A Farewell to Andersonville!
A Farewell to Andersonville!
On Halloween, the movers finally came to pick up all of the remaining items at my Chicago Andersonville office. Many of you probably took a class here over the last 14 years. For that, I'm thankful! Honestly, I thought it was a pretty awesome place to teach a class. I'll definitely miss it.
Reflecting on Priorities
In many ways, the Andersonville office was a gift. For a few years prior, I had been out on the road teaching Python training courses--often 20-30 weeks a year. This involved a LOT of travel to far off places like Pasadena, Bangalore, and the Loop. When I wasn't traveling, I was confined to a small corner of our dining room as the rest of our condo had been taken over by a toddler and newborn. Life comes at you fast sometimes.
So, how do solve the problem of being out on the road all of the time? You flip it and bring people to you! The Andersonville office was that solution and it allowed me to stop traveling altogether in 2012. Needless to say, I think everyone in the family was pretty happy about it! I know that I was especially happy to see my kids grow up in-person.
New Priorities and the Future
As the Andersonville chapter closes, I find that "newborn" is about to start high school. All things equal, it's probably better to think about things like college tuition than paying rent on a little used office (especially in the post-pandemic reality).
So, as I bid farewell, I'm still doing what I love to do (teaching) and I'd like to thank everyone who's joined me online over the last few years. Those courses will continue and evolve. I'm still thinking about some in-person courses from time-to-time, but they'll probably be held just up the road in Evanston. Stay tuned!
Cheers,
Dave