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i work for oracle corporation as a principal technical writer, in the application tools division. it's great work and the products that we produce are interesting and used around the industry. i get to do all kinds of geeky fun things all day, such as working with linux, working with customers, playing with java, and taking classes to keep up with the pace of technology. oracle is not a place to work for the faint-hearted, especially when commuting on caltrain is involved. if you recognize me on caltrain, say hi! i'm usually on train 43 (northbound in the mornings) and the one that leaves san carlos (southboud) at 416 pm.
before oracle, i worked for symantec for about 3.5 years. i worked in internet tools. my achievements were writing the documentation for several internet products, such as visual cafe and visual page. i am very proud of that! i miss the group and the products a lot, and it was hard to move on from there.
i became a full-time technical writer in 1995, in addition to being a product specialist, localization manager, and internal support engineer in santa clara, california, for aimnet corporation for almost a year. after that rewarding job i landed a really nice position at sybase inc., but i was laid off from there after only two weeks.
before doing technical documentation, i wrote manuals and taught english through computer skills courses. if i had my way, i'd do this full-time for the rest of my life if it would pay what i make as a software developer.
i don't know where my career path will take me because i have so many interests and i get bored very easily doing one thing for too long. maybe i'll go into localization or something combining software and linguistics.
i am also an instructor in Teaching English to Speakers of other Languages (TESOL), and it is also a very rewarding career. after transitioning to the software industry, i went back to teach the occasional course in the local junior colleges around the south bay. i've been mostly teaching at mission college in santa clara, california, specializing in teaching basic writing skills to foreign-born professionals. teaching is something that i feel is a vocational calling for me, though i refuse to be a martyr to practice it. i believe that educational professionals need to be paid as well as those of use in high-tech. if you don't believe that, you're a loser!
i speak spanish as well as english, and I have deep interests in multicultural education, sociology, and educational technology. i administer my own linux system at home, and when I am not hacking away at it, i am reading or trying a new restaurant somewhere in the san francisco bay area. i'm an active participant in ba.food, ba.motss, and alt.showbiz.gossip.
i used to be a very big irc (internet relay chat) geek, but i quit it cold turkey several years ago. irc used to be a place to go have an intelligent discussion, but with spam-bots and the constant cruising, it's a rather intimidating place to hang out. the last conversation i was involved with was so blatently racist and eurocentric (what is it with gay men and eurocentrism?) that i signed off and haven't been back since. i don't miss it and my life is much more productive now.
that isn't to say that there aren't all losers on irc now...i have met many people that I call close friends, while i have met others I want to forget. i wonder how some people even manage to turn on a computer...
i used to ben an active participant on several discussion lists, such as GLBPOC (gay/lesbian/bisexual people of color), outil (out in linguistics), arenal (lesbigay list in spanish), qapa (queer asian group), just to name a few, but i unsubscribed due to lack of time and watching the same old tired issues rehashed relentlessly.
i'm something of a gym-freak now. i work out at 3 of the south bay gold's gyms i usually go 4-5 times a week pushing my endurance. the santa clara location is my favorite, but i also live closer to the campbell one and work out there once or twice a week. if you recognize me, stop by and say hi. i can always use an intermedate-level work out partner. i've also been a member of various masters swim clubs, but 530 am workouts are difficult to get to!
i also study cantonese with a private teacher in sunnyvale. i hope to get to hong kong one day!
my good friends danny and darrin have also turned me on to cycling. i bought a trek 820 mountain bike a couple of years ago and i went mountain cycling in the redwood forest labor day weekend '96. i'm hoping to do this again Real Soon Now although danny has moved away and darrin is hiding somewhere. i enjoy leisurely rides around the bay area. i don't ride it enough like i should!
updated 02 june 2003