How I See It: Reflections on spirituality, technology, and the art of everyday life

Weekly Update 12/13/25 - 12/19/25 It has been a stormy week, weather-wise. Twice this week, we have been hit by an atmospheric river. This caused very stormy conditions; in fact, my next-door neighbor had her shed destroyed on one of those nights. Total rainfall was up to 3 inches. I spent a good portion of the week working on publishing two books. Right after high school, I wrote a book I titled The End of the Beginning and the Start of Eternity , a sci-fi story about a future time when suffering and violence have been eliminated, and the results. Several of you may remember helping me proofread this and giving me suggestions and opinions in the distant past. My second book is titled From Crack to Kitty Litter . This book tells the story of my late wife, Linda, and her struggles with drug addiction. I have wanted to see these published for some time but did not feel comfortable facing the battle to get them published conventionally. A few years ago, I looked into self-publishing...

This has been a relatively uneventful week. Most of it has been rainy, as the Pacific Northwest has been sitting squarely in the bullseye of an atmospheric river. It dried out a bit toward the end of the week, but I’m told the rain is expected to return next week. On the job front, I’ve sent out several hundred copies of my resume to companies that use PxPlus (Providex), BBx, UniBasic, Sage 100 (MAS 90), or Infor FACTS. Since these are all cold contacts, I’m not expecting a large number of responses, but I only need one. Past mailings have led to a few contacts. Among them is the Irvine position for an Infor FACTS developer. Early in the week, I heard back that I’m still being considered. At the same time, I’ve seen the job posted on several boards, including Indeed, Glassdoor, and ZipRecruiter. So while I’m not out of the running, they are clearly still looking. I haven’t heard back from the London role yet, but I’m still hopeful. I was hoping to start something this month, but with ...

This has been an eventful week.   On Tuesday, I woke up trying to sneeze but couldn’t quite get it out. Then I noticed the scratchy throat and the stuffed head. Yes… You guessed it, I have a cold. I went to the doctor on Wednesday to make sure it wasn’t COVID, and thankfully, the test came back negative. Just a mild head cold. As of Saturday, I’m still a little stuffy and tired, but overall improving. On the job-search front, I had two interviews for a position in Irvine, CA. The first one went very well. They even gave me a short coding test, and not only did I solve the problem, but I also found a bug in the original code that made the tester laugh at his own oversight. I left that call feeling hopeful. Within an hour, they contacted me to schedule a second interview, which I had on Friday with three senior leaders. This round focused more on modern tools and frameworks than on my legacy strengths, so it didn’t go as smoothly. I made sure to highlight how quickly I pick up ne...

  Dear Friends, It is my custom at this time of year to celebrate with my friends by giving them the gift of self, so I can share with you some of what the last year(s) have brought me. I am very sorry it’s been so long since I last sent out a Christmas letter. This is going to be the first Christmas Letter I've done that will only be available online, either the people I know are online or have passed away, so I'm only going to do it this way from now on.  Many things have happened during those years, and here is a quick update to bring you all up to speed.   2017 After I wrote my 2017 Christmas letter, I received an email from one of the singles sites I was on. It seemed someone wanted to meet me. We met for the first time on December 9th. Her name is Dawn. She’s a retired Nurse Practitioner and very shy about being written about, so I’ll leave it at this: she and I are still together, living in Vancouver. 2018 In February, I took a vacation to Maui. ...

Weekly Update 11/22/25 to 11/29/25 It’s been a busy week, and a good one. The most important news is that I finally heard back from the team in England. Things are moving in the right direction, and they estimate they’re about 90% certain this opportunity will pan out. Next week, they expect to give me access to a test environment along with a full year of support tickets . If everything lines up, this could be the start of something solid. Beyond that, there have been plenty of other pots boiling. On Monday, I interviewed with a company in California looking for someone with Infor FACTS experience. I spent four years working on FACTS in Providex , and I’m certified in FACTS 7.0 with 20+ years in Providex overall. But the current release is 9.x, and I haven’t touched it in two decades. Still, finding anyone who knows a legacy system like FACTS is rare, so I’m hoping the door stays open. They said they’ll get back to me early next week. Two other recruiters reached out asking...

Weekly Report 11/16/2025 - 11/22/2025 My Weekly Report This week I made a decision: I’m no longer “unemployed.” Instead, I’m officially creating my own company — Odell S Hathaway III Consultancy . I’ll still be applying for full-time roles. Still, I’m also opening the door to contract and hourly work where I can bring my unique skill set to the table: PxPlus (Providex), the various Business Basic families (UniBasic, BBx, B32, …), and more than 20 years of experience in software development, data validation, debugging, and technical support. It feels good to finally put a name to the work I’ve been doing for so long. Job Front I’m happy to say I have an interview on Monday for a position working with Infor FACTS , an ERP system I’ve supported in the past. It’s built on Providex, so this might be a very natural fit for me. I’ve got my fingers crossed (which makes typing a little bit more challenging). I also heard back from the London opportunity . They were going to be having a meetin...