We’re at a cliff, a chasm below. Who and what we prioritize in the crossing is an infinitely individual choice. Human behavior is predictable. Many of us will choose what is greater than our individual selves; more than not, if there is enough love.

My origin story first job was at a House of Fabrics. Thanks, Lizard Leigh for giving me closure on the experience 35 years later. Didn’t know I needed it. I know I will have more to say because this story is bigger than fabric or retail. I see a direct thread to healthcare, higher ed, tech.

@deanasolis.bsky.social reminds us that we'll never know if we're good at something unless we try. Catch her episode out NOW on your fave podcasting app and on our YouTube channel. Catch all episodes by visiting bento.me/geekingout. 🎧: buff.ly/Y8h07OC 📺: buff.ly/k5JS0Pe

Oh hey, if a meandering conversation I had with the cloud economist whose twitter feed set me on my most recent career path sounds like a good distraction, you're in luck. At some point we discuss Cloud Repatriation: Because Conspiracy Theories Are Cheaper... open.spotify.com/episode/6agV...

Just deep gratitude for all the connections we made. Trauma bonds forever. #opentowork

The way out of this collective grief won’t be distilled into 300 characters. Meditating on kindness. Camera off, mic muted.

My old yoga teacher cheerfully encouraged me, saying, ‘it’s a practice, not a perfect.’ I know this is true about FinOps, o11y, and all the agile things. It isn’t performative, just ceremonies. And I know it too about democracy. The work has no end. Practice. Practice again. Give it meaning.

Today I used the word portmanteau in a sentence, accurately I think, and I’m kinda proud of myself. If you know, you know.

Me in my dad’s arms behind my mom and sister, all reunited after spending many months 7297 miles apart. Daycare meant family in the Philippines 🇵🇭. It was supposed to be years but separation was unbearable and convenience wasn’t worth it. Immigrants find a way to make it work.

Out of my comfort zone once again. You won’t find me at other cloud conferences. I am there, you just won’t find me. Introvert ambassadors, unite!

Erasure, one of my favorite 80s bands, maybe inevitably so given my subconscious connection with their name. People erased from history suffer physical and systemic violence. Yet we persist. Our stories survive even when our bodies are stolen. Even when our names are forgotten, our songs heard.

Reminding myself, and anyone who needs it... The color of the collar defining my job doesn't matter, my work is labor that someone else profits from in a wildly disproportionate manner. It's only normal if that behavior aligns with values I consider normal. It is fair if I consent.

I'm INTJ/INTP, self promo is hard. I specialize in a part of cloud engineering where others take credit for my work. Still I do the work and get more than what I need from it. I owe so much to open source communities that welcomed me! #finopsmentor #otelfan #opencost is the way

I don't write off Marie Gluesenkamp Perez' approach to public service. I hold her accountable. Wrote her again, calling until she answers (202) 225-3536. Show up in VanWa, host some town halls in this red leaning purple district WA03. Earn our vote with your voice. Do it louder.

Nearing the 15th hour and he’s got more in the tank. This is what defending democracy looks like, imperfect as it is. Thank you Senator Booker and your colleagues who got your back, for the good trouble.

dear Noah, I want to give you all the wisdom I didn't have when I turned 22, but you show me every day that you are figuring it out. I love you so much 🧡

Before college, I thought I hated history. Turns out I just hated lies. Every month is somebody’s history month, go ask the grandmothers. filipiknow.net/filipina-war...

Held for 3.5 hours to speak 10 minutes with an SSA rep to schedule an appointment and confirm my forms were in order to administer my mom’s benefits. Patience, kindness, and compassion. We need all the grace we can give. And receive. And rage for systemic violence against our survival.

The view is from a park named after Filipino hero, Jose Rizal, executed for his defiance against Spanish colonizers. Buried in an unmarked grave intended to daunt martyrdom, Rizal's fight is remembered. They try to erase our humanity so they can exploit our bodies. Resistance is in our blood.

Of course representation matters. It matters to the underrepresented & invisible, the ones constantly overcoming erasure & exclusion. Its value cannot be measured in short term profit & loss but in sustained equity. When it is defunded, we know who values what. Thank you @joyannreid.bsky.social

Thank you DT for showing us WW is real. And she’s in all of us.

My mom encouraged me to become an engineer but didn't have a roadmap to give to me. Instead she made sure I knew that my ancestors, women, wove pineapple fibers into ceremonial clothing. Had I not randomly taken a textile engineering elective, I don't know if I could have seen myself as one.

"...You had to hide away for so long (so long) Where did we go wrong? Hey you with the pretty face Welcome to the human race..." Hits closer than the first time I heard it. How did ELO know I'd be a cloud engineer on bsky talking about humanizing FinOps? Reminder to listen to more records.

Dear 2014 me, trust that sense that 'move fast and break things' is language for FAFO. Keep working on your financial health without forgetting that the systems we know don't want us to succeed. It will sustain you when the job market behaves exactly as predicted. We know that now.

