The sun is shining overhead. It’s making the days longer, and hotter. The birds seem to like it. I can hear them singing outside my office window in the early hours. But even the birds are seeking silence and shade by midday, perhaps hoping they will find the time to sing more tomorrow. For me, the path of the sun is just a reminder that another day has passed and that I really need to keep my eye on the Scrum Board.

“Dash, the mascot of the Dart programming language.” Image from the Wikimedia Commons, licensed under Creative Commons by 4.0 If you’re lucky, there are a couple of moments in your life where something magical happens. (Disclaimer: If you’re very lucky, it happens all the time.) The magic of which I speak is completing a task and yearning to do it again. Yearning is a strong word, but it’s the right word in this case.

Maybe everybody feels like they didn’t get the manual, but that feeling has always been especially visceral for me. I’m a child of two immigrants from two different countries. And I grew up in a country where nobody spoke the language, including my parents. Culture shock with a side of confusion was served up with my morning breakfast cereal. What was right and what was wrong? What was inappropriate? What was normal?