Many of you probably know that I am no longer in the employ of BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee. It was quite the investment to spend 16 years, 364 days at one company. I must say that it went beyond simple disappointment for Big Blue to no longer be a part of my life. That door closed and another opened with PlayCore.
I do not necessarily subscribe to the old adage, "Do something you love, and you'll never work a day in your life." In my work life, I fear I have spent a lot of time learning what I don't like, becoming pretty good at it, languishing for a time while not being very happy, then ultimately coming back to what I love. I like to think that it is because my parents taught me that once I start something, I need to finish it. I think it is a little bit of that but mostly it is that I value stability over a lot. Sometimes, stability is a bit overrated, as opposed to taking some risk. That nature of risks is that they can turn out good or bad. Sometimes stability just runs its course. I had intended on retiring from BCBST. It was not to be.
I am grateful for many of my former BCBST coworkers and others who reached out. Those contacts were comforting at a time when I needed it. At 51 years old, I was worried. It was also very comforting to receive counsel from others in a similar situation.
I just finished my first week at PlayCore and it was everything I hoped it would be. This week has been filled with learning new tools, new ways of thinking about all things technical and, best of all, getting my hands on some hardware again. I've met new friends, reunited with some old ones, and had some meaningful conversations... related to work and not. I'll get to travel again, train again, and learn about a very different environment... switching from healthcare to manufacturing, recreation and fitness.
Many of my best childhood memories came on a playground, in a pool, on a bike, or on a playing field. These things we often dismiss as adults as just that... childhood memories. Now, as an adult, I can contribute to people of all kinds, young and old, having an opportunity to make those same memories. Whether it be with the timing systems installed in a pool, a simple bike rack at a park or a place to sit, the surface of a new field or track, or ironically, a local BlueCross BlueShield Healthy Place in a Tennessee community near you.
I am still reserved about passing full judgement on this new job, but this week, I felt the joy coming back. There is definitely some rust to be knocked off but I'll get there. It has also come with new perspectives from the aforementioned new ways of thinking about IT things to spending more time in the office to simply driving a new way to work. As they did at BCBST, the people at PlayCore believe in what they are doing. From that perspective it's not that different. I love it when people are passionate about what they do.
Given what I did at BCBST, with business continuity, disaster recovery and cyber resilience, it was sometimes difficult to see how I was helping people, mainly because if I did my job right, everyone just carried on with their normal day. Maybe that isn't the right way to think about it, but that is the way it felt much of the time. That is a reflection of the job, not the company. I often mused that if BCBST's threat hunters did their job right, I'd never get a call. BCBST threat hunters are VERY good at their jobs.
At PlayCore, it is just easier for me to see how I am helping people, all while getting back to more technical IT things. I even got to fix something this week. It's a win-win and I am happy to be here in this new chapter of my work-life. 