Consoling my child who is nervous about starting kindergarten feels like I’m leveling up to School-Ager Parent. New and different scenarios.
Mother’s Day Weekend
Mother’s Day Weekend was nothing out of the ordinary, but still pretty awesome.
We played outside and enjoyed the weather…
Connor let me sleep in for an entire extra hour on Sunday morning before waking me up to give me my Mother’s Day gift and an awesome card…
We ate lunch at a new Szechuan (Chinese) restaurant…
…and I put my Mother’s Day gift into service.
We brought home so many leftovers that Chinese lunch became Chinese dinner, as well — which meant I didn’t even have to cook dinner on Mother’s Day. Bonus!
Even though it wasn’t super fancy — we didn’t do brunch, I didn’t get a Mother’s Day carnation or rose or anything, and I still had to do laundry because it was Sunday — this was quite possibly the best Mother’s Day yet. It just felt right: laid-back, with awesome weather, and the perfect balance of normal and special.
Life is good.
Tree Peony
This Is What I Do
I both live for and dread the beginning of a project.
It’s my favorite part because I get to do what I do best: arrange data into meaningful and useful tools for end users. It’s my least favorite because I rarely feel like I’m going into the design phase with enough information about the process I’m supposed to be improving. What will this tool be used for, and by whom? How do they do it now?
I’ve been trying to expand my skills in data visualization and analysis lately, so this project I’m working on now is more frustrating to me than usual. First, I’ve finally realized that the way our development process works is not conducive to properly sitting with the data like actual dataviz people do — but, to be fair, I’m not actually in data visualization. I’m in the Data Warehouse, and I design dashboards. I’m not making infographics for the Wall Street Journal; I’m making enterprise dashboards for my company.
(And, no, they’re not the NCC-1701-D type, either. Enterprise just means company-wide in this context.)
Anyway.
I guess one of the most frustrating things is that I’m learning all about these visualization and dashboarding tools that other companies use, but we don’t. I’ve learned to bend SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) to my will as much as I can, but it’s still not a dashboarding or data exploration tool. It’s for reporting, period.
They say that when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. To me, that’s true, to an extent… except I’m also trying to figure out non-standard ways to wield the hammer.
There’s also the small issue of the reporting audience. I could suggest a bullet graph, maybe even get the stakeholders to agree to it… but unless it was accompanied with text on how to interpret it, I’m not sure it would fly. I’m supposed to be creating visuals that help people do their jobs better, and in my mind, that’s best served by providing (and enhancing) visualizations they’re already familiar with… even if an unfamiliar one would be more efficient.
It’s such a delicate balance.
So, yeah. I love this part… and I hate this part.
I Know I’m Tall, But…
The product photo on the left is straight from the Wish app, which lets consumers buy ultra-cheap goods from China.
On the right, Yours Truly, at 5’9″, seriously wondering a) if this is even the same shirt that’s pictured, and b) if so, how short is this model?! I bought an XL (I wear a Large in U.S. sizes), and while it almost fits in the shoulders, it is comically short on my long torso.
I’ve contacted the seller via the Wish app to request a refund. I successfully was refunded by another seller the last time I bought something that didn’t fit, so I have high hopes. I only paid $5.70 + $3 shipping, though, so even if they decided not to refund my money, it wouldn’t break me.
So far, I’ve returned two out of the three items of clothing I’ve bought on Wish. I think I’ve learned my lesson: stick to knock-off Pokemon tchotchkes and other non-clothing purchases.
Hat tip to my bestie Amy for letting me know about this app! You evil ho.