These pictures are legit taken a couple of weeks ago.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Here we go again kids
Well after a bunch of soul searching I decided to make some decisions. First off, I decided to stay at my job. That was not easy b/c I got a couple of incredible offers that plagued my mind and tempted my wanderlust for weeks. Once I came to the conclusion that I just might try to keep a job for more than a year, I decided to change something else--where I live. For 33 years I have lived in Everett, MA (living at school doesn't count) and as of next year will be an expatriate. Yep, I'm moving to Peabody, or West Peabody, depending on who you talk to.
To recap, I had been hoping to purchase land in Saugus to build a house on. I was waiting for 7 months for the title to clear on the land, and on the day after it did, the seller decided to sell the land to someone else. Oh well. As it turns out it was a wise decision because Saugus is pretty much bankrupt right now, and the area that this house is in is being completely dug up for new sewer lines, which means construction would have been a nightmare.
Fast forward to deciding on looking for something pre-existing. Those that know me know of my desire to take sledgehammers to perfectly good walls, tear down things I had built mere months ago and re-do them, and just generally want to re-tile, re-wire, and re-plumb things on a consistent and regular basis. That said, a new house not of my own design just wasn't going to cut it, nor was something in 'move-in conditon'.
Finding a fixer-upper was what I had to do. I looked for MONTHS and saw things I thought had potential, but they were sold in days. I saw things that had potential if I knew magic as well as construction, and saw things that just had nothing going for it. Then, one day I came across an ad in Peabody. I wasn't even considering it, but something about the house intrigued me. Maybe it was the furniture, straight out of the 60s. Maybe it was the architecture, straight out of the 50's. Whatever it was, I looked at it, and moved on. A month later I saw it in person and bought it 2 days later. The closing is the end of next month.
23 Downing Road was purchased as a summer home in 1959 by two sisters who lived in East Boston. In 1959, before rt128, and before rt 1 hit 50mph, Peabody was a good hour away from East Boston. The house was never lived in, just visited, yet was completely furnished and NEVER CHANGED. The pictures tell the story.
The house also has a history. It was built by Alfred Campanelli, who is a reknown developer of post-war homes giving people a chance to buy the "American Dream" when the men were returning home. The houses boasted a bunch of 'modern' conveniences, including radiant floor heating, built-in kitchen appliances, and fully landscaped lots that were visible through floor-to-ceiling windows.
A lot has changed since 1959, and a lot has stayed the same, including everything in this house. I can't stress that enough. I will be pretty much gutting the place, and documenting the changes here. Climb onboard, should be an interesting ride.
To recap, I had been hoping to purchase land in Saugus to build a house on. I was waiting for 7 months for the title to clear on the land, and on the day after it did, the seller decided to sell the land to someone else. Oh well. As it turns out it was a wise decision because Saugus is pretty much bankrupt right now, and the area that this house is in is being completely dug up for new sewer lines, which means construction would have been a nightmare.
Fast forward to deciding on looking for something pre-existing. Those that know me know of my desire to take sledgehammers to perfectly good walls, tear down things I had built mere months ago and re-do them, and just generally want to re-tile, re-wire, and re-plumb things on a consistent and regular basis. That said, a new house not of my own design just wasn't going to cut it, nor was something in 'move-in conditon'.
Finding a fixer-upper was what I had to do. I looked for MONTHS and saw things I thought had potential, but they were sold in days. I saw things that had potential if I knew magic as well as construction, and saw things that just had nothing going for it. Then, one day I came across an ad in Peabody. I wasn't even considering it, but something about the house intrigued me. Maybe it was the furniture, straight out of the 60s. Maybe it was the architecture, straight out of the 50's. Whatever it was, I looked at it, and moved on. A month later I saw it in person and bought it 2 days later. The closing is the end of next month.
23 Downing Road was purchased as a summer home in 1959 by two sisters who lived in East Boston. In 1959, before rt128, and before rt 1 hit 50mph, Peabody was a good hour away from East Boston. The house was never lived in, just visited, yet was completely furnished and NEVER CHANGED. The pictures tell the story.
The house also has a history. It was built by Alfred Campanelli, who is a reknown developer of post-war homes giving people a chance to buy the "American Dream" when the men were returning home. The houses boasted a bunch of 'modern' conveniences, including radiant floor heating, built-in kitchen appliances, and fully landscaped lots that were visible through floor-to-ceiling windows.
