SamWatson.us
Recently, we were having a get-together with some family at our house. The adults were talking in the dining room while the kids played in one of the bedrooms. Then my son walks into the dining room, wearing one of my shirts, a pair of my shoes, and some sunglasses. Then he proceeded to make this weird voice pretending to be me.
Over the pandemic, some people started doing things like making sourdough, Tik-Tok challenges or learning to tie-dye. Other than playing with squirrels and reading, I can’t say I have any hobbies. I have heard Europeans don’t ask what you do for work, instead they ask what you do as a hobby.
And apparently, they would consider me pretty dull since I don’t have a hobby I am passionate about (spreadsheets are my hobby but also my work).
Early in 2010, I was laid off from my job and began working at a call center. They were quickly promoting me to other departments and eyeing me for management after a month. I also had a side gig building a website for an Ad agency I used to work with (the previous job directed them to me).
As a child, my mom would always tell me not to care what other people think. If I was embarrassed out in public, she would say, “Don’t worry, you will never see these people again.”
Sometimes, your life will feel like a slow train wreck. One that anyone with eyes could see coming, but is impossible to stop. Your car is stalled on the tracks and even though the conductor has applied the breaks, traffic in either direction has you blocked in and your car is not going to move in time.
A few weeks ago, I wrote about how lucky I am to have not been too affected by these winter storms we had. In the end, I broke down what I thought of as the 3 parts of luck (being fortunate, being prepared, and having a positive attitude).
Lately, Pope’s passing has been hitting me pretty hard. While he was alive I kept thinking “What a great life he led, when he passes it will just be the closing of a good book”. He would always tell me to throw his body in the dumpster and he would be with the Lord.
I felt prepared.
I heard someone say once that they were the kid that when they got a new VCR pressed every button and figured out what they all did. That really resonated with me since I was that same kid.
It’s that love of finding out how things work that led me to learn about computers as a kid, to my time in 3D modeling and animation, and my current career.
The image above was provided by my co-worker Miguel (@MAGNUSDIV) who taught me everything I learned this year about photography.
Lately, we have been playing a lot of games. Skip-Bo, Uno Flip, Phase 10, Spades. For Christmas, I was given a Connect 4 type game which is my all-time favorite. During Christmas with my in-laws, I played my niece in Connect 4 and she was pretty good. Usually, when my nephew comes over we immediately whip out the game and start playing.
The other day our bathroom flooded and it got “stuff” everywhere. One of my coworkers actually cleaned up the water even though he was a highly paid executive.
It made me think back to a man I worked for who said, “I would not ask an employee to do something I wouldn’t myself.”
These guys are both inspiring to me because this philosophy displays a humbleness that is rare in today’s world. We live in a country full of entitled people and I am thankful for those who don’t think they are better than anyone despite how much they are compensated.