Sometimes You Just Need a Break

I've been banging my head against a wall with the problem at work for about 2 1/2 hours now. It's driving me crazy because I got the darn thing to work once. Now I can't make it work to save my life.

I really don't like the feeling of being out of my league. I like to think I can figure out just about anything with enough time and energy. Being entirely self-taught in the area of computer programming, I often get into areas I'm not familiar with. I don't have anyone more experienced than me in this particular area, so I can't go anywhere and ask. I've posted some questions on the mailing list, but you usually have to send quite a few emails to get everyone to comprehend what you're asking. It can be frustrating.

At least it's friday and the day is nearly over. I went fishing last night and even though I didn't catch anything, my second oldest caught three, which really thrilled him. He hasn't had much luck in the last few weeks, even though we go down to the pond several times a week (some weeks every night, depending on how frustrated I am with work) and "throw at the fish a while" as a friend of mine says.

School starts in a couple of weeks and I'm quite ready. My wife is ready for the kids to go back to school and I'm ready to get back into the swing of things. I've been bugging my future professors with critiques of my writing and it's getting me excited to have that kind of meaningful and helpful feedback. Some writers shrink from criticism of their work. I can understand that because it's not comfortable to have someone tell you your writing isn't quite up to par, but if you're thinking about becoming a professional writer, I think you just have to get over that. Your words aren't sacred. After all, it's not all about the writer, but the audience. Self-indulgent artists never make it very far and I can't imagine that their work is very fulfilling.