Forty Two
Last year I mentioned that I've felt like I am 28. That still holds true today. But, for the last year, I was somehow convinced that I was 42. It wasn't until something like September--discussing plans for my wife's birthday if I recall correctly--that I realized I was mistaken. But, today I actually turn 42. So here's to a second year as 42!
Home
In the last few months, my kids have reached a point where they are quite independent. My son is constantly kicking a ball off the walls when he isn’t engrossed in creating something on paper or developing his latest LEGO project. My daughter will disappear into a puzzle, color inside and outside of the lines, and take her cadre of animals and dolls on grand adventures for an hour at a time. It is surprisingly satisfying to watch, or sometimes just listen, to them play. It feels like we’ve done something right.
A friend of mine that switched jobs and moved away last year reached out on my birthday. I asked him how the new life was going. He immediately commented that working from home was amazing. He told me he’d heard me say the same, but noted that there is a tremendous difference between working from home occasionally and working from home every day. I never thought about that difference, but it makes sense to me.
Working out of your home is fantastic and can offset heavy workloads. Speaking of heavy workloads.
Work
As was the case much of last year, I remained maxed out into September. It was the right business decision that created a whole heck of a lot of work for me. Even as the stacked projects completed, I found a large backlog of work waiting for me. It’s only been the last few weeks that I’ve started looking at what is ahead.
But along the way, the WiX Expansion Pack turned into a useful piece of software. In particular, the FireGiant advanced harvesting technology is very enjoyable to use (using it on a project right now). The FireGiant MSIX Extension is also very cool if you are interested in MSIX.
Next
I will be taking stock of our progress in March and creating a plan forward. It feels great to put last year’s multiple projects behind me. Now my hope is that this year’s progress makes writing my 43rd birthday review a lot more interesting.
In the meantime, keep coding. You know I am!