Weeknotes 7/2022

Happy earth day! The google doodles today, which show the effects of climate change in relatively short periods of time (like the melting of glaciers over the last 20 years) are making me feel so terrified and hopeless. But at least it’s Friday?

Anyway….

What went well:

• I presented research findings and had such a lovely, productive conversation about it with the “stakeholders” (I hate that word but can’t think of a better one)
• I made some changes to how we do our roadmapping prioritization as a team, and I think these changes are helpful and less work on the team.
• I got a new ebike! I haven’t cycled to work since I lived in Calgary many years ago and it was my favourite thing ever. There’s nothing like passing traffic jams while taking in the morning sun and fresh air. We only have one car so I’m looking forward to using it for errands as well.

What I struggled with:

• I called out something deeply uncomfortable this week to my manager, and asked him to escalate it. I feel guilt about putting him in that position but also the issue feels important as it could have impacts in workplace equality. I don’t know enough about the issue to talk about it in detail, but still think it’s worth mentioning and hopefully will be more candid about it soon.
• I’m still plugging away at my full-stack developer course and this week I got majorly stuck on an error message. After spending what feels like an hour on stack overflow and other developer resources, I finally found my solution but … it reminds me I’m not cut out to be a developer. I don’t have the patience for so many little details that can set you back for days. I just want to get on with it. (Still, the feeling when you actually solve it is pretty sweet.)
• I’ve been running the BC Gov Design Community to be completely open, which I think is very important for many reasons. But I’ve been struggling with panic about trolls joining our meetings, stealing our content, etc. Wondering how other open community leaders balance that …

What inspired me:

• In honour of earth day, please play the climate game
• This honest and lovely reflection on endings and beginnings from Nour Sidawi
• I loved this great thread on Communities of Practice
• Influencing organisational change by Lingjing Yin
• Toxic or positive masculinity? How men can shift workplace culture from Wissam Moussa, a former colleague at the Canadian Digital Service

Reading, watching, listening

• I just started Beautiful World, Where Are You? By Sally Rooney. I’m enjoying it but can’t stop picturing Connell and Marianne from Normal People
• I finished Killing Eve. Not sure what to say about this final season. I liked it, but also found it confusing and unsatisfying.
• Death and Taxes from This American Life. I could do without the taxes part but the exploration of what it’s like to die was stunning.