One Year Later

March 07, 2021

As we pass the one year anniversary of my last blog post and arrive at the one year anniversary of the last time I was in a grocery store, it’s a good time to reflect on how much I’ve posted since then. Let’s see. I have posted absolutely nothing. Why not? Well, you see, since then a few things happened that put writing to the void on a long list of low priority items. So what happened?

There was a pandemic which continues and will be a part of lives for many, many years. We will never go back to “normal”. Amazing how 2020 rolling over to 2021 didn’t magically make things better. Another big item is I was laid off from a job I had for almost 12 years, then unlaid off when they realized what I did and that IT doesn’t mean Internet Technology – I’m only slightly exaggerating. A few months later, much to their surprise, I quit when I found a new job. I wasn’t really looking. I liked the people I worked with, but it was time to move on. Now it feels like a I have a career and apparently I’m a web developer now(‽). I’m not just the dude in the basement that makes stuff go on the internet by pushing a big red button that says “website”^†. Also, for 8 of those 11 or so years my title was Senior Graphic Designer. I don’t care about titles, but I hadn’t touched anything print related or what would be considered graphic design for 6 years. Although, I’ve been in a weird spot for a few years where designers don’t think I’m a designer and developers don’t think I’m a developer.

Accomplishments

I have exercised every day since January 1st, 2020. Still true as I write this.
I haven’t been in a grocery store, or any kind of store, for over a year. The only places I’ve been inside are a motorcycle shop, a tire store, and a mechanic’s garage.
I moved to a new workspace. A workspace for working on motorcycles, mopeds, and making a mess. A place with no computers, a code free environment, a place where I can escape. Thanks to gentrification of Burlington’s South End, rent skyrocketed, so I had to move.
As I mentioned above, I got a new job. Starting a new job, remotely and during a pandemic, is difficult.

Joby Carter on my computer screen demonstrating drawing letters over zoom and a sketchbook and letter handouts on my keyboard. — Learn about Letters virtual course with Joby Carter.

I’ve Learned a Lot

I’m always trying to learn or get better at what I know and do. I’ve learned a lot this past year.

Started teaching myself sign painting with the help of Joby Carters’ Virtual Sign Writing Courses.
Learned a lot about JavaScript.
Learned a lot about NodeJS and built my first real app.
Continued the ongoing process of trying to get better at HTML, CSS, and accessibility. I still think I’m bad at all of those, especially the latter.
Fell in love with the Jamstack.

†Using Netlify sometimes feels I’m just hitting a button that because it’s so gosh darn uncomplicated (trying hard not to use the word “easy”). This message is not brought to you by Netlify.