johnro

Tag: writing

  • The Window Girl Who Still Haunts Me

    The Window Girl Who Still Haunts Me

    Growing Up with Scary Stories

    When I was young, I loved scary stories. I couldn’t get enough of them — the whispered tales at night, the way friends would try to out-scare each other, the mix of laughter and fear when someone jumped at the perfect moment. Most of those stories I’ve forgotten with time, but there’s one that still lingers in the back of my mind. Even now, years later, it creeps me out just thinking about it.

    It’s a story I heard from friends, passed along like a piece of playground folklore. The details may have shifted over time, but the image at its heart has never left me: a girl in a window, smiling.

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  • Staying Professional When It’s Easier Not To

    Staying Professional When It’s Easier Not To

    Early in my career, I worked closely with a colleague who, for reasons I’ll never fully understand, decided I was “their person.” Whenever something came up — a bug to chase down, a query to run, data to pull — they’d come straight to me. At first, it felt flattering. Being needed always carries a certain weight, especially when you’re new. But over time, the relationship started to drift into something a little more complicated.

    This colleague grew comfortable enough with me to share their unfiltered thoughts about others on the team. They would complain when people spoke up too much in meetings or grumble about how slowly someone worked. One day, they sent me a message complaining about a teammate taking too long to finish a task. And for the first time, I pushed back.

    I said: “She does take time, but she does complete her work.”

    Not exactly a bold speech, but it was enough to draw a line. The response I got back was a crunchy face emoji — one of those moments where you know instantly you’ve embarrassed someone. From that point on, they stopped venting to me about other people. But they also went cold. Conversations turned short. The easy rapport we’d built evaporated.

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  • From Gamer to Game Builder: My Journey

    From Gamer to Game Builder: My Journey

    It’s been a while since I last posted here. Life, work, and all the usual busyness pulled me away, but I’ve missed writing. So here I am, back again. My plan is to post more regularly, and I thought I’d start with something that’s been on my mind for a while: what it’s like to go from being a player of games to someone who helps build them.

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