This is the permanent version of a "Now" update from 2023-08-22:

  • ⌛️ Career Sabbatical: I’ve been enjoying some time off from my professional life since October 2022. You can read more about it on my Sabbatical page.

  • 🔎 Job Search: I’ve started to look for new jobs actively. It’s been a grueling process and the layoffs in the tech sector haven’t been helpful. There’s a lot of great talent out there and I suspect that it’s emotionally exhausting both for people who have been laid off and their networks. I’m looking for a Director of IT or Senior Manager of IT role, but I’m starting to explore other possibilities too.

  • 💼 Consulting: I’ve started to put together a business plan for a consulting business. I’m considering offering a few services: 1) a “Fractional IT Director” to help small companies with IT strategy before they’re ready to hire someone full time, 2) mentoring IT Admins and IT Managers who don’t have a great support structure because their supervisors aren’t IT experts by trade (I wish I had this earlier in my career!), and 3) focused engagements to help teams with assessing exisiting IT capabilties, creating roadmaps to achieve particular goals, or building out specific IT capabilities that they need to be successful. If you read this and have any feedback or want to talk, I’d love to hear it!

  • 🦠 COVID: Matt and I got COVID at the end of July. It wasn’t as bad as the first time we got it, but it wiped me out for a good two weeks. Sadly, it also meant I wasn’t able to go on a trip to P-Town with some friends. I’m hoping to find some time to go before it gets too cold.

  • 🧘🏼‍♂️ Exercise: I’ve been on a few longer bike rides, which have been really lovely. Aside from that, it’s still mostly rowing and yoga at the Boston Bouldering Project.

  • 📚 Reading: I picked up a CISSP study guide and have started to work through that. I started reading Virgil’s Aeneid back in June, but haven’t finished it. 🙈

  • 🎮 Video Gaming:

    • I’m on a short hiatus from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, but have been enjoying it a lot. Sometimes it’s just fun to build things with Ultrahand and forget about the quests.

    • I’ve been revisiting Hades, and slowly working up the Pact of Punishment.

    • I just pre-ordered Baulder’s Gate 3 for PS5 on the recommendation from some friends who say that it’s amazing. I do love a good RPG with a rich story.

  • 🎲 Gaming: I haven’t played any new board games, but have continued a multi-year D&D campaign over Zoom with some friends. Our DM is running “Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frost Maiden” with a lot of delightful touches (e.g., a network of Tea Witches throughout Ten Towns). I’ve been trying to channel the energy from Dungeons and Daddies and make choices that are narratively interesting for my character, even if they’re not always the best choices for my character.

  • 🪵 Woodworking: Oh boy. While I’ve made great progress on my Shaker Hallway table, I had hoped to finish it by now. Still, I’m learning a bunch of great skills and missing a few classes because of COVID didn’t help. I did finish gluing up the main table and the tabletop, so the next session will allow me to focus on drawers.

  • 🏺 Wheel Throwing Pottery: I finished up my first semester at Mudflat. I’ve made a handful of fruit bowls, some small plates, a bunch of small cups, some espresso cups, and even some janky mugs (pulling handles is haaaard.) I successfully enrolled in the Advanced Beginner Wheelthrowing Class starting in September and have continued practicing during an August session. It’s been a really rewarding experience. I’m delighted to continue learning and developing my own style. I’ll be documenting parts of my journey on Instagram (bleh) and on my Ceramics Portfolio page.

  • 🏡 Moving: Matt and I are moving to a new apartment in Somerville in mid-September! I’m sad to leave the current place we’re in, but I’m pretty excited about the new place and how close it is to the community path.
Permalink: 2023-08-22
You can check out an archive of my "Now" updates in the Now Archive.