There’s still some more work to do on my mnml updates, so they’re going to have to wait until next week.

I put in some good work today for a couple of cool new mnml features. One to make using images a little more flexible and the ability to copy code blocks directly from the web page. I hope to release them by tomorrow.

The Return to Work

The first week back at work. It could have been much worse…

Monday

My first day back was pretty low key. Tasks were mostly around getting access back to systems that were skipped in my reactivation.

The most important one missed was my building badge access. My set working hours are 7am to 4pm, which is an hour earlier than most. Fortunately, I was able to tailgate another departmental coworker in the door. We got this one fixed right away.

After the first hour of getting situated, there were the first two standing meetings. Lots of “we missed you” and “glad to have you back” sentiments from everyone. It was nice, but also kind of embarrassing at the same time.

From there, the rest of my calendar was free. This gave me the time to go through 13 weeks of email to separate the irrelevant from the important. There were thousands of messages, with 60% falling in the irrelevant (and deleted items) bucket.

Then came lunch. Before my leave, I was an eat lunch at the desk type who continued to work while I ate. I made a pact with myself that I wasn’t going to do that anymore, so I got up, went outside and took a brisk mile and a half walk. Then I came back and ate in the employee lounge, reading a book and turning off work for 30 minutes.

After lunch, it was back to sorting through the remaining emails and catching up on Slack threads. All through the day, people were dropping by with welcome back wishes.

When 4pm rolled around, I packed up and headed home right on time. In the past, I’ve been a “one or two more hours” type, but not anymore. The work will still be there tomorrow.

Tuesday

This was a very full day of meetings, most of which I had scheduled with different teams to get debriefed on everything that happened. I purposely scheduled them individually to be sure I got the same story from each group – which I pretty much did.

All in all, what went down was not earth shaking and my direct reports handled it well. Kudos to them. I feel more confident that I won’t have to be the one to save the world anymore.

The last debrief was with my manager. He promised me he wasn’t going to overwhelm me with topics, but naturally he kept adding “one more thing” to the list, which kept me around until 5pm. He also assigned me a critical project to be worked on.

We’re back, baby…

Sticking around until five, I’d forgotten how bad traffic can get. In true SoCal fashion, it took me an hour to drive 18 miles home. I was tired when I pulled in the driveway.

Wednesday

Today was all about catching up on training. There were several hours of it. I somehow managed not to fall asleep.

Wednesdays are employee breakfast day. Today was breakfast croissant sandwiches. I’m too scared of eating bacon and sausage now, so I took the vegetarian option. It was enjoyable, but there’s something about bacon on a treat like this that just hits different…

There were more team meeting sprinkled throughout. The “welcome backs” were getting more infrequent by today.

Traffic home was as bad as the day before.

Thursday

It was hard to get going this morning.

Today was practically all meetings. I had a couple of hours to work on the high priority project, but the rest were with key vendors. These meetings can be a slog.

A whole new wave of “welcome back” and “we missed you” sentiments from them. Yeah, yeah… Thanks.

I was able to maintain my new lunch habit of a 30-minute brisk walk followed by eating in the employee lounge all the way through the week so far. I’m pretty proud of myself.

I got out of the office on time, but traffic was again bad today too. Thursdays are the worst evening commute day in SoCal.

By the time I got home, I was wiped out and went to bed an hour earlier than normal.

Friday

I’ve made it through the week. Still tired, but I think I’ll make it.

A couple of standing meetings in the morning, and a full two hours uninterrupted to work on the project. It was awesome.

Then lunch. I made it the entire week without eating at my desk. Woo! But, being as tired as I was, I skipped the brisk walk. I felt guilty for making this decision, but the body needs rest sometimes too, right?

After lunch, it was a monthly call with my friend & mentor, Matt. We talked about the week, my plans for next week at the Dreamforce conference and just how I was feeling overall. It’s always great to catch up with him. Matt is the real deal.

The final meeting of the day was with my team to coordinate our arrivals at the conference on Monday. We’re a distributed team, so we’re coming in on different flights.

After working all of that out, I did a little more work on the project that I’d planned to leave until after my return from Dreamforce. This will put us a week ahead of schedule. I felt accomplished by it.

Finally, with everything pretty well wrapped up, I left the office at 3pm. Traffic did not suck at this time.

