2025 Year In Review Closing out the 36th year of life. professional Another year of having a job in big tech. s'been good. My role has converged into a generalist one. I do whatever needs doing, right away. For the first eight months of the year I was using Cursor, thinking that
thoughts 2024 Year in Review Eager to close the book on 2024. Summary For most of the year I've been drawing down reserves (financial, emotional) while continuing to tread water in other dimensions. Professionally For most of the year I was passively interviewing and looking for roles that would be a better fit
thoughts always be prompting I've used ChatGPT/Copilot a lot in the last few months. I still haven't arrived on a really clean workflow, but my usual process looks something like a one of/a combination of the following: * Using ChatGPT to format some boring XML/JSON/Whatever that is
ai-powered interviews I did an AI-powered interview some time back. Or, I should say, I did like 45 seconds of one and then decided it wasn't for me. I totally understand the appeal on both sides for the AI interviewer. The candidate can do it whenever, the employer can churn
thoughts job market thoughts Most of the people in my professional network are in tech, and many are going through layoffs or searching for better positions right now. It's clear from anecdotes as well as data that the tech industry is shedding many jobs as firms adjust to higher costs of capital.
don't mention it Had a former colleague reach out to me about a personal problem he was running into. This happens to me frequently since I have a good reputation for 1. being truthful, objective, and compassionate and 2. for keeping my mouth shut about information shared with me in confidence. The topic
weekending I honestly don't enjoy the weekend too much. I can get caught up on doing a few little chores here and there, but then I'm filled with a bit of tension thinking about how I should be doing this and that instead in order to get
in szn One of the things I wish I learned earlier was the importance of being in sync with the season of life one is in. If you're trying to rush to an later season before you're ready, you'll miss out on the current one, while
Diversifying Locales The last few years forced me to realize that situations can change. Moving out of California to Texas ended up being a good move for me personally, but professionally there's been some tradeoffs. Ultimately I think the situation is going to get worse in the United States. While
2023 Year in Review The past year was eventful. I welcomed a new member of my family in late 2022, taking advantage of my employer's leave policy to spend some time with them. As before, I didn't get very much sleep (nor did my wife, or anyone else, really!) but
I've got a lot of free time I've been on a career break for a few months now. With all that free time, I've spent it on the following: * Doing more family stuff * Doing over 9000 (not really) leetcodes * Shave beard (also not really) * Apply for interesting jobs, do interviews * Do research Very
2022 Year In Review Here's what I got done in 2022: Moved to Texas In December 2021 I made a snap decision to finally move the family to Texas. I don't recall what the final straw was, but the accumulated grievances I had against California became too great, so we
starting over, once again I'm going to be unemployed for a while. I decided that I couldn't continue working at what I was doing. I am capable at my present line of work, but the stultifying existence of my entire life being centered in front of a monitor, shuffling abstractions
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thoughts looking ahead It appears to me that most of the professional workplaces in California are still working from home, after more than a year of the coronavirus pandemic. Here's my take on how things will look in the future.
thoughts reflecting on four years Two days ago, I wrapped up my last day at LinkedIn. When I started in 2016, I felt thrilled walking into the campus on Stierlin Court. Sitting through the corporate orientation was humbling - I immediately felt like a fraud and that I was lucky to be sitting there. The
Waiting 30 Years In November 2019, I finally went with the family to Japan. city view from セルリアンタワー東急ホテルI had intended to go for many years. It just never happened. There was always a good reason. Busy with school. Or work. Had a project to do. The common reasons. Finally going, however, was pretty
Don't Be an Insect As of January 2021, I've had 10 years of "professional" work experience. Before that I had another 5 years of experience doing various dead-end jobs (retail, Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing relay operator, etc). I suppose that being cooped up for a year due to the pandemic got me
book notes The Lean Startup Some of the takeaways, by section: vision > a startup is a human institution designed to create a new product or service under conditions of extreme uncertainty The startup's job is to create this new product or service, but will only succeed if it's able to
