I'm sitting here at my computer killing a bit of time before I officially call it an end to the day. It was a busy one, but not too bad all in all. I was productive, just not as productive as I would like to be, but I would still consider it a fairly good workday. Things are moving, slowly and steadily, forward. Not as fast as everyone would like but that is often the case.
One piece of feedback I continually give to my upper management is that they are responsible for assigning resources to projects, I just work with what I am given. If they expect a certain result, then they need to make sure they make it explicit and provide the proper resources, otherwise they are kind of floating out there based on my decisions and evaluations of what is necessary and what is unnecessary and I tend to be pretty ruthless about throwing things into the unnecessary bucket as far as work is concerned.
A high percentage of our resources are consumed creating bureaucratic artifacts that are only done because someone, somewhere, thought it had to be done. It is a waste of resources if it is not a business necessity that either is required by law or regulation or provides value add to the product for the customer. Where at all possible that kind of BS short be ruthlessly driven from your systems and processes.
Outside of the working world I've had a pleasant enough day as well. My nephew (who lives with me) is out with friends so I have had sweet and blessed privacy through the day. He's usually not underfoot, but he is omnipresent. It is good to have him out of my space for a while at least. Simple privacy holds a high value to me. I am not even doing anything that requires privacy - I just enjoy my own company and peace and solitude.
I am kind of hanging out waiting for a call from my friend Bob. He has chemo today and asked me to give him a ride home after the treatment, since they won't let him take a cab. I told him sure thing and now I am just waiting for that phone call, which should come in around 5:30 PM or so. Since it is 4:30 PM now, I might run out and get a bite to eat while I am waiting for that phone call.
Showing posts with label Quiet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Quiet. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 12, 2017
Friday, January 9, 2015
Our minds have time to dance
The week has flowed pretty smoothly. I finally made the decision to become a full-time telecommuter. I was telling my boss the other day but as much as I hate to admit it I'm simply more productive working virtually. Last year we moved in with another group. They're mostly good people, but since they are also our customer, they have a tendency to interrupt with questions fairly frequently throughout the day. Working from home there are just fewer distractions and I am able to concentrate on project work.
Outside of work things also moved fairly well. I've enjoyed it mostly creative week. I've been keeping notes in a variety of notebooks but not really writing anything either substantial or what I would consider to be finished. I'm hoping to change that trend this year and focus more on writing finished product. I'm hoping that my creative output this year is significantly larger than it has been the previous year. I've been kind of organizing things, internally and externally, to put myself in the best position to realize that ambition.
TR and I have had a good week, so that has been the frosting on the cake. As always with her I'm looking forward to more frosting. One of the things I love about her is her mind – her creativity, her imagination, and her ability to spin the story like a master. I think there is a lot about storytelling that is intuitive. Beyond that our craft is shaped by our lives. It is shaped by the things we read. It is shaped by the things we experience. It is shaped by what we think of those things. From there it is simply writing. At least, that is my theory.
I don't really have anything big planned this weekend. I want to sit tight and spend some time at home rearranging furniture. I've kind of got a new vision for my living room – simpler, more Zen, more conductive of creativity. It is so easy in this world to get cluttered, inside and outside, but the continuous stream of sensations we're subjected to. This year I'm going to try to moderate that continuous stream. Sometimes, I plan on deliberately stopping outside of it and just enjoying emptiness and quiet. Our minds have time to dance when they're quiet.
Outside of work things also moved fairly well. I've enjoyed it mostly creative week. I've been keeping notes in a variety of notebooks but not really writing anything either substantial or what I would consider to be finished. I'm hoping to change that trend this year and focus more on writing finished product. I'm hoping that my creative output this year is significantly larger than it has been the previous year. I've been kind of organizing things, internally and externally, to put myself in the best position to realize that ambition.
TR and I have had a good week, so that has been the frosting on the cake. As always with her I'm looking forward to more frosting. One of the things I love about her is her mind – her creativity, her imagination, and her ability to spin the story like a master. I think there is a lot about storytelling that is intuitive. Beyond that our craft is shaped by our lives. It is shaped by the things we read. It is shaped by the things we experience. It is shaped by what we think of those things. From there it is simply writing. At least, that is my theory.
