9 Things from My Summer (So Far)
Mama summer camp, Monopoly, a summer roadtrip, long bike rides, and more!
The latest Tech and Tea posts have been focused on revamping subscriber offerings, namely launching the Coaching Toolkit, and sharing about the Creating Space journaling course. So I figured it was time for a little summer life update. Here’s what’s been going on lately!
If you’re a Bay Area-based engineering leader, read to the end for a special event!
1. Year one of Mama Summer Camp is complete
A few months ago, while planning out the older kids’ summer schedule, I thought: what if I ran a week of summer camp? With a flexible schedule this year, I ran a successful week of “Mama Summer Camp!” It was a full week of bike rides, hikes, neighborhood explorations, some math and writing, a zoo visit, crafting (when you’re “saving” $500-1000 on summer camp fees, suddenly buying any and all craft supplies feels very reasonable!), and a July 4th BBQ.
Perhaps I’ll just leave you with a review from Alina (12), who said, “it sounds like a negative review, but it’s actually positive”:
“Overall, it has been pretty fun, although there has been some questionable behavior from the summer camp leader. Someone states in one incident during Monopoly, Mama said "My feet are stinky, probably sweaty from biking. Wanna smell them?"
Also, camp plans get canceled or delayed a lot, like the hike or the zoo. There is also a bald man who is not part of the camp who interrupts it a lot. And sometimes they fight. I recommend it.”
2. Nightly Monopoly was a crash course in capitalism
The kids kept asking to play Monopoly, and I don’t think they knew what they were getting themselves into. For about 9 nights straight, we played a full game each night, starting the second Baby K went down for her bedtime at 7:30.
Almost every night, there were tears, dramatic bankruptcies, someone making it rain monopoly cash, and declarations that it was a horrible game and we should never play again. Classic Monopoly.
It was a sometimes exhilarating and sometimes brutal lesson in the realities of capitalism. As for us grownups, it was also a challenging balance — do we play to win at all costs, or to maintain harmonious family dynamics?
3. I’m back on a bike!
After a week in Durango, Colorado, where I marveled at everyone’s enthusiasm for bikes and how toned their calves were (there’s even an instagram account!), I came home and found a used bike for myself.
Since then, I’ve been taking longer rides with the older kids around Berkeley and along the Bay Trail. We’re looking forward to getting Naveed on a bike too and getting a baby seat for full family bike rides.
4. I’m headed to Nationals!?
Earlier this year, I noticed myself feeling curious about the club ultimate frisbee scene. It’s something I never pursued in my 20s, but the appeal of having a team and going to tournaments always attracted me. Ultimately, I decided that joining a club team with weekly practices and social events wasn’t really what I wanted right now in my life.
But then a friend connected me to someone organizing the first-ever Bay Area Grandmasters Mixed team. We’re headed to Colorado next weekend for Nationals. I’m a little intimidated by all the players who’ve been competing for decades, but mostly excited to dive in with a new team.
5. Creating Space is live
The six-week journaling course I built with Buster Benson launched at the end of June. Every morning, I open up 750 Words to write and am dazzled by the 10+ people who have already done their Creating Space writing for the day. I love seeing the community page each day and knowing I created something that helps others create a bit more space in their lives.
The lightweight structure of the course and the sense of support and community built into 750 Words makes for a powerful combination. Buster and I will collect feedback in a few weeks, and figure out what changes we want to make to it before the next run. I’m also dreaming up variations on the course — perhaps something for moms or parents wanting to reconnect with themselves, or a course for people in career transitions. Stay tuned!
6. A summer family roadtrip, we’re doing it!
We’re renting a minivan and hitting the road for a two-week California loop, stopping at a few national parks along the way. It’ll be a mix of camping and hotel stays (ideally with pools). I’m a little nervous about the longer drive days especially with Baby K, but I’ve also just been really looking forward to a long family road trip like this for a long time, and this year felt like THE year. I want to make the most of it while the kids still want to hang out with us!
7. My Berkeley lending library lives on
The Google Sheets Berkeley Lending Library I started last year continues to see plenty of activity, at least with my own items. Our porch constantly has items coming in and going out. The most-loaned item is unexpectedly inflatable loungers.
The spreadsheet has been working fine, but lately I’ve also been thinking about what a dedicated site or app might look like.
8. Favorite summer foods
No summer update would be complete without food. A few hits from our kitchen lately:
No-bake cheesecake bites - I’ve been making lots of easy recipes for Baby K from Yummy Toddler Foods, although these cheesecake bites are for the grownups for when we want a little treat at night!
Soba noodle salad - Just One Cookbook is one of my favorite recipe sites, and I made this noodle salad dressing the other day with random fridge veggies…it was so good!
Egg bites - this is also on weekly rotation here, especially when we can get lactose-free cottage cheese. It is so good, and Baby K seems to not get sick of it either.
Yakitori skewers - these were featured in our July 4th BBQ this year! We paired it with corn on the cob with miso butter, yum!
I’m always open to easy, high-reward recipes that are on rotation at your homes if you’ve got any to share!
9. I’m starting to think about what’s next work-wise
With Karu starting school in August (!!), more space will open up in my week very soon, and I’ve felt a subtle shift in my own energy and levels of interest. I’m not rushing into anything, but I’m definitely more open to work-related conversations — consulting, coaching, or full-time opportunities. My inbox has been busier, and I’ve noticed my interest in responding has gone up too, almost like my brain is self-regulating my available space.
I’m still in a pretty exploratory space, so if you’re at an early-stage startup or thinking about engineering leadership needs at your company, I’m happy to chat informally and see how I might be helpful. My friend Jen Dennard and I are also writing regularly about startup operations over at Startup Soup.
One Last Thing!
Speaking of work and food, my friend Diana Kimball Berlin and I caught up recently about work and life.
Diana recently joined Gamma and invited me to an engineering leadership dinner she’s hosting in SF at Foreign Cinema next week. She’s also kindly letting me nominate two others to attend!
So if you’re an engineering leader who is available next Tuesday evening (7/22) in SF and want to hang out with me and Diana while eating yummy food, let me know by Friday!
That’s it for now! Wish us luck on roadtripping and camping with a 1 year-old! Let me know what you’ve been up to this summer, or just hit reply and say hi.