Forced To Take The Day Off
There I was yesterday morning half way through another blog entry about XPages when my UPS started to make odd ticking noises, my office light flickered a bit and then all the power died.
It was the first time this had happened since I bought the UPS and so the first chance to test whether it gave me time to power down both the Mac Minis attached to it and all the Windows/Domino server running in Parallels on one of them. Luckily it did and, because my work is done from a laptop, no data was lost.
What then though? No power means no work. After half an hour I got the idea it might be like it for a while and started thinking about what to do to pass the time.
First thing I did was go and post my VAT return. On the way back I called in to the village hall where Karen runs the toddler group and I spent half an hour there playing with the kids and singing nursery rhymes with them all.
After play group a load of the mums and their kids came back to ours for coffee and cakes, so I spent some time in the garden with all the kids which was nice.
Not long after they all left a neighbour called by to see if it wasn't just him without power. Before long we were sat in the local pub's beer garden enjoying the sun with a couple of shandies and a pub lunch.
After an hour or so in the pub we came back to ours and he called his wife to invite her and the kids over for dinner. Before we knew it they were leaving and it the day was all but done.
Then the guilt set in. While it was nice to relax for a day and do nothing I do like to get to the end of a day and think I achieved something during it. Trouble is, apart from posting a letter, I achieved nothing at all yesterday. Oh well, it was a nice day I guess.
It's funny as only the other day I was thinking about how I wish something exciting would happen. Having worked from home for the last 5 years I'm finding life very predictable. Sometimes I find myself wishing for something to happen out of the ordinary, like, I dunno, a meteor landing in the street or something.
A power cut wasn't really what I had in mind, but at least it broke the pattern. XPages will have to wait until tomorrow now. I've got some work to catch up on.
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"I achieved nothing at all yesterday"... Re-read your words!
You spent quality time with children and friends. Sounds like you accomplished quite a bit to me. The work will still be there when you get back. The occasional unscheduled day off is good for you. Now enough slacking, we're waiting for your opinion on XPages!
You're right Ed. Can't put a price on that.
I feel like bad-dad for even suggesting the day was wasted now ;o)
I'm with Ed, don't feel guilty in the slightest - just enjoy it.
It's funny because while I was thinking the same thing, I couldn't help but laugh.
Reason being, the terms used. Ex. mums, back to ours for coffee and cakes, before long we were sat in the local pub's...
I enjoy reading or listening to the way people speak from around the world. This week I'm sharing my office with an engineer from Poland, who speaks very good English BTW, but how phrases like the ones mentioned above are different around the world even in the same language.
I don't know, I guess this was really no value added with this comment, I just couldn't stop smiling as I read the article though.
Have a good day!
It's funny you say that Aaron as, actually, I tone it down when writing on here and (try to) remove anything that I think might cause too much confusion for my international audience. Hopefully it all makes sense, but, like you say, it's just said differently.
A breath of fresh air! thanks...not wasted a bit on the rest of us.
I think Ed hit the nail on the head. While I was reading that, I was wishing and thinking that I would LOVE to have one of those days.
Those kinds of days are the ones that allow us to recharge our batteries and to forge ahead again the next day.
Don't waste them, and especially, don't disregard them.
I was struck by what a pleasant sounding community you live in. I can walk to our mail-box to get my mail but most often pick it up from the car when returning from work. If the village hall is like our city hall, then it's a half hour drive ... but I can't imagine ever going there.
What a treat to walk to the "village hall" ... I'm assuming you walked ... I guess I don't know for sure ... and then having folks over for coffee and cakes (not tea and biscuits?).
Well, anyway, it just sounds very nice. I love working at home and hope to get back to doing that soon.
Peace, Love, Laughter,
Rob:-]
You're right Pamela. The days you take off which you never planned to are always the best. I know the weekend should be two days off each week but they never are -- always filled with chores and stuff.
Rob. I've probably painted a rosier picture than the reality. We do live in a village, technically (it's known as Gedling Village) but it's not like it's a cluster of a dozen cozy cottages nestled in the countryside or anything like that. When the house we live in was built Gedling was a small village several miles from Nottingham. In the 100+ years since then the city has spread outward and engulfed Gedling. We're now on the very outskirts of it -- city in one direction and fields in the other. That said, there's a "villagey feel" to it (a few nice little cottages) and I did walk to the village hall and post the letter on the way.
Maybe I should add more of my life back in to this blog. I made a conscious effort to remove that element over the last few years and have tried to keep it mainly techy since. The balance is probably wrong now.
Here's a Google street view of the hall in question. Take a virtual walk round the "village" I live in.
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=52.974123,-1.075544&spn=0,359.984787&t=h&z=16&layer=c&cbll=52.975815,-1.079318&panoid=zQgkVFe9n4110cYpwHmEbw&cbp=12,278.35,,0,3.73
To head toward our house you need to turn round and head in the direction the paper boy on his BMX is (bet he's annoying the cars behind him).
Another bit of local/family history: The church you see in the background of the Street View about has been there since the 12th century (an earlier church was there in 1086 at the time of the Domesday book!).
My dad's cousin has traced our family tree back to the 16th century and some of my distant relatives from that era are buried in that cemetry. The headstones are still there!
Great post. Sometimes, the most unplanned days are the most valuable.
Family/Friends over work anyday!
- Bilal Jaffery
Great post...somehow these days are far and few between. As others stated, was smiling while reading at the different vernacular, and the comments about the 'village'. I am envious in that regard, definitely no 'villagey feel' to the DC metro area.
Pretty cool regarding the family tree, lately I have found myself interested/amused in how 'young' our country is compared to most other countries.