For thoughts so obscure they could only live on the internet.
Taken from the New Yorker. Even better, this article is from THE FUTURE (check the timestamp of the article)!
3. Steal Cheryl’s famous potato-salad recipe. When Cheryl asks, “Why did you steal my recipe?,” say, “I don’t know, Cheryl, why did you break my heart?” Then laugh so she knows you’re just kidding.
…
7. Have you ever noticed how sun-dried tomatoes and top-grade peyote look exactly the same? Not a suggestion, really. Just saying.
One of the best things about something new is all the firsts that get to be experienced. In a new relationship, it’s the first kiss, first holiday together, first “I love you”. With a new car you can take it for your first ride home, first drive through, first carwash. Even with a new packaged product I savour tearing the perforations that will only hold together once. Today I experienced a first at my new job. Before I explain let me tell you about the old way.
At Critical Mass, there are people called Release Engineers whose main role (among many) is to manage the transport of digital components that comprise a website. They are the digital ushers that make sure that code, images, configuration files, everything gets deployed onto the testing and live environments. A web developer would typically submit their workings into a repository with a certain identifying tag, and the Release Engineers would gather the files to carry them along their merry way.
At Applied, there is no such role. A developer is responsible for pushing their own code and assets to the review and production servers, and we do so by running neat little command line executions. (Yes, I even bugged that Release Engineers that they could be replaced by very small scripts.)
Today, the boss* was gone. He instructed me to watch for changes, and left me in the hands of the marketing director who also had strong involvement in the project. It is a real estate website selling ranches and other community homes. I finished the last changes and was instructed to put the changes up. Now, I should’ve known that things have to go to review before production, but with my brain on autopilot and digesting information on how to create a Facebook app, I asked which server it should go on. She asked me what the difference was, and as I gave URLs as the main differentiating point (not very clear), she told me to put the changes up on production. I had test data in to demonstrate what the price column would look like, so all the properties (including a ranch the size of Monaco) was on sale for $4 million dollars. Later that afternoon the salesperson for the property called, and luckily the marketing director fielded the call. This brought me back to my days on Mercedes-Benz where we’d spend hours upon hours just making sure that the pricing and disclaimers were correct, just in case. The entire time, all I could hear in my head was the Release Engineer Manager’s warning, “Just wait until something goes wrong, then what will you do?” Well, I just moved quickly and drew upon the support of my new team. I have to thank the marketing director for her patience through this whole ordeal, and also my coworker and deskmate for his calm instructions on how to roll back the changes and restore the live site.
Now, I’m just hoping that my boss doesn’t read this blog, otherwise everything will be juuuuust as normal. 
*I use the word boss only because I don’t want to use names. He is my oversight and manager, I guess you’d say. There really is no hierarchy.
The Calgary Stampede is over. This city’s ten-day endorsement of sin has left us for another year, and as the cowboy hats and boots are stowed away, out come the regrets of succumbing to our human weaknesses. I managed to avoid the alcohol-and-hot-weather induced lust, the greed of big and easy wins, and even the wrath of sticky and impatient crowds. The one I couldn’t avoid is a weakness of any foodie-wannabe: Gluttony.
After camping in luxury and enjoying Applied’s Stampede breakfast and its get-rid-of-leftovers repeat, I continued to enjoy and share the annual carnival favorites. The result? Well, let’s say that owning a Wii Fit means I can be reprimanded by a video game as well as my conscience. So, the week plus three tomorrows after the Stampede, it’s time to get back on track.
In perspective, I haven’t strayed too far. After all, in 2005 I was over 165 lbs which meant that for my height I was entering obese-land. Since then I’ve dropped (and kept off!) two clothing sizes, not through drastic dieting but through some changes that weren’t difficult to do:
So, I’m back to having to follow my own advice, but at least writing this blog entry was good in revisiting some of the basics, kind of like writing lines in detention. Just picture me repeating gluttony’s countervirtue over and over: Temperance.
Some of the best things came from the 80s. Like me, for example. (I’ll give you a small PayPal donation if you really didn’t see that one coming.)
