One piece of news overshadows all else this week for me…and no it wasn’t Biden’s inauguration (though I did very much enjoy that) or Bernie’s chair & mittens meme (attention seekers gonna seek attention) or even the improving vaccine numbers. It was the fact that at my hospital appointment on Wednesday I was given the green-light to thrown away the medical boot and start (trying) to walk normally. This was huge especially as after last weeks pain I had convinced myself it was a non starter.
There are a lot of caveats (I’ll need a stick at times, the swelling and ache in my foot can take a year plus to depart and my physio will be months) but I am sat here in a PAIR of trainers and can get around pretty well despite my noodle leg (my cleft calf is just gone!) and the fact that my knee probably still needs an operation. There is still pain but there is now at least some mobility and I can’t express how thankful I am for that.
Work has been hectic this week. I dived in deeper with the work with Welsh Government as I realised I’d created too much uncertainty in my description of the vision for the work when I have spoken to the team in the past. While they have been comfortable to explore in that vague space they just didn’t have enough clarity to avoid some pot holes and blind alleys. Totally on me and I need to do better and getting this stuff written down and then reinforce it during conversations rather than just relying on those chats. I’m getting there. Words have been written and thoughts have been captured and we have a session on Monday to work it all through together.
In fairness despite the lack of clarity the team have done great work and have been powering ahead but there was a real risk of things going on a bit of a detour unless I got my shit together and provided more direction.
Stu and I had to play back some potentially awkward feedback from some work we’d done to a partner and a client – we’d sweated over the details and I was happy with the story we were presenting but was still anxious about how it might land. As it turned out it landed safely and was well received – which I am really happy about as the actual core piece of work was really well done – our team really got into the nooks and crannies of a complex project quickly and efficiently and delivered a lot of insight in a challenging timeline – all I really did was act as a sounding board and then frame a narrative around their detailed findings. Really proud of the work the team did.
I spent a lot more time on video calls this week than I have since the turn of the year and I’m feeling it today to be honest. It really is draining. Still it has been good – chatting about product management, coaching, software choices, agile practices, new bids, potential blogposts, bilingual content design, wireframes…it has been a real mix of topics! I like it when I get to play ‘Agile Uncle’ – supporting our teams as a bit of an advisor or a slightly more interactive rubber duck. If nothing else my network is always useful.
I actually finished a book.
I am bingeing The (US) Office for the first time. I never really watched the UK version as I always dislike Gervais so much and it always put me off trying this. I stumbled on an episode early in season 2 and have been watching ever since. It is still pretty cringey but I enjoy how it splits from its roots and becomes its own thing.
I had a massive parcel of comics from my local comic book store – so far I have read all the ‘singles’ (mainly just the DC Future State stuff that intrigued me) but I still have a pile of collections to dig in to so that is the weekend sorted.
I watched WW84 – I enjoyed it more than some I think and it had a bunch of moments that made me smile in a way that DC movies rarely manage but I suspect being such a deep nerd for 80s/90s DC and the Perez era Wonder Woman has a lot to do with that. It certainly wasn’t as compelling as the first movie but it was a welcome distraction.
Digital by Default 