New Cat, New Job

Hey all, happy spring! It’s a rainy 45⁰ F as I write this, but sunny days are on the way.

Our city of Cleveland is coming off a very mild winter. We had a few frigid spells, but they never stuck around long. My kids spent half the season playing in the mud.

My family is still adjusting from their tropical roots, so the tame temps were okay by us. When it did snow, we took full advantage.

I have a few exciting updates to report, the first being a new addition to the family. In January we went to our local shelter and adopted a cat.

Meet Sadie.

Sadie is a very cool cat. She’s playful and curious and loves to be around people. She is AMAZING with the kids. They are loud and unpredictable, but she takes it all in stride.

I knew Sadie was a good fit as soon as we brought her home. She can chill in the middle of the floor while Adam and Leila rampage around her. Sometimes she will chase them through the house. They’ve all become fast friends.

In other exciting news, my wife got her driver’s license!

That’s a big accomplishment for someone who grew up driving on the opposite side of the road. I can attest to the difficulty: you have to flip your mindset on everything from turn signals to freeway lanes.

We practiced for a few months, and she passed on her first try. I watched nervously from a distance as she squirreled her way through the maneuverability cones.

Congratulations, Su!

Now she can drive herself to appointments and run errands with the kids. It’s an important development, because next week I’ll be starting a new job.

Yes it’s time to jump back into the workforce, and I’m excited about where I landed. I’ll be working as a Technical Writer for a medical device manufacturer. My role will include drafting and editing documents for clarity. It looks like an interesting company, and the office is just ten minutes down the street.

I was on the job hunt for a while, and this one kind of fell into my lap. I interviewed for a few marketing roles, but I’m interested in Technical Writing because it’s more strategic and complex. I might work on a set of instructions for a novice user, or a process guide for an experienced engineer. A lot of my job will involve talking to experts and asking questions. I’ll be observing workers and trying to optimize documents for what they do.

I think my skills will fit in nicely. I start on a temporary contract and we’ll see where it goes. I expect this to be a springboard to a great career.

It’s been a while since I worked full-time. Five years. I moved to Malaysia. I built this website. I published a novel. Now it’s time to dip back into a more traditional 9-5.

Wish me luck!

Adam and Leila are doing well. Honestly, they are genius kids who will one day rule the world.

We have great local libraries and we visit them often. I keep 50-100 books checked out at any given time. Both kids love a good story, and they both have big imaginations.

We’re excited for spring and getting everyone out of the house. My whole family is taking a beach vacation in May, and I’m tentatively starting to plan our next Malaysia trip. Can’t commit to anything yet, but I hope we can visit before the end of the year.

Stay tuned…

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