Three weeks in.
Feels like I’ve been unemployed for either three days or three years. There is no in-between.
Today was a planned day, which already puts it ahead of several others.
In the morning, I attended Snowflake’s Data for Breakfast event at the Hyatt Regency.
For those of you who know me, I’ve been using a lot of Databricks over the past several years, and essentially no Snowflake. So this was one of my first steps toward fixing that.
From what I can tell, there’s a lot of overlap in functionality. Same general space, similar capabilities, and like everything else right now, a very strong and unavoidable pull toward AI. At this point, if your platform isn’t talking about AI, it’s probably just taking a break before talking about AI again.
My plan is to use their $200 trial account to port over part of my hockey pool application that currently runs on Databricks and see how they compare side by side.
I’m not picking favourites here. I have good friends that work at Databricks, and I assume in my next role I’ll be handed one of the two and told to go.
If it’s Databricks, I won’t miss a step.
If it’s Snowflake, I’ll learn quickly.
Piece of cake.
I also met with a prospective business partner.
A friend has an idea for a business and could use my help. My plan is to use that opportunity to build something useful, learn some of the skills I’ve already flagged as important, and see where it goes.
Best case, it turns into something real.
Worst case, I build something, learn a bunch, and can leverage that later.
Given that I currently have a bit of runway, I’m pretty comfortable with that trade.
Next, and this is where things really get fun, I took a bunch of old carpet and a completely destroyed mattress to the dump with my son and my dad.
You cannot imagine a better day than heading up to Spy Hill and getting rid of a pile of stuff that has been cluttering your yard.
Instant improvement.
Now my backyard only looks a little bit cluttered by an old rusting truck, discarded toilet and bathtub, a flock of seagulls, and a family or two of raccoons.
(Kidding…
just one family of raccoons.)
Still trying to sort out prescription coverage.
The Non-Group plan can take up to three months to get approved, so I’m hoping I can call tomorrow and get some clarity on whether that means April 1 or sometime closer to June.
Otherwise, things are mostly trending in the right direction.
Medications seem to be manageable.
Severance should be paid soon.
And my stuff from the old office… is apparently in a state of existence.
From what I’ve been told, everything has been boxed up. However, nobody seems to be answering messages about how those boxes, along with my foosball table and several very large plants, are actually going to make their way back to me.
I do have confirmation that people are watering the plants, which is reassuring. It wouldn’t be ideal to finally get everything back and discover that I’m now the proud owner of several large sticks.
I’m sure it’ll all work out.
One way or another.
Tonight I’m cooking my famous stir fry for the family.
Beef, chicken, pork, peas, carrots, cashews.
Still maintaining that it’s the best stir fry around.
We’ll watch the Flames take on Anaheim for their fifth straight tonight, and I’ll spend some time with my parents before they head back to the beach, which feels like a significantly better climate strategy than what I’m currently doing.
Three weeks in.
Still figuring things out.
Still learning.
Still occasionally hauling garbage to the dump for personal fulfillment.
Not a bad day.
Brett Wiens 