Being Slow

There are a couple reasons that I am slow. I think I have always been slow. In college, I was always one of the last students to finish the test. This isn't to say that I don't move a lot. It isn't to say that I'm thinking slow.

When it comes to programming, I tend to solve things by typing a lot. I used the computer as an aid in solving something. I tend to do lots of print statements. I build up little test cases. Once something begins to work, I begin to clean it up. Ultimately, I aim for rocksolid.

It is fun that way. Along the way, there are little snags. I am pretty good about knowing upfront what the big snags are going to be. It is the little innocuous details that can cripple.

It is hard for me to think of a grand design in advance. This is all to say, I am very hands-on. I figure out how things work by making them work.

To make something really work, it takes a lot of work. It doesn't come about quickly either. To get something to pretty much work, it can be a rush of excitement. On occasion, like a cool front in August, something can be refreshingly easy.

This is the honest truth, time and time again, I've been able to measure the completion of something by how much "pain" that it takes. When helping debug something, the problem would look fixed, but I'd say, "I haven't felt enough pain." I remember one guy laughing at this a lot.

To get through this RSI thing, I have to exercise patience. I have to realize it's going to be slow. I have to realize there are going to the ups and downs. I am going to have to work differently. I hate being unproductive.

I hate not being able to type something real quick, and then hit GO. That didn't work! Try this! Hit GO! Oh! I see! How about this! Shoot! Search that on Google! Oh yeah! Install this program! Hit GO!

The process now is more like this: I need to think about this. Okay. Let me draw this out. All right computer. Here is what we are going to do. I'm going to tell you to do something. And then I'm going to hit click. Let's give this a whirl. Hold on. Before I invest myself in this, I wonder if it is worth trying. Okay. Wait. I'm going to be flipping back and forth. Okay. How can I make it so that I can see it all at once. Maybe I should read about this whole thing. Okay computer. Here is what we are going to do. Okay. I just need to take it one step at a time. Computer, I would feel better if I just blogged a bit about how slow I am. Maybe then, maybe by then, I will be stimulated enough to know what to do.