{"id":11179,"date":"2016-01-01T11:40:54","date_gmt":"2016-01-01T19:40:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/princessleia.com\/journal\/?p=11179"},"modified":"2018-12-31T18:10:57","modified_gmt":"2019-01-01T02:10:57","slug":"the-adventures-of-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/princessleia.com\/journal\/2016\/01\/the-adventures-of-2015\/","title":{"rendered":"The adventures of 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

I wasn’t sure what to expect from 2015. Life circumstances meant that I wanted to travel a bit less, which meant being more selective about the conferences I would speak at. At the same time, some amazing opportunities for conferences came up that I couldn’t bring myself to turn down. Meeting new people, visiting countries very foreign to me, plus a new continent (South America!), there was much to be excited about this year! Work has gone exceptionally well. I hit some major milestones with my career, particularly with regards to my technical level, all thanks to support from those around me, dedication to some important projects and hard work on the day to day stuff.<\/p>\n

There were also struggles this year. Early in the year I learned of the passing of a friend and local open source advocate. MJ and I navigated our way through the frailness and loss of a couple family members. I was forced to pause, reflect upon and ultimately step away from some of my open source involvement as it was causing me incredible emotional pain and stress. I also learned a lot about my work habits and what it takes to put out a solid technical book. The book continues to be a real struggle, but I am thankful for support from those around me.<\/p>\n

I’ve been diligent in continuing to enjoy this beautiful city we live in. We went on a streetcar tour, MJ took me to a Star Wars Giants game for my birthday and we went to various Panama-Pacific International Exhibit commemorative events. I finally made it down the bay to the Winchester House and to see a 49ers game. As friends and family come into town, I jumped at every opportunity to explore the new and familiar. I also spoke at a few local conferences and events which I wrote about: San Francisco Ubuntu Global Jam<\/a>, Elastic{ON} 2015<\/a>, Puppet Camp San Francisco 2015<\/a> and an OpenStack Meetup<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\nEnjoying San Francisco with a special tour on the Blackpool Boat Tram<\/div>\n
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\nAt the Bay Bridge with visiting friend Crissi<\/div>\n
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\nStar Wars day at AT&T Park<\/small><\/div>\n
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\nAt a 49ers game with visiting friend Danita<\/div>\n
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\nVisiting one of several PPIE15 exhibits<\/small><\/div>\n

Health-wise, I had to go in for several diagnostic tests post-gallbladder to see why some of my liver levels are off. After a bit of stress, it all looks ok, but I do need to exercise on a more regular basis. The beautiful blue sky beckons me to make a return to running, so I plan on doing that while incorporating things I learned with the trainer I worked with this past year. We’ve also been tracking Simcoe’s health with her renal failure, it’s been 4 years since her diagnosis and while her health isn’t what it was, our little Siamese continuing to hang in there.<\/p>\n

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And then there was all my travel!<\/p>\n