Hi, I’m Diana.
I have a Master’s degree in Computer Science and Engineering from Eindhoven University of Technology.
I wrote some WordPress plugins which were the most enjoyable projects I’ve done in my life. During the week, I’d look forward to Saturday, when I could resume my work on them. Fond memories.
I spent most of my twenties and thirties dealing with vague but persistent health problems including cysts, acne, eczema, Raynaud’s syndrome, dizziness, poor wound healing, easy bruising, tinnitus, eyesight problems, restless arms and legs (waking up with restless arms and legs fucking sucks), twisting my ankle whenever the pavement wasn’t perfectly flat, hand eye coordination problems and more subjective things like tension, poor sleep, anxiety and depression. I got most of it under control with a ketogenic diet. I actually went full carnivore for two to three years. Nowadays I still avoid dairy and grains and some nuts, beans and seeds. But life’s much better now. I remember well the stress of overhauling my diet (What will I eat? What will I drink?), but it was worth it.
For a short while, I was a highly productive young employee talent potential sorta thing, but I never made it to the two year mark in any company. My soul was starving on a diet of nihilism, workaholism and atheism. Oh yeah, and in 2019 I nearly died from a ruptured tubo-ovarian abscess that I had walked around with for over one and a half years while my health deteriorated, which doesn’t do wonders for your performance at work either, obviously. I made a promotion into a Scrum Master role twice, to experience twice that this had made me very unhappy. (Nowadays I only mention one of the two in my LinkedIn profile, because I’m a software engineer, first and foremost.) Oh and trainings. Good grief, no, please, no more trainings or workshops. Twice, I quit a job just days after another one of those “Be a good monkey and jump through this hoop”-kinda things. Do I sound cynical? I’m sorry, that sometimes happens to me. I can be hilariously funny too, just ask my husband. I admire John Cleese, who has noted that you can either see life as a tragedy or a farce, has decided it’s a farce and seems to be able to cackle at just about anything. So sometimes, I cackle. I’ve got two cats, I’m allowed.
I’ve been through a lot (But hey, life’s hard: Who hasn’t?) and I just happened to have survived my personal journey on gallons of green tea and humour (no milk, I prefer it black). Oh, yes, and a return to God. But I won’t shove it down your throat, no worries. You do you, it’s all good.
I have my own business, jodiBooks, with my husband Joep.
In December 2022, four months into the carnivore diet, I returned to the best side job I ever had: delivering mail. During my studies, I’d deliver mail on Saturdays. Go to mail office, sort mail, deliver mail, go home and in the afternoon and evening: play around with some code. During my six years job hopping, trying to find a place where I felt comfortable enough, I often muttered “Why don’t I just go back to delivering mail? That was a good job”. So, eventually, I did. With some encouragement from my husband who told me to ignore whatever I thought the world would expect me to do for a living. Best side job ever. It gets me outdoors and into the sunshine. I now work part time and have plenty of time to code.