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Friday, August 31, 2007

a sad goodbye...

It was a sad goodbye today. I am done at Bungie.

On the up side, my manager gave me a very good review for GTO. As a result (I think) I start a new position on Tuesday at Building 5. Located between Macy's and Bed Bath and Beyond in the Redmond Town Center (with 2 other MS buildings). The perks are that I will get a MS parking pass and have on site parking. Finally, I will be working with one other person from Bungie.

The down side is that I have been listening to horror stories about working at main campus on video games, and I don't get that week off that I really was looking forward to. I just get 3 days... oh well, it's better than only one day... or no days off a week.

well, anyway... It also looks like my lease is really a 1 year lease... man I feel stupid. They told us it was a 6 month lease when we signed the papers... but it said march 31 2008 right on the papers... That just sucks. but I guess on the lighter side, that means I have 6 more months to look for a house. Don't worry... I want to buy one on my own. no co-signers.

anyway... I'm tired. good night.


Later,
SteveO

Thursday, August 23, 2007

one long week!

this has been a very long week... I took Tuesday off... and I'll still end up with 80 hours... I am getting really tired right about now... I guess exhausted is more appropriate.

However, they have done a few things to boost our spirits... they gave us all stickers... and today I got a Bungie Halo 3 shirt! So, I guess I got what I came for... so it's time to go!

hehe....

well, maybe not, but I think my time with Bungie is almost over. The project is almost ready to ship... so we are trying to get all of our new passes done.

We are to the point where we only run the game on retail Xbox360 kits. So when it ships, I'm gone. Other than that... I guess I was happy to see the sun at least once this week... I got to go in late today too... we went in at 1PM... which gave me time to walk Jaani, relax with a cup of coffee... and get a couple things around the house done. it's surprising how quickly I can take care of chores these days... I built 2 chairs (that I got like a month ago from Ikea...) took out the trash (because the dumpster was finally emptied after like 3 weeks.) and then I went to Jet City to hang out with Brandy.

Other than that... work work work work... I have been looking around for a new car... I found a bunch of stuff on Craig's list... I was going to have my friend Ricci go with me to look at one in a couple days... It seems that BECU will give me a car lone with no money down... and if I can get the difference, then I think I will be all set...

so... that's what's going on with me...

Later,
SteveO

Monday, August 20, 2007

72 hours...

The work week is 72 hours in... and I’ve worked 39 of them...  We are approaching midnight...

work is long hours, but it works... I guess... just tiring...

 

That is the story...

 

P.S.  we are staging a revolt with spears made of broken CDs and pens taped together...

 

Later,

   SteveO

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Explanation

I guess the previous post needs an explanation... you see, at work, we look at that picture of the lady with 4 eyes, and two sets of lips, and we have trouble focusing... and we joke about it causing seizures...

so, yea... I'm here, and I'm alive... I gotta go to bed because I'm tired...

Later,
SteveO

Friday, August 3, 2007

seizure!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Resume Update...

Just as a note... this resume looks a lot better in a separate window, where you can see all the dates along the right hand side of the document...

The document can be found here


Steven Farnell

25621 27th Pl S Apt# C104
Kent, WA. 98032

StevenFarnell@gmail.com
(248) 762-7900


Objective:
Software Engineer



Education:

Bellevue Community College

January 2006 - September 2006

Computer Science Transfer Agreement:

  • 30 Credits Completed

  • Relevant Coursework: Logic and Calculus


ITT Technical Institute

June 2002 - June 2005

Software Application Programming AAS, Software Engineering Technology BAS:

  • 90 Credits Completed for AAS, Graduated Highest Honors

  • 30 Credits Completed for BAS

  • Relevant Coursework: VB .NET, Enterprise Java, C# with ASP .NET, Numerical Methods, and Calculus

  • National Vocational Technical Honor Society


Troy High School

September 1998 - June 2002

High School Diploma:

  • Computer Science Advanced Placement Score: 4/5

  • Introduction to CCNA

  • Introduction to A+

  • Relevant Coursework: Photoshop, HTML, Flash 4, Java, and Visual C++


Work Experience:

Volt Technical Resources

May 2007 - Present

Bungie Studios/Microsoft - Test Associate Level 2:

  • Regular Duties: Test Passes, C# Scripting, Batch Scripting, Ad-Hoc Testing of Halo 3.

  • BVT, Black Box, Grey Box, and Automation testing.

  • Create and Track bugs using Ticket Track and MS Raid.

  • Write scripts to perform repetative tasks assigned to my team.

Farnell Contracting Inc.

May 1995 - April 2007

General Laborer and Network Technician:

  • Regular Duties: Technical Support, Parcel Services, and Warehouse Management

  • Ran Structured Cabling for Desktop Computers and Server Closet

  • Configured Secure Wireless Network

  • Installed Server and Configured Database, Web, Proxy, and Mail Services


ITT Technical Institute

May 2003 - December 2003

Temporary Student Tutor

  • Regular Duties: Algebra, Trigonometry, Physics, C++, Java, Visual Basic, and Operating Systems Tutoring.

