Thank you CAST 2013!!

An open letter to the CAST 2013 community.  (I started this right after CAST, but finished very recently due to recent happenings.)

I want to say thank you.

Thank you for reminding me why I love testing.  In the daily drudgery of my job, I forget about how much I like my work.  I don’t get enough opportunity to do the parts that I love, but it’s up to me to find or make those opportunities.

I needed a recharge.  CAST gave me that.

My training course was with the wonderful Robert Sabourin (@RobertASabourin).  I've started mind mapping some test ideas and other things, something I haven’t done in years.

The testing competition with Olivier Mireault (@mireaulttester), Jonathan Li on Wing, and Rachel Carson (@akiwitester),was a wonderful reminder of how out of practice I was with actual hands on testing.  A painful lesson, but so important and appreciated!  (And now I’ve been practicing!)

Aaron Hodder’s (@AWGHodder) talk about mind mapping for test planning was wonderful and another thing that I’m actually trying to do and implement at work.  (And for announcing, “We’re in a hole!” I was- physically and metaphorically.)

Hallway, break, lunch, after hours, etc. chats with so many people, James (@Zithica007), Clint (@vscomputer), Justin Hunter (@hexawise), (and the list goes on…) were all great.  Too many people to mention, but so many great conversations, ideas, and inspirations.

And that brings be to Matt Heusser (@mheusser).  I first met Matt in 2005.  I did a lightning talk at STAREast.  As I was walking in to register the first morning of CAST, I noticed him in front of me in line.  Thinking to myself “hey, I know that guy.”  Matt saw me and REMEMBERED ME.  This is 9 years later, with no interim contact.  I was amazed by Matt’s memory and his kindness.

We chatted a while in line, and then drifted in our own directions.  I went to grab breakfast and looked for a table, Matt invited me to join him and introduced me in a wonderful manner to a great group of people.  

I am normally quite an introvert, it’s a challenge for me to meet people, introduce myself, or strike up a conversation.  Matt’s welcoming attitude and introduction set the stage for me for the entire conference.  So Matt, thank you, my CAST experience would have been much less if it hadn’t been you starting me off on the right foot.

Which brings me to now, I started tweeting bit again during the conference and went dark not long after due, in part, to vacation, but due in bigger part, to the kick in the pants I got at CAST.  I needed a change, and knew that the place I was at wasn’t going to give me what I needed.  Not that it was a terrible place, they were good to me for many years and I learned much while I was there.  But we hadn't been on the same path for a while, and we were getting further apart faster and faster.  So the last few weeks have been spent finding something new and I’m excited to say that I will start a new adventure in a couple weeks.  I’ll be helping a company build a little structure and process around the testing that they have currently.  And as I said in my interview- it’s about the right structure and process for the situation.  

Thanks to CAST and all those I encountered there for helping me remember that I need to pay attention to MY context as well, and get myself in the right place.