Merry Christmas today. Happy Holidays to all of you, for whichever holiday you celebrate this time of year.
It’s been a long, hard year, but I hope you are healthy and happy as we close out 2020. Hopefully next year is more enjoyable for all of us.
Steve Jones
I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQLServerCentral newsletter and to the Community Circle, which is helping me deal with the issues in the world. I’m adding my responses for each day here. All my coping tips are under this tag.
Today’s tip is to stop for a minute today and smile while you remember a happy moment in 2020.
I’ve had more than my share this year, but my happy moment from 2020 that comes to mind is from February. The only airplane trip of the year for me, to celebrate a birthday.
Merry Christmas.
I’ve been learning to play All I Want for Christmas this fall, hoping to have some fun with the family during the holiday. Hopefully it’s a festive, fun time of year for many of you out there, despite the challenges of this pandemic year. As I was listening to the words, I thought about what I’d want this year.
2020 has been disruptive to me, as someone that often travels and meets lots of people. Trying to comply with regulations, as well as stay safe, has meant parts of my job have changed this year. One thing that hasn’t changed is that I still work most of the time in my home office, which is a change that many of you got to experience this year. I wasn’t sure how people would cope, but most of the friends and colleagues I speak with have enjoyed working at home.
While I do think the world of work for technology people has likely changed, I also suspect that some of you won’t get to keep working at home forever. There are certainly managers that don’t like this format, though I hope this year has opened their eyes to understanding just how productive people can be, even when not visually supervised.
One of my wishes for Christmas is that we find a way to hold some live events next year, with speakers and attendees getting to be in the same room, network, and shake hands. I know this won’t happen soon, but I’d happily skip other presents if this would come true sometime in 2021.
I suspect that many people this year have varied wishes for this holiday season, mostly for the health and well-being of their families, but perhaps some other more tangible hopes as well. In any case, I wish you joyous celebrations and smiles with loved ones.
Steve Jones
I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQLServerCentral newsletter and to the Community Circle, which is helping me deal with the issues in the world. I’m adding my responses for each day here. All my coping tips are under this tag.
Today’s tip is to Give away something you have been holding on to.
I have made more donations this year and in the past,. Partially I think this is because life slowed down and I had time to clean out some spaces. However, I have more to do, and when I saw this item, I decided to do something new.
I’m a big supporter of Habitat for Humanity. During my first sabbatical, I volunteered there quite a bit, and I’ve continued to do that periodically since. I believe shelter is an important resource most people need. site:I’ve had some tools at the house that I’ve held onto, thinking they would be good spares. I have a few cordless items, but I have an older miter saw and a table saw that work fine.
Habitat doesn’t take these, but I donated them to another local charity that can make use of them. I’m hoping someone will use them to improve their lives, either building something or maybe using them in their work.
