Bus Coin

After receiving a BFA in Illustration from Long Beach State in 1996, I began working as a tester and texture artist in the video game industry. Some of the titles I worked on were Test Drive, Test Drive Off-Road, and Redline. From there, I was hired by Adobe in April 2000 to work on SVG within the Illustrator product team. After a few years of that, I moved onto the Premiere Pro team, where I remained for over 20 years. During my time at Adobe, I got to contribute to many well-known products, including Premiere, After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator, SVG Viewer, and many more.

Adobe was very good to me for many years, and I have nothing bad to say about any of my direct coworkers or the company as a whole. My favorite benefit there was their sabbatical program, which allowed me to take an extra five to six weeks of contiguous paid leave once every five years. I always put the time to good use by traveling the Western US with my family in our RV.

Sadly, that whole life came to a screeching halt when I was suddenly and unexpectedly informed that my position had been eliminated in late June of 2025. After that, I spent an agonizing year looking for a replacement job in the tech industry, which included sending out over 200 customized resumes and responding to countless job postings on LinkedIn, Indeed, and elsewhere. It was the worst year of my life, professionally, and it took an enormous toll on my already-fragile mental health.

So when unemployment ended in the spring of 2026, I decided to stop looking for high-paying tech jobs and accept something that would keep me local and be better for my mental health. I applied to a fitness center, big-box retailers like Costco, and finally my local school district's transportation department. The supervisors and trainers there were warm and caring toward me from the start. They trained me for several weeks, paying me for much of that time, and helped me earn my Commercial Driver's License in June of 2026 — just shy of one year after my Adobe layoff notification. I got to take that summer off, which was very needed after such a tumultuous year, and I began driving for real on the first day of school in August of 2026.

I didn't expect any of what came next. It's been a steep and difficult learning curve. The days are long, even with a several-hour break between shifts. But my students have all been good so far, and I haven't done anything to put them in any real danger. I also get to see some amazing sunrises and a lot of wildlife during my morning routes — one day a red-tailed hawk eating a small rabbit right next to the bus, another day a huge bald eagle being chased off by a magpie. I like to point out the wildlife to the students as we go.

So it hasn't exactly been the retirement or semi-retirement I'd planned for, but it helps pad our savings, and the health and retirement plans are actually pretty good. I'm just beginning this new chapter of my life, and I'm hoping for two things as a barometer of success: (1) don't accidentally do anything that could endanger anyone, and (2) have enough fun that the time to full retirement arrives before I know it. Thanks to everyone in the pump.fun and Twitter communities for your generous support and kindness. I'll never forget how amazing this viral experience has been.