April Wensel @aprilwensel Twitter profile | Pikagi

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April Wensel

@aprilwensel

25,076

Followers

2,284

Following

887

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3,166

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Founder of Compassionate Coding | Keynote Speaker | Engineering Leader

Encinitas, CA

https://t.co/2o7hC0K6vE

Joined July 2010

Don't wanna be here? Send us removal request.

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

14 days

In the 8 years that I've been training tech teams, one of the most popular topics has been improving feedback. So, I'm excited to offer this live virtual workshop to a wider audience! We'll balance assertiveness and compassion. Subscribers, check your inbox for a promo code. 💙

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

3 years

Makes me think of code reviews and gym class.

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

3 months

Product owner: “We don’t have time to address technical debt…” Same product owner: “Why does making a small change to the site take so much longer than it used to?!” 🤔

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

5 months

One of the best debugging tools.

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April Wensel

5 months

I understand the appeal of naming variables and modules based on obscure references or inside jokes. It’s fun and can enhance a sense of belonging for the current team. However, I implore you, think of the poor developer trying to navigate through that tangle a decade later. 😅

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

5 months

Trying to fix a dysfunctional company culture from the inside can be an emotionally draining and thankless job on top of your actual job. It’s usually worth trying, at least, but if you’re not getting support, it’s definitely not worth sacrificing your well-being over.

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

8 months

Bookstore browsing. Napoleon Hill:

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April Wensel

6 months

I learned this week that some younger adults don’t know what burning a CD means, and I’m still having trouble coping. 😳

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

1 year

One of the most ridiculous attitudes in dev circles is that someone who becomes a manager or even starts slightly caring about human/product issues suddenly isn’t “technical” anymore.

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

24 days

I’m amazed to see so many software job postings these days that explicitly mention the word “compassion.” It wasn’t that long ago that I was laughed out of the room for suggesting that compassion is relevant to tech work. The progress over the years is encouraging!

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

3 years

Grateful for each one.

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April Wensel

5 months

I love being able to fit in a run before a talk—good morning from Malmö, Sweden! ☀️

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

5 months

Couldn’t ask for a more beautiful day. Thanks for the birthday wishes! 🎉

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

15 days

What strikes me about the debate over office vs. remote work is that people seem to assume there’s one definitive right answer. Isn’t it obvious that different setups might work better depending on the company, team, and even individual circumstances?

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

4 years

I’ve been quiet here, focusing on supporting my clients and local community. I do miss interacting with you, though. I’m exploring platforms that better support nuance and empathy; I welcome suggestions on that front. In the meantime, stay safe and hopeful. 💙

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

5 months

For my team. 🥰 They’re vegan!

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April Wensel

1 year

Someone using my photo without credit is a pretty minor don’t-sweat-the-small-stuff situation, but the time a certain large tech company tried to publish a “Guide to Compassionate Coding” based on my work without credit or permission, that really hurt… They received a letter.

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

11 months

I was at a meetup explaining to someone what I do. I gave a recent example of helping a team with conflicts between designers and developers. The response: doesn't Figma solve that? Ha! If only. Figma's great, but if humans are involved, empathy's going to be relevant.

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

7 months

If someone has put you in the “non-technical” bucket, there is very little you can do to change their mind. You can be slinging assembly in front of them, but if you’re also talking about humans and feelings, sorry, non-technical. We need to move away from these labels…

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

11 months

These fall sunsets leave me speechless. 🤩

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

9 months

If only every tech interview guide came with a note: “This will help you navigate broken, outdated hiring practices, but once you’ve succeeded and are hiring, here’s a better way…” Instead, year after year it’s just more leetcode, trivia, time-consuming take-home projects…

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

2 years

“I have always been mystified by the speed with which people condemn one another.…Whenever I am tempted by this…I remember some impulse in myself that could have led me, granted certain circumstances, into the condemned position.”