A few days ago I changed my Facebook and Twitter status to: “Rosemary has proven that once you go Mac you’ll never go back. MacBook Pro impulse buy. Mwahahaha.” While I have been left poor and broke, never have I had such a wealth of creative opportunity. Garageband is nothing new, but I finally discovered it and made my own 80s-style synthesized creation. It’s still untitled, but a first is still monumental, is it not?
My first exposure to the idea of QoTD came from my university days when I’d spend my free time hanging out with the math club. Oh yes, I was a wild girl.
I messaged a friend about what we had for our Stampede Breakfast at Applied:
And the response was, “Our Stampede breakfast was today. They gave us expired sausages, undercooked pancakes and warm water … served by hobos with weeping sores.”
Note: I apologize for the lack of coherence in this blog entry. I was thinking of what to write when leaving the office Friday afternoon, and it was utterly brilliant.* Then the weekend happened and this is all I can remember.
I love my new job! During the first day, I got settled in by customizing my computer and making sure I had my tools of mass construction in place, then got a tour and orientation for some of the systems here, ending with (whee!) posting a wiki article. The second day involved some site updates, and it was unbelievably satisfying to have my stuff go live. I feel so nimble and lightweight with the processes here. Also, there are opportunities to take my learnings from planning a file management system for Critical Mass and apply them. Continuity is also satisfying.
Top left: Sign outside our building.
Top right: My chair (LOVE the zebra stripes. The alternative is the same type of chair that Allard sat in, which was often fought over in the CM office.
Centre: My desktop. It looks way more professional than my old desk decorations. Returning cast members include my white coffee mug that only went missing twice in the CM office, as well as the snakeskin notebook from my friend Kim.
Bottom left: My view. There’s a kitchen past where those black chairs are where my tea collection has gone communal. If you can make out the faint outline of a toilet, you’ve identified the washroom where there is also a shower.
Bottom right: Grandpa Smith’s Boots. So I went downstairs for some general office administration stuff, then encountered a group of the downstairs team all doing a still life sketching. After being asked three times to join (it’s my weakness, I can’t say no after three times), I sat down with the group and drew. I can’t remember the last time I did this. It was so relaxing, grounding, and a great way to get to know the team better.
Okay, now back to weekending.
*I can claim that it was brilliance because as it is forgotten there is no proof against it. Mwahaha.
I found this great site with desktop and icons that are exactly my style. Thank you, Pixelgirl!
I thought I was in for a very rugged experience when I heard that our campsite wouldn’t have flush toilets and showers (yes, I was spoiled in the past), but it turned out to be very luxurious, especially in the food department.
Ribs Act II: Flavor and All His Friends taken from Beaver Mines Lake 2008 Photoset
Friday’s dinner:
Saturday’s breakfast:
Saturday’s lunch:
Saturday’s dinner:
Sunday’s breakfast:
Sunday’s lunch:
Sunday’s dinner:
Monday’s breakfast:
My mouth started to water when recalling the culinary delights we enjoyed during this trip. I don’t know if this is a diet-concious food diary entry, or if this is something I should be confessing to a priest in a box.
My last day at Critical Mass went by very quickly. I’m writing a stream of events that happened that day, so that when the visual memories flash by in my head like a projector movie I’ll have some semblance of chronological order to them.
Dropping off thank you cards to my closest friends. Feeling like a visitor in my own desk as I had packed my things the day before. Jonathan Arkell’s personal thank you for the card I left. Confimring last-minute lunch reservations for 25. Watching “Superman vs. Carcin-O-John”. Matt Chan bringing me a chinese bun because my stomach was grumbly. Calling shotgun to get a ride from Jeff Bolton, and the hilarity that ensued. Lunch with new team members and departed ones. Being greeted by Ninja and Sprout back at the office. My last Knowledge Management team meeting. Saying hi to Debra and Pickles. Running off to the local wine store for a sample of prosecco. Making rounds of goodbyes. Goodbyes shorter than expected, as people snuck out for the long weekend. One last conversation with Jonathan Arkell about the better things in life.
I left my parting email short and sweet, as goodbye emails from everyone else in the company seem to recall the same best things about the company that I do.
And then it was over.
It's tough to think of a blurb for myself when I'm also on 
