stav's little corner

Today's tweets

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 10:00:30 GMT

12:59 Seriously, my former co-worker has, even in his absence, created more work for me, just because of the corners he cut. Blast it. #
13:08 2 pairs of jeans and a chicken salad sandwich later, I'm fully willing to admit that I had a successful lunch hour. #

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Today's tweets

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:00:43 GMT

10:57 Just tipped over 20k words in NaNo! Need to write ahead tonight. #
13:12 So I just realizing that I'm going from playing with phones for a living to playing with TVs for a living. #

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Today's tweets

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 10:00:20 GMT

10:47 Pasha is being Little Miss Needy right now. #
11:28 WOOHOO! Job stuffles resolved. I am definitely still staying at Adobe! #
13:03 You know that you've been eating too much fancy food when you think, "Hey, you know what would go well with this? CAPERS!" #
16:20 Lured the kitties out from under the couch by treats. Annnerable. #
16:40 Contemplating going to the Dublin write-in today, but need a workout. #
17:43 Okay, so I've decided to definitely go to the write-in, AND to get in a good workout. Workout first, dinner, shower, and NaNo. #
17:44 In other news, I've accomplished nothing noteworthy at work today. Apparently, this was expected. #
20:23 Go figure I'd have to sit next to the most talkative NaNoWriMo guy at the entire table. #

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Sometimes the world is just too strange

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 02:43:51 GMT

It's been a ridiculously up and down week so far. The short story is, there were layoffs, I got reorganized into a different team underneath the manager I last had (last year).

The longer story: the new team is exciting, the new (old) manager is fantastic, and I'm looking forward to moving along. The bad thing? Well, initially they told me I'd have to commute down to San Jose (for those of you who aren't local and/or know where I live, that's about 40 miles) 4-5 days a week. This would, of course, more or less stomp down on a) any kind of hostess duty I normally do, having people over to my house, and b) any martial arts activity I could do during the weekday, since that's up in Berkeley, about a 1-1.5 hour drive up from SJ one way (and I live right in between).

Well, I told my new manager what I was concerned about, he said he'd check with his manager on it, and I went home, a bucket full of repressed emotion. I really wanted ot make this work, but seriously? That long of a commute, day in and day out? 3 hours of taking public transit minimum, if there's no traffic? 1.5 hours of driving a day if there's no traffic, and more if there is? My heart was basically being begged to be scooped out with a spork and stabbed repeatedly with a dull knitting needle.

And that's not saying anything about the relationships I've built there for the past four years. Well, I felt tighter and tighter, like a board about to break, and was basically just spinning myself into a corner. And then, finally, I got down to business and started to really examine issues of faith and trust, and ended up realizing that there could, after all, be a purpose to it all. And afterward, I just tossed in a prayer for being able to stay in SF or working from home twice a week.

Well, I got it in spades - turns out I'll only have to be in SJ 1-2 times a week. This is suboptimal but oh so much better. I signed my offer letter, turned it in, and got to the business of paying attention to everyone else.

It's ugly - really ugly. A lot of good people were let go, people who were longtime, faithful employees. It was really hard to see, and I'm guessing there will be a pall over many an office over the next couple of weeks. I know my current manager was going around trying to make sure people were okay. I'd only worked with some of my current coworkers for about a year, and it's just not the same as if you've been in the same group for eight years. You live your life together, trade pictures of your cats, your kids, your cars, share your passions, dreams, and frustrations with each other. And then in one day, unexpectedly, that camaraderie goes away. It's almost like having a death in the family.

We lost a number of people in my old team, some of whom were on my team when I started in 2005. Those, for the most part, were offered jobs within the company but decided not to take them. I guess I feel less sorry about them, because they made a choice to go, but I'm sad that it was pushed on them like this. I think a lot of my old team was pretty resentful after the successes of our products:

http://mobile.photoshop.com/android/
http://mobile.photoshop.com/iphone/

in the past couple of weeks. It's good to end on a happy note, but it's pretty rough on us all.

