My absence

Hey All,

I took a break from writing in my blog. It has been more than two weeks since I last wrote (on my Birthday actually).

Turning 25 was okay. Not that great. A lot of things were weighing heavily on my mind as my birthday approached. I guess they decided to reside in my brain for the last two weeks. <SMIRK>.

My birthday was a quiet evening with Jen (although we had the chance to Garage 416 that evening). We had dinner at the School, and then spent the rest of the night at my house. Fortunately there wasn’t any alcohol involved, so there wasn’t a repeat of the “most expensive take-out dinner” experience I had last April during our anniversary.

It’s great to see most of my friends move on and experience the success that I knew that they were capable of. However, I’m forced to confront my own aspirations, fears, and mistakes as they walk pass me.

I wonder if everyone feels like this?

My birthday wasn’t a joyous occasion (although the proximity of my friends and family certainly did help). Technically I’m not suppose to even celebrate my birthday (on account of my grandmother’s passing last January) this year. So I purposely kept it low key and on the sly. All in all, it was very understated.

Thanks guys and gals for being around me. Next year we’ll have more fun.

About a week before my birthday, I got a call from Mike Kurtz, my on-again-off-again manager, at Critical Path. He confirmed something that I already knew. He said that the budget reports were in and that there was no room for usability testing for the rest of the year.

So that’s one chapter of my life that I can close the proverbial book on.

OFFTOPIC: Looking to refresh the site…it’s a little soft for my tastes. It needs more lines…yes, more lines. This time I’ll try to build a site that validates….ha ha ha, yeah right.

So after the call from Mike, I was pretty disappointed, I mean, I worked hard for CP…too bad things didn’t work out the way I planned.

I had an interview yesterday with a recruitment firm. It was downtown and it went very well. The HR rep. from the firm was very impressed. I was the most “clear and concise” usability specialist she had ever talked to. I’m replied, “I have a low tolerance for BS. I’m probably the most jaded usability specialist you’ll ever meet.” Question: How can a usability specialist not be “clear and concise”? Are these people actually getting hired?

Anyways, I dropped by Critical path after the interview to see some folks and drop off my Pass Card and Keys. Chatted with some former coworkers, and had lunch with Peter. I found out a few things about my position at CP. It turns out Mike went beyond the call of duty to try to get me there full time, he even approached other departments to cement my position on the team. However it wasn’t meant to be.

I think I’m finally starting to accept that. Yeah. Finally.

So long Critical Path Inc. You were a temperamental mistress, I’ll say. Farewell and keep in touch.

So I’ve been bummed for a the past few weeks. I keep reading how well Canada’s economy is doing and how we’re a “Northern Tiger”. It’s funny, but the things that are doing well—mining, lumber, manufacturing, etc.—have always done well. Too bad the TechSector is still getting raped.

That is all. Continue on.

Tai