Year in review

[eldabion]

Well, it is about time I made my yearly "New Year" post, even if it is a bit late. I wanted to write that 2011 has been a bit of a washout, but then realized that this time last year I was asking for exactly that. To summarize, I was looking for a year to "fallow", to take it easy etcetc. I look back now and feel as if I've wasted the year. That

Comments

[lupestripe]

In all honesty you are far MORE interesting than the vast majority of furs, one of the few who makes my inability to communicate with furries disappear.

[eldabion]

Here, thank you for the vote of confidence. That was the original reason for choosing the name "Shaman" by the way. One foot in the real world and one foot in the furry world.

[mut]

Hello! Didn't even realize you had an LJ account.

I hope things work out well for you in 2012. For what it's worth, you struck me as a pleasant and engaging person, not at all uninteresting. I dunno what your work situation is, but don't despair -- IMO it's a good thing to hold yourself to a high standard, as long as the reaction on [inevitably] not meeting it is: so how do I improve, then?

Oh, and I can definitely recommend a Kindle -- one of the e-ink ones that has a battery life measured in months. (Also: pay the extra for a 3G version. I didn't, and regret it now.)

[eldabion]

Hehe, as you can see it predates all this twiiter nonsense. It is a bit ancient though isn't it? At least it now allows cross-posting to twitter now in a sensible manner, which I highly approve of.

There does appear to be overwhelming recommendations for the Kindle, so I will endevour to get one when I get back to the UK!

I suspect I'll need it if I'm ever to get serious about learning all this new stuff I am dealing with here >.>

[mut]

By the way, I'll be in Oxford for part of next week (from Tuesday afternoon to Friday morning) and then a couple of weeks later (something like Mon + Tue + Thu). My schedule isn't quite clear yet, but assuming I'm able to sneak away one evening, and that you are somewhere vaguely close to Reading station, would you like to get food or something?

EDIT: Er, and also assuming you're back in the UK by then...
EDIT EDIT: One more try! I should really be asleep now.

[eldabion]

Maybe the couple of weeks later might work. I have no idea when I'll be back ...

[felixkatz]

I'm firmly in favour of quality not quantity. I'd far rather hang out with a couple of good friends than spend time at a large meet or a con. (Where I'd probably hang out with the same limited subset of people anyway.) And good friends are really the most important thing there is.

Also this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome (at work a lot of people are afflicted with this.)

As for the Kindle, I got the 3G Keyboard shortly before christmas, and I've gotten a lot of reading in with it that otherwise I wouldn't have. I don't know yet how much of it is new toy syndrome and how much I will sustain, but I've finished a good half-dozen novels and a couple of programming books in these two months.

Can't help you with the camera; I still love my Olympus E-P1 to the death, and my beefy SLR of course. People seem to love the Canon S90/95/100 series for small cameras.

[eldabion]

I do think that I am an imposter in some ways. With this new technology I'm having to discuss technology I really don't have any understanding of. You know how you sometimes find aweful work and think "How on earth did the dork who did this get away with this?" Well, I think I am that dork right now.

Being realisitc, I know I'm not the smartest techie out there; My understanding comes more slowly now and my ability to retain knowledge is limited. I tend to skim through manuals and I tend to forget things unless I really am regularly using it.

I suppose it is always hard to evaluate your own achievements. Most of what you think seems obvious to you. Just today I felt like I was asking obvious questions and yet nobody seems to have a good answer. I do think I have a sensible head screwed onto my shoulders if nothing else, but is that enough?

[felixkatz]

All the smart people I know think they're impostors in some ways. I mean, I basically make my living by asking dumb questions about systems I barely understand. If I ask one question that people have to think about for every 10 dumb questions I ask, I consider that a good ratio. And still they seem to be happy with me doing that, and continue paying me for it. I know that I have my limitations, I know that there is stuff I'm plain not good at (and for some of that I decide to do it anyway, in the hopes of getting better eventually, and some of it I just avoid having to do, or structure my work so I don't have to do it.)

[eldabion]

You have no idea how much better that makes me feel *hugs*

[huskyteer]

I read a lot anyway, but the Kindle (an utterly unexpected birthday gift from my boyfriend) has enhanced my experience a great deal by giving me something I can read while I'm eating. I prefer to read short stories on it, but I know people who read whacking great novels on theirs.

And Happy New Year!

[hytiger]

I haven't really had chance to talk to you this last year, I tend not to bother with the vast majority of furmeets.

[eldabion]

Its been ages since I've seen you. I hope you are keeping well! And yes, I too am learning to stay away from furmeets >.> I suppose, in that regard, it does mean I don't bump into you the way I used to ...