Archive • Letter's from Aleks • Buttondown

December 5, 2024

Here is that longer update. I started my new old job at Amazon, as a Principal Engineer in AWS Cryptography. It is good to be back and I am energized by the...

November 29, 2024

There is a longer update email that I’ve been putting off writing, partially because the list of updates grows faster than my allocation of energy for...

I survived COVID and all I got was this email.

While COVID-19 has not ceased to be a thing in our world, for better or for worse, it does seem that we’ve largely settled into a kind of normalcy. And while...

Through the Trees

I: The birdsong is more pervasive this year. More penetrating. I don't know if this reflects an external or internal change. II: I am walking in Discovery...

Taking it back out of the box...

Hello Everyone! It has been a while. Allow me to compress the last 5 months into some rapid fire updates: Me Back in December, 2019, I left my role at Amazon...

Tweeting Through It

February 4, 2024

So far this year, work has really felt like standing in a muddy pond. My team is in the middle of a large reorganization of responsibilities. Feedback from...

December 17, 2023

Hello friends and family, This year the house is a little bit darker and the Christmas cards will be a little lower-effort and later than usual. Let me...

October 29, 2023

6:15 - Alarm on my iPhone goes off. I've never changed it from the default sound. How many people start their day the same way? I mash buttons until it...

Old fashioned rain

September 19, 2023

The sound of rain mixed well with the clink of ice in my old fashioned, so it felt like time for another letter. Amelia is well into her PreK program at...

August 27, 2023

Amelia's riding has been improving day by day. She has been writing for about 2 weeks or so. The culminating achievement of this week was riding around Green...

Parental Leave - Epilogue

August 13, 2023

Greetings Friends! This week marked my glorious return to full time work! I took the first half of the week off before returning on Thursday to relearn what...

Parental Leave - Week 11

Aloha! This has nothing to do with Hawaii. Putting a bow on the final official week of parental leave. Tomorrow, Amelia and Jonny will both be in their...

Parental Leave - Week 10

Hello! On the home stretch of parental leave. Technically, this coming week will be my next, but I may be taking some additional PTO since Jonathan doesn't...

Parental Leave - Week 8 and 9

Bonjour! I am now on the second part of my parental leave for Jonathan, which will take me through the beginning of August. I will be providing weekly flash...

To SoCal and back

Ahoy-hoy, This special edition of Parental Leave updates (week 7) comes on the backside of our excursion to La La Land. But first... So, the movie Toy Story...

Parental Leave - Week 6

Greetings! I am now on the second part of my parental leave for Jonathan, which will take me through the beginning of August. I will be providing weekly...

Parental Leave - Week 5

Greetings! I am now on the second part of my parental leave for Jonathan, which will take me through the beginning of August. I will be providing weekly...

Parental Leave - Week 4

Greetings! I am now on the second part of my parental leave for Jonathan, which will take me through the beginning of August. I will be providing weekly...

Parental Leave - Week 3

Greetings! I am now on the second part of my parental leave for Jonathan, which will take me through the beginning of August. I will be providing weekly...

Parental Leave - Week 2

Hola! I am now on the second part of my parental leave for Jonathan, which will take me through the beginning of August. I will be providing weekly flash...

Parental Leave - Week 1

Hello! I am now on the second part of my parental leave for Jonathan, which will take me through the beginning of August. I will be providing weekly flash...

A Tale of Three Grinches

Hello folks! This is not going to be a normal, life-family update email, so if that is what you are subscribed for, you may want to move on to the next item...

Amelia’s preschool celebrated Earth Day by taking a walk with the kids to pick up garbage around the neighborhood. This inspired Amelia to want to do the...

Unless It's Kicks

There is a peach tree in our yard that has always looked a bit pathetic. The previous owners planted it in a spot which does not provide it the sun it needs,...

In case the other one breaks...

February 6, 2023

Amelia has a recent obsession with redundancy. "Why did you put away one of your socks?" "In case the other one breaks." "Why did you take out two masks?"...

