--- title: Eric in the Present --- [infinity]: https://iinteractive.com [nowff]: https://sivers.org/nowff [Derek Sivers]: https://sivers.org [profile]: https://nownownow.com/p/2ugf [/now]: https://nownownow.com [blog]: https://blog.kestrelsnest.social [mastodon]: https://toots.kestrelsnest.social/@eric [pics]: https://pix.kestrelsnest.social/@eric [locallygrown]: /posts/locallygrown-origin-story/ [randomrecipe]: https://www.youtube.com/@RandomRecipeProject This page is all about what I am doing *now*. It was last updated on April 12, 2026, and will be edited as things change. ## Where I am now Still living in Athens, GA in the home my partner and I bought several months into the pandemic. Same house, same neighborhood, same roots growing deeper. ## Who I am around now Our house has three people and two cats. The people include me, my partner, and my youngest daughter who spends every other week with us—she's a sophomore in high school and doing great things. My eldest is about to graduate from Georgia State University. We [lost Charlie](/posts/2023-07-24-goodbye,-charlie/) but our two remaining cats continue to keep me company while I'm working. You'll find plenty of photos of them in [my gallery][pics]. ## What I am doing now I'm a Staff Software Engineer at [Natera](https://www.natera.com), working on lab management software for their histology labs. We just completed a successful production deployment in San Carlos — real scientists, real equipment, real samples. Now I'm building out observability tooling, monitoring dashboards, and support runbooks for when the inevitable fires come. The travel schedule over the next couple months is intense: trips to San Carlos and Austin as we roll out across labs. [LocallyGrown.net][locallygrown] has settled into a rhythm of steady improvements after the massive six-month migration from Rails 3 to SvelteKit. The infrastructure work is behind us; now it's about new features, better tools for market managers, and growing the platform that serves 70+ farmers markets. ## What I am reading now *Starter Villain* by John Scalzi — palate cleanser after *Service Model* wrecked me in the best way. ## What I am playing now - **The Outer Worlds 2** — A whimsically dark RPG from Obsidian in the tradition of Fallout. Delightfully cynical corporate dystopia. - **Assassin's Creed: Valhalla** — Viking exploration on the Xbox. - **Gloomhaven** — Back at it after a two-month break. Approaching the endgame now, maybe three quarters through the story, and every scenario comes down to the wire. ## What else? ### Writing Again After months of silence, I'm writing regularly again. The words are flowing. ### Creative Projects - Recording, editing, and posting cooking videos for the [Random Recipe Project][randomrecipe] again - Still have that corset vest sewing project waiting—fabric ready, pattern chosen - Leather working supplies sitting ready for when I find the time ### Upcoming Events - **Natera Austin trip** — First visit to Austin in about two weeks, with more San Carlos and Austin trips to follow. - **Vivian's graduation** — Georgia State University, closing in fast. - **Georgia Renaissance Festival** — Spring season starts soon. ## Where my head is The San Carlos deployment went flawlessly. I met my team in person for the first time, watched real scientists use the software we built together, and ate better than I have in years. The travel ahead is intense but I'm looking forward to it — Austin is shaping up as my home away from home. Life is good. --- Checkout the [/now page movement][nowff] started by [Derek Sivers][]. You can get a [profile][] if you set up a `/now` page. [/now][] — so many people doing stuff in the now!