GOSUB Cleveland
This weekend will be my last in Seattle for a while. On Sunday night I'll be flying back to Cleveland for Christmas, New Years, and a new job doing some independent consulting work. Since leaving Microsoft, I've decided on following a course of action in two parts: One, to find a job--preferably at a small company--that is very different from the one I had at MS but where my skills are still applicable. Two, pursue a graduate degree in a field unrelated to Computer Science.
The first part is important to me because I really believe that variety is the spice of life. The only way I can find new and interesting things to learn is by trying something I've never done before. The beginning of a new project where I am at the bottom of a new learning curve is the most intimidating time, but also the most exhilarating time. The prospect of learning new skills and gaining new knowledge is almost as motivating as the prospect of successfully delivering a finished product.
As for part two, well, the biggest regret I have from all the time I spent in school is that I didn't take the opportunity to really immerse myself in the study of anything outside of the CompSci curriculum. (Some might argue that I didn't take the opportunity to immerse myself in the study of CompSci either, but those people suffer from a peculiar kind of delusion.) I'm not sure what it is I'd like to study, but for the sake of throwing out a crazy idea, I'll just say that the field of environmental economics looks rather appealing. And importantly, that subject possesses a sufficient geek quotient so as to ensure that I remain forever and tragically unhip.
I haven't yet been able to satisfactorily fulfill Part One here in Seattle, so for the time being I am casting a wider net and heading Midwest-ward to take up work that will involve computers, hardhats, and (possibly) forklift-driving.
So off to Cleveland I go.
I've never been one to denounce a healthy amount of nepotism, which is good because my father is a partner in the company I am going to work for. Now, lest you think that this means I'll simply be able to slide by without doing any work, let me assure you that the opposite is more likely true: I will probably have to work harder, since my father not only has at his disposal the standard managerial motivational levers, but he also knows embarrassing stories about me when I was growing up. Some people might say that kind of motivational tool borders on blackmail, but that's unfair to my father. He would never call it blackmail. He would call it Building Character. (I, however, would call it blackmail.)
Oh, yeah, and my father's name is also Joe, but I'm sure that's not going to lead to any kind of comedic hijinx like where someone yells for one of us and we both answer and then we look at each other and laugh at how funny it is that we both answered because we both have the same name and then everyone starts laughing and then we throw pies. Things like that only happen in terrible, terrible, movies.
What the hell am I going to be doing? Well, a lot of different things. I'll be a geek-in-residence, so I'm sure there will be the odd virus or spyware removal, and things of that nature. But the main project I'll be involved with is the construction and operation of a new 100,000 square-foot plastics recycling and reclamation facility. The facility will be processing primarily polyethylene (PE) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) types of plastics, but also some copper and some teflon as well. The recycling of these compounds places some fairly stringent quality requirements on the finished product, and that raises some very interesting quality control challenges. I've had some experience, prior to Microsoft, in developing automated quality control hardware and software (if you really want to know, ask me about the Ford Focus project sometime), and I'm sure that there will be similarly fascinating problems to solve this time around as well.
Oh yes, and there might be some forklift driving involved. In fact, there had better be some forklift driving involved, because I'm pretty sure I made it clear that my acceptance of their employment offer was contingent on me getting a hardhat and forklift driving lessons. And I'm sure that I'll probably learn a lot about the design, operation, and maintenance for the systems in the facility along the way. All in all, it sounds like a very interesting challenge.
But what of Seattle?
Well, I've lived in Washington long enough to qualify for resident tuition rates for schools here, and given the quality of education available, I'd be a fool to ignore that opportunity. Plus, I love Seattle. I have friends here, and I feel comfortable and at hom here. So I'm going to continue my search for a sufficiently challenging and interesting job here, and I am keeping my apartment (and the vast majority of my crap) here as well. I'm not sure how long I'll be in Cleveland, but it will be some months at least. Never leave a job half-done, and never do a half-assed job, you know. (Well, not unless you don't care about getting fired and burning bridges, at least.)
I'm going to miss Seattle, and my very good friends here. But I have some good friends back in Ohio as well, so I guess the two factions will just have to duke it out for my undying affection. (I hope they duke it out too, because I'll probably score some pretty sweet swag in the process. READY? FIGHT!)
So, for now, it's GOSUB Cleveland--although it's bad form, of course, to have a GOSUB without a RETURN.
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