You can't spell career without a car
Yeah. It's been a while since I've posted anything substantial about my life. I've been meaning to write about recent events, but I end up falling asleep after work and dinner hahaha ^_^ Speaking of which:
I finally have a career!!!!!
Friday, September 28th, was my last day of working at a "job".
Ever since graduating from high school (a long long time ago), I've struggled and endured through jobs that barely paid the bills. I never felt like I worked at a company with any potential for growth. Even though the experiences were beneficial to a certain degree, those paths ultimately led to dead-ends and high blood pressure.
Monday, October 1st, was the first day of the rest of my life.
I am now a Software Consultant for one of the largest consulting firms in Central Ohio. Not only is this career challenging and exciting: in my opinion it has the most potential for growth even just a few years down the road. I hold a full-time salaried position developing, designing, and programming applications mainly for the Internet (well, these days EVERYTHING is involved with the Internet...) Initially, I was hired to handle programming tasks within Flash using the ActionScript language.
Filled with excitement and relief for finally finding a career, I was ready to submit my standard 2-week-notice. But, before I even had the chance to speak with my previous employers, I was called back by my recruiter with an offer of a higher base salary if I was willing to start right away! $$$$$$$$ Apparently, they needed someone ASAP to join a project for a website expecting to launch in a few weeks.
So, I'm coming upon the end of my second week at this client located in the heart of the Arena District in Downtown Columbus. Needless to say, I LOVE it there. The client is one of the largest and more prominent design firms in the Midwest. I was amazed at their portfolio. Their office boasts the various traits of the ".com" companies: eclectic and eccentric art designers and Frank Lloyd Wright furniture galore. I, on the other hand, have a folding table in a busy aisle for my computer desk hahaha. Probably the only drawback of a major Internet company: they're running out of space. But don't get me wrong. I love the perks! Lots of friendly people to work with (and network with), tons of free GOURMET food (from restaurants I normally can't afford), and a St. Bernard pulling a cart full of ice-cold beer around the office (actually, it's a Burmese Mountain Dog... picture link at the end of my rambling!)
This first project couldn't have been more suitable for me. My initial consulting duties have me provisioned to handle all the HTML and CSS styling for a small website expected to launch next Wednesday. For the sake of confidentiality, I probably shouldn't be talking about it until then, but I will say the task is not as easy as you might think. I'm "inheriting" a current website and adding/updating several pages to promote a huge charity event next month. Even though coding HTML and general web design seems mind-numbingly easy to software developers as myself, the overall corporate experience of developing a website from start to finish has really made my transition into the career world painless and quite enjoyable. I fuggin' love sitting through 3 meetings a day talking about ONE web page out of a dozen due for the deadline. I could go on-and-on about everything most people find irritating about 9-to-5 life, yet I find to be exciting (so far): expensive parking, rush hour traffic, having to wear nice clothes (I WANT to wear a tie, dammit, but nobody else does), carrying a briefcase (will convert to a USB jump-drive after payday), and working 10+ hours a day. I FACKING LOVE IT! This is my CAREER. This is what I want to do with my life and this is why I went to college. *Whew!* Okay. Moving on:
I can't get enough of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for the DS. Had I not been so exhausted last Monday after work, I would've gone out at Midnight in search for it. I bought it last Tuesday night and haven't stopped playing it since then!!! I will admit to being skeptical about another Zelda for a hand-held system (wasn't a huge fan of Four Swords), but all those doubts were cleared the moment I swung my stylus to make Link move and attack! It's an awesome hybrid of Wind Waker and Link to the Past... and Nintendo ingenuity (erm, is that a "tri-brid"?) It's totally understandable why this game has been a top-seller in Japan since its initial launch. Seriously, all I want to do is play this game! I even went out and bought the larger stylus because my hand started cramping up from playing the mini-games for hours on end. BTW - does anyone have previous experience with a 3rd party stylus? I'm paranoid they'll break and I'll accidentally scratch the touch-screen.
