End of Chaper
Every now and again in life you reach a point of transition. I've had a few previously where it really felt like one chapter ending and another beginning. This one feels like a big one. I think I would say this might be the end of Chapter 2 even.
I think chapter 1 went all the way through my second year of college.
I was born, did high school. Did soccer for a year in school, track for 2 years. Drama for 4 years though half was behind the stage on technical and half in front. Was in mostly advanced classes, mainly in math, but my favorite classes were art classes.
Went to OSU, as a ton of people from my high school did. Unfortunately this also meant that most of the people I knew in college were actually from highschool. Had a girlfriend who was from highschool actually. Moved in with her we were together a few years. At this time I was doing computer science as a degree.
Things sort of fell apart from there. I wasn't very responsible in school. I don't know why. I felt intimidated by the whole prospect and I wasn't very good at managing my time. I all but failed out. Things weren't going well with my girlfriend either. I just didn't really feel it with her, I needed to change. She didn't want to break up, but we did, and I moved. End chapter 1.
Chapter 2 was putting things back together and watching them fall apart again.
I lived a few places, met some new people. Went to college for a while in another city. Met some friends I have to this day. Switched majors from computer science to communication studies. Ended up moving to Portland where I sat around a bit then finished my degree. People bash on a comm degree but a comm degree can really vary in its focus. I got a bachelor's of science in communication studies, which basically means the study of communication process. Things like market research, studying mass media and message penetration, marketing, social media, etc etc. Lots of classes on statistics and survey process, some on things like public speaking, group communication, but for BS its mostly science.
I got a job pretty soon after that paid fairly well considering my primary employment experience was fighting fires during summer in college or working for the forest service. It was for a rather small market research company that focused primarily on technical brands and had a lot of big clients. I worked on projects ranging from AMD to XEROX. I started doing data tabulation and did things ranging from survey design to designing presentation layouts. I worked there a total of 3 years. Near the end I was in charge of the graphics team. I didn't have a ton of responsibility, but I did get to direct what projects individuals were assigned to ,manage feedback and graphics layout for projects.
The company ended up being bought by an Indian company, Hansa. Unfortunately, the Indian company already had a huge pool of employees that could work for cheaper than any of the Americans could. They basically laid off anyone who wasn't a client facing person. This was also at the start of the recession. Bad time to get laid off.
I put in lots of resumes, but not many hits. Market research companies were just not in high demand while companies were tightening their belts. I did nearly get one job, of the hundreds that applied, I did get a second interview. I guess they had narrowed it down to two people, and unfortunately I ended up coming in second in the end.
Since not much was happening this way, I went back to school for graphic design. I took about two years. I did pretty good too. Good grades, but I was running out of money.
I quit school and got an entry level job at a company called ACS. It was interesting the range of people I worked with though. It seems to be the fallback place for a wide section of the population. There were people there just out of highschool, and people who had previously been making six digits. The parking lot was such a mish-mash. You'd see a lot of average to low priced cars, then there'd be a lotus elise, quite a nice BMW, someone's hopped up lexus, etc.
I've worked there for 8 months now, I started furiously applying to other positions because I didn't like this job. If you do well, it doesn't pay bad. It does take a certain level of technical ability. About a third of each class doesn't make it through training because they can't handle learning the tech stuff. But it is still an entry level job. I did get some hits on other companies. I did get one interview with a market research company but not much came from it. A few offers from other entry level companies. But what finally happened was an opening for a supervisor position in Oklahoma. And I applied. I got it too. I guess my interview didn't go that great, but I was given the opportunity to do a few supervisory tasks at my current location and those went great, so I got the job.
So that brings us to now.
So I packed everything I own in my car. Everything that didn't fit was either given to good will, friends, or thrown away. I turned in my keys and left on my new adventure. I traded in my car for a truck. I left Oregon, where I lived for over 30 years for the last time, at least for a while.
Before I go to OK I am in California for my uncle's funeral. He was schizophrenic and most of his life was not able to live without assistance. for the last 10 years though, he actually had his own place. My aunt would go check on him a few times a week to make sure he was ok. Unfortunately the last time he wasn't. He died of pneumonia.
