Trials and Tribulations
In retrospect, it all started last Wednesday. I was in a cerulean blue funk, feeling stuck in a predictable rut of work, and knowing that any real payoff for my efforts was still a distance away. My Xbox 360 was “in the shop,” if you’ll excuse the colloquialism, preventing me from unwinding with a good game of BioShock or even the light-hearted DOA Extreme 2. The Labor Day holiday — which I badly needed — was still several days away. Everything that wasn’t work related seemed to be in a “holding pattern.”
So last Wednesday, when I got the call from one of my former co-workers asking me to come into the office on Thursday to discuss a new project, my first, base inclination was to run away screaming. But in my dismal frame of mind, in which I wanted to accomplish absolutely nothing, I thought that perhaps the specter of a challenge — and a healthy monetary reward at its conclusion — was just the kind of kick-start I needed. So I agreed to the meeting, and journeyed to my former workplace last Thursday for a little “group think” about an interesting new web portal that’s in the works.
Since my previous employer wants to build up this portal, they wanted me to do the web design. This is exactly the kind of work I usually do for them, except this time it’s a Business-to-Consumer site, not B-to-B, the stakes are a lot higher and an appealing design matters a lot more. I have to create the identity of the site from ground zero, including a logo and a color scheme. I’m good at this, but I’m running ragged with two side jobs already on my plate, and this is not helping. Worse, I realize that it’s my own fault for taking this project (on a spur-of-the-moment hope that it would improve my outlook on life, I’m sorry to say), and I have no one to blame but myself if my schedule starts going by the wayside.
At Thursday’s meeting, I told them I wanted to have everything done by October, because that’s when I’m going up north and I don’t want anything to ruin the first (and possibly the last for the foreseeable future) road trip I’ll take to my home town in my “fun car.” Of course, everybody was happy with that — why shouldn’t they be? On my way out, I was handed an “Oh, by the way” assignment — a printed document template that I needed to design. It was very casually mentioned and seemed to be a real low priority.
Well, okay, I made my bed. Now I must lie in it.
Late last week, during the evenings after working a full day at my day job, I finished one of my two pre-existing side jobs. I then took Saturday and Sunday off, because my parents were in town and I needed some downtime. On Labor Day itself, I worked on setting up the e-commerce store for my other client, the guy who runs a personal training studio. Their modest little backwater site has turned into quite a monster over the last 6-8 weeks, but it’s almost done now and it looks real good. There’s still a fair amount of work to do, hence my spending Labor Day on it.
On Tuesday, I went back to work at my “9-to-5 job.” My original plan was to spend alternating evenings this week, working on the fitness studio’s web store, completing that printed document template and starting some designs for the big new web portal. This coming weekend, I intended to jump headfirst into the web portal with the intention of completing a Photoshop image prototype of the home page — including the logo, color scheme and recurring design elements — by Sunday night.
Apparently, the fact that only one business day had passed since my meeting with my previous employer did not deter them from expecting something…more. I received an email from their up-and-coming graphics guy (he’s still pretty green, hence my continuous involvement) on Tuesday afternoon. Apparently the woman who brought me onto the project had used him as a “hit man,” asking him to send me an email to inquire about the status of that printed document template. “It sounds like they need it as soon as possible,” the guy said to me, which is the total antithesis of the vibe I got when the project was given to me: as an afterthought while I was on my way out the office door.
I responded, “Please tell her that as I explained on Thursday, I have had prior engagements that have kept me busy through Monday this week. I’ll design the printed document template this evening with the intent to have deliverables to you tomorrow, but please also be aware that no urgency whatsoever was ever communicated to me in regards to this project.” The graphics guy seemed all-too-happy to pass this message along. He’s probably sick of that woman’s shit, himself. It wouldn’t surprise me. When I worked there, we had senior-level developers threaten to quit if their desks were moved within earshot of her.
So on Tuesday night, I worked until 10:30 on the printed document template and got it all wrapped up. I sent it off that very night, along with a tag asking if there were any changes to please advise me immediately, else I would be sending an invoice along shortly thereafter. I haven’t heard anything back yet. If I don’t by Friday, the bill — small as it is — will be hitting their inbox.
Today (Wednesday) was a whirlwind day. At my day job, two new projects hit my inbox, one a time-sensitive affair involving marketing materials for a tradeshow this coming Sunday. I had been waist-deep in this stuff for about an hour when my local boss showed up (I have one who lives out of state, and one who lives here in town) wanting to hang out and discuss some stuff. So we got together and talked about our long-term technology plan for the company website I’m working on upgrading, as well as general business. We also, thankfully, got to play some more BioShock over at his house, which was certainly welcome.
