Meanderings

At the crack of 8:15-ish I am out the door and on the subway. I change trains instinctively while reading a paper and ignoring the many thousands of my fellow New Yorkers I pass daily. I manage to get to the office usually unscathed by 9. Downtown is always a mess but mornings are worse for pedestrians as everyone is meandering the maze of security zones, barricades, police road blocks, construction, and grabs of eminent domain - not to mention the groups of talkers, smokers, hockers, and loiterers. Especially mobbed is the area around the Stock Exchange (pic) and Federal Hall (site) where George (the good one) presided.

In the midst of this mess is my non-profit. Not nearly as bustling or exciting but just as cramped as any rush hour subway car (pic). There is a "beautiful" view of the building across the street. The datacenter that looks back sports a wall of blinking lights. Yeah, so what? We may only have five servers and no air conditioner but we help people every day!

The thought doesn't really alleviate the blinking-light envy (pic) I feel in my gut.

No, load balancing will never be an issue at my little non-profit, but it is amazing what so few people with nearly adequate tools can do for the betterment of the world. It's rewarding working as a non-profit technologist, despite the politics and difficult budgets. Small improvements in technology and an understanding of staff needs can make a big difference in output. Personally, it's great ROI to be there for those that are there for others.

My day usually ends 15 minutes too late and then I'm off to class. The streets aren't nearly as bad as in the morning but the trains run like broken escalators. I gripe about my day-to-day happenings, yet in the end I can't imagine being happy anywhere but at a non-profit. Hopefully that continues.