On Peace and Solitude and Work
Jean Sexton muses:
Sundays are usually a day of rest for me. I clean up the house, I catch up on some shows (I have all of Season 2 of Once Upon a Time to watch and I need to start Grimm so that I'm up on lunch conversation), I go on lots of walks with The Wolf, and I give my mind a day off. However, when we have a big project at work, sometimes it niggles at me, even on my Sundays. This Sunday it was niggling at me enough that I wasn't really finding any peace.
So here I am at work, having finished up reviewing Petrick's editing of the Federation Commander Tactics Manual after doing some of the SVC-approved changes to the main manuscript. I can only work on Steve's computer (where the manuscript lives) when Steve isn't here. Otherwise he is doing things (using the computer) that I cannot do. I may not be as fast as he is, but every correction I can make is one he doesn't have to.
Working at ADB can be like working with your family. We love each other, but sometimes we need a break. This Sunday, there is no one here but me and The Wolf. As Wolf is snoozing, I might as well be by myself. If I want to crank up my music, I can without fear of disturbing anyone. (I like solitude, but I like some sort of noise to keep me company.) I've gotten far more done than I usually do in a similar time period during the week. No phone calls have come in (I am the primary phone answerer). People aren't trotting up and down the street, so The Wolf isn't barking at them. There are no deliveries, so The Wolf doesn't have to keep delivery people from killing us unawares (he does this by sounding his fearsome bark). In some ways, working today is more peaceful than staying home, worrying about getting the work done
And what have I gotten done? I have worked on the Federation Commander Tactics Manual.
Chapter 1 is finished.
Chapters 2-5 have had Petrick's changes (we've kept him off the project until now so he can read it with fresh eyes) reviewed from my end and the pages with changes flagged with my little colored flags so I can easily find them when it is time for me to kidnap Steve's computer. (I'm making the simple changes so he can save his time and energy for new projects and the content changes.)
[Chapter 6 is with Petrick.]
I'm now in the middle of re-reading Chapter 7, the "meat" of the book. It discusses the tactics of each empire. The "Jean stuff" has been done to the Federation and the Klingons on the main manuscript (I did the Klingons today). The Romulans are waiting for my changes to be reviewed by Steve. As soon as I finish this post, I'll tackle the Gorns and move on through the chapter. Then it will go to Petrick.
Oh yes, I also wrote this blog post. So as to use my mornings most efficiently (when Steve hasn't made it in quite yet and I can kidnap his computer), I will probably set up most of the week of blogs.
At some point one of the Steves will probably wander in. At that point I'll evaluate how I feel (if I go home now, will I let the undone work get to me?) and make a decision about heading home. But for now, I am enjoying the satisfaction of solitary work on a peaceful Sunday.
Sundays are usually a day of rest for me. I clean up the house, I catch up on some shows (I have all of Season 2 of Once Upon a Time to watch and I need to start Grimm so that I'm up on lunch conversation), I go on lots of walks with The Wolf, and I give my mind a day off. However, when we have a big project at work, sometimes it niggles at me, even on my Sundays. This Sunday it was niggling at me enough that I wasn't really finding any peace.
So here I am at work, having finished up reviewing Petrick's editing of the Federation Commander Tactics Manual after doing some of the SVC-approved changes to the main manuscript. I can only work on Steve's computer (where the manuscript lives) when Steve isn't here. Otherwise he is doing things (using the computer) that I cannot do. I may not be as fast as he is, but every correction I can make is one he doesn't have to.
Working at ADB can be like working with your family. We love each other, but sometimes we need a break. This Sunday, there is no one here but me and The Wolf. As Wolf is snoozing, I might as well be by myself. If I want to crank up my music, I can without fear of disturbing anyone. (I like solitude, but I like some sort of noise to keep me company.) I've gotten far more done than I usually do in a similar time period during the week. No phone calls have come in (I am the primary phone answerer). People aren't trotting up and down the street, so The Wolf isn't barking at them. There are no deliveries, so The Wolf doesn't have to keep delivery people from killing us unawares (he does this by sounding his fearsome bark). In some ways, working today is more peaceful than staying home, worrying about getting the work done
And what have I gotten done? I have worked on the Federation Commander Tactics Manual.
Chapter 1 is finished.
Chapters 2-5 have had Petrick's changes (we've kept him off the project until now so he can read it with fresh eyes) reviewed from my end and the pages with changes flagged with my little colored flags so I can easily find them when it is time for me to kidnap Steve's computer. (I'm making the simple changes so he can save his time and energy for new projects and the content changes.)
[Chapter 6 is with Petrick.]
I'm now in the middle of re-reading Chapter 7, the "meat" of the book. It discusses the tactics of each empire. The "Jean stuff" has been done to the Federation and the Klingons on the main manuscript (I did the Klingons today). The Romulans are waiting for my changes to be reviewed by Steve. As soon as I finish this post, I'll tackle the Gorns and move on through the chapter. Then it will go to Petrick.
Oh yes, I also wrote this blog post. So as to use my mornings most efficiently (when Steve hasn't made it in quite yet and I can kidnap his computer), I will probably set up most of the week of blogs.
At some point one of the Steves will probably wander in. At that point I'll evaluate how I feel (if I go home now, will I let the undone work get to me?) and make a decision about heading home. But for now, I am enjoying the satisfaction of solitary work on a peaceful Sunday.
posted by Federation Commander at 2:25 PM
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