In my home lives a buddha collection that doesn’t make me a Buddhist. They reflect aspirational values and occasionally remind me to practice. Reading and listening to Tonglen guided meditation. Yoga later. Finding balance between resistance and activation. We need practice to persist.

It makes no difference to me if you don't observe my history month when every day of every month you deny your own. The history of my ancestors is complicated. The more I uncover about them, the more I love their imperfections. The more I am inspired to become the ancestor I hoped they would be.

What is resistence if not the conscious decision to cultivate joy? I learn it every day from too many wise women to name.

I am not asking friends or family to set theirs on fire, but just know, your vehicle may spontaneously elect to do so for you. Acting in solidarity. www.tesla-fire.com

Grieving intensely. Intermittently. Music is medicine. Not the gatekeepers, not the industry - the music, the makers, that’s my medicine.

The data nerd in me hears @profmmurray.bsky.social and @staceyabrams.com repeat ‘focus’ and ‘filters’ in the latest @assemblyrequired.bsky.social episode. Very satisfying advice on reducing noise in the current chaos. It will get overwhelming without a strategy. youtu.be/IeqTfXhFJ3k?...

Confession, found by accident scrolling my occasional FAFO feed. Kelsey is the reason I ever even thought of speaking at a conference, worth the listen every time. Mentor I've never met (yet). www.fafo.fm/remaining-au...

As long as there is truth, history cannot be erased. No matter how big the lies, our bodies remember. Thank you for your sacrifices, Leonard Peltier. Hero to all of us who would not be erased. Alamin ang yung ugat. www.youtube.com/live/59Srgdj...

A former teammate just reminded me of the last time we all went to trivia night. February 2020. Our empathetic and well informed team name was Corona Virus With Lyme. I chuckle involuntarily. Accompanied by tears.

Having complicated feelings about this discourse on H1-B. All dunking. Invisible are the visa holders, with fortitude to be amicable and approachable by day, not sleeping at night. Underpaid by market standards; first to acknowledge their own privilege. I see you.

Received the gift of someone quoting my own words back to me. Grateful to walk with you on this journey 🧡

We have no time to spiral into panic or immerse into schadenfreude. Time only to check up on loved ones and ask strangers not who they voted for, but if they’re ok. This is how we get through each next thing.

PNW wildfires 2020 Maui 2023 LA now… NJ and all the other disasters between. We’re all in it together. Yes, climate scientists tried to tell us: the way we live has to change but people don’t change until they feel it personally. And when we need to feel better, at least we have Steve Guttenberg

Today I renamed work meetings with the word therapy after the topic. Discarded agendas, only constraint: discussion must be topic-relevant and time limits respected. Agree to participate or don't come. COVID lock down muscle memory returns.

In a group text with family in 4 states to stay informed on the wildfires and family in affected areas. Concentrating on nothing but the sound of my breath. Not like when wildfires were closer to me last time, when we learned how to diy air filters with box fans. And there were protests downtown.

Vocabulary word of the day is "sankofa" - learn from the past, from Akan language of Ghana, meaning “reach back and get it” My favorite related Filipino phrase (maybe Tagalog? not a native speaker), "alamin ang yung ugat" meaning "find the root." Anniversaries are for reflection, not erasure.

ako rin ang bakunawa, ako din

🚺 tales from FinOps...

Dear BJK, thanks for being my first sports icon when little girls weren’t supposed to have sports icons. Pasadena, protect her.

Oh, when did I internalize an idea that capitalism was a ruthless zero-sum game? 
Probably holidays with cousins. After midnight mass while our parents played mahjong until dawn, we self-indoctrinated into the tradition of economic gain at the expense of losers. 
 youtu.be/IAsj9TvK_eI?...

I almost posted, interviewing is more fun now that I think of it like speed dating. But then I remembered how years ago, I realized dating was just easier when I thought of it as a series of interviews. Hmm. Two truths! Bonus truth, neither was fun when I didn't know I held power.

Dear 2025 me, Greener grass is as unsustainable as it looks. Next employer has permission to define conditions for employment, not purpose, worth, or values. Brace for a tsunami of data. The right questions will separate noise from signal. Keep asking, keep using power for good.

What if we just let the highly capable teams you hired use the data to make better decisions? I mean I’m building it either way.

In a past life, I stood on the sales floor 45hrs, worked 15 more most weeks, and took no holidays or weekends for rest. Much has changed. Much hasn’t. Humans of retail, I see you.

I am a year older than Title IX, so my first team sport, I was the only girl on the team. Attacks on women's sports today are as insidious as they are predictable. We don't have to show them how hard a girl hits; we just have to remind ourselves www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFyN...

Thursday throwback to that time I got laid off - right after my father passed away. Fast forward ten years to the time my position was eliminated - right after my mom had a stroke and moved into a care home. I wish neither event on anyone. And I promise, each was a gift. Let go or fail to grow.