Start/2005-03-31/1

Making time for the important things

I am slammed with project work and have not had time to keep the blog up to date – or to do anything else requiring free time. Nevertheless, today I carved an hour out of my insane schedule to plant tomato seeds.

You have to make time for the important things.

I commonly work on troubled projects where the schedule is tight and the pressure high. If I did not force myself to take a recalibration break every now and again, I would lose it.

Gardening is how I recalibrate. Once my hands work the earth, the artificial world of mutexes, continuations, and web applications enters its proper context. It's just work. Yes, it's work that I'm passionate about and love doing, but it's not my life. Gardening, on the other hand, qualifies as bona fide living.

One more thing: You can't eat Ruby on Rails, but you can eat home-grown tomatoes:

(Why, yes, that is a "two-hander" sized Gold Medal heirloom tomato.)

Last year, I had a great haul and ate delicious tomatoes from late Summer on. (Check out the garden photos in which I showcase my mad photography skillz: Mid-season garden update, Gold Medal harvest, Green Zebra harvest.) I don't want to miss the harvest this year.

Please remember to make time for the important things. Life won't make time for you.