All in all, it was a good first week back and I feel strong. I’m glad I had it to get ready for next week. It will be full of walking, sessions and meetings with vendors we work with.

It’s been quite the week after returning to work. Tons of meetings to get debriefed on all that’s gone down and prepping for the Dreamforce conference next week. I won’t lie, I’m tired, and was yesterday.

A proper post on the week to come soon. And yes, my apex domain is back on Micro.blog again.

Taking a Break

I had a great email conversation with Manu the other day where we talked about the digital fatigue he’s been feeling lately. His approach to overcoming it was pretty radical, much more so than I think I’m ready for.

But if I’m honest, I too am feeling my own digital burnout after consuming it non-stop for the last few months while trying to fill my days doing so little during my recovery.

So, I’m going to try my own experiment.

I’ve removed all the apps from my phone and tablet that I tend to fall into when I get bored. The only place I intend to engage with online content is from my personal computer in the evenings or early morning. Sort of a daily digital catch up if you will.

My goal is to limit the amount of time I spend online for personal consumption to an hour at the very most each day for the rest of October, including weekends.

It means you might not see much of me for the rest of the month, but I will always be available through email if you wanted to get in touch about something.

Let’s see how well this goes…

It’s hard to believe it, but today is my last day of medical leave. I return to the office on Monday. I’m both excited by it, and kind of dreading it. I’ve grown accustomed to the slower pace. If this is what retirement will be like, I’ll take it.

Finished: The Concrete Blonde by Michael Connelly 📚

Having watched the series on Amazon, I didn’t see the plot of this one coming. Well worth the read.

LinkedIn Wants to Share Your Data

LinkedIn will use your data to train AI – how to opt out | Proton

On November 3, LinkedIn will begin sharing your data with Microsoft and its affiliates for AI training. You’re opted in by default, but there’s still time to do something about it.

As I’m gearing up to return to work, I’m catching up on my professional networks, including opting out of AI related stuff where ever possible.

A setting like this should never be opt-in by default…

As a PSA for Micro.blog folk… If you’re not necessarily a fan of the book covers being displayed for your bookshelf related posts, you can hide the image by adding .microblog_book{display:none} to your custom CSS. It’s a great Mb addition, but if you’re minimalist like me, this is how to do it.

I pulled one of my basses out of the closet to noodle with it this morning. It’s been more than a year since I last played and my hands are so out of shape it was like being a novice all over again.

As they say, for every day missed, you lose two days. I’ve got a lot of catching up to do.

Finished reading: The Black Echo by Michael Connelly 📚

A gripping read, but I did figure out the plot before the end of the book…

On to the third installment in the series.

Well… I woke up too early (4 am). It seemed like the right thing to do at the time, but I should’ve just stayed in bed a few more hours. I see a nap in my immediate future.

mnml Update v2.7.7 Released

The latest version of mnml (v.2.7.7) adds the following:

As always, you can upgrade through your plugins listing at your convenience.

A full list of changes can be found here.

Enjoy!

Started reading: The Black Echo by Michael Connelly 📚

Finished reading: The Black Ice by Michael Connelly 📚

mnml Update v2.7.6 Released

The latest version of mnml (v2.7.6) adds the following:

As always, you can upgrade through your plugins listing at your convenience.

A full list of changes can be found here.

Believe it or not, no styles were changed this time around… 🤯

Today’s my last day of cardiac rehab. I’m fortunate not to have had an episode resulting in heart damage. This helped me bounce back quickly.

My return to work is now two weeks away. I both look forward to and dread it at the same time. I’ve come to enjoy the slow pace of the last three months.

If you’ve been hoping for a die-cut IndieWeb is Punk decal, today is your day… Check it out on my new Printful store.

Sorry International friends - no shipping across the pond & beyond yet, but if you really want a quantity, contact me and we can work something out.

Even though I feel pretty darned good, I have to remember some parts of me are still healing. I rolled over in bed last night and managed to pull a spot on my right pectoral muscle. It’s not a bad pull, but it is annoying me this morning.

mnml Updated for Open Graph Images

I’m happy to report that mnml is updated (v2.7.5) to work with @manton’s latest Open Graph image Micro.blog enhancement.

From your Design screen, select the “mnml” Open Graph style option and start publishing! It will even use your mnml custom avatar if you have one set.

Give it a spin! Report any issues you run into if you do.