I'm A Leaver!

I'm a little nervous because of my friend at school, P. He's kind of the best guy ever-- one of those people that you meet and you feel an instant connection to, so even though you've only known them for a short time (like 1 year) they feel like family and you can't really imagine what life would be like without them in it, now that they're in it.

I was sitting in the Winter Garden yesterday doing coffee chats (there's a lot of those now, as my poor first years begin to realize the horrors of what it means to be in full-on recruiting mode). It was probably my 5th or 6th one and I was running out of ways to explain why strategic roles don't necessarily always have the word "strategy" in the job title. As I finished up, P came bouncing up to me in the adorable way that he does (he usually bounces everywhere actually), and proclaimed "I want to hang out more. Like, now. Well not now, but soon. Because you're a leaver! You're going to be leaving me soon!". I was kind of confused at first. At first, I thought he meant "a lever" and so I pantomimed my arm being a lever and then giggled in a stupid way as I waved my lever arm around.

It struck me though that he's right. I've been so focused on "the next thing"-- the next LEAD event, the next dinner I had to make, the next planning meeting, the next time I had to go to work, the next final, etc. that I hadn't stopped to fully realize-- holy shit I'm going to be leaving Chicago in six months! In the beginning of fall, I think I realized it because my thoughts were still on all the paperwork I had to fill out to get ready to leave Apple/go back to Apple full-time. Now, because of how busy I've been, I've forgotten to keep that in mind and forgot that my big focus point for this year was to make the most of me living in Chicago.

Granted, a lot of my time has been taken up by dealing with a ridiculous (I mean it, ridiculous) roommate situation, but I really need to reprioritize my life.

In other news, I also noticed a few days ago that when I have to wait in a standing position (like, in a line or something) for any extended period of time (2 minutes) I do this weird thing where I tap my right and left feet. Not like, tap dancer style. But like I'm trying to communicate using Morse code with my feet. I can't remember when I started doing this weird thing, but now that I've noticed I can't stop. I'm such a strange person.

Tech Giants-- Making Money (or Not), Hating on Each Other, etc.

 

I haven't caught up on my news in awhile. I've just been all over the place. I have a couple of questions and/or thoughts:

• Why isn't Amazon making money yet? Any article that starts off by saying, "Amazon’s third quarter followed a familiar script: it sold vast quantities of things, lost money while doing so, and investors were delighted." is never a good sign. It has 100 fulfillment centers, two more to come, they've expanded their services into several new ventures-- but are they heading the right direction? I've got a new theory that, similar to the way there were certain banks that were "too big to fail", there are tech companies who are that way too. Amazon I think might be beginning to fall into that category. They'll probably never go under, but they might not ever make a ton of money either
• Microsoft is definitively at a cross roads.  Go the business route for the stability? Chase after individual consumers for the hype and potentially higher margins? Hardware? Software? So many decisions...
• I knew it. I knew there was something bad about working at Google. Though I gotta say, "I work with too many awesome people" is weak sauce. I'm looking at you, guy.
• I love Jeff Koons, but I had no idea he designed the new ARTPOP cover for Lady Gaga. Upon further reflection, it totally makes sense. Even though ARTPOP isn't doing well. Sad face.
• It was only a matter of time before the big names in Tech (Microsoft, Google, Apple, etc.) began to turn on each other. Therefore: Microsoft's new campaign (complete with swag!) that's anti-Google
• I can't believe it's possible that a whole town can't have cell phones. But I guess looking for life in outer space is a worthy cause. This is a real thing people.

LEAD is Over

 

Today was the last day of LEAD. We met last night actually, and we were originally going to go Russian Bath House, but due to the fact that our school probably thought that was sketchy as all get-out, we decided to go to Murphy's Bleachers, a show at iO ("Felt") and karaoke at Trader Todd's. Which was an awesome night, except I lost my voice at the beginning of this week, so I saved everyone from my definitive caterwauling and left after iO. (Sleeping after drinking Nyquil has never felt so good, I have to be honest.)

I think the LEAD staff (our LEAD Facils) do a great job structuring the program. They end with a brunch (this morning) with a readout of "appreciations" which are a bunch of things that your other LEAD  folks wrote for you, thanking you for the things that you did for them throughout the year. 

One of my favorites was "For being my cannibal marshmallow twin, and just going with it." We do a lot of weird stuff in LEAD, if the Russian Bath House wasn't an indication. My second favorite starts with "Goddess of Computers and Memes" which I love.

LEAD was a really good time. I'll miss it, but this, like everything else will change. We'll still hang out-- but in much more inappropriate ways I'm sure. Bones N Noses fo' life.

Fancy SV-ers Ruining It for the Rest of Us

You know what I'm sick of? Those hot-shot folks in Silicon Valley-- riding their candy whips, sippin' on the 'Cardi and upgrading to their iPhone 5S-es (I always have to check when I type that--- I'm constantly terrified that I typed "iPhone 5 asses") like gangstas do.

How dare they try to save the news industry by investing their ungodly amounts of money in dying news channels? (Though I guess some of it is well-deserved since they're...you know...making things that no one has ever tried before.) Trying to innovate by putting desktop-power chips in phones and forcing progress across the board?

But the real fear should probably focus on the Seattle area. Bezos is on a tear right now. He's on the news investing thing, he's making a ton of revenue (though no profit yet).

I just remember that the young professionals in Silicon Valley were the dreamers-- the independent, free-thinking spirits who dreamt big and did big things. As Silicon Valley grows, it seems like there's a distinct change in the atmosphere-- people are more obsessed with the "see and be seen", the dreaming has been tied up in red tape, and it's become increasingly clear that nothing is for free any more (real estate in San Francisco? Fughedaboutit. Three words: Google Bus Pinatas.)

Going back to Silicon Valley in a few months will be a huge change for me, and I wonder how I will adapt. Here's the list I have so far:

1. Denial-- just refuse to believe I'm spending $2K+ per month for 600 square feet
2. Bargaining-- see if maybe my office will let me sleep under my desk
3. Anger-- I feel like this is where most of my time will be spent

How I Feel Nowadays