Today's tweets

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:00:45 GMT

15:02 Okay, so the good news it that I still have a job. I'm transferring again, though. #
16:33 The work situation is getting complicated. More updates tomorrow, I guess. Praying in the interim. #
23:41 The shock of the layoff today has worn off a little. I'm jamming on my NaNo, but still unsure about what the future brings. #

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Today's tweets

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:00:34 GMT

09:53 Disturbing dreams this morning. Slwoly waking up. #
12:13 Heading out to the optometrist's soonish. I <3 Susan, and not just because she can kick anyone's rear any day. #
12:17 Just let some of my annoyance at a coworker leak to my manager. He doesn't work for my team, but still managed to make work for me. #
15:12 Can't see straight - thank you, dilated pupils. #

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Today's tweets

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:00:40 GMT

18:54 Kitties are trying to break into the office, but have not resorted yet to whining. #
19:22 12 rounds of groundwork = massive dobok burn along my arms. Broken capillaries + bruises from last week make me look like Andy beats me up. #
21:51 Finally broke 15k words. Hoping to get more writing done. #

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Today's tweets

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 10:00:34 GMT

21:22 Fifteen year reunion was surprisingly good. Limited number of people I knew, and reconnected with some people that I'd forgotten. #
23:22 One of the cats is talking to herself in the other room. Must focus on NaNo for a half an hour... #

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Today's tweets

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:00:35 GMT

08:35 WE'RE LIVE! mobile.photoshop.com/android/ #
09:22 Spending the day with Fuzzy P and DJ Purrs-A-Lot. #
12:21 You gotta love it when you start making bread and realize that you've run out of milk. *sigh* Guess I need to leave the house after all. #
21:20 Kitchen is 90% clean now; just need to mop and wipe down outer counters. Still slightly annoyed at the last minute request. #
21:20 Oh well, I guess if I'd been keeping up with housework, the request to use the house to host wouldn't have been so terrible. #

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The year of releases

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:15:02 GMT

I think 2009 is going to go down as the Year of Releases. Now that all three of our platforms are out in the wild, I can talk about it:

Photoshop.com Mobile

So the story goes: we had Windows Mobile release in December 2007. We had another release scheduled at the end of the following year, and December 2008 rolled around and we had a drastic reorganization that gave me a new manager, a new team, and a new role where I was basically clamped down to one product. Before, I had worked on multiple products, all on mobile, and now here I was working for a completely different Business Unit with a different structure.

Now I had two products - well, really four... we had three platforms planned for 2009, and all of a sudden I was doing stuff on the RIA (rich internet application - cf. http://www.photoshop.com/). So while I was on product releases on a longer cycle - iPhone, WinMo, and Android - I was also on product releases on a shorter cycle, on the order of every other month or so. So the way this fell out was:

iPhone was going to release in May but didn't; RIA release in June, WinMo released at the end of July (missions trip in June), a release for the RIA in August, the iPhone release in mid-September, the deploy in mid-October (which I was thankfully absent for), a RIA release at the end of October, and Android at the beginning of November. I have been in back to back end games since April, which basically means that I am one fat stressball right now, two weeks off in October notwithstanding. (Granted, one of those weeks was being sick.)

Add on the fact that I had five weddings (well, four weddings and a reception) back to back in the month of August, and you can see how things fell out this year.

I'm oddly relieved that the last one went out this morning (stupid East Coast PR machine meant a 7am deploy) and we have at least one more release coming by the end of the year, but I am not really at the point where it's really stressing me out. I'm more or less done for now, and I am thankful that I made it through with my sanity.

I am also thankful that my prayer devos have been more or less solid for the past two months or so. Maybe that had something to do with it?

Today's tweets

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:00:39 GMT

14:01 Report from the in-laws is that my BIL is okay. #
17:12 I have a reputation, apparently, of not being a morning person. I wonder how that happened? #
19:13 I can write battle scenes, melees, anger, arguments, and conflict up the wazoo. How come a simple romantic conversation is so hard? #
19:57 Surprisingly sore deltoids today. I guess this is what happens when you do push-ups correctly. #

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Today's tweets

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:01:32 GMT

12:43 Knee high boots FTW. Found a pair that fits my massive calves. #
13:45 This just hurts to read (SFW): is.gd/4NiZB #
20:02 Whoah. Hit 20%. I didn't think it would be this easy, but I think I just have a lot to say right now. #
20:05 Luna is Needy McDroolsALot tonight. #
20:17 Pausing NaNo for the night - need a workout, shower, dishes, and bed, probably in that order. #
22:41 I blame the flatulence problem on the probiotic drink I sampled at work yesterday. GI tract seems to have gone into high gear. #

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On NaNo, deadlines, and sleep

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:36:45 GMT

So, I've been more or less busy, busy, and even more busy. And LoudTwitter seems to have failed me, which is, I guess, more or less okay.

