.) But still . . . that is a problem for another day. Hopefully, we won't have many more ER days before we get to a solution to THAT!
[On a personal note, I would like to thank my coworkers for putting up with my problems yesterday. I remember your words of encouragement, friendly support, and your avoidance of telling me to stop being a general nuisance.]
********
In more typical, if abbreviated WWYG fashion . . . Lost was middlin' fair (but the company was EXCELLENT) and Alias is back, in its old, confusing state! Wednesday nights rule!!!!!
Sunday, January 02, 2005
Anywhere, anytime
Well, I have this brief opportunity to hit a computer while out running errands and I want you to know that blogging can occur anywhere, anytime, as long as there is something to talk about.
My purpose? Dropping off Ariel's books at the library and picking up something on reserve for me. I hit the top floor to grab a computer for this entry while a nice young man is playing classical guitar in the library lobby below me. Ain't life grand sometimes?
What am I reading? Check the side column to see what I am attempting to read now.
You will see that I have taken Readers Block off . . . and that is because I am returning it to Spec, with my tail between my legs and my head downcast. I just couldn't get it read and wasn't captivated by it.
I am sorry Spec and beg you to forgive me.
What else is going on?
We returned from our travels and are now trying to get our routine back in order. Work begins again tomorrow, clothes are put away, Christmas decorations go down this week--I think, the house needs to be reorganized.
I am working on a big blog entry that will take a few days to complete and many more to finalize. . . . You'll see what I mean soon.
My purpose? Dropping off Ariel's books at the library and picking up something on reserve for me. I hit the top floor to grab a computer for this entry while a nice young man is playing classical guitar in the library lobby below me. Ain't life grand sometimes?
What am I reading? Check the side column to see what I am attempting to read now.
You will see that I have taken Readers Block off . . . and that is because I am returning it to Spec, with my tail between my legs and my head downcast. I just couldn't get it read and wasn't captivated by it.
I am sorry Spec and beg you to forgive me.
What else is going on?
We returned from our travels and are now trying to get our routine back in order. Work begins again tomorrow, clothes are put away, Christmas decorations go down this week--I think, the house needs to be reorganized.
I am working on a big blog entry that will take a few days to complete and many more to finalize. . . . You'll see what I mean soon.
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