I thought I'd just say a quick hello, in case you thought I'd forgotten about you :) In truth, I've not had too much to write about, largely because I have continued to feel a bit under the weather. It's been a little discouraging actually. I had a marvelous few weeks where I felt full of energy, and then I got hit with that cold, and since then, I've been rather up and down. One day, bouncing around as if I had an internally mounted caffein drip, the next feeling weak and lethargic.

There's been a nasty flu going around San Francisco, and I'm hoping that I had it, since that might explain the fatigue, the aching joints and the diahorrea. It was embarrassing to get a second illness so early in the New Year, particularly since I have a new boss at work. I took the first day of the year off with a cold, and then had to go home sick again on Tuesday! Not a good way to make an impression!

Anyway, I suppose the on-again, off-again nature of my well-being is also being reflected at work. On Monday, I was thoroughly fed up and bored, with absolutely nothing to do. Then on Tuesday, just before going home sick, a mini-project landed in my lap which will keep me busy for a week. And you know what, it's actually an exciting task, pushing the envelop a little in terms of what our software can do. This is the kind of work I love best, since it requires creativity, problem-solving and persistence. And it's astonishing how a challenge like that can fire you up. I left work yesterday a little stumped on a couple of technical problems: but when I woke up this morning, I realized that the answers had come to me in the middle of the night, and I hastily scribbled them down before I forgot them.

There's a phrase athletes use - being "in the zone" - that moment where suddenly all of their energy, skill and experience comes together and they suddenly feel invincible; everything becomes effortless. I think creative artists feel a variation of this too, sometimes; when the ideas start to flow, and their work starts to assemble itself in their mind's eye almost without concious effort. Well, as unlikely as it sounds, that's how it feels when software developers suddenly see their way through to the solution of a complex programming problem; the barriers drop away, and it all becomes so obvious; and the fingers start to fly, writing out perfect code.

So, for once, I'm actually looking forward to going to work this morning. Which reminds me, I'm late already! See ya. :)