3 years ago I started to notice that the joint in my left big toe, right where the toe meets the foot, was hurting. If you want science, it'd be pain in my left, first metatarsal phalangeal joint. I didn't know what to make of it, so I went to a podiatrist to get checked out. We started with the easy stuff, and assumed it was gout. Modified diet, pain meds, some easy enough tests to confirm. Well, tests came back negative, pain meds were good but the pain never went away. And the diet just stunk. So more tests and xrays and what have you.
The diagnosis became hallux limitus. The metatarsal bone in my foot had an overhang or lip on it. The phalangeal bone in my toe rubbed up against it. This was bad, so I got pain. Only want to fix it was with surgery. Well, I waited until I couldn't take it anymore (which is saying something, since I have a really high pain threshold) and scheduled the surgery. The doc went in, shaved a bone here, screwed a piece there, and said problem solved. A little physical therapy and I was back to running and jumping and doing all the normal stuff I was supposed to be doing.
That pain free life lasted for almost 2 years. I started to get that painful twinge in that same toe, in that same place. And it continued to get worse and worse, so I scheduled time with that same friendly podiatrist. More tests, and the problem this time was the cartilage separating foot from toe. Only way to fix it? Surgery. So, I waited until I could stand it anymore (and this time around, until I got really tired of sitting around with frozen peas or ice packs on my foot every night) and scheduled the surgery. Instead of a simple old Waterman-Greene Osteotomy, this time around was an awesome "hemi-joint implant). The plan was to cut the end of the toe bone off, drill a hole in it, and screw in a synthetic head. When the doc opened the toe back back, turns out I had zero cartilage, and he had to put the implant on the foot side.
So, more physical therapy, more pain meds, and it was supposed to be back to normal physical activity. That was more than 10 months ago, and every day since I've had pain in that toe. Some days, it's back to the ice pack and frozen peas. Some days, it's back to the pain meds. But all days are back to being pain filled, with the added bonus of knowing the absolute only way to remedy the situation is with another surgery.
Since I can't go out and play with my daughters, I finally decided it's time to go see a doc, though I'm not giving that same guy the opportunity for 3 strikes.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
That's some good chicken
Lately, Chic-Fil-A has been in the news because of their CEO's stance on homosexual marriage. It seems everyone with a keyboard and half a mind has commented, so I figured why not me too.
So, my religious stance is that homosexuality is a sin. Also sins: lying, stealing, coveting (wanting something that's not yours), holding something higher than God (I'm looking at you money), the love of money (root of all evil). And, it turns out, many more things are sins as well...
Leviticus 18:22 (CEB) - You must not have sexual intercourse with a man as you would with a woman; it is a detestable practice
Leviticus 19:11 (ESV) - You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another.
How about this one, for all my lawyer friends?
Lev19:15 - You shall do no injustice in court.
How about my farmer friends?
Lev19:19 - [...] You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor shall you wear a garment of cloth made of two kinds of material.
That last part is tricky - means most of our clothes make us sinners.
Now, the argument could be made that lying and stealing and coveting are actions that you have a choice in, and some say homosexuality is not a choice. Well...
How about Lev. chapter 15. It's all about bodily discharges being a sin, and if you touch a bed where it's happened, that's also makes you unclean. And if a person gets spit on by a person who touched the bed of a man who "discharged", that person is also unclean. That's the man side of things, there's also lots about women and menstruation being unclean.
So what's my point?
Sin is all equal in God's eyes. We are all sinners, and so us who lie are the same as those who are gay, in God's eyes. But God loves us enough to overlook these sins. And He tell us (John 13:34) to love one another (and I would add, despite these sins we all have).
Summary thus far - I believe homosexuality is a sin, but it's no worse than all the other sins out there, and I need to still love the person.
But so far, that has nothing to do with Chic-fil-a or politics.
I support Chic-fil-A, because I believe a person has the right to speak his opinion (see Amendment #1 to the US Constitution). Ands Chic-Fil-A has never shied away from publicly acknowledging that they are a company based on Judeo-Christian values. I also like their chicken. Can a company stand up and say something supportive of homosexuality? Sure - I just don't have to agree with them. Same can be said about Islam, Hindu, Buddhism, or even non-religious things like socialism or that Batman is better than Superman (he's not).
Where I have a problem is trying to make all of the above political. I don't want my government (be that city, state or federal) to get involved with my religion. I don't want them to make laws to enforce some Judeo-Christian values but not others, because I think that's unfair and not showing love to everyone. If we say that the government has the right to ban homosexuality because it's a sin and morally objectionable (as determined by the Bible), does that also give them the right to ban menstruation? I know that's a bit of a stretch, but I think the logic is sound.
Summary, part deux-
I don't have to like it, and I don't support it, but I also don't like or support the government getting involved in it.
So, my religious stance is that homosexuality is a sin. Also sins: lying, stealing, coveting (wanting something that's not yours), holding something higher than God (I'm looking at you money), the love of money (root of all evil). And, it turns out, many more things are sins as well...
Leviticus 18:22 (CEB) - You must not have sexual intercourse with a man as you would with a woman; it is a detestable practice
Leviticus 19:11 (ESV) - You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another.
How about this one, for all my lawyer friends?
Lev19:15 - You shall do no injustice in court.
How about my farmer friends?
Lev19:19 - [...] You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor shall you wear a garment of cloth made of two kinds of material.
That last part is tricky - means most of our clothes make us sinners.
Now, the argument could be made that lying and stealing and coveting are actions that you have a choice in, and some say homosexuality is not a choice. Well...
How about Lev. chapter 15. It's all about bodily discharges being a sin, and if you touch a bed where it's happened, that's also makes you unclean. And if a person gets spit on by a person who touched the bed of a man who "discharged", that person is also unclean. That's the man side of things, there's also lots about women and menstruation being unclean.
So what's my point?
Sin is all equal in God's eyes. We are all sinners, and so us who lie are the same as those who are gay, in God's eyes. But God loves us enough to overlook these sins. And He tell us (John 13:34) to love one another (and I would add, despite these sins we all have).
Summary thus far - I believe homosexuality is a sin, but it's no worse than all the other sins out there, and I need to still love the person.
But so far, that has nothing to do with Chic-fil-a or politics.
I support Chic-fil-A, because I believe a person has the right to speak his opinion (see Amendment #1 to the US Constitution). Ands Chic-Fil-A has never shied away from publicly acknowledging that they are a company based on Judeo-Christian values. I also like their chicken. Can a company stand up and say something supportive of homosexuality? Sure - I just don't have to agree with them. Same can be said about Islam, Hindu, Buddhism, or even non-religious things like socialism or that Batman is better than Superman (he's not).
Where I have a problem is trying to make all of the above political. I don't want my government (be that city, state or federal) to get involved with my religion. I don't want them to make laws to enforce some Judeo-Christian values but not others, because I think that's unfair and not showing love to everyone. If we say that the government has the right to ban homosexuality because it's a sin and morally objectionable (as determined by the Bible), does that also give them the right to ban menstruation? I know that's a bit of a stretch, but I think the logic is sound.
Summary, part deux-
I don't have to like it, and I don't support it, but I also don't like or support the government getting involved in it.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
What was wrong with Walt Disney??
Since I shall be, for the foreseeable future, surrounded by estrogen (I have a wife and two daughters), I should accept the fact that cartoon princesses are cooler than Batman, Superman and the X-men all combined. I can still get my fix through the DC Nation cartoon block every weekend, or the competing Marvel Universe block, but I spend more time with a few ponies, an assortment of rodents and water fowl, and the occasional fruity little person (can you name those cartoons?). I also get to rewatch the Disney movies that we all have been growing up with for several decades. And that's where we'll spend our time this post...
