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Posts Tagged ‘intel’

Checking In

Sunday, October 31st, 2021 No comments

Wow, time flies. It’s been a while since my last post, so I figured I’d pop in with an update like I do.

Life has been great. Between spending time with friends and PDX Gaymers events, I’ve been busy. October especially with all the Halloween things. My friend Aaron had a Disney-themed party this year. I dressed like a Sith Lord and everyone seemed to like it. PDX Gaymers had a Halloween game night again and my friend Jer also had a party. I’ve come to enjoy Halloween these past few years. I sympathize with those who don’t get into it but have to watch as everyone else is excited about it. It’s kinda how I’ve felt about Thanksgiving and Christmas most recent years.

Speaking of Thanksgiving and Christmas, it feels like a sprint from October until the end of the year. So much happening and work usually has end of the year deadlines. At least I have a few weeks to catch my breath though before things really pick up again.

Work at Nike is still great. I’m not sure that there’s any chance of being hired full time. Not on this team, at least. I received an offer from a team at Intel to return there. A generous offer. I didn’t even have to go through an interview process, probably because I was recommended by one of my old managers. I ended up turning it down, mostly because I didn’t think I would like the work and I would be unmotivated to come to to work every day. While this was going on, a team that includes some of the people I last worked with there also wanted to make an offer, but they couldn’t because of the other offer. It’s nice to feel wanted. I still feel the mental effects of that year of unemployment I had.

I got my covid booster on the 20th. Thank goodness for vaccines. So glad that I’m able to go out and have fun again this year.

I went to see the Trailblazers play the Clippers on the 29th. Aaron got tickets through his work. Floor seats! So weird being that close to all the action.

Oh, early in the month I went to see a Bianca Del Rio show. Wendy Ho opened for her. They were both so funny. I’ve never seen the early seasons of Drag Race, but I want to go back and watch them.

There’s more stuff coming up, but I’ll save it for another time. Happy Halloween!

It’s About Time

Saturday, July 25th, 2020 No comments

Yesterday was the one year anniversary of my team at Intel finding out that we were all being laid off. A few days ago I received an offer for a contract position. I held off on saying anything publicly because I received an offer for a contract role at Nike last September, but it was rescinded the next day because they wanted to go in another direction. I can’t remember if I mentioned that here or not. This position is with Walmart through a company called Insight Global. I’m definitely not a fan of Walmart. I had stopped shopping there even when I lived in the land of Walmart. However, a good friend reminded me that we are more important than our employers. I’m not going to feel too bad that Walmart is keeping a roof over my head. They’re giving me a chance when nobody else would. If doesn’t have to be forever. Since my start date is in 2 days I’m pretty confident I will actually get to start. My laptop was mailed yesterday and is expected to arrive Monday morning.

It’ll be nice and also weird to really be working again. Other than a short contract I worked on during the month of June, I haven’t done any “real” work since last July.

This will be a remote position. I’m going to turn my 2nd bedroom into a home office again. I’ve already ordered a new desk and a few other things.

Christmas 2019

Tuesday, December 31st, 2019 No comments

Wow! I had so little Christmas spirit this year! Between not working, being by myself so much, and the warm weather, it didn’t feel like Christmas. I didn’t start listening to Christmas music until Christmas morning and after that I was done with it.

Like Thanksgiving, I thought I was going to be spending the day hanging out alone with the dogs. Two days before, my friend Nir invited me to a Chinese dinner and a movie night he was organizing. The day after this I was invited to dinner at my former co-worker Aaron’s house, but I had to turn them down. My friend Jer and a guy named Dallas who I had recently met at a PDX Gaymers event were there for Chinese dinner, as well as some people that I had never met. I knew that people went out to restaurants on Christmas, but I didn’t know Chinese dinner on Christmas Day was a thing. This dinner was an experience. Some people’s orders weren’t quite right. The water tasted bad. I was pretty much told I couldn’t have what I wanted and I was told what I would get instead. After dinner, we saw Little Women, which was really good. I wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I did.

A few days after Christmas, we had a holiday party at Alex and Robert Lee-Olson’s house. It was a great time. I got to see some people I hadn’t seen in while. I’ve been a little bit of a hermit lately and some people’s schedules or location make it hard to get together often.

I don’t care what people say, presents are one of the parts of Christmas I still enjoy. What did I get this year? I hope I’m not forgetting anything.

