Pellegrini Page

Yesterday was the end of my first week working at ScrollMotion and it went extremely well. On Monday, my first day, I was assigned as the lead developer on an iPad application for G.E. and I was able to jump right into it with only a few hours of training. I’ve never done this type of work before but it’s very similar to web development and came naturally. The project is almost complete which means I’ll be starting something new next week. I heard from one of the project managers that I will likely be working on a project for Nike next, but we’ll have to wait and see.

Since I really like my new job and can definitely see myself there for the long term, I decided to put in my notice at the Tractor Room on Thursday night. This wasn’t easy to do, mostly because I have a lot of respect for Johnny (the owner) and hated to let him down. He’s not only been good to me as an employee, he’s been extremely generous whenever my family has been into the restaurant. We had a really nice talk on Thursday that left me feeling much better than I was going into it. He was also nice enough to tell me that if things didn’t work out I would always have a job working for him.

My last night at the Tractor Room will be Thursday Nov 10th, meaning that my first day out of the restaurant industry is 11/11/11. Kinda symbolic. Today will be my 11th day in a row at work, and I don’t have a day off until Saturday Nov 12th, so it’s tough right now but at least I’ll be through with all this before Ava is born. Only one more month to go…

The night before last Jessica was serving a couple from New York at her restaurant in La Jolla. When she initially approached the table to greet them, the man immediately said "Oh, so you’re having a baby girl in about six weeks huh?" Jessica was a bit taken back and said "Yeah, who have you been talking to?" The man replied "No one, but am I right?" She said "Yes, you’re exactly right. How did you know that?" He proceeded to explain to her that he has a strange ability to predict this kind of stuff and that he is almost always right. He then told her, "You’d better get ready because your daughter is going to be born two weeks early." Jessica looked at the man’s wife and asked "Should I be taking this seriously?" She said that her husband has an uncanny ability to predict things like this and that he definitely wasn’t kidding. He may not be right, but he’s not joking or making anything up. The man later said that Ava was already fully grown and ready to be born. He also made a point to say that he was looking forward to checking back later to see if his prediction was correct. It was a strange encounter but Jess could tell that he wasn’t fooling with her, so we’re both staying on our toes in case his prediction comes true. I can’t wait to see if it does…

The day before yesterday I interviewed for a position as an application developer with a company in La Jolla called ScrollMotion. I was originally contacted by a vice president of ScrollMotion on Friday of last week after she found my resume online and felt that I would be a good fit for their company. She explained that they were a three year old company with an office in Manhattan and another in La Jolla, who build mobile applications for the iPad and iPhone. In their short existence, ScrollMotion has built the official Superbowl application for the iPhone and iPad for the last three years, plus built numerous applications for companies like GE, Esquire Magazine and the Oprah Winfrey Magazine. Just last week they signed a deal to build applications for Nike as well.

It’s a small company with only about 150 employees between the two offices, but they are expanding rapidly and expect to employ about 400 people within the next year. As mentioned, I interviewed on Monday afternoon with one of their project managers and it went perfectly. I left the interview feeling that it couldn’t have gone any better and that I would be shocked if I didn’t at least get called back for a second interview. As it turns out, a second interview wasn’t needed. I was called today by the same vice president that I spoke with last week and she extended me an offer to join their team for a 90 day contract. She said that they have every intention of making me a full–time salaried employee after my contract is up, but that they would prefer to start me on a contract basis in order to get me up and running immediately. As long as I like the company and they are happy with me, I’ll be full–time when my contract is up.

This is exactly the kind of company that I was hoping to find and it’s only two or three blocks from Jessica’s work, which is perfect. I can’t wait to get started on Monday morning! More updates coming soon.

We recently got Jessica’s maternity photos back from our photographer Nick Tooman and wanted to post them for all to see. Below are a few select pics that were edited by Nick.

Tomorrow night we will have our first of six baby classes as we prepare for Ava to arrive. The classes are held at Mary Birch Hospital every Tuesday night from 7:30 to 9:30. Here we will learn all about the entire birthing process and get tips on caring for our newborn. I know Jessica is totally ready for all this stuff but I haven’t spent any time around babies in my life so I’ll take as much instruction as they’re will to give me. Should be fun!

Apple founder Steve Jobs died today after a long battle with a rare form of pancriatic cancer. Just last month he stepped down as CEO of Apple because of his health issues, and is now gone at the age of 56. I’ve been a huge Mac user for over a decade now and have the utmost respect for Mr. Jobs. In my opinion, he was the single most important person in the world of computers. He was a leader and a visionary, the likes of whom we probably won’t see again anytime soon. His first, and only, authorized biography is due to be released next month. Jess and I both can’t wait to read it. R.I.P. Steve Jobs.

I can barely express how thankful Jessica and I are for the help and work done by Amy and Tom over the past two weeks. They have completely transformed our entire house, and made our guest bedroom into the perfect nursery. They painted the room, setup the crib, added a beautiful rug, hung curtains, added shelves, and got us a nice fouton that functions as a sofa and a bed. It’s hard to believe it’s the same room! I will definitely be adding photos of all their hard work asap. Last night the four of us went out to an amazing dinner at Trulucks, which is our favorite restaurant in San Diego. It’s hard to believe that our little Ava is only two months away from her due date. Having the nursery all setup is a major achievement and makes it all seem that much more real. We’re officially on the home stretch!

Last night Jessica and I went to the Padres game. The Cubs were in town for the final series of the season, and since they’re Jessica’s favorite team, we decided to go see them play. Jessica’s work has season tickets and they were nice enough to set us up for the game. We ended up sitting in the fourth row right behind the home dugout. It was the closest I’ve ever sat at a ball game and we had a great time.

Today I had a job interview in the morning and then went to meet up with Jessica and her Mom for some maternity photos in Balboa Park. Honestly this isn’t something that I’ve been very excited about being a part of, but did it because she wanted me to. I look forward to family photos once Ava is born, but didn’t feel like I really belonged in maternity photos. Either way it wasn’t all that bad and it looks like we got some nice shots.

Jessica’s Mom Amy arrived in San Diego yesterday and has been hard at work helping us get the house reorganized and ready for Ava. The three of us went out to dinner last night at a cool little latin restaurant in Leucadia called Le Papagayo. We sat outside and had a nice time getting caught up. Today has been full of work – house work for them and website work for me. It’s always nice having family come to visit.