Ah, 2018. Where did the time go? Seems like it was only a few weeks ago that I was writing on this page to discuss my plans for the year. And so it comes to this, another year in review post. Yes, I understand that it is quite cliché to write something like this at the end of the year; however, I feel like it so there’s that!
In a July 2017 post, I mentioned that I planned on making new content but that it wouldn’t be regular. It would seem that I have followed through on that promise (for better or for worse). I only uploaded a few videos this year. Our most popular one was on the Synology DS918+ NAS enclosure. I always found it kind of funny that I originally created this as a gaming platform and now I post about networking and tech stuff! I’ll likely throw together one more video this year: a quick unboxing and initial impression video of the 2018 MacBook Pro 13″ with Touch Bar. It’ll likely be up in a week.
Moving on to home life. Things were very busy with the house and fire department this year. I made Lieutenant at the fire department so being a line officer has created a whole new set of responsibilities, time commitments, and rewarding interactions. We replaced our roof, driveway, flooring, and window treatments. Yeah, like I said… a lot of stuff. My wife completed her Master’s degree in psychology. Super proud of her!
From a work perspective, the more things change the more they stay the same. I took on a new role in July as a program manager for the Risk Management and Workers’ Compensation teams at Amazon. I’m working for the same teams but I’m now in charge of standardization, project management, and training. I’m super passionate about project and program management so it is nice to be doing something like that. I’m not super passionate about the subject matter though. Don’t get me wrong, I’m good at it and I understand it. That’s something to be thankful for and proud of. I do still wish, and hope, that something will work out and I’ll be able to break into the game development industry. I want to take that passion of project and program management and merge it with my passion of games and the people who make them. Who knows where the next year will take me in that regard?
In other news, I visited Bungie Studios in October as part of a “reward’ for a charitable donation. It was one of the best things I have been a part of and I think about it a lot. I really need to get down to posting pictures and a recap from the tour. I’ll probably work on that next!
That’s about it for now. I wanted to post something super quick to summarize (in big bullet points) what has gone on the past year. I wish you and your loved ones a very happy holiday season and a great New Year! Hope to see you around Internets!
2XP Gaming 