So, seriously, what was wrong with Walt Disney? Snow White is a story about a witch trying to kill a little girl. Cinderella involves child abuse. 101 Dalmatians is about a crazy woman who wants to make a coat out of puppies. Wall-e, the dangers of pollution and mega-consumerism. Aladdin has thievery and lies. Alice in Wonderland has smoking and drugs (that's an easy leap to make). Tarzan starts the first few minutes with the murder of his parents. Beauty & the Beast ends with murder. And everyone knows what happens to Bambi's mom and Simba's dad. So the question remains, how did someone come up with some of these ideas? While most of the stories are taken from fairy tales or fables or folk lore, the specifics of the story came from the animators. What kind of a crazy company comes up with this kind of stuff?
Worse than that, what kind of parents are we that we sit our little girls (or boys) in front of the TV watching these shows? Should we make a point of calling this kind of stuff out? Should we ignore it and hope it doesn't scar them for life?
I know i've exaggerating to a large degree, but the intent is to make a point. Are we as parents paying attention to what goes in front of our kids? Disney could be the gateway drug to all kinds of crazy things that parents aren't paying attention to.
ok...end soap box.
So, seriously, what was wrong with Walt Disney? Snow White is a story about a witch trying to kill a little girl. Cinderella involves child abuse. 101 Dalmatians is about a crazy woman who wants to make a coat out of puppies. Wall-e, the dangers of pollution and mega-consumerism. Aladdin has thievery and lies. Alice in Wonderland has smoking and drugs (that's an easy leap to make). Tarzan starts the first few minutes with the murder of his parents. Beauty & the Beast ends with murder. And everyone knows what happens to Bambi's mom and Simba's dad. So the question remains, how did someone come up with some of these ideas? While most of the stories are taken from fairy tales or fables or folk lore, the specifics of the story came from the animators. What kind of a crazy company comes up with this kind of stuff?
Worse than that, what kind of parents are we that we sit our little girls (or boys) in front of the TV watching these shows? Should we make a point of calling this kind of stuff out? Should we ignore it and hope it doesn't scar them for life?
I know i've exaggerating to a large degree, but the intent is to make a point. Are we as parents paying attention to what goes in front of our kids? Disney could be the gateway drug to all kinds of crazy things that parents aren't paying attention to.
ok...end soap box.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
You can't get there from here...
So, I think the worst part about where we currently live is that it's pseudo-country. If it were the city, we'd have access to sidewalks and nice roads; If it were the country, we'd have access to wide open spaces. Instead, we have neither. The street outside our house is fairly busy. Busy enough that I won't walk or bicycle on it, and I think that says a lot. And, strangely enough, every week you see a random tractor go bouncing down the street. It's a total nether region, existing in neither city nor country.
Because of this phantom zone, in order for us to exercise, we have to actually get into a car and drive somewhere else. If this meant a gym it'd be normal, but this includes parks, and bicycling and walking/running. If it would stop raining, technically you could run around the yard - we sit on 1/3 of an acre, so there's enough room that you don't look 100% stupid running in a big circle. But the rain has the yard all muddy, and muddy running is bad. Plus, it's too muddy to mow back there, so the grass is getting pretty tall.
So here's my commentary: this is why America is facing an obesity epidemic. I won't go so far as to say people are lazy, which is certainly true for some. It's that it's just so hard to find a place to go exercise outdoors. There are some who are happy running in place on a treadmill, but there are some of us who would rather see more than the wall in front of us (assuming there's a wall, most of the time it's someone else in front of us). And for that segment of the population, it's counter intuitive for you to have to drive 1/2 hour away from your house to get a 1/2 hour of exercise.
The biggest argument against this rationale is that most people have sidewalks, and would just prefer to sit on the couch watching matlock or jeopardy than get outdoors and sweat a bit. To this I say, studies are now showing that a sedentary lifecycle not only shortens your life, but increases your risk of future heart issues by up to 60%. Google it, folks.
So... go get out there and sweat a bit. Or, at a minimum, try to stand up at least once every hour while you're vegging out.
Because of this phantom zone, in order for us to exercise, we have to actually get into a car and drive somewhere else. If this meant a gym it'd be normal, but this includes parks, and bicycling and walking/running. If it would stop raining, technically you could run around the yard - we sit on 1/3 of an acre, so there's enough room that you don't look 100% stupid running in a big circle. But the rain has the yard all muddy, and muddy running is bad. Plus, it's too muddy to mow back there, so the grass is getting pretty tall.
