parable of the goose

The windows near my cube overlook a winding river through the nearby golf course.

Early this morning the ice was pretty patchy. Open in places, other sections just thin enough.

Thin enough that geese walking across would crack through, plop into the water, and create a 3x-goose-size hole in the ice. A pair of them fell through within a section of ice around 30 feet across. Then, a different pair swam happily past in the open area.

One goose got so upset it starts swimming back and forth. Zigging and zagging, banging into the sides of the ice. Trying to get closer to its fellow stuck in the ice, then zooming towards the freely swimming pair. Lots of excitement and action, but ultimately no movement.

Later today....

While talking over all the crazy synchronization steps that my team has to follow in order to stay useful and relevant to the rest of the project, and how we'll transition that into our long-term goals, I tell them the above parable of the goose.

I was talking with the project's PM and current SD-manager (my boss), and was trying to describe how frustrated I was getting. Back and forth, the same discussions, different groups pulling our priorities all over, and ultimately no real progress towards the end goal.

Of course... rather than end the story there, I accidentally finish it up with the goose getting fed up and flying away.

The moral of the story:
I suck at fairy tales. But, I'm awesome at Fruedian slips.