A lot has changed since 1959, and a lot has stayed the same, including everything in this house. I can't stress that enough. I will be pretty much gutting the place, and documenting the changes here. Climb onboard, should be an interesting ride.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Prince Spaghetti Day
Current track - Heart - Dreamboat Annie
Or in my case Penne with Cherry Tomatoes day. Parents are coming over for dinner so my dad can help me repot my lemon tree and my Angelwing Begonia. Both trees are the victim of root rot due to overwatering (none of which is my fault) but they are hanging on, they weren't cheap, and they have gotten HUGE so I don't want to lose them.
Well it's been an interesting week. My place was featured in an AP article that got worldwide distribution. I have received calls and emails from all over the world from people who have the same passion for LEDs and their impact on the future as I do. I won't post any of the links here because you can easily Google me, or LEDs in general and find the article.
The apple iPhone is due out, and while I won't be camping out, I am in heavy (read: gadget geek) discussion with one of my co-workers about taking the plunge.
I got an email from the realtor for the land I am trying to buy that it should be ready-to-go next week. While house construction will take a bit longer, I'll have a place to go camping for a while (if that's legal that is).
More posting later, got a backup server to fix.
Or in my case Penne with Cherry Tomatoes day. Parents are coming over for dinner so my dad can help me repot my lemon tree and my Angelwing Begonia. Both trees are the victim of root rot due to overwatering (none of which is my fault) but they are hanging on, they weren't cheap, and they have gotten HUGE so I don't want to lose them.
Well it's been an interesting week. My place was featured in an AP article that got worldwide distribution. I have received calls and emails from all over the world from people who have the same passion for LEDs and their impact on the future as I do. I won't post any of the links here because you can easily Google me, or LEDs in general and find the article.
The apple iPhone is due out, and while I won't be camping out, I am in heavy (read: gadget geek) discussion with one of my co-workers about taking the plunge.
I got an email from the realtor for the land I am trying to buy that it should be ready-to-go next week. While house construction will take a bit longer, I'll have a place to go camping for a while (if that's legal that is).
More posting later, got a backup server to fix.
Monday, June 18, 2007
It's just another Manic Monday
Current Track: Don't Stop Believin' by Journey
Ok so I've lapsed again, many apologies. I promised new music for Friday and forgot. For those who spend their lives under the rock of Boston's so called "Hits" stations, allow me to introduce you to an artist not yet overproduced and remixed with Jay-Z. An artist that (as of yet) hasn't sold out to Cover Girl ads and D&G. People, meet Amy Winehouse.
Amy Winehouse started in the UK with a Jazz/R&B album and has since gone retro-soul-pop. Think Phil Spector meets The Supremes meets Petula Clark, etc. Her sound is bluesy and soulful, catchy and sharp, and my guess is American's wont 'get it' until she is remixed into a dance track and shoots a video with some sort of trendy theme. For the time being, we have a talented songwriter, performer, and a girl who isn't afraid to be less than the current American ideal for teenage girls. Oh yeah, I saw her in a bar in London a few weeks ago, drinking, not performing.
Oh yeah, I was on national television last Friday. HGTV's Look What I Did featured my place & the Color Kinetics' lights I installed. The production company did a really great job. Check it out:
No I don't really say "Noth Showa". They made me do that for "Bostonality" as they said.
I have to say I am really overwhelmed by all of the interest in the little light show I installed. In case you haven't tired of me saying everything I have been/will be in as a result, here's the breakdown:
Boston Metro
Boston.com
ApartmentTherapy.com
The Economist (Intelligent Life)
HGTV
and tonight a reporter from the AP is coming by. Who knows where that will get published, but hopefully I'll get to make a lot more things light up.
Ok so I've lapsed again, many apologies. I promised new music for Friday and forgot. For those who spend their lives under the rock of Boston's so called "Hits" stations, allow me to introduce you to an artist not yet overproduced and remixed with Jay-Z. An artist that (as of yet) hasn't sold out to Cover Girl ads and D&G. People, meet Amy Winehouse.