First: NaNoWriMo. I finally decided (like on the 30th) to sign up for NaNo, and the words are just flowing. I'm at almost 8k words and going, and I definitely have the drive this year, and surprisingly enough, the time.

Work has more or less been stable, but somewhere on the crazy side. It's definitely been a go-go-go year, starting in May and really not ending until maybe this Friday. I'm definitely on the burning out side, and I did have a couple of vacations in there, including a two week one that just finished a couple of weeks ago.

I've been really struggling with the concept of a bedtime lately; for some reason I've been having some serious self-control issues with getting to bed on time. I've been improving with concerted effort, but I think it's going to take some time to get it hammered into my head that indeed, I will feel better if I go to bed at the same time.

Today's tweets

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 09:01:36 GMT

10:50 Ugh. I was so incredibly wiped by the rehearsal last night and Costco that I had a headache. Now I'm coughing AND have a stuffy nose. #
10:55 Sometimes, when Pasha's squeaking, I'll say "Uh-oh" to her and she'll squeak "Uh-oh" back. I need to get this on video. #
13:17 Contemplating breaking out the inhalers for this cold. #

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I'm still alive

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 23:46:54 GMT

... but barely. Week 2 of vacation has been basically one fat cold that started on Tuesday and has had me on my rear until now. Overall lethargy all week (ow, the housework suffered) and today it's the I-feel-vaguely-okay-as-long-as-I-don't-move thing, possibly due to the lowered lung capacity and the alternating stuffy and drippy nose. I'm wondering if my asthma is kicking in, as it usually does when I have a chest cold of some kind. Either way, I sound like a frog.

Week 1 of vacation was a Caribbean cruise - Bahamas, St. Thomas, and St. Maarten, all of which were nice and none of which I really investigated. We mostly did a lot of snorkeling and sailing, so I didn't see much on land. I'm sure there will be vacation pix at some point in time.

This weekend is missions conference at our church, and my team has a part in it. Unfortunately, people aren't stepping up and I really don't feel like doing any public speaking while I have this cold. In fact, if it doesn't clear up by Sunday morning, someone else is going to need to do all of the singing. Nrrgh. At least I'm only drumming tonight.

That's about it for me - I can't believe I'm knocked-on-my-rear sick, where even a trip to the grocery store (or Costco) saps all of the energy out of me. At least I've been somewhat productive this week, in that I got a lot of dev done on a website I've been contracted to do. (Well, it's a volunteer job, so I guess it's not really contracted.)

Urp and all that.

Today's tweets

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 09:01:35 GMT

10:30 Wondering if I can brave Costco today. I do feel significantly better, but it means leaving the house again. #
16:00 Coscto was successful, but now I'm tired. Wondering how I'm going to stand up to two hours of drumming tonight. #
16:01 Also tried a bunch of stuff - yay for sampling! Best: Yoplait fruit smoothie in the frozen aisle. Worst: pomegranate antioxidant drink. #
16:12 Is Gmail acting funny for anyone else? #
16:25 Oh, it seems to have resolved itself. #

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Today's tweets

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:01:09 GMT

10:41 Purring kitty in my lap, front two paws on the desk. #
10:43 Thinking of staying in today due to the storm. #
11:38 Fresh bread in T-minus 2 hours or so. #
13:01 Lesson learned: COUNT to make sure you have the right number of stitches every row. I've frogged the same 15 rows twice now. #
13:06 I'm wondering if knitting with two circulars would be better than dpns. I have a bruise on my ring finger from gripping too hard. #
16:30 Down to the last 10 rows on this sock, and then I get to teach myself how to Kitchner. #
22:53 First ever sock finished! Sags around the ankles and is slightly too big; fit husband's foot better but he tried it under protest. #
22:54 Toe also looks funny, even though the Kitchner stitch is something awesome. #

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Today's tweets

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 09:01:16 GMT

09:47 Back from a week of eating rich food and working out (aka a cruise). Seems unreal that I have a tan and it's overcast out. #
10:11 So now for my second week off, I will... continue cleaning house! And watch Alias! And do laundry! And pet kitties! #
10:29 Reading through review of the Photoshop.com Mobile for iPhone app. Seriously, why do people think it's written in Flash? #
10:37 Okay, so why would someone give 1 star and then say in the comment, "This is so cool"? #

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In which I admit that I am a bad blogger

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 20:36:00 GMT

The bullet point list:

