Art of Growing Old

Hey everyone,

I had a little accident with my phone and I’ve lost all of my contacts.
Please send me a text (or call) with your name/number so I can re-add you!

Love to all,
Josh

Obvious statement of the evening:

It’s a long and very intensive process to ensure that we end up with what we really need.

I originally thought that I was going to write about what I was working on this evening. Well, it’s actually what I’ve been working on for the past few months. It’s just truly amazing how long it takes to really get anything done.

We’re working on some exciting new features and working with a lot of exciting technologies. Sometimes it’s just frustrating how much of the leg work needs to get done before I can actually start doing the FUN stuff. It’s getting there but it’ll be about another week until I can get there.

This week is going to be a busy one. I doubt that I’ll get much time to write until next week (not unlike last week although last week I had time and just couldn’t find anything truly interesting to write about). I’ll be working with the exciting technologies and might have some things to show by then as well.

I finished the book I wrote about last time: Blue Like Jazz.
I’ll be writing about that very soon as well as some of the open mics I’ll be visiting soon.

Love to All,
Josh

It’s amazing what drives every single action you take each day. Whether it be taking the time to make your lunch for the day or deciding you’ll “order something healthy” they spiral their way back into your mind as you wind down at night. Sometimes they don’t hit you until the day after but they’ll always make their way back. Hell, I’m still wondering about my decision to stay home sick back in 8th grade.

This chain of events is obviously closed tied with your memories. My memories are almost always tangled with incomprehensible lingering emotions that are spontaneously triggered through music. The right key will transport me over oceans and years and bombard me with emotions that are just as confusing now as they were back then.

Perhaps I’ll find the key to take me to a place where my beliefs held their ground and I stood for something bigger than me and my heart and mind longed for more than the things of this world. I’m facing myself this weekend and realizing why it is that I don’t do this more often.

Do you ever wonder what happened to that person you always imagined yourself growing into? I’d like to meet him someday. Maybe he’d have a broader spectrum of knowledge and have a more active role in promoting the ideals that I tend to keep hidden. I’d like to think that we could be friends. We could sit down over coffee and he could tell me the things that I’m so obviously lacking but can’t ever quite pinpoint. It’d be an enlightening conversation I’m sure.

I’ve been reading a fascinating book today called Blue Like Jazz. The most clever description I’ve come across for it is: “Nonreligious thoughts on christian spirituality”. It might just be the only christian book that I’ve truly enjoyed since…well, EVER. I’m only half-way through but I’m sure I’ll finish it up soon enough and have plenty to discuss. In the meantime, I’ll continue to make time away from the office and away from my career. Who knows, maybe I’ll actually go on a date soon? Assuming I can find someone that is…

I’m about 55% unpacked and it’s starting to feel great! I spent the majority of this afternoon moving things out of storage and starting to decorate. It’s coming together and looking pretty good if I do say so myself. I’ll be posting pictures soon.

This free time thing is pretty…foreign? Yes, foreign is the word I’m looking fo. I don’t know what to do with myself! It’s nice to have some time to sit down and just…think. It’s been quite a while since I’ve been able to unplug during the week.

I can’t promise that I’ll be back with the typical Josh-flare in my writings. I think that majority of my inspirational writing occurs when I’m in the middle of some sort of existential funk. However, with that being said, I think I’m finally starting to understand where I am and how I got out of that “funk”. Perhaps I’ll start writing about that…

Anyway, I’ll be back with entries over the next couple of weeks. Hope to see you around ;).

It seems as though my schedule may actually start calming down soon. If you would’ve told me that even two days ago, I wouldn’t have believed you…let me give you a brief overview of exactly what I’ve been up to these past few months and why I haven’t really been around.

In March I made a decision to leave North Carolina altogether and take a big risk. From what I heard from Rex and Drew, ProAce sounded like a great company and I wanted to be a part of it. More importantly, I wanted to live near more of my friends and have more of a life outside of work (irony here). Obviously I had no idea what I was up against.

I started three days earlier than scheduled and I was thrown onto what would soon become one of the hardest projects I’ve ever had the pleasure of working on: build a social network in two months. It was going to rough and the schedule was tight but I knew we could pull it off.

