Moving On
Editor’s Note: I wrote this post in five minute increments over the last week or so since moving. I think it’s time I published it and this blog was reborn. Bear with me as I clean up around here. _dave
Funny thing, that life. Certainly not without a sense of humor, but never in ways you can forsee or really appreciate until you take a moment to reflect.
I just did quite possibly the craziest thing in my life. I gave up a lax job with incredible security many years into the future to move 1200 miles to work at a place where I make about the same, and probably won’t even sign a contract that guarantees employment through my first paycheck. Craziest, yes, but not the most illogical. To understand why, you have to appreciate where I’m coming from…
In a nutshell, what I had was a State Job. Not to downplay the people or work they do (<3), but it is an entirely different atmosphere than the so-called “real world” that every state worker fears so much. At a State Job, deadlines aren’t so much fixed as they are suggestions – there is no tangible money on the line so if you fail to deliver there are no tangible consequences. You weren’t going to get a raise anyway, and there’s no way in hell they would fire you for anything less than, say, blatant disregard for authority. For many people in many situations, this is perfect. For me, it was suffocating and indeed extremely frustrating. I saw hopeful co-workers who thought, even after several years of trying, that they could change the system But we could all see that thinking like that is lying to yourself. I could go on about exactly why and how a simple job led to a path of insanity for me, but suffice to say it did.
So I wanted out. I wasn’t sure where I wanted out to, per se, but I wanted out. In the back of my mind for the last several years, I had some places in my mind where I told myself I could move to if it ever came to it. The places were pretty limited, and included the Bay Area (specifically San Francisco), Seattle, or Colorado. Short of those places, I’d thought about moving out of the country to try something radically different, but I’m not sure if I’m up to that just yet at this stage of my life. But those thoughts just sort of simmered on the back burner for a while.
If you know me at all, you know that I love my “perpetual projects”. These are things like the “robot” I’ve been hacking on for the last few years – projects that are never really “finished”, per se. I’ve sunk several thousands of dollars on these projects over time, but I use them as an outlet for learning about electronics and embedded programming and the such. If you ask anyone who’s into hobby electronics, they’ve no doubt heard of SparkFun Electronics. I’ve spent more than a few dollars in their online store, and their forums and IRC channel are indispensable for getting help on whatever it is you’re working on. I’ve always looked at the company fondly, and told myself, “That’s where I would like to work”. At a small company with a lax environment, working on things that matter – even if only to a nerdy niche. I liked the idea of selling a physical product and not making money solely based on advertising or reselling some meta product that only exists in ones and zeros.
So when they tweeted, it stuck with me. That weekend I put together my resume and whatnot, and sent it off on Monday before I ran off to a meeting. I really didn’t know what to expect. It’s a small company with lots of talent, and it’s 1200 miles away from little old Chico, CA. Would they even give me the time of day?
During the meeting, my phone buzzed. I glanced at it and saw that they had already emailed back! I floated back to my desk and read the email. They were interested in a phone interview!
Cutting the details short, I interviewed on the phone and then via a video chat over the next week, and wound up getting an offer. It felt right, and I was more than ready for a change, so I accepted and started getting my life packed up. Holy. Shit. Even now, I don’t have a firm grasp of the consequences – both good and bad – of a move like this. I went through a week in somewhat of a daze, then a week of ”lasts” and goodbyes before I packed up a U-Haul, jumped in my car, and headed across a few states to my new home in Boulder, Colorado.
Boulder. I’ve never been to Boulder prior to a week ago. I was fortunate enough to have been talking to one of the SFE employees who gave me a place to crash when I got here, which was a live saver. I trolled craigslist until I found a place that sounded alright and was in my price range. It turns out to be in a prime location close to the apparently-famous Pearl St. Mall, many coffee shops and brew pubs, and less than a block away from a dangerously-good burrito joint that’s already had multiple visits. It’s a 4-bedroom house in which I signed a lease to rent the “eastern upstairs room”. Each person-room has its own lease, a concept new to me; we’ll see how it works out. The other roommates have their own quirks, but it’s a good situation all in all.
And work at SparkFun. I am not entirely sure what I was expecting, but it’s certainly lived up to what I wanted in a job. I won’t go into too many details here – perhaps in a future post – but rest assured that I’m having a blast so far. The weather here is somewhat erratic, but I think I’m going to start riding my bike the 5 miles in to work next week provided it doesn’t snow too much.
So yeah, life is funny sometimes. I just made the biggest move of my life, and for better or for worse, I’m here. It’s been great so far, and I’m looking forward to snowboarding at winter park next weekend, and then spending spring and summertime rock climbing in the flatirons and beyond, cycling around the foothills, and who knows what else.
Life’s too short not to seize opportunity, especially when it’s staring you down.