Hi All. It’s been a hot minute since I’ve truly spent some time online here. Like many of you, I’ve been overwhelmed by the altered reality that I currently live in. Gone are my traveling days. Instead, I find myself in front of my computer every day for sometimes 14 hours a day. Who knew that zoom could be so grueling? But when you are hopping from call to call with no time in between, your brain can’t stop being “on” and paying attention. I recently joked that a 8 hour plane ride to Europe sounds like a mini vacation right about now!

I am very fortunate to currently still have a job. However, being home with my children is no fun. I’ll admit to not really being a kid person. I’ve got two of my own and love them to death but I have no tolerance for their juvenile behaviors. Society moral dictates that I am a loving, doting, tolerant mother figure. Ha. No, I do not subscribe to that. As a child to two immigrant parents, I don’t lie to my children and I expect them to learn independence at an early age. In fact, I try to give them opportunities and push them to try out doing things on their own. I strive to not shelter my children as much. Teaching grit can be tricky. Staying young and naive is a luxury. Surprisingly, a luxury that I felt ultimately held me back in my career. Had I been more skeptical when I was younger, I would have made some different choices. Hindsight is always 20/20.

Speaking of 2020, can it be over yet? What a year. Who would have thought staying home would be so exhausting? I REFUSE to buy anything with 2020 stamped on it. I do not want to commemorate or remember this year. I want to forget this year ever happened.

So….what did you accomplish this year?

Did you keep your sanity?

Yeah, I know. It’s getting kind of hit or miss with keeping it together, isn’t it?

Well, I took this time to work on a number of things I could not while I was traveling. While I will not list them all here, I participated in many technical education themed deliverables. I’m talking about exam guides, alpha tests, exam writing, taking exams, etc. As such, I’m really excited for the community to start looking at what’s being delivered from AWS and VMware in the coming months. Many people like me have been making the most of the hours at home and building a lot of material. New exams are scheduled to be released. Old ones will likely be retired.

So are you up to speed on your technical acumen? It’s a fantastic time to buckle down and cram some updated knowledge in that cranium. If the vaccines are effective, we’ll all be on a plane or train come mid 2021! So take advantage of any time you have to sit down for blocks of time and concentrate. I know that once I’m back in the air, I likely won’t stop for a bit. However, that means I might be coming live to see some of you!

For a bit of inspiration, I recommend watching the ESPN series “The Last Dance” about the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan. It’s on Netflix as of this writing date. I’m going to touch on a couple things here that are unique to me by my own experiences.

First of all, I’m pretty stereotyped when it comes to a woman not being passionate about sports. I’m a fair weathered fan of the Golden State Warriors at best. However, watching The Last Dance, I learned a few things.

First of all, Michael Jordan was not the top draft pick the year he went to the NBA. Second, it took him and the Chicago Bulls some 5 to 6 years before they were even championship material. They also had a championship snatched away by the Detroit Pistons.

Why do these points stand out for me?

Well, we can’t all be the most popular person picked for the plum jobs right out of the gate so I’ve got to not let that take my mood down. Second, it takes years of hard work to get just the opportunity to play ball at the highest level. There is no God given talent without the kind of hard work that borders on insane. So if you want to play your career at the highest levels, be prepared to make sacrifices that others will not.

Perhaps this is not new to many but when I paralleled my life and my frustrations, I see now the kind of grit these world class athletes bring to achieve their heights and how I must both adjust my expectations and double down on my determination. Yes, I am female and a minority in a wildly white and male field. Yes, I’m climbing an uphill battle. Yes, there is a remarkable amount of bias. Yes, they don’t even know they are doing it. Yes, I’ve been passed over. Yes, it’s not fair. Yes to it all. But do I stop my life? No, I still have to get up and move on. We all face challenges in our life. Someone else has said it before but I’ll say it again here: we are not defined by our challenges but by our response to them.

Last and not least, I do love how Michael Jordan kept it fairly clean in how he lived his life(I’m not counting the smoking and the tequila). Now, I get the concept that these films were curated heavily to show you what they want to show you but the takeaways are still the same. Live clean, learn what grit is, most of us won’t be the first pick, and it’s probably going to take more effort/time than what you think it should to get what you want out of life.

Now get up off your zoom butt and do something to add another line to your linkedin profile!

I leave you with one of things holding my sanity together. It’s Bongo.