Hey there. I’m Dave Anderson. I worked in tech for a good 20+ years, 12+ of which were at Amazon in leadership positions. You very well might know that if you’re a subscriber, but I do like to introduce myself.

Usually, I write about big tech careers. Because that’s what I know.

But today is Christmas. I’ve spent time with family in Illinois, flown across the country, and spent time with our local family in Washington. And now my daughter is 45 minutes into trying to get ready for bed, but she’s so busy listening to her Harry Potter audiobook that she can’t seem to make progress.

I felt it was a good time to take a deep breath and comfortably stay off-topic today. Next week I’ll be back on topic with a banger. Just finished outlining that one.

Happy Holidays!

Before I briefly write my state of the newsletter update, I wanted to wish you all a happy holiday season.

I struggled with what to write that is both authentic and meaningful to me. I’m going to keep it brief because I’ve deleted a good 500 words already, for being either too pithy or too cheesy. So there aren’t many words left inside my keyboard.

I like to view the holiday time as a good reset. You (hopefully) take some time out of your normal schedule of work, family, sports, etc. Because the holidays are nothing if not disruptive.

You may visit family or sit at home alone drinking spiked eggnog.

This means it’s an excellent time to think about what matters to you and if you’re doing what you need to be doing in your life. That is a good question to ask occasionally, regardless of your present circumstances. I think it’s genuinely surprising how often we blindly keep executing on our lives without asking ourselves if there are other choices we should be making.

Maybe you can think about that while your plane is delayed for the third time.

That reset could be a good time to think about a different company or position (look at me accidentally going back on topic). Or it might be time to cut back on your spending and save a little more. Or perhaps you need to start a new exercise routine (hrm, I don’t have an article on this one to link).

My greater point is that this time of reset is a good time to take at least one baby step towards self-improvement. Something where you can look back on this in a year and say, “Nice job, past me!”

One geeky thing I have is that I have a mission statement that I check regularly to make certain it’s still current and to make sure I’m spending my time correctly. Because, of course, I have a strategy for introspection.

Those exact words were carefully chosen, because they each mean something to me (regarding my goals, behaviors, risks, etc). They certainly wouldn’t mean the same thing to you.

For a small example, I say cheerful, because in my mind, that helps me think through my personal needs, particularly as they differ from my other family members. Like my wife would be happy having 2-3 parties at our house a week, and I’d be significantly happier with my office door closed, doing some coding.

I think it’s fun to try to write one of these yourself. Maybe as part of your New Years reset. I’m sure yours would be different. It’s a good mechanism to make you think a bit.

Context Matters and a brief story

I was thinking through recently how much context around an event matters.

For an obvious example, if your finances are tight, being fired could feel like the end of the world. But if you’re stressed at work and have a large emergency fund, being fired might be a genuine relief.

A longer off-topic story.

I’m not a fan of eating fish. Most fish ranges from “meh, it’s ok” to “yuck” to my taste buds. Unless it’s deep fried cod. But that’s barely fish.

There was an older relative of mine I met with while traveling many years ago. He was a fascinating character. He knew Japanese, had written the book on spies in Sweden during WWII, and was awarded a long list of military honors.

During our home visit, he talked at times about the customs of our Norwegian and Swedish ancestors. At one point he asked if I liked pickled herring.

I don’t like the idea of pickled fish. Or herring. And cold pickled herring from a jar? That sounds frankly disgusting.

So I politely told him that I was fairly sure I had not had pickled herring before, but that situation was perfect just the way it was.

He said, “No! I will show you how to properly eat herring! You’ll see!”

So he brought me into his kitchen, and sat me down at his small table. He pulled out 5 jars of pickled herring. Mustard pickled herring. Dill pickled herring. Wine pickled herring. Onion pickled herring. And of course, plain pickled herring.

I had some deeply concerned thoughts I kept to myself, because I’m a polite boy.

He then pulled out two shot glasses, two small plates, two small forks, and a bottle of vodka. He carefully poured out two generous shots of vodka. And then he opened the first jar of mustard pickled herring, and put a piece on each of our plates.

He raised his shot glass, and I raised mine in response. He gave a lovely toast about fallen comrades and downed his shot. I did the same.

It burned, which I was familiar with, because I’d been to college.

Then he picked up his herring with his fork and ate it, motioning for me to do the same. I did. It wasn’t too bad, mixed with the burning vodka mouth.

Then he refilled our shot glasses. Gave another toast, perhaps to family members we haven’t seen in a while. Regardless of the words I don’t remember, it was touching and evoked a James Bond-style courtly skill I respect.

And we ate our herring.

I ate at least 5 pieces of herring, but my cloudy memory suggests I ate extras of the mustard and dill herring. I remember both of us laughing repeatedly.