Well, I’m finally at the bottom of the ride. I came home from our meetup on Sunday afternoon and promptly crashed for several hours of much-needed sleep. Thankfully I had the foresight to take a couple days off to recover. Monday was spent in a time-zone-befuddled daze, and yesterday was spent in Bangor for appointments.
…okay, maybe I’m not entirely at the bottom of the ride, but I’m getting there.
Most of the meetup itself was spent planning and thinking and brainstorming, which explains the relative lack of pictures this trip. Sticky notes lose their visual appeal after one or two photos.
Up at 3:30 am to catch my flight. Joy.
Ocean views
Workin’
More workin’
End-of-work cupcakes!
Yummy ramen
Hello, San Diego
It’s windy on this boat.
LaJolla coastline
A little time with family
Seals!
When in San Diego with five hours to spare…go to the zoo!
Gorillas
Pretty fly for a pink guy
Owens Aviary
The kids struggled with my absence more than usual, and I’m feeling the sharp divide between work and motherhood. Pulled in multiple directions, it’s hard to know if I’m doing enough on either front. But it was good to spend time getting to know my team, and I enjoyed working against the backdrop of ocean air and spring sun.
I met up with my aunt and cousins for lunch on my last day, and a late flight out afforded me the chance to have some alone time in the city. I wandered around the San Diego Zoo, taking pictures of the animals so I could share them with the kids.
All in all, a successful meetup, but I’m glad to be home!
For those counting, this is my third trip to the most beautiful state in the country. But as lovely as it is, this was a work trip; there was only one dip in the pool, one brief trip to the beach, and a tiny bit of sightseeing. The rest of the time I was head-down with my group, learning the ins and outs of Gutenberg and working on a new theme.
This is what I left behind, for your reference.
I found a KP at SFO!
Bedfellows
The view’s alright.
Theam weasels!
Someone was interested in the remote work lifestyle.
Early morning walk, cute flower.
So many delicious breakfasts.
No filter necessary.
Sunset game on point.
Thai beef salad at TK Noodle House.
Team bonding over Thai.
Delicious plum liquor.
Sushiiiiiii
Breakfast.
When life gives you ugly lemons, give them away.
Farmer’s market papaya
Pineapple country.
Ahem.
Obligatory beach selfie.
Theam in the water.
The life, I am living it.
Dipping the toes in.
Partial Theam portrait by Jeff.
A day out at the markets. (Photo by Jeff)
Cheers! (Photo by Jeff)
Dinner under a canopy of flowers.
Richard’s amazing Banyan tree
Time to say goodbye.
Hot tub Theam machine. (Photo by Allan)
The view and the company made up for the lack of time spent in the wild, though. I don’t use the word lightly when I say I’m blessed to have these opportunities. Thanks for a memorable week, Hawaii!
What a week! Last week, my team met in Montréal to work on projects and planning.
Gwen and Ellie sent friends to keep me company <3
Puces Pop!
A Shirley Temple for the DD (that’s me)
Since it’s fairly close, I rented a minivan and drove the 7+ hours to Montréal. My first meetup road trip! Huzzah! After a brief and unexpected pit stop at the border for some paperwork (harrowing but successful), I was off. There was a lot of Tim Hortons coffee and a Stephen King audiobook involved, and I spent a fair amount of time arguing with Google Maps.
Workin’
I kinda forgot to take a pic before I dove into this poor cupcake.
“Spicy” lemonade, as my kids would say.
Themers with a cupcake!
Blergh
Montreal at night
We stayed at a cute boutique hotel downtown, where we could walk to most places. When we couldn’t walk, I also drove the group around, which was an experience. I managed to shatter the right-hand rearview mirror on a narrow detour at night, but I also parallel parked almost perfectly one time, so I figure I broke even (pun intended).
Ceramics time!
The frothiest, yummiest iced coffee ever with my cupcake.
Fully painted; the colors darken significantly in the kiln
Ready for firing!
The team and friends!
POUTINE
The finished product! So pleased. 😀
I spent most of my work talking with my teammates in 1-1’s and feedback sessions. We also found out that there are some major changes happening in our division — namely, the dissolution of our division! Thankfully our team is still together, but the announcement gave me pause. I’m also stepping down as team lead when I come back from my leave; it’s bittersweet. I’m still struggling with pre-sabbatical FOMO and anxiety, but I’m sure that will resolve itself as I find other things to occupy my time.
Jean-Talon Market
72% dark chocolate ice cream
Authentic dining at Mikado
So much sushi. We powered through it.
We had a lot of fun in the city, though, braving the cold and rainy weather to go out to eat and activities. There was a storytelling show, a lively ceramics painting session, a tour of the local marketplaces, a craft fair, and a fun group game of Codenames to top off the week.
When in Rome…eat Tim Hortons.
Oops.
I enjoyed a Canadian delicacy on my way home.
