It's raining outside, as it should be. A good, steady rain that got me from the moment I left the house about an hour ago and is still darkening the world in a steel-gray downpour. It's unusually peaceful, for some reason - the drive was quiet and calm, none of them crazy Israeli drivers that I got used to in the last few months... just me, the road and thinking about odd stuff. (Considering plots for my Exalted Campaign, for that matter ( But the good stuff happened when I arrived at the office, blissfully vacant from the loud construction workers that usually litter the place with noisy machinery. Last night one of my office-mates, pointed out she left some Ginger and Cinnamon out in the open (meaning in the high shelf at the kitchen). Now besides a sunny desktop and a cheerful rain-tap on the window, there be a great mug of steamy, wintery brew on me table. Just the smell makes me smile. Also, my friend at the Gym started an experiment with me – designed to raise some attributes I have yet to develop during the Arnis martial arts classes – mainly lower back power and increased stamina. So two trainings a week, each at least an hour and a half of no slacking. I hope to see results during sparring days in the next few months and adjust the program considering the results. Cheers!
The internet died over the last two days. More accurately, the server on which we've been working at Simply-Smart died with no feasible explanation. As I'm not known as a common computer-killer and gremlin magnet, I have to assume someone else is to blame. That spare time in which I could not reach clients and actually download the necessary pictures gave me extra time to work on my Origami birds that seem to flock in larger and larger amounts upon my window. My cause? At least one bird a day, preferably two. I'm averaging three cups of coffee and two birds a day. Nine hours make a day's work. Booya.
Nothing too smart or contemplative about that. But after enough mornings of waking up at six, seeing the sun rise at my back (driving from east to west, what can I say) and enjoying a good mug of steaming coffee in an empty office.
I love mornings.
That said, yesterday was a bad day. Too much work, too many meetings too little brains on each and every one of them. Finished working around six twenty. Counting almost eleven hours of work, with little end results and mostly creating more work. Four good things saved the day from being a disastere. 1) Having someone good to talk to, before and after work. 2) It was payday. Clearing clean 7k. 3) Having some betzalel graduate marvel at my photoshop skillz. 4) The cake at the tail end of Arnis Class saved my suger level from dangerously terminal levels. All hail cake. The Cake is No Lie.
Well, music's going to be A problem. Namely, since I work with customers. Most of which has no appreciation to the music I use as "creative music" - namely various power-metal bands whom general theme is "war, conflict, epic stuff, boom, grunge, stabbity, chop-chop, slash-di-slash" and so on and so forth. I guess my martial training is showing up as well.
On the other hand, the office is all my own, one of the few advantages of being the sole designer here, meaning no one can sneer off or even ask me to lower the volume beyond closing the door to the spacious place behind me.
Buccaneers Inn (BattleLore) playing in the background, followed by the wonderful "Orange Crush" by R.E.M. Such a pleasant conflict of styles and ideas.
Yesterday had a definite "smile" moment, where the rain tapped lightly on the windows, blushing slightly with the sun poking behind sparse clouds. Good music on the background with my newly acquired speakers and a good glass mug of my beloved black coffee. No costumers, no pressure, just me, music and something fun to do.
And it's quite good. Relaxing here in the morning is very peaceful and quiet. If you count out the construction going on in the same floor - but I got used to it. Morning coffee is ready and most of the red-line work is done. Now it's just a trouble-shooting day, nothing hard or uneasy.
Sometimes it's fun to know i'm the one running the show here (sole desighner in a web-application company? every one goes through me) - even it's a show of big head instead of being humble.
Like I said to my dad, whom agreed - "One must know how to price himself right, too low and they step on you, too high and no-one can afford you". Currently pricing me quite low as a smart move considering the crash that the entire market is going into. The entire WWW.COM industry is going into shock, while we here at the company try to wave through the motions just like the little smart fish we are.
Well, car-ness is achieved. Now I just need to get it, hopefully this afternoon. Being paid for by a combination of my dad and my own funding, it's essencialy my car. The funny part is that i'm likely to keep driving the Hybrid to work, since it's more cost effective.
Buying a car for the weekends. Odd.
But it's mine and when i'll move out, it'll move out with me. Which is a good thing - it's not a company car, though the company would help me with the fuel. All in all, good raise. It's too damn early and i'm too damned used to it. Something went seriously haywire in my head to accept waking up at six AM for something normal.
At least I get to practice martial arts as much as I want. Which is a lot.
Got here by 7:10. The parking lot ain't even open yet. Not to mention anything else.
Went out of the house and got into the car by six thirty two, in an attempt to measure timing and distance with and without traffic. Results ? it took about twenty minutes less to get here. Comparing it to half an hour later (Getting out of the house around seven) it's a rather large saving time. But. It's WAY too early to be here. So I guess i'll take my extra twenty minutes, and be here by eight, and not by seven.
Three cheers for sleeping and traffic evading. Me? I choose the former.
I went to sleep last night, well, around nine thirty. Early for me but that added sleep-time actually helped. Feeling better this morning, much better. Also navigated my way successfully through the morning traffic. Left home at five to seven, arrived five to eight. One hour drive, including traffic.
And I got my good coffee with me.
Good Morning Navot, thank you.
That aside, the diet is working out rather well, already lost all the inflated belly I earned in the Philippines and well on my way to lowering my fat-ratio against muscle. Just a few more months and i'll be at my target weight of 90~ kilos, feeling the change is right here and now.
Martial arts wise, we started actually working Espada-y-Daga, well, Baston-y-Daga, meaning a stick and a short knife. It's tricky, but it's fun. Also went to a new strike I like to call "Captain Caveman" for being a "flying" "Caveman" strike... On the ninjustu end of the bargain we moved to using longs staff and short staff, also smoothing out the basics. I need to re-work my footwork. Again.
Or at least trying to. Well, the merger with the second company didn't go as smoothly as anyone thought it would. Three weeks after we started sharing the new office - the other guys broke off in a rather ugly way. Can't say i'm hurt personally, but the entire thing sits heavy in the air. Not fun to work today.
Getting here at seven fifty five, the owners of Company B, where packing computers (not my own or any that us on company A use, though) and saying hi. Being first to the office from my company, I had little idea what was going on. Only when the programmer and the rest of the gang showed up, the entire thing cleared. As to be expacted, money blew the entire thing away.
It was a whole mess, or so it seems - with Company B wanting the owners of Company A to cover past debts as part of the merger. The owner decided to put down the condition that this is money that they (the owners of Company B) would return back to the merged company under a loan agreement. This didn't sit well with them.
So it's empty here today, no bantering around or passing about ideas.
On the other hand, it's a huge oppertunity - I get to recruit my own team and make my own desicions as the sole graphics man in the company. someone's going to test the new crew and that's going to be me.
Not fun at the moment but at least we're hitting the ground running.
creative
awake
content