After starting into a new job where I need to immediately become an expert in an area that has a lot of nuances and unfamiliar problems, it seems clear that my life at HP will remain challenging and stressful for the foreseeable future. But I'm starting to move from the overwhelming panic phase into the focused and determined phase. Finally I have come to the conclusion that although there may be plenty of engineers in the world who are smarter and more experienced than me, I can be as stubborn and persistent as any of them. Sure, I won't become an expert overnight, but I'm not afraid to ask questions and struggle with problems and figure things out. After all, that's what attracted me to engineering in the first place.
So for a few precious moments I feel like I can conquer the world (maybe drinking Dr. Pepper mid-afternoon is a good idea after all!) If only the program schedules included time for tasks like "learning stuff". At least I know that I have the total support and confidence of my manager and system architect, which is a pretty significant factor.
Sometimes I wish I were the smartest person in the world. But thinking about it more rationally, I suppose that first of all everyone would hate me, and secondly I would probably run out of challenges to solve. There's nothing quite as satisfying as the moment when the pieces of the puzzle finally click into place in my brain and lead to a solution that had seemed completely elusive. I suppose if the world always made sense at first glance there would be no excitement in discovery. So it seems that the relentless and competitive perfectionist in me must continue to cope with the frustrations of not being the fastest or the smartest or the most skillful at everything. Bummer. :)
Monday, October 29, 2007
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Daily Humor from Boise
Traffic may be crazy in China, but sometimes Nampa is equally ridiculous.
Tonight I was on my way to play a Boise Baroque concert, driving down the road and eating a chicken sandwich while trying to shift and to stay more or less in my lane. Yes, I occasionally fall into the large percentage of the population whose behavior may only be scornfully dismissed with a shake of the head and the phrase "some people's children..."
Anyway, I needed to turn left (east) at 3rd street, which, you may have guessed, comes immediately after 2nd street. It just so happens that 2nd street only goes one way: west. But as the car in front of me casually maneuvered into the nonexistent left turn lane, I decided that the owner of the California plates had not yet realized this very important fact. When the light turned green I had one of those helpless, show-motion moments, watching the driver attempt to turn into oncoming traffic and realizing mid-course that there was no place to go. Thankfully he made it all the way to 3rd street without submitting any insurance claims, but perhaps Idaho is not a safe place for fire refugees after all (Kristin was talking about listing her house on Craigslist under San Diego earlier today).
My parents have become very techie while living in China. Not only do they maintain a blog, utilize various tricks for accessing government-restricted web sites, and talk to people at home on Skype -- they also communicate with taxi drivers by getting people to send them text messages with the appropriate addresses and directions written in Chinese characters. I'm so proud. :)
Speaking of internet craziness, I heard a song on the radio recently that seriously caused me to start laughing out loud in my car. The chorus starts out: "I'm so much cooler online". It's about a guy describing his fictitious online profile and its effect on his imagined social and relationship status. This could be the Case Western Reserve University fight song, I'm so not even kidding.
Tonight I was on my way to play a Boise Baroque concert, driving down the road and eating a chicken sandwich while trying to shift and to stay more or less in my lane. Yes, I occasionally fall into the large percentage of the population whose behavior may only be scornfully dismissed with a shake of the head and the phrase "some people's children..."
Anyway, I needed to turn left (east) at 3rd street, which, you may have guessed, comes immediately after 2nd street. It just so happens that 2nd street only goes one way: west. But as the car in front of me casually maneuvered into the nonexistent left turn lane, I decided that the owner of the California plates had not yet realized this very important fact. When the light turned green I had one of those helpless, show-motion moments, watching the driver attempt to turn into oncoming traffic and realizing mid-course that there was no place to go. Thankfully he made it all the way to 3rd street without submitting any insurance claims, but perhaps Idaho is not a safe place for fire refugees after all (Kristin was talking about listing her house on Craigslist under San Diego earlier today).
My parents have become very techie while living in China. Not only do they maintain a blog, utilize various tricks for accessing government-restricted web sites, and talk to people at home on Skype -- they also communicate with taxi drivers by getting people to send them text messages with the appropriate addresses and directions written in Chinese characters. I'm so proud. :)
Speaking of internet craziness, I heard a song on the radio recently that seriously caused me to start laughing out loud in my car. The chorus starts out: "I'm so much cooler online". It's about a guy describing his fictitious online profile and its effect on his imagined social and relationship status. This could be the Case Western Reserve University fight song, I'm so not even kidding.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Be Nice to Time
Question of the day:
Is it better to make a realistic to-do list and consciously decide in advance which things not to do, or to put everything on the list and try to finish as many tasks as possible before collapsing from exhausted discouragement?
