I don’t talk about work very much on this blog and now that all of my social media profiles have been deleted, the day to day grind isn’t captured as it used to be. In early December, I was asked to spend time in California this year and possibly beyond. I’m still happily employed at the job I moved to New Hampshire for in August of 2010 and now that I’ve been there for 3 years and 6 months, things are going well and I do not anticipate leaving it any time soon. I love living up here in the mountains and the friends I’ve made in the short 3 years and lately, my job has become greater than I ever could have imagined.
Since I wrote this post in October, the opportunity to spend time in the Bay Area has been nice. Here’s an excerpt from that post:
I miss a lot about cities. The fact that only establishments that focus on quality survive, where Yelp reviews mean something and you can hail cabs with a smartphone and pay via phone and a single FourSquare check-in leads to an old friend calling you up to have lunch because that check in triggers an alert on their phone that you’re in town. The combination of problems being solved by technology and the incredibly rich diversity of people makes cities so exciting to me. My friend Nick texted me, “On my way” with a foot-note at the end of the text, “Sent via Google Glass”. I chuckled that he’s talking to me out loud while walking but felt jealous that he has this computer on his head. It’s so futuristic as he taught me to use it.
I miss the city life but not enough to leave the mountains which is why the opportunity that came to me was so surreal and like in the past when I write a blog post and suddenly things start happening, this is something I can’t pass up.
Before Christmas, I flew to SFO and engaged in a 3 day workshop to become integrated with a new project. It’s actually something I’ve worked on before but to lead an initiative in a part of the country I once lived in and fell in love with was a lot of fun. I left California on the 23rd feeling good about things and looking forward to returning. Last week, work sent me back to California for 7 days to again work on this project and work onsite with some incredibly smart people in an area of our company that I love. It was a great trip and I think very valuable for us that I got to go.
Being back in California was great. I could visit my favorite coffee shop on my way to work, eat great sushi again, feel that California love that everyone has and see friends who I haven’t seen in years. I had lunch, dinner and coffee breaks with a few people and finally visited Santa Cruz which is something I never did when living in the bay area before. Also, the beer scene has exploded and I visited a lot of new breweries and bars that weren’t open in 2010 when I moved away. Seeing the Pacific ocean and watching surfers take on Mavericks live was a real treat. Taking my first bite into a mission burrito, sipping a Philz Turkish w/ mint leaves and getting an Animal Style burger at In-n-Out were all moments that to locals aren’t that big of a deal but to me. I had that feeling of “I’m home”.
Most importantly, driving to work in San Jose and passing by One Infinite Loop before getting on 280 South every day is a reminder of how far I’ve come from a kid who just loved Apple computers and now I get to work in the tech capitol of the world with the best and brightest people at my job. The fact that my employer recognizes the value of having me in California is a testament to my hard work and their trust in me.
So, I’m at our office in San Jose with work around the bay area and the current plan is that I visit California every month through the end of this year. Some trips will be one week and some will be up to a month. After 2014, who knows what will happen. I hope this role continues and while my time in California and in this position is not the only thing I’m working on at the job, it is an important role that I’m taking seriously first and foremost over other California fun-times.
When I’m off the clock though, being in the bay area is so rewarding and so much fun. It makes me a bit homesick for being back here but then I look at home prices in craigslist and sit in traffic on 101 and 580 and then I go to get a simple sub sandwich and I’m in line for 30 minutes and I think…yeah, New Hampshire is just better.
To those who read this blog, I’m in California a lot this year so let’s meet up. Being there temporarily each time also has me trying out a lot of places that were on my list while living there that I never got to do and spending quality time with people 1 on 1 that I only spoke with at tech parties.
I hope to write a bit more this year. Time on airplanes and in corporate apartments gives me time to realize a lot of things and experience them. I’m hoping that free time translates to this blog becoming a lot more interesting.
I took some photos yesterday in Elizabeth, NJ while on a long layover at Newark. Glad I can share them below:
Also, I snapped a photo of Goomba last week that came out great. He’s such a cutie.
