Hey There, Welcome to My Corner of the Internet!

So, I finally did it. After years of telling myself "I should really start writing about this stuff," here we are. If you're reading this, you're officially my first blog reader – and I'm genuinely excited (and slightly terrified) to have you here.

Who Am I, and Why Should You Care?

I'm Thien, and I've been wrestling with computers for over 8 years now. I say "wrestling" because let's be honest – sometimes it feels more like a fight than a collaboration. I've spent most of my career deep in system architecture and IT infrastructure, and I've collected quite a few war stories along the way.

Currently, I'm working with some pretty serious stuff – think DOE Q Security Clearance level serious – but don't worry, I'll only share the things I'm actually allowed to talk about!

What You'll Find Here (The Good, The Bad, and The "Why Did I Think That Would Work?")

I'm planning to cover a bunch of topics that keep me up at night (in a good way, mostly):

🏗️ System Architecture & Design

You know those moments when you're staring at a whiteboard covered in boxes and arrows, wondering if your brilliant architecture will actually work in the real world? Yeah, we'll talk about those. I'll share what I've learned about building systems that don't fall over when users actually start using them.

☁️ Cloud Adventures

I've moved more workloads to the cloud than I can count, and let me tell you – it's not always as smooth as the marketing brochures suggest. We'll dive into AWS, Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, and all the fun surprises that come with them.

🔒 Security Stuff (The Parts I Can Actually Discuss)

Working in high-security environments has taught me a lot about what really matters in cybersecurity. Spoiler alert: it's often not what you think it is.

🛠️ The Tools That Actually Work

I've tried a LOT of tools over the years. Some are amazing, some are terrible, and some are amazing until they're suddenly terrible. I'll share the ones that have actually made my life easier – platforms like Jamf, Addigy, SCCM, and the scripting languages that keep everything glued together.

💼 Leadership Lessons (AKA "Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me Earlier")

Leading IT teams is... interesting. I've managed 30+ professionals, made mistakes, learned from them, and made some different mistakes. Maybe my stumbles can save you from a few of your own.

Why I'm Really Doing This

Here's the truth: I've been incredibly lucky to work on some fascinating projects and face challenges that push me to grow. But what's the point of learning all this stuff if you keep it to yourself?

I remember being earlier in my career, frantically Googling error messages at 2 AM, hoping someone, somewhere, had faced the same problem and written about it. Sometimes I found that blog post that saved the day. Sometimes I didn't, and had to figure it out the hard way.

This blog is my way of being that person who writes the blog post. If even one of these posts helps someone solve a problem, avoid a mistake, or just feel less alone in their 2 AM debugging session, then it's worth it.

Let's Make This a Conversation

I don't want this to be a one-way street. I learn as much from discussions as I do from solving problems, so please don't be shy! Whether you want to share your own experiences, ask questions, or tell me I'm completely wrong about something (it happens!), I'm all ears.

You can reach me through my contact page or connect with me on LinkedIn. I actually read and respond to messages – I know, shocking for someone in IT, right?

What's Coming Up

I've got a bunch of posts brewing in my head. Next up, I'm planning to dive into a recent OpenShift 4 implementation that taught me some hard lessons about cloud migration. Spoiler alert: "lift and shift" isn't always the magic solution we hope it is.

I'm also working on a piece about endpoint security at scale, because managing hundreds of devices is like herding very expensive, very temperamental cats.

Thanks for joining me on this journey. Here's to building better systems, learning from our failures, and maybe having a little fun along the way! 🚀

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P.S. If you spot any typos, security vulnerabilities in my code examples, or questionable life choices, please let me know. I promise I won't take it personally.