Gary Sheng & Dallas Klein - Austin Life, Alpha Chaos, and Spiritual Journey

Date: October 2, 2025 Participants: Gary Sheng, Dallas Klein Duration: Extended dinner conversation Location: Restaurant in Austin Context: Catching up after Dallas's recent move from New York and Gary's spiritual deepening

Executive Summary

This conversation captures Dallas and Gary reconnecting over dinner in Austin, discussing significant life transitions, the ongoing chaos at Alpha Schools, and Gary's deepening spiritual journey. Dallas shares his recent move from New York, evolving perspective on software engineering, and observations about Joe Liemandt's management causing organizational turmoil. Gary discusses his upcoming baptism, supernatural healing experiences, and reflections on church denominational differences. The dialogue reveals both men navigating professional uncertainty while seeking greater purpose and authenticity in their work and relationships.

Key Themes

1. Dallas's Life Transitions

Move from New York:

• Apartment conclusion: "It was the last day of, like, our apartment. So, yeah, we had to finish it out"
• Financial reality: "$12 a person... That's genius... New York is a lot"
• Relationship status: Now living in Austin with partner Mia
• Growing appreciation: "I think I kind of like Austin" - expressing newfound appreciation for the city

Professional Evolution:

• Software engineering shift: "I decided I'm not a software engineer... I want the code for me to do stuff"
• AI leverage focus: Rather than writing code directly, wants to leverage AI tools
• Current projects: Working on slideshows and various Alpha-related initiatives
• Dog sitting: Has been dog sitting in Austin, adapting to new lifestyle

2. Alpha Schools Organizational Chaos

Miami Location Crisis:

• License loss: Miami school lost its operating license
• Parent revolt: "One of the big Miami parents called Bill last week and said, you got to drop out of your school"
• Enrollment issues: Significant problems with student enrollment and retention
• First day chaos: "I showed up at the first day of school. And my parents just... said that I wasn't ready"

Joe Liemandt's Management Issues:

• Mass firings: "30-day notice. They either had to get customers to join a better project or they had to get fired"
• TSA rotation: Limited interaction with Joe, mostly through TSA meetings
• Super Builders disconnect: "The boys came to the office on the first day and everybody in the office is like, oh, your guys are in for whatever. They got the orientation from Super Builders"
• 70 people affected: Major layoffs impacting significant portion of staff

Gary's Analysis:

• Fungible utility mindset: "Joe's whole thing is that he's comfortable making people in organizations like utilities that are just fungible"
• Wrong approach: "That's just not how you can treat students and parents. They will go to war with you if you treat them like fungible"
• Parent anger: Referenced a friend whose daughter almost killed herself, parent was "beyond pissed"
• Retention crisis: Only 70 out of 200+ graduates continuing

3. Gary's Spiritual Journey

Upcoming Baptism:

• Gulf location: "Yeah, the Gulf of America, so it's called" - getting baptized outside Houston
• Small church: Choosing a small church of about 10,000 people
• Travel plans: Taking bus then rental car to reach the location

Church Experiences & Insights:

• Supernatural encounters: Had "kind of a supernatural experience" at church and city park party
• Healing witness: "I was able to talk to people who had cancer to be able to find this guy"
• Denominational awareness: Learning about different Christian denominations and their theological differences

Theological Reflections:

• Cessationist critique: Austin Ridge church "doesn't believe that there are gifts of the Holy Spirit... healing... prophecy... Word of Knowledge"
• Scalability issue: "You can't scale discipleship" - critique of mega churches
• Future vision: "What does the future of the church look like? I suspect it looks very different than what it does today"

Past Mentor Falling Out:

• Racial tensions: Previous mentors (black and Filipino) had problematic reaction to Charlie Kirk incident
• Relationship end: "Their reaction to Charlie Kirk's death was like, very racially, was on racial lines"
• New teacher: Found better spiritual guidance elsewhere

4. Vatican & Catholic Church Discussion

Gary's Vatican Experience:

• Conference upcoming: "I'm going to Vatican City in early November for, like, a U.S. conference"
• Catholic AI initiatives: "There's a lot of Catholic AI stuff being going on. There's, like, a famous Catholic LLM"
• Mammon Trust story: Referenced $500 million deal with "Mammon Trust" (god of money)
• Heretical assessment: Developing critical view of Catholic institutional structure

5. Professional & Personal Updates

Dallas's Partner Mia:

• Job turbulence: "She's really excited about her manager. But then... They both quit already"
• Meeting people: Making new connections in Austin
• Settling in: Adjusting to Austin life

Entrepreneurial Considerations:

• Couples business: Gary suggests: "Let's do a couples business. That would be really cool"
• Friend collaborations: Dallas mentions working with childhood friends on potential ventures
• AI leverage: Focus on building businesses that leverage AI rather than traditional coding

6. Social Dynamics & Community

Restaurant Scene:

• Casual atmosphere: Discussion about ordering food (oxtail, orange chicken)
• Fresh haircut: Dallas compliments Gary's new haircut
• Tea and snacks: Setting up comfortable dinner environment

Austin Observations:

• Getting out more: Dallas expressing desire to explore Austin more
• Sushi experiences: Mentioned taking Mia to sushi places
• Community building: Working on establishing new connections post-NYC

Notable Quotes

On Software Engineering Philosophy:

• Dallas: "I decided I'm not a software engineer... I want the code for me to do stuff, rather than like, I don't wanna like, mandate this"

On Alpha Schools Crisis:

• Gary: "Joe's whole thing is that he's comfortable making people in organizations like utilities that are just fungible. And that's just not how you can treat students and parents"

On Church Scalability:

• Gary: "You can't scale discipleship... The guy in front of the Austin Ridge Church, there's like ten... I don't even know how many people. It's like a comparison. It is, it is. It's like a YouTube channel"

On Life Transitions:

• Dallas: "I think I kind of like Austin" - after years in New York

On Ministry Evolution:

• Gary: "The logical conclusion of people seeing it as like Ted Todd morality is that people think, why do I even need any sort of faith in a God if I can talk about principles?"

Action Items & Future Directions

1. Gary's baptism - Scheduled for upcoming week in Gulf of Mexico
2. Vatican conference - Gary attending in early November
3. Alpha projects - Dallas continuing work on various Alpha-related initiatives
4. Entrepreneurial exploration - Potential couples business with Mia
5. Church exploration - Gary deepening understanding of different Christian traditions

Relationship Dynamics

The conversation reveals a comfortable friendship with:

• Mutual respect for each other's journeys and transitions
• Candid discussion about organizational dysfunction at Alpha
• Philosophical exploration of faith, purpose, and professional meaning
• Supportive dynamic around life changes and future possibilities

Key Takeaways

1. Professional pivot - Dallas moving away from traditional software engineering toward AI-leveraged product work
2. Alpha instability - Serious organizational issues under Joe Liemandt's management philosophy
3. Spiritual deepening - Gary's continued exploration of authentic Christianity beyond institutional structures
4. Geographic transition - Both men settling into Austin life with different perspectives
5. Future uncertainty - Both navigating career transitions while seeking meaningful work aligned with values