Monday June 18th, 2012, 189, NS, JotD, AAD 18
Rise at 5:30, sitting, and out to work. A quick check-in on e-mail and the release, then to the gym:
5 explosive pushups
7 pullups
9 thrusters (each side, 35#)
21 two-handed overhead swings (35#)
3 rounds of the above, followed by 1/2 mile run
Back up to the desk and scheduling an early meeting to check on the status of the release. Still a few lingering data & code issues to address, a few more items popping up as the customer tests deeper.
One drawback to the way we work, is that the customer doesn't always test as deeply as they need to. Today is a case in point: as they test, they see items that appear to be incorrect. The only problem is/are: they were this way in QA when we got the release approval, they were this way in production, and they were not part of the original release. So, how to ensure we're beginning from a quality base, before moving on to the next development items? And, important as a project manager: how to appropriately identify items that are release related, and those that are lingering issues from prior work.
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A very productive day yesterday. Out to the flea market, picked up two small chainsaws for $20 apiece, and a Craftsman toolbox with a pile of sockets, wrenches and assorted other bits & pieces for a little more than the price of the toolbox. I couldn't get the saws to start, but I need to switch out spark plugs and check a few things before I take them to the local saw shop. Either way, good deals abounded.
Didn't go to the market, but we plowed through a good deal of the vegetable and ornamental plantings. Stuck mostly to pots - we'll tackle landscape this week. Good time in the sun, and things are coming together. When we're both in the mode, we can get an amazing amount of work done. I wonder what prevents us from doing this other times? I know if Lisa's got the energy but I don't, there is a twinge of guilt - even if the lack of energy is real.
This brings me back to something I noticed in the lead-up to the camp Caravan course. No matter how tired I was, I had a sense of what needed to be done, and that I would do it. I had made that decision, and whether it was me alone or with others, necessity would be served. I don't often feel that same sense of necessity in my daily life, in some sense, a feeling of service to others. Why are the needs of the 60 people coming in for this course more deserving of my attention than those of me or my wife? What cognitive shift needs to happen to bring that more directly into my every day work? The JotD is one way, but even in my long-term practice of this, I feel something is missing.
So, what is the scale of necessity?
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On the way home, stop into Lowe's to replace the wheelbarrow that is now rusting through. Muscle this into the Jeep, and then home to complete the JotD and help with planting - this by moving heavy things. I pick things up and I put them down.
Dinner, practice, then to bed.
