Such a Dinosaur...

[liralen]

... it amuses me that just a bit more than ten years ago I was wondering or figuring I'd stop worrying about what would happen in ten years. The right knee is much better now. *grin* And getting bought by the new company was the best thing that happened to us, not that we knew. It's interesting seeing the state of my brain back then from here, though. I'm not that different...

Comments

[stark-black.livejournal.com]

Ten years ago... Jesus! Ten years ago I was a sophomore in high school!!

O.O

[liralen.livejournal.com]

Such big eyes you have... *grin*

Older... Than... Dirt.

There are reasons why I like writing Jyuushiro and Shunsui.

Hm. At that point I'd already gotten my EE degree from Caltech, and my Masters at the UW EE department as one of the two girls that did it in a class of 200. I'd had six different high tech jobs, two of them as a consultant at the heady rates of $85/hr and $120/hr, being able to analog/digital mix design circuits from the silicon up was useful. I paid off the house and two cars. We'd done a startup that was *just* bought at the time of that old post. I was doing my journal in flat HTML.

I'd done ten years of competitive classical piano, spun and knit half a dozen mythical Shetland shawls that fit through wedding rings, six years of competitive fencing, and I'd been doing soccer for probably seven years and was finally getting GOOD at it when I snapped my ACL on the field. I just tried cutting too hard on frozen ground, did it all to myself and part of me was thinking part of my life had ended. I'd just gotten a tragus piercing, my hair turned turquoise, and was trying to stay mildly sane by gaming and writing like mad. As Gretchen said, about then, "Liralen is not a starting character."

The start up went well, got bought by a little fish, and two years later was bought by a very big, fine fish; and five years after that I turned out to be pretty good at mapping out strategies, and so did projects that involved 200+ people on occasions, and pretty much helped plot all the work for ten different development groups with a group of two that reported to me. Then we stopped and looked at our finances and realized there was no financial reason to work anymore. Took the wind out of my sails by some measure, but I can see now that it probably was the best thing for me as the stress was really damaging me physically and mentally. I hadn't had the time to really write (or mush or do much personal email) since the startup got bought. I couldn't face real computer time for months. I couldn't talk with people for probably six months after I stopped working. Didn't want to interact with anyone.

I don't regret giving up the writing for those last eight years. It got me in a place where I don't have to have the side job to write. And I'm getting the hang of it again... shaking the rust off. But I feel like such a rank beginner, because I... well... I *am* again... but I've been on square one enough times to know how to go through it all again.

[beckyb.livejournal.com]

I didn't know you were a UW alum! Cool. Me too. (And, I should say that I am definitely assuming that W does not stand for Wisconsin.)

[liralen.livejournal.com]

Yup!! University of Washington... did my masters part time while I was working part-time. :-)

Cool! What degree did you get?

Before Caltech I'd moved probably eight times already, and John's family had only moved once... so I moved up to the Seattle area and stayed for like 15 years, until we were bought and moved out here to Colorado.

[beckyb.livejournal.com]

PhD in EE. But I avoided silicon stuff as much as possible-- signal processing and pattern recognition and education research instead. I do miss Seattle, says I watching the blizzardy snow swirl around outside my window

[liralen.livejournal.com]

Wow... PhD! I didn't have the guts to drop my job, take the RA offered, and try and get through the exams. I liked making money too much, and wanted to build things. I did my research for my masters on pattern recognition using artificial neural networks. *grin* But kept up the silicon side as it was paying so well...

Yeah, I miss Seattle, too. I miss the rain. I so totally miss the rain and the feeling and smell and sound of it... *sigh* Miss the food, too. *double sigh*. I miss Toshi's and Shiro's and Rover's and the Macarena Bakery and all of Broadway and *sniffle*

[beckyb.livejournal.com]

I just avoided taking a job until I was good and done with school. And oh look! a job in a school!

Rain is good. At least we get thunderstorms, but not that gentle-of-course-I'll-bike-in-this kind of rain. I know I'm going to get Snappy Dragon dinner in 2 weeks and 2 days. Yay!

[liralen.livejournal.com]

Smart woman.

Yeah, we get thunderstorms here, too... not the tears, the mists, the slow drizzles, or the dozen other words for rain. Or just seeing the city dream of rain even when there's sunshine.

You are a lucky woman, getting to go back now. :-)

[liralen.livejournal.com]

Sorry about all the edits... stupid details brain wants it's say...

[liralen.livejournal.com]

Hm... and now you can probably see why I have a hard time finding people who can keep up with me. *grin* I treasure every one of them. And I'm learning a lot from you. Thanks.

Though... someone did mistake me for 20 (http://liralen.livejournal.com/639575.html#cutid1) just a few weeks ago... I think I'd like to keep my experience.

[jilara.livejournal.com]

Chuckle. It's interesting to compare you and myself. Ten years ago I was unaware that the job/company I loved was about to crash and burn, I'd learn a lot about what I did/didn't want in a job, and would end up returning to my roots in EDA. I was still doing bok fu and stalled, hadn't considered capoeria yet. I was still a workaholic. I wasn't travelling extensively, like I now do, just fantasizing mostly. Or setting up new historical programs. (And I certainly wasn't completely in love with a 22-year-old soulmate and contemplating an eventual family---at what age?) What I've always liked about you is how we seem to track similarily through the universe. You go, girl. It's always fun to compare notes.

[liralen.livejournal.com]

Wooo! Family! Yay!! I am grateful for my family. *grin* Yay for soulmates, too.

I'm pretty sure the age doesn't matter as much as the soul.

Yes, it is cool to see what happened and note that we *do* still track in different ways. *grin* Definitely treasure the fact that you go as hard as I do. It's cool to know what's possible, still.