we were scared our computers were going to crash. Now we are scared
the stock market is going to crash. What a difference 10 years makes.
We have experienced so much change in the past 10 years; from the
terrorist attacks on 9/11, the .com bubble burst, a recesion and a
black president. A lot has changed, makes you wonder how much
different things will be in another 10 years.
Since i'm in technology, I am encouraged to see the progress made
there. Right now I am on a plane headed to Portland, ME and I am
writing this post on my iPhone. The world of handheld technology is
incredible. I barely use my computer at home because I can do almost
everything on my phone. When I was brainwashed at Microsoft, I never
thought there would be true competition in the market. Now there is
Google and they are doing an incredible job taking over certain parts
of the market and doing a great job because they are not doing the
same things better, they are doing better things differently.
Now on to the important stuff. The past 10 years has brought me an
invaluable fortune. I moved to Seattle and learned a lot about who I
was and what I wanted out of life. The drive out there with my Dad
will always be a great memory we shared. Most of all our skilled
negoiation on what to listen to on the radio. When I moved back to
Chatlotte I was clear on what I wanted out of life. Not in the sense
of material things like a job and a house, but a family. When I met
Lori I knew we were meant to be together. Never before had I connected
with someone like her. When we got married we had just taken the first
step towards our new life together. Then a few years later we had the
best news ever, we were going to have a baby. It was hard to think
that I was going to be a father, but I knew with Lori's love, we could
do anything together.
When Owen was born I have never had the rush of emotions that I did on
May 17th of 2008. That is a day that I will never forget, getting to
hold our son for the first time.
Then on the work side, who would have known... Ten years ago I worked
for Microsoft and was traveling to some really cool places, like
Prague, CZ. I thought I would work for Microsoft for ever. Things
changed and so did I. No longer did I want the hectic life style of
being a Microsoft employee, being expected to work 50-60 hours a week,
on average. I discovered that I needed a work/life balance and I would
never get that at Microsoft.
When I left Microsoft in 2005 I didn't have a clue of what I wanted to
do... I felt like I didn't ever have to think about that before. I
started working at Microsoft in 1998, just two years after I graduated
high school, I was only 20 when I started. I'm not sure if I had a
difficult time finding a job or if I just didn't have the motivation
to get back into the real workforce again. Either way, I took about 9
months off and did some more soul searching. Working at Mobley
Electric was great because I was making money again and it motivated
me to apply myself. In June of 2006 I started working for Food Lion,
the chain of grocery stores I never shopped at because they were
dirty, never had items in stock and employees were not known for their
customer service. What was I thinking??? The change of pace was great
for me, my work ethic from Microsoft helped me advance quickly in the
company. In less than a year I switched roles and got back into
training where I still am today. While the company I work for still
leaves a lot to be desired, mostly salery, overall I can't complain.
When I look around at all of the change that the rest of the the world
has experienced, I am very thankful for what I have.
Well, we are somewhere over Boston, MA and will be landing in about 20
minutes. I'll be in Portland, ME for a few days this week, coming back
Wednesday evening.
Happy 2010 to ALL! May this new year bring you all of the fortune and
happiness possible!
Greg S. Whitcomb
Sent from my iPhone
