“Little Boy”, a.k.a. Shukriya.

As a change, I’m actually writing this here post at 7 in the morning, as opposed to trying to write it at 11 PM.  It is nice to be up with the feeling that a new day is ahead, and that I am somehow a little less tired than I was 8 hours ago.  A little less tired.  But still less.

Yesterday was a long day, but a good one. My day started at 6 when I woke up, took care of the cats, made some breakfast and coffee, and then got out of the door to get to work early. “Getting in to work early” was getting in by 7:30.

At the office, as a company, we are working on a project for APS which involves the creation of a million fire plan maps, and at this point, anyone slightly technical in the office has been added to the corps of folks creating these maps. We currently have 3 temps working on the project as well.  As the last addition to this focused, I have had to discover some Adobe Illustrator skills since that is the software the maps are being made with. Considering some of the power users we have in the office cranking these out, I feel like the kindergartener in the group, and I pretty much am. I am a decent developer- ask me to do something with data and code and I can make you an app. Illustrator is about making images, though, with some pretty finesse tools, and we are striving to make images that look good at this professional level, and I am not so natural at that. I am capable with Photoshop, but Illustrator is a whole other non-intuitive beast that has a knack for leaving me crying.  Still, I learned a little here and there from the project manager and software guru in our office, Jay, and I will keep working on these maps until another project comes up or they finally get done.  I actually appreciated learning a few things about Illustrator yesterday, and though working in it is like trying to lead around an obstinate mule to me, I enjoyed the quiet focus of the day.  It will be more of the same today.

I wish I could figure out how they do it. Addie Zierman, one of my favorite bloggers, cranks out meaningful posts seemingly day after day.  My boss and huber-creative Tim Price also finds time every day to get a photo and some copy up on his site daily, and I don’t think he has missed a day since he started posting.  I am lucky if I can get a post up once every two weeks.  A large part of my problem is that during the day something that makes me think “There is a good blog topic there.”  I’ll write some chicken-scratch note about it in my iPhone.  And then when it comes to writing time, which is usually late at night, my mind automatically says “Ahh, no one wants to read about that.  It doesn’t matter.”  So I give up and then go to bed.

I give up too easily.  In a lot of things. Man- I wish I could find the focus and drive and persistence to stay dedicate at doing one thing.  I don’t.  I get defeated too easily because too much of my life is lived contingent on what others think- about me, about my choices, about who I am, or who I am not.  That’s a dumb way to live, but I do it.  I live too much for the validation of others.

Oh well.

Today, friend, fellow block mate, and fellow birthday brother Perry Floyd posted on Facebook that he’s been teaching Bible at Hope High School for twenty years.  Twenty years.  That’s staying focused, being determined, and doing something that counts.  Congrats, Perry.  You and your brother have impacted a lot of lives while wandering here on this planet.

I was glad that, spur of the moment, my folks were up to join me for dinner last night.  It was a good night for Mexican, and our new favorite local New Mexican eatery was the place to go- Papa Felipes.  We’ve been faithful patrons of La Salita here in Albuquerque for decades, but the tide has been turning.  Papa Felipes has become our go-to green chile spot over the last few years.

Of course, now that I am sitting here in front of this laptop tapping out words on the keyboard, the things I want to say come floating to the surface of my mind.  Work calls.  The day’s duties lie ahead.  I have to go.

Mmm, coffee.  And more Illustrator fun.