So, I’m pretty behind on a lot of stuff. I haven’t had a connection at home for half a month, and so had to spend the majority of my time yesterday downloading my backlog of email. I’m behind on my work, and I’m behind on a lot of personal stuff.
My boss and I had a nice little chat last Thursday afternoon, after work. Discussion was pretty broad— we ended up discussing open source in the marketplace, open source tools vs. closed source tools, the local IT industry and some interesting tidbits on the higher-ups of the people we’re working with, as well as stuff about projects I can’t talk about. (I hate NDAs, but I was required to sign one as part of my employment. Go figure.)
What really got me was his comments about my performance at work. “Alam mo, ang problema ko sa iyo— you get distracted easily.”
I had to agree. I do find myself easily distracted from the task at hand. I mumbled agreement. “Yeah, I know I’m a bit scatter-brained.”
He nodded. “The difference is, you get the job done, so it’s not so much of a big deal.” He had finished his cigarette and lit up another one. “You have a lot going for you,” he continued. “Unlike other people, you have breadth of knowledge of the field.”
I was flattered. I grinned, and chuckled. “Hey, don’t let it get to my head,” I joked.
“No, seriously, Some people would only be an 8 on only one skill, on a scale of one to ten. You could potentially be an 8 on all skills.”
That hit me hard. I stared at my feet, and mumbled my agreement. “Well, yeah.” There’s the rub, I thought.
The cynic in me disclaims that— I personally see myself limited in so many ways. I guess it stems from my being (overly) self-critical. The blow-hard in me is actually pretty satisfied that someone recognizes my talent.
Hah. Talent.
Right.
— o — o —
Had a conversation with fellow programmer Mark, as we left work. We got into talking about object-oriented programming and design, and software architecture in general. Was very interesting. I feel like I’m overwhelming him and forcing a lot of my ideas into his head. Then again, I do have a tendency to push my ideas. Heck, I even got into a debate with the directors of a particular closed source, Microsoft-loyal company. (Okay, if you really knew what company I’m talking about, you’d probably be looking at me strangely.)
And hell, I am enjoying myself immensely at what I am doing, so I really don’t care that much. Hehehehe :)
Previously: Music: Sugar Hiccup