Tag: blog like crazy

What Do I Do?

A lot of people ask about my job. I usually don’t go into a lot of detail, because it can be hard to understand if you’re not familiar with what ‘the cloud’ really is. But I’m happy to tell anyone who wants to listen, so if you’re interested and know cloud concepts I’ll gladly talk to you about it all day.

I am a Certified Solutions Architect in Amazon Web Services. In VERY short and minimalist terms I architect and implement solutions in Amazon’s cloud for clients. Many people know the retail side of Amazon – amazon.com – where we all buy tooooo much stuff, me included. I can’t help it – I love free shipping, same day delivery on some things, and discounts at Whole Foods and other places. I’ve been an Amazon girl for decades. But Amazon also has a whole separate “backside,” as I call it, that’s the engine behind all that retail magic, as well as their music, video, books (Kindle), and many other arms. All the programs, computers, databases, etc. that run basically EVERYTHING Amazon does is powered by its own computer ecosystem called Amazon Web Services. It’s a massive network that spans the globe and runs Amazon, along with many other huge companies you know like Netflix, Kellogg’s, GE, and Samsung.

Amazon isn’t the only company out there providing cloud technology. There are many other cloud providers out there and some of the bigger ones that you may have heard of are Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and others. I can get around those, but I’m definitely most familiar with and skilled in AWS. Thankfully, that’s what I’m certified in so that works out well. 😉

In a nutshell, that’s what I do. If you’re ever thinking of moving to the cloud and don’t know where or how to start just let me know and I’ll be glad to point you in the right direction. And I work for an amazing company so you know you’ll be in great hands with me.

Through the Years

Today marks 8 years that hubby and I met and spent time together for the first time, so we consider this our “first date” anniversary. I had been following him on Twitter for a bit and wanted to formally meet him. So I set up a public group dinner for anyone and everyone and made sure a mutual friend of ours got him to come. We hit it off pretty much as soon as he arrived and the rest, as they say, is history.

It’s taken us a loooong time to get where we are now in our relationship. Like most couples we’ve had a hundred ups and downs. Through the years we’ve learned so much about each other, what works for us, and what doesn’t. But the most important thing we have learned – and still are learning – is how to communicate. I’ve mentioned therapy before and I cannot recommend it enough to anyone. Please don’t think you have to be going through a life changing event or feel you have to be depressed to go to therapy. For me, therapy is helping me communicate better and more clearly when I need, want, am upset or dissatisfied with something or someone. I’m learning more about how other’s communicate (in relation to my own ways) in order to adapt and work, live, and play more effectively with others. Personally, I have learned so much about myself from therapy and it helped release some long term negativity that had been weighing me down for years. With hubby, we’ve grown closer together through our therapy sessions because our therapist has been able to help us see how we feed off each other positively and negatively. She’s given us tools to use when tempers flare and what were previously knock-down, drag-out, week long fights are now usually 5-10 minute discussions on who felt what way and why. And then it’s done. It’s pretty amazing.

We’re not perfect, but we’re definitely getting our groove. We get each other and we make each other laugh. We take care of each other. We know each other. We don’t always agree, but who does and why would we want to? He keeps me chill and messy and I keep him organized and tightly wound. lol. We work. Happy anniversary-ish, babe. I love you.

picture of me and hubby

Say My Name

For years I had no idea why my parents named me Sherri. I knew it wasn’t a family name, so I wondered if it was just a name they picked out of a book or someone they admired or what. I finally got my answer a few years ago. I am named after an old Andy Williams song called, “Sherry!” that he wrote for the 1967 musical “Sherry!” based on the play The Man Who Came to Dinner.

Sherry! the musical flier

Now if you read my blog post from the other day I have no idea where I heard that tidbit or if it’s actually true because I can’t remember squat. But I do believe one of my parents told me that in the not too distant past and I jotted it down because I know my memory sucks. lol. But somewhere someone told me that little tale and I stuck in my memory bank (a.k.a. Notes on my iPhone) and now it lives in infamy. Take a listen to the song and tell me those lyrics just aren’t the most fun, happiest lyrics ever?? They fit me to a ‘T’! Way to go, ‘rents! Great job on picking out my name – I think you helped form my personality just from picking that fun song!

So there you go. The story of how I got my name. How did you get your name?

Be My Eyes

Eyes
Photo by Dboybaker

“A blind person is calling you.”

The notification popped up and I raced to unlock my phone and answer the call. The calls don’t come that often and there are hundreds of thousands of people like me waiting to help, so if we don’t answer quick they move on to the next volunteer.

I answered the call and was greeted with a live video of of multi-colored gaming dice, the kind you find playing Dungeons & Dragons or other RPGs (role playing games). I immediately got excited. A deep voice asked, “Are these green dice?” as a hand picked up some of the dice. “No,” I replied, “the green ones are a bit to the left.” They dropped the dice and moved their hand to the left, passing over piles of different colored dice until I told them to stop. They picked up some of the dice directly below and asked if those were the green ones with the purple numbers. I asked if they could pull the dice away from the camera a little so it could focus better so I could see the numbers. They did and I was able to tell they were purple numbers on green swirled dice. The caller was very happy and put the handful of dice into a white box that contained 6 little black boxes. They informed me they were heading out to a game and wanted those particular dice for the game.

The app is called “Be My Eyes” and it connects people who are blind or visually impaired to seeing people who can help them find what they are looking for. If you want to be a seeing volunteer (like me) download the app from the App Store or Google Play Store and register as a volunteer and then wait for a call. Like I mentioned before, there are thousands and thousands of us waiting to take calls. That is a wonderful thing for the callers because if a volunteer doesn’t answer in just a few seconds the call will roll to another volunteer until someone picks up. A caller may be in a time crunch and need help pretty quickly, so I appreciate that the app doesn’t waste time waiting too long for volunteers to pick up.

I’ve taken three calls so far in the few years that I’ve had the app. I’ve helped a woman put together her perfect job interview outfit (she knew what she wanted to wear she just needed my help finding a particular colored skirt in her closet), helped another woman get around in a place she was unfamiliar with (describing the room she was in) and today’s call. Today’s was by far my favorite: a fellow gamer who was happy to show me his dice collection once I shared that I was a newbie gamer myself.

I have no idea what it’s like to be deaf, hard of hearing, blind, or visually impaired, but I am trying hard to understand by learning American Sign Language and more about blind and deaf culture. Degenerative eye disease and hearing loss run in my family, so I’m sure I’ll get firsthand experience with them soon enough. But for now I am absolutely content learning and helping on the sidelines and being an ally wherever I can.

Click here to get more information about the Be My Eyes app.
Click here to get more information about ASL classes from Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind.