Well, here we are at the end of another year, and with all the hype around ChatGPT, I thought I’d let it do the introductions
“As the year comes to a close, it’s natural to reflect on the events and experiences that have shaped our lives. This year has been unlike any other, with its challenges and unexpected twists and turns. But through it all, we have persevered and found ways to adapt and move forward. As we look back on the past year, it’s important to take stock of our accomplishments, learn from our mistakes, and set goals for the future. Let’s take a moment to review the highlights and lowlights of the past year and look forward to what’s to come.”
ChatGPT – AI-Generated End of Year Review Message
> Work
So this year, semi-post covid has meant that people are starting to fly again! this meant that I could finally fly out to the Intercept head office in Zwolle and catch up with all the dutch colleagues in person! I think the total travel time this year was 5 trips and it’s been amazing. I’ve been able to see some new places, meet some customers face to face, eat a lot of amazing food and of course, meet some amazing people at the offices.
> In March;
Gregor Suttie and I flew out to do a reckie of the offices and places to eat and see before the Intercept Summer Party
> In June:
we had the summer “Inteceptival” which is amazing, with some questionable team-building games, some amazing food and a brilliant
after-party in the streets of Zwolle, If you’re curious to see what happened, Check out the highlights video below.
> In September;
I got the opportunity to fly out again to catch up with a new team member, who was just joining us from Spain.
> In October;
TeamFornite, a group of friends from within Intercept, who regularly play games together got together, created a plan to visit
DisneyLandParis for 4 Days, Which was amazing fun! If your wanting to see a couple of memories from the trip check the Flickr
album [#DisneyLandParis Album]
> In December;
We finally got to the Wintercept Event, The “Intercept Christmas Party” which was great fun, hosted within the car park of the office,
there were games, food, lots and lots of beer and even some brewed by Intercept! and of course, the Christmas Gift Hamper!
> Certifications
This year is all about Azure and the Cloud and I’ve managed to get two more certs completed and a host of renewals done.
But primarily I managed to score the Az104 (Microsoft Azure Administrator) in January and Az500 (Microsoft Azure Security Technologies) just before the summer in June, then started on the Az305 (Designing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions) Study which has now been pushed back to Q1 of 2023.
> Community
Where to start, it’s been a crazy year community-wise with lots of going on! I think some of the highlights of the year for 2022 would be the South Coast Summit in October, being able to catch up with some amazing twitter people, a short shoutout list (in no specific order);
Will Rowe – MSFTRecruit and WeAreMSTalent
Scott McCormick – scottwmcc
Simon Allison – __Sigo__
Chris Wright – ChrisWAzure
Michael Durkan – durkanm
John Kilmister – johnkilmister
Then finally for December, I was able to help this year with the Festive Tech Calendar (https://festivetechcalendar.com/). Which is the brainchild of Gregor Suttie and Richard Hooper, Which gives another platform for the CloudFamily and Twitter community to present. For this year we had over 160 Speakers submit content and 145 sessions which were accepted and then uploaded to the Festive Tech Calendar YouTube
> Personal Update
So, you might have noticed this year, this is the only post I’ve well… posted this year, I think partly this was due to the change in the role and breaking out into the Azure Cloud, Which has been awesome and learning the new role and then Ins and Outs of Intercept life. I’ve also had a couple of bouts of the old “imposter syndrome” for writing any content around Azure, Which I’m hoping to overcome in 2023 with the support of some amazing community friends and attempt to Blog more of what I’ve learnt and the concepts around moving from an “On-Premise career” into the Cloud and what you can do to get started, Having floated this idea to a couple of friends, they think its an ideal topic so watch this space!
> Wrap Up
Well people, that’s it, the Year is over, I’ve completed 1 post this year 🥳. But have many plans for 2023, More exams, workshops and another go at some public/user group speaking. but for now, I’ll catch you on Twitter and LinkedIn.
If you’re not already following me, check out the linktree
