Yesterday afternoon, I realized I would probably have to come into the office to get a few extra hours in on my most urgent task so that I could have it done by Wednesday's deadline. I went about my normal Saturday routine pretty darn slowly because I didn't really want to go into the office. I went to the gym and worked out slowly and not hard enough and came home to change. I drove up the highway to the plant, and didn't realize until I was off the off-ramp that I had forgotten my badge. I slipped right back on the on-ramp, returned home, drank some Ovaltine, recovered said badge, and highwayed back to the factory.
The factory is usually fairly pleasant on Saturday's: it's quiet, not quite as bright in the office, and there are less distractions for the intent worker. I set to work on the new design in question, working steadily for an hour and listening to an hour of the Rush Limbaugh show the past week, and then was frustrated for about half an hour. I went to talk with a certain someone whose voice I heard across the cubicle village, and then came back to my desk, intending to leave after manfully struggling for about 15 to 20 more minutes. After a few minutes, though, something fell into place: "What if I turn this feature 90 degrees?" I ended up staying another two hours steadily working and kind of watching all the pieces fall into place on the screen, munching out of a bag of Chex mix the whole time. The pieces all done clicking, I slowly realized I may have inadvertently invented something that might even be patentable. I left the factory in a very good mood indeed and a slight headache. The headache went away without medicine, and i'm still basking in the glow of this good day.
I guess that's an indication of one being in the right job: going in to work on Saturday and still having that Saturday being one of the best ones in recent memory.
