Feb 4
SeanMiscellaneous, Personal Baby, Fitness, iPhone, Personal, WideAsleep
it’s been quite a while since i last updated my blog. a number of things have happened to me since my last update. it’d probably be easier to just write them all down and start fresh from posting from here:
- amy and i visited alaska for a 2~ week cruise it was a truly eye opening and amazing vacation. seeing the animals and landscapes was inspiring and spectacular. i really recommend not only cruise west as a provider but alaska as s destination cruise.
- we had out first child, abigail willson on march 13, 2008. she arrived 4.5 weeks early but her health was great. after spending a little over a week in the nicu she came home. she’s now over 10 months old, babbles, stands, crawls like lightning, laughs all the time, and is so much fun. i never thought i’d feel so responsible, helpless, happy, etc. for someone. she lights up a room whenever she smiles. did i mention she has my eye color and the cutest cheeks?
- i stopped doing full time computer consulting and started working at drw trading as a senior software engineer. i’m still writing software on the side however through wideasleep.
- i released my first iphone application fairway into the itunes appstore. it’s a small virtual caddie application that helps you easily apply the pelz school of swing thought to your game. sales have been pretty good so far. i know this feature set is a niche market right now but look for future updates to expand it into new interesting areas.
- i’ve started working on another iphone / ipod touch application and hope to release it in a few months. looks for more updates on that soon.
- we’ve started working out hardcore again and are starting our 4th week into a new workout and nutritional lifestyle change. i really think it’s going to stick this time as we’re through the difficult first few weeks. it’s pretty much habit now which is great. we’ve been using this great little iphone application called lose it! which is free and thanks to it’s simple tracking tools and our new nutrition program i’m down over 18 pounds. i know my fitness up’s and down’s have been a large topic on this site over the years. it’s an ongoing battle to be healthy and i don’t want to stop trying to be healthy, especially now that i have to be a role model for abby.
i think that’s about it … i’m sure i missed a ton of other things but those are the highlights. i’m going to try to get into a routine posting here again. until then …
Feb 4
SeanPersonal Indie, Personal, WideAsleep
thus begins my journey to become an independent software vendor (isv) / indie software developer. yesterday was my last day as an fte (full-time employee) at bank of america. i had a great time there and worked with some talented people but have decided to move on and start a new stage in my life. i’ve decided to cast my own net with an attempt at indie stardom. you might have read some of the recent blog posts on the topic of going indie:
while most of them have already reached their goals or are well on their way, i’ve only just begun the journey. they do offer some great lessons learned though, through years of experience and mistakes. there is much to do and learn but i’m up for the challenge.
you can check out my company website for updates in the near future. the company name is wideasleep, llc … i’ve owned the domain for almost 7 years now. when i first purchased it i had intended to start my own company but despite my dreams of grander self controlled pastures i never cast my net.
your probably wondering what life event must have caused me to raise anchor in these economic times? well, i plan on sharing that in due course. until then i will only ask that you come back and check out the wideasleep site. i’m planning on creating a blog over there to share everything from incorporation lessons, consulting best practices, mac software development snippits, gripes, and much more.
the following is a quote that i shared in my farewell email at work. i’ve had it in my rotating quote at the top of my site for years but only recently rediscovered it … it’s quite inspiring and fitting to my current life changes:
“our lives are not determined by what happens to us, but how we react to what happens; not by what life brings to us, but by the attitude we bring to life. a positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events, and outcomes. it is a catalyst … a spark that creates extraordinary results.” — author unknown
Feb 4
SeanInspirational, Personal Personal, Quotes
it’s been a while since i last posted. i’m not really sure why i stopped posting honestly. i guess i just lost my blogging voice.
i’ve went through a number of different things in my life since my last post. i have a new nephew who is cute as a button (parker), my wife graduated with her masters degree as a physician assistant and started a job (congrats love), my father retired, my niece had her second birthday, my wife and i started working out again, i worked over 3,200 hours last year (do the math, it equals nothing but pain), read a few good books, took golf back up seriously, drank more wine, and through this all i’ve had a revelation … no, actually it’s nothing divine at all so that isn’t really the right word. let’s aim a little lower … a “realization” is more appropriate.
i kind of blame it all on my new boss (yea got one of those while i was gone). i know i don’t really post about work for concerns of losing my job, but this isn’t really anything to get fired over … i think. it all started with a signature i used to have at the end of my emails that some of you may recognize:
“i am rarely happier than when spending an entire day programming my computer to perform automatically a task that it would otherwise take me a good ten seconds to do by hand.” — douglas adams
at that point in time i felt that it succinctly summed up my view on my position. that apparently wasn’t the message that we wanted to be sending out to our clients any longer, given certain internal changes. it got me to thinking about why i really chose it in the first place. i’ve been using it for about a year or so. during that time i’ve taken on a new role within the team i was once a member of, i became the manager. scary, i know … it wasn’t a role that was really offered to me, more like dropped on me. the first few months were really rough. if i were to describe it in one word i’d go with “rebellion”.
the longer i was in the role the more complacent i became. not on purpose … i guess i never thought of myself as a manager. i know i have a lot of rough edges, but i always call the shots as i see them. i never respected people that sugar coated things or over-promised while consistently never delivering. i’d rather tell a client i couldn’t do something or that they were wrong before i’d lie to their face. historically this has caused me pain but at times it has helped me to gain respect. in my new role i had some good progressive conversations people liked, and a few really really bad days, well maybe more than a few.
so here i am trying to figure out what to change my signature to while at the same time not really sure i’m comfortable in my new shoes. with this new manager came a lot of changes … i know what your thinking (painful). honestly, i have to admit that they weren’t really that bad (except for using excel and project). they made 100% sense and instead of making up dates and deliverables we actually made project plans and tried to get scope documentation (imagine that). we talked to our clients and have started asking them what they “really” want and actually got them all talking to each other. essentially we started putting the client and the happiness of our people first. things that anyone would love to see happen at any company but often times don’t.
so i started to think about what i really wanted out of my career. i started reading some blogs of people that i respected like gus, wil, joel, and steve (none of which know me but i know through their writings). then i started reading my own blog. after digging back through my past i read one of my revolving quotes:
“the people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look
for the circumstances they want and if they can’t find them, make them.” — george bernard shaw
and a light went on, i had that “realization” i mentioned earlier. here i was, sitting in a new job waiting for life to deal me my hand when i should in fact be the dealer. if i wanted to change, then “i” had to change my circumstances … that or make them.
gone is the complacency and indecisiveness. i know what i want and i’m making it happen.
- i’m working out and improving my health. (5 weeks strong now).
- i’m engaging all of my clients, improving our process, making my team happier, and at the same time breaking down historical barriers to progress.
- i’m leaving work on time.
- i’m stimulating my mind.
- i’m smiling a lot more.
in short, i’m making my circumstances, are you?
Feb 4
SeanPersonal Personal
30 years of aging
30 years of breathing and blinking
30 years of color
30 years of doubts
30 years of erring
30 years of friends and family
30 years of giggles
30 years of honesty
30 years of ignorance
30 years of joy
30 years of kindness
30 years of laughing, learning, and longing
30 years of memories and melodies
30 years of noise
30 years of orbits
30 years of passion and pain
30 years of quirks
30 years of rain
30 years of sun, sleeping, and smiles
30 years of thoughts
30 years of understanding
30 years of vision
30 years of wisdom, wishing, and what if’s
30 years of x-mas
30 years of yesterdays
30 years of zest
