matt hackmann - web developer - artist - nerd

So, I've been out of school for nearly two months now. Of course, it took them this long to get me my diploma. Now, I am usually a fairly patient person, but there is one exception to that rule: mail order. Waiting for this diploma was like ordering something from Amazon and then having to wait two years for it to get here. But, it's here now and all is right with the world.

Well, it would be if I had a job. I've applied to three places now, those being ConocoPhillips, Griffin New Media (both web dev jobs), and a contract motion graphics job out in Florida with Feld Entertainment. Phillips I didn't hear back from for a month and a half and at that the only contact I had was a short note saying I'd been passed up. I got calls from both Griffin and Feld (on the same day even), but Feld never called back after their initial call.

Griffin, on the other hand, has taken an interest in me and I've had two interviews there now (both of which went pretty well, in my opinion). The people I've interviewed with have been extremely nice and seem to have my interests in mind as well as theirs. My first interview seemed mostly to quiz me on my web development knowledge in addition to establishing what the position I'd applied for entailed. The second was more formal in terms of the questions asked and the environment in which it was conducted. Also in that interview, I had to take a skills test in which was given an hour to design and code a small contest entry page. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to finish everything on the list, though my design was good and my HTML validated first crack out of the barrel. So, at this point I'm waiting to hear back from them. I'm really hoping for this job because it's everything I've been working towards the last several years and the environment and people working there are really nice.

Outside of job hunting, there hasn't been too much more going on in my life. So, instead of wasting precious bytes telling you how awesome the Taiko no Tasujin series of games is, I'll wrap it up here.

I find myself at the end of my college life, living back in good ol' Oklahoma and completely bored out of my skull. Of course, there is on the near horizon the promise of employment, which should take up the next forty years of my natural life. I should relish these moments as I will not have a moment like this in some time... especially if a wife and kids are part of my ultimate master plan. But, I suppose itemization is in order.

Nearly a month ago, I completed my college education and graduated from Full Sail University with a bachelor of science in Digital Arts and Design. The ceremony was all very pomp with much circumstance. During my particular ceremony, there were some two hundred people graduating (all of the bachelor kids, not just my class). I marched along the line of my old instructors shaking their hands (and getting hugs from one). It felt kind of ethereal and even now I'll stop suddenly and realize... it's over. Everything that had sucked up my very being for the last twenty-one months is finished.

So, that's all done and now I'm back home with my family. Not a bad place to be, I suppose. The plan was to take a hiatus after the near non-stop barrage of school. It's been nice, no doubt about that, but now I feel restless. I want to do something and I don't have anything that needs to be done. So, that would suggest to me that it's time to return to the working forces, a new and more educated man.

Actually, a couple weeks back I applied at ConocoPhillips (the family workplace) for an opening they had for an ASP.NET developer. I've yet to hear anything, but my application is supposedly under "secondary review" same as it has been since the offer closed on the seventeenth. The waiting is killing me and never have I been so eager to receive a phone call. I suppose if this falls through (as it's kind of looking like, but I'll give it a bit more time) there's another place in town that I'm going to apply at. It's a design group that I more than qualify for (HTML/PHP type stuffs), so maybe I'll have some more luck there.

Hopefully, I'll be able to find a job soon. I suppose if I don't, I'll have more time to update this blog. Hooray for you.

It seems that ignoring the blog is the fashionable thing for me to do, as of late. It's not entirely intentional, there's just really nothing to talk about. Sometimes, while I'm attempting to force myself into a state of unconsciousness, I'll think of these things I'd love to post ranting about this, that, or the other. However, rarely do I actually act upon these impulses and the dust continues to gather.

The one thing that has happened since I last blogged is the passage of time. And with that passage I draw ever nearer to my graduation date. Currently, I sit at less than a month till I walk with my fellow classmates and receive the piece of paper for which I have worked so hard to achieve. It's hard to believe that not two years ago I was making preparations to come here the thought of actual completion not even in my head. But, here we are.

I've achieved much in my short twenty-one months at Full Sail, both from an academic and personal standpoint. I've improved my design skills, learned the technical art of motion graphics, and added to my repertoire of marketable programming skills through ActionScript. I know better how things in the industry work and have finally been able to get the professional critique that I so longed for as a hobbyist working out of his parents' house.

I've made a lot of memories at this school, both good and bad. It'll be sad to have leave all the friends I've made, but everyone tells me I have a bright future ahead of me. As for what I think of that, I'm not entirely sure. I know I have marketable skills, but there are some things that I know will hold me back. For example, I would like to live close to my family. That alone throws out almost any motion graphics or film job that I could have. I suppose it boils down to what's more important to me: my family and friends or my career. Even at that, I don't really know what career path I'd like to do. i enjoy and am proficient at many things (both inside and outside my degree).

I suppose I'll stop there before I completely depress myself. The next few months are going to have a crucial part in shaping my future. I'd better make damn sure I get it right.

It is another month and with that another wave of classes. Lucky me has class six days a week! (except next week where I only have class four days. Whatever.) So, you're probably asking "Hey, Matt! What kind of awesome stuff do you get to do this month?" To which I answer "Have you not been paying attention, compadre? Classes aren't fun anymore." This month is the exciting world of portfolio creation and business communication (see this, here, now? I'm communicating. Perhaps to businesses).