So here's my commentary: this is why America is facing an obesity epidemic. I won't go so far as to say people are lazy, which is certainly true for some. It's that it's just so hard to find a place to go exercise outdoors. There are some who are happy running in place on a treadmill, but there are some of us who would rather see more than the wall in front of us (assuming there's a wall, most of the time it's someone else in front of us). And for that segment of the population, it's counter intuitive for you to have to drive 1/2 hour away from your house to get a 1/2 hour of exercise.
The biggest argument against this rationale is that most people have sidewalks, and would just prefer to sit on the couch watching matlock or jeopardy than get outdoors and sweat a bit. To this I say, studies are now showing that a sedentary lifecycle not only shortens your life, but increases your risk of future heart issues by up to 60%. Google it, folks.
So... go get out there and sweat a bit. Or, at a minimum, try to stand up at least once every hour while you're vegging out.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Family, part 1
My wife & I just celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary. We met back at Sam Houston State - I was in the second year working towards my Master's degree in Forensic Science, she was in her 2nd year for her Bachelor's in English. She tells most of the story better than I do, but I'll give it a go anyways.
The summer between my 1st and 2nd year in grad school was busy. I spent 2 months living in an extended stay hotel interning for TABC in Austin (google it people.) I also was recovering from a nasty breakup. So when classes resumed, I knew 2 things - I didn't want to be sitting around my apartment alone (I'd done that all summer with my hotel room) and I didn't want a girlfriend. So I sort of poured my energy into church stuff, helping out with the college group. They would let me teach sunday school lessons, sang in the choir with the "old" people, led handbells and did solos, organized visitation when folks would come visit, and I tried to get involved with the BSM - although that last one didn't really take hold.
Apparently one of those things impressed a young sophomore who was looking for a church. She had been living with her dad, in the next town over, but struck out on her own for her sophomore year. That striking out included finding a church home. I honestly don't remember if I met her @ church or @ the BSM. I do remember her sitting on the gym floor sorting pictures for some reason. She may have been there for all the game nights we did... or the hide & seek... definitely for the giant slip n' slide, cuz I have a picture of that. I'm fairly certain that I remember her pulling an all nighter with a small group of us, goofing off until sunrise then going to church.
So, one night, I decided to go to ihop to study, and decided I'd like her company while I was there. I called her, someone else picked up the phone, informed me she was praying and that she would call back. Seems I interrupted her bible study small group. oops. She must have really liked me to still come later to hang out. Long story short, we ended up dating.
Fast forward a full year. I graduated in May, and didn't have a job. She was just starting her junior year. I had to move home with my parents (i know how stereotypical that is). I ended up getting a job on the other side of the state. If we were somewhere in New England, it wouldn't be a deal. To cross delaware is like 20 minutes or something, right? In Texas, we were 9ish hours apart driving, or a 90 minute $200 flight. That probably was the best thing that could have happened to us as a couple. We learned how to communicate - not just talk, but to talk meaningfully. I'd fly her out to see me, or i'd fly over to see her, but those trips weren't enough to sustain a relationship. Phone calls & video chats & letters were, though.
