We took Finn out for pizza and ice cream this evening after another great week of reports from school. She’s doing great and seems to be settling in very well. We have plans, actually, for Sunday afternoon with one of her schoolmates’ families—a family we’ve not met before. Fingers crossed.

I got the sick iMac up and running with the help of some tools and a new hard drive. After some research, I did my first migration from a Time Machine backup, which seems to have been successful. Being able to help friends save money makes me feel good.

Meanwhile, at work on Thursday, I set up and shot a single-camera interview on a Canon 5D with lavalier mics, and after reviewing the footage, I think it went really well. Later that day I shot an event on the roof of our office (we have a swank living roof with tables and chairs and trees) with the same camera and a high-powered 70-200 lens, which worked out great. After getting used to the differences between the 5D MII and the 7D, I was able to quietly move around and capture some great candids as well as the entire shot list. I had a great review this afternoon (it’s actually coming up on one year at WRI) and I left the office feeling really good.

I also successfully made the case for hiring a junior designer for my department based on some rough numbers from the past three years, which will help our productivity and internal capacity greatly. As my role shifts from designer to manager, I’m having problems letting the joy of digging into a single project go (I am never happier than when I’m focused on a task and in the zone) and shifting to head juggler. But thinking in broader terms is something I’ve been itching to do for years now. It’s great to be empowered, trusted, and listened to.