Adventure 39/50 : So this one time, at WordCamp...

I had been feeling stuck and like I wasn’t learning anything. But I also realized that *I* needed to take control of my own growth. So I made a list of things I wanted to learn / get better at / do more of. One of the things was to learn something about WordPress.

I've been blogging for more than ten years. I remember trying to choose between WordPress and Blogger, and chose Blogger. Why? Because it felt like Google was the better partner. Oops.

Now, to be clear, I haven't had any trouble with Blogger. Do I wish there was an official mobile app? Yes, but I didn't use it much when there was one.

But I know that WordPress has grown and grown. And when I wanted to build my won site, I decided to try using WordPress. And then I got stuck, and didn't touch it again.

After identifying WordPress as "something to learn", I started looking for resources. I'm too shy to drop into a meetup, frankly, but heard about "WordCamp" --  a mini conference, organized by volunteers, that are all about WordPress. And as luck would have it, Seattle was hosting theirs less than two months later. For $50 for the two-day event, I figured there wasn't much to lose.

I didn't really know what to expect, but the event felt professionally run and well organized. The quality of the speakers varied from session to session, but I've experienced that at much bigger events and conferences.

One speaker I especially liked was Nathan Ingram, who's talk "Dealing with Problem Clients: Fencing in the Friendly Monsters" included great strategies to manage client relationships -- which are also relevant to other workplace relationships, too.

On the morning of the second day I realized that I was really happy that I had come to WordCamp for a few reasons.

One, it made my introverted self proud that I had been "brave" for going. Now, I didn't network much, if at all. But I still decided I wanted to learn something, found an opportunity to do so, and actually WENT.

Two, I did learn some things. Not necessarily about WordPress, but some useful strategies and some interesting information.

Three, and perhaps the best thing, was that I made the time to sit and think and write and plan. I don't do enough of that, so it was really useful to make lists of things, and put some thought into plans for 2020. So I used the time between the sessions as well.

It might be time to move this blog from Blogger to WordPress ... though just typing that makes me feel anxious. But at least now I have a better picture of how to do so.

A belated introduction

Wil and I have been blogging for a several years now … since October 30, 2007 to be exact. In that first post… entitled, oh so creatively, "My First Post", I introduced myself, starting the post with "I have never been a runner."

Well, it's nearly seven years later and I'm happy to say that I am a runner… and I have been for seven years.

To be honest, I've been a runner for longer than that -- I raced a triathlon in the summer of 2007, so I clearly ran to train for that… I just didn't blog about it. And I didn't consider myself a runner.

But I *am* a runner… and a writer, and a traveler, and a crafter. (Yes! I'm crafty!!!) And that's why, all these years later, I still blog. I mainly write about my running -- especially after races. But I also sometimes write about our other adventures -- like our recent trip to Peru to trek the Inca Trail.

So, why introduce myself now? As with my running, sometimes I need a little external motivation. If you look back over my posts (or, indeed, my mileage counts!), you'll see that sometimes I have a lot to talk about, and sometimes apparently not. That said, I think I often have things I'd like to talk about, but I don't make the time.

I decided to join a blogging challenge -- Blogging 101 -- to get me blogging more regularly. And today's challenge was to "Introduce Yourself".

It made me realize that it's been a while since I introduced myself… a lot has obviously changed since that first post in 2007!

So. I'm Sunny -- the chattier half of Team Wil-Sun. Wil's my better half. In November we'll have been married 9 years… and I still maintain that we have the best "origin story" of any couple we've ever met. If you ever meet us, we'll be happy to spend an hour or so telling you all about it. :)

We started blogging so that we could keep track of our running progress -- keep ourselves inspired and honest. It also gave us a way to share our journey for our first real running goal: to run a marathon.

The happy, surprise side-effect was that I LOVE going back and reading over old entries -- to see just how far we've come. It's really inspiring to re-read early training reports, and race reports. And I still get a little weepy when I re-read the race report from our first marathon.

Another nice side effect was that we inspired a few friends to run. Hopefully not in a "holy crap, if THEY can do it, anyone can do it!" sort of way. And that's made me incredibly proud. So maybe, if I keep blogging, we'll inspire even more people to run. Even if that's only ourselves. :)

Team Wil-Sun at Machu Picchu, June 2014