2023 Mid Year Updates

How it has affected me and what I am doing about it.

Intro

I know, we technically passed the mid year mark, but I wanted to wait until I had a little more time to reflect on the year. 2023 has been a year of change for me. I have been working on a lot of things and I wanted to share some of them with you. Today, I'll be covering the crazy year I've had so far both good and bad. I'd still consider myself to still be in midst of a crazy season in life, but things are starting to wind down and I've had some time to reflect.

The Bad

Let's get the bad out of the way. No surprise: I got laid off from the job I started 2023 with. I've mentioned this before, I really liked that job so I was really bummbed to have lost it. The company was going through its first real crisis and that resulted in a big reduction in their work force. THe work itself was just.. work. It was my team that made my job awesome so I am bummed to have left them but we still keep in touch and I'm thankful for it.

The Not so Bad..

Well this is where things get interesting. If you haven't heard yet, I moved to Austin, TX last month. So far, I love everything here except the weather. Great food, fun things to do all around the city, and a great outdoor scene. The only issue is that I am here alone. Don't worry, Iris and are still together, she just can't come here until she finishes her 2 art exhibits in Los Angeles in September and October. Being separated sucks. A lot. But we are making this sacrifice for our future.

Why did I move here first? Well, funny thing, my new employer is based out of Florida, but didn't have nexus in California and it would not be worth while for them to bring me on as a Californian. I received a conditional offer that was contingent on me moving out of California and to another state. Iris and I already had plans to be in Texas by the end of this year anyway because her parents are moving here too, so I decided to move here first. That way, I can start working and scope out the land for us to settle here. Again, being separated sucks. I've never felt so lonely in my life lol. I don't think I truly understood the meaning of finding your other half until now.

The Good

Now let's get on to some good things. Since I've been here for awhile now, I've been in contact with a realtor and Iris came to visit about 2 weeks ago. While Iris was here, her and our realtor visited TONS of homes. We found one that we really liked in a more rural part of North Austin. It's a beautiful 4bd/2bth home with a huge backyard. We put in an offer and after some back and forth, it got accepted so we are now in the process of closing. Super excited and even though Iris and I are not in the same home yet, we both understand that it was a necessary step to take.

My new job seems to be progressing positively as well. Theere's a LOT to learn and work around since the technology stack is very different that what I am used to, but so far the process has been fun and promising. I thankfully work with some awesome people and no matter how mundane work can become, I always find myself in good conversations with my coworkers. I am also learning a lot about the business side of things and how to work with clients. I am very thankful for this opportunity and I hope to make the most of it.

Side Notes

I'm working on utilizing the T3 Stack created by Theo from ping.gg to create a project and document management tool that Iris and I will utilize to plan our weeks. I think this project will help us plan our lives better (we're starting agile PM meetings every Sunday because it sounds fun and we're nerds). The product itself just seems very interesting to me and is pretty relevant to what I'm doing at my job, so I figured I'd give it a shot. I'll be documenting my progress on this blog as well so look out for it!

That's all I have for now. I'll be posting more updates as I get more settled in. Thanks for reading!