Tag Archives: Tom’s Corner

Tom’s Corner and Turning Another Corner

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Thanks to everyone that popped in for Tom’s Virtual Corner at Cisco Live Global 2021. It was a great time filled with chats about nothing in particular, crazy stories about unimportant things, and even the occasional funny picture. It was just was Tom’s Corner has always been. A way for the community to come together and be around each other in a relaxing and low-key environment. Maybe we couldn’t meet in person but we got together when we needed it the most.

There was also something else that Tom’s Corner has represented for me for the last year that I didn’t even catch until it was pointed out to me by my wonderful wife Kristin (@MrsNetwrkingNerd). Tom’s Corner was the start of something that made me feel better about everything.

Get On Up and Move

After Tom’s Virtual Corner in 2020, I was energized. I needed to get up and get things done after sitting in a chair for hours talking to all my absent friends and getting the energy I needed to feel after months of being locked away during a pandemic. I felt on top of the world for the first time in quite a while. And I needed to do something with that burst of energy.

So I got up and went for a walk. Exciting, right? I recorded a quick Periscope (RIP) video thanking everyone in the community for turning out and being a part of things even behind the keyboard. Then I kept going. Walking a mile or two and then coming back home. I noticed that after I did I closed my Apple Watch fitness rings for calories burned and exercise.

Rather than just counting steps like a Fitbit, Apple came up with their own measure of activity. I had a love/hate relationship with it. Some days it was easy to get my goal for standing once a minute every hour. Other days was impossible thanks to airplanes and such. Calories could be a breeze on days at events due to all the walking. Or they could be a disaster on days when I barely got out of my chair. Exercise goals were almost impossible. How could I find time to hit those?

After the amazing energy of Tom’s Virtual Corner in 2020, I decided to get serious about fitness. No more excuses. No more giving up and calling it a day because it was too hot outside or raining. I was going to do this because I needed to do it and the people that I care for in the community gave their time to be a part of something special to me. If they could do that I could find the time to do it too.

June 1 became June 30th and I was still going strong. I kept moving. My walking turned into getting back into running with a Couch to 5k beginner program I’ve done several times before. This time I was determined not to give up so easily. I thought back to the year before when I was able to run for a bit but ended up mixing up the walking and running and ultimately going back to being all but sedentary. The key for me this time was moving every day. Not just getting out every other day but walking one day and running the next.

The Running Nerd

Before I knew it, I was running more than I was walking. I was going further with every exercise. I felt better. I also noticed that I was losing weight, which was something that hadn’t happened the last time I was exercising. My health was improving. My belt had to tighten an extra notch. By the time of Mobility Field Day 5 at the end of July someone pointed out that I looked slimmer. I didn’t really notice it that much.

As the months went on more and more people remarked that I looked slimmer and fitter. It took four months before I stepped on a scale to be sure. And yes, I really was losing weight. Not a few pounds but a lot of them. As best as I can guess I was somewhere just over 265 pounds in this picture from February 2020:

Looking back at it now I can’t even believe it. I didn’t change my diet. All that happened was that we started cooking more and more meals at home thanks to the pandemic. I got better at making things I wanted to eat and knowing what was going into them. My every-other-day runs became more frequent. I was only walking twice a week now and running the other five days. My runs went from just barely 3 miles on occasion to at least 5 miles a day. My walks were up to 6 miles a day too.

Here’s a side by side comparison of what I looked like in June of 2020 and what I look like right now (March 2021):

I’m down three pants sizes. I weigh 210 pounds, down 55 lbs from my highest weight just over a year ago. My running is getting faster. I feel better. My doctor has told me everything looks much better than it did when he saw me last year for my checkup. When I got my BSA medical form filled out for my activities right before the pandemic last year I was worried I was going to be in trouble because I was too heavy for my height. When I had it done again last month I was well under the weight limit for the first time in a very long time.

