Momentum
So yeah, I'm that guy. Post a big angsty rant about how nothing is working, then forgets to post something happier once things lighten up. Thanks for tuning in anyways :)
This week has been hella busy, but we've kept our shipments of Fail to a minimum. Work's been smooth, though I'm nowhere near able to take advantage of the near-unlimited please-god-don't-let-them-shut-us-down overtime, but at least I'm still hitting the gophers as they pop up. Mmmmgophers... I had a first-thing-East-coast-time meeting, which magically allowed me to use some of that unlimited overtime on something actually enjoyable (building tiny applications in C++ and Qt). I still haven't gotten the hang of picking out dinner for the week, but for the most part kids ate their food and I managed to make something from nothing one night that we didn't want to go out (veggie enchiladas).
Most importantly, last Tuesday I finally took the intro class to the dojo I'm really excited about, and tonight I finally signed up. I decided that for the entire time I'm in Eugene, however long that is, I will practice Aikido under Thoms-sensei. I like the school, I like sensei, and the other students really seem to enjoy their practice and working with others. I'm enjoying being a beginner again, being ultra-aware of everything going on and not expected to know anything. I learn so much from every single repetition of a drill, and since things are similar but not the same, I'm getting shown a lot how sloppy my technique has been (doesn't hurt to practice with the senior student).
After class, I met Jen and the kids at the Pizza Research Institute for a slice of Pear-Pesto-Potato pizza and half a beer. We giggled over a book full of photos of funny signs. When we were done, I had to hop back on my bike and ride home (no room in the car for all of us and the bike). Tired, sore, full belly, cold night: it's about 1.5 miles from there to here. As I came through campus, near the end of the ride, the air was foggy and wonderful. As I came through one of the open areas, another biker was just hopping on his bike to go in a different direction. He called out "Just keep going."
Jen tells me the secret to climbing hills on a bicycle is to maintain your momentum. I've been finding that sometimes the toughest part is gaining that momentum from a cold start. But really, once you're going, it can be really nice to just open up and pedal.
This week has been hella busy, but we've kept our shipments of Fail to a minimum. Work's been smooth, though I'm nowhere near able to take advantage of the near-unlimited please-god-don't-let-them-shut-us-down overtime, but at least I'm still hitting the gophers as they pop up. Mmmmgophers... I had a first-thing-East-coast-time meeting, which magically allowed me to use some of that unlimited overtime on something actually enjoyable (building tiny applications in C++ and Qt). I still haven't gotten the hang of picking out dinner for the week, but for the most part kids ate their food and I managed to make something from nothing one night that we didn't want to go out (veggie enchiladas).
Most importantly, last Tuesday I finally took the intro class to the dojo I'm really excited about, and tonight I finally signed up. I decided that for the entire time I'm in Eugene, however long that is, I will practice Aikido under Thoms-sensei. I like the school, I like sensei, and the other students really seem to enjoy their practice and working with others. I'm enjoying being a beginner again, being ultra-aware of everything going on and not expected to know anything. I learn so much from every single repetition of a drill, and since things are similar but not the same, I'm getting shown a lot how sloppy my technique has been (doesn't hurt to practice with the senior student).
After class, I met Jen and the kids at the Pizza Research Institute for a slice of Pear-Pesto-Potato pizza and half a beer. We giggled over a book full of photos of funny signs. When we were done, I had to hop back on my bike and ride home (no room in the car for all of us and the bike). Tired, sore, full belly, cold night: it's about 1.5 miles from there to here. As I came through campus, near the end of the ride, the air was foggy and wonderful. As I came through one of the open areas, another biker was just hopping on his bike to go in a different direction. He called out "Just keep going."
Jen tells me the secret to climbing hills on a bicycle is to maintain your momentum. I've been finding that sometimes the toughest part is gaining that momentum from a cold start. But really, once you're going, it can be really nice to just open up and pedal.