The trip home was “eventful”. At one point I was stopped at the Quebec/New Brunswick border for a random police check and asked if I had any alcohol, tobacco, or dead bodies in the vehicle. I’m still not sure if he was being serious about that last one…
I also came thisclose to running out of gas in an area with no cell reception and few gas stations; that was exciting, but I made it with 4 miles to spare. Rural NB is no joke!
I’m glad I got to see most of my team one more time before I leave for the majority of the summer. I have no idea what I’ll come back to, but I know it will be positive. Thanks for a great meetup, team!
Theme Team in Barcelona’s Park Guell. Photo by Tammie Lister.
The day after the U.S. election, I flew to Barcelona for a team meetup. It was a bittersweet trip; on one hand, I was happy to have the distraction of travel, for the opportunity to escape to a foreign city and immerse myself in something that wasn’t U.S. politics.
On the other, I wanted to be with my family. I wanted to go home, curl up under a blanket and hide.
The election results were a frequent topic of conversation throughout the meetup, but we didn’t let it completely overshadow our fun. Besides, the trip itself threw its own interesting obstacles our way; lost (then found) wallets, viruses, a stolen laptop bag, and only one fluent Spanish speaker in the group, which made for some unique exchanges.
Hotel Praktik Bakery
Casa Sera, our home away from home for the week.
View from my room.
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a…oh, right, it’s a bird.
Meetup snax.
The obligatory “We really do work on these trips” picture.
Local color
Wavy building
Barcelona’s architecture brings its A-game.
Tiles
Tasty pizza
Catalonia Sq.
Catalonia Sq. at night
Casa Gaudi
La Sagrada Familia
Cathedral windows lit by the sun.
I could get into church if it involved this many rainbows.
Ceiling or alien spaceship? You decide.
Gaudi was a busy guy.
View from the Nativity Tower.
Park views.
Park Guell
Walking in the park.
Blooms.
The tile mosaics in Park Guell are my favorite thing.
Views of Barcelona from Park Guell.
The cool kids.
So much color!
Park Guell.
Gaudi knows how to dress up a ceiling.
Gothic Quarter
Arcoiris
Shop window.
Gothic Quarter
Undecided lobster.
It wasn’t an easy trip, but as always, the people and the city made it worthwhile. Until next time, Theam!
Theme Team bringing the drama. Photo by Tammie Lister.
We made this trip last year with a minimum of fuss, and once again, it went off without a hitch. I think we might be getting the hang of this traveling-with-kids thing, or maybe we’re just lucky. iPads and a portable DVD player for the win! We took our time on the drive down, leaving early in the morning. Someone (cough ELLIE cough) was awake at 5 a.m., so we had a head start.
After crossing into Massachusetts, we stopped for dinner with long-time friends Sarah and Tim and their kids, which gave Ellie and Gwen a chance to run around and play with Toys That Are Not Theirs And Are Therefore Fascinating.
I’ll admit, I came home feeling pretty bummed that we don’t hang out with most of our friends on a regular basis. Like I said in my previous post, we only see each other once or twice a year, and I miss them! I love Maine, and I even love living in the country, but my friends and family in the south make a strong case for migration.
Fuddrucker’s with the Donahue / Paterson clan.
Running in the Seaport park.
My brother and his fiancée let us take over their apartment for the weekend. We didn’t get as much time with them as I would have liked because they were away that weekend, too, but we’ll get plenty of face time at their wedding in October (!)
Sunday meant Comic Con! It was my first con. The kids were excited at the numerous costumes (“Pikachu! Mulder! Scully! Wonder Woman! Batman!”), and they met one of the artists who works on the My Little Pony comics. We let them pick out a couple prints of favorite cartoon characters for their room.
But I had other priorities; I was there to meet Gillian Anderson, which meant standing in long-ass lines while Tim went exploring with the kids. Next time we do a con, I’ll plan to stay at least two days to soak it all in.
I am such a dork. I love it. And my kid has been blessed by Mother Gillian.
I paid for an autograph and a photo op, because why not? I have no regrets, but I think I’ll skip the celebrity extras next time (unless David Duchovny is also there, in which case, gimme). Meeting her at Streetcar was more intimate, less rushed, and she seemed more relaxed. It was still a cool experience, though, and Ellie was thrilled to join me for a photo with “Scully”. Ellie told her the X-Files was one of her favorite shows, which was cute, and GA asked, “Doesn’t it scare you???” Ellie shook her head, of course, and then we posed for the picture.
Gillian’s Q & A panel was amusing. She was feeling pretty snarky, apparently, and gave the moderator hell. She swore, apologized for swearing, and then kept swearing anyway. She talked a bit about being a mom, having “mom guilt”, balancing work life and parenthood — all things I can identify with. She recounted some fun moments from filming The X-Files last summer. It was neat to finally be in the live audience instead of watching from a shaky iPhone video on Tumblr.
