Hibernation

Posts here lately have been light. I haven't had anything interesting to say, either visually or in writing. It's been a long winter, but not in the sense of the cold and snow lasting too long; I am beginning to love frigid weather. I'm talking more about some personal contemplation.

This week was my birthday, which I usually milk for all it's worth. But this year I was more tentative about it. I brought the donuts to work even though I didn't feel like it. I like even numbers, but for the next year my age is a prime. This can't be good.

Things are changing at work, which is a big part of my life. Things feel in a holding pattern right now. It's giving me some time to analyze what I do every day, and consider the direction I want to take on some future projects. And think about what I like to do.

Yesterday I wrote a half dozen questions for some job interviews I helped give today. Some of my questions had some pretty psychological undertones meant to draw out truth. Here's the jist of one:

You'll be working with people in leadership and political positions — many with inflated egos. Talk about a time you worked with somebody difficult or demanding, and how you were able to achieve success with (or despite) them.

A trick question if I ever saw one. It worked perfectly — we got to truth with those we interviewed. I like strategery.

Some days I dread the phone, but I had several nice calls today with people I really enjoy and respect. It was the unexpected highlight of my week.

Anyway, I'm charting some new courses right now, figuring out what I like and what I want to do. That includes some of the writing and photos you'll see here.

I saw some green grass today and it was just too intense, almost blinding to me. I'm not completely ready to emerge from winter hibernation yet.

Today on the way home I saw this old boxcar. I just kept on driving. A couple minutes of agonizing went by, and I finally flipped the car around and went back to capture it. As opposed to the perfect green grass I saw earlier, this rusty boxcar was more of what I wanted to remember about today.