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Feb. 20th, 2002 10:17 pmHelpful Safety Tip: Going for 24 hours without eating or drinking while doing technical tasks that require your full mental faculties is dumb.
I was in a large climate-controlled datacenter (read: 70 degrees Fahrenheit, and 20% humidity) for about 10 hours today. I not only lost track of time, but I forgot to take a break, eat, or drink. In exchange for this, I know a whole lot more about the administration and inner workings of FreeBSD, as well as feeling vaguely burnt-out and drained.
It dismays me somewhat that the only time I feel like I'm really earning my salary is when I completely dive into my work for a bunch of hours at a stretch to the exclusion of all else, complete with the crispy-around-the-edges feeling afterwards. To be sure, I'm quite happy that I'm employed and that I am getting paid for taking advantage of the learning opportunities around me. On the other hand, it does point to there being an odd "reward circuit" in my head.
When I got home, my sweetie had dinner ready. It's a very rare occurrence that I actually ask her to have dinner ready when I get home. She has her own life, job, etc., and it seems vaguely unfair to ask for it. However, she said that it's precisely because I ask for it so rarely that shows that I have a real need for someone to take care of me at that moment, so it's okay.
Observation: Brewing four teaspoons of Lapsang Souchong tea in a half-liter teapot for about 30 minutes is just on the verge of being non-potable, but it's so tasty.
There's a couple of days ahead of me that I expect will be just like today. Rewarding in terms of skills acquired, but otherwise fairly long and tiring. Perhaps one builds up a resistance to it and it becomes easier to work long days like this. That would be useful.
I was in a large climate-controlled datacenter (read: 70 degrees Fahrenheit, and 20% humidity) for about 10 hours today. I not only lost track of time, but I forgot to take a break, eat, or drink. In exchange for this, I know a whole lot more about the administration and inner workings of FreeBSD, as well as feeling vaguely burnt-out and drained.
It dismays me somewhat that the only time I feel like I'm really earning my salary is when I completely dive into my work for a bunch of hours at a stretch to the exclusion of all else, complete with the crispy-around-the-edges feeling afterwards. To be sure, I'm quite happy that I'm employed and that I am getting paid for taking advantage of the learning opportunities around me. On the other hand, it does point to there being an odd "reward circuit" in my head.
When I got home, my sweetie had dinner ready. It's a very rare occurrence that I actually ask her to have dinner ready when I get home. She has her own life, job, etc., and it seems vaguely unfair to ask for it. However, she said that it's precisely because I ask for it so rarely that shows that I have a real need for someone to take care of me at that moment, so it's okay.
Observation: Brewing four teaspoons of Lapsang Souchong tea in a half-liter teapot for about 30 minutes is just on the verge of being non-potable, but it's so tasty.
There's a couple of days ahead of me that I expect will be just like today. Rewarding in terms of skills acquired, but otherwise fairly long and tiring. Perhaps one builds up a resistance to it and it becomes easier to work long days like this. That would be useful.
