[jefurii]

I wish I'd gotten to know this Michael. I used to attend SoCal Python but stopped after it moved out to West LA and started to feel like an exclusive club that I couldn't be part of. I interviewed at his company and was rejected in a way that still casts a shadow on my confidence as a developer. I tried to volunteer at the SCaLE booth but after I took a break to go to a session he let me know in no uncertain terms that I was not welcome back and I've stayed away from the community ever since.

It sounds like everyone else experienced him as a really great guy and I'm glad he was there for the community. Given the glowing praise he is receiving from everyone here and elsewhere it's probably my fault. I must have sad something wrong and I guess I just wasn't able to receive his gruff way of talking as humor or caring. I'm sad that I missed the chance to appreciate him the way so many others have.