Tom’s Corner is what set me on this path. The positive energy of the community kicked me forward and helped me see that I needed to be healthy. I needed to get back to a place where I didn’t feel self-conscious and worried about weight gain or my fitness to go on hikes or be active. The response of people when they see how much weight I’ve lost or how much I run has boosted my confidence even more and encouraged me to keep going.

I’ve closed my rings for 303 straight days. The light at the end of the year-long tunnel is almost here. I’m going to make it there even if I have to walk at 11:00pm at night to get those last few calories or do an Apple workout in the middle of a blizzard to make sure I didn’t miss my exercise goal. It’s something that drives me to wake up and make plans for the day. When I didn’t get my run in during Tom’s Corner this year I made sure to get it done as soon as I could so I didn’t miss out. I need to stay healthy and happy to ensure there are more Tom’s Corner meetups in the future.

Tom’s Corner

Motivation is hard. I’ve learned that lesson my whole life both the easy way and the hard way. Like a shark, if I stop moving I’m not going to start again. Planning how I’m going to make this all happen takes cycles of my day but results in a happier, healthier, more confident me. Thanks to my friends and fellow community members at Tom’s Corner I’ve transformed myself into something to be proud of. I’m often told that Tom’s Corner gives people something they need. Maybe it’s a place in the community. Or a friendly conversation when they need it the most. For me, Tom’s Corner was the kick in the pants I needed to be a better Tom. Thank you all for helping me turn that corner and get better.

Tom’s Virtual Corner at Cisco Live Global 2021 – Anniversary

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We made it through the year that was March 2020. Here were are on the other side trying to find out whatever this normal is supposed to look like. We’re not out of the woods yet but we do know that things aren’t going to be back to the way they were any time soon. That includes the events that we enjoyed traveling to and hanging out at.

Cisco Live has made the decision to go virtual again this year. One can’t blame them to be honest. Travel uncertainty and the potential liability of having a huge event just didn’t make sense. If you thought the old Conference Crud was bad you really don’t want this new-and-improved version! Cisco has also decided that one global event makes more sense than several events scattered across the calendar. That means that Cisco Live Europe and Cisco Live US are now global and happening at the end of March instead of January or June.

With the announcement that everything will be virtual again this year it also means that the social aspect of the event is going to be virtual as well. As much as we would have liked to hang out at Tom’s Corner in Las Vegas and catch up it just won’t be happening. I am a bit disappointed because this year was going to be the tenth anniversary of Tom’s Corner. It’s been a decade since I plopped down in an uncomfortable chair and set out on a quest to meet people. I was hoping to bring back the stool and the table and the corner live in person but it appears that we’ll have to do it some other time.

In the interim, we’re still going to be getting together in just a few weeks! We’re going to be hosting a Webex call just like we did last year so we can all hang out and chat throughout the day. Here are the details:

Date: March 29, 2021

Time: 7am PT – Whenever we get bored!

Where: Virtually via Webex (link will be in the calendar invite)

If you want to take part in the virtual corner, you need to either send an email to tom@networkingnerd.net or send a DM/PM/RRM/DMVPN to me on social media with the email address you want your calendar invitation sent to. If there is no email address I can’t send out the invitation! We’ll send them out as we can to get everyone signed up. You can pop in and out whenever you want. We’ll try to create breakout rooms for those that just want to chat on specific topics and such. It’ll be fun! Provided, that is, that we all keep to some basic ground rules:

  • Disruptive attendees may be removed at the discretion of the hosts.
  • Wheaton’s Law applies. If you think you’re violating it, you probably are.
  • Be respectful of the community. We want this to be positive for everyone and that means everyone is responsible for keeping it that way.

If you have any questions about Tom’s Corner or things in general just ask! I want to thank Gestalt IT for allowing us to host this meeting and continuing to support community engagement and involvement. A huge part of my job is doing things like this and I still continue to be thrilled to have the support of Stephen Foskett, Claire Chaplais, and the rest of the Gestalt IT team when it comes to taking part of my day to interact with you all, virtual or otherwise.

