Sunday, November 20, 2005

i'm back.

it's been a long, long time since i visited this page.

but it's been an interesting past couple of months - lots of change, lots of work to do, but somehow i've been feeling oddly bored the past couple of weeks.

work's been somewhat fun. in some ways it's been intersesting. new people, new challenges, new skills learned. in the past couple of weeks i've been thinking that i may need to move to move ahead - the straight-line route at a big company like apple will take a long, long time to get to where i want to be. i'm not exactly sure where that is just yet, but i know i want to be in a situation where i'm making meaningful decisions. i have a big, big problem taking orders from people who haven't got a clue. and there are just way too many people above me and around me who haven't got a clue.

i feel a change brewing, soon. i don't know how long i'll have patience for this. in the meanwhile, i'll really need to focus on developing the skills so i'll be able to contribute more meaningfully to another venture down the line.

i like these lazy sunday mornings. a little downtime, some room to think.

so here's my new resolution. i'm going to use this space to explore the next step. i think sitting down and writing about it will help me think things through. i need to find a little bit of discipline and cut out some of the distractions to my head.

to start: i'm reading this article i found on rishi's blog, it's ideas for startups by paul graham. i'm finding a lot of truth in this section on doodling:

the next morning, one of you has an idea in the shower about how to solve it. He runs eagerly to to tell the others, and together they work out the kinks.

What happens in that shower? It seems to me that ideas just pop into my head. But can we say more than that?

Taking a shower is like a form of meditation. You're alert, but there's nothing to distract you. It's in a situation like this, where your mind is free to roam, that it bumps into new ideas.

What happens when your mind wanders? It may be like doodling. Most people have characteristic ways of doodling.
for me? it's the commute. i've found that i do a lot of good thinking on the drive down. maybe to facilitate this, i'll start listening to classical music or jazz, and turn off the talk radio. i thought of an idea for a travel service, maybe i'll post more on this later as i solidify my thoughts.