Read "Terraform: Up and Running, 3rd Edition"
I Have you ever felt scared when you're driving a car without knowing how the engine works?
That's how I felt about Terraform for a while. At work, using it became second nature for deployments and tweaking permissions, but the underlying code felt like a black box. I could follow examples, but understanding the "why" and tackling new challenges felt like navigating in the dark. This is very inefficient and dangerous. If I don't correctly understand how it works, it will be difficult to resolve issues appropriately when they occur. I might be able to solve problems temporarily through ad-hoc trial and error, but if I don't understand the root cause, I'll only be able to rely on ad-hoc solutions in the future, which is far from efficient.
To escape this situation, I decided to learn Terraform to gain systematic knowledge.
I was a bit hesitant about whether to use a book, online tutorials, or videos as learning resources. Ultimately, I concluded that a book would be the best for systematic learning, and I chose the following book, which was recommended in blogs:
After reading it, I felt that choosing this book was an excellent decision.
The book was quite voluminous, exceeding 400 pages, but it contained truly essential information.
Of course, it covered the syntax, but it also provided abundant explanations from a bird's-eye view, such as the actual internal behavior and the differences between Terraform and other similar tools, rather than just how to use Terraform. This deepened my understanding.
The concepts of modules and data sources were personally challenging, but I managed to understand them by repeatedly reading the sample code files and revisiting the learning material whenever I felt my understanding was shaky.
At work, the SRE team manages Terraform, and I am merely a user, so I intentionally skipped complex parts and focused on understanding the overall picture. Although there were sections I skipped, having read through the book, I feel like I've created a rough knowledge map in my head. I believe that even if I encounter unknowns in the future, I can add knowledge to this map and learn incrementally.
Team Member from Bangladesh
Yesterday, I chatted with a team member from Bangladesh. I asked him about his religion. He is Muslim, so I inquired about the dietary restrictions Muslims have, what is forbidden, and what foods he can and cannot eat. He explained eating pork is prohibited, but eating other foods like beef and vegetables is not. He also mentioned that he cannot drink alcohol, and neither can his family. This was surprising to me because I enjoy alcohol very much. I also asked if he ever felt tempted to drink alcohol. He replied, "Never." It was an interesting conversation that allowed me to learn more about him.
Tell Members Their Expectations
I had an event at work in the past week. The event was to sync the expectations of team members' work for the second half of the year with me and the members. After finishing the sync, I am now thinking of a good way to communicate this. My conclusion is that there needs to be consistency between what I told before and what I tell now. Generally, changing their behavior is difficult even if they want to. What I have to do is to tell the expectation continuously. I regret how the sync went. I didn't clearly make the connection between what I had said before and what I said at the meeting. The tip for communicating expectations is to prepare a memo of what I should say and to share it as a document. If we write a document, we can look back at it and keep it in mind for the future.
Washing Machine's Problem
The weekend was really bad. My washing machine suddenly broke. The water stayed in the washing machine and wouldn't drain. It was abnormal, and I had never seen such a situation before. I tried several things and opened the filter below. After I opened it, a lot of water came out. The floor was very wet, and I had to mop it up. It was so tiring. Moreover, I had to go to a coin laundry to wash my clothes.
I don't know what to do. I considered three options: Call a technician to fix the problem. Buy a new washing machine. Fix it by myself. I chose the third option to fix it myself. I ordered repair tools from Amazon, and tried to fix it. It was a mess. I am not an engineer. I didn't know how to fix it. I tried several things, and finally I fixed it. A large object was stuck in the hose connecting the washing machine to the drain.
Aoashi
I read one of my favorite manga, Aoashi, again. It is about football and follows a boy as he develops his football skills and mentality. When I read it previously, around twenty volumes had been released, and now approximately thirty volumes are available.
This manga is different from other football manga. The main difference point is this manga tells knowledge which can be also applied to business. For example, a coach in the manga emphasizes that expressing your thoughts in words is important. This is often emphasized in business contexts. I like the point because it is helpful for my work. There is another point I liked. All the characters are making an effort to reach their goals despite being young. I am really inspired by them.
Although reading it was very enjoyable, I spent a lot of time reading it and felt quite exhausted.
Semantic Versioning
Today, I read an official document about semantic versioning, which provides guidelines for naming software versions. I was aware of its existence, and I know roughly about it. Upon finding an official document, I read it for the first time. It contained a wealth of information. The first key point was RFC2119, which defines the level and terms used to describe specification requirements. Although these terms are commonly used, this was my first time examining them in depth. Understanding the nuances of these terms aids in comprehending various documents. The second key point, Q&A section, directly addresses common concerns.
Tonkatsu
I went to a restaurant for lunch, feeling like having tonkatsu today. Unfortunately, heavy rain caught me on the way, leaving me wet a little. To add to that, the restaurant itself was quite chilly, which I don't particularly enjoy. It's disappointing how many restaurants tend to be overly cold inside during the summer months.
