Adam Wishneusky

I'm healthy. and famous. and a hipster

I’m healthy

I just had the second part of my surgery and am mostly healed. Once I’m 100% again, I should be cured* of Crohn’s Disease! Yay! Just have to fully adjust to having an ileostomy bag :P. I also will have my credit card debt from the startup company days paid off next month. That means I can start saving money for things like… trips to Germany! Yay! ;)

*even though Crohn’s an affect any portion of the GI tract, my doctor says I’m “cured.” Since the disease only ever affected my large intestine, its very unlikely to show up again in the small intestine.

I’m famous

Over the last few days, I watched all 6 parts of Make Better Software, a training series that Fog Creek just released. While we were shooting, I was scared of the camera and actually got dizzy during an interview (which was not used, thank GOD), but watching it, I of course noted every place you see my pretty face :) If you have $1,995 you should buy a copy which comes with all sorts of paper materials.

• Part 1 - Recruiting
  • none :(
• Part 2 - Teams
  • 31:30
• Part 3 - Environment
  • 46:45
• Part 4 - Schedules
  • 19:15 - I actually talk
• Part 5 - Lifecycle
  • 15:19 - I talk (uncredited)
  • 33:39
  • 34:25
  • 42:16 - back of my head eating french fries
• Part 6 - Design
  • none :(

I’m tickled by my role in the series since I didn’t study computer science, but I get to pretend to be a developer, work with geniuses and even get my (crappy) code reviewed by a very well-known guy in the biz.

Here I’m getting a code review from Joel in Part 5 (Product Lifecycle)

This segment from Part 4 (Schedules) really validates me in my code-hacking. It says I’m a real Software Developer! ;)

I really like working on software and I’m happy (and lucky!) that I got the chance to cheat my way into it via my experience at Celery. Working at Fog Creek I get to do all sorts of stuff I wouldn’t be able to at other places. I chose “Odd Jobs” for my title on my business card because I fancy myself a general-pupose problem solver. I help out with tech support, sales, building and maintaining internal tools various people use, running reports and other stuff. My favorite work involves coding, so I smiled when my caption identified me as a Software Developer :)

I’m a hipster

I cut my hair today and must subconsciously want to be a hipster:

Tursday Tunes

Too late for Tuesday, here’s what I’m listening to:

Passion Pit - Manners

From This list of 50 top bands of 2009 with great illustrations by various artists. I think I might work through the list, listening to them all.

Giving Thanks Late

I am thankful for:

1. My family’s support, particularly all the money they’ve poured into me to finance my education and my expenses while I was a slave to Neil’s and my startup venture, Celery.
2. My amazing job, employer and coworkers. They pay me way more than I’m worth, provide amazing benefits and support me through my ridiculous illness.
3. My comfortable lifestyle, provided by # 1 and 2. I love my apartment and spending money on making it exactly what I want it to be. I love my cozy, safe, yuppie neighborhood.
4. My doctors, who are 1,000 times more attentive and caring than the average.
5. My life without Crohn’s* I get to have now, thanks to the surgery I just had and #4.

I often feel like I’m wasting all of this though… just waiting around for something to happen… puttering, killing time. :/

*there is still a chance it can come back in a different place, but my doctors say it’s very unlikely