![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
walbourn2008 is drawing to a close, and I even did my records rotations early because I had the bills done. This year 2001 went into the shredder. The past few years I've written a reflection of that year trying to sum up a moment in my life, at least until it catches up with my LJ which goes back to 2003.
Kinesoft Development shut its doors in the spring of 2001, Andrea was graduating and moving to her job at Intel in Portland, and I decided to move to Seattle. I had become tired of a certain attitude of many Austin developers, and the few studios I interviewed with didn't excite me so I expanded my job search to the Pacific Northwest. Unfortunately, Portland had no game industry jobs and I didn't feel I was in a financial position for a major change of career. Seattle was the closest place I could find work, and I had a few interviews. I got an offer from one company with a relocation, and I took it. They rescinded it a few days later because of layoffs, and my recruiter asked me "Do you want them to go ahead with the relocation?"
That was perhaps the most critical decision I had made in 2001. Kim urged me to take the local offer instead. Andrea wanted me to move (although really she wanted me to move Portland). It meant moving after being unemployed for three months to a city where I knew nobody without a job. It is indicative of just how unhappy I had become with my life in Austin that I decided to answer "Yes."
Of course I arrived in Seattle a month before Sept 11, extending my unemployment to six months that year. I ended up finding a job at Beep Industries working on Voodoo Vince, which was perhaps my most rewarding and enjoyable job in the game industry since having my own company. Life in Seattle was lonely, but I meet![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
loree and hollyqueen shortly after moving and meet a number of local people through my RPGA gaming hobby.
Was it worth it?
Absolutely. I'm grateful for friends likeloree and jeliza. As frustrating as my job at Microsoft can be, it's pushed me to grow in new ways and has eliminated my debts. I love my house. Leaving Austin meant sacrificing many things, but it also let me finally let go of the ghost of a life I was never going to have with Kim. 2009 is looking to be a great year, and I can say that the path I'm on took a major turn in 2001.
Kinesoft Development shut its doors in the spring of 2001, Andrea was graduating and moving to her job at Intel in Portland, and I decided to move to Seattle. I had become tired of a certain attitude of many Austin developers, and the few studios I interviewed with didn't excite me so I expanded my job search to the Pacific Northwest. Unfortunately, Portland had no game industry jobs and I didn't feel I was in a financial position for a major change of career. Seattle was the closest place I could find work, and I had a few interviews. I got an offer from one company with a relocation, and I took it. They rescinded it a few days later because of layoffs, and my recruiter asked me "Do you want them to go ahead with the relocation?"
That was perhaps the most critical decision I had made in 2001. Kim urged me to take the local offer instead. Andrea wanted me to move (although really she wanted me to move Portland). It meant moving after being unemployed for three months to a city where I knew nobody without a job. It is indicative of just how unhappy I had become with my life in Austin that I decided to answer "Yes."
Of course I arrived in Seattle a month before Sept 11, extending my unemployment to six months that year. I ended up finding a job at Beep Industries working on Voodoo Vince, which was perhaps my most rewarding and enjoyable job in the game industry since having my own company. Life in Seattle was lonely, but I meet
loree and hollyqueen shortly after moving and meet a number of local people through my RPGA gaming hobby.Was it worth it?
Absolutely. I'm grateful for friends like
loree and jeliza. As frustrating as my job at Microsoft can be, it's pushed me to grow in new ways and has eliminated my debts. I love my house. Leaving Austin meant sacrificing many things, but it also let me finally let go of the ghost of a life I was never going to have with Kim. 2009 is looking to be a great year, and I can say that the path I'm on took a major turn in 2001.
