The other kind of writing
I have been becoming more and more disillusioned with the writing that I do for a day job - i.e. that programming software development malarkey. It’s been a year since I started out in the contract world - a year today, in fact, judging from the calendar - and while it’s a marked improvement over working for a global corporation, it has also confirmed that I don’t really enjoy it. It bores me. I’m just not interested.
Warning: techie-talk ahead.
For example, the project I’m currently working on (which is an astoundingly shoddy, badly-organised, seat-of-your-pants, “Requirements? We don’ need no steenkin’ requirements!” affair) is, technically, pushing the bounds of the software we’re using. We’ve been implementing AJAX calls, dyanmic language systems and, as of this week, are using JSON to do cross database data lookups. Apparently. I don’t know. I know what JSON is but I’m fucked if I either understand it or, more importantly, give a toss. If you’re reading this and saying to yourself “What the fuck is he talking about?” then welcome to my world.
The trouble is that I’m not only meant to know but I’m also meant to actually give a damn. I just don’t.
Part of the problem is that while we are pushing the bounds of technology on this project, the project itself doesn’t require it. It’s actually quite a straight forward system that is in no way groundbreaking or innovative. The data and process requirements themselves are quite marginal and rather basic. The approach to the design itself and the reason that it’s so, um, challenging I suppose, is really just because we can. (At this point I want to write more but I’m suddenly all too aware of how unprofessional this all sounds. Ah well!)
One of the reasons that a redesign of this blog has been taking so long is because every time I sit down to have a crack at it, I find myself not being arsed to code it all. (Yes, I could use someone else’s premade template but I’ve yet to find one that I like). I just don’t care anymore and if I don’t care then I probably have no place doing what I’m doing. It’s a dilemma to be sure. I’d like to change career (and we all know what I’d much rather be doing) but that’s not something that I can do at the drop of a hat on account of being the sole breadwinner in the family.
Bloody family! Bloody need-to-eat! Bloody bills! Bloody mortgage! Bloody job!
However, all that being said, over the last couple of days I’ve been working on the new theme for this site and really taking care over it. I’m still working out some of the new features and exploring more about how WordPress works. It’s getting me quite excited again. I’ve always wondered what the Custom Fields section for posts does and I’ve now found out. Suddenly I’m thinking that I can use this to my advantage with all the (badly fucking written) reviews that I keep posting. I’ve been messing around with some “Recent Comments” plugins (although I may write my own to get it exactly how I want it). The next couple of tasks are to decide what else to include. Are people actually interested in a Last.fm feed? Do people ever click through to a Flickr profile? Is a “blogroll” useful these days or not or is it still too political (I’m not linking you because you don’t link me and all that bollocks!)
I need to do more of this because I need to be inspired by my day-to-day jobbing. It sometimes feels like a Sisyphean taks but I want need to be inspired by the thought of learning JSON and AJAX and other crap so that I can keep the money coming in and spend more time working towards my long-term goals.
Long term! I’m nearly fucking middle-aged and I’m thinking long-term. How do you spell CRISIS?
In my world you spell CRISIS as NORMAL . Last Minute stuff seems to be the norm.
As for getting bored with it all, I’m right with you - I’m having one of my annual “What do I want to do when I grow up?” introspective things, and thinking/deciding that IT and Web guff is probably Not It.
At the end of the day though, it comes down to what kind of person you are : Are you someone who lives to work, or works to live? I know I’m the latter, and thus contracting pays more (and makes me pay more tax, but that’s by the by) and enables me to do more outside of work. And- for me, anyway- that’s what it’s all about.
Not the most supportive of comments, I know - but believe me, I feel your pain! Feel free to send ranty email if you want. You know where I is.
Comment by Lyle — December 4, 2007 @ 12:43 pm
Some people might be interested in Last.fm feeds. I’m not, but that’s because I don’t use Last.fm.
I use Flickr, and I do indeed click through if someone posts their Flickrs on their blog, mostly if I see an interesting photo.
As far as blogrolls go, I have switched to using Google Reader to supply my blogroll, so it only has links to blogs that I actually read. I couldn’t give a toss if anyone doesn’t link back to me, but I’m flattered if they do, nice people that they are.
Recent comments can be nice, especially if someone commented wittily, prompting people to click through to a post they might not have read otherwise.
Oh, and BRING BACK THE TEETH!
Comment by Matt — December 4, 2007 @ 1:29 pm
As you may have guessed given my computer illiteracy my sole public access enterprises online are the Blog… eBay as well, obviously, but that’s purely functional/ educational!
If someone posts a Flickr pic that I like I do tend to browse their albums because I’m nosey, er, curious. I’m not sure what Blogrolls are, but I link to people whose sites I find of interest and hope other people might- if I started finding the content objectionable (bigotry, etc.) I would remove the link…
Recent comments boxes are useful because people can comment on things that I’ve not commented and so I don’t get any notification…
Er, not sure that’s much help at all… but it’s a bunch of stuff that popped into my head and needed to pop out!
Comment by Jon Peacey — December 4, 2007 @ 3:11 pm