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Well, well, well … look who’s back! It’s been quite a while, and a lot has happened, not the least of which is that we have added a new member to our family….which has been demanding to say the least!

It’s put a bit of a hold on some of my professional ambitions/goals for the last couple of months, but we’re back at it!

I managed to play a little bit with a network monitoring system, and I’ve set it up for the company! I literally built our network monitoring system….it’s kind of crazy that there was never one in place before.

That’s been fun to do. Once we spun up the Linux machine, I was given the go-ahead to just set it up and all the freedom to do it! Was nice to be able to dive into the Linux terminal and just create something, you know?

Instead of being reactive, I finally got to be proactive.

And I think that’s what I really enjoy. I see this need we have, and I want to make something that fills the need….but I don’t feel like I can do that a lot where I’m currently working now. I’ve already set up:

• Linux-based asset inventory system
• Automated password change reminder workflows
• Automated privilege request expiration reminder workflows
• Added MS Graph capabilities to company systems to create license reports and enable various auditing activities
  • This also enables multiple functions to be combined into PowerShell, so I’ve been able to check tons of things in Exchange, MS 365, etc. all in PowerShell and be less dependent on the GUI.
    • THAT feels good!

And now the network monitoring system. While I’m happy that I’ve been able to play with the switches and SNMP and Linux, I am starting to see the limits with what I can do here in my current role. Although the opportunities for growth were abundant at the beginning, the diminishing returns are all too real with the size and nature of this company.

I do wonder what will happen in the job market in a few weeks / months with all of the H1B talk with the current administration…it certainly has some interesting implications for American tech workers, but I worry about unintended consequences at the same time.

We will see!

Meanwhile, the work continues, and I have found myself slipping a little bit with the documentation / maintenance, so I will be occupying myself with that for the moment. Luckily, the ISO audit will not encompass the USA side this year, so I do have that pressure lifted off me, at least. Getting ISO ready last year was a bit of a pain…..man, that’s a lot of documentation, and I didn’t even have to be responsible for all of it.

Anyway, I will be signing off now. Hope everyone is well! Nice to check in!