Another Path
On the 10th anniversary of my move to California, give or take a few days, I was in St. Petersburg for a writing seminar. This was the third in what I've come to think of as three different trips chained together, each to a different city.
This October will mark the 10th anniversary of the Halloween party where I first met (or at least, was first in the same room with) a lot of the people who've been part of my life here. That party led directly to working for Critical Path, going to Burning Man, and all sorts of other good social things.
This is how California became my home. And it's still my home, the home of a lifetime. But I can reasonably expect another sixty years in this lifetime, so I might as well explore a bit more, right?
There's a short list of places I think I could really enjoy living, besides here. San Diego, sometimes. Portland. Seattle. London, if I could find a job that pays in pounds. And -- ever since I visited last October -- Boulder, Colorado.
This October will mark the 10th anniversary of the Halloween party where I first met (or at least, was first in the same room with) a lot of the people who've been part of my life here. That party led directly to working for Critical Path, going to Burning Man, and all sorts of other good social things.
This is how California became my home. And it's still my home, the home of a lifetime. But I can reasonably expect another sixty years in this lifetime, so I might as well explore a bit more, right?
There's a short list of places I think I could really enjoy living, besides here. San Diego, sometimes. Portland. Seattle. London, if I could find a job that pays in pounds. And -- ever since I visited last October -- Boulder, Colorado.
There's a company in Superior (not far from Boulder) which I've always respected -- not entirely because of the company, but more for the people. Very good people, from the CEO on down. I've enjoyed working with them at MAAWG and elsewhere in the industry, and when my friend Neil was brought on as a full-time employee he confirmed my impression of their goodness.
So, alongside serious pondering while traveling and after returning home, I started talking with Return Path about whether there'd be a position for me. It seems they like me, too, because they found one: Director of Product Management for their new/expanding Receiver Solutions group, providing a bunch of interesting data services for ISPs and other large-scale receivers of email. This new product line will complement & augment Return Path's existing services for legitimate senders (and those who're trying to be legit but need some help learning how), but I'll be able to stay (and advance, finally!) in the ISP anti-spam world where I've been for so long.
This means moving to Boulder -- but like I said above, I think I could enjoy Boulder. And I know I'll enjoy this job.
While I was agonizing over this decision, Xep -- who has moved to interesting places, and come back, and is off to Portland now -- wrote "every time I come back, I see the people I need to see and those who are good friends are still good friends. That will be the case no matter where you move." She's right, of course. I'll miss my friends, but I'll see most of y'all about as often as I do now...and I'll have a guest room, so you can come visit.
Hehe, I'd almost forgotten that back in October I wrote "Maybe, when I'm done with Yahoo!, I'll find a life in Boulder." That time has come! It will be an interesting adventure.
And, I'll write about it.
Return Path (my employer, since late September) has a tradition of posting a photo & short bio of each employee on the walls of the office. Rather than detailing my career, mine was inspired by the author bios in a book of short stories. It is accom
Tracked: Nov 15, 10:06