2022 the year in health

I guess the year couldn't have started better. Last December, I suffered through a kidney stone, my first and only. I passed it while peeing sometime on the morning of Jan 17 (thanks IG memory bank), so there's that.

I continued running on an almost every other day basis. Strava is where all my stuff gets uploaded, but that site is dumb, so here's info from Garmin, where nearly every run I've done has been stored. Let's see what it says. Here's a look at 2022:

2022 stats

And here's from 2021:

2021 stats

Pretty consistent. Still doing 3+ miles per run, though I think I'm gonna try to do at least 4 miles out each time. Usually, my route is 3.65m, so to do 4 shouldn't take me but down to the stop sign and back.

I was also able to run in places I hadn't before, like Grand Junction, San Francisco, Indio, Boston, Washington, DC, Las Vegas. I did San Clemente again as well, so look at me, getting out and about.

Aside from running, my weight has been fairly stable. I thought I started the year lighter than I did, but from today to a year ago, I am pretty much the same weight, 159 lbs. I did dip in March to about 154 or so; I think I did MFP again, but I've been pretty much at 158-160 for the rest of the year. Ideally, I'd like to get down to 155 or so and be stable there (I can see it in my face), but the reality is, my weight is in a decent place.

Blood-pressure wise, I started taking my BP again recently due to going to the dr for a November sinus infection. As always, it's been pretty high, so I reupped my BP meds and have been on it for a few weeks now. With a target of 120/80, I'm not super close. At first, I was at like 150/100 or more, but after being on meds a few weeks, I clocked a 134/84 or something the past 3 days. That's better, but still elevated. I have an appointment set for next week to get a physical and we can talk about upping meds maybe.

Aside from that, my eye check the other day indicated my prescription is pretty much the same. I finally scheduled a dentist appointment for next week as well; hope that is all good. Overall, feeling pretty good (despite tweaking my back today), and really, I think aside from the BP, I really need to be better at the junk food intake. The sweet tooth is what's gonna get me.

2022 recap in entertainment

One thing I did in 2022 was return to blogging. Including this entry, this year I have 62 entries. I'm sort of proud of that, especially after not blogging constantly for a minute. I mean, I've done this since 2005, so there is a legacy of some sort there, sort of cool. Will try to keep this going, even if it means I have to sit down to do so every couple days, no big deal.

2022 recap, job related

Do I even want to do this? I suppose.

Here's the problem with writing: when you do it, you can't do much else. For example, I sort of want to brush my teeth right now. But if I start writing this recap, that gets paused. I typically like to write all at one go, so let's see how this works.

2022 started innocently enough, I guess. I was working at the EBC and it was coming along nicely. It was stable and I was doing a great job supporting my team. The hopes were to continue and play the long game: do a good job and come new fiscal year in July, that headcount would open up and maybe I get converted to FTE. Trouble with that is, that is always the game and it seems to always be the carrot that is dangled. But I was happy and financially, it was working.

Come mid-Jan, I see an Instagram post from a friend I used to work with at the MS store. She worked for Amazon and indicated she needed people to work for her. With the folks I was supporting at the EBC, I was always telling them to get out of their comfort zone, network, look outward to grow their careers. Though I wasn't looking for a job, I decided to take my own advice. Which led to a phone call that was actually an interview, and then a job offer that I couldn't refuse as it was about $25k more a year.

I tried to get MS to meet me, but their budget was already spent, so I put in my two weeks and made the move.

I started at the organization at the World's Largest Online Store on Feb 7 and it was interesting to say the least. I was a Project Manager, but with no real PM experience, I tried going into the job with an open mind. There was little to no ramp up and it was just strap in and hang on. Lots of calls, an onsite my second week (in Seattle), and tons of meeting new people.

I learned quickly that the majority of my team was female and in their early 30's. The culture of Amazon was different from MS as well. Everyone seemed to be GO GO GO and if you couldn't keep up, well, that was your problem. As a result, I struggled. There was so much ambiguity with the role, and supporting something that I had 0 experience in (our software platform), and then being told I couldn't talk to the primary people I needed to interface with (they were above my paygrade) made it challenging to say the least.

One aspect my role had that was completely new to me was travel. This job had a good amount of travel and my first trip was in April, to San Francisco (first time!). On that trip, I got a come to Jesus talk from my manager, which wasn't unexpected. I had been struggling with imposter syndrome and the vagueness of the role expectations. It was a good talk and gave me some direction that I was missing.

Anyway, rather than go over all the minutia, let's go bullet point style the rest of the way.

• Cities visited: San Francisco, Washington DC, Boston, Las Vegas
• Cities offered to visit: Chicago (had just gotten back from DC), Singapore (did not have passport)
• Cool things seen/done/eaten in:
• San Francisco:
• Downtown area. Little sketchy in spots. Poop on the streets. Did a walkaround and saw areas that were nice, others not so nice.
• Giants baseball stadium and Warriors basketball arena. Did a run one afternoon and saw those sights. Was on the water somewhere and shot some video for Ted to hopefully listen to as it was just before he passed.
• Bonded with Lisa and Crystal.
• Washington DC:
• Reminded me of the Division 2. Really cool.
• Ate my first night at a great Italian restaurant named Sfogalina (I think).
• Went running and saw the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial and Reflecting Pool, White House. Saw a police motorcade for something.
• One of my colleagues, Perry, worked for TFG and his stories were interesting, to say the least.
• Bonded with Heather, Marta, Trenae.
• Boston:
• Walked to Chinatown from the hotel to meet for team dinner.
• Went for a run to Fenway Park and back.
• Had a lobster roll at a seafood restaurant.
• Bonded with Mari and Stephanie, both of whom I'll probably never see again.
• Las Vegas:
• Never been there, probably never go back.
• Was great to be there and have someone else pay for it.
• Crazy and way too hyper for me.
• Ran a 5k, was super boring.
• Bonded with Heather, Brittany, Marisa and Audrey, all of whom I'll probably never see again.

And now, as noted in a previous post, I am looking for work. What have I learned about myself during this 11 month contract?

• I need some guardrails. Being given a treasure map with an X to start and no context is not great for me. Hold my hand a little, and then let me loose.
• Discovery management method is not for me. If I am coming to you for help, I expect help, not an interview. I am already feeling lost; your questions (though well-intentioned) just undermine my confidence even more.
• The extra money is great, but it's not everything. Though I hear there is drama at the EBC, I think staying there with less $ but more stability (ongoing work, etc), would've been the prudent move.
• Would I have done the jump knowing what I know now? That's a tough one to answer. I think overall, yes. Lots of new experiences and processes for myself, despite being on the cusp of being unemployed. But being unemployed will be temporary and I will come out the other side with something even better.

Got some irons in the fire for work. Well, actually, only one, as mentioned (MS). I have applied for several other jobs and have gotten one NO so far. We'll see how it goes.

Brain dump (work-related)

My contract is up in about 3 weeks. I currently have nothing lined up. There is something promising at a previous employer, but that is dependent on things outside of my control, so I can't expect anything until it is actually offered.

For now, it's the soul-crushing search for a new job. I feel like I'm in a unique position based on several factors:

• age
• career path
• current salary
• education

Let's start with age. At the ripe old age of 50.5 (but able to play mid-30s easily), I'm not sure what I should be doing or looking for. I know it got in my head a little at the current job, what with all my co-workers 15-20 years younger than me. Don't get me wrong; they were always cool and good to me, but culturally, there were some differences that bugged me a little. Then again, age is just a number, and if anything, it's me with the problem, not them.

With regards to career path, let's just say that I've been very lucky in my jobs the past 10 years. I've been able to get roles starting at MS, then contracting at MS and AWS, and never had to prove anything with certifications or qualifications or anything. Everything I did was based on job experience and in-the-moment working. There was more guidance at the Stores, but when I managed, much of it was improvisational.

At the EBC, it was definitely hive-mind learning. If I didn't know something, I'd reach out and ask questions. Eventually, I was the one people were asking questions of, I was the one bridging gaps and making connections.

When AWS came calling (story for another time), I left the warm embrace of MS/EBC and jumped into the unknown, because of the $$ they offered. I was to be a project manager, which I understand now is just a fancy term for "generic worker." Despite not having a PMP (Project Management Professional) certificate, that's what I was, and there was a struggle throughout the contract. Lots of ambiguity, and severe Imposter Syndrome, but despite that, I made good connections and great money.

Mind you, the money was the most I have ever made. At 50 years old, any job I take should be the "most I've ever made," but relatively speaking, when I'd never made over 6 figures and this job would get me there, I couldn't say no.

As a result, as I'm looking for a new gig, I'm expecting I will receive less than what I make now. I'm OK with that, as long as it's not less than what I left MS for. That said, it leads me into the education bullet point.

