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Experiment 2: Strengths Finder 2.0
CONFIRMATION: My new promotion *IS* killing me!
Monday, October 13, 2008
Well, it’s not completely the job’s fault, but I was definitely down for the count for 5 days.
I feel like such a weakling, but I guess lots of stress can lower your immune system. Whatever the reason, last Wednesday night I was having dinner at a friends place and was feeling perfectly fine. At the end of the night, I felt achy and developed a headache. In about an hour I had a high fever and was sweating and having chills all at the same time.
I pretty much spent the next 3 days in that condition, with the same headache refusing to go away. It kept me awake at night. During those night hours, random weird things would go through my head, for example, the name of my friend Duane’s favorite band, Automatic Music Explosion. It just kept repeating on loop with no respite. I seriously thought I was going crazy. The other night I got some strange combination of Project Runway, Harry Potter and The Redskins victory song. Totally bizarre.
By Saturday morning, it was pretty clear it was not going to get better on its own any time soon. Off to the hospital I went! During my 5 second office visit, I was prescribed some antibiotics and prescription strength Motrin. yay! Afterwards the doc asked, “Is there anything else I can do for you?” Part of me wanted to yell, “YOU’RE THE DOCTOR! YOU TELL ME!” Geez. What did she expect me to say? “Please give me a sampler pack of all your schedule II meds please! Thanks!” Despite the weird interaction with the doctor, I’m thankful I got my meds and got out of there.
I think I quite literally spent 70% of 4 days in bed. Today, I’m back at work, and feeling a little not altogether here. Oh well. At least I’m still a contributing member of society. I contribute my sickness to the office! Enjoy everyone! 
I think my "promotion" is killing me
Thursday, October 02, 2008
A couple weeks ago, I got a promotion, but not in the usual way of things.
No, rather I got it because the person who was leading the design team got very tired of politics and other things and decided to step down. Upon doing so, he said, “good luck--you’re gonna need it.” And by this he meant, “you’re probably going to take this job, and it’s going to be difficult. Get ready.”
So when my bosses approached me about taking the position, I really had to think long and hard about whether or not I’d do it or not. You see, there is no extra pay involved. Just more work. More responsibility. More stress. So I guess it’s not technically a promotion, it’s a “promotion.” (It’s amazing what quote marks can do for the nuance of speech!)
So here I am, 3 weeks in, and I’m about to have a nervous breakdown. Mind you, there are other things in going on, but really it’s been a bit of stress. I’ve had a couple almost-breakdowns, most people have been asking why I looked so frazzled, and why are my eyes so puffy?
On the upside, the promotion has got me on an interesting project where I have a lot of input, so that’s great. I also get a lot of great visibility AND I get to be in the design world again! Yay! I must say, I’ve missed being creative in a visual manner for the past couple of years. So there are good things with the stress, and more responsibility means more experience, so I’m all for it.
All in all, I think it’s a good thing if I can just make it past this hazing period! Gentle reader, if you are the praying sort, PLEASE throw up a prayer for me!
The Weekend that Redeemed Everything
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Suffice it to say, things have gone really well this weekend.
For those of you who know me, you know that the last couple of months have been pretty trying in one respect. This weekend, God moved and made all things well. My heart is bursting with thanks and joy. I can’t write much more about it in this public forum, but to all of you who have been praying for me and mine, THANK YOU! Our prayers have begun to be answered!
Dabbling in Hair Again
Monday, September 08, 2008
Doesn’t that sound like I’ve coated myself with glue and rolled around in a pile of hair? No? Oh good.
Actually, it means that I’ve been messing with peoples heads again. Yes, as opposed to those oh-so-poor and somewhat tacky college years, my shearing skills have mostly been in hiding. But recently, due more to the need to embarrass my friend, I’ve delved back into the world of hair styling.
Poor Leslie was my guinea pig this time. He kept telling me how long his hair *actually* was compared to how short it appeared. “Well then!” I thought to myself, “there’s only one thing to do, and that is to see exactly how long it can get!” So he very willingly agreed to be my subject. So used the blow dryer to fro it out. Here are some of the resulting pics:
And then we got bored and decided to do something completely different! Yes, my friends! Welcome the Fro-hawk!
Ah yes, all in a days work. Fun! Fun! Fun!
Leslie and I are taking suggestions now as to what to do next. What color do you want to see it? I’m thinking we need to turn it into spikes with red tips. Add gold chains? “I pity the fool that doesn’t wear gold chains with his fro-hawk!” hahaha
Edward Tufte makes me heart analytical design
Friday, August 22, 2008
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to go to a conference held by Edward Tufte, expert in informational graphics and information design.
I have seen books by Tufte, but never quite got what they were about. They are full of beautiful graphics, but I never stopped to read them. Not until my friend at work told me more about him and the stuff he does.
So I went to the seminar all revved up. The room was packed with almost 400 people! And while most people, I’m sure, were sent by their companies and seemed mildly bored, but I begged and pleaded to be allowed to attend. It was totally worth the groveling.
On one end, you could see how big a difference good design could make. Tons of complex data could be displayed in an easy to read and even enjoyable format! Bad design makes your eyes want to cross because its just information overload. It’s hard to describe without an example. I’ll take one example from his latest book, Beautiful Evidence. I’ll try to do it justice:
Below is a lithograph by Charles Joseph Minard depicting the losses in men, their movements, and the temperature of Napoleon’s 1812 Russian campaign.
Here is my slightly annotated version so you can see what these things mean. The yellow box indicates the zoomed image below.
You can visually see how the army gets thinner and thinner as they march toward Moscow. They started with 422,000 men. By the time they reach Moscow, they are down to 100,000. The black line shows their retreat. The cold of winter takes its toll and the troops keep dying. At one point, half the army is lost when they break through the ice on one of the rivers.
Here you see the comparison of how many started and how many survived the Russia Campaign.
422,000 men down to 10,000. That is incredible. And incredibly clear with this informational graphic.
Call me a nerd, but this kind of stuff really excites me! Lots of information isn’t to blame for overload. It’s bad design that’s to blame! For every situation, there must be a solution, not just any solution, but an AMAZINGLY clear and simple to read solution.
I know what to aim for now. I guess I’ll add that to the already mile high pile of “life callings”!
My apologies: I am alive still
Monday, August 18, 2008
I think this is the longest blog-break I’ve taken in awhile. SORRY!
Things have just gotten a bit hectic. I’m taking on more projects than I can really handle, am preoccupied with my human relations (wow that sounds like a cyborg talking!), and have the inability to say “no” to hanging out with friends. This all makes for a whirlwind of activity that has kept me from you, my adoring blaudience. You like that? I just made it up. Blog + audience = blaudience. You think people will pick that up? Yeah...probably not…
I have to say that I have been so blessed with the tons of people that have been a huge support out here. The peeps I hang with are hyper-social and fun to hang out with. I was just remembering back to less than a year ago when I had almost no friends locally for almost 2 years. I think I died a little inside. But things are different now!
Everything in the works is building towards something great in the future that I can be proud of, from the relationships that I’m building to the jobs I take, to the projects I invest myself in. I guess I’m feeling pretty good right about now. A far cry from my last post.
Once again, I apologize for my absence, but trust me: great things are in the works.