Lisa and Vitaly's wedding. Beautiful and small. Andy looked at me more than once and said, "I wanted a wedding like this." Sorry. :)
Shipping product #2. I still can't talk about it, but it's going to be very, very cool.
Working on deadlines #3 and #4, which were originally a week apart. Thankfully, one of them is moving.
Rough sleep schedule - nrrgh
Co-worker leaving - massive internal drama, but I'm happy for him. Farewell party today.
Alias: Middle of season 2. Highly motivating for working out.
Shutdown: looking forward to some time off of work. I'm feeling burnt out. Scratch that; I felt burnt out about three weeks ago.
Reading: Been doing a lot of reading; hoping to hit the library again tonight on my way home
Fleas: still battling them. Turns out Andy had purchased the wrong flea agent, but it was the only one that Petco had at the time. Got some new stuff from the vet, and am still being eaten alive.
Heat wave: survived. Yesterday and today are surprisingly, unseasonably cool.
Kitties: Adorable. Luna crawled into the closet yesterday, and Andy reported that the closet was meowing when he came back down. Both cats have been cuddly lately, probably to share fleas.
Ruth's Chris steakhouse: A LOT of meat. Probably far too much meat. Green beans were amazing, and Andy wants to go back. Thanks, Iella!
Training: Seem to have adopted a large number of brown belts.

I think that's just about it. There's a lot encapsulated in that summary, including finishing a blanket or two (or three), a lot of church meetings, half of which I canceled, and a worship training in there somewhere.

Today's tweets

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 09:01:19 GMT

20:58 Things I have learned while working these career fairs: 1. everyone wants to work on Photoshop. 2. Very few of them can. #
21:03 Me: "i've talked to you before." Student: "Oh yeah, that's right." I remember three hours later that he was a sparring partner 1.5 weeks ago #
21:07 Another thing I have learned: going to these career fairs is like attending a reunion. 4 church-related people and 1 CS pal from the CSUA. #
21:18 @jakebasker: Nothing! I'm not a hiring manager! Bahahaha! #

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Today's tweets

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 09:01:42 GMT

10:19 This weekend, had the luxury of a crochet-fest whilst watching far too much Anne of Green Gables. #
14:46 Trying not to strangle this developer, who keeps on deferring bugs on his own. Can I remove his bugbase access? #

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Today's tweets

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 09:01:36 GMT

23:10 Andy: "I love you, even if you can't hold your steak." (Ruth's Chris Steakhouse last night.) #
23:10 In other news, the husband has decided to grow a beard. #

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Today's tweets

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 09:01:09 GMT

11:33 Settling down to work - I hope today is better than yesterday! #
14:24 I'm falling apart - I can crack toes, ankles, knees, hips, spine, and now both shoulders. #
16:35 Sometimes I really love post-mortems, especially if they're cathartic. #

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Today's tweets

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 09:01:58 GMT

11:15 Escaped Costco last night with as much fruit as I thought I could eat in a week, a berry smoothie, and 40 lbs of kitty litter. Splurge. #
11:16 When I got home, I managed to lock myself in the garage. Thought I was clever breaking in with my lanyard; Andy pointed out the dog door. #
11:17 I don't know whether to be impressed with myself for being able to break into the house, or scared that I could do it so easily. #
11:55 Somehow managed to get up to near 300 Emails in my inbox. Must work to get that down somehow. Already down to ~200... #
12:21 I cringed when I bought the shave gel that wasn't quite what Andy asked for. Thankfully, he looked at it and went, "OooOOOooh." #
12:25 Okay, down to about 25 Emails to track. I just realized that I have no meetings today. How did that happen?! #
15:34 Performance data gathering is tedious, but less so if you have a lot of podcasts. #
16:13 Just found out that most of the testing I've been doing today has been invalidated. I think I need a nap. #
16:27 I just realized I missed the free ice cream at 3pm, and just shipped a package that just missed the outgoing truck by 15 mins. #
16:27 I sense a pattern. #

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Today's tweets

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 09:01:09 GMT

11:34 If all goes well, I will be DONE with this current project at the end of the day. The next deadline won't be until the end of Oct, yeehaw! #
15:24 Debating the use of a colon instead of a comma in the phrase: "Never fear, blahblahblah ..." #
16:46 Wading through documentation to submit the application. Why didn't I do this earlier? #
18:12 PROJECT: COMPLETED. However, I'm not sure going to Costco is the appropriate action right after such an adrenaline rush. #

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