Seattle

My first business venture has taken me to the wonderful city of Seattle. It’s a really cool town way up in the mountains. As I describe it, keep in mind that I’m from San Antonio. The weather is pretty cool up here. It’s about 45 degrees here and the locals consider it spring. But surprisingly, it’s not that cold. I wear a coat but it’s mainly because of the wind. What I’m really surprised at is that it hasn’t rained once yet. The locals say that they’re in a drought because it hasn’t rained in the last 45 days or something like that.

We’re staying at a hotel called the Edge Water Hotel. It’s a really nice hotel right on one of the lakes. My hotel room overlooks the water and the beautiful hill/mountain sides. Behind the hotel is downtown Seattle, part of it really. The architecture is something like that of Sim City. The really clean/cool looking tall buildings built right on the mountain side. There are lots of skywalks between the buildings and elevators that take us from sea level to 40 feet above, which is the elevation of one city block away. Its really one of those things you have to see.

Other than that, the Space Needle is pretty cool, but nothing to go crazy over. You can actually see the Space Needle and both the Seahawk and Mariner stadiums from the hotel. There are lots of seafood places here so you can always get your fill of fish and chips. Dr. Pepper is kind of rare here which is really detrimental for me :) However, I can still get my hands on some. All in all it’s a really cool city. A little crowded for me but really nice. If you get a chance to come up here, take it. Especially if you’re from San Antonio!

Jobs

Been a while since my last update. I'm now currently employed with Avanade. Its a really nice company with lots of perks. I've got a lot of training to do along with work but its all good. I'm actually looking forward to the training. It will really enhance my career. We also have TV and cable internet too. We're getting the digital phoned installed on Friday. We actually got a sweet deal. 250 channels, broadband, and phone (unlimited local and national calling) for $95 a month for a year. WOOT! Anyhow, I'm heading off to la la land so I'm out.

Monday's Interview

Monday's interview went pretty well. I started off by meeting the manager (whom I would be working for) and the team, all 12 of them. The manager said that we would be waiting for one more person and then we would go to lunch. Cool, I thought to myself, lunch with 3 people, myself included. Well, it turned out that everyone went, so there were 15 people total. While it went well, the manager asked me later why I was 'quite' during lunch. I had 14 other people staring at me, asking me questions on occasion, and talking to each other, not me. I wonder why. I jumped in on a few conversations, but didn't go into the long in-depth conversations you have with friends. Despite my being 'quite', the interview went rather well and I should be hearing either a 'no thanks' or a 'we want to offer you $x'. On the flip side, Avanade said that they are going to make me an offer! So we'll just have to wait....

Interviews

Ok, I have an interview with Avanade today at noon and one with Rackspace on Monday at noon. There is an interesting story about my interview today. The Sunday after my first interview with Avanade I was at Church and was discussing my job hunting with some friends. In the midst of our conversations, a lady came by and asked whom I had my interview with. I was stunned but told her who after the shock wore off. Things like that don't happen by coincidence. I talked to this lady for about two minutes trying to get to the point to formally introduce myself but she left. It turns out that her husband is the regional director and wanted to know why he hasn't heard of me. The first phone interview that I took was more or less a technical quiz with I did OK at. There were about 40 questions ranging from a vast array of topics. Anyhow, I did another phone interview with the regional director about a week and a half ago. That interview went better and I get to meet with him today. So pray that this will work out. If it doesn't, then it wasn't meant to be....

Updates

It’s been a long time since I updated my blog but I do have a reason. If you recall from my previous blogs, we are without TV, phone, and internet at our house. Thankfully my mother lives in town and she does. Anyhow, on with the updates.

The company I was working for went under about 2 weeks ago. So since Valentines Day, I’ve been gainfully unemployed. On the flip side the day that I was laid off I had a phone interview with Avanade. They seem to do large scale framework design in .NET. I’ve also had 2 phone interviews with Rackspace and I’m meeting with my hopefully soon employer on Monday. It’s been really weird not working, I haven’t gotten to do any of the things I thought that I would be able to do. No video games, no movies, nada. I’ve spent 6 hours in front of the computer searching for another job. Thank the Lord it will pay off in the end. Speaking of “Thank the Lord”, Steph and I have been saving quit a bit of our income just incase something like this happened. Even after we bought our house, we still have enough in savings to make it through the end of the year if I go that long without any income. So thank the Lord that we are financially sound. As far as finding the job and getting laid off, I know that it’s all in the Lords hands and he will not lead us astray. Proverbs 3:5-6 says it all, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”

Steph and I have a new addition to our family, our puppy Dusty. She is an Australian shepherd / blue heeler mix. We actually got her two days before we were all laid off. Aside from barking when she has to go (she is only 8 and half weeks today) and nibbling on our hands, she is a good dog. We’ve got the “potty” thing down pretty good. The only time she has any accidents is when we’re gone for 2+ hours. It seems that dogs can only hold it for as many months old that they are. Example, she is 2 months old which means that she can only hold it for 2 hours tops.