Six Years In San Jose
As of September 12, I have lived in San Jose for six years. As of September 15, I have worked at TiVo for six years. I have the familiar feeling of looking back on time. Those six years feel like much more and much less time all at once. I guess everyone feels this way. It is still something of a shock to me.
The moment clearest in my head of getting hired at TiVo is the moment I decided to move to San Jose and take the job. I was living in Portland at the time and I flew down to San Jose on my own dime to interview at TiVo. I flew to TiVo and back on the same day. The interview just left my head spinning. I could see how TiVo could take over the world.
I was offered the job at the end of my interview. I would be a contractor so I would have to pay for my own move. Moving from Portland to San Jose seemed like such a big jump. I loved Portland, but I had a hard time getting a job I liked. I felt like I was going to be a temp forever. I had a feeling in 1999 there was something important happening in the tech sector, but very little of it was happening in Portland. While I loved the city, I could not see a way for me to get ahead.
I cannot remember what I did that Saturday. On Sunday I went back to work doing tech support for an ISP. I sat down at my desk and looked at my computer. The second I looked at my computer I knew that I had to take the job at TiVo. The job doing ISP support was not bad, but it seemed like it was going to take forever to get anyway. I knew that I would be kicking myself forever if TiVo turned out to be something great and I did not take the job. By moving to Portland I learned that it is better to regret what you do and not what you do not do.
I do not regret moving to San Jose and working for TiVo. I am surprised that I have been working at TiVo so long. Some time in the next year I will have worked at TiVo longer then all the rest of the jobs of my adult life. (adult meaning post-college) TiVo has not taken over the world yet. I know there is a chance that TiVo will never take over the world. I still think my life is much better for have come to work at TiVo.
When I left Pennsylvania my first goal was to last a year. If I could go a year without having to move back to my parents I would be happy. I lasted a lot longer than a year. Currently I have no plans to leave California. It would take a really big change to move me right now.
The moment clearest in my head of getting hired at TiVo is the moment I decided to move to San Jose and take the job. I was living in Portland at the time and I flew down to San Jose on my own dime to interview at TiVo. I flew to TiVo and back on the same day. The interview just left my head spinning. I could see how TiVo could take over the world.
I was offered the job at the end of my interview. I would be a contractor so I would have to pay for my own move. Moving from Portland to San Jose seemed like such a big jump. I loved Portland, but I had a hard time getting a job I liked. I felt like I was going to be a temp forever. I had a feeling in 1999 there was something important happening in the tech sector, but very little of it was happening in Portland. While I loved the city, I could not see a way for me to get ahead.
I cannot remember what I did that Saturday. On Sunday I went back to work doing tech support for an ISP. I sat down at my desk and looked at my computer. The second I looked at my computer I knew that I had to take the job at TiVo. The job doing ISP support was not bad, but it seemed like it was going to take forever to get anyway. I knew that I would be kicking myself forever if TiVo turned out to be something great and I did not take the job. By moving to Portland I learned that it is better to regret what you do and not what you do not do.
I do not regret moving to San Jose and working for TiVo. I am surprised that I have been working at TiVo so long. Some time in the next year I will have worked at TiVo longer then all the rest of the jobs of my adult life. (adult meaning post-college) TiVo has not taken over the world yet. I know there is a chance that TiVo will never take over the world. I still think my life is much better for have come to work at TiVo.
When I left Pennsylvania my first goal was to last a year. If I could go a year without having to move back to my parents I would be happy. I lasted a lot longer than a year. Currently I have no plans to leave California. It would take a really big change to move me right now.
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