360 degree view

Sometimes reality is a bit rougher than what's in your head...

...Today, I got up early cranked out some "critical" fixes, showered, and went into work. I was looking forward to writing some reviews for others and myself, kind of a low-key day. Nope, didn't happen. Got to work, had to help people get set up and productive, got called into a pointless meeting, and finally, after only a few hours in the office, I was asked why wasn't I finished with the reviews and other tasks. No thanks for fixing those critical defects. No thanks for getting everyone rocking on building out environments and fixing code. Nada. Well, my low-key day was gone and I with it.
I figured the only way I'd get anything done is if I went back to the hotel and camped out in the club lounge. The key to leaving the office at 3:30p is telling everyone (but your PM) that you are going back to the hotel to work. Of course, on the way back I got lulled into going for a bike ride because it was soooooooooo nice out. I figured I could bang out the tuna canyon ride in 2.5 hours and be back for some work this evening.
I was kind of feeling blah so I hoped that a ride would re-energize me. hahahahah. Within 5 miles I was honked at twice by anger motorists, upset that I wasn't riding on the sidewalk. At mile 7 I received a phone call but I couldn't answer before it went to voice mail. The gist of the voice mail was:

"Reviews need to be done during Off Hours" - This means not during the loooooooong normal working hours but during the time reserved for sleeping.
"You need to get the rest of your tasks finished quickly since there is visibility" - This is consultant-speak for hurry up and finish these tasks because it is making me look bad.

After listening to the voice mail, I stood along the roadside dumbfounded. Then it hit me, all the long hours, hard work, personal sacrifice, amounted to absolutely nothing. I realized that there was nothing I could do that would be good enough for this project. Nothing. With that I continued riding, at about half my previous speed.

Then at mile 12, a passing car dumped their beverage on me. I'm not one to get down too often but I was pretty close at that moment. Perfect. I love LA. The best thing was that I was starting to make the climb up Tuna Canyon. Well, ya know, sometimes you need to make decision, get mad or say "fuck it". I've learned getting mad doesn't do anything but piss me off so, so fuck it. I put a little more effort into my pedalling and sailed up the canyon. Got near the top and decided to take the access road (4 miles, 1-way to top). There is something about doing something completely pointless, like reaching the top of a hill (got to be under 5000 feet elevation so not a mountain peak), to help put a little focus in your head. Well maybe it is the ride down...hehe! Saw views, flowers, birds, and nice other bikers (weeeeee...she was smoking hot, thanks for the view! yeah I'm a pig ;) ). I don't think I was much below any speed limits until I coasted back into Burbank. By the time I reached the hotel, I had rode 41 miles, climbed at least 2500 ft, and decided to grab a beer after the ride instead of working.

Now I'm back to the state of mind I was in this morning. Oh that is just good fun!