@themarginalian

Maria Popova

@themarginalian

2 years

“Love… is the honoring of others in a way that grants them the grace of their own autonomy and allows mutual discovery.” From the psychologist turned pioneering sculptor Anne Truitt, a wonderful read on compassion and the cure for self-righteousness:

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April Wensel

1 year

An engineer on why he doesn’t have to learn how to give compassionate feedback: “I just write what I really want to say and then tell ChatGPT to make it nicer.” 😳 More on this in the latest Compassionate Coding newsletter, which I just sent out. 🗞️

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

1 year

“I think of the trees and how simply they let go, let fall the riches of a season, how without grief (it seems) they can let go… Imitate the trees. Learn to lose in order to recover, and remember that nothing stays the same for long, not even pain…” —May Sarton Today:

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April Wensel

2 years

This was a good reason to step away from the computer.

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

4 months

Feeling much better after just a few minutes of this. 🌊

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

8 months

📺 The video of my Singapore keynote is up! "Compassionate Coding: Showing Care Between the Keyboard and the Chair." Thanks to the @iosconfsg organizers and everyone who came up afterward to share kind words and personal stories. 💙

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

2 months

@oliverburkeman Those tweets break my heart… People are starved for connection and validation, begging for support. That said, the value of a reply is confirmation that someone cares at least enough to write back when prompted. It’s minimal connection, but I assume better than nothing.

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April Wensel

6 months

I’ll miss Women Who Code. 💔 Everyone was welcome—it was just a fun, supportive group. Hopefully new communities emerge…

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

10 months

Reflection questions to consider when tempted to start or join a social media pile-on:

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April Wensel

24 days

Had to pause the run to appreciate.

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

6 months

Thanks to everyone who has been interacting with my posts! Social media can be a drag, but it’s hard to avoid when you’re running a tech-related small business. Grateful for the support. It helps more than you may realize. 💙

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

3 years

Awestruck. 😍

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

4 months

An insecure boss is one of the most dangerous kinds. They will sabotage your efforts and try to prevent your growth. There are strategies for “managing up” to deal with them, but it’s emotionally exhausting. Best strategy: plan your escape.

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

3 years

I am *so* ready to hand these to real live humans at a real live tech event tonight. 💙

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

9 months

I cut my errands short to get to the ocean when I saw these clouds forming. Priorities. 😍

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

2 years

A moment to breathe.

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

17 days

In workshops, people often ask me about the difference between empathy and compassion. There's not universal agreement, as it turns out, but this is helpful as a general guide. The active component of compassion makes it an empowering and ultimately uplifting choice.

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

3 months

No June Gloom tonight. 🤩

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

3 years

“I’m no great runner, by any means…. But that’s not the point. The point is whether or not I improved over yesterday. In long-distance running the only opponent you have to beat is yourself…” — Haruki Murakami, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running Today’s trail:

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

6 months

Ok yes, ready to change my profile pic…

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

6 months

I learned this week that some younger adults don’t know what burning a CD means, and I’m still having trouble coping. 😳

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April Wensel

2 years

In case you could use some extra beauty in your day, too…

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

2 months

My visiting friend asked if you just get used to the sunsets after living here a while. Not in my experience! Each one still feels magical. 🙌

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

2 years

One last hike to close out the year.

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

10 months

This post makes a powerful point. Challenging the tech stereotypes around personality, interests, and style can be so isolating. I wonder how many we’ve lost…

@relic_radiation

Elena Lake 🌿

@relic_radiation

2 years

I wonder if I could have worked in tech for longer if anyone else’s desk at all looked like this

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

3 years

“[T]he touching human longing for sympathy, that impulse to have our suffering recognized and validated, has grown distorted by a troubling compulsion for broadcast-suffering…[T]he unlucky events of life have become the currency of attention and identification.”

@themarginalian

Maria Popova

@themarginalian

3 years

Wonderful lens-clearing and perspective-shift from a Stoic: Marcus Aurelius on the good luck of your bad luck

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

9 months

In an exciting turn of events, I am headed to Singapore to speak at @iosconfsg this week! ✈️ My keynote: “Compassionate Coding: Showing Care Between the Keyboard and the Chair.” 💙 Thanks to the organizers for bringing the community back together! I stopped by the peaceful

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

10 months

What a gift. 😍

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

11 months

I had to pull over to savor this sunrise. 🤩 Safe travels out there!

