Happy New Year from Seattle! Who would have thought I’d be saying that? Certainly not I. I feel somewhat obligated to write a review of the year, but I think you’re well aware of the major milestones on our lives. Instead, I’ll just leave you with some video I shot with my phone from our apartment window (sound is from the TV). The bed, the couch and, well, pretty much everything in this place is crap… but at least the view is great. Staying in and watching the show from our living room was a nice way to celebrate a new year in our new city. Now gimmie my bed back! Okay, I lied. Prompted by Mikey, I’ve decided to include a few highlights from 2011:
What’s in store for 2012? Honestly, beyond one or two givens, I have no freaking clue. I really want to get back to a normal exercise routine (hell, a routine in general) and I’d like commuting by bike to become a regularity. Regardless, I think it’s going to prove an amazing, yet trying, year.
Well, I made it through my first week with Amazon. Suffice to say, it’s been a very interesting, eye-opening, tiring and refreshing experience. I spent much of this first week in meetings, sitting quietly, as a way to get exposed to as many things as possible. This also means I haven’t really produced anything, although I have managed to conquer a number of access/login issues and cross quite a few new hire tasks off my list.
A couple people have asked what it’s like or how I like it. Five days isn’t nearly enough to allow me to describe a new job (especially in a new city, in a new part of the country), so I’m not sure how much I can offer. Since much of my week was spent observing, what I can say is there are a number of things that have really struck me as “different” from other jobs I’ve had. Here are five things that have stood out this week.
Dogs – They are everywhere. I’m really not sure what it is, but walking down the hall past someone with a dog is supremely cool. I love dogs and they are far from a distraction, which is sort of counter-intuitive. I can’t say I’ve heard a single bark this week, which allows them to easily become just another part of the work experience.
Age – I’ve always felt like one of the younger people at the companies I’ve worked at. There are certainly people older than I at Amazon, but for the first time it seems as though I’m closer to the median (if not average [stat nerd!]) age of employees. This could be a threat to some people; I see it as a welcome sign the company can attract young minds.
Food – A few things in our cafe: Elk Sliders, Grilled Salmon, Roasted Butternut Squash, Pho, Grilled Paneer Sandwich and Sashimi. Sweet.
People – If you look lost, someone will ask you if they can help. If you sneeze, someone will say “bless you.” If you seem tired or otherwise in need of a pick-me-up, someone will buy you coffee. If you make eye-contact, the other person will smile and/or say hello instead of looking at their shoes.
Growth – There are roughly 1000 companies in the US that have as many employees as Amazon has hired in 2011. For reference, the 2007 Census estimated the number of US businesses at roughly 28 million. This massive level of growth permeates everything.
The interesting thing about this list, is that it probably paints a picture reminiscent of the tech boom days. While it’s hard to buck that notion, I can tell you most everything I’ve experienced is one of a company that is very serious about getting work done and very serious about being successful. It’s much more “corporate” than one might expect, but more of a function of its size and less of bureaucracy. All in all, a welcomed new experience for me. I look forward to what the future may bring.
Last night we celebrated our last weekend in the area with a pretty monumental going away party. My mom was nice enough to host; my sister and her went through a lot of effort to make sure there was plenty of food, drink and Seattle themed decoration. This was somewhat of a huge undertaking because with the 40+ years Melissa and I have spent in the area, the invite list was well into the triple digits. We had about 75 people accept and even though 20-30% of them didn’t show or canceled last minute, we still had a ton of people partying.
I wanted to document the occasion, but I didn’t want to be tied to the camera all night. A few weeks ago, I got the idea to set up a very rudimentary photo booth so people could take their own picture. I knew I could tether my dSLR to my laptop with Lightroom, but I didn’t test the ease of use with it, a shutter release remote and the camera’s timer until a few hours before the party. Well, I’m happy to report that despite it being somewhat of a low effort first attempt, I’m really happy with the results.
We had people from so many different parts of our lives, I wish everyone would have take their picture. Unfortunately, we had to set it up somewhat out of the way and I kept forgetting to remind people do visit it, so exposure was a bit limited. Still, there is a decent number of pictures of guests and some very amusing ones at that.
Thank you everyone for your commitment to making the night one we will never forget.
