Weekend update…

I’ve got a lot going on lately. I figured maybe if I write it all out here I can make sense of it and start thinking of how to properly prioritize. It’s also after midnight so really what I’m doing is procrastinating when I should be going to bed. I have work in the morning.

First thing on my mind is that I was made the lead engineer of my team at work a week ago… I’m on the fence about. I really enjoyed my job before where I was just a senior engineer, assigned development tickets, and then did them. I also enjoyed brainstorming with the then lead engineer about how to best get things done. We get along really well. I don’t like lots of responsibility. I really don’t like dealing with most people in general. I’m probably just being immature (I’m sure I am), but I do better with team mates than I do with dealing with stakeholders outside of my team. I like to work hard. I like to be in the weeds. I don’t like dealing with people that don’t fully understand what I do and trying to be political and walking on eggshells and blah blah blah. I don’t have time for that garbage… But here I am now. The old lead was moved to another project and I was the next best choice to take over. So. Now I deal with garbage AND do what I was doing before. Maybe I’ll learn to like it. Or at least deal with it. This is probably good for my career…

I have a podcast with a good friend that we’ve been doing for about a year and a half. It’s a good podcast if you ask me (though I’m bias). There is so much we can do with it and I feel we are both too busy to really make this into something amazing. I love doing it. We were talking earlier today over beer (our podcast is about New Jersey beer, so completely related) about ideas of expanding and such and it just seems like a lot. It is a lot, but I really do enjoy it. The problem is that it’s hard to even get an episode out on a regular basis. Sometimes it’s months between episodes and that’s not a good way to keep an audience engaged.

I co-organize a WordPress meetup, which has expanded into a WordCamp (WordPress conference in Montclair, NJ probably in late summer or early fall) and now WordPress classes. The WordPress classes was an idea because we need a way to make some money to help with the cost of rent of the place we are using and the cost of a mega air conditioner that will certainly be needed when the summer comes. I’m involved in all 3 endeavors, though really only peripherally on 2 of them. The meetup I’m fully involved in. Luckily we have a 3 official co-organizers and 2 others that help a lot.

I run an agency on the side. I’ve done this with a partner since 2015, though very minimally. My partner mostly runs this agency. She does it full time. I really am only involved when some serious development work is needed. We complement each others skills very well. She deals with clients, project management, and content strategy. I deal with clients minimally (well enough) and making their ideas come alive in the code. It’s fun and rewarding. It’s also something I can call my own. My own venture. She’s really into expanding it this year.

Many of you know I work on Open Diary. I do this with most of my free time. Actually, next to my full time job, Open Diary work comes next. There’s a long list of features and some bugs I’m still contending with. Overall though, the site is in pretty good shape and there’s a lot of cool things coming very soon. It does take a ton of my time though, but again, I love working on it and find the work challenging and rewarding.

I’ve been working on a startup for maybe 3 plus years with a few other people. In the beginning I did a ton of work for this startup, but as time dragged on I did less and less… It is a cool product, but it’s hard to get excited about it when nothing has really changed. I still do occasional work, but again, it’s hard to get excited about it when there’s nothing to get excited about. I still have a little hope that it will get exciting again (that’s why I’m still involved), but for now, I’m fixing the occasional bug and we will see what happens. I stick around mostly because of the work I’ve already invested into it.

My family. I do my best to spend time with my wife and daughter. It’s hard in the winter because I struggle with things to do. We watch a lot of TV shows (My Little Pony) and movies. In the spring/summer it’s much easier. I take my daughter to the park, or have her help me with my garden. Go for a walk around the neighborhood, etc. When we are confined to the house it’s more difficult for me. There’s only so many times I can read the same book to her. The only thing I like to do inside is work and watch TV. Everything else I enjoy is outdoors. Maybe we should move some place where winter is much milder…

So, yeah, I know I’m taking on too much and the solution is to cut back — I’m not looking for any advice or anything. I don’t want to cut back and I just do my best to prioritize. I really want all of these things (at least to some level). There’s even more I want to do, but I know there’s no time to take on anything else. As it is, I’m sure I don’t get enough sleep. Maybe I should go to sleep now…