throttling the basement hacker

2006-10-13T19:19:26+00:00

This might just be a phase, related to my recent injury and subsequent period of convalescence - but I feel like doing absolutely nothing extracurricular hack-wise after work. This is an odd state of mind for me, since I'm normally never happy unless I've got both work and home projects spinning. It's been somewhat satisfying to get work done and code checked in during the day, then home for dinner and some WoW on the couch next to The Girl. I'd kind of like to get into something more soon, but at present I feel no compulsion to hack, mashup, reverse engineer, invert polarity, or anything else of that nature. In fact, I'm doing a small measure of thinking about into what I do want to get once the itch returns. I've got a half-dozen unfinished short stories, and a geographical region full of people to meet. Maybe once the leg works again, I'll not feel like being such a full-throttle basement hacker anymore. This is weird.

Archived Comments

Dean Edwards
2006-10-13T23:38:30

Don't worry. This is perfectly normal. Your brain has gone on holiday for a couple of weeks leaving your body in basic life-support mode. Feed it TV and beer and anything you fancy. Normal service will be resumed in a week or two.
l.m.orchard
2006-10-13T23:44:57

Mmm... beer. Luckily, there's a BevMo within walking distance of our apartment. Er, well, theoretical walking distance anyway.
Mad William Flint
2006-10-14T02:02:59

I've got to be particularly careful as a few hours of MMOs can poison my hackish funkitude for weeks at a time.
l.m.orchard
2006-10-14T03:01:12

I suspect, at least for me, that it's the sense of micro-accomplishment. Move a few bars, finish a few quests, get a ding. Woo hoo! I did stuff! :)
Julian Bond
2006-10-14T19:11:26

Me too.

Loads of 10% time projects and I can't be bothered to work on any of them. My excuse to myself was re-reading 13th Valley but now I've finished it...
Len Lynch
2006-10-15T22:08:13

Aquaintances of mine are going through the same thing... so it should pass. Not that I can brag about GTD, personally in a while now.

Raise a glass, I'm toasting to your speedy recovery!

I did hold my breath for a moment when I read that you relocated out west. Others I've known, were changed in an inexplicable way. They lost something they once had and became more like those they live around. It's difficult to explain.

Is there something in the water, the air, the culture, everything?

If you get any insite into this, please share it.

Just call me "Crash"

2006-09-18T20:23:03+00:00

So, in a few hours, it'll have been a week since I rendered myself couchbound for the foreseeable near future. I hopped off a bus on the way home last Monday and through a bungled confluence of toes, curb, heel, and street, I managed to rupture my left Achilles tendon. That's pretty much made my left leg useless, and I've been growing roots on the couch with occasional crutch-based expeditions to other rooms.

I've spent the last 7 days in a bit of a drug haze with doctor visits; attempts at getting work done with mixed success; and some marathon World of Warcraft sessions to distract myself from this predicament. (I'm a Gnome mage named Fizlfry on Eitrigg who's just joined the We Know guild, say hi!) Midweek, I got a nicer cast and an MRI, and I stepped down from the strong stuff. So, things are stabilized as I wait to hear if I need surgery this week. At least I can think better now, for whatever that's worth.

I'm pretty despondent about the whole thing: We just moved here, just got settled, ready to start exploring the Valley and the City and get free of the hermitage - and here I am stuck on the couch while the kids all play outside. I'm told that this will heal, given time and some rehabilitation. I've also heard that I'm in good company with this injury.

It's just so frustrating to have been rendered so immobile. Alexandra has been amazing, taking care of everything for me, and I'll owe her some big time pampering once I'm back on my feet. But, in the meantime, maybe I'll have to invite some people by to visit me on my microfiber throne. We have plenty of attractions: Gaming consoles from many generations, witty banter, and a mini-zoo of cats and bunnies. Suggestions on couchbound entertainments and socializing options welcome. :)

Archived Comments

Geof F. Morris
2006-09-19T00:23:10

Hey guy ... take care of yourself, take time to heal, and kick ass later. :)
George Luft
2006-09-19T03:33:31

Les, hope you're feeling better soon. I wish I had some time on my hands so I could read your book. I picked up a copy a couple weeks ago. I've already implemented one of your tips to help me auto post my del.icio.us bookmarks to my wordpress blog. Haven't had much time to mess with it beyond that.
Alex Schroeder
2006-09-19T15:04:02

Arrr! Get well soon, ya bilge rat, for yet sails be all a-floppin' without wind and sea!
l.m.orchard
2006-09-19T16:49:42

Aye, I've been thinking about gettin' me a pegleg, arrrr!
we3bus
2006-09-21T17:22:09

And to think you used to run cross-country! Over hill and dale and treacherous stump and root, and you're bested by a curb. I wish you the speediest of mending. At least it wasn't a zombie kid wid a scalpel.
soxiam
2006-09-22T20:26:53

Sorry to hear that. I've had a partial rupture before. Although it healed without needing a surgery, it's never the same. I had to quit basketball and pickup cycling. I no longer run across the street when I can walk across it. As you probably know, one of the reasons it's a tough area for surgery is because there isn't whole lot of blodd circulating down there to speed the recovery process. If you do go ahead with the surgey, be as sure as you can about its condition before trying to get back to normal activities. That's a sure way to re-rupturing the tendon. It happened to me.
Edward Vielmetti
2006-10-18T05:54:17

heal well, Les!

0xDECAFBAD - Tag: injury

throttling the basement hacker

Archived Comments

Just call me "Crash"

Archived Comments