I went up to Michigan a couple of weekends ago to hang out with peeps and share the good news and good feelings ^_^ On Friday night: Kelly, Rich, Vinh, Sabiha, Rob, and myself started out at the 1999 Tavern for food and spirits. I splurged on crab cakes and Stella. We did some bar-hopping and ended up at our favorite Box Bar with their 600+ beers (San Miguel! Ito ang beer!) Both bars are in downtown Plymouth, which has a gorgeous plaza and several shops. Saturday, I had hoped to hang out in Ann Arbor all afternoon playing DrumMania, but Kelly and Sabiha insisted I stayed at the apartment because they had a "surprise" arriving in the afternoon. Well wouldn't ya know it: John and Adam came over from Chicago to spend the weekend with us!!! BEST surprise EVAR ^_^ Ran back to Plymouth to show them the area and the doggie bakery, and then headed over to Cheeburger Cheeburger for yummy milkshakes and to watch Adam devour the 1-pound burger complete with a Polaroid being taken. Saturday night, we went to Royal Kubo: a Filipino karaoke bar! I wasn't too keen on their song selection (seems like they raided a Filipino family's laserdisc collection), but at least they had Pinoy food and cute servers ^_^ Rich introduced me to a bunch of his friends: John Stewart, Sean de la Cruz, and his sister, Clair, to name a few... Went to a club. Danced for a bit. Went out for late fast food. Talked about spiders (and awkward sleeping arrangements). Passed out. Woke up. And played lots of Tetris DS ^_^ 'Twas an incredible weekend.
Gaaah!!! This post was reallllly long. Thank you to those who actually read ALL of it! I want to post more about what's going on with my life because I'm no longer ASHAMED of what I'm doing (or not doing.) Seriously! I've felt guilty and ashamed about my life because I was in college for too long and struggled to motivate myself to get back on track. Well, ya know what? Fack it. Better late than never ^_^ I've been high on life and in a state of euphoria ever since I quit my last job. Welcome to the rest of my life.
Hmm. And now I've gotta think about taking these roadtrips this Fall...
I finally have a career!!!!!
Friday, September 28th, was my last day of working at a "job".
Ever since graduating from high school (a long long time ago), I've struggled and endured through jobs that barely paid the bills. I never felt like I worked at a company with any potential for growth. Even though the experiences were beneficial to a certain degree, those paths ultimately led to dead-ends and high blood pressure.
Monday, October 1st, was the first day of the rest of my life.
I am now a Software Consultant for one of the largest consulting firms in Central Ohio. Not only is this career challenging and exciting: in my opinion it has the most potential for growth even just a few years down the road. I hold a full-time salaried position developing, designing, and programming applications mainly for the Internet (well, these days EVERYTHING is involved with the Internet...) Initially, I was hired to handle programming tasks within Flash using the ActionScript language.
Filled with excitement and relief for finally finding a career, I was ready to submit my standard 2-week-notice. But, before I even had the chance to speak with my previous employers, I was called back by my recruiter with an offer of a higher base salary if I was willing to start right away! $$$$$$$$ Apparently, they needed someone ASAP to join a project for a website expecting to launch in a few weeks.
So, I'm coming upon the end of my second week at this client located in the heart of the Arena District in Downtown Columbus. Needless to say, I LOVE it there. The client is one of the largest and more prominent design firms in the Midwest. I was amazed at their portfolio. Their office boasts the various traits of the ".com" companies: eclectic and eccentric art designers and Frank Lloyd Wright furniture galore. I, on the other hand, have a folding table in a busy aisle for my computer desk hahaha. Probably the only drawback of a major Internet company: they're running out of space. But don't get me wrong. I love the perks! Lots of friendly people to work with (and network with), tons of free GOURMET food (from restaurants I normally can't afford), and a St. Bernard pulling a cart full of ice-cold beer around the office (actually, it's a Burmese Mountain Dog... picture link at the end of my rambling!)
