Greetings! From A Confusing But Eager Time!
I missed my post last year! I was supposed to make a post every two years and I missed 2024! It's okay, because I will just make up for it this year with a much bigger and extraordinary post! Let's go!
There is just too much to talk about regarding my job situation. The Ocado/Kroger job was a nice year off the pain and suffering of being a mechanic at T.G. Lee and I definitely learned a lot in my position as a Maintenance Engineer. Working directly with robots, grid systems, and conveyor lines definitely was a cool introduction into the future of semi "lights-out" facilities and showed me that there is a world outside of old manufacturing plants. Unfortunately, as Covid-19 started to become less of a pandemic, so did the need for online groceries. A lot of people in Ocado saw the writing on the walls that this kind of business would not last for long, even though Ocado teamed up with a powerhouse like Kroger. And sadly, that facility will be closing in February 1st, 2026. It was a great concept but failed to (no pun intended) deliver results greater than its competition. Ocado/Kroger will always have a spot in my heart, but that job is what got me introduced to what will seem to be my mainstay career and passion that I've been looking for since 2016, Universal and the theme park industry.
I joined Universal around November 2021 and boy, I was not ready for what I was up against. I was a 3rd shift Show Controls technician for Cat in the Hat, which was a very weird job to put someone like me into, since Cat in the Hat is a kids ride and I was a young buck itching for a challenge such as the Harry Potter rides or even Velocicoaster. However, being assigned to Cat in the Hat must have been some kind of divine intervention, because the amount of knowledge I gained of ride vehicles, ride systems, A/V, and most importantly, animatronics, helped me land where I am currently. After a year of Cat in the Hat, I figured I needed a change of pace, and to finally show my worth as an engineer. The leadership and animatronics experience I received from Cat in the Hat helped me land into what I can truly say is a dream job for many that I still to this day feel undeserving of, a Controls Engineer for Universal Creative.
Creative was a very overwhelming and scary industry; everyone around me had such an abundance of engineering and management prowess that superseded mine by a long shot. However, my wild card of being a Tech Services Ride/Show technician has definitely attracted the eyes of many and they were able to see a side of Engineering that was less deskwork and more dirty work and becoming part of the ground force that you manage. For two years I worked on Project 905, which soon became Harry Potter: Ministry of Magic. I was the sole Controls Engineer of the entire Land, including its supervisor system, animatronics, wand magic, and the integration of all three into an experience that you can't find in any other land. Project 905 has allowed me to travel to places I never thought I'd get to work travel to ever, and it was such a pleasure to be my own boss and commandeer an entire land to ensure that all systems integrated properly. My infamy has also led me to other lands, such as Project 903, The Isle of Berk, and Project 902, Monsters Unchained. I've met many people along the way and became friends with many, something I was not able to do in any previous job I held because of my limited time there and the amount of stress my team were always in. Not to say there wasn't any stress in P905, but our situation allowed us to use our stress to become closer as a team and help each other out in dire times. Which now leads me to current day, where yet another new endeavor awaits me, an expat project.
And of course, because of my luck, where else would Universal assign me but Osaka, Japan! I am currently the Ride Controls Engineer for Project 119, while also moonlighting the Show team using my prior P905 Show Controls experience to help them out. This project will have me relocating to Osaka in Q4 2026, so I'm hoping the next time I make one of these posts will be on the other side of the world! I get so excited thinking about it! The country I've wanted to visit the most won't be a huge hole in my project and, rather, I'll be there until (tentatively) Q1 2029, something I could tell my past self and he would never believe me. This is also the opportunity I have to further my relationship with Kotorin, which transitions nicely into my next discussion.
Six years later and I am still in a great, loving relationship with Koto from Fandori! Just like any relationship, we have definitely experienced our ups and downs and even had a little scare a couple years in where I thought it wouldn't be possible and separated for a little bit. But I am happy to say that we are back together and now this relocation I have next year will be my chance to finally meet up and hopefully live with Koto! Koto will be heading to Japan the second I land in Osaka, and we can finally have the normie relationship we've been wanting since 2019, and it'll be in Japan of all places! Unfortunately, Koto has some reservations with meeting up in Orlando, which was a bummer for me to hear, since the reason I bought a house here in the first place was so that Koto can move to America and live with me. I completely understand though, especially with the crazy situation America is in now that the first year of the Trump re-run is coming to an end. I refuse to make this a political post, nor am willing to heir any grievances with America's current state, so I will end it here by stating that I hope for my next post in this blog to be in a future with a better America. Here's hoping.
What more can I say? My family moved up to Central Florida to be closer to me and it was just as I announced my relocation to Japan in 2026, what a funny series of events. But it was also good for my family to get out of South Florida, the cost of living down there was just becoming too unsustainable, plus my parents have completed their goal of raising their children in a safe, proper neighborhood. Now that we are all grown up and (mostly) out of the house, they can enjoy a more quiet, relaxing, and cheaper retirement. My oldest brother escaped his McDonalds job after moving to Orlando. Unfortunately, a downward series of events have caused him to lose his temp job in Orlando and eventually become hospitalized and now disabled. I feel really bad for my parents needing to raise him and take care of him still, but things happen for a reason, and I truly hope for the best for him. My other brother has been living a quite interesting life being a lighting technician roadie for many music festivals around America and on cruise ships. He has gotten me backstage and VIP to see many bands I've always wanted to see and it is definitely a job I wouldn't mind trying out if the theme park industry somehow implodes. He says he wants to get out of the roadie life though and come with me to Japan, but we will see how that goes in the future.
And now finally, my mental health. The biggest positive hit to my mental health has definitely been the feeling that I am in an industry that I am so proud of being in; being a mechanic in a milk plant or a lab assayer in a precious metals refinery isn't the greatest of brags for sure. Every time I tell people I work at Universal, especially Creative, they suddenly are very interested in my story and my time over there. I love being able to help out friends and family with getting them into Universal when that was previously never a consideration in their lives. Like I said above with Koto, my relationship is in a great state and I hope it expands even greater when we finally meet up in Japan next year. Work will always be stressful at times, especially now that I'm taking on a lot more responsibility than my on-paper job title dictates. However, my modus operandi has always been to help out my team and make sure everyone's mental is just as relaxed and chill as mine. But I believe that stress is easily overtaken by the wins and accomplishment my team achieves every week and our ability to be there for each other. I can't wait for all of us to be in Japan together to see our plans turn into an amazing ride!
I think that's about it. I hope that when I come back to read all of these over, that it's with my wonderful girlfriend next to me and during my expat time in Japan. I hope for the best for my family, my old friends who have all also moved on from South Florida into newer endeavors, my precious girlfriend Kotorin, and all of my new friends I've made in Creative and online. I believe the future is very bright and a bit overwhelming for me. However, since 2013, I have always carried with me a motto that I admittedly stole from MaelstromTear, an old Xbox Live friend of mine, that has defined by actions and beliefs, and will continue to do so until the day I die. I forgot the exact quote, so this might be a paraphrase, but I believe the heart of the quote is there:
I may be an impossible optimist, but I always hope for a brighter tomorrow!
