The Kowallis Review
Happy Holidays!
The season of Christmas, more than any other, cultivates a spirit of peace among all Christians and others. The humble circumstances of the babe of Bethlehem are enhanced by the eternal significance of the Savior's life and his teachings resonate with all people.
During this time of global turmoil may each of us keep in our hearts the admonition to love and the savior's promise, "my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid" (John 14:27). There is much in this world to be grateful for and even more to hope for.
I wish all of you a happy holiday season and a joyful new year.
Karl Kowallis
Career Paths
At the start of the year 2001 I was working for MicroStrategy, located in Tyson's Corner Virginia. The software company was suffering from the declining technical markets as well as it's own explosive growth in the face of shrinking economics. Eventually I was also a victim of a wave of layoffs.
MicroStrategy had been good for me as a first career opportunity after college, with their strong internal education programs. Though Marketswitch initially didn't need me, they later contacted me for an interview and eventually a job offer. Their location, in Dulles Virginia a few miles north of the Dulles Airport, was farther than my work in Tyson's Corner since at the time I lived in Falls Church, but I traveled against traffic and could still make it in less than 30 minutes.
In the 8 months I have been at Marketswitch I have also survived a 40% cost cutting layoff. I declined another job this fall hoping I could continue to make a difference at Marketswitch and feeling I was just running away from my disaffection rather than being enamored with the new offer. I work as a Technical Analyst, a fancy title for a software support specialist and I help customers as needed, but mostly I help internal employees with software issues of all sorts. I also mix in some Product Management duties and Release Management functions. We have about 50 employees so I am learning the ins and outs of a small software company. I wear many hats and have to be a jack of all trades type, but that has always suited me anyway. It's nice getting paid to play with computers and to work on things I enjoy.
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Dinner at a Viking Restaurant in Reykjavik, Iceland. Left to right
A New Apartment
After initially living in Centreville, VA when first arriving I moved to Falls Church in July 2000 and stayed in the Renaissance Apartments until August 2001. Rent was going up and we had never had great experience with the management. My roommate Jonathan Meyers and I both decided to move and looked together for a new place.
We picked a day to look and scoured 3 serious possibilities from the papers and went to look. It was later that day that we settled on St John's Wood, a community of condo style apartments in Reston, VA. Reston is one of the original planned communities and has everything convenient. The grocery store and most strip mall type places are around the corner and the traffic moves well. I am much closer to work now, but it takes about 15-20 minutes. I think I'll stay put for a while.
Washington, DC
When describing were I live I usually tell people a suburb of Washington, DC, since it is. The truth is that I hardly ever go into DC itself. Drawing a line from DC outward to the WNW would go through both Falls Church, Reston and Dulles. I can get to DC in about 25 minutes with light traffic. The Washington, DC temple is in Kensington, MD, about 35 minutes from Reston, counter-clockwise around DC. The Dulles Airport is 15 minutes west.
It is wonderful to live near the nation's capital. I am inspired by the founding of our country and the divine guidance involved in it's creation. The various museums here are wonderful and it is strange to think of how normal it is to see these national Icons. I drive by the Pentagon on the way to friend's homes in Alexandria. The Washington Monument is visible from many places on the Virginia shore as are many of the monuments, which line the Potomac river. The Jefferson is my favorite but it's amazing how casually I drive past the White House, or talk to friends that work in the capitol. This is an amazing place to live.
As you can image September 11, 2001 was a tense day in this area. As much as the national new was covering NY and DC the local media was in a frenzy and reality and rumor were quickly blurred. Our CEO asked everyone to head home and be with their families. I am grateful that no-one I know was involved at either location, NY or DC. Most of the events reported in our area turned out to be just rumors. A few days later I went to a hill overlooking the Pentagon and it finally seemed real. The hole was really there, soot lined the walls and bright rescue lights lit the area. Flowers and candles lined the hill side. The cleanup is well underway now, but the greatest damage is to people's sense of peace. I can't think of a better place to live at the Christmas season than in the capitol symbolizing freedom.
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Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall. Washington, DC
