First thing I need to do now that I am a Googler...

Stop using Bing.

I do genuinely love Bing.  I am sure there is some loyalty from my Microsoft days.  But, I also like the picture and the animations.  But, mostly it's habit.  I have been slowly trying to switch.  Updated the default on my (Google) phone.  Updated the homepage at home.

It's been real, Bing!  I will miss you.  But, I am a loyalist.  I am a Googler.  It's not you, it's me.  I've simply found someone else.  But, I wish you well!

Goodbye Microsoft! Hello Climate Corporation!

Yup...you read that correctly.  I have left Microsoft.  My 2nd home for over 10 years.  Wow...it feels weird reading that back right now.  But, it's real.  Today was my last day.  I have turned in the ol' Blue Badge and rode off into the sunset.  Well...actually, I left around 3 so the sun was still pretty high up there.  But, whatever.

I have left Microsoft to join another company.  The Climate Corporation. 

Climate is a San Francisco based company with an office in Seattle.  In a nutshell, they make technology for farmers.  Imagine getting to work on products that impact our every day life in fundamental ways.  I spent 9 years working on a super fancy product...Xbox.  It was amazing, it was sexy...but, at the end of the day, it was a toy.  Something only some people could afford and not everyone was interested in.   Outside of Xbox, Microsoft focuses mainly on productivity.  Our tools impact people all over the world...but, in ways that, ultimately, we could live without.  

In my new role, I will be impacting everyday life.  I will be impacting something that affects billions of people in ways that we can't live without.  If the world crashes, we can live without our computers.  We can't live without our food. 

The job is super cool.  I'll be working on college recruiting and staffing programs.  It's a lot, but it's a small company. :-)  My focuses, as I understand them now, will be on university relationship building, college hiring, and programs such as diversity.  I get to work on things I am passionate about and I get to take myself out of a comfort zone I have sat in for a long time.

Microsoft has been amazing to me.  I have zero hard feelings.  I grew more in my first year at Microsoft than I did in my 5 prior years recruiting.  My life is so different now.

Ten years ago...

• Desmond wasn't around,
• I was married, but not to my current wife,
• I had 2 cats and an adorable puppy with perfect eye sight and a weird itchy problem we couldn't figure out,
• I lived in Tacoma,
• My list of close friends was almost 100% different (save for the longtime besties like Eric, Liz and MichaelPaine),
• I was in the Navy Reserve,
• John Paul II was the Pope,
• George W. Bush was just elected to his 2nd term,
• Pluto was still a planet.

Whether or not to leave Microsoft was a super hard decision.  But, it's the right one.  It's time to grow and it's time to evolve.  Microsoft is on a great path and I plan to continue to be a Windows/Xbox/Bing user for a long time (Windows Phone, on the other hand...well, I may have already switched there). 

I'm excited!  I'm ready to go!  Let's do this!!!

Selfie Sticks are All The Rage

Microsoft hosted an event this week called Codess.  It's a networking event for women engineers.  As is typical when we host events, we like to give away some kind of swag to the attendees. 

This year, we gave away a Codess branded Selfie Stick.

As is also typical when we host these events, I have snagged one for myself. :-) 

Immediately, Desmond took it away from me and busted out his inner...whoever a famous photographer is. 

Kim charged up her old iPhone and we basically let him have at it. Here are some of the results:

 

This was all in about 10 minutes.  I suspect there will be more where this comes from. 

 

#Fabulous

Advice from another Microsoft parent

At Microsoft, we've got a bunch of differnt e-mail discussion groups. One is for "Working Parents at Microsoft." It's a place to ask other parents for advice or recommendations.

One woman recently e-mailed asking for help with her child her is pitching major fits during diaper changes. Here was one of the responses. Great advice for all parents:

_____________

The “Legal Restraining Techniques” at the bottom are to be used only after all other recommendations have failed and you are in a situation where you just need to use brute strength. These are NOT techniques to be used on infants or the elderly :-)!

Survival Guidelines:
1. Remember there is nothing wrong with your child. You want your child to potty train as soon as possible, so it’s better for your child to dislike the diaper changing process. Remember, when the child grows up, you want him/her to be strong enough to resist this kind of treatment from the world, therefore you should focus more on your own survival than on making the child enjoy or willingly submit to such a process.

2. Be “The Diaper Changer”, not the Parent while changing the diaper. Comfort the child after the diaper has been changed and all evidence of the diaper changing is gone. With luck, your child will not associate you with The Diaper Changer, but remember the child will grow up to resent you eventually anyway, so it doesn’t really matter.

3. Speed. The faster you change the child, the less permanent emotional damage will occur and pretty soon the child will realize it’s not worth getting all worked up about it if the process is over before he can finish his first “soul-stealing” comment. It’s more important to go fast than to earn your child’s approval of your parenting skills.

4. Stealth. Sneak up on your child. Have all the equipment needed to change the child in your hands ready to go. This helps with the Speed recommendation, and reduces the time available for the child to get worked up about the process.

5. Location. Many clean-freaks are particular about where they change their child. Get over it and change the child wherever you can corner him/her. Sometimes it’s just easier to use a carpet shampooer after the fact.

6. Cry. Make as much noise as your child (mirror the child’s sound and facial expressions.) This has an amazing cathartic effect for you, and it confuses the child long enough to finish the job. I use this technique anytime my children are crying about anything other than acute pain and it works wonders. You can also use it on your spouse, but that’s a whole other topic.

