Wait! This not be as morbid as that sounds.
Do You Remember?
Yesterday I heard the news that Grant Hart, drummer and co-lead singer of one of my favorite bands, Hüsker Dü, died. He was 56 and died from cancer.
If you are old like me and needed and outlet for rage the way I did back in the 1980s Hüsker Dü’s music was a great outlet. Nine years ago in a blog post I mentioned that my first girlfriend described Hüsker Dü’s music as “mind mutilating”; I described it as liberating.
I guess I have reached the age where I should start expecting my peers to start dying off…
Dangen
I planned to post two photos taken Wednesday while chopping up branches. However, I just realized that I am not using my mobile blogging rig, so selecting the URL from Flickr’s website is nigh on impossible.
Da Da Da, Another One Bites The Dust
Another longtime “XYZ Corp”er resigned this week, thankfully not from the mobile team. As I sat in my stand-up meeting, yes I see the irony, I thought of this timeline of the meeting’s membership (full names avoided to respect the innocent):
April: me, P1, A, M, P2, E, C
June: me, P1, A, M, I, C
August: me, P1, I, C
September: me, N, I, C
Quite a lot of turnover for such a short period.
Instagram Dismemberment?
In an effort to clear up some space on my iPhone I deleted the Instagram app. I reloaded the app, which then required me to log in again, however all attempts failed. I’ve deleted that app and am taking an Insta-break.
Have a great weekend. I’m headed to North Carolina. Tonight’s stop is Charlotte where I hear that they have this great bar called “Taco Mac”.
Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]
Ooops’s place got their power back last night – thank the lord – it would have been extra interesting with no power (or water) up there.
working until noon – then heading that way.
Whew. Have fun, give my regards. I’ll wave in your general direction when I pass the exit with Dad’s just before exiting the state.
So you and C hanging strong! I have been at McKesson for 16 years and have seen so much turnover it is crazy (or am I crazy for staying around for so long?). I have been mulling over changing jobs but this job is like an old shoe, comfortable and I know what to expect just about every day.
Stand up meetings? Are you guys doing Agile at XYZ? We just adopted it and I like it so far, things move fast and get done.
We do a lame version of Agile at XYZ. I am not sure if that’s good or bad.
It’s definitely different, done well projects get done quickly. We just completed 2 days of a planning session, all remote. I was on the phone and web conference for 9 hours straight the last 2 days, it was brutal.
Regarding defections at “XYZ Corp”, remember the glass is “half full” or “half empty”, depending on your perspective.
(I literally LOL-ed to myself as I type that…) 🙂
Problems at a company are an opportunity to a prospective employee, new hire or consultant. Of course, it can also spell doom if you are part of the problem.
Lastly, remember “if your job was easy, ‘XYZ Corp’ could just get anybody to do it….”
Regards es 73 de JG/HamWithCam
I see it as both, as well as something to keep an eye on or an ear open to discussions around me so as not to be caught flat-footed.
I just realized that I should have lied and hinted about having met a woman in North Carolina and that’s why I was making a trip up there this time. Naaaaah, you would have never believed me.
You are the king of self-fulfilling prophecies.
I will not argue, but history has proven…
Just because Shakespeare says “What’s past is prologue” doesn’t have to be the case for you, unless you want it to be that way.
It’s absolutely paralyzing to say “well, I’ve always sucked at meeting women” because then you feed the self-fulfilling cycle. A different way to frame it is “I’m new at meeting women” or “I haven’t figured out how to meet women yet”.
Both are true. You’re new at it because you’ve kept yourself stuck. And you haven’t met someone yet. Doesn’t mean you won’t or can’t ever, assuming you get out of our own way.
You spend an egregious amount of time ruminating on your past, which is in the history books. Fuck all that, look ahead. You’re new at connecting with women. It’s OK, you can get there. Cut yourself some slack.
I’ve known Paulie for over 10 years. I find it odd my personal opinion of Paulie (gregarious, talented, outgoing, modestly athletic, talented, etc) is not the same view Paulie has of himself.
“Make it a nice day…”
It really does work. Really.
I think I can. I know I can. I can.
73 de JG/HamWithCam
Correct, we would have never believed you. Until I just happened to meet the last one, I thought she was imaginary too! 🙂
A painful run (lack of fitness, not injury painful) last night. If I could actually get back in the habit, what a difference it would make! As I walked for the 4th or 5th time (in 3 miles) I thought to myself “how have I run 2 marathons??”.
Last night, I looked at one of the trees that fell in the “front yard”. A massive oak that I’m not sure I can cut with my 16″ chain saw. Several branches are a good foot in diameter. It had some rot at the base of the trunk which is why it came down. I want to carefully cut it to see just how old it is.
Safe travels Paulie and Barb. Have fun.
-FP
“I’ve known Paulie for over 10 years. I find it odd my personal opinion of Paulie (gregarious, talented, outgoing, modestly athletic, talented, etc) is not the same view Paulie has of himself.”
John, when one of us gets a negative drumbeat going in our head, it can be almost impossible to believe anything other than the toxic story we keep telling ourselves over and over again. I’m still working on extricating myself from my own paralyzing negative thought cycle.
Things do not have to be as they presently are for Paulie. He has so much that he can’t see. Just as I to0 have so much that I just simply couldn’t see before, or wouldn’t accept as being true. I’ve never met Paulie in person but he’s clearly capable of maintaining long-term friendships, which are good practice and qualifications for long-term relationships. It’s just that pesky matter of him getting out of his own way, which I don’t think he can do without professional help. If he could rewire his head on his own he would have done so long ago. Because who wants to live that way? But when we don’t know better, we think that’s the only way things can be. And so the drumbeat goes on and on and on…
I love your sentiment that you can’t “get” why Paulie sees himself that way. It’s a blessing for you to not understand. I *get* it, because I’ve lived it for decades. I wouldn’t wish the experience on my worst enemy.
And Paulie, you should be paying good money for this free therapy you’re getting! Now if you only try some of it…
Rock on, Steve! 🙂
And if/when he does finally seek help, what a great icebreaker:
Therapist: Why are you here?
Paulie: This fucking random person keeps hijacking my blog and telling me _____.
😉
That will go over well… “I listen to blog people”
Well, if he did he wouldn’t need the professional, so he’s doomed either way…
Meh. 🤔
Hitting the pavement so I will not be commenting again today. See you all on Monday.
Three hours of driving and just hit Greenville, damn traffic…
Stopped in what appears to be a geriatrics’s dream, how fitting, called Rafferty’s. Thought I lucked into a Chinese buffet but it appears that it is gone.