communication breakdown

Stars and Stripes

Happy 4th everyone... how lucky we are to live in such a wonderful and blessed nation. Despite the negativity brought upon us by our own media and enemies abroad, I'm grateful to live in America. This truly is the land of promise and opportunity. Let me also take a moment to express my gratitude to the soldiers who are currently stationed both at home and abroad, charged with protecting our freedom. I respect and admire you for your commitment to our nation...

Well, since I have tomorrow off, I figured I had nothing better to do than to post an update here. First of all, as of this writing, my back is at about 80%, which is a great sign. After last Saturday I was really worrying that I'd have to visit a doctor, but my stubbornness won again. Hopefully I will be able to return to TaeKwon-Do class tomorrow, and then back to playing tennis sometime soon. I'll tell you what, back injuries (even minor ones) are no fun, because they are so debilitating. I really felt helpless when I've been unable to do the things I enjoy this past week. I'm really looking forward to getting back in the swing of things. I think I need to step up my training regiment and strength training to hopefully avoid these little nagging injuries in the future.

Tonight was fun - I went over to a co-worker's house for a cookout and then out to the park to watch fireworks. I also got to spend some time with his son Zack, who just turned 3 and was really a blast. I love kids and for some reason they've always loved me too - I look forward to having one (several?) of my own one day, but first things first - tracking down a wife...

This upcoming work week should be interesting, because almost all of my team is on vacation. It's going to be a weird feeling as I'm really going to have to carry the team on my back - our progress for the week will largely be determined by my own success. Not that there's really any pressure or anything to complete certain things this week, but to a degree I sort of feel that my team is depending on me to get some things done in their absence, so we'll see. Maybe it will be another opportunity to demonstrate my ability and show my manager that I need to be promoted out of my Associate position.

In short, an Associate Software Engineer is not expected to work independently - he is expected to complete tasks with the help of a more advanced Software Engineer. To be perfectly honest, I probably only acted as an Associate for about a month - after that, I was working independently and successfully, which is exactly what is expected from a Software Engineer. One of the problems I've seen with a big company, however, is that it's very hard to move up, even when well-deserved - most of the senior people have been here 15+ years. It's so different from my former company, where the sheer smallness of it meant that anyone with skills and ambition could fly up the ladder quickly. For someone with little to no patience, the slow pace of Medtronic is very frustrating. Just another thing I need to keep in mind as I evaluate my life situation for the future....

On a completely different note, if you didn't catch any/all of Wimbledon this past fortnight - you really missed out. A terrific Championships with some really picturesque moments. First, the chair umpire who messed up the score in Venus' Williams match and gave the other player an extra point, which eventually helped her pull off the upset. Honestly, I think it's the biggest blunder by an official in a sporting event that I've ever seen. Then there was the retirement of Goran Ivanisevic, one of the sport's great characters and champions - his final moment at the net with Lleyton Hewitt was quite touching. Finally, there was the emergence of the beautifully talented Maria Sharapova as the women's champ, and the continued dominance of Roger Federer as the gentleman's winner. Honestly, was there a safer bet in all of sports than for Federer to win Wimbledon again? Anyways, it's always a kind of downer when Wimbledon is over; it's so great that you hate to see it go for another year - kind of like Christmas. But my eyes are already set on September and the US Open...

Now for some personal comments. First, I just found out today that my longtime friend Aaron got saved two weeks ago - what tremendous news! It proves that God works in amazing ways, and that he doesn't give up on us. I had been in his position before - convincing myself that I was OK, when really I was lost - so I understood where he was coming from. I was thrilled to hear this news, and I know he's going to do great things for God, wherever he may end up. Please pray for him as he makes some big decisions about where he's going to live and work after he takes the bar exam. I'm sure God has something great in store for him.

Finally, on another personal note - congratulations to my friend Natalie who just finished her first year of medical school. She amazes me with her commitment and optimism toward whatever life throws her way. All I know is that it only took me one episode of ER to realize I couldn't cut it in the medical field - but I have no doubt she will be excellent at whatever she chooses to do. Enjoy the summer Natalie, and best of luck next year!