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You're Gonna Carry That Weight. |
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Three thousand, seven hundred, and sixty two days ago I followed the suggestion of a friend to check out a site called Go-Gaia. I found its forums filled with anime and roleplay-loving individuals and quickly became wrapped up in its interesting world. I worked my way up the ranks and became a Moderator to use my free time to give back to the site I enjoyed so much. Only a few weeks after I graduated college, this turned into an opportunity to work as a software engineer alongside some of the names I had only seen in forum posts. I packed all I could into two suitcases then hopped on a plane and flew across the country to begin my journey as a Dev in Silicon Valley. This journey would take me places I had never expected like meeting the woman I would make my wife, making an adorable Corgi puppy part of our family, and forging friendships that will last a lifetime. Professionally, I grew from a newbie in over his head into the Events Lead, responsible for coming up with games and activities to be played and enjoyed by users from around the world. Without Gaia, I'm sure things would have turned out much differently for me and I'll forever be in debt to the Gaian entity that gave me these amazing chances. As a result, it is with a certain sense of disbelief that I inform you all that yesterday was my last as a Gaia Dev.
Now, before anyone thinks up any kind of conspiracy behind my departure, I want to be perfectly clear. This is MY decision. I was not fired. I was not let go. No one in management or any other department is pressuring me to leave or trying to get rid of me in any way. I have spent my time with Gaia building fun events and games, fixing bugs with old/making new features on the site, and doing what I could to make the experience on the site as enjoyable as it could be. I do not regret a second of that time, however, I have received an offer from a tech company back home and believe that it's time to use/challenge my skills elsewhere. Accepting this offer allows me to work for a global company which will significantly advance my professional career and puts my feet in a much larger door, exposing me to all sorts of new ways of doing things. It also means that I get to move back to where I grew up and be closer to my family which is really important to me. As a bonus, the cost of living there is far cheaper than it is here in the Bay Area (as anyone who has lived here can attest to) so my wife and I will be able to start planning for our future.
I can't put into words how much I'll miss you all and I'm sorry that I won't be around to build your events anymore. I hope you enjoyed the events I did make and will continue to enjoy the games and features that I helped make or fix up. I'll still be around on the site since there's no way I could fully leave this place after almost 11 years so drop me a PM if you ever want to chat. I'm hoping to have some time to grow my personal development projects as well, so if you care to follow along to see what I'm up to, feel free to add me on Twitter (@Fuzzgoat).
You've been great and I couldn't have asked for a better audience for my work. Thank you all for the last 2 1/2 years, you're why I am where I am now.
Sincerely, Chris Fivecoate aka Uncle Kenny Gaia Online Events Lead 2012 - 2014, Developer 2011 - 2014, and User 2003 - The End
I know that was pretty heavy and for anybody that wants a little pick me up, I present to you my own personal Ein alongside the plush Ein that I own. And if you're interested in following along with her Corgi-shenanigans, you can follow my wife's Tumblr and Instagram (Yeah, we know we're easy to find, it's alright).
Uncle Kenny · Wed Feb 12, 2014 @ 06:18pm · 129 Comments |
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