Amy Winehouse started in the UK with a Jazz/R&B album and has since gone retro-soul-pop. Think Phil Spector meets The Supremes meets Petula Clark, etc. Her sound is bluesy and soulful, catchy and sharp, and my guess is American's wont 'get it' until she is remixed into a dance track and shoots a video with some sort of trendy theme. For the time being, we have a talented songwriter, performer, and a girl who isn't afraid to be less than the current American ideal for teenage girls. Oh yeah, I saw her in a bar in London a few weeks ago, drinking, not performing.
Oh yeah, I was on national television last Friday. HGTV's Look What I Did featured my place & the Color Kinetics' lights I installed. The production company did a really great job. Check it out:
No I don't really say "Noth Showa". They made me do that for "Bostonality" as they said.
I have to say I am really overwhelmed by all of the interest in the little light show I installed. In case you haven't tired of me saying everything I have been/will be in as a result, here's the breakdown:
Boston Metro
Boston.com
ApartmentTherapy.com
The Economist (Intelligent Life)
HGTV
and tonight a reporter from the AP is coming by. Who knows where that will get published, but hopefully I'll get to make a lot more things light up.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
I know I know I have been leaving you all hanging
It has come to my attention that more than two people actually read this thing, and have commented about my lack of posting. Allow me to back up a few steps and summarize what's been going on.
1. My company got acquired in a reverse-triangulated merger. Those of you that have followed my job history know what comes next.
2. I went to London, great city. I got sick, bad cold. I got better, and so did the weather--on the last day.
3. I finished the patio.
4. My HGTV debut is Friday at 6pm. I hope I don't look like a tool.
5. The Economist has decided they want a very New-York-Loft photo spread and as such has hired an 'atmospheric photographer' to photograph me living in my fishbowl, I mean, condo.
6. The Associated Press is pitching a story about LED lights in the home and has requested a similar photo shoot.
7. The Sopranos ended. At first I hated the ending, after reflection it was perfect.
8. The bowling shirts came
9. Wagamama Boston = Wagamana London, right down to "Mind Your Head"
10. It's going to rain today because I made the mistake of saying I was grilling tonight. Note to self: Next house--covered patio.
So here we are, on a Tuesday, I have some new music picked out for you for Friday, and can we take a minute to acknowledge Apple's little "I'll get you my pretties" to the Windows crowd? Apple has released Safari for PCs, and I have to say, it really is better than IE, then again, so is just going to the library to look something up.
Confession -- I wanna be Appleist. Despite the fact that I have built a career singing the praises of MSFT, I am all AAPL at home. Granted I still run the Vista, and still dual-boot my Mac Book Pro, from a home computing standpoint I like the Apple-face a bit better. Of course, that will all change again when I start construction on the new pad, because architecture software doesn't run well on an Apple, even with Bootcamp.
1. My company got acquired in a reverse-triangulated merger. Those of you that have followed my job history know what comes next.
2. I went to London, great city. I got sick, bad cold. I got better, and so did the weather--on the last day.
3. I finished the patio.
4. My HGTV debut is Friday at 6pm. I hope I don't look like a tool.
5. The Economist has decided they want a very New-York-Loft photo spread and as such has hired an 'atmospheric photographer' to photograph me living in my fishbowl, I mean, condo.
6. The Associated Press is pitching a story about LED lights in the home and has requested a similar photo shoot.
7. The Sopranos ended. At first I hated the ending, after reflection it was perfect.
8. The bowling shirts came
9. Wagamama Boston = Wagamana London, right down to "Mind Your Head"
10. It's going to rain today because I made the mistake of saying I was grilling tonight. Note to self: Next house--covered patio.
So here we are, on a Tuesday, I have some new music picked out for you for Friday, and can we take a minute to acknowledge Apple's little "I'll get you my pretties" to the Windows crowd? Apple has released Safari for PCs, and I have to say, it really is better than IE, then again, so is just going to the library to look something up.
Confession -- I wanna be Appleist. Despite the fact that I have built a career singing the praises of MSFT, I am all AAPL at home. Granted I still run the Vista, and still dual-boot my Mac Book Pro, from a home computing standpoint I like the Apple-face a bit better. Of course, that will all change again when I start construction on the new pad, because architecture software doesn't run well on an Apple, even with Bootcamp.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Welcome to Wednesday
I haven't decided what Wednesdays stand for yet. I will tell you however, that today is pissy rant Wednesday.
