Reboot

I was at Stripe for four years. I loved my team, enjoyed the work, and had a close relationship with my manager. I quit at the end of August. I was burned out and struggling to sleep (full story). Not because the job was too stressful, it felt more like I was fighting an invisible internal battle that demanded action. I was in dire need of a reboot.

I’m in the middle of a cataclysmic shift in my life. Technology and work have always provided a sense of stability; a sense of identity. My relationship with them is changing dramatically. I used to tell people “I’m a software engineer” with thinly veiled pride. I see things differently now. I’ve needed to start really asking the question: what do I care about?

Take a peek at my values page to learn more about what I’ve discovered so far.

In the last couple years I’ve started taking writing more seriously. I’ve started writing stories from my childhood. I’ve begun sharing them with a group of people. Though it’s hard for me to believe, I actually enjoy writing now.

For this iteration of my site I’m using Astro which has been a breath of fresh air - compared to Hugo - making the barrier to publishing razor thin.

I’m not sure where I’m going to take this site. I have a bunch of technical content I’ve written over the years that I may mold into something useful here. I may publish some of my writing that’s not technical. I may even abandon the site and forget about it until I need to update my resume 😑. We’ll see!

Either way, I’m aware of the temptation to treat these kinds of blog endeavors as connection. For me, it isn’t real connection. I appreciate that you’re reading this, but it’s no substitute for getting to know each other. Contrary to the suggestion of social media, relationships don’t scale.

Cheers to small things 🍻.