For the past decade, every year I’ve written an End of Year blog post. I list the places I’ve traveled, my talks, and then generally reflect upon other milestones in the year. 2020 was a very different year for all of us due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Amusingly, at the beginning of 2020 I made […]
Archive for the ‘life’ Category
Three weeks in and Hanukkah 2020
December 22nd, 2020 by pleia2
It’s now been almost three weeks since we had our little Aaron. Everything has been going well, Aaron gained weight at a healthy clip and is healthy. I’m recovering on schedule, though definitely slower than with Adam, in no small part because having a toddler and a newborn is more difficult than caring for just […]
Final baby prep, Thanksgiving, and a pandemic haircut
November 30th, 2020 by pleia2
Less than one day to go! As I’ve mentioned, due to Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy, I’m being induced into labor at 37 weeks, which means I’m going into the hospital tomorrow morning. I’m nervous, excited, and not quite feeling ready, but I will be grateful to conclude this pregnancy. Having a newborn is exhausting in […]
Adjusting traditions in 2020
November 30th, 2020 by pleia2
We are living through a global pandemic. Today, just days after Thanksgiving, the US is enduring the biggest wave of the virus yet. Cases and deaths are increasing in areas that haven’t seen powerful previous waves before. Even where we are in northern California, where cases have trended high, but manageable, hospitals and public health […]
In the time before the baby arrives
November 18th, 2020 by pleia2
I wrapped up work last week, concluding with a week that included two days of training to become a Certified ScrumMaster, a discussion-driven talk at an ACM-W chapter, a talk at the Linux Application Summit, and a talk at SeaGL. It was probably too much, but I love what I do and if I’m going […]
Holidays, birthday, and furniture assembly
November 1st, 2020 by pleia2
The pregnancy has definitely been front and center in my life as I entered the third trimester. It’s been a difficult one, and on top of the GDM diagnosis I recently wrote about, I’ve had some other puzzling test results lately that have caused concern. I’ve also been once again diagnosed with Intrahepatic Cholestasis of […]
Orange skies, solar, Rosh Hashanah, and work
September 20th, 2020 by pleia2
We’ve now passed the six month mark since the shelter in place order began here in the bay area, and the loneliness is definitely catching up to me. I am certain that part of this is also related to the pregnancy. My first pregnancy was an exceptionally lonely time as I didn’t yet have a […]
Fire season, furniture, and our political future
September 2nd, 2020 by pleia2
We’re in week 25 or so of restrictions put in place in our community due to the pandemic, which means we’re rapidly approaching six months. It’s a little difficult to believe how different our life is than it was when we got off our last flight after the final conference we went to just 26 […]
A market, memory, and motherhood
August 15th, 2020 by pleia2
As I mentioned back in June, writing about life during a pandemic is tough. Life is pretty boring. We’re still mostly sequestered at home, doing take-out, and avoiding indoor spaces except when necessary. A trip out to Target has turned into a noteworthy activity for the month. The only indoor spaces Adam has been in […]
Toys outside, a laptop, and lots of bread
July 25th, 2020 by pleia2
Pandemic life is continuing. This month we went through a wave of places opening for outdoor dining, only to be shut down by the state due to rising COVID-19 rates, and then conditionally opened up a few days later with the county remaining on a state watch list. For our part, we did go out […]