If I could do it all over again, like school and college, etc, I still like my English degree. After all, it's what keeps this dumb blog afloat. But after starting work at C&A, I should've invested more time and energy in learning stuff, rather than just doing the job and expecting the place to be around forever. Maybe get certified in something, or invest money in something. I just worked and went home and didn't pursue anything but music (also not lucrative).

And while I was at MS, I didn't pursue anything either, outside of making a lot of great contacts. That's what got me the job at the EBC and that's what has me maybe making my way back. But, if that fails, then it's back to job hunting. And that's where the lack of education comes in.

So much of what is out there is requiring stuff that I don't have. Or there are jobs I can do, but don't pay enough to support our lavish lifestyle. I keep saying out loud that a job is a job and there's no shame in any work that's available, but that doesn't mean I can't be choosy.

Like am I willing to go back to retail or customer service to make $30/hr (if I'm lucky), work nights and weekends? Maybe, if I'm looking and/or waiting for something better to pop up. Part of me wants to get out of tech, get into something that I love, but I don't know what that is.

I LOVED what I did before at MS. Team, people, environment, everything was great. Money was OK, but I chose the 2 birds in the bush, rather than the one in the hand. Though having the extra money was great, I think having the benefits and continued employment was probably the more prudent choice.

However, over the past 10 months, I have learned a bunch. Like what type of leadership I need to be successful. That even though I enjoy writing for fun, it seems my writing skills came in handy for document writing in the corporate world. That I continue to be able to make connections with people, both in and out of my org.

All this to say, I don't know what the next month or so holds. I was offered the MS gig in October. The figure wasn't what I wanted it to be, so I counter-offered, which my contact took as a "no" from me. Regrettably, I did it all via text and though I contacted him immediately upon his response, he had wheels in motion already for some other interviews.

As of now, as mentioned, it is wait and see for MS. I have several FTEs pulling for me, willing to help out in different strategic ways, but ultimately, it could boil down to a rules and regulations/fine print type scenario. Meaning, even though everyone wants me back, the paperwork doesn't permit it. Which could mean waiting until July (fiscal year), but at this point, I won't know more until the next week or so.

In the meantime, it's playing out this contract, celebrating the holidays with the family, moving Haley to WWU, and getting on with things at the beginning of the year.

Band character workshop

In the Sunset Grooves, all members have aliases. For example, Jen is Chardonnay DeVille, Eric is Ignacio Wurlitzer and Dusty is Rusty "Red" Sinclair. Dusty even made trading cards for all of them.

Patrick was batting around a name of F. Rod (Fraud) Something or other the other night and just now blew up a FB Messenger chat we have with a full-on backstory about washing money for the mob and then giving up his bosses to the feds in exchange for witness protection. It's pretty epic.

Simultaneously, I've been trying to come up with an alter ego as well. My roadblock is that

1. I'm Asian, so any non-Asian type names may be a stretch
2. I'm Asian, so any Asian type names may be too stereotypical
3. I'm overthinking it

So I've been batting around using the Ted's memory as my inspiration. After all, he was a sailor, and I love the idea of using Frederick "Teddy" with a last name to be workshopped, in real time, right now.

Frederick "Teddy"

• Manselle (a play on "main sail")
• Vanquish (sounds cool, like a spy)
• Rockford (as in Rockford Files)
• Brigadoon (I thought it was a nautical term, but it's not)
• Exotíque (I thought of this a few days ago and just now remembered it)

And I think it's gonna be Frederick "Teddy" Exotíque, as Ted's old boat's name was Exotíque. So there it is. Now for the back story.

A child of the 70s, Frederick "Teddy" Exotíque was swabbing decks and raising sails before most of us were walking. Growing up on the mean seas of the Atlantic, off the coast of eastern Massachusetts, Teddy cut his teeth working in the shipyards by day, in the taverns as a musician by night. As a longshoreman's son, Teddy thought that his future was down by the docks... however, the smooth siren sounds of yacht rock had different ideas.

As the years passed, Teddy grew bored with the roughneck lifestyle of the docks and headed west, ending up in the long-forgotten town of Seattle, land of coffee, flannel and grunge (not a disease). Back then, the only thing smooth or groovy in the Pacific Northwest were the westbound lanes of 520 during a downpour. Despite the gray skies overhead and brown notes in the clubs, Teddy stayed true to his roots, woodshedding for hours at a time, perfecting his art of the bottom end, all the while, looking for his musical soulmates.

