Dispatches from a happy Hullian

From thefridayfive:

1. What was a skill you were proud to learn as a kid?

   Cooking! I remember proudly writing down the recipe for Caesar salad in a little exercise book when I was probably still in elementary school, and rolling out a full meal of Indian food from Madhur Jaffrey's cookbook one summer Friday as a young teen.

2. What's something you used to be good at, but can't do any more?

   Contortions — I'm still pretty flexible but I have a shoulder that limits my ambition (and I'm middle-aged now).

3. What's something you haven't done in a long time, but you could pick it right back up again with some practice?

   Snarkily, as a manager: coding in SAS :) Maybe also downhill skiing, but I'd be worried about that shoulder again.

4. What can you teach others to do?

   I've gotten nice feedback on how I teach HTML and related geeky stuff. I have also taught D&D to a few people now.

5. What would you like to learn next?

   I think there's a lot of psychology, organization and productivity for me to learn. Maybe as much training those "muscles" as picking up wildly new skills.

I can see green grass here and there now, and my cycle commuting is back on track after a snow-related interruption earlier this week.

I've had some good news lately… the post-vasectomy test results came back all clear, and the promotion process I started in the fall has declared me qualified to gain a level — with any luck I can continue working on similar stuff to now but training and managing some help, but that's for management to decide.

I was slated to do some teaching internationally somewhere in the Caribbean (for learners from across the Caribbean) but the project has been bumped over to more senior people. Which is mostly a blessing because I have plenty going on, and it got bumped from February when going somewhere hot sounds appealing, to June, when 40 degrees happens. It stings a bit to be pulled but it's for the best.

I did get to teach locally, though — a Positive Space training with a new set of materials and approach I developed with Deirdre. I think it went quite well, and it qualifies more volunteers at StatCan and Health Canada to do listening and referral.

Elizabeth has been really busy with music — open mics, house shows, a show in Wakefield coming up… it's nice to have that heating up after a long fall but it has been an adjustment in terms of time and energy available for her and me. We're off to an afternoon open mic today with the kids… it's been a while since we've had kids take in her music in a venue. I hope they'll let her do her thing, cheer at the end and munch on fries during (rather than rush the stage)!

Next week I'm contract bargaining most of the week… I hope we make some good progress toward a solid agreement. I get to draft the bargaining updates. I'm learning a lot and think I'm making a difference.