Update

[flexibeast]

Posting that MBTI meme a couple of days ago, i realised i hadn't posted here for a month. So here's a quick update on what i've been up to (and in some cases not been up to):

• i've been looking into trying to get some work doing Perl programming. Apparently the demand for Perl programmers in Melbourne at the moment is outstripping supply, such that there has been talk of week-long 'crash courses' to teach Perl to developers familiar with other languages. In such an environment, and given that i'm pretty sure that i'm a more disciplined, conscientious and able programmer than many people who are nevertheless getting paid to write dodgy code¹, and despite having CFS, i decided to make some enquiries. The end result of this was some possible subcontracting work for me sometime in the future; and:


• As a combined community contribution and way of demonstrating that i've got at least a bit of a clue when it comes to Perl programming, i volunteered to do some work on the XML::Validator::Schema module. Embarrassingly, however, i've not yet had the chance to properly scan through the XML Schema: Datatypes spec so that i can move on to creating unit tests and code for currently unimplemented parts of the spec (e.g. comparison facets for the dateTime type), the reason for this being:


• i've had a rather unpleasant cold which knocked me around for a week; and on top of that, i've been trying to do my best as homemaker and mental / emotional support for two households, which has been particularly important for me to do given the pressures members of both households are under (which i won't go into here).


• i've nevertheless managed to finish reading Elaine Aron's marvellous The Highly Sensitive Person, which has basically resulted in something of a 'gestalt switch' in terms of how i regard many of my past and present feelings, attitudes and behaviours, in a world in which extroversion and a 'thick skin' is lauded and introversion and sensitivity are seen as failings. i'll probably talk about this further in a subsequent post.


• On a lighter note, however, i've managed to get along to two nude swim nights, which have been great - partly because the water helps to take the weight off my body for a bit, partly because it reminds me of how much swimming is my preferred form of exercise, and partly because i don't have to worry about what form of swimwear i should wear. (Having said that, the first time i went, someone commented that most people there would probably read me as male; but the second time i went, last night, i watched a couple of guys' eyes flicking between my breasts and groin in apparent confusion. Heh heh. :-) )

i think that basically covers it for now . . . .

---

1. Heck, as i pointed out to someone in an email exchange, there are apparently people being paid to write C code that i can see flaws in, even though i don't consider myself to be professionally competent in C.
 

Comments

[not-in-denial.livejournal.com]

Those two last points are awesome :) I look forward to your posts about sensitivity, the few you've written already have been really interesting to me.

And a big happy LOL to the last point... confusing people is fun!

[flexibeast.livejournal.com]

Yes, it's good to have the opportunity to make people confront the inadequacy of their mental pigeon holes. :-)

[haw-thorn.livejournal.com]

Confusion or lust? With some people it can be hard to tell!!

[flexibeast.livejournal.com]

Heh, fair point - but in this particular case, i think it was indeed confusion. :-)

[sacred-harlot.livejournal.com]

Great entry Sweetie,

I hear that you have been doing a fantastic job in your two households :-D

congrats on the prospect of paid work in the future, if anyone deserves recognition of skill it is you!

Much Love,
Sacred Harlot XXX.

[flexibeast.livejournal.com]

Heh, why thank you. :-)

[cheshire-bitten.livejournal.com]

Been thinking of you, hope to catch up at some point.

[flexibeast.livejournal.com]

Well, naked_wrat, sacred_harlot and myself were considering coming along to your party, other things permitting, so hopefully we can do some catching up then. :-)

[cheshire-bitten.livejournal.com]

Wonderful, I will send you details closer to the event.

[winterkoninkje.livejournal.com]

Good to hear what you've been up to. The Perl stuff sounds like fun, though if people are that desperate I'd be worried about dodgy coworkers code. And you should definitely write that sensitivity post, sounds interesting.