Objects, objects, every where

Hypothetical: How would you feel if everything you owned disappeared or went up in smoke? Mad at the money you need to spend replacing the objects? Would you be devastated because of your attachment to them? Relieved that some of those things you didn't really want or do anything with magically disappeared? For me, and probably for everyone else, I suspect it would be a combination of the above.

As I prepare to wander off on another adventure, I am now faced with the prospect of leaving my stuff in the care of a relative stranger or, if that falls through, leaving it unattended for an extended period of time. I have this odd, unexplained fear for my things when no one is looking at them. I have found this the hardest thing to work through while preparing for my upcoming trip. A lot of it is that I dread starting over - except that in some ways, I don't. After my summer in Jordan, I am very aware that I can get by on much less than I have now. I have a small tug of war in my brain between "It's just stuff, and stuff is eminently replaceable or not truly needed" and "but it's MY stuff and I want it."

But, when I look around, I don't have the same level of attachment to all of it. Some stuff I absolutely want to keep in my life. And I am in the position to put these things in boxes and bring them to a friend's house, making them seem less abandoned and very likely to be waiting for me when I get back. It's like being told your place is going to flood/catch fire/be hit by a tornado in a week and you get to protect your most valuable possessions. It's a fascinating exercise to go through with your objects.

And the rest? I'm 99% sure it will be fine. And if something happens to them, then I'm 99% sure I'll be fine.

*Note: The cats and the paid-off car are going to very good homes. This Surly Girl does have a few clear priorities.

Two out of three ain't bad

Kitties have a home! E and C just stopped by to meet the kitties, who passed the Not Crazy test. As such, E and C (amazingly awesome people, relatively new friends who I hope will keep moving into the category of Close Friends) have agreed to host the kitties for 3-6 months. They have a big house, complete with cat doors. Sabine was her usual charming self and Syd showed that she could be cute and cuddly, once she warms up to you. E and C promised to send me the occasional picture, too. One down!

Another issue resolved is the car. E and R (I apparently know a lot of women whose names begin with E) have said I could park my Civic on their mulch pile. The Honda dealership assured me that if I get the car cleaned and waxed and disconnect the battery, I should be good. An extra car cover is okay, but not required. (I'm passing on spending the $225 for the nice one, and can't seem to find a good cheap one.) Apparently the goal is to top off fluids, but mostly just get the car serviced when I come back. Two down!

I have a women who is coming by later today to look at the place. She's a doctoral student, looking for a furnished place with no roommates. She's even been a landlord before. Not that that guarantees sanity or that she'll say yes upon seeing the place, but it's still nice to have an iron in the fire. I'll let you know if it works out.

So that's my story. I leave for China on January 9, arrive January 10, and start work January 11. More details about what I'll be doing for Microsoft Research Asia as they become apparent. It looks like I'll be working in the area of activity-based ubiquitous computing, which means using mobile devices to keep track of what people are doing. When I talk about it, I get excited in that bouncing-up-and-down, eyes-shining kind of way. Also, so nice to have a job (no matter how little it pays). And worse comes to worst, free trip to China!

Walkabout

On Wednesday, I took a ride to Clancey's, a favorite butcher shop, to squeeze in a bit more time with a couple of friends. I also wanted some quiet yet active time to myself, so I walked home from there, a distance of about 4 miles. While Snowbigproblem* was on its way, the snow hadn't really started to fall and the temperature was a pleasant 30 degrees. I meandered past Lake Harriet and along the parkway. It was quiet and snowy and beautiful. There were a few others out on the path, people walking dogs and the occasional biker (!). Around each twist and turn I found a memory from childhood - sledding with friends, broomball games, a few rowdy nights out by the creek, walking to the lakes in summer, a lovely date playing in snow on the frozen creek. I had a really good run growing up here.

The act of walking for a long time was soothing and gave my mind and body something to do besides spin pointlessly on what or may not happen when I head off to China. (Oh, I should mention that. I heading to China for 3 months to do an internship with Microsoft Research. More on that later.) I reflected that my life has been full of long walks. Manda and I used to walk around that very creek in junior high, commenting on the houses (I should have checked if that have Spanish/half colonial house has had any work done). When I lived in London, I had nothing but time and would often walk home from work in The City to Camden Town (another 4 mile walk). D and I would often wander around on Sunday nights, in search of dinner ingredients at Kowalski's and interesting light to photograph. We also went on several hikes through national forests, which were some of our best times together. In Jordan, I chose to walk the 2 miles to meet my carpool instead of paying $.25 to take a taxi because I loved watching the city go about its day and I loved giving my body something to do. Today, my parents and I walk to run an errand. (We went by the bunny! See photo.) During my meander by the creek, I reflected on how fundamental long walks are to how I interact with the world and how I want to keep them a priority in my life.

