mamamusings: February 4, 2004

things i wish i didn't know

I’ve always liked that line in Bob Seger’s song Against the Wind…”Wish I didn’t know now what I didn’t know then.”

It’s been a rough winter. Too many illnesses, too many losses, for too many of the people I care about.

On the list of things I wish I’d never needed to know—

• That there’s a back entrance to the Strong Hospital parking garage that’s much quicker for getting in and out
• What the visiting restrictions were for neonatal ICUs ten years ago, and what they are now (pretty much the same, it seems)
• How effective antidepressants can be at helping those of us with a tendency towards chemical imbalance manage the curve balls life throws at us
• What a month of below-freezing temperatures feels like
• The difference between sitting shiva in a reform household vs. an ultra-orthodox household

Yeah, I think life would definitely be easier if I’d never had to learn any of those things.

But the sun is out today (even if the temperatures are still below freezing), and my husband and kids—the people who matter most in the world to me—are happy, healthy, and at home waiting for me. That’s worth a lot.

travel insanity

You know you’re really in trouble when your schedule starts to look a lot like Joi’s!

1/29-31, Chicago (consulting)
2/9-12, San Diego (speaking @ ETech)
2/21-3/3, Tokyo (tourism)
3/3-6, Shanghai (tourism)
3/13-16, Austin (speaking @ SXSW)
3/18-19, Washington DC (serving on NSF ITWF Review Panel)
3/28-30, Redmond, WA (Social Software Symposium)

Happily, things look like they’ll calm back down again after that flurry of flights. Which is a good thing, for me and my family.

A student told me today that he didn’t understand how I was able to do everything that I do—conferences, classes, family, etc. But I’m not sure that I actually do everything that everyone thinks I’m doing. There’s a lot of smoke and mirrors involved. And there’s also a lot of working in the spaces…multitasking during meetings and while sitting on the couch, while flying in airplanes and sitting in terminals.

The biggest down side of that multitasking is that I’m seldom completely in the moment—my attention always seems to be diverted a bit by the things I ought to be working on, the deadlines that are creeping up on me. So I’ll be glad when life calms down a bit…spring brings some relief, and summer even more. For now, I’m going to put the computer down, and step away from the keyboard for a bit.