For a fuller view of my writing beyond my recent posts, dive in below and peruse as much or as little as you’d like. I write about a wide range of topics from WordPress to Surrogacy to Photography to Mental Health. Don’t follow me if you want to only hear about a certain topic as I write based on what comes up for me in that moment of time. As always, thanks for reading.
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cheers, ChatGPT
I’m trying my best to use AI where I can, when I can. Continually, I find it less helpful as a writing tool and wish I could almost teach it how to write like me but with less grammar and spelling errors. It’s been solid for brainstorming but quickly gets repetitive and less useful. The […]
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Elevators, Add New flow, and WordPress
A few years ago, I was drafting a post for work when I accidentally pressed some magical combination of keys causing the post to be immediately published. My full draft exposed for all to see, including funny lines about “Anne, finish this sentence” in bright red. Before I knew it, notifications and emails were sent […]
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personalized podcast
I saw a brief blurb about a recent NYT article on voice notes and laughed immediately: Elaine Swann, an etiquette expert who teaches classes for adults as well as children, said that voice notes should not be used for lengthy monologues, but only in cases in which “tone is necessary, but a conversation is not” […]
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Overlapping problems
Since I’m no longer running the FSE Outreach Program and it’s moving to better days in a new evolution, I sometimes find myself with swirling thoughts and no solid avenue to share. A post on Make Core would be too serious yet keeping it to myself feels unhelpful. All of this is to say, here […]
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the symbols of AI
In college, I took a memorable “Symbols and Consciousness” class with Professor James Peacock, a fascinating and brilliant man. He’d stumble into class ready to have a true dialogue rather than sit back and lecture. Symbols inherently raise consciousness and we talked about how symbols show up in society, from team colors to political affiliations. […]
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endings
Some books I can only read slowly, each chapter so loaded with insights I want to sit with that I can’t rush through them, despite any inclinations I might have. Soul Mates is one of those, even as it has a noticeable touch of homophobia (fair warning). In the last chapter I read, the following […]
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don’t have time
I seem to have an internal clock that has me always feeling late or behind. It must be genetic. My dad and I often sat in the car waiting for my mom and brother to get ready growing up. The engine was on, my dad was ready to back up at a moment’s notice, and […]
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Celebrating the very first LGBTQ+Press Empowerment Grant
I learned WordPress because someone else took the time to teach me. Lots of “someones” actually and that continues to this day as I join release squads, branch into new areas of the project, and find the years adding up. My learning mainly happened when I was being paid, which is a privilege not available […]
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exactly
Sometimes typing on a computer feels so good and so properly expressive that it feels as if I’m playing a beautiful song on the piano. Each word, each sentence building and crescendoing to communicate exactly what I want.
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fill
At the start of the last week, I felt like a damaged plane looking for a safe spot for a landing with only so much fuel left to figure out what to do. I landed very safely and with lots of support after a brutal week. I slept hard. I napped because I could. I […]
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contrast
It’s felt like a year of contrast: Staying put in Seattle yet leaving and exploring. Friendship heartbreak and falling in love steadily. Slowing down yet so, so much anxiety. A year of strong habits and chosen newness, like tea time. I traveled to Spain (twice), Greece, Italy, Denmark, Belgium, and very briefly Austria for a […]
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What parts of WordPress would you like to explore more if you could?
Learning from the experience with FSE Outreach Program, I’m using WordPress Playground to setup easy feature demos and am seeking input for areas folks want to explore.
