Changelog v36.7.0

Howdy! It’s been a while since I’ve written much on here, and lately, I’ve wanted to but delayed writing anything down. Part of the reason is that it takes a lot of work for me to write because I have insecurities about my writing and the state of the world. The other part is that I have been busy.

So instead, I’ll write a short changelog... let’s say we're on v36.7.0. Yes, its a bit cheesy, but I’m cheesy so it makes sense. Here’s some of what’s been up.

Added

• Returning Paradise Valley, Arizona for Within, where I spoke with Mia and Jess about Resilience and lessons learned as leaders through the hardship of the last few years.
• Spoke remotely (and pre-recorded for Clarity) in 2020. Here’s my talk about designing for happiness.
• Evolving my food prepping, cooking, and Super Smash Brothers skills, thanks to my partner (a chef).
• Added more focus time towards the book I’m writing, which is progressing towards being done soon and another reason I’ve been quiet here.
• Added some small practices to help me reset or unwind a bit more at the end of the day.
• Got roller skates but need protective gear so I can leave the house with them on but it’s SO HOT in Texas.
• A morning or lunch routine that includes Wordle or games like it

Changed

• Dropped Jekyll and moved my site to 11ty with Netlify (+ Netlify CMS set up!). There’s still work to be done—I’d like to refactor some CSS and redesign—but this has been a long-term goal that finally happened.
• My perspective on what I want next in my career (more on that another time... see I’m giving myself homework for future blog posts).
• I left my Design Director role at thoughtbot where I managed a design team that focused on complex MVPs (from day one to post-launch). It was beyond difficult leaving the team I managed because the designers and senior designers are absolutely wonderful as is the client I worked with. They’re all going to do great things!
• I joined the growing Product Design and Research team at Netlify! I am so excited to be working on a product that I am also a user of (see first ”changed“ point) with so many people I’ve admired for a long time and to focus just on design for a bit.
• Added Firefox back as my default browser since I don’t have to use Google Meet that much.

Deprecated

• I miss in-person yoga classes. Pre-lockdown I was going twice to three times a week and my back stopped hurting. That pain is back in full swing, so this is more a note for myself to get back into it before my next changelog. My friend, Trent, introduced me to an app that will allow me to do this from home since I’m not comfortable with being in-person for a class yet, but also making it a routine will be a fun challenge.

Removed

• The shorter fence and two rosemary that didn't survive the 2021 winter storm here in Texas. Replaced with a taller fence so my dog can't easily jump it.

Well, that’s all for now. I’ll share more soon.