Some Small Random Things

Since my last post, I have a couple small things that I've wanted to write, so I figure I might as well before I forget them.

My mom asked me what books I was reading at the park, so more of you may be interested as well. Most of what I'm reading are books that the company gave me that help my understanding of certain things. Lots of books on the Java programming language, some things about concurrent software design and test-driven design, etc. Separate from those is a book I picked up on the advice from a friend - Michael Pollan's "In Defense of Food". I've only read the introduction so far, but basically he goes through and says how our culture and economy (among many things) influences what we eat, but not always in a good way. He boils things down to three basic rules: (1) Eat food, (2) Not too much, (3) Mostly plants. For the first rule, he makes sure to distinguish between food and edible food-like substances like Oreos (which is a MASSIVE detriment to my sweet tooth). The second rule is about trying to eat smaller portions, especially later in the day (i.e. dinner) after which most people are not very active and therefore don't need all the energy. The last rule he hasn't given in much detail yet (again, only the intro so far), but I'm interested to read about it all. I'll be sure to give my thoughts here as well.

As a followup to my previous post, this is just in case you thought I was kidding:

This is what happens when the build breaks - sword fighting on office chairs.

Work today was pretty good. I got a huge list of things to finish within the next week or so, and they actually have deadlines attached to them. It feels good to have some things to really focus in on, so that I show up knowing exactly what I'll be doing. I'm still looking forward to all the work since I'm finally getting into really substantial things (even some coding and scripting!) One very cool thing that happened was that I saw our CEO today. He was just walking through the kitchen during lunch, presumably getting food like everyone else. He was wearing jeans, a t-shirt, and a wind breaker. I love that I work at a place where this is not only acceptable, but the norm.

After work, I decided it was time to finally try the manual razor I bought a couple weeks ago. I showered, applied the shaving cream, and dove right in. It was a strange feeling at first, having the skin pulled by the razor. I'm so used to the electric where the hair basically just falls right off. Eventually, I got the hang of it, and was very satisfied with the results. It didn't seem as close of a shave, but that might be because I was being cautious and not pressing down too hard. That also means I made it out alive with no cuts, which would have been a disaster otherwise given my ability to handle things like that. One thing this has is that it feels more comfortable than the electric razor, although that could have been because of the shaving cream and aftershave.

Unfortunately, it may rain tomorrow. I know it's not much to complain about considering every day here prior has practically been perfect. It will just be weird considering the office building doesn't actually have a roof over some of the lounges on the bottom floor. I'll also have to prepare for weather in terms of what I wear, luckily I'm used to crazy weather in New England so I'll be fine. Luckily, tomorrow is also Tuesday, and Tuesday... is waffle day.