So I worked 10 hours today, like many other days. Big deal. I had something to finish so why go when the magic 8 was up?

This pretty much reassures me I am doing something I can enjoy. Sure, it’s got moments when I wish I were home, enjoying my bed, but they usually go away after the second mug of coffee. Not even my 3-day long toothache can put a stop to the ninja coding styles I’ve been dropping lately¹ so all is well.

I think it’s important to go into work being curious what’s going to get thrown your way. Makes it feel more like play, sometimes. I remember discussing a while back about how I pity those University colleagues of mine that have no drive or desire for the topic they’ve chosen as their major. Most of them have way better grades than me and can probably land some sweet jobs at Google or Apple or wherever else. And they end up talking only about the cafeteria and the social lounges. When people ask you about life at Google² they want to know if it’s true you get those crazy freebies. They rarely ask how it feels to work in a place where your contribution is experienced by millions of people daily, or what you’re doing in your 20% time. It pretty much reflects their approach to work - not as something that could have some social impact [preferably positive]  but a way to get some money for gas and free coffee daily. Heck, even without the social impact - do you like what you do?

1. On that note, those of you that code might be aware of the ‘ghost snippet’ whereby you write code that works but it feels like you were possessed at the time so you couldn’t really tell why or how it got there [↩]
2. Disclaimer: I haven’t worked there yet [↩]