An Update

Audio + Transcript

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[00:00:00] Hey y'all. It's Nikema I'm still around. I am not Twitter crazy like I used to be. And it's, it's kind of bumming me out just a little bit because I made so many amazing connections on Twitter and I am pretty sure well over 90% of the people who will hear this, I probably connected to you via Twitter, but it is such a shit show right now.

I don't enjoy it. I don't love it, and I keep telling myself and making these announcements that I am divesting from Twitter. I need to kind of have a little bit more control over my message and who gets to see it. So I am very grateful right now to have you have your, your contact, your email and that you're able to, you know, [00:01:00] interact with me this way.

I think I have to get used to not depending on Twitter. Spaces was huge for me. Like, I didn't expect for spaces to be so impactful. I didn't expect to meet people and have these amazing conversations where we just kind of went deeper than the surface level. You know, the general tech type conversations that we like to have on Twitter.

I like that we get to talk about everything , like from, you know, racism, sexism, what it, what it's like trying to get into the field that we're in.

And just what it's like to be a human right now. You know, there's a lot going on for a lot of us [00:02:00] and I really cherish, like, I really appreciate that time that I got to just connect with people. So spaces was huge and I don't really do spaces anymore. And you know, when I do them, you know, like the more recent ones that I've done.

They haven't been so, what's the word? Just not as fruitful. You know? Just not as, as good. I don't know how to describe it, but my heart is not in it on Twitter. Like the platform has spoiled for me. So I'm reaching out now like this is my, you know, I'm trying to like gather my people because I don't wanna lose all of the wonderfulness that I got through Twitter, just because Twitter seems to be spiraling for me.

I do not forget my [00:03:00] people and I don't need, need is a very needy word, but, I don't... I will miss you if this is the end. I guess let's, let's put it that way. I will miss you if I stop using Twitter and everyone that I met, everyone that I used to talk to on spaces, everyone that you know has kind of been on this journey with me for the last, you know, several years.

of you might have been around in like 2018 ish, 2019. I would miss you if that, you know, if now is the end. So I have a couple of items that are due. I am working on the book. The book is nearly finished, the first. draft of it. [00:04:00] I'm writing it by hand to start, and I've started and started over a couple of times already, but I have to make myself finish.

It's not gonna be perfect. It's not gonna, like, perfect, doesn't exist. But I like to have things close to perfect and that's just not realistic. So. Less than perfect draft of the book is almost done. I'm on the last two or three chapters, which I didn't expect for this part to be so hard. The whole thing was hard, and I don't know why I, I didn't expect for one, like trying to remember things that happened more than a couple years ago.

That was hard. I know I'm gonna have to do a lot of editing out because some things go into deep detail and it's like, okay, you know, some of this is the journal [00:05:00] material. You know, maybe not everybody needs like, the whole, whole life story, but just like, you know, a little taste of it, just like for context.

But yeah, so a lot of it's gonna have to be cut down. But it was hard to remember stuff. It was hard to remember why. I wanna tell you something cuz I don't wanna waste your time with like, going into these details on like, yeah, I don't wanna waste anyone's time. But yeah, remembering why and and for the more recent stuff, like what do I even really wanna say?

Because I'm still kind of in it in a lot of ways. Like I don't have any distance from getting my first tech job like that was in 2020, late 2020. And so that wasn't that long ago, especially considering how long it took me to [00:06:00] get there. So now thinking back to that first job, it's still kind of fresh and still,

when I had the idea to write a book, what I say about that job is totally different than what it was when I first had the idea for the book, if that makes sense. So trying to like create this storyline that makes sense, like yeah, that makes sense. In light of the past and in light of the current situation.

Has been hard, but I'm almost there. So the book, that's a big thing that I've been promising for over a year, and it is gonna happen and I'm excited to deliver it and to see it have, you know, [00:07:00] push it out and let it be its own thing that I don't have to think about anymore. So that's the book, but then there's also the podcast, and I haven't totally decided how I'm going to distribute the podcast, but I'm thinking it might just start like one of these Substack things.

I don't know, but that needs to get started. I am ready to go and hesitating for whatever reason, but I know I've had some private conversations where people are like, Hey, just start . Just do it. Like we're waiting, let's go. So yeah, let's go. I'm working on it. So this This ramble ish thing that I'm doing right now, I'm trying to prime myself, get myself into the [00:08:00] action of creating a podcast, and part of that action means using my voice.

And that is something that, you know, cuz spaces aren't really a thing for me anymore. I'm out of practice. So this is, it's all, it's all like working towards the bigger goal, and I really just wanted to send out an update to let you know that I'm still here and I'm still your friend. If you wanna be my friend, if we're friends, you know, if we got, we have that going on, like,

just because I've been off of Twitter, like I, I still, I miss my people. So if you are my people, I think you know and I think if you're listening to this, you are my people, [00:09:00] so I just wanted you to know what I'm working on and that I am working and I'm working. Oh my gosh. Like that's, something else that just like, isn't that weird though?

Like I say, I'm working as if like I wasn't working before, but now that I have a job, like an employer, it's like, oh, you're really working. But I was always really working, but now not full-time, you know, employer really working like that. So now that that's in the mix, that's another reason why I'm kinda like not as engaged on social media and all that cuz I have my whole life that I'm, you know, supposed to be responsible for and now I have a job that I'm responsible for.

And yeah, that, that takes a good chunk of, of [00:10:00] energy and time and attention. But yeah, it's, it's wild to think what's happened over the past two years, even let's say three years. A lot has changed and I've changed in some ways. I'm sure you've changed in some ways.

But whew, the things that I was focused on are not even, it's like not even on the map right now. It's, it's a whole like different chapter. So there we go. I have rambled a bit, so y'all like, this is good. You'll see this is like a very much off the cuff, like [00:11:00] I'm just talking. Right? But the podcast is gonna be better, because the podcast is going to have guests.

So I am really looking forward to having some of you come and speak to me and being like in the listener's seat and getting to hear the stories that come out of our community because, I love to talk about myself, like I've gotten, you know, I've grown fond of talking about myself, but I am very interested in other people's stories and, you know, hearing what people, people experience that feels like, you know, like knowledge that could be, that could help someone else, right?

Like, you went through it. Maybe it was super hard, maybe it wasn't hard, but maybe it was just something, something [00:12:00] significant that you did or you experienced. And you know, on the other side of that thing, there's something you know now that you didn't know before. And just being able to share that with other people, without us having to relive the experience.

Like there's still a lot of value that we can get from just hearing stories and not just value, but just like that human connection, like storytelling is so, so much a part of being human like, so… yep. This is about, okay, I'm at like 14 minutes of talking, which is quite enough, and. I am, I think I need to come up with a schedule of, you know, [00:13:00] when I will be sending out updates, whether it's an email or like an audio file like this.

But yeah, I do wanna get more consistent and more, you know, build momentum. because just, you know, talking every couple years or every couple six months or whatever, like that's not really working. And I am really excited about what will come out of our collaborations. So, yep, that's it. I will talk to you later.