An update on the story below ... To
the list of the fallen (2001-2002) I would like to add mention of a
couple of honourables. Derren & Mike, who are currently on the
corporate 'sabbatical' gig. Basically, 3 months at 20% of pay for
not showing up to work. Mike's been travelling & Derren will
continue his pilot gig.
Back in 1999 I had to fight tooth & nail to get a measly 4
months UNPAID from work. It was 'against the corporate culture',
'what if everyone else wanted to do the same?', 'I wasn't allowed
to' (from the HR person herself) etc. The possibility of sitting out
this tedious period of going begging for work, as well as the
general atmosphere of the boss rule (versus the over inflated
developer egos from 3 years ago), seems to be enormously enviable.
Anyway, earlier this week I was asked to fill out some corporate
fluff about
Basic description of what you believe in, what values you
pursue at work and/or in life, what motivates you and what drives
you in your job.
Aargggh! They've got to me. Surely this was the corporation's way
of getting me overly introspective, to the point where I cracked.
How can someone come up with a personal philosophy in 30 mins? A
simple survey of 3 people around me provoked 3 responses (typical
software engineers):
a) I just copied/pasted some fluff down
b) It's insulting/intrusive. They can sod off & die.
c) Er, no one asked me to do it. Am I about to be ditched?
Anyway, after an hour of soul searching (including 40 minutes
discussing ShiftF7-beating alternatives for "sensually
stimulated" -- you try explaining addiction to computer
games/exercise/sports in two words), here she goes. Hedonism &
community.
My goals are to enjoy every day by forging rewarding relationships and being physically & intellectually stimulated. Variety is key in achieving that enjoyment.
In the imprecise area of software development I seek to attain quality by working with state-of-the-art technologies, varied/talented teams and whichever processes are necessary for the current project.
Within this organization I want to avoid the trap of becoming a corporate
cog, but remain a mover & shaker.
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