It is quite possible I will remember 2011 as one of the hardest year of my life.
- We called 3 different locations home as our family moved around in an attempt to save money to buy a house. (still trying to buy)
- We went from one child to two, which I found to be exponentially harder than one.
- I survived a contract renewal, broken vehicles, sick children, and more.
- I changed to Paleo based diet which has done wonders for my family and I
- I finally passed an IT certification
Looking back, 2011 was a year of growth. Through attrition and necessity, I’ve become increasingly aware of life’s most fundamental truths.
- Life is Fragile: Life is incredibly fragile and delicate. Having children has made me acutely aware of this. We are guaranteed now and nothing more. We all live being seconds away from having our lives radically change. A phone call, a car ride, a set of tricky stairs…all our plans and diligent work can be upended, spun around and spit out…Live with the hope for the future but with purpose and sincerity for today.
- It Will Fail You: It will. Whatever that “IT” is. Money, health, logic, science, a material object, spouse, child, friend, etc. We put our hopes that these things can bring us happiness and peace. We maybe are afforded moments of peace and beauty from those things, but the bleak reality of our broken world will always war against them. And as mentioned above, all our hopes can be crushed in a second. Personally, having my hope in Jesus is the only thing I have at the end of the day. So with that in mind, while I’m here, I’m going to work to love people to the best of ability and give them a few moments of happiness and peace.
I’ve learned and observed some other items from this year.
- Some men need kids: In our day and age, there seem to be a lot more boys who can shave than actual young men. Having the responsibility to put food on the table and a roof over your family’s head is a beautiful thing. There are times I half jokingly think, “That guy needs a couple of kids in his life to become a better man”. Nothing will be beat selfishness and immaturity out of you like children.
- Growing Thicker Skin: Working as a Government contractor has been a huge blessing for my family. It has also been a huge challenge to work and adapt to the culture and work environment of the US Government. A challenge that is still very much in process
Some IT related nuggets
- To Educate or Not: This will be a big one for me in 2012. It’s a discussion I’ve started with a number of IT professionals. The question is should an IT tech pursue education and certifications or not? I’ve heard arguments from both sides. I’ve seen guys become senior architects over massive projects that have no certifications or degrees. I’ve also seen Techs with certs out the wazoo struggling to get past Tier 1 help desk and everything in between. As I look to continue to advance in my career, I’m positive this issue will present itself.
- Cloud Smoud: Do you know what it means? Probably not. The good thing very few people do or at least to agree on what it means. What’s funny is that the general public and IT professionals are equally confused and misguided. Ask a consumer about the cloud and they might bring up the Windows “to the cloud” commercials or Apple’s iCloud. Ask a tech professional and they might bring up IaaS/PaaS or Public/Private or whatever. The bottom line is there are some very cool and new(er) ways of doing IT. But in mean time, you will still here the buzz words cloud, big data, etc.
- Security: 2011 saw some pretty brazen and public security breaches. From the PlayStation network to social media sites, and everything in between, security breaches stole the headlines. Even security companies were victim to hacker groups such as Anonymous and LultzSec. Viruses and Cyber-attacks saw giant leaps in innovation and sophistication. Cyber-warfare is here.
- Stephen Jobs: I’m currently reading his biography and the dude was brilliant (but also a gigantic ass?). I’m thinking now that being borderline crazy is what it took to build a company like Apple. Apple currently has something close to 80 billion dollars on hand. That’s absurd. It will be interesting to see how Apple grows and changes over the next few years. The man left behind a legacy that most of us won’t appreciate until we’re older. He will be missed.
Bold and Unfounded 2012 predictions;
- Cyber-security: If you thought 2011 was bad, just wait for this year. The attacks of 2011 are just a precursor to what I think will happen in 2012. Techniques funded by the state will become more sophisticated and dangerous. Stubborn companies that still think “Password1” is secure will reap the reward for being so foolish. With the growing pervasiveness of social media, social engineering will become more prevalent. 2012 will make the attacks seem elementary and childish in comparison.
- Europe: The collapse of the Euro will be an unmitigated disaster.
- 2012 Elections: More hot air and BS than ever. The outcome will only contribute to rise of increased disillusionment with the political system amongst the general population.
- I might actually take a vacation this year
So I’m uneasily looking forward to 2012. There are still opportunities to be had, difficult people to love, and lessons to be learned. May 2012 afford you a few more moments of peace, grace, and joy.
Cheers,
Jeremy