I decided to propose to her, saved up and got an awesome ring, and planned everything out. I asked permission from her dad (who said that it was her call), her mom (who liked me), setup the plane trip for that weekend, made restaurant reservations, and tried to come up with a cover story. It was December in Texas, so while not freezing it was a bit chilly. We were going to go shopping, get here a new dress, then hopscotch down memory lane revisiting places we'd been at important dates during our relationship. It's here that the plan derails. She couldn't find clothes she liked. I'm certain we went to 3 malls. It took so long that none of the stuff I had planned for during the day happened. None of them. None. We finally wound up with something just in time to go home & change. We were staying @ her mom's house that weekend, and when we drove up found a small problem. A water pipe had burst in her attic and was soaking the garage. So, I had to deal with that, and still convince her we could go out. The main shutoff was so old and rusted, i'm still not sure how I got it all turned off and fixed. But I did. The future mom-in-law helped me convince soon-to-be-fiance it was alright to go to dinner, so we were soon on our way. We went out and had a wonderful dinner, then I headed to Galveston. I wanted to propose while standing out one of the seawall breakers that jut out into the gulf. When we got there the sun was down, the wind was up, and the temp was dropping. I convinced her to get out of the car - I'm not really sure how. Money may have changed hands - and we walked out. I started going through my little speech, telling her how much I loved her, and she kept interrupting me. I tried to reach into my pocket but she wouldn't let go of my hands. I may have told her to be quiet and let me talk, I'm not sure. Anyways, I got the ring out, went down on my knee, proposed, she cried, and didn't say anything for the whole ride home as she was in a state of shock.
A year and a half later, I was able to promote to a different job that allowed me to telecommute (when you say you work from home, people look at you funny, as if you don't have a real job). So I moved back to Houston in the Spring, in advance of our wedding.
Our wedding was @ this all inclusive place called Ashton Gardens. Most of it's a big blur, but there are pictures out there that remind me of what happened. I do specifically remember that the to-go bag of food the caterers packed for us couldn't have fed a toddler. The next day we left for Vancouver, spent 2 days on the edge of canadian china town before we boarded our carnival cruise along the Alaskan coast.
Throughout our 6 years, we've had ups and downs. Health issues involved Cushing's disease, Asthma, or my stupid toe (that's a whole post in and of itself). Job stresses. Moving into a house that had mold, and the landlords didn't care enough to do anything about it (and a drug dealer living and dealing across the street). But through it all, we've endured, and still love each other - probably more now that 6 years ago.
Love ya babe.
The summer between my 1st and 2nd year in grad school was busy. I spent 2 months living in an extended stay hotel interning for TABC in Austin (google it people.) I also was recovering from a nasty breakup. So when classes resumed, I knew 2 things - I didn't want to be sitting around my apartment alone (I'd done that all summer with my hotel room) and I didn't want a girlfriend. So I sort of poured my energy into church stuff, helping out with the college group. They would let me teach sunday school lessons, sang in the choir with the "old" people, led handbells and did solos, organized visitation when folks would come visit, and I tried to get involved with the BSM - although that last one didn't really take hold.
Apparently one of those things impressed a young sophomore who was looking for a church. She had been living with her dad, in the next town over, but struck out on her own for her sophomore year. That striking out included finding a church home. I honestly don't remember if I met her @ church or @ the BSM. I do remember her sitting on the gym floor sorting pictures for some reason. She may have been there for all the game nights we did... or the hide & seek... definitely for the giant slip n' slide, cuz I have a picture of that. I'm fairly certain that I remember her pulling an all nighter with a small group of us, goofing off until sunrise then going to church.
So, one night, I decided to go to ihop to study, and decided I'd like her company while I was there. I called her, someone else picked up the phone, informed me she was praying and that she would call back. Seems I interrupted her bible study small group. oops. She must have really liked me to still come later to hang out. Long story short, we ended up dating.
Fast forward a full year. I graduated in May, and didn't have a job. She was just starting her junior year. I had to move home with my parents (i know how stereotypical that is). I ended up getting a job on the other side of the state. If we were somewhere in New England, it wouldn't be a deal. To cross delaware is like 20 minutes or something, right? In Texas, we were 9ish hours apart driving, or a 90 minute $200 flight. That probably was the best thing that could have happened to us as a couple. We learned how to communicate - not just talk, but to talk meaningfully. I'd fly her out to see me, or i'd fly over to see her, but those trips weren't enough to sustain a relationship. Phone calls & video chats & letters were, though.
