Getting stuff done

[xela]

Yesterday was my birthday, and I spent a lot of it thinking about where my life is and where I want it to be. One consequence of that thinking is that from now on, I intend to post each morning and evening, under the todo tag: in the morning, things I want to get done that day; in the evening, notes on what I did. You're only getting an evening post today, because I didn't settle on this plan til a few hours ago.

Since my fall a couple weeks ago, I stopped my exercise schedule, which had for several weeks been at least seven 15+ minute periods in my aerobic range per week, to be done on at least five different days. Even walking was painful after that fall — it pulled on the scars and made them bleed.

I realized yesterday that, especially in combination with the tendency to sleep too much the healing has entailed, has had a really crappy effect on my mood. So one of my todo items for today was to get started on that again.

I took a 15 min walk at an average pulse of 120, and a 21 min walk at 122. So I think that's a ringing success.

The one thing that was specifically on my calendar today was a genius bar appointment at the Apple Store. That happened; my problem was happily resolved, and I had a nice talk with the guy at the genius bar. Which leads to my next point:

Another thing I decided yesterday was that I need to be trying to apply for at least one job — any remotely reasonable job — every day, instead of waiting for a great job to somehow fall into my lap. So as we were finishing up, I said, "So, switching gears here, do you guys have any openings?"

So I've just finished submitting my application for a genius bar position at the Cambridgeside store. It is a vastly lower-level position than I've held in something like fifteen years. But, damn it would be good to have a regular gig again. And, as a dear friend pointed out to me yesterday, while I'm unlikely to be hired by people who don't know me into as senior a position as I'm used to, I am highly likely to be promoted into such a position by people who've seen my work. So here's hoping.

Comments

[eccentrific.livejournal.com]

That sounds like excellent progress to me.

[yakshaver.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[dcltdw]

And, as a dear friend pointed out to me yesterday, while I'm unlikely to be hired by people who don't know me into as senior a position as I'm used to, I am highly likely to be promoted into such a position by people who've seen my work.

Wow, great point.

Also, when I was unemployed, I (eventually) went full-time as an EMT. That was really cool. Pay was gawdawful -- maybe a third of what I was making as a programmer -- but y'know, it was just a darn useful life experience to see something completely outside my normal sphere. Not to mention interesting and cool, plus being good for me in re-establishing a work discipline.

[yakshaver.livejournal.com]

Part of my attitude problem has been feeling like I've paid my dues. I've worked for minimum wage; an assembly line job where I got debilitating RSI; in an old-school craft factory where a bunch of older men with accents made it clear they thought i was a wimp for not being cool working with tool whose safety guards had been removed for efficiency; as a night-shift gas-station attendant, where the only wonder is that the time I was robbed, it wasn't at gun-point. I was past 30 when I got my first steady full-time job with benefits and nerd pay.

But a prospective employer knows none of that. if I have to pay dues again, fine. But this time it damned well better go quicker.

[dcltdw]

Right on, that's valid. But surely you have more skill/intuition to make it a crapload faster this time.