Bits? You want more bits than "this is my new toy, and
this is when I'm getting it?" Well, I'm not sure there
really are any more, but I'll try.
I've been working hard at Rubric, the startup I joined,
as we've been trying to get this very difficult release
out the door. It's been a difficult but good experience.
I'm finally realizing that I might like to manage.
I've made several friends and I hope to see those
friendships deepen. In short, I've been working a lot
harder, and enjoying life much more, than I was
at Microsoft.
Anyways, when at home after long days, I would surf
for old cars. I love my Jag. There isn't a modern car
out there that I'd rather have. But there are things
about the old Jags, Bentleys, Mercedes, especially
of the 1940s and 1950s, that no new car can match.
I have a friend (who is NOT dot.com rich by any
means) who collects old Jags, and another (also not
rich) who collects old Mercedes. My parents' across-
the-street neighbor used to collect old Jags as well.
So I've been exposed to the old car bug for a long
time.
So when I found that you could buy a classic Bentley
for less than an Accord, it was just a matter of time
before I ended up with one. I ended up buying one
from a dealer in San Diego -- I flew down one Saturday
morning to test drive and buy it (then flew back to
work the rest of the day at Rubric). I'm having a
mechanic down there fix the brakes, install seat belts,
etc. before having it transported up here. There isn't
too much more to say about it until I get to start
driving it around.
And no, there's no way it will do 185! It will barely
do 105. It's not meant to be a fast car (like my jag,
or the other Joe's Maserati). It's meant to be a snapshot
of times gone by, never to return. By contemporary
standards (1957) it was quite advanced, but by modern
standards it's incredibly low tech. But it will probably
also last forever, with a little care.
Now to speak more directly about money and what it's
all about -- I should first mention that Rubric was
bought last week by Broadbase, and so suddenly I have
as much in unvested options as I had at Microsoft before
I walked away. Which is kind of nice, because I certainly
wasn't counting on it. I was prepared to never see that
money again.
But the most important things that have happened to me
recently are (1) the friends I've made at work;
(2) my career growth (which was NOT happening at
Microsoft); (3) my return to the church. Believe it
or not, I decided to convert from lapsed Roman Catholic
to active Episcopalian. I'm not going to evangelize
here, but I'm really quite happy to be part of a church
again. And BTW, while looking for online versions of
the Book of Common Prayer, what should I find but
John Klassa's HTML version of same? (See link from
http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/Other_1979.htm)
- Joe