Full circle

Next week we take part in the great Microsoft musical chairs exercise, an office move. This will be my fourth office move since I joined the company as a full-time employee in September 2000, which should give you an indication how popular they are. This time we're moving across the street, from building 42 to 41. I know that's not too exciting for you readers out there, but it represents a strange sort of feeling of full circle for me. When I started as a contractor in 1999, with MSDN, I was in building 41.

Walking through those halls, as I did the other day, brings back all kinds of memories for me. I'd been wanting to work at Microsoft for a long time before that, and when I walked into the offices for my interviews for the contractor job in '99, it was kind of overwhelming. The offices seemed so beautiful, the views out the window were so pleasant, the ever-present soda machines were as described. And the people I met were so thoughtful and intelligent and diverse in cool ways. It was a real eye-opening experience after working for several years in the run-down area of a very large Seattle hosptal. There, I never felt I was treated as a key member of a team. Instead, I was just a small cog in a big machine. I remember on Employee Appreciation Day, the head of human resources came down to our group and handed out goofy shirts that said "we love our staff." Yeah, I wondered, if you loved your staff so much, why don't you treat us better. I've never had that feeling at Microsoft, even as a contractor. It's always been wonderful to feel treated like an asset to the company and not just a replacable cog in the wheel. We're all replacable, of course, but we're assets and not functionaries.

Now, after 5+ years as a premanent employee, over 6 if you count my contractor year, it's weird to walk those halls in building 41 again. It'll be fun to be there with all the knowledge I've gained in that time. It's amazing how little I know when I first joined the company. 

Sorry, no hardcore news or help today, just a little reflection as I pack up my boxes for the move.