we have achieved lull
Sunday, June 25, 2006
I apologize for the veritable vacuum of blog activity. I'll try to make up for it with this long-winded, meandering diatribe.
My job has been extraordinarily demanding these past couple of months. Thankfully, outside of a weekly production validation on our customer-facing website, I'm not putting in much overtime. Unfortunately, there is a weekly release cycle I've been trying to wrestle into submission and a number of tasks that are on the critical path, meaning that if I'm late, then the project will be late, and they'll take away my birthday or something. So, my brain is seriously "on" these days. Still, I have to admit that despite how hectic it's gotten, I'm happy with the work. (And I'm not just saying that to avoid getting dooced!)
When I'm not at work, I'm with my family. I haven't been spending much time playing (e.g., gaming, coding, reformatting, etc.) with the computer, which probably explains the lack of activity here. I had decided to use this blog to share all manner of computer geekery, but I haven't been geeking out much at home (VPN'ing to work doesn't count). Naturally, the wife & kids factor into that, but I think the main reason for the lull has been my need to clear my head a bit. With work, family, and hobbies all vying for a slice of Lee, I was feeling a bit overextended. It had gotten to a point where just thinking about my personal projects would cause my neck and shoulders to tense up and hurt.
Once I strike a rhythm with the current work situation (or it lets up a bit), I hope to make more progress on those personal projects and post more about them here.
It hasn't been all work and no play though. I've been finding new and exciting ways to nauseate myself and get thumbcramps all at the same time by playing the PSP version of Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories. I wasn't sure I'd enjoy revisiting good ol' Liberty City since my first visit in GTA3. After all, it's the smallest environment next to Vice City and San Andreas, but it really holds up well and feels sufficiently roomy. The great thing about the PSP version is that you can power off the unit at any point and it will resume where you left off, making the game super easy to pick up for a couple minutes (or hours) of distraction. It's also a nice way to bond with Kyle since I can hold him and play GTA:LCS at the same time (but with the audio turned way down. I'd hate for his first words to be "Whack that sonuvabitch!" — as impressive as that would be.)