Musings from an Aspiring #ExtraCreditKid
“I’m not sure that I have any interesting stories to tell. My life has been pretty boring.” When my Toastmasters mentor disagreed with me, I silently discounted her assurances. After all, how could she know whether I had had anything interesting to say. She hasn’t lived my boring life, and she doesn’t know the real…
What does DevOps mean to you? Maybe, you think it’s a set of practices, or you are convinced just a buzzword. What’s not up for debate, though, is Dell presented a DevOps titled session at Tech Field Day’s #SFD19. Let’s delve into a few things I found interesting in this presentation. #1 The #AutomateAllThings Trend…
“I find it hard to believe that your mother didn’t hug you or comfort you.” Another writer questioned me about the personal story I submitted for the writing group. My blandly titled “LIfe Moments #1” submission recounted the night that my mother left my father and my perspective about it. I quickly replied I didn’t…
Six Months? Seriously? Has it been that long since I walked out of that job with nothing on the horizon, but a trip to VMworld on the schedule? “August me” was exhausted. I never thought “burn out,” but it was. These months away have left me energized, more self-aware, and excited for the future. My…
One of my favorite presenters at #SFD19 was Komprise, an analytics-driven data management platform designed for getting insights on unstructured data. Think analysis of TB and PBs of file-based data (NFS, SMB) for customers across many verticals, including Financial, Health, Entertainment, and Government. Storage Field Day 19 wasn’t my first introduction to Komprise. Because of…
“I’m not sure who I am, but I know who I’ve been.” —Modest Mouse. “Make Everyone Happy/Mechanical Birds“ If quitting your job doesn’t cause you to question your identity, nothing will. We are conditioned to tie who we are to what we do. More than that, we create stories and assign labels to ourselves and…
I’m ready to defer this haphazard career journey I started in August. As much as substitute teaching and exploring special education excite me, that “Change Yo Life” fund is empty, and not having a steady paycheck is hard. But giving up your financial security and not having a “shit hits the fan” safety net sends…
In the last four months of 2019, I traveled so much that I had to make a promise to keep the peace at home. After HopperX1NYC in November, I wouldn’t travel again until January 2020. When I made that promise, I had my fingers crossed that an invite to Storage Field Day 19 would come…
Today is the revelation of something that I’ve worked for three months to bring to fruition. Honestly, this adventure might be 35 years in the making. Picture a bossy little girl, chalk, and chalkboard in hand, begging grownups to play student to her teacher. That was me. And I’m about to embark on my first…
“Daddy works. Mommy doesn’t work,’ my daughter cheerfully said to my mother-in-law as we packed up to lease. While I tried to quickly interject that she wasn’t right and that I write, her words stung. Was this the “less” I had envisioned for 2019? Eleven months earlier, my massage therapist asked, “Do you have a…