I got back around dinner time, had a quick meal and went back to my computer with the intention of working on those day-job projects well into the evening, realizing that my “game diversion” earlier today had cost me the ability to contribute to any side jobs tonight. As if on cue, I saw an email in my inbox from my previous employer. Something about that print document template I sent them yesterday? I wondered. No, it from was a different person — the woman in charge of the new web portal we’re building. She wanted to know when I was going to have the site logo designed and available for them to see. Of course the web design itself was going to take longer, she acknowledged, but having the logo as soon as possible would help them prepare other things that were dependent on it.
I had to laugh. And then, of course, I had to send an email, saying I hoped to have some logo concepts for their review on Friday. Which means I’ve got to whip them together tomorrow night. That’s fine, though, because I already know what I want the bloody thing to look like: I can see it in my head.
It occurred to me, though, that I have probably set myself up for a whole month of this — of staying barely just one step ahead of all the work on my plate, delivering things to their respective owners only just in the nick of time.
I hate it. I swear to Christ I will never make this mistake again.
My boss chuckled today at lunch as I told him about the metric frack-ton of work I’d saddled my weekend hours with. “Every time I see you, you say you’re cutting back,” he remarked knowingly. “And the next time, you’re always even deeper in the shit.”
Yeah, he’s right. Who am I kidding? I do this to myself, whether I realize it or not. In the relentless pursuit of some disposable capital to spend, thinking that’s all I need to put my life back on the Happy Track, I saddle myself with more responsibility than I’m comfortable taking on. I see other folks buying $3500 sets of chrome wheels for their GTOs and wish I had that. I see my boss buying himself a new Xbox 360 Elite “just because” and I wish I could do something that impulsive and not feel bad about it. When really, all the while, it’s time that’s really worth its weight in gold, not the stuff you’ll buy with real money and never look at again. When I think about it, I’ve been my happiest when I’ve been able to enjoy a productive day’s work at one job and then have the evenings and weekends to broaden my imagination and regenerate my creative energies.
Which is probably why now, even as my earnings begin to trickle in, I’m not in a hurry to rush out and blow them all on fifteen new video games or expensive electronic toys. Sure, I’d like that stuff, but in the end I’d feel bad if I bought it — a measured investment of just the right things, at just the right times, seems like the better way to enjoy a little extra spending money. A night out on the town with my wife, or a little impulse purchase during our trip in Michigan “just because.” And the real prize? A promise to myself that when this work is done, I’ll tone down the side jobs and give myself some time to de-stress this coming holiday season.
(That’s when you know you’ve booked yourself up too far in advance, by the way: When you start talking about the “holiday season” — Christmas, by any other name — in the first week of September.)
So I’ll have my nose firmly glued to the grindstone for the next four weeks, so if you think it’s already been too quiet around here lately, then I’m sorry to say it’s not going to get a whole lot better anytime soon. In addition to my many jobs, we’ll have preparations to make for our road trip northward. (In fact, that reminds me; I keep forgetting to buy the racer’s tape! Gah!) My hope, at least, is that when we get there, we can enjoy our time in Michigan for what it really is: A chance to have some fun.
Categorized as Life, Life/Work
My oh my, this all sounds so sadly familiar (as coming from my very own lips/pen/keyboard, etc.) Unfortunately, you’ve inherited the “biting off more than you can chew gene.” With any luck, it will skip the next generation.
To my credit, I did say a resounding “no thank you” to the latest request from my own version of your unclean fowl friend ~ (remember the woman with the 5 zillion students??) I simply could not let myself in for any more of that.
Good luck with it all, and try to come up for air once in a while, especially when the X Box returns home. xxoo
Is the woman with the 5 zillion students the one with a phobia about driving on the freeway? If so, declining any further work from her was definitely the right move!
Thanks very much fr the well-wishes! My plan is to sprinkle “fun stuff” into my schedule every few days so I have something in the near future to look forward to. Apple and I are going out to dinner this Friday, and then I can look forward to the Xbox’s arrival not long thereafter. Just little milestones to keep me going. Gonna be an interesting time!
I’ll try to get back on here and post “memory dumps” every so often. It helps greatly with the stress factor!