I decided to propose to her, saved up and got an awesome ring, and planned everything out. I asked permission from her dad (who said that it was her call), her mom (who liked me), setup the plane trip for that weekend, made restaurant reservations, and tried to come up with a cover story. It was December in Texas, so while not freezing it was a bit chilly. We were going to go shopping, get here a new dress, then hopscotch down memory lane revisiting places we'd been at important dates during our relationship. It's here that the plan derails. She couldn't find clothes she liked. I'm certain we went to 3 malls. It took so long that none of the stuff I had planned for during the day happened. None of them. None. We finally wound up with something just in time to go home & change. We were staying @ her mom's house that weekend, and when we drove up found a small problem. A water pipe had burst in her attic and was soaking the garage. So, I had to deal with that, and still convince her we could go out. The main shutoff was so old and rusted, i'm still not sure how I got it all turned off and fixed. But I did. The future mom-in-law helped me convince soon-to-be-fiance it was alright to go to dinner, so we were soon on our way. We went out and had a wonderful dinner, then I headed to Galveston. I wanted to propose while standing out one of the seawall breakers that jut out into the gulf. When we got there the sun was down, the wind was up, and the temp was dropping. I convinced her to get out of the car - I'm not really sure how. Money may have changed hands - and we walked out. I started going through my little speech, telling her how much I loved her, and she kept interrupting me. I tried to reach into my pocket but she wouldn't let go of my hands. I may have told her to be quiet and let me talk, I'm not sure. Anyways, I got the ring out, went down on my knee, proposed, she cried, and didn't say anything for the whole ride home as she was in a state of shock.
A year and a half later, I was able to promote to a different job that allowed me to telecommute (when you say you work from home, people look at you funny, as if you don't have a real job). So I moved back to Houston in the Spring, in advance of our wedding.
Our wedding was @ this all inclusive place called Ashton Gardens. Most of it's a big blur, but there are pictures out there that remind me of what happened. I do specifically remember that the to-go bag of food the caterers packed for us couldn't have fed a toddler. The next day we left for Vancouver, spent 2 days on the edge of canadian china town before we boarded our carnival cruise along the Alaskan coast.
Throughout our 6 years, we've had ups and downs. Health issues involved Cushing's disease, Asthma, or my stupid toe (that's a whole post in and of itself). Job stresses. Moving into a house that had mold, and the landlords didn't care enough to do anything about it (and a drug dealer living and dealing across the street). But through it all, we've endured, and still love each other - probably more now that 6 years ago.
Love ya babe.
Monday, July 16, 2012
Night Night time
Apparently, daddy's no good for helping the girls go to sleep. At least, today that's the case. Seems like our little monkey rotates through us, but still won't fall asleep the same way twice. I'm sure there's a child psychologist out there, looking to be punched, who would say it's because we coslept with her and now she has trouble falling asleep on her own. I think it's more likely that she takes after her dad and has stupid crazy insomnia. If daddy can be exhausted and still not fall asleep easily, I'm sure she can suffer that as well. Luckily tonight seems to be going well thanks to the wife.
When the monkey was a baby, she had really bad reflux. There were countless times we'd wake up to her choking on her own spitup. We did everything we were "supposed to, like raising the crib, modifying our feeding scheduled, putting rice cereal in the bottle, all in sequence and all simultaneously. Nothing seemed to make it better, and the doc said she'd just grow out of it. (Spoiler : She did just grow out of it once she started crawling and walking). But we didn't know that at the time. What my wife & I did know was we were both afraid we'd sleep through one of her spit aspiration episodes. So we moved our little monkey from the crib over to our bed, and started cosleeping. It was easy, it made us feel better, and eventually she moved over to her own room and own bed and things were fine. Baby #2 upset the turnip cart, and we're still recovering from that. Maybe one day, I'll get to sleep for more than a few hours at a time, with only 1 other person in bed with me. Maybe that other person will be my wife :) (just kidding honey).
And so that leaves us with tonight. Lights out @ 8:45 as we try to reestablish our routine. Milk in a sippee. Snack time, to make sure she's not hungry. Then laying with her until she decides to fall asleep. As I said, I was unsuccessful (probably understated, since at one point she was hitting me over the head with a nerf sword), so the wife is giving it a whirl. Just means I have another point of evidence to support a post of her being a superwoman.