Its weird, right now the only key I have in my possession is to a car. I'm sort of mid-transition. Who knows if this whole Ok thing will work out or if it will all crash down, but right now it's opportunity and that feels good.
I think chapter 1 went all the way through my second year of college.
I was born, did high school. Did soccer for a year in school, track for 2 years. Drama for 4 years though half was behind the stage on technical and half in front. Was in mostly advanced classes, mainly in math, but my favorite classes were art classes.
Went to OSU, as a ton of people from my high school did. Unfortunately this also meant that most of the people I knew in college were actually from highschool. Had a girlfriend who was from highschool actually. Moved in with her we were together a few years. At this time I was doing computer science as a degree.
Things sort of fell apart from there. I wasn't very responsible in school. I don't know why. I felt intimidated by the whole prospect and I wasn't very good at managing my time. I all but failed out. Things weren't going well with my girlfriend either. I just didn't really feel it with her, I needed to change. She didn't want to break up, but we did, and I moved. End chapter 1.
Chapter 2 was putting things back together and watching them fall apart again.
I lived a few places, met some new people. Went to college for a while in another city. Met some friends I have to this day. Switched majors from computer science to communication studies. Ended up moving to Portland where I sat around a bit then finished my degree. People bash on a comm degree but a comm degree can really vary in its focus. I got a bachelor's of science in communication studies, which basically means the study of communication process. Things like market research, studying mass media and message penetration, marketing, social media, etc etc. Lots of classes on statistics and survey process, some on things like public speaking, group communication, but for BS its mostly science.
I got a job pretty soon after that paid fairly well considering my primary employment experience was fighting fires during summer in college or working for the forest service. It was for a rather small market research company that focused primarily on technical brands and had a lot of big clients. I worked on projects ranging from AMD to XEROX. I started doing data tabulation and did things ranging from survey design to designing presentation layouts. I worked there a total of 3 years. Near the end I was in charge of the graphics team. I didn't have a ton of responsibility, but I did get to direct what projects individuals were assigned to ,manage feedback and graphics layout for projects.
The company ended up being bought by an Indian company, Hansa. Unfortunately, the Indian company already had a huge pool of employees that could work for cheaper than any of the Americans could. They basically laid off anyone who wasn't a client facing person. This was also at the start of the recession. Bad time to get laid off.
I put in lots of resumes, but not many hits. Market research companies were just not in high demand while companies were tightening their belts. I did nearly get one job, of the hundreds that applied, I did get a second interview. I guess they had narrowed it down to two people, and unfortunately I ended up coming in second in the end.
Since not much was happening this way, I went back to school for graphic design. I took about two years. I did pretty good too. Good grades, but I was running out of money.
I quit school and got an entry level job at a company called ACS. It was interesting the range of people I worked with though. It seems to be the fallback place for a wide section of the population. There were people there just out of highschool, and people who had previously been making six digits. The parking lot was such a mish-mash. You'd see a lot of average to low priced cars, then there'd be a lotus elise, quite a nice BMW, someone's hopped up lexus, etc.
I've worked there for 8 months now, I started furiously applying to other positions because I didn't like this job. If you do well, it doesn't pay bad. It does take a certain level of technical ability. About a third of each class doesn't make it through training because they can't handle learning the tech stuff. But it is still an entry level job. I did get some hits on other companies. I did get one interview with a market research company but not much came from it. A few offers from other entry level companies. But what finally happened was an opening for a supervisor position in Oklahoma. And I applied. I got it too. I guess my interview didn't go that great, but I was given the opportunity to do a few supervisory tasks at my current location and those went great, so I got the job.
So that brings us to now.
So I packed everything I own in my car. Everything that didn't fit was either given to good will, friends, or thrown away. I turned in my keys and left on my new adventure. I traded in my car for a truck. I left Oregon, where I lived for over 30 years for the last time, at least for a while.
Before I go to OK I am in California for my uncle's funeral. He was schizophrenic and most of his life was not able to live without assistance. for the last 10 years though, he actually had his own place. My aunt would go check on him a few times a week to make sure he was ok. Unfortunately the last time he wasn't. He died of pneumonia.
Its weird, right now the only key I have in my possession is to a car. I'm sort of mid-transition. Who knows if this whole Ok thing will work out or if it will all crash down, but right now it's opportunity and that feels good.