Today's Pissy Rant is about printers. I myself I am a softcopyist, I try not to have any paper forms, statements, etc. lying around--ever. I pay/receive bills online, scan things to PDF that I absolutely have to keep, share photos online instead of on paper, etc. However, sometimes, ya just have to print something. That was the case on Sunday when I needed to print out a floor plan to fax to a builder who doesn't trust email for things like that. Fine. Turns out I was out of black ink. I have had my printer for 3 years now, I guess it was bound to happen eventually. I don't know why I did it, but I opened the lid of the printer just to remind myself how to get the old cartridge out. When the cartridge slid over to blink its 'replace me' light, I noticed I was dangerously low on Yellow and Cyan as well.
That said, off to Office Max. I spent $64 replacing the three cartridges. While I was being so printer-centric, I decided (oh yeah good tech tip here) to check for new drivers, download/install them, dust out the case, etc. When I went to the Canon website, I noticed they still sell my printer. Three years ago I paid $149 for it. MSRP today -- $49. Yep, I just spent more on the ink than I could have bought a whole new printer for, INCLUDING all new cartridges.
Doh!
Today's Pissy Rant is about printers. I myself I am a softcopyist, I try not to have any paper forms, statements, etc. lying around--ever. I pay/receive bills online, scan things to PDF that I absolutely have to keep, share photos online instead of on paper, etc. However, sometimes, ya just have to print something. That was the case on Sunday when I needed to print out a floor plan to fax to a builder who doesn't trust email for things like that. Fine. Turns out I was out of black ink. I have had my printer for 3 years now, I guess it was bound to happen eventually. I don't know why I did it, but I opened the lid of the printer just to remind myself how to get the old cartridge out. When the cartridge slid over to blink its 'replace me' light, I noticed I was dangerously low on Yellow and Cyan as well.
That said, off to Office Max. I spent $64 replacing the three cartridges. While I was being so printer-centric, I decided (oh yeah good tech tip here) to check for new drivers, download/install them, dust out the case, etc. When I went to the Canon website, I noticed they still sell my printer. Three years ago I paid $149 for it. MSRP today -- $49. Yep, I just spent more on the ink than I could have bought a whole new printer for, INCLUDING all new cartridges.
Doh!
Monday, May 07, 2007
It's just another (un)Manic Monday.
Did you watch the Sopranos last night? Personally I have been disappointed in the season thus far. Four episodes left and everyone is dragging their feet. C'mon guys, whack people, that's what we want to see.
So today is Renovation Monday. Every Monday you get a chance to start a whole new week, take a new direction, or complain that you hate Mondays. Your choice. On Renovation Monday let's chat about where we live. Our homes are more than our shelters. They are our playgrounds, dancehalls, music studios, movie theaters, personal restaurants, VIP lounges, etc. Sadly, so many people have very close-minded ideas about the potential of their homes. Most people don't realize simply organizing a cabinet or painting a wall a different color than all the others can actually change how you feel, not just what you look at.
Change one thing about your house today. Just do it. Move a plant, get that pile of junkmail off of the counter, or put a few apples on a plate on the table (and EAT THEM this week), then step back and admire your work. I guarantee a little twinge of positive energy will result.
What I am I going to change you ask? I am finally going to install the coathooks in the entry hall that I have had for a year now and haven't put up.
So today is Renovation Monday. Every Monday you get a chance to start a whole new week, take a new direction, or complain that you hate Mondays. Your choice. On Renovation Monday let's chat about where we live. Our homes are more than our shelters. They are our playgrounds, dancehalls, music studios, movie theaters, personal restaurants, VIP lounges, etc. Sadly, so many people have very close-minded ideas about the potential of their homes. Most people don't realize simply organizing a cabinet or painting a wall a different color than all the others can actually change how you feel, not just what you look at.
Change one thing about your house today. Just do it. Move a plant, get that pile of junkmail off of the counter, or put a few apples on a plate on the table (and EAT THEM this week), then step back and admire your work. I guarantee a little twinge of positive energy will result.
What I am I going to change you ask? I am finally going to install the coathooks in the entry hall that I have had for a year now and haven't put up.
Friday, May 04, 2007
New Music Friday, F for Friday.
Let's discuss music shall we? On this, new music Friday, we'll open the floor to discuss what's right and wrong with the music industry. Grab a latte (non-fat, no sugar, summer's comin').
