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Oddly, 2008 was pretty damned good for me

I know this year was supposed to be some kind of evil awful thing, and for a lot of people it was. But I can't join in the OMG2008SUX thing.

For me, it was a great year. It started off with a two-day session at Macworld Conference & Expo, ("Total Network Awareness, with Chuck Goolsbee, Shaun Redmond, Julian Koh, and me, and which will be repeated and updated at this year's Macworld Conference & Expo), but even more importantly, a bunch of us got to say "Thanks" to Paul Kent, The "Mayor of Macworld" in a rather fun way. The session went really well, probably the best feedback I've ever seen. But then, working with three other guys who are all far smarter than I am will do that for you.

I also got to meet, and in a very informal way, interview with Mike McHargue, from the/zimmerman/agency. It must have gone well, because as of April, I was working for them. (The story behind that is pretty funny. The tl;dr version is...damned near everyone I knew at Apple saying "YOU GO APPLY FOR THIS JOB WITH MIKE" and everyone Mike knew at Apple saying "YOU GO HIRE JOHN FOR THIS JOB". It was terribly cute, and I'm grateful as hell that the people I know at Apple think that highly of me.) It's been a really different environment. A much younger environment, where the average age is around half mine. It was a bit of a scary move, going from an insurance company to an advertising/PR firm, but it was a necessary one. I've been able to stretch myself, and apply the various bizarre ideas in my noggin in ways I'd have never been able to working for KCL. I also have to say that it is without a doubt the most fun place I've ever worked, and a place that understands that employee morale is kept not by salary and benefits, (Those are good too. Daddy likes fun, but Daddy's got needs), but by things like Creative in the Courtyard, funky halloween contests, and a nice coffee mug with my initials on the bottom. Also, watching my CEO try to huff a Ziploc™ bag full of Melissa's chocolate chip cookies was a truly priceless moment. Yes, my wife's cookies are that good.

I also discovered that in addition to being one of the best bosses I've ever had, Mike is honestly one of the most decent, nice, standup guys I've ever known. It makes working for and with him really easy, and a lot of fun.

I moved into a really cool house that I'm currently renting, but looking to buy in 2009, and discovered that although small in size, Tallahassee is really a cool town, albeit with the crappiest airline selection ever.

I celebrated my first wedding anniversary with Melissa. That's a big one.

Along the way, I made a bunch of new friends, and managed to keep chugging along with the old ones. Oh, and watched a complete nerd become president. (Dude, he made dilithium jokes about his wife's belt buckle. Obama's a friggin' nerd.) That's kind of cool too.

So yeah, 2008? Didn't suck. If 2009 is even close to as good, I'll take it.

Categories: Other

Posted by John C. Welch at 23:12 | Permalink

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I know this year was supposed to be some kind of evil awful thing, and for a lot of people it was. But I can't join in the OMG2008SUX thing.\n\nFor me, it was a great year. It started off with a two-day session at Macworld Conference & Expo, (\"Total Network Awareness, with Chuck Goolsbee, Shaun Redmond, Julian Koh, and me, and which will be repeated and updated at this year's Macworld Conference & Expo), but even more importantly, a bunch of us got to say \"Thanks\" to Paul Kent, The \"Mayor of Macworld\" in a rather fun way. The session went really well, probably the best feedback I've ever seen. But then, working with three other guys who are all far smarter than I am will do that for you.\n\nI also got to meet, and in a very informal way, interview with Mike McHargue, from the/zimmerman/agency. It must have gone well, because as of April, I was working for them. (The story behind that is pretty funny. The tl;dr version is...damned near everyone I knew at Apple saying \"YOU GO APPLY FOR THIS JOB WITH MIKE\" and everyone Mike knew at Apple saying \"YOU GO HIRE JOHN FOR THIS JOB\". It was terribly cute, and I'm grateful as hell that the people I know at Apple think that highly of me.) It's been a really different environment. A much younger environment, where the average age is around half mine. It was a bit of a scary move, going from an insurance company to an advertising/PR firm, but it was a necessary one. I've been able to stretch myself, and apply the various bizarre ideas in my noggin in ways I'd have never been able to working for KCL. I also have to say that it is without a doubt the most fun place I've ever worked, and a place that understands that employee morale is kept not by salary and benefits, (Those are good too. Daddy likes fun, but Daddy's got needs), but by things like Creative in the Courtyard, funky halloween contests, and a nice coffee mug with my initials on the bottom. Also, watching my CEO try to huff a Ziploc™ bag full of Melissa's chocolate chip cookies was a truly priceless moment. Yes, my wife's cookies are that good.\n\nI also discovered that in addition to being one of the best bosses I've ever had, Mike is honestly one of the most decent, nice, standup guys I've ever known. It makes working for and with him really easy, and a lot of fun. \n\nI moved into a really cool house that I'm currently renting, but looking to buy in 2009, and discovered that although small in size, Tallahassee is really a cool town, albeit with the crappiest airline selection ever. \n\nI celebrated my first wedding anniversary with Melissa. That's a big one.\n\nAlong the way, I made a bunch of new friends, and managed to keep chugging along with the old ones. Oh, and watched a complete nerd become president. (Dude, he made dilithium jokes about his wife's belt buckle. Obama's a friggin' nerd.) That's kind of cool too.\n\nSo yeah, 2008? Didn't suck. If 2009 is even close to as good, I'll take it.