Weeknotes 83

One summer when I was eight years old I realised that the date 8/8/88 was approaching. I vividly remember the excitement and anticipation of what seemed like an impossibly significant numerological event. On the day itself I didn’t know how to celebrate it so I wrote “8/8/88” on a bit of paper and looked at it and couldn’t think of anything else to do. Cool story.

I haven’t had much exercise this week because my treadmill is broken: all it can do is beep and show the error code E06 (“Motor Protection”). The manufacturer has said they’ll fix it so it’s packed away in a box in the hallway waiting for someone to collect it. Nobody’s actually got in touch about collecting it so, like me, maybe it’ll just sit there for months.

WORK CHAT: This week my job title changed from “Development Manager” to “Senior Staff Engineer”. That’s not hugely significant but it does mean that I’ve officially switched track from management to engineering.

When I joined it was to do management because… well, I have those skills, and it seems like the done thing beyond a certain level of experience. But over the last year I’ve realised that I don’t enjoy management as much when I’m working remotely (and in a different time zone) from my teammates, and also that it’s easy to do all the interpersonal work I do enjoy — pairing, mentoring, coaching, sponsoring — without having to actually be a manager. So I’m hoping I’ll be able to gradually ease into doing more of that good stuff and concentrate on technical leadership.

I feel pretty lucky to be able to make this switch for now. I enjoy managing teams so I doubt I’ll stay away from that kind of work indefinitely, but given the choice I’ll probably not do it unless we can all get together in the same room sometimes, and who knows when that sort of thing will be normal again?

TV CHAT: We watched Loki. Overall it was pretty good, mainly because of Tom Hiddleston’s performance and the New Weird / Portal 2 vibes created by its excellent production design. In some places it strays dangerously close to Doctor Who’s “we haven’t even vaguely thought about any of this” approach to narrative but manages to stop just short of the line. It’s a fun romp as long as you don’t mind the obligatory MCU dollop of random nonsense.

EMAIL CHAT: I get a lot of mistaken-identity emails sent to my firstname dot lastname Gmail account because of all the people with the same name as me who think that’s their email address even though it isn’t. This week I have received:

1. an order confirmation for Mavis Discount Tire, Johnstown NY

2. an overdue account notice from Abbotsford PD, British Columbia

3. a receipt for Safe’n’Sound 16 inch O.C. For 2×4 Wood Studs from Home Depot Canada

4. a refund notice for 1/2-inch × 4 ft. × 8 ft. Standard Spruce Plywood Board from Home Depot USA

5. a receipt for Yark Toyota Service, Maumee Ohio

6. a subscriber agreement with Lucky Mobile Canada

7. a University of Arizona alumni newsletter

Do I feel any kinship with these distant, unfamiliar Toms Stuart? A flicker of human connection in a godless and uncaring universe? No

FLOUR CHAT: I really like buying 16kg bags of flour but they’re infuriatingly difficult to open. None of the “how to open a sewn bag” online tutorials ever work because the stitching on this particular bag is different somehow, so I always end up desperately hacking away at the string with scissors:

This takes bloody ages and I always get tiny bits of string everywhere. Plus the experience of being outwitted by a bag winds me up.

After I discussed this with Paul he wrote to the millers and asked them how you’re supposed to open these bags. They replied and said to just cut the top off:

This isn’t very satisfying but it’s definitely quicker and less messy than the previous method.

GAS CHAT: no update on the gas meter situation. I’m fed up with my energy company for a variety of reasons and would love to switch away but can’t really change anything until this is resolved. Stay tuned!

Two more four-day weeks remain.

12.4kg down. Progress feels very gradual at the moment but… maybe that’s healthy?