Shapes
A few weeks ago I finally got Amelia to upgrade her boots.
For those of you who don’t see her much in person, these boots are her brand. At some point she stopped growing into her boots and it was her boots that grew into her. It’s not a bad default in the Pacific Northwest, but it is rare she wears anything else on her feet. Her last pair was very well loved, but it was time for a change.
I am still happy to be back at Amazon, though with all that is going on in my life I am less confident that I am keeping up with things the way I should. I’m also writing less in my free time, but that is mostly because I get to do so much internally. I’m scared to say it, because I’m afraid it might end, but this really is my dream job. I am the kid who grew up dreaming of space and is now an astronaut, except with computer things.
I’m still trying to internalize how the developments in artificial intelligence may change that though, both in terms of writing words and code. It has been great to offload the drudgery of corporate speak to machines that have literally internalized that language and way of thinking. It allows me to focus on sculpting the narratives that are one of my favorite parts of the job. Writing is as much a tool for thinking as it is for communicating, and I fear that we will lose much of the former if we give up the latter to machines. The speed bumps that having to organize one's thoughts is also healthy to some degree. I fear a future where we churn out so much writing that we rely on machines to sort through it and summarize, and then I don’t even know what we’re doing any more.
Coding, on the other hand, I’ve come around to doing with some help from AI. While the earlier generative AI tools were fairly incompetent at any nontrivial task, the latest agentic tools are very useful for eliminating the drudgery of much of my work. They allow me to have more information at my fingertips and amplify my actions across a sprawling complex machine. I am still in charge creatively, but I have a small team of junior engineers helping me. (Though I suppose this bodes less well for the job prospects of junior engineers.)
Our new home is still in progress. We’ve finished the basic design (where all the walls go and whatnot) and are collecting rough estimates from potential builders. The economic uncertainty of the day has thrown some uncertainty into the timelines, but all that really means is more time.
It is also hard to think about because this is the best time of year to be where we are. I can hear birds in the chimney. The trees are filling out and the back deck is such a nice place to be. I am writing this on the deck while the kids play in the yard and scoot around on various vehicles, pick up flowers from the rhododendrons, look for bugs under rocks. It is when I least want to consider the idea of moving. I will miss it.
We shape the place we are in, but they also shape us. The place we’re in feels incredibly right for us, but in no small part because of the habits it has taught, the routines it has created, the experiences, and the lessons. And I have to remind myself a new place will have that too. Our roots will turn the cracks into our new foundation. Adapting is not an act of compromise but of growth.
This is a good place for the kids now, but I also want a place that will nurture our children’s independence. I remember growing up in a big yard was great fun when I was in elementary, but more isolating when I was older and craved a neighborhood to explore. We hope that in a more walkable area the kids will lose some yard, but gain a library, a corner store with popsicles, a bike trail, and the homes of close friends they can walk to.
I also want a place where I can ride my bike to work.
And if someone else hadn’t moved along when it was the right time for them, I wouldn’t be here now in this space.
One final thing before I get out of your hair: this year I am once again raising money for Fred Hutch through Obliteride. As I mentioned earlier, my mother is currently battling an aggressive cancer, and her life has been very much improved by amazing treatments that have come out of the type of work that Fred Hutch does. Please consider donating a few dollars to the cause.
Cheers,
Aleks