Spring finally showed up in Minnesota. My first winter here wrapped me up in five months of brutal cold, lots of snow, and gray skies. My neighbor had the nerve to say last winter “was not that bad.” I’m not signing up for another and I’m going to actually appreciate the spring, summer, and fall now.

Anyways, this is Field Notes, a once a month dispatch where I share three things I’m biting on: something software and tech, something I learned or built, and something about life design. If you happen to give a f, stick around.

Software and tech

I’m juggling between two tracks and not fully committed to either, which is a problem of its own. One side I’m upskilling in Ruby on Rails, which most would call a weird choice considering how the tech industry is moving. On the other, I’m halfway through the ServiceNow Certified Architect Program (CTA).

I’m 89% with the Foundations course, so I’m not quite there yet with Ruby, but what has been clicking as of late is DOM manipulation. Its been a subject I didn’t fully dive into in the past, but I’m glad the curriculum instructs you to actually build something using it.

The CTA program isn’t what I expected. I was thinking its more hands-on development in the platform, scripting, quirks a senior developer or staff developer would know. But its not technical at all, and it feels like a more strategic role. I also don’t believe in the idea that one has to go from developer → senior developer → architect, and there has to be a better path, especially working at a partner.

Something I learned

China only has one time zone. So a country with roughly 3K miles across runs on Beijing time. I stumbled upon this fact watching The Magic School Bus on Netflix. 🚌 This stuck with me because I plan on visiting China one day with my family.

Life design

I’m running towards something Paul Millerd calls The Pathless Path. I first heard this phrase in an Ali Abdaal video, and the idea has been stuck with me for a while now.

The short version: define success on your own terms instead of following the default playbook you got handed at a young age. Easier said than lived.

Default for me looks like this: wake up, get little one ready for school, drop them off, go to work, finish work, workout or gym or park, get ready for bed, sleep, wake up, do it again and again. Now this isn’t bad and I am appreciate of this life, but this isn’t mine either.

So I’m finding little ways to do something that feels like me. Sitting down to write this dispatch feels like me. Going for a run at 12pm on a Tuesday feels like me, mostly because nobody told me I could. Playing chess for no reason other than I like it feels like me. Planning a big big move next year feels even better. Just small rebellions against a schedule I didn’t write works right now.

End note

I appreciate you for making it this far. The hardest part of this is getting started and the second hardest is staying consistent, so I’m going to enjoy clearing the first hurdle for about ten minutes before I start worrying about the second.

Cheers. Happy belated Earth Day. Take care of the planet you filthy animal. 🌍

Stefan