PS: I don't like child psychologists. I would really punch one in the nose.
When the monkey was a baby, she had really bad reflux. There were countless times we'd wake up to her choking on her own spitup. We did everything we were "supposed to, like raising the crib, modifying our feeding scheduled, putting rice cereal in the bottle, all in sequence and all simultaneously. Nothing seemed to make it better, and the doc said she'd just grow out of it. (Spoiler : She did just grow out of it once she started crawling and walking). But we didn't know that at the time. What my wife & I did know was we were both afraid we'd sleep through one of her spit aspiration episodes. So we moved our little monkey from the crib over to our bed, and started cosleeping. It was easy, it made us feel better, and eventually she moved over to her own room and own bed and things were fine. Baby #2 upset the turnip cart, and we're still recovering from that. Maybe one day, I'll get to sleep for more than a few hours at a time, with only 1 other person in bed with me. Maybe that other person will be my wife :) (just kidding honey).
And so that leaves us with tonight. Lights out @ 8:45 as we try to reestablish our routine. Milk in a sippee. Snack time, to make sure she's not hungry. Then laying with her until she decides to fall asleep. As I said, I was unsuccessful (probably understated, since at one point she was hitting me over the head with a nerf sword), so the wife is giving it a whirl. Just means I have another point of evidence to support a post of her being a superwoman.
PS: I don't like child psychologists. I would really punch one in the nose.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Project Management 101
I'll be honest, I never wanted to be a project manager. I'm still not too sure that's what I want to be when I grow up. I started school, along with the majority of Baylor Freshman, as a Biology PreMed Honors Program Nerd. Luckily I came to my senses during my sophomore year and switched to be a Forensic Science major. All the same science ('cept for physics, thankfully), little more social science (yay for anthropology) and lots of dead things. When I started with my current employer, it was 5 months after I graduated with a Master's degree. I was applying everywhere I could, and even took the stupid class to be a substitute teacher, to attempt to make some money. And worst of all I was living with my parents.
When you go to a job fair, you expect the jobs to be at the fair. I went, found nothing of interest, and even got laughed at by one of the companies represented (seriously... the Navy talked to me, I said I could join up, and they laughed as they said sure you can, it's not like you have asthma or anything. oops.) Frustrated, I went to visit my then girlfriend and a few of my old profs in the Criminal Justice building. One of those profs knew someone who know someone who knew the lab director. He made a call, I faxed over my resume (which was basically my address and that I had 2 degrees), and that got me an interview. They flew me over to the lab, and apparently I impressed the lab director and staff since he offered me a job on the spot.
I've worked my way up through the masses, starting as a "Certifying Scientist" looking at lab results. While the lab volume increased almost 2000% (yes, two zero zero zero), I went from lab grunt, a brief stop as department supervisor, a few years as scientific customer service, a stop in IT / operations no man's land, until finally a project guru.
Since I'm not a business person, I don't do traditional PM stuff. For example, I don't want to get my PMP (project management professional) certification, because I think that's just for people who want a new job as a PM. Even so, this non-PM PM has led his company through some of the largest projects it's been involved in. A 3 year project for a system conversion replacing an off-the-shelf product with a home grown, custom built LIMS. The installation of a Customer Relationship Management System for a new department. Countless updates to our portfolio of offerrings. And update/upgrade to our proprietary reporting "stuff" that I can't talk about without being sued three ways from Sunday (I'm fairly certain I'm one of 3 people in my company who understands this thing), that included a massive marketing campaign, LIMS and IT programming, sales and training and a cross country road trip. And most recently, a phased project to update every single test that we have in lab (mostly for efficiency, but there's a few reasons floating out there) that will eventually impact every single department in the company.
So, what have I learned through all this? Most importantly, that no matter what laurels you could rest your hat on, even if you have single handedly saved the company millions of dollars several times over, and have led the largest projects ever undertaken - you don't matter. My department includes 4 people. It's ebbed and flowed over the years, but there are 4 of us right now. 1 is being fired. 1 is quitting. 1 wants to transfer to a new department. So there's me. The right thing to do should be to either promote me to run the department (since I'm qualified) or to give me the option to transfer out of the department. What I'm hearing instead is they're going to bring in 5 or 6 people to rebuild the department, including a new department lead/head. It's just insulting.
