The Moonlighting Student

Thinking Beyond Summer Hiatus

June 29th, 2009 7:28 am —  28 views

The evenings have been mild, full of relax and warmth surrounded by happy plants carefully arranged. We play tennis in the mornings and run whimsical errands during the day. These are the days of summer hiatus.

The hiatus lasts about the length of one semester. It’s a hiatus because when it is over I go back to school. What kind of crazy to think is that by next year this time I’ll have graduated as a Master of Science in Information specializing in Human-Computer Interaction1.

But summer hiatus isn’t real. It exists because I define it by periods of work associated with school. When school is over will I still consider summer a hiatus? I’m not sure. Which might explain why I’m thinking forward while at the same time taking stock of my current situation. My combination of technical skills with schooling in  information architecture, usability research methods, and design principles has me thinking seriously about what type of job I want to be doing 5 years from now.

As this perfect position forms in my head, I’m looking to the universe to help by doing it’s part. Mr. Vitale explains that while working toward a particular objective you should also be expecting the universe to do it’s part. While I work on my part, Universe…you do yours.

So I’ll enjoy what summer has to offer (calling it a hiatus for now), but I’m also thinking ahead, past school and the next couple years. I’m thinking carefully about where I want to be and what I want to be doing. Figuring out how is ongoing. Except now I’ve enlisted the help of the Universe.

Image: I picked up a few books this weekend. Looking for them to sharpen my thinking with new ideas and perspectives. The mood was elevated by spirits and bruschetta made with basil from our deck garden.

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  1. This title taken from a business card I prematurely accepted when SI offered them to students [↩]

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Essential Inner Workings

June 15th, 2009 6:52 am —  17 views
cam shaft

Power Translator

After a recent visit to a doctor because of strange goings-on in my knee, I was reminded of my age and told to get more exercise. I knew he was right on both accounts. After talking with my chiropractor about the mechanics of my inner knee, I learned the real reason, mechanically, why my knee was doing what it was doing. The body makes all kinds of lubricants to prevent parts of it from wearing down. What we eat and how much we stress the moving parts has a lot to do with how our inner workings age over time. I doubt I’m telling you anything you don’t know.

After reading musings on age and growth at a familial blog1, I started thinking about the things that drive us to do what we do and the strategies we employ to go about getting what we need and want. A lot of people start with lists. Lists that outline steps necessary to achieve a goal. Maybe the lists help identify the goals to begin with as was alluded to in aforementioned blog post. When someone sits down and thinks about their goals, whether the focus is on short or long term goals is very important2.

Long term goals should matter more than short term goals3. Perhaps more important is finding a balance between short and long term goals. Some exercise is better than none. Saving some money is better than saving none. Having a few tomatoes on your salad instead none.

This picture is of a cam shaft taken out of my nephew’s car by my father-in-law. This piece translates the up/down movement of the pistons into the circular movement of a spinning shaft. It is an essential inner component of an engine. This picture made me wonder what types of essential inner workings are shared among us that translate interest or motivation into action.

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  1. A blog written by the wife of my wife’s first cousin. W. and I are also god-parents to their two children. [↩]
  2. Goals such as whether to find a mate, have children, get a masters degree, attend college, find a job, get a boat, find beer, go to the bathroom, or visit Paris again. [↩]
  3. Length of term is variable as per circumstances. [↩]

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Cultivating growth

June 4th, 2009 6:31 am —  21 views

Vegetables and herbsA coworker made a remark the other day that problems don’t get solved until people are bored and annoyed by them. Something about this comment, made while fixing an annoying problem, stuck in my head. The degree of truth it held could explain a lot.

We can be told to work on a project, to follow a list of requirements or a design. That takes a certain degree of problem solving skills, but that isn’t what I’m talking about. There are different qualities that come into play when considering the paths to project completion or problem solving. It’s the difference between an auto shop returning your car repaired with maybe a paper floor mat, or returning it repaired, washed, with your receipt waiting on the passenger seat. The main problem is solved, but the situation as a whole is treated as the problem to solve so tangential details are given attention.

When a situation as a whole is treated as a problem to solve there are more variables that come into play. Whether they are dealt with might be related to how bored or annoyed a person happens to be. We also considered how everybody has different bored and/or annoyance thresholds that govern their instigation to take action.

Maybe cultivation is the encouragement of situations where others have the opportunity to be bored and/or annoyed enough to take interest in something. However I’m inclined to think this is only part of the problem of encouraging contribution, interest, and growth.

Image: Our young vegetable deck garden, taken about a week ago. Since then I’ve added two pots of salad lettuce…trying something new.

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