Lunch at Google

Today I had lunch at what anyone with a website would consider Mecca. More appropriately, it would have to be called Mecca Northwest, since I didn't actually make it down to Mountain View. I didn't go there to learn any secrets, or to find a job, but rather to have lunch with a friend. This was the "friend" who convinced me that it was a good idea to come up to Seattle. The last few weeks, with the biting cold we have been experiencing, I've been evaluating the wisdom of this decision. More about that later.

Google seems like a pretty good place to work. Food everywhere, no doubt I would gain weight if I worked there. They even had a massage chair, which almost convinced me to hand over my resume. Too bad they don't have a place for a Microsoft Program Manager (than again who does? It's a job that seems to only exist at Microsoft).

I always enjoy talking to this friend. Whenever we talk, I walk away having learned something or having something to think about. Today, we discussed this site a little bit, but mostly in the context of trying to do something outside of work. It's obviously something I think about a lot, thus the reason for this site. I realize that it would certainly be possible to get rich doing what I do for my day job, but I'm not sure it would happen as fast as I would like or be as fun as building up something on my own. He of course commented that he would never do what I was doing (I didn't think I would either) it was certainly good that I was doing something.

Of course, I don't want to do this strictly through trading, but it is where I'm starting for now. If I can somehow make money in some other capacity, whether it being developing a widget or selling lemonade on the side of the road, I'm certainly open to do it. I'm just not sure how successful I will be selling lemonade on the side of the road in Seattle when it is 30 degrees outside.