Cyprus                   The Team Lead's Legacy        19 September 2024


   What often amuses and astonishes me is how swiftly and unexpectedly
   life can change.  Just a year and a half ago, I started working as a
   DevOps engineer at my current company.  I vividly remember my
   interview: having just fled Russia for Georgia, I decided to visit a
   good friend in Armenia who was also hiding from state persecution.
   While strolling around the outskirts of Gyumri, I realised I wouldn't
   make it back in time for one of my many scheduled interviews.  So, I
   stopped in a park and spoke with my future team lead over the phone.
   It felt surreal - a bit awkward and somewhat daunting - but I was
   ready to embrace the challenge.

   Back in Tbilisi, after wrapping up all my interviews, I had to choose
   between three offers.  I opted for the company I'd interviewed with
   while in Armenia.  My team lead, Alexey, onboarded me during those
   initial days.  After six months of dodging the authorities and
   fleeing Russia, my mental state was quite fragile.  The beginning
   wasn't easy, but thanks to Alexey's support, I soon started handling
   tasks worthy of an engineer.  Only now do I realise how much effort
   he put in to help me find my feet so quickly.

   Time passed, and I grew professionally.  Eventually, the time came to
   meet my team in person.  It happened under rather unusual
   circumstances: the lads found cheap flights from Cyprus to Kutaisi
   and decided to visit me for the weekend.  That's when I first met
   Alexey, Evgeny, and Georgy.  I remember that while Evgeny, Georgy,
   and I were sipping beer and chatting, Alexey was occupied with more
   pressing matters - fending off DDoS attacks hitting our production
   environment and keeping an eye on our colleague Roman, who stayed in
   Cyprus to revive a downed data centre.  It was then I first saw
   Alexey's corporate laptop, completely covered in stickers - even
   around the touchpad and underneath.

   This year, I travelled to Cyprus on a business trip for the first
   time.  Unfortunately, I didn't get to see Alexey or some of my other
   esteemed DevOps colleagues at work.  However, Alexey had "bequeathed"
   his corporate laptop to me.  On my first day in the office at my new
   workstation, I found that very laptop adorned with all sorts of
   stickers - the one that belonged to my former team lead.  And it's so
   ironic and surreal: I'm now working on the same laptop Alexey once
   used - for interviewing me, onboarding me, reviewing my commits,
   attending meetings, and so much more.

   At first glance, it might seem trivial, but such things have always
   meant a lot to me.  I'd rather have a laptop worn by time and rich
   with stories than a new one without any unique past.  I recall
   sitting in a meeting room with this laptop, seeing myself on the live
   camera feed just as I once saw my colleagues.  It's strange to be on
   the other side of the screen and feel that familiar sense of
   unreality.  The journey from my first day at the company to this
   business trip has been immense, and none of it would have happened
   without Alexey, who was a remarkable mentor throughout.  And if it
   weren't for that park in Armenia.  And that very laptop.





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