I have to really give EA credit - they're being really good to me, and they really seem as excited to have me as I am to go. They've been incredibly helpful with relocation and miscellaneous questions, even when I bug them several times a day. They've done their damndest to make this transition as painless as possible for me, and I'm extremely grateful.
I've also talked some with my new boss and gotten more details of the job, the work environment, etc. I figured since I had some spare time up here, I might as well ask what I can research and study up on to prepare for the job, so he sent me some information and has been really responsive to questions, etc. I think I'm going to really, really enjoy this job.
I went to my last class last week. I was really sad to say goodbye, actually. I've really enjoyed those classes and I know for a fact I never would have been as successful following my dreams if I hadn't taken that class. I always intended to stay through the last class and then start looking for a game industry position, but I guess life just likes to throw curve balls. No complaints, in this case, but I'm still sad to leave in the middle of the quarter.
This weekend, Karen and I will be flying down to San Fransisco to look around and get a lay of the land. Apparently, this is standard for relocating people, and we get a guided tour from the relocation agency and everything.
I'm also having a going-away party on the 10th, and I think it will end up being a blast. My theory of parties has always been to get lots of interesting people together and see what interesting things happen - and there'll be lots of interesting people there I think =)
Finally, I'll leave here on the 12th of May, drive down to San Fransisco with my son (visit my dad on the way, take the CA coast and see the redwoods, and generally just spend some good father-son bonding time with him). I'll arrive in SF on Saturday or Sunday and put my son on a plane home.
I'll be staying in Corporate housing for up to a month while I find a place to stay. I could find places from here, but I'd really rather not rush things and have a chance to really look around before jumping into a roommate situation.
Karen and Nicky will be staying in Seattle for a while - 6 months to a year, probably - getting our house ready to rent, getting prepared at her job to work remotely, helping take care of my sister's new baby, etc. Eventually, she and Nicky will move down with me and we'll look for a place to live (rent, probably...don't trust the CA real-estate market, honestly) while we rent out our house up here.
It'll be lonely for a while, but I'll be flying home twice a month or so for weekends and plus, I'll actually enjoy the chance to really just dive into the job for a while. Hopefully, I'll keep my sanity. Judging by the last six months, though, that won't be much of an issue (I think it's already gone). But I will miss them, so we'll see how long they end up staying in Seattle. Everything is fluid in life.
Once I get down there, I'll be working on Sims 2 console version on the Create-a-Sim portion. This is really exciting for me as it will really give me a chance to work on shaders and other stuff I want to learn lots more about.
So, things are all falling into place for major life changes. Still having a little bit of a hard time believing that it's happening, finally.
Life is good =)