  • dog treats for Max and Reese
  • a book on dog massages
  • Yooka Laylee and the Impossible Lair
  • The Sinister Mystery of the Mesmerizing Girl by Theodora Goss
  • a Black Panther build a bear
  • Astral Chain
  • a cross
  • Thor, Dr Strange, and Tony Stark pop vinyls
  • Reese’s candy
  • A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by George R.R. Martin
  • many wonderful cards
  • some stuff I treated myself to
    • a web camera
    • board games Pret-a-Porter, Ecos, 7th Continent, Shadows of Brimstone, Anomia

2019 was a tough year. Two of my closest Portland friends moved away, Xander and then Cody. I don’t think I ever wrote about Cody leaving. I lost my job a few months after being promoted. I got sick with a bad sinus infection in October and have been sick pretty much since. I’m feeling the effects of not eating well and not exercising. Sitting here at home all day has taken a physical and emotional toll on me. I remember writing about how optimistic I was earlier in the year, but all that optimism left for a while. I’m feeling optimistic again about the new year, but if things don’t change soon, I could be right where I was.

I decided to set goals for next year. Since I successfully completed every goal the last time I did this, I think one reason I stopped doing it for a while was so I wouldn’t fail. Here’s my list.

  • Lose at least 30 lbs
  • Go on at least 1 date
  • Arrange at least 1 dog play date
  • Leave the state of Oregon at least 3 times
  • Beat at least 3 video games
  • Learn at least 1 new board game
  • Attend at least 1 Meetup I haven’t been to before
  • Buy a new bike and ride it
  • Go to a convention or festival that’s new to me
  • Arrange a photoshoot so I can put my photography equipment to good use
  • Don’t be so self conscious about how I look. Post at least 12 pics of myself on social media

We enter a new decade tomorrow. This past decade has been great to me. I spent the first 2 years in Starkville and last 8 years in Portland. Deciding to take a risk, uproot my life, and move to Portland was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. This decade has had some struggles: heartbreak, unhappiness with health and career, and some bouts of loneliness and depression. But overall it’s been great. Don’t they say your 30s are the best years of your life? So far I can’t disagree with that. Some of things I’ve done in this past decade:

  • moved across the country
  • met a lot of online friends, traveled with them, stayed in each other’s homes
  • became a social butterfly
  • traveled out of country for the first time
  • did a lot more traveling than I did before
  • became a leader at work and in the community
  • became a dog parent for the 2nd time
  • started podcasting
  • worked for one of the top tech companies in the world
  • dated a guy for the first time
  • started going to conventions
  • took up new hobbies
  • made many great local friends

I hope everyone has a happy New Year and a great decade! Take care of each other!

Last Day at Intel

Thursday, October 31st, 2019 No comments

Today was my last day at Intel. I can’t say that I’m happy about it. I’ve been there the past 3 years as an FTE and was there on and off the previous 4.5 years as a contractor. The have been ups and downs the past 3 years have been fantastic. I’ve grown so much as a developer and leader.

I’ve hardly been in the office the past 3 months. The area my team occupied is a ghost town. I went in yesterday to clean out my desk. Today I had my exit interview and turned in my equipment. At least I got to keep my badge.

Feelings can change, but I feel like this might be it for me with Intel. I’ve been shoved out the door too many times by them when their business needs changed. We’ll see though. Never say never.

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Roommate and New Job

Sunday, December 25th, 2016 No comments

There’s a little under a  week left in the year, so I’m going to try to spend some time over the next week getting caught up on all the blog entries I’ve been meaning to write. Some of these topics may have been mentioned on Facebook or previous posts.

Back in October, I got a roommate. My new roommate is my good friend Kysen.  I never thought I would have a roommate again. I didn’t think I would live with anyone else again unless I was in a relationship. But Kysen’s lease was ending and his roommate was moving to Astoria, so he asked if he could use my extra bedroom.

I lived alone for over 8 years before Kysen moved in so it was an adjustment getting used to sharing a home with someone again.  We’re different people when it comes to cleanliness and organization, but .  There were a couple of nights about a week apart where I went out and came home to find a decent amount of stuff rearranged.  I ended up liking what he did, but I just wish I could have been a part of it.  Thee are times where i still have to ask him where things are because I don’t know where he put them.  Overall though, I think we are both happy living with each other.

Intel logo

In November I got a new job. I’m an now a Cloud Software Engineer at Intel. It was about 6 weeks from the time I interviewed until the time I started.  It all came about because of a contact that I have on Twitter.  I’m working on the same campus that I worked on as a contractor. I love my team and the work I’m doing.  We work hard and we have fun socializing and engaging in random nerf gun fights. I’m so much happier than I was before. What a difference being happy with your job can make in all aspects of your life!

There’s been a lot of change in my life, but it’s been for the better. Life is good.