The Side Effects of Endorphins

I don’t talk about work all that often, because it’s only a conduit to do the creative things you love.

I no longer have a job, however, technology was my job. I programmed databases, webpages and financial systems.

People assume I know a lot about computers. My neighbors are always asking me to fix theirs or solve something for them. And of course I do and it’s not that difficult.

Technology steered where I am.

When I worked for the big database company, they insisted I take classes. I love that. I told my boss I don’t care what class I take. I just want to take it in Seattle. So they put me on a project in Seattle and thirty years later here I am.

Teaching

When I was helping a neighbor the other day, she said to me you’re so patient. I told her that comes from years of teaching adults how to program databases. I rather loved teaching. It seemed every year or so there was a new operating system and I had to figure it all out. It builds a character (sic) to appear to know what you’re doing when you don’t really in front of twenty students paying good money to take a class.

But I was pretty good at it whether it would be the technology or appearing to know what I’m doing.

But there always will be the creative side

When I retired, my boss said to me, your work was good, but we will certainly miss your status rewards. They were a piece of work. You have a quite the imagination.

Reflection

I remember walking across the campus at Oracle. The technology was getting big and the company was growing so fast. They’re on the sidewalk someone had etched in the newly laid cement sidewalk SQL statements. These are simple execution statements to get information from a database.

I believe technology and can be one in the same. Microsoft used to love the hire musicians and poets. I don’t know what they’re doing now. I don’t follow the industry all that much.