I don't really have anything big planned this weekend. I want to sit tight and spend some time at home rearranging furniture. I've kind of got a new vision for my living room – simpler, more Zen, more conductive of creativity. It is so easy in this world to get cluttered, inside and outside, but the continuous stream of sensations we're subjected to. This year I'm going to try to moderate that continuous stream. Sometimes, I plan on deliberately stopping outside of it and just enjoying emptiness and quiet. Our minds have time to dance when they're quiet.
Friday, July 25, 2014
A Quiet Vacation
It is about 4:00 AM here in California and I woke up a short while ago. It's not as early as it seems since I went to sleep last night about 8:30 PM. It is nice at this time of the day - quiet, still, dark, and beautiful. Dawn is still an hour or so away and I may lay back down here and read for a while. I am entering the third day of my vacation and so far it has been nice and relaxed. Yesterday was an easy day.
I went out and saw the new Zach Braff and Kate Hudson movie "Wish I Was Here". It was a very good. It was definitely a showplace for Kate Hudson, whose performance is the emotional core of the film. The other cast members turned in excellent performances as well. I would recommend it if you are searching for a solid little movie.
Other than that, it has been a quiet and introspective time off, which is exactly what I was in the mood for. I miss going to Comic Con, but that is okay - this is the vacation I needed. I can always make Comic Con next year. It has been so nice to just coast through the days, doing only those things that arise naturally.
I went out and saw the new Zach Braff and Kate Hudson movie "Wish I Was Here". It was a very good. It was definitely a showplace for Kate Hudson, whose performance is the emotional core of the film. The other cast members turned in excellent performances as well. I would recommend it if you are searching for a solid little movie.
Other than that, it has been a quiet and introspective time off, which is exactly what I was in the mood for. I miss going to Comic Con, but that is okay - this is the vacation I needed. I can always make Comic Con next year. It has been so nice to just coast through the days, doing only those things that arise naturally.
Saturday, July 19, 2014
A Quiet and Introspective Day
It honestly doesn't feel like 10 days since my last post. I was pretty sure I had posted something earlier this week, but it appears that I didn't post it this week - it was last week. Work has been pretty intense, but the project that I was working on has gone live, officially, on Friday, so I am looking forward to getting a little bit of my life back.
I was pretty quiet and introspective today. I was being careful of the words I used and the things I said, trying my best not to let any negativity creep in, trying to be in the moment and savor each one as best I could. It led to my being quiet, as I carefully considered each thing I said. All in all though, it was a good day - nice and productive. I managed to get through a bunch of small errands and a stack of email that I had sitting in the living room. That was a good feeling.
TR is traveling for work for the next couple of days, so our contact has been sporadic (her work, in terms of time, is more demanding than mine when she is on the job). I am missing her a bit, but happy that she is at the work she does best. I am looking forward to her return.
As I went softly and slowly through the day today I watched an excellent movie off the DVR - The Hunter, with Willen Dafoe. Beautiful, poignant, and a perfect example of what a good little movie can be - simple but not simplistic, a pure piece of story telling. I was personally very impressed with the movie and enjoyed it a lot.
I was pretty quiet and introspective today. I was being careful of the words I used and the things I said, trying my best not to let any negativity creep in, trying to be in the moment and savor each one as best I could. It led to my being quiet, as I carefully considered each thing I said. All in all though, it was a good day - nice and productive. I managed to get through a bunch of small errands and a stack of email that I had sitting in the living room. That was a good feeling.
TR is traveling for work for the next couple of days, so our contact has been sporadic (her work, in terms of time, is more demanding than mine when she is on the job). I am missing her a bit, but happy that she is at the work she does best. I am looking forward to her return.
As I went softly and slowly through the day today I watched an excellent movie off the DVR - The Hunter, with Willen Dafoe. Beautiful, poignant, and a perfect example of what a good little movie can be - simple but not simplistic, a pure piece of story telling. I was personally very impressed with the movie and enjoyed it a lot.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)