Who are you, and what do you do? What do you like to do outside of work?

I’m Sarah, and I found my niche in coding only recently. I spent a decade in finance before I decided to get started with a career, and I signed up for a boot camp! I started out in JavaScript/React, translated that into several other languages as I began my job search journey, and landed at a Drupal company last spring. I love coding, and I tend to lose hours buried in puzzles.

I am also an extremely active person; I get up early every day to do yoga, then I walk my dogs (and the neighbors’ dogs), then I wake up my kids and get them off to school before starting my workday. I work at a stand-up desk with an antifatigue balance board, and I usually take a midday break to do something outdoors (go running with a dog, mow the lawn, whatever will get me out).

I also love cooking and reading, but I usually have limited time for anything, since my wife and I adopted our three kids a couple years ago. We added a fourth kid, her nephew, last year, so we have our hands full!

What hardware do you use?

I was a lifelong Windows user until I started this coding journey, and now I’ve made the switch to a MacBook Pro.

I have always been the type of person who will figure out a way to make do with what I have and only upgrade if I have an urgent reason. Our house was under construction for a year and just finished last fall, so I was trying to work from home from my bedroom while we were all crammed into a very small space. I had to compress everything and found a temporary keyboard and mouse that fit within the size limits, but unfortunately my body suffered from being hunched forward and forced to bring my hands so close together all day.

As soon as our space expanded, I asked around for new keyboard and mouse recommendations, and a coworker sent me a link to the Moonlander. I bought it that day, and I’ve been happily using it ever since with no more body pain! I also got a Logitech mouse to help with ergonomics.

And what software?

I am not sure I could survive without my Google Calendar. If it’s not on my calendar or in my Notes app on my phone, then it didn’t happen and won’t happen. We use the Google Suite at work as well, so it would be tough for me to transition away.

Even though I am immersed in a PHP culture, I am clinging for dear life to my VSCode. I learned Java on IntelliJ IDEA, and I disliked both the language and the IDE so much (I was working on a crappy PC with 8GB of memory that was already stuffed full, and the app crashed constantly) that I’ve had trouble making the switch to PhpStorm. Maybe someday.

What’s your keyboard setup like? Do you use a custom layout or custom keycaps?

I used the prefab layout straight out of the gate so I could get used to the split keyboard typing, and now I’ve just become complacent. Someday soon I will customize my keys, but like I said earlier, I tend to just make do with what I have until I have a reason to make the change. I do keep my keyboard with full rainbow lights at all times, and I can’t wait to make the rainbow lights dance along to my music eventually. Someday. Spare time is sparse with four kids aged 4-15.

What would be your dream setup?

My dream setup would be a desk that adjusts to me as I move—not just up and down, but follows me around all over. My entire office floor would be antifatigue (we’ve had a concrete floor since 2015, and it lost its charm to walk on long ago), the lighting would be either natural or soft, and I would have plants everywhere. A sound system would keep beats pumping all day, but I would have a pillow-like headset for meetings. I’m a simple person, so I wouldn’t add anything more to my screens, and if we are sticking to reality, then my setup would be pretty close to what it is now, with the addition of perhaps an underdesk treadmill or stationary bike.