Grant Dobbe

9. your roommates leaving a mess in the kitchen is perfectly acceptible. you leaving a mess in the kitchen is a national crisis that needs to be rectified immediately.
10. the tragedy of the commons is in full effect when pertaining to the living room, dining area, kitchen, and bathroom. clean up for your own benefit, because nobody else is going to do otherwise.
11. that feeling of guilt-ridden panic and paranoia at not having anything to do will eventually go away. when it does, it’s a glorious thing.
12. it is perfectly acceptable to allow yourself 13.5 hours of sleep on a saturday when the previous week left you so exhausted you didn’t even realize it.
13. going to the library to study and work is an effective method of getting stuff done. the same applies for leaving the office and sitting in a coffee shop.
14. the technology industry runs on three things: electricity, adrenaline, and caffeine. everything else is just a means to obtaining the aforementioned three.
15. cooking is a simple way to bring joy into your life and the lives of others. just ask the recipients of fresh bread.
16. your roommates will take quick showers except when it’s imperative for you to get into the bathroom.

also, i’m thinking about migrating this blog to a real website. i’ve set aside a domain specifically for that purpose. expect more details later. carry on.

i’ve been working really hard the last couple of weeks. there are several web development projects on my plate, and last night i was at a client’s office until midnight trying to diagnose a server problem. it’s hard, demanding work, but at the same time there’s a great deal of satisfaction knowing that you are responsible for helping a business to succeed, or in helping to make other people’s lives better.

i’m under stress, but it’s a stress much different than the kind i experienced in college. it’s more diffused, and i almost seem to thrive on it while i’m at work. granted, there are days (like today) where my concentration goes to shit and i might as well do something menial like affix stamps to envelopes, but most of the time it drives me to do better and be better.

that’s almost the opposite of my home life. in the morning, i work out, eat breakfast, pack a lunch, and go to work. in the evening, i come home, sit down, read, make dinner, and go to bed. on the weekends, i do the big cooking like making stock and baking bread, and i vacuum. every once in a while, i have friends over. it’s everything i’d wanted and hoped for in my last semester of college, and i couldn’t be happier.

it’s almost a perfect balance: the hectic, busy push of work and the calm, steady flow of home. throw in the occasional social event, and i’m very satisfied with where i am.

life is good.

1. single women (with very few exceptions) are slobs. i can name one who is not, and even she’s turning.
2. never underestimate the ability of a straw hat to attract the opposite sex at a drinking establishment.
3. telling yourself you’ll do a household chore and actually doing that chore are two very different things.
4. the quickest way to get people’s attention is to fuck up the email server.
5. the 40 hour work week is at the same time the greatest development in modern employment and the bane of human existence.
6. packing a lunch and sitting by the river with a book beats the hell out of going to a restaurant 9 times out of 10.
7. the quickest way to get a phone call is to either start a big project or say “i’m going to lunch”.
8. daunting projects really aren’t that daunting once you cut the bullshit and get to work.

alright. carry on.