Yup - I fell off the engineering ladder - finally. 23+ years was a good and difficult run...

Written - 3/25/'18

And now I am one more statistic in a long list of statistics - compiled, shared and pontificated over with much rah-rah and zero true effort from companies to make a difference. 

So, I'm looking at product management and realizing that there's a lot of similarity with what I have done and am doing for CodeChix.  So, it's actually pretty good - I get to develop my skills in an area that I've never had a chance to look at but is essential to running a company.

And I can no longer hide in my cubicle when I want to - time to learn some skills that I don't have... yet.

I still refuse to wear heels or makeup.  Absolute no.

And in silicon valley, that's not a problem, thank heavens.   Jeans and sneakers are still my staple - yay!

And I'm still going to have opportunities to dabble with coding, I think - will have to see.

And, oh yeah, I quit VMware.

Went to New Zealand to climb my fourth glacier (Franz Josef - heli in/out which was cool), hike the Tongariro trail, see and photograph Mt. Doom ad nauseum (not to mention Hobbiton), visit the Weta Workshop, white watered Tutea Falls which was both terrifying and exhilarating since we had to morph into a rescue boat when another boat flipped over and 8 people ended up in churning waters with paddles and booties floating everywhere, stargazed at Mt. John observatory at 1 in the morning and saw the Magellanic clouds before the rainclouds moved in over Lake Tekapo (awesome night sky!), saw the unique glow-worms in Waitomo at night in an underground cave 150 ft deep in pitch dark (a bit unnerving) and, generally, had a hectic, activity-filled 3 weeks before heading back and starting a new job this week @walmartlabs. 

Nothing like adventure to rejuvenate and shake the rat-race doldrums.

But, now, back to the rat race.  And getting DevPulseCon squared away - fingers crossed.