Sushi and His Ball

January 15, 2023

I have a dog and his name is Sushi. Though, on occasion, I enjoy the company of a dog, I am not what you would call a "dog person." Sushi has not done...

Amazing Children's Books

January 2, 2023

Happy New Year! As a follow up to my list of awesome things from 2022, I wanted to share something I've been wanting to put together for some time: a walk...

December 25, 2022

‘Tis the season for “best of”s and wrap ups, so here is mine. (Not all of these things came out in 2022, but I either experienced them or re-experienced them...

Work in Progress

December 18, 2022

Jonny’s happy place is the changing table next to his window. (At least, when he is with me, the parent unable to produce fresh milk.) I put him here just...

Resolutions and Resolve

December 10, 2022

Programming note: I've migrated from TinyLetter to Buttondown for my newsletter. Please let me know if anything looks amiss. Thirty spokes join one hub. The...

November 23, 2022

It has been a busy few weeks and there is so much to share! I haven't found the time to sit down in front of the computer to write a proper letter, so I made...

October 7, 2022

Last weekend we spent part of the day at Seattle Center to visit BrickCon (Seattle's own Lego festival). But this story isn't about Lego. On the way back to...

Time's arrow marches forward

September 23, 2022

Time’s Arrow Marches Forward Hey, so, first things first, let's do the news. This is sort of embarrassing, and for those that don't already know, I'm really...

Switching to iced lattes

Hello Friends, Fate has finally deemed it our turn. Most of the household tested positive for Covid-19 last week. As this letter goes to print, Yuling and...

The one where Aleks writes about nostalgia

I’ve been wanting to write this one for a while. The world of childens’ books, music, and television is full of all sorts of new exciting things, and for...

Summer (A poem)

Written April 7th, 2022: Today I smelled summer. It smelled like a seventy degree evening with a touch of haze in the air. And the lingering smell of two...

For those of you who have been in the industry for a while, this probably won’t be too interesting. However, if you’ve joined since things like Slack and...

November 22, 2021

Halloween is a major event around these parts. Fact. Living next to the Olympic Hills Haunt guarantees it. I've been putting off writing this for too long,...

October 30, 2021

Autumn is our favorite season. It's why Amelia's middle name is autumn. And this autumn has been one of the best I can remember. It has been the most Autumn...

August 24, 2021

Siddhartha Gautama, before he became the Buddha, spent many years as an ascetic, meditating in the forest. In one version of events, as Siddhartha sat...

Among the trees

August 17, 2021

Hello Friends, A few nights each week, when Amelia goes to bed early enough, I spend my time among the trees in our back yard. It has been such a dry summer...

Hello Everyone, If you're reading this, then like me, you made it to the other side of a day that was hotter than any other in the region’s recorded history....

Before I forget, I’ve recently discovered a cache of blank post cards, some from places I’ve been and other not. If you’d like one (or two, or as many as I...

The fading scent of lilacs

Hey all, I’ve always loved the smell of lilacs in Spring. When I first set out to write this letter, the cool evenings in my neighborhood always smelled of...

Hi Folks, It has been some time. Let’s get right into it. Everyone is still healthy and doing well. Amelia’s vocabulary feels boundless, and every day it...

2020 Christmas Letter

December 18, 2020

Dear Friends and Family, Reflecting back, it is hard not to feel in awe of the events of the last year. COVID-19 has reminded us that we’re on a little rock,...

The Sum of Our Parts

November 25, 2020

Last weekend, our house betrayed us. The drain for the washing machine became clogged, and during the rinse cycle waste water from our plumbing was dumped...

November 1, 2020

Today was Amelia's first time playing on a playground. We took her to the playground at Magnuson Park. We had pass by with her on the way to the dog park on...

October 3, 2020

Hi. I mentioned in my last letter (https://tinyletter.com/aleksrudzitis/letters/a-second-draft) that I had been stuck for some time on the contents of said...

September 7, 2020

Hey. How’s it going? I’ve been putting off writing a letter because I wanted to say something more profound. There is a letter I’ve wanted to write for a few...