Updated on August 20th, 2024 from Birmingham, UK

Now

Here’s what I’m doing right now, both professionally and personally.

Working

Working at GitLab as a Staff Backend Engineer, a job I genuinely love. I’m working in the Monitor stage right now.I get to solve interesting problems, at large-scale using some cutting edge technology. What else could an engineer want?

I’m trying to do more of a few things:

  • Learning golang. I’m always a bit worried that my career is too reliant on one framework (Ruby on Rails) and Golang appears to be in demand in my workplace and elsewhere so it would be a sensible thing to learn and become proficient in.
  • Get better at Swift and SwiftUI. I love building for iOS, so I’m naturally motivated to do this.
  • More public speaking. I love doing it, and representing Birmingham in the tech world. This year I spoke at Fusion Meetup in Birmingham, with other opportunities coming up later in the year.

Reading

Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend by M.J. Wassmer

I should read more fiction, so I’m trying. This is pretty fun, but reading novels always falls down my priority list.

Let’s Be Honest by Jess Phillips

Jess is the epitome of what a politician should be. Human. Her writing may not be particularly groundbreaking, but it is a sensible lens in to a world I have an interest, but no personal experience in. I find myself quoting her books regularly and this one is no exception.

Volunteering

I’m the vice-chair of Friends of Cotteridge Park. These days that mostly means IT admin stuff, learning to make nice coffee, being a stable face in the community and running payroll. I volunteer a few hours a month in our community building, “The Shed”.

I’m a governor at my old primary school. My role as the IT Governor is to provide oversight for things such as IT and cybersecurity.

I’ve taken a break from volunteering at School of Code due to having taken too many things on recently. I hope to return in a future cohort. It’s a fantastic programme and I’ve mentored some folks that have gone on to excellent careers.

Listening

  • I’m still enjoying Federspiel, and their latest recording is as good as the others.
  • Keith Jarrett will forever hold a place in my playlists. I was at this concert in London in 2007(?) and this was the final encore of about 5 encores. I’m forever grateful I got to see one jazz’s greats play live.
  • We’re going to Scotland in September, and our “We’re going to Scotland” playlists is always Skipinnish-heavy. The Island by them is one of my favourites. You’ll never get bored of the chorus.

Travelling

In 2024 I will have/have travelled to:

  • Las Vegas, USA, for GitLab Summit. This was one of the best, and most surreal, weeks of my life.
  • Lima & Cusco, Peru - to stay in the Amazon jungle and hike the Inca Trail.
  • Ullswater, Lake District, England, twice. We always stay at Another Place because it’s fancy, but not “you have to wear a suit at dinner” fancy. And the dogs are welcomed.
  • Fort William & the surrounding Highlands, Scotland - A week of hiking and relaxing.

In 2025, we’re thinking about visiting Canada, but haven’t planned anything firm yet.

We completed the 4-day Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in May with G Adventures, which was the most physically demanding but rewarding thing I’ve ever done. It’s definitely encouraged us to look at the next multi-day hike we want to do soon.

Thinking

I’m still enjoying therapy. I’ve learned (and continue to learn) a lot about myself.