182/365
April 8, 2024
Bradenton, Florida
I’m nearly at the halfway point for this 365 project. The project certainly has had a share of challenges, but those were mostly around my desire to self-develop and scan. With that removed, everything has been seamless, if not flawless. I still long for the full experience. Soon, I’ll revive it.
Most of today was calm and typical of my recent workdays. After school and dinner, I grabbed Ellie and Ripley and ventured off for an evening walk. Whether it’s Ellie or Chloe, I like spending individual time with each. It gives me a chance to connect, hear what’s weighing on their hearts, and let them communicate freely.
After climbing a tree, Ellie tested her balancing skills across a near hundred-yard rail. She did surprisingly well!
180/365
April 7, 2024
Bradenton, Florida
Wendy and I spent most of the afternoon at the Sarasota Polo Club with my extended family members, Dave, Kim, Ryan, and their in-laws. It was the first time Wendy or I had been to a polo event, so we were mesmerized by the intensity, exactness of the play, and the movement of the horses. It’s the kind of power you can hear and feel as the hooves strike the ground and move the masses forward.
It was a great experience and I hope to bring the entire family next time!
179/365
April 6, 2024
Bradenton, Florida
Today I became a coach. Not just any coach but the coach of my oldest daughter, Chloe, and her team. At first I was reluctant to participate, but I thought back to how I felt on the sidelines, year after year, essentially doing parts of the coaches job, but from afar.
I can already see the positive effects on me and the kids I’m coaching. Some need to find their voice. Some need to push out of their comforts. Some need to be stretched physically. Some need someone to believe in them—nurture their growth in whatever direction. Or some, like me, need to become a better storyteller and paint the vision for performance and what could be a watershed moment in our lives.
178/365
April 5, 2024
Lakewood Ranch, Florida
The week was uneventful, and I expressed my feelings on that nearly ad nauseam.
Fortunately, today provided some excitement and relief as some of my activities generated feedback and engagement. It was a great way to close the week and move into the weekend.
On the first Friday of most months, Lakewood Ranch invites local small businesses, entertainment providers, musicians, and food trucks to Main Street to showcase their offerings. We took advantage, and a few friends joined us for an evening out and about. The kids found a modern, improved take on the photo booth to be especially entertaining. There, they wore wigs and cowboy hats and held a wide variety of instruments to enhance the photo session.
177/365
April 4, 2024
Lakewood Ranch, Florida
The light has been especially good these last few mornings. What I would ordinarily observe and walk by caused me to pause and appreciate the diffused intensity through the leaves and fescue.
It’s been a long-standing desire of mine to spend more time in nature. While work has kept me desk-side, I appreciate being close to a 2-mile park with an attached small preserve. Among all my baseless complaints, small moments like this tell me that it could always be worse.
176/365
April 3, 2024
Lakewood Ranch, Florida
I had an unsuaul encounter today. While out for a lengthy walk, a Sandhill Crane became curious about me and decided to walk alongside. These cranes have been affectionately named “Ribeye of the Sky” for their tender meat and taste. I thought this ironic because the bird is a protected species.
As the bird approached, my initial fear of its aggressive tendencies abated as it kept a distanced and simply paced with me. Sympatico.
I often think about our alignment with nature and the animal kingdom. I’ve heard of a dogs ability to pick up on a persons character and sniff out evil, so I imagine this extends to nature as well. Are we out of alignment? Conflicted or angered? While we may think these to internal weights and private matters, there’s clearly an aura of some kind that is noticeable to the ecosystem. Is that possible in humans—to right our disillusionment, go beyond conveniences (traps?) and tap into their dimension?
Imagine waking up to forage and seek the rations for the day—a hunter-gatherer without any conveniences or modern comforts.
174/365
April 1, 2024
Lakewood Ranch, Florida
I didn’t take a photo today.
April Fools!
Monday was filled with routine. When the day ended, the girls practiced painting their ideal sunsets. We haven’t been to the beach in a while so it was great to see them recall the scenes from memory and improvise a bit.
“Learning is the consequence of doing.” - Simon Sarris
172/365
March 30, 2024
Bradenton, Florida
The girls started their soccer seasons today, and we are so excited for them!
Ellie played her first game, but she’s never had a challenge at this age level. When Chloe was younger she feared the team dynamic and the physicality of the game. Now that she’s grown and competed some, she’s definitely found some competitive fire.
171/365
March 29, 2024
Sarasota, Florida
I’m looking forward to the weekend. While I won’t be able to ride, it’s the last couple of days before the girls return to school and early academia continues. Outside of Easter dinner with Wendy’s mom, I think we only one event on the calendar.
