'Watt' is a British shortening of 'Walter', and (according to this genealogy website) the Latin form of the name is "Gualcherius", though this would normally only be used in the written form. And they ask what you can learn from roleplaying... ;)
***
As my first week back at the Manuka mothership draws to a close, I have mixed feelings about the transition. On one hand, I definitely feel under more pressure, since there's no-one I feel I can say, "Here, you look after this while I try and get this other thing done." And my new room is definitely a lot more distracting and noisy; and there hasn't been a significant reduction in the number of outstanding jobs that I'm somewhat responsible for.
On the other hand, I don't think I realised how much my previous workmate wore me down. I found him savagely negative, and he was quite vocal about the fact that he, for example, didn't distinguish between being nice to people and sucking up. I tended to do a lot of self-censorship around him, which given his "I don't care what other people think" attitude, seems somehow ironic. But now, instead of being the person he complains to about everything that's bugging him at the end of the day, I only have to deal with him in meetings, where he's on his best behaviour in front of the boss. (I'm aware that this doesn't seem consistent with the "don't care" thing; I'm not sure whether he's aware of that there's a clash.) I feel I should point out that he has a couple of young kids that he appears to care about a lot, and he can sometimes be funny - but I think I'll find it a lot easier to think of him fondly at this distance.
The other aspects of my new job seem pretty good too - the problems that I'm looking at seem slightly more managable, and while the limitations of FileMaker are no less frustrating, I feel in a better position to impliment work-arounds. I'm working more closely with the users, and by being in the same building, I can simply go down to their office and ask for clarification, or get them to step through the problem in front of me. I'm in an office that has not just windows, but sunlight - and I have blinds, so I can block the sun if it gets uncomfortably warm. And while it's somewhat inconvenient to be going away at this stage of production, I'm looking forward to having a break in the not-too-distant future.
And roll on the days when I get to do 40-hour weeks! ;)
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Hitherby Dragons continues to give my brain conceptual contusions, from the army of dancing popes, to Morpheus and a rubber ducky, to a very special Care Bear story... and there are just little bits and pieces, such as:
See also "Neon Aquinas Evangelion," wherein Thomas Aquinas explores these issues and certain others from the perspective of a troubled Medieval adolescent.
Worth trawling the back entries for the occasional illuminating surprise.
Posted by svend at July 2, 2004 7:03 PM