Settle in for a long one, kiddies. Time has been such a blur as of late, so I’m taking the time to record these thoughts for the sake of my own personal posterity. I’ve been adding to this yarn bit by bit, so no guarantee on its continuity. Let’s start, shall we?

Over-working man who revels in relaxation

I shudder to think what would have happened to my fragile mental state if not for this past Saturday night’s social gathering — my friend Erin’s housewarming party out in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Some of the finer details are fuzzed over in my head, but I do remember a few things. Like picking my jaw up from the floor after gazing upon the apartment (real nice find, Erin), the candle-filled fireplace, falling down in the snow while running about like a loon outside, and lots of smiling and laughing. There are bits of photographic evidence to be posted in the next day or so to help edge along the recall efforts, which is a good thing, since the author is unsure what more he could dredge up on his own.

And why did I feel the need to dull down those poor, innocent brain cells with such malicious intent? Well, the two weeks just past were by far busiest I’ve had to this point as a professional. I’m not just talking long days, but long days and nights strapped to a desk, restrained from slumber by pots of coffee, Red Bull, face-fulls of cold water and anything else I could get my hands on. All for the benefit of a complete redesign of the New York City Street Renaissance site.

I’ve never been afraid of working hard, but its much easier to throw yourself headlong into something if you’re allowed to write your own rules up as you go along. I spent a lot of time working from home, usually waking around 10, working until 5 and then taking a short break before picking things up again at 8 and working until 3 or 4 in the morning. Sequestered from humanity and focused mostly on the world of code and graphics I was crafting — a lot can get done that way.

Then again, you can also go mad if you do it for too long. Case in point: my brain literally started shutting down on me as I attempted my third straight day/night work session. I sat down and stared into the screen, but only shapes stared back at me. I knew there were words and lines of code in front of my face, but they refused to make themselves readable. My fingers froze on the keyboard and refused to move, no matter how much I tried to will them to life in the face of the incredibly ambitious deadline. I wound up relenting to my body’s need for sleep that evening, but I doubt it’ll be the last time in my life I’ll be fighting human physiology to meet a deadline.

But at least I know the effort’s been recognized — a feeling I felt was lacking at my last job by certain people who overstepped the limits of their title. The big boss himself actually uttered the words “this is good” in reference to the site, a first since I started working for him. I’ve seen that he’s not the kind of person to hand off empty compliments, so this really means something. I’m considering I’ll do a post-mortem on the project over on the Creek Bed blog — it’s starving for content too.

A cursed and snowy ride home
Of course, Saturday night was also when we got hit here in the northeast by the “Blizzard of ’06″. That’s not just some over-inflated exaggeration for the sake of a good story, either. This storm met all the actual, factual, and technical definitions of a blizzard — record snowfall and all the news coverage and travel pains that goes with it. By the time my head popped up at the Hoboken PATh station sometime around 5:15 am, the roads were quite covered and the cabs were scarce. At least they were still running. Having already completed the “walk home in a blizzard” portion of my life requirements last season, I was more than content to wait in a nearby doorway until I could finally hail down someone, though the thought did cross my mind to walk over to the Eyewitness News van parked across the street and try bribing them $20 and a quick “man-on-the-street” interview in return for a lift home.

The cabbie seemed to remember me, which certainly was a first in my life. Obviously I get out more often than I think. It was a rather interesting ride home, as he and the two other fares he had with him were cursing like sailors at everything and anything — the weather, the other drivers on the road, the lack of plows, etc. But for the most part it was just sound and fury for the sake of sound and fury. So long as none of us were walking in the ice box outside, we had nothing to really complain about. I tipped the man well, though my wallet complained about the generosity.

As I was settling in to my place, I came into contact with thundersnow for the second time in my life, and the second time this year. I’m still not quite used to the phenomena. Mother nature must have been on a really wicked bender with Jack Frost or something when she though up this little doozey. Or does the credit go to Old Man Winter? Anyway, it’s a little unsettling to think I could be struck down by a thunderbolt in the middle of a snowstorm. A fried and frozen death? Isn’t that just a little too vindictive? Ah well, I suppose the gods and the supernatural beings just have far too much free time and creativity on their hands and far too little in the ways of restrictions.

A growing and personal blogosphere
My Sunday morning was spent bundled up in the warmth of my futon, scenes from the Winter Games on the television and a handful of blog posts on my laptop. But this was kind of special — these were all posts from the blogs of people I know. It’s amazing how many people I know are now doing this. Just in the last few months alone the jump in numbers has been considerable.

Rebecca and Teresa are the newest additions to my blogroll, joining Ryan, Erin, Nick, the Brooklyn Vegan. It’s nice to have other people I know actually writing about their lives. Even though I’ve been at it for years, I’ve never had more than a passing connection in the real world with other bloggers. I could never see my writing as others see it, but I’m starting to get my chance. It’s kind of nice.

Now facing forward
I can already see more long days and nights ahead as I switch from one project with an ambitious goal and deadline right into another, but I hope for a slightly easier time than what I’ve just been through. Of course if professional life has taught me one thing, it’s that most projects are more complex than they look. If it taught me anything else, it’s that my time estimating skills are still weak. One of my friends at the office told me I should multiply whatever hour numbers I think it will take by 4 times to get a realistic number, and I’m thinking he’s got a good point.

At least I don’t have to wait until the weekend for a reprieve. Tonight I head off for a mid-week reprieve in the form of a Knicks game. Yeah, I know the team is bad beyond belief this year, but they do play a team in the Raptors that got lit up for 81 points by a single player, so chances are good for a win. Besides, I’m going to have great company for the event, I get to go to the Garden, and the ticket was free. I fail to see a downside in the situation.

Yeah, life is good.  Hard at times, but good never the less.

Tags: Personal

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