But, school aside, I've been having a rather fun time rewriting the interface to that media player I brought up some months back. This time, however, the entire front end is all ajaxy and delicious. Don't believe me? Check it out for yourself, but don't be ripping off my songs, hear? Though, you'd have to get a flash decompiler or something to actually find where they are on my server. It's all very exciting.

In some days (by which I mean tomorrow) I will the happy owner of a brand new Wii Fit (only cost me twenty extra over retail). Since I left Wal-Mart I've put on some weight - about thirty pounds. Feeling more like a pregnant lady in her third month than the macho man I am, I felt it was time to do something about that. So, I might do a weekly update thingy here as that progresses, though we all know what happens when I promise regular updates of some sort.

Every once in a while I like to google myself and my friends, probably because I have far too much time on my hands. It's an interesting thing to do and one I recommend to my peers (by which I mean other internet micro-celebrities). Interestingly, I seem to have the most web presence of the classmates I googled. Granted, I have had a little bit of a head start and a bump here and there. I suppose it isn't the most common thing ever to be featured on the front page of various gaming sites (twice), but surly somebody in that class has done something that's caught the attention of the internet. Then again, I do seem to be that guy as devusb so fervently calls it, and unfortunately I have to agree. That's probably why I still spend most of my time alone with my computer while everybody else is out smoking weed and getting laid. Or perhaps the internet fame happens because I stay at home by myself. But, we're not here to get into the chicken/egg debate. Actually why don't we.

Q: Chicken or the egg. Which came first?

A: Who cares, they're both delicious.

Well, I suppose that's enough nonsense for one afternoon. Besides, I have other equally unimportant things I could be doing, like checking digg/Joystiq/Engadget, stalking people on Facebook/Twitter, binge drinking all my troubles away, the usual.

It's been quite some time since I last graced the interwebs with my esoteric writings. Much has happened since then and, on the flip side, much hasn't happened since then. Hell I don't even remember what the last thing I wrote was. But, no matter. That's why God invented tabbed browsing.

Going back over some of my more recent posts, it seems that I made some sort of attempt to be more... professional. That is, I attempted to be a help to the community at large, injecting into it my insights and examples. However, after some recent soul searching over break, I realize that this is not who I am, nor is it who I wish to be. I simply wish to be myself and for my blog to continue on much the way it has for so many years. That is to say, contain the trials, tribulations, and joys of my life. So, with so much time to catch up on, where does one begin? I suppose it's best to find out where one left off...

I suppose the last meaningful post was about the anime festival I attended in August. Now, back then I felt like an outcast amidst a lot of freaks (in a good way, however). But, since then, I too have fallen victim to the Japanese and tantalizing animations. I suppose the beginning of my downfall was when I picked up and was subsequently sucked into the Phoenix Wright games. It didn't help that I was prodded along the way by a buddy of mine (who will be called Ryan for lack of a made up name). He showed to me Hellsing, an anime about some vampire killing organization, the Catholic Church, and nazis. As crazy awesome as this combination may sound, vampires and the occult really aren't my forte. So, he pushed me towards Dragon Ball Z, which, I must admit, is not only awesome, but totally over nine thousand. From there I ventured out on my own checking out anime on Netflix's instant watch (Project A-ko and Best Student Council). My biggest pitfall was when Hulu picked up Naruto. Everybody and their chibis seemed to be completely enamoured with this show and, even though I'd previously shunned it as I had all anime, I watched an episode. And another. Two weeks later and not only had I watch one hundred twenty episodes, but I'd also read all the manga after the point I'd left off. I've also watched and completed Lucky Star (all the dubbed versions, at least) and the Meloncholoy of Haruhi Suzumiya. So, I can no longer consider myself the portent of anime's destruction (as I once wanted to be). Instead, I am a lowly otaku. Damn.

School-wise, nothing terribly interesting has happened. I've completed all my film courses, made a level for UT3, created a magazine and TV packaging, and now I'm back to web design. How I hate you, web design. Web programming, that's okay. I enjoy programming, However, I'm beginning to realize how much I don't enjoy actual design. The process of coming up with some idea out of nothing is one I find very difficult (though, I usually execute it fairly well). However, with programming I know what I'm trying to achieve and the steps to get there a fairly linear and even allow for a good bit of problem solving which I do love. That said, I still enjoy film making and motion graphics.

The good news about school is that I've got less than half a year left until graduation. I'm not entirely certain what I'll do after that. One thing I do know is that I'll be heading back home for a couple months to simply do nothing. Full Sail, while it hasn't been terribly difficult has left me drained of nearly every creative juice in my body as well as killed off almost all of my motivation. That can be attributed to the fast pace of the scheduling where every month I have to design my way out of another two classes. I've enjoyed my time here, but I'll also be glad when it ends. It means I get to go on and do something awesome (hopefully VFX, programming, or motion graphics).

Other than that nothing very exciting has happened to me. It's all school and what play there is generally involves me sitting on my ass in front of this computer monitor surfing the nets or whatever recent project has caught my fancy. I promise that I won't let another agonizing two months go by before I update again, but with nothing happening it's hard to find something to write about. Perhaps you should follow me on Twitter for all the little random things and thoughts of mine. Until next time, be cool and stay in school.