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

8 months

Most important appointment of the day.

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

8 months

What a sunset. 😍

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

5 months

Birthday burger, veganized. 🍔🌱

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

6 months

Springtime sunset by the sea. ☀️

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

7 months

I used to push a little more to stop calling them soft skills so they’d be taken more seriously, but now moving up a level, I’d rather just see everything “soft” receive its due respect.

@SusanDavid_PhD

Susan David, Ph.D.

@SusanDavid_PhD

7 months

Human skills aren’t “soft.” They’re essential. The past few years have clearly demonstrated the crucial impact of these skills on innovation, inclusion and wellbeing—an impact that will only increase with the inevitable complexity of the future.

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

1 year

Stunning sunset tonight.

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

2 years

A dose of beauty from last night.

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

2 years

Peaceful moment today.

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

9 months

Moral support whiteboard at #iosConfSG in case you need to hear it. ✨

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

10 months

Another beauty. 😍

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

8 months

Mailing out stickers this weekend! ✨

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

1 year

Sure, there are “meetings that could have been emails,” but there are also emotionally rich face-to-face human conversations that help us avoid misunderstandings, broken relationships, missed opportunities, and months spent moving in the wrong direction.

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

18 days

Lots of creative work at the desk today, but I still made time for sunset. 🌊 There’s no one way to balance a life.

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

2 months

I was at a meetup the other day where people were expressing hopelessness about polarization and longing for the days when people could disagree and still be friends. I jumped at the chance to mention the inspiring work Braver Angels is doing to help people bridge divides.

@abraverway

A Braver Way Podcast

2 months

Spread the word! Bridging the political divide can be rewarding. And illuminating. And stereotype crushing. And prejudice reducing. Even when you hold nothing back. Don’t keep this secret! 🤫 NEW EPISODE out now:

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April Wensel

8 months

Up in a tree this morning picking tangerines. 🍊

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

3 months

This is such a common scenario that we cover it in nearly every Compassionate Coding workshop. I was being pithy for Twitter, but handling it requires empathy on both sides. PMs have good intentions. So do engineers. But we have to bridge the gap or everyone suffers.

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

3 months

Happy summer! 🏝️

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

2 years

Beach giving free pep talks.

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

6 months

Made these deviled potatoes for Easter yesterday that were a hit with non-vegans! 🎉 Recipe below.

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

2 years

“Please…reevaluate your relationship with these platforms. … Do I really need to watch this video or click on this link?”

@richroll

richroll

2 years

The algorithmic assault on agency & sentience.

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

6 months

Beautiful empty beach on a rainy day. 🌊

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

2 months

What it takes to succeed within current corporate environments is often very different from what it takes to improve these environments or create healthier new ones. That's something to keep in mind when evaluating advice from people who have only had experience at Big Tech Co.

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

2 months

A recruiter friend posted about how a rude rebuff from a candidate affected her. Engineers get a lot of recruiter messages, and some do feel spammy. But it’s worth remembering that recruiters are humans, worthy of compassion. A polite message—or silence—is always an option.

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

1 year

The “passion” for coding discussion is also plagued by binary thinking. Having passion for the work can feel amazing. And great contributions have been made by passionate devs. But…companies can take advantage of it, it can lead to burnout, and it isn’t necessary to succeed.

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

8 months

FYI I’m still re-following people! I unfollowed literally everyone during the pandemic, including IRL friends, because it was just all too much on here. I focused emotional energy on a few client teams and my local community. But it’s felt better lately. Ready to re-engage. 👋

@aprilwensel

April Wensel

1 year

I’m adding people back gradually, as I encounter them. Hopefully you don’t and didn’t take any of this personally, and besides, who knows how long this platform or my account will exist anyway. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Followed/unfollowed/blocked/muted/deleted/unknown… I still wish you well. 💙

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April Wensel

2 years

Found a new debugging helper on today’s pick: lemon ducky.

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

1 year

Fiery sunset tonight.

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April Wensel

8 months

There’s something peaceful about an empty beach on a rainy day.