The highlight of my Comic Con experience.
OMG JUST LOOK AT HER RADIANCE.
My signed print got a booboo. :-/
Fixed it, sorta. The print coating rubbed off, and it will probably never see life outside that frame.
After the fangirling, I went looking for my friend and former high-school roommate Sheryl, of Noadi’s Art fame. She is a ridiculously talented sculptor and painter, and you can see how much effort she’s put into building her business. I’m commissioning a Scully painting from her “kickass women” series whenever she’s available.
We headed home because the kids were getting grumpy and it was hot and my signed print got a spot, which soured my mood for the afternoon. Dinner at West on Centre cheered me up a bit, though, as did laying like a beached whale in an air-conditioned bedroom for several hours.
The next day, we went to Assembly Square and Legoland. We were able to get our tickets for cheap online, and the facility wasn’t crowded, so they let us in early. The kids played, tried the rides, and took the “Master Builder” class. It was blissfully cool and relatively quiet, which was a nice change from the swarm of people at the con.
Hey, Boston!
Pre-Legoland lunch at Earl’s Kitchen.
Big man, tiny chair, don’t care.
LEGO my kids!
Bunker Hill Memorial bridge, LEGO version.
He looks pretty good holding a baby, huh?
We also visited with our friend Amanda and her new baby boy. Tim and I are out of the baby-making game, but there’s nothing like holding someone else’s adorable four-month-old to get my ovaries all whiny and mopey. Sorry, ovaries, you’re out of luck.
Amanda and her S.O. co-run a new restaurant, so we had tasty pizza for dinner. If you’re in the Malden area and need a bite to eat, try Sillari’s Pizza. We over-ordered and took home a leftover cheese pizza, which was promptly devoured by the adults for breakfast the next morning.
After one more night in Boston, we headed northward, promising the kids a stop at Target to get the LEGO sets we couldn’t find at Legoland. When we finally got home and staggered from our tiny car like road-weary zombies, we were coerced by small children into building said LEGO sets until our fingers were sore and our eyes were red. Not a terrible way to end a long weekend, right?
We’ve had a jam-packed few weeks! I’ve been on vacation since the beginning of August, and have spent much of that time outside with the kids, playing Pokémon Go and supervising at the lake or the park. In the past I planned activities and set goals (because vacations are all about goal-setting, duh), but this year I’m winging it. I haven’t done much creating, although I’ve taken many photos while out and about.
We just returned from a few days in Boston, where we managed to fit in all sorts of fun, visiting with friends, hanging out at Comic Con, and setting the kids loose on Legoland. The whole trip left me feeling a bit nostalgic and melancholy, even though we had fun; there are so many people I only see for a few hours each year, and I miss them!
I’ll write more about everything once things settle down; in the meantime, here’s a sneak-peek of our adventures:
Vancouver was the filming location for the first five seasons of The X-Files, the second movie, and the latest season. I had a late flight out on Sunday, so I wanted to spend some time getting to know the city as an X-Phile.
I relied on moviemaps.org, and pinned locations that were within walking distance of our hotel. On our last day, Tammie, Thomas, and I walked around the city, and occasionally stopped so Tammie could take dorky photos of me standing in front of various X-Files filming locations.
Orpheum Theater from Young at Heart
Vancouver Art Gallery from multiple episodes, including Conduit and Young at Heart
Christ Church Cathedral (foreground) was under construction, used in Conduit
Channeling Sad!Mulder in front of a picture of Christ Church Cathedral
Scully’s apartment exterior from Squeeze
Channeling my inner Scully – “Mulder, it’s me.”
Alleyway from Founder’s Mutation
Sidewalk from opening scene of My Struggle
Not on the list was the Vancouver Aquarium (used in Fearful Symmetry), which we passed during a tour of Stanley park, and Brix & Mortar restaurant, which was one of our group dinners. I couldn’t figure out which episode it had been used in, though.
Cates Park was the only location that was significantly out of our way, so we hailed a taxi from Gastown, and I paid a cab driver named William (!!!) an inordinate amount of money to haul us there, keep the meter running, and take us back to the city. The things I do for fandom.
Tammie made me make faces. I think this was supposed to be skeptical.
I am not entirely sure what I was doing here.
Arch Alley from Home Again
Ovaltine Cafe from Jose Chung’s “From Outer Space”
It was really fucking cold.
Two very tolerant colleagues in the rain at Cates Park.
Log at Cates Park from Home Again
By this time, it was pouring rain — not cute, drizzly Vancouver rain, but pissed-off, stormy, blustering rain — and we got soaked during the scant five minutes we spent at the beach, all for a shot of the iconic log from Home Again.