Before long, Teddy struck AM gold with the Sunset Grooves and is now having the time of his middle-aged life, holding up the bottom for his mates while they deliver the goods topside.

Huh. Don't know how that will fly, but I'll send it along, see what they think.

States I've Visited

I was talking to one of my work colleagues last week about states she's visited. She's a military wife and even before that, traveled a lot for work. She said her goal is to do all 50 states by age 40. She's 35 now and has hit 37 states, so she better get moving.

That got me thinking, so I dug this up.

Create your own visited states map or check out the JavaScript Charts.

Based on that, it's something like 20 states, which is more than I thought. And then I realized that as kids, we drove from OH to WA, so that may add at least 3 extra states, depending on what route we took. And I think we drove down the east coast a time or two, at least when I was an adult with Marci.

I can't remember, but to see it on a map like this is sort of cool.

12/1/22: Travel report! Day 7 in Las Vegas

Day 7 started much the same as day 6 did. Get up, shower, go eat and hang out. Went back on the reg floor at the Venetian with Audrey and started chatting things up. Talked about stuff and then one of the Opus contractors came over to interrupt and said I looked like Takashi.

??

And then she showed me and Audrey a picture of this Takashi, who I guess is a fashion designer of some sort. But to me, he looks like an Asian man with long hair and a bushy beard. I didn't know if I should be offended or not.

And then she started telling us about hype beasts, Trinidadian burials where a tree seed is buried in the deceased person's heart, skin color and questions around it, among other things. It was entertaining, funny and educational, all at the same time.

Learning with Adora and Angel

When we arrived in LV, Audrey said she met a new bestie on the flight over, who she talked to the whole time, exchanged numbers with, etc. In talking to her over the past week, I learned that sometimes she'll just go to a bar or somewhere and strike up conversation with strangers around her. She really enjoys chatting and getting to know people, which seems totally contrary to what she looks like. She also really likes to just have a good time and have fun. Not necessarily drinking and getting toasted, but just putting out good energy.

She's also super organized and agenda driven, which seems to contradict her party side. So I noted to her that the two sides balance each other out, which she agreed with. We "worked" the rest of the shift and then after that, split up to go to our rooms to pack and get ready for our post-event party.

The girls and I plus Malia and Lisa and others met up downstairs and jumped on the shuttle to the Las Vegas Fairgrounds. I sat with Lisa and we chatted it up. I met her first last year at MKO in Seattle, but really got to know her better in San Francisco. She's really great to talk to and we chopped it up in the shuttle as we drove around looking for it.

Once we got dropped off, we walked through the cold wind to the VIP tent, where only people who worked the event got to go. There were free drinks (meh) and munchies and food (also meh), and more hanging out with the ladies.

Marisa, Audrey, Heather, Malia and the author

The rest of the night was spent trying to stay warm and fed and entertained. For whatever reason, the organizers of the event thought that tech nerds only liked EDM and DJs. There was one artist, Zach Person, who played guitar, but aside from a drummer, that was it. No bassist? But he did have an Ampeg SVT on stage. It was sort of a White Stripes/Royal Blood type thing.

The group actually split up a bit, with Audrey and Marisa and Brittany heading one way, and then me and Heather and Malia heading another way. I ended up hanging with Lisa for a bit as well, having some food. Then spent a bunch of time with Malia, who was new to the CS team, and actually lives in Seattle, so hopefully will get to see her at a show sometime.

The VIP area was directly next to the main stage, where some EDM artist was playing. It was SO LOUD and I was grateful to have my earplugs. Me and Malia and Heather were upstairs and it was all loud and dancy and I felt awkward, but said screw it, and tried to enjoy myself. Certain people I was with were really enjoying the bevvies and just having a great dancing time.

Eventually, it was time to go. The twins had bounced as they both had 6am flights, so I didn't get to say goodbye in person. And then BVL and Heather bounced, as I wanted to keep an eye on Malia for a bit. After some more of that, I bounced and left her in Greg's hands (she got home fine, turns out), and headed for the shuttle. Then it was bedtime.

I did see Heather and Brittany one last time this morning before I left. We met for a quick chat and goodbye, and that was it. Back to Seattle, where I'm freezing now.

Hello and goodbye to Las Vegas. I am glad it is over and I am super glad to have had a crew to roll with. I can't imagine doing that for a week and not having anyone to hang/chat/be with, so to Heather, Audrey, Marisa and Brittany, I thank you all.