I wish things could have been different as far as Cisco Live this year but we’re going to make the most of what we have. That means virtual for now but rest assured the the next time we can all meet in person we’re going to have a birthday party for Tom’s Corner that will be sung of in legends to come!

Tom’s Virtual Corner at Cisco Live US 2020

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One of the things that I look forward to most during Cisco Live is the opportunity to meet with people. It’s been quite a few years since I’ve been to a session during the conference. My work with Tech Field Day has kept me very busy for the past several Cisco Live events. But at the end of the day I enjoy strolling down to the Social Media hub and talking to anyone I see. Because people make Cisco Live what it is.

The Legend of Tom’s Corner has grown over the years. It’s more than just a few tables in a place where people hang out. It stands for a community. It means a lot to so many different people. It’s about meeting new friends and catching up with old ones and feeling like you belong. For so many, Tom’s Corner and the Social Media Hub is the center of Cisco Live.

And yet, we now live in extraordinary times. The plan we had for what Cisco Live would look like for us earlier this year is radically different right now. Prohibitions on travel and meetings in large groups means we will be experiencing Cisco Live from our homes afar instead of the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. The sessions we attend will be online. The keynotes streamed without seating and traffic directions. Although the office chairs at home will probably be more comfortable than conference seating.

But what about that in-person aspect to things? What about meeting up at the Social Media Hub and hanging out with all our friends? Well, the social media aspect to the event is going to be even more important now. Twitter and Slack and iMessage are going to be our primary forms of communication. We’re going to be twice as social even without being able to be around people thanks to the need to use programs to connect. But it’s not going to feel the same without being able to see someone.

A Virtual Corner

Because things are so crazy and because we’re not all going to get to be in the same place this year to hang out at Tom’s Corner, it’s time to bring Tom’s Corner to the virtual landscape of Cisco Live. Thanks to the power of Zoom and the patronage of Tech Field Day, we’re going to be holding Tom’s Virtual Corner at Cisco Live US 2020!

With the power of the revolution of technology and video chat we’re going to have the option to hang out and chat just like we always do! Granted, we’re not going to have to fight over places to sit this year so it may be better this way. Also, less walking! We’re going to have the meeting running from about 8:00am PT through 1:00pm PT so don’t worry if you can’t join right at the start. I’m sure there are going to be people coming and going all day.

In order to be a part of Tom’s Virtual Corner at Cisco Live US 2020, you’re going to need to send me an email at tom@networkingnerd.net or a DM on Twitter with the email address you want the calendar invitation sent to. Yes, that’s a very manual process. But given the number of people that like to invade Zoom calls this is a necessary precaution. Just send me an email with the title “Tom’s Virtual Corner Invitiation” and I’ll make sure you’re on the list. After that we can get everything going just like if we were hanging at the actual corner.

This is supposed to be a fun time to hang and enjoy the company of each other in a format that is hard to replicate, so a couple of ground rules:

  • Disruptive attendees may be kicked at the discretion of the hosts.
  • Follow Wheaton’s Law as the Prime Behavior Directive. If you have a question about whether or not you’re violating that law, you probably are.
  • Be respectful of your peers and friends. Make this a positive experience for everyone. I don’t want to have to be the fun police but if that needs to happen so be it.

It’s that simple. Be cool, act cool, and we’ll have fun.

Tom’s Take

I’m going to miss the Social Media Hub this year. I’m going to miss my friends and I am also going to regret not getting to make new ones. But maybe we can salvage a bit of that spark this way. We might miss the sign pic or the crazy antics that happen with giant Lego figures or tiaras or unicorn masks. But we’ll be there in spirit and that’s what counts. And, if nothing else, the tenth anniversary of Tom’s Corner next year is going to blow the roof off the place!