Farewell AWS

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Farewell AWS

Wow. I really didn’t expect my post about being fired from AWS to get as much traction as it did, but verklempt doesn’t even begin to describe my feelings. The outpouring of support on LinkedIn was humbling, and the fact someone posted it on Hacker News and that it hit number one, however briefly, allowed me to check off a bucket list item. I don’t have a screenshot of that but I do have the email from my hosting provider warning me about a spike in traffic. (grin)

I didn’t even really want to write that post, but my mild OCD wouldn’t let me skip it since I did a two year and a three year anniversary post. Gotta be consistent.

This post I did want to write as I want to send a public “thank you” to many of the people I met and worked with during my four years at Amazon. I am certain to miss people on this list, and for that I want to apologize in advance. As you can imagine this past week has been a bit crazy, but I wanted to get this out on my last day.

The thumbnail picture for this was taken in the Spheres of the happiest orchid on the planet.

I’m not getting through this dry-eyed, so tissues are in hand (and yes, I realize what I wrote, there).

Spot Callaway: After being acquainted for nearly two decades, it was wonderful to move from that relationship to friendship over these last four years. You are an amazing human being, and I wonder what my last year at AWS would have been like had you been promoted to replace David Nalley as our manager. The fact that you aren’t at least Sr. Principal is a travesty, as they don’t know how lucky they are to have you. We live a bit farther apart than we used to, but I hope to see you in person as frequently as possible in the future.

Rich Bowen: There have been many times that I’ve wished I were you. You are the most centered person I’ve ever met. Nothing seems to make you mad, and in four years I can’t remember ever seeing you angry. It’s like you in a rage equates to me being mildly peeved. You do great work without it ever negatively impacting your mood or health, and as a lapsed Taoist I can do nothing but admire your attitude. So happy to have met you through this job.

Libby Clark: I was always a bit jealous that you got to join our team a couple of weeks before I did. This meant you got to go to Spain, but then you also had a ringside seat to the “tuna burger incident”. You were an solid manager and will make a wonderful strategist. Promoting you this year was one thing AWS got right.

Ashley Bonikowsky (Sametz): Oh wow, what can I say? It was so cool to meet someone who was both comfortable in tech but also had a keen interest in law enforcement, and my main regret is that you left before I had a chance to know you better. You did name by dog, Atlas, so you will always be in my thoughts.

David Nalley: You got me into this mess, and for that I’ll be forever grateful. I learned so much from you at a time in my life when I thought I might be past learning. You made me think critically about things in new ways. You made me a better person. Not to say OSSM got worse when we started to grow (that is demonstrably false), but when it was just the six of us, I felt so comfortable, and we were so determined to change the world, that I was certain we could.

Leah Bibbo: I don’t think we’ve said more than a couple of sentences to each other in person, so you may be wondering why are you on this list. When our team reported to you, I learned so much about marketing. As a tech person, there is a tendency to view marketing as simply making pretty logos or nifty catch phrases. You taught me that marketing is messaging, and messaging literally defines a company’s identity. I will use those lessons for the rest of my professional life.

Sirish Chandrasekaren: Now that I no longer work with you, I can admit that you are kind of scary (grin). Rarely have I seen anyone more focused than you, and you were a role model to me on what it meant to be an Amazonian. You demanded the best out of the people you worked with and demanded the best of yourself. You were the main reason that even when times got tough at AWS I never forgot my professionalism and my dedication to helping customers, and I thank you for that.

Megan Knight: It was always cool to have you be “OSSM adjacent” and I was so excited when you formally joined our team … and then you left (grin). As I expected, you have been incredible in your current role, and I am always amazed at the energy you bring to every endeavor. While I haven’t seen you in person in ages, expect me to text every time I’m at O’Hare.

Kyle Davis: When I met you at FOSS Backstage, you were the only AWS presenter who didn’t work in OSSM. Glad we fixed that. Your work on Valkey has been an inspiration, and it was so cool to have you...