Boy, it’s sure been a while! I put down the Wireshark briefly while I pivoted to the latest Azure-specific certifications – Applied Skills. If you’ve not seen/heard/read about them, definitely check it out. When they were first available less than a month ago there were only 8, and as of this writing I see they’ve already expanded out to 13 now! These are fairly quick (you have 2 hours to complete a series of tasks), and the cool part is you’re using real Azure resourcing to build / configure the solution to meet the criteria. I’ve completed the Networking, the Azure Monitor and the Storage ones, with one or two more in my near-term goals.
The other bit of news is a conversation I had with Western Governor’s University back in early November. The organization I work for has a partnership with them, and after doing some research have decided to “go back to school” as they say. Starting in January I’ll be pursuing a Master’s in Information Technology through their program. I’m kind of scared (haven’t done this kind of studying in 20 years), but am also excited. Having been burned in managerial roles in the past, I’m very hesitant to actively pursue such a role, but at the same time I don’t want to close any potential doors. “Never say never”, as the saying goes.
Lastly, Thanksgiving this year was not a particularly great one for my wife and I, as we had to endure the sudden loss of our 13-year old lab mix, Reegen. We adopted her when she was 8 weeks old, and we’ve had her as our companion over half of our married years together. It was (and still is) truly sad, but we were both very thankful that there was no outward signs of suffering. She had a tumor on her heart that had grown to 3-4cm and had ruptured, causing internal bleeding.
We had to say goodbye to her the day before Thanksgiving, so it definitely put a sad cloud over the entire holiday. Our other dog, Nani, we’re unsure of her exact age (either 14 or 15). She has early stage dementia and we’re unsure if she’s really realized the change. We’ve had Nani for 12 years (adopted her a year after we got Reegen).
I’m relying on the saying “time heals all wounds” while also keeping close the “gone, but not forgotten” phrase. I’m full of cliche’s today I suppose!
So as we end 2023 it’s the end of a pretty significant chapter of our lives, but we’re looking ahead to 2024 – there’s a lot of change to come, and I plan to tackle it with a positive view!