This first project couldn't have been more suitable for me. My initial consulting duties have me provisioned to handle all the HTML and CSS styling for a small website expected to launch next Wednesday. For the sake of confidentiality, I probably shouldn't be talking about it until then, but I will say the task is not as easy as you might think. I'm "inheriting" a current website and adding/updating several pages to promote a huge charity event next month. Even though coding HTML and general web design seems mind-numbingly easy to software developers as myself, the overall corporate experience of developing a website from start to finish has really made my transition into the career world painless and quite enjoyable. I fuggin' love sitting through 3 meetings a day talking about ONE web page out of a dozen due for the deadline. I could go on-and-on about everything most people find irritating about 9-to-5 life, yet I find to be exciting (so far): expensive parking, rush hour traffic, having to wear nice clothes (I WANT to wear a tie, dammit, but nobody else does), carrying a briefcase (will convert to a USB jump-drive after payday), and working 10+ hours a day. I FACKING LOVE IT! This is my CAREER. This is what I want to do with my life and this is why I went to college. *Whew!* Okay. Moving on:
I can't get enough of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for the DS. Had I not been so exhausted last Monday after work, I would've gone out at Midnight in search for it. I bought it last Tuesday night and haven't stopped playing it since then!!! I will admit to being skeptical about another Zelda for a hand-held system (wasn't a huge fan of Four Swords), but all those doubts were cleared the moment I swung my stylus to make Link move and attack! It's an awesome hybrid of Wind Waker and Link to the Past... and Nintendo ingenuity (erm, is that a "tri-brid"?) It's totally understandable why this game has been a top-seller in Japan since its initial launch. Seriously, all I want to do is play this game! I even went out and bought the larger stylus because my hand started cramping up from playing the mini-games for hours on end. BTW - does anyone have previous experience with a 3rd party stylus? I'm paranoid they'll break and I'll accidentally scratch the touch-screen.
I went up to Michigan a couple of weekends ago to hang out with peeps and share the good news and good feelings ^_^ On Friday night: Kelly, Rich, Vinh, Sabiha, Rob, and myself started out at the 1999 Tavern for food and spirits. I splurged on crab cakes and Stella. We did some bar-hopping and ended up at our favorite Box Bar with their 600+ beers (San Miguel! Ito ang beer!) Both bars are in downtown Plymouth, which has a gorgeous plaza and several shops. Saturday, I had hoped to hang out in Ann Arbor all afternoon playing DrumMania, but Kelly and Sabiha insisted I stayed at the apartment because they had a "surprise" arriving in the afternoon. Well wouldn't ya know it: John and Adam came over from Chicago to spend the weekend with us!!! BEST surprise EVAR ^_^ Ran back to Plymouth to show them the area and the doggie bakery, and then headed over to Cheeburger Cheeburger for yummy milkshakes and to watch Adam devour the 1-pound burger complete with a Polaroid being taken. Saturday night, we went to Royal Kubo: a Filipino karaoke bar! I wasn't too keen on their song selection (seems like they raided a Filipino family's laserdisc collection), but at least they had Pinoy food and cute servers ^_^ Rich introduced me to a bunch of his friends: John Stewart, Sean de la Cruz, and his sister, Clair, to name a few... Went to a club. Danced for a bit. Went out for late fast food. Talked about spiders (and awkward sleeping arrangements). Passed out. Woke up. And played lots of Tetris DS ^_^ 'Twas an incredible weekend.
Gaaah!!! This post was reallllly long. Thank you to those who actually read ALL of it! I want to post more about what's going on with my life because I'm no longer ASHAMED of what I'm doing (or not doing.) Seriously! I've felt guilty and ashamed about my life because I was in college for too long and struggled to motivate myself to get back on track. Well, ya know what? Fack it. Better late than never ^_^ I've been high on life and in a state of euphoria ever since I quit my last job. Welcome to the rest of my life.
Hmm. And now I've gotta think about taking these roadtrips this Fall...