  • Assisted in the weekly re-imaging of of Nine Computer Labs

  • Utilized the School Library to improve my understanding of Visual Studio Tools


Skills:

  • Eight Years using Visual Studio: V.B., Visual C++, C#, ASP, Fox Pro, and MSIL

  • Four Years of Linux GUI Development: GTK, QT, and CC++

  • Nine Years of Web Development with Markup, Scripting, and Interpreted Languages

  • Six Years of Database Development with SQL and Access

  • Five Years of Desktop and Server Computer Support and Repair: Hardware Troubleshooting, Hardware Replacement, Windows and Linux Support

  • Configured a database server to synchronize the bookkeeping, sales, and labor departments of a small company; allowing for an automated and personalized summary of weekly objectives.

I keep going... and going... and going...

this is crazy... my net income at Bungie has now surpassed my gross income in Michigan!!! this is exciting.... I mean... I work a ton of hours...and it seems like every week they come up with longer shifts for us... as of now it looks like I'm working 72 hours next week... (starting tomorrow)... it just seems like every week my paycheck gets bigger... I love it... but hate not having a life... but I love it anyway.

but I guess I'll need all the money I can get... I don't know how much longer I'll have luck with the Astro... it's still running fine... but it just passed 191,000 miles... and the windows are starting to act up a little... but it runs!

I don't know what kind of car I'll be able to afford, but I'm sure I will figure something out. I guess the next thing I need to keep in mind is that my last check from Bungie might be coming as soon as the 23rd of this month, and unlike some of my friends who were able to go v- (vendor... I'm an a- for umm... who knows... it means I have to take a 100 day break from MS every 365 days I work as MS so they can keep me as temporary... a v- stays until the end of the project.)...

other than that... Jaani and I have the house to ourselves this weekend. which kinda sucks for Jaani... he has to stay all by himself... all alone... all day while I'm at work tomorrow... he only had to stay alone for 2 1/2 hours today... and sunday Ev said she will be home by mid day...

Official word says that Ev starts work on Monday. At around 8:30AM... which works out perfect for me to drop her off... I need to be passing through Renton at about that time in order to get my breakfast on my way to work... seeing how I don't take the bus anymore... I guess I would make her take the bus if I didn't drive right past her work every day... I can actually read the sign on the building as I drive by... In the end it means I have to leave about five or ten minutes earlier...

(to the tune of Montey Python's lumberjack song...)
so...
I'm a game tester and I'm OK,
I sleep sometimes and I work all day,
I go to work,
I type a lot,
I like to break halo,
and if I could have my way,
we'd never make release...

well, anyway... that's the jist of how my life is not changing at the same time that it is changing constantly... so, I guess I'll say goodnight! I need to get some sleep...

Later,
SteveO

Thursday, August 2, 2007

Work update...

I Broke it!!! That's right, Tuesday they sent me home with a dev kit... and it was good. My DevKit, Wireless controller, Headset, and some Everclear (190 proof) on the side, and I'm ready to start testing!

the plus side is I now get to play Halo 3 from home at night... the down side is that means I work 12 hours 2 days a week.... between that and weekends now being extended, I work about 74 hours a week... it's kinda crazy...

Although today I had most of the day off... I was requested to take a dev kit home because Tuesday I set up Internet Connection Sharing to allow my Dav Kit to connect to my wireless internet connection. Between the other 3 wireless networks, being underneath the flight path for Sea-Tac airport, my connection got a continual random packet loss of 5% with a periodic random packet loss that spiked at 45% every 15 minutes... in other words a huge chunk of what the dev kit was saying to Xbox Live got lost... kinda like when you get a bad connection on your cell phone and you have to keep repeating youself... except because you're giving instruction to deal with something happening in real time, my box would do some funky things... that which I cannot publish online.

It was great. That combined with the feeling of being trusted to take home (and return) an $8,000 piece of equipment (with a black market value of well over $10,000) makes me feel like I'm moving up in the world.

it makes me feel even better about working so many hours...

but the project is coming along.... work is good... my co-workers rock!

I am never home... ever. I work so many hours that I think I would go crazy if I had to take the bus every day... Ev starts work on Tuesday... and is going to her mom's house until her step dad returns on Sunday...

I feel like I'm being recognized as someone of great talent in the view of industry leaders! Which may or may not be true, but I finally started having intelligent conversations with my managers... basically because I stopped being afraid to express my opinion. I'm learning a lot about the tech industry, and I think I have a lot I can offer. I found out one of the guys I talk to all the time on my breaks (because he vacations in Michigan and went to U of M) is the studio lead. He is in charge of Bungie... where the buck stops.

anyway... I must go to bed. g'night!

Later,
SteveO