New job is great.

Just a quick note to say my new job is great, and I am enjoying it. I haven't had any time to study, but I hope to get some time in this weekend. Once things settle down I know I will start making steady progress again. I'll post more later in the week.

Getting ready to start my new job!

I am really excited about starting my new job tomorrow and I know it's going to be a great experience for me especially since it's line line with my goals.

I know I should have posted more than once last week, but I was busy finishing up some projects around the house plus trying to get in some study time. I didn't finish the Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML book like I wanted to, but I'll keep plugging at it. I am starting to learn about classes in HTML/CSS and I am putting down some ideas I have come with to retool my sites. I will post more about that later.

One of the house projects that I am glad to have finished was setting up my old Radio Shack Color Computer (CoCo) in it's own dedicated spot. I have photos up on the 8-Bit-Retro Blog. Swing by and take a look, and leave a comment if you want.

Well it's time for me to get some sleep. I promise to post more this week.

Getting back to work.

The last few days have been really exciting. Like the subject says, I am getting back to work and will start my new job in a week. I'm really stoked about finding a new job, especially one that falls inline with with my goals.

I won't go into too much detail right now, but I will eventually rework my Linkedin profile to reflect my new position. What really made getting this job exciting is that it wasn't the only offer I had within a 24 hour period.

Getting back to work means I will have to change my self study program a bit, but I will still focus on web development. I plan to finish Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML before I start the new job and then move on to C# and do a little refreshing of my network fundimentals.

I'll add more over the next few days.

Not bad after a week off from studies.

I was pretty much able to pick up where I left off a week ago, and start getting a good grip on CSS.

It's pretty amazing how having each page reference a style sheet can add so much flexibility and streamline the design process. I can definitely see how this will help in the retooling of all of my sites, plus any projects that come my way in the future.

After some correspondence with one of the experts in accessibility, I have decided to forgo the HTML vs. XHTML debate for now, and stay focused on learning XHTML. Down the road HTML 5.0 will make itself know, but I need to learn the basics and focusing on XHTML is the best course for me now.

Catching up.

Wow! I missed a weeks worth of posting to this blog. I have been buried with my job search, and really haven't had time to do much else besides some cleaning.

I had to put my web design studies on hold last week, but I will be getting back to them now. I haven't lost my focus in the pursuit of my goals, just a weeks worth of time due to a very hectic schedule. I will get back in the swing of things this week.

Now that my place is more organized, including my SOHO network, I now can move forward with more aspects of my studies including running at least one dedicated web server. I'll also be able to dive into a few other projects like my Lego robotics system, and my retro-computing.

Things are moving along, maybe not as fast as I would like, but I am seeing progress.

Dealing with disappointment and moving forward.

Friday evening I found out that one of the positions I interviewed for last week went to someone else. Needless to say I was a little disappointed, but that's life and I have to keep moving forward in my job search and studies.

One thing I did yesterday to help get my mind off the disappointment of not getting the job was to go on a cleaning binge.

Not only did the cleaning binge help me deal with Friday's disappointment, it also helped clear out even more stuff that I don't need, and in the process I got better organized so I can move forward with my job search. Getting organized will also help my studies in web development as well as some personal projects (robotics, and retro-computing).

If you have been following this blog for any length of time you may be wondering how much stuff I really have stashed at my place. The simple answer is "way too freaking much"

I am a geek, and like many geeks I have more than a passing interest in way too many things. I have been making good use of my time off from work to refocus my life and priorities, and it is starting to pay off.

Some times you just have to take the disappointments in life, and use them to motivate yourself to better things, and that is what I am doing.

I'll have more on my studies and and possibly other topics in the next blog entry.

Being "old" vs. being "experienced"

I've been buried all week long with my job search as well as working on clearing out even more stuff, so I can focus more on my priorities. Needless to say studies have taken a back seat, but I am still moving forward with them (learning CSS now)

One thing that kind of hit me like a gut punch when I first started my job search was several recruiters telling me not to list my total years experience, so I am not considered too "senior" for the positions I am applying for. Having just turned 50 I am a little concerned about bias due to my age, but that may not be the case. I believe the term "senior" has more to do with title and compensation expectations more than age, and considering I am looking for something more mid-range that should not be an issue.

It is interesting that the last couple interviews I have had have been with companies needing someone with a lot of experience to help them move forward in their product development. In my 26 years in high tech, I have participated in the release of many new products and technologies, and functioned on several different levels in that capacity.

So maybe being considered senior with compensation and title expectations may not be a good thing for me, but being considered senior with regards to the experience that I can offer a prospective employer is a good thing. So now I have another tool to help market myself.