When phrased in that manner, my usual strategy sounds sort of ridiculous. After all, hours after midnight really are not free, especially when there is no time to catch up on rest between 9am and 10pm. It seems like I was able to function on less sleep in college, but I guess there were plenty of breaks in between classes to allow for mental relaxation, besides the fact that sitting in a lecture hall generally required very little initiative or motivation. Maybe I should take Mom's advice these days and stop cheating the night.
It's not that I don't like to sleep -- in fact I indulge myself with waking up late as often as possible. But that doesn't solve the fundamental problem. I feel a bit like the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland, who bemoans his relationship with Time, "We quarreled last March -- just before he went mad, you know--". At some point I think I must have inadvertently quarreled with Time or Calendar, or perhaps they quarreled with each other on my behalf, because they never seem to get along very well. Maybe one of these days I'll learn to not over-commit myself. :)
Is it better to make a realistic to-do list and consciously decide in advance which things not to do, or to put everything on the list and try to finish as many tasks as possible before collapsing from exhausted discouragement?
When phrased in that manner, my usual strategy sounds sort of ridiculous. After all, hours after midnight really are not free, especially when there is no time to catch up on rest between 9am and 10pm. It seems like I was able to function on less sleep in college, but I guess there were plenty of breaks in between classes to allow for mental relaxation, besides the fact that sitting in a lecture hall generally required very little initiative or motivation. Maybe I should take Mom's advice these days and stop cheating the night.
It's not that I don't like to sleep -- in fact I indulge myself with waking up late as often as possible. But that doesn't solve the fundamental problem. I feel a bit like the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland, who bemoans his relationship with Time, "We quarreled last March -- just before he went mad, you know--". At some point I think I must have inadvertently quarreled with Time or Calendar, or perhaps they quarreled with each other on my behalf, because they never seem to get along very well. Maybe one of these days I'll learn to not over-commit myself. :)
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Europe Pics
I finally posted some of my pictures from Europe. Eventually I'll add amusing and possibly informative captions, but until then you can use your imagination!
http://picasaweb.google.com/lindsay.tyson/Europe2007
On Thursday we had an HP lab party at Boondocks in the afternoon, which served as a virtual birthday party. We drove go-karts, played laser tag, hit in the batting cages (my shoulders are still feeling it!) and enjoyed some wild games of air hockey. After watching part of the baseball game in the evening, Chrissy, Brian, Shannon, Josiah and Mike came over to share some apple pie. All in all it was quite a lovely day. Then I spent the rest of the weekend in Seattle visiting Tim, Ian and VP (very pregnant) Liz. My two orchestra rehearsals on Sunday afternoon mandated a short trip, but we still managed to enjoy some silly and serious times together, including an intense round of glow-in-the-dark Rummy and a lovely dinner by Snoqualmie Falls. Oh yeah, and what's up with everyone buying condos?!
Speaking of batting cages, there seems to be some confusion about my MLB allegiance, and I feel that this issue needs to be addressed promptly. For the record: my two most beloved teams for the past 10+ years are the Angels and Braves, in that order. My subsequent favorites are the Dodgers and Indians (although I really only became a fan after moving away from Cleveland). While I thought it was impressive that the Rockies clinched the wild card in extra innings of the tiebreaker game, and that they are now on their way to the World Series, that is the extent of my interest in Colorado. I'm pretty ambivalent about most of the other teams, although I must say...some colors really weren't meant to be seen together! ;)
http://picasaweb.google.com/lindsay.tyson/Europe2007
On Thursday we had an HP lab party at Boondocks in the afternoon, which served as a virtual birthday party. We drove go-karts, played laser tag, hit in the batting cages (my shoulders are still feeling it!) and enjoyed some wild games of air hockey. After watching part of the baseball game in the evening, Chrissy, Brian, Shannon, Josiah and Mike came over to share some apple pie. All in all it was quite a lovely day. Then I spent the rest of the weekend in Seattle visiting Tim, Ian and VP (very pregnant) Liz. My two orchestra rehearsals on Sunday afternoon mandated a short trip, but we still managed to enjoy some silly and serious times together, including an intense round of glow-in-the-dark Rummy and a lovely dinner by Snoqualmie Falls. Oh yeah, and what's up with everyone buying condos?!
Speaking of batting cages, there seems to be some confusion about my MLB allegiance, and I feel that this issue needs to be addressed promptly. For the record: my two most beloved teams for the past 10+ years are the Angels and Braves, in that order. My subsequent favorites are the Dodgers and Indians (although I really only became a fan after moving away from Cleveland). While I thought it was impressive that the Rockies clinched the wild card in extra innings of the tiebreaker game, and that they are now on their way to the World Series, that is the extent of my interest in Colorado. I'm pretty ambivalent about most of the other teams, although I must say...some colors really weren't meant to be seen together! ;)
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Roses from China
My parents ordered me a beautiful bouquet and had it delivered to my office at HP today. What a lovely early birthday surprise! I thought birthdays would seem anticlimactic after I turned 25, but this unexpected joy from the other side of the world imprinted a smile on my entire day.
