Just for posterity, some of the reasoning behind coming back to these here parts, besides fulfilling a stated commitment.
TL;DR Commuting and creating. Less of the first, more of the latter.
Death to Schleppy!!
I live in the center-west portion of Loudoun County, roughly 30ish miles from Arlington and thence further into the city. Arlington has been about the best of my regular work place locations as I’ve had stops in downtown DC, Crystal City, Oakton and Rockville, MD.
The Washington DC Metroplex is brutally hostile to commuters. Typically I spend about 75 to 90 minutes getting to work, one way. Doesn’t matter what combo of driving and public transportation, minimum 3 hours in transit every business day, punctuated by bi-weekly traffic disasters just to accentuate the pain.
In June of 2016, I’ll have been doing it for a full decade. Years two through eight, I developed Stockholm syndrome and just rolled with it. In the last year a certain despair about the amount of my life dripping away at this has crept up. Family constraints lock in the residential location. So I’m now resolved to alter my career trajectory as needed to radically reduce my commute.
By May 31st of 2017, my one way trip time to work will be 30 minutes or less. Preferably way less.
What’s the blog relation? To best position myself to Kill Schleppy, I want to sharpen a number of technical skills to increase leverage with whoever employs my talents. Some of this will happen through self-instruction and side projects. (This and lack of software upgrades for Ye Olde MacBook led to the new Macaversary.) What better place than Mass Programming Resistance to record my efforts and build up an independent, web visible portfolio? Maybe even land a “remote first” opportunity. Going to the home office or local co-working space sounds really enticing.
Parallel to that, in Whatabouts I noted the elimination of certain things that I felt were a drag on mental and emotional health. That space can be filled with productive, creative energy. Mass Programming Resistance can once again be the outlet for that energy. Blogging’s dead, blah, blah, blah. But in the past, when I’ve been on a regular routine, there was a sense of purpose and achievement. It works for me.