Joshua Arnold

Life has been slightly unbalanced lately. Well, maybe “unbalanced” isn’t exactly the right word…perhaps consistent is the term I’m searching for. I’m desperately trying to force myself into more of a routine and I’m getting closer.

My work on the RiderRally project is becoming more intense lately as we ramp up for our next release in late October. I’m working very heavily with location-based information (hence the title of the entry) which has been pretty fun and challenging. I’ll be posting some of the specifics of this in my technical blog.

I’ve been working on several initiatives at works from Professional Development to Internal Framework Development. I’ve been pushing to incorporate training courses in a variety of technologies/skills,  more diverse standards in documentation, and reusable code-bases for the company. Somehow, in the middle of all of this, I’ve also been finding time to consult on other projects, conference calls, and to be the “go-to” guy for any technical interviews. Needless to say, it’s been a little crazy lately.

Despite the workload, my schedule tends to work itself out quite well and I have plenty of free time. I’ve been working in time to go to the gym and general down-time as well. I just need to get more of a structured routine so I can feel a little better about everything. I feel like I’m living in chaos if I don’t have at least SOME continuity in my day.

I had planned to write a little about my thoughts after reading Blue Like Jazz but I’ll save for that for my next entry. Time to watch Wicker Park and head to bed.

Love to All,
Josh

Technorati Tags: announcements, career, informative, reflection, self-learning, updates, work

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

Technorati Tags: coffee, informative, music, reflections, updates, work

I’ve rediscovered my love of ATB this week. Depending on my mood, I find that particular genres of music can be horribly distracting for me. I either spend too much time focusing on the lyrics or I get wrapped up in some nostalgic moment as I reminisce over the first time I heard the song. When I’m listening to ATB, there’s barely anything on my mind save for the task at hand. I’ve seen a spike in my productivity at work since I transitioned back to trance/house for work music.

My life has changed so drastically this year that it’s hard to keep up. That’s not a complaint by any means. In fact, this is the first time I’ve been truly happy with my position since Neumont. I’ve been given an unexpected amount of authority on this project and while it’s certainly intimidating, I am loving every second of it. Contracts are still being worked out but I hope to be able to give some information about it before our launch date. Either way, I’ll post the live address on June 1st for all to see.

I have some inspiration today to write something creative so please forgive this random post. I thought I’d get some brief updates in before I get some work done today. I’ll be writing something more interesting sometime tonight.

Technorati Tags: announcement, atb, career, coffee, updates, work