Tomorrow I'm having some friends over for apple pie, which Mike helped me to make last night. The dough for the crust didn't seem particularly interested in becoming a flat circle, but after the third time of starting over from scratch we managed to produce two respectable looking pies.
In other news, I sent in my security deposit for the new apartment (condo) today. This means I should have a new address in about a month, and a whole new part of town to explore!
Tomorrow I'm having some friends over for apple pie, which Mike helped me to make last night. The dough for the crust didn't seem particularly interested in becoming a flat circle, but after the third time of starting over from scratch we managed to produce two respectable looking pies.
In other news, I sent in my security deposit for the new apartment (condo) today. This means I should have a new address in about a month, and a whole new part of town to explore!
Monday, October 08, 2007
Cheesecake!
The O'Haras took me out for a birthday dinner tonight at the Cheesecake Factory. It was SO YUMMY! And they sat through 300 Europe pictures with great forebearance. :) I'm sorry about your Yankees, guys...I guess I can't have too much pity though, because your Red Sox beat up on my Angels earlier this week. Go Cleveland!!!
For some reason I keep staying up late trying to finish a million things, even though I know it will hurt the next morning. This week my brain feels continually exhausted as I try to learn as much as possible from a departing coworker whose previous responsibilities now rest squarely on my aching shoulders. It's interesting work and an exciting challenge, but also stressful and a little daunting. Once again I find myself grateful for a busy life with diverse activities. At least if I stumble in one area there is still a chance of having other successes to lift my spirits.
The past two weekends I have attended musical performances as an audience member rather than a performer. Although I usually find myself preferring to sit on stage holding an instrument, this brief respite from the pressure of performing was a rare delight. Amusingly enough, the upper section of the Mezzanine is not a total improvement over sitting in the pit; I still couldn't read the supertitles at the opera (there's a reason our seats were so affordable!) Nonetheless, Mike and I had a great time, and it was fun to dress up in a color other than black!
For some reason I keep staying up late trying to finish a million things, even though I know it will hurt the next morning. This week my brain feels continually exhausted as I try to learn as much as possible from a departing coworker whose previous responsibilities now rest squarely on my aching shoulders. It's interesting work and an exciting challenge, but also stressful and a little daunting. Once again I find myself grateful for a busy life with diverse activities. At least if I stumble in one area there is still a chance of having other successes to lift my spirits.
The past two weekends I have attended musical performances as an audience member rather than a performer. Although I usually find myself preferring to sit on stage holding an instrument, this brief respite from the pressure of performing was a rare delight. Amusingly enough, the upper section of the Mezzanine is not a total improvement over sitting in the pit; I still couldn't read the supertitles at the opera (there's a reason our seats were so affordable!) Nonetheless, Mike and I had a great time, and it was fun to dress up in a color other than black!
Sunday, October 07, 2007
October Baseball
My beloved Angels couldn't keep up with the Red Sox this week, concluding the series in Anaheim this afternoon without a single victory. This is so disappointing after an amazing season. Fortunately Cleveland is still in the running, even after losing game three to the Yankees tonight. It's funny -- I was never really a fan of Cleveland while I was at Case, but that has gradually changed over the past few years (probably under the influence of Kristine.) I think my dislike for the Indians after their victory over the Braves in 1995 has finally abated into a grudging affection.
Life in Boise is back to full speed, with a few extra things added to the general craziness. After enjoying a virtually nonexistent commute for the past three years, it's finally time for me to move a little closer to the "still awake after 10pm" part of town. After driving around last weekend and calling a few places this week, I'm looking at renting a condo in the North End, near the intersection of 15th and Hill Rd. The condo itself is smal
ler and somewhat older than my current apartment, but the location has already stolen my heart. Perched on the side of a hill close to Camels Back Park, it has a panoramic view over the Boise treetops from the large sliding glass doors that lead from the living room to the wide balcony. The prospect of watching the sunset from my couch all year round makes my heart sigh with happiness!
Life in Boise is back to full speed, with a few extra things added to the general craziness. After enjoying a virtually nonexistent commute for the past three years, it's finally time for me to move a little closer to the "still awake after 10pm" part of town. After driving around last weekend and calling a few places this week, I'm looking at renting a condo in the North End, near the intersection of 15th and Hill Rd. The condo itself is smal
ler and somewhat older than my current apartment, but the location has already stolen my heart. Perched on the side of a hill close to Camels Back Park, it has a panoramic view over the Boise treetops from the large sliding glass doors that lead from the living room to the wide balcony. The prospect of watching the sunset from my couch all year round makes my heart sigh with happiness!
Monday, October 01, 2007
Test Entry
I'm doing a quick test of the email-to-blog functionality before setting it up for my parents.
Go Rockies! (They won the AL wild card tiebreaker against the Padres in 13 innings tonight.)
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