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Christmas 2016

Saturday, December 31st, 2016 2 comments

The Christmas season has been fun this year. Even though the snow was an inconvenience at times, it was nice getting an unusually high amount of it for Portland this year.  I’ve spent a lot of time at home due to the snow and the fact that people work from home a lot during the holidays.

I didn’t have trouble getting into the spirit after the great Friendsgiving I had at my friends Matt and Zach’s place.  I may have dialed things back a bit because I’m living with someone who is not really into Christmas.  I think Kysen was going through some emotional stuff at the Friendsgiving celebration, but he had a good time.  We even went to see a movie that night. During the Christmas season, I still listened to music, sang songs, watched Christmas specials, etc., but I didn’t do it much around him. He was a good sport and tolerated it when I did.

We decided we would have more of a Solstice celebration. We decorated a little potted tree that Kysen normally keeps in his room.  We crafted some ornaments and even hung John Lennon and Yoko Ono sock puppets on it.  We took a photo in front of the tree with Reese, who wouldn’t be still.  We put the tree up the night of my accident. A little later that night, Kysen got a piece of headlight from my old car and put it at the base of the tree.
Family Christmas photo

I gave Kysen his gifts on December 21. He gave me my Solstice gift on my birthday because my birthday present hadn’t arrive in the mail yet. He gave me my birthday present on Christmas eve because it came in the mail that day.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were on a Saturday and Sunday.  We spent Saturday grocery shopping, art supply shopping for a class I’m taking soon [I think I forgot to write about the class I took in the fall], and getting some stuff for a tank Kysen bought (I think he got it the day before). I actually got a nano tank while we were out.  We spend Saturday organizing and cleaning and getting the tanks ready for fish. We had salmon and rice that Kysen cooked for dinner. One Sunday we finished organizing and were really lazy for the rest of the day. Kysen did some painting and I played video games. I used my slow cooker for maybe the second or third time to make Indian food. It turned out well. We watched Sausage Party while we ate.

What did I get for my birthday and for Christmas:

  • a homemade candle
  • a mermaid bathroom hook
  • Cowboy Bebop: The Movie
  • Weird Oregon: Your Travel Guide to Oregon’s Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets
  • 12-month PlayStation Plus membership card
  • a Broadcast tank top
  • Game of Thrones shot glasses
  • Imploding Kittens (the Exploding Kittens expansion)
  • Drawing the Head & Figure
  • a bag of cleaning rags
  • a Super Mario Christmas tree ornament
  • a video game centric drinking cup
  • MacBook Pro (gift to myself)

It wasn’t a traditional Christmas, but it was great to spend it with someone I care about. We spoke the other night about New Year’s Eve. Neither of us have plans, but we’ll figure out something.

This year has been a mixed bag.  Some of it’s been really great, and some of it’s been really difficult.  Life is still good though.  I met all the goals I set for myself last year. I think the last time I met all my goals for the year, I didn’t set any goals for the following year.  I think I’ll just wait a few weeks and see if I want to set any goals for 2017.

I hope everyone has a happy New Year.  Take care of yourself.

Roommate and New Job

Sunday, December 25th, 2016 No comments

There’s a little under a  week left in the year, so I’m going to try to spend some time over the next week getting caught up on all the blog entries I’ve been meaning to write. Some of these topics may have been mentioned on Facebook or previous posts.

Back in October, I got a roommate. My new roommate is my good friend Kysen.  I never thought I would have a roommate again. I didn’t think I would live with anyone else again unless I was in a relationship. But Kysen’s lease was ending and his roommate was moving to Astoria, so he asked if he could use my extra bedroom.

I lived alone for over 8 years before Kysen moved in so it was an adjustment getting used to sharing a home with someone again.  We’re different people when it comes to cleanliness and organization, but .  There were a couple of nights about a week apart where I went out and came home to find a decent amount of stuff rearranged.  I ended up liking what he did, but I just wish I could have been a part of it.  Thee are times where i still have to ask him where things are because I don’t know where he put them.  Overall though, I think we are both happy living with each other.

Intel logo

In November I got a new job. I’m an now a Cloud Software Engineer at Intel. It was about 6 weeks from the time I interviewed until the time I started.  It all came about because of a contact that I have on Twitter.  I’m working on the same campus that I worked on as a contractor. I love my team and the work I’m doing.  We work hard and we have fun socializing and engaging in random nerf gun fights. I’m so much happier than I was before. What a difference being happy with your job can make in all aspects of your life!

There’s been a lot of change in my life, but it’s been for the better. Life is good.

When it Rains, It Pours

Monday, August 29th, 2016 2 comments

A week ago today at work , I heard a rumor that some decision had been made that would affect us and we would find out Wednesday the latest how it would affect our team.  On Wednesday, I was told that our project was canceled and I my last day at work would be the last day of the month, which was a week away.  My company normal offers me bench time when I’m between assignments (which has only happened twice), but this time they are unable to because there’s no room on the bench currently.  Our biggest client has made major cutbacks, so that hurts us.  The next day HR called to schedule an exit interview and told me I would be paid until the Friday after my last day. Even after some frustrations over the past couple of years, I hate that it’s ending this way. Hopefully I won’t be out of work for too long. I don’t like the idea of blowing through my savings.

The guy I dated earlier in the year, Alex, changed his name to Kysen.  Kysen suggested that we go out to eat Saturday night after a beach trip to Rooster Rock with some friends.  Kysen had spent Friday night at my place since I was giving him ride to the beach. Our group ended up dwindling Saturday morning, so I ended up driving everybody.  While we were eating he told me that he would just spend Saturday night on my couch was well and we could finish watching the season of Drag Race that we were watching the night before.  After we finished, we were both were having trouble getting our cards to go through. Kysen suggested I go to an ATM to withdraw money.  I left the restaurant and I’m pretty sure I pulled out my wallet to call the bank but just decided to wait and try the ATM. Once I got close to the ATM, I realized that I didn’t have my wallet with me.  I went back to the restaurant and didn’t see the wallet there. I thought I may have accidentally left the table without the wallet.  The wallet must have fallen out of my pocket like my phone did earlier on the beach.  I retraced my steps and later Kysen joined me and we retraced them again, to no avail.  I was holding out hope that someone honest found it and would return it or that the restaurant had it, but the next day I found out that the person tried to buy TriMet passes with my card. I also saw a weird charge on it at the restaurant we ate at. I think I’ve cancelled everything that was in the wallet.  There was a blank check in there for emergencies, so I closed my old account and opened a new one.  I still need to get a new drivers license and passport.  Hopefully, there won’t be too much damage caused by the person that has my stuff.  I realize that I rely on my debit card too much because it was difficult figuring out how to eat Sunday because I couldn’t go to a branch and withdraw cash until Monday.  I bought a new wallet today. I’m starting over.

I’m trying to stay positive. I always bounce back from these kinds of things.  Hopeful it’ll be sooner than later. Some good news, please.