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On the green
It was a hot, humid, stormy, sunny day filled with creative thinking, reading, and interaction.
My alarm went off at 2:40 AM1 which I promptly reset for 4:402. Then my watch alarm went off at 2:45 AM which was in my closet and too far away to turn off. I just let it go. It didn’t seem like W. heard it though3. When it was finally time to get up, I put in my 3 miles on Octane then had breakfast with W.
Work was quiet for the most part. I spent most of my day answering emails. Some questions require a lot of thought, research, then careful articulation before you can hit “send.” Such is work.
Toward the end of the day I wrapped up a meeting and headed to the golf course. There was a crazy storm following me. Once at the clubhouse it hit and we had to hang out drinking Two-Hearted (so delicious) until it passed. And it did pass. I shot a 48. My partner shot a 39. I lost about 5 balls…maybe more. But it was a beautiful night so what the hell.
After the round we hung out on the deck at the clubhouse and had dinner. For some reason my blog came up and I mentioned it to K4. The blogosphere still fascinates me and I’m always curious to learn what people think about it. It is kind of crazy. Mortimer knows what I’m talking about as he got a look at my blog because he was confused.
So here it is, after 11 PM. I don’t normally stay up this late but I figured I’d pound out a post before I crashed. W. is probably asleep by now and my cats are waiting for their late-night snack so they can curl up and crash when I go to bed…which will be any minute.
My golf game started out crappy. Toward the end I picked it up…even had a couple pars. Overall I golfed just okay. I realize it doesn’t matter how I golf. What I appreciate is the interaction with people in the league and the people that run the golf course. A big thanks to the ranger at the first tee that just smiled and laughed instead of giving us a hard time. Maybe it isn’t so much about the game but who you play and how you get along that matters. Maybe how you play matters a little, but not that much.
Image: This is one of the many pictures I took tonight. Every week I take a couple dozen pictures of the round and the group we’re playing and post them to a private golf league site.
------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is when I got up on Wednesday for a release at work. [↩]
- This is when I normally get up. It’s kind of sick, no? [↩]
- Sorry if it woke you up W. [↩]
- This one’s for you K. You know who you are. [↩]
Watching things grow
Work, like life, has a certain organic quality to it. Projects grow from ideas and become these things that need care and attendance. Some projects are like weed/vegetable gardens while some are like Zen rock gardens. Some are organized, some are organic and evolving. I see our lives as a combination of both.
Though the routine of home life is comforting because it is routine, I have to admit that routine is not always routine. What we become used to changes over time because things around it are changing. We adapt and grow, keeping pace (or trying to keep pace) with what is around us. If you don’t grow, you become like a rock. Not growing. Even though some things don’t seem to change, everything is changing all the time and to forget this is to invite confusion.
Technology is changing our lives in dramatic ways. Though I chatted with my boss today, we never actually talked or came face to face…even though I could stand up and talk to him over my cube wall if I wanted. Something about electronic communication and the imposed constraints afford a unique paradigm for communication. Like everything, this approach to information sharing is growing and evolving into something that is unlike anything that exists. It is a form of new growth. Sometimes I wonder if it is a way of sharing information that is more concentrated and focused. To some degree, sure, but what does it mean for interpersonal relationships?
I’m fascinated with the way computers, the Internation, and technology are impacting our lives. I look forward to seeing how humanity and society in general evolves in a world of blogs, twitter, instant messaging, email, and web publishing. Such potential combined with growing isolation and interaction. Where will it take us?
Image: A picture of our vegetable garden we’re cultivating on our deck. Jalapenos, banana peppers, chile peppers, cherry tomatoes, rosemary, pet grass, mint, oregano, basil, and catnip. It’ll be fun to see how things grow throughout the summer.
Concert, golf, and finally…Friday
It’s practically Friday, and I’m glad for that. The weekend will be short, like they always are in the summer, but I welcome it. Not that I’ll get to slow down much.
Last night W. and I saw Jack Johnson in concert at DTE. This isn’t my favorite of venues, but it wasn’t that bad. The guy puts out some great music and has a real stage presence. His sound is consistent and smooth. Maybe “mellow” is a better word. The place was packed like crazy and we spent most of the concert trying not to suffocate. Two young guys next to us were practically chain smoking…in a no smoking area…so we got to enjoy their second-hand smoke. I eventually asked them to give us a break and they seemed to let off a little. Punk ass kids anyway.
We got home after midnight though so it was all good. I took it slow this morning and wasn’t into work all that late. I’m getting old. I know. Don’t care though.
Had a good time at golf tonight. The weather was near perfect. There were some clouds, some sprinkles here and there, but the temp was mild and the wind slight. I shot a 49. Not so bad for the back nine.
It’s already pushing 11PM (my default designated bed-time). I’m catching up on email then decided to blog before I crash. Such is this. Not deep, philosophical, or terribly thought-provoking, but they can’t all be like that. What fun is that?
Image: One of my better shots from last night. I toggled my cybershot to take black and white photos then captured this one.
Oh June, where are you going?
As this month continues to build up speed for the jaunt across summer, I wonder what lies ahead.
For example, tomorrow W. and I are going to see Jack Johnson in concert. This weekend will have me continuing work on a moonlighting site redesign project1. In July, another concert, visiting friends and family, more weekends projects…then August. I’m not ready to think about that yet.
At work I’m trying to focus my attention, at least for the next week or two, on researching and implementing some ideas I’ve had about how we could structure our development and deployment systems. Doing that sort of work while continuing to shift focus to the questions of co-workers is putting my focuser to the test. Zoom out…zoom in…zoom WAY out…zoom in a little…now zoom WAAAY in.
It seems every time I sit at my home computer I find myself reviewing, revising, or tweaking graphics for this project I’m working on. When I think to myself, “write a blog post”, I feel bad I’m not working on this project. So I do. I pick up the next item that needs attention and give it some time.
So I’m working in this post before I go to work to focus on other things. My unfinished watercolors continue to remind me that I’m not spending enough time on them. My digital pictures continue to pile up, needing to be sifted and sorted and saved. This growing list rarely shrinks.
Happy belated Father’s Day to the Fathers of the world2.
Image: I took this last week from the parking lot of the golf course client. The sun was setting and light was hitting things at a dramatic angle.
------------------------------------------------------------------------ I’m on track for an end of June release. Hopefully it will all come together. [↩]
- To my father in Arizona, I hope you’re well and are staying busy. [↩]
Looking for the Bigger Picture
There is always a bigger picture. Everything happening around us is part of that bigger picture. But it is bigger than that even.
The bigger picture includes what came before and how it came to be “this.” This bigger picture, carefully and continuously studied, reveals what is important and what isn’t.
Sometimes I struggle to see that bigger picture. Sometimes it’s hard to see what is important. Always seems to be so much noise. So much claiming importance.
Tough to find the middle ground. The area between too much and not enough. Where all things are balanced in a way that nothing falls over. But alas, the spinning plates.
I look for the bigger picture. Sometimes I fill in missing pieces with my imagination. Sometimes it helps, other times not so much.
Why is it that I’m waxing all philosophicacious? My mind, trying to step back, see the bigger picture. Trying to get some perspective, see proportion.
Image: Took this after our deck was striped and power-washed. It gets stained tomorrow.