Weeknotes 22:04

January 30, 2022

Week of January 23-29

Photo courtesy of The Kansas City Chiefs

Last Sunday, I watched one of the most exciting playoff games in NFL history. I grew up in Kansas City and have been a Chiefs fan since the mid-70’s when they won only a handful of games each year. It is one of the most exciting sporting events I have watched. It was full of emotional ups and downs in the last two minutes of the game.

My dad texted me after the Bills scored with just 13 seconds left and said, “Well, next year.”My youngest daughter had come downstairs and watched the end of the game with me. One of her friends is a big Chiefs’ fan. My daughter asked me if the Chiefs had a chance and I told her that there was not really enough time for them to do anything other than a hail Mary. Boy was I wrong!

The emotional high of seeing the Chiefs come back and win the game was even sweeter after the stressful weekend I had. As I mentioned in my last post, my daughter had to go to the hospital and there was the stress of trying to avoid COVID and take care of our household while my wife was sick. It is crazy because the Chief’s comeback in the Super Bowl two years ago happened under some similar stressful circumstances.

Taking a step back

I realized on Monday afternoon that the stress of the previous week of having family members with COVID and my daughter having to go to the hospital had taken a toll on my emotional and mental health. I was able to take advantage of LGND‘s new unlimited PTO policy and I asked to take off for a couple of days to recoup. I am really grateful that the leadership decided to add this perk to our employment experience. In the past, it would have been difficult for me to think about taking these days off so early in the year when I was limited to 15 days. But with the new policy, my mind was at ease knowing that I can take time off later as needed in the year.

This policy change is something that I have really wanted over the last few years. I saw the value of being able to take off a day or two after a big project to catch my breath. We have a very talented team that works really hard and goes the extra mile to create great work for our clients. But that can take its toll when you are as committed as we are to the work. I was really excited near the end of the year when I heard we were moving to an unlimited PTO model.

I felt much better on Thursday and had the energy to fully engage the work again to finish out the week.

Articles I read

Books I read

What I watched

  • AFC Divisional Game (Chiefs vs. Bills) – I already have mentioned that this was one of the most if not the most exciting football game I have ever watched.
  • Mini Movie: Chiefs Defeat Bills in Greatest Divisional Round Game Ever Played (YouTube)
  • Rookie of the Year (Disney+)
  • Kim’s Convenience (Netflix)
  • The Dig (Netflix) – I have had this one in my queue for a long time.
  • The Battered Bastards of Baseball (Netflix)
  • Ken Burns Baseball (DVD) – I watched the first inning.

What I played

  • Wordle
  • MLB The Show 21 (Braves)

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