Hello California

I'm back in California. It's been about 4 days now. Tomorrow I start working at my new job. I've yet to figure out what I can or cannot say and the exact terms of the non-disclosure agreement. I'll find out tomorrow.

Also, if you're wondering why I'm purposely avoiding mentioning where I work, it's to avoid becoming an indirect representation of the company I work for. This blog represents solely my views and perspectives. So I want to avoid affiliating myself with any company here.

As for California, California's great! I'm glad that I'm finally home. One thing I was surprised about is how green northern California actually is. On the plane flight over California, I noticed the entire scenery from aerial perspective was green! I guess only southern California is lacking in water and plants. It is mostly desert there.

Unemployed -- sorta

I'm finally unemployed!

Ok. That's not true, but it sounded like a good catchy title :)

I've officially terminated my job and ended another chapter of my life. Over the next few days, I have to get everything set and ready to move and take off for California. If anyone remembers the classic Apple IIe game, Oregon Trail, it does feel a little bit like the main story of the game -- setting out for the west, except without all the complications of cholera, searching/hunting for food, and crossing/fording rivers.

Over the last 5 years, I've worked with some amazing people and worked on some challenging problems. I got to work with equipment that costed more than my house, and also purchased some rather expensive equipment. It still surprises me how expensive a flat piece of panel can cost when you attach the word "calibrated" to it.

There were fun field tests in places not many people can gain access to. I got to see the effects of nuclear radiation first-hand and hear of some really interesting stories. These last 5 years provided me with a lot of experience and I appreciate the past years I've spent here.

Well, that concludes my personal thoughts for today. Next week, I'll write from California.

Registered a New Domain

I finally caved in and registered a domain name. Originally, I wanted to register rayscorner dot com, but it turns out that it's already registered to a porn site. I don't suggest visiting the site if you're at work or if you're in a place potential for embarrassment. After trying several other names and stumbling on cyber-squatter sites, I just gave up and used my own name. Hopefully, the decision doesn't seem too conceited.

Only 3 days of work left and 7 days until I'm out to California! Hopefully the transition goes smoothly and without any hiccups.

A Surprising Farewell Lunch

One of my closest friends in Maryland organized a farewell lunch for me. I was pleasantly surprised at the number of people that showed up. I'm not a very social person. I usually resort to silence when the cardinality of the group exceeds 4. And since my domain of conversational topics lie within engineering, coding, investments, and current events, conversations with me tends to be boring.

And so, being a silent person with technical conversational tendencies in large crowds, I assumed not many people would attend. I was pleasantly surprised to see that there was a total of 18 friends that attended my farewell lunch. Being the person that I am, I resorted to my usual silence. My friends encouraged me to speak by prodding me with questions. It was both interesting and somewhat overwhelming to get so much attention. I don't know how I ever manage large presentations and being a public speaker -- maybe I am not use to speaking about myself in front of so many people.

I'm appreciative of all the friends that I've made while in Maryland, and I do hope in the future that we continue to keep in touch. I will definitely miss the people and culture here, but I look forward to being closer to family and old college friends... and mostly working in a new environment at a company I don't plan on naming :)

Introduction

It's time to start blogging again and keep my thoughts organized! I've stepped away from writing for quite some time -- partly due to laziness and partially due to lack of motivation. But now that I'm going to be starting a new career in a few weeks, I thought I'd make the effort to start writing again.

I haven't decided what I'm going to post about, but it will probably be related to some general thoughts, engineering ideas, and things that I find interesting. For now, I'll give an introduction to myself so that whoever might be reading this will know a little bit about my background.

I'm currently a senior software engineer at a non-profit organization in Maryland. In a few weeks, I will be a software engineer at a commercial company in California. Right now, I'm in my last week of work -- going through exit interviews, wrapping up documentation at work, and in the midst of trying to find tenants for my house. I'm still mixed about whether I should be happy or sad about leaving. I'm appreciative of the experiences I've gained out here, and I will certainly miss the friends I've made, but I'm also looking forward to being back in my home state and being closer to family and friends from college. I especially look forward to having more options of places to go eat-- there aren't a lot of vegetarian restaurants out here in the east coast.

Also, in the midst of preparing for my move, I suddenly realize how much stuff I've accumulated out here. Since I'm throwing out (giving away) so many things, I am hoping in the future that I remember to be conservative and not to buy so much unneeded items. Moving, in my opinion, is rather wasteful.

Well, I should be getting to sleep soon. Only a few weeks left before I move!