Allo again, all. Oh gosh, that accidentally gave me flashbacks... does anyone remember Google Allo? No? I don't blame you.
It's been good this week. I finally got a more proper data backup solution running on my network. I also decided to try on a more simple sounding bike ride this week around a nearby reservoir. Turns out, in a combination of losing the trail, falling through ice, trudging through the worst snow through which I've ever trudged, and stupidly small shoulders on busy highways (all in that order, by the way), it was only 10 percent simple at best. Still, I achieved the goal I set out to achieve and made my way around the entire reservoir. I was pretty beat by the end, though, and sore glad to get home and shower (emphasis on sore).
Perhaps one of the more intriguing lessons I learned this week came from something fairly ordinary (well, for me, at least). At work, my coworker had a 48-port UniFi POE switches that had "issues" and were deemed waste. Having fixed those before, I offered to take it home and see if I could get it up and running. I spent some hours that evening trying to rig up a power supply that would make most electricians cringe, but I felt was both innovative and safe enough. My method? Using half a dozen DC power adapters from various electronics and stringing them in series as needed to obtain the right voltages and amperages. It took some trail and error to get it right, but I finally got it right... only to discover the rest of the circuitry truly was dead. In effect, my efforts had been wasted...
Or so I thought.
A couple of days later, when my coworker asked about the switch, I told him my ventures had been pointless. And then he produced another 48-port POE switch from under his desk, stating that this one just had a bad power supply, so far as he could tell. Excited at the prospect of a second chance, I took it home, and found that my work from a couple of nights prior turned out to be of worth, after all. Sure enough, when I connected it all together, and watched the LED turn on, as simple a thing as it was, it excited me greatly.
I tell this experience because it taught me a lesson- or at least reiterated one. When I began the process of trying to fix the first network switch, I knew the probability of it working wasn't hugely probable, but possible; and thereby, whether I intended to or not, I established and defined a "light at the end of the tunnel". Upon reaching the end of that tunnel and finding no light, while not met with the worst of disappointment, it was a little upsetting to know that the journey in through the dark had produced no visible results. But that's because I was focusing on what I perceived to be the end effect. For me, at least, this same thing happens in my own relationships, in work, and in self-discipline. For example, I think to myself, if I just exercise enough times in a given month, I'll start losing a little more weight. And yet, although such a thing is not impossible, at the rate I've been exercising, if I were in a better state of mind, I would better understand that it'll take longer time and more intense work to attain that goal.
Or, in another more personal example, about a year ago I was getting close to finishing my Bachelors Degree in my career, but hadn't yet found a good opportunity for an internship and senior project (to be a little more honest, it was partially procrastination and lack of motivation that contributed to this, but I digress). As my last semester of classes was closing, I realized it was a now-or-never situation. I had to sign up for the internship and senior project classes, and hope for the best as I searched diligently for an opening. As the semester drew scarily close to an end, I was still working a job I didn't much care for and waiting to hear back on a number of unlikely applications to be considered, and only a few with a little potential. Then, I got a call back for an over-the-phone interview, which I felt went well, and yet began to feel very anxious about, as the weeks carried on. Then came an in-person interview that I thought went... okay... but made me all the more anxious. Finally, after coming home from a long day at work, just before walking through the door, I got a call. On answering, it was the best news I could've hoped for, and I got the job. And yet, just to keep things in just enough tension, my starting day was to be the same day the semester began for the internship and project. Talk about cutting it close, right? And even then, it took me at least a week or two to nail out some idea of what the focus of my internship and project would be.
I guess, in sharing these experiences, I hope I can instill some hope to those who feel like they've reached the end of their tunnel, but see no light. When all else fails, press on at a reasonable pace. You may be surprised to find the end of the tunnel was just that much further ahead. In the meantime, happy March, and (if you're in a climate like I am), welcome to second winter. Can't wait for weather that makes biking much less of a chore (speaking of lights at the end of a tunnel, right?). Have a good one this week!