KubeCon hangover is real. I grossly overestimated how much I’d be able to do in four days, of course. I spent my little break between jobs trying to sleep in most days. Spend extra time with Max (daddy pick-ups from school are a real thing now). But, any time I went to do something technical or constructive, it took a lot longer than I thought it would. I did a lot of little niceties to various websites, pre-employment stuff, write the $newjob blog post, and generally did not think about complex things. I wanted to tinker with a list of little projects, but I opted to read maybe or play Madden instead. It wasn’t bad, but to say I’ve recovered from KubeCon is a gross overestimation. I’m going to shut myself in and lay on heating packs all day tomorrow, more than likely. Two bad ankles, a bone spur in the neck, and a bad shoulder all snarling at you doesn’t make for a good time. ...

KubeCon + CloudNativeCon North America 2021 in Downtown Los Angeles was fantastic. I got to see friends I hadn’t seen in a long time and some people I met for the first time. “I didn’t realize you were so tall” was a common statement from people I was meeting for the first time. It was very cool to meet folks in the community and Red Hat for the first time. It was also interesting to see new companies entering the cloud native ecosystem. I spent more than one time looking up companies or products I’d not heard of before. It was also interesting NOT to see Google Cloud or VMware there. Those companies opted not to get a booth based on their company COVID-19 policies. It was a little weird being in such a large venue with only a few thousand people. The L.A. Convention Center made for some long walks. I ended up crushing my Apple Health rings every day. Except for maybe the last day on site. One thing I noted after day two was that I was very dehydrated. You can’t drink while wearing a mask. It got to the point where I drank a liter to two liters before the conference. Retreat outside and drink as much water as possible. I was then drinking a ton of water at the end of the day. ...

Personal Note: If you’re reading this and you’re at KubeCon in L.A. and you don’t find me and say hello. I’ll be sad. I had a crazy day. I flew on a freaking plane! Two thousand three hundred miles, no less! I’m in Los Angeles, California, for KubeCon + CloudNativeCon North America 2021. Keep your eyes peeled on my Twitter for the most up to date shenanigans. I already have a travel tip in the books for folks ride sharing from LAX. Also, I announced my resignation this week from Red Hat. It has been an incredible three years. I finally can now say I’ve figured out I’m good at turning a problem with nothing solving it into something that people never thought possible. What I’m most known for at Red Hat is live streaming. But, that was something that became a massive conduit of information and knowledge sharing. The team had a challenge; we needed a solution. I was the right person, with the right gear, at the right time. Sometimes, things work out like that. ...

It has been a stressful and challenging past few weeks. But, it’s all worth it in the end. My KubeCon schedule is taking shape. I’ll be in L.A. starting Saturday, so if you’re around, feel free to ping me to chat or hang out. I mentioned on the CNCF Ambassador call last week something I’ve noticed recently. Thanks to the pandemic, my already sometimes tough to manage anxiety around large crowds in confined spaces is WAY worse. I’ll be in a corner or room during keynotes. If you have anxiety around large crowds too, feel free to come watch keynotes with me from a safe space. We’re doing something a little different on Red Hat Livestreaming next week. I’m going to sit in the hot seat for once and get interviewed by the esteemed Stu Miniman. There will be a special announcement during the stream, so be sure to check it out at 4 PM ET on October 6th. People In-person Zoom is the new norm for many workers returning to the office If you’re in this position, I feel for you. I get it, some folks don’t have homes conducive to working from. I’m lucky as all get out that I can have a basement finishing project in flight and still have space for an office I can close the door to. I also feel like there has to be a better way. ...

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