Maroon 5 gave us a taste of their anticipated new album this week. The track "Makes Me Wonder" is exactly what we have been waiting for from them. The track starts out very 70's disco funk, complete with chicka-chicka guitars, bongo drums and hand-claps. It then bursts in to 80's saw-buzz synth pop, and busts into Maroon 5's typical "We are long over but I am never EVER EVER going to get over it" lyrical style. It's catchy, it's dark, it's glam, it's Pop-rock paydirt. It even has a 'breakdown' for Pete's sake. We love a good breakdown.
It's too bad that because of this song, and I'm guessing many more, their album is going to get that little black-and-white "Parental Advisory" sticker that makes parents concerned and kids rush right out to buy it.
What's that you say? Maroon 5? The soulful band who proclaimed to teenage girls everywhere "I don't mind spending every day, out on your corner in the pouring rain"? Yep. They drop 4 F-bombs on us, in a ridiculous way:
And it really makes me wonder If I ever gave a f*ck about you
Ok, I understand you are trying to convey emotion, impart feeling, blah blah blah, but c'mon you mean to tell me there was no other way to say that? The very first thing that's going to happen when the song gets airplay is that word will be bleeped, or they will release another version substituting 'damn' or something more benign like that. In every TV performance, every live-in-radio-studio performance, they will have to change that line.
So why put it in the first place? Sales. More than likely, your average fan is (sadly) going to be drawn to the bad-boy coolness of using the f-word. People will intentionaly sing along to the edited version, accenting the F-word when it's omitted, and when Maroon 5 does in fact get to perform it the original way, fans will go crazy when that line is sung. Was it the band's choice to put the f-word in? Probably not, as it's more work for them to remember to take it out. My guess is a record exec changed some lyrics to boost sales.
Don't forget, it's called the music 'business' for a reason.
Click the link to listen to "Makes Me Wonder"
Maroon 5 gave us a taste of their anticipated new album this week. The track "Makes Me Wonder" is exactly what we have been waiting for from them. The track starts out very 70's disco funk, complete with chicka-chicka guitars, bongo drums and hand-claps. It then bursts in to 80's saw-buzz synth pop, and busts into Maroon 5's typical "We are long over but I am never EVER EVER going to get over it" lyrical style. It's catchy, it's dark, it's glam, it's Pop-rock paydirt. It even has a 'breakdown' for Pete's sake. We love a good breakdown.
It's too bad that because of this song, and I'm guessing many more, their album is going to get that little black-and-white "Parental Advisory" sticker that makes parents concerned and kids rush right out to buy it.
What's that you say? Maroon 5? The soulful band who proclaimed to teenage girls everywhere "I don't mind spending every day, out on your corner in the pouring rain"? Yep. They drop 4 F-bombs on us, in a ridiculous way:
And it really makes me wonder If I ever gave a f*ck about you
Ok, I understand you are trying to convey emotion, impart feeling, blah blah blah, but c'mon you mean to tell me there was no other way to say that? The very first thing that's going to happen when the song gets airplay is that word will be bleeped, or they will release another version substituting 'damn' or something more benign like that. In every TV performance, every live-in-radio-studio performance, they will have to change that line.
So why put it in the first place? Sales. More than likely, your average fan is (sadly) going to be drawn to the bad-boy coolness of using the f-word. People will intentionaly sing along to the edited version, accenting the F-word when it's omitted, and when Maroon 5 does in fact get to perform it the original way, fans will go crazy when that line is sung. Was it the band's choice to put the f-word in? Probably not, as it's more work for them to remember to take it out. My guess is a record exec changed some lyrics to boost sales.
Don't forget, it's called the music 'business' for a reason.
Click the link to listen to "Makes Me Wonder"
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Thursday, May 03, 2007
A glittering example of a startup
Do you know what a VC is? It stands for "Venture Capitalist" Those are the guys that invest the money into a startup. The VCs are the ones that are behind that "Series x" financing you may or may not know about. They drop the cash into the bank, let the company spend it, and expect to get it allllll back and then some someday. This is a post from a Boston-based VC, Jeff Bussgang.
http://bostonvcblog.typepad.com/vc/2007/04/soap_operas_and.html
Oh yeah, I worked with him too, when he wasn't a VC and we were both in a start-up together.
http://bostonvcblog.typepad.com/vc/2007/04/soap_operas_and.html
Oh yeah, I worked with him too, when he wasn't a VC and we were both in a start-up together.
