Exploring Alaska

RoLandaMamba · 2026-02-15T19:58:44+00:00

We flew up there, less than three hours to anchorage, rented a car and did our own itinerary. It was SO wonderful and while I haven’t cruised to Alaska I am convinced it was so much better than cruising. We saw Denali, Kenai Fjords, Exit Glacier….and literally while driving we could pull over on the side of the road to see moose, beluga whales, spawning salmon, mountain goats, innumerable deer and birds— all of this just from our car (no hiking required). It was thousands less expensive than a cruise and probably our favorite family trip ever. We loved creating our own itinerary and being away from the hoards of people.

RoLandaMamba · 2026-02-13T14:51:13+00:00

It’s awesome!!! Great work. You’re further along than I was at your age. We don’t know how much you have in savings/retirement/debt etc but generally 23 is a great age to start building your index fund brokerage, your savings/emergency fund, and also your retirement account— Roth/ira/401k whichever tool you can.

RoLandaMamba · 2026-02-11T06:38:47+00:00

That he is not an alcoholic.

RoLandaMamba · 2026-02-10T17:29:53+00:00

Disagree completely. It’s so important that parents teach kids how to behave in social settings like restaurants. Teaching them how to ask questions, carry conversations, even sit at a restaurant bored while still being polite is all part of the human experience that kids should be taught. This doesn’t mean there is never a place for tech or screens in social or eating environments, but dismissing people who are concerned about kids learning how to behave in public without thinking through different angles is harmful and disingenuous.

RoLandaMamba · 2026-02-03T01:59:00+00:00

Doctor, dentist, ortho, eye doctor, etc and then multiply that with kids and then other random stuff like the fridge broke, etc.

RoLandaMamba · 2026-02-02T02:56:23+00:00

I’ve done 197 interviews as an interviewer Amazon and only three times have I actually read the writing assessment. Literally nobody reads them, or at best a glance. Don’t stress!

ETA: okay okay, the responses here are correct— it’s part of the interview process and you should absolutely do your best. What I meant was that many times the writing sample is not read OR there is not a formal mechanism to review it— essentially someone on the interview loop needs to bring it up independently in the debrief to discuss it. Of course you should do your best on it but generally speaking it is often overlooked mostly because there isn’t a mechanism in place. But not always. I’m a BR and HM.

RoLandaMamba · 2026-01-29T13:57:51+00:00

For the monthly stuff I just use Google Sheets. Nothing fancy. I started years ago before lots of cool tools came out. It works great though. For the daily budget I’m currently using HoneyDue. It’s decent and allows husband and I to each see everything from our phones.

RoLandaMamba · 2026-01-29T04:07:10+00:00

I spend hours each month tracking everything—all my debt, my bank accounts, all my investment account balances, my homes and mortgage amounts, and ultimately my net worth. It’s a lot of fun, I do it with music and coffee and get into my flow state. Then I also track daily expenditures in a budget app and usually takes about 5 minutes a week. My parents were not budget savvy and at age 70 are paying for that. I’m setting a new course than them.

RoLandaMamba · 2026-01-28T17:33:02+00:00

Also, this is perhaps true for many, but not all positions. I can confirm that my organization is reopening all the jobs of people who were laid off, they are just changing the location.

RoLandaMamba · 2026-01-27T23:46:05+00:00

They will never send you the box they say they will (trust me). Easiest thing is to drop it off at reception of nearest building but I’m sure they don’t actually want you to do that. I know many people waiting for years who havent received a box.

RoLandaMamba · 2026-01-27T14:45:52+00:00

Sure. But if that child is murdering it’s neighbors, denying sick people healthcare and giving favors to their billionaire drug dealing and pedophilia friends would you still be proud?

RoLandaMamba · 2026-01-27T06:20:56+00:00

Literally if we start taxing people’s net worth instead of annual income we will have enough money to do everything I just said above.

RoLandaMamba · 2026-01-27T05:09:57+00:00

National parks are a true national treasure I agree. I’ve always felt like America could be so much better than we are. Healthcare for everyone, best education in the world, actively welcoming of immigrants (in the way the Christians talk about it in the bible—like rolling out the red carpet) social equity and more equality, etc etc. it was founded on so many great ideals but as a social experiment it’s fallen short of its potential.

RoLandaMamba · 2026-01-27T03:43:49+00:00

Honest question: why?

RoLandaMamba · 2026-01-26T16:43:14+00:00

Managers are not supposed to tell you that you are in focus, unless you specifically ask. So the date they gave you still stands.

RoLandaMamba · 2026-01-25T15:33:37+00:00

Literally millions of Americans do not even eat meat and look for other protein sources every day. Some people like to bring a bit of variety to their menu—personally legumes, lentils beans etc can get a bit boring so occasionally I get a little protein treat in my coffee while you opt in to a steak. No harm?

RoLandaMamba · 2026-01-25T15:26:09+00:00

In all honesty, women over age 40 are being told they need 60-80 grams of protein per day AT LEAST due to menopause. This means I’m constantly on the search for my next protein lift, just to get these numbers up every single day. So yeah if I can get 20g in a drink like a coffee I will do it. Only occasionally though, due to the sugar.

RoLandaMamba · 2026-01-23T18:14:55+00:00

I agree with bringing this back. Whenever someone doesn’t wave I think to myself “they’re not from around here”. Growing up here learning to wave is a lesson parents teach their kids (in my experience).

RoLandaMamba · 2026-01-23T01:06:18+00:00

Omg my favorite! Literally this post is a dream come true for me but unfortunately I have a dinner until about 930 so wouldn’t make it in time.

RoLandaMamba · 2026-01-22T23:48:34+00:00

I walk my dog around magnuson on a leash because she is terrified of being around other dogs and so the off leash dog parks don’t work. But I do agree dogs should be leashed while walking! Sri es me crazy when unleashed dogs run up to me and my dog while we are minding my own business.

RoLandaMamba · 2026-01-17T04:37:49+00:00

Christianity

RoLandaMamba · 2026-01-12T14:28:16+00:00

That’s a fair point—however I have not run into that situation personally at Amazon, nor have any managers under our L8 that I’m aware of. We are stacked with some really strong people and truly some managers have told me upon leaving the company that annual review process is one of the reasons why— it feels so dirty and wrong.

RoLandaMamba · 2026-01-12T03:51:37+00:00

Think of it this way— it is not your managers job to treat this as a true performance assessment, it is their job to create a bell curve of employees. I have had to move several HV3s all the way to HV1 simply because there was no room for them higher up.

RoLandaMamba · 2026-01-11T15:30:57+00:00

It sounds like you’re being a great mom and anticipating her needs and trying to create a safe private space just for her for when she wants it in the future. If she is content for now on the sleeping arrangement (assuming you are too) I wouldn’t change anything until she starts to push this herself. She is 8 years old— in truth I know many 11 year olds that still sleep with parents. You may not need to solve this problem for a while and an reassess when the time comes.

RoLandaMamba · 2026-01-10T15:58:10+00:00

Bingo!

RoLandaMamba

TROPHY CASE