Scars

Part 42

Maddie's POV:

"What are you working on?", Alyssa asked, as she sat on the couch, as I was busy working from home at my job as a 3D modeler, early on a Monday morning.  I had been working for Nintendo for almost 5 years now, designing games.  As a 3D modeler, which was basically in the same category as graphic design, my main job was to build 3D characters and environments that were based on the concept of art. In short, I created 3D models and animation for characters.  And basically what that meant was that I helped design games.  And what was even more, was that in my opinion, I got to do the fun part of designing games,  which was to design the actual characters.  So yes, it was a job that I enjoyed very much.  For the most part. 

"I'm working on designing a virtual 3D character.  But there's a hang up with the special effects team.  The character is fully animated.  But apparently there's a problem with the special effects.  I'm working with them to try to come up with a solution."

"Sounds interesting.  You designing a new game or something?"

"Yes.  But it's still in the early stages.  So there's a lot of decisions that have to be made and issues that need worked out.  And plus we just switched to a new graphics software program.  So we're all still learning how to use it.  I actually have a zoom meeting this afternoon with my team regarding the new software.  And honestly, it's stressing me out because I don't feel comfortable using it."

"Try not to stress about it, babe.  I'm sure you'll figure the program out."

"Yeah.  It's just very complicated."

"Anything new is always hard at first, but you'll get it", she said, trying to reassure me. 

"I know."  And yes, I was stressed about the new software program.  But I also knew that that was just a temporary problem.  Because after awhile, I would get the hang of it and it would become routine and really wouldn't be a big deal.  

But in all honesty, there was something else the was on my mind and was predominating most of my thoughts.  And what it was, was, even though I loved my job at Nintendo,  for a long time,  I had wanted to expand my horizons and move past the gaming industry and get into something that had always been a long time dream of mine.  And that was to work in animation production for movies and television.  It had always been my ultimate goal.  So much so, that I had applied for a job at Walt Disney Animation Studios several months back.  Disney Animation Studios was one of the world's largest and most respected animation studios.  They were pioneers in the field of animation and had surpassed all others in creating animation features that had become worldwide classics.  So to part of such an organization would be a dream come true.

But for months, I hadn't heard anything back from Disney.  Nothing at all. That was... until yesterday.  To much my delight, they had contacted me and had invited me for an interview.  An invitation that I eagerly accepted.   But there was a catch . The job was mostly remote, meaning a lot of it I could do from home.  But the downfall was it also required regular traveling to California.  And what exactly regular meant, I wasn't exactly sure. So depending on how much traveling I would have to do could very well make or break my decision, in the event, of course, if I was offered a position.  Because even though I was fine with some traveling being involved, I didn't want to have to travel constantly.   Because honestly, that just wouldn't fit my lifestyle.  And what was more, was I wasn't sure how it would impact my relationship with Alyssa, or exactly how she would feel about me traveling.   So, it was fair to say, that much was up in the air.  

But up until now, I hadn't mentioned any of this to Alyssa.  Because quite simply, there really hadn't been anything to tell her.  Because even though I had applied, I didn't really expect to ever even hear from them, let alone get an interview.  But now that I had, I knew the time had come to tell Alyssa and to let her know what was going on.