Running in the Tall Grass
10 Jan 2007I have this vivid memory from my childhood of running in the tall grass. It was in one of those out of bounds areas where you aren’t really supposed to go, but you end up there anyway. The surroundings in the memory are a bit hazy so I can’t place where or when it was, but the feeling of freedom and carelessness shines through to this day. I’m not even sure that it is a real memory, but it feels real.
I have always drifted through life with that same sense of wandering and adventure; freedom and carelessness. Growing up my family moved a lot. In a broader sense you could say that we wandered, sort of like Gypsies or Nomads. It made our family very close I think.
I used to believe that it would have been wonderful to stay in one place for my whole childhood. To grow up with a single group of friends. From my current perpsepctive though I wouldn’t have traded it for anything. I learned a lot of things that many people never have a chance to learn until much later in life. I got to see places that some people will never get to see. A lot of those places that we learned about in school weren’t just vague ideas, they were places I had been.
Since graduating high school my geographical wandering has continued. Each place holds a little magic and more than a few great memories.
Nova Scotia was filled with professional development. I learned a lot about programming and helped forge a few other great programmers in my time there.
Montreal was filled with personal growth. I learned more about who I was and started to enjoy life again away from the strict regime I had worked under for four years before. I was reunited with old friends. I found my happiness again.
Vancouver has been filled with more personal growth. Moving beyond happiness and in to love. I met my wife-to-be here. I also found a degree of happiness in work that I didn’t know was possible.
Although for the last little while I’ve felt the Gypsy blood starting to burn inside of me again. Not driven by a need to change locations or anything like that, but more by a feeling that it might be time to search for new employment.
Every job that I’ve ever had has been sort of a Caesarean conquest. Veni, vidi, vici. The problem is that after the vici part of it all, as I’m sure Caesar himself would attest to, boredom creeps in unless there are more challenges to face. Possibly a better take on the old Caesarean phrase for my case would be veni, vidi, codi.
Once a certain level of comfort sets in you are no longer learning. This is when, for me at least, it starts to get boring. I lose interest in the day to day tasks. I need to be challenged and pushed. When I was in Nova Scotia and this problem set in it wasn’t so bad because I took over the programming team and thoroughly enjoyed molding the new recruits into better programmers. I enjoy the role of teaching.
I was born and raised as a knowledge junkie. I used to watch Nova and National Geographic on PBS like most people watch Survivor. You’re there evey week, eagerly anticipating what is revealed next. I used to read encylopedias and dictionaries for fun. I still tend to prefer shows that teach me things and have a fascination with nearly all books that are educational.
The only real difference with how I acquire knowledge now is that the majority of it comes from the internet. I read wikipedia when I’m bored and when I’m not. When I find something truly interesting I find as many sources as I can to put together a better picture of it all and ensure that the facts match.
Today has been one of those strange and thoughtful days. One of those times where everything is evaluated and re-evaluated. There are lots of places out here where I could work. Lots of interesting prospects. Perhaps it is time to return to my PC roots? I do miss making games for the computer as opposed to the consoles.
Then again, maybe this will just blow over in a day or two as these thoughts have a tendency to do. Maybe something will happen to challenge me at work; to take the focus of my attention and effort.