tldr-and-coffee

[tldr-and-coffee]

two: website

tl;dr: if you want to start something, just do it. it doesn’t have to be perfect. everything is a work in progress.

coffee: peppermint tea (i know, i know, not coffee)

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It took me four years, and countless tries, to stand up my personal website.

I first got the idea back September 2012 when everyone was creating websites. It was the hip thing to do.

I obsessed about the details, the formatting, the CSS and Javascript. I wanted everything to fade just right, but I couldn’t format div’s properly. It was like playing whack-a-mole: I’d fix one thing, and another would be upended. I wanted everything to be pixel perfect.

Over the years, I accepted that maybe web development wasn’t my jam. That whacking moles, and starting something but never launching it, was driving me mad. That maybe I wasn’t a web developer at heart.

Little by little, I picked up tips from friends: MK taught me about Font Awesome; JW introduced me to Tachyons (a CSS toolkit, that I probably still underutilize to this day, but I avoided writing an entire responsive library into my website from scratch); JH convinced me to purchase a domain (which I then had to configure the routing for).

I’m glad I made that first commit onto Github pages. It only took me four years to commit something.

I’m glad that three and a half years later, I’m still committing (changes, that is).

My website has become something I’m really proud of, and has grown slowly and steadily over the years, only when the need arises. It’s not fancy. It’s not beautiful. But it’s functional, delivers the information I want it to, and is a sandbox that I feel comfortable playing in often.

And, I have multiple pages!

Reflecting back on this website journey, my biggest takeaway and lesson learned is to just start.

Read the first page of that book before aiming for the next 299. Run the first mile before the next nine. Make the first commit. Answer the first question before trying to answer them all.

Learn quickly, and solve real problems before over-engineering for a problem that doesn’t exist or one you’re predicting. That gets complicated.

Until next time,

–M

[tldr-and-coffee]

one: hello world

tl;dr: i’m a verbal processor, writing is an outlet. this is my commitment to a public space for working through my thoughts and wrestling with important issues, backed by data.

coffee: melan rostat kaffe by ikea, pourover

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I’m a verbal processor. When I can’t work through problems and thoughts by chatting with friends and colleagues, writing is a close second outlet.

I’ve been more active on Twitter lately, but the 280-character-capped format doesn’t lend itself well to thoughts that need more space.

So, here we are!

This space is to work through things – data explorations, social justice issues, city cycling analysis and advocacy, and more.

The format

tl;dr – a “too long, don’t read” at the top that summarizes the blog

coffee – what coffee I’m drinking while writing

Why Tumblr? I’ve been using Tumblr for another blog, and have really been liking the format and flexibility. The mobile app is also great.

Why blog? Writing is an important skill. Storytelling is even more important. The ability to tell stories, and communicate data in a succinct and digestible way, is critical for success and making change in today’s complex, information rich world. Storytelling is the difference between boring reports, however important, versus being empowered by data and information to start conversations about race, sex, the gender pay gap, motherhood, the environment and how we change it, and so much more.

Until next time,

–M