One Week, or, On The Move Again
There seems to be a recurring theme in the story of my life. When it comes to a new class, job, or anything similar, things tend to seem very good from the start, until some radical change occurs and suddenly it's as if the rug has been taken out from under my feet and I wonder how I ever got into such a mess.
This has been my second time living and working in the valley, and compared to my first two-week engagement, this has been much more committed. I was just starting to get settled in. Now I'm back on the move again. My time at SGN is over and I am moving to the Princeton, NJ area to live with my fiancee. In exactly 1 week I'll be on another cross-country red eye flight. It will be just as well if I never come back to the valley again, but that's a story for another day. I've made some friends out here and I can't say I won't miss Palo Alto, but I am looking forward to being on the east coast again.
I've actually been out of work for a week now, and in that time I've done a lot of rushing through plans that I've had in the back of my mind for months. I've had to resist the urge to blog all the details because nothing is really certain at this point, but here is where I stand:
For a long time, I have wanted to be self-employed. I am giving myself a few weeks to see if I can realize that dream now. I've started out developing apps on Facebook with the moniker "Mappdev." I've spent the past week developing Pop Answers, a game that is a strong example of the kind of work I want to do. Right now you could call it my "flagship product."
Part of the reason I want to be self-employed is because I think I have ideas that are worth pursuing, which I can execute easiest if I am on my own. I also want the freedom to change direction as quickly as is necessary… I was actually working on an RPG when I realized that Pop Answers was a much better first project to tackle.
Even though I am giving this idea a chance, I am still considering employment in the NYC/NJ/Philly areas. To be honest, I don't know if I can actually reach the level of success I think is necessary to make running my own company rewarding enough. I want to see what's out there for me in the market for a few reasons: I want to build more connections, I have more to learn, and I want to contribute to the web the best way I can. So let it be clear that I am job-hunting at the moment. My career details are all on my LinkedIn profile. One thing I am hoping for this time around, which hasn't been afforded to me in my past two jobs, is that I would like to be allowed to maintain my personal projects while I am employed. This doesn't mean client work or even making money; it just means that I still want to work on things like Construct or Pop Answers after I've done my "40/60/80 hours." I would also like a position where I am actually appreciated for my level of knowledge & experience, but I've gotten tired of expecting that. So as always, hit the contact form if you have something interesting available.
Anyway, I have one more week in the bay area. I just realized today how short that is. I will be attending f8 on Wednesday representing Mappdev and looking for networking and such, let me know if you'll be there.
Best of luck. Seen some real talent displayed here, and I'm sure you'll find a way to let that shine … and work profitably for you.
Good luck buddy! Sounds like you've got a plan
Really good luck with that Christian! Working on your own stuff will bring some incredible rewards but new and different challenges too.
Don't forget to keep us up to date on here!