The Odyssey Begins...

There are moments in our lives where we must take a large step to change the direction our lives are headed. Sometimes this step is into the void, an action with no clear outcome.

On Thursday 21st of February, I made just such a step. With a beating heart but clear head I resigned from my position of senior developer at Quickflix, a role I have been in since the company was founded in 2003.

It is important to note that I am not leaving Quickflix for any other reason than I need a change. I have seen this company from inception through to where it is today. I have had a hand in nearly every part of the behind the scenes systems driving the company (hell, every DVD that gets scanned in or out, or is entered into the inventory is still done through applications I built nearly 5 years ago). I have designed and built (almost always from scratch) each of the 3 major redesigns of the website. I am proud of the work I have done for Quickflix and I think the company has a bright future ahead of it.

I have no jobs lined up for when I finish in March, no idea of what I will do. I need nothing more than enough money to pay my bills so I am not too worried about finding work, in fact I will be actively looking for work in areas like hospitality. I need to interact with people again, to build my confidence and use my hands again.

The one thing I am sure of is that now I can dedicate myself to chasing my dream (even if it is somewhat misguided) of doing a world trip that encompasses the worlds biggest gaming expos. TGS, GDC, PAX, Leipzig, you name it I want to visit it. An Odyssey if you will, a Gamer's Odyssey. I will blog this entire adventure from my last day of work here at Quickflix to returning to Perth sometime either 2009 or 2010. It will require a lot of planning, gaming and determination, but I am sure, now that I will have time and (slightly) less stress I can see this adventure through.

Keep checking back here, or at a Gamer's Odyssey soon to see when the site goes life and the Odyssey begins.

Windows Live Writer

Well, I've just installed Windows Live Writer and it seems to be working well... I might use it to maintain an up coming project of mine. More to come soon.

New Look Quickflix is now Live

20 minutes ago we released the new look Quickflix website. We've improved the navigation a bit, cleaned up the layout and organised things a bit better.

Something most people seem to be commenting on though is that the site is a damn site snappier: as it well should be. I reckon I shaved an average of about 60% off the page weight of each page.

Not bad for a hack and slash job on the current code base. Just wait until we release version 4.0!

Side projects are GO!

Side projects are a funny thing. They are usually more interesting and exciting than the other projects that overshadow them, and yet they receive very little attention.

Today marks the day where I begin a concerted effort to bring some of the side projects I had on the boil to the fore. Hosting has been purchased, and discussions have begun to finally let my ideas out into the wild.

Stay tuned to couch-review.com for more exciting developments.