The highlight of the day was finding out that one of my presentations had been accepted to IBM’s Technical Leadership Exchange, one of the most prestigious conferences in IBM. It’s intimidating, considering I have barely 3 months experience and the rest of the people there bring decades of expertise. It’s intimidating because some of my role models submitted abstracts that weren’t accepted. It’s intimidating, because it’s such a terrific opportunity to learn. I don’t feel anything like a technical leader, but I’ll learn as much as I can and share whatever knowledge and connections I gain.

My work is going well too. I really appreciate hearing the feedback from my clients, and I’m glad to see that the guide I wrote is becoming a useful resource for them. I have two new engagements coming up next week. I’m starting to get a sense of the value I can contribute. I’m starting to see how I can fit.

I am making slow but steady progress in my book. I edited another 10 pages, bringing me up to 20 out of 47 in the previous chapter, reorganizing, formatting, fixing the little typos that somehow slipped out. It’s slow going, but essential work. I wonder if I can outsource it.

All in a day’s work.

This weekend: more writing, more editing, more catching up with friends. I’m looking forward to framing the family portraits my mom sent me, and maybe I’ll pick up a couple of picture frames from IKEA. I’ve got a number of talks coming up, which means I need to start writing the material for them.

This morning started out a bit gray, but I’m learning that I can keep working through it.