Tag: life

Catching up

Once again, so many things and so little time… Here is a catch up post with a few highlights:

  • Olga and Maxim are still in Russia.  I miss them a lot, but, considering the circumstances, they should rather be there than here.  Still, miss them a lot.
  • Our cat Cappa has been sterilized. I know it’s for the better and all, but I’m still filled with guilt.  It’s not right to do this, even if it is for the better.  That was the first and last time that I did it.
  • I am still going to the gym.  Lost a bit of weight (about 3 kilos) in the last couple of weeks. Exercises are still boring and painful, as they always were.
  • I am doing a lot of training at work.  At least 2 hours per week in group sessions, and at least another 4 hours in individual ones.  Topics cover everything from how computers work, through PHP/CSS/MySQL/HTML, to SEO and web promotion.  It’s nice to see some sparks.  Not fires yet, but we aren’t finished yet.
  • I still write plenty of code.  In the last week there was a huge leap from WordPress and home made systems to CakePHP framework. This framework is truly wonderful, but I have a lot to learn about programming MVC-kind. Including some of the terminology.
  • I am watching a lot of movies. There happen to be a DVD rental right next to our office. I am so out of touch with movies world that I can grab a handful of movies, that I haven’t heard anything behind, in less than a minute.  I’ll post some short reviews right after this post is online.
  • I have totally abandoned photography, which I am truly sad of. I need to get back to it one of these days.  Especially now that I got invited as an official photographer to one of the upcoming events.  More on that a bit later.

That’s my life in a nutshell.

Little things

I just got another revelation on how important little things are in our lives.  Take, for example, your office job (if you ever had one).  When I mention your job, you probably think of the office, salary, annoying clients, evil boss, and things like that, right?  Or at least something along those lines.  Well, how about some tiny things which can make or break your day, every day?

  • Parking space. Is there a parking place?  Do you have to spend half an hour driving around the building in order to find the hole to squeeze in?  How many traffic rules (running red lights, forbidden U-turn, etc) do you have to break to even drive into your parking space?  Is  your parking space in mud or tarmac?  What happens to it after the rain?  Is there any shade for those extra sunny days?  How often is you car locked by another one when you want to leave for lunch?  Or maybe you had to punch the crowds for two hours in the public transportation to get to your office?
  • Water closet (aka WC, bathroom, toilet). Is there one in your office or do you have to take an elevator trip every time you want to wash your hands?  How busy is that place?  Does it have all the essentials like paper, water and door locks?  How clean is it?
  • Kitchen (food and drinks).  Can you have a cup of coffee at your desk?  How about a coke?  A sandwich?  Do you have to pay for it?  Can you get any snack at all when you stay late?  How far is your lunch?  How expensive is it? Are there any cups, teaspoons, toothpicks, towels or paper tissues, salt, catchup?
  • Stationary. Do you have to bring your own notepads?  How long does it take you to find an empty CD/DVD for that extra backup?  How pens are there in your immediate reach that actually work?  Does it take you more than 5 seconds to find a calendar?  How about a calculator?  Can you get one while still on the phone? Do you even have a phone?  What about an extra network cable?  Printer cartridge? A4 paper?
  • Smells.  Does it smell like food in your office?  Do they smoke in there?  How often do they clean their ashtrays? Maybe it’s this guy right next to you?  Maybe it’s a flower, and only in spring?
  • Temperature.  Is thre any air condition?  How about a heater?  Can you even close that window behind you?  How sensitive are other people in the room?

I can go on and on an on…  Brings the memories, doesn’t it?

Moments

Being a parent is a lot about having moments. Every day. Every hour. There is something that you want to remember for the rest of your life. (That’s impossible, by the way.) There are moments that you wish the whole world shared with you. (That’s impossible too, by the way.) There are moments that you miss and then fill miserable for missing. (That’s possible.)

I was at work today when Olga called in to tell me about two moments that I missed. (She does that pretty often, I have to say.)

Continue reading Moments