7. Teenagers. If you are going to have more than one child, have the second child after your first child is old enough to change diapers, then you can simply delegate the problem (I encourage a healthy allowance for the teenager if you do this.) Most importantly, don’t watch or listen while your teenager changes a diaper: send them off to a room where you can’t hear what’s going on and don’t ask too many questions as long as they both come out clean. Again, the teenager is going to hate you anyway, you might as well get some use out of him/her while you can.

8. There is nothing wrong with you if you *consider* using cloth diapers. There is something wrong with you if you use cloth diapers while you can afford disposables. If you are worried about the environmental impact of disposable diapers, don’t worry you’ll get over it.

Legal Restraining Techniques:

1. To keep a toddler in one place:
Sit on the floor with your legs out in front of you. Place child between your legs. Take your left leg and cross it over the child’s chest (in a kind and gentle way.) Obviously be careful how much weight you apply, use just enough to hold the child. Encourage your child to *hug* your leg. This frees your hands to do the changing.

2. To control the legs with one hand:
With your child on his/her back, hold the child’s legs straight up in the air.
Bend the child’s legs outward at the knees, crossing the ankles.
Hold the ankles crossed in the left hand, applying enough pressure to keep the knees bent outward.
Work quickly!

3. If all else fails and you have a detachable shower head:
Stand child in the bathtub.
Strip the child.
Apply water until clean.
If the child is old enough to understand cause and effect, you can use the temperature of the water as an incentive :-).

Haven't had much to say, so here's some pictures.

We had a crazy sleet storm the other day.



Desi chillin' with Meghan over sushi.


After hanging out at Alki Beach.


Desi's new Microsoft "Future Employee" badge.

New office digs

A while ago, I told you we were moving into a new office. Well, we're there now, and it's AWESOME.

Here's the outside, from the view of the courtyard area.

Here's my office...messy, as usual. And, pretty small, but I'll happily trade my old bigger office for this one, with a window!

The view...of...ummm...something. I'm sure this will be better once construction is complete.

My Monster, Joey. I think he killed Dilbert, on the top shelf.

The employee art gallery. Artwork made by Microsoft employees.

It's a completely different feel from our old office. The old office was about 3 miles away from the main campus. It was in a boring corporate plaza by the rock quarry. And...it was lame.

This one has a great atmosphere. We've got a "mall" within the campus. Although, it's mostly just places to eat. But, I like to eat, so that works. It's got a soccer field, a basketball court and a volleyball court. There's a theatre, somewhere...although, I am sure this is more for corporate presentations than for watching the new Star Trek movie.

If you're in the neighborhood, I'll show you around.

Check out my new work digs

On Monday, my team moves to our new office building. Check out a video preview:



It's going to be pretty sweet. You can probably guess...Microsoft is huge. Right now, my team sits in an extension campus that isn't owned by the company. It's in a business park down by the rock quarry...no joke.

The company built a new campus just for the Entertainment and Devices team. The first groups have already started moving in. We move this weekend. The rest of the groups will trickle in until the end of the year.

Oh...and, I have a window! I'm super excited about this because I have spent the last 4.5 years in an interior office with florescent lights, which I hate. Natural light from now on, baby!!!

Catching up

I've been out of town for a week at the Game Developers Converence. Typically, it's a very fun conference. This year it was different because A) it was my first time away from Desmond and B) I got sick and spent about 2 days barfing. Anyway...here's what I almost missed.

As you can see, he didn't quite pull it off. He decided to wait until I got home. He's soooo close to rolling over. If that lower arm weren't in the way, he would have it.

We are very greatful to my mother, who has been here to help for about 2 weeks. I felt much better being out of town with work knowing that Shaundar had help. Mom will be here until the end of April when Desi starts daycare. We're not ready to be leaving him with strangers, so, again...very greatful to my mom.

And, if you're interested, here is a picture of me and my work peeps at the Blacks in Gaming event, sponsored by Microsoft.

Off work for a month!

That's right. Starting tonight, I am off of work for a month!

This is one of the reasons I LOVE Microsoft. Not many companies offer paid leave even to moms. Microsoft offers paid leave to moms (3 months!) and goes even further giving paid leave to dads! This is NOT FMLA time. I am able to use that, as well. If I wanted to, I could take 4 months off. Unfortunately, I can't afford the 3 unpaid ones. Still...I will be getting paid for 4 full weeks, to stay home with my baby and spend some quality time with him while he's little.

And...I'm off!

Need something to cheer you up?

It's been a rough week. Professionally, this has been my most emotionally draining week, ever. I survived 3 layoffs at WaMu, but none of them impacted me like this. Being at Microsoft 4 years, I know quite a few of the people affected.

Still...even after spending a day manning the room where affected employees come to pick up their boxes, all it takes is an excited smile from my little boy to lift my spirits.

Yup...I think I'll keep him.

Microsoft layoffs

Don't know how many of my loyal readers follow the news, but I figured I would give to the scoop on me, in case you have heard.

Microsoft, for the first time in their history, is laying off a significant portion of their staff. 1400 people will learn, today, that their jobs are being eliminated. Then, over the next 18 months, another 3600 will also be let go.

As of today, I am not on the list...at least, the 1400 list. Who knows what will happen over 18 months. A significant portion of the cuts is coming from HR. Granted, the day is still very young...but...without going into details, I am either safe today, my leaders really have no idea, or I have been blatantly lied to. I very much trust my leaders, so I think I'm safe. If that changes, I'll let you know. It helps that I am a high performer in a profitable business that the company has invested a lot of time, money and resources in. It also helps that, by Microsoft standards, I'm underpaid. ;-)

Anyway...it's been a pretty crappy week. Even though it looks like I am not being let go, I know a lot of people who are. In fact, I hired a lot of the people who are.

Here's more info, if you're interested.