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April Wensel

4 months

Lunch break at a park near the office. Even getting out for a little bit of nature time makes such a difference!

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April Wensel

8 months

The colors came out right at the end when most people had already left. Locals know, though—it’s usually worth waiting until after the credits. 🤩

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

11 months

Outside of a few scenarios, a resistance to hiring juniors is a red flag. As far as where it comes from: - Many developers are just much less interested in anything that’s not directly coding, e.g. nurturing juniors - Other devs are interested but overextended already; guiding

@ceceliacreates

Cecelia Martinez

@ceceliacreates

11 months

I see teams say “we’re not ready to hire juniors yet” a lot. What do you think is specifically preventing you from it? Lack of senior mentors, documentation, onboarding processes? Something else? What would you need at minimum to feel ready to hire a junior dev? RT for reach!

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April Wensel

7 days

Let’s say you’re upset about something at work. You can choose to be - passive by staying quiet - aggressive by hurling insults or threats - passive-aggressive by rolling your eyes or making sarcastic jokes (The latter two sadly perform well on social media.) Or… you choose

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April Wensel

8 months

It was a little jarring to see a post about "how I made over $600K a year working at Meta and you can too" and then watch the hearing on youth mental health damage caused by Facebook. I really don't know whether people just ignore it or rationalize it or what. It's puzzling…

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April Wensel

2 years

The awe hits me every time on these trails. Here’s to the real world.

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April Wensel

28 days

Part of my mission in speaking at tech conferences as someone who codes *and* cares about humans is to convince the community to welcome speakers who have never coded at all. Artists, philosophers, teachers, etc., offer valuable perspectives that are much needed in our industry.

@aprilwensel

April Wensel

8 months

“People who don’t code at all and never have still have a lot of great insights to offer us.” [To non-coders this may seem obvious, but believe me, it needs to be said… again and again and again. 😅]

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April Wensel

4 months

Heartspotting on our lemon pick this morning. 💛

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April Wensel

21 days

“You often feel tired, not because you’ve done too much, but because you’ve done too little of what sparks a light in you.” —Alexander Den Heijer, Nothing You Don't Already Know

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April Wensel

10 months

"Nature has no agenda for us. When we're present with the sights and sounds in any natural setting, we are free to not-do." —James Baraz, Awakening Joy

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April Wensel

2 months

Sunshine peeking through a very tall tangelo tree this morning. ☀️

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April Wensel

3 years

Yesterday: May Gray Today: May Rosé

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April Wensel

2 years

You’ll have to take my word for it, but the halo was there in real life.

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April Wensel

1 year

Off to make new friends at an in-person event! 🎉

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April Wensel

3 months

In hiring, there’s little you’ll get from 8 rounds of interviews that you can’t get from 3 done well. The real test for both sides will be the first few months. The reason companies can get away with the gauntlet approach is that with so many candidates, they hold the power.

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April Wensel

7 months

No way to fully capture the magic, but I had to try. Happy Sunday! 💙

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April Wensel

5 months

Little touch of beauty at the train station.

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April Wensel

1 year

A beautiful complex sunset tonight.

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April Wensel

11 months

All tech problems are ultimately human problems…

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April Wensel

4 months

After WomenWhoCode came to an unexpected end, Eliza created a helpful list of spin-off groups. She’s now made it into a GitHub repo—check it out!

@gravitytrope

🧃🌸🍒 Eliza Sarobhasa ᕕ(ᐛ)ᕗ 🎂 at #XOXOFest

4 months

@aprilwensel Hello @aprilwensel ! I finally made a github repo of the master list if you'd like to share on socials 💖

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April Wensel

1 month

Such a pretty sky on today’s run. 🤩

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April Wensel

1 year

Found a rock to match my shirt. 💙

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April Wensel

6 months

That morning light… 🌞

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@aprilwensel

April Wensel

22 days

I realized the behaviors rewarded in my tech job—long hours of sedentary screen time, binary thinking, obsessing over efficiency and fault-finding, etc.—ran counter to advice on living a happy life. So I started a company to help balance things out. From our @FrontEndHH chat.

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