Guess what? We did. We’ve officially launched out first version and our present at the R.O.T. Rally was a success. I really did have the intention of explaining this more in detail but halfway through writing this I realized how tired I am. I’ll leave you with a link and let you learn more about it yourself:

http://www.riderrally.com

I vaguely remember promising a weekly reflection to you. I also recall promising myself that I would write twice a week. I didn’t realize what these weeks would be like and how little time I would have to do much else besides sleep.

We’ve officially launched our beta release and are working around the clock to place the finishing touches and launch the final version before this coming Tuesday. It’s hard, it’s stressful, but my god it’s the most fun I’ve had in a while.
Get ready for more info!

Humidity is a pain in the ass. There’s really no way around that fact for me. I’ve come to find that I’m helpless against this anomaly. Water in the air? I grew up in a desert, come on. Obviously I knew about this before I chose to move here but, as most of you know, that’s not enough to stop me from complaining about it.

I’ve been on quite the Neutral Milk Hotel kick lately. From Holland, 1945 to Two Headed Boy, I’m quite infatuated with their lyrics. Granted, their vocal styles aren’t for everybody but the lyrics are incredible. I started off being obsessed with Jesse Lacey’s covers and now I’m enjoying the original tracks themselves. If you haven’t experienced them, I highly recommend:

• Holland, 1945 (the original as well as the cover by Canoe)
• Two Headed Boy Pt. 2 (the original as well as Jesse’s cover)
• Oh Comely (the original as well as Jesse’s cover)

I’ve also been spending most of my day listening to Steve Tannen’s latest album, Big Senorita. I highly recommend that one as well ;).

Work is still intense and it’s only going to become increasingly more stressful over the next few weeks. I knew what I was getting myself into starting this project so I can’t really complain about the situation right now; nor can I really wiggle myself out of it either. It’s the final stretch and there really is light at the end of the tunnel. Believe me, I’m looking forward to having a weekend off and being able to enjoy activities outside of work.

I’ve learned so much from this project. It’s pretty unbelievable when I think about what we’ve accomplished in the past two months. From architecture to management, I’ve really had to stretch my abilities and push the envelope for this project. It’s a complete 180 degree turn from my previous positions. There wasn’t enough to do in those positions to keep me busy for a day. Now I don’t have enough time in my day to do what I want/need!

It’s been a great project and I’m hoping that it becomes a success. I’ll be blogging more on what this success could mean for me (and what the project actually is) very soon. In the meantime, I’m going to get a little bit of sleep and get ready to finish up as much as I can tomorrow.

Friends and acquaintances are graduating left and right (so it seems). When you’re younger you think you have the answers for everything and that you’re the exception to the rule. It’s amazing how quickly people change and how easy it is to lose touch with the people you thought would always be around. It never boils down to one simple truth. I was tempted for an instant to say it boiled down to the simple fact that people change. Maybe it is as simple as that?

I think connections are always deeper than we can truly fathom. I started off writing this while thinking about someone in particular. I got halfway through that first paragraph and got a phone call. It makes me wonder how it’s possible that such fleeting thoughts could be shared. Nevertheless, it voids my resolve for discussing the original theme of this entry.

I was gone for quite some time (does anyone still read this anymore?). It’s been a hell of a week and the hours are only going to worsen over the next month. I truly enjoy the work that I’m doing so it’s not that I mind putting all of my effort into it. What I do mind is not having the time to consistently sit down and reflect. I will commit to an entry a week regardless of the circumstances and hope that I can be a bit of an overachiever on that goal.

Anyways, that’s all I have for today.

I’m keeping this post pretty short (it’s not becoming a habit, I promise). The project that I’m currently working on is reaching a ramp-up point and will require a lot more of my attention this week specifically.

How about YOU leave ME updates as comments for once? I’d love to know what’s happening with everyone that keeps up with me.

The long awaited announcement I’m sure: I’m becoming an active technical blogger. Don’t worry, I won’t be doing it here. I’ll effectively be doubling the amount of time I don’t have to devote to blogging. I’ll continue this one just as it is and will be talking about my other life here:

http://blogs.rev-net.com/jmarnold

For you geeks out there, please stop by! Meanwhile, check back tonight for an update on my personal life.