P.S., read your latest post on your site — sorry to hear that things have been so crappy in the health department since your return flight (I was afraid that was gonna be a nightmare)! I had some kind of a sinus thing once on a flight, and on the descent it felt like my head would explode. I hope all goes well, without any nasty surprises.
I think you need a Donut-own injection, stat! Nothing heals the soul quite like a fresh jelly donut, you know.
You definitely need to get the Xbox back so we can discuss BioShock. I just finished it for the second time a couple of days ago, but I can’t talk about it because neither you nor Reaper have played it too much, and I don’t want to spoil anything.
Damn straight — just a couple days ago I was thinking about a jelly donut. In fact, I could taste it. Weird. But Donut-own is definitely on the list of stops.
I know; I want to discuess BioShock too in all of its storied goodness. I see other people discussing it and must quickly avert my eyes! I’ve sorta messed myself up a little bit by playing it over at my boss’ house. The day he came over here, I started at the beginning, but yesterday I played a couple of hours from where he had left off, and that was further into the game. It was the part where Ryan starts poisoning the trees, and you have to invent the Lazarus Vector in order to save them. So I basically did all that, and stopped just before we got to Fort Frolic.
Fortunately, it didn’t appear that any major plot twists were revealed during this sequence, so I’m still safe on the overall story.
My boss thought he was almost to the end of the game, but I have a hard time believing that…when we were about to proceed to Fort Frolic, I noticed that only three of the bathysphere destination labels were filled in, and then some dialog in the game revealed that we hadn’t encountered Cohen yet. It sounds to me like there’s still a fair amount left.
Yes, Donut-own is a must. For you, anyway. I was just there last Friday, since every time I head out to Reaper’s getting Donut-own is a prerequisite — I’m pretty sure he won’t let me in his house unless I have a Donut-own bag (and juice) in hand.
If you and your boss just got to Fort Frolic, you’ve still got a ways to go — all of the slots in the bathysphere will be filled in with places you go to by the end of the game. But you might want to hold off on playing any more; there aren’t any major plot twists in Fort Frolic (which is where you meet Sander Cohen in all of his demented glory), but you do start running into them not too long after that.
There are at least three major levels you go to after Fort Frolic, I think, so tell your boss he’s not quite there yet.
He can be forgiven for that, though, as I was thinking similar things when I first got to that point of the game.
Hahaha, the ubiquitous Donut-own. That place better not ever go out of business (doubtful, so long as the Redford Police Department is practically across the street). After this upcoming month I’m looking at, a hedonistic donut grab sounds like just the ticket.
You’ve confirmed my suspicions about the length of the game — I knew there was no way my boss could’ve been closing in on the end already. Of course, when I finally get my Xbox back I’m going to start over from the beginning and really soak it all up.
Of the 5-6 hours total that I’ve played so far, I gotta say, I’m really impressed with the game. It doesn’t have the same “hunter/gatherer” feel that System Shock 2 did, where you were scavenging for stuff constantly, which speaks to the fact that BioShock is probably a better-balanced game overall. The story seems to be very well done, and the audio logs add a ton, as always.
Some standout moments so far include the maniacal Dr. Steinmann going apeshit in the operating room (I was seriously disturbed in there), and the huge “defend the fort!” task while you wait for the accursed Lazarus Vector to finish “downloading” into the air recirc system. The massive crush of splicers, bots and stuff flying everywhere was completely, almost hilariously amazing. I was down to zero Eve and half a bar of health with no medkits, camped out next to the hacked health station, spewing flaming napalm at everything that moved…and to make matters worse, there was a Big Daddy in there that I was trying to make sure I didn’t hit with a stray shot! Madness.
Heehee…yep, gotta love Donut-own. Hilariously, before the past couple of weeks, I hadn’t been there in a month or two. So when I walked in there a couple of weeks back, the owner was like, “Oh! Long time no see!” Hilariously, there’s a hole-in-the-wall Chinese place not too far from here that I’ve been frequenting lately, and now every time I go in there the woman behind the counter (who is always there) does the same thing. “Oh! You want General Tso’s chicken and Crab Rangoon? You really like it, eh?”
I did a bit more scrounging in the early parts of BioShock, but in the second half of the game (and especially near the end) there are no such concerns. This last time though, for example, I continually had a full wallet (it caps out at 500 dollars), and full ammo for most everything. I really love the fact you can switch out plasmids and tonics — so instead of having a focus on one or two things (like in System Shock 2), you’ve got a wider selection to help you progress through the game.