And now a posting about Debra Messing's breasts.
I saw that on a headline yesterday and I don't know why, but I thought it was genious journalism. It made me click on it though so I put it as the headline on my first update in a year. I am going against all blog conventions and making this post more than a 2 minute-15 second read so sit back, grab your beverage of choice, put it in a coffee mug (it's nicer that way) and let's chill for a few.
So let's see, when last we left off, I promised pictures of my finished place. Well if you click that little Flickr slidey thing over there you'll see em. Enjoy them in all their LED glory, because it looks like I'll have an offer on the pad soon and I'll be moving on to bigger and hopefully better.
You can catch video on HGTV's Look What I did on 6/15 at 6pm. I hope I don't look like a tool.
I tell ya making my place light up like Vegas garnered a lot more attention that I ever imagined. The Boston Globe, ApartmentTherapy.com, Channel 7, The Economist Magazine, and even HGTV are all/have already feature me and my obsession-making things light up. As I sit here at my desk I am envisioning what this office would look like bathed in the blue of the harbor water I am looking at, and knowing how quickly I could make that happen.
Speaking of desks let's talk shop shall we?
Those that know me know I am a career Angel of Death. What that means to you stable-job types is I am typically hired into a company that's on a blazing-fast growth path to eventual acquisition. I show up, build a bunch of stuff, it works perfectly, the company gets bought, people become bazillionaires (not me--yet) and I move on. I now have 8 under my belt (since I finished school in 1999) and if you know where I work and follow the industry it's quite possible that soon it will be 9. At times it's nerve-racking because you never know what the next day will bring, and at times it's glorious because you never know what the next day will bring.
Being in startups means in a typical 55 hour work week (if it's slow) you do 80 hours of work before you go home and check to make sure there hasn't been an important email during your commute home. It means never going anywhere without Internet Access, and sleeping not with a stuffed animal but with a pager/cellphone/laptop by your side just in case something breaks. After all, you are the only person who knows how to fix it and you wouldn't have it any other way.
Why choose a life like that? Three reasons:
1. Money. While typically salaries aren't as high as established companies', the well-heralded 'stock options' can be a nice present right before you get laid off, and you are working so much you don't have the opportunity to blow any cash on things your 9-5 friends are spending their money on.
2. People. I have many friends who don't know their co-workers. They know names, they know who has how many kids, but at the end of the day and at the end of the job, that's it. In a smaller company there is a lot more time and usually a lot less space, so the work-life balance becomes the 'worklife', that other extistence you have before you go home and are too tired to talk to anyone outside the office. You also meet people like yourself, and often end up working with them again and again, at different places. I currently work with 4 people that I have worked with at 3 separate companies in the past. Even more interesting is that my current manager is the person who got me the the last job I had, and subsequently my manager from my last job referred me back to the one I have now. Greater still is that at both my last job and my current one, my respective managers reported to the same person. How great is that!? Still with me?
3. The roller-coaster ride
Not many people know what's it's like to hear that their company can't afford pens this week. 'Free Diet Dr. Pepper and Pizza on Thursday will still be provided, but please refrain from excessive Post-it use until further notice'. I actually heard that once. Also, not many people know what it's like to watch a TV show having some contest or other, and know EXACTLY what's going on behind the scenes, exactly who is doing it, and standing next to them when it's done. For you addicts out there, I've seen the Magic Suitcase number picked on Deal-or-no-Deal, and listened to the winner being told they just won $25,000. The ride makes you want to work harder, it makes you want to be a part of something bigger, it makes you--are you sitting down?--PROUD of your job and your company. How many of you can say THAT?! I'm waiting....anyone?.....anyone?
I live for that. I am someone who is not happy unless he is challenged, and I get bored very very VERY easily. I am already bored typing this, and that is the biggest problem with working at a soon-to-be-acquired startup:
THE FREEZE
The freeze is the point in the negotations between companies when checkbooks get frozen, projects get halted, and things slow to a crawl. I won't bore you with the reasons why this happens but it's mind-numbing. Combine that with the fact that as a manager if I do the things I want to do (fixing a laptop or patching a server, etc), I risk offending those who report to me, because that's their job, not mine. Mine is to manage. The good thing at a start up is that managers often get to 'do' as well. Sadly, most things in IT can't be done without buying things, and when ya can't buy things, you can't do things. *Sigh*
So stay tuned kids, my extra cycles will lead to talks of things ranging from my electroluminescent persuasions to (of course) the music industry and entertainment in general, bowling and home renovations. Happy Thursday.
