Security Testing Journal Entry | w/e Friday February 13, 2026 - "Positive Manifestations" Ed.

Highlights for the week

A good question worth answering: Are you doing the hard things?

The answer is a resounding "yes!" I have been challenging myself with doing new things. The cherry on top was leveraging AI to write a script that helped me with an automation task. The end result was a customizable script that parses the page for DOM elements to streamline the process of mapping locators as part of a typescript page-object-model (POM).

For my Security Consultant / Pentesting career goals, it's time to pause > reassess > recalibrate. Simplify what is working. Re-align tasks that move you forward. Focus on better goals. So why am I doing what I'm doing and why:

1. I'm working on BBH with BugCrowd to keep my skills sharpened. I'm approaching sites like a Pen Test, going through the entire process to educate myself on where I failed at SI.
2. I'm working on the occassional U-Test project to keep my QA skills tip-top. Resume implies I'm too long out of work. Consistency proves otherwise.
3. I'm working on AI side projects to learn, do, and grow.
4. I'm working on automation side projects for the same reason: learn, do, grow.
5. I'm writing when I have time because I love it. It improves my communication and puts my talents to use. I may want to finish the book and get published.
6. I'm working out because it improves my mental well being along with my physical.
7. I'm doing the work to rebuild myself esteem, improve the self-talk, and rebuild trust with myself. Get 1% better every ... single ... day!

What We’re Grateful For

1. Glad that I get to wake up and live to see another day.
2. Grateful for the comforts of a warm bed given the super-cold week.
3. Happy to have another week full of good learnings.

What We Learned

1. [QA Day] Used IBM Granite 4.0 to write a JS script that parses the page for DOM elements for use in building out automation page-objects.
2. New Pen Test - Quarter of the way through my new pen test, TheFork - a restaurant booking app.
3. Mentorship w. Imani - who knows what is happening. Her work and school schedule have changed impacting our meetings.
4. Got back to writing "Husb." - convergence is happening.
5. Portswigger - need to find a new module.
6. AI day - need to make time; Found a cool AI Pen Testing Lab.
7. Shared blog post on linked .. getting minimal to no interactions.

What We Longed For

1. 7 MONTHS ... NO JOB. It's so bad!!

What We Loathed

1. 2026 Job Market!!