Problems

I've decided that it's good to have the problems that get you up in the morning, and bad to have those that keep you up at night.

Fortunately, these days, I have more of the former, and relatively few of the latter.

When I joined AOL in 2004, my objective was:

A senior position working with a talented and enthusiastic group of people to solve advanced technical problems involving software development, in a role where I can be effective in helping to lead the team and be directly involved in the analysis, design and implementation process.

Although my current role doesn't directly involve "analysis, design and implementation" I am working with a talented and enthusiastic group of people, and many of the problems we're solving do qualify as "advanced technical problems involving software development."

During my last few years at Legend, I realized that I was having more bad days, than good. And, the really tough times came in 2001 where on a particularly bad day every month or two, I had to write down all the problems I was facing just to articulate why I felt so miserable. ...the lists went on for pages. It was actually pretty amazing to see them all neatly categorized, page after page. There was a certain catharsis in recognizing that I felt badly for a whole bunch of really good reasons.

Ever the pragmatist, I dealt with the problems that I could resolve, and did my best to accept or ignore the problems that I couldn't solve. And, over time, many, if not all of the problems were resolved, or became less significant to me.

These days, I feel fortunate to be able to say that for a couple years now, I've had more good days, than bad. And, although not all the problems I face are pleasant, increasingly, I'm glad to say that they get me up in the morning, and don't keep me up at night.

And, best of all, every now and then, the best sort of problems come along... the ones that keep you up at night, and get you up in the morning.

On that note, when's the next code challenge, Sree?