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try
One day after I made us coffee, I asked her: “What’s the secret to being successful in your 90s?” “Just try, dear. So many people are old at 60. They just want to sit all day. You won’t make it to 90 like that. You have to try.” “Try what?” “Try walking,” she said. “Try […]
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joyful flow state
I love a simple problem. They feel like a gift to quickly solve. With my work focused on a twenty years old open source project, I’m finding new ways to think about and work on longer term ideas. Some problems that remain and that arise are exceedingly hard to solve as a result. There might […]
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kindness continues
Walking into Tulie Bakery in Salt Lake City this past week, I didn’t expect to see him but had hoped I would. I heard his voice first, which is apt considering our masked relationship. The barista who had seen me on more bad days than good stood behind the counter laughing with another barista. I […]
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tiny art
I saw signs for a museum of miniature art in Brussels and stopped in my tracks wondering if I was having some sort of fever dream from the flu’s grip on me. I love tiny things more than is reasonable. Growing up, I started a tiny collection of mini antique books for the sole purpose […]
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forming
I’m in Europe once more, traveling to all new places: Málaga, Spain; Brussels, Belgium; Copenhagen, Denmark. It’s a slow, abundant trip with ample time to rest, explore, and catch up with loved ones from afar. Málaga left me both with such a high about work and a horrible bout of the flu. Since 2019, I’ve […]
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WordPress 6.4 Source of Truth
Building off of both the public 6.2 Source of Truth and 6.3 Source of Truth, I’m offering up the next edition for WordPress 6.4, set to launch November 7th, 2023. This is an early look — come back on October 24th, 2023 if you want a confirmed finalized version. I like to share early and often both to […]
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cannot run
I was digging through some old journal entries looking for how I felt in a particular life event when I stumbled on something I could have written today: “I think we all need a place to regroup. A place we have been before. I place we can return to. I think we need multiple places […]
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true moment
I went to Glacier National Park finally and for the first time. I’ve traveled to far away places to see glorious mountains and Glacier has long been on my list as a more approachable place to venture to. I went with my very own Montana tour guide (my girlfriend) and snapped the photos you see […]
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holes
I expected this piece of gnarled wood to be something I’d simply practice on. When I picked it up from the pile of leftover wood confused why it was there, the instructor, without saying anything, simply pointed to the top where holes were clearly visible. I kept it anyways thinking about tiny spoons I might […]
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could have
On a recent trip to North Carolina, I dug through the remnants of red cedar 2x4s from a wood carving instructor who has been a much needed guide in my own carving journey. “Have at it” were his exact words when I asked if I could go through his leftover collection. It felt like Christmas […]
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Automattic: 9 Year Anniversary
Two weeks ago, I went to the 2023 WordPress Community Summit to discuss important topics for the WordPress community, connect with folks from around the world, and get my fill of possible new ideas/approaches/problems to explore. I love gnarly, complex problems and WordPress has its fair share to sort through with a robust community to […]
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let’s go back
Sometimes you arrive somewhere and already know you’ll return. Wolf bar campground felt like that—like I could see the future memories already in the process of being made and layered one on top of the other.
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Let’s call WordPress 6.4 the “Underrepresented Gender Led Release”
Let’s call WordPress 6.4 the “Underrepresented Gender Led Release”.
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live the questions
“Have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don’t search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point […]
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How to run the official product demos in WordPress release cycles
Rich Tabor and I have taken on the new product demos in the last two WordPress release cycles: Your WordPress 6.2 Preview and WordPress 6.3 Live Product Demo – Highlights & Recording. To spread the love and ensure others can contribute in this way, I wanted to share at a high level how we prepare […]
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return
Once a year growing up, I’d head up to Hendersonville, NC to spend a week with my broader family on my mom’s side (and sometimes my dad’s). We’re back again this year with more family in tow than usual. The setting is a beautiful property with a lake, hiking trails, cabins, and small children roaming. […]
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pair
“Life is better in a pair”. There seems to be something in the water. Numerous folks have found different ways of telling me the same thing in the last year or so. On the surface, it’s harmless and rings true to our societal norms, particularly in the US. There’s some truth to it financially, especially […]
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WordPress 6.3 Source of Truth
Building off of my public 6.2 Source of Truth, I’m offering up the next edition for WordPress 6.3, set to launch August 8th, 2023. This is an early look — come back on July 25th, 2023 if you want a confirmed finalized version. I like to share early and often both to find areas of […]
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