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November rain
Tuesday, November 16 1999
There was an unusual humid autumnal chill as I biked to work this morning, but by dark it had turned to a warm misty rain. As usual for the first rains of San Diego's dark months, drivers were utterly unprepared, slamming on their brakes in their accustomed manner and surprised to find themselves skidding on an emulsion of accumulated motor oil, grime and water. I didn't see anyone involved in an accident, but I heard plenty of idiots skidding at stop lights.
I'm realizing at work that I have a monopoly on a lot of knowledge. Under our management system, there's a capitalist relationship between scarce employees and not-especially-scarce bonus dollars. I'm becoming increasingly picky about the projects I'm willing to take on, and I'm beginning to realize that I can demand a lot more than I have been demanding, simply because I'm the only person qualified to do a lot of the work that needs doing. Unfortunately, I'm still stuck doing projects for which I demanded relatively small compensation. But even working under naïvely-signed contracts, my bonus income greatly exceeds my salary. I could have never dreamed I'd be making this sort of income a year ago. The downside is the stress; I'm interrupted all day by people wanting me to work on their project right now.
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