We haven’t had our family photos taken in a while, but there’s one photo opportunity that we never miss - with the Easter Bunny! The bunny’s image and apparel has certainly improved since I was a kid, but I’m hopeful they bring back the 70’s look.
170/365
March 28, 2024
Tampa, Florida
A few weeks ago, I signed up for a local MeetUp sponsored by AWS. The topic was Managed Observability, and with my history at AppDynamics and now Datadog, I was keen to learn how others are positioning their solutions and guiding customers through this process. For anyone who is refactoring or shifting their applications into a distributed, often multi-environment delivery model has a lot to grasp, and observability is a critical part of that: before, during, and after the transition.
Aside the competitive landscape, it was a learning opportunity that I enjoyed, and I was able to network with some of the other participants.
Oh, and before the event, I dropped by my usual spots. I visited Hidden Springs and Magnanamous Brewers and picked up a couple of items for Aaron and Scott.
169/365
March 26, 2024
Lakewood Ranch, Florida
Around 4, Wendy left with some friends for dinner and a comedy show in downtown Sarasota. Of course, the girls and I made a trip over to Atria for some pizza, but this time we were joined by Tony and his son, Kaden. It was great to catch up with him and get our kids together.
Chloe has been reveling in her recent foot-race success, and tosses in a little competition to gauge her competition. Tonight was no different. I’m unsure who won because the rules and finish line kept moving!
After, the girls and I went to see Kung Fu Panda ... Part 4! I wasn’t sure about this one, but I know the girls love the movie theater experience. We were sure to drop by the concession stand for popcorn and an oversized Icee. I was against the latter, but the girls promised to brush their teeth twice, and not ‘act a fool’ once the sugar hit.
167/365
March 24, 2024
Hyde Park Village (Tampa), Florida
It just so happened that I found an album feature on the iPhone photos app called "One Year Ago." When I noticed the pictures within, I noticed the Hyde Park Art Fair that we visited in 2023. A quick jump over to Google and it just so happens that the same fair was going on this weekend!
I grabbed the girls and we drove into Tampa for the art fair. I love seeing the girls stand in front of art and watch their eyes move around the piece. I want to encourage them to spend more time leveraging their creative sides.
After, we went to the Amalie Arena to watch the latest edition of Disney on Ice. The girls were so excited to see some of their inspiring characters in person, playing out their stories on the ice.
166/365
March 23, 2024
Lakewood Ranch, Florida
We all rose a bit later than usual today, opting to let our bodies recover from the recent stretches of work, school and activities. Except for me, the entire family is on spring break. While I'm sure I could have pushed for it, I didn't want to request time off so early in my ramp.
The afternoon was spent outside enjoying the cooler months of March. Not much today, and that was OK by me.
165/365
March 22, 2024
Lakewood Ranch, Florida
Today ends my third week in my new role and it couldn’t have ended any better way.
After a good week of expanded learnings and customer calls, I ended the day by meeting with a prospective client. At first I was nervous, but the more I thought of it, nervousness was OK. I was prepared and ready to go as far as my learnings would take me, the rest would be supplied in the coversation. Had I not been prepared, anxiety would have stepped in and likely shown itself.
Neversouness vs Anxiety—preparation separates the two.
The call ended up wrapping at 5:15 PM, and I decided to take Ripley for a walk to let the positive emotions flow and mentally process all the interactions before moving onto the next task. The signs of growth.
164/365
March 21, 2024
Lakewood Ranch, Florida
Thanks to a friend, I started trading options. As with all new topics and learnings, especially those that contain some amount of financial risk, it initially seems scary. I’m sure that will wane in time, but I’ve started with small, meager amounts.
In the evening, I noticed the girls thumbing through old journals, school yearbooks, and photo albums. I didn’t interrupt their exchange, but chose instead to listen in and capture them looking over the materials.
I often forget about these stores of memories. Their wanting to revisit recent and old memories is endearing and motivating to me--they are moving early frames of their lives into longer term memories and using their evolving language to revisit the experiences.
163/365
March 20, 2024
Lakewood Ranch, Florida
I’m starting to worry about the 365. My days are running very quickly, but not because I’m out of the house.
While I am enjoying it, much of my time is being spent on my computer, engaged on the phone - stationary for the most part. I use multiple screens and have a pretty good workflow going. However, it’s often draining and seems to be “closing the scent of new thoughts” and inspiration.
I may need to take a day or two each week and drive elsewhere to switch things up.
162/365
March 19, 2024
Lakewood Ranch, Florida
Today would have been my father’s 78th birthday. I miss him, and I think about him every day and many hours in between.
There are still many moments where I feel I could pick up the phone and ring him, sharing a story, something funny about the girls, or just asking a perspective on life - seeking a lesson.
I miss you, Dad.