Avalloch

It’s the end of July ’19…I’m back in Utah…and…

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Man life can change soo quickly. I can’t even imagine what will change by the next time I decide to go and update my little blog again. All I can say is, it’s been a wild ride. I decided to move our little family back from California to Utah. We just didn’t have the support … Read more

My son, Theodore, January 6th, 2019.

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Honestly, I couldn’t really think of a title more befitting to give this post other than his birth date. This day, it belongs to him and what it means to my wife and I. He was the last question I had left on this earth. “What is it like to be a dad”? I mean, … Read more

I’m going to be a dad….and I’m now a manager and…

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Wow…I don’t know what to say. Life can change soo very quickly, for the better and for the worst. Right? Could I have told you I was going to be a dad just 6 months ago? Nope. A year ago when I was leaving one of the worst jobs of my life, could I have told you in a year from now I’d have one of best jobs of my life, a raise and a promotion? Nope. I mean working at BCI (Beyondsoft was awesome), but I got an even BETTER offer. Like I didn’t think it was possible. RPA is AMAZING. Let’s put it this way. They have conference rooms named after one of my favorite scientist (Stephen Hawking), my favorite Artist (Banksy) and other awesome rooms, lol, like Rupaul and Morrison. Being at a progressive, non-backwards thinking company is not something I wanted, it was something I needed. Either way, onto more IMPORTANT things! 😉

Little Theo (Theodore) Lee Halstead is expected to be born January 10th, 2019. I am both overly prepared and excited.

Being a father is one of the very few questions I had left in this world. What is it like to be a dad? Carisa has gone ape shit in buying stuff. She calls it “nesting” lmfao.  I mean I counted the other night and we have almost up to a 100 articles of clothing for the little guy, I mean sure, I may have bought a couple that were adorable that I HAD to see him in…

but…she’s got like a new Amazon package arriving like every other day.

David Tran, my good friend, you may never read this, but I am indebted to you. The more I learn about this man, the more I learn that he is not only a friend, but a brother. We share a bond that is known at a much deeper level. I understand levels of pain he’s experienced and some of the adversities he’s undertaken to get where he is at now. I do not take people for granted that have helped me get to where I am today and shared with me their learnings (people such as TJ F., Jesse B, Mike C.) I never forget those that have helped me get to where I am today.

Dave we’ve got a lot more in store for us.

How do I view “life”?

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It’s the notion that you’re infinite that enthralls me. No, not the religious infinite explanation of a heaven and “happily ever after”. The non-cognizant explanation. Although you will die, your ego and physical body will decompose, all the energy of you will live on in a different form. Different religions have varying spins on this … Read more

2017 Recapped, 2018 & Memento Mori

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Sweden 7

Ice Hotel in Northern Sweden in the Artic Circle! Swedish village of Jukkasjärvi, to be exact.

Sweden 8
Sweden 9

 

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The beginnings of a new year have begun. Last year I wrapped up 2017 with a pretty lackluster ending. The first time in my life I was laid off at the end of September 2017. Kelley Blue Book was a very, very stressful place to work and I believe I aged 5-10 years in the > 2 years I was there.

I use to be insecure about sharing my livelihood with others, for fear the world would use it against me. But I’ve changed. I stopped caring what others would think. Those that were very negative in my life I’ve removed. I’ve found eliminating all forms of toxicity has made me a happier person overall. There were individuals I tolerated because I’d known them for years and years, but it was a form of tolerance that a school teacher extends to an unruly child.

I’ve grown. Memento Mori. Remember death. Often we forget that this life truly is soo short and that we waste the precious time we do have to worry about things we cannot change. Stoicism has been my guiding light in dark times. I’ve used the ideologies time and time again to get me by. I look to authors and writers such as Marcus Aurelius, as a son would seek guidance from a father.

Back to the layoff. It was a learning experience for me. My severance package, however, made the sting a lot less. I ended up better because of it. I have more in my savings now and I now earn more with my current company, Beyondsoft.

I took a lot of PTSD with me being laid off. Working for a boss that does not value you as an employee is not fun and is not worth the stress or heartache that follows it. I was depressed my last year at KBB. I was constantly worried, wondering when I was next. When the day finally came, there was a sense of relief. Knowing finally that it was my turn gave me a sense of finality in an ongoing situation.

It’s amazing, strange and an odd thing how people can do a 180 on you once you’ve “served” your purpose. I got my previous boss out of a lot of heat when I first came on board. I was his “star” employee. My second month I earned the PAI (Product Analytics Insights) award for employee of the month. I assisted in interviews, onboarding, tackling new and upcoming projects and challenges and the list goes on and on. Then things changed…

I honestly, wholeheartedly believe that the role I was hired for evolved outside of my skill set, which I humbly believe is why I was laid off. I eventually helped in hiring the individuals and developers that would replace me. Nothing against them at all. In fact, one of them became a mentor, tutor and good friend of mine. I’d still go out of my way and bend over backward for him if he but ask.

As a Tagging Specialist, I was a jack of all trades. The role itself drifted much more to a developer role, involved in a lot more coding, which I am still in my infantile state (I will be gaining additional skill/schooling in the next 6 months, but I am not quite there yet).

Now, I am a Sr. Implementation Analyst. My day to day consists of troubleshooting tags on Toyota.com and dismantling/deciphering what goes into the data layer being ingested into Ensighten (tag manager comparable to Adobe’s DTM and Google’s GTM) and then kicked out into reports.

I love this job. I love the people I work with. I feel this is where I was supposed to be. I know, I know, honeymoon phase…but I already get a long with everyone I work with and have hung outside of work with the group too.

I’ve been taking a break on my topscitech.com. The site needs some major upgrades. It still is a hobby of mine, I’ve just been slacking. I will pick it back up, mark my word.

Oh and I went to SWEDEN! Let me find a way to link some of my Instragram photos.

Thanks for reading!

-Alex

Ta eph’ hêmin & WordPress Migration

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After the incessant price gouging that website builders like Wix, Weebly, etc use, I decided to finally move my blog over to WordPress. Besides, WordPress is just awesome. Soo much more configuration and I don’t have to worry about B.S. “sorry, you need to pay extra for that”. Silly stuff like adding videos to my site.

Getting Google Tag Manager running again. Re-working my contact form as well. I’ve got a lot of Events/Variables/Triggers to set up.

Ta eph’ hêmin – what is it? Epictetus Stoicism. With recent life changes, this particular phrase touched base with me at a very personal level. It means “Is it up to me?” 

In other news. I am going to try again to apply to my favorite company. I’m not going to give up.