Current threat level: orange

this will be a short one, since one-handed typing is slow and infuriating.

Had my cast off today and the stitches off (tape stitches) and dressings changed. This was incredibly painful. There were about a dozen strips of tape holding thw two sides of my incision together that had to be pulled off. And that was AFTER the gauze and cotton that was also stuck.

To be clear: I cried like a baby.

That shit hurts! And it was the first time through this whole ordeal I told cw to "go away." It hurt that much. I felt horrible immediately, of course... sigh.

I unfortunately wasn't well enough to go straight to the brace, so back in the cast for me. He says I'll be in the brace and moving by Friday.

I hope to write a couple of posts tomorrow about the surgery and its after effects.. but for now, just rest.

Last few hours with a scar-free arm.

Wanted to capture it here for posterity. My surgery got moved up to 9am. So I hope to be home by 1-2pm. I'll see you all on the other side!

Thanks to everyone for all the well wishes, tweets, sms's, emails, phone calls and shout outs. It's been really great.

ONWARD

All of my wor(k)ly posessions..

Fit into half a box. I shredded nearly 4 years worth of paper sketches, printouts and prototypes today.

ONWARD!

If you love something, set it free.

After nearly 4 years working in apps and nearly 3 years on Google Reader, I have decided to transfer to YouTube.

My empty desk, as of today.

From my starter project (designing Gmail's "Update Conversation" banner) all the way through the complicated world of Friends, Sharing, Offline and everything else... It's been a wild and wonderful ride. 

I had my first Reader meeting on April 20, 2007. I'll be honest here. I wasn't hooked yet. It took about 4 weeks for the team to completely win me over. :)

I have learned more on the Reader team than I could at any job with any team, and I'm so grateful for how much I've  grown. I'm SO grateful for our many passionate (sometimes fanatical) users of Reader for providing so much feedback and helping me grow as a designer. You all can get a bit worked up sometimes, but I love ya anyway! 

I'm very sad to leave the Reader team, and this decision didn't come easy. I'm especially grateful for my wonderful team members (past & present). There has never been a group of awesome or more talented people ever assembled. 

April 2008 - BBQ

You all made my years on the Reader team my best years at Google so far. (you know who you are)

I'll still be supporting Reader (and it's users) for the near future (and let's be honest, I won't be able to let go that easily :) I'll also be at SXSW with a "Core conversation" and hosting for the Reader party (details on this in a follow up post). 

My last day as a full-time Reader team member was today. After a 6 weeks leave (to get my arm fixed), I'll start at YouTube on March 17.  

I'm excited to get started on a whole different set of challenges at YouTube, but tonight I'm just feeling grateful and lucky for the last 3 years. 

Thanks. 

August 2007

June 2008

September 2007

cw's response to my initial offline spec. :)

cw & brad on a reverse bungee. Disney Land  (June 2008)

Our whiteboard was a constant source of amusement.

Laurence's reaction to our initial user studies for "Friends V 0.5"

I convinced everyone to go whitewater rafting. :) August 2008

An offsite, just for fun. On a boat. (October 2008)

More boat fun, Zach & I (September 2009)

Susan & I at Google holiday party (2007?)

Mihai sports our Bloggie win @sxsw (March 2009)

Readers meet Arthur Sulzberger, Jr and Martin Nisenholtz @ the NYTimes (October 2008)

Bshih's first week on the Reader team. On a boat again. :) (October 2008)

On the set of "Heroes" in Hollywood (September 2007)

7 days to go...

Today is my last day I can take Advil or other blood thinners. Guess the doc wants my blood to be nice 'n thick for the big day (ew ew ew ew).

Thinking of having an advil party tonight. Who's with me!? (*Sigh*)

Life in the Perpetual Motion Machine

For some reason, I've recently started to pay attention to the comings and goings of folks around me as they move from job to job (or even career to career). I've been talking privately with these people, asking them why they leave a place for another. What was wrong about the old job? What's appealing about the new one?

I even find myself wanting to ask (but definitely not asking) interview candidates why, if you sound enthusiastic about your current work, do you want to leave and make a change?

I think about my parents. How it used to be "normal" to find a job doing what you love (or like) and stay there forever. Get the gold watch, raise some kids and just peace out at 62 1/2.

I also have friends (of my generation) on the east coast who are also in tech jobs (and other areas) who treat their jobs as my parents did theirs. In it for the long haul, slowly ladder climbing, devastated at the loss of the job. The pattern seems to have carried over from the previous generation.

Then, I think about my friends and colleagues (especially in Silicon Valley) and how many of them change jobs every 2-4 years, get acquired by some other job, leave that job... Lather, Rinse, Repeat.

I have never witnessed so much career/job hopping in my life than when I moved from Atlanta to San Francisco and into the heart of the web. (To be fair, I never really sent text messages, either, much less blogged or tweeted or checked in anywhere. Heck, I wasn't even really sure what RSS was at the time. - eek, did I just admit that!?)

I wonder what the difference is here. What is it about the tech industry in the Valley (specifically) that inspires people to be so mobile in their careers? Does mobility imply promotion? Are we just more restless than, say, insurance salesmen?

I'm wondering about the departure emails... They read like a repetitious pop song: "This is the best job of my life/I'm so sad to let it go/It's made me who I am/I'm off to pursue other interests." - Perhaps people are taking "If you love something, set it free" a little too literally?

I've asked a lot of people. And here's my understanding:

There seem to be three types of people (in my experience).

• The startup addiction
  People that feel oppressed by process and can only thrive in a "small team/startup like atmosphere," working for the thrill of the game. 
• Big Company "lifers"
  People who gravitate toward big companies with established departments and processes, with big stable incomes and benefits. 
• The well-off hobbyist
  People from the above two groups who made enough money that they leave tech and start doing what they really love (politics, crafting, furniture design). All those repressed tinkering desires come exploding out, enabled by positive cash flow. (You go, girl! Also? Tote jealous!)

As someone who has worked at both tiny startups & research labs and massive companies, I can honestly say that the intrepid individual can find niches of what they need anywhere. You make your career what you'd like it to be. Any reasonable employer would see that a worker who is happy and comfortable is far more productive and innovative than one who "feels" they are trapped in an uncomfortable situation.

With me, I've worked as employee #3 at a startup and it felt like a much, much larger company than Google. Even in it's infancy, this startup had more processes, templates, roadmaps and vision statements than any fortune 500 company to date, yet there were only 8 of us working away.

And at Google, already over 4,000 employees when I started, felt fast, easy, small and ultra-creative even on my first day. When a process needed to be followed, we first had to create it. And by "we," I mean the people that eventually had to follow said process. But as soon as we put something down "on paper," it became out of date. That is the pace of technology where I work (still).

And I've realised through these varied experiences that I much prefer working on a small, fast team, making a big impact... but I've been lucky enough to find just that within Google on the Reader team. I've found a startup within a huge company and I've been able to thrive and work my way.

I wonder about these folks who leave larger companies looking for "a smaller, faster environment" like a startup. Did they not try hard enough to create opportunities at the companies they once loved (and loved them)? Is it something else? Is it really about the external factors, or is there something within these folks that will keep them moving? Something that will keep these folks perpetually unsatisfied career jumpers?

What is it about working in silicon valley that creates this culture of career "perpetual motion?"

Black backgrounds are too old school for me.

I couldn't get on board with the black background. So I changed it to white. Maybe I've been drinking too much kool aid, but it looks better to me.

That is all.