This week has been a blur. I started working 3 hours a day on Tuesday, and it has been... interesting.
The first day was extremely hard for me physically. I wasn't feeling very flexible that day, and it just hurt physically to sit in the chair that long. The second day was better. I felt better, and it didn't hurt so much to sit for that long. The third day was moderately painful, but I worked more hours so I wouldn't have to work so much on Friday.
Overall, I'll call it a success, but it's a tough call. The first assignment they've given me is to add a feature to a program I wrote a long time ago. Programming requires you to have have a complicated procedure straight in your brain in order to make progress. Every time I take a break, it takes me an hour or so to get started again. When you only work 3 hours a day with a break in the middle, it makes it tough to get anything done.
So I've found that it's hard to make it to 3 hours because of physical pain, but it's hard to stop at 3 hours because I only just started making progress. It'll be interesting to see how that plays out.
I can already say that I hate working on my laptop from home. At work, I have a fast desktop with 2 monitors so I can see a lot at once. Working on the laptop is like working through a periscope. I feel like I can barely see anything, and everything is on a time delay because the laptop is so slow. I don't know what I can do about it though.
It's also challenging to try to fit my work into my schedule. I feel like I don't do that much in a given day, but because everything takes so long, I barely have time for everything I need to do. I have to get up, eat breakfast, get cleaned up, rest on the couch, work, eat lunch, entertain a lunch guest, possibly shower or take a trip to the store, rest, work some more, do the program, hopefully entertain a dinner guest, sleep. I also have to consider doing laundry, dishes, or some cleaning in there. All of it takes time, and there's only so much in the day. I'm still trying to figure it out.
It does feel good to be back helping out at work though. I just hope I can be productive and actually do some good.
Wow...the technologically-challenged among us were already in awe of your mysterious work...this post makes it seem even more mysteriously genius-y and even less to be taken for granted. (Don't you dare demystify or downplay it!)
ReplyDeleteYou can get a 24" monitor for like 150 bucks nowadays, which might alleviate some of the pain. Although if you work at your dining room table then it'd be in the way...
ReplyDeleteIs there any way that IBM can set you up at home with better equipment to work with?
ReplyDeleteI have a 24" monitor, but nowhere to put it. This apartment isn't huge, and I have to have enough space to drive the wheelchair around so I can't put everything in here that I might want. I have a desk, but it's very small.
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