a whirlwind summer

So a lot happened in the past three months. It's definitely been a crazy summer. We went through ups and downs, but that's just how life goes.

As you're probably aware, things had a bad start as I was laid off from Energous in June. Given the current economic climate, the job search looks to be harder than I expected. Of course, finding a job that fits is far more important than getting on as soon as possible.

We also had to deal with a water leak that caused a lot of damage. Mom wanted to replace our dishwasher and stove as they had started to show signs of age. As a team from Costco was helping us install the new dishwasher, they discovered a huge leak from some broken pipes. We might have never found out otherwise. Heaven knows what would have happened in that case. Getting the pipes fixed cost about $2,500 alone. Replacing the damaged hardwood would have cost even more had we not decided to do it ourselves.

Some time later, my mom received news that her old classmate Lin-Yao from college had passed away in July. Details are unclear, but word from her husband is that she died from complications of diabetes. Even though she and my mom have had disagreements, this was a huge shock to us. Our thoughts are with Lin-Yao's family during this difficult time.

However, there have been some good things too. For one, the recession that was predicted to start in July hasn't happened so far. Yet this has not made the job search easier because the tech industry is still in a bad state. But hopefully it means the job search won't get any harder than it already is.

I've also been focusing more on my studies because this seemed like a good time for a career change. Dad suggested taking online classes because I've been considering an AI-related job. I'm currently enrolled in two machine learning certificate programs, one offered by MIT and the other by Berkeley. Both programs have been very helpful even though the work can be demanding at times. I'm pretty sure a certificate would look good on my resume. :-)

Our street also had its first block party in about 28 years this summer. We don't have many opportunities to attend gatherings nowadays, so that was quite awesome. It's been way too long since we've been to a good party. Let's hope there will be similar events in the future!

Oh yeah... the new Necromancy skill in RuneScape is pretty fun. Even though I've been quite busy this summer, I was able to find some free time for games. Hopefully I get 99 Necromancy so that I could use the Max Guild again.

Currently listening to: "Touch the Sky" by Julie Fowlis