Steinmann was a good enemy. So is Cohen, when you meet up with him (he’s an “artist,” with everything that goes along with that tag). The Little Sisters are probably my favorite, though…just the whole idea of what they are and how they came to be (especially as you learn their backstory throughout the game). Especially when, in one of the last levels, you actually get to go to the places where they make the Little Sisters (and the Big Daddies, too). Inside, there’s all sorts of cute, cartoon posters hanging on the walls instructing the Little Sisters on what they need to do (like one showing a Little Sister holding the hand of a happy-looking Big Daddy, and it says something like “Always stick close to a friend,” or something similar).
As for that shootout in the lab, with all the splicers and the Big Daddy…I simply used “Hypnotize Big Daddy” for that, and had a “big” helper (hacking the turrets and the camera also helps). Of course, I also found out the hard way that, if you use that plasmid, you’d better disable the Static Electricity field if you have it equipped — one time I was getting pounded by a splicer, and the resulting shock hit the Big Daddy I’d hypnotized, and suddenly my big ally was pounding my ass into the wall. Not fun.
Hehe, sounds like they know you pretty well at those places. Like the guy at Little Caesar’s used to know me…that was embarrassing. Of course now they don’t carry stuffed crust at the local Caesar’s anymore, so it makes staying away from the place a lot easier!
I figured that using the Big Daddy to my advantage in the lab would have been a good idea…if either my boss or I had actually bought any useful plasmids or tonics like “Hypnotize Big Daddy,” which I haven’t seen myself. Seriously, I’m learning one thing from my boss’s experience with the game, and that is to actually buy stuff. We hit the $500 cap too, which I had heard about. It definitely doesn’t pay to walk around with a full wallet and not enough plasmids or equipment. The game even kept flashing at us, “You are low on Eve but wealthy. Find a vending machine.” The System Shock-style hoarding isn’t advisable!
We started to uncover a little bit of the story behind the Little Sisters…it looks like they were using an orphanage as a cover? Ryan finds their existence essential but wishes they didn’t have to look so distasteful, ha ha. I’ve barely learned anything, but have gotten just enough of a taste to know that there is something to it, and I can’t wait to learn the rest.
Of course, now I find myself saying “Welcome to the CIRCUS of VALUUUUUES!” every five minutes for no reason. It gets into your head, I tell you!
Mmm…stuffed crust. You know, I still haven’t been to the nearby Little Caesar’s to see if they have that or not.
I’m not 100% sure, but I think you get the “Hypnotize Big Daddy” plasmid by taking pictures with the camera — and really, taking snaps of the enemies makes the game so much easier. Not only do you get plasmids and tonics, but your research also gives you damage bonuses against enemies (invaluable against the Big Daddies). And buying stuff is also the way to go — there’s definitely enough money to go around in the game, so definitely buy things, especially ammo (PROTIP: Always stay stocked with electric shotgun buck for Big Daddy encounters, along with some armor-piercing auto rounds).
Ah, so you’ve scratched the surface of the Little Sisters story. “Fontaine’s Home for the Poor” and the orphanage…haha. Gotta love it. I also love hearing the audio diaries from everyone who comes in contact with them (or, in some cases, see their daughters turned into Little Sisters). Good stuff.
Gah! That stupid vending machine. I find myself saying that too — it doesn’t help when I’ve gone through the game twice and hacked every single one of those machines. Also — “NOOOOOOO! Mr. Bubbles!” and “Time for beddy-bye, Mr. B!” Those Little Sisters are adorably cute when they don’t creep the living bejesus out of you.
Hehehe…if your local Caesar’s does have it, I’m going! If not, we should hit up Buddy’s. I love that stuff too.
Ah yes, the camera. I saw my boss had it in the inventory already, but I didn’t think about using it much. During my first Big Daddy encounter, I definitely learned about the power of the electric buck. That stuff is essential! At first I was using armor-piercing pistol rounds to take out the cameras, but then I realized that you could hack the cameras, so I started doing that instead.
Yeah, you almost feel sorry for the Little Sisters when you drop their Big Daddy and they start screaming “Please get up, Mister Bubbles! Please get up!” My boss has been harvesting them all. Which is why I find it funny that he had barely spent any Adam, because he has a ton of it. But both he and I are classic ammo/equipment hoarders, so I guess it’s second nature.
I’m actually thankful for the chance to play bits and pieces of the game, because now I won’t sabotage any of my own actual play-through by making novice mistakes.