Pre-order

Yep, there was absolutely no chance I wasn't going to pre-order this (no matter the cost, and boy it isn't cheap!):

Labor Day Weekend

It's a miracle - I can actually enjoy the long Labor Day weekend!  At least until Tuesday where a ton of work waits for me.  Nothing planned for the weekend - I would have liked to have gone somewhere like Crater Lake, but just too many people visiting the big attractions on this the last weekend of summer.  And my friend who I lost a bet with is in town.  I said Tiger Woods would never win another major, he did, and know I owe that friend a $500 bottle of wine.  Which sucks.  I expect him to cash that in this weekend.  I better at least get a glass of decent wine out of it!

Cartoons

The Trump presidency has been a gold mine for cartoonists.

Mercenary

I didn't know this could be done.  Someone in my department left their job without telling anyone.  One day they were at work, the next they had gone.  No farewell lunch, no card, no goodbye e-mail, and I only found out because the IT guy told me they were asked to disable his account.  Possibly he told his fellow Chinese colleagues, but not anyone else – it didn’t help that his manager was not based here.  This was an interesting case – this guy had left before, but came back less than a year later because the job he moved to sucked.  Sound familiar?!  I don’t know how long he was back, but it feels like less than a year before he moved on again.  To god knows where (though since there are only 2 companies similar to our one in the area, and he already tried one of them, I can probably guess).  This is classic mercenary behavior – he’d better enjoy the new job, because I don’t think he’ll have a 3rd opportunity to come back again.  I sure as hell wouldn’t welcome him back with open arms again.  I won’t particularly miss him – he came back at a higher level than me, and a higher level than he deserved to be.  But this is a sad reflection of my lack of ambition and how much out of the loop I am nowadays on office gossip and the various comings and goings. 

Busy

A recap of the last few days.  Went into the office on Saturday.  Went into the office on Sunday.  So busy Monday I didn't even have time for lunch.  Today, left the office very late.  I think any aspirations I had for improved diet and exercise will have to be temporarily delayed.  We've got the long Labor Day weekend coming up, and I desperately hope I don't have to work during that - I need a break, I need some relaxation, and I need some quality hiking time.  So much for a healthy work-life balance.  Hopefully this won't last. 

Office Space

From a recent Q&A from some facilities person at our company:

There has been talk about the company moving toward more of an "open space" office design standard. Can you help shed some light on the direction the company is heading with regard to its workspaces?
What we are aiming to do goes beyond open space. We're rolling out a new workspace design that delivers a balance between open, collaborative spaces, flexible focus areas and some traditional offices. We are evolving our space standards to meet the changing needs of the organization and our employees.

What is beyond open space?  Are we all going to end up working by standing up outside with just our laptop and no desk or personal space at all?  This is truly disturbing.  I hate open spaces at work – it’s bad enough working in a cube.  Now if I have to see my neighbors all the time as well as hear them all the time, I despair.  I suspect there will be a lot of pushback to this.  Personally, I’m very traditionalist when it comes to my workspace – I want my own space to personalize as I see fit, and I want privacy so that no one apart from me can see my screen (which obviously has nothing to do with the fact that I’m on the internet all the time, at least when I’m not busy).  Ideally I want a window office.  I’m one of the few people on my floor who doesn’t have one of those adjustable desks that allow you to work sitting or standing – call me old-fashioned.  I’ve heard about other companies in our industry who basically have no designated spaces – you take whatever space is free when you get into the office.  This sounds like an absolute nightmare – and allows for absolutely no personalization and I imagine no sense of belonging.  There are times when collaboration and communication are important, there are more times when you have to hunker down and get on with your job.  An open space doesn’t allow for that.  I don’t even know why so much time and effort is spent on the workplace – in 5 or 10 years times we’re probably all going to be telecommuting and working from home.

Shawshank Redemption

Damn, it's a good film.  Happened to come across it channel-hopping, and now have to watch it to the end - for the umpteenth time - despite the ads and the US TV editing for language.   And despite owning it on DVD.