Tammie and Thomas have my eternal gratitude for accompanying me on this spiritual journey of sorts. I can tell they were also moved by my unending devotion to this godforsaken show:
“Caroline, we hate you.” – Actual quote from my teammates as we stood in the pouring rain. I don’t think they meant it.
Theme Team! Back row: Me, Thomas, Ola, Allan, Ernesto. Front row: Richard, David, Kathryn, Laurel, and Jeff. Photo by Tammie, who should also be in this picture.
I spent a fun and productive week with my team in Vancouver, BC last week!
Orpheum Theater
Complimentary signpost
Even the busses in Canada are apologetic!
Purebread bakery
Cherry blossoms!
Cute train stop park
My first impression of the city was that it smelled nice, unlike most cities, which either smell like pee or exhaust fumes or both. It also had the cleanest train system I’ve ever encountered. Well done, Vancouver.
Taking advantage of the nice weather
Stanley Park Seawall
Totems at Stanley Park
…but they actually weren’t?
Colorful Chinatown
Chinatown market
Everyone talks about the rain, but it wasn’t as soggy as I expected (except for the last day, but that’s a different story). It was either cloudy, misty, or lightly raining. Occasionally we’d catch a hint of sun, which was a nice surprise.
Coworking at HiVE Vancouver
Discussing components and probably splitting hairs
Generators generating a generator
For an all-digital company, we appreciated this whiteboard until it knocked my laptop on the floor.
My team kicked butt on our project, a new iteration of Components. We worked on the first version as a squad in Lisbon, and similar to Lisbon, we broke into groups to tackle different parts. The idea is to bring everything together to create a starter theme generator that includes custom-built user-selected components as well as common theme types.
Granville Island giants
Dragonspace
Street art
Big spinny arty thingy
Vancouver Art Gallery
My drink came in a take-out box.
Our waitress at Brix & Mortar was The Best.
When we weren’t working, we saw some of Vancouver’s many sights. We toured the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park, saw the Mashup exhibit at Vancouver Art Gallery, grabbed lunch and did some shopping on Granville Island, and walked around Stanley Park.
Totems at Capilano Suspension Bridge Park
The bridge
Out and about in my usual work attire; sweatshirt, t-shirt, yoga pants, sneakers.
It’s hard to convey the scope of the landscape as seen from the bridge, but those tiny dots are people
Poor tree
Rainforest floor
No one lost their phone over the side
Treetop explorations
More bridges
KP and Ola being as Canadian as possible
Hanging out over a 300-foot drop. Me, Richard, Thomas, Allan, and DK.
Cliffwalk
Cliff details
Waterfall
Watching everyone come together to collaborate inspired some serious proud Theme Mama feels. These people are amazing, and I’m honored to work with them every day.
Wrapping up my last major travel event of the year with a trip to Lisbon, Portugal, to spend a week with my squad.
The only way to fly…
So much color!
Cutest espresso
Textures
So many stairs
Sun in the sidewalk
The groups’ project turned out amazing; it’s not quite ready to be made public, but for now I’ll say I’m super excited about it and proud of everyone for pulling it off in four short days.
Love $
What lies beneath
Drogaria Alves Almeida
Delicious tomato soup at The Food Temple
Workin’
View from the Santa Justa lift
Lisbon itself was a treat. The warm, sunny weather was a relief from Maine’s gray November cold, and the people were gracious and patient with us non-native speakers. I was shocked at how inexpensive things were compared to other city-based meetups we’ve done. Amazing food and lots to see, and we came in well under budget.
Theme Wranglers in Lisbon
View from the Santa Justa lift
King José I
Rainbow over Lisbon
Arco da Rua Augusta
We had two days to explore, and we didn’t cover even an eighth of what was there; to say it was a busy week was an understatement. We did get to see a beautiful view of the city from the top of the Santa Justa lift, and the gardens and architecture at the Jerónimos Monastery.
Weird bathroom?
Cute restaurant at LX Factory
Flying bike bookshop
Selfie with Jerónimos Monastery
Jerónimos Monastery
Oh, and Sarah dyed my hair!
It’s purple!
Oh, and Sarah helped me put a purple streak in my hair! You never know what trouble fun Automatticians will get up to when they get together.
I had a great time, but it’s good to be home, knowing there’s no travel in my immediate future. Three months in a row was tough for this homebody.
Something magical happens when this company gets together. It reminds me of summer camp; you come away from it having changed, but it’s difficult to describe the experience to others. Suffice it to say, I work with some wonderfully smart, talented, and fun people.
Most of all, I love that I can be myself at Automattic. I’ve thrived over the last three years, thanks to an environment in which I feel safe to take risks and tackle challenges, knowing I’m supported by my team and my lead.
I was sad to leave, but I do so with many new ideas and forged connections. It felt like a week with friends, particularly the time spent with my team. My brain is full, my body is exhausted, but part of me has been rejuvenated. I’m ready to see what the next year has in store.