So let's see, when last we left off, I promised pictures of my finished place. Well if you click that little Flickr slidey thing over there you'll see em. Enjoy them in all their LED glory, because it looks like I'll have an offer on the pad soon and I'll be moving on to bigger and hopefully better.
You can catch video on HGTV's Look What I did on 6/15 at 6pm. I hope I don't look like a tool.
I tell ya making my place light up like Vegas garnered a lot more attention that I ever imagined. The Boston Globe, ApartmentTherapy.com, Channel 7, The Economist Magazine, and even HGTV are all/have already feature me and my obsession-making things light up. As I sit here at my desk I am envisioning what this office would look like bathed in the blue of the harbor water I am looking at, and knowing how quickly I could make that happen.
Speaking of desks let's talk shop shall we?
Those that know me know I am a career Angel of Death. What that means to you stable-job types is I am typically hired into a company that's on a blazing-fast growth path to eventual acquisition. I show up, build a bunch of stuff, it works perfectly, the company gets bought, people become bazillionaires (not me--yet) and I move on. I now have 8 under my belt (since I finished school in 1999) and if you know where I work and follow the industry it's quite possible that soon it will be 9. At times it's nerve-racking because you never know what the next day will bring, and at times it's glorious because you never know what the next day will bring.
Being in startups means in a typical 55 hour work week (if it's slow) you do 80 hours of work before you go home and check to make sure there hasn't been an important email during your commute home. It means never going anywhere without Internet Access, and sleeping not with a stuffed animal but with a pager/cellphone/laptop by your side just in case something breaks. After all, you are the only person who knows how to fix it and you wouldn't have it any other way.
Why choose a life like that? Three reasons:
1. Money. While typically salaries aren't as high as established companies', the well-heralded 'stock options' can be a nice present right before you get laid off, and you are working so much you don't have the opportunity to blow any cash on things your 9-5 friends are spending their money on.
2. People. I have many friends who don't know their co-workers. They know names, they know who has how many kids, but at the end of the day and at the end of the job, that's it. In a smaller company there is a lot more time and usually a lot less space, so the work-life balance becomes the 'worklife', that other extistence you have before you go home and are too tired to talk to anyone outside the office. You also meet people like yourself, and often end up working with them again and again, at different places. I currently work with 4 people that I have worked with at 3 separate companies in the past. Even more interesting is that my current manager is the person who got me the the last job I had, and subsequently my manager from my last job referred me back to the one I have now. Greater still is that at both my last job and my current one, my respective managers reported to the same person. How great is that!? Still with me?
3. The roller-coaster ride
Not many people know what's it's like to hear that their company can't afford pens this week. 'Free Diet Dr. Pepper and Pizza on Thursday will still be provided, but please refrain from excessive Post-it use until further notice'. I actually heard that once. Also, not many people know what it's like to watch a TV show having some contest or other, and know EXACTLY what's going on behind the scenes, exactly who is doing it, and standing next to them when it's done. For you addicts out there, I've seen the Magic Suitcase number picked on Deal-or-no-Deal, and listened to the winner being told they just won $25,000. The ride makes you want to work harder, it makes you want to be a part of something bigger, it makes you--are you sitting down?--PROUD of your job and your company. How many of you can say THAT?! I'm waiting....anyone?.....anyone?
I live for that. I am someone who is not happy unless he is challenged, and I get bored very very VERY easily. I am already bored typing this, and that is the biggest problem with working at a soon-to-be-acquired startup:
THE FREEZE
The freeze is the point in the negotations between companies when checkbooks get frozen, projects get halted, and things slow to a crawl. I won't bore you with the reasons why this happens but it's mind-numbing. Combine that with the fact that as a manager if I do the things I want to do (fixing a laptop or patching a server, etc), I risk offending those who report to me, because that's their job, not mine. Mine is to manage. The good thing at a start up is that managers often get to 'do' as well. Sadly, most things in IT can't be done without buying things, and when ya can't buy things, you can't do things. *Sigh*
So stay tuned kids, my extra cycles will lead to talks of things ranging from my electroluminescent persuasions to (of course) the music industry and entertainment in general, bowling and home renovations. Happy Thursday.
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