This year was the first year in a while that I found a primary care doctor who I liked and I was able to figure out a few things about my health, all for the better. I also put effort into finding a therapist for the first time ever, and found one who I can see in person. I can say with confidence that my health was indeed made a priority this year and I am much better off for it.
According to my Goodreads account, I have read 25 books as of this writing this year (hopefully to end with a couple more before the year is up). The year prior, I read a whopping three. So yes, I’d say I’ve made a great improvement in my goal to read more books.
At work, I’ve had the chance to showcase my leadership skills while I focus on trying to enact some culture changes as a senior engineer on both my team and the wider org. I’ve really come to enjoy working on a platform team, and I’m excited what next year can bring. Hopefully, that also means I have some more responsibility into the new year.
Lots of boundaries have been set. All of them hard. All of them for the better.
I can happily say that I’m really feeling like I know how to put whole outfits together now. I used to be guilty of just buying one top or pair of pants because I liked them on their own, but never wore them because I couldn’t figure out how to turn them into an outfit. I still have some room to grow in this area, but at least I’ve branched out of my athliesure go-tos a bit more.
I think I could have been more fearless about setting hard boundaries sooner, but that doesn’t feel fair to say. I also could have maintained a close friendship of mine much more consistently, but we are catching up for lost time now.
I also tried to start a Substack but lost steam almost immediately. General malaise kind of set halfway through the year, but I feel like I’m getting out of that funk.
I have learned a lot about myself and how I was raised. I still have some things I need to fully acknowledge, but there is a whole lot of unlearning to do next year.
Sometime during this year, I really saw myself switch from being someone who only sought guidance from others to being someone who also is sought to for advice. I feel like as I approach a decade of working as a software engineer, I have grown much more confident in my ability to think critically about technical decisions and practice getting better at “herding cats.” I’m excited to keep honing these skills.
I’m learning that I have people I can depend on and I don’t always need to be my own support. I can trust others to take care of me. I also learned that cutting out dysfunctional relationships is very, very hard but very, very worth it.
BFF Seattle Trip ‘25 on the books, my next international trip is on the books and/or some development is made in some
A lot of things are out of my control. I spent a lot of time this past year trying to over-prepare for some things I thought I had more control over. I will be more gentle with myself this time.
It feels nebulous to try and describe, but my main goal is to learn how to re-parent myself. That sounds hokey to say outloud, but that’s what I’ve got.
]]>I’m starting a Substack (second time’s the charm) and it’s mostly going to be focused on the latest thing I’m dumbfounded by in tech or how I see engineering organizations making weird decisions. Enjoy the first post here and follow me on Substack for more! I’ll probably try cross-posting here just in case Substack decides to paywall everyone or steal my intellectual property for some reason. - Jaz
Welcome to Snark & Scalability, where we navigate the strange and sometimes wonderful world of tech. If you’re here, you’re probably knee-deep in JIRA tickets, recovering from your 3AM incident page for the third day in a row, or just trying to get a sense of how other engineering orgs seem to have their shit together (surprise, they probably don’t).
Here at S&S, we’ll dive into the glorious mess Gordon Ramsey-style1 of scaling engineering teams, the latest tech trends that everyone pretends to understand, and the everyday absurdities of being an individual contributor in this unpredictable industry. Expect rants, laughs, and maybe a few too many references to the joys of dealing with legacy code.
Let’s be real: we’re living in weird times. We have AI writing poems, companies racing to build the next big thing without actually knowing what that thing is, and a job market that can’t decide if it loves or hates software engineers. It’s like being in a never-ending episode of Black Mirror, but with more Slack messages.
So, strap in and join me on this journey through the fun times and comical realities of tech life. Whether you’re a seasoned engineer, a curious newbie, or just someone who loves a good snarky take on the latest tech news, there’s something here for you. Together, we’ll laugh, we’ll cry (mostly from another failing background job clogging up your CPU), and we’ll figure out how to build something amazing in this beautifully chaotic industry.
If you’re ready for a dose of reality mixed with a healthy serving of humor, subscribe to our Substack or RSS feed and join the Snark & Scalability community. Let’s make sense of this tech world together–one snarky post at a time.
Gordon is well known for his penchant to dive hand first into the moldiest lettuce he can see in a poorly run kitchen. That’s kind of how we feel when finding disfunction in tech orgs. ↩
This isn’t a technical post, nor will I be grandstanding.
This is a reminder to myself to keep fighting even after this event in time fades from focus.
]]>I spent a majority of my time last year ruminating on why I felt stuck in place both personally and career-wise. While I can’t say I’ve completely figured out why, I can say I have more insight into my current wants and dreams. This list was created with some of those things in mind.
This is a New Year’s tradition that my partner and I just started doing last year. I managed to complete about 80% of my list from 2019, so hopefully I can do even better this year. Or not. I just love to-do lists, so it made sense to make a year-long one for myself, too.
403 Forbidden403 Forbidden403 ForbiddenI’ll do a recap post early 2021 to document how well I did.
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