I've also learned that PM is basically code word for baby sitting. Execs have a project that needs doing. You need to keep the schedule going, make sure things happen on time and stuff like that. You need to assemble the right team of people to get the work done. You need to make sure that only what supposed to happen actually happens. But I swear the vast majority of my time is spent babysitting. Scheduling calls just to make sure that two people who have offices next to each other talk is just silly.
The final thing I'll mention is this - if it isn't fun (or you can't make it fun) you shouldn't be doing it. I've worked with a few people who really loved their jobs, and made life fun and exciting. I've worked with others who showed up for a paycheck, clocked in @ 9 and out @ 5 and did what they were supposed to and nothing more. If you don't care about fun, and learning, and making a difference, then you're probably not in the right place.
When you go to a job fair, you expect the jobs to be at the fair. I went, found nothing of interest, and even got laughed at by one of the companies represented (seriously... the Navy talked to me, I said I could join up, and they laughed as they said sure you can, it's not like you have asthma or anything. oops.) Frustrated, I went to visit my then girlfriend and a few of my old profs in the Criminal Justice building. One of those profs knew someone who know someone who knew the lab director. He made a call, I faxed over my resume (which was basically my address and that I had 2 degrees), and that got me an interview. They flew me over to the lab, and apparently I impressed the lab director and staff since he offered me a job on the spot.
I've worked my way up through the masses, starting as a "Certifying Scientist" looking at lab results. While the lab volume increased almost 2000% (yes, two zero zero zero), I went from lab grunt, a brief stop as department supervisor, a few years as scientific customer service, a stop in IT / operations no man's land, until finally a project guru.
Since I'm not a business person, I don't do traditional PM stuff. For example, I don't want to get my PMP (project management professional) certification, because I think that's just for people who want a new job as a PM. Even so, this non-PM PM has led his company through some of the largest projects it's been involved in. A 3 year project for a system conversion replacing an off-the-shelf product with a home grown, custom built LIMS. The installation of a Customer Relationship Management System for a new department. Countless updates to our portfolio of offerrings. And update/upgrade to our proprietary reporting "stuff" that I can't talk about without being sued three ways from Sunday (I'm fairly certain I'm one of 3 people in my company who understands this thing), that included a massive marketing campaign, LIMS and IT programming, sales and training and a cross country road trip. And most recently, a phased project to update every single test that we have in lab (mostly for efficiency, but there's a few reasons floating out there) that will eventually impact every single department in the company.
So, what have I learned through all this? Most importantly, that no matter what laurels you could rest your hat on, even if you have single handedly saved the company millions of dollars several times over, and have led the largest projects ever undertaken - you don't matter. My department includes 4 people. It's ebbed and flowed over the years, but there are 4 of us right now. 1 is being fired. 1 is quitting. 1 wants to transfer to a new department. So there's me. The right thing to do should be to either promote me to run the department (since I'm qualified) or to give me the option to transfer out of the department. What I'm hearing instead is they're going to bring in 5 or 6 people to rebuild the department, including a new department lead/head. It's just insulting.
I've also learned that PM is basically code word for baby sitting. Execs have a project that needs doing. You need to keep the schedule going, make sure things happen on time and stuff like that. You need to assemble the right team of people to get the work done. You need to make sure that only what supposed to happen actually happens. But I swear the vast majority of my time is spent babysitting. Scheduling calls just to make sure that two people who have offices next to each other talk is just silly.
The final thing I'll mention is this - if it isn't fun (or you can't make it fun) you shouldn't be doing it. I've worked with a few people who really loved their jobs, and made life fun and exciting. I've worked with others who showed up for a paycheck, clocked in @ 9 and out @ 5 and did what they were supposed to and nothing more. If you don't care about fun, and learning, and making a difference, then you're probably not in the right place.
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