Having accomplished most of our goals, and the customers needing to catch a plane we bade them goodbye. It was a very productive sprint and the rest of the project will likely go much smoother for it.
With the evening to myself I decided to set out to finally find a book store. Google Maps, having failed me twice before actually came through for me. There is a Barnes and Noble about 2.4 miles from the hotel. Having been on the Sprint Diet™ (mostly pizza, sandwiches, and Fritos) all week I felt I had a duty to my body to walk there. Even at night it was 85°F with over 90% humidity so it was a challenge. Drenched in sweat and having skirted a few jaywalking ordinances I finally made it and collected my prize: a copy of A Clash of Kings, the sequel to A Game of Thrones, which I finished reading a few weeks ago.
Armed with something to read on the plane ride back I set off back to the hotel to take a cold shower and go to sleep.
Up early; caught a shuttle to the office. Sprint with customer.
Accomplished quite a bit and also got my hands on the super seekret hardware for this project. This thing is going to be super sweet when it hits the market.
After work I went with some of the guys on my team for a steak dinner at the Capital Grille, which was both highly recommended and highly expensive. My steak was downright delicious and all of us ate in silence as we focused on savoring every bite.
After dinner it was back to the hotel to watch The Daily Show and go to sleep.
Flew to Boston for a developer sprint in the Canonical office. Flew to Boston in a tiny plane, then rode to the hotel in a swanky limo.
The sprint starts tomorrow, so I had some time to kill. I walked all over the neighborhood around my hotel looking for a decent restaurant or a book store. I found neither, and came back covered in sweat for my trouble. On the bright side, I felt justified in ordering a pizza from the brochure in my room. Turned out to be a good decision. Tasty pizza.
Up early; short walk around the block before work.
Had lunch at Nicky’s Thai Kitchen in the North Side with Justin and HEAD. Got caught up on the Timesys comings and goings while gushing about having a job that does not require putting on pants in the morning.
After lunch finally shipped my old laptop to an organization that refurbishes them and gives them to school children.
Emily and I went to see our “Financial Dude” (the guy who manages our IRAs and whatnot). It appears our financial house is in order for the time being.
Stopped for dinner at the Bite Bistro in Bellevue. My hanger steak was delicious. I don’t know what’s in their sauce but I want to put it on everything I eat now. Emily had a pork loin over sweet potato that was also quite tasty.
Came home and put a fresh install of Ubuntu 11.04 on my replacement hard drive, which arrived today. Started the long process of transferring my stuff over. Also installed Déjà Dup and set up a regular automated backup scheme.
More requirements review. Nice to do this before promising anything to the customer.
After work biked to 1947 Tavern in Shadyside to take part in the Beer Meetup. Lots of good beer and interesting conversation. Food was okay. Had a club sandwich that didn’t impress but was welcome after the bike ride.
Biked home. Getting old. Or I just need to ride my bike more often.
Found out that I may not have Broken The Build™ but just uncovered an existing bug in the build. Will know more tomorrow.
More research. Learning how to write browser extensions.
Bought some new toys, which I’ll claim are for work. One of these, one of these, oh, and one of these!
Grilled up some steak for dinner, while Emily made mashed potatoes. Starting to get the hang of grilling, though I think I left the steaks on a bit too long this time.
Fermenter is still bubbling, but it seems to be slowing down.
Watched Brazil, the “Love Conquers All” cut, from Netflix. Now I want to go back and see the original cut to find out what the studio messed with.
Humming along on some research regarding one of my tasks when I found out I Broke The Build™ yesterday. Never a good thing to hear, especially when you’re the new guy. Spent most of the afternoon trying to figure out what went wrong, but came up empty. Perhaps sleep will bring clarity.
Fermenter is still bubbling.
After work it fell to me to finish installing the plumbing for the bathroom sink while Emily went to folk orchestra rehearsal. I trimmed about a quarter-inch off of a pipe and after some blood, sweat, tears, and a bit of plumber’s tape everything is in place and carrying water where it needs to go. A rare successful plumbing project.
Rewarded myself with a grilled cheese sandwich and some Mass Effect before bed.
Made some documentation changes based on comments from my merge proposals, and got two more proposals off.
Tried a Market District burrito for lunch. No story that begins with “I ate some prepared food from Giant Eagle” ends well. This one was no different.
After work Emily and I joined Simona and Russell at First Fridays at the Frick. The group that played was really impressive and the music made a great background for our little picnic.
On a whim the four of us decided to pop down to the Waterworks to see X-Men: First Class. Really impressive film, especially after the last couple.
