Winter Solstice occurred yesterday at 6:38pm EST, December 21st, 2010. The days will now be getting longer in the Northern Hemisphere, and it is the natural marker for the closing chapters in life and new beginnings. As such, I feel like it is a good time to reflect on what has occurred over the past year and announce what I have in store for the following year.
2010 has been an amazing year! I’ve ridden horseback around the Great Pyramids in the middle of the night, full moon in the sky. I’ve visited the World Expo in Shanghai and watched a Sichuan opera on Jinli Street while eating strange food. I’ve crisscrossed the United States, capturing memories of many wonderful sights along the way. Most importantly, I’ve made many friends around the world. Memories may fade, but those friendships will last a lifetime.
I had many adventures due to my speaking arrangements. The polished version of C# Ninjitsu was finally given at Cairo Code Camp, where I introduced new design principles for a language that is becoming more functional. At the IEEE International Conference for Computer Science and Information Technology, I gave my presentation on Monadic Comprehensions and Functional Composition with Query Expressions. Later in the year, I put together demos of obscure knowledge and toured Secrets of a .NET Ninja through several southern states. Among all these adventures, I ran a user group, wrote articles, and spoke at user groups and code camps throughout the United States.
Looking back at 2010, it’s hard to believe I accomplished all I did while working as a full time software architect. I have my employer, South Carolina Farm Bureau Insurance, to thank for allowing me some flexibility in my work schedule so I could make it on location in time for the events. The company and its leadership have been very good to me.
Therefore, it’s with sadness that I announce I will be leaving South Carolina Farm Bureau Insurance at the end of the calendar year. During my time at the company, I’ve learned a great deal about the insurance industry and made many good friends. I wish everyone success on our projects we’ve worked so hard to create.
Beginning January 3rd, 2011, I will began a new phase in my life.
At PDC 2009, I approached Telerik about sponsorship for my speaking engagements. My choice was based upon Telerik’s quality suite of components and tools for developers and their community involvement. I became one of the first independent speakers that Telerik began sponsoring at community events. Since that time I’ve come to know several members of the Telerik team well, and my respect for Telerik as an organization has only grown. This was the catalyst for my next piece of news.
I am proud to announce that I will be joining Telerik as a developer evangelist! Personally, this feels like a natural fit, and I can’t wait to get started in my official role.
To get an idea for what this means to me, imagine you’re a mechanic working in a shop. You’ve worked on cars your whole life, and you’re really good at what you do and enjoy it. Recently though, you’ve decided to take those skills and build a race car. Each weekend, you take your car to various amateur races. Eventually, you get good enough to get into a few larger races, and then your favorite parts vendor asks you to race for them. Your racing hobby is now your job. There is a lot more to it than the simple days of being a weekend warrior, but it doesn’t even seem like work because racing, and all the its components, are what you do for fun.
If you’re a reader of this blog, you may be wondering if my blog and activities will be affected by Telerik. It means I will deliver more content, screencasts, and speaking engagements! Yes, I will blog about Telerik products from time to time as I blog about what I’m working on, but I will deliver straight-edge coding content on a more regular basis as well. It’s basically a win for anyone who subscribes to this blog.
In 2011, I am making a career change from software development/architecture to developer evangelism. This is an exciting phase in my life, and I thank you all for being part of it. Be sure to say hi at the next event.
Happy holidays!