Well, it seems I missed writing a yearly wrap up last year (Whoops! 😕) so I guess this technically a “2017/2018 in review”
So I thought I’d address each of the points from 2016 and see how I’ve done
The greatest adventure …
Even though I’ve moved back to Australia it may appear that my adventure had finished but it’s not true. I am not the same person and my family is not the same anymore. We have so many friends now, all over the United States!
Which started my new adventure … Being 100% remote working from home. It’s been a huge adjustment for my family and myself. Even though it’s been over a year, I’m still learning and trying different things.
Kim (my wife) is awesome
Same as in 2016, Kim continues to be awesome!
Puppet is fantastic
Since 2016 I’ve gone through quite a few team changes at Puppet. Rob Reynolds left to run Chocolatey full time, both Craig and Ryan left for a different opportunities. Fortunately the Windows team was reformed and we’re all (mostly) back to making administering Windows a joy using Puppet
Our family is stronger
Moving was certainly a difficuly thing to do, but our family is now stronger because of it. We have less stuff and distractions and more time to just be together. I hope my kids look back at this when they’re older and say; “WOW! We did all that! Thankyou”
Still true then as it is today. Doubly so as technically we moved countries twice!
Learning to speak
Since speaking at PuppetConf I’ve given many talks and in 2019 I’ve already got 2 talks for the April PowerShell Summit in Bellevue, Seattle.
Meet more Windows people
I’ve had the opportunity to meet and chat many people well known in the Windows ecosystem. I’m so used to just hearing their voices over during a podcast and I’ve been so happy to meet them in person.
Funnily enough, now that I’ve been speaking and in the community more, people have been seeking me out to say hello. Public speaking has opened so many opportunites in the Windows community.
Portland is a beautiful place
There are so many beautiful places within a short drive away. From Mount Hood, where you can trek in the ice even during summer! to the many forrests and river beaches. I’m not much an outdoors kind of person but Portland would be one place that could change that.
And now that I’m back in Australia I can really appreciate the stark differences in the environment. Where Portland is lush and green, Perth is brown and green at once. In Portland many things were close together, yet in Perth we have SOO much space. I can now appreciate both aspects of our amazing world.
Missing friends, family and Australian things
Don’t get me wrong, the US is great, but it’s not home. I still miss my friends and family in Australia (Not enough to come home yet!). And it’s the small things that you notice; Jokes I don’t quite get, cultural norms I don’t understand etc.. It’s jarring, just enough to notice, but not enough to act on it; like having sand in your shoes.
I do miss my American friends, and now I’ve met people from all over Europe and Singapore too.
What’s coming up in 2019
So what do I want to achieve in 2019 then ….
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Heading to Seattle and Portland for a combination work and holiday in April. So looking forward to catching up with all my friends!
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Giving not one but TWO talks at PowerShell Summit North America
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I’d like to be able to attend DevOpsDays Australia when it comes around again. I couldn’t make it this year due to family events
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Stream more of my work on Twitch
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Find more time for podcasts to reading
Anyway, this year is going to be interesting … so much to do and it’s only January!!!
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