What’s your win for this month? No matter how big or small you think it is, I want to hear about it.
I’ve had two wins this month, namely: TestBash Home 2021 and completing the Become a 99 Minute Workshop Cohort. It’s been a busy month for me, how about you?
I taught 7 yoga classes a week for the past month, I shifted my MoT work hours about (hooray for flexible hours) and kept everything ticking over nicely. The classes are going really well, I’m thoroughly enjoying it. Day job is also going well. I’m just chuffed that I’m able to do both - I love them both. Winning!
Also, my husband has gone back to work, so I’ve adjusted to being on my own again and making sure things tick over at home still - it was so nice having him home to help with the washing, the general keeping things tidy. I struggle to focus if I know there is mess in the house, it’s just my brain. I’m getting better at letting that go, it’s going to take a while. I’m planning a big declutter of the house this weekend (very little clutter but it’s annoying me).
Another 2 great episodes of the Testing Peers released
Launched the TestSphere Roulette podcast
Enjoyed watching my team at work flourish with the new ways of working we are putting in place
Exploratory testing on our major release regression phase found defects we wouldn’t have otherwise found
Enjoyed watching the england matches with my 6 year old as he finally showed interest in football, even if England have been dire!
Presented a 90 min workshop on “the power of neurodiversity” to the wider IT teams, which created a safe space for those attending to share struggles with neurodiverse conditions both for them and their families. Am now running it again next month due to popular demand
Attended a full day D&I internal conference which empowered, motivated and inspired me in the workplace in what continues to be a tricky time for the airline industry
Finished the UK’s first Government funded Software Testing Bootcamp for those affected by the pandemic. This was the third cohort to graduate so nearly 80 diverse testers getting a start in tech
I now have a half day a week to focus purely on accessibility (very exciting)
Spoke at QABC (QA Beginners Club) about how I got into tech
Personal
I was blown away but all the shout outs during TestBash Home, especially @bethtesterleeds’s 99 second talk all about me
Loved singing my song, I’m guessing singing at TestBash Home is now my thing, maybe next year a duet with @undevelopedbruce
Had an absolute mare getting to the office, cancelled and late trains, no cars available but it was fun seeing humans and having a photo shoot with a professional. Can’t wait to see what they look like
‘Fencegate’ chap putting in our new fence did it wrong, knocked a wall down ‘by accident’, had the posts all different heights, but we are nearly there with everything just about right. Why do fences cost ££££’s anyway, I’ve started to ramble so I’ll wish you all a good morning, good afternoon, good evening and goodnight
This month has been kind of a whirlwind in the greatest way possible.
Work
Previous co-worker posted a QA job, I inquired on a Wednesday, got the job on Thursday, put in my notice to my then current employer on Monday and they graciously asked me to move on to the greener pastures immediately. Started at the new place the next week. I still can’t believe it happened so fast!
The new company I work for and the devs all believe QA is very important and are actually excited to finally have a QA role. This was huge for me as I had only known resistance towards the QA department. I finally get time the chance to implement all the things I have learned while creeping around MoT!
Personal
Planted a hydrangea bush a while ago and I thought I totally killed it, but there are new buds coming through this week! I am not good with plants yet, but I hope to be one day.
The test automation team I launched has a small set of test suites that all pass, and we have a plan for which area of the system we will automate next. The best part of this team is that we all have different strengths which we bring to the team, and those strengths help to balance out each of our growth areas. And we like each other and enjoy the work!