So the next time we hang out, want to go for a walk? :)




*A friend who experienced snowmaggedeon in Seattle suggested Minnesotans are way too accustomed to dealing with large snowfalls to use the "snowpocalypse" moniker. After seeing most people handling the snow in a rather intelligent manner (fast drivers the obvious exception) and our masterful plows, I agree. We got a lot of snow and people should adjust travel plans, but we're pretty good at staying on top of it.

For Fans of Mad Men and typefaces

An awesome walk through the typefaces used in Mad Men props and credits.

http://www.marksimonson.com/article/236/mad-men-mad-props

Random updates

In no particular order:

• It's been sunny and clear (and cold) in Seattle. That equals a much improved state of mind for me. The mountains have come out to play and they're magnificent. (Photo credit goes to sea turtle, whom I have never met but who took this picture from my neighborhood.)
  



• I finally received confirmation of health insurance coverage. I scheduled an appointment to look at the finger I banged up in early September. (The wheels of insurance turn slooowly.) I'll let you know what I find out.
• There are a few things on the job front that may turn into something interesting. One of them I should know more about by this time tomorrow. Even if I don't get it, the experience of being considered for unsaid position boosted my confidence that if a human reads my resume, I'm more likely to get an interview that dumping endless variations of my CV into job search web apps.
• I no longer fall soundly asleep the moment my head hits the pillow. I miss those days. I'm assuming it's some mix of not enough exercise, enough sleep already (I tend to sleep in some days when I don't have a reason to get going early), and general anxiousness wondering what's up next for me. I'm still awash in possibilities. I'm ready to have fewer possibilities, though. This is a bit much.
• I'm an office nomad with generous friends. A couple people have opened their office space to me during the day, providing access to a reliable internet connection, monitors, and people to talk to. Much love, KF and DS. You've helped preserve my sanity.

More updates soon, if events warrant. Hope you're all staying warm!

Things that drive me crazy

Quite frequently, I am reassured that I am pursuing the right field. How do I know? Because bad user experiences drive me crazy. I will spare you the long drawn-out account of how UW completely missed the mark in communicating about whether or not I qualified for involuntary unemployment (that one makes me scream/cry). Instead, here's a simple example of how registering for a flight update on United made me want to pound my head on my desk. And yes, I think it's entirely their fault.



You told me to pick where it was arriving/departing and I did, and now you are complaining. I also got an error because in the Pager field I put my phone number, not my email address. 1) Does anyone use the term "pager"anymore? 2) Enough of us are without smartphones but have text messaging that you should accept phone numbers. So, United, I didn't use your service and I used you as an example of bad design on a website because you made it too hard for me. This is why user testing matters.

I've also had lots of chances to enter information into forms recently. May I just say that if your coders haven't figured out a way to gracefully handle lots of inputs (say spaces vs. dashes in phone numbers and credit cards), display an example of the format you do take. Getting an error after completing a form is a good way to make customers abandon your site.

Anyone have other good examples of bad usability they'd like to share?

One foot in front of the other

It's amazing how easy it is for me to feel disheartened, even when I've managed to accomplish something during the day. To whit:

• Mailed thank you letter for informational interview. (Thanks for raising me right, Mom and Dad.)
• Picked up and deposited check for contracting work.
• Found out my style guide for developed-world developers designing for developing-world users was submitted to a conference.
• Submitted research paper on my experience in Jordan to a different conference. All school work is officially done!
  
• Retooled resume to two pages to make me look more Senior.
• Applied to two more jobs (sans cover letter, but I blame the crappy website for that).

So if I've managed to accomplish all of that, why do I still feel down? Because all of the job postings I've read are also asking for coding experience. It's making me feel like I'm not qualified for any jobs out there. As D and, well, D pointed out, that's just bullshit. One of the key values of user experience designers and technical writers is that they aren't limited by what they think code can and can't do. As D said, "you don't want me to code -

you want me to focus on what I do best."

So take that, job description writers!